The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is seeking innovative solutions through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to develop a Nuclear Plume Advisory Algorithm. The objective is to create methods for detecting nuclear plumes from atmospheric explosions and deriving critical plume characteristics such as height, extent, and radiation hazard using multisource satellite observations. This initiative is vital for enabling military operations in a nuclear environment by providing timely warnings to avoid areas affected by residual radiation. The solicitation is currently closed, with the application due date set for October 23, 2024. Interested parties can find more information and resources at the DOD SBIR website.

## Description

The United States, its allies, and its partners must be capable of conducting continuous combat operations in a nuclear environment. Accordingly, to mitigate the severity of nuclear weapon effects on military operations, the Department of Defense needs the ability to give sufficient warning so units can maneuver and avoid areas of impending or actual residual radiation. With advancements in Earth observation (EO) satellites, the possibility of spaceborne products for aerosol layer height or plume injection height have recently emerged with increased global-scale spatiotemporal resolution. However, there is still a need to evaluate the nuclear plume column radiative effects, develop satellite remote-sensing techniques, and refine algorithms for retrieving plume characteristics. This effort will demonstrate the ability to produce detailed information on nuclear plume movements and projected fallout hazard areas to support planning and conduct operations in a fallout-contaminated environment. 

## Objective

DTRA seeks methods to detect the plume from an atmospheric nuclear explosion and derive plume characteristics (height, extent, direction of movement, radiation hazard, etc.) from multisource satellite observations. 

## Phase I

This effort will focus on determining which satellite products are most appropriate for deriving plume characteristics near a nuclear detonation event and estimating downwind plume rise height under multiple aerosol loadings. 

## Phase II

This effort will develop prototype algorithms and demonstrate on simulated scenes representing satellite products from modeled nuclear plumes that will be made available during at the start of the phase.

## Phase III: Dual Use Applications

This effort will develop an application to collect satellite data; execute the nuclear advisory algorithms for producing a fallout plume forecast; and provide a graphical display tool for viewing the various satellite and residual radiation datasets. The components of the application should be able to operate in a decision support mode or an archive mode. The archive mode allows the user to re-run with new user-specified parameters and view historical datasets. The application must be able to deploy onto a DoD network with the appropriate software cyber security. The dual-use application is as a system for civilian use in support of crisis response following a nuclear detonation.

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