Research Projects

LDRD Research
Research Interests

At Sandia, Jennifer is a computational geoscientist and a lead PFLOTRAN developer. PFLOTRAN is an open source, massively parallel subsurface simulator for multiphase, multicomponent, and multiscale reactive flow, energy, and transport processes in porous media. PFLOTRAN is used to model geologic disposal systems for nuclear waste under the Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology (SFWST) Campaign, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy, and for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site in Carlsbad, NM. PFLOTRAN is also used to model geothermal systems under the DOE Office of Geothermal.

She leads and contributes to projects that have grown out of several laboratory-wide strategic initiatives, such as the Arctic Science and Security Initiative, and more recently the Climate Change Security Strategic Initiative. Jennifer provides technical expertise in a diverse range of scientific fields and technologies associated with subsurface water, energy, and national security concerns. She also works closely with portfolio deputies, senior management, business development teams, stakeholders and center directors to contribute to the lab’s research and development strategy.

Jennifer works across a range of Arctic-related research topics, including but not limited to permafrost-associated gas hydrate, terrestrial and submarine permafrost, Arctic coastal erosion, and Arctic regional climate models. Under this field of research, she actively contributes to Albany as a code developer for Sandia’s unique Arctic Coastal Erosion (ACE) permafrost material model. In the field, she uses distributed temperature sensing (DTS) and distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) to better understand the character and evolution of submarine permafrost and seabed processes.

Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD)

The LDRD program invests in high-risk, potentially high-payoff activities that enable national security missions and advance the frontiers of science and engineering. Jennifer has participated as a team member or served as PI on the following LDRD projects at Sandia:

FY2026-2027Hydraulically Optimized Tomography for Enhanced Geothermal Systems (HOT EGS)
PI: Jennifer M. Frederick (08615)
Academic Alliance with University of Texas El Paso
FY2025-2026In Situ Snowpack Density Profiling for Improved Snowmelt and Permafrost Modeling
PI: Brian T. Zutter (08646)
Academic Alliance with University of California Berkeley
FY2023-2025Using Distributed Acoustic and Temperature Sensing (DATS) To Characterize The Rapidly Changing Nearshore Arctic Ocean [Final Report]
PI: A. Christian Stanciu (08911)
Academic Alliance with the University of Washington
Academic Alliance with the University of Texas at Austin
FY2023-2025Coupled Hydro-Thermo-Biogeochemical Modeling For Predicting Arctic Carbon Emissions (CH4PACE)
PI: Michael Nole (08844)
Research partnership with the University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Academic Alliance with the University of Texas at Austin
FY2022Quantifying the Known Unknown: Including Marine Sources of Greenhouse Gases in Climate Modeling [Final Report]
PI: Jennifer M. Frederick (08844)
Academic Alliance with the University of Colorado, Boulder
FY2019-2021Forecasting Marine Sediment Properties On and Near the Arctic Shelf with Geospatial Machine Learning [Final Report]
PI: Jennifer M. Frederick (08844)
Research partnership with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
Academic Alliance with the University of Texas, Austin
[Sandia Earth Science Research Foundation project video]
FY2018-2020A Predictive Model for Arctic Coastal Erosion [Final Report]
PI: Diana Bull (02159)
Research partnership with the University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Academic Alliance with the University of Texas, Austin
FY2018-2019Arctic Tipping Points Triggering Global Change [Final Report]
PI: Kara Peterson (01442)
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Research Interests

  • Fluid mechanics applied to environmental fluid flows
  • Multi-phase and variable-density flow and transport in porous media
  • Heat transfer in the environment
  • Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and numerical modeling
  • Software engineering for scientific computing and applied mathematics
  • Geothermal systems, including flow through fractured hot rock
  • Deep oceanic and permafrost-associated methane hydrates
  • Seabed acoustics
  • Climate impact modeling and analysis
  • Cold regions hydrology/flows involving water/ice phase change (permafrost)
  • Submarine groundwater discharge and geohydrology
  • Arctic coastal erosion issues
  • Greenhouse gas emissions in the Arctic
  • Performance assessment modeling of deep geologic nuclear waste repositories