The following report produces findings on the field studies over the Hawaiian monk seal in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands during 2000. The information provided evaluates the status and trends of monk seal subpopulations, natural history traits such as survival, reproduction, growth, behavior, and feeding habits, and the success of various activities designed to facilitate population growth.

This report provides the technical background and a guide to characterizing a site for storing natural gas in the Columbia River Basalt

The primary accomplishment of the JOI Cooperative Agreement with DOE/NETL in this quarter was the preparation of tools and measurement systems for deployment, testing and use on ODP Leg 204, which will study hydrate deposits on Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon. Additional accomplishments were related to the postcruise evaluation of tools and measurements systems used on ODP Leg 201 along the Peru margin from January through March, 2002. The operational results from the use of the Pressure Core Sampler (PCS) tool and the PCS Gas Manifold on ODP Leg 201 are evaluated in this progress report in order to prepare for the upcoming deployments on ODP Leg 204 in July, 2002. The PCS was deployed 17 times during ODP Leg 201 and successfully retrieved cores from a broad range of lithologies and sediment depths along the Peru margin. Eleven deployments were entirely successful, collecting between 0.5 and 1.0 meters of sediment at greater than 75% of hydrostatic pressure. The PCS gas manifold was used in conjunction with the Pressure Core Sampler (PCS) throughout ODP Leg 201 to measure the total volume and composition of gases recovered in sediment cores associated with methane gas hydrates. The FUGRO Pressure Corer (FPC), one of …

IIn support of CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc.'s (CHG) preparation of a Field Investigative Report (FIR) for the Hanford Site Single-Shell Tank (SST) Waste Management Area (WMA) B-BX-BY, a set of numerical simulations of flow and solute transport was executed to predict the performance of surface barriers for reducing long-term risks from potential groundwater contamination at the B-BX-BY WMA. This report documents the simulation of 14 cases involving two-dimensional cross sections through the B-BX-BY WMA. Two cross-sections were used for this analysis, one through the BX WMA from tanks BX-108 to BX-102, and another through the trench B-38 for simulating B trench discharges. The simulations were used to investigate the impact of surface barriers, water-line leaks, inventory placement, meteoric recharge and partitioning between the aqueous and sorbed phases. Three transported solutes were considered: uranium-238 (U-238), technetium-99 (Tc-99), and nitrate (NO3). For the BX tank simulations, results showed that simulations investigating water-line leaks demonstrated the highest peak concentrations. Interim barriers had a significant impact on peak concentrations in later times, but not in early times due to a high concentration zone of contaminants near the water table. Overall, simulation results for the BX WMA showed that only a small fraction of …

The California Climate Action Registry (''Registry'') was initially established in 2000 under Senate Bill 1771, and clarifying legislation (Senate Bill 527) was passed in September 2001. The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has been asked to provide technical assistance to the California Energy Commission (CEC) in establishing methods for calculating average and marginal electricity emissions factors, both historic and current, as well as statewide and for sub-regions. This study is exploratory in nature. It illustrates the use of three possible approaches and is not a rigorous estimation of actual emissions factors. While the Registry will ultimately cover emissions of all greenhouse gases (GHGs), presently it is focusing on carbon dioxide (CO2). Thus, this study only considers CO2, which is by far the largest GHG emitted in the power sector. Associating CO2 emissions with electricity consumption encounters three major complications. First, electricity can be generated from a number of different primary energy sources, many of which are large sources of CO2 emissions (e.g., coal combustion) while others result in virtually no CO{sub 2} emissions (e.g., hydro). Second, the mix of generation resources used to meet loads may vary at different times of day or in different seasons. Third, …

EESI's ''Ethanol, Climate Protection, Oil Reduction'' (ECO) electr[on]ic newsletter reaches out to the environmental and agricultural communities, state/local government officials and other interested parties, and provides a forum for dialogue about ''the potential benefits of ethanol--and particularly the expanded opportunities provided by cellulosic ethanol--with a special focus on climate protection.'' Each issue features expert commentary, excerpts from recent studies about ethanol, a summary of current government activity on ethanol, and ''notable quotables.'' The newsletter is distributed primarily via email and is also posted on EESI's web site. EESI also conducts outreach on the benefits of ethanol and other biofuels by attending and speaking at conferences, meetings and workshops around the country. The 16 issues of the newsletter published through December 2001 are included as attachments.