At the Southern Methodist University Geothermal Laboratory in Dallas, Texas, the Earth`s surface and internal temperature are studied. With financial support from the U.S. Department of Energy, a data base containing geothermal temperature well information for the United States is being developed. During this calendar quarter, activity with this project has continued involving several different tasks: planning and development of the geothermal system thermal-well data base and temperature-depth data, development of the specifications for the data base, and completion of an initial inventory of the geothermal areas for which data are available.

Testing superconducting accelerator magnets is inherently coupled with the proper handling of quenches; i.e., protecting the magnet and characterizing the quench process. Therefore, software implementations must include elements of both data acquisition and real-time controls. The architecture of the quench management software developed at Fermilab's Magnet Test Facility is described. This system consists of quench detection, quench protection, and quench characterization components that execute concurrently in a distributed system. Collaboration between the elements of quench detection, quench characterization and current control are discussed, together with a schema of distributed saving of various quench-related data. Solutions to synchronization and reliability in such a distributed quench system are also presented.

The Numerical Data Advisory Board (NDAB) is an advisory body that provides expert overview, on a broad basis, of data needs and data programs as required for the advancement of science and technology. Board members, representing various disciplines, concern themselves with the quality, reliability, availability, accessibility, and dissemination of numerical data in physical, chemical, engineering, and interdisciplinary subjects as well as numeric and non-numeric data that arise in biology and geology. Topics of concern are addressed by the NDAB membership, or by specific, carefully chosen committees and panels established by NDAB in order to include experts appropriate to the subject at hand.

The effects of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) on indigenous soil populations and pure bacterial cultures were examined. The number of colony-forming units (CFU) appearing when TNT-contaminated soil was spread on 0.3% molasses plates decreased by 50% when the agar was amended with 67 {mu}g TNT mL{sup -1}, whereas a 99% reduction was observed when uncontaminated soil was plated. Furthermore, TNT-contaminated soil harbored a greater number of organisms able to grow on plates amended with greater than 10 {mu}g TNT mL{sup -1}. The percentage of gram-positive isolates was markedly less in TNT-contaminated soil (7%; 2 of 30) than in uncontaminated soil (61%; 20 of 33). Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas corrugate, Pseudomonasfluorescens and Alcaligenes xylosoxidans made up the majority of the gram-negative isolates from TNT-contaminated soil. Gram-positive isolates from both soils demonstrated marked growth inhibition when greater than 8-16 {mu}g TNT mL{sup -1} was present in the culture media. Most pure cultures of known aerobic gram-negative organisms readily degraded TNT and evidenced net consumption of reduced metabolites. However, pure cultures of aerobic gram-positive bacteria were sensitive to relatively low concentrations of TNT as indicated by the 50% reduction in growth and TNT transformation which was observed at approximately 10 {mu}g TNT mL{sup -1}. Most non-sporeforming …

Prochlorococcus is a marine cyanobacterium that numerically dominates the mid-latitude oceans and is the smallest known oxygenic phototroph. Numerous isolatesfrom diverse areas of the world's oceans have been studied and shown to be physiologically and genetically distinct. All isolates described thus far can be assigned to either a tightly clustered high-light (HL)-adapted clade, or a more divergent low-light (LL)-adapted group. The 16S rRNA sequences of the entire Prochlorococcus group differ by at most 3percent, and the four initially published genomes revealed patterns of genetic differentiation that help explain physiological differences among the isolates. Here we describe the genomes of eight newly sequenced isolates and combine them with the first four genomes for a comprehensive analysis of the core (shared by all isolates) and flexible genes of the Prochlorococcus group, and the patterns of loss and gain of the flexible genes over the course of evolution. There are 1,273 genes that represent the core shared by all 12 genomes. They are apparently sufficient, according to metabolic reconstruction, to encode a functional cell. We describe a phylogeny for all 12 isolates by subjecting their complete proteomes to three different phylogenetic analyses. For each non-core gene, we used a maximum parsimony method to …

The Recovery Plan Workbook is designed for use by U.S. Army chemical installations and state and local authorities who participate in the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP). The workbook includes a model recovery plan that provides a template for preparation of an integrated CSEPP recovery plan. The workbook also provides background, explanatory, and reference materials to aid planners. The model plan provides a general example and framework for planning but is not complete without input from the local CSEPP community. Each chemical stockpile location has site-specific needs, resources, and organizational differences that will shape recovery planning. Therefore, the purpose of the model plan, in part, is to raise questions that installation, state, and local planners will have to answer to develop a site-specific recovery plan. It is recommended that a single, overarching recovery plan be developed to coordinate the activities of the installation, state, and local jurisdictions at a given site. As stated in Planning Guidance for the CSEPP, Appendix M, ''The reentry/restoration plan should be integrated and coordinated among the Army installation and other state and local jurisdictions in the IRZ and PAZ.'' The integrated approach is more efficient from a planning perspective (compared to separate, parallel plans …

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This report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) describes the development and application of a methodology to systematically and quantitatively assess predictive uncertainty in groundwater flow and transport modeling that considers the combined impact of hydrogeologic uncertainties associated with the conceptual-mathematical basis of a model, model parameters, and the scenario to which the model is applied. The methodology is based on a n extension of a Maximum Likelihood implementation of Bayesian Model Averaging. Model uncertainty is represented by postulating a discrete set of alternative conceptual models for a site with associated prior model probabilities that reflect a belief about the relative plausibility of each model based on its apparent consistency with available knowledge and data. Posterior model probabilities are computed and parameter uncertainty is estimated by calibrating each model to observed system behavior; prior parameter estimates are optionally included. Scenario uncertainty is represented as a discrete set of alternative future conditions affecting boundary conditions, source/sink terms, or other aspects of the models, with associated prior scenario probabilities. A joint assessment of uncertainty results from combining model predictions computed under each scenario using as weight the posterior model and prior scenario probabilities. The uncertainty methodology was applied to modeling of groundwater …

The lower tuff confining unit (LTCU) in the Yucca Flat Corrective Action Unit (CAU) consists of a monotonous sequence of pervasively zeolitized volcanic tuff (i.e., mostly bedded with lesser nonwelded to poorly welded tuff; not fractured) (Bechtel Nevada, 2006). The LTCU is an important confining unit beneath Yucca Flat because it separates the alluvial and volcanic aquifers, where many underground nuclear tests were conducted, from the regional lower carbonate aquifer. Recent sub-CAU-scale modeling by Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Tuff Pile area of Yucca Flat (Boryta, et al., in review) includes postulated low-porosity, high-permeability zones (i.e., fractured welded-tuff aquifers) within the LTCU. This scenario indicates that such postulated low-porosity, high-permeability zones could provide fast-path lateral conduits to faults, and eventually to the lower carbonate aquifer. A fractured and faulted lower carbonate aquifer is postulated to provide a flow path(s) for underground test-derived contaminants to potential offsite receptors. The ramifications of such a scenario are obvious for groundwater flow and contaminant migration beneath Yucca Flat. This paper describes the reasoning for not including postulated low-porosity, high-permeability zones within the LTCU in the Tuff Pile area or within the LTCU in the Yucca Flat CAU-scale model. Both observational and analytical data …

This annual report discusses environmental monitoring at two manufacturing and test operations sites operated in the Los Angeles area by the Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell International Corporation (Rocketdyne). These are identified as the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) and the DeSoto site. The sites have been used for manufacturing, R&D, engineering, and testing in a broad range of technical fields, primarily rocket engine propulsion and nuclear reactor technology. The DeSoto site essentially comprises office space and light industry with no remaining radiological operations, and has little potential impact on the environment. The SSFL site, because of its large size (2,668 acres), warrants comprehensive monitoring to assure protection of the environment. SSFL consists of four administrative areas used for research, development, and test operations as well as a buffer zone. A portion of Area I and all of Area II are owned by the U.S. Government and assigned to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A portion of Area IV is under option for purchase by the Department of Energy (DOE).

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