This report discusses four species of non-indigenous Asian carp that are expanding their range in U.S. waterways, resulting in a variety of concerns and problems. Three species--bighead, silver, and black carp--are of particular note, based on the perceived degree of environmental concern. Current controversy relates to what measures might be necessary and sufficient to prevent movement of Asian carp from the Mississippi River drainage into the Great Lakes through the Chicago Area Waterway System. Bills have been introduced in the 111th Congress to direct actions to avoid the possibility of carp becoming established in the Great Lakes.

We developed a modeling capability to understand how water is allocated within a river basin and examined present and future water allocations among agriculture, energy production, other human requirements, and ecological needs. Water is an essential natural resource needed for food and fiber production, household and industrial uses, energy production, transportation, tourism and recreation, and the functioning of natural ecosystems. Anthropogenic climate change and population growth are anticipated to impose unprecedented pressure on water resources during this century. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers have pioneered the development of integrated assessment (IA) models for the analysis of energy and economic systems under conditions of climate change. This Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) effort led to the development of a modeling capability to evaluate current and future water allocations between human requirements and ecosystem services. The Water Prototype Model (WPM) was built in STELLA®, a computer modeling package with a powerful interface that enables users to construct dynamic models to simulate and integrate many processes (biological, hydrological, economics, sociological). A 150,404-km2 basin in the United States (U.S.) Pacific Northwest region served as the platform for the development of the WPM. About 60% of the study basin is in the state …

This report summarizes the work conducted by the Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership (BAIHP - www.baihp.org) during the final budget period (BP5) of our contract, January 1, 2010 to November 30, 2010. Highlights from the four previous budget periods are included for context. BAIHP is led by the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) of the University of Central Florida. With over 50 Industry Partners including factory and site builders, work in BP5 was performed in six tasks areas: Building America System Research Management, Documentation and Technical Support; System Performance Evaluations; Prototype House Evaluations; Initial Community Scale Evaluations; Project Closeout, Final Review of BA Communities; and Other Research Activities.

In its 'Carbon Sequestration Technology Roadmap and Program Plan 2007' the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Office of Fossil Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) identified as a major objective extended field tests to fully characterize potential carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) storage sites and to demonstrate the long-term storage of sequestered carbon (p. 5). Among the challenges in this area are 'improved understanding of CO{sub 2} flow and trapping within the reservoir and the development and deployment of technologies such as simulation models and monitoring systems' (p. 20). The University of Wyoming (UW), following consultations with the NETL, the Wyoming State Geological Survey, and the Governor's office, identified potential for geologic sequestration of impure carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) in deep reservoirs of the Moxa Arch. The Moxa Arch is a 120-mile long north-south trending anticline plunging beneath the Wyoming Thrust Belt on the north and bounded on the south by the Uinta Mountains. Several oil and gas fields along the Moxa Arch contain accumulations of natural CO{sub 2}. The largest of these is the La Barge Platform, which encompasses approximately 800 square miles. Several formations may be suitable for storage of impure CO{sub 2} gas, foremost among them the Madison …

Experiments measuring rare events, such as neutrinoless double beta (0{nu}{beta}{beta}) decay, and those searching for, or measuring very weakly interacting particles, such as low energy solar neutrino experiments or direct dark matter searches, require ever lower backgrounds; particularly those from radioactive contamination of detector materials. The underground physics community strives to identify and develop materials with radioactive contamination at permissible levels, and to remove radioactive contaminants from materials, but each such material represents a separate dedicated research and development effort. This project attempted to help these research communities by expanding the capabilities in the United States, for indentifying low levels of radioactive contamination in detector materials through gamma ray spectroscopy. Additionally the project tried to make a cross comparison between well established gamma ray spectroscopy techniques for identifying radioactive contaminations and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy, which is a relatively new method for searching for uranium and thorium in materials. The project also studied the removal of radioactive radon gas for laboratory air, which showed that an inexpensive technologically simple radon scrubber can potentially be used for homes or businesses with high radon levels even after the employment of other mitigation techniques.

This scoping study summarizes the challenges with integrating wind and solar generation into the California's electricity grid. These challenges include: Smoothing intra-hour variability; - Absorbing excess renewable energy during over-generation periods; - Addressing morning and evening ramping periods. In addition, there are technical challenges to integrating retail demand response (DR) triggered by the wholesale conditions into the CAISO markets. The study describes the DR programs available to the consumers through the utilities in California and CAISO's ancillary services market because an integration of the wholesale and retail DR requires an understanding of these different offerings and the costs associated with acquiring them. Demand-side active and passive storage systems are proposed as technologies that may be used to mitigate the effects of intermittence due to renewable generation. Commercial building technologies as well as industrial facilities with storage capability are identified as targets for the field tests. Two systems used for ancillary services communications are identified as providing the triggers for DR enablement. Through the field tests, issues related to communication, automation and flexibility of demand-side resources will be explored and the performance of technologies that participate in the field tests will be evaluated. The major outcome of this research is identifying …

This project met the objective to further the development of an integrated multi-contaminant removal process in which H2S, NH3, HCl and heavy metals including Hg, As, Se and Cd present in the coal-derived syngas can be removed to specified levels in a single/integrated process step. The process supports the mission and goals of the Department of Energy’s Gasification Technologies Program, namely to enhance the performance of gasification systems, thus enabling U.S. industry to improve the competitiveness of gasification-based processes. The gasification program will reduce equipment costs, improve process environmental performance, and increase process reliability and flexibility. Two sulfur conversion concepts were tested in the laboratory under this project, i.e., the solventbased, high-pressure University of California Sulfur Recovery Process – High Pressure (UCSRP-HP) and the catalytic-based, direct oxidation (DO) section of the CrystaSulf-DO process. Each process required a polishing unit to meet the ultra-clean sulfur content goals of <50 ppbv (parts per billion by volume) as may be necessary for fuel cells or chemical production applications. UCSRP-HP was also tested for the removal of trace, non-sulfur contaminants, including ammonia, hydrogen chloride, and heavy metals. A bench-scale unit was commissioned and limited testing was performed with simulated syngas. Aspen-Plus®-based computer simulation models …

Report documenting the proceedings of a workshop held in Washington D.C. during 2010 to discuss ecological monitoring in the Untied States. The workshop included plenary presentations, discussions, breakout groups, and other activities with the intention of determining indicators for climate change and identifying opportunities for collaboration among existing groups and programs.

Inlustra Technologies with subcontractor U.C. Santa Barbara conducted a project with the principle goal of demonstrating high internal quantum efficiency blue (430 nm) and green (540nm) light emitting diodes (LEDs) on low-defect density non-polar GaN wafers. Inlustra pursued the fabrication of smooth thick a-plane and m-plane GaN films, as well as defect reduction techniques such as lateral epitaxial overgrowth (LEO) to uniformly lower dislocation density in these films. Limited free-standing wafers were produced as well. By the end of the reporting period, Inlustra had met its milestone of dislocation reduction to &lt; 5 x 10{sup 6} cm{sup -2}. Stacking faults were still present in appreciable density ({approx} 1 x 10{sup 5} cm{sup -1}), but were not the primary focus of defect reduction since there have been no published studies establishing their detrimental effects on LED performance. Inlustra's LEO progress built a solid foundation upon which further commercial development of GaN substrates will occur. UCSB encountered multiple delays in its LED growth and fabrication efforts due to unavoidable facilities outages imposed by ongoing construction in an area adjacent to the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) laboratory. This, combined with the large amount of ab initio optimization required for the MOCVD system …

EverSealed Windows, Inc. (ESW) agreed in early 2006, prior to the contract award, to add three additional deliverables to the Project (new Milestones 30, 31 and 32), and have the results of these three deliverables form the basis of the go/no-go decision for proceeding from BP1 to BP2. ESW completed all three milestones and the DOE agreed in November 2006 to continue the Project. ESW subsequently initiated work on BP2 and its two milestones. These were to (1) Assemble and test glass-to-metal bonded coupons to test the strength of ESW's glass-to-metal bonds (ESW's Test Vehicle 1 or TV1), and (2) to assemble and test the hermeticity of glass and metal packages (ESW's Test Vehicle 2 or TV2). ESW completed both milestones of BP2 in late 2010, demonstrating that its bonds were both strong enough and hermetic enough that vacuum insulating glass units could be assembled and survive a 40+ year service life in any climate in North America. Based on the accomplishments in BP-1, the DOE held a go/no-go meeting in Washington, DC in mid-November 2006 and moved the Project into Budget Period 2 (BP-2). During this go/no-go meeting, the DOE expressed a concern that ESW did not have a …

This report examines current political and economic conditions in Honduras as well as issues in Honduran-U.S. relations.

This report which provides an overview of the Board, begins with a discussion of the rationale behind the creation of an independent Medicare board and briefly reviews prior proposals for similar boards and commissions.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the past several years, federal agencies have rapidly adopted the use of wireless technologies for their information systems. In a 2005 report, GAO recommended that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in its role overseeing governmentwide information security, take several steps to help agencies better secure their wireless networks. GAO was asked to update its prior report by (1) identifying leading practices and state-of-the-art technologies for deploying and monitoring secure wireless networks and (2) assessing agency efforts to secure wireless networks, including their vulnerability to attack. To do so, GAO reviewed publications, guidance, and other documentation and interviewed subject matter experts in wireless security. GAO also analyzed policies and plans and interviewed agency officials on wireless security at 24 major federal agencies and conducted additional detailed testing at these 5 agencies: the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has a demanding responsibility enforcing banking laws, regulating financial institutions, and protecting depositors. Because of the importance of its work, the corporation must employ strong information security controls to ensure that its information systems are adequately protected from inadvertent misuse, fraud, and improper disclosure. As part of its audit of the 2009 financial statements of the Deposit Insurance Fund and the Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corporation Resolution Fund administrated by FDIC, GAO assessed (1) the effectiveness of FDIC's controls in protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its financial systems and information and (2) the progress FDIC has made in mitigating previously reported information security weaknesses. To perform the audit, GAO examined security policies, procedures, reports, and other documents; tested controls over key financial applications; and interviewed key FDIC personnel."

This report provides background on current International Criminal Court (ICC) cases and examines issues raised by the ICC's actions in Africa, including the potential deterrence of future abuses and the potential impact on African peace processes.

This report discusses Islamic finance, which is based on principles of shariah, or "Islamic law." Major financial principles of shariah are a ban on interest, a ban on contractual uncertainty, adherence to risk-sharing and profit-sharing, promotion of ethical investments that enhance society, and asset-backing. While the Islamic finance industry represents a fraction of the global finance market, it has grown at double-digit rates in recent years.

The solvation and transport of hydrated protons in proton exchange membranes (PEMs) such as NafionTM will be described using a novel multi-state reactive molecular dynamics (MD) approach, combined with large scale MD simulation to help probe various PEM morphological models. The multi-state MD methodology allows for the treatment of explicit (Grotthuss) proton shuttling and charge defect delocalization which, in turn, can strongly influence the properties of the hydrated protons in various aqueous and complex environments. A significant extension of the methodology to treat highly acidic (low pH) environments such as the hydrophilic domains of a PEM will be presented. Recent results for proton solvation and transport in NafionTM will be described which reveal the significant role of Grotthuss shuttling and charge defect delocalization on the excess proton solvation structures and transport properties. The role of PEM hydration level and morphology on these properties will also be described.

This report offers a listing and brief description of legal provisions that require or authorize the imposition of some form of economic sanction against countries, companies, persons, or entities that violate U.S. nonproliferation norms. For each provision, information is included on what triggers the imposition of sanctions, their duration, what authority the President has to delay or abstain from imposing sanctions, and what authority the President has to waive the imposition of sanctions.

This report serves to summarize the major activities completed as part of Virginia Electric and Power Company's North Anna construction and operating license demonstration project with DOE. Project successes, lessons learned, and suggestions for improvement are discussed. Objectives of the North Anna COL project included preparation and submittal of a COLA to the USNRC incorporating ESBWR technology for a third unit a the North Anna Power Station site, support for the NRC review process and mandatory hearing, obtaining NRC approval of the COLA and issuance of a COL, and development of a business case necessary to support a decision on building a new nuclear power plant at the North Anna site.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has adopted a goal to generate 20% of the nation’s electricity from wind power by 2030. Achieving this “20% Wind Scenario” in 2030 requires acceleration of the current rate of wind project development. Offshore wind resources contribute substantially to the nation’s wind resource, yet to date no offshore wind turbines have been installed in the U.S. Progress developing offshore wind projects has been slowed by technological challenges, uncertainties about impacts to the marine environment, siting and permitting challenges, and viewshed concerns. To address challenges associated with siting and permitting, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) surveyed offshore wind project developers about siting and project development processes, their experience with the environmental permitting process, and the role of coastal and marine spatial planning (CMSP) in development of the offshore wind industry. Based on the responses to survey questions, we identify several priority recommendations to support offshore wind development. Recommendations also include considerations for developing supporting industries in the U.S. and how to use Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) to appropriately consider ocean energy among existing ocean uses. In this report, we summarize findings, discuss the implications, and suggest actions to improve the permitting and siting …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) required GAO to study children's access to dental care. GAO assessed (1) the extent to which dentists participate in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and federal efforts to help families find participating dentists; (2) data on access for Medicaid and CHIP children in different states and in managed care; (3) federal efforts to improve access in underserved areas; and (4) how states and other countries have used mid-level dental providers to improve children's access. To do this, GAO (1) examined state reported dentist participation and the Department of Health and Human Services's (HHS) Insure Kids Now Web site for all 50 states and the District of Columbia and called a non-representative sample of dentists in four states; (2) reviewed national data on provision of Medicaid dental services and use of managed care; (3) interviewed HHS officials and assessed certain HHS dental programs; and (4) interviewed officials in eight states and four countries on the use of mid-level and other dental providers."

Tight gas sands are unconventional hydrocarbon energy resource storing large volume of natural gas. Microscopy and 3D imaging of reservoir samples at different scales and resolutions provide insights into the coaredo not significantly smaller in size than conventional sandstones, the extremely dense grain packing makes the pore space tortuous, and the porosity is small. In some cases the inter-granular void space is presented by micron-scale slits, whose geometry requires imaging at submicron resolutions. Maximal Inscribed Spheres computations simulate different scenarios of capillary-equilibrium two-phase fluid displacement. For tight sands, the simulations predict an unusually low wetting fluid saturation threshold, at which the non-wetting phase becomes disconnected. Flow simulations in combination with Maximal Inscribed Spheres computations evaluate relative permeability curves. The computations show that at the threshold saturation, when the nonwetting fluid becomes disconnected, the flow of both fluids is practically blocked. The nonwetting phase is immobile due to the disconnectedness, while the permeability to the wetting phase remains essentially equal to zero due to the pore space geometry. This observation explains the Permeability Jail, which was defined earlier by others. The gas is trapped by capillarity, and the brine is immobile due to the dynamic effects. At the same time, in …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Demand for public transportation in the United States reached record highs in 2008 and rose in the decade prior to 2008. Increased demand for public transportation can create opportunities and challenges for communities working to meet demand, improve service, and maintain transit systems, while operating within budgetary constraints. Transit agencies rely on a variety of funding sources, including federal, state, and local entities, and other sources, such as fares. The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit Administration administers federal grant programs transit agencies can use to help meet ridership demand, such as for purchasing buses and modernizing rail systems. As requested, this report addresses (1) trends in transit ridership and services from 1998 through 2008, (2) challenges, if any, transit agencies faced during this period to address increased ridership and actions they took in response, and (3) factors that might affect future ridership demand and the ability of transit agencies to meet that demand. GAO analyzed data from the National Transit Database on transit ridership (i.e., passenger miles traveled), service (i.e., vehicle revenue miles), costs, and revenues; conducted interviews with 15 transit agencies operating heavy …

The Washington State Department of Ecology contracted with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to develop an intermediate-scale hydrodynamic and water quality model to study dissolved oxygen and nutrient dynamics in Puget Sound and to help define potential Puget Sound-wide nutrient management strategies and decisions. Specifically, the project is expected to help determine 1) if current and potential future nitrogen loadings from point and non-point sources are significantly impairing water quality at a large scale and 2) what level of nutrient reductions are necessary to reduce or dominate human impacts to dissolved oxygen levels in the sensitive areas. In this study, an intermediate-scale hydrodynamic model of Puget Sound was developed to simulate the hydrodynamics of Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits for the year 2006. The model was constructed using the unstructured Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model. The overall model grid resolution within Puget Sound in its present configuration is about 880 m. The model was driven by tides, river inflows, and meteorological forcing (wind and net heat flux) and simulated tidal circulations, temperature, and salinity distributions in Puget Sound. The model was validated against observed data of water surface elevation, velocity, temperature, and salinity at various stations within the study domain. …