Primarily due to concerns generated from observed raptor mortality at the Altamont Pass (CA) wind plant, one of the first commercial electricity generating wind plants in the U.S., new proposed wind projects both within and outside of California have received a great deal of scrutiny and environmental review. A large amount of baseline and operational monitoring data have been collected at proposed and existing U.S. wind plants. The primary use of the avian baseline data collected at wind developments has been to estimate the overall project impacts (e.g., very low, low, moderate, and high relative mortality) on birds, especially raptors and sensitive species (e.g., state and federally listed species). In a few cases, these data have also been used for guiding placement of turbines within a project boundary. This new information has strengthened our ability to accurately predict and mitigate impacts from new projects. This report should assist various stakeholders in the interpretation and use of this large information source in evaluating new projects. This report also suggests that the level of baseline data (e.g., avian use data) required to adequately assess expected impacts of some projects may be reduced. This report provides an evaluation of the ability to predict …

Monthly report written by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association's (TDNA's) office manager, Darla Thompson, to Phil Berkebile providing a summary of revenues and account balances, programs, meetings, and other activities in the office during the previous month.

This report summarizes data collected from samples in borehole C3103. Borehole C3103 was completed to further characterize the nature and extent of vadose zone contaminants supplied by intentional liquid discharges into the crib 216-B7A/7B between 1954 and 1967. These cribs received dilute waste streams from the bismuth phosphate fuel reprocessing program in the 1950's and decontamination waste in the 1960's. Elevated concentrations of several constituents were primarily measured at different depth intervals. The primary radionuclides present in this borehole are cesium-137 and uranium near the top of the borehole. Chemical characteristics attributed to wastewater-soil interaction at different locations within this zone are elevated pH, sodium, fluoride, carbonate nitrate, and sulphate

This engineering study identifies the options for removal of radioactive waste from the Shielded Materials Facility (SMF) located within the 324 Building, 300 area, of the Hanford Site.

This dissertation presents results of experiment E94-010 performed at Jefferson Laboratory (simply known as JLab) in Hall A. The experiment aimed to measure the low Q{sup 2} evolution of the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn (GDH) integral from Q{sup 2} = 0.1 to 0.9 GeV{sup 2}. The GDH sum rule at the real photon point provides an important test of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). The low Q{sup 2} evolution of the GDH integral contests various resonance models, Chiral Perturbation Theory ({chi}#31;PT) and lattice QCD calculations, but more importantly, it helps us understand the transition between partonic and hadronic degrees of freedom. At high Q{sup 2}, beyond 1 GeV{sup 2}, the difference of the GDH integrals for the proton and the neutron is related to the Bjorken sum rule, another fundamental test of QCD. In addition, results of the measurements for the spin structure functions g{sub 1} and g{sub 2}, cross sections, and asymmetries are presented. E94-010 was the first experiment of its kind at JLab. It used a high-pressure, polarized {sup 3}He target with a gas pressure of 10 atm and average target polarization of 35%. For the first time, the polarized electron source delivered an average beam polarization of 70% with a beam current …

The studies reported here focus on issues regarding the entrainment of Dungeness crab related to the proposed Columbia River Channel Improvement Project and provided direct measurements of crab entrainment rates at three locations (Desdomona Shoals, Upper Sands, and Miller Sands) from RM4 to RM24 during summer 2002. Entrainment rates for all age classes of crabs ranged from zero at Miller Sands to 0.224 crabs per cy at Desdemona Shoals in June 2002. The overall entrainment rate at Desdomona Shoals in September was 0.120 crabs per cy. A modified Dredge Impact Model (DIM) used the summer 2002 entrainment rates to project crab entrainment and adult equivalent loss and loss to the fishery for the Channel Improvement Project. To improve the projections, entrainment data from Flavel Bar is needed. The literature, analyses of salinity intrusion scenarios, and the summer 2002 site-specific data on entrainment and salinity all indicate that bottom salinity influences crab distribution and entrainment, especially at lower salinities. It is now clear from field measurements of entrainment rates and salinity during a period of low river flow (90-150 Kcfs) and high salinity intrusion that entrainment rates are zero where bottom salinity is less than 16 o/oo most of the time. …

This report describes an initial set of small scale lab tests conducted on surrogate waste materials to investigate mass release behavior of volatile organics (VOC’s) from a solidified liquid organic sludge matrix under vacuumaided, low-temperature thermal desorption conditions. Low temperature thermal desorption is being considered as a potential processing technology alternative to incineration, to remove gas generation limitations affecting the transportation of transuranic (TRU) contaminated organic sludge wastes to a designated off-site repository (i.e., the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant). The lab-scale tests provide initial exploratory level information on temperature profiles and rates of volatile organic desorption for a range of initial VOC/oil liquid mixture concentrations in a calcium silicate matrix, under low temperature heating and vacuum boundary conditions that are representative of potentially desirable “in-drum desorption” conditions. The results of these tests indicate that reduced operating pressures have a potential for significantly enhancing the rate of thermal desorption experienced from a liquid organic/oil solidified “sludge” waste. Furthermore, the results indicate that in-drum thermal desorption can be performed on organic sludge wastes, at reduced pressures, while maintaining an operating temperature sufficiently low to prevent destruction of the waste drum packaging materials (confinement) surrounding the waste. The results also indicate that VOC …

The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and the Advanced Research and Applications Corporation (ARACOR) [Sunnyvale, California] performed a photonuclear technology demonstration for shielded nuclear material detection during August 21–22, 2002, at the LANL TA-18 facility. The demonstration used the Pulsed Photonuclear Assessment Technique (PPAT) that focused on the application of a photofission-based, nuclear material detection method as a viable complement to the ARACOR Eagle inspection platform. The Eagle is a mobile and fully operational truck and cargo inspection system that uses a 6-MeV electron accelerator to perform real-time radiography. This imaging is performed using an approved “radiation-safe” or “cabinet safe” operation relative to the operators, inspectors, and any stowaways within the inspected vehicles. While the PPAT has been primarily developed for active interrogation, its neutron detection system also maintains a complete and effective passive detection capability.

This project was focused on developing and testing automated routines for a microfluidic Pathogen Detection System. The basic pathogen detection routine has three primary components; cell concentration, DNA amplification, and detection. In cell concentration, magnetic beads are held in a flow cell by an electromagnet. Sample liquid is passed through the flow cell and bacterial cells attach to the beads. These beads are then released into a small volume of fluid and delivered to the peltier device for cell lysis and DNA amplification. The cells are lysed during initial heating in the peltier device, and the released DNA is amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or strand displacement amplification (SDA). Once amplified, the DNA is then delivered to a laser induced fluorescence detection unit in which the sample is detected. These three components create a flexible platform that can be used for pathogen detection in liquid and sediment samples. Future developments of the system will include on-line DNA detection during DNA amplification and improved capture and release methods for the magnetic beads during cell concentration.

Invitation for a memorial service and quilt dedication ceremony for World AIDS Day, to be held at the White Rock Community Church on Sunday, December 1, 2002.

Semi-weekly newspaper from Seminole, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.

Science & Engineering Associates, Inc. (SEA), under contract No. DE-AC26-00NT40768, was tasked by the US Department of Energy--National Energy Technology Laboratory to develop and test a near real-time beryllium monitor for airborne and surface measurements. Recent public awareness of the health risks associated with exposure to beryllium has underscored the need for better, faster beryllium monitoring capabilities within the DOE. A near real-time beryllium monitor will offer significant improvements over the baseline monitoring technology currently in use. Whereas the baseline technology relies upon collecting an air sample on a filter and the subsequent analysis of the filter by an analytical laboratory, this effort developed a monitor that offers near real-time measurement results while work is in progress. Since the baseline typically only offers after-the-fact documentation of exposure levels, the near real-time capability provides a significant increase in worker protection. The beryllium monitor developed utilizes laser induced breakdown spectroscopy, or LIBS as the fundamental measurement technology. LIBS has been used in a variety of laboratory and field based instrumentation to provide real-time, and near-real-time elemental analysis capabilities. LIBS is an analytical technique where a pulsed high energy laser beam is focused to a point on the sample to be interrogated. The …

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This final report summarizes our accomplishments and findings and includes recent publications occurring in the final period of this award. One of our research goals was to develop algorithms and services for remote data analysis and distributed data mining which scaled from the commodity internet to high performance networks. When we began the project there was no effective mechanisms to achieve high end to end performance for data intensive applications over wide area, high bandwidth networks. For this reason, we developed algorithms and services for Layers 2,3, and 4 in the simple data web application stack below. We describe our research accomplishments for each of these layers in turn: Layer 4--Data Web Applications; Layer 3--Data Web Services; Layer 2--Network Protocol Services; Layer 1--IP.

The Project Team is submitting this Topical Report on the results of its bench-scale demonstration of ElectroChemical Remediation Technologies (ECRTs) and in particular the Induced Complexation (ECRTs-IC) process for remediation of mercury contaminated soils at DOE Complex sites. ECRTs is an innovative, in-situ, geophysically based soil remediation technology with over 50 successful commercial site applications involving remediation of over two million metric tons of contaminated soils. ECRTs-IC has been successfully used to remediate 220 cu m of mercury-contaminated sediments in the Union Canal, Scotland. In that operation, ECRTs-IC reduced sediment total mercury levels from an average of 243 mg/kg to 6 mg/kg in 26 days of operation. The clean up objective was to achieve an average total mercury level in the sediment of 20 mg/kg.

The U.S.D.I. Office of Surface Mining (OSM) estimates that there are approximately 1 million acres of abandoned mine land (AML) in the Appalachian region. AML lands are classified as areas that were inadequately reclaimed or were left unreclaimed prior to the passage of the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, and where no federal or state laws require any further reclamation responsibility to any company or individual. Reclamation and afforestation of these sites have the potential to provide landowners with cyclical timber revenues, generate environmental benefits to surrounding communities, and sequester carbon in the terrestrial ecosystem. Through a memorandum of understanding, the OSM and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have decided to investigate reclaiming and afforesting these lands for the purpose of mitigating the negative effects of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This study determined the carbon sequestration potential of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.), one of the major reclamation as well as commercial species, planted on West Virginia AML sites. Analyses were conducted to (1) calculate the total number of tons that can be stored, (2) determine the cost per ton to store carbon, and (3) calculate the profitability of managing these forests for timber …

The large observed mixing angle in atmospheric neutrinos, coupled with Grand Unification, motivates the search for a large mixing between right-handed strange and bottom squarks. Such mixing does not appear in the standard CKM phenomenology, but may induce significant b {yields} s transitions through gluino diagrams. Working in the mass eigenbasis, we show quantitatively that an order one effect on CP violation in B{sub d}{sup 0} {yields} {pi}K{sub S} is possible due to a large mixing between right-handed b and s squarks, while still satisfying constraints from b {yields} s {gamma}. We also include the effect of right- and left-handed bottom squark mixing proportional to m{sub b}{mu} tan{beta}. For small {mu}tan{beta} there may also be a large effect in B{sub s} mixing correlated with a large effect in B{sub d}{sup 0} {yields} {phi}K{sub S}, typically yielding an unambiguous signal of new physics at Tevatron Run II.

This research synthesized activities related to work conducted as part of the Southern Ocean Iron Experiment (SOFeX) which investigated the effects of iron fertilization on enhanced carbon sequestration. The primary interest was in the fate of sinking particles which carry carbon to the deep ocean, where it can be sequestered from the atmosphere for >100-1000 year time scales. This was accomplished through direct measurements of thorium-234, a naturally occurring particle reactive radionuclide that traces shallow particle export; SF6 measurements to track the position of the Fe fertilized region; and the collection of ancillary data and samples to augment the study of major C, nutrient and elemental budgets as well as appropriate samples for biological study. Results of this work show a small, but progressively increasing flux of particulate organic C to depth as a consequence of Fe fertilization. This is the first data set to show any effect of Fe fertilization on C sequestration in the Southern Ocean. The changes in particle export during SOFeX are significant, but only possible to detect given what is arguably the largest 234Th data set ever collected as part of an oceanographic experiment. Most prior 234Th studies, simply use a steady-state approximation and ignore …

The purpose of the study was to collect and analyze existing data on the Michigan Basin for fracture patterns on scales ranging form thin section to basin. The data acquisition phase has been successfully concluded with the compilation of several large digital databases containing nearly all the existing information on formation tops, lithology and hydrocarbon production over the entire Michigan Basin. These databases represent the cumulative result of over 80 years of drilling and exploration. Plotting and examination of these data show that contrary to most depictions, the Michigan Basin is in fact extensively faulted and fractured, particularly in the central portion of the basin. This is in contrast to most of the existing work on the Michigan Basin, which tends to show relatively simple structure with few or minor faults. It also appears that these fractures and faults control the Paleozoic sediment deposition, the subsequent hydrocarbon traps and very likely the regional dolomitization patterns. Recent work has revealed that a detailed fracture pattern exists in the interior of the Central Michigan Basin, which is related to the mid-continent gravity high. The inference is that early Precambrian, ({approx}1 Ga) rifting events presumed by many to account for the gravity anomaly …

This project is aimed at synthesis of a new inorganic dual-phase carbonate membrane for high temperature CO{sub 2} separation. Metal-carbonate dual-phase membranes were prepared by the direct infiltration method and the synthesis conditions were optimized. The dual-phase membranes are gas-tight with helium permeance about six orders of magnitude lower than that for the metal support. Efforts were made to test seals for permeation and separation experiments for dual-phase membrane at the intermediate temperature range (about 500 C) under oxidizing atmosphere. An effective new permeation cell with a metal seal was designed, fabricated and tested. The permeation setup provided leak-free sealing for the dual-phase membranes under the desired operation conditions. Though the reliable data showing high permeance for carbon dioxide with oxygen for the prepared metal-carbonate dual phase membrane has not been measured, the research efforts in improving membrane synthesis and setting up a new permeation cell with suitable seal have made it closer for one to demonstrate good dual-phase membranes for high temperature carbon dioxide separation. Research efforts were also directed towards preparation of a new ceramic-carbonate dual-phase membrane. Porous lanthanum cobaltite (LC) perovskite type oxide ceramic support with oxidation resistance better than the metal support and high electronic conductivity …

RMS Guidelines defines the processes and conventions to manage both records and documents for the ASCI Verification and Validation Program at Sandia National Laboratories, employing the ASCI V&V RMS application. It is the definitive source for all information regarding the creation, submittal, use, maintenance, and disposition of records and documents. This document is also used as evidence of meeting records management requirements as stated in DOE Order 414.1A, Quality Assurance, and Sandia National Laboratories Corporate Technical Business Practice TBP-500, Records Management.

This report is a collection of documents written by the group members of the Engineering Sciences Research Foundation (ESRF), Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project titled ''A Robust, Coupled Approach to Atomistic-Continuum Simulation''. An essential requirement of this project is to develop definitions for continuum quantities that can be evaluated locally within an atomistic region. We are developing physical measures of stress, deformation and temperature that are calculable in an atomistic simulation and have well-defined meanings when evaluated in the continuum limit. During the course of FY02, we reviewed many articles presenting the use of definitions of stress in atomistic simulation. The key articles were identified and summarized via internal documents.

Curved magnetic filters are often used for the removal of macroparticles from cathodic arc plasmas. This study addresses the need to further reduce losses and improving plasma throughput. The central figure of merit is the system coefficient Kappa defined as filtered ion current normalized by the plasma-producing arc current. The coefficient Kappa is investigated as a function of DC and pulsed magnetic field operation, magnetic field strength, external electric bias, and arc amplitude. It increases with positive filter bias but saturates at about 15 V for relatively low magnetic field ({approx}10 mT), whereas stronger magnetic fields lead to higher Kappa with saturation at about 25 V. Further increase of positive bias reduces Kappa. These findings are true for both pulsed and DC filters. Bias of pulsed filters has been realized using the voltage drop across a self-bias resistor, eliminating the need for a separate bias circuit. Almost 100 A of filtered copper ions have been obtained in pulse d mode, corresponding to Kappa approximately equal to 0.04. The results are interpreted by a simplified potential trough model.

The principal challenge of upscaling techniques for multi-phase fluid dynamics in porous media is to determine which properties on the micro-scale can be used to predict macroscopic flow and spatial distribution of phases at core- and field-scales. The most notable outcome of recent theories is the identification of interfacial areas per volume for multiple phases as a fundamental parameter that determines much of the multi-phase properties of the porous medium. A formal program of experimental research was begun to directly test upscaling theories in fluid flow through porous media by comparing measurements of relative permeability and capillary-saturation with measurements of interfacial area per volume. During this reporting period, we have shown experimentally that the coherence detection can be performed in a borescope. The measurement of interfacial area per volume (IAV), capillary pressure and saturation in two dimensional micro-models structures has shown the existence of a unique relationship among these hydraulic parameters for different pore geometry. The measurement of interfacial area per volume on a three-dimensional natural sample, i.e., sandstone, is essentially completed for imbibition conditions.