In October, 2007, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) presented the document Interim Measure Conceptual Design (Argonne 2007a) to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Bureau of Environmental Remediation (KDHE/BER), for a proposed non-emergency Interim Measure (IM) at the site of the former CCC/USDA grain storage facility in Centralia, Kansas (Figure 1.1). The IM was recommended to mitigate existing levels of carbon tetrachloride contamination identified in the vadose zone soils beneath the former facility and in the groundwater beneath and in the vicinity of the former facility, as well as to moderate or decrease the potential future concentrations of carbon tetrachloride in the groundwater. The Interim Measure Conceptual Design (Argonne 2007a) was developed in accordance with the KDHE/BER Policy No.BERRS-029, Policy and Scope of Work: Interim Measures (KDHE 1996). The hydrogeologic, geochemical, and contaminant distribution characteristics of the Centralia site, as identified by the CCC/USDA, factored into the development of the nonemergency IM proposal. These characteristics were summarized in the Interim Measure Conceptual Design (Argonne 2007a) and were discussed in detail in previous Argonne reports (Argonne 2002a, 2003, 2004, 2005a,b,c, 2006a,b, 2007b). The identified remedial goals of the proposed IM were as follows: (1) …

Near-record warmth over much of the United States during March 2007 promoted early growth of crops and vegetation. A widespread arctic air outbreak followed in early April, resulting in extensive agricultural losses over the southeastern U.S. This “false spring” event also resulted in widespread damage to newly grown tissues of native deciduous forest species, shown by previous researchers to have affected the terrestrial carbon cycle. The current study reconstructed the historical occurrence of false springs for the southeastern U.S. (32–39 °N; 75–98 °W) from 1901–2007 using daily maximum and minimum temperature records from 176 stations in the Global Historical Climatology Network database, and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite observations. A false spring index examined the relative timing of the start of the growing season (SGS), or leaf-out, to the timing of a potentially damaging last hard freeze (≤ -2.2 °C). SGS was modeled for the domain by combining EVI data with ground-based temperature “degree-day” calculations refl ecting the rate of springtime warming. No significant area-wide, long-term SGS trend was found (0.2 days later/decade; p = 0.3). However, the timing of the last hard freeze did occur significantly later (>1 day/decade; p < …