This report presents the results of geological characterization studies in a typical Grayburg reservior in the Permian Basin. The work applies geological models developed in outcrop studies to better constrain the geological reservoir framework and heterogeneity in a typical Grayburg reservoir, The South Cowden Grayburg reservoir. This framework provides a strong basis for defining petrophysical and flow unit properties in the reservior and serves as a prototype model for other Grayburg reservoir characterization studies. The Grayburg Formation in the South Cowden field of eastern Ector County displays an internal stratal architecture that typifies Grayburg shallow-water platform successions throughout the Permian Basin. Study of core and wireline logs in South Cowden field documents three orders of cyclicity in the Grayburg. The entire Grayburg constitutes a single long-duration accommodation cycle that commenced with a major sea-level rise. Two major diagenetic events strongly affect reservoir character in some parts of the field. Recrystallized dolomite is developed along vertical burrows in highly cyclic mud-dominated packstones and wackestones of the HFS 4 Grayburg highstand succussion. Later alteration and removal of anhydrite are focused in structurally low sections along the eastern and southern margins of the field.

Historical evidence is presented for natural uranium series radioactive disequilibrium in uranium bearing soils in the Bargmann property area of karnes County on the Gulf Coastal Plain of south Texas. The early history of uranium exploration in the area is recounted and records of disequilibrium before milling and mining operations began are given. The property contains an open pit uranium mine associated with a larger ore body. In 1995, the US Department of Energy (DOE) directed Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to evaluate the Bargmann tract for the presence of uranium mill tailings (ORNL 1996). There was a possibility that mill tailings had washed onto or blown onto the property from the former tailings piles in quantities that would warrant remediation under the Uranium Mill Tailings Remediation Action Project. Activity ratios illustrating disequilibrium between {sup 226}Ra and {sup 238}U in background soils during 1986 are listed and discussed. Derivations of uranium mass-to-activity conversion factors are covered in detail.

Monthly newsletter discussing news and activities related to the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program, articles about weather and atmospheric phenomena, and other related topics.

Proposed carbon management technologies include geologic sequestration of CO{sub 2}. A possible, but untested, strategy is to inject CO{sub 2} into organic-rich shales of Devonian age. Devonian black shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky and are generally thicker and deeper in the Illinois and Appalachian Basin portions of Kentucky. The Devonian black shales serve as both the source and trap for large quantities of natural gas; total gas in place for the shales in Kentucky is estimated to be between 63 and 112 trillion cubic feet. Most of this natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces, analogous to the way methane is stored in coal beds. In coals, it has been demonstrated that CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane at a ratio of two to one. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. If black shales similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}, the shales may be an excellent sink for CO{sub 2} with the added benefit of serving to enhance natural gas production. The concept that black, organic-rich Devonian shales could serve as a significant geologic sink for CO{sub 2} is the subject this research. To accomplish this investigation, …

Proposed carbon management technologies include geologic sequestration of CO{sub 2}. A possible, but untested, strategy is to inject CO{sub 2} into organic-rich shales of Devonian age. Devonian black shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky and are generally thicker and deeper in the Illinois and Appalachian Basin portions of Kentucky. The Devonian black shales serve as both the source and trap for large quantities of natural gas; total gas in place for the shales in Kentucky is estimated to be between 63 and 112 trillion cubic feet. Most of this natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces, analogous to the way methane is stored in coal beds. In coals, it has been demonstrated that CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane at a ratio of two to one. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. If black shales similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}, the shales may be an excellent sink for CO{sub 2} with the added benefit of serving to enhance natural gas production. The concept that black, organic-rich Devonian shales could serve as a significant geologic sink for CO{sub 2} is the subject this research. To accomplish this investigation, …

Monthly newsletter discussing news and activities related to the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program, articles about weather and atmospheric phenomena, and other related topics.

Monthly newsletter discussing news and activities related to the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program, articles about weather and atmospheric phenomena, and other related topics.

Monthly newsletter discussing news and activities related to the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program, articles about weather and atmospheric phenomena, and other related topics.

Amchitka Island, Alaska, was at one time an integral player in the nation's defense program. Located in the North Pacific Ocean in the Aleutian Island archipelago, the island was intermittently inhabited by several key government agencies, including the U.S. Army, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (predecessor agency to the U.S. Department of Energy), and the U.S. Navy. Since 1993, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has conducted extensive investigations on Amchitka to determine the nature and extent of contamination resulting from historic nuclear testing. The uninhabited island was the site of three high-yield nuclear tests from 1965 to 1971. These test locations are now part of the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Operations Office's Environmental Management Program. In the summer of 2001, the DOE launched a large-scale remediation effort on Amchitka to perform agreed-upon corrective actions to the surface of the island. Due to the lack of resources available on Amchitka and logistical difficulties with conducting work at such a remote location, the DOE partnered with the Navy and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to share certain specified costs and resources. Attempting to negotiate the partnerships while organizing and implementing the surface remediation on Amchitka proved to be …

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Remote sensing images provide useful physical information, revealing such features as geological structure, vegetation, drainage patterns, and variations in consolidated and unconsolidated lithologies. That technology has been applied to the failed Sierra Blanca (Faskin Ranch) shallow burial low-level radioactive waste disposal site selected by the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority. It has been re-examined using data from LANDSAT satellite series. The comparison of the earlier LANDSAT V (5/20/86) (30-m resolution) with the later new, higher resolution ETM imagery (10/23/99) LANDSAT VII data (15-m resolution) clearly shows the superiority of the LANDSAT VII data. The search for surficial indications of evidence of fatal flaws at the Sierra Blanca site utilizing was not successful, as it had been in the case of the earlier remote sensing analysis of the failed Fort Hancock site utilizing LANDSAT V data. The authors conclude that the tectonic activity at the Sierra Blanca site is much less recent and active than in the previously studied Fort Hancock site. The Sierra Blanca site failed primarily on the further needed documentation concerning a subsurface fault underneath the site and environmental justice issues. The presence of this fault was not revealed using the newer LANDSAT VII data. Despite this …

Hunton formation in Oklahoma has displayed some unique production characteristics. These include high initial water-oil and gas-oil ratios, decline in those ratios over time and temporary increase in gas-oil ratio during pressure build up. The formation also displays highly complex geology, but surprising hydrodynamic continuity. This report addresses three key issues related specifically to West Carney Hunton field and, in general, to any other Hunton formation exhibiting similar behavior: (1) What is the primary mechanism by which oil and gas is produced from the field? (2) How can the knowledge gained from studying the existing fields can be extended to other fields which have the potential to produce? (3) What can be done to improve the performance of this reservoir? We have developed a comprehensive model to explain the behavior of the reservoir. By using available production, geological, core and log data, we are able to develop a reservoir model which explains the production behavior in the reservoir. Using easily available information, such as log data, we have established the parameters needed for a field to be economically successful. We provide guidelines in terms of what to look for in a new field and how to develop it. Finally, through …

The primary objective of the investigation was to confirm the presence and determine the location of a cache of 30 to 60 buried 55-gallon drums that were allegedly dumped along the course of the pre-existing, northsouth diversion ditch (NSDD) adjacent to permitted landfills at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Kentucky. The ditch had been rerouted and was being filled and re-graded at the time of the alleged dumping. Historic information and interviews with individuals associated with alleged dumping activities indicated that the drums were dumped prior to the addition of other fill materials. In addition, materials alleged to have been dumped in the ditch, such as buried roofing materials, roof flashing, metal pins, tar substances, fly ash, and concrete rubble complicated data interpretation. Some clean fill materials have been placed over the site and graded. This is an environment that is extremely complicated in terms of past waste dumping activities, construction practices and miscellaneous landfill operations. The combination of site knowledge gained from interviews and research of existing site maps, variable frequency EM data, classical total magnetic field data and optimized GPR lead to success where a simpler less focused approach by other investigators using EM-31 and EM-61 electromagnetic methods …

On September 7, 2005, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) presented a Scoping Memo (Argonne 2005) for preliminary consideration by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). This document suggested possible remedial options for the carbon tetrachloride contamination in groundwater at Everest, Kansas. The suggested approaches were discussed by representatives of the KDHE, the CCC/USDA, and Argonne at the KDHE office in Topeka on September 8-9, 2005, along with other technical and logistic issues related to the Everest site. In response to these discussions, the KDHE recommended (KDHE 2005) evaluation of several remedial processes, either alone or in combination, as part of a Corrective Action Study (CAS) for Everest. The primary remedial processes suggested by the KDHE included the following: (1) Hydraulic control by groundwater extraction with aboveground treatment; (2) Air sparging-soil vapor extraction (SVE) in large-diameter boreholes; and (3) Phytoremediation. As a further outcome of the 2005 meeting and as a precursor to the proposed CAS, the CCC/USDA completed the following supplemental investigations at Everest to address several specific technical concerns discussed with the KDHE: (1) Construction of interpretive cross sections at strategic locations selected by the KDHE along the main plume migration …

On July 13, 2004, the Habitat Evaluation Procedure (HEP) was used to determine baseline habitat suitability on the Upper Trimble property, an acquisition completed by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in March 2004. Evaluation species and appropriate models include bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, Canada goose, mallard, muskrat, yellow warbler, and white-tailed deer. Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) values were visually estimated and agreed upon by all HEP team members. The Upper Trimble Project provides a total of 250.67 Habitat Units (HUs) for the species evaluated. Wet meadow provides 136.92 HUs for mallard, muskrat, and Canada goose. Mixed forest habitat provides 111.88 HUs for bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, mallard, and white-tailed deer. Scrub-shrub vegetation provides 1.87 HUs for yellow warbler, and white-tailed deer. The objective of using HEP at the Upper Trimble Project and other protected properties is to document the quality and quantity of available habitat for selected wildlife species. In this way, HEP provides information on the relative value of the same area at future points in time so that the effect of management activities on wildlife habitat can be quantified. When combined with other tools, the baseline HEP will be used to determine the most effective on-site management, restoration, …

This Work Plan outlines the scope of work to be conducted to investigate the subsurface contaminant conditions at the property formerly leased by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) in Powhattan, Kansas (Figure 1.1). Data obtained during this event will be used to (1) evaluate potential contaminant source areas on the property; (2) determine the vertical and horizontal extent of potential contamination; and (3) provide recommendations for future action, with the ultimate goal of assigning this site No Further Action status. The planned investigation includes groundwater monitoring requested by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), in accordance with Section V of the Intergovernmental Agreement between the KDHE and the Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The work is being performed on behalf of the CCC/USDA by the Environmental Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory. A nonprofit, multidisciplinary research center operated by the University of Chicago for the U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne provides technical assistance to the CCC/USDA with environmental site characterization and remediation at former CCC/USDA grain storage facilities. Argonne issued a Master Work Plan (Argonne 2002) that has been approved by the KDHE. The Master Work Plan describes the general scope of all …

On July 13, 2004, the Habitat Evaluation Procedure (HEP) was used to determine baseline habitat suitability on the Calispell Creek property, an acquisition completed by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in February 2004. Evaluation species and appropriate models include Canada goose, mallard, muskrat, yellow warbler, and white-tailed deer. Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) values were visually estimated and agreed upon by all HEP team members. The Calispell Creek Project provides a total of 138.17 Habitat Units (HUs) for the species evaluated. Emergent wetland habitat provides 5.16 HUs for mallard and muskrat. Grassland provides 132.02 HUs for mallard and Canada goose. Scrub-shrub vegetation provides 0.99 HUs for yellow warbler and white-tailed deer. The objective of using HEP at the Calispell Creek Project and other protected properties is to document the quality and quantity of available habitat for selected wildlife species. In this way, HEP provides information on the relative value of the same area at future points in time so that the effect of management activities on wildlife habitat can be quantified. When combined with other tools, the baseline HEP will be used to determine the most effective on-site management, restoration, and enhancement actions to increase habitat suitability for targeted species. The …

The Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) formerly operated a grain storage facility (during most of the interval 1949-1974) at Barnes, Kansas. Carbon tetrachloride contamination was initially detected in 1986 in the town's public water supply wells. In 2006-2007, the CCC/USDA conducted a comprehensive targeted investigation at and near its former property in Barnes to investigate this contamination. In November 2007, the CCC/USDA began quarterly groundwater monitoring at Barnes. The monitoring is being conducted on behalf of the CCC/USDA by Argonne National Laboratory, in accord with the recommendations made in the report for the 2006-2007 targeted investigation (Argonne 2007). The objective is to monitor the carbon tetrachloride contamination identified in the groundwater at Barnes. The sampling is presently conducted in a network of 28 individual monitoring wells at 19 distinct locations, 2 public water supply wells, and 1 private well (Figure 1.1). The results of the 2006-2007 targeted investigation demonstrated the presence of carbon tetrachloride contamination at levels slightly exceeding the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Tier 2 risk-based screening level of 5.0 {micro}g/L for this compound, in a plume that appears to extend from the former CCC/USDA property northwestward, toward the Barnes public …

A habitat evaluation of the Weir property, an approximately 200-acre in holding of private property within the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge), was conducted using the Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) methodology. The Weir property consists of two separate parcels, an upper unit of 40 acres and a 160-acre lower unit. Evaluation species were ruffed grouse and white-tailed deer. Life requisites evaluated were available browse for white-tailed deer and winter food and fall-to-spring cover for ruffed grouse. Field data were collected on October 16, 17, and 21, 1997. Approximately 37 acres of the lower 160-acre unit are currently grasslands with no shrub or tree cover, and therefore do not provide suitable ruffed grouse or white-tailed deer cover. They excluded this acreage from the HEP calculations for current conditions. This acreage was included in the HEP calculations for ruffed grouse after future management strategies were factored in. It was not included in projections for white-tailed deer. The entire property was stratified into 6 stands (2 in the upper unit and 4 in the lower unit) for data collection. Data were collected at 10 points, spaced 20 paces (approximately 16 m) apart along one randomly selected transect in each stand, for …

A baseline habitat evaluation procedures (HEP) analysis was conducted on the Carl property (160 acres) in June 2007 to determine the number of habitat units to credit Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for providing funds to acquire the property as partial mitigation for habitat losses associated with construction of McNary Dam. HEP surveys also helped assess the general ecological condition of the property. The Carl property appeared damaged from livestock grazing and exhibited a high percentage of invasive forbs. Exotic grasses, while present, did not comprise a large percentage of the available cover in most areas. Cover types were primarily grassland/shrubsteppe with a limited emergent vegetation component. Baseline HEP surveys generated 356.11 HUs or 2.2 HUs per acre. Habitat units were associated with the following HEP models: California quail (47.69 HUs), western meadowlark (114.78 HUs), mallard (131.93 HUs), Canada goose (60.34 HUs), and mink (1.38 HUs).

The Regional HEP Team (RHT) and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Wildlife Program staff conducted a follow-up habitat evaluation procedures (HEP) analysis on the Wanaket Wildlife Management Area in June 2005. The 2005 HEP investigation generated 3,084.48 habitat units (HUs) for a net increase of 752.18 HUs above 1990/1995 baseline survey results. The HU to acre ratio also increased from 0.84:1.0 to 1.16:1.0. The largest increase in habitat units occurred in the shrubsteppe/grassland cover type (California quail and western meadowlark models), which increased from 1,544 HUs to 2,777 HUs (+43%), while agriculture cover type HUs were eliminated because agricultural lands (managed pasture) were converted to shrubsteppe/grassland. In addition to the agriculture cover type, major changes in habitat structure occurred in the shrubsteppe/grassland cover type due to the 2001 wildfire which removed the shrub component from well over 95% of its former range. The number of acres of all other cover types remained relatively stable; however, habitat quality improved in the riparian herb and riparian shrub cover types. The number and type of HEP species models used during the 2005 HEP analysis were identical to those used in the 1990/1995 baseline HEP surveys. The number of species models …

A habitat evaluation procedures (HEP) analysis was conducted on the Graves property (140 acres) in June 2007 to determine the number of habitat units to credit Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for providing funds to acquire the property as partial mitigation for habitat losses associated with construction of McNary Dam. HEP surveys also documented the general ecological condition of the property. The Graves property was significantly damaged from past/present livestock grazing practices. Baseline HEP surveys generated 284.28 habitat units (HUs) or 2.03 HUs per acre. Of these, 275.50 HUs were associated with the shrubsteppe/grassland cover type while 8.78 HUs were tied to the riparian shrub cover type.

On September 7, 2004, the Habitat Evaluation Procedure (HEP) was used to determine baseline habitat suitability on the West Beaver Lake property, an acquisition completed by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in September 2004. Evaluation species and appropriate models include bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, mallard, muskrat, and white-tailed deer. Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) values were visually estimated and agreed upon by all HEP team members. The West Beaver Lake Project provides a total of 103.08 Habitat Units (HUs) for the species evaluated. Emergent wetland habitat provides 7.17 HUs for mallard and muskrat. Conifer forest habitat provides 95.91 HUs for bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, mallard, and white-tailed deer. The objective of using HEP at the West Beaver Lake Project and other protected properties is to document the quality and quantity of available habitat for selected wildlife species. In this way, HEP provides information on the relative value of the same area at future points in time so that the effect of management activities on wildlife habitat can be quantified. When combined with other tools, the baseline HEP will be used to determine the most effective on-site management, restoration, and enhancement actions to increase habitat suitability for targeted species. The same process …

In early 2005, Argonne National Laboratory conducted an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA; Argonne 2005b) to address carbon tetrachloride contamination identified in groundwater and surface water at Murdock, Nebraska, approximately 22 mi east-northeast of Lincoln (Figure 1.1). The EE/CA study was performed for the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA), as the technical basis for a proposed removal action for the Murdock site. The EE/CA was conducted in compliance with an Administrative Order on Consent issued for Murdock by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 1991). Three removal action alternatives were examined through the use of site-specific data and predictive simulations of groundwater flow and contaminant transport performed with calibrated numerical models. The alternatives were evaluated individually and compared against performance criteria established under the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). On the basis of these evaluations, an alternative employing phytoremediation in conjunction with seasonal groundwater extraction and treatment by spray irrigation was recommended by the CCC/USDA to permanently reduce the carbon tetrachloride contaminant levels in groundwater and surface water at the site. The proposed alternative is being implemented in cooperation with the EPA. Under …