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Several environmental statutes contain national security exemptions, which the Department of Defense (DOD) can obtain on a case-by-case basis. Since FY2003, DOD has sought broader exemptions that it argues are needed to preserve training capabilities and ensure military readiness. There has been disagreement in Congress over the need for broader exemptions in the absence of data on the overall impact of environmental requirements on training and readiness. There also has been disagreement over the potential impacts of broader exemptions on environmental quality.

This report discusses legislation and proposals regarding prices of gasoline. Policy options, oil-related legislation, and crude oil prices are among topics covered in this report.

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The higher oxidation states of iron (Fe(VI) and Fe(V) in particular) have been shown to be strongly oxidizing in enzymatic systems, where they can carry out aliphatic hydrogen abstraction. In addition, they have been postulated as intermediates in Fenton-type systems. Fe(VI) itself is relatively stable and has been shown to have potential as an oxidant in the so-called ''green'' treatment of polluted waters. By contrast, Fe(V) is a relatively short-lived transient when produced in aqueous solution in the absence of strongly bonding ligands other than hydroxide, a feature that has limited studies of its reactivity. Fe(VI) has been proposed to be useful in battery design and a very interesting study suggested that ferrate may be able to oxidize insoluble chromium to chromate and thus serve to remove chromium contamination in the Hanford radioactive waste tanks.

Knowledge of the thermophysical properties of materials at extreme pressure and temperature conditions is essential for improving our understanding of many planetary and detonation processes. Significant gaps in what is known about the behavior of materials at high density and high temperature exist, largely due to the limitations and dangers of performing experiments at the necessary extreme conditions. Modeling these systems through the use of equations of state and particle-based simulation methods significantly extends the range of pressures and temperatures that can be safely studied. The reliability of such calculations depends on the accuracy of the models used. Here we present an assessment of the united-atom version of the TraPPE (Transferable Potentials for Phase Equilibria) force field and single-site exp-6 representations for methane, methanol, oxygen, and ammonia at extreme conditions. As shown by Monte Carlo simulations in the isobaric-isothermal ensemble, the TraPPE models, despite being parameterized to the vapor-liquid coexistence curve (i.e. relatively mild conditions), perform remarkably well in the high pressure/high temperature regime. The single-site exp-6 models can fit experimental data in the high pressure/temperature regime very well, but the parameters are less transferable to ambient conditions.

The LBNL Table of Isotopes website provides primary nuclearinformation to>150,000 different users annually. We have developedthe covert technology to identify users by IP address and country todetermine the kinds of nuclear information they are retrieving. Wepropose to develop pattern recognition software to provide an earlywarning system to identify Unusual nuclear activity by country or regionSpecific nuclear/radioactive material interests We have monitored nuclearinformation for over two years and provide this information to the FBIand LLNL. Intelligence is gleaned from the website log files. Thisproposal would expand our reporting capabilities.

This report examines the key factors that shape French foreign policy. From that context, it analyzes some of the reasons for the tensions in and the accomplishments of U.S.-French relations.

This reporting period covers the first half of the two-year sub-task, which includes a review of recent and ongoing engineering studies concerning practical modes for the ocean discharge of CO{sub 2}, review of recent and ongoing experimental studies concerning the rates (and extent) of formation and dissolution for CO{sub 2} hydrates, review of recent and ongoing biological studies concerning organism response to reduced pH and increased CO{sub 2} concentration, and the definition of discharge scenarios. These steps have been successfully completed. Results-to-date were presented at the Annual Fall Meeting of AGU (December 2005) and will be presented at the Annual DOE Meeting on Carbon Capture and Sequestration (May, 2006). The objective during this reporting period was to begin a two-year sub-task to update an assessment of environmental impacts from direct ocean sequestration. The approach is based on the work of Auerbach et al. (1997) and Caulfield et al. (1997) to assess acute impacts, but uses updated information concerning injection scenarios and bioassays.

This report provides several variants for constructing unstructured mesh AMG preconditioners for H(curl)-problems exploiting H{sub 0}{sup 1}-equivalent forms. The respective variants are illustrated with extensive numerical tests.

Sum frequency generation (SFG) surface vibrational spectroscopy was used to characterize interfaces pertinent to current surface engineering applications, such as thin film polymers and novel catalysts. An array of advanced surface science techniques like scanning probe microscopy (SPM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), gas chromatography (GC) and electron microscopy were used to obtain experimental measurements complementary to SFG data elucidating polymer and catalyst surface composition, surface structure, and surface mechanical behavior. Experiments reported in this dissertation concentrate on three fundamental questions: (1) How does the interfacial molecular structure differ from that of the bulk in real world applications? (2) How do differences in chemical environment affect interface composition or conformation? (3) How do these changes correlate to properties such as mechanical or catalytic performance? The density, surface energy and bonding at a solid interface dramatically alter the polymer configuration, physics and mechanical properties such as surface glass transition, adhesion and hardness. The enhanced sensitivity of SFG at the buried interface is applied to three systems: a series of acrylates under compression, the compositions and segregation behavior of binary polymer polyolefin blends, and the changes in surface structure of a hydrogel as a function of hydration. In addition, a catalytically active thin …

We report here a comparative analysis of the genome sequence of Methanosarcina barkeri with those of Methanosarcina acetivorans and Methanosarcina mazei. All three genomes share a conserved double origin of replication and many gene clusters. M. barkeri is distinguished by having an organization that is well conserved with respect to the other Methanosarcinae in the region proximal to the origin of replication with interspecies gene similarities as high as 95%. However it is disordered and marked by increased transposase frequency and decreased gene synteny and gene density in the proximal semi-genome. Of the 3680 open reading frames in M. barkeri, 678 had paralogs with better than 80% similarity to both M. acetivorans and M. mazei while 128 nonhypothetical orfs were unique (non-paralogous) amongst these species including a complete formate dehydrogenase operon, two genes required for N-acetylmuramic acid synthesis, a 14 gene gas vesicle cluster and a bacterial P450-specific ferredoxin reductase cluster not previously observed or characterized in this genus. A cryptic 36 kbp plasmid sequence was detected in M. barkeri that contains an orc1 gene flanked by a presumptive origin of replication consisting of 38 tandem repeats of a 143 nt motif. Three-way comparison of these genomes reveals differing mechanisms …

Provides an overview on the design of energy storage systems for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

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An understanding of the hydrologic interactions among atmosphere, land surface, and subsurface is one of the keys to understanding the water cycling system that supports life on earth. The inherent coupled processes and complex feedback structures among subsystems make such interactions difficult to simulate. In this paper, we present a model that simulates the land surface and subsurface hydrologic response to meteorological forcing. This model combines a state-of-the-art land-surface model, the NCAR Community Land Model version 3 (CLM3), with a variably saturated groundwater model, TOUGH2, through an internal interface that includes flux and state variables shared by the two submodels. Specifically, TOUGH2 uses infiltration, evaporation, and root-uptake rates, calculated by CLM3, as source/sink terms in its simulation; CLM3 uses saturation and capillary pressure profiles, calculated by TOUGH2, as state variables in its simulation. This new model, CLMT2, preserves the best aspects of both submodels: the state-of-the-art modeling capability of surface energy and hydrologic processes (including snow, runoff, freezing/melting, evapotranspiration, radiation, and biophysiological processes) from CLM3 and the more realistic physical-process-based modeling capability of subsurface hydrologic processes (including heterogeneity, three-dimensional flow, seamless combining of unsaturated and saturated zone, and water table) from TOUGH2. The preliminary simulation results show that the coupled …

Damage of structural significance from crevice corrosion of corrosion resistant alloys requires that at least a portion of the creviced area remain active over a sufficiently long period. Stifling results shen the aggressive chemistry required inside the crevice to keep the material depassivated, i.e., actively corroding, cannot be maintained. This loss of critical chemistry occurs when the rate of mass transport out of the crevice exceeds the rate of dissolution and subsequent hydrolysis of metal ions inside the crevice. For the treatment considered here, the mass transport conditions are constant for a given geometry and potential. What then controls the stability of the internal chemistry is the interaction between the electrochemical kinetics at the interface and the crevice chemistry composition. This work focuses on the parameters that control the stability of crevice corrosion by modeling the evolution of the chemical and electrochemical conditions within a crevice open only at one end (e.g. the mouth) in which the entire crevice is initially filled with the Critical Chemistry Solution (CCS) or filled with chemistries slightly less or more aggressive than the CCS. The crevice mouth is in contact with a weak acid solution (pH 3) that provides the boundary conditions at the …

Plasma fluxes to the divertor region in ITER near the magnetic separatrix have been modeled extensively in the past. The smaller, but potentially very important fluxes to the main chamber and outer divertor regions are the focus of the present paper. Two main additions to the usual transport modeling are investigated: namely, convective radial transport from intermittent, rapidly propagating ''blob'' events, and inclusion of the magnetic flux-surface region beyond the second X-point that actually contacts the main-chamber wall. The two-dimensional fluid transport code UEDGE is use to model the plasma, while the energy spectrum of charge-exchange neutrals to the main chamber wall is calculated by DEGAS 2 Monte Carlo code. Additionally, the spatial distribution of Be sputtered from the main chamber wall is determined in the fluid limit.

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A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Airbus S.A.S (Airbus), a European aircraft manufacturer, introduced a new aircraft, the A380 that will be the largest passenger aircraft in the world with expected delivery to its first customers in late 2006. The A380 has a double deck and is expected to seat between 555 and 853 passengers. The A380 is much larger than its competitors with a wingspan of 262 feet, a tail fin about 80 feet high, and a maximum takeoff weight of over 1.2 million pounds. A freight version of the A380 is scheduled for delivery in 2008. Because of the size of the A380, U.S. airports have to make changes to accommodate the aircraft. This may include widening runways and taxiways, or restructuring gate areas to accommodate the additional passengers. This report examines (1) the costs and nature of the changes U.S. airports are making to their infrastructure to accommodate the A380, (2) the funding sources being used to finance these changes, and (3) the major factors influencing the changes being made. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Airbus provided technical comments on the report. Airbus also commented on the 18 …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Through 2011, the Department of Defense (DOD) plans to spend $20 billion on unmanned aircraft systems, including the Army's "Warrior." Because of congressional concerns that some systems have been more costly and taken more time to produce than predicted, GAO reviewed the Warrior program. This report (1) describes the Army's requirements underlying its decision to acquire Warrior instead of existing systems such as the Air Force's Predator, and (2) assesses whether the Army has established a sound acquisition strategy for the Warrior program."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 requires GAO to report on the timeliness of Department of Defense (DOD) payments made to small businesses. GAO's report focuses on (1) whether, at DOD payment centers for which data were available, small business invoices were more likely to be paid late; (2) whether systemic weaknesses in DOD payment processes result in late payments to contractors--including small business contractors; and (3) the impact of late payments on small businesses. To calculate timeliness rates, GAO used the data DOD was able to provide for 9 of its 20 vendor payment locations as well as its one contract pay location. GAO used a case study approach for the third objective because data limitations did not permit the use of statistically reliable sampling techniques for assessing the experiences of DOD small business contractors as a whole. Case study contractors were selected because they experienced a high frequency of late payments and may not be reflective of all small businesses."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. agriculture generates over $1 trillion in annual economic activity, but concerns exist about the sector's vulnerability to a natural or deliberate introduction of foreign livestock, poultry, and crop pests and disease. Under the Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) program, international passengers and cargo are inspected at U.S. ports of entry to seize prohibited material and intercept foreign agricultural pests. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 transferred AQI inspections from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and left certain other AQI responsibilities at USDA. GAO examined (1) the extent to which USDA and DHS have changed the inspection program since the transfer, (2) how the agencies have managed and coordinated their responsibilities, and (3) how funding for agricultural inspections has been managed since the transfer."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From 1946 to 1966, the government constructed the Fort Randall and Big Bend Dams as flood control projects on the Missouri River in South Dakota. The reservoirs created behind the dams flooded about 38,000 acres of the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Indian reservations. The tribes received compensation when the dams were built and additional compensation in the 1990s. The tribes are seeking a third round of compensation based on a consultant's analysis. The Congress provided additional compensation to other tribes after two prior GAO reports. For those reports, GAO found that one recommended approach to providing additional compensation would be to calculate the difference between the tribe's final asking price and the amount that was appropriated by the Congress, and then to adjust it using the inflation rate and an interest rate to reflect a range of current values. GAO was asked to assess whether the tribes' consultant followed the approach used in GAO's prior reports. The additional compensation amounts calculated by the tribes' consultant are contained in H.R. 109 and S. 374."