Annual report of the Nonpoint Source Management Program in Texas describing goals, activities, and accomplishments during fiscal year 2009.

January report of the U.S. Congressional Oversight Panel describing their activities and findings regarding the winding down of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and its impact on financial markets.

The following document addresses the terms of reference (TOR) such that a group of scientists forming the National Ecosystem Modeling Workshops (NEMoWs) could explore the facets of ecosystem model (EM) uncertainty and make pragmatic suggestions of how the NMFS could proceed in its EM endeavors by dealing with uncertainty using a suite of "best practices" recommended herein.

Climate change is a global problem with local climatic and economic impacts. Mitigation policies can be applied on large geographic scales, such as a carbon cap-and-trade program for the entire U.S., on medium geographic scales, such as the NOx program for the northeastern U.S., or on smaller scales, such as statewide renewable portfolio standards and local gasoline taxes. To enable study of the environmental benefits, transition costs, capitalization effects, and other consequences of mitigation policies, we are developing dynamic general equilibrium models capable of incorporating important climate impacts. This report describes the economic framework we have developed and the current Community Integrated Model of Economic and Resource Trajectories for Humankind (CIM-EARTH) instance.

Graphics operations consist of two broad operations. The first, which we refer to here as vertex operations, consists of transformation, lighting, primitive assembly, and so forth. The second, which we refer to as pixel or fragment operations, consist of rasterization, texturing, scissoring, blending, and fill. Overall GPU rendering performance is a function of throughput of both these interdependent stages: if one stage is slower than the other, the faster stage will be forced to run more slowly and overall rendering performance will be adversely affected. This relationship is commutative: if the later stage has a greater workload than the earlier stage, the earlier stage will be forced to 'slow down.' For example, a large triangle that covers many screen pixels will incur a very small amount of work in the vertex stage while at the same time incurring a relatively large amount of work in the fragment stage. Rendering performance of a scene consisting of many large-area triangles will be limited by throughput of the fragment stage, which will have relatively more work than the vertex stage. There are two main objectives for this document. First, we introduce a new graphics benchmark, wesBench, which is useful for measuring performance of …

This paper reviews the relationship between energy efficiency and demand response and discusses approaches and barriers to coordinating energy efficiency and demand response. The paper is intended to support the 10 implementation goals of the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency's Vision to achieve all cost-effective energy efficiency by 2025. Improving energy efficiency in our homes, businesses, schools, governments, and industries - which consume more than 70 percent of the nation's natural gas and electricity - is one of the most constructive, cost-effective ways to address the challenges of high energy prices, energy security and independence, air pollution, and global climate change. While energy efficiency is an increasingly prominent component of efforts to supply affordable, reliable, secure, and clean electric power, demand response is becoming a valuable tool in utility and regional resource plans. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) estimated the contribution from existing U.S. demand response resources at about 41,000 megawatts (MW), about 5.8 percent of 2008 summer peak demand (FERC, 2008). Moreover, FERC recently estimated nationwide achievable demand response potential at 138,000 MW (14 percent of peak demand) by 2019 (FERC, 2009).2 A recent Electric Power Research Institute study estimates that 'the combination of demand response and …

Cellular heterogeneity arising from stochastic expression of genes, proteins, and metabolites is a fundamental principle of cell biology, but single cell analysis has been beyond the capabilities of 'Omics' technologies. This is rapidly changing with the recent examples of single cell genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. The rate of change is expected to accelerate owing to emerging technologies that range from micro/nanofluidics to microfabricated interfaces for mass spectrometry to third- and fourth-generation automated DNA sequencers. As described in this review, single cell analysis is the new frontier in Omics, and single cell Omics has the potential to transform systems biology through new discoveries derived from cellular heterogeneity.

This document was prepared to provide evaluations and recommendations regarding nondestructive evaluation methods that might be used to determine cracks and bowing in the ceiling of waste storage tanks on the Hanford site. The goal was to determine cracks as small as 1/16 in. wide in the ceiling, and bowing as small as 0.25 in. This report describes digital video camera methods that can be used to detect a crack in the ceiling of the dome, and methods for determining the surface topography of the ceiling in the waste storage tanks to detect localized movements in the surface. A literature search, combined with laboratory testing, comprised this study.

Circuit simulation tools (e.g., SPICE) have become invaluable in the development and design of electronic circuits. However, they have been pushed to their performance limits in addressing circuit design challenges that come from the technology drivers of smaller feature scales and higher integration. Improving the performance of circuit simulation tools through exploiting new opportunities in widely-available multi-processor architectures is a logical next step. Unfortunately, not all traditional simulation applications are inherently parallel, and quickly adapting mature application codes (even codes designed to parallel applications) to new parallel paradigms can be prohibitively difficult. In general, performance is influenced by many choices: hardware platform, runtime environment, languages and compilers used, algorithm choice and implementation, and more. In this complicated environment, the use of mini-applications small self-contained proxies for real applications is an excellent approach for rapidly exploring the parameter space of all these choices. In this report we present a multi-core performance study of Xyce, a transistor-level circuit simulation tool, and describe the future development of a mini-application for circuit simulation.

In this research note, we propose a scheme to insert a photocathode inside a photoinjector for generating high brightness electron beam. Instead of mounting the photocathode onto the electrode, a masked electrode with small hole is used to shield the photocathode from the accelerating vacuum chamber. Using such a masked photocathode will make the replacement of photocathode material very simple by rotating the photocathode behind the mask into the hole. This will significantly increase the usage lifetime of a photocathode. Furthermore, this also helps reduce the dark current or secondary electron emission from the photocathode. The hole on the mask also provides a transverse cut-off to the Gaussian laser profile which can be beneficial from the beam dynamics point of view.

This is the fifth and final report in a series documenting progress of the pre-construction eelgrass restoration and mitigation activities for the proposed King County Brightwater marine outfall, discharging to Puget Sound near Point Wells, Washington. King County began implementing a multiyear eelgrass monitoring and restoration program in 2004, with the primary goal of returning intertidal and shallow subtidal habitat and eelgrass to pre-construction conditions, after construction of the outfall. Major eelgrass mitigation program elements include: a) pre-construction monitoring, i.e., documenting initial eelgrass conditions and degree of fluctuation over a 5 year period prior to construction, b) eelgrass transplanting, including harvesting, offsite propagation and stockpiling of local plants for post-construction planting, and c) post-construction planting and subsequent monitoring, occurring in 2009 and beyond. The overall program is detailed in the Eelgrass Restoration and Biological Resources Implementation Workplan (King County 2008).

This document is the final SAND Report for the LDRD Project 105877 - 'Novel Diagnostic for Advanced Measurements of Semiconductor Devices Exposed to Adverse Environments' - funded through the Nanoscience to Microsystems investment area. Along with the continuous decrease in the feature size of semiconductor device structures comes a growing need for inspection tools with high spatial resolution and high sample throughput. Ideally, such tools should be able to characterize both the surface morphology and local conductivity associated with the structures. The imaging capabilities and wide availability of scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) make them an obvious choice for imaging device structures. Dopant contrast from pn junctions using secondary electrons in the SEM was first reported in 1967 and more recently starting in the mid-1990s. However, the serial acquisition process associated with scanning techniques places limits on the sample throughput. Significantly improved throughput is possible with the use of a parallel imaging scheme such as that found in photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM) and low energy electron microscopy (LEEM). The application of PEEM and LEEM to device structures relies on contrast mechanisms that distinguish differences in dopant type and concentration. Interestingly, one of the first applications of PEEM was a study of …

Arsenic (As) and Selenium (Se) are found in water in the form of oxyanions. Relatively high concentrations of As and Se have been reported both in power plant discharges, as well as, in fresh water supplies. The International Agency for Research on Cancer currently classifies As as a group 1 chemical, that is considered to be carcinogenic to humans. In Phase I of this project we studied the adsorption of As and Se by uncalcined and calcined layered double hydroxide (LDH). The focus of the present work is a systematic study of the adsorption of As and Se by conditioned LDH adsorbents. Conditioning the adsorbent significantly reduced the Mg and Al dissolution observed with uncalcined and calcined LDH. The adsorption rates and isotherms have been investigated in batch experiments using particles of four different particle size ranges. As(V) adsorption is shown to follow a Sips-type adsorption isotherm. The As(V) adsorption rate on conditioned LDH increases with decreasing adsorbent particle size; the adsorption capacity, on the other hand, is independent of the particle size. A homogeneous surface diffusion model (HSDM) and a bi-disperse pore model (BPM) - the latter viewing the LDH particles as assemblages of microparticles and taking into account …

The next generation of capability-class, massively parallel processing (MPP) systems is expected to have hundreds of thousands to millions of processors, In such environments, it is critical to have fault-tolerance mechanisms, including checkpoint/restart, that scale with the size of applications and the percentage of the system on which the applications execute. For application-driven, periodic checkpoint operations, the state-of-the-art does not provide a scalable solution. For example, on today's massive-scale systems that execute applications which consume most of the memory of the employed compute nodes, checkpoint operations generate I/O that consumes nearly 80% of the total I/O usage. Motivated by this observation, this project aims to improve I/O performance for application-directed checkpoints through the use of lightweight storage architectures and overlay networks. Lightweight storage provide direct access to underlying storage devices. Overlay networks provide caching and processing capabilities in the compute-node fabric. The combination has potential to signifcantly reduce I/O overhead for large-scale applications. This report describes our combined efforts to model and understand overheads for application-directed checkpoints, as well as implementation and performance analysis of a checkpoint service that uses available compute nodes as a network cache for checkpoint operations.

The focus of this report is the U.S. solar electricity market, including photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies. The report is organized into five chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of global and U.S. installation trends. Chapter 2 presents production and shipment data, material and supply chain issues, and solar industry employment trends. Chapter 3 presents cost, price, and performance trends. Chapter 4 discusses policy and market drivers such as recently passed federal legislation, state and local policies, and developments in project financing. Chapter 5 provides data on private investment trends and near-term market forecasts. Highlights of this report include: (1) The global PV industry has seen impressive growth rates in cell/module production during the past decade, with a 10-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46% and a 5-year CAGR of 56% through 2008. (2) Thin-film PV technologies have grown faster than crystalline silicon over the past 5 years, with a 10-year CAGR of 47% and a 5-year CAGR of 87% for thin-film shipments through 2008. (3) Global installed PV capacity increased by 6.0 GW in 2008, a 152% increase over 2.4 GW installed in 2007. (4) The United States installed 0.34 GW of PV capacity in …

A gradient array apparatus was constructed for the study of porous polymers produced using the process of chemically-induced phase separation (CIPS). The apparatus consisted of a 60 element, two-dimensional array in which a temperature gradient was placed in the y-direction and composition was varied in the x-direction. The apparatus allowed for changes in opacity of blends to be monitored as a function of temperature and cure time by taking images of the array with time. The apparatus was validated by dispense a single blend composition into all 60 wells of the array and curing them for 24 hours and doing the experiment in triplicate. Variations in micron scale phase separation were readily observed as a function of both curing time and temperature and there was very good well-to-well consistency as well as trial-to-trial consistency. Poragen of samples varying with respect to cure temperature was removed and SEM images were obtained. The results obtained showed that cure temperature had a dramatic affect on sample morphology, and combining data obtained from visual observations made during the curing process with SEM data can enable a much better understanding of the CIPS process and provide predictive capability through the relatively facile generation of composition-process-morphology …

A permeability model for hydrogen transport in a porous material is successfully applied to both laboratory-scale and vehicle-scale sodium alanate hydrogen storage systems. The use of a Knudsen number dependent relationship for permeability of the material in conjunction with a constant area fraction channeling model is shown to accurately predict hydrogen flow through the reactors. Generally applicable model parameters were obtained by numerically fitting experimental measurements from reactors of different sizes and aspect ratios. The degree of channeling was experimentally determined from the measurements and found to be 2.08% of total cross-sectional area. Use of this constant area channeling model and the Knudsen dependent Young & Todd permeability model allows for accurate prediction of the hydrogen uptake performance of full-scale sodium alanate and similar metal hydride systems.

The need to improve the radiation detection architecture has given rise to increased concern over the potential of equipment or procedures to violate the Fourth Amendment. Protecting the rights guaranteed by the Constitution is a foremost value of every government agency. However, protecting U.S. residents and assets from potentially catastrophic threats is also a crucial role of government. In the absence of clear precedent, the fear of potentially violating rights could lead to the rejection of effective and reasonable means that could reduce risks, possibly savings lives and assets. The goal of this document is not to apply case law to determine what the precedent may be if it exists, but rather provide a detailed outline that defines searches and seizures, identifies what precedent exists and what precedent doesn't exist, and explore what the existing (and non-existing) precedent means for the use of radiation detection used inside the nation's borders.

In this note, the authors examine the following hypothetical scenario: replacing existing 8-mm gap chambers with an in-vacuum undulator (IVU) one by one until they hit the boundary condition of 16-mA single-bunch operation. This is a continuation of a previous technical note on the topics of IVUs. The authors evaluated the impedance of IVU for various gaps. The result showed that the present 8-mm gap chamber can be replaced by the 8.754-mm IVU while maintaining the same 16-mA operational current. The estimates in this note make certain simplifying assumptions bearing on the effectiveness of nonlinear tapers. Subsequent evaluation of the effect of such tapers for APS parameters has cst considerable doubt on their usefulness. This results from the fact that APS has a fairly short electron bunch compared to the vacuum chamber dimensions. Investigation of other methods to decrease the impedance is on-going.

This milestone has been accomplished. The Heavy Ion Fusion Science Virtual National Laboratory has completed simulations of a fast correction scheme to compensate for chromatic and time-dependent defocusing effects in the transport of ion beams to the target plane in the NDCX-1 facility. Physics specifications for implementation in NDCX-1 and NDCX-2 have been established. This milestone has been accomplished. The Heavy Ion Fusion Science Virtual National Laboratory has completed simulations of a fast correction scheme to compensate for chromatic and time-dependent defocusing effects in the transport of ion beams to the target plane in the NDCX-1 facility. Physics specifications for implementation in NDCX-1 and NDCX-2 have been established. Focal spot differences at the target plane between the compressed and uncompressed regions of the beam pulse have been modeled and measured on NDCX-1. Time-dependent focusing and energy sweep from the induction bunching module are seen to increase the compressed pulse spot size at the target plane by factors of two or more, with corresponding scaled reduction in the peak intensity and fluence on target. A time-varying beam envelope correction lens has been suggested to remove the time-varying aberration. An Einzel (axisymmetric electric) lens system has been analyzed and optimized for general …

The Variable Spaced Grating (VSG) is a spectrometer snout mounted to an X-Ray Framing Camera (XRFC) through the Unimount flange. This equipment already exists and is used at the University of Rochester, Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) facility. The XRFC and the Unimount flange are designed by LLE. The Tilt Rotator fixture that mounts next to the XRFC and the cart rails are designed by LLNL, and are included in this safety note. The other related components, such as the TIM rails and the Unimount flange, are addressed in a separate safety note, EDSN09-500005-AA. The Multipurpose Spectrometer (MSPEC) and VSG are mounted on the TIM Boat through the cart rails that are very similar in design. The tilt rotator combination with the Unimount flange is also a standard mounting procedure. The later mounting system has been included in this safety note. Figure-1 shows the interface components and the VSG snout. Figure-2 shows the VSG assembly mounted on the Unimount flange. The calibration pointer attachment is shown in place of the snout. There are two types of VSG, one made of 6061-T6 aluminum, weighing approximately 3 pounds, and the other made of 304 stainless steel, weighing approximately 5.5 pounds. This safety …

Understanding the physics of phonon transport at small length scales is increasingly important for basic research in nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, nanomechanics, and thermoelectrics. We conducted several studies to develop an understanding of phonon behavior in very small structures. This report describes the modeling, experimental, and fabrication activities used to explore phonon transport across and along material interfaces and through nanopatterned structures. Toward the understanding of phonon transport across interfaces, we computed the Kapitza conductance for {Sigma}29(001) and {Sigma}3(111) interfaces in silicon, fabricated the interfaces in single-crystal silicon substrates, and used picosecond laser pulses to image the thermal waves crossing the interfaces. Toward the understanding of phonon transport along interfaces, we designed and fabricated a unique differential test structure that can measure the proportion of specular to diffuse thermal phonon scattering from silicon surfaces. Phonon-scale simulation of the test ligaments, as well as continuum scale modeling of the complete experiment, confirmed its sensitivity to surface scattering. To further our understanding of phonon transport through nanostructures, we fabricated microscale-patterned structures in diamond thin films.

A key mission of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) is to enhance the security and reliability of the nation’s energy infrastructure. Improving the security of control systems, which enable the automated control of our energy production and distribution, is critical for protecting the energy infrastructure and the integral function that it serves in our lives. The DOE-OE Control Systems Security Program provides research and development to help the energy industry actively pursue advanced security solutions for control systems. The focus of this report is analyzing how, where, and what type of wireless communications are suitable for deployment in the electric power system and to inform implementers of their options in wireless technologies. The discussions in this report are applicable to enhancing both the communications infrastructure of the current electric power system and new smart system deployments. The work described in this report includes a survey of the following wireless technologies: • IEEE 802.16 d and e (WiMAX) • IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) family of a, b, g, n, and s • Wireless sensor protocols that use parts of the IEEE 802.15.4 specification: WirelessHART, International Society of Automation (ISA) 100.11a, and Zigbee • …

Environmental surveillance of the Hanford Site and surrounding areas is conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Sampling is conducted to evaluate levels of radioactive and nonradioactive pollutants in the Hanford Site environs per regulatory requirements. This document contains the calendar year 2010 schedule for the routine collection of samples for the Surface Environmental Surveillance Project and the Drinking Water Monitoring Project. Each section includes sampling locations, sampling frequencies, sample types, and analyses to be performed. In some cases, samples are scheduled on a rotating basis. If a sample will not be collected in 2010, the anticipated year for collection is provided. Maps showing approximate sampling locations are included for media scheduled for collection in 2010.