76 FR 35909 - Temporary Concession Contract for Blue Ridge Parkway

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-20

... accommodations, food and beverage, retail sales, boat rentals, and other services at Crabtree Falls, Price Lake... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service [NPS-WASO-CONC-0511-7182; 2410-OYC] Temporary Concession Contract for Blue Ridge Parkway AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of...

Effects of Watershed Land Use and Geomorphology on Stream Low Flows During Severe Drought Conditions in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains, Georgia and North Carolina, United States

Science.gov (United States)

Land use and physiographic variability influence stream low flows, yet their interactions and relative influence remain unresolved. Our objective was to assess the influence of land use and watershed geomorphic characteristics on low-flow variability in the southern Blue Ridge Mo...

Blue Ridge Commons: Environmental Activism and Forest History in Western North Carolina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Poshendra Satyal

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Reviewed: Blue Ridge Commons: Environmental Activism and Forest History in Western North Carolina. By Kathryn Newfont. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press, 2012. xxiii + 369 pp. US$ 26.95 (paperback, US$ 69.95 (hardcover. ISBN 978-0-8203-4125-5.

Mapping genetic variation and seed zones for Bromus carinatus in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon, USA

Science.gov (United States)

R.C. Johnson; Vicky J. Erickson; Nancy L. Mandel; J. Bradley St. Clair; Kenneth W. Vance-Borland

2010-01-01

Seed transfer zones ensure that germplasm selected for restoration is suitable and sustainable in diverse environments. In this study, seed zones were developed for mountain brome (Bromus carinatus Hook. & Arn.) in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon and adjoining Washington. Plants from 148 Blue Mountain seed source locations were...

Groundwater residence times in Shenandoah National Park, Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia, USA: A multi-tracer approach

Science.gov (United States)

Plummer, Niel; Busenberg, E.; Böhlke, J.K.; Nelms, D.L.; Michel, R.L.; Schlosser, P.

2001-01-01

Chemical and isotopic properties of water discharging from springs and wells in Shenandoah National Park (SNP), near the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, VA, USA were monitored to obtain information on groundwater residence times. Investigated time scales included seasonal (wet season, April, 1996; dry season, August–September, 1997), monthly (March through September, 1999) and hourly (30-min interval recording of specific conductance and temperature, March, 1999 through February, 2000). Multiple environmental tracers, including tritium/helium-3 (3H/3He), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), sulfur-35 (35S), and stable isotopes (δ18O and δ2H) of water, were used to estimate the residence times of shallow groundwater discharging from 34 springs and 15 wells. The most reliable ages of water from springs appear to be based on SF6 and 3H/3He, with most ages in the range of 0–3 years. This range is consistent with apparent ages estimated from concentrations of CFCs; however, CFC-based ages have large uncertainties owing to the post-1995 leveling-off of the CFC atmospheric growth curves. Somewhat higher apparent ages are indicated by 35S (>1.5 years) and seasonal variation of δ18O (mean residence time of 5 years) for spring discharge. The higher ages indicated by the 35S and δ18O data reflect travel times through the unsaturated zone and, in the case of 35S, possible sorption and exchange of S with soils or biomass. In springs sampled in April, 1996, apparent ages derived from the 3H/3He data (median age of 0.2 years) are lower than those obtained from SF6 (median age of 4.3 years), and in contrast to median ages from 3H/3He (0.3 years) and SF6 (0.7 years) obtained during the late summer dry season of 1997. Monthly samples from 1999 at four springs in SNP had SF6apparent ages of only 1.2 to 2.5±0.8 years, and were consistent with the 1997 SF6 data. Water from springs has low excess air (0–1 cm3 kg−1) and N2–Ar temperatures that vary

Effects of long-term use by big game and livestock in the Blue Mountains forest ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Larry L. Irwin; John G. Cook; Robert A. Riggs; Jon M. Skovlin

1994-01-01

The effects on eastside forest ecosystems from long-term grazing by large mammals are assessed, because long-term herbivory can reduce or increase ecosystem productivity. The assessment emphasizes elk and cattle in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon and southeast Washington. Histories of populations of large mammals and their effects in the Blue Mountains are...

Power, Prayers, and Protection: Comb Ridge as a Case Study in Navajo Thought

Science.gov (United States)

McPherson, Robert S.

2010-01-01

Beginning in 2005, a five-year survey of cultural resources began to unfold in southeastern Utah along a prominent sandstone rock formation known as Comb Ridge. This visually dramatic monocline stretches a considerable distance from the southwestern corner of Blue Mountain (Abajos) in Utah to Kayenta, Arizona, approximately one hundred miles to…

Composite Sunrise Butte pluton: Insights into Jurassic–Cretaceous collisional tectonics and magmatism in the Blue Mountains Province, northeastern Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Kenneth H.; Schwartz, J.J.; Žák, Jiří; Verner, Krystof; Barnes, Calvin G.; Walton, Clay; Wooden, Joseph L.; Wright, James E.; Kistler, Ronald W.

2015-01-01

The composite Sunrise Butte pluton, in the central part of the Blue Mountains Province, northeastern Oregon, preserves a record of subduction-related magmatism, arc-arc collision, crustal thickening, and deep-crustal anatexis. The earliest phase of the pluton (Desolation Creek unit) was generated in a subduction zone environment, as the oceanic lithosphere between the Wallowa and Olds Ferry island arcs was consumed. Zircons from this unit yielded a 206Pb/238U age of 160.2 ± 2.1 Ma. A magmatic lull ensued during arc-arc collision, after which partial melting at the base of the thickened Wallowa arc crust produced siliceous magma that was emplaced into metasedimentary rocks and serpentinite of the overthrust forearc complex. This magma crystallized to form the bulk of the Sunrise Butte composite pluton (the Sunrise Butte unit; 145.8 ± 2.2 Ma). The heat necessary for crustal anatexis was supplied by coeval mantle-derived magma (the Onion Gulch unit; 147.9 ± 1.8 Ma).The lull in magmatic activity between 160 and 148 Ma encompasses the timing of arc-arc collision (159–154 Ma), and it is similar to those lulls observed in adjacent areas of the Blue Mountains Province related to the same shortening event. Previous researchers have proposed a tectonic link between the Blue Mountains Province and the Klamath Mountains and northern Sierra Nevada Provinces farther to the south; however, timing of Late Jurassic deformation in the Blue Mountains Province predates the timing of the so-called Nevadan orogeny in the Klamath Mountains. In both the Blue Mountains Province and Klamath Mountains, the onset of deep-crustal partial melting initiated at ca. 148 Ma, suggesting a possible geodynamic link. One possibility is that the Late Jurassic shortening event recorded in the Blue Mountains Province may be a northerly extension of the Nevadan orogeny. Differences in the timing of these events in the Blue Mountains Province and the Klamath–Sierra Nevada Provinces suggest that

Habitat-effectiveness index for elk on Blue Mountain Winter Ranges.

Science.gov (United States)

Jack Ward Thomas; Donavin A. Leckenby; Mark Henjum; Richard J. Pedersen; Larry D. Bryant

1988-01-01

An elk-habitat evaluation procedure for winter ranges in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon and Washington is described. The index is based on an interaction of size and spacing of cover and forage areas, roads open to traffic per unit of area, cover quality, and quantity and quality of forage.

Integrating Science into Management of Ecosystems in the Greater Blue Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Chapple, Rosalie S.; Ramp, Daniel; Bradstock, Ross A.; Kingsford, Richard T.; Merson, John A.; Auld, Tony D.; Fleming, Peter J. S.; Mulley, Robert C.

2011-10-01

Effective management of large protected conservation areas is challenged by political, institutional and environmental complexity and inconsistency. Knowledge generation and its uptake into management are crucial to address these challenges. We reflect on practice at the interface between science and management of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (GBMWHA), which covers approximately 1 million hectares west of Sydney, Australia. Multiple government agencies and other stakeholders are involved in its management, and decision-making is confounded by numerous plans of management and competing values and goals, reflecting the different objectives and responsibilities of stakeholders. To highlight the complexities of the decision-making process for this large area, we draw on the outcomes of a recent collaborative research project and focus on fire regimes and wild-dog control as examples of how existing knowledge is integrated into management. The collaborative research project achieved the objectives of collating and synthesizing biological data for the region; however, transfer of the project's outcomes to management has proved problematic. Reasons attributed to this include lack of clearly defined management objectives to guide research directions and uptake, and scientific information not being made more understandable and accessible. A key role of a local bridging organisation (e.g., the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute) in linking science and management is ensuring that research results with management significance can be effectively transmitted to agencies and that outcomes are explained for nonspecialists as well as more widely distributed. We conclude that improved links between science, policy, and management within an adaptive learning-by-doing framework for the GBMWHA would assist the usefulness and uptake of future research.

A modelling framework to predict bat activity patterns on wind farms: An outline of possible applications on mountain ridges of North Portugal.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Carmen; Cabral, João Alexandre; Hughes, Samantha Jane; Santos, Mário

2017-03-01

Worldwide ecological impact assessments of wind farms have gathered relevant information on bat activity patterns. Since conventional bat study methods require intensive field work, the prediction of bat activity might prove useful by anticipating activity patterns and estimating attractiveness concomitant with the wind farm location. A novel framework was developed, based on the stochastic dynamic methodology (StDM) principles, to predict bat activity on mountain ridges with wind farms. We illustrate the framework application using regional data from North Portugal by merging information from several environmental monitoring programmes associated with diverse wind energy facilities that enable integrating the multifactorial influences of meteorological conditions, land cover and geographical variables on bat activity patterns. Output from this innovative methodology can anticipate episodes of exceptional bat activity, which, if correlated with collision probability, can be used to guide wind farm management strategy such as halting wind turbines during hazardous periods. If properly calibrated with regional gradients of environmental variables from mountain ridges with windfarms, the proposed methodology can be used as a complementary tool in environmental impact assessments and ecological monitoring, using predicted bat activity to assist decision making concerning the future location of wind farms and the implementation of effective mitigation measures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Groundwater quality in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge crystalline-rock aquifers, eastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Lindsey, Bruce

2017-12-07

Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water (Burow and Belitz, 2014). The Piedmont and Blue Ridge crystalline-rock aquifers constitute one of the important areas being evaluated.

Measurement of the Flow Over Two Parallel Mountain Ridges in the Nighttime Stable Boundary Layer With Scanning Lidar Systems at the Perdigão 2017 Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Wildmann, N.; Kigle, S.; Gerz, T.; Bell, T.; Klein, P. M.

2017-12-01

For onshore wind energy production, the highest wind potential is often found on exposed spots like hilltops, mountain ridges or escarpments with heterogeneous land cover. The understanding of the flow field in such complex terrain in the relevant heights where wind power is generated is an ongoing field of research. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) contributed to the NEWA (New European Wind Atlas) experiment in the province of Perdigão (Portugal) with three long-range Doppler wind lidar of type Leosphere Windcube-200S from May to June 2017. In the experiment, a single wind energy converter (WEC) of type Enercon E82 is situated on a forested mountain ridge. In main wind direction, which is from South-West and almost perpendicular to the ridge, a valley and then a second mountain ridge in a distance of approximately 1.4 km follow. Two of the DLR lidar instruments are placed downstream and in line with the main wind direction and the WEC. One of these instruments is placed in the valley, and the other one on the distant mountain ridge. This line-up allows coplanar scanning of the flow in the valley and over the ridge tops and thus the determination of horizontal and vertical wind components. The third DLR system, placed on the WEC ridge, and an additional scanning lidar from the University of Oklahoma, placed in the valley, are used to determine the cross-wind component of the flow. Regular flow features that were observed with this lidar setup in the six weeks of the intensive operation period are jet-like layers of high wind speeds that occur during the night from a North-Easterly direction. These jets are found to have wind speeds up to 13 m s-1 and are very variable with regards to their maximum speed, height and broadness. Depending on the Froude number of the flow, waves are forming over the two mountain ridges with either a stable wavelength that equals the mountain ridge distance, or more dynamic higher frequency oscillations. All of these flow features are

THE MOUNTAIN REGIONS IN CONTEXT OF STRATEGY 2020

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ANTONESCU Daniela

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The mountain regions in Romania and European Union represent a special territory of interest, with a huge economic, social, environmental and cultural potential. More, mountain area is considerate a natural-economic region and constitutes an important objective for regional development policy. The main sectors of mountain area are presented in agriculture and tourism fields that lead the key role in safeguarding the sensitive eco-system and thereby maintaining the general living and working space.Mountain areas should have a specific policy defined by the sustainable development principle, which meets the needs of the present without compromising the opportunities of future generations. The specific mountain policy aims to reduce the imbalance between favored and disadvantaged mountain regions, permanently marked by natural, economic, social, cultural and environmental constraints. In previous programming period, mountain regions among have profited from the intensive regional support, in specially, for constructing of and connecting them to fresh water and waste water networks, in particular for increasing of life quality. In context of 2020 Strategy, the Member States will concentrate investments on a small number of thematic objectives. In advanced regions, 60 % of funds will used for only two of these objectives (competitiveness of SME and research/innovation. The all less developed regions will received about 50% of Structural Funds In Romania, mountain representing 29.93% out of the total national surface and 20.14% from UAA (Utilised Agricultural Area of total national. The mountain territory has around 20% of the national population and is overlapping almost 100% with the Carpathian Mountains. Due to these conditions, Romania's regional development policy must take into account the specificities of mountain area, the problems they faced, and the requirements of 2020 Strategy.This paper presents the main aspects to be taken into account

Population demography of an endangered lizard, the Blue Mountains Water Skink

OpenAIRE

Dubey, Sylvain; Sinsch, Ulrich; Dehling, Maximilian J; Chevalley, Maya; Shine, Richard

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND: Information on the age structure within populations of an endangered species can facilitate effective management. The Blue Mountains Water Skink (Eulamprus leuraensis) is a viviparous scincid lizard that is restricted to < 40 isolated montane swamps in south-eastern Australia. We used skeletochronology of phalanges (corroborated by mark-recapture data) to estimate ages of 222 individuals from 13 populations. RESULTS: These lizards grow rapidly, from neonatal size (30 mm snou...

Reevaluating the age of the Walden Creek Group and the kinematic evolution of the western Blue Ridge, southern Appalachians

Science.gov (United States)

Thigpen, J. Ryan; Hatcher, Robert D.; Kah, Linda C.; Repetski, John E.

2016-01-01

An integrated synthesis of existing datasets (detailed geologic mapping, geochronologic, paleontologic, geophysical) with new paleontologic and geochemical investigations of rocks previously interpreted as part of the Neoproterozoic Walden Creek Group in southeastern Tennessee suggest a necessary reevaluation of the kinematics and structural architecture of the Blue Ridge Foothills. The western Blue Ridge of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia is composed of numerous northwest-directed early and late Paleozoic thrust sheets, which record pronounced variation in stratigraphic/structural architecture and timing of metamorphism. The detailed spatial, temporal, and kinematic relationships of these rocks have remained controversial. Two fault blocks that are structurally isolated between the Great Smoky and Miller Cove-Greenbrier thrust sheets, here designated the Maggies Mill and Citico thrust sheets, contain Late Ordovician-Devonian conodonts and stable isotope chemostratigraphic signatures consistent with a mid-Paleozoic age. Geochemical and paleontological analyses of Walden Creek Group rocks northwest and southeast of these two thrust sheets, however, are more consistent with a Late Neoproterozoic (550–545 Ma) depositional age. Consequently, the structural juxtaposition of mid-Paleozoic rocks within a demonstrably Neoproterozoic-Cambrian succession between the Great Smoky and Miller Cove-Greenbrier thrust sheets suggests that a simple foreland-propagating thrust sequence model is not applicable in the Blue Ridge Foothills. We propose that these younger rocks were deposited landward of the Ocoee Supergroup, and were subsequently plucked from the Great Smoky fault footwall as a horse, and breached through the Great Smoky thrust sheet during Alleghanian emplacement of that structure.

Genetic diversity of Haemonchus contortus isolated from sympatric wild blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) and sheep in Helan Mountains, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Dong-Dong; Wang, Ji-Fei; Zhang, Dan-Yu; Peng, Zhi-Wei; Yang, Tian-Yun; Wang, Zhao-Ding; Bowman, Dwight D; Hou, Zhi-Jun; Liu, Zhen-Sheng

2017-09-19

Haemonchus contortus is known among parasitic nematodes as one of the major veterinary pathogens of small ruminants and results in great economic losses worldwide. Human activities, such as the sympatric grazing of wild with domestic animals, may place susceptible wildlife hosts at risk of increased prevalence and infection intensity with this common small ruminant parasite. Studies on phylogenetic factors of H. contortus should assist in defining the amount of the impact of anthropogenic factors on the extent of sharing of agents such as this nematode between domestic animals and wildlife. H. contortus specimens (n = 57) were isolated from wild blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) inhabiting Helan Mountains (HM), China and additional H. contortus specimens (n = 20) were isolated from domestic sheep that were grazed near the natural habitat of the blue sheep. Complete ITS2 (second internal transcribed spacer) sequences and partial sequences of the nad4 (nicotinamide dehydrogenase subunit 4 gene) gene were amplified to determine the sequence variations and population genetic diversities between these two populations. Also, 142 nad4 haplotype sequences of H. contortus from seven other geographical regions of China were retrieved from database to further examine the H. contortus population structure. Sequence analysis revealed 10 genotypes (ITS2) and 73 haplotypes (nad4) among the 77 specimens, with nucleotide diversities of 0.007 and 0.021, respectively, similar to previous studies in other countries, such as Pakistan, Malaysia and Yemen. Phylogenetic analyses (BI, MP, NJ) of nad4 sequences showed that there were no noticeable boundaries among H. contortus populations from different geographical origin and population genetic analyses revealed that most of the variation (94.21%) occurred within H. contortus populations. All phylogenetic analyses indicated that there was little genetic differentiation but a high degree of gene flow among the H. contortus populations among

Geology of Gable Mountain-Gable Butte Area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fecht, K.R.

1978-09-01

Gable Mountain and Gable Butte are two ridges which form the only extensive outcrops of the Columbia River Basalt Group in the central portion of the Pasco Basin. The Saddle Mountains Basalt and two interbedded sedimentary units of the Ellensburg Formation crop out on the ridges. These include, from oldest to youngest, the Asotin Member (oldest), Esquatzel Member, Selah Interbed, Pomona Member, Rattlesnake Ridge Interbed, and Elephant Mountain Member (youngest). A fluvial plain composed of sediments from the Ringold and Hanford (informal) formations surrounds these ridges. The structure of Gable Mountain and Gable Butte is dominated by an east-west-trending major fold and northwest-southeast-trending parasitic folds. Two faults associated with the uplift of these structures were mapped on Gable Mountain. The geomorphic expression of the Gable Mountain-Gable Butte area resulted from the comlex folding and subsequent scouring by post-basalt fluvial systems

Damage to the forest ecosystem on Blue Mountain from zinc smelting

Science.gov (United States)

Beyer, W.N.

1988-01-01

Emissions from two zinc smelters in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, have caused widespread destruction of the forest on Blue Mountain. There have been striking changes in the species composition and structure of the community of vascular plants, as well as population reductions of lichens, mosses, arthropods inhabiting the letter, and amphibians. Reductions in the populations of decomposers of organic matter have led to an accumulation of litter on the forest floor. Zinc poisoning was diagnosed in a white-tailed deer, and lead poisoning was diagnosed in a shrew. White-tailed deer also contained high concentrations of cadmium.

European temperature responses to blocking and ridge regional patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Sousa, Pedro M.; Trigo, Ricardo M.; Barriopedro, David; Soares, Pedro M. M.; Santos, João A.

2018-01-01

Blocking occurrence and its impacts on European temperature have been studied in the last decade. However, most previous studies on blocking impacts have focused on winter only, disregarding its fingerprint in summer and differences with other synoptic patterns that also trigger temperature extremes. In this work, we provide a clear distinction between high-latitude blocking and sub-tropical ridges occurring in three sectors of the Euro-Atlantic region, describing their climatology and consequent impacts on European temperature during both winter and summer. Winter blocks (ridges) are generally associated to colder (warmer) than average conditions over large regions of Europe, in some areas with anomalies larger than 5 °C, particularly for the patterns occurring in the Atlantic and Central European sectors. During summer, there is a more regional response characterized by above average temperature for both blocking and ridge patterns, especially those occurring in continental areas, although negative temperature anomalies persist in southernmost areas during blocking. An objective analysis of the different forcing mechanisms associated to each considered weather regime has been performed, quantifying the importance of the following processes in causing the temperature anomalies: horizontal advection, vertical advection and diabatic heating. While during winter advection processes tend to be more relevant to explain temperature responses, in summer radiative heating under enhanced insolation plays a crucial role for both blocking and ridges. Finally, the changes in the distributions of seasonal temperature and in the frequencies of extreme temperature indices were also examined for specific areas of Europe. Winter blocking and ridge patterns are key drivers in the occurrence of regional cold and warm extreme temperatures, respectively. In summer, they are associated with substantial changes in the frequency of extremely warm days, but with different signatures in

Off-fault ground ruptures in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California: Ridge-top spreading versus tectonic extension during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake

Science.gov (United States)

Ponti, Daniel J.; Wells, Ray E.

1991-01-01

The Ms 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake of 18 October 1989 produced abundant ground ruptures in an 8 by 4 km area along Summit Road and Skyland Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Predominantly extensional fissures formed a left-stepping, crudely en echelon pattern along ridges of the hanging-wall block southwest of the San Andreas fault, about 12 km northwest of the epicenter. The fissures are subparallel to the San Andreas fault and appear to be controlled by bedding planes, faults, joints, and other weak zones in the underlying Tertiary sedimentary strata of the hanging-wall block. The pattern of extensional fissures is generally consistent with tectonic extension across the crest of the uplifted hanging-wall block. Also, many displacements in Laurel Creek canyon and along the San Andreas and Sargent faults are consistent with right-lateral reverse faulting inferred for the mainshock. Additional small tensile failures along the axis of the Laurel anticline may reflect growth of the fold during deep-seated compression. However, the larger ridge-top fissures commonly have displacements that are parallel to the north-northeast regional slope directions and appear inconsistent with east-northeast extension expected from this earthquake. Measured cumulative displacements across the ridge crests are at least 35 times larger than that predicted by the geodetically determined surface deformation. These fissures also occur in association with ubiquitous landslide complexes that were reactivated by the earthquake to produce the largest concentration of co-seismic slope failures in the epicentral region. The anomalously large displacements and the apparent slope control of the geometry and displacement of many co-seismic surface ruptures lead us to conclude that gravity is an important driving force in the formation of the ridge-top fissures. Shaking-induced gravitational spreading of ridges and downslope movement may account for 90¿ or more of the observed displacements on

Unintended de-marketing manages visitor demand in Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area

OpenAIRE

Burgin, Shelley; Hardiman, Nigel

2014-01-01

Kotler and Levy (1971, p.76) introduced the term ‘de-marketing’, defined as ‘that aspect of marketing that deals with discouraging customers in general or a certain class of customers in particular on either a temporary or permanent basis’. Subsequently, Groff (1998) interpreted the concept in the context of parks and recreation administration. Recently, Armstrong and Kern (2011) used the concept to underpin their investigation of visitor demand management within the Greater Blue Mountains Wo...

Big mountains but small barriers: population genetic structure of the Chinese wood frog (Rana chensinensis) in the Tsinling and Daba Mountain region of northern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhan, Aibin; Li, Cheng; Fu, Jinzhong

2009-04-09

Amphibians in general are poor dispersers and highly philopatric, and landscape features often have important impacts on their population genetic structure and dispersal patterns. Numerous studies have suggested that genetic differentiation among amphibian populations are particularly pronounced for populations separated by mountain ridges. The Tsinling Mountain range of northern China is a major mountain chain that forms the boundary between the Oriental and Palearctic zoogeographic realms. We studied the population structure of the Chinese wood frog (Rana chensinensis) to test whether the Tsinling Mountains and the nearby Daba Mountains impose major barriers to gene flow. Using 13 polymorphic microsatellite DNA loci, 523 individuals from 12 breeding sites with geographical distances ranging from 2.6 to 422.8 kilometers were examined. Substantial genetic diversity was detected at all sites with an average of 25.5 alleles per locus and an expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.504 to 0.855, and two peripheral populations revealed significantly lower genetic diversity than the central populations. In addition, the genetic differentiation among the central populations was statistically significant, with pairwise FST values ranging from 0.0175 to 0.1625 with an average of 0.0878. Furthermore, hierarchical AMOVA analysis attributed most genetic variation to the within-population component, and the between-population variation can largely be explained by isolation-by-distance. None of the putative barriers detected from genetic data coincided with the location of the Tsinling Mountains. The Tsinling and Daba Mountains revealed no significant impact on the population genetic structure of R. chensinensis. High population connectivity and extensive juvenile dispersal may account for the significant, but moderate differentiation between populations. Chinese wood frogs are able to use streams as breeding sites at high elevations, which may significantly contribute to the

The Impact Snow Albedo Feedback over Mountain Regions as Examined through High-Resolution Regional Climate Change Experiments over the Rocky Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Letcher, Theodore

As the climate warms, the snow albedo feedback (SAF) will play a substantial role in shaping the climate response of mid-latitude mountain regions with transient snow cover. One such region is the Rocky Mountains of the western United States where large snow packs accumulate during the winter and persist throughout the spring. In this dissertation, the Weather Research and Forecast model (WRF) configured as a regional climate model is used to investigate the role of the SAF in determining the regional climate response to forced anthropogenic climate change. The regional effects of climate change are investigated by using the pseudo global warming (PGW) framework, which is an experimental configuration in a which a mean climate perturbation is added to the boundary forcing of a regional model, thus preserving the large-scale circulation entering the region through the model boundaries and isolating the mesoscale climate response. Using this framework, the impact of the SAF on the regional energetics and atmospheric dynamics is examined and quantified. Linear feedback analysis is used to quantify the strength of the SAF over the Headwaters region of the Colorado Rockies for a series of high-resolution PGW experiments. This technique is used to test sensitivity of the feedback strength to model resolution and land surface model. Over the Colorado Rockies, and integrated over the entire spring season, the SAF strength is largely insensitive to model resolution, however there are more substantial differences on the sub-seasonal (monthly) timescale. In contrast, the SAF strength over this region is very sensitive to choice of land surface model. These simulations are also used to investigate how spatial and diurnal variability in warming caused by the SAF influences the dynamics of thermally driven mountain-breeze circulations. It is shown that, the SAF causes stronger daytime mountain-breeze circulations by increasing the warming on the mountains slopes thus enhancing

Molecular evidence for the subspecific differentiation of blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) and polyphyletic origin of dwarf blue sheep (Pseudois schaeferi).

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Shuai; Zou, Dandan; Tang, Lei; Wang, Gaochao; Peng, Quekun; Zeng, Bo; Zhang, Chen; Zou, Fangdong

2012-06-01

Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), a Central Asian ungulate with restricted geographic distribution, exhibits unclear variation in morphology and phylogeographic structure. The composition of species and subspecies in the genus Pseudois is controversial, particularly with respect to the taxonomic designation of geographically restricted populations. Here, 26 specimens including 5 dwarf blue sheep (Pseudois schaeferi), which were collected from a broad geographic region in China, were analyzed for 2 mitochondrial DNA fragments (cytochrome b and control region sequences). In a pattern consistent with geographically defined subspecies, we found three deeply divergent mitochondrial lineages restricted to different geographic regions. The currently designated two subspecies of blue sheep, Pseudois nayaur nayaur and Pseudois nayaur szechuanensis, were recognized in the phylogenetic trees. In addition, the Helan Mountain population showed distinct genetic characteristics from other geographic populations, and thus should be classified as a new subspecies. In contrast, dwarf blue sheep clustered closely with some blue sheep from Sichuan Province in the phylogenetic trees. Therefore, dwarf blue sheep appear to be a subset of Pseudois nayaur szechuanensis. After considering both population genetic information and molecular clock analysis, we obtained some relevant molecular phylogeographic information concerning the historical biogeography of blue sheep. These results also indicate that western Sichuan was a potential refugium for blue sheep during the Quaternary period.

Changes in forage lichen biomass after insect outbreaks and fuel reduction treatment in the Blue Mountains, Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce McCune; Sarah Jovan; Amanda. Hardman

2008-01-01

Forage lichens are pendulous, hairlike species eaten by a wide range of mammals. Our overall goal was to estimate losses of Bryoria, a genus of ecologically important forage species, in forests subjected to disease and fuel reduction treatments at Starkey Experimental Forest in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. Specific objectives were to...

Abundance, distribution and conservation status of Siberian ibex, Marco Polo and Blue sheep in Karakoram-Pamir mountain area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Babar Khan

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study was carried out to investigate abundance, distribution, structure and conservation status of three major ungulate species viz., Capra sibirica, Pseudois nayaur and Ovis ammon polii, in the Karakoram-Pamir mountain area between China and Pakistan. Results showed that the entire study area had a scattered but worthwhile population of Siberian ibex, Blue sheep and Marco Polo sheep, except Khunjerab Pass, Koksil-Pateshek and Barkhun areas of Khunjerab National Park (KNP. Large groups of Blue sheep were sighted in Shimshal and Barkhun valleys (KNP but it did not show up in the Muztagh part of Taxkorgan Nature Reserve (TNR in China. Despite scarcity of natural vegetation and extreme climate, estimated abundance of ibex and Marco Polo sheep was not different from that in Protected Areas of Nepal, China, and India, except for Blue sheep. Marco Polo sheep, Blue sheep and Snow leopard roam across international borders among China, Pakistan and other adjacent countries. Illegal hunting and poaching, removal of natural vegetation for fodder and firewood, and over grazing of pastures by livestock were main habitat issues whereas, border fencing for security reasons, has been a major impediment restricting free movement of the wildlife across international borders. A science based conservation and development strategy is proposed to restore viable wildlife populations and maintain ecological flows of Karakoram Pamir Mountains to benefit both the wild species and the local human communities.

Big mountains but small barriers: Population genetic structure of the Chinese wood frog (Rana chensinensis in the Tsinling and Daba Mountain region of northern China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Cheng

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Amphibians in general are poor dispersers and highly philopatric, and landscape features often have important impacts on their population genetic structure and dispersal patterns. Numerous studies have suggested that genetic differentiation among amphibian populations are particularly pronounced for populations separated by mountain ridges. The Tsinling Mountain range of northern China is a major mountain chain that forms the boundary between the Oriental and Palearctic zoogeographic realms. We studied the population structure of the Chinese wood frog (Rana chensinensis to test whether the Tsinling Mountains and the nearby Daba Mountains impose major barriers to gene flow. Results Using 13 polymorphic microsatellite DNA loci, 523 individuals from 12 breeding sites with geographical distances ranging from 2.6 to 422.8 kilometers were examined. Substantial genetic diversity was detected at all sites with an average of 25.5 alleles per locus and an expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.504 to 0.855, and two peripheral populations revealed significantly lower genetic diversity than the central populations. In addition, the genetic differentiation among the central populations was statistically significant, with pairwise FST values ranging from 0.0175 to 0.1625 with an average of 0.0878. Furthermore, hierarchical AMOVA analysis attributed most genetic variation to the within-population component, and the between-population variation can largely be explained by isolation-by-distance. None of the putative barriers detected from genetic data coincided with the location of the Tsinling Mountains. Conclusion The Tsinling and Daba Mountains revealed no significant impact on the population genetic structure of R. chensinensis. High population connectivity and extensive juvenile dispersal may account for the significant, but moderate differentiation between populations. Chinese wood frogs are able to use streams as breeding sites at high

Waste management outlook for mountain regions: Sources and solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Semernya, Larisa; Ramola, Aditi; Alfthan, Björn; Giacovelli, Claudia

2017-09-01

Following the release of the global waste management outlook in 2015, the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), through its International Environmental Technology Centre, is elaborating a series of region-specific and thematic waste management outlooks that provide policy recommendations and solutions based on current practices in developing and developed countries. The Waste Management Outlook for Mountain Regions is the first report in this series. Mountain regions present unique challenges to waste management; while remoteness is often associated with costly and difficult transport of waste, the potential impact of waste pollutants is higher owing to the steep terrain and rivers transporting waste downstream. The Outlook shows that waste management in mountain regions is a cross-sectoral issue of global concern that deserves immediate attention. Noting that there is no 'one solution fits all', there is a need for a more landscape-type specific and regional research on waste management, the enhancement of policy and regulatory frameworks, and increased stakeholder engagement and awareness to achieve sustainable waste management in mountain areas. This short communication provides an overview of the key findings of the Outlook and highlights aspects that need further research. These are grouped per source of waste: Mountain communities, tourism, and mining. Issues such as waste crime, plastic pollution, and the linkages between exposure to natural disasters and waste are also presented.

Science delivery is a two-way street – development of the Consortium Of Appalachian Fire Managers and Scientists (CAFMS)

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas A. Waldrop; Helen H. Mohr; Zoe Hoyle

2012-01-01

The Appalachian region stretches along the Blue Ridge Mountains from Pennsylvania south into Georgia and Alabama. The region’s lands shelter some of the greatest biological diversity in the United States. The heavily forested public lands are in great need of science-based fire management after decades of fire suppression. Fire-related research is relatively new to the...

Pollination ecology and floral function of Brown's peony (Paeonia brownii) in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Peter Bernhardt; Retha Meier; Nan. Vance

2013-01-01

Brown’s peony, Paeonia brownie (Paeoniaceae), is one of only two peony species native to the Western Hemisphere, yet its pollination ecology and breeding system have never been documented. Using flowering individuals of an endemic colony in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, U.S., we investigated the peony’s pollination system and floral function. We...

Makran Mountain Range, Iran and Pakistan

Science.gov (United States)

1983-01-01

The long folded mountain ridges and valleys of the coastal Makran Ranges of Iran and Pakistan (26.0N, 63.0E) illustrate the classical Trellis type of drainage pattern, common in this region. The Dasht River and its tributaries is the principal drainage network for this area. To the left, the continental drift of the northward bound Indian sub-continent has caused the east/west parallel ranges to bend in a great northward arc.

Snow hydrology in Mediterranean mountain regions: A review

Science.gov (United States)

Fayad, Abbas; Gascoin, Simon; Faour, Ghaleb; López-Moreno, Juan Ignacio; Drapeau, Laurent; Page, Michel Le; Escadafal, Richard

2017-08-01

Water resources in Mediterranean regions are under increasing pressure due to climate change, economic development, and population growth. Many Mediterranean rivers have their headwaters in mountainous regions where hydrological processes are driven by snowpack dynamics and the specific variability of the Mediterranean climate. A good knowledge of the snow processes in the Mediterranean mountains is therefore a key element of water management strategies in such regions. The objective of this paper is to review the literature on snow hydrology in Mediterranean mountains to identify the existing knowledge, key research questions, and promising technologies. We collected 620 peer-reviewed papers, published between 1913 and 2016, that deal with the Mediterranean-like mountain regions in the western United States, the central Chilean Andes, and the Mediterranean basin. A large amount of studies in the western United States form a strong scientific basis for other Mediterranean mountain regions. We found that: (1) the persistence of snow cover is highly variable in space and time but mainly controlled by elevation and precipitation; (2) the snowmelt is driven by radiative fluxes, but the contribution of heat fluxes is stronger at the end of the snow season and during heat waves and rain-on-snow events; (3) the snow densification rates are higher in these regions when compared to other climate regions; and (4) the snow sublimation is an important component of snow ablation, especially in high-elevation regions. Among the pressing issues is the lack of continuous ground observation in high-elevation regions. However, a few years of snow depth (HS) and snow water equivalent (SWE) data can provide realistic information on snowpack variability. A better spatial characterization of snow cover can be achieved by combining ground observations with remotely sensed snow data. SWE reconstruction using satellite snow cover area and a melt model provides reasonable information that

Climate Change Adaptation in the Carpathian Mountain Region

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Werners, Saskia Elisabeth; Szalai, Sándor; Zingstra, Henk; Kőpataki, Éva; Beckmann, Andreas; Bos, Ernst; Civic, Kristijan; Hlásny, Tomas; Hulea, Orieta; Jurek, Matthias; Koch, Hagen; Kondor, Attila Csaba; Kovbasko, Aleksandra; Lakatos, M.; Lambert, Stijn; Peters, Richard; Trombik, Jiří; De Velde, Van Ilse; Zsuffa, István

2016-01-01

The Carpathian mountain region is one of the most significant natural refuges on the European continent. It is home to Europe’s most extensive tracts of montane forest, the largest remaining virgin forest and natural mountain beech-fir forest ecosystems. Adding to the biodiversity are semi-natural

Causal Chains Arising from Climate Change in Mountain Regions: the Core Program of the Mountain Research Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Greenwood, G. B.

2014-12-01

Mountains are a widespread terrestrial feature, covering from 12 to 24 percent of the world's terrestrial surface, depending of the definition. Topographic relief is central to the definition of mountains, to the benefits and costs accruing to society and to the cascade of changes expected from climate change. Mountains capture and store water, particularly important in arid regions and in all areas for energy production. In temperate and boreal regions, mountains have a great range in population densities, from empty to urban, while tropical mountains are often densely settled and farmed. Mountain regions contain a wide range of habitats, important for biodiversity, and for primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy. Climate change interacts with this relief and consequent diversity. Elevation itself may accentuate warming (elevationi dependent warming) in some mountain regions. Even average warming starts complex chains of causality that reverberate through the diverse social ecological mountain systems affecting both the highlands and adjacent lowlands. A single feature of climate change such as higher snow lines affect the climate through albedo, the water cycle through changes in timing of release , water quality through the weathering of newly exposed material, geomorphology through enhanced erosion, plant communities through changes in climatic water balance, and animal and human communities through changes in habitat conditions and resource availabilities. Understanding these causal changes presents a particular interdisciplinary challenge to researchers, from assessing the existence and magnitude of elevation dependent warming and monitoring the full suite of changes within the social ecological system to climate change, to understanding how social ecological systems respond through individual and institutional behavior with repercussions on the long-term sustainability of these systems.

Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer: Status Update

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Creech-Eakman, M. J; Bakker, E. J; Buscher, D. F; Coleman, T. A; Haniff, C. A; Jurgenson, C. A; Klinglesmith, III, D. A; Parameswariah, C. B; Romero, V. D; Shtromberg, A. V; Young, J. S

2006-01-01

The Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI) is a ten element optical and near-infrared imaging interferometer being built in the Magdalena mountains west of Socorro, NM at an altitude of 3230 m...

Assessing climate change impacts on water resources in remote mountain regions

Science.gov (United States)

Buytaert, Wouter; De Bièvre, Bert

2013-04-01

From a water resources perspective, remote mountain regions are often considered as a basket case. They are often regions where poverty is often interlocked with multiple threats to water supply, data scarcity, and high uncertainties. In these environments, it is paramount to generate locally relevant knowledge about water resources and how they impact local livelihoods. This is often problematic. Existing environmental data collection tends to be geographically biased towards more densely populated regions, and prioritized towards strategic economic activities. Data may also be locked behind institutional and technological barriers. These issues create a "knowledge trap" for data-poor regions, which is especially acute in remote and hard-to-reach mountain regions. We present lessons learned from a decade of water resources research in remote mountain regions of the Andes, Africa and South Asia. We review the entire tool chain of assessing climate change impacts on water resources, including the interrogation and downscaling of global circulation models, translating climate variables in water availability and access, and assessing local vulnerability. In global circulation models, mountain regions often stand out as regions of high uncertainties and lack of agreement of future trends. This is partly a technical artifact because of the different resolution and representation of mountain topography, but it also highlights fundamental uncertainties in climate impacts on mountain climate. This problem also affects downscaling efforts, because regional climate models should be run in very high spatial resolution to resolve local gradients, which is computationally very expensive. At the same time statistical downscaling methods may fail to find significant relations between local climate properties and synoptic processes. Further uncertainties are introduced when downscaled climate variables such as precipitation and temperature are to be translated in hydrologically

Regional seismic-wave propagation from the M5.8 23 August 2011, Mineral, Virginia, earthquake

Science.gov (United States)

Pollitz, Fred; Mooney, Walter D.

2015-01-01

The M5.8 23 August 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake was felt over nearly the entire eastern United States and was recorded by a wide array of seismic broadband instruments. The earthquake occurred ~200 km southeast of the boundary between two distinct geologic belts, the Piedmont and Blue Ridge terranes to the southeast and the Valley and Ridge Province to the northwest. At a dominant period of 3 s, coherent postcritical P-wave (i.e., direct longitudinal waves trapped in the crustal waveguide) arrivals persist to a much greater distance for propagation paths toward the northwest quadrant than toward other directions; this is probably related to the relatively high crustal thickness beneath and west of the Appalachian Mountains. The seismic surface-wave arrivals comprise two distinct classes: those with weakly dispersed Rayleigh waves and those with strongly dispersed Rayleigh waves. We attribute the character of Rayleigh wave arrivals in the first class to wave propagation through a predominantly crystalline crust (Blue Ridge Mountains and Piedmont terranes) with a relatively thin veneer of sedimentary rock, whereas the temporal extent of the Rayleigh wave arrivals in the second class are well explained as the effect of the thick sedimentary cover of the Valley and Ridge Province and adjacent Appalachian Plateau province to its northwest. Broadband surface-wave ground velocity is amplified along both north-northwest and northeast azimuths from the Mineral, Virginia, source. The former may arise from lateral focusing effects arising from locally thick sedimentary cover in the Appalachian Basin, and the latter may result from directivity effects due to a northeast rupture propagation along the finite fault plane.

Research on Structure Innovation of Agricultural Organization in China's Southwestern Mountainous Regions

OpenAIRE

Du, Qiang; Luo, Min; Wang, Ping

2012-01-01

Taking agricultural organization in China's southwestern mountainous regions as research object, on the basis of analysis of the status quo of agricultural organization development in China's southwestern mountainous regions, we use related theoretical knowledge on economics and organization science, we probe into the process of innovation and mechanism of action concerning the structure of agricultural organization in China's southwestern mountainous regions over the past 30 years. Finally w...

Ridge interaction features of the Line Islands

Science.gov (United States)

Konter, J. G.; Koppers, A. A. P.; Storm, L. P.

2016-12-01

The sections of Pacific absolute plate motion history that precede the Hawaii-Emperor and Louisville chains are based on three chains: the Line Islands-Mid-Pacific Mountains, the Hess Rise-Shatsky Rise, and the Marshall Islands-Wake Islands (Rurutu hotspot). Although it has been clear that the Line Islands do not define a simple age progression (e.g. Schlanger et al., 1984), the apparent similarity to the Emperor Seamount geographic trend has been used to extend the overall Hawaii-Emperor track further into the past. However, we show here that plate tectonic reconstructions suggest that the Mid-Pacific Mountains (MPMs) and Line Islands (LIs) were erupted near a mid-ocean ridge, and thus these structures do not reflect absolute plate motion. Moverover, the morphology and geochemistry of the volcanoes show similarities with Pukapuka Ridge (e.g. Davis et al., 2002) and the Rano Rahi seamounts, presumed to have a shallow origin. Modern 40Ar/39Ar ages show that the LIs erupted at various times along the entire volcanic chain. The oldest structures formed within 10 Ma of plate formation. Given the short distance to the ridge system, large aseismic volcanic ridges, such as Necker Ridge and Horizon Guyot may simply reflect a connection between MPMs and the ridge, similar to the Pukapuka Ridge. The Line Islands to the south (including Karin Ridge) define short subchains of elongated seamounts that are widespread, resembling the Rano Rahi seamount field. During this time, the plate moved nearly parallel to the ridge system. The change from few large ridges to many subchains may reflect a change in absolute plate motion, similar to the Rano Rahi field. Here, significant MPMs volcanism is no longer connected to the ridge along plate motion. Similar to Pukapuka vs. Rano Rahi, the difference in direction between plate motion and the closest ridge determines whether larger ridges or smaller seamount subchains are formed. The difference between the largest structures (MPMs and LIs

Seismic Characterization of the Blue Mountain Geothermal Site

Science.gov (United States)

Templeton, D. C.; Matzel, E.; Cladouhos, T. T.

2017-12-01

All fluid injection activities have the potential to induce earthquakes by modifying the state of stress in the subsurface. In geothermal areas, small microearthquakes can be a beneficial outcome of these stress perturbations by providing direct subsurface information that can be used to better understand and manage the underground reservoir. These events can delineate the active portions of the subsurface that have slipped in response to pore fluid pressure changes or temperature changes during and after fluid injection. Here we investigate the seismic activity within the Blue Mountain Geothermal Power Plant located in Humboldt County, Nevada between December 2015 to May 2016. We compare the effectiveness of direct spatial-temporal cross-correlation templates with Matched Field Processing (MFP) derived templates and compare these results with earthquake detection results from a traditional STA/LTA algorithm. Preliminary results show significant clustering of microearthquakes, most probably influenced by plant operations. The significant increase in data availability that advanced earthquake detection methods can provide improves the statistical analyses of induced seismicity sequences, reveal critical information about the ongoing evolution of the subsurface reservoir, and better informs the construction of models for hazard assessments. This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Southern Appalachian Regional Seismic Network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chiu, S.C.C.; Johnston, A.C.; Chiu, J.M. [Memphis State Univ., TN (United States). Center for Earthquake Research and Information

1994-08-01

The seismic activity in the southern Appalachian area was monitored by the Southern Appalachian Regional Seismic Network (SARSN) since late 1979 by the Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) at Memphis State University. This network provides good spatial coverage for earthquake locations especially in east Tennessee. The level of activity concentrates more heavily in the Valley and Ridge province of eastern Tennessee, as opposed to the Blue Ridge or Inner Piedmont. The large majority of these events lie between New York - Alabama lineament and the Clingman/Ocoee lineament, magnetic anomalies produced by deep-seated basement structures. Therefore SARSN, even with its wide station spacing, has been able to define the essential first-order seismological characteristics of the Southern Appalachian seismic zone. The focal depths of the southeastern U.S. earthquakes concentrate between 8 and 16 km, occurring principally beneath the Appalachian overthrust. In cross-sectional views, the average seismicity is shallower to the east beneath the Blue Ridge and Piedmont provinces and deeper to the west beneath the Valley and Ridge and the North American craton. Results of recent focal mechanism studies by using the CERI digital earthquake catalog between October, 1986 and December, 1991, indicate that the basement of the Valley and Ridge province is under a horizontal, NE-SW compressive stress. Right-lateral strike-slip faulting on nearly north-south fault planes is preferred because it agrees with the trend of the regional magnetic anomaly pattern.

Southern Appalachian Regional Seismic Network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiu, S.C.C.; Johnston, A.C.; Chiu, J.M.

1994-08-01

The seismic activity in the southern Appalachian area was monitored by the Southern Appalachian Regional Seismic Network (SARSN) since late 1979 by the Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) at Memphis State University. This network provides good spatial coverage for earthquake locations especially in east Tennessee. The level of activity concentrates more heavily in the Valley and Ridge province of eastern Tennessee, as opposed to the Blue Ridge or Inner Piedmont. The large majority of these events lie between New York - Alabama lineament and the Clingman/Ocoee lineament, magnetic anomalies produced by deep-seated basement structures. Therefore SARSN, even with its wide station spacing, has been able to define the essential first-order seismological characteristics of the Southern Appalachian seismic zone. The focal depths of the southeastern U.S. earthquakes concentrate between 8 and 16 km, occurring principally beneath the Appalachian overthrust. In cross-sectional views, the average seismicity is shallower to the east beneath the Blue Ridge and Piedmont provinces and deeper to the west beneath the Valley and Ridge and the North American craton. Results of recent focal mechanism studies by using the CERI digital earthquake catalog between October, 1986 and December, 1991, indicate that the basement of the Valley and Ridge province is under a horizontal, NE-SW compressive stress. Right-lateral strike-slip faulting on nearly north-south fault planes is preferred because it agrees with the trend of the regional magnetic anomaly pattern

Approach to identification and development of mountain tourism regions and destinations in Serbia with special reference to the Stara Planina mountain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milijić Saša

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with theoretical-methodological issues of tourism offer planning and regulation of settlements in mountain destinations. The basic determinants of the development of mountain tourist regions destinations in EU countries, in which respectable development results have been achieved, first of all in terms of income, together with appropriately adjusted development and environmental management system, have been emphasized. The ongoing transition and structural processes in Serbia will have an impact on application of these experiences. At the same time, a basis for competitiveness of mountain regions will not be determined only by spatial capacity and geological location, but also by creative-innovative developing environment. Taking into account the spatial-functional criteria and criteria for the development and protection, the possible spatial definition of mountain tourist regions/destinations in Serbia are presented. The justifiability and positioning of tourism development projects are analyzed aiming at uniform regional development, where two segments of demand are of particularly importance, i.e. demand for mountain tourism services and for real estates in mountain centers. Furthermore, holders of tourism offer will be analyzed through a contemporary approach which may be defined as the development and noncommercial and market and commercial one. International criteria which are evaluated while selecting city/mountain destination for Winter Olympic Games are particularly analyzed. Considering experience of countries with higher level of development of mountain regions, the main starting point for positioning projects for sustainable development of tourist destinations are defined by specifying them according to specific local and regional conditions. A rational model for spatial organization of tourism offer is shown on the example of the Stara Planina tourist region.

Land changes and their driving forces in the Southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Napton, Darrell E.; Auch, Roger F.; Headley, Rachel; Taylor, Janis

2010-01-01

The ecoregions of the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain, Southeastern Plains, Piedmont, and Blue Ridge provide a continuum of land cover from the Atlantic Ocean to the highest mountains in the East. From 1973 to 2000, each ecoregion had a unique mosaic of land covers and land cover changes. The forests of the Blue Ridge Mountains provided amenity lands. The Piedmont forested area declined, while the developed area increased. The Southeastern Plains became a commercial forest region, and most agricultural lands that changed became forested. Forests in the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain declined, and development related to recreation and retirement increased. The most important drivers of land conversion were associated with commercial forestry, competition between forest and agriculture, and economic and population growth. These and other drivers were modified by each ecoregion’s unique suitability and land use legacies with the result that the same drivers often produced different land changes in different ecoregions.

Basaltic volcanic episodes of the Yucca Mountain region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crowe, B.M.

1990-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to summarize briefly the distribution and geologic characteristics of basaltic volcanism in the Yucca Mountain region during the last 10--12 Ma. This interval largely postdates the major period of silicic volcanism and coincides with and postdates the timing of major extensional faulting in the region. Field and geochronologic data for the basaltic rocks define two distinct episodes. The patterns in the volume and spatial distribution of these basaltic volcanic episodes in the central and southern part of the SNVF are used as a basis for forecasting potential future volcanic activity in vicinity of Yucca Mountain. 33 refs., 2 figs

Lepini Mountains Carbonatic Ridge: try of springs recharge areas verification and water exchange quantification with Pontina Plain by use of a numerical model (Central Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pamela Teoli

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The study area of this work is represented by the Lepini Mountains carbonatic ridge and by the Pontina Plain foothills area, on which in the past, within quantitative hydrogeological characterizations, models were developed for calculating the groundwater flow, but only referred to the ridge. The most recent studies (Teoli, 2012 have done their best, instead, to represent the underground water exchanges between the ridge and the Pontina Plain foothill area. The new model (developed using computer code MODFLOW 2005 has been implemented to simulate steady-state underground flow using equivalent porous media approach even for the ridge; attention has been particularly directed to the proper tectonic ridge schematic, which the authors had previously defined, together with others (Alimonti et al., 2010, on detailed structural-geological survey basis, integrated by hydrogeological analysis. So, it’s been possible to determine partitioning effects on groundwater flowpaths and on springs recharge areas extent, whose total average discharge is about 10m3/s. Model calibration main goal has been the recharge areas permeability definition, posing the correspondence of calculated flows with measured springs’ flows; as a consequence, it’s been possible to improve the model reliability (uncertainty reduction quantifying the flow residuals’ standard deviation offset.

Regeneration in United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service mixed conifer partial cuttings in the Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington.

Science.gov (United States)

K.W. Seidel; S. Conrade. Head

1983-01-01

A survey in the Blue Mountains of north-eastern Oregon and southeastern Washington showed that, on the average, partial cuts in the grand fir/big huckleberry community were well stocked with a mixture of advance, natural post-harvest, and planted reproduction of a number of species. Partial cuts in the mixed conifer/pinegrass community had considerably fewer seedlings...

Alveolar ridge expansion-assisted orthodontic space closure in the mandibular posterior region.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozer, Mete; Akdeniz, Berat Serdar; Sumer, Mahmut

2013-12-01

Orthodontic closure of old, edentulous spaces in the mandibular posterior region is a major challenge. In this report, we describe a method of orthodontic closure of edentulous spaces in the mandibular posterior region accelerated by piezoelectric decortication and alveolar ridge expansion. Combined piezosurgical and orthodontic treatments were used to close 14- and 15-mm-wide spaces in the mandibular left and right posterior areas, respectively, of a female patient, aged 18 years and 9 months, diagnosed with skeletal Class III malocclusion, hypodontia, and polydiastemas. After the piezoelectric decortication, segmental and full-arch mechanics were applied in the orthodontic phase. Despite some extent of root resorption and anchorage loss, the edentulous spaces were closed, and adequate function and esthetics were regained without further restorative treatment. Alveolar ridge expansion-assisted orthodontic space closure seems to be an effective and relatively less-invasive treatment alternative for edentulous spaces in the mandibular posterior region.

A computer simulation model to compute the radiation transfer of mountainous regions

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yuguang; Zhao, Feng; Song, Rui

2011-11-01

In mountainous regions, the radiometric signal recorded at the sensor depends on a number of factors such as sun angle, atmospheric conditions, surface cover type, and topography. In this paper, a computer simulation model of radiation transfer is designed and evaluated. This model implements the Monte Carlo ray-tracing techniques and is specifically dedicated to the study of light propagation in mountainous regions. The radiative processes between sun light and the objects within the mountainous region are realized by using forward Monte Carlo ray-tracing methods. The performance of the model is evaluated through detailed comparisons with the well-established 3D computer simulation model: RGM (Radiosity-Graphics combined Model) based on the same scenes and identical spectral parameters, which shows good agreements between these two models' results. By using the newly developed computer model, series of typical mountainous scenes are generated to analyze the physical mechanism of mountainous radiation transfer. The results show that the effects of the adjacent slopes are important for deep valleys and they particularly affect shadowed pixels, and the topographic effect needs to be considered in mountainous terrain before accurate inferences from remotely sensed data can be made.

Regional Information Group (RIG). Energy, environmental, and socioeconomic data bases and associated software at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loebl, A.S.; Malthouse, N.S.; Shonka, D.B.; Ogle, M.C.; Johnson, M.L.

1976-10-01

A machine readable data base has been created by the Regional Information Group, Regional and Urban Studies Section, Energy Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to provide documentation for the energy, environmental, and socioeconomic data bases and associated software maintained at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This document is produced yearly by the Regional Information Group to describe the contents and organization of this data base.

Regional Information Group (RIG). Energy, environmental, and socioeconomic data bases and associated software at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loebl, A.S.; Malthouse, N.S.; Shonka, D.B.; Ogle, M.C.; Johnson, M.L.

1976-10-01

A machine readable data base has been created by the Regional Information Group, Regional and Urban Studies Section, Energy Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to provide documentation for the energy, environmental, and socioeconomic data bases and associated software maintained at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This document is produced yearly by the Regional Information Group to describe the contents and organization of this data base

Tritium dating of underground water from the Jian River valley and Houjialiang loess platform in the basin side-band of the East-Mountain Region of Taiyuan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Songsheng; Wu Qinghua

1991-01-01

The tritium content is measured in underground water from the basin side-band of the East-Mountain Region of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, and hence the age, i.e. resident time, of underground water is estimated. The region belongs to deep water-poor zone in a long loess ridge situated in a loess hill plateau. The level of underground water is 40-80 m deep hidden. In the runway and the scouring channel the aqueous bed is of river pebble and cobble, with a level of 2-10 m in depth. The age of underground water from different wells were determined to be 23a, 14a, 25a, 41a and 53a respectively

Circulation in the region of the Reykjanes Ridge in June-July 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Tillys, Petit; Herle, Mercier; Virginie, Thierry

2017-04-01

The Reykjanes Ridge is a major topographic feature of the North-Atlantic Ocean lying south of Iceland that strongly influences the pathways of the upper and lower limbs of the meridional overturning cell. The circulation in the vicinity of the Reykjanes Ridge is anticyclonic and characterized by a southwestward flow (the East Reykjanes Ridge Current, ERRC) along the eastern flank and a northeastward flow (the Irminger Current, IC) along the western flank. Even if it is admitted that the ERRC feeds the IC through a cross-ridge flow, details and magnitude of this circulation remain unclear. In this study, the circulation in the region of the Reykjanes Ridge was investigated based on ADCP and CTDO2 measurements carried out from the R/V Thalassa during the RREX cruise, which provided a snapshot of the water mass distribution and circulation during summer 2015. One hydrographic section followed the top of the Reykjanes Ridge between Iceland and 50˚ N and three other sections were carried out perpendicularly to the ridge at 62˚ N, 58.5˚ N and 56˚ N. Geostrophic transports were estimated by combining ADCP and hydrographic data. Those observations were used to provide an estimate of the circulation around the Ridge and to discuss the meridional evolutions of the ERRC and IC transports along the Ridge and their connection to the cross-Ridge flows. The section along the top of the Reykjanes Ridge allowed us to describe the cross ridge exchanges. A westward flow crossed the Ridge between Iceland and 53˚ N. Its top to bottom integrated transport was estimated at 17.7 Sv. Two main passages were identified for the westward crossing. A first passage is located near 57˚ N (Bight Fracture Zone, BFZ) in agreement with previous studies. More surprisingly, a second passage is located near 59˚ N. The top-to-bottom transports of those two main flows were estimated at 6.5 and 8 Sv respectively. The IC and ERRC top-to-bottom integrated transports were maximum at 58.5˚ N and

The development of blue ice moraines from englacial debris bands as detected by GPR, Mt Achernar, central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Kassab, C.; Lindback, K.; Pettersson, R.; Licht, K.; Graly, J. A.; Kaplan, M. R.

2016-12-01

Blue ice moraines cover a small percentage of Antarctica, but can contain a significant record of ice sheet dynamics and climate over multiple glacial cycles. Previous work has focused on the temporal and provenance record contained within these moraines and less on mechanisms by which such deposits form and their temporal evolution. In order to create a conceptual model of their formation, >25 km of ground penetrating radar transects at 25 and 100 MHz frequencies were collected at the Mt Achernar moraine adjacent to Law Glacier. Here, ice ablation causes debris bands to emerge and deliver sediment to the surface. Most transects were collected perpendicular to the ice-moraine margin, and extend from the actively flowing Law Glacier ice to a distance of 2 km into the moraine. The 25 and 100 MHz transects penetrate to a depth of 200 m and 60 m respectively and reveal a relatively complex internal stratigraphy. Closest to the ice-moraine margin, stratigraphy is not well resolved due to a high amount of clutter. Steeply dipping parallel reflections first emerge 400m away from the ice margin and dip toward Law Glacier. These reflections continue inwards to 1450m, where the reflections become more closely spaced. Hummocky topography and parallel ridge/trough topography dominate the geomorphic expression. The hummocky topography corresponds to the region where reflections are not well resolved. The ridges are interpreted to be debris bands that are emerging at the surface, similar to those along the margin of the Law Glacier where debris is newly emerging. The reflections in the GPR transects indicate that debris is transported from depth to the surface of the ice where it accumulates forming the Mt Achernar moraine. It appears that the various reflection patterns correspond to unique surface geomorphic expressions. The reflections also indicate that at least the first 2 km of debris rich buried ice in the moraine can be linked to the actively flowing Law Glacier

Preliminary geology of eastern Umtanum Ridge, South-Central Washington

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goff, F.E.

1981-01-01

The basalt stratigraphy and geologic structures of eastern Umtanum Ridge have been mapped and studied in detail to help assess the feasibility of nuclear waste terminal storage on the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. Eastern Umtanum Ridge is an asymmetric east-west-trending anticline of Columbia River basalt that plunges 5 degrees eastward into the Pasco Basin. Geologic mapping and determination of natural remanent magnetic polarity and chemical composition reveal that flows of the Pomona and Umatilla Members (Saddle Mountains Basalt), Priest Rapids and Frenchman Springs Members (Wanapum Basalt), and Grande Ronde Basalt were erupted as fairly uniform sheets. The Wahluke and Huntzinger flows (Saddle Mountains Basalt) fill a paleovalley cut into Wanapum Basalt. No evidence was found to indicate Quaternary-age movement on any structures in the map area. The basalt strata on the south limb of the Umtanum anticline display relatively little tectonic deformation since Miocene-Pliocene time. Thus, the buried south flank of Umtanum Ridge may provide an excellent location for a nuclear waste repository beneath the Hanford Site.

Preliminary geology of eastern Umtanum Ridge, South-Central Washington

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goff, F.E.

1981-01-01

The basalt stratigraphy and geologic structures of eastern Umtanum Ridge have been mapped and studied in detail to help assess the feasibility of nuclear waste terminal storage on the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. Eastern Umtanum Ridge is an asymmetric east-west-trending anticline of Columbia River basalt that plunges 5 degrees eastward into the Pasco Basin. Geologic mapping and determination of natural remanent magnetic polarity and chemical composition reveal that flows of the Pomona and Umatilla Members (Saddle Mountains Basalt), Priest Rapids and Frenchman Springs Members (Wanapum Basalt), and Grande Ronde Basalt were erupted as fairly uniform sheets. The Wahluke and Huntzinger flows (Saddle Mountains Basalt) fill a paleovalley cut into Wanapum Basalt. No evidence was found to indicate Quaternary-age movement on any structures in the map area. The basalt strata on the south limb of the Umtanum anticline display relatively little tectonic deformation since Miocene-Pliocene time. Thus, the buried south flank of Umtanum Ridge may provide an excellent location for a nuclear waste repository beneath the Hanford Site

A revised Lithostratigraphic Framework for the Southern Yucca Mountain Area, Nye County, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

R.W. Spengler; F.M. Byers; R.P. Dickerson

2006-01-01

An informal, revised lithostratigraphic framework for the southern Yucca Mountain area, Nevada has been developed to accommodate new information derived from subsurface investigations of the Nye County Early Warning Drilling Program. Lithologies penetrated by recently drilled boreholes at locations between Stagecoach Road and Highway 95 in southern Nye County include Quaternary and Pliocene alluvium and alluvial breccia, Miocene pyroclastic flow deposits and intercalated lacustrine siltstone and claystone sequences, early Miocene to Oligocene pre-volcanic sedimentary rocks, and Paleozoic strata. Of the 37 boreholes currently drilled, 21 boreholes have sufficient depth, spatial distribution, or traceable pyroclastic flow, pyroclastic fall, and reworked tuff deposits to aid in the lateral correlation of lithostrata. Medial and distal parts of regional pyroclastic flow deposits of Miocene age can be correlated with the Timber Mountain, Paintbrush, Crater Flat, and Tram Ridge Groups. Rocks intercalated between these regional pyroclastic flow deposits are substantially thicker than in the central part of Yucca Mountain, particularly near the downthrown side of major faults and along the southern extent of exposures at Yucca Mountain

HYDROLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FAULTS AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

R.P. Dickerson

2000-01-01

Yucca Mountain comprises a series of north-trending ridges composed of tuffs within the southwest Nevada volcanic field, 120 km northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. These ridges are formed of east-dipping blocks of interbedded welded and nonwelded tuff that are offset along steep, mostly west-dipping faults that have tens to hundreds of meters of vertical separation. Yucca Mountain is currently under study as a potential site for underground storage of high-level radioactive waste, with the principle goal being the safe isolation of the waste from the accessible environment. To this end, an understanding of the behavior of ground-water flow through the mountain in the unsaturated zone and beneath the mountain in the saturated zone is critical. The percolation of water through the mountain and into the ground-water flow system beneath the potential repository site is predicated on: (1) the amount of water available at the surface as a result of the climatic conditions, (2) the hydrogeologic characteristics of the volcanic strata that compose the mountain. and (3) the hydrogeologic characteristics of the structures, particularly fault zones and fracture networks, that disrupt these strata. This paper addresses the hydrogeologic characteristics of the fault zones at Yucca Mountain, focusing primarily on the central part of the mountain where the potential repository block is located

Exploring Conservation Options in the Broad-Leaved Korean Pine Mixed Forest of the Changbai Mountain Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Ma

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The broad-leaved Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis mixed forest (BKPF is one of the most biodiverse zonal communities in the northern temperate zone. Changbai Mountain in northeastern China contains one of the largest BKPFs in the region. The government of China has established a network of 23 nature reserves to protect the BKPF and the species that depend on it for habitat, including the endangered Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica. This study used the conservation planning software C-Plan to calculate the irreplaceability value of each unit to assess how efficiently and comprehensively the existing conservation network supports biodiversity and to identify gap areas that, if integrated into the network, would expand its protection capability. Results show a number of high-conservation-value planning units concentrated along certain ridges. The existing conservation network is structured such that the habitats of only 24 species (out of a total of 75 achieve established conservation targets. Of the other 51 species, 20 achieve less than 50% of their conservation targets. However, expanding the network to include high-conservation-value gap areas could achieve conservation targets for 64 species and could provide different degrees of protection to the other 11 species. Using C-Plan software can guide decision-making to expand the conservation network in this most precious of mountainous ecological zones.

Low-level radioactive waste facility siting in the Rocky Mountain compact region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitman, M.

1983-09-01

The puprose of the Rocky Mountain Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact is to develop a regional management system for low-level waste (LLW) generated in the six states eligible for membership: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Under the terms of the compact, any party state generating at least 20% of the region's waste becomes responsible for hosting a regional LLW management facility. However, the compact prescribes no system which the host state must follow to develop a facility, but rather calls on the state to fulfill its responsibility through reliance on its own laws and regulations. Few of the Rocky Mountain compact states have legislation dealing specifically with LLW facility siting. Authority for LLW facility siting is usually obtained from radiation control statutes and solid or hazardous waste statutes. A state-by-state analysis of the siting authorities of each of the Rock Mountain compact states as they pertain to LLW disposal facility siting is presented. Siting authority for LLW disposal facilities in the Rocky Mountain compact region runs from no authority, as in Wyoming, to general statutory authority for which regulations would have to be promulgated, as in Arizona and Nevada, to more detailed siting laws, as in Colorado and New Mexico. Barring an amendment to, or different interpretation of, the Utah Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Act, none of the Rocky Mountain States' LLW facility siting authorities preempt local veto authorities

Research on Structure Innovation of Agricultural Organization in China’s Southwestern Mountainous Regions

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2012-01-01

Taking agricultural organization in China’s southwestern mountainous regions as research object,on the basis of analysis of the status quo of agricultural organization development in China’s southwestern mountainous regions,we use related theoretical knowledge on economics and organization science,we probe into the process of innovation and mechanism of action concerning the structure of agricultural organization in China’s southwestern mountainous regions over the past 30 years.Finally we draw several general conclusions regarding structure innovation of agricultural organization in China’s southwestern mountainous regions as follows:first,the structure innovation of agricultural organization,a gradual process,proceeds ceaselessly along with ongoing progress and development of agriculture,and in this process,farmers always play a fundamental role;second,the structure innovation of agricultural organization is affected by many factors,and government institutional arrangement and change in market conditions is undoubtedly the most critical factor;third,the probable evolving direction of structure innovation of agricultural organization includes internal differentiation of the same form of agricultural organization,association of different forms of agricultural organization,and emergence of other forms of agricultural organization.

Effects of herbivore species richness on the niche dynamics of blue sheep Pseudois nayaur in the Indian Trans-Himalaya

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Namgail, T.; Mishra, C.; Jong, de C.B.; Wieren, van S.E.; Prins, H.H.T.

2009-01-01

Aim To understand the community structure of mountain ungulates by exploring their niche dynamics in response to sympatric species richness. Location Ladakh and Spiti Regions of the Western Indian Trans-Himalaya. Methods We used the blue sheep Pseudois nayaur, a relatively widely distributed

A New Estimate of North American Mountain Snow Accumulation From Regional Climate Model Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Wrzesien, Melissa L.; Durand, Michael T.; Pavelsky, Tamlin M.; Kapnick, Sarah B.; Zhang, Yu; Guo, Junyi; Shum, C. K.

2018-02-01

Despite the importance of mountain snowpack to understanding the water and energy cycles in North America's montane regions, no reliable mountain snow climatology exists for the entire continent. We present a new estimate of mountain snow water equivalent (SWE) for North America from regional climate model simulations. Climatological peak SWE in North America mountains is 1,006 km3, 2.94 times larger than previous estimates from reanalyses. By combining this mountain SWE value with the best available global product in nonmountain areas, we estimate peak North America SWE of 1,684 km3, 55% greater than previous estimates. In our simulations, the date of maximum SWE varies widely by mountain range, from early March to mid-April. Though mountains comprise 24% of the continent's land area, we estimate that they contain 60% of North American SWE. This new estimate is a suitable benchmark for continental- and global-scale water and energy budget studies.

An evaluation of aquifer intercommunication between the unconfined and Rattlesnake Ridge aquifers on the Hanford Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jensen, E.J.

1987-10-01

During 1986, Pacific Northwest Laboratory conducted a study of a portion of the Rattlesnake Ridge aquifer (confined aquifer) that lies beneath the B Pond - Gable Mountain Pond area of the Hanford Site. The purpose was to determine the extent of intercommunication between the unconfined aquifer and the uppermost regionally extensive confined aquifer, referred to as the Rattlesnake Ridge aquifer. Hydraulic head data and chemical data were collected from the ground water in the study area during December 1986. The hydraulic head data were used to determine the effects caused by water discharged to the ground from B Pond on both the water table of the unconfined aquifer and the potentiometric surface of the confined aquifer. The chemical data were collected to determine the extent of chemical constituents migrating from the unconfined aquifer to the confined aquifer. Analysis of chemical constituents in the Rattlesnake Ridge aquifer demonstrated that communication between the unconfined and confined aquifers had occurred. However, the levels of contaminants found in the Rattlesnake Ridge aquifer during this study were below the DOE Derived Concentration Guides

Modeling Urban Spatial Growth in Mountainous Regions of Western China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guoping Huang

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The scale and speed of urbanization in the mountainous regions of western China have received little attention from researchers. These cities are facing rapid population growth and severe environmental degradation. This study analyzed historical urban growth trends in this mountainous region to better understand the interaction between the spatial growth pattern and the mountainous topography. Three major factors—slope, accessibility, and land use type—were studied in light of their relationships with urban spatial growth. With the analysis of historical data as the basis, a conceptual urban spatial growth model was devised. In this model, slope, accessibility, and land use type together create resistance to urban growth, while accessibility controls the sequence of urban development. The model was tested and evaluated using historical data. It serves as a potential tool for planners to envision and assess future urban growth scenarios and their potential environmental impacts to make informed decisions.

Regional climate change: Precipitation variability in mountainous part of Bulgaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolova Nina

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of paper is to analyze temporal and spatial changes in monthly precipitation as well as extremely dry and wet months in mountainous part of Bulgaria. Study precipitation variability in mountainous part is very important because this part is the region where the rivers take its source from. Extreme values of monthly precipitation are important information for better understanding of the whole variability and trends in precipitation time series. The mean investigated period is 1951-2005 and the reference period is so called temporary climate - 1961- 1990. Extreme dry precipitation months are defined as a month whose monthly precipitation is lower than 10% of gamma distribution in the reference period 1961-1990. Extreme wet months are determined with respect to 90% percentiles of gamma distribution (monthly precipitation is higher than 90%. The result of the research show that in mountainous part of Bulgaria during 1950s and 1960s number of extremely wet months is higher than number of dry months. Decreasing of monthly precipitation is a feature for 1980s. This dry period continues till 2004. The years 2000 makes impression as driest year in high mountains with about 7 extremely dry months. The second dry year is 1993. The negative precipitation anomaly is most clearly determined during last decade at study area. The present research points out that fluctuation of precipitation in mountainous part of Bulgaria are coinciding with regional and global climate trends.

The Mountains of Io: Global and Geological Perspectives from Voyager and Galileo

Science.gov (United States)

Schenk, Paul; Hargitai, Henrik; Wilson, Ronda; McEwen, Alfred; Thomas, Peter; Bredekamp, Joe (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

To search for local and global scale geologic associations that may be related to the internal dynamics of Io, we have completed a global catalog of all mountains and volcanic centers. We have identified 115 mountain structures (covering approx. 3% of the surface) and 541 volcanic centers, including paterae (calderas and dark spots) and shield volcanoes. The average length of an Ionian mountain is 157 km, with the longest being 570 km. The mean height of Ionian mountains is 6.3 km, and the highest known mountain is Boosaule Montes (17.5 +/- 3 km). Five basic morphologic types of mountains have been identified; mesa, plateau peak, ridge, and massif. Very few mountains bear any physical similarity. to classic volcanic landforms, but many resemble flatiron mountains on Earth and are interpreted as tilted crustal blocks. This would be consistent with the hypothesis that most mountains are thrust blocks formed as a result of compressive stresses built up in the lower crust due to the global subsidence of volcanic layers as they are buried over time. More than one mechanism may be responsible for all Ionian mountains, however. The proximity of some mountains to paterae may indicate a direct link between some mountains and volcanism, although it is not always clear which came first. In contrast to earlier studies, a pronounced bimodal pattern is observed in the global distribution of both mountains and volcanic centers. The regions of highest areal densities of volcanic centers are near the sub- and anti-Jovian regions, but are offset roughly 90deg in longitude from the two, regions of greatest concentration of mountains. This anticorrelation may indicate the overprinting of a second stress field on the global compressive stresses due to subsidence. The bimodal distribution of volcanic centers and mountains is consistent with models of asthenospheric tidal heating and internal convection developed by Tackley et al.Over regions of mantle upwelling, compressive stresses in

Surface pressure drag for hydrostatic two-layer flow over axisymmetric mountains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leutbecher, M.

2000-07-01

The effect of partial reflections on surface pressure drag is investigated for hydrostatic gravity waves in two-layer flow with piecewise constant buoyancy frequency. The variation of normalized surface pressure drag with interface height is analyzed for axisymmetric mountains. The results are compared with the familiar solution for infinitely long ridges. The drag for the two-layer flow is normalized with the drag of one-layer flow, which has the buoyancy frequency of the lower layer. An analytical expression for the normalized drag of axisymmetric mountains is derived from linear theory of steady flow. Additionally, two-layer flow over finite-height axisymmetric mountains is simulated numerically for flow with higher stability in the upper layer. The temporal evolution of the surface pressure drag is examined in a series of experiments with different interface and mountain heights. The focus is on the linear regime and the nonlinear regime of nonbreaking gravity waves. The dispersion of gravity waves in flow over isolated mountains prevents that the entire wave spectrum is in resonance at the same interface height, which is the case in hydrostatic flow over infinitely long ridges. In consequence, the oscillation of the normalized drag with interface height is smaller for axisymmetric mountains than for infinitely long ridges. However, even for a reflection coefficient as low as 1/3 the drag of an axisymmetric mountain can be amplified by 50% and reduced by 40%. The nonlinear drag becomes steady in the numerical experiments in which no wave breaking occurs. The steady state nonlinear drag agrees quite well with the prediction of linear theory if the linear drag is computed for a slightly lowered interface. (orig.)

Geology of the Yucca Mountain Region, Chapter in Stuckless, J.S., ED., Yucca Mountain, Nevada - A Proposed Geologic Repository for High-Level Radioactive Waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

J.S. Stuckless; D. O'Leary

2006-01-01

Yucca Mountain has been proposed as the site for the Nation's first geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste. This chapter provides the geologic framework for the Yucca Mountain region. The regional geologic units range in age from late Precambrian through Holocene, and these are described briefly. Yucca Mountain is composed dominantly of pyroclastic units that range in age from 11.4 to 15.2 Ma. The proposed repository would be constructed within the Topopah Spring Tuff, which is the lower of two major zoned and welded ash-flow tuffs within the Paintbrush Group. The two welded tuffs are separated by the partly to nonwelded Pah Canyon Tuff and Yucca Mountain Tuff, which together figure prominently in the hydrology of the unsaturated zone. The Quaternary deposits are primarily alluvial sediments with minor basaltic cinder cones and flows. Both have been studied extensively because of their importance in predicting the long-term performance of the proposed repository. Basaltic volcanism began about 10 Ma and continued as recently as about 80 ka with the eruption of cones and flows at Lathrop Wells, approximately 10 km south-southwest of Yucca Mountain. Geologic structure in the Yucca Mountain region is complex. During the latest Paleozoic and Mesozoic, strong compressional forces caused tight folding and thrust faulting. The present regional setting is one of extension, and normal faulting has been active from the Miocene through to the present. There are three major local tectonic domains: (1) Basin and Range, (2) Walker Lane, and (3) Inyo-Mono. Each domain has an effect on the stability of Yucca Mountain

Observational study of surface wind along a sloping surface over mountainous terrain during winter

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Young-Hee; Lee, Gyuwon; Joo, Sangwon; Ahn, Kwang-Deuk

2018-03-01

The 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in Pyeongchang, Korea, during February and March. We examined the near surface winds and wind gusts along the sloping surface at two outdoor venues in Pyeongchang during February and March using surface wind data. The outdoor venues are located in a complex, mountainous terrain, and hence the near-surface winds form intricate patterns due to the interplay between large-scale and locally forced winds. During February and March, the dominant wind at the ridge level is westerly; however, a significant wind direction change is observed along the sloping surface at the venues. The winds on the sloping surface are also influenced by thermal forcing, showing increased upslope flow during daytime. When neutral air flows over the hill, the windward and leeward flows show a significantly different behavior. A higher correlation of the wind speed between upper- and lower-level stations is shown in the windward region compared with the leeward region. The strong synoptic wind, small width of the ridge, and steep leeward ridge slope angle provide favorable conditions for flow separation at the leeward foot of the ridge. The gust factor increases with decreasing surface elevation and is larger during daytime than nighttime. A significantly large gust factor is also observed in the leeward region.

Geodesy and contemporary strain in the Yucca Mountain region, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keefer, W.R.; Coe, J.A.; Pezzopane, S.K.; Hunter, W.C.

1997-01-01

Geodetic surveys provide important information for estimating recent ground movement in support of seismotectonic investigations of the potential nuclear-waste storage site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Resurveys of established level lines document up to 22 millimeters of local subsidence related to the 1992 Little Skull Mountain earthquake, which is consistent with seismic data that show normal-slip rupture and with data from a regional trilateration network. Comparison of more recent surveys with a level line first established in 1907 suggests 3 to 13 centimeters of subsidence in the Crater Flat-Yucca Mountain structural depression that coincides with the Bare Mountain fault; small uplifts also were recorded near normal faults at Yucca Mountain. No significant deformation was recorded by a trilateration network over a 10-year period, except for coseismic deformation associated with the Little Skull Mountain earthquake, but meaningful results are limited by the short temporal period of that data set and the small rate of movement. Very long baseline interferometry that is capable of measuring direction and rates of deformation is likewise limited by a short history of observation, but rates of deformation between 8 and 13 millimeters per year across the basin and Range province are indicated by the available data

Wind energy resource atlas. Volume 8. The southern Rocky Mountain region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersen, S.R.; Freeman, D.L.; Hadley, D.L.; Elliott, D.L.; Barchet, W.R.; George, R.L.

1981-03-01

The Southern Rocky Mountain atlas assimilates five collections of wind resource data: one for the region and one for each of the four states that compose the Southern Rocky Mountain region (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah). At the state level, features of the climate, topography and wind resource are discussed in greater detail than is provided in the regional discussion, and the data locations on which the assessment is based are mapped. Variations, over several time scales, in the wind resource at selected stations in each state are shown on graphs of monthly average and interannual wind speed and power, and hourly average wind speed for each season. Other graphs present speed, direction, and duration frequencies of the wind at these locations.

Sustainable Land Use in Mountain Regions Under Global Change: Synthesis Across Scales and Disciplines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Huber

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Mountain regions provide essential ecosystem goods and services (EGS for both mountain dwellers and people living outside these areas. Global change endangers the capacity of mountain ecosystems to provide key services. The Mountland project focused on three case study regions in the Swiss Alps and aimed to propose land-use practices and alternative policy solutions to ensure the provision of key EGS under climate and land-use changes. We summarized and synthesized the results of the project and provide insights into the ecological, socioeconomic, and political processes relevant for analyzing global change impacts on a European mountain region. In Mountland, an integrative approach was applied, combining methods from economics and the political and natural sciences to analyze ecosystem functioning from a holistic human-environment system perspective. In general, surveys, experiments, and model results revealed that climate and socioeconomic changes are likely to increase the vulnerability of the EGS analyzed. We regard the following key characteristics of coupled human-environment systems as central to our case study areas in mountain regions: thresholds, heterogeneity, trade-offs, and feedback. Our results suggest that the institutional framework should be strengthened in a way that better addresses these characteristics, allowing for (1 more integrative approaches, (2 a more network-oriented management and steering of political processes that integrate local stakeholders, and (3 enhanced capacity building to decrease the identified vulnerability as central elements in the policy process. Further, to maintain and support the future provision of EGS in mountain regions, policy making should also focus on project-oriented, cross-sectoral policies and spatial planning as a coordination instrument for land use in general.

The ESASSI-08 cruise in the South Scotia Ridge region: An inverse model property-transport analysis over the Ridge

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, Margarita; Gomis, Damià; Del Mar Flexas, Maria; Jordà, Gabriel; Naveira-Garabato, Alberto; Jullion, Loic; Tsubouchi, Takamasa

2010-05-01

The ESASSI-08 oceanographic cruise carried out in January 2008 was the most significant milestone of the ESASSI project. ESASSI is the Spanish component of the Synoptic Antarctic Shelf-Slope Interactions (SASSI) study, one of the core projects of the International Polar Year. Hydrographical and biochemical (oxygen, CFCs, nutrients, chlorophyll content, alkalinity, pH, DOC) data were obtained along 11 sections in the South Scotia Ridge (SSR) region, between Elephant and South Orkney Islands. One of the aims of the ESASSI project is to determine the northward outflow of cold and ventilated waters from the Weddell Sea into the Scotia Sea. For that purpose, the accurate estimation of mass, heat, salt, and oxygen transport over the Ridge is requested. An initial analysis of transports across the different sections was first obtained from CTD and ADCP data. The following step has been the application of an inverse method, in order to obtain a better estimation of the net flow for the different water masses present in the region. The set of property-conservation equations considered by the inverse model includes mass, heat and salinity fluxes. The "box" is delimited by the sections along the northern flank of the SSR, between Elephant Island and 50°W, the southern flank of the Ridge, between 51.5°W and 50°W, the 50°W meridian and a diagonal line between Elephant Island and 51.5°W, 61.75°S. Results show that the initial calculations of transports suffered of a significant volume imbalance, due to the inherent errors of ship-ADCP data, the complicated topography and the presence of strong tidal currents in some sections. We present the post-inversion property transports across the rim of the box (and their error bars) for the different water masses.

Association analysis of PRNP gene region with chronic wasting disease in Rocky Mountain elk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Spraker Terry R

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Chronic wasting disease (CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE of cervids including white-tailed (Odocoileus virginianus and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus, Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni, and moose (Alces alces. A leucine variant at position 132 (132L in prion protein of Rocky Mountain elk confers a long incubation time with CWD, but not complete resistance. However, variants in regulatory regions outside the open reading frame of PRNP have been associated with varying degrees of susceptibility to prion disease in other species, and some variants have been observed in similar regions of Rocky Mountain elk PRNP. Thus, additional genetic variants might provide increased protection, either alone or in combination with 132L. Findings This study provided genomic sequence of all exons for PRNP of Rocky Mountain elk. Many functional sites in and around the PRNP gene region were sequenced, and this report approximately doubled (to 75 the number of known variants in this region. A haplotype-tagging approach was used to reduce the number of genetic variants required to survey this variation in the PRNP gene region of 559 Rocky Mountain elk. Eight haplotypes were observed with frequencies over 1.0%, and one haplotype was present at 71.2% frequency, reflecting limited genetic diversity in the PRNP gene region. Conclusions The presence of 132L cut odds of CWD by more than half (Odds Ratio = 0.43; P = 0.0031, which was similar to a previous report. However after accounting for 132L, no association with CWD was found for any additional variants in the PRNP region (P > 0.05.

Retinal vessel caliber and myopic retinopathy: the blue mountains eye study.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Haitao; Mitchell, Paul; Rochtchina, Elena; Burlutsky, George; Wong, Tien Y; Wang, Jie Jin

2011-12-01

To evaluate changes in the retinal vasculature in eyes with myopic retinopathy. Population-based, cross-sectional study. Emmetropic and myopic participants from the Blue Mountains Eye Study baseline survey were included in this study. Myopia was defined as a refractive error of less than -1.00 diopter. Myopic retinopathy was defined if either staphyloma, lacquer crack, Fuchs' spot or chorioretinal atrophy were present in myopic eyes. Retinal vascular caliber was measured from fundus photographs using standardized methods. The association of retinal vascular caliber with myopic retinopathy was assessed using generalized estimating equation models. A total of 2598 eyes of 1409 subjects were selected from 3654 baseline participants, with 2076 emmetropic eyes (normal controls), 486 myopic eyes without myopic retinopathy (myopic controls) and 36 myopic eyes with myopic retinopathy (cases). After adjusting for age, gender, height, body mass index and blood pressure, eyes with myopic retinopathy had significantly narrower mean arteriolar (166.6μm) and venular caliber (213.3μm), compared to normal (188.1μm and 226.9μm, respectively) or myopic control eyes (190.4μm and 227.0μm, respectively) (all P retinopathy and the two control groups remained significant after additional adjustment for refraction (all P retinopathy is associated with attenuation of retinal vessels.

Variational Ridging in Sea Ice Models

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, A.; Hunke, E. C.; Lipscomb, W. H.; Maslowski, W.; Kamal, S.

2017-12-01

This work presents the results of a new development to make basin-scale sea ice models aware of the shape, porosity and extent of individual ridges within the pack. We have derived an analytic solution for the Euler-Lagrange equation of individual ridges that accounts for non-conservative forces, and therefore the compressive strength of individual ridges. Because a region of the pack is simply a collection of paths of individual ridges, we are able to solve the Euler-Lagrange equation for a large-scale sea ice field also, and therefore the compressive strength of a region of the pack that explicitly accounts for the macro-porosity of ridged debris. We make a number of assumptions that have simplified the problem, such as treating sea ice as a granular material in ridges, and assuming that bending moments associated with ridging are perturbations around an isostatic state. Regardless of these simplifications, the ridge model is remarkably predictive of macro-porosity and ridge shape, and, because our equations are analytic, they do not require costly computations to solve the Euler-Lagrange equation of ridges on the large scale. The new ridge model is therefore applicable to large-scale sea ice models. We present results from this theoretical development, as well as plans to apply it to the Regional Arctic System Model and a community sea ice code. Most importantly, the new ridging model is particularly useful for pinpointing gaps in our observational record of sea ice ridges, and points to the need for improved measurements of the evolution of porosity of deformed ice in the Arctic and Antarctic. Such knowledge is not only useful for improving models, but also for improving estimates of sea ice volume derived from altimetric measurements of sea ice freeboard.

Forested communities of the pine mountain region, Georgia, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Robert Floyd; Robert Carter

2013-01-01

Seven landscape scale communities were identified in the Pine Mountain region having a mixture of Appalachian, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain species. The diagnostic environmental variables included elevation, B-horizon depth, A-horizon silt, topographic relative moisture index, and A-horizon potassium (K).

Geology of the Yucca Mountain Region, Chapter in Stuckless, J.S., ED., Yucca Mountain, Nevada - A Proposed Geologic Repository for High-Level Radioactive Waste

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

J.S. Stuckless; D. O' Leary

2006-09-25

Yucca Mountain has been proposed as the site for the Nation's first geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste. This chapter provides the geologic framework for the Yucca Mountain region. The regional geologic units range in age from late Precambrian through Holocene, and these are described briefly. Yucca Mountain is composed dominantly of pyroclastic units that range in age from 11.4 to 15.2 Ma. The proposed repository would be constructed within the Topopah Spring Tuff, which is the lower of two major zoned and welded ash-flow tuffs within the Paintbrush Group. The two welded tuffs are separated by the partly to nonwelded Pah Canyon Tuff and Yucca Mountain Tuff, which together figure prominently in the hydrology of the unsaturated zone. The Quaternary deposits are primarily alluvial sediments with minor basaltic cinder cones and flows. Both have been studied extensively because of their importance in predicting the long-term performance of the proposed repository. Basaltic volcanism began about 10 Ma and continued as recently as about 80 ka with the eruption of cones and flows at Lathrop Wells, approximately 10 km south-southwest of Yucca Mountain. Geologic structure in the Yucca Mountain region is complex. During the latest Paleozoic and Mesozoic, strong compressional forces caused tight folding and thrust faulting. The present regional setting is one of extension, and normal faulting has been active from the Miocene through to the present. There are three major local tectonic domains: (1) Basin and Range, (2) Walker Lane, and (3) Inyo-Mono. Each domain has an effect on the stability of Yucca Mountain.

Adaptation to Climate Change in Panchase Mountain Ecological Regions of Nepal

OpenAIRE

Shankar Adhikari; Himlal Baral; Craig Nitschke

2018-01-01

Rural mountain communities in developing countries are considered particularly vulnerable to environmental change, including climate change. Forests and agriculture provide numerous ecosystem goods and services (EGS) to local communities and can help people adapt to the impacts of climate change. There is however poor documentation on the role of EGS in people’s livelihood and adaptation practices. This study in the rural Panchase Mountain Ecological Region of Nepal identifies practices being...

Water beetles in mountainous regions in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MO. Segura

Full Text Available Inventories provide information on the state of biodiversity at a site or for a geographic region. Species inventories are the basis for systematic study and critical to ecology, biogeography and identification of biological indicators and key species. They also provide key information for assessments of environmental change, for natural resource conservation or recovery of degraded ecosystems. Thus, inventories play a key role in planning strategies for conservation and sustainable use. This study aimed to inventory the fauna of water beetles, larvae and adults, in two mountainous regions in the state of São Paulo, in Serra da Mantiqueira (Parque Estadual de Campos do Jordão and Pindamonhangaba region and in Serra do Mar (Santa Virgínia and Picinguaba Divisions as well as to generate information about the habitats used by the different genera recorded. Specimens were collected in lotic and lentic systems, between the years 2005 to 2010. In total 14,492 specimens were collected and 16 families and 50 genera of Coleoptera were identified. This study in mountainous regions showed a significant portion of the faunal composition of South America and the state of São Paulo. The composition of the fauna, in terms of richness and abundance by family, indicated the predominance of Elmidae, followed by Hydrophilidae and Dytiscidae. Despite the diversity found, the results of estimated richness indicated the need for additional sampling effort for both regions, since the curves of estimated richness did not reach an asymptote, suggesting that new species can be found in future surveys.

Contributions of Phosphorus from Groundwater to Streams in the Piedmont, Blue Ridge, and Valley and Ridge Physiographic Provinces, Eastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Denver, Judith M.; Cravotta,, Charles A.; Ator, Scott W.; Lindsey, Bruce D.

2011-01-01

Phosphorus from natural and human sources is likely to be discharged from groundwater to streams in certain geochemical environments. Water-quality data collected from 1991 through 2007 in paired networks of groundwater and streams in different hydrogeologic and land-use settings of the Piedmont, Blue Ridge, and Valley and Ridge Physiographic Provinces in the eastern United States were compiled and analyzed to evaluate the sources, fate, and transport of phosphorus. The median concentrations of phosphate in groundwater from the crystalline and siliciclastic bedrock settings (0.017 and 0.020 milligrams per liter, respectively) generally were greater than the median for the carbonate setting (less than 0.01 milligrams per liter). In contrast, the median concentrations of dissolved phosphate in stream base flow from the crystalline and siliciclastic bedrock settings (0.010 and 0.014 milligrams per liter, respectively) were less than the median concentration for base-flow samples from the carbonate setting (0.020 milligrams per liter). Concentrations of phosphorus in many of the stream base-flow and groundwater samples exceeded ecological criteria for streams in the region. Mineral dissolution was identified as the dominant source of phosphorus in the groundwater and stream base flow draining crystalline or siliciclastic bedrock in the study area. Low concentrations of dissolved phosphorus in groundwater from carbonate bedrock result from the precipitation of minerals and (or) from sorption to mineral surfaces along groundwater flow paths. Phosphorus concentrations are commonly elevated in stream base flow in areas underlain by carbonate bedrock, however, presumably derived from in-stream sources or from upland anthropogenic sources and transported along short, shallow groundwater flow paths. Dissolved phosphate concentrations in groundwater were correlated positively with concentrations of silica and sodium, and negatively with alkalinity and concentrations of calcium

Ecological and economic services provided by birds on Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kellermann, Jherime L; Johnson, Matthew D; Stercho, Amy M; Hackett, Steven C

2008-10-01

Coffee farms can support significant biodiversity, yet intensification of farming practices is degrading agricultural habitats and compromising ecosystem services such as biological pest control. The coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) is the world's primary coffee pest. Researchers have demonstrated that birds reduce insect abundance on coffee farms but have not documented avian control of the berry borer or quantified avian benefits to crop yield or farm income. We conducted a bird-exclosure experiment on coffee farms in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica, to measure avian pest control of berry borers, identify potential predator species, associate predator abundance and borer reductions with vegetation complexity, and quantify resulting increases in coffee yield. Coffee plants excluded from foraging birds had significantly higher borer infestation, more borer broods, and greater berry damage than control plants. We identified 17 potential predator species (73% were wintering Neotropical migrants), and 3 primary species composed 67% of migrant detections. Average relative bird abundance and diversity and relative resident predator abundance increased with greater shade-tree cover. Although migrant predators overall did not respond to vegetation complexity variables, the 3 primary species increased with proximity to noncoffee habitat patches. Lower infestation on control plants was correlated with higher total bird abundance, but not with predator abundance or vegetation complexity. Infestation of fruit was 1-14% lower on control plants, resulting in a greater quantity of saleable fruits that had a market value of US$44-$105/ha in 2005/2006. Landscape heterogeneity in this region may allow mobile predators to provide pest control broadly, despite localized farming intensities. These results provide the first evidence that birds control coffee berry borers and thus increase coffee yield and farm income, a potentially important conservation incentive for producers.

Characterization of Most Promising Sequestration Formations in the Rocky Mountain Region (RMCCS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McPherson, Brian; Matthews, Vince

2013-09-30

The primary objective of the “Characterization of Most Promising Carbon Capture and Sequestration Formations in the Central Rocky Mountain Region” project, or RMCCS project, is to characterize the storage potential of the most promising geologic sequestration formations within the southwestern U.S. and the Central Rocky Mountain region in particular. The approach included an analysis of geologic sequestration formations under the Craig Power Station in northwestern Colorado, and application or extrapolation of those local-scale results to the broader region. A ten-step protocol for geologic carbon storage site characterization was a primary outcome of this project.

CanWEA regional issues and wind energy project siting : mountainous areas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D' Entremont, M. [Jacques Whitford Ltd., Vancouver, BC (Canada)]|[Axys Environmental Consulting Ltd., Vancouver, BC (Canada)

2008-07-01

Planning and permitting considerations for wind energy project siting in mountainous areas were discussed. Mountainous regions have a specific set of environmental and socio-economic concerns. Potential disruptions to wildlife, noise, and visual impacts are a primary concern in the assessment of potential wind farm projects. Alpine habitats are unique and often contain fragile and endangered species. Reclamation techniques for mountainous habitats have not been extensively tested, and the sites are not as resilient as sites located in other ecosystems. In addition, alpine habitats are often migratory corridors and breeding grounds for threatened or endangered birds. In the winter months, alpine habitats are used by caribou, grizzly bears, and wolverine dens. Bats are also present at high elevations. It is often difficult to conduct baseline and monitoring studies in mountainous areas since alpine habitat is subject to rapid weather changes, and has a very short construction period. tabs., figs.

Winter climate variability and classification in the Bulgarian Mountainous Regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petkova, Nadezhda; Koleva, Ekaterina

2004-01-01

The problems of snowiness and thermal conditions of winters are of high interest of investigations because of the more frequent droughts, occurred in the region. In the present study an attempt to reveal tendencies existing during the last 70 years of 20 th century in the course winter precipitation and,temperature as well as in some of the snow cover parameters. On the base of mean winter air temperature winters in the Bulgarian mountains were analyzed and classified. The main results of the study show that winter precipitation has decrease tendencies more significant in the highest parts of the mountains. On the other hand winter air temperature increases. It shows a relatively well-established maximum at the end of the studied period. In the Bulgarian mountains normal winters are about 35-40% of all winters. (Author)

Regional groundwater modeling of the saturated zone in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahola, M.; Sagar, B.

1992-10-01

Results of groundwater modeling of the saturated zone in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain are presented. Both a regional (200 x 200 km) and subregional (50 x 50 km) model were used in the analyses. Simulations were conducted to determine the impact of various disruptive that might take place over the life span of a proposed Yucca Mountain geologic conditions repository on the groundwater flow field, as well as changes in the water-table elevations. These conditions included increases in precipitation and groundwater recharge within the regional model, changes in permeability of existing hydrogeologic barriers, a:nd the vertical intrusion of volcanic dikes at various orientations through the saturated zone. Based on the regional analysis, the rise in the water-table under Yucca Mountain due to various postulated conditions ranged from only a few meters to 275 meters. Results of the subregional model analysis, which was used to simulate intrusive dikes approximately 4 kilometers in length in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain, showed water-table rises ranging from a few meters to as much as 103 meters. Dikes oriented approximately north-south beneath Yucca Mountain produced the highest water-table rises. The conclusions drawn from this analysis are likely to change as more site-specific data become available and as the assumptions in the model are improved

Stratigraphic and structural framework of Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spengler, R.W.; Fox, K.F. Jr.

1988-01-01

Yucca Mountain is located within the southwestern Nevada volcanic field, ∼140 km northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 50 km northeast of Death Valley, California. The mountain consist of a series of long, linear, north-trending volcanic ridges that approach an 1800-m maximum elevation near The Prow. The broad intermontane alluviated valleys of Crater Flat, the Amargosa Desert, and Jackass Flats, averaging 800 to 1100 m in elevation, form the western, southern, and eastern margins of Yucca Mountain, respectively. North of The Prow, Yucca Mountain merges with other volcanic highlands that flank the southern rim of the Timber Mountain-Oasis Valley caldera complex. The stratigraphy and structure of the area are discussed. Future geologic studies will attempt to determine if faults extend beneath Yucca Mountain, and, if present, their potential effects on the hydrologic and tectonic regimes

Origin of the Blue Ridge escarpment along the passive margin of Eastern North America

Science.gov (United States)

Spotila, J.A.; Bank, G.C.; Reiners, P.W.; Naeser, C.W.; Naeser, N.D.; Henika, B.S.

2004-01-01

The Blue Ridge escarpment is a rugged landform situated within the ancient Appalachian orogen. While similar in some respects to the great escarpments along other passive margins, which have evolved by erosion following rifting, its youthful topographic expression has inspired proposals of Cenozoic tectonic rejuvenation in eastern North America. To better understand the post-orogenic and post-rift geomorphic evolution of passive margins, we have examined the origin of this landform using low-temperature thermochronometry and manipulation of topographic indices. Apatite (U-Th)/He and fission-track analyses along transects across the escarpment reveal a younging trend towards the coast. This pattern is consistent with other great escarpments and fits with an interpretation of having evolved by prolonged erosion, without the requirement of tectonic rejuvenation. Measured ages are also comparable specifically to those measured along other great escarpments that are as much as 100 Myr younger. This suggests that erosional mechanisms that maintain rugged escarpments in the early post-rift stages may remain active on ancient passive margins for prolonged periods. The precise erosional evolution of the escarpment is less clear, however, and several end-member models can explain the data. Our preferred model, which fits with all data, involves a significant degree of erosional escarpment retreat in the Cenozoic. Although this suggests that early onset of topographic stability is not required of passive margin evolution, more data are required to better constrain the details of the escarpment's development. ?? 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

DeepBlue epigenomic data server: programmatic data retrieval and analysis of epigenome region sets.

Science.gov (United States)

Albrecht, Felipe; List, Markus; Bock, Christoph; Lengauer, Thomas

2016-07-08

Large amounts of epigenomic data are generated under the umbrella of the International Human Epigenome Consortium, which aims to establish 1000 reference epigenomes within the next few years. These data have the potential to unravel the complexity of epigenomic regulation. However, their effective use is hindered by the lack of flexible and easy-to-use methods for data retrieval. Extracting region sets of interest is a cumbersome task that involves several manual steps: identifying the relevant experiments, downloading the corresponding data files and filtering the region sets of interest. Here we present the DeepBlue Epigenomic Data Server, which streamlines epigenomic data analysis as well as software development. DeepBlue provides a comprehensive programmatic interface for finding, selecting, filtering, summarizing and downloading region sets. It contains data from four major epigenome projects, namely ENCODE, ROADMAP, BLUEPRINT and DEEP. DeepBlue comes with a user manual, examples and a well-documented application programming interface (API). The latter is accessed via the XML-RPC protocol supported by many programming languages. To demonstrate usage of the API and to enable convenient data retrieval for non-programmers, we offer an optional web interface. DeepBlue can be openly accessed at http://deepblue.mpi-inf.mpg.de. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Specialty Crop Profile: Blueberries for the Upper Piedmont and Mountain Regions

OpenAIRE

Bratsch, Tony

2009-01-01

Discusses blueberries as a small fruit crop for the upper Piedmont and mountain regions of Virginia. Provides information about best ways to plant the blueberries, mulching, irrigation, fertilization, pruning, harvesting and handling, marketing and more.

MARKETIZATION OF GREEN FOOD RESOURCES IN FOREST REGION OF THE CHANGBAI MOUNTAINS

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

XIAO Yan

2004-01-01

The Changbai Mountains is rich in the resources of green food. At present, the low marketization of green food resources in the forest region of the Changbai Mountains becomes the bottleneck to restrict the benign development of its green food industry. With huge market demands at home and abroad, it is the urgent problem how to improve marketization process of green food resources and transfer the resources superiority into the market superiority in the region. According to the investigation, this paper analyzed the status quo and the cause of formation of low-marketization with the method of combining comparative research and practice research. It pointed out that necessary condition of marketization of green food resources in the forest region, such as strategy, economic environment, marketization allocation of sci-tech resources, etc. should be established. Furthermore, the concrete strategies of marketization of green food resources in the region such as market location, strategies of objective markets, combined strategy of marketing, etc. were advanced.

The history of development of balneology in Mountain-Badakhshan autonomous region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bobokhodjaev, I.Ya.; Davlatmamadov, Sh.M.

1994-01-01

This chapter of book is about the history of development of balneology in Mountain-Badakhshan autonomous region, about useful application of mineral sources on human organism not only for sick people, but on healthy people too

Preliminary U-series disequilibrium and thermoluminescence ages of surficial deposits and paleosols associated with Quaternary fault, Eastern Yucca Mountain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paces, J.B.; Menges, C.M.; Bush, C.A.; Futa, K.; Millard, H.T.; Maat, P.B.; Whitney, J.W.; Widmann, B.; Wesling, J.R.

1994-01-01

Geochronological control is an essential component of paleoseismic evaluation of faults in the Yucca Mountain region. New U-series disequilibrium and thermoluminescence age estimates for pedogenic deposits that bracket surface-rupture events are presented from four sites exposing the Paintbrush Canyon, Bow Ridge and Stagecoach Road faults. Ages show an internal consistency with stratigraphic relationships as well as an overall concordancy between the two independent geochronometers. Age estimates are therefore interpreted to date depositional events or episodes of pedogenic carbonate mobility that can be used to establish a paleoseismic fault chronology. Ultimately, this type of chronological information will be used to evaluate seismic hazards at Yucca Mountain

Estimating evapotranspiration in the central mountain region of Veracruz, Mexico

OpenAIRE

Ballinas, Mónica; Esperón-Rodríguez, Manuel; Barradas, Víctor L

2015-01-01

The global, regional and local hydrological cycle is strongly linked to vegetation distribution. The hydrological cycle is composed by precipitation, infiltration, runoff, transpiration and evaporation. Evaporation is influenced by high temperatures, high winds and low relative humidity. This work is focused on the study of evapotranspiration (ET) as the main variable of water loss in the water balance in the central mountain region of Veracruz, Mexico. ET was estimated using the Penman-Monte...

Mountains Under Pressure: Evaluating Ecosystem Services and Livelihoods in the Upper Himalayan Region of Nepal

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bhusal, Jagat K.; Chapagain, Prem Sagar; Regmi, Santosh; Gurung, Praju; Zulkafli, Zed; Karpouzoglou, T.D.; Pandeya, Bhopal; Buytaert, Wouter; Clark, Julian

2016-01-01

Natural resource-based livelihoods in mountainous regions are subject to new types of development as well as climate related pressures and vulnerabilities. On one hand, the integrity of the mountainous landscape is under pressure from the melting of glaciers, changes in water availability, rainfall

Surface strain rate colour map of the Tatra Mountains region (Slovakia based on GNSS data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bednárik Martin

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The surface deformation of the Tatra Mountains region in Western Carpathians can nowadays be studied directly thanks to precise geodetic measurements using the GNSS. The strain or stress tensor field is, however, a rather complex “data structure” difficult to present legibly and with sufficient resolution in the form of a classical map. A novel and promising approach to the solution of this problem is coding the three principal strain or stress values into the three colour channels (red, green, blue of an RGB colour. In our previous study, the colour depended on the stress tensor shape descriptors. In the current study, the adapted colouring scheme uses a subset of shape descriptors common to stress and strain, which differ only in the scaling factor. In this manner, we generate the colour map of the surface strain rate field, where the colour of each grid point carries the information about the shape of the strain rate tensor at that point. The resulting strain rate colour map can be displayed simultaneously with the map of the faults or elevations and be easily checked for the data or interpolation method errors and incompatibility with the geophysical and geological expectations.

High spatial resolution U-Pb geochronology and Pb isotope geochemistry of magnetite-apatite ore from the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite deposit, St. Francois Mountains, southeast Missouri, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Neymark, Leonid; Holm-Denoma, Christopher S.; Pietruszka, Aaron; Aleinikoff, John N.; Fanning, C. Mark; Pillers, Renee M.; Moscati, Richard J.

2016-01-01

The Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite (IOA) deposit is one of the major rhyolite-hosted magnetite deposits of the St. Francois Mountains terrane, which is located within the Mesoproterozoic (1.5–1.3 Ga) Granite-Rhyolite province in the U.S. Midcontinent. Precise and accurate determination of the timing and duration of oreforming processes in this deposit is crucial for understanding its origin and placing it within a deposit-scale and regional geologic context. Apatite and monazite, well-established U-Pb mineral geochronometers, are abundant in the Pea Ridge orebody. However, the potential presence of multiple generations of dateable minerals, processes of dissolution-reprecipitation, and occurrence of micrometer-sized intergrowths and inclusions complicate measurements and interpretations of the geochronological results. Here, we employ a combination of several techniques, including ID-TIMS and high spatial resolution geochronology of apatite and monazite using LA-SC-ICPMS and SHRIMP, and Pb isotope geochemistry of pyrite and magnetite to obtain the first direct age constraints on the formation and alteration history of the Pea Ridge IOA deposit. The oldest apatite TIMS 207Pb*/206Pb* dates are 1471 ± 1 and 1468 ± 1 Ma, slightly younger than (but within error of) the ~1474 to ~1473 Ma U-Pb zircon ages of the host rhyolites. Dating of apatite and monazite inclusions within apatite provides evidence for at least one younger metasomatic event at ~1.44 Ga, and possibly multiple superimposed metasomatic events between 1.47 and 1.44 Ga. Lead isotop analyses of pyrite show extremely radiogenic 206Pb/204Pb ratios up to ~80 unsupported by in situ U decay. This excess radiogenic Pb in pyrite may have been derived from the spatially associated apatite as apatite recrystallized several tens of million years after its formation. The low initial 206Pb/204Pb ratio of ~16.5 and 207Pb/204Pb ratio of ~15.4 for individual magnetite grains indicate closed U-Pb system behavior in

Changes in the Mountain Cryosphere and Potential Risks to Downstream Communities: Insights from the Indian Himalayan Region

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Simon; Ballesteros, Juan Antonio; Huggel, Christian; Linsbauer, Andreas; Mal, Suraj; Singh Rana, Ranbir; Singh Randhawa, Surjeet; Ruiz-Villanueva, Virginia; Salzmann, Nadine; Singh Samant, Sher; Stoffel, Markus

2017-04-01

Mountain environments around the world are often considered to be amongst the most sensitive to the impacts of climate change. For people living in mountain communities, there are clear challenges to be faced as their livelihoods and subsistence are directly dependent on their surrounding natural environment. But what of the wider implications for societies and large urban settlements living downstream - why should they care about the climate-driven changes occurring potentially hundreds of kilometers away in the snow and ice capped mountains? In this contribution we address this question, drawing on studies and experiences gained within joint Indo-Swiss research collaborations focused on the Indian Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. With the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change currently embarking on the scoping of their 6th Assessment Cycle, which includes a planned Special Report on Oceans and the Cryosphere, this contribution provides a timely reminder of the importance of mountain regions, and potential far-reaching consequences of changes in the mountain cryosphere. Our studies highlight several key themes which link the mountain environment to the lowland populated areas, including the role of the mountain cryosphere as a water source, far-reaching hazards and disasters that can originate from mountain regions, the role of mountains in providing essential ecosystem services, the economic importance of tourism in mountain regions, and the importance of transportation routes which pass through mountain environments. These themes are intricately linked, as for example demonstrated during the 2013 Uttarakhand flood disaster where many of the approximately 6000 fatalities were tourists visiting high mountain pilgrimage sites. As a consequence of the disaster, tourists stayed away during subsequent seasons with significant economic impacts felt across the State. In Himachal Pradesh, a key national transportation corridor is the Rohtang pass

The thermal structure of a wind-driven Reynolds ridge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Phongikaroon, Supathorn; Peter Judd, K.; Smith, Geoffrey B.; Handler, Robert A. [Remote Sensing Division, Naval Research Laboratory, 20375, Washington, DC (United States)

2004-08-01

In this study, we investigate the nature of a Reynolds ridge formed by wind shear. We have simultaneously imaged the water surface, with a deposit of a monolayer of the surfactant, oleyl alcohol, subject to different wind shears, by using a high-resolution infrared (IR) detector and a high-speed (HS) digital camera. The results reveal that the regions around the wind-driven Reynolds ridge, which have subtle manifestations in visual imagery, possess surprisingly complex hydrodynamical and thermal structures when observed in the infrared. The IR measurements reveal a warm, clean region upstream of the ridge, which is composed of the so called fishscale structures observed in earlier investigations. The region downstream of the ridge is composed of colder fluid which forms two counter-rotating cells. A region of intermediate temperature, which we call the mixing (wake) region, forms immediately downstream of the ridge near the channel centerline. By measuring the velocity of the advected fishscales, we have determined a surface drift speed of about 2% of the wind speed. The spanwise length-scale of the structures has also been used to estimate the wind shear. In addition, a comparison of IR and visual imagery shows that the thermal field is a very sensitive indicator of the exact position of the ridge itself. (orig.)

Field guide to diseases & insects of the Rocky Mountain Region

Science.gov (United States)

Forest Health Protection. Rocky Mountain Region

2010-01-01

This field guide is a forest management tool for field identification of biotic and abiotic agents that damage native trees in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, which constitute the USDA Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Region. The guide focuses only on tree diseases and forest insects that have significant economic, ecological, and/ or...

Improving Land Surface Temperature Retrievals over Mountainous Regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Virgílio A. Bento

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Algorithms for Land Surface Temperature (LST retrieval from infrared measurements are usually sensitive to the amount of water vapor present in the atmosphere. The Satellite Application Facilities on Climate Monitoring and Land Surface Analysis (CM SAF and LSA SAF are currently compiling a 25 year LST Climate data record (CDR, which uses water vapor information from ERA-Int reanalysis. However, its relatively coarse spatial resolution may lead to systematic errors in the humidity profiles with implications in LST, particularly over mountainous areas. The present study compares LST estimated with three different retrieval algorithms: a radiative transfer-based physical mono-window (PMW, a statistical mono-window (SMW, and a generalized split-windows (GSW. The algorithms were tested over the Alpine region using ERA-Int reanalysis data and relied on the finer spatial scale Consortium for Small-Scale Modelling (COSMO model data as a reference. Two methods were developed to correct ERA-Int water vapor misestimation: (1 an exponential parametrization of total precipitable water (TPW appropriate for SMW/GSW; and (2 a level reduction method to be used in PMW. When ERA-Int TPW was used, the algorithm missed the right TPW class in 87% of the cases. When the exponential parametrization was used, the missing class rate decreased to 9%, and when the level reduction method was applied, the LST corrections went up to 1.7 K over the study region. Overall, the correction for pixel orography in TPW leads to corrections in LST estimations, which are relevant to ensure that long-term LST records meet climate requirements, particularly over mountainous regions.

Preliminary appraisal of gravity and magnetic data at Syncline Ridge, Western Yucca Flat, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponce, D.A.; Hanna, W.F.

1982-01-01

A gravity and magnetic study of the Syncline Ridge area was conducted as part of an investigation of argillite rocks of the Eleana Formation under consideration as a medium for the possible storage of high-level radioactive waste. Bouguer gravity anomaly, low-level aeromagnetic anomaly, density, and magnetization data collectively indicate the following, relative to the Eleana Formation, the principal target of the investigation: (1) in an area extending northwestward from Mine Mountain, through Syncline Ridge, to the Eleana Range, the Eleana Formation, where not exposed, occurs at depths of less than approx. 200 m, except for a small region of exposed older Paleozoic rocks; (2) in the region of shallowly buried Eleana Formation, occurrences of volcanic rock cover are delineated by low-level aeromagnetic anomaly data, which also discriminate normally polarized from reversely polarized tuff units; and (3) selective detection of high-quartz argillite relative to low-quartz argillite using surface gravity data is not feasible if the high-quartz and low-quartz varieties are intimately interbedded, as observed in boreholes. 4 figures, 2 tables

The DoD Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program for High School Students. A Report on the Summer 1980 Program

Science.gov (United States)

1980-01-01

Park, Children’s Hospital, National Gallery of Art, and in the Blue Ridge Mountains . ACTIVE, rather than passive participation in WJAS is encouraged...perceptions of their assignments, orientation activities, communications with mentors, problems aLeas , etc. h. Evaluation of apprentices’ individual

[Gerontology in rural and mountains regions aged people in the country and in mountain regions (author's transl)].

Science.gov (United States)

Gsell, O

1977-04-01

The gerontologic problems of people living in the country and in mountain regions always were neglected in comparison to those of townsmen. In the last decade an important structural change has happened, caused on the one side by the fact that more and more people leave the country for the towns, and by the problem of overaged persons in the country; on the other side this change is a consequence of improvement by modern technical acquisitions (more agricultural machines, silos), living hygiene and the tourism. The living conditions in the past and today in Switzerland are shown, referring to various publications. The ecological change also hits the aged people, financially by revenues, completion of private help organizations, rebuilding of homes for the aged persons in every village and regional nursing home, as well as household helps for those elderly people who still live in the country in their own houses. The qualitative differences between living conditions in the country and in town will in the near future be equalized--which is especially mentionned.

Microgravity survey of the Oak Ridge K-25 Site, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaufmann, R.D.

1996-05-01

Karst features are known to exist within the carbonate bedrock of the Oak Ridge K-25 Site and may play an important role in groundwater flow and contaminant migration. This report discusses the results of a microgravity survey of the Oak Ridge K-25 Site. The main objective of the survey is to identify areas containing bedrock cavities. Secondary objectives included correlating the observed gravity to the geology and to variations in overburden thickness. The analysis includes 11 profile lines that are oriented perpendicular to the geologic strike and major structures throughout the K-25 Site. The profile lines are modeled in an effort to relate gravity anomalies to karst features such as concentrations of mud-filled cavities. Regolith thickness and density data provided by boreholes constrain the models. Areally distributed points are added to the profile lines to produce a gravity contour map of the site. In addition, data from the K-901 area are combined with data from previous surveys to produce a high resolution map of that site. The K-25 Site is located in an area of folded and faulted sedimentary rocks within the Appalachian Valley and Ridge physiographic province. Paleozoic age rocks of the Rome Formation, Knox Group, and Chickamauga Supergroup underlie the K-25 Site and contain structures that include the Whiteoak Mountain Fault, the K-25 Fault, a syncline, and an anticline. The mapped locations of the rock units and complex structures are currently derived from outcrop and well log analysis

US Department of Energy Oak Ridge Operations Environmental Management Public Involvement Plan for the Oak Ridge Reservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-03-01

This document was prepared in accordance with CERCLA requirements for writing community relations plans. It includes information on how the DOE Oak Ridge Operations Office prepares and executes Environmental Management Community relations activities. It is divided into three sections: the public involvement plan, public involvement in Oak Ridge, and public involvement in 1995. Four appendices are also included: environmental management in Oak Ridge; community and regional overview; key laws, agreements, and policy; and principal contacts

Glacial survival east and west of the 'Mekong-Salween Divide' in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains region as revealed by AFLPs and cpDNA sequence variation in Sinopodophyllum hexandrum (Berberidaceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yong; Zhai, Sheng-Nan; Qiu, Ying-Xiong; Guo, Yan-Ping; Ge, Xue-Jun; Comes, Hans Peter

2011-05-01

Molecular phylogeographic studies have recently begun to elucidate how plant species from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and adjacent regions responded to the Quaternary climatic oscillations. In this regard, however, far less attention has been paid to the southern and south-eastern declivities of the QTP, i.e. the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains (HHM) region. Here, we report a survey of amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) and chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) sequence variation in the HHM endemic Sinopodophyllum hexandrum, a highly selfing alpine perennial herb with mainly gravity-dispersed berries (105 individuals, 19 localities). We specifically aimed to test a vicariant evolutionary hypothesis across the 'Mekong-Salween Divide', a known biogeographic and phytogeographic boundary of north-to-south trending river valleys separating the East Himalayas and Hengduan Mts. Both cpDNA and AFLPs identified two divergent phylogroups largely congruent with these mountain ranges. There was no genetic depauperation in the more strongly glaciated East Himalayas (AFLPs: H(E)=0.031; cpDNA: h(S)=0.133) compared to the mainly ice-free Hengduan Mts. (AFLPs: H(E)=0.037; cpDNA: h(S)=0.082), while population differentiation was consistently higher in the former region (AFLPs: Φ(ST)=0.522 vs. 0.312; cpDNA: Φ(ST)=0.785 vs. 0.417). Our results suggest that East Himalayan and Hengduan populations of S. hexandrum were once fragmented, persisted in situ during glacials in both areas, and have not merged again, except for a major instance of inter-lineage chloroplast capture identified at the MSD boundary. Our coalescent time estimate for all cpDNA haplotypes (c. 0.37-0.48 mya), together with paleogeological evidence, strongly rejects paleo-drainage formation as a mechanism underlying allopatric fragmentation, whereas mountain glaciers following the ridges of the MSD during glacials (and possible interglacials) could have been responsible. This study thus indicates an important role

Alveolar ridge rehabilitation to increase full denture retention and stability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mefina Kuntjoro

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Atrophic mandibular alveolar ridge generally complicates prostetic restoration expecially full denture. Low residual alveolar ridge and basal seat can cause unstable denture, permanent ulcer, pain, neuralgia, and mastication difficulty. Pre-proshetic surgery is needed to improve denture retention and stability. Augmentation is a major surgery to increase vertical height of the atrophic mandible while vestibuloplasty is aimed to increase the denture bearing area. Purpose: The augmentation and vestibuloplasty was aimed to provide stability and retentive denture atrophic mandibular alveolar ridge. Case: A 65 years old woman patient complained about uncomfortable denture. Clinical evaluate showed flat ridge in the anterior mandible, flabby tissue and candidiasis, while residual ridge height was classified into class IV. Case management: Augmentation using autograph was conducted as the mandible vertical height is less than 15 mm. Autograph was used to achieve better bone quantity and quality. Separated alveolar ridge was conducted from left to right canine region and was elevated 0.5 mm from the previous position to get new ridge in the anterior region. The separated alveolar ridge was fixated by using T-plate and ligature wire. Three months after augmentation fixation appliances was removed vestibuloplasty was performed to increase denture bearing area that can make a stable and retentive denture. Conclusion: Augmentation and vestibuloplasty can improve flat ridge to become prominent.Latar belakang: Ridge mandibula yang atrofi pada umumnya mempersulit pembuatan restorasi prostetik terutama gigi tiruan lengkap (GTL. Residual alveolar ridge dan basal seat yang rendah menyebabkan gigi tiruan menjadi tidak stabil, menimbulkan ulser permanen, nyeri, neuralgia, dan kesulitan mengunyah. Tujuan: Augmentasi dan vestibuloplasti pada ridge mandibula yang atrofi dilakukan untuk menciptakan gigi tiruan yang stabil dan retentive. Kasus: Pasien wanita

Regional Comparative Unit Cost Studies for Maintenance and Operation of Physical Plants in Universities and Colleges in Central States Region and Rocky Mountain Region.

Science.gov (United States)

Association of Physical Plant Administrators, Corvallis, OR.

Presented in this document are data pertaining to maintenance and operations costs at colleges and universities in the central states region and the Rocky Mountain region. The major accounts included in the cost analysis are: (1) physical plant administration, (2) building maintenance, (3) custodial services, (4) utilities, (5) landscape and…

Faults and ridges - Historical development in Tempe Terra and Ulysses Patera regions of Mars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, D.H.; Dohm, J.M.

1990-01-01

Tempe Terra and the area north of Ulysses Patera are selected to demonstrate the various stages of faulting and ridge development in local areas. This work is accomplished by using Viking photomosaics to determine crosscutting relations of structures as well as their morphology and trend orientations. Results show that from the Early Noachian through the Early Amazonian Epochs, at least eight episodes of faulting occurred at Tempe Terra and six at Ulysses Patera. Tectonic activity at Tempe Terra was expressed mainly by densely spaced faults along the northeast extension of the Tharsis rise; faulting culminated in the Middle and Late Noachian and was superseded by transverse fault systems from the Alba Patera region during the Hesperian. Ridge formation, however, was most active in the Early Hesperian. At Ulysses Patera, an early history of tectonism is recorded by complex arrays of faults in a relatively small area of Noachian rocks. 14 refs

77 FR 64348 - Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment and Notice of Public Hearing for the Blue...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-19

...In accordance with the Federal coal management regulations, the Blue Mountain Energy, Inc., Federal Coal Lease-By-Application (LBA) Environmental Assessment (EA) is available for public review and comment. The United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado State Office will hold a public hearing to receive comments on the EA, Fair Market Value (FMV), and Maximum Economic Recovery (MER) of the coal resources for Blue Mountain Energy, Inc., COC-74813.

Human impacts to mountain streams

Science.gov (United States)

Wohl, Ellen

2006-09-01

Mountain streams are here defined as channel networks within mountainous regions of the world. This definition encompasses tremendous diversity of physical and biological conditions, as well as history of land use. Human effects on mountain streams may result from activities undertaken within the stream channel that directly alter channel geometry, the dynamics of water and sediment movement, contaminants in the stream, or aquatic and riparian communities. Examples include channelization, construction of grade-control structures or check dams, removal of beavers, and placer mining. Human effects can also result from activities within the watershed that indirectly affect streams by altering the movement of water, sediment, and contaminants into the channel. Deforestation, cropping, grazing, land drainage, and urbanization are among the land uses that indirectly alter stream processes. An overview of the relative intensity of human impacts to mountain streams is provided by a table summarizing human effects on each of the major mountainous regions with respect to five categories: flow regulation, biotic integrity, water pollution, channel alteration, and land use. This table indicates that very few mountains have streams not at least moderately affected by land use. The least affected mountainous regions are those at very high or very low latitudes, although our scientific ignorance of conditions in low-latitude mountains in particular means that streams in these mountains might be more altered than is widely recognized. Four case studies from northern Sweden (arctic region), Colorado Front Range (semiarid temperate region), Swiss Alps (humid temperate region), and Papua New Guinea (humid tropics) are also used to explore in detail the history and effects on rivers of human activities in mountainous regions. The overview and case studies indicate that mountain streams must be managed with particular attention to upstream/downstream connections, hillslope

Integrating GIS-based geologic mapping, LiDAR-based lineament analysis and site specific rock slope data to delineate a zone of existing and potential rock slope instability located along the grandfather mountain window-Linville Falls shear zone contact, Southern Appalachian Mountains, Watauga County, North Carolina

Science.gov (United States)

Gillon, K.A.; Wooten, R.M.; Latham, R.L.; Witt, A.W.; Douglas, T.J.; Bauer, J.B.; Fuemmeler, S.J.

2009-01-01

Landslide hazard maps of Watauga County identify >2200 landslides, model debris flow susceptibility, and evaluate a 14km x 0.5km zone of existing and potential rock slope instability (ZEPRSI) near the Town of Boone. The ZEPRSI encompasses west-northwest trending (WNWT) topographic ridges where 14 active/past-active rock/weathered rock slides occur mainly in rocks of the Grandfather Mountain Window (GMW). The north side of this ridgeline is the GMW / Linville Falls Fault (LFF) contact. Sheared rocks of the Linville Falls Shear Zone (LFSZ) occur along the ridge and locally in the valley north of the contact. The valley is underlain principally by layered granitic gneiss comprising the Linville Falls/Beech Mountain/Stone Mountain Thrust Sheet. The integration of ArcGIS??? - format digital geologic and lineament mapping on a 6m LiDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging) digital elevation model (DEM) base, and kinematic analyses of site specific rock slope data (e.g., presence and degree of ductile and brittle deformation fabrics, rock type, rock weathering state) indicate: WNWT lineaments are expressions of a regionally extensive zone of fractures and faults; and ZEPRSI rock slope failures concentrate along excavated, north-facing LFF/LFSZ slopes where brittle fabrics overprint older metamorphic foliations, and other fractures create side and back release surfaces. Copyright 2009 ARMA, American Rock Mechanics Association.

Piecewise Delamination Drives Uplift in the Atlas Mountains Region of Morocco

Science.gov (United States)

Bezada, M. J.; Humphreys, E.; Martin Davila, J.; mimoun, H.; Josep, G.; Palomeras, I.

2013-12-01

The elevation of the intra-continental Atlas Mountains of Morocco and surrounding regions requires a mantle component of buoyancy, and there is consensus that this buoyancy results from an abnormally thin lithosphere. Lithospheric delamination under the Atlas Mountains and thermal erosion caused by upwelling mantle have each been suggested as thinning mechanisms. We use seismic tomography to image the upper mantle of Morocco by inverting teleseimic p-wave delay times, complemented with local delays, recorded on a dense array of stations in the Iberian peninsula and Morocco. A surface wave model provides constraint on the shallower layers. We determine the geometry of lithospheric cavities and mantle upwelling beneath the Middle Atlas and central High Atlas, and image delaminated lithosphere at ~400 km beneath the Middle Atlas. We propose discontinuous delamination of an intrinsically unstable Atlas lithosphere, enabled by the presence of anomalously hot mantle, as a mechanism for producing the imaged structures. The Atlas lithosphere was made unstable by a combination of tectonic shortening and eclogite loading during Mesozoic rifting and Cenozoic magmatism. The presence of hot mantle, sourced from regional upwellings in northern Africa or the Canary Islands, enabled the mobilization of this lithosphere. Flow around the retreating Alboran slab focused upwelling mantle under the Middle Atlas, where we image the most recent delamination. The Atlas Mountains of Morocco stand as an example of mantle-generated uplift and large-scale lithospheric loss in a mildly contractional orogen.

Water Quality and Evaluation of Pesticides in Lakes in the Ridge Citrus Region of Central Florida

Science.gov (United States)

Choquette, Anne F.; Kroening, Sharon E.

2009-01-01

Water chemistry, including major inorganic constituents, nutrients, and pesticide compounds, was compared between seven lakes surrounded by citrus agriculture and an undeveloped lake on the Lake Wales Ridge (herein referred to as the Ridge) in central Florida. The region has been recognized for its vulnerability to the leaching of agricultural chemicals into the subsurface due to factors including soils, climate, and land use. About 40 percent of Florida's citrus cultivation occurs in 'ridge citrus' areas characterized by sandy well drained soils, with the remainder in 'flatwoods citrus' characterized by high water tables and poorly drained soils. The lakes on the Ridge are typically flow-through lakes that exchange water with adjacent and underlying aquifer systems. This study is the first to evaluate the occurrence of pesticides in lakes on the Ridge, and also represents one of the first monitoring efforts nationally to focus on regional-scale assessment of current-use pesticides in small- to moderate-sized lakes (5 to 393 acres). The samples were collected between December 2003 and September 2005. The lakes in citrus areas contained elevated concentrations of major inorganic constituents (including alkalinity, total dissolved solids, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, and sulfate), total nitrogen, pH, and pesticides compared to the undeveloped lake. Nitrate (as N) and total nitrogen concentrations were typically elevated in the citrus lakes, with maximum values of 4.70 and 5.19 mg/L (milligrams per liter), respectively. Elevated concentrations of potassium, nitrate, and other inorganic constituents in the citrus lakes likely reflect inputs from the surficial ground-water system that originated predominantly from agricultural fertilizers, soil amendments, and inorganic pesticides. A total of 20 pesticide compounds were detected in the lakes, of which 12 compounds exceeded the standardized reporting level of 0.06 ug/L (microgram per liter). Those

Influence of the orographic roughness of glacier valleys across the Transantarctic Mountains in an atmospheric regional model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jourdain, Nicolas C.; Gallee, Hubert [Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Geophysique de l' Environnement, Saint Martin d' Heres (France)

2011-03-15

Glacier valleys across the Transantarctic Mountains are not properly taken into account in climate models, because of their coarse resolution. Nonetheless, glacier valleys control katabatic winds in this region, and the latter are thought to affect the climate of the Ross Sea sector, frsater formation to snow mass balance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the production of turbulent kinetic energy by the subgrid-scale orography in the Transantarctic Mountains using a 20-km atmospheric regional model. A classical orographic roughness length parametrization is modified to produce either smooth or rough valleys. A one-year simulation shows that katabatic winds in the Transantarctic Mountains are strongly improved using smooth valleys rather than rough valleys. Pressure and temperature fields are affected by the representation of the orographic roughness, specifically in the Transantarctic Mountains and over the Ross Ice Shelf. A smooth representation of escarpment regions shows better agreement with automatic weather station observations than a rough representation. This work stresses the need to improve the representation of subgrid-scale orography to simulate realistic katabatic flows. This paper also provides a way of improving surface winds in an atmospheric model without increasing its resolution. (orig.)

Rural measurements of the chemical composition of airborne particles in the Eastern United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolff, G.T.; Kelly, N.A.; Ferman, M.A.; Morrissey, M.L.

1983-01-01

Quantitative measurements of particulate composition was made at three rural sites: in central South Dakota, on the Louisiana Gulf Coastal, and in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The first two sites were selected to determine background concentrations in continental polar and maritime tropical air masses, respectively, which affect the eastern United State during the summer. The Virginia site was selected as a receptor site, downwind of the midwestern source area. The South Dakota data established the background concentrations. These concentrations were similar to the levels in Louisiana when air parcels arrived from the Gulf of Mexico, without recently passing over the United States. Levels of fine particles (diameters less than 2.5 μm) were highest in Virginia and were due chiefly to sulfate. Using trajectory and statistical analyses, it is shown that the residence time of an air parcel over the midwestern source area was the most important variable in determining the sulface levels in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Cultural ecosystem services of mountain regions: Modelling the aesthetic value

OpenAIRE

Schirpke, Uta; Timmermann, Florian; Tappeiner, Ulrike; Tasser, Erich

2016-01-01

Mountain regions meet an increasing demand for pleasant landscapes, offering many cultural ecosystem services to both their residents and tourists. As a result of global change, land managers and policy makers are faced with changes to this landscape and need efficient evaluation techniques to assess cultural ecosystem services. This study provides a spatially explicit modelling approach to estimating aesthetic landscape values by relating spatial landscape patterns to human perceptions via a...

New Seismic Monitoring Station at Mohawk Ridge, Valles Caldera

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roberts, Peter Morse [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2017-09-20

Two new broadband digital seismic stations were installed in the Valles Caldera in 2011 and 2012. The first is located on the summit of Cerros del Abrigo (station code CDAB) and the second is located on the flanks of San Antonio Mountain (station code SAMT). Seismic monitoring stations in the caldera serve multiple purposes. These stations augment and expand the current coverage of the Los Alamos Seismic Network (LASN), which is operated to support seismic and volcanic hazards studies for LANL and northern New Mexico (Figure 1). They also provide unique continuous seismic data within the caldera that can be used for scientific studies of the caldera’s substructure and detection of very small seismic signals that may indicate changes in the current and evolving state of remnant magma that is known to exist beneath the caldera. Since the installation of CDAB and SAMT, several very small earthquakes have already been detected near San Antonio Mountain just west of SAMT (Figure 2). These are the first events to be seen in that area. Caldera stations also improve the detection and epicenter determination quality for larger local earthquakes on the Pajarito Fault System east of the Preserve and the Nacimiento Uplift to the west. These larger earthquakes are a concern to LANL Seismic Hazards assessments and seismic monitoring of the Los Alamos region, including the VCNP, is a DOE requirement. Currently the next closest seismic stations to the caldera are on Pipeline Road (PPR) just west of Los Alamos, and Peralta Ridge (PER) south of the caldera. There is no station coverage near the resurgent dome, Redondo Peak, in the center of the caldera. Filling this “hole” is the highest priority for the next new LASN station. We propose to install this station in 2018 on Mohawk Ridge just east of Redondito, in the same area already occupied by other scientific installations, such as the MCON flux tower operated by UNM.

Simulating vegetation response to climate change in the Blue Mountains with MC2 dynamic global vegetation model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John B. Kim

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Warming temperatures are projected to greatly alter many forests in the Pacific Northwest. MC2 is a dynamic global vegetation model, a climate-aware, process-based, and gridded vegetation model. We calibrated and ran MC2 simulations for the Blue Mountains Ecoregion, Oregon, USA, at 30 arc-second spatial resolution. We calibrated MC2 using the best available spatial datasets from land managers. We ran future simulations using climate projections from four global circulation models (GCM under representative concentration pathway 8.5. Under this scenario, forest productivity is projected to increase as the growing season lengthens, and fire occurrence is projected to increase steeply throughout the century, with burned area peaking early- to mid-century. Subalpine forests are projected to disappear, and the coniferous forests to contract by 32.8%. Large portions of the dry and mesic forests are projected to convert to woodlands, unless precipitation were to increase. Low levels of change are projected for the Umatilla National Forest consistently across the four GCM’s. For the Wallowa-Whitman and the Malheur National Forest, forest conversions are projected to vary more across the four GCM-based simulations, reflecting high levels of uncertainty arising from climate. For simulations based on three of the four GCMs, sharply increased fire activity results in decreases in forest carbon stocks by the mid-century, and the fire activity catalyzes widespread biome shift across the study area. We document the full cycle of a structured approach to calibrating and running MC2 for transparency and to serve as a template for applications of MC2. Keywords: Climate change, Regional change, Simulation, Calibration, Forests, Fire, Dynamic global vegetation model

Ridge Orientations of the Ridge-Forming Unit, Sinus Meridiani, Mars-A Fluvial Explanation

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkinson, M. Justin; Herridge, A.

2013-01-01

Imagery and MOLA data were used in an analysis of the ridge-forming rock unit (RFU) exposed in Sinus Meridiani (SM). This unit shows parallels at different scales with fluvial sedimentary bodies. We propose the terrestrial megafan as the prime analog for the RFU, and likely for other members of the layered units. Megafans are partial cones of fluvial sediment, with radii up to hundreds of km. Although recent reviews of hypotheses for the RFU units exclude fluvial hypotheses [1], inverted ridges in the deserts of Oman have been suggested as putative analogs for some ridges [2], apparently without appreciating The wider context in which these ridges have formed is a series of megafans [3], a relatively unappreciated geomorphic feature. It has been argued that these units conform to the megafan model at the regional, subregional and local scales [4]. At the regional scale suites of terrestrial megafans are known to cover large areas at the foot of uplands on all continents - a close parallel with the setting of the Meridiani sediments at the foot of the southern uplands of Mars, with its incised fluvial systems leading down the regional NW slope [2, 3] towards the sedimentary units. At the subregional scale the layering and internal discontinuities of the Meridiani rocks are consistent, inter alia, with stacked fluvial units [4]. Although poorly recognized as such, the prime geomorphic environment in which stream channel networks cover large areas, without intervening hillslopes, is the megafan [see e.g. 4]. Single megafans can reach 200,000 km2 [5]. Megafans thus supply an analog for areas where channel-like ridges (as a palimpsest of a prior landscape) cover the intercrater plains of Meridiani [6]. At the local, or river-reach scale, the numerous sinuous features of the RFU are suggestive of fluvial channels. Cross-cutting relationships, a common feature of channels on terrestrial megafans, are ubiquitous. Desert megafans show cemented paleo-channels as inverted

Mountain biking injuries requiring trauma center admission: a 10-year regional trauma system experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Peter T W; Jangra, Dalbhir; Ritchie, Alec H; Lower, Mary Ellen; Kasic, Sharon; Brown, D Ross; Baldwin, Greg A; Simons, Richard K

2006-02-01

Mountain biking has become an increasingly popular recreational and competitive sport with increasingly recognized risks. The purpose of this study was to review a population based approach to serious injuries requiring trauma center admission related to mountain biking, identify trends and develop directions for related injury prevention programs. Three trauma centers in the Greater Vancouver area exclusively serve a major mountain bike park and the North Shore Mountains biking trails. The Trauma Registries and the patient charts were reviewed for mountain bike injuries from 1992 to 2002. The data were analyzed according to demographics, distribution, and severity of injuries, and need for operative intervention. Findings were reviewed with injury prevention experts and regional and national mountain-biking stakeholders to provide direction to injury prevention programs. A total of 1,037 patients were identified as having bicycling-related injuries. Of these, 399 patients sustained 1,092 injuries while mountain biking. There was a threefold increase in the incidence of mountain biking injuries over a 10-year period. Young males were most commonly affected. Orthopedic injuries were most common (46.5%) followed by head (12.2%), spine (12%), chest (10.3%), facial (10.2%), abdominal (5.4%), genitourinary (2.2%), and neck injuries (1%). High operative rate was observed: 38% of injuries and 66% of patients required surgery. One patient died from his injuries. Injury prevention programs were developed and successfully engaged the target population. Mountain biking is a growing cause of serious injuries. Young males are principally at risk and serious injuries result from intended activity and despite protective equipment. Injury prevention programs were developed to address these concerns.

Physical processes and effects of magmatism in the Yucca Mountain region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valentine, G.A.; Crowe, B.M.; Perry, F.V.

1991-01-01

This paper describes initial studies related to the effects of volcanism on performance of the proposed Yucca Mountain radioactive waste repository, and to the general processes of magmatism in the Yucca Mountain region. Volcanism or igneous activity can affect the repository performance by ejection of waste onto the earth's surface (eruptive effects), or by subsurface effects of hydrothermal processes and altered hydrology if an intrusion occurs within the repository block. Initial, conservative calculations of the volume of waste that might be erupted during a small-volume basaltic eruption (such as those which occurred in the Yucca Mountain region) indicate that regulatory limits might be exceeded. Current efforts to refine these calculations, based upon field studies at analog sites, are described. Studies of subsurface effects are just beginning, and are currently focused on field studies of intrusion properties and contact metamorphism at deeply eroded analog sites. General processes of magmatism are important for providing a physical basis for predictions of future volcanic activity. Initial studies have focused on modeling basaltic magma chambers in conjunction with petrographic and geochemical studies. An example of the thermal-fluid dynamic evolution of a small basaltic sill is described, based on numerical simulation. Quantification of eruption conditions can provide valuable information on the overall magmatic system. We are developing quantitative methods for mapping pyroclastic facies of small basaltic centers and, in combination with two-phase hydrodynamic simulation, using this information to estimate eruption conditions. Examples of such hydrodynamic simulations are presented, along with comparison to an historical eruption in Hawaii

Minapolitan region development analysis at Penajam Paser Utara using blue economy concept

Science.gov (United States)

Mawarsari, P. M.; Dewanti, A. N.; Nurrahman, F.

2017-06-01

Penajam Paser Utara (PPU) Region in East Kalimantan was assigned as one of Minapolitan area in Indonesia focusing on aquaculture based on Indonesia Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Decision Number 35 in 2013. Unfortunately, it is shown from PPU region statistics data that decreasing fisheries production in PPU region was occur especially for land fisheries from 2013 until 2015. The aim of this study is to formulate development strategies of Minapolitan in PPU Region by the Blue Economy concept. Several variables such as fisheries and aquaculture aspects, processing and marketing, incomes and workers, also sustainability and economic paradigm is evaluated in this study. Firstly it needs to identify the potential of character and problem by reviewing Minapolitan area in PPU Region with descriptive comparative analysis. Secondly, the fruitfulness of Minapolitan activity in PPU Region impact factors was identified by using internal and external factor (IFAS and EFAS) analysis. Then some of strategic considerations was formulated by using the successful development indicator in Minapolitan area that associate to the Blue Economy concept with SWOT analysis. The result of IFAS analysis show the highest score of strength that is production and commodity productivity. Contrarily, the income level factor is become the highest score at weakness. Then, the EFAS analysis declare that marketing system is the highest factor in opportunity. The position of SWOT quadrant indicate that the Minapolitan area of PPU region is in quadrant I /or first quadrant which means progressive. Therefore, the Minapolitan in PPU have a great chance to increase the cultivation optimally. The results of SWOT matrix is to increase its product and productivity by upgrading the quality and quantity production facilities, raising the control of production activites and also increasing the supervision of processing business with sustainable management business principle.

Fire-climate-human interactions during the postglacial period at Sunrise Ridge, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington (USA)

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Megan K.; Lukens, Michael L.; McCutcheon, Patrick T.; Burtchard, Greg C.

2017-12-01

With the creation of Mount Rainier National Park (MORA) in 1899 came the active management of the park's landscapes and a heavy emphasis on fire suppression. Today, managers at MORA seek to better manage current fire activity; however, this requires an improved understanding of past fire activity on the mountain. In this study high-resolution macroscopic charcoal analysis and pollen analysis of lake sediment records was used to reconstruct the postglacial fire and vegetation history for the Sunrise Ridge area of MORA. Fire activity was lowest during the Late Glacial when vegetation was sparse and climate was cool and dry. Fire activity increased during the early Holocene as the regional climate warmed and dried, and burnable biomass became more abundant. Fire activity continued to increase into the middle Holocene (until ca. 6600 cal yr BP) even as the regional climate became wetter and eventually cooler; the modern-day mesic forest and subalpine meadow landscapes of the park established at this time. Fire activity was generally highest and mean fire return intervals were lowest on Sunrise Ridge during the late Holocene, and are consistent with tree-ring based estimates of fire frequency. The similarity between the Sunrise Ridge and other paleofire records in the Pacific Northwest suggests that broad-scale climatic shifts, such as the retreat of the Cordilleran ice sheet and changes in annual insolation, as well as increased interannual climate variability (i.e., drought) particularly in the middle to late Holocene, were responsible for changes in fire activity during the postglacial period. However, abundant and increasing archaeological evidence from Sunrise Ridge during the middle to late Holocene suggests that humans may have also influenced the landscape at this time. It is likely that fires will continue to increase at MORA as drought becomes a more frequent occurrence in the Pacific Northwest.

Tourist phenomenon in Geoagiu Spa region within the Central Metaliferi Mountains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dombay Ştefan

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The Central Metaliferi Mountains, situated in south-central side of the Apuseni Mountains, have a variety of natural and anthropic touristic potential, but, unfortunately, less known and not enough exploited. After conducting a survey in Geoagiu Spa we specifically recommend the following: increased number of one day tours, which are the main tourist destination in the region, many tours for visiting the major centers of cultural - historical monuments related to our past history, granting economic incentives for organizer of youth groups to attract the youth, diversification of tourist routes with thematic actions: curiosities of nature, environment, organizing sports events with different timetable covering all seasons and all series, attracting local and foreign investors by providing tax incentives and financial programs introducing touristic resort in the international circuit. .

Detailed CO(J = 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2) observations toward an H II region RCW 32 in the Vela Molecular Ridge

Science.gov (United States)

Enokiya, Rei; Sano, Hidetoshi; Hayashi, Katsuhiro; Tachihara, Kengo; Torii, Kazufumi; Yamamoto, Hiroaki; Hattori, Yusuke; Hasegawa, Yutaka; Ohama, Akio; Kimura, Kimihiro; Ogawa, Hideo; Fukui, Yasuo

2018-05-01

We performed CO(J = 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2) observations toward an H II region RCW 32 in the Vela Molecular Ridge. The CO gas distribution associated with the H II region was revealed for the first time at a high resolution of 22″. The results revealed three distinct velocity components which show correspondence with the optical dark lanes and/or Hα distribution. Two of the components show complementary spatial distribution which suggests collisional interaction between them at a relative velocity of ˜ 4 km s-1. Based on these results, we present a hypothesis that a cloud-cloud collision determined the cloud distribution and triggered formation of the exciting star ionizing RCW 32. The collision time scale is estimated from the cloud size and the velocity separation to be ˜2 Myr and the collision terminated ˜1 Myr ago, which is consistent with the age of the exciting star and the associated cluster. By combing the previous works on the H II regions in the Vela Molecular Ridge, we argue that the majority (at least four) of the H II regions in the Ridge were formed by triggering of cloud-cloud collision.

The Cascade Mountains revisited: A re-evaluation in light of new lead isotopic data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Church, S.E.

1976-01-01

Lead isotopic analyses have been repeated using silica gel for several samples from the Cascade Mountains which were previously analyzed by lead sulfide. The improved precision indicates that some of the scatter in the original data was due to thermal fractionation; however, the bulk of the data have not changed significantly. Two-point mixing lines are demonstrated for main cone-satellitic cone pairs from Glacier Peak, Mt. Baker and Mt. Shasta. Comparison with data on oceanic basalts from the Juan de Fuca and Gorda Ridge area indicates that hypothesis of mixing of mid-ocean ridge (MOR) basalt lead and 'alkali basalt-like' lead from the oceanic crust is not tenable. Lead isotope analyses of pre-Astoria Fan sediments from DSDP Leg 18 sites and from the Eocene Tyee Formation indicate that the sedimentary continental detritus from the North American continent has the correct lead isotopic composition to be the continental component necessary to account for the Cascade Mountains lead isotopic array by mixing with Juan de Fuca-Gorda Ridge MOR basalts. However, from recent work on the structure of oceanic trenches by Karig and Sharman (1975), it does not appear that subduction of sediments is the rule. A model of crustal contamination and/or assimilation at the crust/mantle interface is the preferred explanation for the lead isotopic data from the Cascade Mountains. (Auth.)

[Rocky Mountain regional low-level waste compact development and establishment of disposals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

This Compact Issue Study was intended to determine if state institutions in the Rocky Mountain region could reduce low-level radioactive waste shipping and disposal costs through jointly shipping their low-level radioactive wastes. Public institutions in the state of Colorado were used as a test case for this study

Facies and age of the Oso Ridge Member (new), Abo Formation, Zuni Mountains, New Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, A.K.; Stamm, R.G.; Kottlowski, F.E.; Mamet, B.L.; Dutro, J.T.; Weary, D.J.

1994-01-01

The Oso Ridge Member (new), at the base of the Abo Formation, nonconformably overlies Proterozoic rocks. The member consists of some 9m of conglomerate and arkose composed principally of fragments of the underlying Proterozoic metamorphic rocks; thin, fossiliferous limestone lenses are interbedded with the arkose. Biota from the lenses include a phylloid alga, foraminifers, conodonts, brachiopods, and molluscs. The age of the Oso Ridge Member is Virgilian Late Pennsylvanian) to Wolfcampian (Early Permian). -from Authors

77 FR 75186 - Notice of Closure, Target Shooting Public Safety Closure on the Lake Mountains in Utah County, UT

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-19

... Land Management, Department of the Interior. ACTION: Notice of Closure. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land... impacts is completed through the land use planning process. The Lake Mountains are a small mountain range... ridge. There are private residences along the lake shore. Utah Lake is a popular area for recreationists...

Adaptation to Climate Change in Panchase Mountain Ecological Regions of Nepal

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Shankar Adhikari

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Rural mountain communities in developing countries are considered particularly vulnerable to environmental change, including climate change. Forests and agriculture provide numerous ecosystem goods and services (EGS to local communities and can help people adapt to the impacts of climate change. There is however poor documentation on the role of EGS in people’s livelihood and adaptation practices. This study in the rural Panchase Mountain Ecological Region of Nepal identifies practices being used to adapt to a changing environment through key informant interviews and focus group discussions. At the household level, livelihood diversification, changes in cropping patterns and farming practices, use of multipurpose plant species and income-generation activities were identified as adaptation strategies. Among major strategies at the community level were community forestry-based climate adaptation plans of action for forest and water resource management. Landscape-level adaptation strategies were large-scale collaborative projects and programs, such as Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Chitwan Annapurna Landscape conservation; which had implications at both the local and landscape-level. A proper blending and integration of adaptation strategies from individual households through to the community and to the landscape level is needed for implementing effective adaptation in the region.

Digital modelling of landscape and soil in a mountainous region: A neuro-fuzzy approach

Science.gov (United States)

Viloria, Jesús A.; Viloria-Botello, Alvaro; Pineda, María Corina; Valera, Angel

2016-01-01

Research on genetic relationships between soil and landforms has largely improved soil mapping. Recent technological advances have created innovative methods for modelling the spatial soil variation from digital elevation models (DEMs) and remote sensors. This generates new opportunities for the application of geomorphology to soil mapping. This study applied a method based on artificial neural networks and fuzzy clustering to recognize digital classes of land surfaces in a mountainous area in north-central Venezuela. The spatial variation of the fuzzy memberships exposed the areas where each class predominates, while the class centres helped to recognize the topographic attributes and vegetation cover of each class. The obtained classes of terrain revealed the structure of the land surface, which showed regional differences in climate, vegetation, and topography and landscape stability. The land-surface classes were subdivided on the basis of the geological substratum to produce landscape classes that additionally considered the influence of soil parent material. These classes were used as a framework for soil sampling. A redundancy analysis confirmed that changes of landscape classes explained the variation in soil properties (p = 0.01), and a Kruskal-Wallis test showed significant differences (p = 0.01) in clay, hydraulic conductivity, soil organic carbon, base saturation, and exchangeable Ca and Mg between classes. Thus, the produced landscape classes correspond to three-dimensional bodies that differ in soil conditions. Some changes of land-surface classes coincide with abrupt boundaries in the landscape, such as ridges and thalwegs. However, as the model is continuous, it disclosed the remaining variation between those boundaries.

Landscape patterns of phenotypic variation and population structuring in a selfing grass, Elymus glaucus (blue wildrye).

Science.gov (United States)

Vicky J. Erickson; Nancy L. Mandel; Frank C. Sorensen

2004-01-01

Source-related phenotypic variance was investigated in a common garden study of populations of Elymus glaucus Buckley (blue wildrye) from the Blue Mountain Ecological Province of northeastern Oregon and adjoining Washington. The primary objective of this study was to assess geographic patterns of potentially adaptive differentiation in this self-...

Green Tourism in Mountain Regions - Reducing Vulnerability and Promoting People and Place Centric Development in the Himalayas

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

R. B. Singh; D. K. Mishra

2004-01-01

In recent years, mountain regions are attracting great attention to Indian tourists in general and foreign tourists in particular. The potential mountain resources for promoting green tourism are enormous in the form of natural and cultural heritage such as biosphere reserves, flora and fauna, lakes and rivers and traditional rural resources. In order to utilise tourism industry market, uncontrolled numbers of tourists and related haphazard infrastructural facilities in the vulnerable mountain regions pose serious environmental implications. The ecological pressures are threatening land, water and wild life resources through direct and indirect environmental impacts together with generation of solid and liquid wastes, so green tourism is emerging as an important task in order to develop new relationship between communities, government agencies and private sectors. The strategy focuses on ecological understanding, environmental protection and ecodevelopment. The major attributes of the green tourism include environmental conservation and education and distribution of income to local people based on strong partnership. Various knowledge systems go a long way for achieving the goals of the green tourism, which creates awareness about the value of environmental resources.Mountains have ecological, recreational, educational and scientific values, which need to be utilised in sustainable way. Various tourist activities and facilities need to be diversified in order to achieve multiple benefits including scientific field excursion,recreation in natural and cultural areas, community festivals and sport tourisms. Green tourism considers tourism development as an integral part of a national and regional development. The paper discusses the social, economic and environmental dimensions of the green tourism with particular reference to village tourism development programme taking empirical evidences from the Himalaya. Such programme also minimises biophysical and human

A tunnel runs through it: an inside view of the Tualatin Mountains, Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Ken; Peterson, Gary L.; Beeson, Marvin H.; Wells, Ray E.; Fleck, Robert J.; Evarts, Russell C.; Duvall, Alison; Blakely, Richard J.; Burns, Scott

2011-01-01

The Tualatin Mountains form a northwest-striking ridge about 350 m high that separates Portland, Oregon, from the cities of the Tualatin Valley to the west. Known informally as the Portland Hills, the ridge is a late Cenozoic anticline, bounded by reverse faults that dip toward the anticlinal axis. The anticline is a broad, open fold consisting chiefly of Miocene Columbia River Basalt Group, with remnants of Miocene-Pliocene Troutdale Formation and Pleistocene basalt of the Boring Volcanic Field on the flanks of the anticline. Anticlinal structures similar to the Tualatin Mountains are characteristic of the northern Willamette Valley, where the structures accommodate margin-parallel shortening of the Cascadia fore arc. Global Positioning System (GPS) results indicate that the shortening is due to the northward motion of Oregon at several millimeters per year with respect to stable North America. Some of the uplifts may contain active faults, but the structures are poorly exposed and are overlain by thick Pleistocene loess and Missoula flood deposits. Between 1993 and 1998, construction of the 3-mile-long (4500-m-long) TriMet MAX Light Rail tunnel through the Tualatin Mountains provided an unusual opportunity to investigate the geological structure and history of the Tualatin Mountains. This report is a collaborative effort among the tunnel geologists and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to document the geologic story and quantify late Cenozoic and Quaternary deformation rates of the Tualatin Mountains.

Topography, stresses, and stability at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swolfs, H.S.; Savage, W.Z.

1985-01-01

Plane-strain solutions are used to analyze the influence of topography on the state of stress at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada. The results are in good agreement with the measured stress components obtained in drill holes by the hydraulic-fracturing technique, particularly those measured directly beneath the crest of the ridge, and indicate that these stresses are gravitationally induced. A separate analysis takes advantage of the fact that a well-developed set of vertical faults and fractures, subparallel to the ridge trend, imparts a vertical transverse isotropy to the rock and that, as a consequence of gravitational loading, unequal horizontal stresses are induced in directions perpendicular and parallel to the anisotropy

Lithology, fault displacement, and origin of secondary calcium carbonate and opaline silica at Trenches 14 and 14D on the Bow Ridge Fault at Exile Hill, Nye County, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, E.M.; Huckins, H.E.

1995-01-01

Yucca Mountain, a proposed site for a high-level nuclear-waste repository, is located in southern Nevada, 20 km east of Beatty, and adjacent to the southwest comer of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) (fig. 1). Yucca Mountain is located within the Basin and Range province of the western United States. The climate is semiarid, and the flora is transitional between that of the Mojave Desert to the south and the Great Basin Desert to the north. As part of the evaluation, hydrologic conditions, especially water levels, of Yucca Mountain and vicinity during the Quaternary, and especially the past 20,000 years, are being characterized. In 1982, the US Geological Survey, in cooperation with the US Department of Energy (under interagency agreement DE-A104-78ET44802), excavated twenty-six bulldozer and backhoe trenches in the Yucca Mountain region to evaluate the nature and frequency of Quaternary faulting (Swadley and others, 1984). The trenches were oriented perpendicular to traces of suspected Quaternary faults and across projections of known bedrock faults into Quaternary deposits. Trench 14 exposes the Bow Ridge Fault on the west side of Exile Hill. Although the original purpose of the excavation of trench 14 was to evaluate the nature and frequency of Quaternary faulting on the Bow Ridge Fault, concern arose as to whether or not the nearly vertical calcium carbonate (the term ''carbonate'' in this study refers to calcium carbonate) and opaline silica veins in the fault zone were deposited by ascending waters (ground water). These veins resemble in gross morphology veins commonly formed by hydrothermal processes

III-Nitride Blue Laser Diode with Photoelectrochemically Etched Current Aperture

Science.gov (United States)

Megalini, Ludovico

Group III-nitride is a remarkable material system to make highly efficient and high-power optoelectronics and electronic devices because of the unique electrical, physical, chemical and structural properties it offers. In particular, InGaN-based blue Laser Diodes (LDs) have been successfully employed in a variety of applications ranging from biomedical and military devices to scientific instrumentation and consumer electronics. Recently their use in highly efficient Solid State Lighting (SSL) has been proposed because of their superior beam quality and higher efficiency at high input power density. Tremendous advances in research of GaN semi-polar and non-polar crystallographic planes have led both LEDs and LDs grown on these non-basal planes to rival with, and with the promise to outperform, their equivalent c-plane counterparts. However, still many issues need to be addressed, both related to material growth and device fabrication, including a lack of conventional wet etching techniques. GaN and its alloys with InN and AlN have proven resistant essentially to all known standard wet etching techniques, and the predominant etching methods rely on chlorine-based dry etching (RIE). These introduce sub-surface damage which can degrade the electrical properties of the epitaxial structure and reduce the reliability and lifetime of the final device. Such reasons and the limited effectiveness of passivation techniques have so far suggested to etch the LD ridges before the active region, although it is well-known that this can badly affect the device performance, especially in narrow stripe width LDs, because the gain guiding obtained in the planar configuration is weak and the low index step and high lateral current leakage result in devices with threshold current density higher than devices whose ridge is etched beyond the active region. Moreover, undercut etching of III-nitride layers has proven even more challenging, with limitations in control of the lateral etch

Improving Understanding of Spatial Heterogeneity in Mountain Ecohydrology with Multispectral Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS).

Science.gov (United States)

Wigmore, O.; Molotch, N. P.

2017-12-01

Mountain regions are a critical component of the hydrologic system. These regions are extremely heterogeneous, with dramatic topographic, climatic, ecologic and hydrologic variations occurring over very short distances. This heterogeneity makes understanding changes in these environments difficult. Commonly used satellite data are often too coarse to resolve processes at appropriate scales and point measurements are typically unrepresentative of the wider region. The rapid rise of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) offers a potential solution to the scale-related inadequacies of satellite and ground-based observing systems. Using UAS, spatially distributed datasets can be collected at high resolution (i.e. cm), on demand, and can therefore facilitate improved understanding of mountain ecohydrology. We deployed a custom built multispectral - visible (RGB), near infrared (NIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) - UAS at a weekly interval over the Niwot Ridge Long Term Ecological Research (NWT LTER) saddle catchment at 3500masl in the Colorado Rockies. This system was used to map surface water pathways, land cover and topography, and quantify ecohydrologic variables including, snow depth, vegetation productivity and surface soil moisture at 5-50cm resolution across an 80ha study area. This presentation will discuss the techniques, methods and merits of using UAS derived multispectral data for ecohydrologic research in mountain regions. We will also present preliminary findings from our survey time series at NWT LTER and a discussion of the potential insights that these datasets can provide. Key questions to be addressed are: 1) how does spatial variability in snow depth impact soil moisture and vegetation productivity, 2) how can UAS help us to identify ecohydrologic `hotspots' and `hot moments' across heterogeneous landscapes.

Performance of CMORPH, TMPA, and PERSIANN rainfall datasets over plain, mountainous, and glacial regions of Pakistan

Science.gov (United States)

Hussain, Yawar; Satgé, Frédéric; Hussain, Muhammad Babar; Martinez-Carvajal, Hernan; Bonnet, Marie-Paule; Cárdenas-Soto, Martin; Roig, Henrique Llacer; Akhter, Gulraiz

2018-02-01

The present study aims at the assessment of six satellite rainfall estimates (SREs) in Pakistan. For each assessed products, both real-time (RT) and post adjusted (Adj) versions are considered to highlight their potential benefits in the rainfall estimation at annual, monthly, and daily temporal scales. Three geomorphological climatic zones, i.e., plain, mountainous, and glacial are taken under considerations for the determination of relative potentials of these SREs over Pakistan at global and regional scales. All SREs, in general, have well captured the annual north-south rainfall decreasing patterns and rainfall amounts over the typical arid regions of the country. Regarding the zonal approach, the performance of all SREs has remained good over mountainous region comparative to arid regions. This poor performance in accurate rainfall estimation of all the six SREs over arid regions has made their use questionable in these regions. Over glacier region, all SREs have highly overestimated the rainfall. One possible cause of this overestimation may be due to the low surface temperature and radiation absorption over snow and ice cover, resulting in their misidentification with rainy clouds as daily false alarm ratio has increased from mountainous to glacial regions. Among RT products, CMORPH-RT is the most biased product. The Bias was almost removed on CMORPH-Adj thanks to the gauge adjustment. On a general way, all Adj versions outperformed their respective RT versions at all considered temporal scales and have confirmed the positive effects of gauge adjustment. CMORPH-Adj and TMPA-Adj have shown the best agreement with in situ data in terms of Bias, RMSE, and CC over the entire study area.

Assessing the Economic Situation of Small-Scale Farm Forestry in Mountain Regions: A Case Study in Austria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philipp Toscani

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Austria is one of the few countries with a long tradition of monitoring the economic performance of forest holdings. The national Farm Accountancy Data Network also addresses some forestry-specific issues, given the high significance of farm forestry in this country. However, it is not possible to assess the profitability of small-scale farm forestry in mountainous regions based on a representative sample. In this paper, we demonstrate how information gaps can be overcome by means of economic modeling and present results of this approach for mountain forestry for the first time. In spite of the unfavorable conditions of an alpine setting, forestry tends to be of special significance for the viability and resilience of family farms in these regions. Sustainable forest management that safeguards the ecosystem services provided by forests relies mostly on the profitability of timber production. Thus, the economic development of farm forestry is a key factor in achieving targets 15.1 and 15.4 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in mountain regions.

A comparative review of multi-risk modelling methodologies for climate change adaptation in mountain regions

Science.gov (United States)

Terzi, Stefano; Torresan, Silvia; Schneiderbauer, Stefan

2017-04-01

Keywords: Climate change, mountain regions, multi-risk assessment, climate change adaptation. Climate change has already led to a wide range of impacts on the environment, the economy and society. Adaptation actions are needed to cope with the impacts that have already occurred (e.g. storms, glaciers melting, floods, droughts) and to prepare for future scenarios of climate change. Mountain environment is particularly vulnerable to the climate changes due to its exposure to recent climate warming (e.g. water regime changes, thawing of permafrost) and due to the high degree of specialization of both natural and human systems (e.g. alpine species, valley population density, tourism-based economy). As a consequence, the mountain local governments are encouraged to undertake territorial governance policies to climate change, considering multi-risks and opportunities for the mountain economy and identifying the best portfolio of adaptation strategies. This study aims to provide a literature review of available qualitative and quantitative tools, methodological guidelines and best practices to conduct multi-risk assessments in the mountain environment within the context of climate change. We analyzed multi-risk modelling and assessment methods applied in alpine regions (e.g. event trees, Bayesian Networks, Agent Based Models) in order to identify key concepts (exposure, resilience, vulnerability, risk, adaptive capacity), climatic drivers, cause-effect relationships and socio-ecological systems to be integrated in a comprehensive framework. The main outcomes of the review, including a comparison of existing techniques based on different criteria (e.g. scale of analysis, targeted questions, level of complexity) and a snapshot of the developed multi-risk framework for climate change adaptation will be here presented and discussed.

Effects of projected climate change on vegetation in the Blue Mountains ecoregion, USA

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Becky K. Kerns

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We used autecological, paleoecological, and modeling information to explore the potential effects of climate change on vegetation in the Blue Mountains ecoregion, Oregon (USA. Although uncertainty exists about the exact nature of future vegetation change, we infer that the following are likely to occur by the end of the century: (1 dominance of ponderosa pine and sagebrush will increase in many locations, (2 the forest-steppe ecotone will move upward in latitude and elevation, (3 ponderosa pine will be distributed at higher elevations, (4 subalpine and alpine systems will be replaced by grass species, pine, and Douglas-fir, (5 moist forest types may increase under wetter scenarios, (6 the distribution and abundance of juniper woodlands may decrease if the frequency and extent of wildfire increase, and (7 grasslands and shrublands will increase at lower elevations. Tree growth in energy-limited landscapes (high elevations, north aspects will increase as the climate warms and snowpack decreases, whereas tree growth in water-limited landscapes (low elevations, south aspects will decrease. Ecological disturbances, including wildfire, insect outbreaks, and non-native species, which are expected to increase in a warmer climate, will affect species distribution, tree age, and vegetation structure, facilitating transitions to new combinations of species and vegetation patterns. In dry forests where fire has not occurred for several decades, crown fires may result in high tree mortality, and the interaction of multiple disturbances and stressors will probably exacerbate stress complexes. Increased disturbance will favor species with physiological and phenological traits that allow them to tolerate frequent disturbance. Keywords: Climate change, Disturbance, Vegetation, Wildfire

Community-based Monitoring of Water Resources in Remote Mountain Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Buytaert, W.; Hannah, D. M.; Dewulf, A.; Clark, J.; Zulkafli, Z. D.; Karpouzoglou, T.; Mao, F.; Ochoa-Tocachi, B. F.

2016-12-01

Remote mountain regions are often represented by pockets of poverty combined with accelerated environmental change. The combination of harsh climatic and topographical conditions with limited infrastructure puts severe pressures on local livelihoods, many of which rely strongly on local ecosystem services (ESS) such as agricultural production and water supply. It is therefore paramount to optimise the management of ESS for the benefit of local people. This is hindered by a scarcity of quantitative data about physical processes such as precipitation and river flow as well as qualitative data concerning the management of water and land. National and conventional scientific monitoring networks tend to be insufficient to cover adequately the spatial and temporal gradients. Additionally, the data that are being collected often fail to be converted into locally relevant and actionable knowledge for ESS management. In such conditions, community-based monitoring of natural resources may be an effective way to reduce this knowledge gap. The participatory nature of such monitoring also enhances knowledge co-production and integration in locally-based decision-making processes. Here, we present the results of a 4-year consortium project on the use of citizen science technologies for ecosystem services management (Mountain-EVO). The project analyzed ecosystem service dynamics and decision-making processes and implemented a comparative analysis of experiments with community-based monitoring of water resources in 4 remote mountain regions, i.e. Peru, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, and Ethiopia. We find that community-based monitoring can have a transformative impact on local ESS management, because of its potential to be more inclusive, polycentric, and context-driven as compared to conventional monitoring. However, the results and effectiveness of community-based approaches depend strongly on the natural and socio-economic boundary conditions. As such, this requires a tailored and bottom

Geology of drill hole UE25p No. 1: A test hole into pre-Tertiary rocks near Yucca Mountain, southern Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carr, M.D.; Waddell, S.J.; Vick, G.S.; Stock, J.M.; Monsen, S.A.; Harris, A.G.; Cork, B.W.; Byers, F.M. Jr.

1986-01-01

Yucca Mountain in southern Nye County, Nevada, has been proposed as a potential site for the underground disposal of high-level nuclear waste. An exploratory drill hole designated UE25p No. 1 was drilled 3 km east of the proposed repository site to investigate the geology and hydrology of the rocks that underlie the Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary rock sequence forming Yucca Mountain. Silurian dolomite assigned to the Roberts Mountain and Lone Mountain Formations was intersected below the Tertiary section between a depth of approximately 1244 m (4080 ft) and the bottom of the drill hole at 1807 m (5923 ft). These formations are part of an important regional carbonate aquifer in the deep ground-water system. Tertiary units deeper than 1139 m (3733 ft) in drill hole UE25p No. 1 are stratigraphically older than any units previously penetrated by drill holes at Yucca Mountain. These units are, in ascending order, the tuff of Yucca Flat, an unnamed calcified ash-flow tuff, and a sequence of clastic deposits. The upper part of the Tertiary sequence in drill hole UE25p No. 1 is similar to that found in other drill holes at Yucca Mountain. The Tertiary sequence is in fault contact with the Silurian rocks. This fault between Tertiary and Paleozoic rocks may correlate with the Fran Ridge fault, a steeply westward-dipping fault exposed approximately 0.5 km east of the drill hole. Another fault intersects UE25p No. 1 at 873 m (2863 ft), but its surface trace is concealed beneath the valley west of the Fran Ridge fault. The Paintbrush Canyon fault, the trace of which passes less than 100 m (330 ft) east of the drilling site, intersects drill hole UE25p No. 1 at a depth of approximately 78 m (255 ft). The drill hole apparently intersected the west flank of a structural high of pre-Tertiary rocks, near the eastern edge of the Crater Flat structural depression

Women as Drivers for a Sustainable and Social Inclusive Development in Mountain Regions – The Case of the Austrian Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oedl-Wieser Theresia

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Women in mountain regions play an important role regarding the agricultural production and ensuring sustainable livelihoods. Furthermore, they are active in climate change adaption and preservation of biodiversity. Despite these important activities and performances the vital role of women for a sustainable and social inclusive development in mountain regions is often invisible and not appreciated enough in society. There still exists structural discrimination of women which is caused by patriarchal societies, social and cultural norms as well as difficult economic situations. Considering the need to foster the dynamic and sustainable development of mountain regions all over the world, it is of paramount importance to reflect and integrate women’s issues, problems and needs to a larger extent in research, public policy and in worldwide decision-making agendas.

Gastric cancer incidence and mortality is associated with altitude in the mountainous regions of Pacific Latin America.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Javier; Correa, Pelayo; Ferreccio, Catterina; Hernandez-Suarez, Gustavo; Herrero, Rolando; Cavazza-Porro, Maria; Dominguez, Ricardo; Morgan, Douglas

2013-02-01

In Latin America, gastric cancer is a leading cancer, and countries in the region have some of the highest mortality rates worldwide, including Chile, Costa Rica, and Colombia. Geographic variation in mortality rates is observed both between neighboring countries and within nations. We discuss epidemiological observations suggesting an association between altitude and gastric cancer risk in Latin America. In the Americas, the burden of gastric cancer mortality is concentrated in the mountainous areas along the Pacific rim, following the geography of the Andes sierra, from Venezuela to Chile, and the Sierra Madre and Cordillera de Centroamérica, from southern Mexico to Costa Rica. Altitude is probably a surrogate for host genetic, bacterial, dietary, and environmental factors that may cluster in the mountainous regions. For example, H. pylori strains from patients of the Andean Nariño region of Colombia display European ancestral haplotypes, whereas strains from the Pacific coast are predominantly of African origin. The observation of higher gastric cancer rates in the mountainous areas is not universal: the association is absent in Chile, where risk is more strongly associated with the age of H. pylori acquisition and socio-economic determinants. The dramatic global and regional variations in gastric cancer incidence and mortality rates offer the opportunity for scientific discovery and focused prevention programs.

Dayton Greenway Conceptual Master Plan

OpenAIRE

Gilboy, Elizabeth Truex; Philen, Melissa; Stroud, Patricia; Thomas, Andrea; Williams, Daphne; Alves, Elena; Zhong, Cen

2016-01-01

The Town of Dayton, with a population of just over 1,500 in 2013, is one of the oldest settled communities in Rockingham County and the county's second oldest incorporated town. Formed in 1778 from Augusta County, Rockingham County is bounded on the west by the Allegheny Mountains and on the east by the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Between the natural boundaries, approximately a third of Rockingham County is protected by the Federal Government as National Forest and National Park land. ...

A Case Report of Ridge Augmentation using Onlay Interpositional Graft: An Approach to Improve Prosthetic Prognosis of a Deficit Ridge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Devanand Shetty

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Periodontal therapy has developed beyond the scope of the treatment of periodontal pathoses. Periodontal plastic surgery consists of the reconstructive procedures designed to enhance the both function and esthetics. Deficient ridges pose a severe problem to the restorative dentist in restoring the natural form, function and esthetics of the prosthesis replacing the natural dentition. Depending upon the severity, location of these defects and the prosthetic option chosen, hard and soft tissue ridge augmentation or non-surgical approach or a combination may help to address them. The present clinical report describes a soft tissue ridge augmentation of a localized ridge defect in maxillary aesthetic region using onlay interpositional graft followed by fixed partial denture.

Paleozoic and mesozoic GIS data from the Geologic Atlas of the Rocky Mountain Region: Volume 1

Science.gov (United States)

Graeber, Aimee; Gunther, Gregory

2017-01-01

The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) is, once again, publishing portions of the 1972 Geologic Atlas of the Rocky Mountain Region (Mallory, ed., 1972) as a geospatial map and data package. Georeferenced tiff (Geo TIFF) images of map figures from this atlas has served as the basis for these data products. Shapefiles and file geodatabase features have been generated and cartographically represented for select pages from the following chapters:• Phanerozoic Rocks (page 56)• Cambrian System (page 63)• Ordovician System (pages 78 and 79)• Silurian System (pages 87 - 89)• Devonian System (pages 93, 94, and 96 - 98)• Mississippian System (pages 102 and 103)• Pennsylvanian System (pages 114 and 115)• Permian System (pages 146 and 149 - 154)• Triassic System (pages 168 and 169)• Jurassic System (pages 179 and 180)• Cretaceous System (pages 197 - 201, 207 - 210, 215, - 218, 221, 222, 224, 225, and 227).The primary purpose of this publication is to provide regional-scale, as well as local-scale, geospatial data of the Rocky Mountain Region for use in geoscience studies. An important aspect of this interactive map product is that it does not require extensive GIS experience or highly specialized software.

Stream capture to form Red Pass, northern Soda Mountains, California

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, David; Mahan, Shannon

2014-01-01

Red Pass, a narrow cut through the Soda Mountains important for prehistoric and early historic travelers, is quite young geologically. Its history of downcutting to capture streams west of the Soda Mountains, thereby draining much of eastern Fort Irwin, is told by the contrast in alluvial fan sediments on either side of the pass. Old alluvial fan deposits (>500 ka) were shed westward off an intact ridge of the Soda Mountains but by middle Pleistocene time, intermediate-age alluvial fan deposits (~100 ka) were laid down by streams flowing east through the pass into Silurian Valley. The pass was probably formed by stream capture driven by high levels of groundwater on the west side. This is evidenced by widespread wetland deposits west of the Soda Mountains. Sapping and spring discharge into Silurian Valley over millennia formed a low divide in the mountains that eventually was overtopped and incised by a stream. Lessons include the importance of groundwater levels for stream capture and the relatively youthful appearance of this ~100-200 ka feature in the slowly changing Mojave Desert landscape.

Pectoral sound generation in the blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohajer, Yasha; Ghahramani, Zachary; Fine, Michael L

2015-03-01

Catfishes produce pectoral stridulatory sounds by "jerk" movements that rub ridges on the dorsal process against the cleithrum. We recorded sound synchronized with high-speed video to investigate the hypothesis that blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus produce sounds by a slip-stick mechanism, previously described only in invertebrates. Blue catfish produce a variably paced series of sound pulses during abduction sweeps (pulsers) although some individuals (sliders) form longer duration sound units (slides) interspersed with pulses. Typical pulser sounds are evoked by short 1-2 ms movements with a rotation of 2°-3°. Jerks excite sounds that increase in amplitude after motion stops, suggesting constructive interference, which decays before the next jerk. Longer contact of the ridges produces a more steady-state sound in slides. Pulse pattern during stridulation is determined by pauses without movement: the spine moves during about 14 % of the abduction sweep in pulsers (~45 % in sliders) although movement appears continuous to the human eye. Spine rotation parameters do not predict pulse amplitude, but amplitude correlates with pause duration suggesting that force between the dorsal process and cleithrum increases with longer pauses. Sound production, stimulated by a series of rapid movements that set the pectoral girdle into resonance, is caused by a slip-stick mechanism.

Small-scale variations of climate change in mountainous forested terrain - a regional study from H.J. Andrews Long Term Ecological Research site in Oregon, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Honzakova, Katerina; Hoffmann, Peter; Jones, Julia; Thomas, Christoph

2017-04-01

There has been conflicting evidence as to whether high elevations are experiencing more pronounced climate warming than lower elevations in mountainous regions. In this study we analyze temperature records from H.J. Andrews Long Term Ecological Research, Oregon, USA and several nearby areas, comprising together 28 stations located in Cascade Mountains. The data, starting in 1958, are first checked for quality and homogenized using the Standard Normal Homogeneity Test. As a reference, composite climate time series based on the Global Historic Climate Network is created and together with cross-referencing against station records used to correct breaks and shifts in the data. In the next step, we investigate temperature patterns of the study site from 1958 to 2016 and compare them for valley and hill stations. In particular, we explore seasonality and inter-annual variability of the records and trends of the last day of frost. Additionally, 'cold' sums (positive and negative) are calculated to obtain a link between temperature and ecosystems' responses (such as budbreaks). So far, valley stations seem to be more prone to climate change than ridge or summit stations, contrary to current thinking. Building on previous knowledge, we attempt to provide physical explanations for the temperature records, focusing on wind patterns and associated phenomena such as cold air drainage and pooling. To aid this we analyze wind speed and direction data available for some of the stations since 1996, including seasonality and inter-annual variability of the observed flows.

Large quaternary landslides in the central appalachian valley and ridge province near Petersburg, West Virginia

Science.gov (United States)

Southworth, C. Scott

1988-01-01

Geological mapping and photointerpretation of side-looking airborne radar images and color-infrared aerial photographs reveal two large Quaternary landslides in the Valley and Ridge province of the central Appalachians near Petersburg, W. Va. The Elkhorn Mountain rock avalanche occurs on the thrust-faulted northwestern flank of the Elkhorn Mountain anticlinorium. A minimum of 7 ?? 106 m3 of quartzite colluvium was transported more than 3 km from a 91 m high escarpment of Silurian Tuscarora Quartzite. The extensively vegetated deposit may owe, in part, its transport and weathering to periglacial conditions during the Pleistocene. In contrast, the Gap Mountain rock block slide is a single allochthonous block that is 1.2 km long, 0.6 km wide, and at least 60 m thick. The 43 ?? 106 m3 block is composed of limestone of the Helderberg Group and the Oriskany Sanstone of Early Devonian age. Planar detachment probably occurred along a dissolution bedding plane near the Shriver Chert and the Oriskany Sandstone contact. Failure probably was initiated by downcutting of the South Branch Potomac River during the Pleistocene. Landslides of this magnitude suggest accelerated erosion during periglacial climates in the Pleistocene. The recognition of these large slope failures may provide evidence of paleoclimatic conditions and, thereby, increase our understanding of the geomorphologic development of the Valley and Ridge province. ?? 1988.

Characterization of major-ion chemistry and nutrients in headwater streams along the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and within adjacent watersheds, Maine to Georgia

Science.gov (United States)

Argue, Denise M.; Pope, Jason P.; Dieffenbach, Fred

2012-01-01

Appalachian Trail has the largest spatial area of high atmospheric acid deposition, the lower ionic strength waters in the northern and southern ecosections of the Appalachian Trail may have been more adversely affected by acid deposition. The low ionic strength of the streams in the White Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, and Allegheny Mountains ecosections makes parts of these regions susceptible to seasonal or event-driven episodic acidification, which can be detrimental to health of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Median catchment ANC values were classified into three groups - acidic, sensitive, and insensitive. The White Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, and Allegheny Mountains ecosections included the highest frequency of catchments classified as acidic or sensitive. More than 56 percent of the catchments from the White Mountains ecosection were classified as sensitive to acidic inputs. In the Blue Ridge ecosection, 1.6 percent of the catchments were classified as acidic, and 38.2 percent of the catchments were classified as sensitive to acidic inputs. In the Allegheny Mountains ecosection, 17.6 percent of the catchments were classified as acidic, and 29.4 percent of the catchments were classified as sensitive to acidic inputs. Median concentrations of nitrogen species were less than 0.4 mg/L, and median concentrations of total phosphorus were less than 0.02 mg/L along the Appalachian Trail. A comparison of median catchment concentrations of nutrients to estimated national background concentrations demonstrated that concentrations along the Appalachian Trail are generally lower. A comparison of median concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) nutrient criteria for the Eastern U.S. ecoregions showed that the concentrations of total nitrogen in the northern section of the Appalachian Trail were generally higher than the USEPA criterion. Similarly, median concentrations of total phosphorus in the southern

Strong Genetic Differentiation of Submerged Plant Populations across Mountain Ranges: Evidence from Potamogeton pectinatus in Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbasi, Shabnam; Afsharzadeh, Saeed; Saeidi, Hojjatollah; Triest, Ludwig

2016-01-01

Biogeographic barriers for freshwater biota can be effective at various spatial scales. At the largest spatial scale, freshwater organisms can become genetically isolated by their high mountain ranges, vast deserts, and inability to cross oceans. Isolation by distance of aquatic plants is expected to be stronger across than alongside mountain ridges whereas the heterogeneity of habitats among populations and temporary droughts may influence connectivity and hamper dispersal. Suitable aquatic plant habitats became reduced, even for the widespread submerged Potamogeton pectinatus L. (also named Stuckenia pectinata) giving structure to various aquatic habitats. We compared the level of genetic diversity in a heterogeneous series of aquatic habitats across Iran and tested their differentiation over distances and across mountain ranges (Alborz and Zagros) and desert zones (Kavir), with values obtained from temperate region populations. The diversity of aquatic ecosystems across and along large geographic barriers provided a unique ecological situation within Iran. P. pectinatus were considered from thirty-six sites across Iran at direct flight distances ranging from 20 to 1,200 km. Nine microsatellite loci revealed a very high number of alleles over all sites. A PCoA, NJT clustering and STRUCTURE analysis revealed a separate grouping of individuals of southeastern Iranian sites and was confirmed by their different nuclear ITS and cpDNA haplotypes thereby indicating an evolutionary significant unit (ESU). At the level of populations, a positive correlation between allelic differentiation Dest with geographic distance was found. Individual-based STRUCTURE analysis over 36 sites showed 7 genetic clusters. FST and RST values for ten populations reached 0.343 and 0.521, respectively thereby indicating that allele length differences are more important and contain evolutionary information. Overall, higher levels of diversity and a stronger differentiation was revealed among

Ground-based measurements of the vertical E-field in mountainous regions and the "Austausch" effect

Science.gov (United States)

Yaniv, Roy; Yair, Yoav; Price, Colin; Mkrtchyan, Hripsime; Lynn, Barry; Reymers, Artur

2017-06-01

Past measurements of the atmospheric vertical electric field (Ez or potential gradient) at numerous land stations showed a strong response of the daily electric field to a morning local effect known as ;Austausch; - the transport of electrical charges due to increased turbulence. In mountainous regions, nocturnal charge accumulation, followed by an attachment process to aerosols near the surface in valleys, known as the electrode effect, is lifted as a charged aerosol layer by anabatic (upslope) winds during the morning hours due to solar heating. Ground-based measurements during fair weather days were conducted at three mountain stations in Israel and Armenia. We present results of the mean diurnal variation of Ez and make comparisons with the well-known Carnegie curve and with past measurements of Ez on mountains. We report a good agreement between the mean diurnal curves of Ez at various mountain stations and the time of local sunrise when the Ez is found to increase. We attribute this morning maximum to the Austausch (or exchange) layer effect. We support our findings with conduction and turbulent current measurements showing high values of ions and charged aerosols being transported by winds from morning to noon local time, and by model simulations showing the convergence of winds in the early morning hours toward the mountain peak.

Measuring rural homeowners' willingness to pay for land conservation easements

Science.gov (United States)

Seong-Hoon Cho; David H. Newman; J. Michael Bowker

2005-01-01

Rapid growth of rural communities in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Macon County, North Carolina has been giving rise to concerns over declining environmental quality and increasing need for land-use policy. This paper examines willingness to pay (WTP) for hypothetical conservation easements as an alternative land-use policy for the county. Despite the fact that Macon...

Memories of Montpelier: Home of James and Dolley Madison. Teaching with Historic Places.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyer, Candace

The paternal estate of U.S. President James Madison is nestled at the foot of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. The estate, Montpelier, features a large mansion designed for hospitality, a fine garden, and a widespread lawn. In the early 19th century, countless visitors expressed a great sense of pleasure in the place and the people who lived…

Spatiotemporal analysis of the effect of climate change on vegetation health in the Drakensberg Mountain Region of South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukwada, Geoffrey; Manatsa, Desmond

2018-05-24

The impact of climate change on mountain ecosystems has been in the spotlight for the past three decades. Climate change is generally considered to be a threat to ecosystem health in mountain regions. Vegetation indices can be used to detect shifts in ecosystem phenology and climate change in mountain regions while satellite imagery can play an important role in this process. However, what has remained problematic is determining the extent to which ecosystem phenology is affected by climate change under increasingly warming conditions. In this paper, we use climate and vegetation indices that were derived from satellite data to investigate the link between ecosystem phenology and climate change in the Namahadi Catchment Area of the Drakensberg Mountain Region of South Africa. The time series for climate indices as well as those for gridded precipitation and temperature data were analyzed in order to determine climate shifts, and concomitant changes in vegetation health were assessed in the resultant epochs using vegetation indices. The results indicate that vegetation indices should only be used to assess trends in climate change under relatively pristine conditions, where human influence is limited. This knowledge is important for designing climate change monitoring strategies that are based on ecosystem phenology and vegetation health.

Peculiarities of high-altitude landscapes formation in the Small Caucasus mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Trifonova, Tatiana

2014-05-01

Various mountain systems differ in character of landscapes and soil. Basic problem of present research: conditions and parameters determining the development of various landscapes and soils in mountain areas. Our research object is the area of Armenia where Small Caucasus, a part of Armenian upland is located. The specific character of the area is defined by the whole variety of all mountain structures like fold, block folding mountain ridges, volcanic upland, individual volcanoes, and intermountain depressions. As for the climate, the area belongs to dry subtropics. We have studied the peculiarities of high-altitude landscapes formation and mountain river basins development. We have used remote sensing data and statistic database of climatic parameters in this research. Field observations and landscape pictures analysis of space images allow distinguishing three types of mountain geosystems clearly: volcanic massifs, fold mountainous structures and closed high mountain basins - area of the lakes. The distribution of precipitation according to altitude shows some peculiarities. It has been found that due to this factor the investigated mountain area may be divided into three regions: storage (fold) mountainous area; Ararat volcanic area (southern macro exposure); closed high mountainous basin-area of the lake Sevan. The mountainous nature-climatic vertical landscapes appear to be horizontally oriented and they are more or less equilibrium (stable) geosystems, where the stable functional relationship between the landscape components is formed. Within their limits, definite bioclimatic structure of soil is developed. Along the slopes of fold mountains specific landscape shapes like litho-drainage basins are formed. They are intensively developing like relatively independent vertical geosystems. Mechanism of basin formation is versatile resulting in formation of the polychronous soil mantle structure. Landscapes and soils within the basin are of a different age, since

Microbial diversity in subseafloor fluids from Explorer Ridge, Northeast Pacific

Science.gov (United States)

Bolton, S.; Huber, J. A.; Embley, R.; Butterfield, D. A.; Baross, J. A.

2003-12-01

The Gorda, Juan de Fuca and Explorer Ridges are first order spreading centers located in the northeast Pacific. While the Gorda and Juan de Fuca Ridges have been extensively sampled for chemical and microbiological analyses, what little is known about the Explorer Ridge is from preliminary observations made in the mid-1980's. A cruise in 2002 revisited the area and discovered vigorous hydrothermal activity at Magic Mountain, a site located outside the primary rift valley. Explorer Ridge is an important site to compare with other well-described vent sites on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Our research has focused on describing the phylogenetic and physiological diversity of bacteria and archaea in low temperature hydrothermal fluids in an effort to identify subseafloor indicator organisms and to use the physiological characteristics of these organisms to help constrain subseafloor habitat characteristics. We have previously established that there are microbial taxa that are unique to subseafloor habitats associated with diffuse flow fluids at Axial Seamount and at Endeavour both located on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. These included cultured anaerobic, thermophilic and hyperthermophilic heterotrophs, methanogens and sulfur metabolizers. Moreover, results from molecular phylogeny analyses using the 16S rRNA sequences identified a phylogenetically diverse group of bacteria belonging to the epsilon-proteobacteria. While anaerobic hyperthermophiles were cultured from some diffuse-flow vent sites at Explorer, they were less abundant than at Axial Volcano and Endeavour, and curiously, no methanogens were cultured or detected in 16S rRNA clonal libraries. Like Axial, a diverse group of epsilon-proteobacterial clones were found with many similar to those identified from Axial Seamount and other hydrothermal vent sites, although there appears to be some unique species. The overall bacterial diversity at Explorer appears different than at Axial, possibly linked to temperature or chemical

Curvilinear ridges and related features in southwest Cydonia Mensae, Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Timothy J.; Schneeberger, Dale M.; Pieri, David C.; Saunders, R. Stephen

1987-01-01

Examined is a region on Mars in southwest Cydonia Mensae (32 deg lat., 17 deg long.) just northwest of the lowland/upland boundary escarpment. The dominant morphological features in this region are the clusters of large massifs and plateau outliers (PI), knobby material (K), and smooth lowland plains (Ps). Surrounding the clusters and linking many isolated knobs is a system of curvilinear ridges and arcuate terrain boundaries which tend to separate the massifs and knobs from the smooth plains. Curvilinear ridges are arcuate to nearly linear and smoother in plan than wrinkle ridges and show no apparent correlation with regional structural grain. They are typically 5 to 10 km long but can range from as little as 2 or 3 km to greater than 50 km long. The widths vary from about 100 m to as much as 2 km. Curvilinear ridges are most numerous within 100 km of the lowland/upland boundary escarpment and are associated with massifs and knobby terrain. Arcuate terrain boundaries appear between units of different apparent albedo or arcuate breaks in slope.

Constructing Consistent Multiscale Scenarios by Transdisciplinary Processes: the Case of Mountain Regions Facing Global Change

OpenAIRE

Fridolin Simon. Brand; Roman Seidl; Quang Bao. Le; Julia Maria. Brändle; Roland Werner. Scholz

2013-01-01

Alpine regions in Europe, in particular, face demanding local challenges, e.g., the decline in the agriculture and timber industries, and are also prone to global changes, such as in climate, with potentially severe impacts on tourism. We focus on the Visp region in the Upper Valais, Switzerland, and ask how the process of stakeholder involvement in research practice can contribute to a better understanding of the specific challenges and future development of mountainous regions under global ...

Development of State Interindustry Models for Rocky Mountain Region and California

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sathaye, Jayant A.; Kunin, Leonard

1976-02-01

Interindustry tables have been developed for the eight Rocky Mountain States and California. These tables are based on the 367-order 1967 national interindustry table. The national matrix was expanded to 404 sectors by disaggregating the seven minerals industries to 44 industries. The state tables can be used for energy and other resource analysis. Regional impacts of alternate development strategies can be evaluated with their use. A general computer program has been developed to facilitate construction of state interindustry tables.

Application of a complex assessment of landslide hazards in mountain regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kateryna E. Boyko

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The main regional factors of occurrence and activation of landslides within the mountain region were examined. As a result of study of recommendations made by experts, geologists, and gap analysis of existing methods of forecasting the landslide process, an algorithm of comprehensive assessment of landslide hazard areas based on the construction of models in a GIS environment was proposed. These models describe the spatial patterns of landslides. All factors determining the tendency of the studies area to the landslide process development were divided into actual factors, reflecting the regional peculiarities of the territory and forming the landslide-prone slopes (static model, as well as triggering factors, initiating the landslide process and determining its activity (dynamic model. The first cartographic model was built, showing the distribution of the deterministic indirect indicator of landslide hazard, i.e. stability index.

Interdisciplinary approach to enhance the esthetics of maxillary anterior region using soft- and hard-tissue ridge augmentation in conjunction with a fixed partial prosthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Khetarpal, Shaleen; Chouksey, Ajay; Bele, Anand; Vishnoi, Rahul

2018-01-01

Favorable esthetics is one of the most important treatment outcomes in dentistry, and to achieve this, interdisciplinary approaches are often required. Ridge deficiencies can be corrected for both, soft- and hard-tissue discrepancies. To overcome such defects, not only a variety of prosthetic options are at our disposal but also several periodontal plastic surgical techniques are available as well. Various techniques have been described and revised, over the year to correct ridge defects. For enhancing soft-tissue contours in the anterior region, the subepithelial connective tissue graft is the treatment of choice. A combination of alloplastic bone graft in adjunct to connective tissue graft optimizes ridge augmentation and minimizes defects. The present case report describes the use of vascular interpositional connective tissue graft in combination with alloplastic bone graft for correction of Seibert's Class III ridge deficiency followed by a fixed partial prosthesis to achieve a better esthetic outcome.

Blue Box Plus Quinte regional recycling demonstration program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-08-01

The Blue Box Plus recycling program was established in September 1990 in the Quinte region of Ontario. The program was intended to develop the necessary operational information so that the existing program could expand to include mixed plastics, corrugated cardboard, and boxboard. Over 33,000 recycling boxes were distributed over an area covering 15 municipalities with a population base of 95,000. The program showed the willingness of the public to participate in recycling, but advertising and promotion of the program were critical for success. Separation of the recycled materials on the collection trucks was found to be a viable approach and more efficient than sorting at the recycling plant. Adding new materials to be recycled could be done efficiently, and operating costs were in line with those for other programs collecting fewer materials. A cooperative market development with industrial players opened up a new and expanding market for boxboard. 6 figs., 9 tabs.

Equilibrium of vegetation and climate at the European rear edge. A reference for climate change planning in mountainous Mediterranean regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Labourdette, Diego; Martínez, Felipe; Martín-López, Berta; Montes, Carlos; Pineda, Francisco D

2011-05-01

Mediterranean mountains harbour some of Europe's highest floristic richness. This is accounted for largely by the mesoclimatic variety in these areas, along with the co-occurrence of a small area of Eurosiberian, Boreal and Mediterranean species, and those of Tertiary Subtropical origin. Throughout the twenty-first century, we are likely to witness a climate change-related modification of the biogeographic scenario in these mountains, and there is therefore a need for accurate climate regionalisations to serve as a reference of the abundance and distribution of species and communities, particularly those of a relictic nature. This paper presents an objective mapping method focussing on climate regions in a mountain range. The procedure was tested in the Cordillera Central Mountains of the Iberian Peninsula, in the western Mediterranean, one of the ranges occupying the largest area of the Mediterranean Basin. This regionalisation is based upon multivariate analyses and upon detailed cartography employing 27 climatic variables. We used spatial interpolation of data based on geographic information. We detected high climatic diversity in the mountain range studied. We identified 13 climatic regions, all of which form a varying mosaic throughout the annual temperature and rainfall cycle. This heterogeneity results from two geographically opposed gradients. The first one is the Mediterranean-Euro-Siberian variation of the mountain range. The second gradient involves the degree of oceanicity, which is negatively related to distance from the Atlantic Ocean. The existing correlation between the climatic regions detected and the flora existing therein enables the results to be situated within the projected trends of global warming, and their biogeographic and ecological consequences to be analysed.

Selected ground-water data for Yucca Mountain Region, southern Nevada and eastern California, through December 22

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

La Camera, R.J.; Westenburg, C.L.

1994-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in support of the U.S. Department of Energy, Yucca Mountain Site-Characterization Project, collects, compiles, and summarizes hydrologic data in the Yucca Mountain region. The data are collected to allow assessments of ground-water resources during studies to determine the potential suitability of Yucca Mountain for storing high-level nuclear waste. Data on ground-water levels at 36 sites, ground-water discharge at 6 sites, ground-water quality at 19 sites, and ground-water withdrawals within Crater Flat, Jackass Flats, Mercury Valley, and the Amargosa Desert are presented. Data on ground-water levels, discharges, and withdrawals collected by other agencies (or as part of other programs) are included to further indicate variations through time at selected monitoring locations. Data are included in this report from 1910 through 1992

Intense, stable and excitation wavelength-independent photoluminescence emission in the blue-violet region from phosphorene quantum dots

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Shuaipeng; Zhang, Lisheng; Wang, Peijie; Fang, Yan

2016-01-01

Nanoscale phosphorene quantum dots (PQDs) with few-layer structures were fabricated by pulsed laser ablation of a bulk black phosphorus target in diethyl ether. An intense and stable photoluminescence (PL) emission of the PQDs in the blue-violet wavelength region is clearly observed for the first time, which is attributed to electronic transitions from the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) to the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and occupied molecular orbitals below the HOMO (H-1, H-2), respectively. Surprisingly, the PL emission peak positions of the PQDs are not red-shifted with progressively longer excitation wavelengths, which is in contrast to the cases of graphene and molybdenum disulphide quantum dots. This excitation wavelength-independence is derived from the saturated passivation on the periphery and surfaces of the PQDs by large numbers of electron-donating functional groups which cause the electron density on the PQDs to be dramatically increased and the band gap to be insensitive to the quantum size effect in the PQDs. This work suggests that PQDs with intense, stable and excitation wavelength-independent PL emission in the blue-violet region have a potential application as semiconductor-based blue-violet light irradiation sources. PMID:27265198

Soils of Mountainous Forests and Their Transformation under the Impact of Fires in Baikal Region

Science.gov (United States)

Krasnoshchekov, Yu. N.

2018-04-01

Data on postpyrogenic dynamics of soils under mountainous taiga cedar ( Pinus sibirica) and pine ( Pinus sylvestris) forests and subtaiga-forest-steppe pine ( Pinus sylvestris) forests in the Baikal region are analyzed. Ground litter-humus fires predominating in this region transform the upper diagnostic organic soil horizons and lead to the formation of new pyrogenic organic horizons (Opir). Adverse effects of ground fires on the stock, fractional composition, and water-physical properties of forest litters are shown. Some quantitative parameters of the liquid and solid surface runoff in burnt areas related to the slope gradient, fire intensity, and the time passed after the fire are presented. Pyrogenic destruction of forest ecosystems inevitably induces the degradation of mountainous soils, whose restoration after fires takes tens of years. The products of soil erosion from the burnt out areas complicate the current situation with the pollution of coastal waters of Lake Baikal.

A changing world: Using nuclear techniques to investigate the impact of climate change on polar and mountainous regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henriques, Sasha

2015-01-01

Nuclear techniques are being used in polar and mountainous regions to study climate change and its impact on the quality of land, water and ecosystems in order to better conserve and manage these resources. Researchers from around the world will be using data from 13 benchmark sites to draw conclusions about the effects of the rapidly changing climate on the Arctic, mountains and the western part of Antarctica, which have alarmed communities, environmentalists, scientists and policy makers. Between July 2015 and July 2016 they will be using isotopic and nuclear techniques, as well as geochemical and biological analytical methods from other scientific disciplines. This will enable them to track soil and water, to monitor the movement of soil and sediment and to assess the effects of melting permafrost on the atmosphere, as well as on the land, water and fragile ecosystems of mountainous and polar regions. The measurements follow numerous on-site tests carried out since November 2014 to perfect the sampling technique.

Microstructural Analyses of Topopah Spring Tuff from the Large Block Test at Fran Ridge, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, J.J.

2000-01-01

Microstructural information (e.g., porosity, pore size distribution, and surface area) of porous media is critical to understanding water transport mechanisms and physical properties and their bearing on geophysical measurements. We report microstructural data obtained by mercury injection porosimetry (MIP) on 33 samples of densely welded Topopah Spring tuff from Fran Ridge, Yucca Mountain, Nevada Test Site (NTS), Nevada. The characterization of these samples is also important for the interpretation and analysis of the Large Block Test (LBT) performed in support of the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP). This report includes previously published data on samples from the same location (Roberts and Lin, 1996). We also present information from the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (YMSCP/LLNL) Large Block Test Engineering Plan (Wilder, 1995) to allow correlation of our data directly to various planes within the Large Block

Aerodynamic roughness length related to non-aggregated tillage ridges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Kardous

2005-11-01

Full Text Available Wind erosion in agricultural soils is dependent, in part, on the aerodynamic roughness length (z₀ produced by tillage ridges. Although previous studies have related z₀ to ridge characteristics (ridge height (RH and spacing (RS, these relationships have not been tested for tillage ridges observed in the North African agricultural fields. In these regions, due to climate and soil conditions, small plowing tools are largely used. Most of these tools produce non-aggregated and closely-spaced small ridges. Thus, experiments were conducted in a 7-m long wind tunnel to measure z₀ for 11 ridge types covering the range of geometric characteristics frequently observed in south Tunisia. Experimental results suggest that RH²/RS is the first order parameter controlling z₀. A strong relationship between z₀ and RH²/RS is proposed for a wide range of ridge characteristics.

Effects of climate change on hydrology and water resources in the Blue Mountains, Oregon, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caty F. Clifton

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In the semi-arid environment of the Blue Mountains, Oregon (USA, water is a critical resource for both ecosystems and human uses and will be affected by climate change in both the near- and long-term. Warmer temperatures will reduce snowpack and snow-dominated watersheds will transition to mixed rain and snow, while mixed rain and snow dominated watersheds will shift towards rain dominated. This will result in high flows occurring more commonly in late autumn and winter rather than spring, and lower low flows in summer, phenomena that may already be occurring in the Pacific Northwest. Higher peak flows are expected to increase the frequency and magnitude of flooding, which may increase erosion and scouring of the streambed and concurrent risks to roads, culverts, and bridges. Mapping of projected peak flow changes near roads gives an opportunity to mitigate these potential risks. Diminished snowpack and low summer flows are expected to cause a reduction in water supply for aquatic ecosystems, agriculture, municipal consumption, and livestock grazing, although this effect will not be as prominent in areas with substantial amounts of groundwater. Advanced planning could help reduce conflict among water users. Responding pro-actively to climate risks by improving current management practices, like road design and water management as highlighted here, may be among the most efficient and effective methods for adaptation. Keywords: Climate change, Runoff, Snow, Low flows, Peak flows, Forest roads, Water supply

The stoneflies (Insecta, Plecoptera) of the Talladega Mountain region, Alabama, USA: distribution, elevation, endemism, and rarity patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Grubbs, Scott A; Sheldon, Andrew L

2018-01-01

Background The Talladega Mountain region of eastern Alabama is the southernmost outlier of the ancient Appalachian Mountains, including the highest peaks and ranges in the state. Collections of stoneflies (Plecoptera) previously here have been sporadic yet has led to several new species descriptions in modern times (James 1974, James 1976, Stark and Szczytko 1976, Kondratieff and Kirchner 1996, Szczytko and Kondratieff 2015) and expanded our understanding of southeastern US stoneflies. During the period 2003-2012 we conducted an intensive inventory of the stonefly fauna of the Talladega Mountain region. We collected across all months from 192 unique localities, covering a broad range of stream sizes and elevation gradients present in the region. New information A total of 57 confirmed species across eight of the nine Nearctic families were collected as adults (Table 4), including four species described as new during the study period (Table 2). Leuctra crossi James, 1974 was easily the most common species collected. Median elevations per species ranged from 174 m ( Clioperla clio (Newman, 1839)) to 410 m ( Leuctra triloba Claassen, 1923 (Fig. 3). Dot distribution maps were included for all 57 species plus one for undetermined nymphs of Pteronarcys Newman, 1838 (Figs. 4-19). As many as seven species may be endemic to the region but sampling efforts northeastward into Georgia, plus additional focused sampling in Alabama and a comprehensive examination of all available material held in museums and personal collections, are needed for confirmation.

Interdisciplinary approach to enhance the esthetics of maxillary anterior region using soft- and hard-tissue ridge augmentation in conjunction with a fixed partial prosthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaleen Khetarpal

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Favorable esthetics is one of the most important treatment outcomes in dentistry, and to achieve this, interdisciplinary approaches are often required. Ridge deficiencies can be corrected for both, soft- and hard-tissue discrepancies. To overcome such defects, not only a variety of prosthetic options are at our disposal but also several periodontal plastic surgical techniques are available as well. Various techniques have been described and revised, over the year to correct ridge defects. For enhancing soft-tissue contours in the anterior region, the subepithelial connective tissue graft is the treatment of choice. A combination of alloplastic bone graft in adjunct to connective tissue graft optimizes ridge augmentation and minimizes defects. The present case report describes the use of vascular interpositional connective tissue graft in combination with alloplastic bone graft for correction of Seibert's Class III ridge deficiency followed by a fixed partial prosthesis to achieve a better esthetic outcome.

Spatial Dynamics of the Blue Crab Spawning Stock in the Gulf of Mexico: Local Processes Driving Regional Patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Darnell, M. Z.

2016-02-01

Female blue crabs undertake a critical spawning migration seaward, migrating from low-salinity mating habitat to high-salinity waters of the lower estuaries and coastal ocean, where larval survival is highest. This migration occurs primarily through ebb tide transport, driven by an endogenous circatidal rhythm in vertical swimming that is modulated by behavioral responses to environmental cues. Blue crabs are typically considered an estuarine species and fisheries are managed on a state-by-state basis. Yet recent evidence from state and regional fishery independent survey programs suggests that the spawning migration can take females substantial distances offshore (>150 km), and that offshore waters are important spawning grounds for female blue crabs in the Gulf of Mexico. This is especially true in areas where freshwater inflow is high, resulting in low estuarine and coastal salinities. In low-salinity, high-inflow areas (e.g., Louisiana), spawning occurs further offshore while in high-salinity, low-inflow areas (e.g., South Texas), spawning takes place primarily within the estuary. Regional patterns in spawning locations both inshore and offshore are driven by interactions between behavioral mechanisms and local oceanographic conditions during the spawning migration. These environmentally driven differences in spawning locations have implications for larval survival and population connectivity, and emphasize the need for interjurisdictional assessment and management of the blue crab spawning stock.

Makran Mountain Range, Indus River Valley, Pakistan, India

Science.gov (United States)

1984-01-01

The enormous geologic pressures exerted by continental drift can be very well illustrated by the long northward curving parallel folded mountain ridges and valleys of the coastal Makran Range of Pakistan (27.0N, 66.0E). As a result of the collision of the northward bound Indian sub-continent into the Asian Continent, the east/west parallel range has been bent in a great northward arc and forming the Indus River valley at the interface of the collision.

Oak Ridge Reservation environmental report for 1989

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobs, V.A.; Wilson, A.R.

1990-10-01

This two-volume report, the Oak Ridge Reservation Environmental Report for 1989, is the nineteenth in an annual series that began in 1971. It reports the results of a comprehensive, year-round program to monitor the impact of operations at the three major US Department of Energy (DOE) production and research installations in Oak Ridge on the immediate areas' and surrounding region's groundwater and surface waters, soil, air quality, vegetation and wildlife, and through these multiple and varied pathways, the resident human population. Information is presented for the environmental monitoring Quality Assurance (QA) Program, audits and reviews, waste management activities, land special environmental studies. Data are included for the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP). Volume 1 presents narratives, summaries, and conclusions based on environmental monitoring at the three DOE installations and in the surrounding environs during calendar year (CY) 1989. Volume 1 is intended to be a ''stand-alone'' report about the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) for the reader who does not want an in-depth review of 1989 data. Volume 2 presents the detailed data from which these conclusions have been drawn and should be used in conjunction with Volume 1

Oak Ridge Reservation environmental report for 1989

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jacobs, V.A.; Wilson, A.R. (eds.)

1990-10-01

This two-volume report, the Oak Ridge Reservation Environmental Report for 1989, is the nineteenth in an annual series that began in 1971. It reports the results of a comprehensive, year-round program to monitor the impact of operations at the three major US Department of Energy (DOE) production and research installations in Oak Ridge on the immediate areas' and surrounding region's groundwater and surface waters, soil, air quality, vegetation and wildlife, and through these multiple and varied pathways, the resident human population. Information is presented for the environmental monitoring Quality Assurance (QA) Program, audits and reviews, waste management activities, land special environmental studies. Data are included for the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP). Volume 1 presents narratives, summaries, and conclusions based on environmental monitoring at the three DOE installations and in the surrounding environs during calendar year (CY) 1989. Volume 1 is intended to be a stand-alone'' report about the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) for the reader who does not want an in-depth review of 1989 data. Volume 2 presents the detailed data from which these conclusions have been drawn and should be used in conjunction with Volume 1.

Tectonics of ridge-transform intersections at the Kane fracture zone

Science.gov (United States)

Karson, J. A.; Dick, H. J. B.

1983-03-01

The Kane Transform offsets spreading-center segments of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge by about 150 km at 24° N latitude. In terms of its first-order morphological, geological, and geophysical characteristics it appears to be typical of long-offset (>100 km), slow-slipping (2 cm yr-1) ridge-ridge transform faults. High-resolution geological observations were made from deep-towed ANGUS photographs and the manned submersible ALVIN at the ridge-transform intersections and indicate similar relationships in these two regions. These data indicate that over a distance of about 20 km as the spreading axes approach the fracture zone, the two flanks of each ridge axis behave in very different ways. Along the flanks that intersect the active transform zone the rift valley floor deepens and the surface expression of volcanism becomes increasingly narrow and eventually absent at the intersection where only a sediment-covered ‘nodal basin’ exists. The adjacent median valley walls have structural trends that are oblique to both the ridge and the transform and have as much as 4 km of relief. These are tectonically active regions that have only a thin (young volcanics passes laterally into median valley walls with a simple block-faulted character where only volcanic rocks have been found. Along strike toward the fracture zone, the youngest volcanics form linear constructional volcanic ridges that transect the entire width of the fracture zone valley. These volcanics are continuous with the older-looking, slightly faulted volcanic terrain that floors the non-transform fracture zone valleys. These observations document the asymmetric nature of seafloor spreading near ridge-transform intersections. An important implication is that the crust and lithosphere across different portions of the fracture zone will have different geological characteristics. Across the active transform zone two lithosphere plate edges formed at ridge-transform corners are faulted against one another. In the non

"Single-minded, compelling, and unique": visual communications, landscape, and the calculated aesthetic of place branding

OpenAIRE

Porter, Nicole

2013-01-01

Place branding strategies play a significant role in the professional composition of landscape imagery, including the depiction of “natural” landscapes. In this paper, Brand Blue Mountains, a brand currently implemented in the Blue Mountains region (Australia), is discursively analyzed. The brand sets out an all-encompassing “Vision” defining the identity, values and personality of the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains landscape, summarized in the tagline Elevate Your Senses. This “vision”...

Ground magnetic studies along a regional seismic-reflection profile across Bare Mountain, Crater Flat and Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langenheim, V.E.; Ponce, D.A.

1995-01-01

Ground magnetic data were collected along a 26-km-long regional seismic-reflection profile in southwest Nevada that starts in the Amargosa Desert, crosses Bare Mountain, Crater Flat and Yucca Mountain, and ends in Midway Valley. Parallel ground magnetic profiles were also collected about 100 m to either side of the western half of the seismic-reflection line. The magnetic data indicate that the eastern half of Crater Flat is characterized by closely-spaced faulting (1--2 km) in contrast to the western half of Crater Flat. Modeling of the data indicates that the Topopah Spring Tuff is offset about 250 m on the Solitario Canyon fault and about 50 m on the Ghost Dance fault. These estimates of fault offset are consistent with seismic-reflection data and geologic mapping. A broad magnetic high of about 500--600 nT is centered over Crater Flat. Modeling of the magnetic data indicates that the source of this high is not thickening and doming of the Bullfrog Tuff, but more likely lies below the Bullfrog Tuff. Possible source lithologies for this magnetic high include altered argillite of the Eleana Formation, Cretaceous or Tertiary intrusions, and mafic sills

Late cenozoic evolution of Fortymile Wash: Major change in drainage pattern in the Yucca Mountain, Nevada region during late miocene volcanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lundstrom, S.C.; Warren, R.G.

1994-01-01

The site characterization of Yucca Mountain, NV as a potential high level nuclear waste repository includes study of the surficial deposits as a record of the paleoenvironmental history of the Yucca Mountain region. An important aspect of this history is an understanding of the evolution of paleogeography leading to establishment of the present drainage pattern. Establishment of drainage basin evolution is needed before geomorphic response to paleoclimate and tectonics can be assessed, because a major change in drainage basin geometry can predominantly affect the sedimentary record. Because alluvial aquifers are significant to regional hydrology, a major change in surface drainage resulting in buried alluvium could have hydrogeologic significance. In this paper, we report on geologic evidence for a major modification in surface drainage pattern in the Yucca Mountain region, resulting in the probable establishment of the Fortymile Wash drainage basin by latest Miocene time

Diseases and parasites in wolves of the Riding Mountain National Park region, Manitoba, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Stronen, Astrid V; Sallows, Tim; Forbes, Graham J; Wagner, Brent; Paquet, Paul C

2011-01-01

We examined wolf (Canis lupus) blood and fecal samples from the Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP) region of Manitoba, Canada. In 601 fecal samples collected during two study periods in RMNP and the Duck Mountain Provincial Park and Forest (DMPPF) we found gastrointestinal helminth eggs from Alaria sp. (15.5%), Capillaria sp. (1.0%), taeniid tapeworms (30.8%), Toxascaris sp. (1.7%), Toxocara sp. (0.2%), Trichuris sp. (2.2%), and Moniezia sp. (0.5%). In addition, we found Demodex sp. (0.2%) and the protozoal cysts/oocysts of Sarcocystis sp. (37.3%), Cryptosporidium sp. (1.2%), coccidia (Isospora sp. or Eimeria sp.) (1.7%), and Giardia sp. (29.5%). No fecal shedding of canine parvovirus (CPV, n=387) was detected. All 18 blood samples collected in RMNP showed CPV exposure and eight of 18 blood samples indicated canine distemper virus (CDV) exposure. One wolf died from CDV. Our results are consistent with previous findings on pathogens affecting wolves and with high Giardia sp. prevalence in wolves inhabiting agricultural regions.

Spectra and ages of blue stragglers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abt, H.A.

1985-01-01

A mechanism similar to Wheeler's quasi-homogeneous evolution and Finzi and Wolf's proposal for blue stragglers is proposed as the origin of the blue stragglers in intermediate-age clusters. Blue stragglers are stars whose positions in color-magnitude diagrams of open and globular clusters are significantly above the turn-off points and in the region of the (former) main sequence; they seem to represent a conflict with the general conclusion that all stars in a cluster originated at about the same time. It is concluded that there are at least two kinds of blue stragglers: (1) those stars of types about B3-A2 are primarily Ap stars and slow rotators, occur in the intermediate age clusters and remain in the main sequence region probably through magnetic mixing; and (2) the stars of type O6-B2 frequently have emission lines, are rapid rotators, occur in the young cluster, and remain in the main sequence region probably by rotational mixing. 30 references

Advances in global mountain geomorphology

Science.gov (United States)

Slaymaker, Olav; Embleton-Hamann, Christine

2018-05-01

Three themes in global mountain geomorphology have been defined and reinforced over the past decade: (a) new ways of measuring, sensing, and analyzing mountain morphology; (b) a new emphasis on disconnectivity in mountain geomorphology; and (c) the emergence of concerns about the increasing influence of anthropogenic disturbance of the mountain geomorphic environment, especially in intertropical mountains where population densities are higher than in any other mountain region. Anthropogenically induced hydroclimate change increases geomorphic hazards and risks but also provides new opportunities for mountain landscape enhancement. Each theme is considered with respect to the distinctiveness of mountain geomorphology and in relation to important advances in research over the past decade. The traditional reliance on the high energy condition to define mountain geomorphology seems less important than the presence of unique mountain landforms and landscapes and the distinctive ways in which human activity and anthropogenically induced hydroclimate change are transforming mountain landscapes.

Emissions implications of future natural gas production and use in the U.S. and in the Rocky Mountain region.

Science.gov (United States)

McLeod, Jeffrey D; Brinkman, Gregory L; Milford, Jana B

2014-11-18

Enhanced prospects for natural gas production raise questions about the balance of impacts on air quality, as increased emissions from production activities are considered alongside the reductions expected when natural gas is burned in place of other fossil fuels. This study explores how trends in natural gas production over the coming decades might affect emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) for the United States and its Rocky Mountain region. The MARKAL (MARKet ALlocation) energy system optimization model is used with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's nine-region database to compare scenarios for natural gas supply and demand, constraints on the electricity generation mix, and GHG emissions fees. Through 2050, total energy system GHG emissions show little response to natural gas supply assumptions, due to offsetting changes across sectors. Policy-driven constraints or emissions fees are needed to achieve net reductions. In most scenarios, wind is a less expensive source of new electricity supplies in the Rocky Mountain region than natural gas. U.S. NOx emissions decline in all the scenarios considered. Increased VOC emissions from natural gas production offset part of the anticipated reductions from the transportation sector, especially in the Rocky Mountain region.

Landslide detection using LiDAR data and data mining technology: Ali Mountain Highway case study (Taiwan)

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Youg-Sin; Yu, Teng-To; Tarolli, Paolo

2017-04-01

Taiwan mountains are severely affected each year by landslides, rock falls, and debris flows where the roads system suffer the most critical consequences. Among all mountain highways, Ali Highway, located into the main entrance of Alishan Mountain region, is one of the most landslide-prone areas in southern Taiwan. During the typhoon season, between May and August, the probability of occurrence of mass movements is at higher level than usual seeing great erosion rates. In fact, during Typhoon Morakot, in 2009, the intense rainfall caused abrupt interruption of the circulation for three months triggering several landslides (Liu et al. 2012). The topographic features such as slope, roughness and curvature among others have been extracted from 1 m DTM derived by a LiDAR dataset (collected in 2015) to investigate the slope failures along the Ali Mountain Highway. The high-resolution DTM highlighted that the hydrogeomorphological (e.g. density of stream, the distance from the ridge and terrain) features are one of the most influencing factors affecting the change and the instability of the slopes. To detect the landslide area, the decision tree classifier and the random forest algorithm (RF) have been adopted. The results provided a suitable analysis of the area involved in the failure. This will be a useful step in the understanding (and management) landslide processes of study area. References Liu CN, Dong JJ, Chen CJ, Lee WF (2012) Typical landslides and related mechanisms in Ali Mountain highway induced by typhoon Morakot: Perspectives from engineering geology. Landslides 9:239-254.

Long-term seismicity of the Reykjanes Ridge (North Atlantic) recorded by a regional hydrophone array

Science.gov (United States)

Goslin, Jean; Lourenço, Nuno; Dziak, Robert P.; Bohnenstiehl, DelWayne R.; Haxel, Joe; Luis, Joaquim

2005-08-01

The seismicity of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge was recorded by two hydrophone networks moored in the sound fixing and ranging (SOFAR) channel, on the flanks of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, north and south of the Azores. During its period of operation (05/2002-09/2003), the northern `SIRENA' network, deployed between latitudes 40° 20'N and 50° 30'N, recorded acoustic signals generated by 809 earthquakes on the hotspot-influenced Reykjanes Ridge. This activity was distributed between five spatio-temporal event clusters, each initiated by a moderate-to-large magnitude (4.0-5.6 M) earthquake. The rate of earthquake occurrence within the initial portion of the largest sequence (which began on 2002 October 6) is described adequately by a modified Omori law aftershock model. Although this is consistent with triggering by tectonic processes, none of the Reykjanes Ridge sequences are dominated by a single large-magnitude earthquake, and they appear to be of relatively short duration (0.35-4.5 d) when compared to previously described mid-ocean ridge aftershock sequences. The occurrence of several near-equal magnitude events distributed throughout each sequence is inconsistent with the simple relaxation of mainshock-induced stresses and may reflect the involvement of magmatic or fluid processes along this deep (>2000 m) section of the Reykjanes Ridge.

Seasonal Patterns of Dry Deposition at a High-Elevation Site in the Colorado Rocky Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Oldani, Kaley M.; Mladenov, Natalie; Williams, Mark W.; Campbell, Cari M.; Lipson, David A.

2017-10-01

In the Colorado Rocky Mountains, high-elevation barren soils are deficient in carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) and enriched in nitrogen (N). The seasonal variability of dry deposition and its contributions to alpine elemental budgets is critical to understanding how dry deposition influences biogeochemical cycling in high-elevation environments. In this 2 year study, we evaluated dry and wet deposition inputs to the Niwot Ridge Long Term Ecological Research (NWT LTER) site in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The total organic C flux in wet + dry (including soluble and particulate C) deposition was >30 kg C ha-1 yr-1 and represents a substantial input for this C-limited environment. Our side-by-side comparison of dry deposition collectors with and without marble insert indicated that the insert improved retention of dry deposition by 28%. Annual average dry deposition fluxes of water-soluble organic carbon (4.25 kg C ha-1 yr-1) and other water-soluble constituents, including ammonium (0.16 kg NH4+ha-1 yr-1), nitrate (1.99 kg NO3- ha-1 yr-1), phosphate (0.08 kg PO43- ha-1 yr-1), and sulfate (1.20 kg SO42- ha-1 yr-1), were comparable to those in wet deposition, with highest values measured in the summer. Backward trajectory analyses implicate air masses passing through the arid west and Four Corners, USA, as dominant source areas for dry deposition, especially in spring months. Synchronous temporal patterns of deposition observed at the NWT LTER site and a distant Rocky Mountain National Park Clean Air Status and Trends Network site indicate that seasonal dry deposition patterns are regional phenomena with important implications for the larger Rocky Mountain region.

Historical range of variation assessment for wetland and riparian ecosystems, U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region

Science.gov (United States)

Edward Gage; David J. Cooper

2013-01-01

This document provides an overview of historical range of variation concepts and explores their application to wetland and riparian ecosystems in the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region (Region 2), which includes National Forests and National Grasslands occurring in the states of Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota. For each of five ecosystem...

Thematic Mapper Analysis of Blue Oak (Quercus douglasii) in Central California

Science.gov (United States)

Paul A. Lefebvre Jr.; Frank W. Davis; Mark Borchert

1991-01-01

Digital Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite data from September 1986 and December 1985 were analyzed to determine seasonal reflectance properties of blue oak rangeland in the La Panza mountains of San Luis Obispo County. Linear regression analysis was conducted to examine relationships between TM reflectance and oak canopy cover, basal area, and site topographic variables....

Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Land-Water-Ecosystem Quality in Polar and Mountainous Regions: A New Interregional Project (INT5153)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dercon, Gerd [Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Subprogramme, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, IAEA, Seibersdorf (Austria); Gerardo-Abaya, Jane [Division for Asia and the Pacific Section 2, Department of Technical Cooperation, IAEA, Vienna (Austria); Mavlyudov, Bulat [Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation); others, and

2014-07-15

The INT5153 project aims to improve the understanding of the impact of climate change on fragile polar and mountainous ecosystems on both a local and global scale for their better management and conservation. Seven core and five related benchmark sites have been selected from different global regions for specific assessments of the impact of climate change with the following expected outcomes and outputs: Outcomes: • Improved understanding of the impact of climate change on the cryosphere in polar and mountainous ecosystems and its effects on landwater- ecosystem quality at both local and global scales. • Recommendations for improvement of regional policies for soil and agricultural water management, conservation, and environmental protection in polar and mountainous regions. Outputs: • Specific strategies to minimize the adverse effects of, and adapt to, reduced seasonal snow and glacier covered areas on land-water-ecosystem quality in polar and mountain regions across the world. • Enhanced interregional network of laboratories and institutions competent in the assessment of climate change impacts on the cryosphere and land-water-ecosystem quality, using isotopic and nuclear techniques. • Increased number of young scientists trained in the use of isotope and nuclear techniques to assess the impact of climate change on the cryosphere and land-water-ecosystem quality in polar and mountainous ecosystems. • Platform/database with global access for continuing work and monitoring of impact of climate change on fragile polar and mountainous ecosystems at local and global scales, as well as for communicating findings to policy makers and communities. • Improved understanding of the effects of climate change disseminated through appropriate publications, policy briefs, and through a dedicated internet platform. • Methodologies and protocols for investigations in specific ecosystems and conservation/adaptation measures for agriculture areas.

Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Land-Water-Ecosystem Quality in Polar and Mountainous Regions: A New Interregional Project (INT5153)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dercon, Gerd; Gerardo-Abaya, Jane; Mavlyudov, Bulat

2014-01-01

The INT5153 project aims to improve the understanding of the impact of climate change on fragile polar and mountainous ecosystems on both a local and global scale for their better management and conservation. Seven core and five related benchmark sites have been selected from different global regions for specific assessments of the impact of climate change with the following expected outcomes and outputs: Outcomes: • Improved understanding of the impact of climate change on the cryosphere in polar and mountainous ecosystems and its effects on landwater- ecosystem quality at both local and global scales. • Recommendations for improvement of regional policies for soil and agricultural water management, conservation, and environmental protection in polar and mountainous regions. Outputs: • Specific strategies to minimize the adverse effects of, and adapt to, reduced seasonal snow and glacier covered areas on land-water-ecosystem quality in polar and mountain regions across the world. • Enhanced interregional network of laboratories and institutions competent in the assessment of climate change impacts on the cryosphere and land-water-ecosystem quality, using isotopic and nuclear techniques. • Increased number of young scientists trained in the use of isotope and nuclear techniques to assess the impact of climate change on the cryosphere and land-water-ecosystem quality in polar and mountainous ecosystems. • Platform/database with global access for continuing work and monitoring of impact of climate change on fragile polar and mountainous ecosystems at local and global scales, as well as for communicating findings to policy makers and communities. • Improved understanding of the effects of climate change disseminated through appropriate publications, policy briefs, and through a dedicated internet platform. • Methodologies and protocols for investigations in specific ecosystems and conservation/adaptation measures for agriculture areas

Fluvial Channel Networks as Analogs for the Ridge-Forming Unit, Sinus Meridiani, Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkinson, M. J.; du Bois, J. B.

2010-01-01

Fluvial models have been generally discounted as analogs for the younger layered rock units of Sinus Meridiani. A fluvial model based on the large fluvial fan provides a possibly close analog for various features of the sinuous ridges of the etched, ridge-forming unit (RFU) in particular. The close spacing of the RFU ridges, their apparently chaotic orientations, and their organization in dense networks all appear unlike classical stream channel patterns. However, drainage patterns on large fluvial fans low-angle, fluvial aggradational features, 100s of km long, documented worldwide by us provide parallels. Some large fan characteristics resemble those of classical floodplains, but many differences have been demonstrated. One major distinction relevant to the RFU is that channel landscapes of large fans can dominate large areas (1.2 million km2 in one S. American study area). We compare channel morphologies on large fans in the southern Sahara Desert with ridge patterns in Sinus Meridiani (fig 1). Stream channels are the dominant landform on large terrestrial fans: they may equate to the ubiquitous, sinuous, elongated ridges of the RFU that cover areas region wide. Networks of convergent/divergent and crossing channels may equate to similar features in the ridge networks. Downslope divergence is absent in channels of terrestrial upland erosional landscapes (fig. 1, left), whereas it is common to both large fans (fig. 1, center) and RFU ridge patterns (fig 1, right downslope defined as the regional NW slope of Sinus Meridiani). RFU ridge orientation, judged from those areas apparently devoid of impact crater control, is broadly parallel with the regional slope (arrow, fig. 1, right), as is mean orientation of major channels on large fans (arrow, fig. 1, center). High densities per unit area characterize fan channels and martian ridges reaching an order of magnitude higher than those in uplands just upstream of the terrestrial study areas fig. 1. In concert with

Mountain pine beetle infestation: GCxGCTOFMS and GC-MS of lodgepole pine (pinus contorta) acetone extractives

Science.gov (United States)

Roderquita K. Moore; Michael Leitch; Erick Arellano-ruiz; Jonathon Smaglick; Doreen Mann

2015-01-01

The Rocky Mountains and western U.S. forests are impacted by the infestation of mountain pine beetles (MPB). MPB outbreak is killing pine and spruce trees at an alarming rate. These trees present a fuel build-up in the forest, which can result in catastrophic wildland fires. MPB carry blue-stain fungi from the genus Ophiostoma and transmit infection by burrowing into...

Relations between nature-based solutions of green-blue area accessibility and socio-economic-ethnic patterns in the urban Stockholm region

Science.gov (United States)

Goldenberg, Romain; Kalantari, Zahra; Destouni, Georgia

2017-04-01

More than half of the world's population lives in cities, a proportion expected to increase to two thirds by 2050 (United Nations (UN), 2015). In this study, we investigate the spatial relationships that may exist between income and/or nationality homogeneity/heterogeneity levels of urban populations and their accessibility to local green-blue areas as possible nature-based solutions for sustainable urban design. For this investigation, we consider as a concrete case study the urban region of Stockholm, Sweden, for which we compile and use available land-cover and vegetation density data (the latter in terms of Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI) in order to identify and assess the spatial distributions of various green-blue area types and aspects. We further combine this data with spatial distribution data for population density, income and nationality, as well as with road-network data for assessing population travel times to nearby green-blue areas within the region. The present study results converge with those of other recent studies in showing large socio-economic-ethnic segregation in the Stockholm region. Moreover, the present data combination and analysis also show large spatial differences in and important socio-economic-ethnic correlations with accessibility to local green areas and nearby water bodies. Specifically, population income and share of Swedish nationals are well correlated in this region, with increases in both of these variables implying greater possibility to choose where to live within the region. The living choices of richer and more homogeneous (primarily Swedish) population parts are then found to be areas with greater local vegetation density (local green areas as identified by high-resolution NDVI data) and greater area extent of nearby water bodies (blue areas). For comparison, no such correlation is found between increased income or Swedish nationality homogeneity and accessibility to nearby forest areas (overall green

Fire Regimes of Remnant Pitch Pine Communities in the Ridge and Valley Region of Central Pennsylvania, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph M. Marschall

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Many fire-adapted ecosystems in the northeastern U.S. are converting to fire-intolerant vegetation communities due to fire suppression in the 20th century. Prescribed fire and other vegetation management activities that increase resilience and resistance to global changes are increasingly being implemented, particularly on public lands. For many fire-dependent communities, there is little quantitative data describing historical fire regime attributes such as frequency, severity, and seasonality, or how these varied through time. Where available, fire-scarred live and remnant trees, including stumps and snags, offer valuable insights into historical fire regimes through tree-ring and fire-scar analyses. In this study, we dated fire scars from 66 trees at two sites in the Ridge and Valley Province of the Appalachian Mountains in central Pennsylvania, and described fire frequency, severity, and seasonality from the mid-17th century to 2013. Fires were historically frequent, of low to moderate severity, occurred mostly during the dormant season, and were influenced by aspect and topography. The current extended fire-free interval is unprecedented in the previous 250–300 years at both sites.

MOUNTAIN NATURAL BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN RUSSIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arkady Tishkov

2012-01-01

Full Text Available High biodiversity and degree of endemism of mountain biota strengthen the mountain regions’ status for the territorial nature conservation. Analysis of the protected areas’ representativeness in various mountain regions of Russia shows some discrepancy between their quantity, square and regional biodiversity originality. The biggest divergences are marked for the Northern Caucasus. The main problems: small area of the protected territories and also cluster character of their spatial distribution, mostly in the high mountains are not supposed to conform with the highest values of the regional flora’s and fauna’s uniqueness, to compensate representativeness of the protected biota and, in anyway, to correspond with the purpose of nature protection frame—the protected territories ecologic network’s forming. The situation in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East seems to be better. The large areas of the protected territories are in general agreement with the high originality of the nature ecosystems. Nevertheless each concrete case needs analysis of the regional biota’s and ecosystems’ biodiversity distribution within the protected areas, including character and (or unique elements of the regional biodiversity to be held. The development of the effectual territorial conservation of mountain regions needs differential approach. The creation of the large representative parcels of nature landscapes in the key-areas has the considerable meaning in the low-developed regions, difficult to access. And well-developed regions have the necessity of nature protected territories’ network development and the planning of the ecological frame’s forming. The territorial biodiversity conservation, including the system of federal, regional and local levels with protective conservation of the rare species has to be combined with ecosystem’s restoration, especially in the zones disturbed by erosion, recreation and military actions. Also it is

A deep water turbidity origin for the Altuda Formation (Capitanian, Permian), Northwest Glass Mountains, Texas

Science.gov (United States)

Haneef, Mohammad; Rohr, D.M.; Wardlaw, B.R.

2000-01-01

The Altuda Formation (Capitanian) in the northwestern Glass Mountains is comprised of thin, even bedded limestones, dolostones, mixed clastic-carbonates, and silt/sandstones interbedded with basin-ward dipping wedge-shaped clinoforms of the Captian Limestone. The formation is characterized by graded bedding, planar laminations, flame structures, contorted/convolute bedding, horizontal branching burrows, and shelf-derived normal marine fauna. A detailed study of the Altuda Formation north of Old Blue Mountain, Glass Mountains, reveals that the formation in this area was deposited by turbidity currents in slope to basinal settings.

Groundwater Recharge and Flow Processes in Taihang Mountains, a Semi-humid Region, North China

Science.gov (United States)

Sakakibara, Koichi; Tsujimura, Maki; Song, Xianfang; Zhang, Jie

2015-04-01

Groundwater flow/recharge variations in time and space are crucial for effective water management especially in semi-arid and semi-humid regions. In order to reveal comprehensive groundwater flow/recharge processes in a catchment with a large topographical relief and seasonal hydrological variations, intensive field surveys were undertaken at 4 times in different seasons (June 2011, August 2012, November 2012, February 2014) in the Wangkuai watershed, Taihang mountains, which is a main groundwater recharge area of the North China Plain. The groundwater, spring, stream water and reservoir water were taken, and inorganic solute constituents and stable isotopes of oxygen-18 and deuterium were determined on all water samples. Also, the stream flow rate and the depth of groundwater table were observed. The stable isotopic compositions and inorganic solute constituents in the groundwater are depleted and shown similar values as those of the surface water at the mountain-plain transitional area. Additionally, the groundwater in the vicinity of the Wangkuai Reservoir presents clearly higher stable isotopic compositions and lower d-excess than those of the stream water, indicating the groundwater around the reservoir is affected by evaporation same as the Wangkuai Reservoir itself. Hence, the surface water in the mountain-plain transitional area and Wangkuai Reservoir are principal groundwater recharge sources. An inversion analysis and simple mixing model were applied in the Wangkuai watershed using stable isotopes of oxygen-18 and deuterium to construct a groundwater flow model. The model shows that multi-originated groundwater flows from upstream to downstream along topography with certain mixing. In addition, the groundwater recharge occurs dominantly at the altitude from 421 m to 953 m, and the groundwater recharge rate by the Wangkuai Reservoir is estimated to be 2.4 % of the total groundwater recharge in the Wangkuai watershed. Therefore, the stream water and

YUCCA MOUNTAIN SITE DESCRIPTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simmons, A.M.

2004-01-01

The ''Yucca Mountain Site Description'' summarizes, in a single document, the current state of knowledge and understanding of the natural system at Yucca Mountain. It describes the geology; geochemistry; past, present, and projected future climate; regional hydrologic system; and flow and transport within the unsaturated and saturated zones at the site. In addition, it discusses factors affecting radionuclide transport, the effect of thermal loading on the natural system, and tectonic hazards. The ''Yucca Mountain Site Description'' is broad in nature. It summarizes investigations carried out as part of the Yucca Mountain Project since 1988, but it also includes work done at the site in earlier years, as well as studies performed by others. The document has been prepared under the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management quality assurance program for the Yucca Mountain Project. Yucca Mountain is located in Nye County in southern Nevada. The site lies in the north-central part of the Basin and Range physiographic province, within the northernmost subprovince commonly referred to as the Great Basin. The basin and range physiography reflects the extensional tectonic regime that has affected the region during the middle and late Cenozoic Era. Yucca Mountain was initially selected for characterization, in part, because of its thick unsaturated zone, its arid to semiarid climate, and the existence of a rock type that would support excavation of stable openings. In 1987, the United States Congress directed that Yucca Mountain be the only site characterized to evaluate its suitability for development of a geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel

Dwarf forest recovery after disturbances in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico

Science.gov (United States)

P.L. Weaver

2008-01-01

Dwarf forest in Puerto Rico’s Luquillo Mountains varies according to substrate and topography with very short, dense forest growing on exposed, rocky sites. High elevation level sites suffered considerable damage during past hurricanes whereas the trees on certain lower slopes were protected by ridges or spurs. Post-disturbance recovery of dwarf forest on two types of...

Unfaulting the Sardarapat Ridge, Southwest Armenia

Science.gov (United States)

Wetmore, P.; Connor, C.; Connor, L. J.; Savov, I. P.; Karakhanyan, A.

2012-12-01

Armenia is located near the core of contractional deformation associated with the collision between the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Several studies of this region, including portions of adjacent Georgia, Iran, and Turkey, have indicated that 1-2 mm/yr of intra-plate, north-south shortening is primarily accommodated by a network of E-W trending thrust faults, and NW-trending (dextral) and NE-trending (sinistral) strike-slip faults. One proposed fault in this network, the Sardarapat Fault (SF), was investigated as part of a regional seismic hazard assessment ahead of the installation of a replacement reactor at the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP). The SF is primarily defined by the Sardarapat Ridge (SR), which is a WNW-trending, 40-70 m high topographic feature located just north of the Arax River and the Turkey-Armenia border. The stratigraphy comprising this ridge includes alluvium overlying several meters of lacustrine deposits above a crystal-rich basaltic lava flow that yields an Ar-Ar age of 0.9 +/- 0.02 Ma. The alluvial sediments on the ridge contain early Bronze age (3832-3470 BP) artifacts at an elevation 25 m above those of the surrounding alluvial plane. This has lead to the suggestion that the SR is bound to the south (the steepest side) by the SF, which is uplifting the ridge at a rate of 0.7 mm/yr. However, despite the prominence and trend of the ridge there are no unequivocal observations, such as scarps or exposures of fault rocks, to support the existence of the SF. The goal of the investigation of the SR area was to test various models for the formation of the ridge including faulting and combined volcanic and erosional processes. We therefore collected gravimetric, magnetic, magneto-tellurics (MT), and transient electromagnetic (TEM) data across an area of ~400 km2, and used correlations of stratigraphic data from coreholes drilled proximal to the study area to define the geometry of the contact between the basement and basin fill to

Geologic map of the Paintbrush Canyon Area, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickerson, R.P.; Drake, R.M. II

1998-01-01

This geologic map is produced to support site characterization studies of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, site of a potential nuclear waste storage facility. The area encompassed by this map lies between Yucca Wash and Fortymile Canyon, northeast of Yucca Mountain. It is on the southern flank of the Timber Mountain caldera complex within the southwest Nevada volcanic field. Miocene tuffs and lavas of the Calico Hills Formation, the Paintbrush Group, and the Timber Mountain Group crop out in the area of this map. The source vents of the tuff cones and lava domes commonly are located beneath the thickest deposits of pyroclastic ejecta and lava flows. The rocks within the mapped area have been deformed by north- and northwest-striking, dominantly west-dipping normal faults and a few east-dipping normal faults. Faults commonly are characterized by well developed fault scarps, thick breccia zones, and hanging-wall grabens. Latest movement as preserved by slickensides on west-dipping fault scarps is oblique down towards the southwest. Two of these faults, the Paintbrush Canyon fault and the Bow Ridge fault, are major block-bounding faults here and to the south at Yucca Mountain. Offset of stratigraphic units across faults indicates that faulting occurred throughout the time these volcanic units were deposited

Geologic map of the Paintbrush Canyon Area, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dickerson, R.P. [Geological Survey, Denver, CO (United States); Drake, R.M. II [Pacific Western Technologies, Ltd., Lakewood, CO (United States)

1998-11-01

This geologic map is produced to support site characterization studies of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, site of a potential nuclear waste storage facility. The area encompassed by this map lies between Yucca Wash and Fortymile Canyon, northeast of Yucca Mountain. It is on the southern flank of the Timber Mountain caldera complex within the southwest Nevada volcanic field. Miocene tuffs and lavas of the Calico Hills Formation, the Paintbrush Group, and the Timber Mountain Group crop out in the area of this map. The source vents of the tuff cones and lava domes commonly are located beneath the thickest deposits of pyroclastic ejecta and lava flows. The rocks within the mapped area have been deformed by north- and northwest-striking, dominantly west-dipping normal faults and a few east-dipping normal faults. Faults commonly are characterized by well developed fault scarps, thick breccia zones, and hanging-wall grabens. Latest movement as preserved by slickensides on west-dipping fault scarps is oblique down towards the southwest. Two of these faults, the Paintbrush Canyon fault and the Bow Ridge fault, are major block-bounding faults here and to the south at Yucca Mountain. Offset of stratigraphic units across faults indicates that faulting occurred throughout the time these volcanic units were deposited.

Storminess-related rhythmic ridge patterns on the coasts of Estonia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ülo Suursaar

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Buried or elevated coastal ridges may serve as archives of past variations in sea level and climate conditions. Sometimes such ridges or coastal scarps appear in patterns, particularly on uplifting coasts with adequate sediment supply. Along the seacoasts of Estonia, where relative-to-geoid postglacial uplift can vary between 1.7 and 3.4 mm/yr, at least 27 areas with rhythmic geomorphic patterns have been identified from LiDAR images and elevation data. Such patterns were mainly found on faster emerging and well-exposed, tideless coasts. These are mostly located at heights between 1 and 21 m above sea level, the formation of which corresponds to a period of up to 7500 years. Up to approximately 150 individual ridges were counted on some cross-shore sections. Ten of these ridge patterns that formed less than 4500 years ago were chosen for detailed characterization and analysis in search of possible forcing mechanisms. Among these more closely studied cases, the mean ridge spacing varied between 19 and 28 m. Using land uplift rates from the late Holocene period, the timespans of the corresponding cross sections were calculated. The average temporal periodicity of the ridges was between 23 and 39 years with a gross mean value of 31 years. Considering the regular nature of the ridges, they mostly do not reflect single extreme events, but rather a decadal-scale periodicity in storminess in the region of the Baltic Sea. Although a contribution from some kind of self-organization process is possible, the rhythmicity in ancient coastal ridge patterns is likely linked to quasi-periodic 25−40-year variability, which can be traced to Estonian long-term sea level records and wave hindcasts, as well as in regional storminess data and the North Atlantic Oscillation index.

Anthropogenic disruption to the seismic driving of beach ridge formation: The Sendai coast, Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Goff, James; Knight, Jasper; Sugawara, Daisuke; Terry, James P

2016-02-15

The expected geomorphic after-effects of the Mw 9.0 Tōhoku-oki earthquake of 11 March 2011 (eastern Japan) are summarized by a schematic model of seismic driving, which details seismogenic disturbances to sediment systems that affect the rate or timing of sediment delivery to coastlines over timescales of 10(2)-10(4)years. The immediate physical environmental responses to this high-magnitude earthquake included a large tsunami and extensive region-wide slope failures. Normally, slope failures within mountain catchments would have significant impacts on Japan's river and coastal geomorphology in the coming decades with, for example, a new beach ridge expected to form within 20-100 years on the Sendai Plain. However, human activity has significantly modified the rate and timing of geomorphic processes of the region, which will have impacts on likely geomorphic responses to seismic driving. For example, the rivers draining into Sendai Bay have been dammed, providing sediment traps that will efficiently capture bedload and much suspended sediment in transit through the river system. Instead of the expected ~1 km of coastal progradation and formation of a ~3m high beach ridge prior to the next large tsunami, it is likely that progradation of the Sendai Plain will continue to slow or even cease as a result of damming of river systems and capture of river sediments behind dams. The resulting reduction of fluvial sediment delivery to the coast due to modification of rivers inadvertently makes seawalls and other engineered coastal structures even more necessary than they would be otherwise. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Past and future changes in frost day indices on Catskill Mountain Region of New York

Science.gov (United States)

Changes in frost indices in the New York’s Catskill Mountains region, the location of water supply reservoirs for New York City, have potentially important implications. Frost day is defined as a day with Tmin < 0ºC. The objective of this study was to investigate past and predicted changes in minimu...

Potential effects of climate change on riparian areas, wetlands, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems in the Blue Mountains, Oregon, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathleen A. Dwire

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Riparian areas, wetlands, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems, which are found at all elevations throughout the Blue Mountains, comprise a small portion of the landscape but have high conservation value because they provide habitat for diverse flora and fauna. The effects of climate change on these special habitats may be especially profound, due to altered snowpack and hydrologic regimes predicted to occur in the near future. The functionality of many riparian areas is currently compromised by water diversions and livestock grazing, which reduces their resilience to additional stresses that a warmer climate may bring. Areas associated with springs and small streams will probably experience near-term changes, and some riparian areas and wetlands may decrease in size over time. A warmer climate and reduced soil moisture could lead to a transition from riparian hardwood species to more drought tolerant conifers and shrubs. Increased frequency and spatial extent of wildfire spreading from upland forests could also affect riparian species composition. The specific effects of climate change will vary, depending on local hydrology (especially groundwater, topography, streamside microclimates, and current conditions and land use. Keywords: Climate change, Groundwater-dependent ecosystems, Riparian areas, Springs, Wetlands

Trends in dynamics of forest upper boundary in high mountains of northern Baikal area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. I. Voronin

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Studies of spatial-temporal variability of the upper boundary of the forest on the north-western coast of Lake Baikal (Baikal and Upper Angara Ridges are performed on the base of the analysis of forests renewal processes and of the dynamics of larch radial increment in the ecotone of the forest upper boundary and out of it. The presence of a large amount of well-developed uplands and circuses with considerable heights drops in the structure of mountain system favours formation of interrupted boundary between forest and subgoltsy belt. The timber stand of the upper forest boundary in the studied area is represented by Daurian larch. Three tree-ring chronologies of larch are obtained. The longest chronology is obtained for mountain taiga belt of Baikal Ridge and is as long as 460 years. Since 1980ies, a sustainable trend of increase of radial trees growth is observed. It is observed the most distinctly in trees of the upper forest boundary on the Baikal Ridge. There is advancing of trees species into subgoltsy belt and into mountain tundra, which depends, respectively, on slopes heights, exposition and tilting, on sites of growth of concrete cenoses. Modern peculiarity of the vegetation of the studied area is presence of abundant viable larch undergrowth (from 2–3 to 25 y.o. and fir in the ecotone of upper forest boundary and in subgoltsy belt, as well as appearing of single specimens of spruce. Main undergrowth mass (2/3 is presented by trees aged in average 15–25 y.o., i.e., they appeared in late 1980ies. Due to increase of snow cover thickness in winter, the trees young growth obtained great protection from freezing resulting in the increase of ability of young growth to live up to elder age.

A Ten Step Protocol and Plan for CCS Site Characterization, Based on an Analysis of the Rocky Mountain Region, USA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McPherson, Brian; Matthews, Vince

2013-09-15

This report expresses a Ten-Step Protocol for CO2 Storage Site Characterization, the final outcome of an extensive Site Characterization analysis of the Rocky Mountain region, USA. These ten steps include: (1) regional assessment and data gathering; (2) identification and analysis of appropriate local sites for characterization; (3) public engagement; (4) geologic and geophysical analysis of local site(s); (5) stratigraphic well drilling and coring; (6) core analysis and interpretation with other data; (7) database assembly and static model development; (8) storage capacity assessment; (9) simulation and uncertainty assessment; (10) risk assessment. While the results detailed here are primarily germane to the Rocky Mountain region, the intent of this protocol is to be portable or generally applicable for CO2 storage site characterization.

Regional patterns and proximal causes of the recent snowpack decline in the Rocky Mountains, U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

Pederson, Gregory T.; Betancourt, Julio L.; McCabe, Gregory J.

2013-01-01

We used a first-order, monthly snow model and observations to disentangle seasonal influences on 20th century,regional snowpack anomalies in the Rocky Mountains of western North America, where interannual variations in cool-season (November–March) temperatures are broadly synchronous, but precipitation is typically antiphased north to south and uncorrelated with temperature. Over the previous eight centuries, regional snowpack variability exhibits strong, decadally persistent north-south (N-S) antiphasing of snowpack anomalies. Contrary to the normal regional antiphasing, two intervals of spatially synchronized snow deficits were identified. Snow deficits shown during the 1930s were synchronized north-south by low cool-season precipitation, with spring warming (February–March) since the 1980s driving the majority of the recent synchronous snow declines, especially across the low to middle elevations. Spring warming strongly influenced low snowpacks in the north after 1958, but not in the south until after 1980. The post-1980, synchronous snow decline reduced snow cover at low to middle elevations by ~20% and partly explains earlier and reduced streamflow and both longer and more active fire seasons. Climatologies of Rocky Mountain snowpack are shown to be seasonally and regionally complex, with Pacific decadal variability positively reinforcing the anthropogenic warming trend.

Development of Education Programs in Mountainous Regions to Enhance the Culture and Knowledge of Minority Nationalities.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Shiyuan; Zhou, Guangda

1989-01-01

Describes the historical development of educational programs which could enhance the culture and knowledge of minorities in the mountainous regions of China. Identifies current major problems in minority education and lists statistical information for the school population. Provides guidelines for developing a minority education program. (KO)

Fire effects on the Point Reyes Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia rufa phaea) at Point Reyes National Seashore, 10 years after the Vision Fire

Science.gov (United States)

Fellers, Gary M.; Osbourn, Michael

2009-01-01

The 1995 Vision Fire burned 5000 ha and destroyed 40% of the habitat of the Point Reyes Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia rufa phaea). Surveys immediately post-fire and in 2000 showed that only 0.4 to 1.7% of Mountain Beavers within the burn area survived. In 2000, dense, ground-hugging Blue-blossom Ceanothus (Ceanothus thrysiflorus) appeared to make coastal scrub thickets much less suitable for Mountain Beavers even though the number of burrows at our 11 study sites had returned to 88% of pre-fire numbers. In 2005 (10 y post-fire), the habitat appeared to be better for Mountain Beavers; Blue-blossom Ceanothus had diminished and vegetation more typical of northern coastal scrub, such as Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis) overstory with a lower layer of herbaceous vegetation, had greatly increased; but the number of Mountain Beaver burrows had declined to 52% of pre-fire numbers and there was little change in the number of sites occupied between our 2000 and 2005 surveys. With the expected successional changes in thicket structure, Mountain Beaver populations are likely to recover further, but there will probably be considerable variation in how each population stabilizes.

YUCCA MOUNTAIN SITE DESCRIPTION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A.M. Simmons

2004-04-16

The ''Yucca Mountain Site Description'' summarizes, in a single document, the current state of knowledge and understanding of the natural system at Yucca Mountain. It describes the geology; geochemistry; past, present, and projected future climate; regional hydrologic system; and flow and transport within the unsaturated and saturated zones at the site. In addition, it discusses factors affecting radionuclide transport, the effect of thermal loading on the natural system, and tectonic hazards. The ''Yucca Mountain Site Description'' is broad in nature. It summarizes investigations carried out as part of the Yucca Mountain Project since 1988, but it also includes work done at the site in earlier years, as well as studies performed by others. The document has been prepared under the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management quality assurance program for the Yucca Mountain Project. Yucca Mountain is located in Nye County in southern Nevada. The site lies in the north-central part of the Basin and Range physiographic province, within the northernmost subprovince commonly referred to as the Great Basin. The basin and range physiography reflects the extensional tectonic regime that has affected the region during the middle and late Cenozoic Era. Yucca Mountain was initially selected for characterization, in part, because of its thick unsaturated zone, its arid to semiarid climate, and the existence of a rock type that would support excavation of stable openings. In 1987, the United States Congress directed that Yucca Mountain be the only site characterized to evaluate its suitability for development of a geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.

77 FR 70414 - White River National Forest; Eagle County, CO; Vail Mountain Recreation Enhancements Projects EIS

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-26

... engage in dispersed recreational activities (i.e., hiking, biking and camping); and (2) those who seek... Flyer Rappel Activity at Adventure Ridge Expanded Hiking and Mountain Bike Trails Riparian Experience at... harmonize with, and benefit from, the natural setting of the NFS lands within Vail's existing Forest Service...

Study on Regional Geology and Uranium Mineralization of Schwaner Mountains West and Central Kalimantan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soepradto-Tjokrokardono; Djoko-Soetarno; MS; Liliek-Subiantoro; Retno-Witjahyati

2004-01-01

Uranium occurrences indication in Kalimantan has been discovered at metamorphic and granites rocks of Schwaner Mountains as the radioactivity and geochemical anomalies. A regional geology of Schwaner Mountains show a watershed of West and East Kalimantan consist of Pinoh metamorphic rocks that was intruded by tonalitic and granitic batholite. The goal of this study is to observe the mechanism of the Uranium occurrences related to the regional tectonic, metamorphic rocks, tonalite and granitic batholite. Permokarbonaferrous metamorphic rocks as the big masses of roof pendant within tonalite mass. The metamorphic rocks originally as the big masses of roof pendant within tonalite mass. The metamorphic rocks originally derived from sedimentary process that produce a high content of uranium as well as a fine grained volcanic material. This uranium is deposited within neritic facies. Those sediments have been metamorphosed by low grade Abukuma regional metamorphism at the condition about 540 o C and 2000 bar. In early Cretaceous Tonalite of Sep auk intruded the rock and both metamorphics and tonalites. Those rocks were intruded by Late Cretaceous alkalin granite of Sukadana. Those crystalline rocks overlaid by an unconformity-related Kampari and Tebidah Formations that including within Melawi Group of Tertiary age. Uranium mineralization as the centimetric-metric veins related to tectonic N 100 o -110 o E and N 50 o E lineaments. Uranium was interpreted as a volcanic sedimentary origin, than it re mobilized by low grade regional metamorphism process. This enuchment process was carried out by fluor, boron and other metalliferous mineral within hydrothermal solutions of Sukadana granite. (author)

A Natural Analogue for Thermal-Hydrological-Chemical Coupled Processes at the Proposed Nuclear Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bill Carey; Gordon Keating; Peter C. Lichtner

1999-01-01

Dike and sill complexes that intruded tuffaceous host rocks above the water table are suggested as natural analogues for thermal-hydrologic-chemical (THC) processes at the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Scoping thermal-hydrologic calculations of temperature and saturation profiles surrounding a 30-50 m wide intrusion suggest that boiling conditions could be sustained at distances of tens of meters from the intrusion for several thousand years. This time scale for persistence of boiling is similar to that expected for the Yucca Mountain repository with moderate heat loading. By studying the hydrothermal alteration of the tuff host rocks surrounding the intrusions, insight and relevant data can be obtained that apply directly to the Yucca Mountain repository and can shed light on the extent and type of alteration that should be expected. Such data are needed to bound and constrain model parameters used in THC simulations of the effect of heat produced by the waste on the host rock and to provide a firm foundation for assessing overall repository performance. One example of a possible natural analogue for the repository is the Paiute Ridge intrusive complex located on the northeastern boundary of the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada. The complex consists of dikes and sills intruded into a partially saturated tuffaceous host rock that has stratigraphic sequences that correlate with those found at Yucca Mountain. The intrusions were emplaced at a depth of several hundred meters below the surface, similar to the depth of the proposed repository. The tuffaceous host rock surrounding the intrusions is hydrothermally altered to varying extents depending on the distance from the intrusions. The Paiute Ridge intrusive complex thus appears to be an ideal natural analogue of THC coupled processes associated with the Yucca Mountain repository. It could provide much needed physical and chemical data for understanding the influence of heat

Quantifying the National Significance of Local Areas for Regional Conservation Planning: North Carolina’s Mountain Treasures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Travis Belote

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Conservation scientists recognize that additional protected areas are needed to maintain biological diversity and ecological processes. As regional conservation planners embark on recommending additional areas for protection in formal ecological reserves, it is important to evaluate candidate lands for their role in building a resilient protected areas system of the future. Here, we evaluate North Carolina’s Mountain Treasures with respect to their (1 ecological integrity, (2 role in connecting existing core protected areas, (3 potential to diversify the ecosystem representation of reserves, and (4 role in maintaining hotspots of biologically-rich areas that are not well protected. Mountain Treasures represent a citizen inventory of roadless areas and serve as candidates for elevated levels of conservation protection on U.S. federal lands. We compared Mountain Treasures to other candidate lands throughout the country to evaluate their potential national significance. While the Mountain Treasures tended to be more impacted by human modifications than other roadless areas, they are as important as other roadless areas with respect to their role in connecting existing protected areas and diversifying representation of ecosystems in conservation reserves. However, Mountain Treasures tended to have a much higher biodiversity priority index than other roadless areas leading to an overall higher composite score compared to other roadless areas. Our analysis serves as an example of how using broad-scale datasets can help conservation planners assess the national significance of local areas.

Foods, macronutrients and fibre in the diet of blue sheep (Psuedois nayaur) in the Annapurna Conservation Area of Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Aryal, Achyut; Coogan, Sean C P; Ji, Weihong; Rothman, Jessica M; Raubenheimer, David

2015-09-01

Food resources are often critical regulating factors affecting individual fitness and population densities. In the Himalayan Mountains, Bharal "blue sheep" (Pseudois nayaur) are the main food resource for the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia), as well as being preyed upon by other predators. Blue sheep, however, may face a number of challenges including food resource competition with other wild and domestic ungulates, and hunting pressure. Here, we characterized the diet of blue sheep in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) of Nepal and conducted proximate nutritional analysis on a limited number of plants identified as foods. Furthermore, we investigated the macronutrient and fiber balance of these plants using nutritional geometry which is a state-space approach to modeling multidimensional and interactive nutritional aspects of foraging. A total of 19 plant species/genera were identified in blue sheep pellets using microhistological analysis. On average, across seasons and regions of the study area, the two most frequently occurring plants in pellets were graminoids: Kobressia sp. and Carex spp. The macronutrient balance of Kobresia sp. was relatively high in carbohydrate and low in protein, while other plants in the diet were generally higher in protein and lipid content. Analysis of fiber balance showed that the two most consumed plants of blue sheep (i.e., Kobresia spp. and Carex spp.) contained the highest concentration of hemicellulose, which is likely digestible by blue sheep. The hemicellulose and lignin balance of plants ranged relatively widely, yet their cellulose contents showed less variation. Foraging by blue sheep may therefore be a balance between consuming highly digestible high-carbohydrate plants and plants less-digestible but higher in protein and/or lipid.

Pre-collisional geodynamics of the Mediterranean Sea: the Mediterranean Ridge and the Tyrrhenian Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Chaumillon

1997-06-01

Full Text Available Today the Mediterranean Sea consists of a series of small-sized and almost geographically disconnected oceanic or continental crust rooted marine basins. It is also an area almost totally surrounded by mountain ranges, which chiefly belong to the alpine realm. This overall geodynamic setting results from a long term convergence between the two major, African and European, plates. Previous collisions have led to the edification of surrounding chains, while subduction and new-collisional processes tend to create new extensional back-arc basins and wide tectonized accretionary prisms. In this paper we briefly outline the most recent and almost land-locked back-arc basin that has developed in the Mediterranean,i.e., the Tyrrhenian Sea, and the Mediterranean Ridge, which may be regarded as a collisional sedimentary wedge predating a future mountain chain.

Volcanism and hydrothermalism on a hotspot-influenced ridge: Comparing Reykjanes Peninsula and Reykjanes Ridge, Iceland

Science.gov (United States)

Pałgan, Dominik; Devey, Colin W.; Yeo, Isobel A.

2017-12-01

Current estimates indicate that the number of high-temperature vents (one of the primary pathways for the heat extraction from the Earth's mantle) - at least 1 per 100 km of axial length - scales with spreading rate and should scale with crustal thickness. But up to present, shallow ridge axes underlain by thick crust show anomalously low incidences of high-temperature activity. Here we compare the Reykjanes Ridge, an abnormally shallow ridge with thick crust and only one high-temperature vent known over 900 km axial length, to the adjacent subaerial Reykjanes Peninsula (RP), which is characterized by high-temperature geothermal sites confined to four volcanic systems transected by fissure swarms with young (Holocene) volcanic activity, multiple faults, cracks and fissures, and continuous seismic activity. New high-resolution bathymetry (gridded at 60 m) of the Reykjanes Ridge between 62°30‧N and 63°30‧N shows seven Axial Volcanic Ridges (AVR) that, based on their morphology, geometry and tectonic regime, are analogues for the volcanic systems and fissure swarms on land. We investigate in detail the volcano-tectonic features of all mapped AVRs and show that they do not fit with the previously suggested 4-stage evolution model for AVR construction. Instead, we suggest that AVR morphology reflects the robust or weak melt supply to the system and two (or more) eruption mechanisms may co-exist on one AVR (in contrast to 4-stage evolution model). Our interpretations indicate that, unlike on the Reykjanes Peninsula, faults on and around AVRs do not cluster in orientation domains but all are subparallel to the overall strike of AVRs (orthogonal to spreading direction). High abundance of seamounts shows that the region centered at 62°47‧N and 25°04‧W (between AVR-5 and -6) is volcanically robust while the highest fault density implies that AVR-1 and southern part of AVR-6 rather undergo period of melt starvation. Based on our observations and interpretations we

Mountains on Io: High-resolution Galileo observations, initial interpretations, and formation models

Science.gov (United States)

Turtle, E.P.; Jaeger, W.L.; Keszthelyi, L.P.; McEwen, A.S.; Milazzo, M.; Moore, J.; Phillips, C.B.; Radebaugh, J.; Simonelli, D.; Chuang, F.; Schuster, P.; Alexander, D.D.A.; Capraro, K.; Chang, S.-H.; Chen, A.C.; Clark, J.; Conner, D.L.; Culver, A.; Handley, T.H.; Jensen, D.N.; Knight, D.D.; LaVoie, S.K.; McAuley, M.; Mego, V.; Montoya, O.; Mortensen, H.B.; Noland, S.J.; Patel, R.R.; Pauro, T.M.; Stanley, C.L.; Steinwand, D.J.; Thaller, T.F.; Woncik, P.J.; Yagi, G.M.; Yoshimizu, J.R.; Alvarez Del Castillo, E.M.; Beyer, R.; Branston, D.; Fishburn, M.B.; Muller, Birgit; Ragan, R.; Samarasinha, N.; Anger, C.D.; Cunningham, C.; Little, B.; Arriola, S.; Carr, M.H.; Asphaug, E.; Morrison, D.; Rages, K.; Banfield, D.; Bell, M.; Burns, J.A.; Carcich, B.; Clark, B.; Currier, N.; Dauber, I.; Gierasch, P.J.; Helfenstein, P.; Mann, M.; Othman, O.; Rossier, L.; Solomon, N.; Sullivan, R.; Thomas, P.C.; Veverka, J.; Becker, T.; Edwards, K.; Gaddis, L.; Kirk, R.; Lee, E.; Rosanova, T.; Sucharski, R.M.; Beebe, R.F.; Simon, A.; Belton, M.J.S.; Bender, K.; Fagents, S.; Figueredo, P.; Greeley, R.; Homan, K.; Kadel, S.; Kerr, J.; Klemaszewski, J.; Lo, E.; Schwarz, W.; Williams, D.; Williams, K.; Bierhaus, B.; Brooks, S.; Chapman, C.R.; Merline, B.; Keller, J.; Tamblyn, P.; Bouchez, A.; Dyundian, U.; Ingersoll, A.P.; Showman, A.; Spitale, J.; Stewart, S.; Vasavada, A.; Breneman, H.H.; Cunningham, W.F.; Johnson, T.V.; Jones, T.J.; Kaufman, J.M.; Klaasen, K.P.; Levanas, G.; Magee, K.P.; Meredith, M.K.; Orton, G.S.; Senske, D.A.; West, A.; Winther, D.; Collins, G.; Fripp, W.J.; Head, J. W.; Pappalardo, R.; Pratt, S.; Prockter, L.; Spaun, N.; Colvin, T.; Davies, M.; DeJong, E.M.; Hall, J.; Suzuki, S.; Gorjian, Z.; Denk, T.; Giese, B.; Koehler, U.; Neukum, G.; Oberst, J.; Roatsch, T.; Tost, W.; Wagner, R.; Dieter, N.; Durda, D.; Geissler, P.; Greenberg, R.J.; Hoppa, G.; Plassman, J.; Tufts, R.; Fanale, F.P.; Granahan, J.C.

2001-01-01

During three close flybys in late 1999 and early 2000 the Galileo spacecraft ac-quired new observations of the mountains that tower above Io's surface. These images have revealed surprising variety in the mountains' morphologies. They range from jagged peaks several kilometers high to lower, rounded structures. Some are very smooth, others are covered by numerous parallel ridges. Many mountains have margins that are collapsing outward in large landslides or series of slump blocks, but a few have steep, scalloped scarps. From these observations we can gain insight into the structure and material properties of Io's crust as well as into the erosional processes acting on Io. We have also investigated formation mechanisms proposed for these structures using finite-element analysis. Mountain formation might be initiated by global compression due to the high rate of global subsidence associated with Io's high resurfacing rate; however, our models demonstrate that this hypothesis lacks a mechanism for isolating the mountains. The large fraction (???40%) of mountains that are associated with paterae suggests that in some cases these features are tectonically related. Therefore we have also simulated the stresses induced in Io's crust by a combination of a thermal upwelling in the mantle with global lithospheric compression and have shown that this can focus compressional stresses. If this mechanism is responsible for some of Io's mountains, it could also explain the common association of mountains with paterae. Copyright 2001 by the American Geophysical Union.

Extinction of Harrington's mountain goat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mead, J.I.; Martin, P.S.; Euler, R.C.; Long, A.; Jull, A.J.T.; Toolin, L.J.; Donahue, D.J.; Linick, T.W.

1986-01-01

Keratinous horn sheaths of the extinct Harrington's mountain goat, Oreamnos harringtoni, were recovered at or near the surface of dry caves of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. Twenty-three separate specimens from two caves were dated nondestructively by the tandem accelerator mass spectrometer (TAMS). Both the TAMS and the conventional dates indicate that Harrington's mountain goat occupied the Grand Canyon for at least 19,000 years prior to becoming extinct by 11,160 +/- 125 radiocarbon years before present. The youngest average radiocarbon dates on Shasta ground sloths, Nothrotheriops shastensis, from the region are not significantly younger than those on extinct mountain goats. Rather than sequential extinction with Harrington's mountain goat disappearing from the Grand Canyon before the ground sloths, as one might predict in view of evidence of climatic warming at the time, the losses were concurrent. Both extinctions coincide with the regional arrival of Clovis hunters

Inventory of karst subsidence in the Valley and Ridge Province of East Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ketelle, R.H.; Newton, J.G.

1986-01-01

The first regional inventory of karst activity in the Valley and Ridge Province of East Tennessee was performed as a part of ongoing studies at Oak Ridge National Laboratory pertaining to environmental impact assessment of waste disposal in karst settings. More than half the land area in the Valley and Ridge Province of East Tennessee is underlain by karst-prone carbonate bedrock. The regional karst inventory was initiated to obtain current information on the extent of active karst subsidence in the region for use in decision making by the Department of Energy in planning future waste disposal facilities at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The inventory was performed by contacting personnel of federal, state, and county agencies to obtain reports of known active karst subsidence within the region. Data from these interviews were tabulated resulting in identificaton of more than 250 karst subsidence incidents in East Tennessee, most of which have occurred since 1980. Although the infomation obtained was largely anecdotal, approximate location, date, size, and circumstances under which the collapses occurred were recorded for as many cases as could be documented. The study also included detailed reconnaissance of selected areas similar in geology and hydrology to a study area at Oak Ridge, Tennessee to identify causative factors which contribute to karst subsidence in the region and for comparison of the occurrence of visible karst features at different sites. Human activities affecting site hydrology such as large scale land clearing and earthmoving projects were related to most of the subsidence incidents inventoried

Risk Assessment of Geologic Formation Sequestration in The Rocky Mountain Region, USA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Si-Yong; McPherson, Brian

2013-08-01

The purpose of this report is to describe the outcome of a targeted risk assessment of a candidate geologic sequestration site in the Rocky Mountain region of the USA. Specifically, a major goal of the probabilistic risk assessment was to quantify the possible spatiotemporal responses for Area of Review (AoR) and injection-induced pressure buildup associated with carbon dioxide (CO₂) injection into the subsurface. Because of the computational expense of a conventional Monte Carlo approach, especially given the likely uncertainties in model parameters, we applied a response surface method for probabilistic risk assessment of geologic CO₂ storage in the Permo-Penn Weber formation at a potential CCS site in Craig, Colorado. A site-specific aquifer model was built for the numerical simulation based on a regional geologic model.

The Participatory Construction of Agro-Ecological Knowledge As A Soil Conservation Strategy In The Mountain Region of Rio de Janeiro State (Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

de Assis Renato Linhares

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Agriculture in the mountain region of Rio de Janeiro State is characterized by intensive soil use and input. Such mountainous environments are vulnerable to climate events; thus, the current article presents a report on methods applied to exchange academic and traditional knowledge. The aim is to expand farmers’ perception about the need of implementing agro-ecological practices, mainly soil management practices, which are important for agricultural sustainability in mountainous environments. The study was conducted in a Nova Friburgo family production unit, in the mountain region of Rio de Janeiro State (Brazil. It consisted of implementing three observation and soil organic-matter management units. The idea was to reduce the incidence of clubroot of crucifers disease caused by Plasmidiophora brassicae. The soil fauna was discussed with local farmers, with emphasis on the association between ecological processes and soil management. The present study improved the discussion with farmers and the need of introducing other innovative conservation practices such as no-tillage system and participatory research based on agro-ecological propositions.

Astronomical Site Survey for Mountain Wumingshan Area in Western Sichuan Based on GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, N.; Liu, Y.; Zhao, H. M.

2016-11-01

In the Western-China Astronomical Site Survey project, we utilize the Geographic Information System (GIS) for the collection of long-term data, in order to investigate and study the Wumingshan (WMS) mountain and its surrounding areas for their geography, geology, climate, meteorology, social and demographic trends. Data analysis results show that the WMS mountain is located in the eastern fold belt of the Tibet Plateau--the typical region of the Hengduan Mountains, which leads to its large elevation, gently trended ridge, and stable geological structure. The highest altitude above the sea level at the WMS is more than 5000 m, but there are population settlements nearby with the low altitude of only 2000-3000 m, which are important for realizing low-level cost logistics conditions for the future headquarter or logistic base. Earthquake landslides and other geological disasters were rarely recorded. The other facts are such as the dry and clean atmosphere, the sparse vegetation, the semi-dry-state land, the perennial prevailing southwest wind, the rain-less winter, and the relatively short rainy-season summer, the location in the heartland of the large Shangri-La, no records of dust storms and the other inclement weather, low cloud coverage, the stability of wind direction, the small wind speed, the high possibility of clear sky, the far distance away from the developed areas in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, and Tibet Autonomous Region, the sparsely populated people, the slowly developed economy, the peaceful and stable social environment, etc. Specially, in recent years, with the development of the local tourist resources, the traffic conditions in Daocheng have been significantly improved. With high quality highway maintenance and daily air transport capacity, the transportation of land and aviation is rarely interrupted due to snowing, which often happens in high plateau regions. Therefore, the WMS area possesses the potential conditions to establish the future

Tunneling progress on the Yucca Mountain Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansmire, W.H.; Munzer, R.J.

1996-01-01

The current status of tunneling progress on the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) is presented in this paper. The Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF), a key part of the YMP, has been long in development and construction is ongoing. This is a progress report on the tunneling aspects of the ESF as of January 1, 1996. For purposes of discussion in this summary, the tunneling has progressed in four general phases. The paper describes: tunneling in jointed rock under low stress; tunneling through the Bow Ridge Fault and soft rock; tunneling through the Imbricate Fault Zone; and Tunneling into the candidate repository formation

Tunnel restorations using glass ionomer or glass cermet: in vitro marginal ridge fracture and microleakage.

Science.gov (United States)

Shetty, R; Munshi, A K

1996-01-01

The purpose of this in vitro study was to compare the marginal ridge fracture resistance and microleakage following restorations of partial tunnel preparations using glass ionomer and glass cermet cements. Sixty eight sound premolars were selected for this study and were divided randomly into six groups. A standardized partial tunnel preparation was done on all the teeth except specimens belonging to Group I. The partial tunnel preparations of Groups III & V were restored with glass ionomer and that of Groups IV & VI were restored with glass cermet. The teeth belonging to Groups I, II, III & IV were subjected to marginal ridge fracture resistance testing. The teeth of Groups V & VI were tested for microleakage after immersing them in 5% methylene blue solution for 4 hours. The results indicated that the teeth restored with glass cermet were marginally better than that with glass ionomer in terms of marginal ridge fracture resistance. Both the materials failed to reinforce the marginal ridge to the level of an intact tooth. The microleakage which occurred around both the materials were statistically insignificant, but on comparison glass ionomer showed better results. Hence, glass ionomer is preferred as a restorative material for partial tunnel preparations because of additional inherent advantages like superior esthetics and fluoride leachability.

Precipitation isotopes link regional climate patterns to water supply in a tropical mountain forest, eastern Puerto Rico

Science.gov (United States)

Scholl, Martha A.; Murphy, Sheila F.

2014-05-01

Like many mountainous areas in the tropics, watersheds in the Luquillo Mountains of eastern Puerto Rico have abundant rainfall and stream discharge and provide much of the water supply for the densely populated metropolitan areas nearby. Projected changes in regional temperature and atmospheric dynamics as a result of global warming suggest that water availability will be affected by changes in rainfall patterns. It is essential to understand the relative importance of different weather systems to water supply to determine how changes in rainfall patterns, interacting with geology and vegetation, will affect the water balance. To help determine the links between climate and water availability, stable isotope signatures of precipitation from different weather systems were established to identify those that are most important in maintaining streamflow and groundwater recharge. Precipitation stable isotope values in the Luquillo Mountains had a large range, from fog/cloud water with δ2H, δ18O values as high as +12 ‰, -0.73 ‰ to tropical storm rain with values as low as -127 ‰, -16.8 ‰. Temporal isotope values exhibit a reverse seasonality from those observed in higher latitude continental watersheds, with higher isotopic values in the winter and lower values in the summer. Despite the higher volume of convective and low-pressure system rainfall, stable isotope analyses indicated that under the current rainfall regime, frequent trade -wind orographic showers contribute much of the groundwater recharge and stream base flow. Analysis of rain events using 20 years of 15 -minute resolution data at a mountain station (643 m) showed an increasing trend in rainfall amount, in agreement with increased precipitable water in the atmosphere, but differing from climate model projections of drying in the region. The mean intensity of rain events also showed an increasing trend. The determination of recharge sources from stable isotope tracers indicates that water supply

Preparing to Submit a License Application for Yucca Mountain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

W.J. Arthur; M.D. Voegele

2005-01-01

In 1982, the U.S. Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, a Federal law that established U.S. policy for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Congress amended the Act in 1987, directing the Department of Energy to study only Yucca Mountain, Nevada as the site for a permanent geologic repository. As the law mandated, the Department evaluated Yucca Mountain to determine its suitability as the site for a permanent geologic repository. Decades of scientific studies demonstrated that Yucca Mountain would protect workers, the public, and the environment during the time that a repository would be operating and for tens of thousands of years after closure of the repository. A repository at this remote site would also: preserve the quality of the environment; allow the environmental cleanup of Cold War weapons facilities; provide the nation with additional protection from acts of terrorism; and support a sound energy policy. Throughout the scientific evaluation of Yucca Mountain, there has been no evidence to disqualify Yucca Mountain as a suitable site for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Upon completion of site characterization, the Secretary of Energy considered the results and concluded that a repository at Yucca Mountain would perform in a manner that protects public health and safety. The Secretary recommended the site to the President in February 2002; the President agreed and recommended to Congress that the site be approved. The Governor of Nevada submitted a notice of disapproval, and both houses of Congress acted to override the disapproval. In July 2002, the President's approval allowed the Department to begin the process of submittal of a license application for Yucca Mountain as the site for the nation's first repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Yucca Mountain is located on federal land in Nye County in southern Nevada, an arid region

Geophysical Investigation of Upper Mantle Anomalies of the Australian-Antarctic Ridge

Science.gov (United States)

Park, S. H.; Choi, H.; Kim, S. S.; Lin, J.

2017-12-01

Australian-Antarctic Ridge (AAR) is situated between the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (PAR) and Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR), extending eastward from the Australian-Antarctic Discordance (AAD). Much of the AAR has been remained uncharted until 2011 because of its remoteness and harsh weather conditions. Since 2011, four multidisciplinary expeditions initiated by the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) have surveyed the little-explored eastern ends of the AAR and investigated the tectonics, geochemistry, and hydrothermal activity of this intermediate spreading system. Recent isotope studies using the new basalt samples from the AAR have led to the new hypothesis of the Southern Ocean mantle domain (SOM), which may have originated from the super-plume activity associated with the Gondwana break-up. In this study, we characterize the geophysics of the Southern Ocean mantle using the newly acquired shipboard bathymetry and available geophysical datasets. First, we computed residual mantle Bouguer gravity anomalies (RMBA), gravity-derived crustal thickness, and residual topography along the AAR in order to obtain a geological proxy for regional variations in magma supply. The results of these analyses revealed that the southern flank of the AAR is associated with shallower seafloor, more negative RMBA, thicker crust, and/or less dense mantle in comparison to the conjugate northern flank. Furthermore, this north-south asymmetry becomes more prominent toward the central ridge segments of the AAR. Interestingly, the along-axis depths of the entire AAR are significantly shallower than the neighboring ridge systems and the global ridges of intermediate spreading rates. Such shallow depths are also correlated with regional negative geoid anomalies. Furthermore, recent mantle tomography models consistently showed that the upper mantle (< 250 km) below the AAR has low S-wave velocities, suggesting that it may be hotter than the nearby ridges. Such regional-scale anomalies of the

Remotely Sensed Estimation of Net Primary Productivity (NPP and Its Spatial and Temporal Variations in the Greater Khingan Mountain Region, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiang Zhu

2017-07-01

Full Text Available We improved the CASA model based on differences in the types of land use, the values of the maximum light use efficiency, and the calculation methods of solar radiation. Then, the parameters of the model were examined and recombined into 16 cases. We estimated the net primary productivity (NPP using the NDVI3g dataset, meteorological data, and vegetation classification data from the Greater Khingan Mountain region, China. We assessed the accuracy and temporal-spatial distribution characteristics of NPP in the Greater Khingan Mountain region from 1982 to 2013. Based on a comparison of the results of the 16 cases, we found that different values of maximum light use efficiency affect the estimation more than differences in the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR. However, the FPARmax and the constant Tε2 values did not show marked effects. Different schemes were used to assess different model combinations. Models using a combination of parameters established by scholars from China and the United States produced different results and had large errors. These ideas are meaningful references for the estimation of NPP in other regions. The results reveal that the annual average NPP in the Greater Khingan Mountain region was 760 g C/m2·a in 1982–2013 and that the inter-annual fluctuations were not dramatic. The NPP estimation results of the 16 cases exhibit an increasing trend. In terms of the spatial distribution of the changes, the model indicated that the values in 75% of this area seldom or never increased. Prominent growth occurred in the areas of Taipingling, Genhe, and the Oroqen Autonomous Banner. Notably, NPP decreased in the southeastern region of the Greater Khingan Mountains, the Hulunbuir Pasture Land, and Holingol.

Remedial Investigation Work Plan for Chestnut Ridge Operable Unit 1 (Chestnut Ridge Security Pits) at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-03-01

This document outlines the activities necessary to conduct a Remedial Investigation (RI) of the Chestnut Ridge Security Pits (CRSP) at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant. The CRSP, also designated Chestnut Ridge Operable Unit (OU) 1, is one of four OUs along Chestnut Ridge on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). The purpose of the RI is to collect data to (1) evaluate the nature and extent of known and suspected contaminants, (2) support an Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) and a Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA), (3) support the feasibility study in the development and analysis of remedial alternatives, and (4) ultimately, develop a Record of Decision (ROD) for the site. This chapter summarizes the regulatory background of environmental investigation on the ORR and the approach currently being followed and provides an overview of the RI to be conducted at the CRSP. Subsequent chapters provide details on site history, sampling activities, procedures and methods, quality assurance (QA), health and safety, and waste management related to the RI

Remedial Investigation Work Plan for Chestnut Ridge Operable Unit 1 (Chestnut Ridge Security Pits) at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-03-01

This document outlines the activities necessary to conduct a Remedial Investigation (RI) of the Chestnut Ridge Security Pits (CRSP) at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant. The CRSP, also designated Chestnut Ridge Operable Unit (OU) 1, is one of four OUs along Chestnut Ridge on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). The purpose of the RI is to collect data to (1) evaluate the nature and extent of known and suspected contaminants, (2) support an Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) and a Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA), (3) support the feasibility study in the development and analysis of remedial alternatives, and (4) ultimately, develop a Record of Decision (ROD) for the site. This chapter summarizes the regulatory background of environmental investigation on the ORR and the approach currently being followed and provides an overview of the RI to be conducted at the CRSP. Subsequent chapters provide details on site history, sampling activities, procedures and methods, quality assurance (QA), health and safety, and waste management related to the RI.

An aerial radiological survey of the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maurer, R.J.

1993-04-01

An aerial radiological survey of the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) and surrounding area in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was conducted during the period March 30 to April 14,1992. The purpose of the survey was to measure and document the terrestrial radiological environment of the Oak Ridge Reservation for use in environmental management programs and emergency response planning. The aerial survey was flown at an altitude of 150 feet (46 meters) along a series of parallel lines 250 feet (76 meters) apart and included X-10 (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), K-25 (former Gaseous Diffusion Plant), Y-12 (Weapons Production Plant), the Freels Bend Area and Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, the East Fork Poplar Creek (100-year floodplain extending from K-25 to Y-12), Elza Gate (former uranium ore storage site located in the city of Oak Ridge), Parcel A, the Clinch River (river banks extending from Melton Hill Dam to the city of Kingston), and the CSX Railroad Tracks (extending from Y-12 to the city of Oak Ridge). The survey encompassed approximately 55 square miles (1 41 square kilometers) of the Oak Ridge Reservation and surrounding area

Status of understanding of the saturated-zone ground-water flow system at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as of 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luckey, R.R.; Tucci, P.; Faunt, C.C.; Ervin, E.M. [and others

1996-12-31

Yucca Mountain, which is being studied extensively because it is a potential site for a high-level radioactive-waste repository, consists of a thick sequence of volcanic rocks of Tertiary age that are underlain, at least to the southeast, by carbonate rocks of Paleozoic age. Stratigraphic units important to the hydrology of the area include the alluvium, pyroclastic rocks of Miocene age (the Timber Mountain Group; the Paintbrush Group; the Calico Hills Formation; the Crater Flat Group; the Lithic Ridge Tuff; and older tuffs, flows, and lavas beneath the Lithic Ridge Tuff), and sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic age. The saturated zone generally occurs in the Calico Hills Formation and stratigraphically lower units. The saturated zone is divided into three aquifers and two confining units. The flow system at Yucca Mountain is part of the Alkali Flat-Furnace Creek subbasin of the Death Valley groundwater basin. Variations in the gradients of the potentiometric surface provided the basis for subdividing the Yucca Mountain area into zones of: (1) large hydraulic gradient where potentiometric levels change at least 300 meters in a few kilometers; (2) moderate hydraulic gradient where potentiometric levels change about 45 meters in a few kilometers; and (3) small hydraulic gradient where potentiometric levels change only about 2 meters in several kilometers. Vertical hydraulic gradients were measured in only a few boreholes around Yucca Mountain; most boreholes had little change in potentiometric levels with depth. Limited hydraulic testing of boreholes in the Yucca Mountain area indicated that the range in transmissivity was more than 2 to 3 orders of magnitude in a particular hydrogeologic unit, and that the average values for the individual hydrogeologic units generally differed by about 1 order of magnitude. The upper volcanic aquifer seems to be the most permeable hydrogeologic unit, but this conclusion was based on exceedingly limited data.

Status of understanding of the saturated-zone ground-water flow system at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as of 1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luckey, R.R.; Tucci, P.; Faunt, C.C.; Ervin, E.M.

1996-01-01

Yucca Mountain, which is being studied extensively because it is a potential site for a high-level radioactive-waste repository, consists of a thick sequence of volcanic rocks of Tertiary age that are underlain, at least to the southeast, by carbonate rocks of Paleozoic age. Stratigraphic units important to the hydrology of the area include the alluvium, pyroclastic rocks of Miocene age (the Timber Mountain Group; the Paintbrush Group; the Calico Hills Formation; the Crater Flat Group; the Lithic Ridge Tuff; and older tuffs, flows, and lavas beneath the Lithic Ridge Tuff), and sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic age. The saturated zone generally occurs in the Calico Hills Formation and stratigraphically lower units. The saturated zone is divided into three aquifers and two confining units. The flow system at Yucca Mountain is part of the Alkali Flat-Furnace Creek subbasin of the Death Valley groundwater basin. Variations in the gradients of the potentiometric surface provided the basis for subdividing the Yucca Mountain area into zones of: (1) large hydraulic gradient where potentiometric levels change at least 300 meters in a few kilometers; (2) moderate hydraulic gradient where potentiometric levels change about 45 meters in a few kilometers; and (3) small hydraulic gradient where potentiometric levels change only about 2 meters in several kilometers. Vertical hydraulic gradients were measured in only a few boreholes around Yucca Mountain; most boreholes had little change in potentiometric levels with depth. Limited hydraulic testing of boreholes in the Yucca Mountain area indicated that the range in transmissivity was more than 2 to 3 orders of magnitude in a particular hydrogeologic unit, and that the average values for the individual hydrogeologic units generally differed by about 1 order of magnitude. The upper volcanic aquifer seems to be the most permeable hydrogeologic unit, but this conclusion was based on exceedingly limited data

Environmental setting and its relations to water quality in the Kanawha River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Messinger, Terence; Hughes, C.A.

2000-01-01

The Kanawha River and its major tributary, the New River, drain 12,233 mi2 in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. Altitude ranges from about 550 ft to more than 4,700 ft. The Kanawha River Basin is mountainous, and includes parts of three physiographic provinces, the Blue Ridge (17 percent), Valley and Ridge (23 percent), and Appalachian Plateaus (60 percent). In the Appalachian Plateaus Province, little of the land is flat, and most of the flat land is in the flood plains and terraces of streams; this has caused most development in this part of the basin to be near streams. The Blue Ridge Province is composed of crystalline rocks, and the Valley and Ridge and Appalachian Plateaus Provinces contain both carbonate and clastic rocks. Annual precipitation ranges from about 36 in. to more than 60 in., and is orographically affected, both locally and regionally. Average annual air temperature ranges from about 43?F to about 55?F, and varies with altitude but not physiographic province. Precipitation is greatest in the summer and least in the winter, and has the least seasonal variation in the Blue Ridge Province. In 1990, the population of the basin was about 870,000, of whom about 25 percent lived in the Charleston, W. Va. metropolitan area. About 75 million tons of coal were mined in the Kanawha River Basin in 1998. This figure represents about 45 percent of the coal mined in West Virginia, and about seven percent of the coal mined in the United States. Dominant forest types in the basin are Northern Hardwood, Oak-Pine, and Mixed Mesophytic. Agricultural land use is more common in the Valley and Ridge and Blue Ridge Provinces than in the Appalachian Plateaus Province. Cattle are the principal agricultural products of the basin. Streams in the Blue Ridge Province and Allegheny Highlands have the most runoff in the basin, and streams in the Valley and Ridge Province and the southwestern Appalachian Plateaus have the least runoff. Streamflow is greatest in the

Near-inertial motions over a mid-Ocean Ridge; Effects of topography and hydrothermal plumes

Science.gov (United States)

Thomson, Richard E.; Roth, Sharon E.; Dymond, Jack

1990-05-01

We investigate the spatial structure of near-inertial motions in the vicinity of the Endeavour segment of Juan de Fuca Ridge (approximately 48°N, 129°W) in the northeast Pacific Ocean. On the basis of time series current and water property data collected from September 1984 to September 1987, near-inertial motions are ubiquitous features of the 2200-m water column, with root-mean-square (rms) current speeds comparable to those of the dominant M2 tidal currents. Within the lower 1000 m of the water column where most of the observations were obtained, near-inertial oscillations have rms current speeds of O(1 cm/s) and vertical isotherm displacements of O(10 m). The fluctuations are confined to the frequency band 0.966-1.079 f(f is the local Coriolis parameter) and have characteristic event durations of 1 week. Although the spectra of subsurface motions are dominated by the "blue-shifted" superinertial band, significant spectral peaks are found also in the subinertial and inertial frequency bands. Marked alteration of the near-inertial current amplitudes occurs over two well-defined depth zones within the study region. Within the 200-m zone immediately above the 2100-m ridge crest, current amplitudes are amplified by a factor of 1.2-1.7 because of bottom reflection and/or scattering of the downward propagating energy. Evidence that the amplification may be linked to bottom reflection rather than to scattering is provided by flattening and cross-slope rotation of the near-inertial current ellipses with increased proximity to the top of the ridge. Reflection would occur at grazing angles of less than 1° and would be associated with surface-generated waves originating at distances of over 100 km from the observational site. In contrast to the enhanced amplitudes immediately above the top of the ridge, near-inertial currents within the 1600- to 1800-m depth range undergo pronounced attenuation and frequency alteration. Amplitude attenuation is especially pronounced for

MOUNTAIN TOURISM-PLEASURE AND NECESSITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela Corina SLUSARIUC

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Tourism has a more and more important role in the economic development of many countries. Mountain tourism is an anti-stress solutions and a type of disconnection from the citadel life style through replacing some activities of media consuming type, games and virtual socializing with therapy through movement, the physical activity being an essential dimension in assuring the high life quality. Mountaineering is searched for: practicing winter sports, its invigorating and comforting, relaxing role, medical spa treatments practicing hiking, alpinism. Mountain tourism generates increased economic benefits for the surrounding areas, improves the life quality of the local communities and can assure the prosperity of some disadvantaged areas, being able to be a remedy for unindustrialised regions. Mountain tourism contributes to the economic development of the region and also to satisfying spiritual and psychological needs of the people, representing a necessity for a touristic area and a pleasure for tourist consumers.

Geochemistry, Nd-Pb Isotopes, and Pb-Pb Ages of the Mesoproterozoic Pea Ridge Iron Oxide-Apatite–Rare Earth Element Deposit, Southeast Missouri

Science.gov (United States)

Ayuso, Robert A.; Slack, John F.; Day, Warren C.; McCafferty, Anne E.

2016-01-01

Iron oxide-apatite and iron oxide-copper-gold deposits occur within ~1.48 to 1.47 Ga volcanic rocks of the St. Francois Mountains terrane near a regional boundary separating crustal blocks having contrasting depleted-mantle Sm-Nd model ages (TDM). Major and trace element analyses and Nd and Pb isotope data were obtained to characterize the Pea Ridge deposit, improve identification of exploration targets, and better understand the regional distribution of mineralization with respect to crustal blocks. The Pea Ridge deposit is spatially associated with felsic volcanic rocks and plutons. Mafic to intermediate-composition rocks are volumetrically minor. Data for major element variations are commonly scattered and strongly suggest element mobility. Ratios of relatively immobile elements indicate that the felsic rocks are evolved subalkaline dacite and rhyolite; the mafic rocks are basalt to basaltic andesite. Granites and rhyolites display geochemical features typical of rocks produced by subduction. Rare earth element (REE) variations for the rhyolites are diagnostic of rocks affected by hydrothermal alteration and associated REE mineralization. The magnetite-rich rocks and REE-rich breccias show similar REE and mantle-normalized trace element patterns.Nd isotope compositions (age corrected) show that: (1) host rhyolites have ɛNd from 3.44 to 4.25 and TDM from 1.51 to 1.59 Ga; (2) magnetite ore and specular hematite rocks display ɛNd from 3.04 to 4.21 and TDM from 1.6 to 1.51 Ga, and ɛNd from 2.23 to 2.81, respectively; (3) REE-rich breccias have ɛNd from 3.04 to 4.11 and TDM from 1.6 to 1.51 Ga; and (4) mafic to intermediate-composition rocks range in ɛNd from 2.35 to 3.66 and in TDM from 1.66 to 1.56. The ɛNd values of the magnetite and specular hematite samples show that the REE mineralization is magmatic; no evidence exists for major overprinting by younger, crustal meteoric fluids, or by externally derived Nd. Host rocks, breccias, and

Mountain Weather and Climate, Third Edition

Science.gov (United States)

Hastenrath, Stefan

2009-05-01

For colleagues with diverse interests in the atmosphere, glaciers, radiation, landforms, water resources, vegetation, human implications, and more, Mountain Weather and Climate can be a valuable source of guidance and literature references. The book is organized into seven chapters: 1, Mountains and their climatological study; 2,Geographical controls of mountain meteorological elements; 3, Circulation systems related to orography; 4, Climatic characteristics of mountains; 5, Regional case studies; 6, Mountain bioclimatology; and 7, Changes in mountain climates. These chapters are supported by l78 diagrams and photographs, 47 tables, and some 2000 literature references. The volume has an appendix of units and energy conversion factors and a subject index, but it lacks an author index.

The 2014 assessment of stream quality in the Piedmont and southern Appalachian Mountain region of southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Celeste Journey; Paul M. Bradley; Peter Van Metre

2016-01-01

During the spring and summer of 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water- Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) assessed stream quality across the Piedmont and southern Appalachian Mountain region in the southeastern United States.

Groundwater flow systems in the great Aletsch glacier region (Valais, Switzerland)

Science.gov (United States)

Alpiger, Andrea; Loew, Simon

2014-05-01

Groundwater flow systems in Alpine areas are often complex and challenging to investigate due to special topographic and climatic conditions governing groundwater recharge and bedrock flow. Studies seeking to characterize high-alpine groundwater systems remain rare, but are of high interest, e.g. for water supply, hydropower systems, traffic tunnels or rock slope deformation and landslide hazards. The goal of this study is to better understand the current and past groundwater flow systems of the UNESCO World Heritage mountain ridge separating the great Aletsch glacier and the Rhone valley, considering climatic and glacier fluctuations during the Lateglacial and Holocene periods. This ridge is crossed by a hydropower bypass drift (Riederhornstollen) and is composed of fractured crystalline rocks overlain by various types of landslides and glacial deposits. Surface hydrology observations (fracture properties, groundwater seepage, spring lines and physico-chemical parameters) and hydropower drift inflow measurements contributed to the characterization of bedrock hydraulic conductivities and preferential groundwater pathways. Basic conceptual hydrogeological models were tested with observed drift inflows and the occurrence of springs using free-surface, variably saturated, vertical 2D groundwater flow models (using the code SEEP/W from GeoStudio 2007). Already simple two-layer models, representing profile sections orthogonal to the mountain ridge, provided useful results. Simulations show that differences in the occurrence of springs on each side of the mountain ridge are likely caused by the occurrence of glacial till (generating perched groundwater), the deep-seated sagging landslide mass, faults and asymmetric ridge topography, which together force the main groundwater flow direction to be oriented towards the Rhone valley, even from beyond the mountain ridge. Surprisingly, the most important springs (those with high discharge rates) are located at high elevations

Genomic copy number analysis of a spectrum of blue nevi identifies recurrent aberrations of entire chromosomal arms in melanoma ex blue nevus.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, May P; Andea, Aleodor A; Harms, Paul W; Durham, Alison B; Patel, Rajiv M; Wang, Min; Robichaud, Patrick; Fisher, Gary J; Johnson, Timothy M; Fullen, Douglas R

2016-03-01

Blue nevi may display significant atypia or undergo malignant transformation. Morphologic diagnosis of this spectrum of lesions is notoriously difficult, and molecular tools are increasingly used to improve diagnostic accuracy. We studied copy number aberrations in a cohort of cellular blue nevi, atypical cellular blue nevi, and melanomas ex blue nevi using Affymetrix's OncoScan platform. Cases with sufficient DNA were analyzed for GNAQ, GNA11, and HRAS mutations. Copy number aberrations were detected in 0 of 5 (0%) cellular blue nevi, 3 of 12 (25%) atypical cellular blue nevi, and 6 of 9 (67%) melanomas ex blue nevi. None of the atypical cellular blue nevi displayed more than one aberration, whereas complex aberrations involving four or more regions were seen exclusively in melanomas ex blue nevi. Gains and losses of entire chromosomal arms were identified in four of five melanomas ex blue nevi with copy number aberrations. In particular, gains of 1q, 4p, 6p, and 8q, and losses of 1p and 4q were each found in at least two melanomas. Whole chromosome aberrations were also common, and represented the sole finding in one atypical cellular blue nevus. When seen in melanomas, however, whole chromosome aberrations were invariably accompanied by partial aberrations of other chromosomes. Three melanomas ex blue nevi harbored aberrations, which were absent or negligible in their precursor components, suggesting progression in tumor biology. Gene mutations involving GNAQ and GNA11 were each detected in two of eight melanomas ex blue nevi. In conclusion, copy number aberrations are more common and often complex in melanomas ex blue nevi compared with cellular and atypical cellular blue nevi. Identification of recurrent gains and losses of entire chromosomal arms in melanomas ex blue nevi suggests that development of new probes targeting these regions may improve detection and risk stratification of these lesions.

MAPPING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES SUPPLY IN MOUNTAIN REGIONS: A CASE STUDY FROM SOUTH TYROL (ITALY

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U. Schirpke

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Mountain regions provide many ecosystem services and spatially explicit assessments have to account for their specific topographic and climatic conditions. Moreover, it is fundamental to understand synergies and trade-offs of multiple ecosystem services. In this study, ecosystem services supply, including forage production, timber production, water supply, carbon sequestration, soil stability, soil quality, and the aesthetic value, was quantified in bio-physical terms on the landscape scale for South Tyrol. Mean ecosystem services values of the 116 municipalities were grouped in 5 clusters. The results indicate that carbon stock is the prevailing ecosystem service of valley municipalities. On contrast, they suffer from water deficit and depend on water supply from high mountain municipalities. Trade-offs can be also found between the aesthetic value on one hand and timber production, carbon sequestration and soil stability on the other hand. The latter are characteristic for municipalities dominated by forest. The resulting maps can support landscape planning, ecosystem management and conservation of biodiversity.

Preliminary gravity and magnetic models across Midway Valley and Yucca Wash, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponce, D.A.; Langenheim, V.E.

1994-01-01

Detailed gravity and ground magnetic data collected along ten traverses across Midway Valley and Yucca Wash on the eastern flank of Yucca Mountain in southwest Nevada are interpreted. These data were collected as part of an effort to evaluate faulting in the vicinity of proposed surface facilities for a potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Geophysical data show that Midway Valley is bounded by large gravity and magnetic anomalies associated with the Bow Ridge and Paintbrush Canyon faults, on the west side of Exile Hill and on the west flank of Fran Ridge, respectively. In addition, Midway Valley itself is characterized by a number of small-amplitude anomalies that probably reflect small-scale faulting beneath Midway Valley. Gravity and magnetic data across the northwest trending Yucca Wash and the inferred Yucca Wash fault indicate no major vertical offsets greater than 100 m using a density contrast of 0.2 to 0.3 g/cm 3 along the proposed Yucca Wash fault. In addition, a broad magnetic high coincides with the approximate location of the hydrologic gradient and probably reflects moderately magnetic Topopah Spring Tuff or lavas in the Calico Hills Formation

Stratigraphy, structure, and some petrographic features of Tertiary volcanic rocks at the USW G-2 drill hole, Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maldonado, F.; Koether, S.L.

1983-01-01

A continuously cored drill hole penetrated 1830.6 m of Tertiary volcanic strata comprised of the following in descending order: Paintbrush Tuff, tuffaceous beds of Calico Hills, Crater Flat Tuff, lava and flow breccia (rhyodacitic), tuff of Lithic Ridge, bedded and ash-flow tuff, lava and flow breccia bedded tuff, conglomerate and ash-flow tuff, and older tuffs of USW G-2. Comparison of unit thicknesses at USW G-2 to unit thicknesses at previously drilled holes at Yucca Mountain indicate: (1) thickening of the Paintbrush Tuff members and tuffaceous beds of Calico Hills toward the northern part of Yucca Mountain; (2) thickening of the Prow Pass Member but thinning of the Bullfrog Member and Tram unit; (3) thinning of the tuff of Lithic Ridge; (4) presence of about 280 m of lava and flow breccia not previously penetrated by any drill hole; and (5) presence of an ash-flow tuff unit at the bottom of the drill hole not previously intersected, apparently the oldest unit penetrated at Yucca Mountain to date. Petrographic features of some of the units include: (1) decrease in quartz and K-feldspar and increases in biotite and plagioclase with depth in the tuffaceous beds of Calico Hills; (2) an increase in quartz phenocrysts from the top to the bottom members of the Crater Flat Tuff; (3) a low quartz content in the tuff of Lithic Ridge, suggesting tapping of the magma chamber at quartz-poor levels; (4) a change in zeolitic alteration from heulandite to clinoptilolite to mordenite with increasing depth; (5) lavas characterized by a rhyolitic top and dacitic base, suggesting reverse compositional zoning; and (6) presence of hydrothermal mineralization in the lavas that could be related to an itrusive under Yucca Mountain or to volcanism associated with the Timber Mountain-Claim Canyon caldera complex. A fracture analysis of the core resulted in tabulation of 7848 fractures, predominately open and high angle

Mountains: top down.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodwell, George M

2004-11-01

Mountainous regions offer not only essential habitat and resources, including water, to the earth's more than 6 billion inhabitants, but also insights into how the global human habitat works, how it is being changed at the moment as global climates are disrupted, and how the disruption may lead to global biotic and economic impoverishment. At least 600 million of the earth's more than 6 billion humans dwell in mountainous regions. Such regions feed water into all the major rivers of the world whose valleys support most of the rest of us. At least half of the valley dwellers receive part or all of their water from montane sources, many from the melt water of glaciers, others from the annual snow melt. Glaciers are retreating globally as the earth warms as a result of human-caused changes in the composition of the atmosphere. Many are disappearing, a change that threatens municipal water supplies virtually globally. The warming is greatest in the higher latitudes where the largest glaciers such as those of Greenland and the Antarctic Continent have become vulnerable. The melting of ice in the northern hemisphere raises serious concerns about the continued flow of the Gulf Stream and the possibility of massive climatic changes in Scandinavia and northern Europe. Mountains are also biotic islands in the sea life, rich in endemism at the ecotype level. The systematic warming of the earth changes the environment out from under these genetically specialized strains (ecotypes) which are then maladapted and vulnerable to diseases of all types. The process is systematic impoverishment in the pattern conspicuous on mountain slopes with increasing exposure to climatic extremes. It is seen now in the increased mortality and morbidity of plants as climatic changes accumulate. The seriousness of the global climatic disruption is especially clear in any consideration of mountains. It can and must be addressed constructively despite the adamancy of the current US administration.

The mountains influence on Turkey Climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sensoy, Serhat

2004-01-01

Since the Black sea mountains at the north of the country and the Taurus mountains in the south lay parallel to the seashore and rise very sharply rain clouds can not penetrate to the internal part of the country. Rain clouds drops most of their water on the slopes opposite the sea. As rain clouds pass over the mountains and reach Central Anatolia they have no significant capability of rain. For this reason, the Central Anatolia does not have very much precipitation. The difference between the rates of precipitation on the inner and outer slopes seems to be effective on the expansion of plants. For example, there is a subtropical climate prevailing on the Black sea shore between Sinop and Batum where precipitation is more than 1000-2000 mm yearly. Going from Sinop to the mouth of the Sakarya River the rate of precipitation goes down to 800-1250 mm in a year. Running from the Sakarya River to the western area covering Thrace the climate seems to be continental, and in the area dominant plant cover is of the Mediterranean type. Since the succession of the mountains in Western Anatolia lay perpendicular to the seashore, rain clouds penetrate towards the inner regions for about 400 km. The continental climate with long, dry and summer affects this area. In the Eastern region of Anatolia, since the elevation of the mountains exceeds 2500-3000 m, valleys are disorderly scattered and located at high elevations, and the northern Black sea mountains and Caucasian mountains hold the rain clouds, the area is effected by the continental climate with long and very cold winters. Consequently precipitation at the lgdir River goes down to 300 mm while it is 500-800 mm in most of areas and 1000-1500 mm in some regions towards northern Mu and Bingol provinces. As mentioned above, high mountains, which hold rain clouds, surround the Central Anatolia, which has caused drought in this region. In the central Anatolia covering Afyon, Eski hir, Ankara, Qankiri, Qorum, Amasya, Kayseri

Geology and Geochemistry of Magmatic Rocks from the Southern Part of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge in the Philippine Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Lelikov, E. P.; Sedin, V. T.; Pugachev, A. A.

2018-03-01

The paper reports the results of a geochemical study of volcanogenic rocks from the southern part of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge. Volcanic structures, such as plateaulike rises, mountain massifs, and single volcanoes, are the major relief-forming elements of the southern part of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge. They are divided into three types according to the features of the relief and geological structure: shield, cone-shaped, and dome-shaped volcanoes. The ridge was formed on oceanic crust in the Late Mesozoic and underwent several stages of evolution with different significance and application of forces (tension and compression). Change in the geodynamic conditions during the geological evolution of the ridge mostly determined the composition of volcanic rocks of deep-mantle nature. Most of the ridge was formed by the Early Paleogene under geodynamic conditions close to the formation of oceanic islands (shield volcanoes) under tension. The island arc formed on the oceanic basement in the compression mode in the Late Eocene-Early Oligocene. Dome-shaped volcanic edifices composed of alkaline volcanic rocks were formed in the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene under tension. Based on the new geochemical data, detailed characteristics of volcanic rocks making up the shield, cone-shape, and dome-shape stratovolcanoes resulting in the features of these volcanic edifices are given for the first time. Continuous volcanism (with an age from the Cretaceous to the Late Miocene and composition from oceanic tholeiite to calc-alkaline volcanites of the island arc type) resulting in growth of the Earth's crust beneath the Kyushu-Palau Ridge was the major factor in the formation this ridge.

Massive post-fire flowering events in a tropical mountain region of Brazil: high episodic supply of floral resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abel Augusto Conceição

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The species Vellozia sincorana L.B.Sm. & Ayensu is key to biodiversity conservation in the tropical mountain region of Brazil. The massive post-fire flowering of this endemic species provides a large, episodic supply of floral resources, mostly nectar, to animals.

Analysis of datum-instability effect on calculated results of data from Longmen Mountain regional gravity network

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Sun Shaoan

2011-11-01

Full Text Available A statistical correlation method is used to study the effect of instability of the calculation datum (used in traditional method of indirect adjustment on calculated gravity results, using data recorded by Long-men Mountain regional gravity network during 1996 – 2007. The result shows that when this effect is corrected, anomalous gravity changes before the 2008 Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake become obvious and characteristically distinctive. Thus the datum-stability problem must be considered when processing and analyzing data recorded by a regional gravity network.

Fran Ridge horizontal coring summary report hole UE-25h No. 1, Yucca Mountain Area, Nye County, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norris, A.E.; Byers, F.M. Jr.; Merson, T.J.

1986-10-01

Hole UE-25h No. 1 was core drilled during December 1982 and January 1983 within several degrees of due west, 400 ft horizontally into the southeast slope of Fran Ridge at an altitude of 3409 ft. The purpose of the hole was to obtain data pertinent for radionuclide transport studies in the Topopah Spring Member of the Paintbrush Tuff. This unit had been selected previously as the host rock for the potential underground nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, adjacent to the southwestern part of the Nevada Test Site. The hole was core drilled first with air, then with air mist, and finally with air, soap, and water. Many problems were encountered, including sloughing of tuff into the uncased hole, vibration of the drill rods, high rates of bit wear, and lost circulation of drilling fluids. On the basis of experience gained in drilling this hole, ways to improve horizontal coring with air are suggested in this report. All of the recovered core, except those pieces that were wrapped and waxed, were examined for lithophysal content, for fractures, and for fracture-fill mineralization. The results of this examination are given in this report. Core recovery greater than 80% at between 209 and 388 ft permitted a fracture frequency analysis. The results are similar to the fracture frequencies observed in densely welded nonlithophysal tuff from holes USW GU-3 and USW G-4. The fractures in core from UE-25h No. 1 were found to be smooth and nonmineralized or coated with calcite, silica, or manganese oxide. Open fractures with caliche (porous, nonsparry calcite) were not observed beyond 83.5 ft, which corresponds to an overburden depth of 30 ft

Groundwater recharge, circulation and geochemical evolution in the source region of the Blue Nile River, Ethiopia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kebede, Seifu; Travi, Yves; Alemayehu, Tamiru; Ayenew, Tenalem

2005-01-01

Geochemical and environmental isotope data were used to gain the first regional picture of groundwater recharge, circulation and its hydrochemical evolution in the upper Blue Nile River basin of Ethiopia. Q-mode statistical cluster analysis (HCA) was used to classify water into objective groups and to conduct inverse geochemical modeling among the groups. Two major structurally deformed regions with distinct groundwater circulation and evolution history were identified. These are the Lake Tana Graben (LTG) and the Yerer Tullu Wellel Volcanic Lineament Zone (YTVL). Silicate hydrolysis accompanied by CO 2 influx from deeper sources plays a major role in groundwater chemical evolution of the high TDS Na-HCO 3 type thermal groundwaters of these two regions. In the basaltic plateau outside these two zones, groundwater recharge takes place rapidly through fractured basalts, groundwater flow paths are short and they are characterized by low TDS and are Ca-Mg-HCO 3 type waters. Despite the high altitude (mean altitude ∼2500 masl) and the relatively low mean annual air temperature (18 deg. C) of the region compared to Sahelian Africa, there is no commensurate depletion in δ 18 O compositions of groundwaters of the Ethiopian Plateau. Generally the highland areas north and east of the basin are characterized by relatively depleted δ 18 O groundwaters. Altitudinal depletion of δ 18 O is 0.1%o/100 m. The meteoric waters of the Blue Nile River basin have higher d-excess compared to the meteoric waters of the Ethiopian Rift and that of its White Nile sister basin which emerges from the equatorial lakes region. The geochemically evolved groundwaters of the YTVL and LTG are relatively isotopically depleted when compared to the present day meteoric waters reflecting recharge under colder climate and their high altitude

Groundwater recharge, circulation and geochemical evolution in the source region of the Blue Nile River, Ethiopia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kebede, Seifu [Laboratory of Hydrogeology, University of Avignon, 33 Rue Louis Pasteur, 84000 Avignon (France) and Department of Geology and Geophysics, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)]. E-mail: seifu.kebede@univ-avignon.fr; Travi, Yves [Laboratory of Hydrogeology, University of Avignon, 33 Rue Louis Pasteur, 84000 Avignon (France); Alemayehu, Tamiru [Department of Geology and Geophysics, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); Ayenew, Tenalem [Department of Geology and Geophysics, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)

2005-09-15

Geochemical and environmental isotope data were used to gain the first regional picture of groundwater recharge, circulation and its hydrochemical evolution in the upper Blue Nile River basin of Ethiopia. Q-mode statistical cluster analysis (HCA) was used to classify water into objective groups and to conduct inverse geochemical modeling among the groups. Two major structurally deformed regions with distinct groundwater circulation and evolution history were identified. These are the Lake Tana Graben (LTG) and the Yerer Tullu Wellel Volcanic Lineament Zone (YTVL). Silicate hydrolysis accompanied by CO{sub 2} influx from deeper sources plays a major role in groundwater chemical evolution of the high TDS Na-HCO {sub 3} type thermal groundwaters of these two regions. In the basaltic plateau outside these two zones, groundwater recharge takes place rapidly through fractured basalts, groundwater flow paths are short and they are characterized by low TDS and are Ca-Mg-HCO {sub 3} type waters. Despite the high altitude (mean altitude {approx}2500 masl) and the relatively low mean annual air temperature (18 deg. C) of the region compared to Sahelian Africa, there is no commensurate depletion in {delta} {sup 18}O compositions of groundwaters of the Ethiopian Plateau. Generally the highland areas north and east of the basin are characterized by relatively depleted {delta} {sup 18}O groundwaters. Altitudinal depletion of {delta} {sup 18}O is 0.1%o/100 m. The meteoric waters of the Blue Nile River basin have higher d-excess compared to the meteoric waters of the Ethiopian Rift and that of its White Nile sister basin which emerges from the equatorial lakes region. The geochemically evolved groundwaters of the YTVL and LTG are relatively isotopically depleted when compared to the present day meteoric waters reflecting recharge under colder climate and their high altitude.

The Rocky Mountain Epidemic of Bark Beetles and Blue Stain Fungi Cause Cascading Effects on Coupled Water, C and N cycles

Science.gov (United States)

Ewers, B. E.; Pendall, E.; Norton, U.; Reed, D.; Franks, J.; Aston, T.; Whitehouse, F.; Barnard, H. R.; Brooks, P. D.; Angstmann, J.; Massman, W. J.; Williams, D. G.; Harpold, A. A.; Biederman, J.; Edburg, S. L.; Meddens, A. J.; Gochis, D. J.; Hicke, J. A.

2010-12-01

The ongoing epidemic of bark beetles and their associated xylem blocking blue-stain fungi is unprecedented in Rocky Mountain subalpine forests. As this epidemic continues, we seek to improve our predictive understanding of coupled water, C and N cycles by quantifying how these cycles may become uncoupled in response to the outbreak. Our specific questions are 1) how does the rapid drop in individual tree transpiration impact the temporal and spatial extent of evapotranspiration and 2) how does the subsequent increase in soil moisture and lower C inputs and N uptake impact soil C and N fluxes? We address these questions in two forest ecosystems using eddy covariance, sap flux, leaf gas exchange, plant hydraulic conductance, vegetation characteristics and soil trace gas measurements. We applied two sampling designs 1) subdivide the lodgepole pine forest spatially into varying degrees of bark beetle and blue stain infection and 2) follow the fluxes as the outbreak continues at a point in space encompassing the range of spatial variability in mortality. The first order impact of the bark beetle and blue stain fungi is dramatic in all tree species with a greater than 50% reduction in transpiration per tree within a month of infection. This change occurs even before the characteristic red tinge occurs in the needles or before the sapwood is stained blue. Leaf stomatal conductance declines more than either the biochemical or light harvesting components of photosynthesis immediately after infestation. The annual C sink at the spruce/fir forest has declined from -2.88 to -0.57 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 from 2006 to 2009. Annual evapotranspiration (ET) over the last five years at the spruce/fir forest now has an inverse relationship with precipitation because the last two years have seen a dramatic decrease (from 73 to 59 cm/year) in ET while precipitation has increased (from ~100 to 140 cm/year). Soil moisture in both forests has increased up to 100% within one growing season in

''Blue clearing'' on Mars in connection with dust clouds in August and September 1971

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prokof'eva, V.V.; Chuprakova, T.A.; Dzyamko, S.S.; Bryzgalova, T.V.

1975-01-01

Photometric processing of Mars TV pictures obtained in ultraviolet, blue, green and red spectrum regions reveals the connection of the ''blue clearing'' effect with the appearance of dust clouds above the light regions of the planet. The obtained data confirm the hypothesis about the dust nature of blue clearings: the illusion of blue clearings is produced as a result of increasing brightness of thse Mars light regions, when dust clouds apr above them

DISCOVERY OF A POSSIBLY SINGLE BLUE SUPERGIANT STAR IN THE INTRA-CLUSTER REGION OF VIRGO CLUSTER OF GALAXIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohyama, Youichi; Hota, Ananda [Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, P.O. Box 23-141, Taipei 106, Taiwan (China)

2013-04-20

IC 3418 is a dwarf irregular galaxy falling into the Virgo cluster, and a 17 kpc long trail is seen behind the galaxy, which is considered to have formed due to ram pressure stripping. The trail contains compact knots and diffuse blobs of ultraviolet and blue optical emission and, thus, it is a clear site of recent star formation but in an unusual environment, surrounded by a million degree intra-cluster medium. We report on our optical spectroscopy of a compact source in the trail, SDSS J122952.66+112227.8, and show that the optical spectrum is dominated by emission from a massive blue supergiant star. If confirmed, our report would mark the farthest star with spectroscopic observation. We interpret that a massive O-type star formed in situ in the trail has evolved recently out of the main sequence into this blue supergiant phase, and now lacks any detectable spectral sign of its associated H II region. We argue that turbulence within the ram pressure striped gaseous trail may play a dominant role for the star formation within such trails.

DISCOVERY OF A POSSIBLY SINGLE BLUE SUPERGIANT STAR IN THE INTRA-CLUSTER REGION OF VIRGO CLUSTER OF GALAXIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohyama, Youichi; Hota, Ananda

2013-01-01

IC 3418 is a dwarf irregular galaxy falling into the Virgo cluster, and a 17 kpc long trail is seen behind the galaxy, which is considered to have formed due to ram pressure stripping. The trail contains compact knots and diffuse blobs of ultraviolet and blue optical emission and, thus, it is a clear site of recent star formation but in an unusual environment, surrounded by a million degree intra-cluster medium. We report on our optical spectroscopy of a compact source in the trail, SDSS J122952.66+112227.8, and show that the optical spectrum is dominated by emission from a massive blue supergiant star. If confirmed, our report would mark the farthest star with spectroscopic observation. We interpret that a massive O-type star formed in situ in the trail has evolved recently out of the main sequence into this blue supergiant phase, and now lacks any detectable spectral sign of its associated H II region. We argue that turbulence within the ram pressure striped gaseous trail may play a dominant role for the star formation within such trails.

MACROZOOBENTHOS OF MOUNTAIN RIVERS OF THE TRANSCARPATHIAN REGION AS A FORAGE BASE OF BENTHOPHAGOUS FISHES AND SAPROBITY INDICATOR

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S. Kruzhylina

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To study qualitative and qualitative indices of macrozoobenthos as one of main components of the forage base of benthophagous fishes in mountain river reaches of the Transcarpathian region and determination of their saprobity level. Methodology. Thhj,9.e study was carried out in summer period of 2009 in mountain river reaches of the Tisa river catchment. Zoobenthos samples were collected by a Surber sampler (25 × 25 cm on the bottoms of different fractions with different water flow rate (riffle, run, pool. Collection, processing and interpretation of the obtained data was carried out according to generally accepted hydrobiological methods developed for mountain river studies. Saprobity was of the studied rivers was calculated by Pantle-Buck formula. The Zelinka-Marvan saprobity index was used for calculations. Findings. Qualitative and quantitative macrozoobenthos indices have been studied. The number of zoobenthos on the investigated river sections ranged from 416 to 7712 ind./m2 with biomasses from 2.96 to 83.84 g/m2. The major portion of the zoobenthic biomass in the majority of rivers was due to caddis fly larvae composing up to 93% of the total biomass. An important role in the total biomass of the zoobenthos also belonged to mayfly (up to 53% and stonefly (up to 55% larvae and in lower degree amphipods (up to 39%, chironomid larvae (up to 14% and aquatic coleopterans (up to 5%. According to the calculated potential fish productivity, the mountain rivers can be apparently separated into three groups: little productive (4.2–12.7 kg/ha, medium productive (13.2–21.6 kg/ha and high productive (25.3–85.3 kg/ha. Mountain river reaches of the Transcarpathian region were found to belong to pure χ-saprobic, and о- і β-mesosaprobic zones, the saprobity index in which ranged from 0.35 (Rika river to 1.7 (Shipot river. Originality. For further calculation and assessment of brown trout (Salmo trutta and European grayling (Thymallus

Contrasting neogene denudation histories of different structural regions in the transantarctic mountains rift flank constrained by cosmogenic isotope measurements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wateren, F.M. van der; Dunai, T.J.; Balen, R.T. van; Klas, W.; Verbers, A.L.L.M.; Passchier, S.; Herpers, U.

1999-01-01

Separate regions within the Transantarctic Mountains, the uplifted flank of the West Antarctic rift system, appear to have distinct Neogene histories of glaciation and valley downcutting. Incision of deep glacial outlet valleys occurred at different times throughout central and northern Victoria

Ridge-like lava tube systems in southeast Tharsis, Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jiannan; Huang, Jun; Kraft, Michael D.; Xiao, Long; Jiang, Yun

2017-10-01

Lava tubes are widely distributed in volcanic fields on a planetary surface and they are important means of lava transportation. We have identified 38 sinuous ridges with a lava-tube origin in southeast Tharsis. The lengths vary between 14 and 740 km, and most of them occur in areas with slopes rate, low lava viscosity, and sustained magma supply during a long period. Besides, lava flow inflation is also important in the formation of the ridge-like lava tubes and some associated features. These lava tubes provide efficient lateral pathways for magma transportation over the relatively low topographic slopes in southeast Tharsis, and they are important for the formation of long lava flows in this region. The findings of this study provide an alternative formation mechanism for sinuous ridges on the martian surface.

Stratigraphic framework of sediment-starved sand ridges on a mixed siliciclastic/carbonate inner shelf; west-central Florida

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, J.H.; Harrison, S.E.; Locker, S.D.; Hine, A.C.; Twichell, D.C.

2003-01-01

Seismic reflection profiles and vibracores have revealed that an inner shelf, sand-ridge field has developed over the past few thousand years situated on an elevated, broad bedrock terrace. This terrace extends seaward of a major headland associated with the modern barrier-island coastline of west-central Florida. The overall geologic setting is a low-energy, sediment-starved, mixed siliciclastic/carbonate inner continental shelf supporting a thin sedimentary veneer. This veneer is arranged in a series of subparallel, shore-oblique, and to a minor extent, shore-parallel sand ridges. Seven major facies are present beneath the ridges, including a basal Neogene limestone gravel facies and a blue-green clay facies indicative of dominantly authigenic sedimentation. A major sequence boundary separates these older units from Holocene age, organic-rich mud facies (marsh), which grades upward into a muddy sand facies (lagoon or shallow open shelf/seagrass meadows). Cores reveal that the muddy shelf facies is either in sharp contact or grades upward into a shelly sand facies (ravinement or sudden termination of seagrass meadows). The shelly sand facies grades upward to a mixed siliciclastic/carbonate facies, which forms the sand ridges themselves. This mixed siliciclastic/carbonate facies differs from the sediment on the beach and shoreface, suggesting insignificant sediment exchange between the offshore ridges and the modern coastline. Additionally, the lack of early Holocene, pre-ridge facies in the troughs between the ridges suggests that the ridges themselves do not migrate laterally extensively. Radiocarbon dating has indicated that these sand ridges can form relatively quickly (???1.3 ka) on relatively low-energy inner shelves once open-marine conditions are available, and that frequent, high-energy, storm-dominated conditions are not necessarily required. We suggest that the two inner shelf depositional models presented (open-shelf vs. migrating barrier-island) may

Thickness of Knox Group overburden on Central Chestnut Ridge, Oak Ridge Reservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Staub, W.P.; Hopkins, R.A.

1984-05-01

The thickness of residual soil overlying the Knox Group along Central Chestnut Ridge was estimated by a conventional seismic refraction survey. The purpose of this survey was to identify sites on the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation where ample overburden exists above the water table for the shallow land burial of low-level radioactive waste. The results of the survey suggest that the upper slopes of the higher ridges in the area have a minimum of 16 to 26 m (52 to 85 ft) of overburden and that the crests of these ridges may have more than 30 m (100 ft). Therefore, it is unlikely that sound bedrock would be encountered during trench excavation [maximum of 10 m (32 ft)] along Central Chestnut Ridge. Also, the relatively low seismic wave velocities measured in the overburden suggest that the water table is generally deep. On the basis of these preliminary results, Central Chestnut Ridge appears to be suitable for further site characterization for the shallow land burial of low-level radioactive waste. 3 references, 5 figures, 1 table

Elemental identification of blue paintings traces present in historic cemeteries in the São Martinho region, southern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Thiago G.; Richter, Fábio Andreas; Castro, Elisiana Trilha; Gonçalves, Samantha; Spudeit, Daniel A.; Micke, Gustavo A.

2018-03-01

Cemeteries are of great significance in many communities, often being considered of invaluable historical, artistic, architectural and cultural significance and thus they need to be preserved. In this regard, understanding the historical aspects and the construction techniques used is essential for their protection. The purpose of this paper is to describe historical aspects of the funerary heritage present in the region of São Martinho in southern Brazil, along with an analysis of the blue paint found in cemeteries of German colonies in the region studied. FTIR analysis suggests that the binder is composed mostly of a protein resin and a small amount of lipid. The morphology of the pigment was investigated by SEM and EDS and the spectra revealed that the major elements present in the blue pigment are Na, Al, Si and S, with an overlap in the elemental mapping, indicative of ultramarine pigments. The GC-MS results are consistent with the type of binder identified by FTIR and indicate a mixture of oils, probably from vegetal sources, and proteins.

Benthic megafaunal community structure of cobalt-rich manganese crusts on Necker Ridge

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Nicole B.; Cairns, Stephen; Reiswig, Henry; Baco, Amy R.

2015-10-01

In the North Pacific Ocean, the seamounts of the Hawaiian Archipelago and the Mid-Pacific Mountains are connected by Necker Ridge, a 600 km-long feature spanning a depth range of 1400-4000 m. The Necker Ridge is a part of a large area of the central and western Pacific under consideration for cobalt-rich manganese crust mining. We describe the fauna and community structure of the previously unsampled Necker Ridge based on explorations with the submersible Pisces IV. On five pinnacles and a portion of the Ridge ranging from 1400 to 2000 m deep, 27 transects were recorded using HD video, and voucher specimens were collected to aid in species identification. The video was analyzed to identify and count the megafauna found on each transect and to characterize the substrate. Diversity increased from south to north along the feature. There was a significant difference in community structure between southern and northern pinnacles, with southern pinnacles dominated by crinoids of the Family Charitometridae and northern pinnacles dominated by octocorals, especially the Families Isididae and Chrysogorgiidae. DistLM demonstrated a correlation between community structure on the pinnacles and at least six environmental variables, including latitude, sediment cover, and oxygen concentration, but not including depth. The discontinuous and patchy nature of these distinct megafaunal communities highlights growing evidence that cobalt-rich seamounts are highly heterogeneous habitats, and that managing seamounts may require more complex regulations than treating them as a single ecological unit. These results suggest that extensive community analysis should occur at a given site to determine management priority areas, prior to consideration of that site for exploitation of natural resources.

Convective boundary layer heights over mountainous terrain - A review of concepts -

Science.gov (United States)

De Wekker, Stephan; Kossmann, Meinolf

2015-12-01

Mountainous terrain exerts an important influence on the Earth's atmosphere and affects atmospheric transport and mixing at a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. The vertical scale of this transport and mixing is determined by the height of the atmospheric boundary layer, which is therefore an important parameter in air pollution studies, weather forecasting, climate modeling, and many other applications. It is recognized that the spatio-temporal structure of the daytime convective boundary layer (CBL) height is strongly modified and more complex in hilly and mountainous terrain compared to flat terrain. While the CBL over flat terrain is mostly dominated by turbulent convection, advection from multi-scale thermally driven flows plays an important role for the CBL evolution over mountainous terrain. However, detailed observations of the CBL structure and understanding of the underlying processes are still limited. Characteristics of CBL heights in mountainous terrain are reviewed for dry, convective conditions. CBLs in valleys and basins, where hazardous accumulation of pollutants is of particular concern, are relatively well-understood compared to CBLs over slopes, ridges, or mountain peaks. Interests in the initiation of shallow and deep convection, and of budgets and long-range transport of air pollutants and trace gases, have triggered some recent studies on terrain induced exchange processes between the CBL and the overlying atmosphere. These studies have helped to gain more insight into CBL structure over complex mountainous terrain, but also show that the universal definition of CBL height over mountains remains an unresolved issue. The review summarizes the progress that has been made in documenting and understanding spatio-temporal behavior of CBL heights in mountainous terrain and concludes with a discussion of open research questions and opportunities for future research.

How fast is the denudation of the Taiwan Mountains? (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Siame, L. L.; Derrieux, F.; KANG, C.; Bourles, D. L.; Braucher, R.; Léanni, L.; Chen, R.; Lee, J.; Chu, H.; Chang, C.; Byrne, T. B.

2013-12-01

Orogenic settings are particularly well suited to study and quantify the coupling relations between tectonics, topography, climate and erosion since they record tectonic evolution along convergent margins and the connection between deep and surface processes. However, the interaction of deep and shallow processes is still poorly understood and the role they play in the exhumation of rocks, the structural and kinematic evolution of orogenic wedges, and the relation between tectonics and climate-dependent surface processes are still debated. Therefore, quantification of denudation rates in a wide range of climatic and tectonic settings, as well as at various time and space scales, is a critical step in calibrating and validating landscape evolution models. In this study, we focus on the mountains of the arc-continent collision in Taiwan, which serve as one of the best examples in the world to understand and study mountain building processes. We investigate the pattern and magnitude of denudation rates at the scale of the orogenic system, deriving denudation rates from in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclide 10Be concentrations measured in (1) river-borne quartz minerals sampled at major watersheds outlets, and (2) bedrock outcrops along ridge crests and at summits located along the major drainage divide of the belt. We determined a denudation pattern showing a clear discrepancy between the western (1.7×0.2 mm/yr) and eastern (4.1×0.5 mm/yr) sides of the range. Conversely, bedrock denudation determined along ridge crests, summits and flat surfaces preserved at high elevations are characterized by significantly lower denudation rates on the order of 0.24×0.03 mm/yr. Altogether, the cosmogenic-derived denudation pattern at the orogen-scale reflects fundamental mountain building processes from frontal accretion in the Western Foothills to basal accretion and fast exhumation in the Central Range. Applied to the whole orogen, such field-based approach thus provides

Pollination ecology and floral function of Brown’s peony (Paeonia brownii in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nan Vance

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Brown’s peony, Paeonia brownii (Paeoniaceae, is one of only two peony species native to the Western Hemisphere, yet its pollination ecology and breeding system have never been documented. Using flowering individuals of an endemic colony in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, U.S., we investigated the peony’s pollination system and floral function. We also examined pollen/carpel interactions through experimental pollinations aided by fluorescence microscopy. Paeonia brownii appears to be self compatible and mostly protogynous with floral traits of a generalist pollination system. The flowers appear to attract insects by producing abundant floral nectar secreted from lobes of a perigynous disc throughout their 9-15-days of anthesis. The most common pollen vectors were wasp queens (Vespidae, the large flower fly Criorhina caudata (Syrphidae, and females of Lasioglossum spp. (Halictidae, all of which foraged exclusively for nectar. Whether collected from foraging wasps and flies, anthers, or stigmas, about half the pollen grains appeared fertile. The number of ovules per carpel was about 19. Seed set (seeds/ovule of naturally pollinated flowers was about 20% with about 4 viable seeds per follicle. The number of fertile pollen grains transferred to the stigma under natural conditions was highly variable but generally low, which may have contributed in part to the low rate of seed set. This study raises further questions about the role of pollen sterility, floral nectar and vespid wasps in shaping a pollinator system that is unusual in Paeonia.

78 FR 29199 - Avani International Group, Inc., Birch Mountain Resources Ltd., Capital Reserve Canada Ltd...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-17

... Mountain Resources Ltd., Capital Reserve Canada Ltd., Dynasty Gaming, Inc. (n/k/a Blue Zen Memorial Parks, Inc.), IXI Mobile, Inc., Laureate Resources & Steel Industries Inc., Millennium Energy Corp., Shannon... a lack of current and accurate information concerning the securities of Dynasty Gaming, Inc. (n/k/a...

Hydrological Utility and Uncertainty of Multi-Satellite Precipitation Products in the Mountainous Region of South Korea

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Jong Pil Kim

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Satellite-derived precipitation can be a potential source of forcing data for assessing water availability and managing water supply in mountainous regions of East Asia. This study investigates the hydrological utility of satellite-derived precipitation and uncertainties attributed to error propagation of satellite products in hydrological modeling. To this end, four satellite precipitation products (tropical rainfall measuring mission (TRMM multi-satellite precipitation analysis (TMPA version 6 (TMPAv6 and version 7 (TMPAv7, the global satellite mapping of precipitation (GSMaP, and the climate prediction center (CPC morphing technique (CMORPH were integrated into a physically-based hydrologic model for the mountainous region of South Korea. The satellite precipitation products displayed different levels of accuracy when compared to the intra- and inter-annual variations of ground-gauged precipitation. As compared to the GSMaP and CMORPH products, superior performances were seen when the TMPA products were used within streamflow simulations. Significant dry (negative biases in the GSMaP and CMORPH products led to large underestimates of streamflow during wet-summer seasons. Although the TMPA products displayed a good level of performance for hydrologic modeling, there were some over/underestimates of precipitation by satellites during the winter season that were induced by snow accumulation and snowmelt processes. These differences resulted in streamflow simulation uncertainties during the winter and spring seasons. This study highlights the crucial need to understand hydrological uncertainties from satellite-derived precipitation for improved water resource management and planning in mountainous basins. Furthermore, it is suggested that a reliable snowfall detection algorithm is necessary for the new global precipitation measurement (GPM mission.

Faulting in the Yucca Mountain region: Critical review and analyses of tectonic data from the central Basin and Range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferrill, D.A.; Stirewalt, G.L.; Henderson, D.B.; Stamatakos, J.; Morris, A.P.; Spivey, K.H.; Wernicke, B.P.

1996-03-01

Yucca Mountain, Nevada, has been proposed as the potential site for a high-level waste (HLW) repository. The tectonic setting of Yucca Mountain presents several potential hazards for a proposed repository, such as potential for earthquake seismicity, fault disruption, basaltic volcanism, magma channeling along pre-existing faults, and faults and fractures that may serve as barriers or conduits for groundwater flow. Characterization of geologic structures and tectonic processes will be necessary to assess compliance with regulatory requirements for the proposed high level waste repository. In this report, we specifically investigate fault slip, seismicity, contemporary stain, and fault-slip potential in the Yucca Mountain region with regard to Key Technical Uncertainties outlined in the License Application Review Plan (Sections 3.2.1.5 through 3.2.1.9 and 3.2.2.8). These investigations center on (i) alternative methods of determining the slip history of the Bare Mountain Fault, (ii) cluster analysis of historic earthquakes, (iii) crustal strain determinations from Global Positioning System measurements, and (iv) three-dimensional slip-tendency analysis. The goal of this work is to assess uncertainties associated with neotectonic data sets critical to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses' ability to provide prelicensing guidance and perform license application review with respect to the proposed HLW repository at Yucca Mountain

Apatite fission track dating and thermal history of Qing-He region in Altay Mountains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bao Zengkuan; Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing; Yuan Wanming; Dong Jinquan; Gao Shaokai

2005-01-01

Fission track ages (FTA) and track lengths of apatite from Qing-He diorite intrusion in Altay Mountains are measured. Apatite fission track ages of three diorite samples is range from (78±5) Ma to (95 ± 5) Ma, and the lengths of horizontal confined spontaneous fission tracks are (13.2 ± 1.2)-(13.5 ±1.3) μm. The distribution of the track length is narrow and symmetrical with a mean length of approximately 13.3 μm and a standard deviation of around 0.1 μm. The inverse modeling results show that thermal history of this region has four stages, two rapid uplift of this region still existed magmatic intrusion and tectonic movements in Yanshanian. (authors)

Production of high-resolution digital terrain models in mountain regions to support risk assessment

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Gianfranco Forlani

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Demand for high-accuracy digital terrain models (DTMs in the Alpine region has been steadily increasing in recent years in valleys as well as high mountains. In the former, the determination of the geo-mechanical parameters of rock masses is the main objective; global warming, which causes the retreat of glaciers and the reduction of permafrost, is the main drive of the latter. The consequence is the instability of rock masses in high mountains: new cost-effective monitoring techniques are required to deal with the peculiar characteristics of such environment, delivering results at short notice. After discussing the design and execution of photogrammetric surveys in such areas, with particular reference to block orientation and block control, the paper describes the production of DTMs of rock faces and glacier fronts with light instrumentation and data acquisition techniques, allowing highly automated data processing. To this aim, the PhotoGPS technique and structure from motion algorithms are used to speed up the orientation process, while dense matching area-based correlation techniques are used to generate the DTMs.

Neotectonic inversion of the Hindu Kush-Pamir mountain region

Science.gov (United States)

Ruleman, C.A.

2011-01-01

The Hindu Kush-Pamir region of southern Asia is one of Earth's most rapidly deforming regions and it is poorly understood. This study develops a kinematic model based on active faulting in this part of the Trans-Himalayan orogenic belt. Previous studies have described north-verging thrust faults and some strike-slip faults, reflected in the northward-convex geomorphologic and structural grain of the Pamir Mountains. However, this structural analysis suggests that contemporary tectonics are changing the style of deformation from north-verging thrusts formed during the initial contraction of the Himalayan orogeny to south-verging thrusts and a series of northwest-trending, dextral strike-slip faults in the modern transpressional regime. These northwest-trending fault zones are linked to the major right-lateral Karakoram fault, located to the east, as synthetic, conjugate shears that form a right-stepping en echelon pattern. Northwest-trending lineaments with dextral displacements extend continuously westward across the Hindu Kush-Pamir region indicating a pattern of systematic shearing of multiple blocks to the northwest as the deformation effects from Indian plate collision expands to the north-northwest. Locally, east-northeast- and northwest-trending faults display sinistral and dextral displacement, respectively, yielding conjugate shear pairs developed in a northwest-southeast compressional stress field. Geodetic measurements and focal mechanisms from historical seismicity support these surficial, tectono-morphic observations. The conjugate shear pairs may be structurally linked subsidiary faults and co-seismically slip during single large magnitude (> M7) earthquakes that occur on major south-verging thrust faults. This kinematic model provides a potential context for prehistoric, historic, and future patterns of faulting and earthquakes.

Natural radionuclides in rocks and soils of the high-mountain regions of the Great Caucasus

Science.gov (United States)

Asvarova, T. A.; Abdulaeva, A. S.; Magomedov, M. A.

2012-06-01

The results of the radioecological survey in the high-mountain regions of the Great Caucasus at the heights from 2200 to 3800 m a.s.l. are considered. This survey encompassed the territories of Dagestan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Chechnya, Northern Ossetia-Alania, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, and the Stavropol and Krasnodar regions. The natural γ background radiation in the studied regions is subjected to considerable fluctuations and varies from 6 to 40 μR/h. The major regularities of the migration of natural radionuclides 238U, 232Th, 226Ra, and 40K in soils in dependence on the particular environmental conditions (the initial concentration of the radionuclides in the parent material; the intensity of pedogenesis; the intensity of the vertical and horizontal migration; and the geographic, climatic, and landscape-geochemical factors) are discussed.

Distribution of uranium 226Ra, 210Pb and 210Po in the ecological cycle in mountain regions of Central Yugoslavia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milosevic, Z.; Horsic, E.; Kljajic, R.; Bauman, A.

1980-01-01

The distribution of uranium, 226 Ra, 210 Pb and 210 Po in the uncultivated mountain regions of Central Yugoslavia was investigated. Samples of beef (meat and bones), milk, cheese, grass and podsolic soil were analyzed. The results showed that the distribution of these radionuclides in this ecologically unpolluted environment was no different from cultivated regions in other parts of the world. (UK)

CO{sub 2} Sequestration Capacity and Associated Aspects of the Most Promising Geologic Formations in the Rocky Mountain Region: Local-Scale Analyses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laes, Denise; Eisinger, Chris; Morgan, Craig; Rauzi, Steve; Scholle, Dana; Scott, Phyllis; Lee, Si-Yong; Zaluski, Wade; Esser, Richard; Matthews, Vince; McPherson, Brian

2013-07-30

The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of individual local-­scale CCS site characterization studies conducted in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. These site-­ specific characterization analyses were performed as part of the “Characterization of Most Promising Sequestration Formations in the Rocky Mountain Region” (RMCCS) project. The primary objective of these local-­scale analyses is to provide a basis for regional-­scale characterization efforts within each state. Specifically, limits on time and funding will typically inhibit CCS projects from conducting high-­ resolution characterization of a state-­sized region, but smaller (< 10,000 km{sup 2}) site analyses are usually possible, and such can provide insight regarding limiting factors for the regional-­scale geology. For the RMCCS project, the outcomes of these local-­scale studies provide a starting point for future local-­scale site characterization efforts in the Rocky Mountain region.

36Chlorine exposure dating of a terminal moraine in the Galicica Mountains, Macedonia

Science.gov (United States)

Gromig, R.; Mechernich, S.; Ribolini, A.; Dunai, T. J.; Wagner, B.

2015-12-01

The glaciation history of the Balkan Peninsula is subject of research since the late 19th century. To date, only a few moraines on the Balkan Peninsula are dated, mainly using 10Be exposure dating applied on quartz bearing rocks. Since large parts of the Balkan Peninsula mountains are composed of carbonatic rocks, absolute age dating is restricted to 36Cl exposure dating, which, to date, was not conducted in this region yet. So far, an absolute chronological control in limestone-dominated areas is limited to U-series minimum ages of calcitic cements. In order to obtain more information about the timing of the glaciation history on the Balkan Peninsula, we investigated a terminal moraine in a NNE-facing cirque in the Galicica Mountains (40°56´N, 20°49´E) in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The cirque comprises a series of nested moraine ridges at the base of the cirque wall, with the largest one being sampled. Samples from five limestone boulders in crest position (≈ 2050 m a.s.l.) were taken and pre-treated for AMS measurement at the University of Cologne. Three preliminary ages point to a moraine formation in the course of a late Pleistocene glaciation, either Last Glacial Maximum or Younger Dryas. The data were discussed concerning corrections for topographic shielding, snow cover, inheritance, and erosion. However, five AMS re-measurements are currently in progress in order to refine the correlation of the moraine formation to a specific glacial period. The resulting ages will be compared to sediments of the adjacent Lakes Ohrid and Prespa, which represent valuable climatic and environmental archives. Several studies on these sediments were carried out in order to reconstruct relative changes in temperature and moisture availability. Moreover, the inferred moraine formation ages will be compared to glaciation reconstructions of other mountainous regions on the Balkan Peninsula to improve the knowledge on past climatic conditions.

Mineralogy of drill hole UE-25pnumber1 at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chipera, S.J.; Bish, D.L.

1988-05-01

Drill hole UE-25p/number sign/1 is located east of the candidate repository block at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and as such provides information on the geology of the accessible environment. The hole was drilled to a depth of 1807 m (5923 ft) and is unique in that it penetrates tuffs that are older than any volcanic units previously encountered in drill holes at Yucca Mountain. In addition, it is the only hole drilled to date that penetrates the base of the tuff sequence and enters the underlying Paleozoic dolomite basement. We have examined the mineralogy of drill cuttings, core, and sidewall samples from drill hole UE-25p/number sign/1 is similar to that in the other drill holes examined at Yucca Mountain. The only significant differences in mineralogy from other drill holes include the presence of dolomite in the Paleozoic carbonate rocks and the occurrence of up to 3% laumontite, a Ca-zeolite, in four samples of the Lithic Ridge Tuff. 15 refs., 5 figs., 4 tabs

Lithospheric Strength Beneath the Zagros Mountains of Southwestern Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, A. N.; Nyblade, A.; Brazier, R.; Rodgers, A.; Al-Amri, A.

2006-05-01

The Zagros Mountain Belt of southwestern Iran is among the most seismically active mountain belts in the world. Early seismic studies of this area found that the lithosphere underlying the Zagros Mountains follows the "jelly sandwich" model, having a strong upper crust and a strong lithospheric mantle, separated by a weak lower crust. More recent studies, which analyzed earthquakes originating within the Zagros Mountains that were recorded at teleseismic distances, however, found that these earthquakes occurred only within the upper crust, thus indicating that the strength of the Zagros Mountains' lithosphere lies only within the upper crust, in accordance with the "creme brulee" lithospheric model. Preliminary analysis of regionally recorded earthquakes that originated within the Zagros Mountains is presented here. Using earthquakes recorded at regional distances will allow the analysis of a larger dataset than has been used in previous studies. Preliminary results show earthquakes occurring throughout the crust and possibly extending into the upper mantle.

Regression-Correlation of Petrophysical Inter-Parameter of Igneous Rocks and Limestone from Kulonprogo Mountain Region, Yogyakarta Special Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sigit Maryanto

2014-06-01

Full Text Available DOI: 10.17014/ijog.v6i4.127Laboratory test of complete petrophysic parameters encompasing water absorption, compressive strength, Los Angeles abrasive strength, Rudellof abrasive strength, and wear resistance with Na2SO4 has been carried out for igneous and carbonate rocks taken from Kulonprogo Mountains region. Statistical verification of the data exhibits variation of correlation coefficients among parameters ranging from medium to very high value. The values of petrophysic test results are determined by the rock types. The result of this study is useful to estimate the accuracy of values of each parameter test result in Geological Survey Institute Laboratory using regression formula representing each relationship.

Forecasting Precipitation over the MENA Region: A Data Mining and Remote Sensing Based Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Elkadiri, R.; Sultan, M.; Elbayoumi, T.; Chouinard, K.

2015-12-01

We developed and applied an integrated approach to construct predictive tools with lead times of 1 to 12 months to forecast precipitation amounts over the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The following steps were conducted: (1) acquire and analyze temporal remote sensing-based precipitation datasets (i.e. Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission [TRMM]) over five main water source regions in the MENA area (i.e. Atlas Mountains in Morocco, Southern Sudan, Red Sea Hills of Yemen, and Blue Nile and White Nile source areas) throughout the investigation period (1998 to 2015), (2) acquire and extract monthly values for all of the climatic indices that are likely to influence the climatic patterns over the MENA region (e.g., Northern Atlantic Oscillation [NOI], Southern Oscillation Index [SOI], and Tropical North Atlantic Index [TNA]); and (3) apply data mining methods to extract relationships between the observed precipitation and the controlling factors (climatic indices) and use predictive tools to forecast monthly precipitation over each of the identified pilot study areas. Preliminary results indicate that by using the period from January 1998 until August 2012 for model training and the period from September 2012 to January 2015 for testing, precipitation can be successfully predicted with a three-months lead over South West Yemen, Atlas Mountains in Morocco, Southern Sudan, Blue Nile sources and White Nile sources with confidence (Pearson correlation coefficient: 0.911, 0.823, 0.807, 0.801 and 0.895 respectively). Future work will focus on applying this technique for prediction of precipitation over each of the climatically contiguous areas of the MENA region. If our efforts are successful, our findings will lead the way to the development and implementation of sound water management scenarios for the MENA countries.

Analysis and Comparison on the Flood Simulation in Typical Hilly & Semi-mountainous Region

Science.gov (United States)

Luan, Qinghua; Wang, Dong; Zhang, Xiang; Liu, Jiahong; Fu, Xiaoran; Zhang, Kun; Ma, Jun

2017-12-01

Water-logging and flood are both serious in hilly and semi-mountainous cities of China, but the related research is rare. Lincheng Economic Development Zone (EDZ) in Hebei Province as the typical city was selected and storm water management model (SWMM) was applied for flood simulation in this study. The regional model was constructed through calibrating and verifying the runoff coefficient of different flood processes. Different designed runoff processes in five-year, ten-year and twenty-year return periods in basic scenario and in the low impact development (LID) scenario, respectively, were simulated and compared. The result shows that: LID measures have effect on peak reduction in the study area, but the effectiveness is not significant; the effectiveness of lagging peak time is poor. These simulation results provide decision support for the rational construction of LID in the study area, and provide the references for regional rain flood management.

Europan double ridge morphometry as a test of formation models

Science.gov (United States)

Dameron, Ashley C.; Burr, Devon M.

2018-05-01

Double ridges on the Jovian satellite Europa consist of two parallel ridges with a central trough. Although these features are nearly ubiquitous on Europa, their formation mechanism(s) is (are) not yet well-understood. Previous hypotheses for their formation can be divided into two groups based on 1) the expected interior slope angles and 2) the magnitude of interior/exterior slope symmetry. The published hypotheses in the first ("fracture") group entail brittle deformation of the crust, either by diapirism, shear heating, or buckling due to compression. Because these mechanisms imply uplift of near-vertical fractures, their predicted interior slopes are steeper than the angle of repose (AOR) with shallower exterior slopes. The second ("flow") group includes cryosedimentary and cryovolcanic processes - explosive or effusive cryovolcanism and tidal squeezing -, which are predicted to form ridge slopes at or below the AOR. Explosive cryovolcanism would form self-symmetric ridges, whereas effusive cryolavas and cryo-sediments deposited during tidal squeezing would likely not exhibit slope symmetry. To distinguish between these two groups of hypothesized formation mechanisms, we derived measurements of interior slope angle and interior/exterior slope symmetry at multiple locations on Europa through analysis of data from the Galileo Solid State Imaging (SSI) camera. Two types of data were used: i) elevation data from five stereo-pair digital elevation models (DEMs) covering four ridges (580 individual measurements), and ii) ridge shadow length measurements taken on individual images over 40 ridges (200 individual measurements). Our results shows that slopes measured on our DEMs, located in the Cilix and Banded Plains regions, typically fall below the AOR, and slope symmetry is dominant. Two different shadow measurement techniques implemented to calculate interior slopes yielded slope angles that also fall below the AOR. The shallow interior slopes derived from both

Preserved filamentous microbial biosignatures in the Brick Flat gossan, Iron Mountain, California

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Amy J.; Sumner, Dawn Y.; Alpers, Charles N.; Karunatillake, Suniti; Hofmann, Beda A

2015-01-01

biogenic filaments could be preserved on Mars in an iron-rich environment analogous to Iron Mountain, with the Pahrump Hills region and Hematite Ridge in Gale Crater astentative possibilities.

Uncertainty of future projections of species distributions in mountainous regions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ying Tang

Full Text Available Multiple factors introduce uncertainty into projections of species distributions under climate change. The uncertainty introduced by the choice of baseline climate information used to calibrate a species distribution model and to downscale global climate model (GCM simulations to a finer spatial resolution is a particular concern for mountainous regions, as the spatial resolution of climate observing networks is often insufficient to detect the steep climatic gradients in these areas. Using the maximum entropy (MaxEnt modeling framework together with occurrence data on 21 understory bamboo species distributed across the mountainous geographic range of the Giant Panda, we examined the differences in projected species distributions obtained from two contrasting sources of baseline climate information, one derived from spatial interpolation of coarse-scale station observations and the other derived from fine-spatial resolution satellite measurements. For each bamboo species, the MaxEnt model was calibrated separately for the two datasets and applied to 17 GCM simulations downscaled using the delta method. Greater differences in the projected spatial distributions of the bamboo species were observed for the models calibrated using the different baseline datasets than between the different downscaled GCM simulations for the same calibration. In terms of the projected future climatically-suitable area by species, quantification using a multi-factor analysis of variance suggested that the sum of the variance explained by the baseline climate dataset used for model calibration and the interaction between the baseline climate data and the GCM simulation via downscaling accounted for, on average, 40% of the total variation among the future projections. Our analyses illustrate that the combined use of gridded datasets developed from station observations and satellite measurements can help estimate the uncertainty introduced by the choice of baseline

Environmental surveillance of the Oak Ridge Reservation and surrounding environs during 1985

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-04-01

Routine monitoring and sampling for radiation, radioactive materials, and chemical substances on and off the Oak Ridge Reservation are used to document compliance with appropriate standards, identify undesirable trends, provide information for the public, and contribute to general environmental knowledge. Regional stations located at distances of up to 140 km (90 miles) from the ORR provide a basis for determining conditions beyond the range of potential influence of the three Oak Ridge installations. Stations within the Reservation, around the perimeters and within each plant site, and in residential and community areas document conditions in areas occupied and visited by the public and potentially affected by the Oak Ridge operations. In all, during 1985 some 115,000 analyses of environmental samples were completed as part of the Reservation-wide and regional monitoring program. Included were approxiately 61,000 air, 41,000 surface water, 8090 groundwater, 2400 wastewater, 80 fish, 231 soil, 132 grass, 36 pine needle, 360 sediment, and 80 external gamma analyses

Environmental surveillance of the Oak Ridge Reservation and surrounding environs during 1985

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1986-04-01

Routine monitoring and sampling for radiation, radioactive materials, and chemical substances on and off the Oak Ridge Reservation are used to document compliance with appropriate standards, identify undesirable trends, provide information for the public, and contribute to general environmental knowledge. Regional stations located at distances of up to 140 km (90 miles) from the ORR provide a basis for determining conditions beyond the range of potential influence of the three Oak Ridge installations. Stations within the Reservation, around the perimeters and within each plant site, and in residential and community areas document conditions in areas occupied and visited by the public and potentially affected by the Oak Ridge operations. In all, during 1985 some 115,000 analyses of environmental samples were completed as part of the Reservation-wide and regional monitoring program. Included were approxiately 61,000 air, 41,000 surface water, 8090 groundwater, 2400 wastewater, 80 fish, 231 soil, 132 grass, 36 pine needle, 360 sediment, and 80 external gamma analyses.

Possible evidence for contemporary doming of the Adirondack Mountains, New York, and suggested implications for regional tectonics and seismicity

Science.gov (United States)

Isachsen, Y.W.

1975-01-01

at a rate far in excess of denudation. This inference leads to a consideration of other tectonic features which may be related in both the short and long term to such a postulated doming. One is the periodic occurrence of anomalous earthquake swarms located very near the geometric center of the Adirondack dome at Blue Mountain Lake, although horizontal rather than vertical compressive stresses have been shown to be dominant by Sbar and Sykes in 1973. Another, is the predominance of faults and topographic lineaments in the Adirondacks which parallel the long axis of the dome and are so remarkably well displayed in the infrared bands of ERTS-1 imagery. ?? 1975.

Habitat assessment for giant pandas in the Qinling Mountain region of China

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Tian-Tian; Van Manen, Frank T.; Zhao, Na-Xun; Li, Ming; Wei, Fu-Wen

2009-01-01

Because habitat loss and fragmentation threaten giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), habitat protection and restoration are important conservation measures for this endangered species. However, distribution and value of potential habitat to giant pandas on a regional scale are not fully known. Therefore, we identified and ranked giant panda habitat in Foping Nature Reserve, Guanyinshan Nature Reserve, and adjacent areas in the Qinling Mountains of China. We used Mahalanobis distance and 11 digital habitat layers to develop a multivariate habitat signature associated with 247 surveyed giant panda locations, which we then applied to the study region. We identified approximately 128 km2 of giant panda habitat in Foping Nature Reserve (43.6% of the reserve) and 49 km2 in Guanyinshan Nature Reserve (33.6% of the reserve). We defined core habitat areas by incorporating a minimum patch-size criterion (5.5 km2) based on home-range size. Percentage of core habitat area was higher in Foping Nature Reserve (41.8% of the reserve) than Guanyinshan Nature Reserve (26.3% of the reserve). Within the larger analysis region, Foping Nature Reserve contained 32.7% of all core habitat areas we identified, indicating regional importance of the reserve. We observed a negative relationship between distribution of core areas and presence of roads and small villages. Protection of giant panda habitat at lower elevations and improvement of habitat linkages among core habitat areas are important in a regional approach to giant panda conservation.

Instability of a highly vulnerable high alpine rock ridge: the lower Arête des Cosmiques (Mont Blanc massif, France)

Science.gov (United States)

Ravanel, L.; Deline, P.; Lambiel, C.; Vincent, C.

2012-04-01

Glacier retreat and permafrost degradation are actually more and more thought to explain the increasing instability of rock slopes and rock ridges in high mountain environments. Hot summers with numerous rockfalls we experienced over the last two decades in the Alps have indeed contributed to test/strengthen the hypothesis of a strong correlation between rockfalls and global warming through these two cryospheric factors. Rockfalls from recently deglaciated and/or thawing areas may have very important economic and social implications for high mountain infrastructures and be a fatal hazard for mountaineers. At high mountain sites characterized by infrastructures that can be affected by rockfalls, the monitoring of rock slopes, permafrost and glaciers is thus an essential element for the sustainability of the infrastructure and for the knowledge/management of risks. Our study focuses on a particularly active area of the Mont Blanc massif (France), the lower Arête des Cosmiques, on which is located the very popular Refuge des Cosmiques (3613 m a.s.l.). Since 1998, when a rockfall threatened a part of the refuge and forced to major stabilizing works, observations allowed to identify 10 detachments (20 m3 to > 1000 m3), especially on the SE face of the ridge. Since 2009, this face is yearly surveyed by terrestrial laser scanning to obtain high-resolution 3D models. Their diachronic comparison gives precise measurements of the evolution of the rock slope. Eight rock detachments have thus been documented (0.7 m3 to 256.2 m3). Rock temperature measurements at the ridge and the close Aiguille du Midi (3842 m a.s.l.), and observations of the evolution of the underlying Glacier du Géant have enable to better understand the origin of the strong dynamics of this highly vulnerable area: (i) rock temperature data suggest the presence of warm permafrost (i.e. close to 0°C) from the first meters to depth in the SE face, and cold permafrost in the NW face; (ii) as suggested by the

Rock slope stability analysis along the North Carolina section of the Blue Ridge Parkway: Using a geographic information system (GIS) to integrate site data and digital geologic maps

Science.gov (United States)

Latham, R.S.; Wooten, R.M.; Cattanach, B.L.; Merschat, C.E.; Bozdog, G.N.

2009-01-01

In 2008, the North Carolina Geological Survey (NCGS) completed a five-year geologic and geohazards inventory of the 406-km long North Carolina segment of the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). The ArcGIS??? format deliverables for rock slopes include a slope movement and slope movement deposit database and maps and site-specific rock slope stability assessments at 158 locations. Database entries for known and potential rock slope failures include: location data, failure modes and dimensions, activity dates and levels, structural and lithologic data, the occurrence of sulfide minerals and acid-producing potential test results. Rock slope stability assessments include photographs of the rock cuts and show locations and orientations of rock data, seepage zones, and kinematic stability analyses. Assigned preliminary geologic hazard ratings of low, moderate and high indicate the generalized relative probability of rock fall and/or rock slide activity at a given location. Statistics compiled based on the database indicate some general patterns within the data. This information provides the National Park Service with tools that can aid in emergency preparedness, and in budgeting mitigation, maintenance and repair measures. Copyright 2009 ARMA, American Rock Mechanics Association.

Discussing the Future of U. S. Western Mountains, Climate Change, and Ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Henry F. Diaz; Constance I. Millar

2004-01-01

Mountain regions are uniquely sensitive to changes in climate, and are especially vulnerable to climate effects acting on many biotic systems and the physical settings. Because mountain regions serve as sources of needed natural resources (e.g.,water, forests) and as foundations for desired human activities (e.g., tourism, places to live),changes in mountain systems...

High-resolution DEMs for High-mountain Asia: A systematic, region-wide assessment of geodetic glacier mass balance and dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Shean, D. E.; Arendt, A. A.; Osmanoglu, B.; Montesano, P.

2017-12-01

High Mountain Asia (HMA) constitutes the largest glacierized region outside of the Earth's polar regions. Although available observations are limited, long-term records indicate sustained regional glacier mass loss since 1850, with increased loss in recent decades. Recent satellite data (e.g., GRACE, ICESat-1) show spatially variable glacier mass balance, with significant mass loss in the Himalaya and Hindu Kush and slight mass gain in the Karakoram. We generated 4000 high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) from sub-meter commercial stereo imagery (DigitalGlobe WorldView/GeoEye) acquired over glaciers in High-mountain Asia from 2002-present (mostly 2013-present). We produced a regional 8-m DEM mosaic for 2015 and estimated 15-year geodetic mass balance for 40000 glaciers larger than 0.1 km2. We are combining with other regional DEM sources to systematically document the spatiotemporal evolution of glacier mass balance for the entire HMA region. We also generated monthly to interannual DEM and velocity time series for high-priority sites distributed across the region, with >15-20 DEMs available for some locations from 2010-present. These records document glacier dynamics, seasonal snow accumulation/redistribution, and processes that affect glacier mass balance (e.g., ice-cliff retreat, debris cover evolution). These efforts will provide basin-scale assessments of snow/ice melt runoff contributions for model cal/val and downstream water resources applications. We will continue processing all archived and newly available commercial stereo imagery for HMA, and will release all DEMs through the HiMAT DAAC.

Mantle Subduction and Uplift of Intracontinental Mountains: A Case Study from the Chinese Tianshan Mountains within Eurasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jinyi; Zhang, Jin; Zhao, Xixi; Jiang, Mei; Li, Yaping; Zhu, Zhixin; Feng, Qianwen; Wang, Lijia; Sun, Guihua; Liu, Jianfeng; Yang, Tiannan

2016-06-29

The driving mechanism that is responsible for the uplift of intracontinental mountains has puzzled geologists for decades. This study addresses this issue by using receiver function images across the Chinese Tianshan Mountains and available data from both deep seismic profiles and surface structural deformation. The near-surface structural deformation shows that the Tianshan crust experienced strong shortening during the Cenozoic. The receiver function image across the Tianshan Mountains reveals that the lithosphere of the Junggar Basin to the north became uncoupled along the Moho, and the mantle below the Moho subducted southwards beneath the northern part of the Tianshan Mountains, thereby thickening the overlying crust. Similar deep structures, however, are not observed under the Tarim Basin and the adjacent southern Tianshan Mountains. This difference in the deep structures correlates with geomorphological features in the region. Thus, a new model of mantle subduction, herein termed M-type subduction, is proposed for the mountain-building processes in intracontinental compressional settings. The available geomorphological, geological and seismic data in the literatures show that this model is probably suitable for other high, linear mountains within the continent.

Symposium 9: Rocky Mountain futures: preserving, utilizing, and sustaining Rocky Mountain ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Baron, Jill S.; Seastedt, Timothy; Fagre, Daniel B.; Hicke, Jeffrey A.; Tomback, Diana; Garcia, Elizabeth; Bowen, Zachary H.; Logan, Jesse A.

2013-01-01

In 2002 we published Rocky Mountain Futures, an Ecological Perspective (Island Press) to examine the cumulative ecological effects of human activity in the Rocky Mountains. We concluded that multiple local activities concerning land use, hydrologic manipulation, and resource extraction have altered ecosystems, although there were examples where the “tyranny of small decisions” worked in a positive way toward more sustainable coupled human/environment interactions. Superimposed on local change was climate change, atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and other pollutants, regional population growth, and some national management policies such as fire suppression.

Anthropogenic disruption to the seismic driving of beach ridge formation: The Sendai coast, Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goff, James, E-mail: j.goff@unsw.edu.au [School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052 (Australia); Knight, Jasper, E-mail: jasper.knight@wits.ac.za [School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg 2050 (South Africa); Sugawara, Daisuke, E-mail: sugawara@irides.tohoku.ac.jp [Hazard and Risk Evaluation Research Division, International Research, Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University, Aoba 468-1, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0845 (Japan); Terry, James P., E-mail: james.terry@zu.ac.ae [College of Sustainability Sciences and Humanities, Zayed University, PO Box 19282, Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

2016-02-15

The expected geomorphic after-effects of the M{sub w} 9.0 Tōhoku-oki earthquake of 11 March 2011 (eastern Japan) are summarized by a schematic model of seismic driving, which details seismogenic disturbances to sediment systems that affect the rate or timing of sediment delivery to coastlines over timescales of 10{sup 2}–10{sup 4} years. The immediate physical environmental responses to this high-magnitude earthquake included a large tsunami and extensive region-wide slope failures. Normally, slope failures within mountain catchments would have significant impacts on Japan's river and coastal geomorphology in the coming decades with, for example, a new beach ridge expected to form within 20–100 years on the Sendai Plain. However, human activity has significantly modified the rate and timing of geomorphic processes of the region, which will have impacts on likely geomorphic responses to seismic driving. For example, the rivers draining into Sendai Bay have been dammed, providing sediment traps that will efficiently capture bedload and much suspended sediment in transit through the river system. Instead of the expected ~ 1 km of coastal progradation and formation of a ~ 3 m high beach ridge prior to the next large tsunami, it is likely that progradation of the Sendai Plain will continue to slow or even cease as a result of damming of river systems and capture of river sediments behind dams. The resulting reduction of fluvial sediment delivery to the coast due to modification of rivers inadvertently makes seawalls and other engineered coastal structures even more necessary than they would be otherwise. - Highlights: • The Tōhoku-oki earthquake led to seismogenic landslides inland. • Seismogenic sediments are reworked through river systems to the coast. • River dams are capturing these sediments, reducing sediment supply to the coast. • Reduced coastal sediment supply is increasing tsunami risk. • Engineering of river systems is making coastal

Anthropogenic disruption to the seismic driving of beach ridge formation: The Sendai coast, Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goff, James; Knight, Jasper; Sugawara, Daisuke; Terry, James P.

2016-01-01

The expected geomorphic after-effects of the M_w 9.0 Tōhoku-oki earthquake of 11 March 2011 (eastern Japan) are summarized by a schematic model of seismic driving, which details seismogenic disturbances to sediment systems that affect the rate or timing of sediment delivery to coastlines over timescales of 10"2–10"4 years. The immediate physical environmental responses to this high-magnitude earthquake included a large tsunami and extensive region-wide slope failures. Normally, slope failures within mountain catchments would have significant impacts on Japan's river and coastal geomorphology in the coming decades with, for example, a new beach ridge expected to form within 20–100 years on the Sendai Plain. However, human activity has significantly modified the rate and timing of geomorphic processes of the region, which will have impacts on likely geomorphic responses to seismic driving. For example, the rivers draining into Sendai Bay have been dammed, providing sediment traps that will efficiently capture bedload and much suspended sediment in transit through the river system. Instead of the expected ~ 1 km of coastal progradation and formation of a ~ 3 m high beach ridge prior to the next large tsunami, it is likely that progradation of the Sendai Plain will continue to slow or even cease as a result of damming of river systems and capture of river sediments behind dams. The resulting reduction of fluvial sediment delivery to the coast due to modification of rivers inadvertently makes seawalls and other engineered coastal structures even more necessary than they would be otherwise. - Highlights: • The Tōhoku-oki earthquake led to seismogenic landslides inland. • Seismogenic sediments are reworked through river systems to the coast. • River dams are capturing these sediments, reducing sediment supply to the coast. • Reduced coastal sediment supply is increasing tsunami risk. • Engineering of river systems is making coastal engineering more

Potentials for development of spa tourism in region of Cer Mountain: Western Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grčić Mirko

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Because of their particularities, thermal and mineral springs at the foothill of Cer Mountain deserve special analysis. This is the reason we wrote this article, aiming to take reader's attention to the touristic potentials of the spa zone of Cer Mountain and possibilities for its perspective development. From the medical and excursion-recreational tourism point of view, there is a possibility for combining the spa tourism with the complementary values of Cer Mountain.

Manganese Deposits in the Artillery Mountains Region, Mohave County, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Lasky, S.G.; Webber, B.N.

1944-01-01

The manganese deposits of the Artillery Mountains region lie within an area of about 25 square miles between the Artillery and Rawhide Mountains, on the west side of the Bill Williams River in west-central Arizona. The richest croppings are on the northeast side of this area, among the foothills of the Artillery Mountains. They are 6 to 10 miles from Alamo. The nearest shipping points are Congress, about 50 miles to the east, and Aguila, about 50 miles to the southeast. The principal manganese deposits are part of a sequence of alluvial fan and playa material, probably of early Pliocene age, which were laid down in a fault basin. They are overlain by later Pliocene (?) basalt flows and sediments and by Quaternary basalt and alluvium. The Pliocene (?) rocks are folded into a shallow composite S1ncline ttat occupies the valley between the Artillery and Rawhide Mountains, and the folded rocks along either side of the valley, together with the overlying Quaternary basalt, are broken by faults that have produced a group of horsts, grabens, and step-fault blocks. The manganiferous beds, lie at two zones, 750 to 1,000 feet apart stratigraphically, each of which is locally as much as 300 to 400 feet thick. The main, or upper, zone contains three kinds of ore - sandstone ore, clay ore, and 'hard' ore. The sandstone and clay ores differ from the associated barren sandstone and clay, with which they are interlayered and into which they grade, primarily in containing a variable proportion of amorphous manganese oxides, besides iron oxides and clayey material such as are present in the barren beds. The 'hard' ore is sandstone that has been impregnated with opal and calcite and in which the original amorphous manganese oxides have been largely converted to psilomelane and manganite. The average manganese content of the sandstone and clay ores is between 3 and 4 percent and that of the 'hard' ore is between 6 and 7 percent. The ore contains an average of 3 percent of iron, 0

Dacite petrogenesis on mid-ocean ridges: Evidence for oceanic crustal melting and assimilation

Science.gov (United States)

Wanless, V.D.; Perfit, M.R.; Ridley, W.I.; Klein, E.

2010-01-01

Whereas the majority of eruptions at oceanic spreading centers produce lavas with relatively homogeneous mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) compositions, the formation of tholeiitic andesites and dacites at mid-ocean ridges (MORs) is a petrological enigma. Eruptions of MOR high-silica lavas are typically associated with ridge discontinuities and have produced regionally significant volumes of lava. Andesites and dacites have been observed and sampled at several locations along the global MOR system; these include propagating ridge tips at ridge-transform intersections on the Juan de Fuca Ridge and eastern Gal??pagos spreading center, and at the 9??N overlapping spreading center on the East Pacific Rise. Despite the formation of these lavas at various ridges, MOR dacites show remarkably similar major element trends and incompatible trace element enrichments, suggesting that similar processes are controlling their chemistry. Although most geochemical variability in MOR basalts is consistent with low-pressure fractional crystallization of various mantle-derived parental melts, our geochemical data for MOR dacitic glasses suggest that contamination from a seawater-altered component is important in their petrogenesis. MOR dacites are characterized by elevated U, Th, Zr, and Hf, low Nb and Ta concentrations relative to rare earth elements (REE), and Al2O3, K2O, and Cl concentrations that are higher than expected from low-pressure fractional crystallization alone. Petrological modeling of MOR dacites suggests that partial melting and assimilation are both integral to their petrogenesis. Extensive fractional crystallization of a MORB parent combined with partial melting and assimilation of amphibole-bearing altered crust produces a magma with a geochemical signature similar to a MOR dacite. This supports the hypothesis that crustal assimilation is an important process in the formation of highly evolved MOR lavas and may be significant in the generation of evolved MORB in

The effect of agricultural policy reforms on income inequality in Swiss agriculture - An analysis for valley, hill and mountain regions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benni, El N.; Finger, R.

2013-01-01

Using FADN data, we analyse the development of income inequality in Swiss agriculture for the valley, hill and mountain regions over the period 1990–2009. While household income inequality remained stable, farm income inequality increased during this period. Estimated Gini elasticities show that

Beneath it all: bedrock geology of the Catskill Mountains and implications of its weathering.

Science.gov (United States)

Ver Straeten, Charles A

2013-09-01

The Devonian-age bedrock of the Catskill Mountains has been the focus of many studies. This paper reviews the character and composition of the rocks of the Catskills, and examines weathering (rock decay) processes and their implications in the Catskills. Rocks of the Catskills and closest foothills consist of siliciclastic rocks (sandstones, mudrocks, conglomerates) with minimal, locally dispersed carbonate rocks. The former are dominated by quartz, metamorphic and sedimentary rock fragments, and clay minerals. Other minor sediment components include cements, authigenic and heavy minerals, and fossil organic matter. Physical, chemical, and biological weathering of the Catskill bedrock since uplift of the Appalachian region, combined with glaciation, have dissected a plateau of nearly horizontally layered rocks into a series of ridges, valleys, and peaks. The varied weathering processes, in conjunction with many factors (natural and anthropogenic), fragment the rocks, forming sediment and releasing various elements and compounds. These may have positive, neutral, or negative implications for the region's soils, waters, ecology, and human usage. A new generation of studies and analyses of the Catskill bedrock is needed to help answer a broad set of questions and problems across various fields of interest. © 2013 New York Academy of Sciences.

Man-induced transformation of mountain meadow soils of Aragats mountain massif (Armenia)

Science.gov (United States)

Avetisyan, M. H.

2018-01-01

The article considers issues of degradation of mountain meadow soils of the Aragats mountain massif of the Republic of Armenia and provides the averaged research results obtained for 2013 and 2014. The present research was initiated in the frames of long-term complex investigations of agroecosystems of Armenia’s mountain massifs and covered sod soils of high mountain meadow pasturelands and meadow steppe grasslands lying on southern slope of Mt. Aragats. With a purpose of studying the peculiarities of migration and transformation of flows of major nutrients namely carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus in study mountain meadow and meadow steppe belts of the Aragats massif we investigated water migration of chemical elements and regularities of their leaching depending on different belts. Field measurement data have indicated that organic carbon and humus in a heavily grazed plot are almost twice as low as on a control site. Lysimetric data analysis has demonstrated that heavy grazing and illegal deforestation have brought to an increase in intrasoil water acidity. The results generated from this research support a conclusion that a man’s intervention has brought to disturbance of structure and nutrient and water regimes of soils and loss of significant amounts of soil nutrients throughout the studied region.

Age and origin of anorthosites, charnockites, and granulites in the Central Virginia Blue Ridge: Nd and Sr isotopic evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Pettingill, H.S.; Sinha, A.K.; Tatsumoto, M.

1984-01-01

Rb-Sr isotopic data for anorthosites, charnockites, ferrodioritic to quartz monzonitic plutons, and high-grade gneisses of the Blue Ridge of central Virginia show evidence of post-emplacement metamorphism, but in some cases retain Grenville ages. The Pedlar River Charnockite Suite yields an isochron age of 1021 +/-36 Ma, (initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.7047 +/-6), which agrees with published U-Pb zircon ages. Five samples of that unit which contain Paleozoic mylonitic fabrics define a regression line of 683 Ma, interpreted as a mixing line with no age significance. Samples of the Roseland Anorthosite Complex show excessive scatter on a Rb-Sr evolution diagram probably due to Paleozoic (475 m.y.) metamorphism. Data from the ferrodioritic to quartz monzonitic plutons of the area yield an age of 1009 +/-26 Ma (inital ratio=0.7058 +/-4), which is in the range of the U-Pb zircon ages of 1000-1100 Ma. The Stage Road Layered Gneiss yields an age of 1147 +/-34 Ma (initial ratio of 0.7047 +/- 5). Sm-Nd data for the Pedlar River Charnockite Suite reflect a pre-Grenville age of 1489 +/-118 Ma (e{open}Nd=+6.7 +/-1.2). Data for the Roseland Anorthosite Complex and the ferrodioritic to quartz monzonitic plutons yield Grenville isochron ages of 1045 +/44 Ma (e{open}Nd=+1.0 +/-0.3) and 1027 +/-101 Ma (e{open}Nd=+1.4 +/-1.0), respectively. Two Roseland Anorthosite samples plot far above the isochron, demonstrating the effects of post-emplacement disturbance of Sm-Nd systematics, while mylonitized Pedlar River Charnockite Suite samples show no evidence of Sm-Nd redistribution. The disparity of the Sm-Nd age and other isotopic ages for the Pedlar River Charnockite Suite probably reflects a Sm-Nd "source" age, suggesting the presence of an older crust within this portion of the ca. 1 Ga old basement. ?? 1984 Springer-Verlag.

Blue-light emitting triazolopyridinium and triazoloquinolinium salts

KAUST Repository

Carboni, Valentina

2017-01-27

Compounds that emit blue light are of interest for applications that include optoelectronic devices and chemo/biosensing and imaging. The design and synthesis of small organic molecules that can act as high-efficiency deep-blue-light emitters in the solid state and can be easily processed from solutions represents a significant challenge. Herein we present the preparation and photophysical, photochemical and electrochemical properties of a series of triazolopyridinium and triazoloquinolinium compounds. The compounds are soluble in water or polar organic solvents and exhibit photoluminescence in the blue region of the spectrum in fluid solution, in the solid state and in a frozen matrix.

An overview of the Yucca Mountain Global/Regional Climate Modeling Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sandoval, R.P.; Behl, Y.K.; Thompson, S.L.

1992-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a site characterization plan (SCP) to collect detailed information on geology, geohydrology, geochemistry, geoengineering, hydrology, climate, and meteorology (collectively referred to as ''geologic information'') of the Yucca Mountain site. This information will be used to determine if a mined geologic disposal system (MGDS) capable of isolating high-level radioactive waste without adverse effects to public health and safety over 10,000 years, as required by regulations 40 CFR Part 191 and 10 CFR Part 60, could be constructed at the Yucca Mountain site. Forecasts of future climates conditions for the Yucca Mountain area will be based on both empirical and numerical techniques. The empirical modeling is based on the assumption that future climate change will follow past patterns. In this approach, paleclimate records will be analyzed to estimate the nature, timing, and probability of occurrence of certain climate states such as glacials and interglacials over the next 10,000 years. For a given state, key climate parameters such as precipitation and temperature will be assumed to be the same as determined from the paleoclimate data. The numerical approach, which is the primary focus of this paper, involves the numerical solution of basic equations associated with atmospheric motions. This paper describes these equations and the strategy for solving them to predict future climate conditions around Yucca Mountain

Surface Hydrological Processes of Rock Glaciated Basins in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Mateo, E. I.

2017-12-01

Glaciers in the western United States have been examined in terms of their summer meltwater contributions to regional hydrological systems. In the San Juan Mountains of Colorado where glaciers do not and cannot exist due to a rising zero-degree isotherm, rock glaciers take the place of valley glaciers during the summer runoff period. Most of the rock glaciers in Colorado are located on a northerly slope aspect, however, there are multiple in the southwest region of the state that occur on different aspects. This study asked how slope aspect and rising air temperatures influenced the hydrological processes of streams below rock glaciers in the San Juan Mountains during the 2016 summer season. This project focused on three basins, Yankee Boy basin, Blue Lakes basin, and Mill Creek basin, which are adjacent to each other and share a common peak, Gilpin Peak. Findings of this one-season study showed that air temperature significantly influenced stream discharge below each rock glacier. Discharge and air temperature patterns indicate a possible air temperature threshold during late summer when rock glacier melt increased at a greater rate. The results also suggest that slope aspect of rock glacier basins influences stream discharge, but temperature and precipitation are likely larger components of the melt regimes. The continuation of data collection during the 2017 summer season has allowed for more detailed analysis of the relationship between air temperature and rock glacier melt. This continual expansion of the original dataset is crucial for understanding the hydrological processes of surface runoff below rock glaciers.

A Regional View of the Margin: Salmonid Abundance and Distribution in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina and Virginia

Science.gov (United States)

Patricia A. Flebbe

1994-01-01

In the southern Appalachian Mountains, native brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis and introduced rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and brown trout Salmo trutta are at the southern extremes of their distributions, an often overlooked kind of marginal habitat. At a regional scale composed of the states of Virginia...

Household Perceptions about the Impacts of Climate Change on Food Security in the Mountainous Region of Nepal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shobha Poudel

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This study tried to understand the mountainous households’ perception of climate change and its impacts on food security in the Lamjung district of Nepal. The study attempted to find out changes in households food security and daily activities in the face of climate change for the last twenty years. The study started with the 150 household surveys along with participatory rural appraisal to understand the climate change perception of local people and its impact on dimensions of food security. Households expressed different levels of perception in terms of climate change on food security. The result shows that most of the mountainous households experienced increased temperature, less rainfall in winter, an increasing number of natural disasters and the emergence of insects for the last twenty years. They perceived the role of climate change in decreased crop production, decreased dairy products and increased household work. The situation of food security is likely to be more vulnerable to climate change in the future. It was also observed that households have been using different autonomous adaptation measures, such as high yielding crop varieties, enhanced irrigation systems and fertilizers, to cope with the changing climate. Finally, the study recommended policy instruments to enhance food security in the mountainous region amidst changing climate.

Twisted bilayer blue phosphorene: A direct band gap semiconductor

Science.gov (United States)

Ospina, D. A.; Duque, C. A.; Correa, J. D.; Suárez Morell, Eric

2016-09-01

We report that two rotated layers of blue phosphorene behave as a direct band gap semiconductor. The optical spectrum shows absorption peaks in the visible region of the spectrum and in addition the energy of these peaks can be tuned with the rotational angle. These findings makes twisted bilayer blue phosphorene a strong candidate as a solar cell or photodetection device. Our results are based on ab initio calculations of several rotated blue phosphorene layers.

Discovery and description of a new trichostrongyloid species (Nematoda: Ostertagiinae), abomasal parasites in mountain goat, Oreamnos americanus, from the Western Cordillera of North America.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoberg, Eric P; Abrams, Arthur; Pilitt, Patricia A; Jenkins, Emily J

2012-08-01

Marshallagia lichtenfelsi sp. n. is a dimorphic ostertagiine nematode occurring in the abomasum of mountain goats, Oreamnos americanus, from the Western Cordillera of North America. Major and minor morphotype males and females are characterized and distinguished relative to the morphologically similar Marshallagia marshalli / Marshallagia occidentalis from North America and Marshallagia dentispicularis, along with other congeners, from the Palearctic region. The configuration of the convoluted and irregular synlophe in the cervical region of males and females of M. lichtenfelsi is apparently unique, contrasting with a continuous and parallel system of ridges among those species of Marshallagia, including M. marshalli/M. occidentalis, which have been evaluated. Specimens of M. lichtenfelsi are further defined by the rectangular form of the accessory bursal membrane (width > length) in the major morphotype and by the trapezoidal Sjöberg's organ in the minor morphotype, in addition to specific attributes of the spicules and spicule tips. We regard 12 species, including the proposed new taxon, to be valid. Primary diagnostic characters are reviewed for Marshallagia and a framework is presented for standardization of future descriptions incorporating the synlophe in males and females and the structure of the spicules and genital cone in major and minor morphotype males. The center of diversity for species of Marshallagia is the mountain-steppe region of central Eurasia where 11 species (including the Holarctic M. marshalli) are recognized in association with Caprini, Rupicaprini, and Antelopinae; only 2 species occur in the Nearctic. In this assemblage, M. lichtenfelsi is endemic to North America and limited in host distribution to mountain goats. An intricate history for refugial isolation and population fragmentation demonstrated for mountain goats and wild sheep indicates the potential for considerable cryptic diversity for Marshallagia and other nematodes. Shifting

Petrological systematics of mid-ocean ridge basalts: Constraints on melt generation beneath ocean ridges

Science.gov (United States)

Langmuir, Charles H.; Klein, Emily M.; Plank, Terry

Mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) are a consequence of pressure-release melting beneath ocean ridges, and contain much information concerning melt formation, melt migration and heterogeneity within the upper mantle. MORB major element chemical systematics can be divided into global and local aspects, once they have been corrected for low pressure fractionation and interlaboratory biases. Regional average compositions for ridges unaffected by hot spots ("normal" ridges) can be used to define the global correlations among normalized Na2O, FeO, TiO2 and SiO2 contents, CaO/Al2O3 ratios, axial depth and crustal thickness. Back-arc basins show similar correlations, but are offset to lower FeO and TiO2 contents. Some hot spots, such as the Azores and Galapagos, disrupt the systematics of nearby ridges and have the opposite relationships between FeO, Na2O and depth over distances of 1000 km. Local variations in basalt chemistry from slow- and fast-spreading ridges are distinct from one another. On slow-spreading ridges, correlations among the elements cross the global vector of variability at a high angle. On the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise (EPR), correlations among the elements are distinct from both global and slow-spreading compositional vectors, and involve two components of variation. Spreading rate does not control the global correlations, but influences the standard deviations of axial depth, crustal thickness, and MgO contents of basalts. Global correlations are not found in very incompatible trace elements, even for samples far from hot spots. Moderately compatible trace elements for normal ridges, however, correlate with the major elements. Trace element systematics are significantly different for the EPR and the mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). Normal portions of the MAR are very depleted in REE, with little variability; hot spots cause large long wavelength variations in REE abundances. Normal EPR basalts are significantly more enriched than MAR basalts from normal

Management of the flabby ridge using a modified window technique and polyvinylsiloxane impression material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nawaf Labban

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Flabby ridge is a common clinical finding affecting the alveolar ridges of the mandibular or maxillary arches. The anterior region of maxilla is the most affected area in edentulous patients. Dentures on flabby ridges have compromised stability, support, and retention unless adequate measures for its management are employed. Methods applied for flabby ridge management, include surgical removal and augmentation, special impression techniques, balanced distribution of occlusal loads and implant therapy. Special impressions often involve window technique for static impression of flabby area, which present multiple challenges. The purpose of this technique report is to present a modified window technique for the impression of anterior maxillary flabby tissues for improved and controlled application of polyvinylsiloxane impression material that are routinely available in dental practice.

Ridge regression estimator: combining unbiased and ordinary ridge regression methods of estimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharad Damodar Gore

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Statistical literature has several methods for coping with multicollinearity. This paper introduces a new shrinkage estimator, called modified unbiased ridge (MUR. This estimator is obtained from unbiased ridge regression (URR in the same way that ordinary ridge regression (ORR is obtained from ordinary least squares (OLS. Properties of MUR are derived. Results on its matrix mean squared error (MMSE are obtained. MUR is compared with ORR and URR in terms of MMSE. These results are illustrated with an example based on data generated by Hoerl and Kennard (1975.

Large fault fabric of the Ninetyeast Ridge implies near-spreading ridge formation

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sager, W.W.; Paul, C.F.; Krishna, K.S.; Pringle, M.S.; Eisin, A.E.; Frey, F.A.; Rao, D.G.; Levchenko, O.V.

of the high ridge. At 26°S, prominent NE-SW 97 oriented lineations extend southwest from the ridge. Some appear to connect with N-S fracture 98 zone troughs east of NER, implying that the NE-SW features are fracture zone scars formed after 99 the change... to the 105 ridge (Fig. 3). This is especially true for NER south of ~4°S. Where KNOX06RR crossed a 106 gravity lineation, negative gradient features correspond to troughs whereas positive gradient 107 features result from igneous basement highs (Fig. 3...

Fracture toughness testing of core from the Cambro-Ordovician Section on the Oak Ridge Reservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemiszki, P.J.; Landes, J.D.

1996-01-01

The modified ring test was used to determine the mode I fracture toughness of bedrock cores from the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation in east Tennessee. Low porosity sandstones, limestones, and dolostones from the lower part of the Paleozoic section in Copper Creek and Whiteoak Mountain thrust sheets were sampled. In general, the average mode I fracture toughness decreases from sandstone, dolostone, and limestone. The fracture toughness of the limestones varies between rock units, which is related to different sedimentologic characteristics. Quality of results was evaluated by testing cores of Berea Sandstone and Indiana Limestone, which produced results similar to published results

Characteristics of soil seed bank in plantation forest in the rocky mountain region of Beijing, China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

HU Zeng-hui; YANG Yang; LENG Ping-sheng; DOU De-quan; ZHANG Bo; HOU Bing-fei

2013-01-01

We investigated characteristics (scales and composition) of soil seed banks at eight study sites in the rocky mountain region of Beijing by seed identification and germination monitoring.We also surveyed the vegetation communities at the eight study sites to explore the role of soil seed banks in vegetation restoration.The storage capacity of soil seed banks at the eight sites ranked from 766.26 to 2461.92 seedsm-2.A total of 23 plant species were found in soil seed banks,of which 63-80％of seeds were herbs in various soil layers and 60％ of seeds were located in the soil layer at 0-5 cm depth.Biodiversity indices indicated clear differences in species diversity of soil seed banks among different plant communities.The species composition of aboveground vegetation showed low similarity with that based on soil seed banks.In the aboveground plant community,the afforestation tree species showed high importance values.The plant species originating from soil seed banks represented natural regeneration,which also showed relatively high importance values.This study suggests that in the rocky mountain region of Beijing the soil seed banks played a key role in the transformation from pure plantation forest to near-natural forest,promoting natural ecological processes,and the role of the seed banks in vegetation restoration was important to the improvement of ecological restoration methods.

Target loads of atmospheric sulfur deposition for the protection and recovery of acid-sensitive streams in the Southern Blue Ridge Province.

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Timothy J; Cosby, Bernard J; Jackson, William A

2011-11-01

An important tool in the evaluation of acidification damage to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems is the critical load (CL), which represents the steady-state level of acidic deposition below which ecological damage would not be expected to occur, according to current scientific understanding. A deposition load intended to be protective of a specified resource condition at a particular point in time is generally called a target load (TL). The CL or TL for protection of aquatic biota is generally based on maintaining surface water acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) at an acceptable level. This study included calibration and application of the watershed model MAGIC (Model of Acidification of Groundwater in Catchments) to estimate the target sulfur (S) deposition load for the protection of aquatic resources at several future points in time in 66 generally acid-sensitive watersheds in the southern Blue Ridge province of North Carolina and two adjoining states. Potential future change in nitrogen leaching is not considered. Estimated TLs for S deposition ranged from zero (ecological objective not attainable by the specified point in time) to values many times greater than current S deposition depending on the selected site, ANC endpoint, and evaluation year. For some sites, one or more of the selected target ANC critical levels (0, 20, 50, 100μeq/L) could not be achieved by the year 2100 even if S deposition was reduced to zero and maintained at that level throughout the simulation. Many of these highly sensitive streams were simulated by the model to have had preindustrial ANC below some of these target values. For other sites, the watershed soils contained sufficiently large buffering capacity that even very high sustained levels of atmospheric S deposition would not reduce stream ANC below common damage thresholds. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Analysis of Rural Household Livelihood Change and the Regional Effect in a Western Impoverished Mountainous Area of China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuansheng Wang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Taking Longnan, in the western Qinling Mountains region of Gansu province, China, as our study area, and using the Sixth National Population Census alongside household survey data, we analyze changes in household livelihoods, and consequent regional effects, following the instigation of the “Grain for Green” program in 1999. Our results show rural livelihood changes with respect to natural assets (e.g., reduction of arable land, planting structure changes, human assets (e.g., labor quality improvement, fluidity of population, financial assets (e.g., income channels widening, income increasing, physical assets (e.g., optimized production tools, and social assets (e.g., information network development, increased outreach opportunities. We suggest that increased household livelihoods play an important role in improving land space utilization efficiency, resource conservation and use, and the ecological environment. However, owing to the natural environment, there are also some problems, such as “hollows” in rural production and living spaces, as well as local environmental degradation. To address these issues, regions such as the western, mountainous, impoverished area of our study should establish a policy of using ecosystems, as well as agriculture, for development in order to improve household livelihoods, build an efficient spatial structure, and providing support for the creation of a resource-saving societal system.

Shallow infiltration processes at Yucca Mountain, Nevada - neutron logging data 1984-93

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flint, L.E.; Flint, A.L.

1995-01-01

To determine site suitability of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as a potential high-level radioactive waste repository, a study was devised to characterize net infiltration. This study involves a detailed data set produced from 99 neutron boreholes that consisted of volumetric water-content readings with depth from 1984 through 1993 at Yucca Mountain. Boreholes were drilled with minimal disturbance to the surrounding soil or rock in order to best represent field conditions. Boreholes were located in topographic positions representing infiltration zones identified as ridge-tops, sideslopes, terraces, and active channels. Through careful field calibration, neutron moisture logs, collected on a monthly basis and representing most of the areal locations at Yucca Mountain, illustrated that the depth of penetration of seasonal moisture, important for escaping loss to evapotranspiration, was influenced by several factors. It was increased (1) by thin soil cover, especially in locations where thin soil is underlain by fractured bedrock; (2) on ridgetops; and (3) during the winter when evapotranspiration is low and runoff is less frequent. This data set helps to provide a seasonal and areal distribution of changes in volumetric water content with which to assess hydrologic processes contributing to net infiltration

The relationship of the Yucca Mountain repository block to the regional ground-water system: A geochemical model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matuska, N.A.; Hess, J.W.

1989-08-01

Yucca Mountain, in southern Nevada, is being studied by the Department of Energy and the State of Nevada as the site of a high-level nuclear waste repository. Geochemical and isotopic modeling were used in this study to define the relationship of the volcanic tuff aquifers and aquitards to the underlying regional carbonate ground-water system. The chemical evolution of a ground water as it passes through a hypothetical tuffaceous aquifer was developed using computer models PHREEQE, WATEQDR and BALANCE. The tuffaceous system was divided into five parts, with specific mineralogies, reaction steps and temperatures. The initial solution was an analysis of a soil water from Rainier Mesa. The ending solution in each part became the initial solution in the next part. Minerals consisted of zeolites, smectites, authigenic feldspars and quartz polymorphs from described diagentic mineral zones. Reaction steps were ion exchange with zeolites. The solution from the final zone, Part V, was chosen as most representative, in terms of pH, element molalities and mineral solubilities, of tuffaceous water. This hypothetical volcanic water from Part V was mixed with water from the regional carbonate aquifer, and the results compared to analyses of Yucca Mountain wells. Mixing and modeling attempts were conducted on wells in which studies indicated upward flow

A low-altitude mountain range as an important refugium for two narrow endemics in the Southwest Australian Floristic Region biodiversity hotspot

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keppel, Gunnar; Robinson, Todd P.; Wardell-Johnson, Grant W.; Yates, Colin J.; Niel, Van Kimberly P.; Byrne, Margaret; Schut, Tom

2016-01-01

Background and Aims Low-altitude mountains constitute important centres of diversity in landscapes with little topographic variation, such as the Southwest Australian Floristic Region (SWAFR). They also provide unique climatic and edaphic conditions that may allow them to function as refugia. We

Project management plan for Waste Area Grouping 5 Old Hydrofracture Facility tanks contents removal at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-06-01

On January 1, 1992, the US Department of Energy (DOE), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region IV, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) signed a Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) concerning the Oak Ridge Reservation. The FFA requires that inactive liquid low-level (radioactive) waste (LLLW) tanks at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) be remediated in accordance with requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). This revision is to update the schedule and designation of responsibilities for the Old Hydrofracture Facility (OHF) tanks contents removal project. The scope of this project is to transfer inventory from the five inactive LLLW tanks at the OHF into the active LLLW system

Borehole and geohydrologic data for test hole USW UZ-6, Yucca Mountain area, Nye County, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitfield, M.S. Jr.; Loskot, C.L.; Cope, C.M.

1993-01-01

Test hole USW UZ-6, located 1.8 kilometers west of the Nevada Test Site on a major north-trending ridge at Yucca Mountain, was dry drilled in Tertiary tuff to a depth of 575 meters. The area near this site is being considered by the US Department of Energy for potential construction of a high-level, radioactive-waste repository. Test hole USW UZ-6 is one of seven test holes completed in the unsaturated zone as part of the US Geological Survey's Yucca Mountain Project to characterize the potential repository site. Data pertaining to borehole drilling and construction, lithology of geologic units penetrated, and laboratory analyses for hydrologic characteristics of samples of drill-bit cuttings are included in this report

Environmental baseline survey report for West Black Oak Ridge, East Black Oak Ridge, McKinney Ridge, West Pine Ridge and parcel 21D in the vicinity of the East Technology Park, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

King, David A. [Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Independent Environmental Assessment and Verification Program

2012-11-29

This environmental baseline survey (EBS) report documents the baseline environmental conditions of five land parcels located near the U.S. Department of Energy?s (DOE?s) East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), including West Black Oak Ridge, East Black Oak Ridge, McKinney Ridge, West Pine Ridge, and Parcel 21d. Preparation of this report included the detailed search of federal government records, title documents, aerial photos that may reflect prior uses, and visual inspections of the property and adjacent properties. Interviews with current employees involved in, or familiar with, operations on the real property were also conducted to identify any areas on the property where hazardous substances and petroleum products, or their derivatives, and acutely hazardous wastes may have been released or disposed. In addition, a search was made of reasonably obtainable federal, state, and local government records of each adjacent facility where there has been a release of any hazardous substance or any petroleum product or their derivatives, including aviation fuel and motor oil, and which is likely to cause or contribute to a release of any hazardous substance or any petroleum product or its derivatives, including aviation fuel or motor oil, on the real property. A radiological survey and soil/sediment sampling was conducted to assess baseline conditions of Parcel 21d that were not addressed by the soils-only no-further-investigation (NFI) reports. Groundwater sampling was also conducted to support a Parcel 21d decision. Based on available data West Black Oak Ridge, East Black Oak Ridge, McKinney Ridge, and West Pine Ridge are not impacted by site operations and are not subject to actions per the Federal Facility Agreement (FFA). This determination is supported by visual inspections, records searches and interviews, groundwater conceptual modeling, approved NFI reports, analytical data, and risk analysis results. Parcel 21d data, however, demonstrate impacts from site

Environmental baseline survey report for West Black Oak Ridge, East Black Oak Ridge, McKinney Ridge, West Pine Ridge and parcel 21D in the vicinity of the East Technology Park, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, David A.

2012-01-01

This environmental baseline survey (EBS) report documents the baseline environmental conditions of five land parcels located near the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), including West Black Oak Ridge, East Black Oak Ridge, McKinney Ridge, West Pine Ridge, and Parcel 21d. Preparation of this report included the detailed search of federal government records, title documents, aerial photos that may reflect prior uses, and visual inspections of the property and adjacent properties. Interviews with current employees involved in, or familiar with, operations on the real property were also conducted to identify any areas on the property where hazardous substances and petroleum products, or their derivatives, and acutely hazardous wastes may have been released or disposed. In addition, a search was made of reasonably obtainable federal, state, and local government records of each adjacent facility where there has been a release of any hazardous substance or any petroleum product or their derivatives, including aviation fuel and motor oil, and which is likely to cause or contribute to a release of any hazardous substance or any petroleum product or its derivatives, including aviation fuel or motor oil, on the real property. A radiological survey and soil/sediment sampling was conducted to assess baseline conditions of Parcel 21d that were not addressed by the soils-only no-further-investigation (NFI) reports. Groundwater sampling was also conducted to support a Parcel 21d decision. Based on available data West Black Oak Ridge, East Black Oak Ridge, McKinney Ridge, and West Pine Ridge are not impacted by site operations and are not subject to actions per the Federal Facility Agreement (FFA). This determination is supported by visual inspections, records searches and interviews, groundwater conceptual modeling, approved NFI reports, analytical data, and risk analysis results. Parcel 21d data, however, demonstrate impacts from site

Modeling the Biophysical Impacts of Global Change in Mountain Biosphere Reserves

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bugmann, H.; Björnsen Gurung, A.; Ewert, F.; Haeberli, W.; Guisan, A.; Fagre, D.; Kääb, A.

2007-01-01

Mountains and mountain societies provide a wide range of goods and services to humanity, but they are particularly sensitive to the effects of global environmental change. Thus, the definition of appropriate management regimes that maintain the multiple functions of mountain regions in a time of

Rocky Mountain Research Station: 2011 Annual Accomplishments

Science.gov (United States)

Rick Fletcher

2011-01-01

The Rocky Mountain Research Station is one of seven regional units that make up the USDA Forest Service Research and Development organization ­ the most extensive natural resources research organization in the world. We maintain 12 field laboratories throughout a 12-state territory encompassing the Great Basin, Southwest, Rocky Mountains, and parts of the Great Plains...

Rocky Mountain Research Station: 2010 Research Accomplishments

Science.gov (United States)

Rick Fletcher

2010-01-01

The Rocky Mountain Research Station is one of seven regional units that make up the USDA Forest Service Research and Development organization ­ the most extensive natural resources research organization in the world. We maintain 12 field laboratories throughout a 12-state territory encompassing the Great Basin, Southwest, Rocky Mountains, and parts of the Great Plains...

Continuing Clean-up at Oak Ridge, Portsmouth and Paducah-Successes and Near-Term Plans

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fritz, L. L.; Houser, S. M.; Starling, D. A.

2002-02-26

This paper describes the complexities and challenges associated with the Oak Ridge Environmental Management (EM) cleanup program and the steps that DOE and Bechtel Jacobs Company LLC (the Oak Ridge EM team) have collaboratively taken to make significant physical progress and get the job done. Maintaining significant environmental cleanup progress is a daunting challenge for the Oak Ridge EM Team. The scale and span of the Oak Ridge Operations (ORO) cleanup is immense-five major half-century-old installations in three states (three installations are complete gaseous diffusion plants), with concurrent cleanup at the fully operational Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, and with regulatory oversight from three states and two United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regions. Potential distractions arising from funding fluctuations and color-of-money constraints, regulatory negotiations, stakeholder issues, or any one of a number of other potential delay phenomena can not reduce the focus on safely achieving project objectives to maintain cleanup momentum.

The use of TOUGH2 for the LBL/USGS 3-dimensional site-scale model of Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bodvarsson, G.; Chen, G.; Haukwa, C.; Kwicklis, E.

1995-01-01

The three-dimensional site-scale numerical model o the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain is under continuous development and calibration through a collaborative effort between Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The site-scale model covers an area of about 30 km 2 and is bounded by major fault zones to the west (Solitario Canyon Fault), east (Bow Ridge Fault) and perhaps to the north by an unconfirmed fault (Yucca Wash Fault). The model consists of about 5,000 grid blocks (elements) with nearly 20,000 connections between them; the grid was designed to represent the most prevalent geological and hydro-geological features of the site including major faults, and layering and bedding of the hydro-geological units. Submodels are used to investigate specific hypotheses and their importance before incorporation into the three-dimensional site-scale model. The primary objectives of the three-dimensional site-scale model are to: (1) quantify moisture, gas and heat flows in the ambient conditions at Yucca Mountain, (2) help in guiding the site-characterization effort (primarily by USGS) in terms of additional data needs and to identify regions of the mountain where sufficient data have been collected, and (3) provide a reliable model of Yucca Mountain that is validated by repeated predictions of conditions in new boreboles and the ESF and has therefore the confidence of the public and scientific community. The computer code TOUGH2 developed by K. Pruess at LBL was used along with the three-dimensional site-scale model to generate these results. In this paper, we also describe the three-dimensional site-scale model emphasizing the numerical grid development, and then show some results in terms of moisture, gas and heat flow

FLORA LICHEN WESTERN MOUNTAINS VRANJE PLACE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gordana Bogdanović

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Lichen is a symbiotic plant built by the cells of algae and fungi hyphae. Algae are usually presented - green (Chlorophyta or blue green (Cyanophyta, a mushroom commonly found is ascomycetae and sometimes basidiomycetae. Mushrooms receive oxygen and carbohydrates from algae, and they in turn provide water, CO2 and mineral salts. Lichens are often found on trees and rocks in unpolluted environments and can be used as a bioindicator species. In during 2015-2016. was realized a survey of epiphytic lichen flora of the western mountains in environment of Vranje. Sampling was carried out at 4 locations: Borino brdo, Krstilovica, Markovo Kale and Pljačkovica. Based on the collected and determined samples can be concluded that the study implemented of the area of 25 species of lichens of which: 8 as crust, leafy 12 and 5 shrub. The research results indicate that the lichen flora of the western mountains environments Vranje of a rich and diverse as a result of favorable geographic position, geological and soil composition, climate and plant cover that provide opportunities for the development and survival of lichens.

Role of land use change in landslide-related sediment fluxes in tropical mountain regions

Science.gov (United States)

Guns, M.; Vanacker, V.; Demoulin, A.

2012-04-01

Tropical mountain regions are characterised by high denudation rates. Landslides are known to be recurrent phenomena in active mountain belts, but their contribution to the overall sedimentary fluxes is not yet well known. Previous studies on sedimentary cascades have mostly focused on natural environments, without considering the impact of human and/or anthropogenic disturbances on sedimentary budgets. In our work, we hypothesise that human-induced land use change might alter the sediment cascade through shifts in the landslide magnitude-frequency relationship. We have tested this assumption in the Virgen Yacu catchment (approximately 11km2), in the Ecuadorian Cordillera Occidental. Landslide inventories and land use maps were established based on a series of sequential aerial photos (1963, 1977, 1984 and 1989), a HR Landsat image (2001) and a VHR WorldView2 image (2010). Aerial photographs were ortho-rectified, and coregistred with the WorldView2 satellite image. Field campaigns were realised in 2010 and 2011 to collect field-based data on landslide type and geometry (depth, width and length). This allowed us to establish an empirical relationship between landslide area and volume, which was then applied to the landslide inventories to estimate landslide-related sediment production rates for various time periods. The contribution of landslides to the overall sediment flux of the catchment was estimated by comparing the landslide-related sediment production to the total sediment yield. The empirical landslide area-volume relationship established here for the Ecuadorian Andes is similar to that derived for the Himalayas. It suggests that landslides are the main source of sediment in this mountainous catchment. First calculations indicate that human-induced land use change alters the magnitude-frequency relationship through strong increase of small landslides.

AMPLITUDES OF DISJUNCTIVE DISLOCATIONS IN THE KNIPOVICH RIDGE FLANKS (NORTHERN ATLANTIC AS AN INDICATOR OF MODERN REGIONAL GEODYNAMICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Yu. Sokolov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article presents the first map showing the vertical amplitudes of modern disjunctive dislocations inNorthern Atlantic, based on the estimated phase shifts of reflected waves recorded by high-frequency seismic acoustic surveys. The amplitude distribution pattern is mosaic with alternating areas of compression and extension in the flanks of the Knipovich rift system. The modern structure of the Knipovich Ridge, including two strike-slip faults, represents a local rift in the pull-apart setting. The asymmetry of stresses and the presence of compression in the ridge flanks is evidenced by the distribution of the focal mechanisms of strong earthquakes related to reverse faults. In the southeastern Knipovich Ridge, tectonic activity is marked by the asymmetric pattern of the epicenters of small earthquakes.

Structure and isostatic compensation of the Comorin Ridge, north central Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sreejith, K.M.; Krishna, K.S.; Bansal, A.R.

of the ridge. Additionally, ETOPO-5 bathymetric data (3-D image) are used to study the mor- phology of the ridge. Sediment isopachs of this region published by Kahle et al. (1981) are also considered for 2-D forward modelling of gravity anomalies to constrain... admittance. In this method, bathymetry and gravity data are divided into overlapping segments and each of them is detrended, windowed using Hanning window and discrete Fourier transformed. Two more additional parameters, coherence and phase of admittance...

Structural character of the northern segment of the Paintbrush Canyon fault, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickerson, R.P.; Spengler, R.W.

1994-01-01

Detailed mapping of exposed features along the northern part of the Paintbrush Canyon fault was initiated to aid in construction of the computer-assisted three-dimensional lithostratigraphic model of Yucca Mountain, to contribute to kinematic reconstruction of the tectonic history of the Paintbrush Canyon fault, and to assist in the interpretation of geophysical data from Midway Valley. Yucca Mountain is segmented into relatively intact blocks of east-dipping Miocene volcanic strata, bounded by north-striking, west-dipping high-angle normal faults. The Paintbrush Canyon fault, representing the easternmost block-bounding normal fault, separates Fran Ridge from Midway Valley and continues northward across Yucca Wash to at least the southern margin of the Timber Mountain Caldera complex. South of Yucca Wash, the Paintbrush Canyon Fault is largely concealed beneath thick Quaternary deposits. Bedrock exposures to the north reveal a complex fault, zone, displaying local north- and west-trending grabens, and rhombic pull-apart features. The fault scarp, discontinuously exposed along a mapped length of 8 km north of Yucca Wash, dips westward by 41 degrees to 74 degrees. Maximum vertical offset of the Rhyolite of Comb Peak along the fault measures about 210 m in Paintbrush Canyon and, on the basis of drill hole information, vertical offset of the Topopoah Spring Tuff is about 360 m near the northern part of Fran Ridge. Observed displacement along the fault in Paintbrush Canyon is down to the west with a component of left-lateral oblique slip. Unlike previously proposed tectonic models, strata adjacent to the fault dip to the east. Quaternary deposits do not appear displaced along the fault scarp north of Yucca Wash, but are displaced in trenches south of Yucca Wash

Cross-scale analysis of the region effect on vascular plant species diversity in southern and northern European mountain ranges.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan Lenoir

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The divergent glacial histories of southern and northern Europe affect present-day species diversity at coarse-grained scales in these two regions, but do these effects also penetrate to the more fine-grained scales of local communities? METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We carried out a cross-scale analysis to address this question for vascular plants in two mountain regions, the Alps in southern Europe and the Scandes in northern Europe, using environmentally paired vegetation plots in the two regions (n = 403 in each region to quantify four diversity components: (i total number of species occurring in a region (total γ-diversity, (ii number of species that could occur in a target plot after environmental filtering (habitat-specific γ-diversity, (iii pair-wise species compositional turnover between plots (plot-to-plot β-diversity and (iv number of species present per plot (plot α-diversity. We found strong region effects on total γ-diversity, habitat-specific γ-diversity and plot-to-plot β-diversity, with a greater diversity in the Alps even towards distances smaller than 50 m between plots. In contrast, there was a slightly greater plot α-diversity in the Scandes, but with a tendency towards contrasting region effects on high and low soil-acidity plots. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that there are strong regional differences between coarse-grained (landscape- to regional-scale diversity components of the flora in the Alps and the Scandes mountain ranges, but that these differences do not necessarily penetrate to the finest-grained (plot-scale diversity component, at least not on acidic soils. Our findings are consistent with the contrasting regional Quaternary histories, but we also consider alternative explanatory models. Notably, ecological sorting and habitat connectivity may play a role in the unexpected limited or reversed region effect on plot α-diversity, and may also affect the larger-scale diversity

UNCOVERING BURIED VOLCANOES: NEW DATA FOR PROBABILISTIC VOLCANIC HAZARD ASSESSMENT AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

F.V. Perry

2005-01-01

Basaltic volcanism poses a potential hazard to the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository because multiple episodes of basaltic volcanism have occurred in the Yucca Mountain region (YMR) in the past 11 Ma. Intervals between eruptive episodes average about 1 Ma. Three episodes have occurred in the Quaternary at approximately 1.1 Ma (5 volcanoes), 350 ka (2 volcanoes), and 80 ka (1 volcano). Because Yucca Mountain lies within the Basin and Range Province, a significant portion of the pre-Quaternary volcanic history of the YMR may be buried in alluvial-filled basins. An exceptionally high-resolution aeromagnetic survey and subsequent drilling program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) began in 2004 and is gathering data that will enhance understanding of the temporal and spatial patterns of Pliocene and Miocene volcanism in the region (Figure 1). DOE has convened a ten-member expert panel of earth scientists that will use the information gathered to update probabilistic volcanic hazard estimates originally obtained by expert elicitation in 1996. Yucca Mountain is a series of north-trending ridges of eastward-tilted fault blocks that are bounded by north to northeast-trending normal faults. Topographic basins filled with up to 500 m of alluvium surround it to the east, south and west. In the past several decades, nearly 50 holes have been drilled in these basins, mainly for Yucca Mountain Project Site Characterization and the Nye County Early Warning Drilling Program. Several of these drill holes have penetrated relatively deeply buried (300-400 m) Miocene basalt; a Pliocene basalt dated at 3.8 Ma was encountered at a relatively shallow depth (100 m) in the northern Amargosa Desert (Anomaly B in Figure 1). The current drilling program is the first to specifically target and characterize buried basalt. Based on the new aeromagnetic survey and previous air and ground magnetic surveys (Connor et al. 2000; O'Leary et al. 2002), at least eight drill

Tree species distribution and forest structure along environmental gradients in the dwarf forest of the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico

Science.gov (United States)

Peter L. Weaver

2010-01-01

Eleven groups of three plots stratified by aspect (windward vs. leeward) and topography (ridge, slope, and ravine) and varying in elevation from 880 to about 1,000 metres were used to sample forest structure and species composition within the dwarf forest of the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico. Stem density to windward was significantly greater on slopes, andf or all...

Segmented seismicity of the Mw 6.2 Baladeh earthquake sequence (Alborz mountains, Iran) revealed from regional moment tensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Donner, Stefanie; Rössler, Dirk; Krüger, Frank

2013-01-01

The M w 6.2 Baladeh earthquake occurred on 28 May 2004 in the Alborz Mountains, northern Iran. This earthquake was the first strong shock in this intracontinental orogen for which digital regional broadband data are available. The Baladeh event provides a rare opportunity to study fault geometry...... model, regional waveform data of the mainshock and larger aftershocks (M w  ≥3.3) were inverted for moment tensors. For the Baladeh mainshock, this included inversion for kinematic parameters. All analysed earthquakes show dominant thrust mechanisms at depths between 14 and 26 km, with NW–SE striking...

Fog water collection and reforestation at mountain locations in a western Mediterranean basin region

Science.gov (United States)

Valiente, Ja; Estrela, Mj; Corell, D.; Fuentes, D.; Valdecantos, A.

2010-07-01

Previous studies carried out by the authors have shown the potential of fog water collection at several mountain locations in the Valencia region (western Mediterranean basin). This coastal region features typical conditions for a dry Mediterranean climate characterized by a pluviometric regime ranging from 400 to 600 mm with a strong annual dependence. Dry conditions together with land degradation that frequently results after recurrent fires occurred in the past make a difficult self-recovery for native forest vegetation so that some kind of human intervention is always recommended. In plots reforested with Mediterranean woody species, periods of more than 120 days without significant precipitation (>5 mm) result in mortality rates above 80% during the first summer in the field. The good potential of fog-water collection at certain mountain locations is considered in this study as an easily available water resource for the reforestation of remote areas where native vegetation cannot be reestablished by itself. A large flat panel made of UV-resistant HD-polyethylene monofilament mesh was deployed at a mountain location for bulk fog water harvesting. Water was stored in high-capacity tanks for the whole length of the experimental campaign and small timely water pulses localized deep in the planting holes were conducted during the summer dry periods. Survival rates and seedling performance of two forest tree species, Pinus pinaster and Quercus ilex, were quantified and correlated to irrigation pulses in a reforestation plot that took an area of about 2500 m2 and contained 620 1-year-old plants. Before and concurrently to the flat panel deployment, a passive omnidirectional fog-water collector of cylindrical shape was set in the area in combination to other environmental instruments such as a rain gauge, a wind direction and velocity sensor and a temperature and humidity probe. Proper orientation of the large flat panel was possible once the direction of local winds

Remedial Investigation Work Plan for Chestnut Ridge Operable Unit 1 (Chestnut Ridge Security Pits) at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-09-01

This Remedial Investigation (RI) Work Plan specifically addresses Chestnut Ridge Operable Unit 1, (OU1) which consists of the Chestnut Ridge Security Pits (CRSP). The CRSP are located {approximately}800 ft southeast of the central portion of the Y-12 Plant atop Chestnut Ridge, which is bounded to the northwest by Bear Creek Valley and to the southeast by Bethel Valley. Operated from 1973 to 1988, the CRSP consisted of a series of trenches used for the disposal of classified hazardous and nonhazardous waste materials. Disposal of hazardous waste materials was discontinued in December 1984, while nonhazardous waste disposal ended on November 8, 1988. An RI is being conducted at this site in response to CERCLA regulations. The overall objectives of the RI are to collect data necessary to evaluate the nature and extent of contaminants of concern (COC), support an ecological risk assessment (ERA) and a human health risk assessment (HHRA), support the evaluation of remedial alternatives, and ultimately develop a Record of Decision for the site. The purpose of this Work Plan is to outline RI activities necessary to define the nature and extent of suspected contaminants at Chestnut Ridge OU1. Potential migration pathways also will be investigated. Data collected during the RI will be used to evaluate the overall risk posed to human health and the environment by OU1.

Remedial Investigation Work Plan for Chestnut Ridge Operable Unit 1 (Chestnut Ridge Security Pits) at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-09-01

This Remedial Investigation (RI) Work Plan specifically addresses Chestnut Ridge Operable Unit 1, (OU1) which consists of the Chestnut Ridge Security Pits (CRSP). The CRSP are located ∼800 ft southeast of the central portion of the Y-12 Plant atop Chestnut Ridge, which is bounded to the northwest by Bear Creek Valley and to the southeast by Bethel Valley. Operated from 1973 to 1988, the CRSP consisted of a series of trenches used for the disposal of classified hazardous and nonhazardous waste materials. Disposal of hazardous waste materials was discontinued in December 1984, while nonhazardous waste disposal ended on November 8, 1988. An RI is being conducted at this site in response to CERCLA regulations. The overall objectives of the RI are to collect data necessary to evaluate the nature and extent of contaminants of concern (COC), support an ecological risk assessment (ERA) and a human health risk assessment (HHRA), support the evaluation of remedial alternatives, and ultimately develop a Record of Decision for the site. The purpose of this Work Plan is to outline RI activities necessary to define the nature and extent of suspected contaminants at Chestnut Ridge OU1. Potential migration pathways also will be investigated. Data collected during the RI will be used to evaluate the overall risk posed to human health and the environment by OU1

Abbreviated bibliography on energy development—A focus on the Rocky Mountain Region

Science.gov (United States)

Montag, Jessica M.; Willis, Carolyn J.; Glavin, Levi W.

2011-01-01

Energy development of all types continues to grow in the Rocky Mountain Region of the western United States. Federal resource managers increasingly need to balance energy demands, effects on the natural landscape and public perceptions towards these issues. To assist in efficient access to valuable information, this abbreviated bibliography provides citations to relevant information for myriad of issues for which resource managers must contend. The bibliography is organized by seven large topics with various sup-topics: broad energy topics (energy crisis, conservation, supply and demand, etc.); energy sources (fossil fuel, nuclear, renewable, etc.); natural landscape effects (climate change, ecosystem, mitigation, restoration, and reclamation, wildlife, water, etc.); human landscape effects (attitudes and perceptions, economics, community effects, health, Native Americans, etc.); research and technology; international research; and, methods and modeling. A large emphasis is placed on the natural and human landscape effects.

Ridge Regression Signal Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhl, Mark R.

1990-01-01

The introduction of the Global Positioning System (GPS) into the National Airspace System (NAS) necessitates the development of Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) techniques. In order to guarantee a certain level of integrity, a thorough understanding of modern estimation techniques applied to navigational problems is required. The extended Kalman filter (EKF) is derived and analyzed under poor geometry conditions. It was found that the performance of the EKF is difficult to predict, since the EKF is designed for a Gaussian environment. A novel approach is implemented which incorporates ridge regression to explain the behavior of an EKF in the presence of dynamics under poor geometry conditions. The basic principles of ridge regression theory are presented, followed by the derivation of a linearized recursive ridge estimator. Computer simulations are performed to confirm the underlying theory and to provide a comparative analysis of the EKF and the recursive ridge estimator.

Conservation of biodiversity in mountain ecosystems -- At a glance

OpenAIRE

MacKinnon, K.

2002-01-01

Metadata only record Mountains are especially important for biodiversity conservation since many harbor unique assemblages of plants and animals, including high levels of endemic species. Mountain biodiversity and natural habitats bestow multiple ecosystem, soil conservation, and watershed benefits. Mountains are often centers of endemism, where species are prevalent in or peculiar to a particular region, and Pleistocene refuges, which are hypothesized to have high levels of diversity wher...

Preliminary results from the first InRidge cruise to the central Indian Ridge

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Mukhopadhyay, R.; Murthy, K.S.R.; Iyer, S.D.; Rao, M.M.M.; Banerjee, R.; Subrahmanyam, A.S.; Shirodkar, P.V.; Ghose, I.; Ganesan, P.; Rao, A.K.; Suribabu, A.; Ganesh, C.; Naik, G.P.

stream_size 1 stream_content_type text/plain stream_name Inter_Ridge_News_7_40.pdf.txt stream_source_info Inter_Ridge_News_7_40.pdf.txt Content-Encoding ISO-8859-1 Content-Type text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 ...

Decentralized electrification by small-scale hydraulic stations : a viable solution in mountainous regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahman Saidi, A.

1998-01-01

The installation of a small-scale hydroelectric generating station to supply electricity to the small community of Takordmi in Morocco was described. The community of Takordmi consists of 32 households located in the remote mountainous region of Morocco. Takordmi was without electrical power until 1992 when a small 15 kW Pelton turbine was installed to supply electricity to the residents. Water to power the turbine generator was supplied by a small stream with an output of 4 to 8 liters per second and a head of 535 meters. Since the unit was installed, the mean monthly consumption of the community has been only 115 kWh, which averages to 4 kWh per household. The success of the Takordmi project has prompted the electrification of several other small communities in the remote regions of Morocco either by similar micro-hydroelectric stations or by photovoltaic cells. This project, funded by the Republic of Austria, demonstrates that it is feasible to provide electricity to remote rural communities by using local sources of power. 3 figs

Risk characterization data manual for Category D inactive liquid low-level waste tank systems at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-04-01

This manual reports the results of a risk characterization of Category D inactive liquid low-level radioactive waste (LLLW) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The risk characterization is required by the Federal Facility Agreement between the Department of Energy-Oak Ridge Operations Office, the Environmental Protection Agency-Region IV, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The intent of the risk characterization is to determine relative priorities for assessment and remediation. When the scores for all tanks had been weighted and summed, the tanks were ranked in descending order on the basis of their total scores. The highest possible score for a tank is 30. The descending order represents the recommended priorities for evaluation: the higher the score, the higher the priority for evaluation

Mountain tourism development in Serbia and neighboring countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krunić Nikola

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Mountain areas with their surroundings are important parts of tourism regions with potentials for all-season tourism development and complementary activities. Development possibilities are based on size of high mountain territory, nature protection regimes, infrastructural equipment, provided conditions for leisure and recreation as well as involvement of local population in processes of development and protection. This paper analyses the key aspects of tourism development, winter tourism in high-mountain areas of Serbia and some neighboring countries (Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece. Common determinants of cohesion between nature protection and mountain tourism development, national development policies, applied models and concepts and importance of trans-border cooperation are indicated.

Greenland Fracture Zone-East Greenland Ridge(s) revisited: Indications of a C22-change in plate motion?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Døssing, Arne; Funck, T.

2012-01-01

a reinterpretation of the Greenland Fracture Zone -East Greenland Ridge based on new and existing geophysical data. Evidence is shown for two overstepping ridge segments (Segments A and B) of which Segment A corresponds to the already known East Greenland Ridge while Segment B was not detected previously......Changes in the lithospheric stress field, causing axial rift migration and reorientation of the transform, are generally proposed as an explanation for anomalously old crust and/or major aseismic valleys in oceanic ridge-transform-ridge settings. Similarly, transform migration of the Greenland...... Fracture Zone and separation of the 200-km-long, fracture-zone-parallel continental East Greenland Ridge from the Eurasia plate is thought to be related to a major change in relative plate motions between Greenland and Eurasia during the earliest Oligocene (Chron 13 time). This study presents...

Seasonal food habits of introduced blue catfish in Lake Oconee, Georgia

Science.gov (United States)

Jennings, Cecil A.; Mitchell, Geoffrey E.; Nelson, Chris

2018-01-01

Blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) are native to the Coosa River drainage in northwest Georgia but have been widely introduced outside of this range including Lake Oconee, a 7677-ha impoundment on the Oconee River in central Georgia. Blue catfish abundance and growth rates have increased dramatically since their introduction in Lake Oconee, but their food habits are unknown. Therefore, food habits of blue catfish in this impoundment were determined by examining the stomachs of 808 specimens in the reservoir’s upper and lower regions across all seasons from summer 2012 to summer 2013. Diet was summarized using the Relative Importance of specific prey by weight. In the upper region of the reservoir, Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) were the dominant prey item during the summer (75.7%), fall (66.4%), and winter (37.6%); whereas crappie (Pomoxis spp.) was the dominant prey item in the spring (38.7%). Asian clams also were the dominant prey items in the lower region during the fall (68.4%), winter (33.9%), and spring (36.4%). Blue catfish seemed to feed opportunistically on seasonally abundant prey items in both the upper riverine and lower lacustrine portions of the reservoir. Of the many sportfishes in the reservoir, only crappie was an important prey item, and then only in the upper region during the spring. Our results do not support concerns that blue catfish are an apex predator that would decimate the sportfish assemblage in this recently colonized reservoir.

Mountainous Region Wind Power Project Features and Turbine Hoisting Technology%山区风电工程特点与风机吊装技术

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

张栋

2014-01-01

In recent years,domestic mountainous region wind power location is allocated in higher and higher altitude, thereby leading to more and more difficult turbine installation.How to safely and efficiently complete turbine installation is an important issue faced by all wind power construction enterprises.Hebei Bashang Luotuogou Stage II wind power field is adopted as an example in the paper.Mountainous region wind power project features and turbine hoisting technologies are summarized and analyzed,thereby providing some guidance experience for installing more mountainous region turbines.%近年来国内山区风电场所处海拔越来越高，风机安装难度越来越大，如何保证在紧张的工期内安全高效地完成风机安装，是每个风电施工企业面临的重要课题。本文以河北坝上骆驼沟二期风电场为例，对山区风电工程特点和风机吊装技术进行总结分析，以期对更多山区风机安装作一些指导。

Rocky Mountain Research Station: 2012-2013 Annual Report

Science.gov (United States)

Cass Cairns

2013-01-01

The Rocky Mountain Research Station is one of seven regional units that make up the USDA Forest Service Research and Development organization - the most extensive natural resources research organization in the world. We maintain 12 field laboratories throughout a 12-state territory encompassing the Great Basin, Southwest, Rocky Mountains, and parts of the...

Gakkel Ridge: A window to ancient asthenosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Snow, J.; Hellebrand, E.; Dick, H.; Liu, C.; Stracke, A.

2008-12-01

We are accustomed to thinking of the ambient mantle as being a well-stirred reservoir, which contains at most regions of stored subducted slabs and "plums" containing lithophile trace element enrichments. What is forgotten in all of this is that the main process of formation of heterogeneities is a negative one - generating 10x more depleted mantle at any given moment than it does oceanic crust. Because the volume of lithosphere subducted over Earth history is so large, it has always been assumed that the process of subduction and convective mixing re-homogenizes the depleted and enriched reservoirs about as fast as it produces them. What if it doesn't? Our primary means of studying mantle heterogeneity however is basalts. Direct study of the mantle entails observations on xenoliths, ophiolites and orogenic lherzolites, and abyssal peridotites. The latter have the inherent problems of being melting residues, associated with fracture zones, are highly serpentinized and rare. The arctic ridge system gives us a unique perspective on the mantle, and samples we have recovered there are relatively free from these problems. Due to the slow spreading rate, which apparently severely limits the melt productivity, the thickest crust in the Arctic ridge system is approximately "normal". The most common crust is about half thickness and there are large expanses with no crust at all, in the sense of Hess, 1962, exposing mantle peridotite in the floor of extensive rift zones. We have shown Os isotopic evidence for the survival of ancient depletion signatures in Gakkel abyssal peridotites that apparently were not destroyed by subduction, convective stirring or resetting during magma genesis (Liu, et al., 2008). Additionally, preliminary Nd isotopic evidence suggests at least a 400Ma intact prehistory for these samples. Apparently, the low melt productivity on Gakkel Ridge has allowed the Gakkel mantle rocks to escape significant resetting due to melt interaction. This implies a

A case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubel, Barry S

2007-01-01

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a serious, generalized infection that is spread to humans through the bite of infected ticks. It can be lethal but it is curable. The disease gets its name from the Rocky Mountain region where it was first identified in 1896. The fever is caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii and is maintained in nature in a complex life cycle involving ticks and mammals. Humans are considered to be accidental hosts and are not involved in the natural transmission cycle of this pathogen. The author examined a 47-year-old woman during a periodic recall appointment. The patient had no dental problems other than the need for routine prophylaxis but mentioned a recent problem with swelling of her extremities with an accompanying rash and general malaise and soreness in her neck region. Tests were conducted and a diagnosis of Rocky Mountain spotted fever was made.

Surface Water Quality Trends from EPA's LTM Network

Science.gov (United States)

Funk, C.; Lynch, J. A.

2013-12-01

Surface water chemistry provides direct indicators of the potential effects of anthropogenic impacts, such as acid deposition and climate change, on the overall health of aquatic ecosystems. Long-term surface water monitoring networks provide a host of environmental data that can be used, in conjunction with other networks, to assess how water bodies respond to stressors and if they are potentially at risk (e.g., receiving pollutant deposition beyond its critical load). Two EPA-administered monitoring programs provide information on the effects of acidic deposition on headwater aquatic systems: the Long Term Monitoring (LTM) program and the Temporally Integrated Monitoring of Ecosystems (TIME) program, designed to track the effectiveness of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) in reducing the acidity of surface waters in acid sensitive ecoregions of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Here we present regional variability of long term trends in surface water quality in response to substantial reductions in atmospheric deposition. Water quality trends at acid sensitive LTM sites exhibit decreasing concentrations of sulfate at 100% of monitored sites in the Adirondack Mountains and New England, 80% of Northern Appalachian Plateau sites, and yet only 15% of sites in the Ridge and Blue Ridge Provinces over the 1990-2011 period of record. Across all regions, most LTM sites exhibited constant or only slightly declining nitrate concentrations over the same time period. Acid Neutralizing Capacity (ANC) levels improved at 68% and 45% of LTM sites in the Adirondacks and Northern Appalachian Plateau, respectively, but few sites showed increases in New England or the Ridge and Blue Ridge Provinces due to lagging improvements in base cation concentration. The ANC of northeastern TIME lakes was also evaluated from 1991 to 1994 and 2008 to 2011. The percentage of lakes with ANC values below 50 μeq/L, lakes of acute or elevated concern, dropped by about 7%, indicating improvement

Preliminary evaluation of techniques for transforming regional climate model output to the potential repository site in support of Yucca Mountain future climate synthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Church, H.W.; Zak, B.D.; Behl, Y.K.

1995-06-01

The report describes a preliminary evaluation of models for transforming regional climate model output from a regional to a local scale for the Yucca Mountain area. Evaluation and analysis of both empirical and numerical modeling are discussed which is aimed at providing site-specific, climate-based information for use by interfacing activities. Two semiempirical approaches are recommended for further analysis

Variation and Trends of Landscape Dynamics, Land Surface Phenology and Net Primary Production of the Appalachian Mountains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Yeqiao; Zhao, Jianjun; Zhou, Yuyu; Zhang, Hongyan

2012-12-15

The gradients of the Appalachian Mountains in elevations and latitudes provide a unique regional perspective of landscape variations in the eastern United States and a section of the southeastern Canada. This study reveals patterns and trends of landscape dynamics, land surface phenology and ecosystem production along the Appalachian Mountains using time series data from Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) and AVHRR Global Production Efficiency Model (GloPEM) datasets. We analyzed the spatial and temporal patterns of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), length of growing season (LOS) and net primary production (NPP) of selected ecoregions along the Appalachian Mountains regions. We compared the results out of the Appalachian Mountains regions in different spatial contexts including the North America and the Appalachian Trail corridor area. To reveal latitudinal variations we analyzed data and compared the results between 30°N-40°N and 40°N-50°N latitudes. The result revealed significant decreases in annual peak NDVI in the Appalachian Mountains regions. The trend for the Appalachian Mountains regions was -0.0018 (R2=0.55, P<0.0001) NDVI unit decrease per year during 25 years between 1982 and 2006. The LOS had prolonged 0.3 day yr-1 during 25 years over the Appalachian Mountains regions. The NPP increased by 2.68 gC m-2yr-2 in Appalachian Mountains regions from 1981 to 2000. The comparison with the North America reveals the effects of topography and ecosystem compositions of the Appalachian Mountains. The comparison with the Appalachian Trail corridor area provides a regional mega-transect view of the measured variables.

[Vulnerability of eco-economy in northern slope region of Tianshan Mountains].

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jian-zhai; Li, Bo; Zhang, Xin-shi; Zhao, Wen-wu; Jiang, Guang-hui

2008-04-01

Based on the theoretical meaning of vulnerability, a vulnerability assessment of eco-econom in fifteen counties in the northern slope region of Tianshan Mountains was conducted. The ecosystem services change to land use was regarded as the impact, and based on the fourteen indices from resource holding, society development, and economy development statistic data, the adaptive ability was evaluated by using the methods of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy synthetic evaluation. On the basis of assessment results of impact and adaptive capacity, the fifteen counties were divided into five classes under the assessment principles, and the district with higher-class number was of more vulnerability. The first class included Usu City and Changji City, the second class included Hutubi County, Miquan County, Fukang City, Jimsar County, Qitai County and Mori Kazak Autonomous County, the third class included Karamay City and Urumqi City, the fourth class included Kuitun City and Shawan County, and the fifth class included Jinghe County, Shihezi City and Manas County. The vulnerability reflected the level of eco-environment change and socioeconomic development, and the vulnerability assessment could be a good way to ensure the sustainable development. Aiming to decrease the vulnerability, various districts belonging to different class of vulnerability should establish relevant tactics according to the vulnerability factors to accelerate the region's sustainable development.

Between a Rock and a Blue Chair: David Hockney’s Rocky Mountains and Tired Indians (1965

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Hammer

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Travel and cultural exchange between the United Kingdom and the United States of America became a key feature of the 1960s, shaping the world view of many a British artist, curator, architect, writer, film-maker, and academic. Against that wider backdrop, I offer here a focused reading of David Hockney’s 1965 painting, Rocky Mountains and Tired Indians. With its faux-naive idiom and overt but quirkily un-modern American theme, the work conveys the artist’s singular take on what it felt like to be a Brit at large in the US, an environment at once wondrously exotic and at times strikingly banal. Close analysis discloses Hockney’s rich repertoire of artistic and literary allusions in Rocky Mountains, and the meanings and associations these may have encapsulated.

Superfund Record of Decision (EPA region 2): Glen Ridge Radium site, Essex County, NJ. (Second remedial action), June 1990. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

The 90-acre Glen Ridge Radium site is a residential community in the Borough of Glen Ridge, Essex County, New Jersey. The site is adjacent to another Superfund site, the Montclair/West Orange site. The Glen Ridge site includes a community of 274 properties serviced by surface reservoirs in northern New Jersey. In the early 1900s, a radium processing or utilization facility was located in the vicinity of the site. EPA investigations in 1981 and 1983 confirmed the presence of gamma radiation contamination in the Glen Ridge area and in several adjacent houses. The ROD complements the previous 1989 ROD for this site and provides a final remedy. The primary contaminant of concern affecting the soil is radium 226

Porosity development in the Copper Ridge Dolomite and Maynardville Limestone, Bear Creek Valley and Chestnut Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldstrand, P.M.; Menefee, L.S.; Dreier, R.B.

1995-12-01

Matrix porosity data from deep core obtained in Bear Creek Valley indicate that porosities in the Maynardville Limestone are lithology and depth dependent. Matrix porosities are greater in the Cooper Ridge Dolomite than in the Maynardville Limestone, yet there is no apparent correlation with depth. Two interrelated diagenetic processes are the major controlling factors on porosity development in the Copper Ridge Dolomite and Maynardville Limestone; dissolution of evaporate minerals and dedolomitization. Both of these diagenetic processes produce matrix porosities between 2.1 and 1.3% in the Copper Ridge Dolomite and upper part of the Maynardville Limestone (Zone 6) to depths of approximately 600 ft bgs. Mean matrix porosities in Zones 5 through 2 of the Maynardville Limestone range from 0.8 to 0.5%. A large number of cavities have been intersected during drilling activities in nearly all zones of the Maynardville Limestone in Bear Creek Valley. Therefore, any maynardville Limestone zone within approximately 200 ft of the ground surface is likely to contain cavities that allow significant and rapid flow of groundwater. Zone 6 could be an important stratigraphic unit in the Maynardville Limestone for groundwater flow and contaminant transport because of the abundance of vuggy and moldic porosities. There are large variations in the thickness and lithology in the lower part of the Maynardville (Zones 2, 3, and 4 in the Burial Grounds region). The direction and velocity of strike-parallel groundwater flow may be altered in this area within the lower Maynardville Limestone

The Structure of the Blue Whirl

Science.gov (United States)

Hariharan, Sriram Bharath; Hu, Yu; Xiao, Huahua; Gollner, Michael; Oran, Elaine

2017-11-01

Recent experiments have led to the discovery of the blue whirl, a small, stable regime of the fire whirl that burns typically sooty liquid hydrocarbons without producing soot. The physical structure consists of three regions - the blue cone, the vortex rim and the purple haze. The physical nature of the flame was further investigated through digital imaging techniques, which suggest that the transition (from the fire whirl to the blue whirl) and shape of the flame may be influenced by vortex breakdown. The flame was found to develop over a variety of surfaces, which indicates that the formation of the blue whirl is strongly influenced by the flow structure over the incoming boundary layer. The thermal structure was investigated using micro-thermocouples, thin-filament pyrometry and OH* spectroscopy. These revealed a peak temperature around 2000 K, and that most of the combustion occurs in the relatively small, visibly bright vortex rim. The results of these investigations provide a platform to develop a theory on the structure of the blue whirl, a deeper understanding of which may affirm potential for applications in the energy industry. This work was supported by an NSF EAGER award and Minta Martin Endowment Funds in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland.

Investigation of Mountaineering and Outdoor Sports Clubs with Activity Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burak GÜRER

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Current study aims to identify activity areas of mountaineering and outdoor sports clubs in Turkey that organize activities regularly. Universe of the study was composed of mountaineering and outdoor sports clubs that were active between the dates of 11 March 2012 and 5 January 2013. This study and the sample included 49 active outdoor sports clubs that could be reached in the region. Data were collected via surveys. Obtained data were analyzed and interpreted with the help of statistical package program (SPSS 16.0. Frequencies and percentage distributions were provided. Criteria for the provision of outdoor sports activities in clubs include requests from members and geographical conditions of the area. It is observed that those clubs provide outdoor walks approximately for 21-40 members. There are clubs without trainers. Clubs provide mountaineering and rock climbing activities the most. Aegean and Marmara Regions are more active compared to other regions. In general, most of the clubs are active in areas such as mountaineering, rock climbing and outdoor walks. It is suggested that local administrations and federations support outdoor sports clubs

Localized ridge defect augmentation using human pericardium membrane and demineralized bone matrix.

Science.gov (United States)

Vidyadharan, Arun Kumar; Ravindran, Anjana

2014-01-01

Patient wanted to restore her lost teeth with implants in the lower left first molar and second premolar region. Cone beam computerized tomography (CBCT) revealed inadequate bone width and height around future implant sites. The extraction socket of second premolar area revealed inadequate socket healing with sparse bone fill after 4 months of extraction. To evaluate the clinical feasibility of using a collagen physical resorbable barrier made of human pericardium (HP) to augment localized alveolar ridge defects for the subsequent placement of dental implants. Ridge augmentation was done in the compromised area using Puros® demineralized bone matrix (DBM) Putty with chips and an HP allograft membrane. Horizontal (width) and vertical hard tissue measurements with CBCT were recorded on the day of ridge augmentation surgery, 4 month and 7 months follow-up. Intra oral periapical taken 1 year after implant installation showed minimal crestal bone loss. Bone volume achieved through guided bone regeneration was a gain of 4.8 mm horizontally (width) and 6.8 mm vertically in the deficient ridge within a period of 7 months following the procedure. The results suggested that HP Allograft membrane may be a suitable component for augmentation of localized alveolar ridge defects in conjunction with DBM with bone chips.

Phytogeography of the tropical north-east African mountains

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I. Friis

1983-11-01

Full Text Available The tropical north-east African mountains are tentatively divided into four phytochoria, the formal rank of which is not defined. The division is based on patterns of distribution and endemism in the region. The recognition of a distinct Afromontane phytochorion is now well established (Chapman & White, 1970; Werger, 1978; White, 1978. However, there is still very little information on the phytogeography of the individual mountains or mountain systems. This study hopes to fill a little of the gap by analysing distribution patterns and patterns of endemism in the flora of the tropical north-east African mountains. The north-east African mountain system is the largest in tropical Africa (see e.g. map in White, 1978. At the core of this system is the large Ethiopian massif, around which are located various mountains and mountain chains. These include the Red Sea Hills in the Sudan, the mountain chain in northern Somalia, the south-west Arabian mountains, and the Imatong mountains of south-east Sudan. The latter are often referred to the East African mountain system (White, 1978 but. as I will point out later, they also have a close connection with the south-west highlands of Ethiopia. The paper presents some results of my study of the mountain flora of tropical north-east Africa, particularly the forest species. Where no source is indicated, the data are from my own unpublished studies.

The effect of therapeutic radiation on canine alveolar ridges augmented with hydroxylapatite

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pinholt, E M; Kwon, P H

1992-01-01

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of radiation on hydroxylapatite (HA) implanted subperiosteally for alveolar ridge augmentation in dogs. All bicuspids and molars were extracted from 16 dogs. After 6 weeks, nonporous HA granules were implanted subperiosteally...... on the alveolar ridge. Following 4 months of healing, 12 dogs (experimental group) underwent therapeutic radiation therapy (Co60, 4,000 rad [40 Gy]) to the head and neck region. Four dogs were not irradiated and served as controls. Four animals (three experimental and one control) were killed at 5,6,7, and 8...

Global survey of lunar wrinkle ridge formation times

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Z.; Michael, G. G.; Di, K.; Liu, J.

2017-11-01

Wrinkle ridges are a common feature of the lunar maria and record subsequent contraction of mare infill. Constraining the timing of wrinkle ridge formation from crater counts is challenging because they have limited areal extent and it is difficult to determine whether superposed craters post-date ridge formation or have alternatively been uplifted by the deformation. Some wrinkle ridges do allow determination to be made. This is possible where a ridge shows a sufficiently steep boundary or scarp that can be identified as deforming an intersecting crater or the crater obliterates the relief of the ridge. Such boundaries constitute only a small fraction of lunar wrinkle ridge structures yet they are sufficiently numerous to enable us to obtain statistically significant crater counts over systems of structurally related wrinkle ridges. We carried out a global mapping of mare wrinkle ridges, identifying appropriate boundaries for crater identification, and mapping superposed craters. Selected groups of ridges were analyzed using the buffered crater counting method. We found that, except for the ridges in mare Tranquilitatis, the ridge groups formed with average ages between 3.5 and 3.1 Ga ago, or 100-650 Ma after the oldest observable erupted basalts where they are located. We interpret these results to suggest that local stresses from loading by basalt fill are the principal agent responsible for the formation of lunar wrinkle ridges, as others have proposed. We find a markedly longer interval before wrinkle ridge formation in Tranquilitatis which likely indicates a different mechanism of stress accumulation at this site.

Pb-Sr-Nd isotopic data of Indian Ocean ridges: New evidence of large-scale mapping of mantle heterogeneities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamelin, B.; Dupre, B.; Allegre, C.J.

1986-01-01

A Pb-Sr-Nd isotope study of South West and East Indian Ridges confirms that the Indian Ocean belongs to a specific regional isotopic domain, as previously suggested by the results from islands of this ocean. The isotopic domain defined by the Indian MORB is indeed different from that of the North Atlantic and East Pacific Oceans. This demonstrates that the convective circulation of the upper mantle does not allow a rapid homogenization from one region to the other. The isotopic data of the Indian ridges can be interpreted by a contamination model, in which the depleted upper mantle (identical to that under the North Atlantic) is contaminated by two different types of contaminant, one corresponding to the source of the ''central Indian Ocean'' islands (Amsterdam, St. Paul, Marion, Prince Edward, Reunion, Rodriguez, Mauritius), and the other to a source similar to that of Walvis or Ninety East aseismic ridges. These two contaminants would have contributed to the ridge volcanism in different proportion over time. (orig.)

Anomalous intraseasonal events in the thermocline ridge region of Southern Tropical Indian Ocean and their regional impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Jayakumar, A.; Gnanaseelan, C.

2012-03-01

The present study explores the mechanisms responsible for the strong intraseasonal cooling events in the Thermocline Ridge region of the southwestern Indian Ocean. Air sea interface and oceanic processes associated with Madden Julian Oscillation are studied using an Ocean General Circulation Model and satellite observations. Sensitivity experiments are designed to understand the ocean response to intraseasonal forcing with a special emphasis on 2002 cooling events, which recorded the strongest intraseasonal perturbations during the last well-observed decade. This event is characterized by anomalous Walker circulation over the tropical Indian Ocean and persistent intraseasonal heat flux anomaly for a longer duration than is typical for similar events (but without any favorable preconditioning of ocean basic state at the interannual timescale). The model heat budget analysis during 1996 to 2007 revealed an in-phase relationship between atmospheric fluxes associated with Madden Julian Oscillation and the subsurface oceanic processes during the intense cooling events of 2002. The strong convection, reduced shortwave radiation and increased evaporation have contributed to the upper ocean heat loss in addition to the slower propagation of active phase of convection, which supported the integration of longer duration of forcing. The sensitivity experiments revealed that dynamic response of ocean through entrainment at the intraseasonal timescale primarily controls the biological response during the event, with oceanic interannual variability playing a secondary role. This study further speculates the role of oceanic intraseasonal variability in the 2002 droughts over Indian subcontinent.

Best management practices plan for the Chestnut Ridge-Filled Coal Ash Pond at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-05-01

The Chestnut Ridge Filled Coal Ash Pond (FCAP) Project has been established to satisfy Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) requirements for the Chestnut Ridge Operable Unit 2. FCAP is on Chestnut Ridge, approximately 0.5 miles south of the Y-12 Plant. A 62-foot high earthen dam across Upper McCoy Branch was constructed in 1955 to create a pond to serve as a settling basin for fly and bottom ashes generated by burning coal at the Y-12 Steam Plant. Ash from the steam was mixed with water to form a slurry and then pumped to the crest of Chestnut Ridge and released through a large pipe to flow across the Sluice Channel area and into the pond. The ash slurry eventually overtopped the dam and flowed along Upper McCoy Branch to Rogers Quarry. The purpose of this document is to provide a site-specific Best Management Practices (BMP) Plan for construction associated with environmental restoration activities at the FCAP Site

Response of the everglades ridge and slough landscape to climate variability and 20th-century water management

Science.gov (United States)

Bernhardt, C.E.; Willard, D.A.

2009-01-01

The ridge and slough landscape of the Florida Everglades consists of a mosaic of linear sawgrass ridges separated by deeper-water sloughs with tree islands interspersed throughout the landscape. We used pollen assemblages from transects of sediment cores spanning sawgrass ridges, sloughs, and ridge-slough transition zones to determine the timing of ridge and slough formation and to evaluate the response of components of the ridge and slough landscape to climate variability and 20th-century water management. These pollen data indicate that sawgrass ridges and sloughs have been vegetationally distinct from one another since initiation of the Everglades wetland in mid-Holocene time. Although the position and community composition of sloughs have remained relatively stable throughout their history, modern sawgrass ridges formed on sites that originally were occupied by marshes. Ridge formation and maturation were initiated during intervals of drier climate (the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age) when the mean position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone shifted southward. During these drier intervals, marsh taxa were more common in sloughs, but they quickly receded when precipitation increased. Comparison with regional climate records suggests that slough vegetation is strongly influenced by North Atlantic Oscillation variability, even under 20th-century water management practices. ?? 2009 by the Ecological Society of America.

Stream flow regime of springs in the Mantiqueira Mountain Range region, Minas Gerais State

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Alisson Souza de Oliveira

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The stream flow regime of four springs located in the Mantiqueira Mountain Range region (MG was evaluated and correlated to the respective recharge area, relief characteristics, land cover and physical and hydrologic soil characteristics. The streamflow regime was characterized by monitoring of discharges, calculating the surface runoff and specific discharge and by modeling the discharge over the recession period using the Maillet method. As all recharge areas have similar relief the effect of it on the streamflow was not possible to identify. Analysis included determining the effect of drainage area size, soil characteristics and land cover on the indicators of the streamflow regime. Size of the recharge area had a positive influence on the indicators mean discharge and surface runoff volume and on the regulation of the streamflow regime (springs L4 and L1. The spring under the smallest area of influence provided the worst results for the above mentioned indicators (spring L3. The effect of forest cover (natural and planted, associated with soil characteristics, was evidenced by the indicators surface runoff (in depth and specific yield, both independent of the recharge area size (springs L4 and L2. The interaction of area size, soil characteristics and forest cover (natural and planted provided the best results for all indicators of streamflow regime in the springs studied in the Mantiqueira Mountain Range (spring L4.

Heat Flow and Hydrothermal Circulation of the Lucky Strike Segment, Mid Atlantic Ridge

Science.gov (United States)

Bonneville, A.; Escartin, J.; Lucazeau, F.; Cannat, M.; Gouze, P.; von Herzen, R. P.; Adam, C.; Le Bars, M.; Monoury, E.; Vidal, V.

2003-12-01

In June 2003, expedition Luckyflux aboard the R/V Poseidon conducted a heat flow survey of a zone centred on the Lucky Strike segment of the Mid Atlantic ridge south of the Azores between ˜35° N and 39° N. Using a 5 m-long lance with 7 outrigger thermal probes, about 150 successful thermal gradient measurements were obtained, 140 of these with in-situ thermal conductivity. Measurements were made at ˜1 mile intervals along several profiles, where adequately sedimented sites were identified using 6-channel and 3.5 kHz seismic data from the previous Sudazores'98 cruise. We conducted heat flow measurements in two areas: a near axis region within the V-shaped ridge of overthickened crust that emanated from the Azores hotspot between ˜14 and 4 Ma, and an off-axis region East of the V-shaped ridge. The off-axis region is characterized by an homogeneous sediment cover, 300-400 m thick, and crustal ages varying between ˜6 and >10 Ma. Long wavelength (tens of km) low heat flow anomalies can be identified but the mean of 160 mWm-2 is comparable to the conductive heat flow expected for a crust of that age. Along two 80-km profiles perpendicular to the ridge, we observed coherent but different patterns. On the first profile, low heat flow values of 20-50 mWm-2 are observed at the base of the V-shaped ridge. These values are 100 mWm-2 below the profile average, showing that hydrothermal circulations can also affect oceanic crust beneath a thick and relatively impermeable sediment cover. On the other profile, heat flow generally decreases from west to east. On both profiles, higher than average values of heat flow are also present, associated on one of them with a nearly outcropping basement elevation. These contrasting overall heat flow patterns in similar geological context indicate that the likely pattern of hydrothermal circulations is mainly 3D, and not driven only by the presence of basement outcrops. In the near-axis region, where the tectonic structure is more

Radiogenic isotopes in enriched mid-ocean ridge basalts from Explorer Ridge, northeast Pacific Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Cousens, Brian; Weis, Dominique; Constantin, Marc; Scott, Steve

2017-09-01

Extreme gradients in topography related to variations in magma supply are observed on the Southern Explorer Ridge (SER), part of the northern Juan de Fuca ridge system. We report radiogenic isotope (Pb, Sr, Nd, Hf) and geochemical data for twenty-four basalt whole-rock and glass samples collected from the length of the SER and from Explorer Deep, a rift to the north of the SER. Lavas from the SER form a north-south geochemical gradient, dominated by E-MORB at the northern axial high, and range from T-MORB to N-MORB towards the southern deepest part of the ridge. Linear relationships between incompatible element ratios and isotopic ratios in MORB along the ridge are consistent with mixing of magmas beneath the ridge to generate the geographic gradient from E- to N-MORB. The E-MORB have high Sr and Pb, and low Nd and Hf isotopic ratios, typical of enriched mantle that includes a FOZO or HIMU isotopic component. The West Valley and Endeavour segments of the northern Juan de Fuca ridge also include this isotopic component, but the proportion of the FOZO or HIMU component is more extreme in the SER basalts. The FOZO or HIMU component may be garnet-bearing peridotite, or a garnet pyroxenite embedded in peridotite. Recycled garnet pyroxenite better explains the very shallow SER axial high, high Nb/La and La/Sm, and the ;enriched; isotopic compositions.

AHP 35: An Abandoned Mountain Deity

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Limusishiden (Li Dechun 李得春

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Lasizi are cairns where mountain deities dwell, and the same word also refers to the deities that dwell in these cairns. There are many lasizi in Tu areas in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, Haidong Municipality, Qinghai Province. The most famous are: Chileb, located in the north part of both Danma Town and Donggou Township Durizang, located in the northern part of Wushi Town Lawa, located atop a mountain on the border between Danma Town and Wushi Town. The mountain is referred to as Lawa Lasizi. Lawa Village is located at the foot of Lawa Lasizi's west side, which is within Danma Town territory. Tughuan Village is located at the foot of Lawa Lasizi's east side, which belongs is within Wushi Town jurisdiction. Sughua, located atop a mountain on the border between Danma Town and Dongshan Township. The mountain is locally known as Sughua Lasizi. Qighaan Dawa Village is located at the foot of Sughua Lasizi's west side, which is part of Dongshan Township. Sughua Village is located at the foot of Sughua Lasizi's east side, which is part of belongs Danma Town. Walighuan, located atop a mountain in Hongyazigou Township and Sunduu, located on the border between Songduo and Bazha (two autonomous Tibetan townships in Huzhu County and Ledu Region. ...

Oak Ridge Reservation Physical Characteristics and Natural Resources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parr, P.D.; Hughes, J.F.

2006-09-19

The topography, geology, hydrology, vegetation, and wildlife of the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) provide a complex and intricate array of resources that directly impact land stewardship and use decisions (Fig. 1). The purpose of this document is to consolidate general information regarding the natural resources and physical characteristics of the ORR. The ORR, encompassing 33,114 acres (13,401 ha) of federally owned land and three Department of Energy (DOE) installations, is located in Roane and Anderson Counties in east Tennessee, mostly within the corporate limits of the city of Oak Ridge and southwest of the population center of Oak Ridge. The ORR is bordered on the north and east by the population center of the city of Oak Ridge and on the south and west by the Clinch River/Melton Hill Lake impoundment. All areas of the ORR are relatively pristine when compared with the surrounding region, especially in the Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province (Fig. 2). From the air, the ORR is clearly a large and nearly continuous island of forest within a landscape that is fragmented by urban development and agriculture. Satellite imagery from 2006 was used to develop a land-use/land-cover cover map of the ORR and surrounding lands (Fig. 3). Following the acquisition of the land comprising the ORR in the early 1940s, much of the Reservation served as a buffer for the three primary facilities: the X-10 nuclear research facility (now known as the Oak Ridge National Laboratory [ORNL]), the first uranium enrichment facility or Y-12 (now known as the Y-12 National Security Complex [Y-12 Complex]), and a gaseous diffusion enrichment facility (now known as the East Tennessee Technology Park [ETTP]). Over the past 60 years, this relatively undisturbed area has evolved into a rich and diverse eastern deciduous forest ecosystem of streams and reservoirs, hardwood forests, and extensive upland mixed forests. The combination of a large land area with complex physical characteristics

Is Yucca Mountain a long-term solution for disposing of US spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste?

Science.gov (United States)

Thorne, M C

2012-06-01

On 26 January 2012, the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future released a report addressing, amongst other matters, options for the managing and disposal of high-level waste and spent fuel. The Blue Ribbon Commission was not chartered as a siting commission. Accordingly, it did not evaluate Yucca Mountain or any other location as a potential site for the storage or disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste. Nevertheless, if the Commission's recommendations are followed, it is clear that any future proposals to develop a repository at Yucca Mountain would require an extended period of consultation with local communities, tribes and the State of Nevada. Furthermore, there would be a need to develop generally applicable regulations for disposal of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste, so that the Yucca Mountain site could be properly compared with alternative sites that would be expected to be identified in the initial phase of the site-selection process. Based on what is now known of the conditions existing at Yucca Mountain and the large number of safety, environmental and legal issues that have been raised in relation to the DOE Licence Application, it is suggested that it would be imprudent to include Yucca Mountain in a list of candidate sites for future evaluation in a consent-based process for site selection. Even if there were a desire at the local, tribal and state levels to act as hosts for such a repository, there would be enormous difficulties in attempting to develop an adequate post-closure safety case for such a facility, and in showing why this unsaturated environment should be preferred over other geological contexts that exist in the USA and that are more akin to those being studied and developed in other countries.

Protection of the Mountain Ridgelines Utilizing GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, S.; Lee, M.

2013-12-01

Korean peninsula is characterized by numerous hills and mountains. The longest mountain ridgeline starting from Mt. Baekdusan to Mt. Jirisan is called Baekdudaegan which is similar to the continental divide or topographical watershed. In this study, GIS data, such as remotesensing images, national digital map, and watershed map, are used to analyze Korean mountain ridgelines structure and one Baekdudaegan data and nine Ridgelines are extracted. When extracted Baekdudaegan and other Ridgelines are overlaid on geologic maps, granite and gneiss are main components on the mountain ridgelines. The main mountain ridgelines are considered as the spiritual heritage overlapped in the land in Korea. As the environmental state is relatively better than those of other region in Korea, so many mountain ridgelines are legally protected by national legislation. The mountain ridgelines has hierarchical system; Baekdudaegan, Jeongmaek, Gimaek and Jimaek etc. according to their scale and total lengths of ridgelines. As only part of mountain ridgelines are currently protected by law or managed in environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure, we think that most part of them should be under protection. Considering the environmental state of the ridgelines, we think that some protective measures should be set up nearby 1 km on both sides of them. If there goes a development plan or project near the main mountain ridgelines, topographical change index (TCI) and topographical scale index (TSI) etc. are to be applied in EIA. This study intends: firstly, to analyze the topological characteristics of the Korean mountain ridgelines using GIS, secondly, to analyze the geological characteristics of nearby mountain ridgelines, and lastly, to find a way to utilize the results on EIA.

Is there a sex difference in palm print ridge density?

Science.gov (United States)

Kanchan, Tanuj; Krishan, Kewal; Aparna, K R; Shyamsundar, S

2013-01-01

Analysis of fingerprints and palm prints at the crime scene is vital to identify the suspect and establish a crime. Dermatoglyphics can even be valuable in identification of a dismembered hand during medicolegal investigations to establish the identity of an individual in cases of mass disasters/mass homicides. The present research studies the variation in ridge density in different areas of the palm prints among men and women. The four prominent areas were analysed on the palm prints that included central prominent part of the thenar eminence (P1), hypothenar region; inner to the proximal axial triradius (P2), medial mount; proximal to the triradius of the second digit (P3) and lateral mount; proximal to the triradius of the fifth digit (P4). The mean palm print ridge density was significantly higher among women than men in all the designated areas in both hands except for the P3 area in the right hand. Statistically significant differences were observed in the palm print ridge density between the different palm areas in men and women in right and left hands. No significant right-left differences were observed in the palm print ridge density in any of the four areas of palm prints among men. In women, right-left differences were observed only in the P3 and P4 areas of palm prints. This preliminary study indicates that though the palm print ridge density is a sexually dimorphic variable, its utility for estimation of sex in forensic identification may be limited owing to significant overlapping of values.

Soils Developed on Geomorphic Surfaces in the Mountain Region of the State of Rio de Janeiro

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Ademir Fontana

2018-01-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The evaluation of soils in representative landscapes constitutes an opportunity to evaluate spatial distribution, discuss formation processes, and apply this knowledge to land use and management. In this sense, from the perspective of an environmentally diversified region, the aim of the present study is to evaluate the occurrence and understand the formation of soils in different geomorphic surfaces of a landscape from a mountain region in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The study was developed in the Pito Aceso microbasin in the municipality of Bom Jardim, composed of narrow valleys and a rugged mountain domain, with elevation between 640 and 1,270 m. In a representative landscape, the geomorphic surfaces were obtained from the slope segments and flow lines. On the geomorphic surfaces, soil profiles were described by their morphological properties, collected, and analyzed to describe the chemical and physical properties of each horizon. Geomorphological aspects and possible variations of the parent material directly affected pedogenesis and led to distinct soil classes in the landscape. Variation in the geomorphic surfaces directs the processes for soil formation under current conditions, as well as the preservation of polygenetic soils. Soils of lower development and with greater participation of the exchangeable cations were identified at the summit (talus deposit (Neossolo Litólico and Cambissolo Húmico and toeslope (colluvial-alluvial (Neossolo Flúvico, whereas more developed soils with lower nutrient content occur in the concave (Argissolos Vermelho and Amarelo and convex (Latossolo Amarelo backslope, except for the Argissolo Vermelho-Amarelo in the shoulder, which had high exchangeable cations contents.

Transitions in axial morphology along the Southeast Indian Ridge

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Ying; Cochran, James R.

1996-07-01

a distance of 800 km. In addition, the ridge continues to become shallower away from Amsterdam Island toward the transition to an axial high at 82°E, 350 km to the east of the ASP. The Kerguelen hotspot appears to exert a major influence on the morphology of the SEIR by feeding asthenospheric material to the ridge axis. A long, narrow finger-like gravity high extends ENE away from the Kerguelen Plateau for a distance of 500 km. Shipboard data show that the gravity high results from a large volcanic ridge. The ridge appears analogous to the Rodriguez Ridge extending from the Reunion hotspot toward the Central Indian Ridge. A series of lower and broader lineated gravity highs extend from the volcanic ridge toward the SEIR in the ridge segment between the 81°E and 85°E transforms, which is the westernmost segment with an axial high. The only region of significant off-ridge seismicity on the Antarctic flank of the SEIR is a diffuse band of epicenters extending from Kerguelen to the SEIR within the segment between the 81°E and 85°E fracture zones. The along-axis gradient in depth from 86°E to the AAD and the transitions in axial morphology at 104°E and 114°E most likely reflect along-axis variations in mantle temperature and melt production rate due to distance from the Kerguelen hotspot and the influence of the AAD.

Preliminary results of paleoseismic investigations of Quaternary faults on eastern Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menges, C.M.; Oswald, J.A.; Coe, J.A.

1995-01-01

Site characterization of the potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, requires detailed knowledge of the displacement histories of nearby Quaternary faults. Ongoing paleoseismic studies provide data on the amount and rates of Quaternary activity on the Paintbrush Canyon, Bow Ridge, and Stagecoach Road faults along the eastern margin of the mountain over varying time spans of 0-700 ka to perhaps 0-30 ka, depending on the site. Preliminary stratigraphic interpretations of deposits and deformation at many logged trenches and natural exposures indicate that each of these faults have experienced from 3 to 8 surface-rupturing earthquakes associated with variable dip-slip displacements per event ranging from 5 to 115 cm, and commonly in the range of 20 to 85 cm. Cumulative dip-slip offsets of units with broadly assigned ages of 100-200 ka are typically less than 200 cm, although accounting for the effects of possible left normal-oblique slip could increase these displacements by factors of 1.1 to 1.7. Current age constraints indicate recurrence intervals of 10 4 to 10 5 years (commonly between 30 and 80 k.y.) and slip rates of 0.001 to 0.08 mm/yr (typically 0.01-0.02 mm/yr). Based on available timing data, the ages of the most recent ruptures varies among the faults; they appear younger on the Stagecoach Road Fault (∼5-20 ka) relative to the southern Paintbrush Canyon and Bow Ridge faults (∼30-100 ka)

The Atlantis Bank Gabbro Massif, SW Indian Ridge: the Largest Know Exposure of the Lower Crust in the Oceans

Science.gov (United States)

Dick, H. J.; Kvassnes, A. J.; Kinoshita, H.; MacLeod, C. J.; Robinson, P. T.

2017-12-01

Until the discovery of oceanic core complexes little was known and much inferred about the lower ocean crust at slow-spreading ridges. Their study shows the ocean crust isn't simply a uniform layer-cake of pillow lavas, sheeted dikes and gabbros, but is highly variable in thickness, composition and architecture, and even absent over large regions. The 660 km2 Atlantis Bank Gabbro Massif in the rift-mountains of the SW Indian Ridge flanking the Atlantis II Transform is the magmatic end member for ocean core complexes, and best approximates `average' slow-spread crust. Thus it has been a focus for drilling since its discovery in 1986, leading to the current attempt to drill to Moho there (Project SloMo). There are 3 ODP and IODP drill holes on its crest: 1508-m deep Hole 735B, 158-m deep Hole 1105A, and 809.4-m deep Hole U1473. These provide a 200 Kyr view of lower crustal accretion at a slow-spread ocean ridge. Here we extend this view to 2.7 Myr. Mapping and sampling shows the gabbro massif extends nearly the length of a single 2nd order magmatic ridge segment. With numerous inliers of the dike-gabbro transition at numerous locations, and a crust-mantle boundary, traced for 30-km along the transform wall, it would appear to represent a full section of the lower crust. As Moho is at 5.5 ± 1 km mbsf near Hole 735B, and 4.5 km beneath the transform, it is likely a serpentinization front. The crust-mantle boundary was crossed by dives at 4 locations. In each case gabbros at the base of the crust crystallized from melt that had previously fractionated 50% or more from a likely parent. Thus the gabbro massif must be laterally zoned, and the parental mantle melts had to have been emplaced at the center of the paleo-ridge segment, before intruding laterally to the distal end of the complex. Gabbros on a lithospheric flow line down the center of the massif closely resemble those from the drill holes. This shows that while lateral variations in crustal composition and

Slope Stability Analysis of Mountainous/Hilly regions of Nepal: A case study of Bhotekoshi Hydropower site

Science.gov (United States)

Acharya, A.; Gautam, S.; Kafle, K. R.

2017-12-01

Nepal is a mountainous, developing country that straddles the boundary between the Indian and Himalayan tectonic plates. In Nepal, landslides represent a major constraint on development, causing high levels of economic loss and substantial number of fatalities each year. There is a general consensus that the impacts of landslides in mountainous countries such as Nepal are increasing with time due to unstable slopes. The present study deals with the field investigation of slope stability in mountainous/hilly region of Nepal. Among the natural hazards that occur in regularly in Nepal, flood and landslides due to unstable slopes are by far the serious ones. They claim many human lives every year and cause other damages such as destruction and blockage of highway, destruction of hydropower, losses of livestock, crops and agricultural land. Slope Mass Rating system and stereographic projection has been carried out for analysis of slope stability using standard formats and parameters. It has been found that there are few major discontinuities that play the role for the rock/soil slides around the area. The major discontinuities are 235°/67°. These joint sets play the main role to the plane as well as wedge failures around the area. The rock mass rating of the slope has been found to be 27 and the slope mass rating has been found to be 37.8. The obtained slope mass rating value lies on IV class (Bad) that represents unstable slope having planner or big wedge failure and needs to be corrective measures in the slope. From stereographic projection, wedge failure of the slope has been seen according to the conditions of slope failure.

Glacier Monitoring and Capacity Building: Important Ingredients for Sustainable Mountain Development

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Samuel U. Nussbaumer

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Glacier observation data from major mountain regions of the world are key to improving our understanding of glacier changes: they deliver fundamental baseline information for climatological, hydrological, and hazard assessments. In many mountain ecosystems, as well as in the adjacent lowlands, glaciers play a crucial role in freshwater provision and regulation. This article first presents the state of the art on glacier monitoring and related strategies within the framework of the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers (GTN-G. Both in situ measurements of changes in glacier mass, volume, and length as well as remotely sensed data on glacier extents and changes over entire mountain ranges provide clear indications of climate change. Based on experiences from capacity-building activities undertaken in the Tropical Andes and Central Asia over the past years, we also review the state of the art on institutional capacity in these regions and make further recommendations for sustainable mountain development. The examples from Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Kyrgyzstan demonstrate that a sound understanding of measurement techniques and of the purpose of measurements is necessary for successful glacier monitoring. In addition, establishing durable institutions, capacity-building programs, and related funding is necessary to ensure that glacier monitoring is sustainable and maintained in the long term. Therefore, strengthening regional cooperation, collaborating with local scientists and institutions, and enhancing knowledge sharing and dialogue are envisaged within the GTN-G. Finally, glacier monitoring enhances the resilience of the populations that depend on water resources from glacierized mountains or that are affected by hazards related to glacier changes. We therefore suggest that glacier monitoring be included in the development of sustainable adaptation strategies in regions with glaciated mountains.

Management of spent nuclear fuel on the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge, Tennessee: Environmental assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-02-01

On June 1, 1995, DOE issued a Record of Decision [60 Federal Register 28680] for the Department-wide management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF); regionalized storage of SNF by fuel type was selected as the preferred alternative. The proposed action evaluated in this environmental assessment is the management of SNF on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) to implement this preferred alternative of regional storage. SNF would be retrieved from storage, transferred to a hot cell if segregation by fuel type and/or repackaging is required, loaded into casks, and shipped to off-site storage. The proposed action would also include construction and operation of a dry cask SNF storage facility on ORR, in case of inadequate SNF storage. Action is needed to enable DOE to continue operation of the High Flux Isotope Reactor, which generates SNF. This report addresses environmental impacts

Seasonal Variations in Relative Weight of Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush), Kokanee Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), Rainbow Trout (Onocorhynchus mykiss), and Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) in Blue Mesa Reservoir, Colorado

OpenAIRE

Midas, Madeline; Williams, Asia; Cooper, Cindy; Courtney, Michael

2013-01-01

Blue Mesa Reservoir is the largest body of water in Colorado and is located on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 7520 feet. Blue Mesa Reservoir contains recreationally important populations of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), kokanee salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), rainbow trout (Onocorhynchus mykiss), and brown trout (Salmo trutta). A management challenge in recent years has been the overpopulation of lake trout, which has led to a steep decline in abundance of kokan...

The Hanford Site's Gable Mountain structure: A comparison of the recurrence of design earthquakes based on fault slip rates and a probabilistic exposure model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rohay, A.C.

1991-01-01

Gable Mountain is a segment of the Umtanum Ridge-Gable Mountain structural trend, an east-west trending series of anticlines, one of the major geologic structures on the Hanford Site. A probabilistic seismic exposure model indicates that Gable Mountain and two adjacent segments contribute significantly to the seismic hazard at the Hanford Site. Geologic measurements of the uplift of initially horizontal (11-12 Ma) basalt flows indicate that a broad, continuous, primary anticline grew at an average rate of 0.009-0.011 mm/a, and narrow, segmented, secondary anticlines grew at rates of 0.009 mm/a at Gable Butte and 0.018 mm/a at Gable Mountain. The buried Southeast Anticline appears to have a different geometry, consisting of a single, intermediate-width anticline with an estimated growth rate of 0.007 mm/a. The recurrence rate and maximum magnitude of earthquakes for the fault models were used to estimate the fault slip rate for each of the fault models and to determine the implied structural growth rate of the segments. The current model for Gable Mountain-Gable Butte predicts 0.004 mm/a of vertical uplift due to primary faulting and 0.008 mm/a due to secondary faulting. These rates are roughly half the structurally estimated rates for Gable Mountain, but the model does not account for the smaller secondary fold at Gable Butte. The model predicted an uplift rate for the Southeast Anticline of 0.006 mm/a, caused by the low open-quotes fault capabilityclose quotes weighting rather than a different fault geometry. The effects of previous modifications to the fault models are examined and potential future modifications are suggested. For example, the earthquake recurrence relationship used in the current exposure model has a b-value of 1.15, compared to a previous value of 0.85. This increases the implied deformation rates due to secondary fault models, and therefore supports the use of this regionally determined b-value to this fault/fold system

Statistical analysis of hydrologic data for Yucca Mountain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rutherford, B.M.; Hall, I.J.; Peters, R.R.; Easterling, R.G.; Klavetter, E.A.

1992-02-01

The geologic formations in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain are currently being studied as the host rock for a potential radioactive waste repository. Data from several drill holes have been collected to provide the preliminary information needed for planning site characterization for the Yucca Mountain Project. Hydrologic properties have been measured on the core samples and the variables analyzed here are thought to be important in the determination of groundwater travel times. This report presents a statistical analysis of four hydrologic variables: saturated-matrix hydraulic conductivity, maximum moisture content, suction head, and calculated groundwater travel time. It is important to modelers to have as much information about the distribution of values of these variables as can be obtained from the data. The approach taken in this investigation is to (1) identify regions at the Yucca Mountain site that, according to the data, are distinctly different; (2) estimate the means and variances within these regions; (3) examine the relationships among the variables; and (4) investigate alternative statistical methods that might be applicable when more data become available. The five different functional stratigraphic units at three different locations are compared and grouped into relatively homogeneous regions. Within these regions, the expected values and variances associated with core samples of different sizes are estimated. The results provide a rough estimate of the distribution of hydrologic variables for small core sections within each region

Spatial data on energy, environmental, and socioeconomic themes at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olson, R. J.; Watts, J. A.; Shonka, D. B.; Leobe, A. S.; Johnson, M. L.; Ogle, M. C.; Malthouse, N. S.; Madewell, D. G.; Hull, J. F.

1977-02-01

Spatial data files covering energy, environmental, and socioeconomic themes at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are described. The textual descriptions are maintained by the Regional and Urban Studies Information Center (RUSTIC) within the Data Management and Analysis Group, Energy Division, as part of the Oak Ridge Computerized Hierarchical Information System (ORCHIS) and are available for online retrieval using the ORLOOK program. Descriptions provide abstracts, geographic coverage, original data source, availability limitations, and contact person. Most of the files described in this document are available on a cost-recovery basis.

Study on the path selection of sustainable development in the mountainous area of Beijing

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Malin; Zhou, Zhujun; Zhang, Huizhi; Chen, Ci; Chen, Junhong; Zhou, Zhongren

2018-02-01

The mountainous area of Beijing is the broad region with weak economic features, ecologically fragile and special ecological functions. The ecological conditions, sustainability and regional economic development are intercorrelated in the region. It is arduous to enhance the regional competitive advantage and improve the economic development level through the environmental protection and ecological conservation. This study elaborates the relationship between ecology and economic development from the perspectives of ecology, productivity and life style in mountainous areas of Beijing. Then this paper discusses how to increase sustainable development of mountain areas from several aspects, including key regional developments, industrial development, and ecological compensation mechanism, considering the strategic goals of accelerating economic transformation, coordinating urban and rural development, and promoting new-type urbanization.

Baboquivari Mountain plants: Identification, ecology, and ethnobotany [Book Review

Science.gov (United States)

Rosemary L. Pendleton

2011-01-01

The Sky Islands of southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico make up a region that is rich, both biologically and culturally. These isolated mountain ranges, separated by desert "seas," contain a unique and diverse flora and have long been home to indigenous peoples of the southwestern US. This book, Baboquivari Mountain Plants: Identification, Ecology, and...

The beach ridges of India: A review

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Kunte, P.D.; Wagle, B.G.

, and is presented in a consolidated form. Beach ridges of the east and west coast of India are grouped in thirteen-beach ridge complexes based on their association. Review indicates that the beach ridges of India are not older than the Holocene age...

Late Noachian/Early Hesperian Ridge Network in Nili Fossae: Evidence for Water-Saturated Near-Surface Crust

Science.gov (United States)

Mustard, J. F.; Pascuzzo, A.

2017-12-01

The region north of the contact between Syrtis Major and the Isidis Basin is populated by thousands of ridges 100s of meters in length, up to a few 10s of meters high and 15-50 meters wide. The resistant ridges are being exhumed from weak early Noachian smectite-bearing host rocks. Hypotheses for the formation include igneous intrusion or fill, impact-induced breccia dikes and chemical alteration of pre-existing fracture planes or mineralized fracture planes through groundwater circulation (our preferred mode of formation). Mineralogic interpretations of visible-near infrared reflectance spectra from the CRISM instrument on MRO may be critical in interpreting the formation process. While most of the ridges are at the limit of CRISM's spatial resolution of 18 m/pixel, CRISM has a special observing mode which can increase the resolution in the along track observing (ATO) direction by a factor of 2-3 (e.g. 6 m). Using a combination of full resolution and one ATO observation, we have analyzed well-exposed ridges in the Nili Fossae region. Ridges are commonly exposed from beneath a distinctive mafic capping rock rich in olivine and variably altered to magnesite. Many of the ridges exhibit weaker smectite absorptions near 1.9 and 2.3 µm compared to the host rock but no additional spectral features are observed. One cause for weaker absorptions is grain size (i.e. solid rock shows weaker absorptions than its powdered equivalent). Alternatively the presence of a spectrally neutral cementing compound or mineral like quartz could lead to weaker features. Timing of ridge formation is constrained by two key stratigraphic makers. First the ridges were likely formed after the Isidis basin-forming event, 3.9 Ga, because many are observed between the 1st and 2nd rings of the basin structure and would not have survived the impact event otherwise. Second the ridges are exhumed from beneath a distinctive olivine-rich mafic cap unit with its emplacement dated to between the Isidis

Identifying Sustainable Design Opportunities in Tribal Hotels and Casinos: Mescalero Inn of the Mountain Gods Hotel and Casino

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuller, Diana [Univ. of Illinois, Springfield, IL (United States); Martino, Anthony [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Materials, Devices, & Energy Technologies; Begay, Sandra K. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Materials, Devices, & Energy Technologies

2016-10-01

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, passed by Congress on October 17, 1988 provided tribes with the Federal statute to pursue gaming activities on tribal lands. Many Native communities contribute to larger regional economies and tourism industries. These casino facilities often include resort-style hotel amenities. Not surprisingly, they are also large consumers of energy, operating 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Tribes with hotels and casinos can implement sustainable design features and not only receive economic gain, but also environmental and community benefits. The intention of this paper is to identify sustainable design opportunities at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Hotel and Casino. This research stems from previous work the researcher conducted and subsequently published for the Illinois Green Business Association. First, the paper reviews what sustainable design is and points of interest when considering sustainable construction. Next, the paper explores the precedents set by the Blue Lake Rancheria, Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, and the Forest County Potawatomi Tribe. Then, the research examines areas to collect baseline information and identify opportunities in sustainable design for the Mescalero Apache Tribe, Inn of the Mountain Gods Hotel and Casino located in New Mexico. Lastly, the work explores the resources and funding options available to the tribe.

Modeling the biophysical impacts of global change in mountain biosphere reserves

Science.gov (United States)

Bugmann, H.K.M.; Bjornsen, F. Ewert; Haeberli, W.; Guisan, Antoine; Fagre, Daniel B.; Kaab, A.

2007-01-01

Mountains and mountain societies provide a wide range of goods and services to humanity, but they are particularly sensitive to the effects of global environmental change. Thus, the definition of appropriate management regimes that maintain the multiple functions of mountain regions in a time of greatly changing climatic, economic, and societal drivers constitutes a significant challenge. Management decisions must be based on a sound understanding of the future dynamics of these systems. The present article reviews the elements required for an integrated effort to project the impacts of global change on mountain regions, and recommends tools that can be used at 3 scientific levels (essential, improved, and optimum). The proposed strategy is evaluated with respect to UNESCO's network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves (MBRs), with the intention of implementing it in other mountain regions as well. First, methods for generating scenarios of key drivers of global change are reviewed, including land use/land cover and climate change. This is followed by a brief review of the models available for projecting the impacts of these scenarios on (1) cryospheric systems, (2) ecosystem structure and diversity, and (3) ecosystem functions such as carbon and water relations. Finally, the cross-cutting role of remote sensing techniques is evaluated with respect to both monitoring and modeling efforts. We conclude that a broad range of techniques is available for both scenario generation and impact assessments, many of which can be implemented without much capacity building across many or even most MBRs. However, to foster implementation of the proposed strategy, further efforts are required to establish partnerships between scientists and resource managers in mountain areas.