International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The moderate earthquake of magnitude 5.2 was occurred at the offshore Uljin on the 29 May 2004. The magnitude of the event is the largest one which is equal to that of the Sokrisan earthquake on the 16 September 1978 since the beginning of the instrumental recording by the Korean Metrological Administration (KMA) in 1978. The magnitude of the event was large enough to be felt in a wide area of the southern Korea. It did not affect the safety of the Uljin nuclear power plant (NPP) site which is about 80 km away from the epicenter. In this article, we estimate source parameters of the event and evaluate preliminary seismic safety of the Uljin NPP site regarding the event as an empirical Green's function (EGF)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Villarrica (Chile) is one of the most active volcanoes in South America having erupted about 60 times in the last 460years. Although its historical eruptive activity has been mainly effusive and weakly explosive, it had strong explosive behaviour in postglacial times. Chaimilla (<3.1ka) is one of the best exposed and widely dispersed pyroclastic deposits, related to both fall and flow activity. The deposit is dispersed over an area of 250km^2 and consists of 8 units (A-H) which were grouped into four sequences. Stratigraphic data suggest that the eruption had a relatively short duration and evolved from i) an Opening phase, dispersing ash, lapilli clasts, accretionary lapilli, blocks and bombs, to ii) a Pulsatory phase, originating a series of magmatic explosions, to iii) a Collapsing phas...

Science.gov (United States)

... to Punta Arenas, Chile. In addition, residual ash from the woodstove would be retrograded from ...

Science.gov (United States)

ISS022, E, 8260, CHILE, CHUQUICAMATA, LARGE OPEN PIT MINING OPERATIONS, ROADS, HILLS, -22.3, -68.9, 20091209. ISS022, E, 8261, CHILE, CHUQUICAMATA, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Throughout the 1990's to year 2000, energy integration, and particularly natural gas integration, was seen as a major goal in the southern cone of South America. The regional perspective for energy was related to an even more challenging objective - Latin American economic integration, which was quickly moving forward by the constitution of Mercosur, the free trade zone built by Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, and also having Bolivia and Chile as special partners. Mercosur was getting stronger and becoming a successful political project. Trade conflicts existed, but they were considered normal and nobody would disagree about the viability of Mercosur. By the beginning of the 21. century, the economic integration process in South America was already advancing timidly as compared to the impetus from the beginning of 1990's. Mercosur started facing complex and almost insurmountable challenges after the numerous global financial crises ...

Science.gov (United States)

Two additional earthquakes, magnitudes 6.6 and 6.7 occurred the next morning. The first earthquake was located six miles north of Petrolia, California, ...

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 1868-1961

Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The regular occurrence of large-scale earthquakes in Japan necessitates the use of earthquake disaster prevention systems that focus on gathering damage information on gas supply facilities immediately after an earthquake strikes and minimizing the damage. This paper discussed the development of an earthquake damage estimation system for city gas pipelines that can show damage information in real-time by using earthquake records obtained from densely deployed earthquake observation networks and the most advanced telecommunication and information technologies. The paper summarized the earthquake damage estimation system (EDES) and Toho Gas disaster prevention measures. Specific topics that were discussed included the Toho Gas supply method; earthquake countermeasures; construction of computer systems; normal and emergency ...

Science.gov (United States)

The Eagle Flat basin, an intermontane basin in Trans-Pecos Texas, is being considered as a possible site for the Texas repository of low-level radioactive wastes. Intermontane basins and associated normal faults formed in response to Basin and Range tectonism that began about 24 Ma ago. The most active late Tertiary and Quaternary faults occur within the Hueco Bolson (HB) and the Salt Basin/Salt Flat/Lobo Valley, west and east, respectively, of the proposed repository. Several faults of the southeast HB which are within 50 km of the site, displace middle Pleistocene deposits 10 to 24 m. The most recent surface rupture in the southeast HB probably occurred on the Amargosa fault during the Holocene. Upper Pleistocene deposits are offset 2.5 to 4.5 m, and middle Pleistocene deposits are displaced 24 m. Fault scarps within 50 km east of the proposed repository are associated with faults bounding the Salt Basin/Salt Flat/Lobo Valley. In the southern Salt Basin and ...

Science.gov (United States)

Structural complexities reduce the homogeneity necessary for a site characterization model to an unacceptable level for performance assessment for radioactive waste disposal sites. The proposed site lies between the northern, stable Diablo platform and the southern, mobile Mesozoic Chihuahua tectonic belt. Structural movement along this interface has been active for the past 14,000 years. In addition, the area lies along the northern margin of the Permian Marfa basin and the northeastern margin of the deeply faulted Hueco bolson segment of the late Cenozoic Rio Grande rift system. Recent seismic activity with extensive surface rupture in Quitman Canyon (30 mi southeast of the site) is also documented from the 1931 Valentine, Texas, earthquake (6.4 Richter scale). The site is underlain by either a thrust fault or the complex terminus of a Mesozoic thrust fault. This fault is a segment of the continuous thrust sheet extending from exposures in ...

KoreaScience (Korea)

Full Text Available

KoreaScience (Korea)

Full Text Available

KoreaScience (Korea)

Full Text Available

KoreaScience (Korea)

Full Text Available

KoreaScience (Korea)

Full Text Available

KoreaScience (Korea)

Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundLeaves of Lomatia hirsuta are used in traditional medicine in Chile under the common name of "radal". A tea of radal is traditionally used for treatment...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

We obtained the time-lapse cumulative slip before and after the 29 November 1999, Xiuyan, Liaoning, China, Ms = 5.4 earthquake by using "repeating events" defined by waveform cross-correlation. We used the seismic waveform data from the Liaoning Regional Seismograph Network from June 1999 to December 2006. Two "multiplets" located near the seismogenic fault of the 1999 Xiuyan earthquake and the 4 February 1975, Haicheng Ms = 7.3 earthquake, respectively, were investigated. For the "multiplet" that occurred before and after the 1999 Xiuyan earthquake, apparent pre-shock accelerating-like slip behavior, clear immediate-post-seismic change, and relaxation-like post-seismic change can be observed. As a comparison, for the "multiplet" near the 1975 Haicheng earthquake which occurred a quarter century ago, the cumulative slip appears linear with a much smaller slip rate.

Science.gov (United States)

This frequently-asked-questions feature provides answers about earthquakes, faults, plate tectonics, and earth structure. Maps and diagrams are provided with some answers, and links to additional information and to related topics are included.

Science.gov (United States)

... Deepwater Horizon leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the Haitian earthquake and subsequent response, release of information by WikiLeaks, the Icelandic ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Effects of avian gut-passage on seed germination are important to assess the effectiveness of frugivores in woodland regeneration, particularly in biodiversity hotspots that have a high incidence of avian frugivory. We examined the effect of avian gut-passage on seed germination in contrast to seeds that remain uneaten in five shrub species in Mediterranean central Chile and sought to determine the physiological mechanism(s) by which seed germinability is modified. Germination assays were conducted in a glasshouse for five common shrub species of the sub-Andean matorral: Azara dentata (Flacourtiaceae), Schinus polygamus and Schinus molle (Anacardiaceae), Cestrum parqui (Solanaceae), and Maytenus boaria (Celastraceae). We estimated germinability (final percent germination), dormancy length ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In this paper, the authors describe the characteristics of design seismic input motions and recently observed seismic records of base isolated buildings in Japan. First, we describe some seismic design spectra for building structures which were adopted. Then we show response spectra and energy spectra of observed records obtained during two recent major earthquakes (The 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu Earthquake and the 2003 Tokachi-oki Earthquake), which demonstrate the effectiveness of base isolation against large amplitude earthquake ground motion. We also introduce the responses of base isolated buildings during some earthquakes including the Tokachi-oki Earthquake. These data were gathered through questionnaires sent to many engineers who had conducted response observations of base isolated buildings. Last, an example of a base isolated building on soft ground is ...

KoreaScience (Korea)

Full Text Available

Wastenet

... Boreal Forest and Climate Change Pertti Hari, Liisa Kulmala, 160.45 EUR; 209.00 USD; 135.00 GBP... More Journals » MAGAZINES & JOURNALS Journal of Water and Health The journal represents a joint commitment to pr... Environmental Quarterly - 2009 Fall Trinity`s Environmental Quarterly (EQ) magazine co... ...

Science.gov (United States)

According to the California Earthquake Authority, only about 12% of current California residences are covered by any form of earthquake insurance, down from about 30% in 1996 following the 1994, M6.7 Northridge earthquake. Part of the reason for this decreasing rate of insurance uptake is the high deductible, either 10% or 15% of the value of the structure, and the relatively high cost of the premiums, as much as thousands of dollars per year. The earthquake insurance industry is composed of the CEA, a public-private partnership; modeling companies that produce damage and loss models similar to the FEMA HAZUS model; and financial companies such as the insurance, reinsurance, and investment banking companies in New York, London, the Cayman Islands, Zurich, Dubai, Singapore, and elsewhere. In setting earthquake insurance rates, financial companies rely on models like HAZUS, that ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this study, the two methods, US NRC and JAERI method, for the determination of scenario earthquakes for seismic design of nuclear power plants based on the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis were reviewed. The scenario earthquakes were developed for the Wolsung NPP site using the PSHA results based on the US NRC Regulatory Guide 1.165 procedures. It seems that the JAERI method is more appropriate to incorporate the effects of individual seismic sources and active faults, and to estimate the multiple ground motion parameters. The magnitude and distance bins of the scenario earthquakes for Wolsung NPP site were M6.4, 9km and M6.2, 13km.

Science.gov (United States)

Mar 2, 2010 ... The NASA/JPL Education Office works with educators -- both classroom teachers and informal educators -- to provide tools, resources and ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundHarbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena from the southern North Sea are known to display high levels of Zn and Hg in their tissues linked to their nutritional...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Patent medicine vendors (PMVs) are a ubiquitous feature of the informal health sector in Nigeria. A previous study on healthcare-seeking behaviour of persons with chronic cough in southern Nigeria found...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI) is a Lyme disease-like infection described in patients in the southeastern and south-central United States, where classic Lyme disease is relatively rare....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The roles played by environmental factors in seasonal changes in microbial populations were investigated in the Tvärminne area, off the southern coast of Finland. Surface-layer samples were...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A radon detector with LR-115 nuclear track film was constructed for radon concentration measurements in soil. Temporal radon variations, as well as the barometric pressure, precipitation and temperature were measured for two years. Negative correlation between radon concentration in soil and barometric pressure was found. For some of the recorded earthquakes that occurred during the observation period, soil radon anomalies may be noticed one month before the quakes.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The long-range correlation properties in the hourly time variability of geochemical signals measured in a 70 m depth well at Triponzo (Umbria region), are investigated by the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). DFA is a data processing method that allows for the detection of scaling behaviors in observational time series even in the presence of non-stationarities. The procedure adopted has allowed for the unambiguous identification of possible correlations among the recorded signals and local earthquakes.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The report contains highlights of the achievements of the IAEA Co-ordinated Research programme on Evaluation on the Use of Bulk Reagents for the Production of "9"9Tc_m Radiopharmaceutical and Kits, the participants' summary reports (Argentina, Chile, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Portugal, Russian Federation, Thailand, Uruguay, United States of America), recommended product protocols for five compounds and the participants' recommendations regarding continued support and further directions of co-ordinated research work. Refs, 6 figs, 8 tabs, 6 schemes.

Science.gov (United States)

Surface wave tomography method based on analysis of ambient noise is widely used during the last decade. It is assumed that correlated component of noise is composed of surface waves generated by sources distributed over the Earth's surface more or less uniformly. In such a case the cross-correlation function (CCF) at two stations may be considered as the Green's function of surface wave. This function should be symmetric relatively to zero time. However analysis of CCF at the stations located at the East-European Platform shows that as a rule CCF is characterized with a strong asymmetry. Since "purered noise cannot be extracted from seismic records due to superposition of earthquake signals, the method for calculation of CCF includes amplitude normalization for suppression of earthquakes that reduces signals from earthquakes to a noise level. The parts of records containing waves from earthquakes are ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper reviews generation methods of artificial earthquake motion and proposes an improved method of generating input motions for use in vibration tests of equipment to prove aseismic performance. The improved method employs beat wave repetition characteristic that inherently appears in the component waves of recorded earthquakes decomposed by bandpass filter and algebraic function phase for the component waves. Typical motions generated by the improved method satisfies prescribed severe conditions such as target response spectrum that are defined with a wideband frequency component and a limited maximum acceleration due to shaking table performance. The motions had never been generated by the conventional method.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In the development of the man-made island siting technology of nuclear power plants, assessing the stability of the seawall against large ocean waves and earthquakes is indispensable. Concerning with the seismic stability of the seawall, prediction of the deformation like sliding and settlement of the seawall during earthquake including the armour units in front of the caisson becomes important factor. For this purpose, the authors have developed the two-dimensional DEM-FEM coupled analysis method (SEAWALL-2D) to predict the deformation of the seawall covered with the armour units during earthquake. In this method, movements of the armour units are calculated in DEM analysis part and deformation of the caisson, rubble moundsand seabed and back fill are calculated in FEM analysis part taking the nonlinearity of the soil materials based on the effective stress into account. Numerical simulations of dynamic centrifuge model ...

Wastenet

... Austrian Environment Minister Nikolaus Berlakovich called for such stress tests on Sunday (13 March) to make sure that nuclear power stations were quake-proof following Japan's massive earthquake and tsunami. Austria, a mountainous country rich in geothermal energy, has no NPPs and no plans to develop ...

Science.gov (United States)

An understanding of the mechanism of generation of Lg from underground nuclear explosions is essential for seismic monitoring and source discrimination. Near-source scattering of explosion-generated Rg into S appears to be responsible for the low-frequenc...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The risk analysis was carried out in consideration of conditions prevailing at the Kalkar site analogous to the investigations in phase A of DRS (German Reactor Study). Earthquake design loads include the probabilities of upper deviations of the site intensities to be expected. The calculations of dynamic loads for select buildings are made using models and computational methods. Component analyses were performed analogous to DRS for the supports of large components, supports of the roof construction of the reactor building taking into account support reserves due to plastic work capacity, wall disks in steam generator buildings and switchboard plant buildings. (DG).

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The relationships between soil salinization and the zonal and provincial bioclimatic conditions, the lithological composition of the sediments, and the geomorphic features of the territory have been analyzed for the Southern federal okrug of Russia. It is shown that the lithological and geomorphic conditions (relief, salinity of parent materials, degree of drainage, and the depth of saline groundwater) play an important role in the distribution of salt-affected soils against the background of the more general regularities specified by the climate. The participation of salt-affected soils in the soil cover of the Southern federal okrug increases in the eastward direction from the forest-steppe zone to the semidesert zone in agreement with an increase in the aridity and continentality of the...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Results are given for deep-level petroleum and gas drilling probes in various coastal zones of Southern Sakhalin covering the Poronai depression and the Aniv Bay trough. The exploratory probes indicate that the Middle Miocence deposits of the Boundary trough contain commercial-size deposits of petroleum, that commercial-size gas deposits are in the upper Myocene deposits of the Aliv Bay trough, and that the upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic deposits of the eastern section of Southern Sakhalin lack folded deformations. 7 references, 2 figures.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundBlindness due to trachoma is avoidable through Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial hygiene and Environmental improvements (SAFE). Recent surveys have shown trachoma to be a serious...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Aug 21, 1995... F.D. Two Southern Supernova Remnants Shibazaki, N. Effect of a Superfluid- Crust Coupling on the Neutron Star Evolution Siddiqui, ...

Science.gov (United States)

... Where Suck Creek enters the river, a formidable whirlpool and 2 Ground-water data for the Suck Creek area of Walden Ridge, Southern ...

Science.gov (United States)

The purpose of the study was to investigate the adequacy of educational services available for the implementation of the ideals of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) in Southern Nigeria. Using the multistage sampling technique, 800 primary school teachers were selected from the three geo political zones in Southern Nigeria as participants in the study. However, 1457 usable copies of the questionnaire administered to participants were used for the final study. The researchers collected and analyzed data to (1) Ascertain how free the UBE was in Southern Nigeria and (2) to determine if educational services were adequately provided for the implementation of the programme. Results of data analysis suggest that the UBE was not entirely free as parents still buy books and report cards for their children in primary schools. Also, educational services were not adequately provided in the schools. Recommendations were made to ...

Science.gov (United States)

Following the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand (NZ), the authors participated in counselling local residents, and debriefing and supervising support teams. Indications were that risk for mental health disorders, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), may be elevated in residents, and that this risk may continue for some time. Patients may be de-prioritising their mental health issues when these become normalised throughout the city's population. The authors recommend that primary care patients are assessed using a brief, comprehensive tool (for example, the Case-finding and Help Assessment Tool) that targets many health and behavioural issues identified as increasing in the city following the earthquake. Anxiety and mood disorder symptoms may indicate assessment is appropriate to reduce harm arising from increased risk for PTSD. Concern also is raised for primary health care providers who may have experienced the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An overview of BC Hydro`s review of its overhead transmission system to withstand earthquakes and its program of seismic upgrading, including the upgrading of tower pile foundations in liquefiable soils, was presented. BC Hydro`s system, geologic environment, seismic design criteria, investigations and analysis, treatment and alternatives and a case history of a seismic upgrade of a tall river crossing tower at the Pitt River in the Lower Mainland of B.C. were summarized. It was concluded that the inherent strength of towers, conductors, fittings and insulators was sufficient to withstand earthquakes. The towers most susceptible to slope and soil failure due to seismic activity were tall river crossing towers. It was suggested that soils investigations, seismicity, ground response, liquefaction and stability analyses be carried out at each site. The results of these tests would help to establish system seismic design criteria at each location. ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Landslides on ancient embankments, burial mounds of Imashiro-zuka and Nishimotome-zuka, induced by historical earthquakes related to the tectonic movement of active fault systems located between northern Osaka and Kobe, are discussed. The geological conditions of the foundation of the mounds, the lithology, stiffness, and the position of the mound relative to the fault systems, contributed to the collapse of the mounds. Obvious interior structures of landslides revealed the inherent deformation process, and provided significant insight into landslide mechanisms. Rapid increasing pore water pressure was necessary to facilitate sliding along the almost horizontal slip surfaces developed in the main part of the landslide bodies on the Imashiro-zuka mound. Liquefaction analysis using both the ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Local communities in southern Africa derive many benefits from marula [Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. subsp. caffra (Sond.) Kokwaro]. These include the contribution of this species towards health, nutrition, food security and conservation by sharing local skills and knowledge related to it. Marula fruits can be eaten fresh, squeezed to make juice, brewed in traditional beer or used to make jam and jelly. The kernels are also edible and can be pressed to extract oil for cooking and cosmetics, i.e., for skin and hair application. The bark, roots, seeds and leaves are exploited for traditional medicinal purposes. Marula has acquired significant commercial value since its fruits and other products have entered local, regional and international trade in southern Africa. To diversify frui...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The spirochete that causes tick-borne relapsing fever, Borrelia hermsii, was isolated in pure culture during 1995 and 1996 from three acutely ill human patients infected in southern...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Summary: To date, most Leishmania and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection cases reported to WHO come from Southern Europe. Up to the year 2001, nearly 2,000 cases of coinfection were identified,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The in vivo sensitivity of Plasmodium falciparum to chloroquine and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine was evaluated in children under 5 years of age in two areas of southern Nigeria in 1987. A modification...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

El Niño/Southern Oscillation related climate anomalies were analyzed by using a combination of satellite measurements of elevated sea-surface temperatures and subsequent elevated rainfall and...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

AbstractGenetic-variant analysis of rabies viruses provides the most sensitive epidemiologic tool for following the spread and persistence of these viruses in their wildlife hosts. Since...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Increased construction of residential canal communities along the southern coastline of the United States has led to a concern about their impact on water quality. Pollution of such dead-end canals...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundMalaria is a major public health problem in Cameroon. Unlike in the southern forested areas where the epidemiology of malaria has been better studied prior to the implementation...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

To determine the presence of European bat lyssavirus type 1 in southern Spain, we studied 19 colonies of serotine bats (Eptesicus isabellinus), its main reservoir, during 1998–2003....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

One-third of botanical remedies from southern Italy are used to treat skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI). Staphylococcus aureus, a common cause of SSTI, has generated increasing...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

California's pacific coast stretches roughly over 11.5 latitudinal degrees, extending from about 32.5{sup o}N to 44{sup o}N. There is nearly 900nm of California coastline offering superior opportunity for wave energy use. The longitudinal position of the coast shifts eastward at two distinct locations: Punta Gorda just south of Cape Mendecino in the north and Point Conception in the south. The change in longitudinal orientation in southern California also coincides with significant change in California's bathymetry. The tilts in the longitudinal coastal lines at the two points also define California wave zones into three areas: the short coastal line north of Punta Gorda, the long north and middle line between the two points, and the short line of the heavily populated southern coast. The northern and central zones are characterized by high waves of relatively low frequency; the southern coast is ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A DNA fragment located on the 3' side of the Coxiella burnetii htpAB operon was determined by Southern blotting to exist in approximately 19 copies in the Nine Mile I genome. The DNA sequences of this...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radon concentration measurement in the ground can be used for the prospecting for uranium and earthquake prediction. Some results of radon concentration measurement in the soil are presented here. The moisture condensation at the detector surface can affect on the detection efficiency. Due to this problem we tested a few filter papers on water permeability. The ratio of track densities on solid state nuclear track detector (SSNTD) in the open and the closed diffusion chamber is also determined. (author)

Science.gov (United States)

This paper explores how an aid-funded Ph.D.-programme in mathematics education instituted in some Southern African Development Community countries measures up to issues related to research capacity development projects. The research capacity development programme is described and reflected against mutual benefit, relevance, sustainability and prioritization of the location of project funding expenditure--some of the constructs in the discourse on research capacity development initiatives. It is found that the benefits of the programme are indeed mutual; the outcomes regarding relevance and sustainability are more uncertain and the location of expenditure of the funding is not overtly in favour of the donor country.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This document is a reference guide to the Xyce Parallel Electronic Simulator, and is a companion document to the Xyce Users Guide. The focus of this document is (to the extent possible) exhaustively list device parameters, solver options, parser options, and other usage details of Xyce. This document is not intended to be a tutorial. Users who are new to circuit simulation are better served by the Xyce Users Guide. The Xyce Parallel Electronic Simulator has been written to support, in a rigorous manner, the simulation needs of the Sandia National Laboratories electrical designers. It is targeted specifically to run on large-scale parallel computing platforms but also runs well on a variety of architectures including single processor workstations. It also aims to support a variety of devices and models specific to Sandia needs. This document is intended to complement the Xyce Users Guide. It contains comprehensive, detailed information about a number of topics pertinent to the usage of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper introduces the summary of design guideline (draft) for the limit state design method for foundation structures, and examples of calculations on pile foundations. The limit states were set using the load to transformation curves, and the limit state No. 3 in particular assumed a large earthquake, a state that a foundation is fatally damaged because of rarely acting loads that lead to generation of displacement and loss of stability and functions. Ground survey coefficient, ground resistance coefficient, and ground property coefficient were defined especially as the safety coefficients. With respect to the displacement in the limit state No. 3, a restriction value was set for the plasticity of the foundation. Loads were given considerations of combination of permanent load, variation load, and accidental load, each having been set with a load coefficient. It was decided regarding earthquakes to discuss strength and toughness of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Recent earthquake disasters have revealed the importance of countermeasures against soil Liquefaction in seismic design. In particular, the 1995 Hyogoken Nanbu earthquake caused several types of severe damages to pile foundations. This paper describes an analysis method for soil liquefaction using simple parameters such as SPT-N values and seismic response analyses for the pile-supported structure to consider soil-structure interaction effects and soil non-linearity using a modified Penzien model. It is important to find a way to determine the region of surrounding soil whose behavior is identical to that of piles. This paper adopts the thin layer element method to systematically determine the volume of the surrounding soil. The responses of pile-supported structure are similar, whether soil liquefaction and nonlinearity of pile are considered or not. However, the bending moment of pile become large as to soil liquefaction, and small as to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Canisters with spent nuclear fuel can obviously not be located within deformation zones as this might jeopardise their long term mechanical stability and thereby constitute a potential hazard to the biosphere. Less apparent, but equally important, is the fact that earthquakes trigger reactivation, slip, of structures some distance from their hypocentres due to, among many other factors, stress redistribution. Fault slip across a deposition hole might damage the isolation capacity of the canister and thereby jeopardise the overall integrity of the barrier system. Therefore, the following question might be posed: What is the distance from a deformation zone beyond which a canister can be safely emplaced? This respect distance cannot be readily computed because, unknown future events aside, there are some complicated aspects that need to be addressed e.g. degree of conservatism, scale, our ability to model ice sheets and earthquakes, etc. In this ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The objective of this project were to investigate the dynamic behavior of peat and to evaluate the influence of that behavior on the dynamic response of peat deposits. During the course of the research, the objectives were expanded to explore the effects of strong earthquake shaking on pile foundations embedded in peat deposits. An experimental investigation was undertaken using samples of a peat deposit typical of many large peat deposits in western Washington. A series of ground response analyses was performed to investigate the seismic response of peat deposits. Three vertical profiles through Mercer Slough were analyzed using both equivalent linear and nonlinear ground response analyses. The analyses showed that the soft nature of the Mercer Slough peat would produce amplification of the long-period components of an earthquake ground motion. Comparison of the equivalent linear and nonlinear ground response analyses showed that the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The various technical aspects of radon concentration measurements in the ground or in the groundwater are reviewed. The emphasis is put on the most convenient techniques particularly suited for in situ monitoring in the field. Some attention is paid to the thoron problem. Historical and most recent findings in the field or earthquake related radon anomalies are presented and briefly discussed. A similar approach is made to rarer volcanic cases that have been documented up to now. A short discussion regarding the various models that intend to provide satisfactory explanations is presented, supported, whenever it is possible, by experimental laboratory results. Finally a glimpse on the possible and future application of the method to hydrogeology is given. (orig.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

It is important to accurately estimate the effects of strong earthquake motions on the basemat uplift behavior and structural responses for the seismic design of nuclear power plant buildings. In this paper, an analysis model which describes the soil part using the 3 dimensional FEM was proposed to be used when the ground contact ratio is low, and the validity of this model was confirmed. Furthermore, investigations using the model were carried out where the attaching force under the basemat was taken into account, in order to more realistically estimate the basemat uplift behavior. The effects in the case of the building being embedded were also investigated.

Science.gov (United States)

The Advanced Coal Liquefaction Research and Development Facility in Wilsonville, Alabama, is funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and Amoco Corporation. On behalf of these organizations, Southern Company Services manages and Southern Clean Fuels Division of Southern Electric International operates the Wilsonville facility. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) receives funding from DOE to provide materials technical support to the Wilsonville operators. For the period July 1987 through November 1990 the plant was operated with two reactors a thermal reactor and a catalytic reactor in a close-coupled integrated two-stage liquefaction mode. Coal processed was obtained from several seams including Ohio No. 6, Illinois No. 6, and Pittsburgh No. 8, as well as Texas lignite and several subbituminous coals. Corrosion samples which were removed for examination at the end of this ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The biomass research program of the USDA, Southern Agricultural Energy Center is conducted at several locations throughout the United States. A portion of the research is directed toward improved systems to harvest, process and store biomass so that the energy density will be enhanced. Other research projects deal with: conversion and utilization of animal wastes in integrated energy-food production systems, including the production of liquid fuel and feed byproducts; producing low BTU gas to be utilized in internal combustion engines, including the system for continuous feeding of the gasifier; direct combustion of biomass for thermal energy; gasifying biomass so that the products of combustion can pass through a crop being dried without leaving deleterious residues; small scale systems for on-farm expelling of vegetable oil; and studies on the use of vegetable oils for diesel fuel substitutes. In summary, the low energy density of biomass requires that it be used ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The end of 1994, five seismic observation stations were constructed with digital seismograph and 3-component seismometers. In this study, the epicentral distribution around the Kyungsang basin was obtained from one-year earthquake data (1994/12 - 1995/11) and compared with the annual earthquake report of KMA (Korea Meteorological Agency). The geological structure at the middle of the Ulsan fault was also investigated by the electrical resistivity method. The epicenters show high concentration at the Wolsung area. They show a linear alignment and their depths tend to be deeper as they approach to the coast line of the East Sea. These imply that they are probably correlated together. Another remarkable feature on land is the linear epicentral distribution along Jiri mountain to the Kimcheon and Sangju. This line is well coincident with newly recognized lineament. The other is the epicentral distribution at the Straits of Korea and East Sea. Even ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The dynamic response of thin liquid storage tanks to earthquakes is a very complicated phenomenon, because it can be highly non linear. Among others, one can meet material and geometric non linearities of the tank shell leading eventually to static or dynamic buckling non linear behavior of anchor bolts, contact non-linearities due to the uplift of the tank base and to the unilateral character of the fluid pressure on the shell and high amplitude fluid oscillations. Moreover, linear or non linear soil structure interaction affects considerably the response of the fluid structure system under consideration. In this paper we focus attention on problems related only to the base uplift and anchors plastification. We study a tank similar to the Hualien project tank, but we neglect the soil structure interaction. The studied tank is representative of medium height to radius ratio ratio tanks with relatively thick bottom plate. The contact is simulated via a simple ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Water is the most important limiting factor in the development of arid environments; therefore, optimization of water use is a necessity in desert reclamation projects. Evapotranspiration of a 6-year-old river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh.) plantation, located in a sedimentation basin of an artificial recharge of the Gareh Bygone Plain groundwater system in Iran?s southern Zagros Mountains, was studied during a 7-month period. A neutron moisture probe was used to monitor soil water changes in the root zone. Soil water depletion following rapid drainage for blocks receiving relatively high, medium and low volumes of floodwater were 809.6, 312.4, and 203.1 mm, respectively, for a 150-day period. Soil water potential during most of the study period was below ?1.5 MPa. This study pr...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

ABSTRACT. The morphology, morphogenesis, and phylogeny of Diophrys parappendiculata n. sp., a large marine ciliate isolated from the coastal waters of Daya Bay, southern China, were investigated. This new species is characterized by a combination of its large size, appendiculata-pattern of ciliature, and bipartite adoral zone of membranelles. The main stages of morphogenesis during binary fission were also recorded and described. Comparisons of morphological characteristics with similar congeners support the validity of the new species. The small subunit rRNA gene sequence of D. parappendiculata is 96.3-99.94% similar to those of four other congeners; it differs in four nucleotides from that of Diophrys appendiculata (i.e. structural similarity was 99.94%). Phylogenetic analysis indicates ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In this paper we provide a geochemical investigation on 34 groundwater samples in the Mt. Vulture volcanic aquifer representing one of the most important groundwater resources of the southern Italy pumped for drinking and irrigation supply. The present study includes the first data on the abundance and mobility of minor and trace elements and the thermodynamic considerations on water-rock interaction processes in order to evaluate the conditions of alkali basalt weathering by waters enriched in magma-derived CO2. The results highlight the occurrence of two hydrofacies: bicarbonate alkaline-earth and alkaline waters deriving from low-temperature leaching of volcanic rocks of Mt. Vulture, and bicarbonate-sulfate-alkaline waters (high-salinity waters) related to prolonged water circulation in...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The southern Alaska convergent margin contains several small belts of sedimentary and volcanic rocks metamorphosed to blueschist facies, located along the Border Ranges fault on the contact between the Wrangellia and Chugach terranes. These belts are significant in that they are the most inboard, and thus probably contain the oldest record of Triassic-Jurassic northward-directed subduction beneath Wrangellia. The Liberty Creek HP-LT schist belt is the oldest and the innermost section of the Chugach terrane. Within this belt lawsonite blueschists contains an initial high-pressure assemblage formed by lawsonite+phengite+chlorite+sphene+albite+/-apatite+/-carbonates and quartz. Epidote blueschists are composed of sodic, sodic-calcic and calcic amphiboles+epidote+phengite+chlorite+albite+sphen...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Observations are reported of the lithium feature (6708 A) in some bright southern stars, most of which are F, G, or K dwarfs. Three of these stars have been suggested as belonging to the Ursa Major Group. Two of these three have the large Li abundance and strong Ca II H and K emission expected of such young stars. The third potential Ursa Major Group member has little Li, but is also not a true kinematic member. No stars were found with abnormal (Li-6)/(Li-7) ratios, in accord with other recent analyses. Thus it appears that all stars have (Li-6)/(Li-7) near the solar/terrestrial value of 0.08. 31 references.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Human activities in the karst Ozark Plateaus can impact water quality of springs where surface water is rapidly transferred to subsurface conduits. Bennett Spring, in southern Missouri, is the fourth largest spring in the state and supports local tourism activities. Questions regarding poorly functioning on-site wastewater systems (OWS) have raised concerns over the long-term water quality of the spring. This study reports the results of a surface water quality monitoring program in the recharge area where monthly samples were collected at base flow to identify potential pollution sources to the spring. Base flow hydrology of the recharge area was highly variable over the study period, which was drier than normal, causing an incomplete sampling record due to no flow conditions at some site...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Concerns about groundwater contamination as well as pesticide residues in food and soil have fuelled vigorous debates about the sustainability of chemical-intensive agriculture. Search has been prompted for agronomic strategies with lower environmental hazards. In this multidisciplinary study we compared the characteristics of soils from 20 agricultural farms selected in five geographical areas of Southern Italy with different soil types. In each farm, fields with management regime classified as high-input (HIMR, intensive cultivation under plastic tunnels) or low-input (LIMR, tree orchards) were selected. Soil samples were analyzed for 31 parameters including physical and chemical properties (bulk density, water holding capacity, texture, pH, limestone, electrical conductivity, organic C ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This study concerns the thermotolerance of spores of mesophilic fungi isolated from a tropical semi-arid habitat subject to dry season fire in the Western Ghats, southern India. Among 25 species of Ascomycota isolated from leaf litter, nine were able to grow after incubation in a drying oven for 2h at 100degreeC; the spores of two of these species survived 2h incubation at 110degreeC, and one survived exposure to 115degreeC for 2h. The range of thermotolerance among mesophilic fungi isolated from the leaf litter was surprising: filamentous fungi from other habitats, including species that colonize scorched vegetation after fires and thermophilic forms occurring in self-heating plant composts, cannot survive even brief exposure to such high temperatures. It is possible that the exceptional ...

Science.gov (United States)

Describes general trends in the quality of rural education: equivalent rural and urban performance on national standardized tests and high school graduation rates but continuing rural deficits in college attendance and teacher qualifications. Discusses the below-average performance of southern rural schools, factors affecting rural students' college attendance, and the influence of changing labor markets. (SV)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The ?new variant famine? hypothesis posits links between HIV/AIDS and new patterns of impoverishment, food insecurity and hunger, in southern and eastern Africa. This paper explores the relevance of the NVF hypothesis to understanding Swaziland?s recurrent food crises and high HIV prevalence. Evidence exists that all four markers of NVF are present in Swaziland. The national government and the international community will have to contend with this phenomenon in future planning for the wellbeing of Swazi citizens.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Broiler chickens from eight commercial farms in Southern Finland were analyzed for the structure of their gastrointestinal microbial community by a nonselective DNA-based method, percent G+C-based...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Two sequences with homology to a thioredoxin oligonucleotide probe were detected by Southern blot analysis of Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 genomic DNA. One of the sequences was shown to code for a protein...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Within the Westeuropean network of the electric current supply a continuing compensation is necessary with respect to the permanent alterations of capacity and frequency. Pumped-storage plants are of considerable significance to meet these requests. The Schluchseewerk AG, Freiburg/Breisgau, has among others five pumped-storage plants in the southern part of the Black Forest. The conception and the operation of them are described. (orig.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The coal mining district in southeastern Santa Catarina State is considered one of the most polluted areas of Brazil. The author has identified significant preliminary results on the application of MSS-LANDSAT digital data to monitor the coal refuse areas and its environmental consequences in this region.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Canadian oilfields are a prime breeding ground for talent, technology and industrial management. This paper described how Canadian talent was recognized in 2001 for three major projects which included a cold-ocean production platform in the Sea of Okhotsk in Siberia, a mountain pipeline project in South America, and an in-situ underground extraction technology in the oilsands of Alberta. The cold-ocean production platform project was recruited by Sakhalin Energy Investment Co., an international consortium originally led by Marathon Oil Co which is now led by Royal Dutch Shell. The oil production platform is stationed 16 kilometres offshore of Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk. Sakhalin Energy bought and converted the Molikpaq, an innovative platform made in the 1980s for the Beaufort Sea by Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. The second project included Calgary's Hydroconsult EN3 Services Ltd. which was responsible for the construction of the 940-km GasAtacama 24-inch diameter ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract This article discusses the evolution of the public debate in Italy about unemployment over a period of almost ten years (1995-2002) that was particularly crucial for the Italian labour and political systems. From the early 1980s and throughout the 1990s, the country experienced major industrial change, which dramatically restructured its labour landscape. Moreover, this industrial earthquake occurred within internal (a deep political party system re-assessment and the fluctuating importance of unions) and external (European Union-driven state budgetary limits) political constraints that have heavily influenced the debate itself. The analysis of the public policy debates allows the authors of this article to portray the agendas, concepts and strategies introduced and discussed by e...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Post-tensioned (PT) self-centering moment frames have been developed as an alternative to typical moment-resisting frames (MRFs) for earthquake resistance. When a PT frame deforms laterally, gaps between the beams and columns open. However, the gaps are constrained by the columns and the slab in a real PT self-centering building frame. This paper presents a methodology for evaluating the column restraint and beam compression force based on the column deformation and gap openings at all stories. The method is verified by cyclic tests of a full-scale, two-bay by one-story PT frame. Moreover, a sliding slab is proposed to minimize restraints on the expansion of the PT frame. Shaking table tests were conducted on a reduced-scale, two-by-two bay one-story specimen, which comprises one PT frame ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper introduces the method of seismic stability analysis for the increase of fuel storage capacity of wet storage stacks by one or two more stack floor at Wolsung Nuclear Unit 2,3,4, which had been originally licensed assuming 16 tray stack-o-storage. As a basic procedure, tipping and sliding stability of the structure is checked at first thru seismic analysis and the resultant load from dynamic analysis is applied for static stress analysis, and the result of which is reviewed for compatability with applicable standard. As a result, sliding and overturning are not expected under design basis earthquakes for increased storage cases of 17 tray and 18 tray stacks. And it is anticipated the result of stress analysis will be acceptable.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The aim of the risk assessment consists of a comparative security evaluation for the SNR-300 and the PWR Biblis B. The failure analysis focusses on the reactor core; in addition, possible fission product release from the spent fuel pits is examined. By reliability analyses, the frequency of events leading to incidents is determined together with the probability of core destruction. In the accident analysis, the kind and frequency of failure of the activity barriers, i.e., primary system (reactorvessel) and inner and outer containment are investigated for the various incident sequences. The radionuclide release into the environment is classified into five different release categories. Besides internal failures, external causes (especially earthquakes and plane crashes) are considered under the aspect of their risk contribution. (RF).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

More than sixty base-isolated buildings have been built in Japan. A number of base-isolation systems were considered in our research, which was intended to establish the effectiveness of base-isolation systems. We conducted research on silicone rubber bearings. Generally, silicone rubber is durable and its characteristics are not dependent on the temperature within the relevant design range. The first part of the report covers material and elements testing. After the bearings were installed in the building, we performed forced vibration tests in both the horizontal and vertical directions. These test results form the next section. After several experiments, we carried out earthquake observations. We report on the effectiveness of the system in reducing response acceleration during a small displacement. This system was installed in the building in March 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The research and development of a new type of high damping rubber damper for high rise buildings/structures to mitigate earthquake or wind-induced structural response is described in this paper. The static tests were carried out to investigate restoring force characteristics using scale model of high damping rubber damper. The repetitive tests and the temperature dependency tests were carried out to investigate variance of performance of energy absorption. It is confirmed that the damping force characteristics of the damper can be considered as that of linear viscous damping and the damper sufficiently dissipates energy for vibrations of mm order to that of generating 200% shear strain. The design methods, based on assuming linear viscous damping for the damper, has been developed. The designed values such as stiffness and damping coefficient of the damper agree well with the experimental results. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The deep water parts of the Moere and Southern Voering Basins are large frontier areas, which are considered to contain significant undiscovered hydrocarbon resources, within Cretaceous and Paleogene reservoirs. PGS Reservoir AS have evaluated the Cretaceous and Paleogene successions of the shallow and deep water areas offshore Mid-Norway using high-resolution sequence stratigraphic techniques. The successions have been subdivided into about 20 stratigraphic sequences. The results are: (1) A more acurate and higher resolution stratigraphy, (2) Greater constraints on basin palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographic reconstructions, (4) Fully integrated sandstone fairway models, with increased ability to reservoir and seal quality and continuity, (5) In addition to several obvious giant domal traps, subtler yet significant structural and stratigraphic leads and prospects can be identified, (6) The timing, volume and phase of hydrocarbon generation may be estimated more ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper discusses the potential for geothermal energy use in the central part of Southern Poland, such as the availability of thermal aquifers and the techniques for putting the latter to practical use. The geological and geothermal features of the region are presented within the context of the existence of aquifers containing geothermal resources that could be used in space heating. Also discussed are the three main geological units where thermal waters are known to exist: the Carpathians, the Miechow Trough, and the Silesian-Cracow Monocline. Particularly favourable hydrogeological conditions exist in the Inner Carpathians, in the Podhale Trough, where there is already one geothermal company using geothermal energy, Geotermia Podhalanska S.A. Equally interesting from the geothermal point of view are the areas north of the Cracow-Tarnow line, where, in Mesozoic aquifers, water temperatures range from 20 to 60 {sup o}C. In this paper we propose technological ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Architecture of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoirs of the Paleocene Fort Union Formation in the Wind River basin, Wyoming, was studied using lithofacies, grain size, bounding surfaces, sedimentary structures, internal organization, and geometry. Two principal groups of reservoirs, both erosionally based and fining upward, consist of either conglomeratic sandstone or sandstone lithofacies. Two types of architecture were recognized in conglomeratic sandstone reservoirs: (1) heterogeneous, multistacked, lenticular and (2) homogeneous, multiscoured, wedge-sheet bodies. Three types of architecture were recognized in sandstone reservoirs: (3) heterogeneous, multistacked, elongate; (4) homogeneous, multilateral, lenticular; and (5) homogeneous, ribbon-lensoid bodies. Conglomeratic sandstone reservoirs in the southern and southwestern parts of the basin suggest deposition in gravel-bedload fluvial systems influenced by provenance uplift of the Granite and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This article discusses the proper use of sandy land in China from the viewpoint of ecology. The many low-yield fields in every locality across China include sandy land that is unsuited to the cultivation of grains such as paddy rice, corn and wheat. Separate investigations of the northern plain and the southern coast between 1980 and 1982 demonstrated that sandy land in a warm climatic zone (e.g. Huang He) is suited to peanuts, soybeans and other oil-bearing crops; that forestation can be carried out on sandy land in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang; and that coastal sandy land has much salinity and is best suited to growing horsetail beefwood. Moreover, the creation of windbreaks along the coasts of southern China has lessened the threat of wind-blown sand which had made rice not worth cultivating on sandy land. It is concluded that different crops can be grown on the sandy soil of China's temperate, warm, semitropical and tropical zones.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The International Atomic Energy Agency has initiated a co-ordinated research programme on implementation of base-isolation for nuclear structures. This paper discusses two areas relevant to modelling elastomeric base-isolators. These are the use of simplified models to predict the response of isolated structures to earthquake inputs and finite element analysis for calculating the stress distributions within the isolators. In the former, a curvilinear hysteretic model of the high damping natural rubber able to accommodate the stiffening of the rubber at large shear deflections is presented. Its predictions of structural accelerations and bearing displacement produced by design earthquakes and those above the design level are compared with those using a linear spring and dashpot model. A comparison has been made between two finite element analyses using MARC and ABAQUS of the force-deformation behaviour of a single disc of rubber bonded on both ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Several recent improved methods for the EGFM are introduced in order to avoid artificial holes seen in the synthetic acceleration spectrum. Furthermore evaluation of input ground motions at Wolsung NPP are performed by varying the source parameters that may control the high-frequency wave radiation and the deviation of the synthetic motions are revealed. The PSHA case studies for four NPP sites (Wolsung, Kori, Uljin, Younggwang) are performed. In the analysis, site-specific attenuation equations developed for Korean NPP sites are employed, and the seismic hazards for the target sites are evaluated in the case where the four kind of seismic source models are considered. Moreover, the PSHA for Wolsung and Younggwang are conducted by using the site-specific attenuation equation with the index of response spectra and the uniform hazard spectra are evaluated for the two sites. The supporting tool for seismic response analysis and the evaluation tool for evaluating annual probability of ...

Science.gov (United States)

Data on the postfire dynamics of soil properties in the foci of Siberian moth population outbreaks are considered. It has been shown that controlled fires set in pest-defoliated forests result in the loss of approximately 75% of carbon and 50% of nitrogen from the forest litter through their emission into the atmosphere and in the enrichment of the upper soil horizons with potassium and phosphorus (this concerns both total and movable forms). Microbiological processes in the organogenic horizon undergo significant transformation, the density of microarthropods decreases, and the abundance of mites becomes hundreds of times lower. PMID:15354965

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The methodology for studying the behaviour of the toxic pollutant metals (Hg, Pb, Cd, Cr) in the South Shetland region is presented here, toxic pollutants are caused by the urban and industrial activity at the Southern hemisphere and they are pressured to be incorporated to the region though atmospheric transport processes the Cs 137 (refI) was used as a tracing element, which was freed and dispersed in the atmosphere as a result of nuclear bombs testing. During the austral summer samples from ground, sediments, atmospheric and glacier were extracted.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

During the last few years radio and X-ray astronomers have produced high-resolution imagery of the remnant of Cas A. Since the most recent published optical photographs of Cas A date back to 1975 it seemed worthwhile to present new optical results based on plates obtained with the 5-m Hale telescope in 1976, 1977, and 1980. The major changes that have taken place in Cas A during the last decade are: (1) A broken shell of fast-moving knots has formed along the southern and SW rim of the remnant and (2) A number of blue (oxygen-rich) filaments have developed to the north of the centre of Cas A. (Auth.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Surveys for interior wetland birds at mine-associated emergent wetlands on coal surface mines in southern Illinois detected one state threatened and two state endangered species. Breeding by least bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) and common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) was confirmed. Regional assessment of potential wetland bird habitat south of Illinois Interstate 64 identified a total of 8,109 ha of emergent stable water wetlands; 10% were associated with mining. Mine-associated wetlands with persistent hydrology and large expanses of emergent vegetation provide habitat that could potentially compensate for loss of natural wetlands in Illinois.

Wastenet

... (restricted)] 251-260 Revisiting new variant famine: the case of Swaziland by Scott Naysmith & Alex Waal & Alan Whiteside [Downloadable! (restricted)] 261-269 Food prices and the HIV response: findings from rapid regional assessments in eastern and southern Africa in 2008[InlineMediaObject not available: see fulltext.][InlineMediaObject not available: see fulltext.] by Stuart Gillespie & Paul Jere & John Msuya & Scott Drimie [Downloadable! (restricted)] 271-289 Declining global per capita agricultural production and warming oceans ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Complete text of publication follows. Paleomagnetic study in southern Tibet and the Higher Himalayan Crystalline (HHC) was twofold: (1) the recognition of vertical and horizontal block rotations and (2) the examination of the high grade metamorphic rocks (gneisses) from the HHC for their suitability for paleomagnetic investigations. Toward the separation of local and regional tectonic effects, the results from southern Tibet reflect a regional trend in agreement with oroclinal bending and rotational under-thrusting. On the other hand, measured 'anomalous inclinations' are interpreted as a consequence of extensional tectonic, and the circular distribution of magnetic remanences is attributed to long wavelength folding within the study area as well as doming in the crust. The examination of the high grade metamorphic rocks was successful: The high quota of isolated stable and well grouping secondary magnetic remanences, demonstrate their ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Over one-third of Canada's coal resources occurs in the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains, with major deposits in the Front Ranges, Inner Foothills and Outer Foothills. In the Front Ranges, deposits of metallurgical and thermal, high-volatile bituminous to semi-anthracite coal occur in the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Mist Mountain Formation. In the Inner Foothills of northeastern British Columbia and west-central Alberta, resources of metallurgical and thermal medium- and low-volatile bituminous coal occur in Early Cretaceous strata of the Gething and Gates Formations. In the Outer Foothills resources of thermal, high-volatile bituminous coal occur in Late Cretaceous and Paleocene strata of the Belly River Coalspur and Paskapoo Formations. The major deposits of the Front Ranges and Inner Foothills accumulated within the coastal plains of the Fernie and Moosebar-Clearwater seas. Shorelines prograded to the north and northeast into a foreland basin that ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chemical composition of fine aerosol particles over the northern Chilean coastal waters was determined onboard the U.S. DOE G-1 aircraft during the VOCALS (VAMOS Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study) field campaign between October 16 and November 15, 2008. SO42-, NO3-, NH4+, and total organics (Org) were determined using an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer, and SO42-, NO3-, NH4+, Na+, Cl-, CH3SO3-, Mg2+, Ca2+, and K+ were determined using a particle-into-liquid sampler-ion chromatography technique. The results show the marine boundary layer (MBL) aerosol mass was dominated by non- sea-salt SO42- followed by Na+, Cl-, Org, NO3-, and NH4+, in decreasing importance; CH3SO3-, Ca2+, and K+ rarely exceeded their respective limits of detection. The SO42- aerosols were strongly acidic as the equivalent NH4+ to SO42- ratio was only ~0.25 on average. NaCl particles, presumably of sea-salt origin, showed chloride deficits but retained Cl- typically more than half the equivalency of Na+, and are ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Long-term disposal and management of low and intermediate-level radioactive waste is a major project of the nuclear power industry. Therefore, the selection of an underground waste repository has to be a geologically and seismologically stable storage. Easy transportation and emplacement is essential. The Wolsung nuclear power plant (NPP) of unit no. 1/2/ 3/ 4, which is responsible for the future of the energy industry, has already been constructed at the Wolsung site and a New NPP has recently been created at the Sinwolsung site. Radioactive waste used in the plant facilities, has piled up increasingly every year, but it should be taken to be managed at long-term underground storage disposal facilities. The Wolsung site for radioactivity waste repository was known to be relatively stable through various geological surveys, earthquakes, groundwater, engineering testing and analysis, but still more research related to the stability of the structure, in deep ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sensor has been developed for the measurement of seismic wave rotary components. The vertical axis rotary component sensor is constituted of four L22Ds, similar to each other in performance, fixed in a ring formation on a metal bed. The ring is 22cm in diameter, and the four coils are connected so that their outputs will be added up. A horizontal axis rotary component sensor is built in the similar way. The rotary component sensors are all connected to a spectrum analyzer for the measurement of micromotions. It is found that the four-L22D combination can detect a rotary component of 335mV/deg/s. The sensor can detect both vertical and horizontal components with roughly the same sensitivity. A ring-form combination of conventional electromagnetic seismometers, though only as a temporary expedient, can perform high-resolution detection of rotary components and determine the absolute values of earthquakes or noise levels. In the case of a gyrosensor available on the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The requirements to design nuclear power plants for the effects of an instantaneous double-ended guillotine break (DEGB) of the reactor coolant piping have led to excessive design costs, interference with normal plant operation and maintenance, and unnecessary radiation exposure of plant maintenance personnel. This report describes an aspect of the NRC/Lawrence Livermore National laboratory-sponsored research program aimed at investigating whether the probability of DEGB in Reactor Coolant Loop Piping of nuclear power plants is acceptably small such that the requirements to design for the DEGB effects (e.g., provision of pipe whip restraints) may be removed. This study estimates the probability of indirect DEGB in Reactor Coolant piping as a consequence of seismic-induced structural failures within the containment of the GE supplied boiling water reactor at the Brunswick nuclear power plant. The median probability of indirect DEGB was estimated to be 2 x 10/sup -8/ per year. Using ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Faults are being actively investigated across Japan since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Discussed in this report is the application of the 3D near-surface reflection seismic survey in big cities. Data from trenching and drilling is used for the geological interpretation of the surroundings of a fault, and the reflection seismic survey is used to identify the position, etc., of the fault. In this article, when the results obtained from the experimental field are examined, it is found that the conventional 2D imaging reflection survey betrays the limit of its capability when the geological structure is complicated, that the 3D reflection seismic survey, on the contrary, is capable of high-precision imaging and, when augmented by drilling, etc., becomes capable of a more detailed interpretation, and that it also contributes effectively to the improvement of local disaster prevention in big cities. Using as the model the Tachikawa fault that runs near JR ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In the 5th year of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Technical Cooperation Project 'Seismic Risk Reduction for Buildings and Structures in Romania', the implementing agency - National Center for Seismic Risk Reduction (NCSRR) and JICA jointly organized the International Symposium on Seismic Risk Reduction (ISSRR-2007) held in Bucharest at the Romanian Academy Library in the period April 26-27, 2007. The present volume contains the Proceedings of the International Symposium on Seismic Risk Reduction, ISSRR-2007. The Proceedings are organized in three parts: (I) keynote lectures, (II) papers on the results of JICA Project in Romania and (III) contributions from authors. Eight keynote lectures by specialists from Japan, USA, France and Greece, and fourteen papers on the results of JICA Project are included. The contributions from authors are divided in five sections: (i) Seismicity, Seismic Hazard and Site Effects, (ii) Seismic Vulnerability and Seismic Risk, (iii) Seismic ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The relationship between the fractal dimensions of spatial distributions of aftershocks and pre-existing active faults is examined. Fourteen mainshocks taking place in Japan were followed by aftershocks, and the aftershocks occur in swarms around the mainshocks. The epicentral distributions of the aftershocks exhibit fractal properties, and the fractal dimensions are estimated by using the two-point correlation integral. The pre-existing active fault systems observed in the 14 aftershock regions have fractal structures, and the fractal dimensions are estimated by using the box-counting method. A positive correlation between the estimated fractal dimensions is found, and it is independent on the mainshock magnitude. The correlation shows that aftershock distributions become less clustered with increasing the fractal dimensions of active fault systems. Namely, the fractal clusters of aftershocks are put under the constraint of the fractal properties of the pre-existing active fault ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Results indicate that the probability of double-ended guillotine break (DEGB) in the reactor coolant loop piping of Westinghouse and Combustion Engineering plants is extremely low. It is recommended that the NRC seriously consider eliminating DEGB as a design basis event for reactor coolant loop piping in Westinghouse plants. Pipe whip restraints on reactor coolant loop piping could then be excluded or removed, and the requirement to design supports to withstand asymmetric blowdown loads could be eliminated. It is also recommended that the current requirement to couple safe shutdown earthquake (SSE) and DEGB be eliminated. Recognizing however that seismically induced support failure is the weak link in the DEGB evaluation, it is recommended that the strength of component supports, currently designed for the combination of SSE plus DEGB, not be reduced. The study indicates that the probability of DEGB in reactor coolant loop piping is sufficiently low under all ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Some considerations regarding ice load in risk-based dam safety analysis are presented for small concrete dams. The most significant physical mechanisms leading to ice thrust on dams (such as thermal expansion and water level fluctuations) are outlined. Published literature on dam ice loads to examine ice load magnitude-return period relationships, sliding and overstressing failure mechanisms and structural performance criteria to resist ice loads, are also reviewed. Related loading combinations for structural safety evaluations were determined regarding the issue of simultaneity of ice loads with other events such as earthquakes. Parametric analyses were conducted on a small gravity dam section, 3m high, and a taller dam, 17.9 m high, to demonstrate the ultimate ice load carrying capability as a function of dam geometry and shear and tensile strengths of construction joints. Since the failure mechanism of a dam subjected to excessive ice loads is not well known, a ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Seismic records, combined with dredged samples and a core, indicate that the Spratly Islands of the Dangerous Ground Province are constructed of presently active carbonate build-ups, known to extend back continuously at least to the Pleistocene and presumed to have initiated in the Miocene, most likely upon the crests of sea-floor cuestas that trend north-east-south-west parallel to the sea-floor spreading magnetic anomalies of the contiguous abyssal plain of the southern part of the South China Sea. The cuestas range from spectacular to subdued, constructed of Triassic and Cretaceous strata and no older rocks have been identified from dredges. The cuesta axes plunge towards the south-west away from the islands, suggesting that the reefs began colonising their more elevated parts, but the ...

Science.gov (United States)

Swollen basiodiospores of an adenine auxotroph of Phanerochaete chrysosporium were protoplasted with Novozyme 234 and transformed to prototrophy by using a plasmid containing the gene for an adenine biosynthetic enzyme from Schizophyllum commune. Transformation frequencies of 100 transformants per {mu}g of DNA were obtained. Southern blot analysis of DNA extracted from transformants demonstrated that plasmid DNA was integrated into the chromosomal DNA in multiple tandem copies. Analysis of conidia and basiodiospores from transformants demonstrated that the transforming character was mitotically and meiotically stable on both selective and nonselective media. Genetic crosses between double mutants transformed for adenine prototrophy and other auxotrophic strains yielded Ade{sup {minus}} progeny, which indicated that integration occurred at a site(s) other than the resident adenine biosynthetic gene.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The economic feasibility of the residential solar thermal (ST) cooling system designed in the companion article [1] is ascertained by comparing it with a solar electric (SE) cooling system, and also with the baseline (i.e., control case), a grid dependent, highest efficiency COPC=5.66 heat pump. The economic scenario is analyzed for 24 cities across the southern USA, south of the 37degreeN. The SE cooling system provides lifecycle (20 year) savings to the homeowner only where electric rates are high and it is heavily subsidized. The overall societal effect (sum of taxpayer funded rebate and homeowner savings) is actually an increased cost everywhere except the California Central Valley, where the net savings is $1500. In the same valley, The ST cooling system provides greater lifecycle sav...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Taking the port city of Alicante the author outlines how numerous crossroads connect the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean. Along the arc of Euro-Mediterranean trading centres lies the European continent as a whole, extending eastwards to the republics emerging from the disintegration of the Soviet Empire, and in the south to Francophone and Muslim Africa. This arc of trading towns includes Istanbul, Dubai, Naples, Antwerp, Hamburg, Marseilles and Alicante. The author traces the movements of individuals pursuing "suitcase trade" performed by means of face-to-face links, word of mouth, and verbal agreements. The author then traces this vast "choreographed movement" that originates from Europe's borders, and suggests that although reasons other than trade influence mobility a...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Differentiation of the vertebrate communities almost coincides with the differentiation of ecosystems in vegetation at the type level, as judged by formalized classifications of various blocks of ecosystems of West Siberia by geobotanical map units, and it differs significantly from that in the underground component due to the greater effect of waterlogging on the latter. In invertebrate communities, significant differences are observed in the boreal-subboreal part, where waterlogging is more significant and greater similarity is found among middle and southern-taiga communities than among subtaiga-steppe ones. Over the groups of map units, the heterogeneity of the vertebrate communities differs from that in all the examined blocks of ecosystems in greater differentiation in the tundra zon...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Spratly Islands, located in the southern part of the South China Sea (SCS), consist of more than 100 small islands, coral reefs and banks. Remote sensing is the only way to obtain a synoptic view of all of the islands in such a large area. It has been demonstrated that satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery is a very powerful tool for monitoring meso-scale and small-scale ocean processes in a large area. In this study, satellite SAR images were used to study the ocean environment in the area of Spratly Islands. The aim was to understand the capability of satellite remote sensing to monitor ocean processes and provide information for future field studies. Two sets of high-resolution European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS)-2 SAR images over the entire Spratly Islands area were coll...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Summary Objective- To evaluate the role of prophylactic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (co-trimoxazole) antibacterial prophylaxis in reducing morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected post-natal women in southern Africa. Methods- Double-blind placebo-controlled trial. HIV-infected women with WHO stage 2 or 3 HIV disease who had recently delivered in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia were randomised to receive daily co-trimoxazole (cotox) or matched placebo daily for the duration of the trial. Participants were followed up for a minimum of 1-year. Primary outcome measures were mortality from any cause or hospital admission and serious adverse events. Results- Of 600 women randomised, follow-up information was available from 355 (18...

Environmental Research Database

Objectives(i) Investigate the correlation between Antarctic sea-ice and equatorial sea-surface temperature anomalies in a realistically forced ocean model simulation of the last 50 years. (ii) Determine whether and how the enormous seasonal change in distribution of sea-ice modifies the seasonal cycle at the Equator. (iii) Determine the detailed pathways of wave propagation both in a historically-forced simulation and in response to realistic perturbations. (iv) Quantify the amplitude of the response i [continued...]DescriptionIt is well known that the equatorial ocean-atmosphere system plays a key role in global climate events such as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. There is now compelling evidence that changes in the Antarctic can strongly and quickly affect the equatorial ocean and the ENSO cycle. Observations demonstrate statistically significant correlations (teleconnections) between the Antarctic and the Equator with leads and lags of ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The occurrence of persistent organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in breast milk samples collected from mothers from twelve provinces in mainland China was investigated. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) were the most prevalent agent, followed by HCHs and HCB, whereas levels of chlordane compounds, drins and mirex were lower. The relatively lower DDE/DDT ratio in the Fujian rural area suggested more recent exposure to DDT than in other areas. The mean level of DDTs in breast milk from the southern China was higher than those from northern China (p < 0.05). A positive correlation was observed between concentration of DDTs in human milk and consumption of animal-origin food, suggesting that this parameter could play an important part in influencing OCPs burdens in lactating women. The mean...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Toadlets of the genus Brachycephalus are endemic to the Atlantic rainforests of southeastern and southern Brazil. The 14 species currently described have snout-vent lengths less than 18mm and are thought to have evolved through miniaturization: an evolutionary process leading to an extremely small adult body size. Here, we present the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis for Brachycephalus, using a multilocus approach based on two nuclear (Rag-1 and Tyr) and three mitochondrial (Cyt b, 12S, and 16S rRNA) gene regions. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred using a partitioned Bayesian analysis of concatenated sequences and the hierarchical Bayesian method (BEST) that estimates species trees based on the multispecies coalescent model. Individual gene trees showed conflict and also va...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is one of the richest biodiversity hotspots of the world. Paleoclimatic models have predicted two large stability regions in its northern and central parts, whereas southern regions might have suffered strong instability during Pleistocene glaciations. Molecular phylogeographic and endemism studies show, nevertheless, contradictory results: although some results validate these predictions, other data suggest that paleoclimatic models fail to predict stable rainforest areas in the south. Most studies, however, have surveyed species with relatively high dispersal rates whereas taxa with lower dispersion capabilities should be better predictors of habitat stability. Here, we have used two land planarian species as model organisms to analyse the patterns ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Various SST indices in the Indo-Pacific region have been proposed in the literature in light of a long-range seasonal forecasting of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM). However, the dynamics associated with these different indices have never been compared in detail. To this end, the present work re-examines the variabilities of ISM rainfall, onset and withdrawal dates at interannual timescales and explores their relationships with El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and various modes of coupled variability in the Indian Ocean. Based on recent findings in the literature, five SST indices are considered here: Ni?o3.4 SST index in December?January both preceding [Nino(?1)] and following the ISM [Nino(0)], South East Indian Ocean (SEIO) SST in February?March, the Indian Ocean Basin (IOB) mode in ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The Iberian lynx is the most endangered felid in the world. Enteropathogens may threaten its survival, and therefore we analysed faecal samples from 66 different individuals (37 males and 29 females), the largest population representation studied to date. The samples were obtained from November 2005 to October 2008 in the two areas where the Iberian lynx survives: Sierra Morena and Donana (Andalusia, southern Spain). A total of 56.1% samples were parasitized with at least 6 species of helminths, including two cestodes (Hymenolepis spp. and Taenia spp.) and four Nematodes (Ancylostoma spp., Toxocara spp., Toxascaris leonina, and Capillaria sp.). In this work, the presence of Hymenolepis is reported for the first time in Lynx pardinus. The relevance of our findings is discussed focussed on t...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Model of Acidification of Groundwaters in Catchments (MAGIC) was used to simulate the impact of acidifying deposition and future recovery at the Gaardsjoen Covered Catchment Experiment, at a number of hypothetical stations defined by statistical variation of the Gaardsjoen data and at 20 forest monitoring sites in Southern Sweden. For the future predictions a decrease of sulphur deposition of more than 70% was assumed. This assumption is based on a full implementation of the agreements made under the second sulphur protocol from 1994. The modelled impact of reduced deposition on the soils and on the runoff waters was discussed. To complement the discussion on long-term trends in future run-off chemistry, data from Gaardsjoen has been used to asses the risk for short-term acid runoff episodes 26 refs, 23 figs, 7 tabs

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Through their grazing activities limpets have an important role in controlling macroalgal abundance and as a result the structure and dynamics of rocky shore assemblages. Using two congeneric limpet species, with different biogeographic distributions, and whose ranges are expected to alter with climatic warming, we separated the magnitude of their grazing activity over time and the subsequent consequence for macroalgal growth.The northern/boreal limpet, Patella vulgata (L.), consistently grazed more than the southern/lusitanian limpet, P. depressa (Pennant), particularly during spring and summer when P. depressa was reproductively active. Individuals of Fucus vesiculosus (L.) that settled during this time were able to grow to a size where they escaped the grazing activities of P. depressa,...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Climate variability greatly affects animals through direct and indirect effects. Animals with slow reproductive adaptation to ecological changes such as large mammals are likely to have evolved mechanisms to anticipate early such impacts of climate variability on the environment. One of the adaptive mechanisms between reproductive costs and benefits in mammals affects parental investment through biases in sex ratio. Deer might be likely to show an early detection of climate variability because conception takes place in early autumn, but the main raising cost in deer concerns lactation, which takes place at the end of the following spring. The aim of this paper is to assess whether there is a relationship between global indices of climate variability such as El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (EN...

Science.gov (United States)

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded contracts to Pittsburg and Midway Coal Mining Co. and to Southern Company to design plants for the conversion of 6000 tons/day of coal by two variations of the Solvent Refined Coal (SRC) process The Federal research effort is focused on direct liquefaction by hydrogen addition, including the SRC process; the Exxon Donor Solvent (EDS) process, for which Exxon Corp. plans to scale up technology to a 250 ton/day pilot plant; and Hydrocarbon Research Inc.'s H-Coal process, for which a 2000 bbl/day pilot plant is under construction. The roles of other companies in the coal liquefaction research are also discussed.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Sorghum is a good candidate crop for breeding to increase provitamin A, i.e., biofortification. Yellow endosperm sorghums contain carotenoids, including precursors of vitamin A, and sorghum is a major staple crop in areas of Asia and Africa where vitamin A deficiency is prevalent. Our objective was to collect and characterize yellow endosperm sorghums as a potential new source of genetic diversity to increase provitamin A content. A set of 164 landraces were collected from southern Niger and northern Nigeria. The most important use of these cultivars was as food. The endosperm exhibited a significant variation in yellow intensity. Lutein, zeaxanthin and ?-carotene were the most abundant carotenoids in the ten landraces with the most intense yellow color. Cluster analysis, principal coordin...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Here we present a revision of the fossil record of chitons (Mollusca, Polyplacophora) of Late Pleistocene and Holocene marine deposits of Uruguay and discuss their potential for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Chitons were recorded as isolated valves in bivalve- and gastropod-rich assemblages. They are represented by the species Chaetopleura angulata (Spengler), C. isabellei (d'Orbigny), C. asperrima (Gould) and Ischnochiton striolatus (Gray). The last two species are recorded for the first time as fossils not only in Uruguay but also in South America. Exclusively recorded for the Late Pleistocene is the warm water species I. striolatus, whose current southern range limit is located in Santa Catarina, Brazil. Higher temperatures than at present are inferred for the Uruguayan coast duri...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Biodynamic parameters of the ragworm Nereis diversicolor from southern Spain and south England were experimentally derived to assess the inter-population variability of physiological parameters of the bioaccumulation of Ag, Cd and Zn from water and sediment. Although there were some limited variations, these were not consistent with the local metal bioavailability nor with temperature changes. Incorporating the biodynamic parameters into a defined biodynamic model, confirmed that sediment is the predominant source of Cd and Zn accumulated by the worms, accounting in each case for 99% of the overall accumulated metals, whereas the contribution of dissolved Ag to the total accumulated by the worm increased from about 27 to about 53% with increasing dissolved Ag concentration. Standardised va...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) is widely distributed in the acid soil region of Southern China, where great potential of aluminum (Al) toxicity exists. To evaluate the Al tolerance of Moso bamboo, seed germination and root elongation were compared with two rice cultivars, and physical and physiological damages were examined under various levels of Al stress. Results showed that Moso bamboo seed germination was inhibited when Al concentration increased to 500 ?M, and the median lethal concentration was 2,000??M. Comparatively, the rice seed germination was not inhibited even at a concentration of 2,000??M Al. Aluminum accumulated mainly in the cell wall of root apices, and entered into protoplasts as treating time prolonged and/or Al concentration increased, which resulted in apoptos...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Plants release secondary metabolites into the soil that change the chemical environment around them. Exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) is an important allelochemical whose role in successional trajectories has not been examined. We hypothesized that ABA can accumulate in the soil through successional processes and have an influence on forest dynamics. To this end, we investigated the distribution of ABA in forest communities from early to late successional stages and the response of dominant species to the gradient of ABA concentrations in three types of forests from northern to southern China. Concentrations of ABA in the soils of three forest types increased from early to late successional stages. Pioneer species? litters had the lowest ABA content, and their seed germination and seedling ea...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

To reconstruct the profiles of heavy metal levels in the South Ocean ecosystem of Antarctica, the concentrations of lead (Pb), copper (Cu), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and zinc (Zn) in seal hairs and lake sediments spanning the past 1500?years from Fildes Peninsula of King George Island and in weathering lake sediments from Nelson Island of West Antarctica were determined. The lead contents in the seal hairs and the weathering sediments show a sharp increase since the late 1800s, very likely due to anthropogenic contamination from modern industries. After the 1980s, the Pb content in seal hairs dropped by one-third, apparently due to the reduced usage of leaded gasoline in the Southern Hemisphere. Copper arises mainly from the weathering process, and its level may be substantially affected...

Science.gov (United States)

A series of radioactive catastrophes (from 1948 to 1967) in the Southern Urals in the USSR led to intensive environmental contamination. Radioactive wastes were dispersed over the 20000 km(2) territory of four provinces-Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen' and Kurgan-due to the activity of the military facility that was built in 1948 for the production of nuclear bomb plutonium. The results of 50 years of investigations into the consequences of these disasters allow a general picture of the events that occurred to be reconstructed and allow the medical consequences of the irradiation of about half a million residents to be depicted. However, due to the atmosphere of secrecy and inadequate medical procedures, the results of medical studies of radiation victims are scant. The current protocols present a unique opportunity to study the DNA damage at the nucleotide resolution level in the genome of inhabitants of the given region, who presumably received chronic doses of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) lies within the North Caribbean strike-slip plate boundary zone. The post-Eocene history of Hispaniola is marked by strike-slip accretion of crustal fragments onto a Late Cretaceous-Eocene island arc. Three onshore Neogene clastic basins have been the focus of petroleum exploration in Hispaniola. Oil production was achieved by drilling surface anticlines in the Azua Basin in South-Central Hispaniola (Dominican Republic) during World War II (Maleno and Higuerito fields). More modern seismic exploration has been carried out in the Enriquillo, San Juan and Cibao Basins, but has not resulted in production. Recent surface and seismic stratigraphic mapping has elucidated the geologic history of Southern Hispaniola. It consists of several Late Cretaceous-Eocene oceanic and island-arc terranes separated by E-W to NW/SE-striking ''ramp'' or thrust-bound clastic basins of Neogene age ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Basalt and diabase from the Cretaceous Dumisseau Formation, southern Haiti have Mg-numbers of 43-63, TiO/sub 2/ contents of 1.6-3.9% and La abundances of 3.6-15.3 ppm. LaTa ratios average 10, and indicate that the basalts are oceanic in character, distinct from the arc associations forming the northern part of Haiti. Oldest lavas have low TiO/sub 2/, (1.6%) and are LREE-depleted, similar to N-MORBs, whereas overlying lavas have higher TiO/sub 2/ (2-3.9%) and are LREE-enriched, similar to E-MORBs or hotspot basalts. /sup 87/Sr/sup 86/Sr ratios vary from 0.70280 to 0.70316, /sup 143/Nd/sup 144/Nd from 0.512929 to 0.513121, and /sup 206/Pb/sup 204/Pb from 19.00 to 19.27 LREE-depleted lavas have high /sup 143/Nd/sup 144/Nd (0.51309-0.51310) typical of MORBs, whereas /sup 143/Nd/sup 144/Nd in the LREE-enriched lavas varies widely (0.512929-0.513121). Chemical features of the Dumisseau basalts are equivalent to those of Caribbean seafloor basalts recovered on DSDP Leg ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Ordos Basin of north-central China is well known for vast energy resources. This nonmarine interior basin developed on the North China-Korean platform following the Late Triassic Indochina orogeny and, for a time, contained a large freshwater lake prior to being uplifted into its present form at the close of the Mesozoic. Lower to Middle Jurassic coal occurs in the fluviolacustrine Yan'an Formation along the southern margin of the basin in the Huanglong coalfield. In the northeast part of the field, the formation ranges from 0 to 180 m in thickness and is divided into five fining-upward members, each representing a regressive-transgressive lacustrine cycle. Low-sulfur, high-volatile bituminous coal is complexly distributed in the lowest member of the Yan'an Formation. Deposition of this member was influenced by two tectonic events that controlled coal occurrence. First, regional uplifts were produced by the Late Triassic Indochina orogeny and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

During the 2007 Niigataken Chuetsu-oki earthquake, strong ground motion with the peak acceleration of 680 cm/s/s which was larger than that of the empirical prediction was recorded at the base mat of the No.1 reactor building of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station (NPS). Furthermore, in the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPS, over twice difference of 680 vs. 322 cm/s/s of peak acceleration between the No.1 and the No.6 reactor buildings was observed on the base mat. From the results of recent research, it is suggested that the deep sedimentary layers can be one of the important factors to elucidate these phenomena. In this study, at first, the applicability of microtremor array measurements for estimation of deep S-wave velocity structure (#approx#Vs=3 km/s layer) are discussed. Vertical microtremors were observed in three arrays at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPS with the maximum station spacings of 3.04 km, 1.49 km and 0.75 km, respectively. The Rayleigh wave phase velocity ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In January 2001, Husky Oil Operations Limited (Husky), in joint-venture with Petro-Canada submitted a Development Application (DA) to the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) for the White Rose Development. This DA was prepared following the Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Newfoundland and Labrador Act. In December 2001, the C-NLOPB approved the White Rose DA. This document outlined a proposed amendment to the original Development Plan involving an expansion of its White Rose Development in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin on the Grand Bank. The expansion will consist of a subsea tie-back to the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel through the existing Southern Glory Hole (SGH) and utilizing a new glory hole constructed approximately 4 km south of the SGH. The document presented an overview of the development; geology, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

More than 660 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images acquired over the southern Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the Gulf of Lyon in the Mediterranean Sea by the Second European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-2) have been analyzed since December 1996 with respect to radar signatures of marine pollution and other phenomena causing similar signatures. First results of our analysis reveal that the seas are most polluted along the main shipping routes. SAR images acquired during descending (morning) and ascending (evening) satellite passes show different percentages of oil pollution, because most of this pollution occurs during night time and is still visible on the SAR images acquired in the morning time. Moreover, we found a higher amount of oil spills on SAR images acquired during summer (April-September) than on SAR images acquired during winter (October-March). We attribute this finding to the higher mean wind speed encountered in all three test areas during winter. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The large girth and immense size of the baobab has caused many to speculate about its age. Unfortunately reliable age estimates cannot be determined from growth rates as the girth varies in response to different moisture regimes. In a similar way, ages cannot be determined from ring-width measurements or X-ray densitometry as the absorbent nature of the soft fibrous wood and distortion upon drying prevent the application of these techniques. The Southern Hemisphere bomb radiocarbon curve was used to demonstrate that the rings of a recently-fallen baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) from Kruger National Park appear to be annual. The detrended C isotope values of finely-ground wholewood from another baobab specimen were found to be highly associated with January precipitation (r = 0.72; p < 0.01). This study demonstrates that high resolution information about past climates may be obtained by analysing the C isotope values from baobab samples even if distortion of ...

CERN Document Server

The third US Naval Observatory (USNO) CCD Astrograph Catalog, UCAC3 was released at the IAU General Assembly on 2009 August 10. It is the first all-sky release in this series and contains just over 100 million objects, about 95 million of them with proper motions, covering about R = 8 to 16 magnitudes. Current epoch positions are obtained from the observations with the 20 cm aperture USNO Astrograph's "red lens", equipped with a 4k by 4k CCD. Proper motions are derived by combining these observations with over 140 ground- and space-based catalogs, including Hipparcos/Tycho and the AC2000.2, as well as unpublished measures of over 5000 plates from other astrographs. For most of the faint stars in the Southern Hemisphere the Yale/San Juan first epoch plates from the SPM program (YSJ1) form the basis for proper motions. These data are supplemented by all-sky Schmidt plate survey astrometry and photometry obtained from the SuperCOSMOS project, as well as 2MASS near-IR ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) started a new phase in August 2008, with new instrumentation and new surveys focused on Galactic structure and chemical evolution, measurements of the baryon oscillation feature in the clustering of galaxies and the quasar Ly{alpha} forest, and a radial velocity search for planets around {approx}8000 stars. This paper describes the first data release of SDSS-III (and the eighth counting from the beginning of the SDSS). The release includes 5-band imaging of roughly 5200 deg{sup 2} in the Southern Galactic Cap, bringing the total footprint of the SDSS imaging to 14,555 deg{sup 2}, or over a third of the Celestial Sphere. All the imaging data have been reprocessed with an improved sky-subtraction algorithm and a final, self-consistent recalibration and flat-field determination. This release also includes all data from the second phase of the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Evolution (SEGUE-2), consisting of ...

CERN Document Server

Thursday 4 September From 14:00 to 17:00 - Training Centre Auditorium bldg. 593, room 11 The Summit Design VisualElite 4.0 Release Jean Marie St Paul / SUMMIT DESIGN, Europe, Technical Manager Michel Delcroix / SUMMIT DESIGN, Southern Europe, Sales F-95015 CERGY PONTOISE, France Summit Design is an important EDA digital hardware design tool supplier, and the industry leader in the emerging Electronic System Level design domain. Its VisualElite program has been used at CERN for several years. This seminar will include the highlights of the program's latest release. It will be illustrated how Summit Design products can provide a high-level C/C++ and SystemC functional modelling design and verification environment, enabling engineers to analyse system concepts before the implementation stage. The seminar will show how mixed SystemC and HDL simulation can be done, along with solutions for hardware/software development. • HDL new features: Connectivity ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper presents a case study of site characterization and hydrocarbon contamination plume mapping/delineation in a gas processing plant in southern Mexico. The paper describes innovative and cost-effective use of passive (non-intrusive) and active (intrusive) techniques, including the use of compound-specific analytical methods for site characterization. The techniques used, on a demonstrative basis, include geophysical, geochemical, and borehole drilling. Geochemical techniques used to delineate the horizontal extent of hydrocarbon contamination at the site include soil gas surveys. The borehole drilling technique used to assess the vertical extent of contamination and confirm geophysical and geochemical data combines conventional hollow-stem auguring with direct push-probe using Geoprobe. Compound-specific analytical methods, such as hydrocarbon fingerprinting and a modified method for gasoline range organics, demonstrate the inherent merit and need for such ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thermal gradients and thermal conductivities were obtained in real time using an in situ heat-flow technique in 15 shallow (90 to 150 m) wells drilled between Brawley and Glamis in the Imperial Valley, Southern California. The in situ measurements were supplemented by follow-up conventional temperature logs in seven of the wells and by laboratory measurements of thermal conductivity on drill cuttings. The deltaic sedimentary material comprising the upper approx. 100 m of the Salton Trough generally is poorly sorted and high in quartz resulting in quite high thermal conductivities (averaging 2.0 Wm/sup -1/ K/sup -1/ as opposed to 1.2 to 1.7 for typical alluvium). A broad heat-flow anomaly with maximum of about 200 mWm/sup -2/ (approx. 5 HFU) is centered between Glamis and East Brawley and is superimposed on a regional heat-flow high in excess of 100 mWm/sup -2/ (> 2.5 HFU). The heat-flow high corresponds with a gravity maximum and partially with a minimum in ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A seismic line was acquired by ARCO Exploration Company in 1977 in southern Freemont County and extends northeast from the deepest part of the Green River basin across the Wind River thrust onto crystalline basement rocks of the Wind River Mountains. A COCORP line across the area has been discussed previously, but the ARCO line shows more detailed information beneath the thrust. The seismic line is significant because it shows a strong reflection at the base of the Precambrian granite, which overlies a sedimentary rocks of the northern Green River basin. It also illustrates an apparent anticline beneath the thrust fault which is the result of lateral velocity variation caused by a shallow wedge of low-velocity Miocene sediments superimposed on a velocity pull-up related to the high-velocity Precambrian granite. The effects of the velocity variations can be analyzed by ray tracing and by studying the near offset and far offset stacks of the seismic data. A ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A 'Laboratory of Quantitative Methods in Monument Research' is being built at the CTU Prague. Its primary orientation is the investigation of historic architecture, although other objects of art can also be investigated. In the first phase, two radiation methods are being established, but it is set up in such a way, that various other methods can readily be added in its future development. The radiation methods chosen for the initial development of the laboratory are: thermoluminescence dating and X-ray fluorescence analysis. The design of the automated TL-reader, built in our laboratories, is adjusted for the purpose of dating of historic brick architecture (which, of course, does not exclude applications for ceramics and other materials). The investigation of renaissance architecture in southern Bohemia and Moravia is under preparation as the first large campaign of this kind in the Czech Republic. Radionuclide X-ray fluorescence analysis has ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The results of the liquid CO/sub 2/ injection pilots in the Granny's Creek field permit the following findings and conclusions: The pilots demonstrated that CO/sub 2/ can be used for tertiary recovery, and it will displace oil and form a high oil-cut bank in a watered-out reservoir. Oil production response in every case was almost immediate; and after CO/sub 2/ injection was stopped and water injection was started, the oil production declined rapidly over a period of 2-3 months to very low rates. Confinement of CO/sub 2/ to the pilot area was the principal problem. CO/sub 2/ spread rapidly to virtually all of the southern part of the reservoir of about 350 acres. Except for weather, there were practically no operational problems. Corrosion from the CO/sub 2/ was not observed. Pilot results did not demonstrate economic feasibility. The ratio of CO/sub 2/ to additional oil of 19,357 cu ft (14.696 psia and 60/sup 0/ F.) indicated the additional oil would not ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The objective of this study was to determine if any fluids or materials used in the Exploratory Shaft Facility (ESF) of Yucca Mountain will make the mountain unsuitable for future construction of a nuclear waste repository. Yucca Mountain, an area on and adjacent to the Nevada Test Site in southern Nevada, USA, is a candidate site for permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste from commercial nuclear power and defense nuclear activities. To properly characterize Yucca Mountain, it will be necessary to construct an underground test facility, in which in situ site characterization tests can be conducted. The candidate repository horizon at Yucca Mountain, however, could potentially be compromised by fluids and materials used in the site characterization tests. To minimize this possibility, Los Alamos National Laboratory was directed to evaluate the kinds of fluids and materials that will be used and their potential impacts on the site. A secondary objective ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is a maternally inherited trait that fails to produce functional pollen grains. The CMS system is widely employed to facilitate the utilization of heterosis in major crops. However, little is known about the CMS associated genes in Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum). The objective of this study was to compare CMS cotton (CMS-D2) with the cytoplasm from G. harknessii and its isogenic maintainer line with the normal fertile Upland cotton cytoplasm to identify CMS-D2 specific gene(s) and to develop CMS-specific sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers. Based on Southern blot analysis using 10 mitochondrial gene-specific probes (cob, cox2, atp6, atp9, nad3, cox3, atpA, cox1, nad6 and nad9), three probes (cox3, atpA, and nad6) revealed restriction ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A parameterized surface wave-induced vertical mixing (B"v) is incorporated into the Modular Ocean Model version 4 (MOM4). A comparison of the two numerical experiments with and without B"v shows that B"v can significantly improve the upper-ocean (20-100m) simulation in summer. The simulated upper-ocean temperature errors are reduced in summer due to the surface wave-induced vertical diffusive heat flux. The non-breaking-wave-induced vertical mixing can increase the probability of the simulated SST biases between -1^oC and 1^oC from 64% to 76% in the Southern Hemisphere (60^oS-10^oS) in January, and from 66% to 75% in the Northern Hemisphere (10^oN-60^oN) in July. The averaged mixed layer depth (MLD) simulated by the MOM4 without B"v is 14.4m shallower than the observations in 10^oS-60^oS i...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Physicochemical and benthos data were collected from 12 marine monitoring stations in Daya Bay, during 2001-2004. 12 stations in Daya Bay could be grouped into three clusters: cluster I consisted of stations in the southern part of Daya Bay (stations S1, S2 and S6); cluster II consisted of stations in the cage culture areas (stations S3, S4, S5 and S8); cluster III consisted of stations in the southwest, the middle and the northeast of the Bay (stations S7, S9, S10, S11 and S12). Calculation with bivariate correlations between benthos and major physicochemical factors showed that the density of benthos in all stations correlated positively with temperature, DO, pH, NH4-N, SiO3-Si, SiO3-Si /PO4-P and chlorophyll a and was negatively correlated with salinity, Secchi, COD, NO3-N, NO2-N, TIN, ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Green Lake Landslide is an ancient giant rock slide in gneiss and granodiorite located in the deeply glaciated Fiordland region of New Zealand. The landslide covers an area of 45km2 and has a volume of about 27km3. It is believed to be New Zealands largest landslide, and possibly the largest landslide of its type on Earth. It is one of 39 known very large (106-107 m3) and giant (?108m3) postglacial landslides in Fiordland discussed in the paper. Green Lake Landslide resulted in the collapse of a 9km segment of the southern Hunter Mountains. Slide debris moved up to 2.5km laterally and 700m vertically, and formed a landslide dam about 800m high, impounding a lake about 11km long that was eventually infilled with sediments. Geomorphic evidence supported by radiocarbon dating indicates tha...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The origin of natural gas in the Japanese oil and gas fields are geochemically studied. Samples are taken from structural natural gas, surface gas seepage, water-dissolved natural gas and coal-field gas of the Japan Sea coast area. The origins of primary hydrocarbons are classified into bacteria gas and thermogenic gas, the latter being subclassified into gas in oil production zone with the per million deviation of the carbon isotope (/sup 13/C/sup 1/) of methane less than -35 and those gases with maturity higher than this. Surface gas seepage is subjected to migration and bacterial oxidation. Coal gas is similar to oil gas. The CO/sub 2/ concentration is 0 - 2% and /sup 13/CO/sub 2/ deviations from -30 - +30. The origin can be barely estimated from the isotopic composition because of the wide secondary change in the composition. The origin and migration of gas from the gas field of northern Niigata are not similar to those in the southern area, which consist of a ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

There are two major water currents off the coast of Peru in South America. The Humboldt or Peru current travels northwest across latitudes 35/sup 0/S to 6/sup 0/S. To the north, a branch of the equatorial current flows southward down to latitudes 6-7/sup 0/S in normal years. Its warm, less salty water is poor in nutrients and cannot support fishery. In some years, this warm current extends much more southward, down to 12/sup 0/S. This has a catastrophic effect leading to a mass mortality of the anchovies and, in turn, of the guano birds and less production of farm crops. This phenomenon occurs around Christmas (summer in the southern hemisphere) and is, therefore, called El Nino. The main feature of El Nino is to change the sea surface temperature. An abnormal rise in sea surface temperature can give rise to odd air movements which can change the monsoons pattern, even at distant places, profoundly. In the past 26 years, when El Ninos have occurred, they coincided ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Issues regarding the development of mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector are discussed. Environmental groups have proposed mechanisms such as carbon taxes. Three other mechanisms have also been proposed under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC). These include the Clean Development Mechanism, Joint Implementation and carbon trading. A pilot emission reduction trading project began in Ontario in 1996 as an initiative to control smog and ozone in the southern provincial airshed. Substances of interest include NO{sub x}, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), SO{sub x}, carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gases. Ontario Hydro alone has conducted 10 trades, five with companies in the U.S., two of those for carbon emissions. An analysis of the pilot trade deals will provide an idea of the value of this mechanism. In addition to details of the trades, this article also addresses concerns regarding the degree to which any ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The carbon dioxide concentration has been measured in air samples collected approximately once per week at 22 globally distributed sites during 1981-1984. All samples were analyzed on the same non-dispersive infrared analyzer apparatus. The measured concentrations are directly traceable to the WMO primary CO/sub 2/ standards. Samples which do not contain well-mixed, regionally representative air or which have been contaminated during or subsequent to sampling, have been identified. The selected data have been analyzed using an objective curve fitting method which enables improved estimation of uncertainties associated with derived parameters. The latitudinal distribution of annual mean CO/sub 2/ concentration at the network sites shows significant interannual variability possibly related to the 1982-1983 El NinoSouthern Oscillation event. No evidence was found for significant interannnual variations or trend in the phase or amplitude of the seasonal cycle. ...

Science.gov (United States)

To illustrate the implementation of a bottom-up approach to the study of culture in health disparities, this article describes the development of a cultural cancer screening scale (CCSS) using mixed methodologies. The aim was to identify cultural factors relevant to breast and cervical cancer screening, develop an instrument to assess them and examine its preliminary psychometric properties among Latin American (Latino) and non-Latino White (Anglo) women in Southern California. Seventy-eight Latino and Anglo women participated in semi-structured interviews, which were content coded based on Triandis' methods for the analysis of subjective culture. Based on the emerging cultural elements, items relevant to cancer screening were developed and pilot tested with 161 participants. After the instrument was refined, 314 Latino and Anglo women from various socioeconomic backgrounds completed the CCSS and data were factor analyzed resulting in five cultural factors: cancer ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The geological structure of Mesita del Buey at Technical Area 54 (TA-54) was examined using precise surveying of the contact between units 1v and 2 of the Tshirege Member of the Bandelier Tuff at 3.5 km along the north wall of Pajarito Canyon and 0.6 km along the north wall of a tributary to Canada del Buey. Estimated structure contours on this contact indicate typical strikes of N40E to N70E along this part of Mesita del Buey, although the apparent strike of the tuff is E-W at the western part of the survey. Typical dips are 1.0{degree} to 2.0{degree} to the east or southeast, with an estimated maximum dip of 3.2{degree} near the west end of Material Disposal Area G. Thirty seven faults with vertical displacements of 5 to 65 cm were observed in outcrop along the Pajarito Canyon traverse, and, due to the incomplete exposure of the unit 1v-unit 2 contact, many more faults of this magnitude undoubtedly exist. The faults have a wide range in strike and have either down-to-the-west and ...

Science.gov (United States)

Atmospheric and ionospheric perturbations associated with the acoustic-gravity waves (AGW) with typical frequencies of a few hertz -millihertz are considered. These events may be caused by the influence from space and atmosphere as well as by oscillations of the Earth surface and other near-surface phenomena. The surface sources include long-period oscillations of the Earth's surface, earthquakes, explosions, thermal heating, seisches and tsunami waves. The wavelike phenomena manifest themself as travelling disturbances of air (in the atmosphere) and of electron density (in the ionosphere). Travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) are well detected by radio physical methods. AGW generation by near-surface sources is modeled by the numerical solution of the equation of geophysical fluid dynamics for different sources in two-dimensional non-linear dissipative compressible atmosphere. The numerical calculations are based on the FCT (Flux Corrected Transport) ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Technical Cooperation Project on Reduction of Seismic Risk for Buildings and Structures started in Romania on October 1, 2002. The aim of the Project is to strengthen the capacity of earthquake disaster related activities in Romania. The Project approval is the result of four years of intensive efforts made by professionals from Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest (UTCB), Ministry of Transport, Constructions and Tourism (MTCT), Romania, National Building Research Institute (INCERC) Bucharest, JICA, Building Research Institute (BRI), Tsukuba, and National Institute for Land, Infrastructure and Management (NILIM), Tsukuba, Japan. The duration of the Project is five years. The implementing agency is the National Center for Seismic Risk Reduction (NCSRR) as a public institution of national interest under MTCT. The activities are carried out by NCSRR in partnership with UTCB and INCERC. During the Project ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In FY-2000, Engineering at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory faced significant pressures to meet critical project milestones, and immediate demands to facilitate the reassignment of employees as the National Ignition Facility (the 600-TW laser facility being designed and built at Livermore, and one of the largest R&D construction projects in the world) was in the process of re-baselining its plan while executing full-speed its technology development efforts. This drive for change occurred as an unprecedented level of management and program changes were occurring within LLNL. I am pleased to report that we met many key milestones and achieved numerous technological breakthroughs. This report summarizes our efforts to perform feasibility and reduce-to-practice studies, demonstrations, and/or techniques--as structured through our technology centers. Whether using computational engineering to predict how giant structures like suspension bridges will respond to massive ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Discussed in this paper are the P-wave and S-wave zero-offset VSPs carried out utilizing boreholes located in Nada Ward, Kobe City, and Hokudan-cho, Hyogo Prefecture, as part of the deep layer boring survey following Hanshin Earthquake Disaster. This effort aims at the elucidation of P-wave and S-wave velocity structures, high-precision identification of data obtained by the surface reflection method, and collection of basic data for active faults investigation in the future. Among the velocity structures obtained for various layers, the S-wave velocity structures in particular agree with the stratigraphy excellently and may be utilized in seismic analyses to be conducted in the future. Reflection from geological boundaries is received with precision, providing accurate information about correlation between reflection and geological cross sections. The records will be useful in formulating plans for reflection surveys for instance of the boundary between the Osaka ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study was undertaken during 1991 - 1998 to identify the origin of plutonium uranium in northern New Mexico Rio Grande and tributary stream sediments. Isotopic fingerprinting techniques help distinguish radioactivity from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and from global fallout or natural sources. The geographic area covered by the study extended from the headwaters of the Rio Grande in southern Colorado to Elephant Butte Reservoir in southern New Mexico. Over 100 samples of stream channel and reservoir bottom sediments were analyzed for the atom ratios of plutonium and uranium isotopes using thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). Comparison of these ratios against those for fallout or natural sources allowed for quantification of the Laboratory impact. Of the seven major drainages crossing LANL, movement of LANL plutonium into the Rio Grande can only be traced via Los Alamos Canyon. The majority of sampled locations within and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In this study, a regional dynamical model (WRF) is used to drive biogenic emission models to calculate high resolution (10 x 10 km) biogenic emissions of isoprene (C_5H_8), monoterpenes (C_1H_1_6), and nitric oxide (NO) in China. This high resolution biogenic inventory will be available for the community to study the effect of biogenic emissions on photochemical oxidants in China. The biogenic emissions are compared to anthropogenic emissions to gain insight on the potential impact of the biogenic emissions on tropospheric chemistry, especially ozone production in this region. The results show that the biogenic emissions in China exhibit strongly diurnal, seasonal, and spatial variations. The isoprenoid (including both isoprene and monoterpenes) emissions are closely correlated to tree density and strongly vary with season and local time. During winter (January), the biogenic isoprenoid emissions are the lowest, resulting from lower temperature and solar radiation, and highest in ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Exposure of cells to light of less than 320 nanometers wavelengths may lead to lethal lesions and perhaps carcinogenesis. Many organisms have evolved mechanisms to repair U.V. light-induced damage. Organisms such as deep-sea bacteria are presumably never exposed to U.V. light and perhaps occasionally to visible from bioluminescence. Thus, the repair of U.V. damage in deep-sea bacterial DNA might be inefficient and repair by photoreactivation unlikely. The bacteria utilized in this investigation are temperature sensitive and barophilic. Four deep-sea isolates were chosen for this study: PE-36 from 3584 m, CNPT-3 from 5782 m, HS-34 from 5682 m, and MT-41 from 10,476 m, all are from the North Pacific ocean. The deep-sea extends from 1100 m to depths greater than 7000 m. It is a region of relatively uniform conditions. The temperature ranges from 5 to -1"0C. There is no solar light in the deep-sea. Deep-sea bacteria are sensitive to U.V. light; in fact more sensitive than a variety of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The study concerns 1984-1991. The wind park consists of 18 three-bladed 300 kW horizontal axis wind turbines of 35 meters height, and a rotor diameter of 30 meters, seven meteorological towers, and three cluster and control buildings. Aspects studied included disturbance of breeding, resting or feeding, and migrating birds, behavior of birds approaching the wind turbines during the day and night, and bird victims due to collision with the wind turbines and the meteorological towers. The flight behavior of birds approaching the wind park system during daylight is also dealt with. For at least a fifth of the observations it was noted whether the birds passing within 100 meters distance of a turbine showed a reaction or not. The proportion of the reactions was related to the wind park in operation or not in operation, and to the distance between the wind turbines, species, flight height, the passing distance, wind direction and wind force. Secondly the flight path of birds approaching the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This presentation described the geology of the Kootenay, Gething, Gates, Brazeau and Coalspur Formations in the potential gas-bearing coal zones of the Alberta Foothills/Mountains. The future potential of this region for coalbed methane (CBM) exploitation was discussed, based on available data from drilling activity and the results of a recent coal desorption and adsorption study in the Val d'Or seam of the Coalspur formation. The gas content of the 5 coal zones was evaluated and compared with previous CBM exploration in the area. For evaluation purposes, the coal zones were divided into shallow and deep coal zones. The potential gas content of the shallow coal zones is approximately 31 Tcf of CBM. This is considered an inferred, initial, in-place, CBM resource estimate based on limited data. The gas content of deep zones is approximately 99 Tcf of in-place CBM gas. As such, the total ultimate CBM resource is estimated at 130 Tcf. Although these coal zones are often thicker ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

One set of hypotheses offered to explain the decline of red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) in eastern North America focuses on the effect of acidic deposition on soil chemistry changes that may affect nutrient availability and root function. Long-term soils data suggests that soil acidification has occurred in some spruce stands over the past 50 yr, with plant uptake and cation leaching both contributing to the loss of cations. Studies of tree ring chemistry also have indicated changes in Ca/Al and Mg/Al ratios in red spruce wood, suggesting increases in the ionic strength of soil solution. Irrigation studies using strong acid inputs have demonstrated accelerated displacement of base cations from upper horizons. Spruce-fir (Abies spp.) nutrient budgets indicate that current net Ca and Mg leaching loss rates are of the same order of magnitude as losses to whole tree harvest removals, spread out over a 50-yr rotation. For most cations, red spruce foliar nutrient levels decline with ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coal is present in the Alberta Foothills/Mountains in five zones: the Kootenay, Gething, Gates, Brazeau and Coalspur coal zones. For coalbed-methane (CBM) evaluation purposes, they can be divided into shallow (less than 1000 m depth) and deep (greater than 1000 m depth) coal zones. The potential gas content of all shallow coal zones totals about 878x10{sup 9} m{sup 3} (31 Tcf) of CBM, which is considered an inferred, initial, in-place, coalbed-methane resource estimate based on limited data. The limited amount of data on formation testing and measured gas content indicate that the inferred resource is bordering on the speculative category. The gas content of all deep coal zones (deeper than 1000 m) totals 2.8x10{sup 12} m{sup 3} (about 99 Tcf) of in-place coalbed-methane gas. Consequently, the total ultimate coalbed-methane resource could be 3.7x10{sup 12} m{sup 3} (130 Tcf). However, coalbed-methane recovery from deep coals is generally not attempted because of the high cost of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

At two locations in southern Lake Huron (U.S.A.), twelve 35.5-cm diameter cores of fine-grained sediments were taken for comparison of the vertical distribution of "2"1"0Pb and fallout "1"3"7Cs with the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates, mainly oligochaete worms (Tubificidae) and the amphipod, Pontoporeia affinis. Locations were selected on the basis of "2"1"0Pb distributions measured a year earlier which indicated contrasting depths of mixing of surface sediments. At one location the activity of "2"1"0Pb is uniform down to about 6 cm and 95% of total invertebrates occur within this zone; at the other location the zone of constant activity is only 3 cm deep but 90% of the invertebrates occur within it. Comparison of published tubificid defecation rates with sediment accumulation rates based on "2"1"0Pb shows that oligochaetes alone can account for mixing in one case while the effects of amphipods may be required in the case of shallower mixing. If mixing ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oil shale occurrences have been historically reported in the Cape Breton Island, northern mainland and southern mainland areas of Nova Scotia. Twelve of these occurrences were investigated for this study. Rocks from three of the areas gave oil yields of less than 25 litres per tonne (below oil shale grade) while the remainder gave oil yields greater than 25 litres per tonne (above oil shale grade). The rock types of oil shale grade include silicate-rich shale, carbonaceous shale locally transitional to coal, limy shale and petroliferous limestone associated with coal, silicate-rich shale and cannel shale associated with coal and silicate-rich shale, cannel shale and boghead shale associated with coal. The Stellarton Basin represents the province's largest oil shale resource with an estimated 825 x 10{sup 6} tonnes of oil shale and 168 x 10{sup 6} barrels of shale oil in situ. The Antigonish Basin represents the second largest oil shale resource in the ...

Science.gov (United States)

High molecular weight DNA from pleroceroid larvae of the tapeworm Spirometra mansonoides was purified from isolated nuclei by conventional techniques. The DNA so isolated has a melting temperature (Tm) of 87 degrees C and a guanine plus cytosine (G/C) content of 44%. 5-Methyl cytosine could not be detected in plerocercoid DNA by HPLC analysis of DNA hydrolysates, by radiolabeling 5'-termini of MspI digests with polynucleotide kinase, or by comparing restriction patterns generated by MspI and HpaII. Renaturation kinetics demonstrated that the genome of S. mansonoides contains repetitive as well as single copy sequences and has a genome size estimated at approx. 1.6 X 10(9) bp. Hybridization was carried out between plerocercoid DNA and cDNAs for human beta-actin, alpha-tubulin and growth hormone (hGH). Rationale for this analysis was based on known homologies among actin and tubulin genes in numerous species and on apparent similarities between hGH and a plerocercoid growth factor that ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

How should lightweight electric-powered vehicles be promoted, after the large-scale fleet test being conducted at Mendrisio (southern Switzerland) is completed in 2001, and are there reasons to put question marks behind the current approach? The demand for electric vehicles, and particularly the one in the automobile category, has remained at a persistently low level. As it proved, any appreciable improvement of this situation is almost impossible, even with substantial financial incentives. However, the unsatisfactory sales figures have little to do with the nature of the fleet test itself or with the specific conditions at Mendrisio. The problem is rather of structural nature. For (battery-operated) electric cars the main problem at present is the lack of an expanding market which could become self-supporting with only a few additional incentives. Various strategies have been evaluated. Two alternatives were considered in particular: a strategy to promote ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The first Brazilian historical mortality cohort study on miners was conducted. The cohort consisted of 3224 workers in the underground coal mining industry in southern Brazil. This industry has been operating since 1942 without compliance with any regulatory standards, since there were no relevant national regulations. Over almost 60 years, about 5000 workers were exposed to high levels of radiation. However, later radiation exposure was significantly reduced, particularly that due to radon exposure. Recent radon concentration measurements indicated an average annual exposure to radon progeny of 2.1 WLM, ranging from 0.2 to 7.2 WLM. As radon exposure in the past was unknown, it can be suggested that mine workers have not been working safely as regards the health hazard related to radon and radon progeny exposure. The cohort inclusion criteria are as follows: (a) all male employees who had worked for at least one year at the coal mine; (b) workers with complete ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The pathway to hydrogen generation entirely from renewable energy and material sources probably goes by a transitional period with the utilization of hybrid fossil/renewable integrated systems. Solar steam reforming of methane is set in this context, specifically suited for a country like Italy whose actual energy policy is mainly based on the imported NG, but also characterized by convenient solar radiation levels in the Southern Regions. A new solar SMR process is being developed by ENEA, using molten nitrates as solar heat carriers and storage medium at about 550 C. The potential of this process have been proved theoretically by process simulation studies. Engineering and experimental activities aimed to the development of a prototype apparatus are now in progress in ENEA's laboratories. It is remarkable that the developed technology (MS powered SMR) can find interesting impact in the in industrial chemistry wherever it is convenient decoupling the heat ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Culex mosquitoes introduce the pathogens responsible for filariasis, West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis, and other diseases into humans. Currently, traps baited with oviposition semiochemicals play an important role in detection efforts and could provide an environmentally friendly approach to controlling their populations. The odorant binding proteins (OBPs) in the female's antenna play a crucial, if yet imperfectly understood, role in sensing oviposition cues. Here, we report the X-ray crystallography and NMR 3D structures of OBP1 for Culex quinquefasciatus (CquiOBP1) bound to an oviposition pheromone (5R,6S)-6-acetoxy-5-hexadecanolide (MOP). In both studies, CquiOBP1 had the same overall six-helix structure seen in other insect OBPs, but a detailed analysis revealed an important previously undescribed feature. There are two models for OBP-mediated signal transduction: (i) direct release of the pheromone from an internal binding pocket in a pH-dependent fashion and (ii) ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diverse and productive wetlands have resulted from coal mining in the midwest. The trend from surface to underground mining has increased the potential for subsidence. Planned subsidence of longwall mining areas provides increased opportunities for wetland habitat establishment. Planned subsidence over a 180 meter (590 foot) deep longwall mine in southern Illinois during 1984 to 1986 produced three subsidence wetlands totaling 15 hectares (38 acres). The resulting palustrine emergent wetlands enhanced habitat diversity within the surrounding palustrine forested unsubsided area. Habitat assessments and evaluations of avian utilization of the subsidence wetlands were conducted during February 1990 through October 1991. Avian utilization was greatest within the subsided wetlands. Fifty-three bird species representing seven foraging guilds utilized the subsidence wetlands. Wading/fishing, dabbling waterfowl, and insectivorous avian guilds dominated the subsidence ...

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cassava chips (cassava balls, and cassava pellets) are derived cassava products traditionally produced by farmers in sub-Saharan Africa following fermentation, and drying of fresh roots of cassava, and are widely consumed in Cameroon. Once produced, this food commodity can be stored for more than two months and contaminated by a wide array of harmful microbes. In order to assess persistence of toxigenic fungi in cassava chips, aflatoxin-producing fungi (Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus nomius, and Aspergillus parasiticus) and aflatoxins were contrasted at regular intervals in home-stored cassava chips collected in two locations of southern Cameroon throughout a two-month monitoring period. Three hundred and forty-six isolates of aflatoxin-producing fungi were found to be associated with all samples. A. flavus contaminated more samples in both types of chips (267 isolates in 53 samples), followed by A. nomius (58 isolates in 15 samples), whereas A. parasiticus was ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

US Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5820.2A (DOE, 1988) requires performance assessments on all new and existing low-level radioactive waste (LLW) disposal sites. An integral part of performance assessment is estimating the fluxes of radioactive gases such as radon-220 and radon-222. Data needs pointed out by mathematical models drive site characterization. They provide a logical means of performing the required flux estimations. Thorium-230 waste, consisting largely of thorium hydroxide and thorium oxides, has been approved for disposal in shallow trenches and pits at the LLW Radioactive Waste Management Site in Area 5 of the Nevada Test Site. A sophisticated gas transport model, CASCADR8 (Lindstrom et al., 1992b), was used to simulate the transport and fate of radon-222 from its source of origin, nine feet below a closure cap of native soil, through the dry alluvial earth, to its point of release into the atmosphere. CASCADR8 is an M-chain gas-phase radionuclide transport and fate ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Some of well known F{sub 2} layer anomalies might have their origin in lower atmosphere and some have extra terrestrial sources. It has been suggested that the phenomena occurring below the ionosphere such as thunderstorms, lightning/sprites, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes and above the phenomena like corona mass ejection, solar flares and extra terrestrial events may produce F{sub 2} layer signatures. In the present paper we have tried to summarize the effect of some phenomena occurring below the ionosphere like thunderstorms, lightning/sprites and seismic activity and the phenomena such as solar flares which occur above the ionosphere, on the ionospheric electron and ion temperatures. The paper also discusses possibilities. The ionospheric electron and ion temperatures were measured by the RrPAa payload aboard the Iindian SRrOSS-C2 satellite. The normal day's ion and electron temperatures have been compared to the temperatures recorded during the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils that have been chemically modified by esterification; an example is rapeseed oil methyl ester (RME), made by treating rapeseed oil with methanol. Biodiesel can be burned directly in diesel engines. Oil from the rapeseed variety known as 00 was the first type of vegetable oil used for transesterification to produce biodiesel. Many other oils have been used successfully as biodiesel feedstock including sunflower oil in Southern France and Italy, soybean oil in the USA, and palm oil in Malaysia. Biodiesel can be made from a wide range of feedstock and multi-feedstock blends. Compared to conventional diesel biodiesel has some environmentally friendly advantages, e.g. biodiesel is reported to release fewer solid particles. Potentially even more important is the low level of carbon dioxide generation associated with biodiesel, at a time when CO{sub 2} emissions are falling in every industrial sector except transport. Life-cycle ...

Science.gov (United States)

This collection contains 20 papers written by educators, administrators and information scientists who had conducted manpower surveys in the library and information fields: (1) "Background and Evolution of Educational Planning and Forecasting for Information Manpower" (Yves Courrier); (2) "Indicators for the Emerging Information Market" (Nick Moore); (3) "Information Scientists in the English-Speaking Caribbean: Challenges and Responses in the Development Process" (Gloria Greene, Reive Robb); (4) "National Survey on Manpower in Libraries, Information Centres and Archives in Thailand" (Suwakhon Phadungath); (5) "Predicting the Future: Manpower Forecasting for the Library and Information Professions in Southern Africa" (J. R. Neill, D. M. Mbaakanyi); (6) "Problems in Forecasting Manpower Needs" (Monique Jucquois-Delpierre); (7) "Electronic Measures for Human Resource Research" (Anthony Debons, Mariano Maura-Sardo, Anne Thompson); (8) "The Intersection of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

During the last ten years, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. nuclear utilities have been developing methods and requirements for risk-informed applications making use of probabilistic risk assessments (PRA) of nuclear power plants. Early in this process, it became clear that the existing PRAs were done with different objectives and methodologies by different analysts. For uniformity and consistency in future risk-informed applications, industry consensus standards on probabilistic risk assessments were deemed to be essential. Currently, the following standards have been published or under preparation: - ASME RA-S-2002: 'Standard for Probabilistic Risk Assessment for Nuclear Power Plant Applications', Addendum C, March 2005. - ANSI/ANS-58.21-2003 'External-Events PRA Methodology' March 2003. - ANS-58.22 'Low Power and Shutdown PRA Standard'. - ANS-58.23 'Fire PRA Methodology Standard'. - ANS Level 2 and Level 3 PRA Standards. The ASME Standard specifies the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This document gathers the available presentations (articles and transparencies) given at this annual meeting, the 2007 topic of which was the technological, geopolitical, economical, environmental, societal and development stakes of energy. 1 - technological stakes - which energies for the future: new energies, illusion or solution of the future; the Lorraine region, an energy land: strategies and stakes for a sustainable development; from China to Brazil: understanding the nuclear energy revival; hydroelectric power: renewable and sustainable energy; renewable energies and environment protection: the contribution of biofuels; wind power in Germany between success and contestation; 2 - geopolitical stakes - energy levier of power: the Gulf of Guinea hydrocarbons: between development and geopolitics; the complex evaluation of resources and reserves between technology, market and geopolitics; the new Bakou-Tbilissi-Ceyhan pipeline: what impacts for Turkey and the European Union; 3 - ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Utah oil fields have produced over 1.2 billion barrels (191 million m{sup 3}). However, the 13.7 million barrels (2.2 million m{sup 3}) of production in 2002 was the lowest level in over 40 years and continued the steady decline that began in the mid-1980s. The Utah Geological Survey believes this trend can be reversed by providing play portfolios for the major oil-producing provinces (Paradox Basin, Uinta Basin, and thrust belt) in Utah and adjacent areas in Colorado and Wyoming. Oil plays are geographic areas with petroleum potential caused by favorable combinations of source rock, migration paths, reservoir rock characteristics, and other factors. The play portfolios will include: descriptions and maps of the major oil plays by reservoir; production and reservoir data; case-study field evaluations; summaries of the state-of-the-art drilling, completion, and secondary/tertiary techniques for each play; locations of major oil pipelines; descriptions of reservoir outcrop analogs; and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The work presented here demonstrates the ability of proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) to perform fast-response measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (including methanol, acetonitrile, acetaldehyde, acetone, PAN-type compounds, alpha- and beta-pinene, nopinone and pinonaldehyde) at the pptv level and its versatile applicability in the field of environmental trace gas analysis. Laboratory and field experiments including various calibration techniques and intercomparisons with other measurement techniques such as gas chromatography, atmospheric pressure chemical ionization and Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy were performed providing a first characterization of the PTR-MS instrument performance (sensitivity, detection limit, precision, accuracy). Typically a detection limit (S/N=2) of 50 pptv for a 10 s signal integration time, a precision of 5 % and an accuracy in the range between 10 and 25 % were observed. Due to its compactness and ruggedness ...

Science.gov (United States)

Understanding climate development in the central Andes is important in determining the relationship between mountain range uplift and climate change. Recent work along the western margin of the central Andes has led to the development of two competing hypotheses: 1) that climate change is directly responsible for uplift or 2) that uplift controls climate change. In the first scenario, uplift results from increased friction at the plate boundary due to sediment-starvation of the trench which is a function of decreased run-off (particularly post 14 Ma) due to global cooling. In the second scenario progressive uplift of the Andean Cordillera during the Miocene resulted in a strong orographic effect with a concomitant rainshadow west of the Andes. To determine the relationship between climate change and uplift it is necessary to ascertain precisely, when the climate changed, the nature of that change and when uplift occurred. With respect to climate change a key question that has been ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report presents the methodology and the results from the modelling of an open repository for spent nuclear fuel in Laxemar. Specifically, the present work analyses the hydrological effects of the planned repository during the construction and operational phases when it is open, i.e. air-filled, and hence may cause a disturbance of the hydrological conditions in the surroundings. The numerical modelling is based on the SDM-Site Laxemar MIKE SHE model. The modelling was divided into three steps. The first step was to update the SDM-Site Laxemar model with a new hydrogeological bedrock model. The other main updates were an increase of the depth of the MIKE SHE model domain, enhanced vertical computational resolution and that the drainage of the Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory was included in the model. The resulting model was used to simulate undisturbed natural conditions. The next step was to describe the open repository conditions, using Laxemar layout D2, by implementing the access ...