Problem solving or social change? The Applegate and Grand Canyon Forest Partnerships

Science.gov (United States)

Cassandra Moseley; Brett KenCairn

2001-01-01

Natural resource conflicts have resulted in attempts at better collaboration between public and private sectors. The resulting partnerships approach collaboration either by problem solving through better information and management, or by requiring substantial social change. The Applegate Partnership in Oregon and the Grand Canyon Forest Partnership in Arizona...

3D View of Grand Canyon, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

The Grand Canyon is one of North America's most spectacular geologic features. Carved primarily by the Colorado River over the past six million years, the canyon sports vertical drops of 5,000 feet and spans a 445-kilometer-long stretch of Arizona desert. The strata along the steep walls of the canyon form a record of geologic time from the Paleozoic Era (250 million years ago) to the Precambrian (1.7 billion years ago).The above view was acquired by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument aboard the Terra spacecraft. Visible and near infrared data were combined to form an image that simulates the natural colors of water and vegetation. Rock colors, however, are not accurate. The image data were combined with elevation data to produce this perspective view, with no vertical exaggeration, looking from above the South Rim up Bright Angel Canyon towards the North Rim. The light lines on the plateau at lower right are the roads around the Canyon View Information Plaza. The Bright Angel Trail, which reaches the Colorado in 11.3 kilometers, can be seen dropping into the canyon over Plateau Point at bottom center. The blue and black areas on the North Rim indicate a forest fire that was smoldering as the data were acquired on May 12, 2000.Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. Dr. Anne Kahle at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., is the U.S. Science team leader; Moshe Pniel of JPL is the project manager. ASTER is the only high resolution imaging sensor on Terra. The primary goal of the ASTER mission is to obtain high-resolution image data in 14 channels over the entire land surface, as

Steady incision of Grand Canyon at the million year timeframe: a case for mantle-driven differential uplift

Science.gov (United States)

Crow, Ryan S.; Karl Karlstrom,; Laura Crossey,; Richard Young,; Michael Ort,; Yemane Asmerom,; Victor Polyak,; Andrew Darling,

2014-01-01

The Grand Canyon region provides an excellent laboratory to examine the interplay between river incision, magmatism, and the geomorphic and tectonic processes that shape landscapes. Here we apply U-series, Ar–Ar, and cosmogenic burial dating of river terraces to examine spatial variations in incision rates along the 445 km length of the Colorado River through Grand Canyon. We also analyze strath terrace sequences that extend to heights of several hundred meters above the river, and integrate these with speleothem constrained maximum incision rates in several reaches to examine any temporal incision variations at the million-year time frame. This new high-resolution geochronology shows temporally steady long-term incision in any given reach of Grand Canyon but significant variations along its length from 160 m/Ma in the east to 101 m/Ma in the west. Spatial and temporal patterns of incision, and the long timescale of steady incision rule out models where geomorphic controls such as climate oscillations, bedrock strength, sediment load effects, or isostatic response to differential denudation are the first order drivers of canyon incision. The incision pattern is best explained by a model of Neogene and ongoing epeirogenic uplift due to an eastward propagating zone of increased upper mantle buoyancy that we infer from propagation of Neogene basaltic volcanism and a strong lateral gradient in modern upper mantle seismic structure.

6 Ma age of carving Westernmost Grand Canyon: Reconciling geologic data with combined AFT, (U-Th)/He, and 4He/3He thermochronologic data

Science.gov (United States)

Winn, Carmen; Karlstrom, Karl E.; Shuster, David L.; Kelley, Shari; Fox, Matthew

2017-09-01

Conflicting hypotheses about the timing of carving of the Grand Canyon involve either a 70 Ma (;old;) or conflict with these lines of evidence, but are reconciled in this paper via the integration of three methods of analyses on the same sample: apatite (U-Th)/He ages (AHe), 4He/3He thermochronometry (4He/3He), and apatite fission-track ages and lengths (AFT). HeFTy software was used to generate time-temperature (t-T) paths that predict all new and published 4He/3He, AHe, and AFT data to within assumed uncertainties. These t-T paths show cooling from ∼100 °C to 40-60 °C in the Laramide (70-50 Ma), long-term residence at 40-60 °C in the mid-Tertiary (50-10 Ma), and cooling to near-surface temperatures after 10 Ma, and thus support young incision of the westernmost Grand Canyon. A subset of AHe data, when interpreted alone (i.e. without 4He/3He or AFT data), are better predicted by t-T paths that cool to surface temperatures during the Laramide, consistent with an ;old; Grand Canyon. However, the combined AFT, AHe, and 4He/3He analysis of a key sample from Separation Canyon can only be reconciled by a ;young; Canyon. Additional new AFT (5 samples) and AHe data (3 samples) in several locations along the canyon corridor also support a ;young; Canyon. This inconsistency, which mimics the overall controversy of the age of the Grand Canyon, is reconciled here by optimizing cooling paths so they are most consistent with multiple thermochronometers from the same rocks. To do this, we adjusted model parameters and uncertainties to account for uncertainty in the rate of radiation damage annealing in these apatites during sedimentary burial and the resulting variations in He retentivity. In westernmost Grand Canyon, peak burial conditions (temperature and duration) during the Laramide were likely insufficient to fully anneal radiation damage that accumulated during prolonged, near-surface residence since the Proterozoic. We conclude that application of multiple

A Transformative Undergraduate Field Trip to the Grand Canyon and Death Valley

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, J. A.

2014-12-01

Seeing the iconic Grand Canyon and Death Valley in person is a transformative experience for most geologists, including nine undergraduate geology students from upstate New York. The students were enrolled in a one-credit course designed around a nine-day spring-break field trip to Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) and Death Valley National Park (DVNP). We met once a week before the trip to plan day-to-day activities and discuss background geologic information. Students selected a research topic related to our itinerary and wrote a guidebook entry for the topic. Students' entries were combined with papers, maps, and background material to make a guidebook. The printed guidebooks provided students with a "publication" of their work to show to others and refer to in the field. The nine-day field trip started with a flight into Las Vegas, NV, on 3/1/14. We spent three nights camping at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, one night camping in Valley of Fire State Park (VOFSP, 55 mi N of Las Vegas), and three nights staying at the Shoshone Education and Research Center (SHEAR) east of Death Valley. Highlights of the trip included the hike along the Bright Angel Trail (and fault) to Plateau Point and recognition of the Great Unconformity at GCNP; the White Domes loop hike, camping at the Beehives, and observation of the Muddy Mountain Overthrust in VOFSP; and hikes at Ubehebe Crater, Badwater Salt Flat, and Natural Bridge Canyon in DVNP. Each student presented his/her research topic at a pertinent point in the field trip; students were impressively well-prepared. One requirement of the course was a poster presentation on each student's research topic at our Undergraduate Research Symposium in April. For most of the students, the poster session was the first experience preparing and presenting a poster. In addition, the class gave a joint colloquium presentation to several hundred science majors and a number of science faculty at Saint Rose. Each student spoke for five

Mercury and selenium accumulation in the Colorado River food web, Grand Canyon, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Walters, David M.; E.J. Rosi-Marshall,; Kennedy, Theodore A.; W.F. Cross,; C.V. Baxter,

2015-01-01

Mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) biomagnify in aquatic food webs and are toxic to fish and wildlife. The authors measured Hg and Se in organic matter, invertebrates, and fishes in the Colorado River food web at sites spanning 387 river km downstream of Glen Canyon Dam (AZ, USA). Concentrations were relatively high among sites compared with other large rivers (mean wet wt for 6 fishes was 0.17–1.59 μg g–1 Hg and 1.35–2.65 μg g–1 Se), but consistent longitudinal patterns in Hg or Se concentrations relative to the dam were lacking. Mercury increased (slope = 0.147) with δ15N, a metric of trophic position, indicating biomagnification similar to that observed in other freshwater systems. Organisms regularly exceeded exposure risk thresholds for wildlife and humans (6–100% and 56–100% of samples for Hg and Se, respectfully, among risk thresholds). In the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, Hg and Se concentrations pose exposure risks for fish, wildlife, and humans, and the findings of the present study add to a growing body of evidence showing that remote ecosystems are vulnerable to long-range transport and subsequent bioaccumulation of contaminants. Management of exposure risks in Grand Canyon will remain a challenge, as sources and transport mechanisms of Hg and Se extend far beyond park boundaries. Environ Toxicol Chem2015;9999:1–10

Using large-scale flow experiments to rehabilitate Colorado River ecosystem function in Grand Canyon: Basis for an adaptive climate-resilient strategy: Chapter 17

Science.gov (United States)

Melis, Theodore S.; Pine, William E.; Korman, Josh; Yard, Michael D.; Jain, Shaleen; Pulwarty, Roger S.; Miller, Kathleen; Hamlet, Alan F.; Kenney, Douglas S.; Redmond, Kelly T.

2016-01-01

Adaptive management of Glen Canyon Dam is improving downstream resources of the Colorado River in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park. The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (AMP), a federal advisory committee of 25 members with diverse special interests tasked to advise the U.S. Department of the Interior), was established in 1997 in response to the 1992 Grand Canyon Protection Act. Adaptive management assumes that ecosystem responses to management policies are inherently complex and unpredictable, but that understanding and management can be improved through monitoring. Best known for its high-flow experiments intended to benefit physical and biological resources by simulating one aspect of pre-dam conditions—floods, the AMP promotes collaboration among tribal, recreation, hydropower, environmental, water and other natural resource management interests. Monitoring has shown that high flow experiments move limited new tributary sand inputs below the dam from the bottom of the Colorado River to shorelines; rebuilding eroded sandbars that support camping areas and other natural and cultural resources. Spring-timed high flows have also been shown to stimulate aquatic productivity by disturbing the river bed below the dam in Glen Canyon. Understanding about how nonnative tailwater rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and downstream endangered humpback chub (Gila cypha) respond to dam operations has also increased, but this learning has mostly posed “surprise” adaptation opportunities to managers. Since reoperation of the dam to Modified Low Fluctuating Flows in 1996, rainbow trout now benefit from more stable daily flows and high spring releases, but possibly at a risk to humpback chub and other native fishes downstream. In contrast, humpback chub have so far proven robust to all flows, and native fish have increased under the combination of warmer river temperatures associated with reduced storage in Lake Powell, and a

Effect of prescribed burning on mortality of resettlement ponderosa pines in Grand Canyon National Park

Science.gov (United States)

G. Alan Kaufmann; W. Wallace Covington

2001-01-01

Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) trees established before Euro-American settlement are becoming rare on the landscape. Prescribed fire is the prime tool used to restore ponderosa pine ecosystems, but can cause high mortality in presettlement ponderosa pines. This study uses retrospective techniques to estimate mortality from prescribed burns within Grand Canyon...

Algal and water-quality data for Rapid Creek and Canyon Lake near Rapid City, South Dakota, 2007

Science.gov (United States)

Hoogestraat, Galen K.; Putnam, Larry D.; Graham, Jennifer L.

2008-01-01

This report summarizes the results of algae and water-quality sampling on Rapid Creek and Canyon Lake during May and September 2007. The overall purpose of the study was to determine the algal community composition of Rapid Creek and Canyon Lake in relation to organisms that are known producers of unwanted tastes and odors in drinking-water supplies. Algal assemblage structure (phytoplankton and periphyton) was examined at 16 sites on Rapid Creek and Canyon Lake during May and September 2007, and actinomycetes bacteria were sampled at the Rapid City water treatment plant intake in May 2007, to determine if taste-and-odor producing organisms were present. During the May 2007 sampling, 3 Rapid Creek sites and 4 Canyon Lake sites were quantitatively sampled for phytoplankton in the water column, 7 Rapid Creek sites were quantitatively sampled for attached periphyton, and 4 lake and retention pond sites were qualitatively sampled for periphyton. Five Rapid Creek sites were sampled for geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol, two common taste-and-odor causing compounds known to affect water supplies. During the September 2007 sampling, 4 Rapid Creek sites were quantitatively sampled for attached periphyton, and 3 Canyon Lake sites were qualitatively sampled for periphyton. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and specific conductance were measured during each sampling event. Methods of collection and sample analysis are presented for the various types of biological and chemical constituent samples. Diatoms comprised 91-100 percent of the total algal biovolume in periphyton samples collected during May and September. Cyanobacteria (also called blue-green algae) were detected in 7 of the 11 quantitative periphyton samples and ranged from 0.01 to 2.0 percent of the total biovolume. Cyanobacteria were present in 3 of the 7 phytoplankton samples collected in May, but the relative biovolumes were small (0.01-0.2 percent). Six of seven qualitative samples collected from Canyon Lake

The Grand Canyon of the Colorado: a challenge to float, a challenge to manage

Science.gov (United States)

David N. Cole

1989-01-01

Last summer, I finally got my chance to float the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, one of the world’s premier adventure trips. For 18 days and 280 miles, my group floated through some of the most spectacular scenery imaginable, spacing our days with hikes through slickrock alcoves, along terraced pools of blue-green water, to waterfalls plunging out of holes on...

Deciphering Paria and Little Colorado River flood regimes and their significance in multi-objective adaptive management strategies for Colorado River resources in Grand Canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, S.; Topping, D. J.; Melis, T. S.

2014-12-01

Planning and decision processes in the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP) strive to balance numerous, often competing, objectives, such as, water supply, hydropower generation, low flow maintenance, sandbars, recreational trout angling, endangered native fish, whitewater rafting, and other sociocultural resources of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park. In this context, use of monitored and predictive information on warm-season Paria River floods (JUL-OCT, at point-to-regional scales) has been identified as lead information for a new 10-year long controlled flooding experiment (termed the High-Flow Experiment Protocol) intended to determine management options for rebuilding and maintaining sandbars below Glen Canyon Dam; an adaptive strategy that can potentially facilitate improved planning and dam operations. In this work, we focus on a key concern identified by the GCDAMP, related to the timing and volume of warm season tributary sand input from the Paria River into the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. The Little Colorado River is an important secondary source of sand inputs to Grand Canyon, but its lower segment is also critical spawning habitat for the endangered humpback chub. Fish biologists have reported increased abundance of chub juveniles in this key tributary in summers following cool-season flooding (DEC-FEB), but little is known about chub spawning substrates and behavior or the role that flood frequency in this tributary may play in native fish population dynamics in Grand Canyon. Episodic and intraseasonal variations (with links to equatorial and sub-tropical Pacific sea surface temperature variability) in southwest hydroclimatology are investigated to understand the magnitude, timing and spatial scales of warm- and cool-season floods from these two important tributaries of the semi-arid Colorado Plateau. Coupled variations of floods (magnitude and timing) from these rivers are also

Sharing Perspectives and Learning from One Another: Southern Paiutes, Scientists, and Policymakers in the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, D. E.; Bulletts, K.; Bulletts, C.

2017-12-01

The traditional lands of the Southern Paiute people in the United States are bounded by more than 600 miles of the Colorado River from the Kaiparowits Plateau in the north to Blythe, California in the south. According to Southern Paiute traditional knowledge, Southern Paiutes were the first inhabitants of this region and are responsible for protecting and managing this land along with the water and all that is upon and within it. In 1963, the Bureau of Reclamation completed construction of Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River, and in 1972, the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area was established, encompassing Lake Mead above the Dam and a world class trout fishery on the Colorado River between the Dam and Lees Ferry. Below Lees Ferry on its way to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam, the Colorado River flows through Grand Canyon National Park and the Navajo and Hualapai reservations. U.S. federal law requires that Glen Canyon Dam be operated with minimal impact to the natural, recreational, and cultural resources of the region of the Colorado River that is potentially impacted by flows from the Dam. The Grand Canyon Protection Act and the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Operation of the Glen Canyon Dam established a program of long-term research and monitoring of the effects of the Dam on these resources. In 1991, three Southern Paiute tribes - the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe - agreed to participate in studies to identify cultural resources impacted by Glen Canyon Dam and to recommend strategies for their protection, In 1995, the EIS was completed and transition to the Adaptive Management Program (AMP) called for in the Grand Canyon Protection Act was begun. At that time, Southern Paiute activities expanded to include assessing potential environmental and cultural impacts of the dam, developing monitoring procedures, and interacting with scientists, other tribal representatives, and

Hydroacoustic signatures of Colorado Riverbed sediments in Marble and Grand Canyons using multibeam sonar

Science.gov (United States)

Buscombe, Daniel D.; Grams, Paul E.; Kaplinski, Matthew; Tusso, Robert B.; Rubin, David M.

2015-01-01

Characterizing the large-scale sedimentary make-up of heterogeneous riverbeds (Nelson et al., 2014), which consist of a patchwork of sediment types over small scales (less than one to several tens of meters) (Dietrich and Smith, 1984) requires high resolution measurements of sediment grain size. Capturing such variability with conventional physical (e.g. grabs, cores, and dredges) or underwater photographic sampling (Rubin et al., 2007; Buscombe et al., 2014a) would be prohibitively costly and time-consuming. However, characterizing bed sediments using high-frequency (several hundred kilohertz) acoustic backscatter from swath-mapping systems has the potential to provide near complete coverage of the bed (Brown and Blondel, 2009; Brown et al., 2011; Snellen et al., 2013), at resolutions down to a few centimeters, which photographic sampling could not practically achieve within the same time and with the same positional accuracy. In shallow water, the physics of high frequency scattering of sound are relatively poorly understood, therefore acoustic sediment classification are almost always statistical (Snellen et al., 2013). Many such methods proposed to date are designed for characterizing large areas of seabed (Brown and Blondel, 2009; Brown et al., 2011) at relatively poor resolution (tens of meters to several hundred meters) and therefore rely on aggregation of data over scales much larger than the typical scales of sediment patchiness on heterogeneous riverbeds. In response to this need, Buscombe et al. (2014b, 2014c) developed a new statistical method for acoustic sediment classification based on spectral analysis of backscatter. This method is both continuous in coverage and of sufficient resolution (order meter or less) to characterize sediment variability on patchy riverbeds. Here, we apply these methods to multibeam echosounder (MBES) data collected from the bed of the Colorado River in Marble and Grand Canyons. Sediment dynamics on the Colorado River in

Reconciling Conflicting Geologic and Thermochronologic Interpretations Via Multiple Apatite Thermochronometers (AHe, AFT, and 4He/3He): 6 Ma Incision of the Westernmost Grand Canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Winn, C.; Karlstrom, K. E.; Shuster, D. L.; Kelley, S.; Fox, M.

2017-12-01

The application of low-temperature apatite thermochronology to the incision history of the Grand Canyon has led to conflicting hypotheses of either a 70 Ma ("old") or conflict with these lines of evidence and indicate a much older ( 70 Ma) westernmost Grand Canyon. We reconcile this conflict by applying apatite (U-Th)/He ages (AHe), 4He/3He thermochronometry, and apatite fission track ages and lengths (AFT) to the same sample at a key location. Using HeFTy, t-T paths that predict these data show cooling from ˜100 °C to 40-60 °C at 70-50 Ma, long-term residence at 40-60 °C from 50-10 Ma, and cooling to surface temperatures after 10 Ma, indicating young incision. New AFT (5) and AHe (3) datasets are also presented here. When datasets are examined separately, AHe data show t-T paths that cool to surface temperatures during the Laramide, consistent with an "old" Canyon. When multiple methods are applied, t-T paths instead show young incision. This inconsistency demonstrates the age of the Grand Canyon controversy. Here we reconcile the difference in t-T paths by adjusting model parameters to account for uncertainty in the rate of radiation damage annealing in apatite during burial heating and the resulting variations in He retentivity. In this area, peak burial conditions during the Laramide were likely insufficient to fully anneal radiation damage that accumulated during prolonged near-surface residence prior to burial. We conclude that application of multiple thermochronometers from common rocks reconciles conflicting thermochronologic interpretations and these data are best explained by a "young" westernmost Grand Canyon.

Mineral resources of the Desolation Canyon, Turtle Canyon, and Floy Canyon Wilderness Study Areas, Carbon Emery, and Grand counties, Utah

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cashion, W.B.; Kilburn, J.E.; Barton, H.N.; Kelley, K.D.; Kulik, D.M.; McDonnell, J.R.

1990-09-01

This paper reports on the Desolation Canyon, Turtle Canyon, and Floy Canyon Wilderness Study Areas which include 242,000 acres, 33,690 acres, and 23,140 acres. Coal deposits underlie all three study areas. Coal zones in the Blackhawk and Nelsen formations have identified bituminous coal resources of 22 million short tons in the Desolation Canyon Study Area, 6.3 million short tons in the Turtle Canyon Study Area, and 45 million short tons in the Floy Canyon Study Area. In-place inferred oil shale resources are estimated to contain 60 million barrels in the northern part of the Desolation Canyon area. Minor occurrences of uranium have been found in the southeastern part of the Desolation Canyon area and in the western part of the Floy Canyon area. Mineral resource potential for the study areas is estimated to be for coal, high for all areas, for oil and gas, high for the northern tract of the Desolation Canyon area and moderate for all other tracts, for bituminous sandstone, high for the northern part of the Desolation Canyon area, and low for all other tracts, for oil shale, low in all areas, for uranium, moderate for the Floy Canyon area and the southeastern part of the Desolation Canyon area and low for the remainder of the areas, for metals other than uranium, bentonite, zeolites, and geothermal energy, low in all areas, and for coal-bed methane unknown in all three areas

Warm Season Storms, Floods, and Tributary Sand Inputs below Glen Canyon Dam: Investigating Salience to Adaptive Management in the Context of a 10-Year Long Controlled Flooding Experiment in Grand Canyon National Park, AZ, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, S.; Melis, T. S.; Topping, D. J.; Pulwarty, R. S.; Eischeid, J.

2013-12-01

The planning and decision processes in the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP) strive to balance numerous, often competing, objectives, such as, water supply, hydropower generation, low flow maintenance, maximizing conservation of downstream tributary sand supply, endangered native fish, and other sociocultural resources of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park. In this context, use of monitored and predictive information on the warm season floods (at point-to-regional scales) has been identified as lead-information for a new 10-year long controlled flooding experiment (termed the High-Flow Experiment Protocol) intended to determine management options for rebuilding and maintaining sandbars in Grand Canyon; an adaptive strategy that can potentially facilitate improved planning and dam operations. In this work, we focus on a key concern identified by the GCDAMP, related to the timing and volume of tributary sand input from the Paria and Little Colorado Rivers (located 26 and 124 km below the dam, respectively) into the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. Episodic and intraseasonal variations (with links to equatorial and sub-tropical Pacific sea surface temperature variability) in the southwest hydroclimatology are investigated to understand the magnitude, timing and spatial scales of warm season floods from this relatively small, but prolific sand producing drainage of the semi-arid Colorado Plateau. The coupled variations of the flood-driven sediment input (magnitude and timing) from these two drainages into the Colorado River are also investigated. The physical processes, including diagnosis of storms and moisture sources, are mapped alongside the planning and decision processes for the ongoing experimental flood releases from the Glen Canyon Dam which are aimed at achieving restoration and maintenance of sandbars and instream ecology. The GCDAMP represents one of the most visible and widely recognized

Topographic Change Detection at Select Archeological Sites in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2006-2007

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Brian D.; Minasian, Diane L.; Kayen, Robert

2009-01-01

Topographic change of archeological sites within the Colorado River corridor of Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) is a subject of interest to National Park Service managers and other stakeholders in the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program. Although long-term topographic change resulting from a variety of natural processes is typical in the Grand Canyon region, a continuing debate exists on whether and how controlled releases from Glen Canyon Dam, located immediately upstream of GCNP, are impacting rates of site erosion, artifact transport, and the preservation of archeological resources. Continued erosion of archeological sites threatens both the archeological resources and our future ability to study evidence of past cultural habitation. Understanding the causes and effects of archaeological site erosion requires a knowledge of several factors including the location and magnitude of the changes occurring in relation to archeological resources, the rate of the changes, and the relative contribution of several potential causes, including sediment depletion associated with managed flows from Glen Canyon Dam, site-specific weather patterns, visitor impacts, and long-term climate change. To obtain this information, highly accurate, spatially specific data are needed from sites undergoing change. Using terrestrial lidar data collection techniques and novel TIN- and GRID-based change-detection post-processing methods, we analyzed topographic data for nine archeological sites. The data were collected using three separate data collection efforts spanning 16 months (May 2006 to September 2007). Our results documented positive evidence of erosion, deposition, or both at six of the nine sites investigated during this time interval. In addition, we observed possible signs of change at two of the other sites. Erosion was concentrated in established gully drainages and averaged 12 cm to 17 cm in depth with maximum depths of 50 cm. Deposition was concentrated at specific

Channel mapping river miles 29–62 of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, May 2009

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplinski, Matt; Hazel, Joseph E.; Grams, Paul E.; Kohl, Keith; Buscombe, Daniel D.; Tusso, Robert B.

2017-03-23

Bathymetric, topographic, and grain-size data were collected in May 2009 along a 33-mi reach of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. The study reach is located from river miles 29 to 62 at the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers. Channel bathymetry was mapped using multibeam and singlebeam echosounders, subaerial topography was mapped using ground-based total-stations, and bed-sediment grain-size data were collected using an underwater digital microscope system. These data were combined to produce digital elevation models, spatially variable estimates of digital elevation model uncertainty, georeferenced grain-size data, and bed-sediment distribution maps. This project is a component of a larger effort to monitor the status and trends of sand storage along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. This report documents the survey methods and post-processing procedures, digital elevation model production and uncertainty assessment, and procedures for bed-sediment classification, and presents the datasets resulting from this study.

Estimates of Radionuclide Loading to Cochiti Lake from Los Alamos Canyon Using Manual and Automated Sampling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McLean, Christopher T. [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2000-07-01

Los Alamos National Laboratory has a long-standing program of sampling storm water runoff inside the Laboratory boundaries. In 1995, the Laboratory started collecting the samples using automated storm water sampling stations; prior to this time the samples were collected manually. The Laboratory has also been periodically collecting sediment samples from Cochiti Lake. This paper presents the data for Pu-238 and Pu-239 bound to the sediments for Los Alamos Canyon storm water runoff and compares the sampling types by mass loading and as a percentage of the sediment deposition to Cochiti Lake. The data for both manual and automated sampling are used to calculate mass loads from Los Alamos Canyon on a yearly basis. The automated samples show mass loading 200- 500 percent greater for Pu-238 and 300-700 percent greater for Pu-239 than the manual samples. Using the mean manual flow volume for mass loading calculations, the automated samples are over 900 percent greater for Pu-238 and over 1800 percent greater for Pu-239. Evaluating the Pu-238 and Pu-239 activities as a percentage of deposition to Cochiti Lake indicates that the automated samples are 700-1300 percent greater for Pu- 238 and 200-500 percent greater for Pu-239. The variance was calculated by two methods. The first method calculates the variance for each sample event. The second method calculates the variances by the total volume of water discharged in Los Alamos Canyon for the year.

Design of a sediment-monitoring gaging network on ephemeral tributaries of the Colorado River in Glen, Marble, and Grand Canyons, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Griffiths, Ronald E.; Topping, David J.; Anderson, Robert S.; Hancock, Gregory S.; Melis, Theodore S.

2014-01-01

Management of sediment in rivers downstream from dams requires knowledge of both the sediment supply and downstream sediment transport. In some dam-regulated rivers, the amount of sediment supplied by easily measured major tributaries may overwhelm the amount of sediment supplied by the more difficult to measure lesser tributaries. In this first class of rivers, managers need only know the amount of sediment supplied by these major tributaries. However, in other regulated rivers, the cumulative amount of sediment supplied by the lesser tributaries may approach the total supplied by the major tributaries. The Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon has been hypothesized to be one such river. If this is correct, then management of sediment in the Colorado River in the part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area downstream from the dam and in Grand Canyon National Park may require knowledge of the sediment supply from all tributaries. Although two major tributaries, the Paria and Little Colorado Rivers, are well documented as the largest two suppliers of sediment to the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, the contributions of sediment supplied by the ephemeral lesser tributaries of the Colorado River in the lowermost Glen Canyon, and Marble and Grand Canyons are much less constrained. Previous studies have estimated amounts of sediment supplied by these tributaries ranging from very little to almost as much as the amount supplied by the Paria River. Because none of these previous studies relied on direct measurement of sediment transport in any of the ephemeral tributaries in Glen, Marble, or Grand Canyons, there may be significant errors in the magnitudes of sediment supplies estimated during these studies. To reduce the uncertainty in the sediment supply by better constraining the sediment yield of the ephemeral lesser tributaries, the U.S. Geological Survey Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center established eight sediment-monitoring gaging

Complementary Research on Student Geoscience Learning at Grand Canyon by Means of In-situ and Virtual Modalities

Science.gov (United States)

Semken, S. C.; Ruberto, T.; Mead, C.; Bruce, G.; Buxner, S.; Anbar, A. D.

2016-12-01

Education through exploration—typically in the field—is fundamental in geoscience. But not all students enjoy equal access to field-based learning, while technological advances afford ever more immersive, rich, and student-centered virtual field experiences. No virtual modalities yet conceived can supplant field-based learning, but logistical and financial contraints can render them the only practical option for enabling most students to explore pedagogically powerful but inaccessible places located across and even beyond Earth. We are producers of a growing portfolio of immersive virtual field trips (iVFTs) situated around the globe, and engaged in research on iVFT effectiveness. Our methods are more complementary than comparative, given that virtual and in-situ modalities have distinct advantages and disadvantages. In the case of iVFTs, these factors have not yet been well-studied. We conducted a mixed-methods complementary study in an introductory historical-geology class (n = 120) populated mostly by non-majors and representing the diversity of our large urban Southwestern research university. For the same course credit, students chose either an in-person field trip (ipFT) to Grand Canyon National Park (control group) or an online Grand Canyon iVFT (experimental group) to be done in the same time interval. We collected quantitative and qualitative data from both groups before, during, and after both interventions. Learning outcomes based on content elements of the Trail of Time Exhibition at Grand Canyon were assessed using pre/post concept sketching and formative inquiry exercises. Student attitudes and novelty-space factors were assessed pre- and post-intervention using the PANAS instrument of Watson and Clark and with questionnaires tailored to each modality. Coding and comparison of pre/post concept sketches showed improved conceptual knowledge in both groups, but more so in the experimental (iVFT) group. Emergent themes from the pre/post questionnaires

Vascular effects and electrolyte homeostasis of the natriuretic peptide isolated from Crotalus oreganus abyssus (North American Grand Canyon rattlesnake) venom

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Da Silva, S.L.; Dias-Junior, C.A.; Baldasso, P.A.; Damico, D.C.; Carvalho, B.M.; Garanto, A.; Acosta, G.; Oliveira, E.; Albericio, F.; Soares, A.M.; Marangoni, S.; Resende, R.R.

2012-01-01

Crotalus oreganus abyssus is a rattlesnake that is usually found in the Grand Canyon, United States of America. Knowledge regarding the composition of C. o. abyssus venom is scarce. New natriuretic peptides (NPs) have been isolated and characterized from the venoms of members of the Crotalinae

Use of flux and morphologic sediment budgets for sandbar monitoring on the Colorado River in Marble Canyon, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Grams, Paul E.; Buscombe, Daniel D.; Topping, David J.; Hazel, Joseph E.; Kaplinski, Matt

2015-01-01

The magnitude and pfattern of streamflow and sediment supply of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon (Figure 1) has been affected by the existence and operations of Glen Canyon Dam since filling of Lake Powell Reservoir began in March 1963. In the subsequent 30 years, fine sediment was scoured from the downstream channel (Topping et al., 2000; Grams et al., 2007), resulting in a decline in the number and size of sandbars in the eastern half of Grand Canyon National Park (Wright et al., 2005; Schmidt et al., 2004). The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP) administered by the U.S. Department of Interior oversees efforts to manage the Colorado River ecosystem downstream from Glen Canyon Dam. One of the goals of the GCDAMP is to maintain and increase the number and size of sandbars in this context of a limited sand supply. Management actions to benefit sandbars have included curtailment of daily streamflow fluctuations, which occur for hydropower generation, and implementation of controlled floods, also called high-flow experiments.Studies of controlled floods, defined as intentional releases that exceed the maximum discharge capacity of the Glen Canyon Dam powerplant, implemented between 1996 and 2008, have demonstrated that these events cause increases in sandbar size throughout Marble and Grand Canyons (Hazel et al., 2010; Schmidt and Grams, 2011; Mueller et al., 2014), although the magnitude of response is spatially variable (Hazel et al., 1999; 2010). Controlled floods may build some sandbars at the expense of erosion of sand from other, upstream, sandbars (Schmidt, 1999). To increase the frequency and effectiveness of sandbar building, the U.S. Department of Interior adopted a “high-flow experimental protocol” to implement controlled floods regularly under conditions of enriched sand supply (U.S. Department of Interior, 2012). Because the supply of sand available to build sandbars has been substantially reduced by Glen Canyon Dam (Topping et al

Recreational impacts on Colorado River beaches in Glen Canyon, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Carothers, Steven W.; Johnson, Robert A.; Dolan, Robert

1984-07-01

Recreational impact was measured on eight beaches in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and 15 beaches in Grand Canyon National Park using permanently located transects and plots. Recreational impact indices included densities of human trash and charcoal and a measure of sand discoloration due to charcoal. Significant increases in the indices occurred on several Glen Canyon beaches over a seven-month period. Sand discoloration became significantly higher over all Glen Canyon beaches during the same time period. All indices were significantly higher in Glen Canyon than on similar Grand Canyon beaches. These differences are probably due to differences in: (a) level of impacts tolerated by the respective management regimes and, (b) in the number of user days among the two National Park Service administrative units. Management alternatives are presented for reversing the present trends of recreational impact on Glen Canyon beaches.

77 FR 22801 - Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-17

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group...). SUMMARY: The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group (AMWG) makes recommendations to the Secretary..., the AMWG, a technical work group, a Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, and independent...

Phenology of the adult angel lichen moth (Cisthene angelus) in Grand Canyon, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Metcalfe, Anya; Kennedy, Theodore A.; Muehlbauer, Jeffrey D.

2016-01-01

We investigated the phenology of adult angel lichen moths (Cisthene angelus) along a 364-km long segment of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA, using a unique data set of 2,437 light-trap samples collected by citizen scientists. We found that adults of C. angelus were bivoltine from 2012 to 2014. We quantified plasticity in wing lengths and sex ratios among the two generations and across a 545-m elevation gradient. We found that abundance, but not wing length, increased at lower elevations and that the two generations differed in size and sex distributions. Our results shed light on the life history and morphology of a common, but poorly known, species of moth endemic to the southwestern United States and Mexico.

Estimation of unregulated monthly, annual, and peak streamflows in Forest City Stream and lake levels in East Grand Lake, United States-Canada border between Maine and New Brunswick

Science.gov (United States)

Lombard, Pamela J.

2018-04-30

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the International Joint Commission, compiled historical data on regulated streamflows and lake levels and estimated unregulated streamflows and lake levels on Forest City Stream at Forest City, Maine, and East Grand Lake on the United States-Canada border between Maine and New Brunswick to study the effects on streamflows and lake levels if two or all three dam gates are left open. Historical regulated monthly mean streamflows in Forest City Stream at the outlet of East Grand Lake (referred to as Grand Lake by Environment Canada) fluctuated between 114 cubic feet per second (ft3 /s) (3.23 cubic meters per second [m3 /s]) in November and 318 ft3 /s (9.01 m3 /s) in September from 1975 to 2015 according to Environment Canada streamgaging data. Unregulated monthly mean streamflows at this location estimated from regression equations for unregulated sites range from 59.2 ft3 /s (1.68 m3 /s) in September to 653 ft3 /s (18.5 m3 /s) in April. Historical lake levels in East Grand Lake fluctuated between 431.3 feet (ft) (131.5 meters [m]) in October and 434.0 ft (132.3 m) in May from 1969 to 2016 according to Environment Canada lake level data for East Grand Lake. Average monthly lake levels modeled by using the estimated hydrology for unregulated flows, and an outflow rating built from a hydraulic model with all gates at the dam open, range from 427.7 ft (130.4 m) in September to 431.1 ft (131.4 m) in April. Average monthly lake levels would likely be from 1.8 to 5.4 ft (0.55 to 1.6 m) lower with the gates at the dam opened than they have been historically. The greatest lake level changes would be from June through September.

Annotated bibliography for the humpback chub (Gila cypha) with emphasis on the Grand Canyon population.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goulet, C. T.; LaGory, K. E.; Environmental Science Division

2009-10-05

Glen Canyon Dam is a hydroelectric facility located on the Colorado River in Arizona that is operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) for multiple purposes including water storage, flood control, power generation, recreation, and enhancement of fish and wildlife. Glen Canyon Dam operations have been managed for the last several years to improve conditions for the humpback chub (Gila cypha) and other ecosystem components. An extensive amount of literature has been produced on the humpback chub. We developed this annotated bibliography to assist managers and researchers in the Grand Canyon as they perform assessments, refine management strategies, and develop new studies to examine the factors affecting humpback chub. The U.S. Geological Survey recently created a multispecies bibliography (including references on the humpback chub) entitled Bibliography of Native Colorado River Big Fishes (available at www.fort.usgs.gov/Products/data/COFishBib). That bibliography, while quite extensive and broader in scope than ours, is not annotated, and, therefore, does not provide any of the information in the original literature. In developing this annotated bibliography, we have attempted to assemble abstracts from relevant published literature. We present here abstracts taken unmodified from individual reports and articles except where noted. The bibliography spans references from 1976 to 2009 and is organized in five broad topical areas, including: (1) biology, (2) ecology, (3) impacts of dam operations, (4) other impacts, and (5) conservation and management, and includes twenty subcategories. Within each subcategory, we present abstracts alphabetically by author and chronologically by year. We present relevant articles not specific to either the humpback chub or Glen Canyon Dam, but cited in other included reports, under the Supporting Articles subcategory. We provide all citations in alphabetical order in Section 7.

Identification of discontinuous sand pulses on the bed of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, E. R.; Grams, P. E.; Buscombe, D.; Topping, D. J.

2017-12-01

Decades of research on alluvial sandbars and sand transport on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon has contributed to in-depth understanding of the sand budget and lead to management actions designed to rebuild eroded sandbars. However, some basic, but difficult to address, questions about the processes and rates of sand movement through the system still limit our ability to predict geomorphic responses. The coarse fraction of the bed is heterogeneous and varies among boulders, cobble, gravel, and bedrock. Sand covers these substrates in patches of variable size and thickness, fills interstices to varying degrees, and forms mixed sand/coarse bed configurations such as linear stripes. Understanding the locations of sand accumulation, the quantities of sand contained in those locations, and the processes by which sand is exchanged among depositional locations is needed to predict the morphological response of sandbars to management actions, such as the controlled flood releases, and to predict whether sandbars are likely to increase or decrease in size over long (i.e. decadal) time periods. Here, we present evidence for the downstream translation of the sand component of tributary sediment inputs as discontinuous sand pulses. The silt and clay (mud) fraction of sediment introduced episodically by seasonal floods from tributary streams is transported entirely in suspension and moves through the 400 km series of canyons in a few days. The sand fraction of this sediment, which is transported on the bed and in suspension, moves downstream in sand pulses that we estimate range in length from a few km to tens of km. Owing to the complex geomorphic organization, the sand pulses are not detectable as coherent bed features; each individual sand pulse is comprised of many isolated storage locations, separated by rapids and riffles where sand cover is sparse. The presence of the sand pulses is inferred by the existence of alternating segments of sand accumulation and depletion

Exploration of Antecedents of Environmentally Responsible Behavior by Stakeholders in Grand Lake Watershed

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Teri S.

2013-01-01

Grand Lake O' the Cherokees in Oklahoma is one of two lakes in the State of Oklahoma that allows private ownership and development of the shoreline. This has created water quality issues attributed to phosphorus levels in effluent waste water from septic systems and municipal water treatment facilities, as well as nutrient and sediment…

Hydrogeology and sources of water to select springs in Black Canyon, south of Hoover Dam, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada and Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Michael J.; Wilson, Jon W.; Beard, L. Sue

2015-11-03

Springs in Black Canyon of the Colorado River, directly south of Hoover Dam in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada and Arizona, are important hydrologic features that support a unique riparian ecosystem including habitat for endangered species. Rapid population growth in areas near and surrounding Black Canyon has caused concern among resource managers that such growth could affect the discharge from these springs. The U.S. Geological Survey studied the springs in Black Canyon between January 2008, and May 2014. The purposes of this study were to provide a baseline of discharge and hydrochemical data from selected springs in Black Canyon and to better understand the sources of water to the springs.

AVTA federal fleet PEV readiness data logging and characterization study for the National Park Service: Grand Canyon National Park

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schey, Stephen [Intertek Testing Services, Phoenix, AZ (United States); Francfort, Jim [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Nienhueser, Ian [Intertek Testing Services, Phoenix, AZ (United States)

2014-08-01

This report focuses on the Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) fleet to identify daily operational characteristics of select vehicles and report findings on vehicle and mission characterizations to support the successful introduction of PEVs into the agencies’ fleets. Individual observations of these selected vehicles provide the basis for recommendations related to electric vehicle adoption and whether a battery electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (collectively PEVs) can fulfill the mission requirements.

Review: The distribution, flow, and quality of Grand Canyon Springs, Arizona (USA)

Science.gov (United States)

Tobin, Benjamin W.; Springer, Abraham E.; Kreamer, David K.; Schenk, Edward

2018-05-01

An understanding of the hydrogeology of Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA) in northern Arizona, USA, is critical for future resource protection. The 750 springs in GRCA provide both perennial and seasonal flow to numerous desert streams, drinking water to wildlife and visitors in an otherwise arid environment, and habitat for rare, endemic and threatened species. Spring behavior and flow patterns represent local and regional patterns in aquifer recharge, reflect the geologic structure and stratigraphy, and are indicators of the overall biotic health of the canyon. These springs, however, are subject to pressures from water supply development, changes in recharge from forest fires and other land management activities, and potential contamination. Roaring Springs is the sole water supply for residents and visitors (>6 million/year), and all springs support valuable riparian habitats with very high species diversity. Most springs flow from the karstic Redwall-Muav aquifer and show seasonal patterns in flow and water chemistry indicative of variable aquifer porosities, including conduit flow. They have Ca/Mg-HCO3 dominated chemistry and trace elements consistent with nearby deep wells drilled into the Redwall-Muav aquifer. Tracer techniques and water-age dating indicate a wide range of residence times for many springs, supporting the concept of multiple porosities. A perched aquifer produces small springs which issue from the contacts between sandstone and shale units, with variable groundwater residence times. Stable isotope data suggest both an elevational and seasonal difference in recharge between North and South Rim springs. This review highlights the complex nature of the groundwater system.

A sand budget for Marble Canyon, Arizona: implications for long-term monitoring of sand storage change

Science.gov (United States)

Grams, Paul E.

2013-01-01

Recent U.S. Geological Survey research is providing important insights into how best to monitor changes in the amount of tributary-derived sand stored on the bed of the Colorado River and in eddies in Marble Canyon, Arizona. Before the construction of Glen Canyon Dam and other dams upstream, sandbars in Glen, Marble, and Grand Canyons were replenished each year by sediment-rich floods. Sand input into the Colorado River is crucial to protecting endangered native fish, animals, and plants and cultural and recreational resources along the river in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park.

Feral Cattle in the White Rock Canyon Reserve at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hathcock, Charles D. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Hansen, Leslie A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2014-03-27

At the request of the Los Alamos Field Office (the Field Office), Los Alamos National Security (LANS) biologists placed remote-triggered wildlife cameras in and around the mouth of Ancho Canyon in the White Rock Canyon Reserve (the Reserve) to monitor use by feral cattle. The cameras were placed in October 2012 and retrieved in January 2013. Two cameras were placed upstream in Ancho Canyon away from the Rio Grande along the perennial flows from Ancho Springs, two cameras were placed at the north side of the mouth to Ancho Canyon along the Rio Grande, and two cameras were placed at the south side of the mouth to Ancho Canyon along the Rio Grande. The cameras recorded three different individual feral cows using this area as well as a variety of local native wildlife. This report details our results and issues associated with feral cattle in the Reserve. Feral cattle pose significant risks to human safety, impact cultural and biological resources, and affect the environmental integrity of the Reserve. Regional stakeholders have communicated to the Field Office that they support feral cattle removal.

Comment on “Apatite 4He/3He and (U-Th)/He Evidence for an Ancient Grand Canyon”

Science.gov (United States)

Karlstrom, Karl E.; Lee, John P.; Kelley, Shari A.; Crow, Ryan S.; Young, Richard A.; Lucchitta, Ivo; Beard, L. Sue; Dorsey, Rebecca; Ricketts, Jason; Dickinson, William R.; Crossey, Laura

2013-01-01

Flowers and Farley (Reports, 21 December 2012, p. 1616; published online 29 November 2012) propose that the Grand Canyon is 70 million years old. Starkly contrasting models for the age of the Grand Canyon—70 versus 6 million years—can be reconciled by a shallow paleocanyon that was carved in the eastern Grand Canyon 25 to 15 million years ago (Ma), negating the proposed 70 Ma and 55 Ma paleocanyons. Cooling models and geologic data are most consistent with a 5 to 6 Ma age for western Grand Canyon and Marble Canyon.

Remote sensing of tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda carinulata) impacts along 412 km of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Bedford, Ashton; Sankey, Temuulen T.; Sankey, Joel B.; Durning, Laura E.C.; Ralston, Barbara

2018-01-01

Tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) is an invasive plant species that is rapidly expanding along arid and semi-arid rivers in the western United States. A biocontrol agent, tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda carinulata), was released in 2001 in California, Colorado, Utah, and Texas. In 2009, the tamarisk beetle was found further south than anticipated in the Colorado River ecosystem within the Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Our objectives were to classify tamarisk stands along 412 km of the Colorado River from the Glen Canyon Dam through the Grand Canyon National Park using 2009 aerial, high spatial resolution multispectral imagery, and then quantify tamarisk beetle impacts by comparing the pre-beetle images from 2009 with 2013 post-beetle images. We classified tamarisk presence in 2009 using the Mahalanobis Distance method with a total of 2500 training samples, and assessed the classification accuracy with an independent set of 7858 samples across 49 image quads. A total of 214 ha of tamarisk were detected in 2009 along the Colorado River, where each image quad, on average, included an 8.4 km segment of the river. Tamarisk detection accuracies varied across the 49 image quads, but the combined overall accuracy across the entire study region was 74%. Using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from 2009 and 2013 with a region-specific ratio of >1.5 decline between the two image dates (2009NDVI/2013NDVI), we detected tamarisk defoliation due to beetle herbivory. The total beetle-impacted tamarisk area was 32 ha across the study region, where tamarisk defoliation ranged 1–86% at the local levels. Our tamarisk classification can aid long-term efforts to monitor the spread and impact of the beetle along the river and the eventual mortality of tamarisk due to beetle impacts. Identifying areas of tamarisk defoliation is a useful ecological indicator for managers to plan restoration and tamarisk removal efforts.

78 FR 21415 - Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-10

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group... Adaptive Management Work Group (AMWG) makes recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior concerning... Federal advisory committee, the AMWG, a technical work group, a Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research...

Grain-size evolution in suspended sediment and deposits from the 2004 and 2008 controlled-flood experiments in Marble and Grand Canyons, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Draut, Amy E.; Topping, David J.; Rubin, David M.; Wright, Scott A.; Schmidt, John C.

2010-01-01

Since the closure of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, the hydrology, sediment supply, and distribution and size of modern alluvial deposits in the Colorado River through Grand Canyon have changed substantially (e.g., Howard and Dolan, 1981; Johnson and Carothers, 1987; Webb et al., 1999; Rubin et al., 2002; Topping et al., 2000, 2003; Wright et al., 2005; Hazel et al., 2006). The dam has reduced the fluvial sediment supply at the upstream boundary of Grand Canyon National Park by about 95 percent. Regulation of river discharge by dam operations has important implications for the storage and redistribution of sediment in the Colorado River corridor. In the absence of natural floods, sediment is not deposited at elevations that regularly received sediment before dam closure. There has been a systemwide decrease in the size and number of subaerially exposed fluvial sand deposits since the 1960s, punctuated by episodic aggradation during the exceptional high-flow intervals in the early 1980s and by sediment input from occasional tributary floods (Beus and others, 1985; Schmidt and Graf, 1990; Kearsley et al., 1994; Schmidt et al., 2004; Wright et al., 2005; Hazel et al., 2006). Fluvial sandbars are an important component of riparian ecology that, among other functions, enclose eddy backwaters that form native-fish habitat, provide a source for eolian sand that protects some archaeological sites, and are used as campsites by thousands of river-runners annually (Rubin et al., 1990; Kearsley et al., 1994; Neal et al., 2000; Wright et al., 2005; Draut and Rubin, 2008).

78 FR 7810 - Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-04

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group... Adaptive Management Work Group (AMWG) makes recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior concerning..., the AMWG, a technical work group (TWG), a Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, and independent...

76 FR 24516 - Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-02

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group... Adaptive Management Work Group (AMWG) makes recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior concerning..., the AMWG, a technical work group (TWG), a Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, and independent...

Convergent validity between willingness to pay elicitation methods: an application to Grand Canyon whitewater boaters

Science.gov (United States)

Neher, Christopher; Bair, Lucas S.; Duffield, John; Patterson, David A.; Neher, Katherine

2018-01-01

We directly compare trip willingness to pay (WTP) values between dichotomous choice contingent valuation (DCCV) and discrete choice experiment (DCE) stated preference surveys of private party Grand Canyon whitewater boaters. The consistency of DCCV and DCE estimates is debated in the literature, and this study contributes to the body of work comparing the methods. Comparisons were made of mean WTP estimates for four hypothetical Colorado River flow-level scenarios. Boaters were found to most highly value mid-range flows, with very low and very high flows eliciting lower WTP estimates across both DCE and DCCV surveys. Mean WTP precision was estimated through simulation. No statistically significant differences were detected between the two methods at three of the four hypothetical flow levels.

Sandbar Response in Marble and Grand Canyons, Arizona, Following the 2008 High-Flow Experiment on the Colorado River

Science.gov (United States)

Hazel, Joseph E.; Grams, Paul E.; Schmidt, John C.; Kaplinski, Matt

2010-01-01

A 60-hour release of water at 1,203 cubic meters per second (m3/s) from Glen Canyon Dam in March 2008 provided an opportunity to analyze channel-margin response at discharge levels above the normal, diurnally fluctuating releases for hydropower plant operations. We compare measurements at sandbars and associated campsites along the mainstem Colorado River, downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, at 57 locations in Marble and Grand Canyons. Sandbar and main-channel response to the 2008 high-flow experiment (2008 HFE) was documented by measuring bar and bed topography at the study sites before and after the controlled flood and twice more in the following 6 months to examine the persistence of flood-formed deposits. The 2008 HFE caused widespread deposition at elevations above the stage equivalent to a flow rate of 227 m3/s and caused an increase in the area and volume of the high-elevation parts of sandbars, thereby increasing the size of campsite areas. In this study, we differentiate between four response styles, depending on how sediment was distributed throughout each study site. Then, we present the longitudinal pattern relevant to the different response styles and place the site responses in context with two previous high-release experiments conducted in 1996 and 2004. We find that (1) nearly every measured sandbar aggraded above the 227-m3/s water-surface elevation, resulting in sandbars as large or larger than occurred following previous high flows; (2) reaches closest to Glen Canyon Dam were characterized by a greater percentage of sites that incurred net erosion, although the total sand volume in all sediment-flux monitoring reaches was greater following the 2008 HFE than following previous high flows; and (3) longitudinal differences in topographic response in eddies and in the channel suggest a greater and more evenly distributed sediment supply than existed during previous controlled floods from Glen Canyon Dam.

Modeling Water-Surface Elevations and Virtual Shorelines for the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Magirl, Christopher S.; Breedlove, Michael J.; Webb, Robert H.; Griffiths, Peter G.

2008-01-01

Using widely-available software intended for modeling rivers, a new one-dimensional hydraulic model was developed for the Colorado River through Grand Canyon from Lees Ferry to Diamond Creek. Solving one-dimensional equations of energy and continuity, the model predicts stage for a known steady-state discharge at specific locations, or cross sections, along the river corridor. This model uses 2,680 cross sections built with high-resolution digital topography of ground locations away from the river flowing at a discharge of 227 m3/s; synthetic bathymetry was created for topography submerged below the 227 m3/s water surface. The synthetic bathymetry was created by adjusting the water depth at each cross section up or down until the model?s predicted water-surface elevation closely matched a known water surface. This approach is unorthodox and offers a technique to construct one-dimensional hydraulic models of bedrock-controlled rivers where bathymetric data have not been collected. An analysis of this modeling approach shows that while effective in enabling a useful model, the synthetic bathymetry can differ from the actual bathymetry. The known water-surface profile was measured using elevation data collected in 2000 and 2002, and the model can simulate discharges up to 5,900 m3/s. In addition to the hydraulic model, GIS-based techniques were used to estimate virtual shorelines and construct inundation maps. The error of the hydraulic model in predicting stage is within 0.4 m for discharges less than 1,300 m3/s. Between 1,300-2,500 m3/s, the model accuracy is about 1.0 m, and for discharges between 2,500-5,900 m3/s, the model accuracy is on the order of 1.5 m. In the absence of large floods on the flow-regulated Colorado River in Grand Canyon, the new hydraulic model and the accompanying inundation maps are a useful resource for researchers interested in water depths, shorelines, and stage-discharge curves for flows within the river corridor with 2002 topographic

2008 High-Flow Experiment at Glen Canyon Dam-Morphologic Response of Eddy-Deposited Sandbars and Associated Aquatic Backwater Habitats along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park

Science.gov (United States)

Grams, Paul E.; Schmidt, John C.; Andersen, Matthew E.

2010-01-01

The March 2008 high-flow experiment (HFE) at Glen Canyon Dam resulted in sandbar deposition and sandbar reshaping such that the area and volume of associated backwater aquatic habitat in Grand Canyon National Park was greater following the HFE. Analysis of backwater habitat area and volume for 116 locations at 86 study sites, comparing one month before and one month after the HFE, shows that total habitat area increased by 30 percent to as much as a factor of 3 and that volume increased by 80 percent to as much as a factor of 15. These changes resulted from an increase in the area and elevation of sandbars, which isolate backwaters from the main channel, and the scour of eddy return-current channels along the bank where the habitat occurs. Because of this greater relief on the sandbars, backwaters were present across a broader range of flows following the HFE than before the experiment. Reworking of sandbars during diurnal fluctuating flow operations in the first 6 months following the HFE caused sandbar erosion and a reduction of backwater size and abundance to conditions that were 5 to 14 percent greater than existed before the HFE. In the months following the HFE, erosion of sandbars and deposition in eddy return-current channels caused reductions of backwater area and volume. However, sandbar relief was still greater in October 2008 such that backwaters were present across a broader range of discharges than in February 2008. Topographic analyses of the sandbar and backwater morphologic data collected in this study demonstrate that steady flows are associated with a greater amount of continuously available backwater habitat than fluctuating flows, which result in a greater amount of intermittently available habitat. With the exception of the period immediately following the HFE, backwater habitat in 2008 was greater for steady flows associated with dam operations of relatively lower monthly volume (about 227 m3/s) than steady flows associated with dam operations

Automated remote cameras for monitoring alluvial sandbars on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Grams, Paul E.; Tusso, Robert B.; Buscombe, Daniel

2018-02-27

Automated camera systems deployed at 43 remote locations along the Colorado River corridor in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, are used to document sandbar erosion and deposition that are associated with the operations of Glen Canyon Dam. The camera systems, which can operate independently for a year or more, consist of a digital camera triggered by a separate data controller, both of which are powered by an external battery and solar panel. Analysis of images for categorical changes in sandbar size show deposition at 50 percent or more of monitoring sites during controlled flood releases done in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016. The images also depict erosion of sandbars and show that erosion rates were highest in the first 3 months following each controlled flood. Erosion rates were highest in 2015, the year of highest annual dam release volume. Comparison of the categorical estimates of sandbar change agree with sandbar change (erosion or deposition) measured by topographic surveys in 76 percent of cases evaluated. A semiautomated method for quantifying changes in sandbar area from the remote-camera images by rectifying the oblique images and segmenting the sandbar from the rest of the image is presented. Calculation of sandbar area by this method agrees with sandbar area determined by topographic survey within approximately 8 percent and allows quantification of sandbar area monthly (or more frequently).

Preliminary Use of the Seismo-Lineament Analysis Method (SLAM) to Investigate Seismogenic Faulting in the Grand Canyon Area, Northern Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Cronin, V. S.; Cleveland, D. M.; Prochnow, S. J.

2007-12-01

This is a progress report on our application of the Seismo-Lineament Analysis Method (SLAM) to the eastern Grand Canyon area of northern Arizona. SLAM is a new integrated method for identifying potentially seismogenic faults using earthquake focal-mechanism solutions, geomorphic analysis and field work. There are two nodal planes associated with any double-couple focal-mechanism solution, one of which is thought to coincide with the fault that produced the earthquake; the slip vector is normal to the other (auxiliary) plane. When no uncertainty in the orientation of the fault-plane solution is reported, we use the reported vertical and horizontal uncertainties in the focal location to define a tabular uncertainty volume whose orientation coincides with that of the fault-plane solution. The intersection of the uncertainty volume and the ground surface (represented by the DEM) is termed a seismo-lineament. An image of the DEM surface is illuminated perpendicular to the strike of the seismo- lineament to accentuate geomorphic features within the seismo-lineament that may be related to seismogenic faulting. This evaluation of structural geomorphology is repeated for several different azimuths and elevations of illumination. A map is compiled that includes possible geomorphic indicators of faulting as well as previously mapped faults within each seismo-lineament, constituting a set of hypotheses for the possible location of seismogenic fault segments that must be evaluated through fieldwork. A fault observed in the field that is located within a seismo-lineament, and that has an orientation and slip characteristics that are statistically compatible with the fault-plane solution, is considered potentially seismogenic. We compiled a digital elevation model (DEM) of the Grand Canyon area from published data sets. We used earthquake focal-mechanism solutions produced by David Brumbaugh (2005, BSSA, v. 95, p. 1561-1566) for five M > 3.5 events reported between 1989 and 1995

Radionuclides and heavy metals in rainbow trout from Tsichomo, Nana Ka, Wen Povi, and Pin De Lakes in Santa Clara Canyon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fresquez, P.R.; Armstrong, D.R.; Naranjo, L. Jr.

1998-04-01

Radionuclide ( 3 H, 90 Sr, 137 Cs, 238 Pu, 239 Pu, and total uranium) and heavy metal (Ag, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and TI) concentrations were determined in rainbow trout collected from Tsichomo, Nana Ka, Wen Povi, and Pin De lakes in Santa Clara Canyon in 1997. Most radionuclide and heavy metal concentrations in fish collected from these four lakes were within or just above upper limit background concentrations (Abiquiu reservoir), and as a group were statistically (p < 0.05) similar in most parameters to background

The Cause of Tourism Seasonality and Development Countermeasures on the Grand Canyon Scenic%地下大峡谷景区旅游季节性成因及应对策略

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

谢爱良

2011-01-01

This paper clearly shows the tourism seasonaliy of the grand canyon scenic with an analysis of visitors and income monthly. Tourism seasonality influence the grand canyon scenic on the carrying capacity in tourism, the tourist facilities, cost-effective, quality of service and so on.And then we analyze the cause of the tourism seasonality of the grand canyon scenic in the location, climate, tourism resources, holiday arrangements, source markets, tourism product development.Finally, to slove the tourism seasonality of the grand canyon scenic,we should design the tourism product, use of price leverage, play an intermediary role in the hotel and travel agency and focuse on collaboration with the surrounding scenic areas and so on.%通过分析地下大峡谷景区月际游客量、月收入，得出地下大峡谷景区明显呈现旅游季节性，淡旺季明显等结论。旅游季节性在旅游承载力、旅游接待设施、经济效益、服务质量等方面对地下大峡谷景区造成影响，然后从区位、气候、旅游资源、节假日安排、客源市场、旅游产品开发等方面分析了地下大峡谷景区旅游季节性的成因，最后从旅游产品设计、加强宣传、利用价格杠杆、发挥酒店旅行社中介作用、注重与周边景区协作等方面提出了解决地下大峡谷景区旅游季节性的应对策略。

Raptor Use of the Rio Grande Gorge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ponton, David A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2015-03-20

The Rio Grande Gorge is a 115 km long river canyon located in Southern Colorado (15 km) and Northern New Mexico (100 km). The majority of the canyon is under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management {BLM), and 77 km of the canyon south of the Colorado/New Mexico border are designated Wild River under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. Visits I have made to the Rio Grande Gorge over the past 15 .years disclosed some raptor utilization. As the Snake River Birds of Prey Natural Area gained publicity, its similarity to the Rio Grande Gorge became obvious, and I was intrigued by the possibility of a high raptor nesting density in the Gorge. A survey in 1979 of 20 km of the northern end of the canyon revealed a moderately high density of red-tailed hawks and prairie falcons. With the encouragement of that partial survey, and a need to assess the impact of river-running on nesting birds of prey, I made a more comprehensive survey in 1980. The results of my surveys, along with those of a 1978 helicopter survey by the BLM, are presented in this report, as well as general characterization of the area, winter use by raptors, and an assessment of factors influencing the raptor population.

Evaluation of Terrestrial LIDAR for Monitoring Geomorphic Change at Archeological Sites in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Brian D.; Brown, Kristin M.; Fairley, Helen C.

2008-01-01

This report presents the results of an evaluation of terrestrial light detection and ranging (LIDAR) for monitoring geomorphic change at archeological sites located within Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. Traditionally, topographic change-detection studies have used total station methods for the collection of data related to key measurable features of site erosion such as the location of thalwegs and knickpoints of gullies that traverse archeological sites (for example, Pederson and others, 2003). Total station methods require survey teams to walk within and on the features of interest within the archeological sites to take accurate measurements. As a result, site impacts may develop such as trailing, damage to cryptogamic crusts, and surface compaction that can exacerbate future erosion of the sites. National Park Service (NPS) resource managers have become increasingly concerned that repeated surveys for research and monitoring purposes may have a detrimental impact on the resources that researchers are trying to study and protect. Beginning in 2006, the Sociocultural Program of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) initiated an evaluation of terrestrial LIDAR as a new monitoring tool that might enhance data quality and reduce site impacts. This evaluation was conducted as one part of an ongoing study to develop objective, replicable, quantifiable monitoring protocols for tracking the status and trend of variables affecting archeological site condition along the Colorado River corridor. The overall study consists of two elements: (1) an evaluation of the methodology through direct comparison to geomorphologic metrics already being collected by total station methods (this report) and (2) an evaluation of terrestrial LIDAR's ability to detect topographic change through the collection of temporally different datasets (a report on this portion of the study is anticipated early in 2009). The main goals of the first

Interpreting Hydraulic Conditions from Morphology, Sedimentology, and Grain Size of Sand Bars in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Rubin, D. M.; Topping, D. J.; Schmidt, J. C.; Grams, P. E.; Buscombe, D.; East, A. E.; Wright, S. A.

2015-12-01

During three decades of research on sand bars and sediment transport in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, we have collected unprecedented quantities of data on bar morphology, sedimentary structures, grain size of sand on the riverbed (~40,000 measurements), grain size of sand in flood deposits (dozens of vertical grain-size profiles), and time series of suspended sediment concentration and grain size (more than 3 million measurements using acoustic and laser-diffraction instruments sampling every 15 minutes at several locations). These data, which include measurements of flow and suspended sediment as well as sediment within the deposits, show that grain size within flood deposits generally coarsens or fines proportionally to the grain size of sediment that was in suspension when the beds were deposited. The inverse problem of calculating changing flow conditions from a vertical profile of grain size within a deposit is difficult because at least two processes can cause similar changes. For example, upward coarsening in a deposit can result from either an increase in discharge of the flow (causing coarser sand to be transported to the depositional site), or from winnowing of the upstream supply of sand (causing suspended sand to coarsen because a greater proportion of the bed that is supplying sediment is covered with coarse grains). These two processes can be easy to distinguish where suspended-sediment observations are available: flow-regulated changes cause concentration and grain size of sand in suspension to be positively correlated, whereas changes in supply can cause concentration and grain size of sand in suspension to be negatively correlated. The latter case (supply regulation) is more typical of flood deposits in Grand Canyon.

Radionuclides and heavy metals in rainbow trout from Tsichomo, Nana Ka, Wen Povi, and Pin De Lakes in Santa Clara Canyon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fresquez, P.R.; Armstrong, D.R.; Naranjo, L. Jr.

1998-04-01

Radionuclide ({sup 3}H, {sup 90}Sr, {sup 137}Cs, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 239}Pu, and total uranium) and heavy metal (Ag, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and TI) concentrations were determined in rainbow trout collected from Tsichomo, Nana Ka, Wen Povi, and Pin De lakes in Santa Clara Canyon in 1997. Most radionuclide and heavy metal concentrations in fish collected from these four lakes were within or just above upper limit background concentrations (Abiquiu reservoir), and as a group were statistically (p < 0.05) similar in most parameters to background.

Identification of Neosho Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu velox) stocks for possible introduction into Grand Lake, Oklahoma

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Andrew T.; Long, James M.; Schwemm, Michael R.; Tringali, Michael D.; Brewer, Shannon K.

2016-01-01

Stocking black basses (Micropterus spp.) is a common practice used to increase angling opportunities in impoundments; however, when non-native black basses are introduced they often invade riverine habitats where they threaten the persistence of other fishes, including native black basses. Neosho Smallmouth Bass (M. dolomieu velox) is endemic to portions of the Ozark Highlands and Boston Mountains ecoregions and is threatened by introductions of non-native Smallmouth Bass (“SMB”) forms. Because of recent interest in stocking SMB into Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees, we assessed the suitability of local Neosho SMB populations as potential broodstock sources by assessing introgression with non-native SMB forms, as well as characterizing population structure and genetic diversity. The majority of Neosho SMB populations contained low, but non-negligible, genomic proportions of two genetically distinct non-native SMB forms. Introgression was highest in the Illinois River upstream of Lake Tenkiller, where Tennessee ‘lake strain’ SMB were stocked in the early 1990’s. We recovered three genetically distinct clusters of Neosho SMB at the uppermost hierarchical level of population structure: a distinct Illinois River cluster and two Grand River clusters that appear to naturally mix at some sites. Genetic diversity measures generally increased with stream size, and smaller populations with low diversity measures may benefit from immigration of novel genetic material. Overall, introgression with non-native SMB forms appears to pose a prominent threat to Neosho SMB; however, relatively intact populations of Neosho SMB exist in some Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees tributaries. Results could be used in developing a stocking program that promotes and sustains existing genetic diversity within and among Neosho SMB populations.

Element concentrations in surface soils of the Coconino Plateau, Grand Canyon region, Coconino County, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Van Gosen, Bradley S.

2016-09-15

This report provides the geochemical analyses of a large set of background soils collected from the surface of the Coconino Plateau in northern Arizona. More than 700 soil samples were collected at 46 widespread areas, sampled from sites that appear unaffected by mineralization and (or) anthropogenic contamination. The soils were analyzed for 47 elements, thereby providing data on metal concentrations in soils representative of the plateau. These background concentrations can be used, for instance, for comparison to metal concentrations found in soils potentially affected by natural and anthropogenic influences on the Coconino Plateau in the Grand Canyon region of Arizona.The soil sampling survey revealed low concentrations for the metals most commonly of environmental concern, such as arsenic, cobalt, chromium, copper, mercury, manganese, molybdenum, lead, uranium, vanadium, and zinc. For example, the median concentrations of the metals in soils of the Coconino Plateau were found to be comparable to the mean values previously reported for soils of the western United States.

77 FR 8895 - Jimbilnan, Pinto Valley, Black Canyon, Eldorado, Ireteba Peaks, Nellis Wash, Spirit Mountain, and...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-15

..., Pinto Valley, Black Canyon, Eldorado, Ireteba Peaks, Nellis Wash, Spirit Mountain, and Bridge Canyon..., Eldorado, Ireteba Peaks, Nellis Wash, Spirit Mountain, and Bridge Canyon Wilderness Areas, Lake Mead... wilderness character; providing for reasonable use of Spirit Mountain and adjacent areas in a manner meeting...

Chemical stratigraphy of Grande Ronde Basalt, Pasco Basin, south-central Washington

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Long, P.E.; Ledgerwood, R.K.; Myers, C.W.; Reidel, S.P.; Landon, R.D.; Hooper, P.R.

1980-02-01

Grande Ronde Basalt in the Pasco Basin, south-central Washington, can be subdivided into three chemical types and two chemical subtypes based on x-ray fluorescence major element analysis of samples from seven deep core holes and three surface sections. These chemical types are: (1) high-Mg Grande Ronde chemical type; (2) low-Mg Grande Ronde chemical type; (3) low-K (very high-Mg.) Grande Ronde chemical type; and (4) Umtanum Grande Ronde chemical subtype. A possible fifth subdivision is the McCoy Canyon Grande Ronde chemical subtype. The Umtanum and the McCoy Canyon subtypes are both single flows which belong to the low Mg and high-Mg chemical types, respectively. These subdivisions are all distinguished on a plot of MgO versus TiO 2 and/or MgO versus P 2 O 5 , but other major and minor elements, as well as trace elements, also reflect consistent chemical differences between the chemical types. Identification of these chemical types in the Pasco Basin subsurface shows that the high-Mg and low-Mg chemical types are ubiquitous, but the low-K chemical type is limited to the central, southern, and eastern parts of the basin. The Umtanum chemical subtype is present throughout the Pasco Basin subsurface, although it thins in the northeastern part of the basin and is apparently absent from surface exposures 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the basin. The McCoy Canyon chemical subtype is also present throughout the basin

Radionuclide and heavy metal concentrations in soil, vegetation, and fish collected around and within Tsicoma Lake in Santa Clara Canyon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fresquez, P.R.; Armstrong, D.R.; Naranjo, L. Jr.

1996-03-01

Radionuclide ( 3 H, 90 Sr, 137 Cs, 238 Pu, 239 Pu, total U) and heavy metal (Ag, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Tl) contents were determined in soil, vegetation (overstory and understory), and fish (rainbow trout) collected around and within Tsicoma Lake in Santa Clara Canyon in 1995. All heavy metal and most radionuclide contents around or within the lake, except for U in soil, vegetation, and fish, were within or just above upper limit background. Detectable levels (where the analytical result was greater than two times counting uncertainty) of U in soils, vegetation, and fish were found in slightly higher concentrations than in background samples. Overall, however, maximum total committed effective dose equivalent (CEDE)(95% confidence level)--based on consumption of 46 lb of fish--from Tsicoma Lake (0.066 mrem/y) was within the maximum total CEDE from the ingestion of fish from the Mescalero National Fish Hatchery (background)(0.113 mrem/y)

Grand Canyon 10 x 20 NTMS area: Arizona. Data report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koller, G.R.

1979-01-01

This data report presents results of ground water and stream/surface sediment reconnaissance in the National Topographic Map Series (NTMS) Grand Canyon 1 0 x 2 0 quadrangle. Surface samples (sediment) were collected from 1013 sites. The target sampling density was one site per 16 square kilometers (six square miles). Ground water samples were collected at 84 sites. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) results are given for uranium and 16 other elements in sediments, and for uranium and 9 other elements in ground water. Mass spectrometry results are given for helium in ground water. Field measurements and observations are reported for each site. Analytical data and field measurements are presented in tables and maps. Statistical summaries of data and a brief description of results are given. A generalized geologic map and a summary of the geology of the area are included. Data from ground water sites (on microfiche in pocket) include (1) water chemistry measurements (pH, conductivity, and alkalinity), (2) physical measurements where applicable (water temperature, well description, and scintillometer reading), and (3) elemental analyses (U, Al, Br, Cl, Dy, F, He, Mg, Mn, Na, and V). Data from sediment sites (also on microfiche in pocket) include (1) stream water chemistry measurements (pH, conductivity, and alkalinity), and (2) elemental analyses for sediment samples (U, Th, Hf, Al, Ce, Dy, Eu, Fe, La, Lu, Mn, Sc, Sm, Na, Ti, V, and Yb). Sample site descriptors (stream characteristics, vegetation, etc.) are also tabulated. Areal distribution maps, histograms, and cumulative frequency plots for most elements, U/Th, U/Hf, and Th/La ratios, and scintillometer readings for sediment samples are included on the microfiche

USGS Workshop on Scientific Aspects of a Long-Term Experimental Plan for Glen Canyon Dam, April 10-11, 2007, Flagstaff, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

,

2008-01-01

Executive Summary Glen Canyon Dam is located in the lower reaches of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the Colorado River, approximately 15 miles upriver from Grand Canyon National Park (fig. 1). In 1992, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Grand Canyon Protection Act (GCPA; title XVIII, sec. 1801?1809, of Public Law 102-575), which seeks ?to protect, mitigate adverse impacts to, and improve the values for which Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area were established.? The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP) was implemented as a result of the 1996 Record of Decision on the Operation of Glen Canyon Dam Final Environmental Impact Statement to ensure that the primary mandate of the GCPA is met through advances in information and resources management (U.S. Department of the Interior, 1995). On November 3, 2006, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) announced it would develop a long-term experimental plan environmental impact statement (LTEP EIS) for operational activities at Glen Canyon Dam and other management actions on the Colorado River. The purpose of the long-term experimental plan is twofold: (1) to increase the scientific understanding of the ecosystem and (2) to improve and protect important downstream resources. The proposed plan would implement a structured, longterm program of experimentation to include dam operations, potential modifications to Glen Canyon Dam intake structures, and other management actions such as removal of nonnative fish species. The development of the long-term experimental plan continues efforts begun by the GCDAMP to protect resources downstream of Glen Canyon Dam, including Grand Canyon, through adaptive management and scientific experimentation. The LTEP EIS will rely on the extensive scientific studies that have been undertaken as part of the adaptive management program by the U.S. Geological Survey?s (USGS) Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC

Gully monitoring at two locations in the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 1996-2010, with emphasis on documenting effects of the March 2008 high-flow experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Schott, Nathan D.; Hazel, Joseph E.; Fairley, Helen C.; Kaplinski, Matt; Parnell, Roderic A.

2014-01-01

Many archeological sites in the Grand Canyon are being impacted by gully incision. In March 2008, a high-flow experiment (2008 HFE) was conducted with the intention of redistributing fine sediment (sand, silt, and clay) from the bed of the Colorado River to higher elevations along the channel margin. Deposition of fine sediment in gully mouths has been hypothesized to slow gully erosion rates and lessen impacts to archeological sites. The effects of the 2008 HFE on gullies were evaluated by comparing the topographic changes of three gullies at two study sites before and after the 2008 HFE. Comparison results indicated that sediment was deposited in gully mouths during the 2008 HFE, and that the inundated areas nearest to the river can be extensively altered by mainstream flow during high-flow events. Additionally, the history of gully evolution at the two study sites was examined between 1996 and 2010 and indicated that gullies have been subjected to thalweg incision and gully widening processes over a decadal timescale. Although the small sample size precludes extrapolating the results to other gullies, the findings contribute to the understanding of gully erosion in archeologically significant areas and have implications for future monitoring of gully erosion and evaluating the effectiveness of check dams intended to mitigate that erosion at archaeological sites in the Grand Canyon National Park.

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison: Today and Yesterday

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Wallace R.

1965-01-01

Black Canyon in the immensity of its void, though its flaring walls lack the alarming verticality of the Black Canyon. Arizona's Grand Canyon of the Colorado is acknowledged as the greatest of them all; it is not as deep as Hells Canyon, but it is wider, longer, more rugged, and far more colorful. Its depth is two to three times that of the Black Canyon. Zion Canyon, Utah, combines depth, sheerness, serenity, and color in a chasm that ranges from capacious to extremely narrow. Its Narrows have a depth-to-width ratio unmatched by any other major American canyon. California's Yosemite Valley, in a setting of sylvan verdure, is unique among the gorges shown in profile in figure 1 in being the only glacial trough; its monolithic walls bear witness to the abrasive power of moving ice. Few cliffs in the world match the splendor of its El Capitan. Lodore Canyon, on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado, is best known, perhaps, for its noisy splashy rapids, first made famous by John Wesley Powell. Lodore Canyon also features towering cliffs of deep-red quartzite. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, Wyoming, is noted for its great waterfalls, dashing river, and bright coloration. The Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River, Colorado, features the 'world's highest suspension bridge'. The profiles shown in figure 1 afford some basis for comparing one canyon with another. They cannot abstract in two dimensions the overall impression that each canyon makes. Color, vegetation, outcrop habit, vantage point, season of year, length of visit - even the roar of the river or lack thereof - all contribute to this highly personal effect. For a river of its size, the Gunnison has an unusually steep gradient through the Black Canyon. The river falls about 2,150 feet from the head of the canyon at Sapinero to the mouth at its junction with North Fork - a distance of about 50 miles and an average rate of fall of about 43 feet per mile. By comparison, the Green

Transport and deposition of plutonium-contaminated sediments by fluvial processes, Los Alamos Canyon, New Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graf, W.L.

1996-01-01

Between 1945 and 1952 the development of nuclear weapons at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, resulted in the disposal of plutonium into the alluvium of nearby Acid and (to a lesser degree) DP Canyons. The purpose of this paper is to explore the connection between the disposal sites and the main river, a 20 km link formed by the fluvial system of Acid, Pueblo, DP, and Los Alamos Canyons. Empirical data from 15 yr of annual sediment sampling throughout the canyon system has produced 458 observations of plutonium concentration in fluvial sediments. These data show that, overall, mean plutonium concentrations in fluvial sediment decline from 10,000 fCi/g near the disposal area to 100 fCi/g at the confluence of the canyon system and the Rio Grande. Simulations using a computer model for water, sediment, and plutonium routing in the canyon system show that discharges as large as the 25 yr event would fail to develop enough transport capacity to completely remove the contaminated sediments from Pueblo Canyon. Lesser flows would move some materials to the Rio Grande by remobilization of stored sediments. The simulations also show that the deposits and their contaminants have a predictable geography because they occur where stream power is low, hydraulic resistance is high, and the geologic and/or geomorphic conditions provide enough space for storage. 38 refs., 13 figs., 1 tab

Public feelings and environmental impacts from uranium mining inside Kakadu National Park and around Grand Canyon National Park

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKlveen, J.W.; Kvasnicka, J.

1989-01-01

There are two uranium mines in the Northern Territory of Australia, Ranger and Nabarlek. The Ranger mine, the only producing operation, is located in the Kakadu National Park, which has been listed on the United Nations' World Heritage list. The park is dedicated to preserving the Australian aboriginal culture: It contains several aboriginal villages and historic sites. Uranium mining in the park has been accepted quite well by the public and the aborigines. Employees of the Ranger mine and their relatives have established a public information program that includes tours of the mining and milling operations. There is no environmental impact to the area from the mining and milling of uranium at the Ranger site. The region around the Grand Canyon contains many highgrade uranium deposits. The ore is contained in unique breccia pipe formations. The pipes, which resemble a cylinder with a diemter of ∼ 100 m and a height of ∼ 300 m, originated as limestone solution cavities located ∼ 400 m below the plateau. There are several exposed deposits along the canyon walls, but no mining operations are allowed within the park boundaries. While the real environmental impact is insignificant, the perceived impact is tremendous. Many special-interest groups have attempted to halt the mining operations. No valid environmental impacts have been predicted or observed as a result of the current mining operations. However, one mine has been delayed for religious reasons by a local tribe or native Americans

Sedimentology of the Westwater Canyon and Brushy Basin Members, Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, Colorado Plateau, and relationship to uranium mineralization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner-Peterson, C.E.

1987-01-01

The Westwater Canyon Member was deposited by eastward-flowing, high energy, intermittent streams that drained a source area of diverse lithologies. Multi-channel river systems exhibited only minor downstream changes, most notably a slight increase in the amount of lateral accretion deposition. During deposition of the overlying Brushy Basin Member, a large saline, alkaline lake developed in an area that encompasses both the San Juan basin and the Paradox basin. Alteration of airborne volcanic ash that became incorporated in the lake sediments resulted in a lateral zonation of authigenic minerals that resembles the zonation characteristic of Cenozoic saline, alkaline lakes. The lake, named Lake T'oo'dichi, is the largest and oldest saline, alkaline lake known. Localization of primary uranium ore in the Grants uranium region, New Mexico, is more related to depositional facies in the Brushy Basin Member than to any special attribute of the host sandstones in the Westwater Canyon Member. Coincidence of depositional facies in the Brushy Basin Member with ore distribution and ore-related alteration patterns in the Westwater Canyon Member suggests a model in which humic acids originated in pore waters of smectitic mudstones of the Brushy Basin Member and moved downward into the underlying sandstones of the Westwater Canyon Member. Here, the humic acids precipitated to form humin layers that subsequently concentrated uranium from ground water to form the orebodies

Testing the Limits of Temporal Stability: Willingness to Pay Values among Grand Canyon Whitewater Boaters Across Decades

Science.gov (United States)

Neher, Chris; Duffield, John; Bair, Lucas; Patterson, David; Neher, Katherine

2017-12-01

We directly compare trip willingness to pay (WTP) values between 1985 and 2015 stated preference surveys of private party Grand Canyon boaters using identically designed valuation methods. The temporal gap of 30 years between these two studies is well beyond that of any tests of WTP temporal stability in the literature. Comparisons were made of mean WTP estimates for four hypothetical Colorado River flow level scenarios. WTP values from the 1985 survey were adjusted to 2015 levels using the consumer price index. Mean WTP precision was estimated through simulation. No statistically significant differences were detected between the adjusted Bishop et al. (1987) and the current study mean WTP estimates. Examination of pooled models of the data from the studies suggest that while the estimated WTP values are stable over time, the underlying valuation functions may not be, particularly when the data and models are corrected to account for differing bid structures and possible panel effects.

Mesohabitats, fish assemblage composition, and mesohabitat use of the Rio Grande silvery minnow over a range of seasonal flow regimes in the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte, in and near Big Bend National Park, Texas, 2010-11

Science.gov (United States)

Moring, J. Bruce; Braun, Christopher L.; Pearson, Daniel K.

2014-01-01

In 2010–11, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, evaluated the physical characteristics and fish assemblage composition of mapped river mesohabitats at four sites on the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte (hereinafter Rio Grande) in and near Big Bend National Park, Texas. The four sites used for the river habitat study were colocated with sites where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has implemented an experimental reintroduction of the Rio Grande silvery minnow (Hybognathus amarus), a federally listed endangered species, into part of the historical range of this species. The four sites from upstream to downstream are USGS station 08374340 Rio Grande at Contrabando Canyon near Lajitas, Tex. (hereinafter the Contrabando site), USGS station 290956103363600 Rio Grande at Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend National Park, Tex. (hereinafter the Santa Elena site), USGS station 291046102573900 Rio Grande near Ranger Station at Rio Grande Village, Tex. (hereinafter the Rio Grande Village site), and USGS station 292354102491100 Rio Grande above Stillwell Crossing near Big Bend National Park, Tex. (hereinafter the Stillwell Crossing site).

Optimizing hourly hydro operations at the Salt Lake City Area integrated projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veselka, T.D.; Hamilton, S.; McCoy, J.

1995-01-01

The Salt Lake City Area (SLCA) office of the Western Area Power Administration (Western) is responsible for marketing the capacity and energy generated by the Colorado Storage, Collbran, and Rio Grande hydropower projects. These federal resources are collectively called the Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects (SLCA/IP). In recent years, stringent operational limitations have been placed on several of these hydropower plants including the Glen Canyon Dam, which accounts for approximately 80% of the SLCA/IP resources. Operational limitations on SLCA/IP hydropower plants continue to evolve as a result of decisions currently being made in the Glen Canyon Dam Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Power Marketing EIS. To analyze a broad range of issues associated with many possible future operational restrictions, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), with technical assistance from Western has developed the Hydro LP (Linear Program) Model. This model simulates hourly operations at SLCA/IP hydropower plants for weekly periods with the objective of maximizing Western's net revenues. The model considers hydropower operations for the purpose of serving SLCA firm loads, loads for special projects, Inland Power Pool (IPP) spinning reserve requirements, and Western's purchasing programs. The model estimates hourly SLCA/IP generation and spot market activities. For this paper, hourly SLCA/IP hydropower plant generation is simulated under three operational scenarios and three hydropower conditions. For each scenario an estimate of Western's net revenue is computed

Variability in eddy sandbar dynamics during two decades of controlled flooding of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Erich R.; Grams, Paul E.; Hazel, Joseph E.; Schmidt, John C.

2018-01-01

Sandbars are iconic features of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, U.S.A. Following completion of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, sediment deficit conditions caused erosion of eddy sandbars throughout much of the 360 km study reach downstream from the dam. Controlled floods in 1996, 2004, and 2008 demonstrated that sand on the channel bed could be redistributed to higher elevations, and that floods timed to follow tributary sediment inputs would increase suspended sand concentrations during floods. Since 2012, a new management protocol has resulted in four controlled floods timed to follow large inputs of sand from a major tributary. Monitoring of 44 downstream eddy sandbars, initiated in 1990, shows that each controlled flood deposited significant amounts of sand and increased the size of subaerial sandbars. However, the magnitude of sandbar deposition varied from eddy to eddy, even over relatively short distances where main-stem suspended sediment concentrations were similar. Here, we characterize spatial and temporal trends in sandbar volume and site-scale (i.e., individual eddy) sediment storage as a function of flow, channel, and vegetation characteristics that reflect the reach-scale (i.e., kilometer-scale) hydraulic environment. We grouped the long-term monitoring sites based on geomorphic setting and used a principal component analysis (PCA) to correlate differences in sandbar behavior to changes in reach-scale geomorphic metrics. Sites in narrow reaches are less-vegetated, stage changes markedly with discharge, sandbars tend to remain dynamic, and sand storage change dominantly occurs in the eddy compared to the main channel. In wider reaches, where stage-change during floods may be half that of narrow sites, sandbars are more likely to be stabilized by vegetation, and floods tend to aggrade the vegetated sandbar surfaces. In these locations, deposition during controlled floods is more akin to floodplain sedimentation, and the elevation of sandbar

Landscape level influence: aquatic primary production in the Colorado River of Glen and Grand canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Yard, M. D.; Kennedy, T.; Yackulic, C. B.; Bennett, G. E.

2012-12-01

Irregular features common to canyon-bound regions intercept solar incidence (photosynthetic photon flux density [PPFD: μmol m-2 s-1]) and can affect ecosystem energetics. The Colorado River in Grand Canyon is topographically complex, typical of most streams and rivers in the arid southwest. Dam-regulated systems like the Colorado River have reduced sediment loads, and consequently increased water transparency relative to unimpounded rivers; however, sediment supply from tributaries and flow regulation that affects erosion and subsequent sediment transport, interact to create spatial and temporal variation in optical conditions in this river network. Solar incidence and suspended sediment loads regulate the amount of underwater light available for aquatic photosynthesis in this regulated river. Since light availability is depth dependent (Beer's law), benthic algae is often exposed to varying levels of desiccation or reduced light conditions due to daily flow regulation, additional factors that further constrain aquatic primary production. Considerable evidence suggests that the Colorado River food web is now energetically dependent on autotrophic production, an unusual condition since large river foodwebs are typically supported by allochthonous carbon synthesized and transported from terrestrial environments. We developed a mechanistic model to account for these regulating factors to predict how primary production might be affected by observed and alternative flow regimes proposed as part of ongoing adaptive management experimentation. Inputs to our model include empirical data (suspended sediment and temperature), and predictive relationships: 1) solar incidence reaching the water surface (topographic complexity), 2) suspended sediment-light extinction relationships (optical properties), 3) unsteady flow routing model (stage-depth relationship), 4) channel morphology (photosynthetic area), and 5) photosynthetic-irradiant response for dominant algae (Cladophora

The response of source-bordering aeolian dunefields to sediment-supply changes 2: Controlled floods of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Sankey, Joel B.; Caster, Joshua; Kasprak, Alan; East, Amy E.

2018-06-01

In the Colorado River downstream of Glen Canyon Dam in the Grand Canyon, USA, controlled floods are used to resupply sediment to, and rebuild, river sandbars that have eroded severely over the past five decades owing to dam-induced changes in river flow and sediment supply. In this study, we examine whether controlled floods, can in turn resupply aeolian sediment to some of the large source-bordering aeolian dunefields (SBDs) along the margins of the river. Using a legacy of high-resolution lidar remote-sensing and meteorological data, we characterize the response of four SBDs (a subset of 117 SBDs and other aeolian-sand-dominated areas in the canyon) during four sediment-laden controlled floods of the Colorado River in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016. We find that aeolian sediment resupply unambiguously occurred in 8 of the 16 instances of controlled flooding adjacent to SBDs. Resupply attributed to individual floods varied substantially among sites, and occurred with four, three, one, and zero floods at the four sites, respectively. We infer that the relative success of controlled floods as a regulated-river management tool for resupplying sediment to SBDs is analogous to the frequency of resupply observed for fluvial sandbars in this setting, in that sediment resupply was estimated to have occurred for roughly half of the instances of recent controlled flooding at sandbars monitored separately from this study. We find the methods developed in this, and a companion study, are effective tools to quantify geomorphic changes in sediment storage, along linked fluvial and aeolian pathways of sedimentary systems.

The response of source-bordering aeolian dunefields to sediment-supply changes 2: Controlled floods of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Sankey, Joel B.; Caster, Joshua; Kasprak, Alan; East, Amy

2018-01-01

In the Colorado River downstream of Glen Canyon Dam in the Grand Canyon, USA, controlled floods are used to resupply sediment to, and rebuild, river sandbars that have eroded severely over the past five decades owing to dam-induced changes in river flow and sediment supply. In this study, we examine whether controlled floods, can in turn resupply aeolian sediment to some of the large source-bordering aeolian dunefields (SBDs) along the margins of the river. Using a legacy of high-resolution lidar remote-sensing and meteorological data, we characterize the response of four SBDs (a subset of 117 SBDs and other aeolian-sand-dominated areas in the canyon) during four sediment-laden controlled floods of the Colorado River in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016. We find that aeolian sediment resupply unambiguously occurred in 8 of the 16 instances of controlled flooding adjacent to SBDs. Resupply attributed to individual floods varied substantially among sites, and occurred with four, three, one, and zero floods at the four sites, respectively. We infer that the relative success of controlled floods as a regulated-river management tool for resupplying sediment to SBDs is analogous to the frequency of resupply observed for fluvial sandbars in this setting, in that sediment resupply was estimated to have occurred for roughly half of the instances of recent controlled flooding at sandbars monitored separately from this study. We find the methods developed in this, and a companion study, are effective tools to quantify geomorphic changes in sediment storage, along linked fluvial and aeolian pathways of sedimentary systems.

Achieving Long-Term Protection of Water Quality of Grand Lake St. Marys Through Implementation of Conservation Practices and Control of Phosphorus Input from Agricultural Drainage

Science.gov (United States)

Grand Lake St. Marys (GLSM), a 13,000 acre lake in northwestern Ohio, is experiencing toxic levels of algal blooms resulting primarily from phosphorus input from agricultural runoff. The algal blooms are so severe that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources advised against any...

The Glen Canyon Dam adaptive management program: progress and immediate challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Hamill, John F.; Melis, Theodore S.; Boon, Philip J.; Raven, Paul J.

2012-01-01

Adaptive management emerged as an important resource management strategy for major river systems in the United States (US) in the early 1990s. The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (‘the Program’) was formally established in 1997 to fulfill a statutory requirement in the 1992 Grand Canyon Protection Act (GCPA). The GCPA aimed to improve natural resource conditions in the Colorado River corridor in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona that were affected by the Glen Canyon dam. The Program achieves this by using science and a variety of stakeholder perspectives to inform decisions about dam operations. Since the Program started the ecosystem is now much better understood and several biological and physical improvements have been achieved. These improvements include: (i) an estimated 50% increase in the adult population of endangered humpback chub (Gila cypha) between 2001 and 2008, following previous decline; (ii) a 90% decrease in non-native rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), which are known to compete with and prey on native fish, as a result of removal experiments; and (iii) the widespread reappearance of sandbars in response to an experimental high-flow release of dam water in March 2008.Although substantial progress has been made, the Program faces several immediate challenges. These include: (i) defining specific, measurable objectives and desired future conditions for important natural, cultural and recreational attributes to inform science and management decisions; (ii) implementing structural and operational changes to improve collaboration among stakeholders; (iii) establishing a long-term experimental programme and management plan; and (iv) securing long-term funding for monitoring programmes to assess ecosystem and other responses to management actions. Addressing these challenges and building on recent progress will require strong and consistent leadership from the US Department of the Interior

Radionuclide and Heavy Metal Concentrations in Fish from the Confluences of Major Canyons That Cross Los Alamos National Laboratory Lands with the Rio Grande

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kraig, D.H.; Naranjo, L. Jr.; Mullen, M.A.; Fresquez, P.R.

1999-01-01

Bottom-feeding fish--catfish, suckers, and carp--that were collected from the confluences of some of the major canyons that cross LANL lands with the Rio Grande (RG) exhibited similar radionuclide (with the exception of 90 Sr), and nonradionuclide concentrations to fish collected upstream of any potential LANL contamination sources. Strontium-90 concentrations in fish from LANL canyons/RG may be associated with LANL operations; however, the concentrations of 90 Sr in fish decrease to background concentrations further downstream of LANL at CR. And, based on the most conservative assumptions (a 95% source term and maximum consumption rate), LANL operations do not result in significant doses to the general public from consuming fish along the length of the RG as it passes through the eastern edge of LANL lands to CR. Moreover, since over 85% of the doses were a result of 90 Sr detected in the muscle plus bone portions of the fish and most of the 90 Sr is associated with the bone, the doses to people that consume only the edible portions of the fish (muscle only), would be significantly lower

Geochemical discrimination of five pleistocene Lava-Dam outburst-flood deposits, western Grand Canyon, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Fenton, C.R.; Poreda, R.J.; Nash, B.P.; Webb, R.H.; Cerling, T.E.

2004-01-01

Pleistocene basaltic lava dams and outburst-flood deposits in the western Grand Canyon, Arizona, have been correlated by means of cosmogenic 3He (3Hec) ages and concentrations of SiO2, Na2O, K2O, and rare earth elements. These data indicate that basalt clasts and vitroclasts in a given outburst-flood deposit came from a common source, a lava dam. With these data, it is possible to distinguish individual dam-flood events and improve our understanding of the interrelations of volcanism and river processes. At least five lava dams on the Colorado River failed catastrophically between 100 and 525 ka; subsequent outburst floods emplaced basalt-rich deposits preserved on benches as high as 200 m above the current river and up to 53 km downstream of dam sites. Chemical data also distinguishes individual lava flows that were collectively mapped in the past as large long-lasting dam complexes. These chemical data, in combination with age constraints, increase our ability to correlate lava dams and outburst-flood deposits and increase our understanding of the longevity of lava dams. Bases of correlated lava dams and flood deposits approximate the elevation of the ancestral river during each flood event. Water surface profiles are reconstructed and can be used in future hydraulic models to estimate the magnitude of these large-scale floods.

Peak discharge of a Pleistocene lava-dam outburst flood in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Fenton, Cassandra R.; Webb, Robert H.; Cerling, Thure E.

2006-03-01

The failure of a lava dam 165,000 yr ago produced the largest known flood on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. The Hyaloclastite Dam was up to 366 m high, and geochemical evidence linked this structure to outburst-flood deposits that occurred for 32 km downstream. Using the Hyaloclastite outburst-flood deposits as paleostage indicators, we used dam-failure and unsteady flow modeling to estimate a peak discharge and flow hydrograph. Failure of the Hyaloclastite Dam released a maximum 11 × 10 9 m 3 of water in 31 h. Peak discharges, estimated from uncertainty in channel geometry, dam height, and hydraulic characteristics, ranged from 2.3 to 5.3 × 10 5 m 3 s -1 for the Hyaloclastite outburst flood. This discharge is an order of magnitude greater than the largest known discharge on the Colorado River (1.4 × 10 4 m 3 s -1) and the largest peak discharge resulting from failure of a constructed dam in the USA (6.5 × 10 4 m 3 s -1). Moreover, the Hyaloclastite outburst flood is the oldest documented Quaternary flood and one of the largest to have occurred in the continental USA. The peak discharge for this flood ranks in the top 30 floods (>10 5 m 3 s -1) known worldwide and in the top ten largest floods in North America.

Environmental analysis of Lower Pueblo/Lower Los Alamos Canyon, Los Alamos, New Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferenbaugh, R.W.; Buhl, T.E.; Stoker, A.K.; Becker, N.M.; Rodgers, J.C.; Hansen, W.R.

1994-12-01

The radiological survey of the former radioactive waste treatment plant site (TA-45), Acid Canyon, Pueblo Canyon, and Los Alamos Canyon found residual contamination at the site itself and in the channel and banks of Acid, Pueblo, and lower Los Alamos Canyons all the way to the Rio Grande. The largest reservoir of residual radioactivity is in lower Pueblo Canyon, which is on DOE property. However, residual radioactivity does not exceed proposed cleanup criteria in either lower Pueblo or lower Los Alamos Canyons. The three alternatives proposed are (1) to take no action, (2) to construct a sediment trap in lower Pueblo Canyon to prevent further transport of residual radioactivity onto San Ildefonso Indian Pueblo land, and (3) to clean the residual radioactivity from the canyon system. Alternative 2, to cleanup the canyon system, is rejected as a viable alternative. Thousands of truckloads of sediment would have to be removed and disposed of, and this effort is unwarranted by the low levels of contamination present. Residual radioactivity levels, under either present conditions or projected future conditions, will not result in significant radiation doses to persons exposed. Modeling efforts show that future transport activity will not result in any residual radioactivity concentrations higher than those already existing. Thus, although construction of a sediment trap in lower Pueblo Canyon is a viable alternative, this effort also is unwarranted, and the no-action alternative is the preferred alternative

Environmental analysis of Lower Pueblo/Lower Los Alamos Canyon, Los Alamos, New Mexico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferenbaugh, R.W.; Buhl, T.E.; Stoker, A.K.; Becker, N.M.; Rodgers, J.C.; Hansen, W.R.

1994-12-01

The radiological survey of the former radioactive waste treatment plant site (TA-45), Acid Canyon, Pueblo Canyon, and Los Alamos Canyon found residual contamination at the site itself and in the channel and banks of Acid, Pueblo, and lower Los Alamos Canyons all the way to the Rio Grande. The largest reservoir of residual radioactivity is in lower Pueblo Canyon, which is on DOE property. However, residual radioactivity does not exceed proposed cleanup criteria in either lower Pueblo or lower Los Alamos Canyons. The three alternatives proposed are (1) to take no action, (2) to construct a sediment trap in lower Pueblo Canyon to prevent further transport of residual radioactivity onto San Ildefonso Indian Pueblo land, and (3) to clean the residual radioactivity from the canyon system. Alternative 2, to cleanup the canyon system, is rejected as a viable alternative. Thousands of truckloads of sediment would have to be removed and disposed of, and this effort is unwarranted by the low levels of contamination present. Residual radioactivity levels, under either present conditions or projected future conditions, will not result in significant radiation doses to persons exposed. Modeling efforts show that future transport activity will not result in any residual radioactivity concentrations higher than those already existing. Thus, although construction of a sediment trap in lower Pueblo Canyon is a viable alternative, this effort also is unwarranted, and the no-action alternative is the preferred alternative.

Learning outcomes of in-person and virtual field-based geoscience instruction at Grand Canyon National Park: complementary mixed-methods analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Semken, S. C.; Ruberto, T.; Mead, C.; Bruce, G.; Buxner, S.; Anbar, A. D.

2017-12-01

Students with limited access to field-based geoscience learning can benefit from immersive, student-centered virtual-reality and augmented-reality field experiences. While no digital modalities currently envisioned can truly supplant field-based learning, they afford students access to geologically illustrative but inaccessible places on Earth and beyond. As leading producers of immersive virtual field trips (iVFTs), we investigate complementary advantages and disadvantages of iVFTs and in-person field trips (ipFTs). Settings for our mixed-methods study were an intro historical-geology class (n = 84) populated mostly by non-majors and an advanced Southwest geology class (n = 39) serving mostly majors. Both represent the diversity of our urban Southwestern research university. For the same credit, students chose either an ipFT to the Trail of Time (ToT) Exhibition at Grand Canyon National Park (control group) or an online Grand Canyon iVFT (experimental group), in the same time interval. Learning outcomes for each group were identically drawn from elements of the ToT and assessed using pre/post concept sketching and inquiry exercises. Student attitudes and cognitive-load factors for both groups were assessed pre/post using the PANAS instrument (Watson et al., 1998) and with affective surveys. Analysis of pre/post concept sketches indicated improved knowledge in both groups and classes, but more so in the iVFT group. PANAS scores from the intro class showed the ipFT students having significantly stronger (p = .004) positive affect immediately prior to the experience than the iVFT students, possibly reflecting their excitement about the trip to come. Post-experience, the two groups were no longer significantly different, possibly due to the fatigue associated with a full-day ipFT. Two lines of evidence suggest that the modalities were comparable in expected effectiveness. First, the information relevant for the concept sketch was specifically covered in both

Cerro Grande Fire Impact to Water Quality and Stream Flow near Los Alamos National Laboratory: Results of Four Years of Monitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

B.M. Gallaher; R.J. Koch

2004-09-15

In May 2000, the Cerro Grande fire burned about 7400 acres of mixed conifer forest on the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and much of the 10,000 acres of mountainside draining onto LANL was severely burned. The resulting burned landscapes raised concerns of increased storm runoff and transport of contaminants by runoff in the canyons traversing LANL. The first storms after the fire produced runoff peaks that were more than 200 times greater than prefire levels. Total runoff volume for the year 2000 increased 50% over prefire years, despite a decline in total precipitation of 13% below normal and a general decrease in the number of monsoonal thunderstorms. The majority of runoff in 2000 occurred in the canyons at LANL south of Pueblo Canyon (70%), where the highest runoff volume occurred in Water Canyon and the peak discharge occurred in Pajarito Canyon. This report describes the observed effects of the Cerro Grande fire and related environmental impacts to watersheds at and near Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for the first four runoff seasons after the fire, from 2000 through 2003. Spatial and temporal trends in radiological and chemical constituents that were identified as being associated with the Cerro Grande fire and those that were identified as being associated with historic LANL discharges are evaluated with regard to impacts to the Rio Grande and area reservoirs downstream of LANL. The results of environmental sampling performed by LANL, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) after the Cerro Grande fire are included in the evaluation. Effects are described for storm runoff, baseflow, stream sediments, and area regional reservoir sediment.

Atlanto-occipital fusion and spondylolisthesis in an Anasazi skeleton from Bright Angel Ruin, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona.

Science.gov (United States)

Merbs, C F; Euler, R C

1985-08-01

The skeleton of a middle-aged female showing an unusual pattern of congenital, traumatic, and degenerative pathology was recovered from a small Kayenta Anasazi site located near the confluence of Bright Angel Creek with the Colorado River in the Inner Gorge of Grand Canyon. The atlas is fused with the base of the skull and C2 is fused with C3. The cervical region was subjected to hyperextension, perhaps through use of a tumpline, with resultant reduction of the neural canal to 8 mm, a condition that quite likely led to neurological problems. The skeleton also includes a depression fracture of the lateral condyle of the left tibia. Complete, bilateral spondylolysis of L5 led to an olisthesis of approximately 15 mm. The disc between L5 and S1 then ossified, most likely from staphylococcus bacteremia, making the olisthesis permanent and thereby creating a unique arachaeological specimen. Although spondylolysis is usually viewed as a stress fracture, the general pattern of pathology in this individual makes it necessary to consider an etiology of acute trauma.

Data from synoptic water-quality studies on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, November 1990 and June 1991

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Howard E.; Peart, D.B.; Antweiler, Ronald C.; Brinton, T.I.; Campbell, W.L.; Barbarino, J.R.; Roth, D.A.; Hart, R.J.; Averett, R.C.

1996-01-01

Two water-quality synoptic studies were made on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, Arizona. Field measurements and the collection of water samples for laboratory analysis were made at 10 mainstem and 6 tributary sites every 6 hours for a 48-hour period on November 5-6, 1990, and again on June 18-20, 1991. Field measurements included discharge, alkalinity, water temperature, light penetration, pH, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen. Water samples were collected for the laboratory analysis of major and minor ions (calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, strontium, chloride, sulfate, silica as SiO2), trace elements (aluminum, arsenic, boron, barium, beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, lead, lithium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, thallium, uranium, vanadium and zinc), and nutrients (phosphate, nitrate, ammonium, nitrite, total dissolved nitrogen, total dissolved phosphorus and dissolved organic carbon). Biological measurements included drift (benthic invertebrates and detrital material), and benthic invertebrates from the river bottom.

Extending the turbidity record: making additional use of continuous data from turbidity, acoustic-Doppler, and laser diffraction instruments and suspended-sediment samples in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Voichick, Nicholas; Topping, David J.

2014-01-01

Turbidity is a measure of the scattering and absorption of light in water, which in rivers is primarily caused by particles, usually sediment, suspended in the water. Turbidity varies significantly with differences in the design of the instrument measuring turbidity, a point that is illustrated in this study by side-by-side comparisons of two different models of instruments. Turbidity also varies with changes in the physical parameters of the particles in the water, such as concentration, grain size, grain shape, and color. A turbidity instrument that is commonly used for continuous monitoring of rivers has a light source in the near-infrared range (860±30 nanometers) and a detector oriented 90 degrees from the incident light path. This type of optical turbidity instrument has a limited measurement range (depending on pathlength) that is unable to capture the high turbidity levels of rivers that carry high suspended-sediment loads. The Colorado River in Grand Canyon is one such river, in which approximately 60 percent of the range in suspended-sediment concentration during the study period had unmeasurable turbidity using this type of optical instrument. Although some optical turbidimeters using backscatter or other techniques can measure higher concentrations of suspended sediment than the models used in this study, the maximum turbidity measurable using these other turbidimeters may still be exceeded in conditions of especially high concentrations of suspended silt and clay. In Grand Canyon, the existing optical turbidity instruments remain in use in part to provide consistency over time as new techniques are investigated. As a result, during these periods of high suspended-sediment concentration, turbidity values that could not be measured with the optical turbidity instruments were instead estimated from concurrent acoustic attenuation data collected using side-looking acoustic-Doppler profiler (ADP) instruments. Extending the turbidity record to the full

Monitoring riparian-vegetation composition and cover along the Colorado River downstream of Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Palmquist, Emily C.; Ralston, Barbara E.; Sarr, Daniel A.; Johnson, Taylor C.

2018-06-05

Vegetation in the riparian zone (the area immediately adjacent to streams, such as stream banks) along the Colorado River downstream of Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, supports many ecosystem and societal functions. In both Glen Canyon and Grand Canyon, this ecosystem has changed over time in response to flow alterations, invasive species, and recreational use. Riparian-vegetation cover and composition are likely to continue to change as these pressures persist and new ones emerge. Because this system is a valuable resource that is known to change in response to flow regime and other disturbances, a long-term monitoring protocol has been designed with three primary objectives:Annually measure and summarize the status (composition and cover) of native and non-native vascular-plant species within the riparian zone of the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead.At 5-year intervals, assess change in vegetation composition and cover in the riparian zone, as related to geomorphic setting and dam operations, particularly flow regime.Collect data in a manner that can be used by multiple stakeholders, particularly the basinwide monitoring program overseen by the National Park Service’s Northern Colorado Plateau Network Inventory and Monitoring program.A protocol for the long-term monitoring of riparian vegetation is described in detail and standard operating procedures are included herein for all tasks. Visual estimates of foliar and ground covers are collected in conjunction with environmental measurements to assess correlations of foliar cover with abiotic and flow variables. Sample quadrats are stratified by frequency of inundation, geomorphic feature, and by river segment to account for differences in vegetation type. Photographs of sites are also taken to illustrate qualitative characteristics of the site at the time of sampling. Procedures for field preparation, generating random samples, data collection, data management, collecting and managing unknown

Ground-water conditions in the Grand County area, Utah, with emphasis on the Mill Creek-Spanish Valley area

Science.gov (United States)

Blanchard, Paul J.

1990-01-01

The Grand County area includes all of Grand County, the Mill Creek and Pack Creek drainages in San Juan County, and the area between the Colorado and Green Rivers in San Juan County. The Grand County area includes about 3,980 square miles, and the Mill Creek-Spanish Valley area includes about 44 square miles. The three principal consolidated-rock aquifers in the Grand County area are the Entrada, Navajo, and Wingate aquifers in the Entrada Sandstone, the Navajo Sandstone, and the Wingate Sandstone, and the principal consolidated-rock aquifer in the Mill Creek-Spanish Valley area is the Glen Canyon aquifer in the Glen Canyon Group, comprised of the Navajo Sandstone, the Kayenta Formation, and the Wingate Sandstone.Recharge to the Entrada, Navajo, and Glen Canyon aquifers typically occurs where the formations containing the aquifers crop out or are overlain by unconsolidated sand deposits. Recharge is enhanced where the sand deposits are saturated at a depth of more than about 6 feet below the land surface, and the effects of evaporation begin to decrease rapidly with depth. Recharge to the Wingate aquifer typically occurs by downward movement of water from the Navajo aquifer through the Kayenta Formation, and primarily occurs where the Navajo Sandstone, Kayenta Formation, and the Wingate Sandstone are fractured.

The influence of controlled floods on fine sediment storage in debris fan-affected canyons of the Colorado River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Erich R.; Grams, Paul E.; Schmidt, John C.; Hazel, Joseph E.; Alexander, Jason S.; Kaplinski, Matt

2014-01-01

Prior to the construction of large dams on the Green and Colorado Rivers, annual floods aggraded sandbars in lateral flow-recirculation eddies with fine sediment scoured from the bed and delivered from upstream. Flows greater than normal dam operations may be used to mimic this process in an attempt to increase time-averaged sandbar size. These controlled floods may rebuild sandbars, but sediment deficit conditions downstream from the dams restrict the frequency that controlled floods produce beneficial results. Here, we integrate complimentary, long-term monitoring data sets from the Colorado River in Marble and Grand Canyons downstream from Glen Canyon dam and the Green River in the Canyon of Lodore downstream from Flaming Gorge dam. Since the mid-1990s, several controlled floods have occurred in these canyon rivers. These controlled floods scour fine sediment from the bed and build sandbars in eddies, thus increasing channel relief. These changes are short-lived, however, as interflood dam operations erode sandbars within several months to years. Controlled flood response and interflood changes in bed elevation are more variable in Marble Canyon and Grand Canyon, likely reflecting more variable fine sediment supply and stronger transience in channel bed sediment storage. Despite these differences, neither system shows a trend in fine-sediment storage during the period in which controlled floods were monitored. These results demonstrate that controlled floods build eddy sandbars and increase channel relief for short interflood periods, and this response may be typical in other dam-influenced canyon rivers. The degree to which these features persist depends on the frequency of controlled floods, but careful consideration of sediment supply is necessary to avoid increasing the long-term sediment deficit.

Rapid formation of a modern bedrock canyon by a single flood event

Science.gov (United States)

Lamb, Michael P.; Fonstad, Mark A.

2010-07-01

Deep river canyons are thought to form slowly over geological time (see, for example, ref. 1), cut by moderate flows that reoccur every few years. In contrast, some of the most spectacular canyons on Earth and Mars were probably carved rapidly during ancient megaflood events. Quantification of the flood discharge, duration and erosion mechanics that operated during such events is hampered because we lack modern analogues. Canyon Lake Gorge, Texas, was carved in 2002 during a single catastrophic flood. The event offers a rare opportunity to analyse canyon formation and test palaeo-hydraulic-reconstruction techniques under known topographic and hydraulic conditions. Here we use digital topographic models and visible/near-infrared aerial images from before and after the flood, discharge measured during the event, field measurements and sediment-transport modelling to show that the flood moved metre-sized boulders, excavated ~7m of limestone and transformed a soil-mantled valley into a bedrock canyon in just ~3days. We find that canyon morphology is strongly dependent on rock type: plucking of limestone blocks produced waterfalls, inner channels and bedrock strath terraces, whereas abrasion of cemented alluvium sculpted walls, plunge pools and streamlined islands. Canyon formation was so rapid that erosion might have been limited by the ability of the flow to transport sediment. We suggest that our results might improve hydraulic reconstructions of similar megafloods on Earth and Mars.

An individual-based model for population viability analysis of humpback chub in Grand Canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Pine, William Pine; Healy, Brian; Smith, Emily Omana; Trammell, Melissa; Speas, Dave; Valdez, Rich; Yard, Mike; Walters, Carl; Ahrens, Rob; Vanhaverbeke, Randy; Stone, Dennis; Wilson, Wade

2013-01-01

We developed an individual-based population viability analysis model (females only) for evaluating risk to populations from catastrophic events or conservation and research actions. This model tracks attributes (size, weight, viability, etc.) for individual fish through time and then compiles this information to assess the extinction risk of the population across large numbers of simulation trials. Using a case history for the Little Colorado River population of Humpback Chub Gila cypha in Grand Canyon, Arizona, we assessed extinction risk and resiliency to a catastrophic event for this population and then assessed a series of conservation actions related to removing specific numbers of Humpback Chub at different sizes for conservation purposes, such as translocating individuals to establish other spawning populations or hatchery refuge development. Our results suggested that the Little Colorado River population is generally resilient to a single catastrophic event and also to removals of larvae and juveniles for conservation purposes, including translocations to establish new populations. Our results also suggested that translocation success is dependent on similar survival rates in receiving and donor streams and low emigration rates from recipient streams. In addition, translocating either large numbers of larvae or small numbers of large juveniles has generally an equal likelihood of successful population establishment at similar extinction risk levels to the Little Colorado River donor population. Our model created a transparent platform to consider extinction risk to populations from catastrophe or conservation actions and should prove useful to managers assessing these risks for endangered species such as Humpback Chub.

Paleolimnological records of nitrogen deposition in shallow, high-elevation lakes of Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Spaulding, Sarah A.; Otu, Megan K.; Wolfe, Alexander P.; Baron, Jill S.

2015-01-01

Reactive nitrogen (Nr) from anthropogenic sources has been altering ecosystem function in lakes of the Rocky Mountains, other regions of western North America, and the Arctic over recent decades. The response of biota in shallow lakes to atmospheric deposition of Nr, however, has not been considered. Benthic algae are dominant in shallow, high-elevation lakes and are less sensitive to nutrient inputs than planktonic algae. Because the benthos is typically more nutrient rich than the water column, shallow lakes are not expected to show evidence of anthropogenic Nr. In this study, we assessed sedimentary evidence for regional Nr deposition, sediment chronology, and the nature of algal community response in five shallow, high-elevation lakes in Grand Teton National Park (GRTE). Over 140 diatom taxa were identified from the sediments, with a relatively high species richness of taxa characteristic of oligotrophic conditions. The diatom assemblages were dominated by benthic taxa, especially motile taxa. The GRTE lakes demonstrate assemblage-wide shifts in diatoms, including 1) synchronous and significant assemblage changes centered on ~1960 AD; 2) pre-1960 assemblages differed significantly from post-1960 assemblages; 3) pre-1960 diatom assemblages fluctuated randomly, whereas post- 1960 assemblages showed directional change; 4) changes in δ15N signatures were correlated with diatom community composition. These results demonstrate recent changes in shallow high18 elevation lakes that are most correlated with anthropogenic Nr. It is also possible, however, that the combined effect of Nr deposition and warming is accelerating species shifts in benthic diatoms. While uncertainties remain about the potential synergy of Nr deposition and warming, this study adds shallow lakes to the growing list of impacted high-elevation localities in western North America.

Grand Lake Saint Marys, Ohio, Survey Report for Flood Control and Allied Purposes. Volume 2. Technical Appendix.

Science.gov (United States)

1981-08-01

and nettle . Site 2. Adjacent to the west end of Grand Lake St. Marys between Brown and Monroe Streets, trees in the canopy in this wooded area...or in iieu of, tile drainage in attempts to combat standing water problems in affected fields. Within more recent years, an inczeasing number of farm...further reduce soil erosion since crop rotation is widely practiced to control pest insects and vary nutrient withdrawal. D-86 S . mnuu The remaining

Geochemical characterization of groundwater discharging from springs north of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, 2009–2016

Science.gov (United States)

Beisner, Kimberly R.; Tillman, Fred D.; Anderson, Jessica R.; Antweiler, Ronald C.; Bills, Donald J.

2017-08-01

A geochemical study was conducted on 37 springs discharging from the Toroweap Formation, Coconino Sandstone, Hermit Formation, Supai Group, and Redwall Limestone north of the Grand Canyon near areas of breccia-pipe uranium mining. Baseline concentrations were established for the elements As, B, Li, Se, SiO2, Sr, Tl, U, and V. Three springs exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards: Fence Spring for arsenic, Pigeon Spring for selenium and uranium, and Willow (Hack) Spring for selenium. The majority of the spring sites had uranium values of less than 10 micrograms per liter (μg/L), but six springs discharging from all of the geologic units studied that are located stratigraphically above the Redwall Limestone had uranium values greater than 10 μg/L (Cottonwood [Tuckup], Grama, Pigeon, Rock, and Willow [Hack and Snake Gulch] Springs). The geochemical characteristics of these six springs with elevated uranium include Ca-Mg-SO4 water type, circumneutral pH, high specific conductance, correlation and multivariate associations between U, Mo, Sr, Se, Li, and Zn, low 87Sr/86Sr, low 234U/238U activity ratios (1.34–2.31), detectable tritium, and carbon isotopic interpretation indicating they may be a mixture of modern and pre-modern waters. Similar geochemical compositions of spring waters having elevated uranium concentrations are observed at sites located both near and away from sites of uranium-mining activities in the present study. Therefore, mining does not appear to explain the presence of elevated uranium concentrations in groundwater at the six springs noted above. The elevated uranium at the six previously mentioned springs may be influenced by iron mineralization associated with mineralized breccia pipe deposits. Six springs discharging from the Coconino Sandstone (Upper Jumpup, Little, Horse, and Slide Springs) and Redwall Limestone (Kanab and Side Canyon Springs) contained water with corrected radiocarbon ages as much as 9

Lake Morphometry for NHD Lakes in Rio Grande Region 13 HUC

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Lake morphometry metrics are known to influence productivity in lakes and are important for building various types of ecological and environmental models of lentic...

The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program: An experiment in science-based resource management

Science.gov (United States)

kaplinski, m

2001-12-01

In 1996, Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management (GCDAMP) program was established to provide input on Glen Canyon Dam operations and their affect on the Colorado Ecosystem in Grand Canyon. The GCDAMP is a bold experiment in federal resource management that features a governing partnership with all relevant stakeholders sitting at the same table. It is a complicated, difficult process where stakeholder-derived management actions must balance resource protection with water and power delivery compacts, the Endangered Species Act, the National Historical Preservation Act, the Grand Canyon Protection Act, National Park Service Policy, and other stakeholder concerns. The program consists of four entities: the Adaptive Management Workgroup (AMWG), the Technical Workgroup (TWG), the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC), and independent review panels. The AMWG and TWG are federal advisory committees that consists of federal and state resource managers, Native American tribes, power, environmental and recreation interests. The AMWG is develops, evaluates and recommends alternative dam operations to the Secretary. The TWG translates AMWG policy and goals into management objectives and information needs, provides questions that serve as the basis for long-term monitoring and research activities, interprets research results from the GCMRC, and prepares reports as required for the AMWG. The GCMRC is an independent science center that is responsible for all GCDAMP monitoring and research activities. The GCMRC utilizes proposal requests with external peer review and an in-house staff that directs and synthesizes monitoring and research results. The GCMRC meets regularly with the TWG and AMWG and provides scientific information on the consequences of GCDAMP actions. Independent review panels consist of external peer review panels that provide reviews of scientific activities and the program in general, technical advice to the GCMRC, TWG and AMWG, and play a critical

Grand Canyon 1/sup 0/ x 2/sup 0/ NTMS area: Arizona. Data report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koller, G R

1979-01-01

This data report presents results of ground water and stream/surface sediment reconnaissance in the National Topographic Map Series (NTMS) Grand Canyon 1/sup 0/ x 2/sup 0/ quadrangle. Surface samples (sediment) were collected from 1013 sites. The target sampling density was one site per 16 square kilometers (six square miles). Ground water samples were collected at 84 sites. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) results are given for uranium and 16 other elements in sediments, and for uranium and 9 other elements in ground water. Mass spectrometry results are given for helium in ground water. Field measurements and observations are reported for each site. Analytical data and field measurements are presented in tables and maps. Statistical summaries of data and a brief description of results are given. A generalized geologic map and a summary of the geology of the area are included. Data from ground water sites (on microfiche in pocket) include (1) water chemistry measurements (pH, conductivity, and alkalinity), (2) physical measurements where applicable (water temperature, well description, and scintillometer reading), and (3) elemental analyses (U, Al, Br, Cl, Dy, F, He, Mg, Mn, Na, and V). Data from sediment sites (also on microfiche in pocket) include (1) stream water chemistry measurements (pH, conductivity, and alkalinity), and (2) elemental analyses for sediment samples (U, Th, Hf, Al, Ce, Dy, Eu, Fe, La, Lu, Mn, Sc, Sm, Na, Ti, V, and Yb). Sample site descriptors (stream characteristics, vegetation, etc.) are also tabulated. Areal distribution maps, histograms, and cumulative frequency plots for most elements, U/Th, U/Hf, and Th/La ratios, and scintillometer readings for sediment samples are included on the microfiche.

Parasites of native and nonnative fishes of the Little Colorado River, Grand Canyon, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Choudhury, A.; Hoffnagle, T.L.; Cole, Rebecca A.

2004-01-01

A 2-yr, seasonal, parasitological study of 1,435 fish, belonging to 4 species of native fishes and 7 species of nonnative fishes from the lower Little Colorado River (LCR) and tributary creeks, Grand Canyon, Arizona, yielded 17 species of parasites. These comprised 1 myxozoan (Henneguya exilis), 2 copepods (Ergasilus arthrosis and Lernaea cyprinacea), 1 acarine (Oribatida gen. sp.), 1 piscicolid leech (Myzobdella lugubris), 4 monogeneans (Gyrodactylus hoffmani, Gyrodactylus sp., Dactylogyrus extensus, and Ligictaluridus floridanus), 4 nematodes (Contracaecum sp., Eustrongylides sp., Rhabdochona sp., and Truttaedacnitis truttae), 3 cestodes (Bothriocephalus acheilognathi, Corallobothrium fimbriatum, and Megathylacoides giganteum), and 2 trematodes (Ornithodiplostomum sp. and Posthodiplostomum sp.). Rhabdochona sp. was the only adult parasite native to the LCR. Infection intensities of Ornithodiplostomum sp. and B. acheilognathi were positively correlated with length of the humpback chub Gila cypha. Adult helminths showed a high degree of host specificity, except B. acheilognathi, which was recovered from all fish species examined but was most abundant in cyprinids. Abundance of B. acheilognathi in the humpback chub was highest in the fall and lowest in the summer in both reaches of the LCR. There was no major taxonomic difference in parasite assemblages between the 2 different reaches of the river (LC1 and LC2). Parasite community diversity was very similar in humpback chub, regardless of sampling site or time. The parasite fauna of the LCR is numerically dominated by B. acheilognathi and metacercariae of Ornithodiplostomum sp. The richest and most diverse component community occurred in a nonnative species, the channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, but infracommunity species richness was highest in a native host, humpback chub.

Geomorphic evolution of the San Luis Basin and Rio Grande in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Ruleman, Chester A.; Machette, Michael; Thompson, Ren A.; Miggins, Dan M; Goehring, Brent M; Paces, James B.

2016-01-01

The San Luis Basin encompasses the largest structural and hydrologic basin of the Rio Grande rift. On this field trip, we will examine the timing of transition of the San Luis Basin from hydrologically closed, aggrading subbasins to a continuous fluvial system that eroded the basin, formed the Rio Grande gorge, and ultimately, integrated the Rio Grande from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico. Waning Pleistocene neotectonic activity and onset of major glacial episodes, in particular Marine Isotope Stages 11–2 (~420–14 ka), induced basin fill, spillover, and erosion of the southern San Luis Basin. The combined use of new geologic mapping, fluvial geomorphology, reinterpreted surficial geology of the Taos Plateau, pedogenic relative dating studies, 3He surface exposure dating of basalts, and U-series dating of pedogenic carbonate supports a sequence of events wherein pluvial Lake Alamosa in the northern San Luis Basin overflowed, and began to drain to the south across the closed Sunshine Valley–Costilla Plain region ≤400 ka. By ~200 ka, erosion had cut through topographic highs at Ute Mountain and the Red River fault zone, and began deep-canyon incision across the southern San Luis Basin. Previous studies indicate that prior to 200 ka, the present Rio Grande terminated into a large bolson complex in the vicinity of El Paso, Texas, and systematic, headward erosional processes had subtly integrated discontinuously connected basins along the eastern flank of the Rio Grande rift and southern Rocky Mountains. We propose that the integration of the entire San Luis Basin into the Rio Grande drainage system (~400–200 ka) was the critical event in the formation of the modern Rio Grande, integrating hinterland basins of the Rio Grande rift from El Paso, Texas, north to the San Luis Basin with the Gulf of Mexico. This event dramatically affected basins southeast of El Paso, Texas, across the Chisos Mountains and southeastern Basin and Range province, including the Rio

The Whittard Canyon - A case study of submarine canyon processes

Science.gov (United States)

Amaro, T.; Huvenne, V. A. I.; Allcock, A. L.; Aslam, T.; Davies, J. S.; Danovaro, R.; De Stigter, H. C.; Duineveld, G. C. A.; Gambi, C.; Gooday, A. J.; Gunton, L. M.; Hall, R.; Howell, K. L.; Ingels, J.; Kiriakoulakis, K.; Kershaw, C. E.; Lavaleye, M. S. S.; Robert, K.; Stewart, H.; Van Rooij, D.; White, M.; Wilson, A. M.

2016-08-01

Submarine canyons are large geomorphological features that incise continental shelves and slopes around the world. They are often suggested to be biodiversity and biomass hotspots, although there is no consensus about this in the literature. Nevertheless, many canyons do host diverse faunal communities but owing to our lack of understanding of the processes shaping and driving this diversity, appropriate management strategies have yet to be developed. Here, we integrate all the current knowledge of one single system, the Whittard Canyon (Celtic Margin, NE Atlantic), including the latest research on its geology, sedimentology, geomorphology, oceanography, ecology, and biodiversity in order to address this issue. The Whittard Canyon is an active system in terms of sediment transport. The net suspended sediment transport is mainly up-canyon causing sedimentary overflow in some upper canyon areas. Occasionally sediment gravity flow events do occur, some possibly the result of anthropogenic activity. However, the role of these intermittent gravity flows in transferring labile organic matter to the deeper regions of the canyon appears to be limited. More likely, any labile organic matter flushed downslope in this way becomes strongly diluted with bulk material and is therefore of little food value for benthic fauna. Instead, the fresh organic matter found in the Whittard Channel mainly arrives through vertical deposition and lateral transport of phytoplankton blooms that occur in the area during spring and summer. The response of the Whittard Canyon fauna to these processes is different in different groups. Foraminiferal abundances are higher in the upper parts of the canyon and on the slope than in the lower canyon. Meiofaunal abundances in the upper and middle part of the canyon are higher than on adjacent slopes, but lower in the deepest part. Mega- and macrofauna abundances are higher in the canyon compared with the adjacent slope and are higher in the eastern than

Environmental analysis of Acid/middle Pueblo Canyon, Los Alamos, New Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferenbaugh, R.W.; Buhl, T.E.; Stoker, A.K.; Hansen, W.R.

1982-08-01

The radiological survey of the former radioactive waste treatment plant site (TA-45), Acid Canyon, and Pueblo Canyon found residual radioactivity at the site itself and in the channel and banks of Acid, Pueblo, and lower Los Alamos Canyons, all the way to the Rio Grande. The largest reservoir of radioactive material is in lower Pueblo Canyon, which is on DOE property. The only areas where residual radioactivity exceeds the proposed cleanup criteria are at the former vehicle decontamination facility, located between the former treatment plant site and Acid Canyon, around the former untreated waste outfall and for a short distance below, and in two small areas farther down in Acid Canyon. The three alternatives proposed are (1) to take no action, (2) to fence the areas where the residual radioactivity exceeds the proposed criteria (minimal action), and (3) to clean up the former vehicle decontamination facility and around the former untreated waste outfall. Calculations based on actual measurements indicate that the annual dose at the location having the greatest residual radioactivity would be about 12% of the applicable guideline. Most doses are much smaller than that. No environmental impacts are associated with either the no-action or minimal action alternatives. The impact associated with the cleanup alternative is very small. The preferred alternative is to clean up the areas around the former vehicle decontamination facility and the untreated waste outfall. This course of action is recommended not because of any real danger associated with the residual radioactivity, but rather because the cleanup operation is a minor effort and would conform with the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) philosophy

Environmental analysis of Acid/middle Pueblo Canyon, Los Alamos, New Mexico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferenbaugh, R.W.; Buhl, T.E.; Stoker, A.K.; Hansen, W.R.

1982-08-01

The radiological survey of the former radioactive waste treatment plant site (TA-45), Acid Canyon, and Pueblo Canyon found residual radioactivity at the site itself and in the channel and banks of Acid, Pueblo, and lower Los Alamos Canyons, all the way to the Rio Grande. The largest reservoir of radioactive material is in lower Pueblo Canyon, which is on DOE property. The only areas where residual radioactivity exceeds the proposed cleanup criteria are at the former vehicle decontamination facility, located between the former treatment plant site and Acid Canyon, around the former untreated waste outfall and for a short distance below, and in two small areas farther down in Acid Canyon. The three alternatives proposed are (1) to take no action, (2) to fence the areas where the residual radioactivity exceeds the proposed criteria (minimal action), and (3) to clean up the former vehicle decontamination facility and around the former untreated waste outfall. Calculations based on actual measurements indicate that the annual dose at the location having the greatest residual radioactivity would be about 12% of the applicable guideline. Most doses are much smaller than that. No environmental impacts are associated with either the no-action or minimal action alternatives. The impact associated with the cleanup alternative is very small. The preferred alternative is to clean up the areas around the former vehicle decontamination facility and the untreated waste outfall. This course of action is recommended not because of any real danger associated with the residual radioactivity, but rather because the cleanup operation is a minor effort and would conform with the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) philosophy.

Is Canyon Width a Diagnostic Indicator of the Discharge of Megafloods on Earth and Mars?

Science.gov (United States)

Lapotre, M. G.; Lamb, M. P.

2013-12-01

On Earth, large floods have carved steep-walled and amphitheater-headed canyons from the Pleistocene (e.g. Box Canyon, ID) through the Holocene (e.g. Asbyrgi Canyon, Iceland), to historic times (e.g. Canyon Lake Gorge, TX). The geologic record on Mars suggests that similar floods have carved canyons by waterfall retreat about 3.5 billion years ago, when the red planet was wetter and possibly warmer. We currently lack robust paleo-hydraulic tools to reconstruct the discharge of ancient floods, especially on Mars where sediment sizes are obscured from observation. To address this issue, we hypothesize that the width of canyon escarpment is controlled by the hydraulics of the canyon-carving flood due to focusing of the flood into the canyon head. We compiled field data from multiple canyons and floods on Earth and Mars and show that there is a correlation between estimated flood discharge and canyon headwall width. To explore what sets this relationship, we identified five important parameters using dimensional analysis: the Froude number, the ratio of backwater length to canyon length, the ratio of backwater length to flood width, the ratio of canyon width to flood width, and the topographic slope upstream of the canyon. We used the hydraulic numerical modeling suite ANUGA to simulate overland flow over different canyon geometries and flood parameters to systematically explore the relative bed shear stresses along the canyon rim as a metric for flow focusing. Results show that canyons that exceed a certain length, scaling with the hydraulic backwater length, have shear stresses at their heads that are significantly higher than near the canyon mouth. Shear stresses along the rim of the canyon sidewalls are limited, in comparison to stresses along the canyon head, when the flood width is of the order of the backwater length. Flow focusing only occurs for subcritical flow. Together, these results suggest that canyons may only grow from a perturbation that is large

Identification and evaluation of scientific uncertainties related to fish and aquatic resources in the Colorado River, Grand Canyon - summary and interpretation of an expert-elicitation questionnaire

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Theodore A.

2013-01-01

Identifying areas of scientific uncertainty is a critical step in the adaptive management process (Walters, 1986; Runge, Converse, and Lyons, 2011). To identify key areas of scientific uncertainty regarding biologic resources of importance to the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program, the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) convened Knowledge Assessment Workshops in May and July 2005. One of the products of these workshops was a set of strategic science questions that highlighted key areas of scientific uncertainty. These questions were intended to frame and guide the research and monitoring activities conducted by the GCMRC in subsequent years. Questions were developed collaboratively by scientists and managers. The questions were not all of equal importance or merit—some questions were large scale and others were small scale. Nevertheless, these questions were adopted and have guided the research and monitoring efforts conducted by the GCMRC since 2005. A new round of Knowledge Assessment Workshops was convened by the GCMRC in June and October 2011 and January 2012 to determine whether the research and monitoring activities conducted since 2005 had successfully answered some of the strategic science questions. Oral presentations by scientists highlighting research findings were a centerpiece of all three of the 2011–12 workshops. Each presenter was also asked to provide an answer to the strategic science questions that were specific to the presenter’s research area. One limitation of this approach is that these answers represented the views of the handful of scientists who developed the presentations, and, as such, they did not incorporate other perspectives. Thus, the answers provided by presenters at the Knowledge Assessment Workshops may not have accurately captured the sentiments of the broader group of scientists involved in research and monitoring of the Colorado River in Glen and Grand Canyons. Yet a fundamental ingredient of

Pre-mining trace element and radiation exposure to biota from a breccia pipe uranium mine in the Grand Canyon (Arizona, USA) watershed.

Science.gov (United States)

Hinck, Jo Ellen; Cleveland, Danielle; Brumbaugh, William G; Linder, Greg; Lankton, Julia

2017-02-01

The risks to wildlife and humans from uranium (U) mining in the Grand Canyon watershed are largely unknown. In addition to U, other co-occurring ore constituents contribute to risks to biological receptors depending on their toxicological profiles. This study characterizes the pre-mining concentrations of total arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se), thallium (Tl), U, and zinc (Zn); radiation levels; and histopathology in biota (vegetation, invertebrates, amphibians, birds, and mammals) at the Canyon Mine. Gross alpha levels were below the reporting limit (4 pCi/g) in all samples, and gross beta levels were indicative of background in vegetation (<10-17 pCi/g) and rodents (<10-43.5 pCi/g). Concentrations of U, Tl, Pb, Ni, Cu, and As in vegetation downwind from the mine were likely the result of aeolian transport. Chemical concentrations in rodents and terrestrial invertebrates indicate that surface disturbance during mine construction has not resulted in statistically significant spatial differences in fauna concentrations adjacent to the mine. Chemical concentrations in egg contents and nestlings of non-aquatic birds were less than method quantification limits or did not exceed toxicity thresholds. Bioaccumulation of As, Pb, Se, Tl, and U was evident in Western spadefoot (Spea multiplicata) tadpoles from the mine containment pond; concentrations of As (28.9-31.4 μg/g) and Se (5.81-7.20 μg/g) exceeded toxicity values and were significantly greater than in tadpoles from a nearby water source. Continued evaluation of As and Se in biota inhabiting and forging in the mine containment pond is warranted as mining progresses.

Biological data for water in Lake Powell and from Glen Canyon Dam releases, Utah and Arizona, 1990–2009

Science.gov (United States)

Vernieu, William S.

2015-10-06

Biological samples from various locations on Lake Powell and in the Colorado River in the tail water downstream of Glen Canyon Dam were collected by the Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Geological Survey from December 1990 through December 2009 as part of a long-term water-quality monitoring program that began in 1964. These samples consisted of discrete (1-m deep) chlorophyll samples, discrete (1-m deep) wholewater phytoplankton samples, and 30-m vertically composited zooplankton samples filtered through an 80-µm plankton net. Chlorophyll concentration was determined by acetone extraction followed by trichromatic spectroscopy on 2,051 samples. Phytoplankton analysis consisted of identification to the genus or species level, enumeration, and estimation of biovolume on 1,397 samples. Phytoplankton analysis identified 646 different phytoplankton taxa. Zooplankton analysis consisted of identification to the genus or species level, enumeration, and estimation of biomass from 1,898 samples. Zooplankton analysis identified 114 different zooplankton taxa.

Chemical and biological quality of water in Grand Lake St. Marys, Ohio, 2011-12, with emphasis on cyanobacteria

Science.gov (United States)

Dumouchelle, Denise H.; Stelzer, Erin A.

2014-01-01

Grand Lake St. Marys (GLSM) is a shallow lake in northwest Ohio, which is about 9 miles long and 3 miles wide with depths averaging less than 8 feet. Cyanobacteria blooms are common in GLSM, and high concentrations of microcystins—toxins produced by cyanobacteria—have been documented therein. During 2011–12, the U.S. Geological Survey collected 11 sets of water samples at 6 locations in the lake. The water samples were analyzed for concentrations of nutrients, chlorophyll, and microcystin and to determine plankton community structure and abundance. Analysis by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to identify the relations between microcystin concentrations and Planktothrix and Microcystisgenotypes (toxic versus non-toxic). The qPCR analysis targets deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) genes and quantifies the potential for toxin production, whereas the qRT-PCR analysis targets ribonucleic acid (RNA) transcripts and quantifies the expression of the toxin gene. Water samples were collected six times at one site for analyses of major ions and trace elements. In addition, field measurements were made to determine transparency, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and specific conductance of the water.

Grand Canyon as a universally accessible virtual field trip for intro Geoscience classes using geo-referenced mobile game technology

Science.gov (United States)

Bursztyn, N.; Pederson, J. L.; Shelton, B.

2012-12-01

There is a well-documented and nationally reported trend of declining interest, poor preparedness, and lack of diversity within U.S. students pursuing geoscience and other STEM disciplines. We suggest that a primary contributing factor to this problem is that introductory geoscience courses simply fail to inspire (i.e. they are boring). Our experience leads us to believe that the hands-on, contextualized learning of field excursions are often the most impactful component of lower division geoscience classes. However, field trips are becoming increasingly more difficult to run due to logistics and liability, high-enrollments, decreasing financial and administrative support, and exclusivity of the physically disabled. Recent research suggests that virtual field trips can be used to simulate this contextualized physical learning through the use of mobile devices - technology that exists in most students' hands already. Our overarching goal is to enhance interest in introductory geoscience courses by providing the kinetic and physical learning experience of field trips through geo-referenced educational mobile games and test the hypothesis that these experiences can be effectively simulated through virtual field trips. We are doing this by developing "serious" games for mobile devices that deliver introductory geology material in a fun and interactive manner. Our new teaching strategy will enhance undergraduate student learning in the geosciences, be accessible to students of diverse backgrounds and physical abilities, and be easily incorporated into higher education programs and curricula at institutions globally. Our prototype involves students virtually navigating downstream along a scaled down Colorado River through Grand Canyon - physically moving around their campus quad, football field or other real location, using their smart phone or a tablet. As students reach the next designated location, a photo or video in Grand Canyon appears along with a geological

Water quality and quantity of selected springs and seeps along the Colorado River corridor, Utah and Arizona: Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and Grand Canyon National Park, 1997-98

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Howard E.; Spence, John R.; Antweiler, Ronald C.; Berghoff, Kevin; Plowman, Terry I.; Peart, Dale B.; Roth, David A.

2004-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service conducted an intensive assessment of selected springs along the Colorado River Corridor in Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and Grand Canyon National Park in 1997 and 1998, for the purpose of measuring and evaluating the water quality and quantity of the resource. This study was conducted to establish baseline data for the future evaluation of possible effects from recreational use and climate change. Selected springs and seeps were visited over a study period from 1997 to 1998, during which, discharge and on-site chemical measurements were made at selected springs and seeps, and samples were collected for subsequent chemical laboratory analysis. This interdisciplinary study also includes simultaneous studies of flora and fauna, measured and sampled coincidently at the same sites. Samples collected during this study were transported to U.S. Geological Survey laboratories in Boulder, Colorado, where analyses were performed using state-of-the-art laboratory technology. The location of the selected springs and seeps, elevation, geology, aspect, and onsite measurements including temperature, discharge, dissolved oxygen, pH, and specific conductance, were recorded. Laboratory analyses include determinations for alkalinity, aluminum, ammonium (nitrogen), antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, bismuth, boron, bromide, cadmium, calcium, cerium, cesium, chloride, chromium, cobalt, copper, dissolved inorganic carbon, dissolved organic carbon, dysprosium, erbium, europium, fluoride, gadolinium, holmium, iodine, iron, lanthanum, lead, lithium, lutetium, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, neodymium, nickel, nitrate (nitrogen), nitrite (nitrogen), phosphate, phosphorus, potassium, praseodymium, rhenium, rubidium, samarium, selenium, silica, silver, sodium, strontium, sulfate, tellurium, terbium, thallium, thorium, thulium, tin, titanium, tungsten

Environmental assessment of remedial action, acid/middle Pueblo Canyon, Los Alamos, New Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-08-01

The radiological survey of the former radioactive waste treatment plant site (TA-45), Acid Canyon, and Pueblo Canyon found residual radioactivity at the site itself and in the channel and banks of Acid, Pueblo, and lower Los Alamos Canyons, all the way to the Rio Grande. The largest reservoir of radioactive material is in lower Pueblo Canyon, which is on DOE property. The only areas where residual radioactivity exceeds the proposed cleanup criteria are at the former vehicle decontamination facility, located between the former treatment plant site and Acid Canyon, around the former untreated waste outfall and for a short distance below, and in two small areas farther down in Acid Canyon. The three alternatives proposed are (1) to take no action, (2) to fence the areas where the residual radioactivity exceeds the proposed criteria (minimal action), and (3) to clean up the former vehicle decontamination facility and around the former untreated waste outfall. Calculations based on actual measurements indicate that the annual dose at the location having the greatest residual radioactivity would be about 12% of the applicable guideline. Most doses are much smaller than that. No environmental impacts are associated with either the no-action or minimal action alternatives. The impact associated with the cleanup alternative is very small. The preferred alternative is to clean up the areas around the former vehicle decontamination facility and the untreated waste outfall. This course of action is recommended not because of any real danger associated with the residual radioactivity, but rather because the cleanup operation is a minor effort and would conform with the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) philosophy

Use of a handheld, battery-operated chemistry analyzer for evaluation of heat-related symptoms in the backcountry of Grand Canyon National Park: a brief report.

Science.gov (United States)

Backer, H D; Collins, S

1999-04-01

To test the feasibility of using handheld, battery-operated chemical analyzers by EMS personnel in a wilderness environment to aid in the diagnosis and management of heat illness. During the summer of 1996, 3 portable clinical analyzers (i-STAT Corp, Princeton, NJ) were kept at different locations along the main hiking trail into the Grand Canyon. An operational protocol was designed for field use, and Park Service EMS personnel used the instruments at their discretion, primarily to determine serum sodium concentration and identify cases of hyponatremia. Data were collected on all EMS encounters. This study reviews our experience with the instruments. The i-STAT analyzer was used for 64 patients in the backcountry; of these uses, at least 22 were in the field and the remainder in backcountry ranger stations. Eight error messages were recorded in 6 patients. Subsequently, all but 1 had a successful determination. Among patients evacuated for further evaluation and care, serum sodium values were highly consistent with later analysis using standard laboratory equipment. The instrument was used in 31 (48%) of 64 of patients evaluated and released for self-treatment and self-evacuation, and 31 (36%) of 87 of patients evacuated by EMS personnel from the canyon. Nine cases of hyponatremia were confirmed in the field, allowing appropriate intervention. Portable clinical analyzers can reliably be used in a hot wilderness environment. In our application, it allowed identification of exercise-associated hyponatremia, an important cause of serious heat illness during endurance exercise in a hot environment. The results helped make treatment and disposition decisions.

Diablo Canyon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bindon, F.J.L.

1986-01-01

The paper traces the history of Diablo Canyon nuclear power station, California, which took 18 years to reach full-power testing from the planning stage. The major delays during the construction are outlined, as well as the costs of Diablo Canyon. (UK)

A Vegetation Database for the Colorado River Ecosystem from Glen Canyon Dam to the Western Boundary of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Ralston, Barbara E.; Davis, Philip A.; Weber, Robert M.; Rundall, Jill M.

2008-01-01

A vegetation database of the riparian vegetation located within the Colorado River ecosystem (CRE), a subsection of the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and the western boundary of Grand Canyon National Park, was constructed using four-band image mosaics acquired in May 2002. A digital line scanner was flown over the Colorado River corridor in Arizona by ISTAR Americas, using a Leica ADS-40 digital camera to acquire a digital surface model and four-band image mosaics (blue, green, red, and near-infrared) for vegetation mapping. The primary objective of this mapping project was to develop a digital inventory map of vegetation to enable patch- and landscape-scale change detection, and to establish randomized sampling points for ground surveys of terrestrial fauna (principally, but not exclusively, birds). The vegetation base map was constructed through a combination of ground surveys to identify vegetation classes, image processing, and automated supervised classification procedures. Analysis of the imagery and subsequent supervised classification involved multiple steps to evaluate band quality, band ratios, and vegetation texture and density. Identification of vegetation classes involved collection of cover data throughout the river corridor and subsequent analysis using two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN). Vegetation was classified into six vegetation classes, following the National Vegetation Classification Standard, based on cover dominance. This analysis indicated that total area covered by all vegetation within the CRE was 3,346 ha. Considering the six vegetation classes, the sparse shrub (SS) class accounted for the greatest amount of vegetation (627 ha) followed by Pluchea (PLSE) and Tamarix (TARA) at 494 and 366 ha, respectively. The wetland (WTLD) and Prosopis-Acacia (PRGL) classes both had similar areal cover values (227 and 213 ha, respectively). Baccharis-Salix (BAXX) was the least represented at 94 ha. Accuracy assessment of the

Ghost Dancing the Grand Canyon. Southern Paiute Rock Art, Ceremony, and Cultural Landscapes.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoffle; Loendorf; Austin; Halmo; Bulletts

2000-02-01

Combining rock art studies with ethnohistory, contemporary ethnographic analysis, and the interpretations of people who share the cultural traditions being studied, this paper documents a rock art site in Kanab Creek Canyon that appears to have been the location of a Ghost Dance ceremony performed by Southern Paiute and perhaps Hualapai people in the late 1800s. Using the site as a point of departure, it focuses on the way in which synergistic associations among place, artifact, resources, events, and historic and contemporary Indian people contribute to the construction of a contextual cultural landscape.

Variability in eddy sandbar dynamics during two decades of controlled flooding of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Erich R.; Grams, Paul E.; Hazel, Joseph E.; Schmidt, John C.

2018-01-01

Sandbars are iconic features of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, U.S.A. Following completion of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, sediment deficit conditions caused erosion of eddy sandbars throughout much of the 360 km study reach downstream from the dam. Controlled floods in 1996, 2004, and 2008 demonstrated that sand on the channel bed could be redistributed to higher elevations, and that floods timed to follow tributary sediment inputs would increase suspended sand concentrations during floods. Since 2012, a new management protocol has resulted in four controlled floods timed to follow large inputs of sand from a major tributary. Monitoring of 44 downstream eddy sandbars, initiated in 1990, shows that each controlled flood deposited significant amounts of sand and increased the size of subaerial sandbars. However, the magnitude of sandbar deposition varied from eddy to eddy, even over relatively short distances where main-stem suspended sediment concentrations were similar. Here, we characterize spatial and temporal trends in sandbar volume and site-scale (i.e., individual eddy) sediment storage as a function of flow, channel, and vegetation characteristics that reflect the reach-scale (i.e., kilometer-scale) hydraulic environment. We grouped the long-term monitoring sites based on geomorphic setting and used a principal component analysis (PCA) to correlate differences in sandbar behavior to changes in reach-scale geomorphic metrics. Sites in narrow reaches are less-vegetated, stage changes markedly with discharge, sandbars tend to remain dynamic, and sand storage change dominantly occurs in the eddy compared to the main channel. In wider reaches, where stage-change during floods may be half that of narrow sites, sandbars are more likely to be stabilized by vegetation, and floods tend to aggrade the vegetated sandbar surfaces. In these locations, deposition during controlled floods is more akin to floodplain sedimentation, and the elevation of sandbar

History of Snake River Canyon Indicated by Revised Stratigraphy of Snake River Group Near Hagerman and King Hill, Idaho: With a Section on Paleomagnetism

Science.gov (United States)

Malde, Harold E.; Cox, Allan

1971-01-01

. From that place the former Snake River canyon, also now concealed by lava, continued west to Bancroft Springs and thence along a route close to the present canyon to King Hill. To become entrenched in a canyon 500 feet deep, the Snake River downstream from Hagerman became progressively more incised while its upstream route was pushed south in several earlier canyons by intermittent lava flows. Distinctive gravel deposits help to establish the episodes of progressive canyon cutting and to determine the routes of ancestral drainage, including the former position of the Wood River. As canyon cutting continued, springs began to emerge where lavas had filled the earlier canyons. When the Snake River canyon eventually attained its approximate present depth, the Wendell Grade Basalt erupted near Shoshone and, as several tongues, spread west to the canyon rim opposite Hagerman. One tongue crossed the future route of the Wood River, and another covered an upland area of Sand Springs Basalt that had previously reached the canyon floor at Hagerman. The McKinney Basalt then erupted from McKinney Butte northeast of Bliss and spread southward as a subaerial flow, covering part of the Wendell Grade Basalt. It filled the ancestral Wood River canyon and the Snake River canyon of that time west of Bliss as far downstream as King Hill. The resulting dam of lava impounded a deep lake, which extended upstream in the canyon beyond Hagerman. Copious amounts of the McKinney spilled into this temporary lake and produced pillow lava. About 2 miles west of Bliss, pillow lava 500 feet thick completely fills the former canyon and is protected by rimrock of the subaerial McKinney Basalt. From Bliss, the pillow facies extends upstream as far as the McKinney rimrock - about 5 miles. Eruption of the McKinney Basalt diverted the Wood River to a course along the southeast edge of this lava flow. The temporary lake that was dammed by McKinney Basalt west of Bliss spilled along the sou

Tectonic activity and the evolution of submarine canyons: The Cook Strait Canyon system, New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Micallef, Aaron; Mountjoy, Joshu; Barnes, Philip; Canals, Miquel; Lastras, Galderic

2016-04-01

Submarine canyons are Earth's most dramatic erosional features, comprising steep-walled valleys that originate in the continental shelf and slope. They play a key role in the evolution of continental margins by transferring sediments into deep water settings and are considered important biodiversity hotspots, pathways for nutrients and pollutants, and analogues of hydrocarbon reservoirs. Although comprising only one third of continental margins worldwide, active margins host more than half of global submarine canyons. We still lack of thorough understanding of the coupling between active tectonics and submarine canyon processes, which is necessary to improve the modelling of canyon evolution in active margins and derive tectonic information from canyon morphology. The objectives of this study are to: (i) understand how tectonic activity influences submarine canyon morphology, processes, and evolution in an active margin, and (2) formulate a generalised model of canyon development in response to tectonic forcing based on morphometric parameters. We fulfil these objectives by analysing high resolution geophysical data and imagery from Cook Strait Canyon system, offshore New Zealand. Using these data, we demonstrate that tectonic activity, in the form of major faults and structurally-generated tectonic ridges, leaves a clear topographic signature on submarine canyon location and morphology, in particular their dendritic and sinuous planform shapes, steep and linear longitudinal profiles, and cross-sectional asymmetry and width. We also report breaks/changes in canyon longitudinal slope gradient, relief and slope-area regression models at the intersection with faults. Tectonic activity gives rise to two types of knickpoints in the Cook Strait Canyon. The first type consists of low slope gradient, rounded and diffusive knickpoints forming as a result of short wavelength folds or fault break outs and being restored to an equilibrium profile by upstream erosion and

Environmental and human impact on the sedimentary dynamic in the Rhone Delta subaquatic canyons (France-Switzerland)

Science.gov (United States)

Arantegui, A.; Corella, J. P.; Loizeau, J. L.; Anselmetti, F. S.; Girardclos, S.

2012-04-01

Deltas are very sensitive environments and highly vulnerable to variations in water discharge and the amount of suspended sediment load provided by the delta-forming currents. Human activities in the watershed, such as building of dams and irrigation ditches, or river bed deviations, may affect the discharge regime and sediment input, thus affecting delta growth. Underwater currents create deeply incised canyons cutting into the delta lobes. Understanding the sedimentary processes in these subaquatic canyons is crucial to reconstruct the fluvial evolution and human impact on deltaic environments and to carry out a geological risk assessment related to mass movements, which may affect underwater structures and civil infractructure. Recently acquired high-resolution multibeam bathymetry on the Rhone Delta in Lake Geneva (Sastre et al. 2010) revealed the complexity of the underwater morphology formed by active and inactive canyons first described by Forel (1892). In order to unravel the sedimentary processes and sedimentary evolution in these canyons, 27 sediment cores were retrieved in the distal part of each canyon and in the canyon floor/levee complex of the active canyon. Geophysical, sedimentological, geochemical and radiometric dating techniques were applied to analyse these cores. Preliminary data show that only the canyon originating at the current river mouth is active nowadays, while the others remain inactive since engineering works in the watershed occurred, confirming Sastre et al. (2010). However, alternating hemipelagic and turbiditic deposits on the easternmost canyons, evidence underflow processes during the last decades as well. Two canyons, which are located close to the Rhone river mouth, correspond to particularly interesting deeply incised crevasse channels formed when the underwater current broke through the outer bend of a meander in the proximal northern levee. In these canyons, turbidites occur in the sediment record indicating ongoing

Spatial distribution of the assemblage of Chironomidae larvae (Diptera in five floodplain lakes from Ilha Grande National Park (Paraná - Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil - doi: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v35i2.10799

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alice Michiyo Takeda

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Chironomidae larvae (Diptera are one of the most important families among aquatic insects due to the higher abundance and species richness, considered an important tool for ecological studies. This study evaluated the richness of Chironomidae assemblage and related the distribution with physical and chemical variables in five lakes of the Paraná river, in the Ilha Grande National Park. There were two samplings, one in the central region and another in the marginal area of the floodplain lakes. In each region were collected six samples, five for biological analysis and one for granulometric analysis. The granulometric composition and organic matter content were the principal variables influencing the density and richness of Chironomidae. The scores of the abiotic data distinguished the marginal lakes (São João, Jacaré and Xambrê from the island lakes (Saraiva and Jatobá. The same segregation was observed in the distribution of Chironomidae morphotypes, and environments with higher values of organic matter, presented the lowest density and taxa richness. Thus, in this study the environmental variables directly interfered in the distribution, abundance and richness of Chironomidae of the floodplain lakes from Ilha Grande National Park, contributing to the knowledge of the diversity of this group in this area.

Deposition and diagenesis of the Brushy Basin Member and upper part of the Westwater Canyon member of the Morrison Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bell, T.E.

1986-01-01

The Brushy Basin Member and the upper part of the Westwater Canyon Member of the Morrison Formation in northwest New Mexico are nonmarine sedimentary rocks of Late Jurassic age. This stratigraphic interval consists of as many as four lithofacies deposited in fluvial and playa-lake environments. Lithofacies A is composed of crossbed feldspathic sandstone and was deposited by braided streams on an alluvial plain. Lithofacies B is composed of crossbedded feldspathic sandstone and tuffaceous mudstone, and was deposited by braided and anastomosing streams at the distal end of the alluvial plain. Lithofacies C is composed of calcareous, tuffaceous mudstone and was deposited on a mudflat between the alluvial plain and a playa lake. Lithofacies D is composed of zeolitic, tuffaceous mudstone and was deposited in a playa lake. The distribution of diagenetic facies in mudstones and tuffs in the Brushy Basin Member and upper part of the Westwater Canyon Member reflects the pH and salinity gradients common to fluvial/playa-lake systems. The abundant vitric ash in the sediments reacted to form montmorillonite in the fluvial facies. Calcite and montmorillonite were the reaction products where the fluvial and outermost playa facies met. Vitric ash reacted to form clinoptilolite and heulandite along the playa margins. In the center of the playa facies, analcime replaced clinoptilolite, an early zeolite. These early diagenetic minerals were replaced by albite, quartz, and mixed-layer illitemontmorillonite where the Brushy Basin Member and upper part of the Westwater Canyon Member have been deeply buried in the San Juan basin

USGS Activities at Lake Roosevelt and the Upper Columbia River

Science.gov (United States)

Barton, Cynthia; Turney, Gary L.

2010-01-01

Lake Roosevelt (Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake) is the impoundment of the upper Columbia River behind Grand Coulee Dam, and is the largest reservoir within the Bureau of Reclamation's Columbia Basin Project (CBP). The reservoir is located in northeastern Washington, and stretches 151 miles from Grand Coulee Dam north to the Canadian border. The 15-20 miles of the Columbia River downstream of the border are riverine and are under small backwater effects from the dam. Grand Coulee Dam is located on the mainstem of the Columbia River about 90 miles northwest of Spokane. Since the late 1980s, trace-element contamination has been known to be widely present in Lake Roosevelt. Trace elements of concern include arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, and zinc. Contaminated sediment carried by the Columbia River is the primary source of the widespread occurrence of trace-element enrichment present in Lake Roosevelt. In 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiated a preliminary assessment of environmental contamination of the Lake Roosevelt area (also referred to as Upper Columbia River, UCR site, or UCR/LR site) and has subsequently begun remedial investigations of the UCR site.

Geomorphic process fingerprints in submarine canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Brothers, Daniel S.; ten Brink, Uri S.; Andrews, Brian D.; Chaytor, Jason D.; Twichell, David C.

2013-01-01

Submarine canyons are common features of continental margins worldwide. They are conduits that funnel vast quantities of sediment from the continents to the deep sea. Though it is known that submarine canyons form primarily from erosion induced by submarine sediment flows, we currently lack quantitative, empirically based expressions that describe the morphology of submarine canyon networks. Multibeam bathymetry data along the entire passive US Atlantic margin (USAM) and along the active central California margin near Monterey Bay provide an opportunity to examine the fine-scale morphology of 171 slope-sourced canyons. Log–log regression analyses of canyon thalweg gradient (S) versus up-canyon catchment area (A) are used to examine linkages between morphological domains and the generation and evolution of submarine sediment flows. For example, canyon reaches of the upper continental slope are characterized by steep, linear and/or convex longitudinal profiles, whereas reaches farther down canyon have distinctly concave longitudinal profiles. The transition between these geomorphic domains is inferred to represent the downslope transformation of debris flows into erosive, canyon-flushing turbidity flows. Over geologic timescales this process appears to leave behind a predictable geomorphic fingerprint that is dependent on the catchment area of the canyon head. Catchment area, in turn, may be a proxy for the volume of sediment released during geomorphically significant failures along the upper continental slope. Focused studies of slope-sourced submarine canyons may provide new insights into the relationships between fine-scale canyon morphology and down-canyon changes in sediment flow dynamics.

Flow in bedrock canyons.

Science.gov (United States)

Venditti, Jeremy G; Rennie, Colin D; Bomhof, James; Bradley, Ryan W; Little, Malcolm; Church, Michael

2014-09-25

Bedrock erosion in rivers sets the pace of landscape evolution, influences the evolution of orogens and determines the size, shape and relief of mountains. A variety of models link fluid flow and sediment transport processes to bedrock incision in canyons. The model components that represent sediment transport processes are increasingly well developed. In contrast, the model components being used to represent fluid flow are largely untested because there are no observations of the flow structure in bedrock canyons. Here we present a 524-kilometre, continuous centreline, acoustic Doppler current profiler survey of the Fraser Canyon in western Canada, which includes 42 individual bedrock canyons. Our observations of three-dimensional flow structure reveal that, as water enters the canyons, a high-velocity core follows the bed surface, causing a velocity inversion (high velocities near the bed and low velocities at the surface). The plunging water then upwells along the canyon walls, resulting in counter-rotating, along-stream coherent flow structures that diverge near the bed. The resulting flow structure promotes deep scour in the bedrock channel floor and undercutting of the canyon walls. This provides a mechanism for channel widening and ensures that the base of the walls is swept clear of the debris that is often deposited there, keeping the walls nearly vertical. These observations reveal that the flow structure in bedrock canyons is more complex than assumed in the models presently used. Fluid flow models that capture the essence of the three-dimensional flow field, using simple phenomenological rules that are computationally tractable, are required to capture the dynamic coupling between flow, bedrock erosion and solid-Earth dynamics.

2010 Pacific Gas and Electric Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP): Diablo Canyon, CA Central Coast

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) LiDAR and Imagery datasets are comprised of three separate LiDAR surveys: Diablo Canyon (2010), Diablo Canyon (2010), and San...

Water quality changes in floodplain lakes due to the Amazon River flood pulse: Lago Grande de Curuaí (Pará

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AG Affonso

Full Text Available Assurance of water quality for human consumption is essential for public health policies. In the Amazon floodplain, the seasonal water level variation causes periodic flooding of marginal areas that are usually used for settlements, agriculture and livestock. Therefore, the exchange of materials between the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem affects the proportion of suspended and dissolved components in water and its physical-chemical characteristics, and consequently the quality of the water used by local people. Following this approach, the aim of this study is to evaluate changes in water quality in Lago Grande de Curuaí floodplain, Óbidos, Pará in response to the flood pulse, during one hydrological year from 2003 to 2004, based on water use classes (according to National Water Agency 357/2005 resolution using chlorophyll-a and dissolved oxygen concentration as parameters and the eutrophication index. Ordinary kriging was applied to interpolate chlorophyll-a and dissolved oxygen and to predict values at non sampled locations. Each location was then classified according to water use acceptable parameters and to Carlson Trophic State Index modified by Toledo to map lake water classes and trophic status. The result showed that Lago Grande de Curuaí floodplain is a supereutrophic system, with levels of dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll-a not suitable for human supply during the receding water phase. These areas are located near the riverine communities, which can cause health problems due to the presence of potentially toxic algae. Therefore, monitoring water quality in Amazon lakes is essential to ensure the availability has appropriate quality for human and animal supplies.

Carbon transport in Monterey Submarine Canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Barry, J.; Paull, C. K.; Xu, J. P.; Clare, M. A.; Gales, J. A.; Buck, K. R.; Lovera, C.; Gwiazda, R.; Maier, K. L.; McGann, M.; Parsons, D. R.; Simmons, S.; Rosenberger, K. J.; Talling, P. J.

2017-12-01

Submarine canyons are important conduits for sediment transport from continental margins to the abyss, but the rate, volume, and time scales of material transport have been measured only rarely. Using moorings with current meters, sediment traps (10 m above bottom) and optical backscatter sensors, we measured near-bottom currents, suspended sediment concentrations, and sediment properties at 1300 m depth in Monterey Canyon and at a non-canyon location on the continental slope at the same depth. Flow and water column backscatter were used to characterize "ambient" conditions when tidal currents dominated the flow field, and occasional "sediment transport events" when anomalously high down-canyon flow with sediment-laden waters arrived at the canyon mooring. The ambient sediment flux measured in sediment traps in Monterey Canyon was 350 times greater than measured at the non-canyon location. Although the organic carbon content of the canyon sediment flux during ambient periods was low (1.8 %C) compared to the slope location (4.9 %C), the ambient carbon transport in the canyon was 130 times greater than at the non-canyon site. Material fluxes during sediment transport events were difficult to measure owing to clogging of sediment traps, but minimal estimates indicate that mass transport during events exceeds ambient sediment fluxes through the canyon by nearly 3 orders of magnitude, while carbon transport is 380 times greater. Estimates of the instantaneous and cumulative flux of sediment and carbon from currents, backscatter, and sediment properties indicated that: 1) net flux is down-canyon, 2) flux is dominated by sediment transport events, and 3) organic carbon flux through 1300 m in Monterey Canyon was ca. 1500 MT C per year. The injection of 1500 MTCy-1 into the deep-sea represents ca. 260 km2 of the sediment C flux measured at the continental slope station (5.8 gCm-2y-1) and is sufficient to support a benthic community carbon demand of 5 gCm-2y-1 over 300 km2.

Numerical model of turbulence, sediment transport, and morphodynamics tested in the Colorado River at Grand Canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez, L. V.; Grams, P.

2017-12-01

We present a parallelized, three-dimensional, turbulence-resolving model using the Detached-Eddy Simulation (DES) technique, tested at the scale of the river-reach in the Colorado River. DES is a hybrid large eddy simulation (LES) and Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes (RANS). RANS is applied to the near-bed grid cells, where grid resolution is not sufficient to fully resolve wall turbulence. LES is applied in the flow interior. We utilize the Spalart-Allmaras one equation turbulence closure with a rough wall extension. The model resolves large-scale turbulence using DES and simultaneously integrates the suspended sediment advection-diffusion equation. The Smith and McLean suspended sediment boundary condition is used to calculate the upward and downward settling of sediment fluxes in the grid cells attached to the bed. Model results compare favorably with ADCP measurements of flow taken on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon during the High Flow Experiment (HFE) of 2008. The model accurately reproduces the size and position of the major recirculation currents, and the error in velocity magnitude was found to be less than 17% or 0.22 m/s absolute error. The mean deviation of the direction of velocity with respect to the measured velocity was found to be 20 degrees. Large-scale turbulence structures with vorticity predominantly in the vertical direction are produced at the shear layer between the main channel and the separation zone. However, these structures rapidly become three-dimensional with no preferred orientation of vorticity. Cross-stream velocities, into the main recirculation zone just upstream of the point of reattachment and out of the main recirculation region just downstream of the point of separation, are highest near the bed. Lateral separation eddies are more efficient at storing and exporting sediment than previously modeled. The input of sediment to the eddy recirculation zone occurs in the interface of the eddy and main channel. Pulsation of the

Formative flow in bedrock canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Venditti, J. G.; Kwoll, E.; Rennie, C. D.; Church, M. A.

2017-12-01

In alluvial channels, it is widely accepted that river channel configuration is set by a formative flow that represents a balance between the magnitude and frequency of flood flows. The formative flow is often considered to be one that is just capable of filling a river channel to the top of its banks. Flows much above this formative flow are thought to cause substantial sediment transport and rearrange the channel morphology to accommodate the larger flow. This idea has recently been extended to semi-alluvial channels where it has been shown that even with bedrock exposed, the flows rarely exceed that required to entrain the local sediment cover. What constitutes a formative flow in a bedrock canyon is not clear. By definition, canyons have rock walls and are typically incised vertically, removing the possibility of the walls being overtopped, as can occur in an alluvial channel at high flows. Canyons are laterally constrained, have deep scour pools and often have width to maximum depth ratios approaching 1, an order of magnitude lower than alluvial channels. In many canyons, there are a sequence of irregularly spaced scour pools. The bed may have intermittent or seasonal sediment cover, but during flood flows the sediment bed is entrained leaving a bare bedrock channel. It has been suggested that canyons cut into weak, well-jointed rock may adjust their morphology to the threshold for block plucking because the rock bed is labile during exceptionally large magnitude flows. However, this hypothesis does not apply to canyons cut into massive crystalline rock where abrasion is the dominant erosion process. Here, we argue that bedrock canyon morphology is adjusted to a characteristic flow structure developed in bedrock canyons. We show that the deeply scoured canyon floor is adjusted to a velocity inversion that is present at low flows, but gets stronger at high flows. The effect is to increase boundary shear stresses along the scour pool that forms in constricted

Let's Bet on Sediments! Hudson Canyon Cruise--Grades 9-12. Focus: Sediments of Hudson Canyon.

Science.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC), Rockville, MD.

These activities are designed to teach about the sediments of Hudson Canyon. Students investigate and analyze the patterns of sedimentation in the Hudson Canyon, observe how heavier particles sink faster than finer particles, and learn that submarine landslides are avalanches of sediment in deep ocean canyons. The activity provides learning…

Scientific monitoring plan in support of the selected alternative of the Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderkooi, Scott P.; Kennedy, Theodore A.; Topping, David J.; Grams, Paul E.; Ward, David L.; Fairley, Helen C.; Bair, Lucas S.; Sankey, Joel B.; Yackulic, Charles B.; Schmidt, John C.

2017-01-18

IntroductionThe purpose of this document is to describe a strategy by which monitoring and research data in the natural and social sciences will be collected, analyzed, and provided to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), its bureaus, and to the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP) in support of implementation of the Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2016a). The selected alternative identified in the LTEMP Record of Decision (ROD) (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2016b) describes various data collection, analysis, modeling, and interpretation efforts to be conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC), partner agencies, and cooperators that will inform decisions about operations of Glen Canyon Dam and management of downstream resources between 2017 and 2037, the performance period of the LTEMP. General data collection, analysis, modeling, and interpretation activities are described in this science plan, whereas specific monitoring and research activities and detailed study plans are to be described in the GCDAMP’s triennial work plans (TWPs) to be developed by the Bureau of Reclamation and GCMRC with input from partner agencies and cooperators during the LTEMP period, which are to be reviewed and recommended by the GCDAMP and approved by the Secretary of the Interior. The GCDAMP consists of several components, the primary committee being the Adaptive Management Work Group (AMWG). This Federal advisory committee is composed of 25 agencies and stakeholder groups and is chaired by the Secretary of the Interior’s designee. The AMWG makes recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior concerning operations of Glen Canyon Dam and other experimental management actions that are intended to fulfill some obligations of the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992. The Technical Work Group (TWG) is a subcommittee of the AMWG and

Contemporary sediment-transport processes in submarine canyons.

Science.gov (United States)

Puig, Pere; Palanques, Albert; Martín, Jacobo

2014-01-01

Submarine canyons are morphological incisions into continental margins that act as major conduits of sediment from shallow- to deep-sea regions. However, the exact mechanisms involved in sediment transfer within submarine canyons are still a subject of investigation. Several studies have provided direct information about contemporary sedimentary processes in submarine canyons that suggests different modes of transport and various triggering mechanisms. Storm-induced turbidity currents and enhanced off-shelf advection, hyperpycnal flows and failures of recently deposited fluvial sediments, dense shelf-water cascading, canyon-flank failures, and trawling-induced resuspension largely dominate present-day sediment transfer through canyons. Additionally, internal waves periodically resuspend ephemeral deposits within canyons and contribute to dispersing particles or retaining and accumulating them in specific regions. These transport processes commonly deposit sediments in the upper- and middle-canyon reaches for decades or centuries before being completely or partially flushed farther down-canyon by large sediment failures.

Hydrogeology and deformation of sandbars in response to fluctuations in flow of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, M.C.; Carruth, R.L.; Fink, J.B.; Boling, J.K.; Cluer, B.L.

1995-01-01

Rill erosion, slumping, and fissuring develop on seepage faces of many sandbars along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. These processes, observed at low river stage, are a response to residual head gradients in the sandbars caused by the river-stage fluctuation. Three sandbars were instrumented with sensors for continual monitoring of pore pressure and ground-water temperature within the sandbars and river stage. Two of the sandbars also had tilt sensors to aid in determining the relation between ground-water flow within and out of the sandbars and sandbar deformation. Tilting at sandbar 43.1L occurred on the downward limb of the hydrograph in the absence of scour, indicating slumping or a slump-creep sequence. The deformation was caused by outward-flowing bank storage, oversteepening of the lower part of the slope in the zone of fluctuating river stage by filling, and increased effective stress. At sandbar 172.3L, tilts were probably all related to scour and occurred on the rising limb of a hydrograph. Tilt occurred on April 17, May 7, May 13, June 18, and September 1, 1991. On September 1, the entire face of sandbar 172.3L was scoured. Rill erosion and slumping accompanied by measured tilts continued in reduced magnitude on sandbar 43.1L during interim flows. Thus, reduction in the range of discharge does not eliminate degradation caused by rill erosion, slumping, and fissuring. The importance of the ground-water processes is that they occur on every sandbar and become increasingly important on all sandbars in the absence of sandbar-building flows.

Marble Canyon 10 x 20 NTMS area Arizona: data report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heffner, J.D.

1980-07-01

Results of ground water and stream/surface sediment reconnaissance (HSSR) in the National Topographic Map Series (NTMS) Marble Canyon 1 0 x 2 0 quadrangle are presented. The target sampling density for all media collected was one site per 12 square kilometers. This resulted in 884 sediment samples being collected; however, dry conditions and sparse population resulted in the collection of only 2 ground water samples. Grand Canyon National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and much Indian tribal land in the southern half of the quadrangle were not sampled. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) results are given for uranium and 16 other elements in sediments, and for uranium and 9 other elements in ground water. Mass spectrometry results are given for helium in ground water. Field measurements for sediment samples are presented in tables and maps. Statistical summaries of data and a brief description of results are given. A generalized geologic map and a summary of the geology of the area are included. Data from ground water include: water chemistry measurements (pH, conductivity, and alkalinity); physical measurements (water temperature, and scintillometer readings); and elemental analyses (U, Al, Br, Cl, Dy, F, He, Mg, Mn, Na, and V). Data from sediment sites include: water chemistry measurements (where available) for pH, conductivity, and alkalinity; and elemental analyses(U, Th, Hf, Al, Ce, Dy, Eu, Fe, La, Lu, Mn, Sc, Sm, Na, Ti, V, and Yb). Sample site descriptors (stream characteristics, vegetation, etc.) are also tabulated. Histograms, cumulative frequency, and areal distribution plots for most elements; Log U/Th, Log U/Hf, and Log U/(Th + Hf) ratios; and scintillometer readings are included

Street canyon aerosol pollutant transport measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Longley, I D; Gallagher, M W; Dorsey, J R; Flynn, M; Bower, K N; Allan, J D

2004-12-01

Current understanding of dispersion in street canyons is largely derived from relatively simple dispersion models. Such models are increasingly used in planning and regulation capacities but are based upon a limited understanding of the transport of substances within a real canyon. In recent years, some efforts have been made to numerically model localised flow in idealised canyons (e.g., J. Appl. Meteorol. 38 (1999) 1576-89) and stepped canyons (Assimakopoulos V. Numerical modelling of dispersion of atmospheric pollution in and above urban canopies. PhD thesis, Imperial College, London, 2001) but field studies in real canyons are rare. To further such an understanding, a measurement campaign has been conducted in an asymmetric street canyon with busy one-way traffic in central Manchester in northern England. The eddy correlation method was used to determine fluxes of size-segregated accumulation mode aerosol. Measurements of aerosol at a static location were made concurrently with measurements on a platform lift giving vertical profiles. Size-segregated measurements of ultrafine and coarse particle concentrations were also made simultaneously at various heights. In addition, a small mobile system was used to make measurements of turbulence at various pavement locations within the canyon. From this data, various features of turbulent transport and dispersion in the canyon will be presented. The concentration and the ventilation fluxes of vehicle-related aerosol pollutants from the canyon will be related to controlling factors. The results will also be compared with citywide ventilation data from a separate measurement campaign conducted above the urban canopy.

78 FR 48670 - Boulder Canyon Project

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-09

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Western Area Power Administration Boulder Canyon Project AGENCY: Western Area... Canyon Project (BCP) electric service provided by the Western Area Power Administration (Western). The... INFORMATION: Hoover Dam, authorized by the Boulder Canyon Project Act (45 Stat. 1057, December 21, 1928), sits...

77 FR 48151 - Boulder Canyon Project

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-13

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Western Area Power Administration Boulder Canyon Project AGENCY: Western Area... Canyon Project (BCP) electric service provided by the Western Area Power Administration (Western). The... INFORMATION: Hoover Dam, authorized by the Boulder Canyon Project Act (45 Stat. 1057, December 21, 1928), sits...

Carbon isotopes from fossil packrat pellets and elevational movements of Utah agave plants reveal the Younger Dryas cold period in Grand Canyon, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, K.L.; Arundel, S.T.

2005-01-01

Carbon isotopes in rodent fecal pellets were measured on packrat (Neotoma spp.) middens from the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The pellet samples reflect the abundance of cold-intolerant C4 and Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant species relative to the predominant C3 vegetation in the packrat diet. The temporal sequence of isotopic results suggests a temperature decline followed by a sharp increase corresponding to the B??lling/Aller??d-Younger Dryas - early Holocene sequence. This pattern was then tested using the past distribution of Utah agave (Agave utahensis). Spatial analyses of the range of this temperature-sensitive CAM species demonstrate that its upper elevational limit is controlled by winter minimum temperature. Applying this paleotemperature proxy to the past elevational limits of Utah agave suggests that minimum winter temperatures were ???8??C below modern values during the Last Glacial Maximum, 4.5-6.5 ??C below modern during the B??lling/Aller??d, and 7.5-8.7 ??C below modern during the early Younger Dryas. As the Younger Dryas terminated, temperatures warmed ???4 ??C between ca. 11.8 ka and 11.5 ka. These extreme fluctuations in winter minimum temperature have not been generally accepted for terrestrial paleoecological records from the arid southwestern United States, likely because of large statistical uncertainties of older radiocarbon results and reliance on proxies for summer temperatures, which were less affected. ?? 2005 Geological Society of America.

Durable terrestrial bedrock predicts submarine canyon formation

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Elliot; Finnegan, Noah J.; Mueller, Erich R.; Best, Rebecca J.

2017-01-01

Though submarine canyons are first-order topographic features of Earth, the processes responsible for their occurrence remain poorly understood. Potentially analogous studies of terrestrial rivers show that the flux and caliber of transported bedload are significant controls on bedrock incision. Here we hypothesize that coarse sediment load could exert a similar role in the formation of submarine canyons. We conducted a comprehensive empirical analysis of canyon occurrence along the West Coast of the contiguous United States which indicates that submarine canyon occurrence is best predicted by the occurrence of durable crystalline bedrock in adjacent terrestrial catchments. Canyon occurrence is also predicted by the flux of bed sediment to shore from terrestrial streams. Surprisingly, no significant correlation was observed between canyon occurrence and the slope or width of the continental shelf. These findings suggest that canyon incision is promoted by greater yields of durable terrestrial clasts to the shore.

The presence and distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and inorganic elements in water and lakebed materials and the potential for bioconcentration in biota at established sampling sites on Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Schonauer, Kurt T.; Hart, Robert J.; Antweiler, Ronald C.

2014-01-01

The National Park Service is responsible for monitoring the effects of visitor use on the quality of water, lakebed material (bottom sediments), and biota, in Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona. A sampling program was begun in 2010 to assess the presence, distribution, and concentrations of organic and inorganic compounds in the water column and bottom sediment. In response to an Environmental Impact Statement regarding personal watercraft and as a continuation from previous studies by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, water samples were collected and analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using semipermeable membrane devices and inorganic elements using a fixed-bottle sampler deployed at established monitoring sites during 2010 and 2011. Lakebed material samples were also analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and inorganic elements, some of which could be harmful to aquatic biota if present at concentrations above established aquatic life criteria. Of the 44 PAH compounds analyzed, 26 individual compounds were detected above the censoring limit in the water column by semipermeable membrane devices. The highest number of compounds detected were at Lone Rock Beach, Wahweap Marina, Rainbow Bridge National Monument, and Antelope Marina which are all located in the southern part of Lake Powell where visitation and boat use is high. Because PAHs can remain near their source, the potential for bioconcentration is highest near these sites. The PAH compound found in the highest concentration was phenol (5,902 nanograms per liter), which is included in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s priority pollutants list. The dissolved inorganic chemistry of water samples measured at the sampling sites in Lake Powell defined three different patterns of elements: (1) concentrations were similar between sites in the upper part of the lake near Farley Canyon downstream to Halls Crossing Marina, a

Design and results of the Mariano Lake-Lake Valley drilling project, Northwestern New Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirk, A.R.; Huffman, A.C. Jr.; Zech, R.S.

1986-01-01

This drilling project included 12 holes along a north-south-trending line from Mariano Lake to Lake Valley, New Mexico, near the southern margin of the San Juan basin. Of a total 33,075 ft (10,088m) drilled, 4,550 ft (1,388m) were cored in the stratigraphic interval that included the basal part of the Dakota Sandstone, the Brushy Basin and Westwater Canyon Members of the Morrison Formation, and the upper part of the Recapture Member of the Morrison Formation. The project objectives were (1) to provide cores and geophysical logs for study of the sedimentology, petrography, geochemistry, and mineralization in the uranium-bearing Westwater Canyon Member; (2) to provide control for a detailed seismic study of Morrison stratigraphy and basement structures; (3) to define and correlate the stratigraphy of Cretaceous coal-bearing units; (4) to supply background data for studies of ground-water flow pattern and ground-water quality; and (5) to provide data to aid resource assessment or uranium and coal. The project design included selection of (1) drill-hole locations to cross known ore and depositional trends in the Morrison Formation; (2) a coring interval to include the uranium-bearing unit and adjacent units; geophysical logs for lithologic correlations, quantitative evaluation of uranium mineralization, qualitative detection of coal beds, preparation of synthetic seismograms, and magnetic susceptibility studies of alteration in the Morrison; and (3) a high-salinity mud program to enhance core recovery

Geologic Map of the House Rock Valley Area, Coconino County, Northern Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Billingsley, George H.; Priest, Susan S.

2010-01-01

. Other lands include about 13 sections of Arizona State land, about ? of a section of private land along House Rock Wash, and about 1? sections of private land at Cliff Dwellers Lodge, Vermilion Cliffs Lodge, and Marble Canyon, Arizona. Landmark features within the map area include the Vermilion Cliffs, Paria Plateau, Marble Canyon, and House Rock Valley. Surface drainage in House Rock Valley is to the east toward the Colorado River in Marble Canyon. Large tributaries of Marble Canyon from north to south include Badger Canyon, Soap Creek, Rider Canyon, North Canyon, Bedrock Canyon, and South Canyon. Elevations range from about 2,875 ft (876 m) at the Colorado River in the southeast corner of the map to approximately 7,355 ft (2,224 m) on the east rim of Paria Plateau along the north-central edge of the map area. Three small settlements are in the map area along U.S. Highway 89A, Cliff Dwellers Lodge, Vermilion Cliffs Lodge, and Marble Canyon, Arizona. The community of Jacob Lake is about 9 mi (14.5 km) west of House Rock Valley on the Kaibab Plateau. Lees Ferry is 5 mi (8 km) north of Marble Canyon and marks the confluence of the Paria and Colorado Rivers and the beginning of Marble Canyon. U.S. Highway 89A provides access to the northern part of the map area. Dirt roads lead south into House Rock Valley from U.S. Highway 89A and are collectively maintained by the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. National Forest Service, and the Grand Canyon Trust. House Rock Valley is one of the few remaining areas where uniform geologic mapping is needed for connectivity to the regional Grand Canyon geologic framework. This information is useful to Federal and State resource managers who direct environmental and land management programs that encompass such issues as range management, biological studies, flood control, water, and mineral-resource investigations. The geologic information will support future and ongoing geologic investigations and scientific studies

Canyons off northwest Puerto Rico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gardner, W.D.; Glover, L.K.; Hollister, C.D.

1980-01-01

The Nuclear-Research Submarine NR-1 was used to study morphoplogy, sediment, and sediment-water interactions off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico. New detailed bathymetry from the surface-support ship, USS Portland, shows several submarine canyons in the area, some of them unreported previously. The north coast canyons, Arecibo, Tiberones and Quebradillas, are primarily erosional features although no recent turbidity-current evidence is seen. The canyons are presently filling with river-transported sediments. (orig./ME)

Environmental assessment: Davis Canyon site, Utah

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Davis Canyon site in Utah as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Davis Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOE prepared the final EA. The Davis Canyon site is in the Paradox Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains one other potentially acceptable site -- the Lavender Canyon site. Although the Lavender Canyon site is suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Davis Canyon site is the preferred site in the Paradox Basin. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Davis Canyon site is not disqualified under the guidelines. Furthermore, the DOE has fond that the site is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Davis Canyon site as one of five sites suitable for characterization. 181 figs., 175 tabs

Environmental assessment: Davis Canyon site, Utah

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Davis Canyon site in Utah as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high- level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Davis Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOE prepared the final EA. The Davis Canyon site is in the Paradox Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains one other potentially acceptable site -- the Lavender Canyon site. Although the Lavender Canyon site is suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Davis Canyon site is the preferred site in the Paradox Basin. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Davis Canyon site is not disqualified under the guidelines. Furthermore, the DOE has found that the site is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Davis Canyon site as one of the five sites suitable for characterization.

Environmental assessment: Davis Canyon site, Utah

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Davis Canyon site in Utah as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Davis Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOE prepared the final EA. The Davis Canyon site is in the Paradox Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains one other potentially acceptable site -- the Lavender Canyon site. Although the Lavender Canyon site is suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Davis Canyon site is the preferred site in the Paradox Basin. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Davis Canyon site is not disqualified under the guidelines. Furthermore, the DOE has fond that the site is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Davis Canyon site as one of five sites suitable for characterization. 181 figs., 175 tabs.

Environmental assessment: Davis Canyon site, Utah

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Davis Canyon site in Utah as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Davis Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOE prepared the final EA. The Davis Canyon site is in the Paradox Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considering for the first repository. This setting contains one other potentially acceptable site -- the Lavender Canyon site. Although the Lavender Canyon site is suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Davis Canyon site is the preferred site in the Paradox Basin. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Davis Canyon site is not disqualified under the guidelines. Furthermore, the DOE has found that the site is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Davis Canyon site as one of five sites suitable for characterization.

Environmental assessment: Davis Canyon site, Utah

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Davis Canyon site in Utah as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Davis Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOE prepared the final EA. The Davis Canyon site is in the Paradox Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considering for the first repository. This setting contains one other potentially acceptable site -- the Lavender Canyon site. Although the Lavender Canyon site is suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Davis Canyon site is the preferred site in the Paradox Basin. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Davis Canyon site is not disqualified under the guidelines. Furthermore, the DOE has found that the site is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Davis Canyon site as one of five sites suitable for characterization

Environmental assessment: Davis Canyon site, Utah

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Davis Canyon site in Utah as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high- level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Davis Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOE prepared the final EA. The Davis Canyon site is in the Paradox Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains one other potentially acceptable site -- the Lavender Canyon site. Although the Lavender Canyon site is suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Davis Canyon site is the preferred site in the Paradox Basin. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Davis Canyon site is not disqualified under the guidelines. Furthermore, the DOE has found that the site is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Davis Canyon site as one of the five sites suitable for characterization

Environmental status of the Lake Michigan region. Volume 3. Chemistry of Lake Michigan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torrey, M S

1976-05-01

The report is a synoptic review of data collected over the past twenty years on the chemistry of Lake Michigan. Changes in water quality and sediment chemistry, attributable to cultural and natural influences, are considered in relation to interacting processes and factors controlling the distribution and concentration of chemical substances within the Lake. Temperature, light, and mixing processes are among the important natural influences that affect nutrient cycling, dispersal of pollutants, and fate of materials entering the Lake. Characterization of inshore-offshore and longitudinal differences in chemical concentrations and sediment chemistry for the main body of the Lake is supplemented by discussion of specific areas such as Green Bay and Grand Traverse Bay. Residues, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, major and trace nutrients, and contaminants are described in the following context: biological essentiality and/or toxicity, sources to the Lake, concentrations in the water column and sediments, chemical forms, seasonal variations and variation with depth. A summary of existing water quality standards, statutes, and criteria applicable to Lake Michigan is appended.

Hydrogeology of Middle Canyon, Oquirrh Mountains, Tooele County, Utah

Science.gov (United States)

Gates, Joseph Spencer

1963-01-01

Geology and climate are the principal influences affecting the hydrology of Middle Canyon, Tooele County, Utah. Reconnaissance in the canyon indicated that the geologic influences on the hydrology may be localized; water may be leaking through fault and fracture zones or joints in sandstone and through solution openings in limestone of the Oquirrh formation of Pennsylvanian and Permian age. Surficial deposits of Quaternary age serve as the main storage material for ground water in the canyon and transmit water from the upper canyon to springs and drains at the canyon mouth. The upper canyon is a more important storage area than the lower canyon because the surficial deposits are thicker, and any zones of leakage in the underlying bedrock of the upper canyon probably would result in greater leakage than would similar outlets in the lower canyon.The total annual discharge from Middle Canyon, per unit of precipitation, decreased between 1910 and 1939. Similar decreases occurred in Parleys Canyon in the nearby Wasatch Range and in other drainage basins in Utah, and it is likely that most of the decrease in discharge from Middle Canyon and other canyons in Utah is due to a change in climate.Chemical analyses of water showed that the high content of sulfate and other constituents in the water from the Utah Metals tunnel, which drains into Middle Canyon, does not have a significant effect on water quality at the canyon mouth. This suggests that much of the tunnel water is lost from the channel by leakage, probably in the upper canyon, during the dry part of the year.Comparison of the 150 acre-feet of water per square mile of drainage area discharged by Middle Canyon in 1947 with the 623 and 543 acre-feet per square mile discharged in 1948 by City Creek and Mill Creek Canyons, two comparable drainage basins in the nearby Wasatch Range, also suggests that there is leakage in Middle Canyon.A hydrologic budget of the drainage basin results in an estimate that about 3,000 acre

Late Holocene earthquake history of the Brigham City segment of the Wasatch fault zone at the Hansen Canyon, Kotter Canyon, and Pearsons Canyon trench sites, Box Elder County, Utah

Science.gov (United States)

DuRoss, Christopher B.; Personius, Stephen F.; Crone, Anthony J.; McDonald, Greg N.; Briggs, Richard W.

2012-01-01

Of the five central segments of the Wasatch fault zone (WFZ) having evidence of recurrent Holocene surface-faulting earthquakes, the Brigham City segment (BCS) has the longest elapsed time since its most recent surface-faulting event (~2.1 kyr) compared to its mean recurrence time between events (~1.3 kyr). Thus, the BCS has the highest time-dependent earthquake probability of the central WFZ. We excavated trenches at three sites––the Kotter Canyon and Hansen Canyon sites on the north-central BCS and Pearsons Canyon site on the southern BCS––to determine whether a surface-faulting earthquake younger than 2.1 ka occurred on the BCS. Paleoseismic data for Hansen Canyon and Kotter Canyon confirm that the youngest earthquake on the north-central BCS occurred before 2 ka, consistent with previous north-central BCS investigations at Bowden Canyon and Box Elder Canyon. At Hansen Canyon, the most recent earthquake is constrained to 2.1–4.2 ka and had 0.6–2.5 m of vertical displacement. At Kotter Canyon, we found evidence for two events at 2.5 ± 0.3 ka and 3.5 ± 0.3 ka, with an average displacement per event of 1.9–2.3 m. Paleoseismic data from Pearsons Canyon, on the previously unstudied southern BCS, indicate that a post-2 ka earthquake ruptured this part of the segment. The Pearsons Canyon earthquake occurred at 1.2 ± 0.04 ka and had 0.1–0.8 m of vertical displacement, consistent with our observation of continuous, youthful scarps on the southern 9 km of the BCS having 1–2 m of late Holocene(?) surface offset. The 1.2-ka earthquake on the southern BCS likely represents rupture across the Weber–Brigham City segment boundary from the penultimate Weber-segment earthquake at about 1.1 ka. The Pearsons Canyon data result in a revised length of the BCS that has not ruptured since 2 ka (with time-dependent probability implications), and provide compelling evidence of at least one segment-boundary failure and multi-segment rupture on the central WFZ. Our

Iron-titanium oxide minerals and magnetic susceptibility anomalies in the Mariano Lake-Lake Valley cores - Constraints on conditions of uranium mineralization in the Morrison Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reynolds, R.L.; Fishman, N.S.; Scott, J.H.; Hudson, M.R.

1986-01-01

Petrographic study of the Mariano Lake-Lake Valley cores reveals three distinct zones of postdepositional alteration of detrital Fe-Ti (iron-titanium) oxide minerals in the Westwater Canyon Member of the Upper Jurassic Morrisson Formation. In the uranium-bearing and adjacent portions of the Westwater Canyon, these detrital Fe-Ti oxide minerals have been thoroughly altered by leaching of iron. Stratigraphically lower parts of the Westwater Canyon and the underlying Recapture Member are characterized by preservation of Fe-Ti oxide grains, primarily magnetite and ilmenite, and of hematite, and by an absence or uranium concentrations. Partly destroyed Fe-Ti oxide minerals occupy an interval between the zones of destruction and preservation. Alteration patterns of the Fe-Ti oxide minerals are reflected in bore-hole magnetic susceptibility logs. Magnetic susceptibility response in the upper parts of the Westwater Canyon Member is flat and uniformly <500 μSI units, but at greater depths it fluctuates sharply, from <1,000 to nearly 8,000 μSI units. The boundary between uniformly low and high magnetic susceptibility response corresponds closely to the interval that divides the zone of completely altered from the zone of preserved detrital Fe-Ti oxide minerals. The alteration pattern suggests that solutions responsible for destruction of the Fe-ti oxide minerals originated in the overlying Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation. Previous studies indicate that these solutions were rich in soluble organic matter and perhaps in uranium. Uranium precipitation may have been controlled by a vertically fluctuation interface between organic-rich solutions and geochemically different fluids in which the detrital Fe-Ti oxide minerals were preserved

Effects of uranium mining on ground water in Ambrosia Lake area, New Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, T.E.; Link, R.L.; Schipper, M.R.

1979-01-01

This paper discusses the impact of mining on the principal aquifer in the Ambrosia Lake area, the Westwater Canyon Member of the Morrison Formation. Loss of potentiometric head has resulted in interformational migration of ground water. This migration has produced local deterioration in chemical quality of the ground water. 7 refs

Assessment of lake sensitivity to acidic deposition in national parks of the Rocky Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Nanus, L.; Williams, M.W.; Campbell, D.H.; Tonnessen, K.A.; Blett, T.; Clow, D.W.

2009-01-01

The sensitivity of high-elevation lakes to acidic deposition was evaluated in five national parks of the Rocky Mountains based on statistical relations between lake acid-neutralizing capacity concentrations and basin characteristics. Acid-neutralizing capacity (ANC) of 151 lakes sampled during synoptic surveys and basin-characteristic information derived from geographic information system (GIS) data sets were used to calibrate the statistical models. The explanatory basin variables that were considered included topographic parameters, bedrock type, and vegetation type. A logistic regression model was developed, and modeling results were cross-validated through lake sampling during fall 2004 at 58 lakes. The model was applied to lake basins greater than 1 ha in area in Glacier National Park (n = 244 lakes), Grand Teton National Park (n = 106 lakes), Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (n = 11 lakes), Rocky Mountain National Park (n = 114 lakes), and Yellowstone National Park (n = 294 lakes). Lakes that had a high probability of having an ANC concentration 3000 m, with 80% of the catchment bedrock having low buffering capacity. The modeling results indicate that the most sensitive lakes are located in Rocky Mountain National Park and Grand Teton National Park. This technique for evaluating the lake sensitivity to acidic deposition is useful for designing long-term monitoring plans and is potentially transferable to other remote mountain areas of the United States and the world.

Separations canyon decontamination facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hershey, J.H.

1975-01-01

Highly radioactive process equipment is decontaminated at the Savannah River Plant in specially equipped areas of the separations canyon building so that direct mechanical repairs or alterations can be made. Using these facilities it is possible to decontaminate and repair equipment such as 10- x 11-ft storage tanks, 8- x 8-ft batch evaporator pots and columns, 40-in. Bird centrifuges, canyon pumps and agitators, and various canyon piping systems or ''jumpers.'' For example, centrifuge or evaporator pots can be decontaminated and rebuilt for about 60 percent of the 1974 replacement cost. The combined facilities can decontaminate and repair 6 to 10 pieces of major equipment per year. Decontamination time varies with type of equipment and radioactivity levels encountered

Separations canyon decontamination facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hershey, J.H.

1975-05-01

Highly radioactive process equipment is decontaminated at the Savannah River Plant in specially equipped areas of the separations canyon buildings so that direct mechanical repairs or alterations can be made. Using these facilities it is possible to decontaminate and repair equipment such as 10- x 11-ft storage tanks, 8- x 8-ft batch evaporator pots and columns, 40-in. Bird centrifuges, canyon pumps and agitators, and various canyon piping systems or ''jumpers.'' For example, centrifuge or evaporator pots can be decontaminated and rebuilt for about 60 percent of the 1974 replacement cost. The combined facilities can decontaminate and repair 6 to 10 pieces of major equipment per year. Decontamination time varies with type of equipment and radioactivity levels encountered. (U.S.)

Effects of uranium mining of ground water in Ambrosia Lake area, New Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, T.E.; Link, R.L.; Schipper, M.R.

1980-01-01

The principal ore-bearing zone in the Ambrosia Lake area of the Grants uranium district is the Westwater Canyon Member of the Morrison Formation (Jurassic). This unit is also one of the major artesian aquifers in the region. Significant declines in the potentiometric lead within the aquifer have been recorded, although cones of depression do not appear to have spread laterally more than a few miles. Loss of potentiometric head in the Westwater Canyon Member has resulted in the interformational migration of ground water along fault zones from overlying aquifers of Cretaceous age. This migration has produced local deterioration in chemical quality of the ground water

Flow dynamics around downwelling submarine canyons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. M. Spurgin

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Flow dynamics around a downwelling submarine canyon were analysed with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model. Blanes Canyon (northwestern Mediterranean was used for topographic and initial forcing conditions. Fourteen scenarios were modelled with varying forcing conditions. Rossby and Burger numbers were used to determine the significance of Coriolis acceleration and stratification (respectively and their impacts on flow dynamics. A new non-dimensional parameter (χ was introduced to determine the significance of vertical variations in stratification. Some simulations do see brief periods of upwards displacement of water during the 10-day model period; however, the presence of the submarine canyon is found to enhance downwards advection of density in all model scenarios. High Burger numbers lead to negative vorticity and a trapped anticyclonic eddy within the canyon, as well as an increased density anomaly. Low Burger numbers lead to positive vorticity, cyclonic circulation, and weaker density anomalies. Vertical variations in stratification affect zonal jet placement. Under the same forcing conditions, the zonal jet is pushed offshore in more uniformly stratified domains. The offshore jet location generates upwards density advection away from the canyon, while onshore jets generate downwards density advection everywhere within the model domain. Increasing Rossby values across the canyon axis, as well as decreasing Burger values, increase negative vertical flux at shelf break depth (150 m. Increasing Rossby numbers lead to stronger downwards advection of a passive tracer (nitrate, as well as stronger vorticity within the canyon. Results from previous studies are explained within this new dynamic framework.

Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects Electric Power Marketing. Draft environmental impact statement: Volume 3, Appendix A

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-02-01

The Salt Lake City Area Office of the Western Area Power Administration (Western) markets electricity produced at hydroelectric facilities operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. The facilities are known collectively as the Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects (SLCA/IP) and include dams equipped for power generation on the Green, Gunnison, Rio Grande, and Colorado rivers and on Deer and Plateau creeks in the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. Of these facilities, only the Glen Canyon Unit, the Flaming Gorge Unit, and the Aspinall Unit (which includes Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal dams;) are influenced by Western power scheduling and transmission decisions. The EIS alternatives, called commitment-level alternatives, reflect combinations of capacity and energy that would feasibly and reasonably fulfill Westerns firm power marketing responsibilities, needs, and statutory obligations. The viability of these alternatives relates directly to the combination of generation capability of the SLCA/IP with energy purchases and interchange. The economic and natural resource assessments in this environmental impact statement (EIS) include an analysis of commitment-level alternatives. Impacts of the no-action alternative are also assessed. Supply options, which include combinations of electrical power purchases and hydropower operational scenarios reflecting different operations of the dams, are also assessed. The EIS evaluates the impacts of these scenarios relative to socioeconomics, air resources, water resources, ecological resources, cultural resources, land use, recreation, and visual resources.

236-Z canyon utilization study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, D.R.

1977-01-01

The 236-Z canyon contains equipment for repurification of plutonium and recovery of plutonium from scrap material. To meet production requirements of Fast Flux Test Facility/Clinch River Breeder Reactor oxide with the existing plant, several new pieces of equipment will be needed in the future. More storage space and a better accountability system are needed to support this increased production. The available canyon space needs to be utilized to its fullest in order to accommodate the new equipment. The purpose of this document is to identify the new pieces of equipment, show how they fit into the flowsheet, and locate them in the canyon

Ventilation Processes in a Three-Dimensional Street Canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Nosek, Štěpán; Kukačka, Libor; Kellnerová, Radka; Jurčáková, Klára; Jaňour, Zbyněk

2016-05-01

The ventilation processes in three different street canyons of variable roof geometry were investigated in a wind tunnel using a ground-level line source. All three street canyons were part of an urban-type array formed by courtyard-type buildings with pitched roofs. A constant roof height was used in the first case, while a variable roof height along the leeward or windward walls was simulated in the two other cases. All street-canyon models were exposed to a neutrally stratified flow with two approaching wind directions, perpendicular and oblique. The complexity of the flow and dispersion within the canyons of variable roof height was demonstrated for both wind directions. The relative pollutant removals and spatially-averaged concentrations within the canyons revealed that the model with constant roof height has higher re-emissions than models with variable roof heights. The nomenclature for the ventilation processes according to quadrant analysis of the pollutant flux was introduced. The venting of polluted air (positive fluctuations of both concentration and velocity) from the canyon increased when the wind direction changed from perpendicular to oblique, irrespective of the studied canyon model. Strong correlations (>0.5) between coherent structures and ventilation processes were found at roof level, irrespective of the canyon model and wind direction. This supports the idea that sweep and ejection events of momentum bring clean air in and detrain the polluted air from the street canyon, respectively.

Transient simulation of groundwater levels within a sandbar of the Colorado River, Marble Canyon, Arizona, 2004

Science.gov (United States)

Sabol, Thomas A.; Springer, Abraham E.

2013-01-01

Seepage erosion and mass failure of emergent sandy deposits along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, are a function of the elevation of groundwater in the sandbar, fluctuations in river stage, the exfiltration of water from the bar face, and the slope of the bar face. In this study, a generalized three-dimensional numerical model was developed to predict the time-varying groundwater level, within the bar face region of a freshly deposited eddy sandbar, as a function of river stage. Model verification from two transient simulations demonstrates the ability of the model to predict groundwater levels within the onshore portion of the sandbar face across a range of conditions. Use of this generalized model is applicable across a range of typical eddy sandbar deposits in diverse settings. The ability to predict the groundwater level at the onshore end of the sandbar face is essential for both physical and numerical modeling efforts focusing on the erosion and mass failure of eddy sandbars downstream of Glen Canyon Dam along the Colorado River.

Population dynamics of Chaoborus flavicans and Daphnia spp.: effects on a zooplankton community in a volcanic eutrophic lake with naturally high metal concentrations (L. Monticchio Grande, Southern Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Letizia GARIBALDI

2009-02-01

Full Text Available The response of Daphnia populations to invertebrate predators involves morphological or behavioural changes. Few studies suggest that contaminant aqueous metals, like Cu or Ni at environmentally relevant concentrations, interfere with invertebrate chemical communication systems, such as that which operates between Daphnia and Chaoborus. The objective of our study was to determine if this interference could be also observed in lakes naturally rich in dissolved metals, such as volcanic lake (Lago Grande di Monticchio. This study aimed to assess if natural dissolved metals (e.g., Fe, Mn and Sr could impair the ability of Daphnia pulex and D. galeata × hyalina × cucullata 'complex' populations to respond to Chaoborus kairomones by producing morphological defenses against potential predation, and to understand how Chaoborus predation might affect zooplankton community composition and overall zooplankton density. The predator impact did not result in: i any morphological changes; ii any apparent shift in body size pattern of the prey population; iii any shift in life history traits. Chaoborus accounted for high mortality rates in Cladocera and strongly reduced the chance of individuals to reach maturity. Moreover, highly significant negative correlations between abundance of dominant taxa of zooplankton and C. flavicans were found. The last larval instars of C. flavicans seem to reduce the number of crustaceans, particularly cladocerans and copepod adults and could play an important role in structuring zooplankton communities. Our results suggest that metal inhibition of defence strategies induction probably occurs along the signal transduction pathway in Lake Grande di Monticchio. Impairment of chemosensory response to predatory chemical cues may have widespread ecological consequences in aquatic systems. Chaoborus predation effects can greatly affect both zooplankton biomass and community composition, impact interactions at lower trophic levels

Freshwater Microbialites of Pavilion Lake, British Columbia, Canada: A Limnological Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, D. S. S.; McKay, C. P.; Laval, B.; Bird, J.; Cady, S.

2004-01-01

Pavillion Lake is 5.7km long and an average of 0.8 km in width, and is located in Marble Canyon in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is a slightly alkaline, freshwater lake with a maximum-recorded depth of 65m. The basin walls of Pavilion Lake are lined with microbialite structures that are oriented perpendicularly to the shoreline, and which are found from depths of 5 meters to the bottom of the photic zone (light levels 1% of ambient; approximately 30m depth). These structures are speculated to have begun formation nearly 11,000 years ago, after the glacial retreat of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. They are likely a distinctive assemblage of freshwater calcite microbialites, which display micromorphologies possibly related to the ancient Epiphyton and Girvanella classes of calcareous organosedimentary structures.

Morphodynamic Model of Submarine Canyon Incision by Sandblasting

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, L.; Parker, G.; Izumi, N.; Cartigny, M.; Li, T.; Wang, G.

2017-12-01

Submarine canyons are carved by turbidity currents under the deep sea. As opposed to subaerial canyons, the relevant processes are not easy to observe directly. Turbidity currents are bottom-hugging sediment gravity flows of that can incise or deposit on the seafloor to create submarine canyons or fans. The triggers of turbidity currents can be storms, edge waves, internal waves, canyon wall sapping, delta failure, breaching and hyperpycnal flows. The formation and evolution mechanisms of submarine canyons are similar to those of subaerial canyons, but have substantial differences. For example, sandblasting, rather than wear due to colliding gravel clasts is more likely to be the mechanism of bedrock incision. Submarine canyons incise downward, and often develop meander bends and levees within the canyon, so defining "fairways". Here we propose a simple model for canyon incision. The starting point of our model is the Macro Roughness Saltation Abrasion Alluviation model of Zhang et al. [2015], designed for bedrock incision by gravel clasts in mixed bedrock-alluvial rivers. We adapt this formulation to consider sandblasting as a means of wear. We use a layer-averaged model for turbidity current dynamics. The current contains a mixture of mud, which helps drive the flow but which does not cause incision, and sand, which is the agent of incision. We show that the model can successfully model channel downcutting, and indeed illustrate the early formation of net incisional cyclic steps, i.e. upstream-migrating undulations on the bed associated with transcritical (in the Froude sense) flow. These steps can be expected to abet the process of incision.

Environmental assessment overview, Davis Canyon site, Utah

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Davis Canyon site in Utah as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Davis Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. The Davis Canyon site is in the Paradox Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Davis Canyon site is not disqualified under the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Davis Canyon site as one of five sites suitable for characterization. 3 figs

Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects Electric Power Marketing. Draft environmental impact statement: Volume 4, Appendixes B-D

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-02-01

The Salt Lake City Area Office of the Western Area Power Administration (Western) markets electricity produced at hydroelectric facilities operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. The facilities are known collectively as the Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects (SLCA/IP) and include dams equipped for power generation on the Green, Gunnison, Rio Grande, and Colorado rivers and on Deer and Plateau creeks in the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. Of these facilities, only the Glen Canyon Unit, the Flaming Gorge Unit, and the Aspinall Unit (which includes Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal dams;) are influenced by Western power scheduling and transmission decisions. The EIS alternatives, called commitment-level alternatives, reflect combinations of capacity and energy that would feasibly and reasonably fulfill Westerns firm power marketing responsibilities, needs, and statutory obligations. The viability of these alternatives relates directly to the combination of generation capability of the SLCA/IP with energy purchases and interchange. The economic and natural resource assessments in this environmental impact statement (EIS) include an analysis of commitment-level alternatives. Impacts of the no-action alternative are also assessed. Supply options, which include combinations of electrical power purchases and hydropower operational scenarios reflecting different operations of the dams, are also assessed. The EIS evaluates the impacts of these scenarios relative to socioeconomics, air resources, water resources, ecological resources, cultural resources, land use, recreation, and visual resources.

Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects Electric Power Marketing. Draft environmental impact statement: Volume 2, Sections 1-16

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-02-01

The Salt Lake City Area Office of the Western Area Power Administration (Western) markets electricity produced at hydroelectric facilities operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. The facilities are known collectively as the Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects (SLCA/IP) and include dams equipped for power generation on the Green, Gunnison, Rio Grande, and Colorado rivers and on Deer and Plateau creeks in the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. Of these facilities, only the Glen Canyon Unit, the Flaming Gorge Unit, and the Aspinall Unit (which includes Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal dams;) are influenced by Western power scheduling and transmission decisions. The EIS alternatives, called commitment-level alternatives, reflect combinations of capacity and energy that would feasibly and reasonably fulfill Westerns firm power marketing responsibilities, needs, and statutory obligations. The viability of these alternatives relates directly to the combination of generation capability of the SLCA/IP with energy purchases and interchange. The economic and natural resource assessments in this environmental impact statement (EIS) include an analysis of commitment-level alternatives. Impacts of the no-action alternative are also assessed. Supply options, which include combinations of electrical power purchases and hydropower operational scenarios reflecting different operations of the dams, are also assessed. The EIS evaluates the impacts of these scenarios relative to socioeconomics, air resources, water resources, ecological resources, cultural resources, land use, recreation, and visual resources.

LAGOAS COSTEIRAS:PATRIMÔNIO AMBIENTAL DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosane Lanzer

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Lagos e lagunas costeiras estão distribuídos nos diversos continentes. A Planície Costeira do Rio Grande do Sul possui um sistema de lagoas que teve origem nos processos de transgressão e regressão marinha durante o Pleistoceno e Holoceno. A gênese destes corpos de água tem um importante papel na sua caracterização ecológica e biodiversidade. Para efeito de estudo, o litoral rio-grandense pode ser dividido em três áreas que se distinguem, especialmente, quanto ao seu uso e impacto antrópico: litoral norte, de Torres a Quintão, se caracteriza pela concentração de veranistas; no litoral médio, até a Lagoa do Peixe e litoral sul, ao sul da barra da Lagoa dos Patos, há predomínio de atividades agrícola e pastoril, com uso da águas para irrigação. As Unidades de Conservação existentes na costa não contribuem com a preservação destes ecossistemas. O mau uso das lagoas tem contribuído para sua eutrofização, destruindo a biodiversidade, ainda pouco conhecida, e acelerando o processo de envelhecimento natural.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: lagoas costeiras; patrimônio ambiental; turismo; sul do Brasil. ABSTRACT:Lakes and coastal lagoons are distributed in the several continents. The Coastal Plain of Rio Grande do Sul has a system of coastal lake that was shaped by Pleistocene and Holocene transgression and regression phases. The origin of these lakes has an important role to the biodiversity and ecological conditions. The coastal of Rio Grande do Sul, in this study, can be divided into three distinguished areas , specially about their use and antropic impacts: north coast, from Torres to Quintão, has a great concentration of tourists; medium coast until the Lagoa do Peixe and south coast has more agricultural and cattle raising activities, with water use to irrigation. The protected areas in the Coastal Plain doesn’t improve the preservation of these ecosystems. The incorrect use of the lakes has initiated

Register of the last 1000 years of environmental, climatic and anthropogenic change in Isla Grande de Chiloé, inferred through a multi-proxy approach: Lake Pastahué, Chile-South Center (42°S)

Science.gov (United States)

Troncoso, Jose; Alvarez, Denisse; Díaz, Gustavo; Fierro, Pablo; Araneda, Alberto; Torrejón, Fernando; Rondanelli, Mauricio; Fagel, Nathalie; Urrutia, Roberto

2017-04-01

Knowledge of the past environmental and climatic conditions of the lake ecosystems of the Isla Grande de Chiloé and its relationship with the anthropic effect, on a high temporal resolution scale, is scarcely known. Specifically, multi-proxy studies provide a better understanding of the context in which changes occurred in the past. This insular region is particularly interesting because environmental conditions (pre and post-Hispanic) and knowledge about the impacts generated in the ecosystems during the Spanish colonization process have so far been little studied, compared to the rest of Chile continental. This research is a new contribution to the scarce information existing for the last millennium of the Isla Grande de Chiloé. The objective of this work was to reconstruct the environmental and climatic history of the last 1000 years, from the Lake Pastahué, in the Isla Grande de Chiloé through a multi-proxy analysis and compare them with other records for the region. The core sediment was sub-sampled to perform sedimentological analysis (organic matter, carbonates, magnetic susceptibility and granulometry) and biological indicators (pollen, chironomids). The age model was constructed from the activity of 210Pb,137Cs and 14C. The pollen results reveal a composition of nordpatagónico forest represented by Nothofagus, Weinmannia, Drimys, Tepualia, Myrtaceae, Poaceae and Pteridophyta, while the anthropic effect for the last cm of the profile is represented by Rumex and Pinus. The results show a significant increase in magnetic susceptibility since the middle of the 20th century, suggesting an increase in allochthonous material to the lake. The sedimentological parameters and the chironomid assembly show similar variations along the profile, which also shows changes in the trophic state of the lake. The changes recorded in lake Pastahue are directly related to past climatic phenomena occurring in the last millennium, such as the medieval climatic anomaly (MCA

Modeling the Effect of Wider Canyons on Urban Heating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rizwan Ahmed Memon

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The k-? turbulence model is adopted in this study to simulate the impact of street canyon AR (Aspect Ratios on heating within street canyon. The two-dimensional model was validated for RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes and energy transport equations. The validation process confirms that the results of the model for airtemperature and wind speed could be trusted. The application of the said model is carried out to ideal street canyons of ARs (ratio of building-height-to-street-width from 0.4 to 2 with the same boundary conditions. Notably, street canyon aspect ratio was calculated by varying the street width while keeping the building height constant. Results show that the weighted-average-air-temperature within AR 0.4 was around 0.8% (i.e. 2.4K higher than that within AR 2.0. Conversely, there was strong correlation (i.e., R2>0.9 between air temperature within the street canyon and street canyon AR. Results demonstrate stronger influence of vertical velocity on heating within street canyon. Evidently, increased vertical velocity decreased the temperatures. Conversely, temperatures were higher along the leeward side of the canyon in lower ARs.

Anatomy of La Jolla submarine canyon system; offshore southern California

Science.gov (United States)

Paull, C.K.; Caress, D.W.; Lundsten, E.; Gwiazda, R.; Anderson, K.; McGann, M.; Conrad, J.; Edwards, B.; Sumner, E.J.

2013-01-01

An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) carrying a multibeam sonar and a chirp profiler was used to map sections of the seafloor within the La Jolla Canyon, offshore southern California, at sub-meter scales. Close-up observations and sampling were conducted during remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives. Minisparker seismic-reflection profiles from a surface ship help to define the overall geometry of the La Jolla Canyon especially with respect to the pre-canyon host sediments. The floor of the axial channel is covered with unconsolidated sand similar to the sand on the shelf near the canyon head, lacks outcrops of the pre-canyon host strata, has an almost constant slope of 1.0° and is covered with trains of crescent shaped bedforms. The presence of modern plant material entombed within these sands confirms that the axial channel is presently active. The sand on the canyon floor liquefied during vibracore collection and flowed downslope, illustrating that the sediment filling the channel can easily fail even on this gentle slope. Data from the canyon walls help constrain the age of the canyon and extent of incision. Horizontal beds of moderately cohesive fine-grained sediments exposed on the steep canyon walls are consistently less than 1.232 million years old. The lateral continuity of seismic reflectors in minisparker profiles indicate that pre-canyon host strata extend uninterrupted from outside the canyon underneath some terraces within the canyon. Evidence of abandoned channels and point bar-like deposits are noticeably absent on the inside bend of channel meanders and in the subsurface of the terraces. While vibracores from the surface of terraces contain thin (art seafloor mapping and exploration tools provides a uniquely detailed view of the morphology within an active submarine canyon.

76 FR 56430 - Boulder Canyon Project

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-13

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Western Area Power Administration Boulder Canyon Project AGENCY: Western Area... Project (BCP) electric service provided by the Western Area Power Administration (Western). The Rates will... by the Boulder Canyon Project Act (45 Stat. 1057, December 21, 1928), sits on the Colorado River...

Pollutant Dilution and Diffusion in Urban Street Canyon Neighboring Streets

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Z.; Fu, Zh. M.

2011-09-01

In the present study we investigated the airflow patterns and air quality of a series of typical street canyon combinations, developed a mass balance model to determine the local pollutant dilution rate, and discuss the impact of upstream canyon on the air quality of downstream canyon. The results indicated that the geometrical size of upstream and downstream buildings have significant impacts on the ambient airflow patterns. The pollution distribution within the canyons varies with different building combinations and flow patterns. Within the upstream canyon, pollution always accumulates to the low building side for non-symmetrical canyon, and for symmetrical canyon high level of pollution occurs at the leeward side. The height of the middle and downstream buildings can evidently change the pollutant dispersion direction during the transport process. Within the polluted canyon, the pollutant dilution rate (PDR) also varies with different street canyon combinations. The highest PDR is observed when the upstream buildings are both low buildings no matter the height of downstream building. However, the two cases are likely to contribution pollution to the downstream canyon. The H-L-H combination is mostly against local pollution remove, while the L-H-L case is considered the best optimistic building combination with both the ability of diluting local pollution and not remarkably decreasing air quality of downstream canyon. The current work is expected instructive for city designers to optimize traffic patterns under typical existing geometry or in the development of urban geometry modification for air quality control.

Anatomy of La Jolla submarine canyon system; offshore southern California

Science.gov (United States)

Paull, C.K.; Caress, D.W.; Lundsten, E.; Gwiazda, R.; Anderson, K.; McGann, M.; Conrad, J.; Edwards, B.; Sumner, E.J.

2013-01-01

An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) carrying a multibeam sonar and a chirp profiler was used to map sections of the seafloor within the La Jolla Canyon, offshore southern California, at sub-meter scales. Close-up observations and sampling were conducted during remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives. Minisparker seismic-reflection profiles from a surface ship help to define the overall geometry of the La Jolla Canyon especially with respect to the pre-canyon host sediments. The floor of the axial channel is covered with unconsolidated sand similar to the sand on the shelf near the canyon head, lacks outcrops of the pre-canyon host strata, has an almost constant slope of 1.0° and is covered with trains of crescent shaped bedforms. The presence of modern plant material entombed within these sands confirms that the axial channel is presently active. The sand on the canyon floor liquefied during vibracore collection and flowed downslope, illustrating that the sediment filling the channel can easily fail even on this gentle slope. Data from the canyon walls help constrain the age of the canyon and extent of incision. Horizontal beds of moderately cohesive fine-grained sediments exposed on the steep canyon walls are consistently less than 1.232 million years old. The lateral continuity of seismic reflectors in minisparker profiles indicate that pre-canyon host strata extend uninterrupted from outside the canyon underneath some terraces within the canyon. Evidence of abandoned channels and point bar-like deposits are noticeably absent on the inside bend of channel meanders and in the subsurface of the terraces. While vibracores from the surface of terraces contain thin (< 10 cm) turbidites, they are inferred to be part of a veneer of recent sediment covering pre-canyon host sediments that underpin the terraces. The combined use of state of the art seafloor mapping and exploration tools provides a uniquely detailed view of the morphology within an active submarine canyon.

The End of Monterey Submarine Canyon Incision and Potential River Source Areas-Os, Nd, and Pb Isotope Constraints from Hydrogenetic Fe-Mn Crusts

Science.gov (United States)

Conrad, T. A.; Nielsen, S.; Ehrenbrink, B. P. E.; Blusztajn, J.; Hein, J. R.; Paytan, A.

2015-12-01

The Monterey Canyon off central California is the largest submarine canyon off North America and is comparable in scale to the Grand Canyon. The age and history of the Monterey Canyon are poorly constrained due to thick sediment cover and sediment disruption from turbidity currents. To address this deficit we analyzed isotopic proxies (Os, Pb, Nd) from hydrogenetic ferromanganese (Fe-Mn) crusts, which grow over millions of years on elevated rock surfaces by precipitation of metals from seawater. Fe-Mn crusts were studied from Davidson Seamount near the base of the Monterey submarine fan, the Taney Seamount Chain, and from Hoss Seamount, which serves as a regional control (Fig.). Fe-Mn crusts were dated using Os isotope ratios compared to those that define the Cenozoic Os isotope seawater curve. Four Fe-Mn crust samples from Davidson and Taney Seamounts deviate from the Os isotopic seawater curve towards radiogenic values after 4.5±1 Ma. Osmium is well mixed in the global ocean and is not subject to significant diffusive reequilibration in Fe-Mn crusts. We therefore attribute deviations from the Os isotope seawater curve to large-scale terrestrial input that ended about 4.5±1 Ma. The two Davidson samples also show more radiogenic Nd isotope values from about 4.5±1 Ma. Lead isotopes in one Davidson Seamount crust, measured by LA-ICPMS, deviate from regional values after 4.5±1 Ma for about 500 ka towards terrestrial sources. The Taney Seamount Fe-Mn crust does not deviate from regional Nd nor Pb isotope values due to its greater distance from Monterey Canyon and the shorter marine residence times of Nd and Pb. Isotope plots of our crust data and compiled data for potential source rocks indicate that the river that carved Monterey Canyon carried sediment with values closer to the Sierra Nevada than to a Colorado Plateau source, with cessation of major riverine input occurring approximately 4.5±1 Ma, an age that we interpret as the end of the Monterey Canyon

Geology and ore deposits of Johnny M mine, Ambrosia Lake District

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Falkowski, S.K.

1980-01-01

The Johnny M mine is one of very few mines in the Ambrosia Lake district with uranium ore in two members of the Morrison Formation (Jurassic); these members are the Westwater Canyon Sandstone and the Brushy Basin Shale. The Westwater Canyon ore is contained in the two upper sandstone units of the member, and the Brushy Basin ore is contained in the Poison Canyon sandstone (informal usage). The sedimentary features and structures in the Westwater Canyon sandstones indicate that the sediments were deposited by a system of aggrading braided streams, possibly at the distal end of coalescing alluvial fans. The Poison Canyon sandstone was probably the result of deposition in a complex environment of meandering and braided streams. Paleocurrent-direction indicators, such as fossilized-log orientation, foreset azimuths, and the axes of crossbeds and channel scours, suggest that the local palostream flow was to the east and southeast. The uranium mineralization is closely associated with 1) local accumulations of carbonaceous (humate) matter derived from the decay of organic material and 2) paleostream channels preserved in the rocks. The ore elements were derived from the leaching of volcanic air-fall tuffs and ash, which were introduced into the fluvial system during volcanic activity in the western United States. The mobile ore-element ions were reduce and concentrated by humic acids and bacteria present in the fluvial system and ultimately remobilized into the forms present today. The uranium is thus envisioned as forming either essentially on the surface as the sediments were being deposited or at very shallow depth

76 FR 8359 - Boulder Canyon Project

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-14

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Western Area Power Administration Boulder Canyon Project AGENCY: Western Area... Western Area Power Administration (Western) is proposing an adjustment to the Boulder Canyon Project (BCP... Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485h(c)), and other acts that specifically apply to the project...

78 FR 7775 - Boulder Canyon Project

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-04

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Western Area Power Administration Boulder Canyon Project AGENCY: Western Area...), is proposing an adjustment to the Boulder Canyon Project (BCP) electric service base charge and rates... subsequent laws, particularly section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485h(c)); and...

77 FR 2533 - Boulder Canyon Project

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-18

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Western Area Power Administration Boulder Canyon Project AGENCY: Western Area...), is proposing an adjustment to the Boulder Canyon Project (BCP) electric service base charge and rates...) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485h(c)); and other acts that specifically apply to...

Seismic architecture and lithofacies of turbidites in Lake Mead (Arizona and Nevada, U.S.A.), an analogue for topographically complex basins

Science.gov (United States)

Twichell, D.C.; Cross, V.A.; Hanson, A.D.; Buck, B.J.; Zybala, J.G.; Rudin, M.J.

2005-01-01

Turbidites, which have accumulated in Lake Mead since completion of the Hoover Dam in 1935, have been mapped using high-resolution seismic and coring techniques. This lake is an exceptional natural laboratory for studying fine-grained turbidite systems in complex topographic settings. The lake comprises four relatively broad basins separated by narrow canyons, and turbidity currents run the full length of the lake. The mean grain size of turbidites is mostly coarse silt, and the sand content decreases from 11-30% in beds in the easternmost basin nearest the source to 3-14% in the central basins to 1-2% in the most distal basin. Regionally, the seismic amplitude mimics the core results and decreases away from the source. The facies and morphology of the sediment surface varies between basins and suggests a regional progression from higher-energy and possibly channelized flows in the easternmost basin to unchannelized flows in the central two basins to unchannelized flows that are ponded by the Hoover Dam in the westernmost basin. At the local scale, turbidites are nearly flat-lying in the central two basins, but here the morphology of the basin walls strongly affects the distribution of facies. One of the two basins is relatively narrow, and in sinuous sections reflection amplitude increases toward the outsides of meanders. Where a narrow canyon debouches into a broad basin, reflection amplitude decreases radially away from the canyon mouth and forms a fan-like deposit. The fine-grained nature of the turbidites in the most distal basin and the fact that reflections drape the underlying pre-impoundment surface suggest ponding here. The progression from ponding in the most distal basin to possibly channelized flows in the most proximal basin shows in plan view a progression similar to the stratigraphic progression documented in several minibasins in the Gulf of Mexico. Copyright ?? 2005, SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology).

Deepwater Canyons 2013: Pathways to the Abyss

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Leg I focused on biological objectives in Norfolk Canyon, with some sampling in Baltimore Canyon. Leg II focused on archaeological targets in and around the Norfolk...

Of travertine and time: otolith chemistry and microstructure detect provenance and demography of endangered humpback chub in Grand Canyon, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Limburg, Karin E.; Hayden, Todd A.; Pine, William E.; Yard, Michael D.; Kozdon, Reinhard; Valley, John W.

2013-01-01

We developed a geochemical atlas of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon and in its tributary, the Little Colorado River, and used it to identify provenance and habitat use by Federally Endangered humpback chub, Gila cypha. Carbon stable isotope ratios (δ13C) discriminate best between the two rivers, but fine scale analysis in otoliths requires rare, expensive instrumentation. We therefore correlated other tracers (SrSr, Ba, and Se in ratio to Ca) to δ13C that are easier to quantify in otoliths with other microchemical techniques. Although the Little Colorado River’s water chemistry varies with major storm events, at base flow or near base flow (conditions occurring 84% of the time in our study) its chemistry differs sufficiently from the mainstem to discriminate one from the other. Additionally, when fish egress from the natal Little Colorado River to the mainstem, they encounter cold water which causes the otolith daily growth increments to decrease in size markedly. Combining otolith growth increment analysis and microchemistry permitted estimation of size and age at first egress; size at first birthday was also estimated. Emigrants < 1 year old averaged 51.2 ± 4.4 (SE) days and 35.5 ± 3.6 mm at egress; older fish that had recruited to the population averaged 100 ± 7.8 days old and 51.0 ± 2.2 mm at egress, suggesting that larger, older emigrants recruit better. Back-calculated size at age 1 was unimodal and large (78.2 ± 3.3 mm) in Little Colorado caught fish but was bimodally distributed in Colorado mainstem caught fish (49.9 ± 3.6 and 79 ± 4.9 mm) suggesting that humpback chub can also rear in the mainstem. The study demonstrates the coupled usage of the two rivers by this fish and highlights the need to consider both rivers when making management decisions for humpback chub recovery.

Effects of canyon geometry on the distribution of traffic-related air pollution in a large urban area: Implications of a multi-canyon air pollution dispersion model

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Xiangwen; Liu, Junfeng; Ban-Weiss, George A.; Zhang, Jiachen; Huang, Xin; Ouyang, Bin; Popoola, Olalekan; Tao, Shu

2017-09-01

Street canyons are ubiquitous in urban areas. Traffic-related air pollutants in street canyons can adversely affect human health. In this study, an urban-scale traffic pollution dispersion model is developed considering street distribution, canyon geometry, background meteorology, traffic assignment, traffic emissions and air pollutant dispersion. In the model, vehicle exhausts generated from traffic flows first disperse inside street canyons along the micro-scale wind field generated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. Then, pollutants leave the street canyon and further disperse over the urban area. On the basis of this model, the effects of canyon geometry on the distribution of NOx and CO from traffic emissions were studied over the center of Beijing. We found that an increase in building height leads to heavier pollution inside canyons and lower pollution outside canyons at pedestrian level, resulting in higher domain-averaged concentrations over the area. In addition, canyons with highly even or highly uneven building heights on each side of the street tend to lower the urban-scale air pollution concentrations at pedestrian level. Further, increasing street widths tends to lead to lower pollutant concentrations by reducing emissions and enhancing ventilation simultaneously. Our results indicate that canyon geometry strongly influences human exposure to traffic pollutants in the populated urban area. Carefully planning street layout and canyon geometry while considering traffic demand as well as local weather patterns may significantly reduce inhalation of unhealthy air by urban residents.

Characteristics of flow and reactive pollutant dispersion in urban street canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Soo-Jin; Kim, Jae-Jin; Kim, Minjoong J.; Park, Rokjin J.; Cheong, Hyeong-Bin

2015-05-01

In this study, the effects of aspect ratio defined as the ratio of building height to street width on the dispersion of reactive pollutants in street canyons were investigated using a coupled CFD-chemistry model. Flow characteristics for different aspect ratios were analyzed first. For each aspect ratio, six emission scenarios with different VOC-NOX ratios were considered. One vortex was generated when the aspect ratio was less than 1.6 (shallow street canyon). When the aspect ratio was greater than 1.6 (deep street canyon), two vortices were formed in the street canyons. Comparing to previous studies on two-dimensional street canyons, the vortex center is slanted toward the upwind building and reverse and downward flows are dominant in street canyons. Near the street bottom, there is a marked difference in flow pattern between in shallow and deep street canyons. Near the street bottom, reverse and downward flows are dominant in shallow street canyon and flow convergence exists near the center of the deep street canyons, which induces a large difference in the NOX and O3 dispersion patterns in the street canyons. NOX concentrations are high near the street bottom and decreases with height. The O3 concentrations are low at high NO concentrations near the street bottom because of NO titration. At a low VOC-NOX ratio, the NO concentrations are sufficiently high to destroy large amount of O3 by titration, resulting in an O3 concentration in the street canyon much lower than the background concentration. At high VOC-NOX ratios, a small amount of O3 is destroyed by NO titration in the lower layer of the street canyons. However, in the upper layer, O3 is formed through the photolysis of NO2 by VOC degradation reactions. As the aspect ratio increases, NOX (O3) concentrations averaged over the street canyons decrease (increase) in the shallow street canyons. This is because outward flow becomes strong and NOX flux toward the outsides of the street canyons increases

Lake-level frequency analysis for Devils Lake, North Dakota

Science.gov (United States)

Wiche, Gregg J.; Vecchia, Aldo V.

1996-01-01

for generating precipitation, evaporation, and inflow indicates that the upper lake-level exceedance levels from the water mass-balance model are particularly sensitive to parameter uncertainty. The sensitivity in the upper exceedance levels was caused almost entirely by uncertainty in the fitted probability distributions of the quarterly inflows. A method was developed for using long-term streamflow data for the Red River of the North at Grand Forks to reduce the variance in the estimated mean.Comparison of the annual lake-volume model and the water mass-balance model indicates the upper exceedance levels of the water mass-balance model increase much more rapidly than those of the annual lake-volume model. As an example, for simulation year 5, the 99-percent exceedance for the lake level is 1,417.6 feet above sea level for the annual lake-volume model and 1,423.2 feet above sea level for the water mass-balance model. The rapid increase is caused largely by the record precipitation and inflow in the summer and fall of 1993. Because the water mass-balance model produces lake-level traces that closely match the hydrology of Devils Lake, the water mass-balance model is superior to the annual lake-volume model for computing exceedance levels for the 50-year planning horizon.

Modelling the air flow in symmetric and asymmetric street canyons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santiago, J.L.; Martin, F. [Research Center for Energy, Environment and Technology (CIEMAT), Madrid (Spain). Fossil Fuels Dept., Numerical Simulation and Modelling Program

2004-07-01

In recent years a large amount of research has been conducted on urban scale and street canyon. Control of air quality inside cities is important for human health. To achieve this objective, street canyon modelling plays a significant role. Pollutant dispersion inside canyons are determined by wind flow around this complex geometry. Experimental investigations have been made by means of field measurements such as Vachon, G. et al. or wind tunnel experiences as Meroney, R.N. et al. or Kastner-Klein, P. and E.J. Plate. In many of these researches, they have used CFD models in several configurations, for instance Assimakopoulos, V.D. et al. or Sini, J.-F. et al. These models are based on a numerical resolution of Navier-Stokes equations with a turbulence closure. In this study, the aim is contribute to the understanding of air circulation inside street canyons. In order to achieve this purpose, several configurations of canyons are investigated. Two-dimensional sequences of real-scale street canyons (order to obstacles height is meters) with different features (symmetric canyons and asymmetric canyons forming step-up and step-down notch configurations) are simulated. These general configurations are modified to investigate some parameters such as aspect ratio, W/H, where W is the width of street and H is the height of buildings. Flows with high Reynolds numbers are modelling. FLUENT CFD software is used. (orig.)

Crossing fitness canyons by a finite population

Science.gov (United States)

Saakian, David B.; Bratus, Alexander S.; Hu, Chin-Kun

2017-06-01

We consider the Wright-Fisher model of the finite population evolution on a fitness landscape defined in the sequence space by a path of nearly neutral mutations. We study a specific structure of the fitness landscape: One of the intermediate mutations on the mutation path results in either a large fitness value (climbing up a fitness hill) or a low fitness value (crossing a fitness canyon), the rest of the mutations besides the last one are neutral, and the last sequence has much higher fitness than any intermediate sequence. We derive analytical formulas for the first arrival time of the mutant with two point mutations. For the first arrival problem for the further mutants in the case of canyon crossing, we analytically deduce how the mean first arrival time scales with the population size and fitness difference. The location of the canyon on the path of sequences has a crucial role. If the canyon is at the beginning of the path, then it significantly prolongs the first arrival time; otherwise it just slightly changes it. Furthermore, the fitness hill at the beginning of the path strongly prolongs the arrival time period; however, the hill located near the end of the path shortens it. We optimize the first arrival time by applying a nonzero selection to the intermediate sequences. We extend our results and provide a scaling for the valley crossing time via the depth of the canyon and population size in the case of a fitness canyon at the first position. Our approach is useful for understanding some complex evolution systems, e.g., the evolution of cancer.

[Effect of greenbelt on pollutant dispersion in street canyon].

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Wei-Jia; Xing, Hong; Yu, Zhi

2012-02-01

The effect feature of greenbelt on flow field and pollutant dispersion in urban street canyon was researched. The greenbelt was assumed as uniform porous media and its aerodynamics property defined by the pressure loss coefficient. Subsequently, the pollutant dispersion in the street canyon of which there was greenbelt in the middle was simulated with the steady-state standard kappa-epsilon turbulence model and species transport equation. The simulated results agreed well with the wind-tunnel data. Compared with the treeless case, it finds that the street canyon contain a clockwise vortex, the pollutant concentration of the leeward was several times than the windward and the growth rate of pollutant concentration was 46.0%. The further simulation for the impact of tree crown position on the airflow and pollutant dispersion finds that the height of major vortex center in the street canyon increases with the height of tree crown and gradually closes the top of windward building This causes that the average wind speed in the street canyon decreases. Especially when the top of tree crown over the roof and hinder the air flow above the street canyon, the average pollutant concentration increases with the height of tree crown rapidly.

Geomorphic Thresholds of Submarine Canyons Along the U.S. Atlantic Continental Margin

Science.gov (United States)

Brothers, D. S.; ten Brink, U. S.; Andrews, B. D.; Chaytor, J. D.

2011-12-01

Vast networks of submarine canyons and associated channels are incised into the U.S. Atlantic continental slope and rise. Submarine canyons form by differential erosion and deposition, primarily from sedimentary turbidity flows. Theoretical and laboratory studies have investigated the initiation of turbidity flows and their capacity to erode and entrain sedimentary material at distances far from the shelf edge. The results have helped understand the nature of turbidite deposits on the continental slope and rise. Nevertheless, few studies have examined the linkages between down-canyon sediment transport and the morphology of canyon/channel networks using mesoscale analyses of swath bathymetry data. We present quantitative analysis of 100-m resolution multibeam bathymetry data spanning ~616,000 km2 of the slope and rise between Georges Banks and the Blake Plateau (New England to North Carolina). Canyons are categorized as shelf-indenting or slope-confined based on spatial scale, vertical relief and connection with terrestrial river systems during sea level low stands. Shelf-indenting canyons usually represent the trunk-canyon of submerged channel networks. On the rise, shelf-indenting canyons have relatively well-developed channel-levees and sharp inner-thalwag incision suggesting much higher frequency and volume of turbidity flows. Because of the similarities between submarine canyon networks and terrestrial river systems, we apply methods originally developed to study fluvial morphology. Along-canyon profiles are extracted from the bathymetry data and the power-law relationship between thalwag gradient and drainage area is examined for more than 180 canyons along an ~1200 km stretch of the US Atlantic margin. We observe distinct thresholds in the power-law relationship between drainage area and gradient. Almost all canyons with heads on the upper slope contain at least two linear segments when plotted in log-log form. The first segment along the upper slope is flat

Modern landscape processes affecting archaeological sites along the Colorado River corridor downstream of Glen Canyon Dam, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

East, Amy E.; Sankey, Joel B.; Fairley, Helen C.; Caster, Joshua J.; Kasprak, Alan

2017-08-29

The landscape of the Colorado River through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area formed over many thousands of years and was modified substantially after the completion of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963. Changes to river flow, sediment supply, channel base level, lateral extent of sedimentary terraces, and vegetation in the post-dam era have modified the river-corridor landscape and have altered the effects of geologic processes that continue to shape the landscape and its cultural resources. The Glen Canyon reach of the Colorado River downstream of Glen Canyon Dam hosts many archaeological sites that are prone to erosion in this changing landscape. This study uses field evaluations from 2016 and aerial photographs from 1952, 1973, 1984, and 1996 to characterize changes in potential windblown sand supply and drainage configuration that have occurred over more than six decades at 54 archaeological sites in Glen Canyon and uppermost Marble Canyon. To assess landscape change at these sites, we use two complementary geomorphic classification systems. The first evaluates the potential for aeolian (windblown) transport of river-derived sand from the active river channel to higher elevation archaeological sites. The second identifies whether rills, gullies, or arroyos (that is, overland drainages that erode the ground surface) exist at the archaeological sites as well as the geomorphic surface, and therefore the relative base level, to which those flow paths drain. Results of these assessments are intended to aid in the management of irreplaceable archaeological resources by the National Park Service and stakeholders of the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program.

H Canyon Processing In Correlation With FH Analytical Labs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weinheimer, E.

2012-01-01

Management of radioactive chemical waste can be a complicated business. H Canyon and F/H Analytical Labs are two facilities present at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC that are at the forefront. In fact H Canyon is the only large-scale radiochemical processing facility in the United States and this processing is only enhanced by the aid given from F/H Analytical Labs. As H Canyon processes incoming materials, F/H Labs provide support through a variety of chemical analyses. Necessary checks of the chemical makeup, processing, and accountability of the samples taken from H Canyon process tanks are performed at the labs along with further checks on waste leaving the canyon after processing. Used nuclear material taken in by the canyon is actually not waste. Only a small portion of the radioactive material itself is actually consumed in nuclear reactors. As a result various radioactive elements such as Uranium, Plutonium and Neptunium are commonly found in waste and may be useful to recover. Specific processing is needed to allow for separation of these products from the waste. This is H Canyon's specialty. Furthermore, H Canyon has the capacity to initiate the process for weapons-grade nuclear material to be converted into nuclear fuel. This is one of the main campaigns being set up for the fall of 2012. Once usable material is separated and purified of impurities such as fission products, it can be converted to an oxide and ultimately turned into commercial fuel. The processing of weapons-grade material for commercial fuel is important in the necessary disposition of plutonium. Another processing campaign to start in the fall in H Canyon involves the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel for disposal in improved containment units. The importance of this campaign involves the proper disposal of nuclear waste in order to ensure the safety and well-being of future generations and the environment. As processing proceeds in the fall, H Canyon will have a substantial

CODASC : a database for the validation of street canyon dispersion models

OpenAIRE

Gromke, C.B.

2013-01-01

CODASC stands for Concentration Data of Street Canyons (CODASC 2008, www.codasc.de). It is a database which provides traffic pollutant concentrations in urban street canyons obtained from wind-tunnel dispersion experiments. CODASC comprises concentration data of street canyons with different aspect ratios subjected to various wind directions and also for street canyons with tree-avenues. The database includes concentration data of tree-avenue configurations of different tree arrangement, tree...

Dispersion and photochemical evolution of reactive pollutants in street canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Kwak, Kyung-Hwan; Baik, Jong-Jin; Lee, Kwang-Yeon

2013-05-01

Dispersion and photochemical evolution of reactive pollutants in street canyons with canyon aspect ratios of 1 and 2 are investigated using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model coupled with the carbon bond mechanism IV (CBM-IV). Photochemical ages of NOx and VOC are expressed as a function of the NO2-to-NOx and toluene-to-xylene ratios, respectively. These are found to be useful for analyzing the O3 and OH oxidation processes in the street canyons. The OH oxidation process (O3 oxidation process) is more pronounced in the upper (lower) region of the street canyon with a canyon aspect ratio of 2, which is characterized by more (less) aged air. In the upper region of the street canyon, O3 is chemically produced as well as transported downward across the roof level, whereas O3 is chemically reduced in the lower region of the street canyon. The O3 chemical production is generally favorable when the normalized photochemical ages of NOx and VOC are larger than 0.55 and 0.28, respectively. The sensitivities of O3 chemical characteristics to NOx and VOC emission rates, photolysis rate, and ambient wind speed are examined for the lower and upper regions of the street canyon with a canyon aspect ratio of 2. The O3 concentration and the O3 chemical production rate divided by the O3 concentration increase as the NOx emission rate decreases and the VOC emission rate and photolysis rate increase. The O3 concentration is less sensitive to the ambient wind speed than to other factors considered. The relative importance of the OH oxidation process compared to the O3 oxidation process increases with increasing NOx emission rate and photolysis rate and decreasing VOC emission rate. In this study, both O3 and OH oxidation processes are found to be important in street-canyon scale chemistry. The methodology of estimating the photochemical ages can potentially be adopted to neighborhood scale chemistry.

The timing of sediment transport down Monterey Submarine Canyon, offshore California

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stevens, Thomas; Paull, C.K.; Ussler, W., III

2014-01-01

luminescence (OSL) ages of quartz sand deposits and accelerator mass spectrometry 14C ages measured on benthic foraminifera to examine the timing of sediment transport through the axial channel of Monterey Submarine Canyon and Fan, offshore California. The OSL ages date the timing of sediment entry...... dates with water depth provides evidence of mixing and temporary storage of sediment as it moves through the canyon system. The ages also indicate that the frequency of sediment transport events decreases with distance down the canyon channel system. The amalgamated sands near the canyon head yield OSL......While submarine canyons are the major conduits through which sediments are transported from the continents out into the deep sea, the time it takes for sediment to pass down through a submarine canyon system is poorly constrained. Here we report on the first study to couple optically stimulated...

Evolution and Submarine Landslide Potential of Monterey Canyon Head, Offshore Central California

Science.gov (United States)

Maier, K. L.; Johnson, S. Y.; Hart, P. E.; Hartwell, S. R.

2016-12-01

Monterey Canyon, offshore central California, incises the shelf from near the shoreline to 30 km seaward where axial water depths approach 2,000 m. It is one of the world's most studied submarine canyons, yet debate continues concerning its age, formation, and associated geologic hazards. To address these issues, the USGS, with partial support from the California Seafloor Mapping Program, collected hundreds of kilometers of high-resolution, mini-sparker, single-channel (2009 and 2011 surveys) and multichannel (2015 survey) seismic-reflection profiles near the canyon head. The seismic data were combined with multibeam bathymetry to generate a geologic map of the proximal canyon, which delineates numerous faults and compound submarine landslide headwall scarps (covering up to 4 km2) along canyon walls. Seismic-reflection data reveal a massive ( 100 km2 lateral extent) paleochannel cut-and-fill complex underlying the proximal canyon. These subsurface cut-and-fill deposits span both sides of the relatively narrow modern canyon head, crop out in canyon walls, and incise into Purisima Formation (late Miocene and Pliocene) bedrock to depths of up to 0.3 s two-way travel time ( 240 m) below the modern shelf. We propose that the paleochannel complex represents previous locations of a migrating canyon head, and attribute its origin to multiple alternating cycles of fluvial and submarine canyon erosion and deposition linked to fluctuating sea levels. Thus, the canyon head imaged in modern bathymetry is a relatively young feature, perhaps forming in the last 20,000 years of sea-level rise. The paleocanyon deposits are significantly less consolidated than bedrock in deeper canyon walls, and therefore, are probably more prone to submarine landsliding. Nearby mapped faults occur within the active, distributed, San Andreas fault system, and earthquake-generated strong ground motions are likely triggers for past and future submarine landslides and potential associated tsunamis.

Assessing the Importance of Cross-Stream Transport in Bedload Flux Estimates from Migrating Dunes: Colorado River, Grand Canyon National Park

Science.gov (United States)

Leary, K. P.; Buscombe, D.; Schmeeckle, M.; Kaplinski, M. A.

2017-12-01

Bedforms are ubiquitous in sand-bedded rivers, and understanding their morphodynamics is key to quantifying bedload transport. As such, mechanistic understanding of the spatiotemporal details of sand transport through and over bedforms is paramount to quantifying total sediment flux in sand-bedded river systems. However, due to the complexity of bedform field geometries and migration in natural settings, our ability to relate migration to bedload flux, and to quantify the relative role of tractive and suspended processes in their dynamics, is incomplete. Recent flume and numerical investigations indicate the potential importance of cross-stream transport, a process previously regarded as secondary and diffusive, to the three-dimensionality of bedforms and spatially variable translation and deformation rates. This research seeks to understand and quantify the importance of cross-stream transport in bedform three-dimensionality in a field setting. This work utilizes a high-resolution (0.25 m grid) data set of bedforms migrating in the channel of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. This data set comprises multi-beam sonar surveys collected at 3 different flow discharges ( 283, 566, and 1076 m3/s) along a reach of the Colorado River just upstream of the Diamond Creek USGS gage. Data were collected every 6 minutes almost continuously for 12 hours. Using bed elevation profiles (BEPs), we extract detailed bedform geometrical data (i.e. bedform height, wavelength) and spatial sediment flux data over a suite of bedforms at each flow. Coupling this spatially extensive data with a generalized Exner equation, we conduct mass balance calculations that evaluate the possibility, and potential importance, of cross-stream transport in the spatial variability of translation and deformation rates. Preliminary results suggest that intra-dune cross-stream transport can partially account for changes in the planform shape of dunes and may play an important role in spatially

Strategic guidelines for street canyon geometry to achieve sustainable street air quality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chan, Andy T.; So, Ellen S.P.; Samad, Subash C. [Hong Kong Univ., Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Hong Kong (China)

2001-08-01

This paper is concerned with the motion of air within the urban street canyon and is directed towards a deeper understanding of pollutant dispersion with respect to various simple canyon geometries and source positions. Taking into account the present days typical urban configurations, three principal flow regimes 'isolated roughness flow', 'skimming flow' and 'wake interference flow' (Boundary Layer Climates, 2nd edition, Methuen, London) and their corresponding pollutant dispersion characteristics are studied for various canopies aspect ratios, namely relative height (h{sub 2}/H{sub 1}), canyon height to width ratio (h/w) and canyon length to height ratio (l/h). A field-size canyon has been analysed through numerical simulations using the standard k-{sup {epsilon}} turbulence closure model. It is found that the pollutant transport and diffusion is strongly dependent upon the type of flow regime inside the canyon and exchange between canyon and the above roof air. Some rules of thumbs have been established to get urban canyon geometries for efficient dispersion of pollutants. (Author)

Geologic map and upper Paleozoic stratigraphy of the Marble Canyon area, Cottonwood Canyon quadrangle, Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Paul; Stevens, Calvin H.; Belasky, Paul; Montañez, Isabel P.; Martin, Lauren G.; Wardlaw, Bruce R.; Sandberg, Charles A.; Wan, Elmira; Olson, Holly A.; Priest, Susan S.

2014-01-01

This geologic map and pamphlet focus on the stratigraphy, depositional history, and paleogeographic significance of upper Paleozoic rocks exposed in the Marble Canyon area in Death Valley National Park, California. Bedrock exposed in this area is composed of Mississippian to lower Permian (Cisuralian) marine sedimentary rocks and the Jurassic Hunter Mountain Quartz Monzonite. These units are overlain by Tertiary and Quaternary nonmarine sedimentary deposits that include a previously unrecognized tuff to which we tentatively assign an age of late middle Miocene (~12 Ma) based on tephrochronologic analysis, in addition to the previously recognized Pliocene tuff of Mesquite Spring. Mississippian and Pennsylvanian rocks in the Marble Canyon area represent deposition on the western continental shelf of North America. Mississippian limestone units in the area (Tin Mountain, Stone Canyon, and Santa Rosa Hills Limestones) accumulated on the outer part of a broad carbonate platform that extended southwest across Nevada into east-central California. Carbonate sedimentation was interrupted by a major eustatic sea-level fall that has been interpreted to record the onset of late Paleozoic glaciation in southern Gondwana. Following a brief period of Late Mississippian clastic sedimentation (Indian Springs Formation), a rise in eustatic sea level led to establishment of a new carbonate platform that covered most of the area previously occupied by the Mississippian platform. The Pennsylvanian Bird Spring Formation at Marble Canyon makes up the outer platform component of ten third-order (1 to 5 m.y. duration) stratigraphic sequences recently defined for the regional platform succession. The regional paleogeography was fundamentally changed by major tectonic activity along the continental margin beginning in middle early Permian time. As a result, the Pennsylvanian carbonate shelf at Marble Canyon subsided and was disconformably overlain by lower Permian units (Osborne Canyon and

CODASC : a database for the validation of street canyon dispersion models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gromke, C.B.

2013-01-01

CODASC stands for Concentration Data of Street Canyons (CODASC 2008, www.codasc.de). It is a database which provides traffic pollutant concentrations in urban street canyons obtained from wind-tunnel dispersion experiments. CODASC comprises concentration data of street canyons with different aspect

Ecosystem level assessment of the Grand Calumet Lagoons, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stewart, P.M. [National Biological Service, Porter, IN (United States)

1995-12-31

The Grand Calumet Lagoons make up the eastern section of the Grand Calumet River (GCR), Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal and nearshore Lake Michigan Area of Concern (AOC). The GCR AOC is the only one of the 42 Great Lakes Areas of Concern identified by the International Joint Commission with all 14 designated uses classified as impaired. Included within the boundaries of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (INDU), is the central section of the Grand Calumet Lagoons. A number of biotic and abiotic factors were tested to determine the effects of an industrial landfill that borders the lagoons to assess the potential impact on park resources. Analysis included water quality testing, assessments of macroinvertebrate, fish, algae and aquatic plant communities and contaminant concentrations in water, sediment and plant and fish tissue. Surface water testing found very few contaminants, but significantly higher nutrient levels were found in the water column closest to the landfill. Macroinvertebrate, aquatic plant and fish communities all showed significant impairment in relationship to their proximity to the landfill. Aquatic plant growth habit became limited next to the landfill with certain growth habits disappearing entirely. Aquatic plants collected close to the landfill had high concentrations of several heavy metals in their stems and shoots. Using the index of biotic integrity (IBI), fish community assessment indicated impairment in the areas adjacent to the landfill. Sediments tested at one site had over 12% polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and carp (Cyprinus carpio) collected from this site had whole fish tissue concentrations over 1 mg/kg PAH.

Canyon formation constraints on the discharge of catastrophic outburst floods of Earth and Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Lapotre, Mathieu G. A.; Lamb, Michael P.; Williams, Rebecca M. E.

2016-07-01

Catastrophic outburst floods carved amphitheater-headed canyons on Earth and Mars, and the steep headwalls of these canyons suggest that some formed by upstream headwall propagation through waterfall erosion processes. Because topography evolves in concert with water flow during canyon erosion, we suggest that bedrock canyon morphology preserves hydraulic information about canyon-forming floods. In particular, we propose that for a canyon to form with a roughly uniform width by upstream headwall retreat, erosion must occur around the canyon head, but not along the sidewalls, such that canyon width is related to flood discharge. We develop a new theory for bedrock canyon formation by megafloods based on flow convergence of large outburst floods toward a horseshoe-shaped waterfall. The model is developed for waterfall erosion by rock toppling, a candidate erosion mechanism in well fractured rock, like columnar basalt. We apply the model to 14 terrestrial (Channeled Scablands, Washington; Snake River Plain, Idaho; and Ásbyrgi canyon, Iceland) and nine Martian (near Ares Vallis and Echus Chasma) bedrock canyons and show that predicted flood discharges are nearly 3 orders of magnitude less than previously estimated, and predicted flood durations are longer than previously estimated, from less than a day to a few months. Results also show a positive correlation between flood discharge per unit width and canyon width, which supports our hypothesis that canyon width is set in part by flood discharge. Despite lower discharges than previously estimated, the flood volumes remain large enough for individual outburst floods to have perturbed the global hydrology of Mars.

Modes of supraglacial lake drainage and dynamic ice sheet response

Science.gov (United States)

Das, S. B.; Behn, M. D.; Joughin, I. R.

2011-12-01

We investigate modes of supraglacial lake drainage using geophysical, ground, and remote sensing observations over the western margin of the Greenland ice sheet. Lakes exhibit a characteristic life cycle defined by a pre-drainage, drainage, and post-drainage phase. In the pre-drainage phase winter snow fills pre-existing cracks and stream channels, efficiently blocking past drainage conduits. As temperatures increase in the spring, surface melting commences, initially saturating the snow pack and subsequently forming a surface network of streams that fills the lake basins. Basins continue to fill until lake drainage commences, which for individual lakes occurs at different times depending on the previous winter snow accumulation and summer temperatures. Three styles of drainage behavior have been observed: (1) no drainage, (2) slow drainage over the side into an adjacent pre-existing crack, and (3) rapid drainage through a new crack formed beneath the lake basin. Moreover, from year-to-year individual lakes exhibit different drainage behaviors. Lakes that drain slowly often utilize the same outflow channel for multiple years, creating dramatic canyons in the ice. Ultimately, these surface channels are advected out of the lake basin and a new channel forms. In the post-drainage phase, melt water continues to access the bed typically through a small conduit (e.g. moulin) formed near a local topographic minimum along the main drainage crack, draining the lake catchment throughout the remainder of the melt season. This melt water input to the bed leads to continued basal lubrication and enhanced ice flow compared to background velocities. Lakes that do not completely drain freeze over to form a surface ice layer that persists into the following year. Our results show that supraglacial lakes show a spectrum of drainage behaviors and that these styles of drainage lead to varying rates and timing of surface meltwater delivery to the bed resulting in different dynamic ice

California State Waters Map Series—Monterey Canyon and vicinity, California

Science.gov (United States)

Dartnell, Peter; Maier, Katherine L.; Erdey, Mercedes D.; Dieter, Bryan E.; Golden, Nadine E.; Johnson, Samuel Y.; Hartwell, Stephen R.; Cochrane, Guy R.; Ritchie, Andrew C.; Finlayson, David P.; Kvitek, Rikk G.; Sliter, Ray W.; Greene, H. Gary; Davenport, Clifton W.; Endris, Charles A.; Krigsman, Lisa M.; Dartnell, Peter; Cochran, Susan A.

2016-06-10

IntroductionIn 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visualization of swath bathymetry data, acoustic backscatter, seafloor video, seafloor photography, high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles, and bottom-sediment sampling data. The map products display seafloor morphology and character, identify potential marine benthic habitats, and illustrate both the surficial seafloor geology and shallow subsurface geology.The Monterey Canyon and Vicinity map area lies within Monterey Bay in central California. Monterey Bay is one of the largest embayments along the west coast of the United States, spanning 36 km from its northern to southern tips (in Santa Cruz and Monterey, respectively) and 20 km along its central axis. Not only does it contain one of the broadest sections of continental shelf along California’s coast, it also contains Monterey Canyon, one of the largest and deepest submarine canyons in the world. Note that the California’s State Waters limit extends farther offshore between Santa Cruz and Monterey so that it encompasses all of Monterey Bay.The coastal area within the map area is lightly populated. The community of Moss Landing (population, 204) hosts the largest commercial fishing fleet in Monterey Bay in its harbor. The map area also includes parts of the cities of Marina (population, about 20,000) and Castroville (population, about 6,500). Fertile lowlands of the Salinas River and Pajaro River valleys largely occupy the inland part of the map area, and land use is primarily agricultural.The offshore part of the map area lies completely within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The

The fifth BIOMOVS meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

The fifth workshop and Coordinating Group meeting were held in Grand Canyon, US, November 30 to December 4, 1987 with the US Department of Energy and National Council of Radiation Protection and Measurement acting as host. The workshop focused on discussions of results of Approach A and B scenarios as well as on proposals for new scenarios. The following scenarios under Approach A were discussed: release of mercury into a river; I-131 in milk after the Chernobyl accident; Cs-137 in milk, beef and barley after the Chernobyl accident and dynamics within a lake ecosystem. The following scenarios under Approach B were discussed: atmospheric deposition; irrigation with contaminated ground water; release into a lake from a river; aging of a lake; transport of contaminated groundwater to soil; and transport of contaminated ground water to a river. Reports on data quality and uncertainty analysis were also given

Submarine canyons as coral and sponge habitat on the eastern Bering Sea slope

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert J. Miller

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Submarine canyons have been shown to positively influence pelagic and benthic biodiversity and ecosystem function. In the eastern Bering Sea, several immense canyons lie under the highly productive “green belt” along the continental slope. Two of these, Pribilof and Zhemchug canyons, are the focus of current conservation interest. We used a maximum entropy modeling approach to evaluate the importance of these two canyons, as well as canyons in general, as habitat for gorgonian (alcyonacean corals, pennatulacean corals, and sponges, in an area comprising most of the eastern Bering Sea slope and outer shelf. These invertebrates create physical structure that is a preferred habitat for many mobile species, including commercially important fish and invertebrates. We show that Pribilof canyon is a hotspot of structure-forming invertebrate habitat, containing over 50% of estimated high-quality gorgonian habitat and 45% of sponge habitat, despite making up only 1.7% of the total study area. The amount of quality habitat for gorgonians and sponges varied in other canyons, but canyons overall contained more high-quality habitat for structure-forming invertebrates compared to other slope areas. Bottom trawling effort was not well correlated with habitat quality for structure-forming invertebrates, and bottom-contact fishing effort in general, including longlining and trawling, was not particularly concentrated in the canyons examined. These results suggest that if conserving gorgonian coral habitat is a management goal, canyons, particularly Pribilof Canyon, may be a prime location to do this without excessive impact on fisheries.

Facies and depositional model of Almada Canyon, Almada Basin, Bahia, Brazil; Facies e modelo deposicional do Canyon de Almada, Bacia de Almada, Bahia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D' Avila, Roberto Salvador Francisco; Souza Cruz, Carlos Emanoel de; Oliveira Filho, Jose Souto; Jesus, Candida Menezes de; Cesero, Pedro de; Dias Filho, Dorval Carvalho; Lima, Claudio Coelho de; Queiroz, Claudia Lima de; Santos, Saulo Ferreira; Ferreira, Eduardo Araripe [PETROBRAS, Santos, SP (Brazil). Unidade de Negocio de Exploracao]. E-mail: rdavila@petrobras.com.br

2004-11-01

In the continental portion of the Almada Basin outcrops of canyon filling deposits are represented by turbidite channels and associated facies from Urucutuca Formation. The canyon - semi-exhumated - eroded basement and pre-Cenomanian sedimentary rocks. The field study of the outcrops and cores obtained in adjacent perforations lead to the understanding of the facies and processes that controlled the deposition of these channeled turbidite that can be compared to the reservoirs of many oil fields in Brazil. The Almada canyon is a submarine conduct of tectonic origin that was enlarged by the repeated passing of turbidity currents. During the rift phase and the Albian period, compressive events reactivated old N E and N W faults in the basement as trans current fault systems. The continuation of these stresses, from the Cenomanian to the Maastrichtian, developed normal faults that controlled a submarine canyon that connected the continent, where an estuary was formed between the mountains, to the deep marine region of the basin. The canyon has received sediments brought by catastrophic fluvial floods coming from the surrounding mountains, which formed hyperpicnal flows that have evolved as turbidity currents, thus causing erosion of the substrate and carrying a huge volume of sediments to the basin. A part of that load was deposited in the canyon and formed turbidite channels filled by conglomerates, sandstones and shales. These moderately to highly efficient turbidite are intercalated to pro delta pelites and low density turbid plumes deposits, which have mostly been re mobilized as slump and debris flows (chaotic deposits). Pelites were accumulated mainly in the normal fluvial sedimentation phases, when the sandy sediment was retained next to the canyon head and were reworked by the tides on the upper part of the estuary. (author)

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Transportation Feasibility Study

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-31

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is a popular Bureau of Land Management natural area located near Las Vegas, Nevada. Red Rock Canyon experiences heavy congestion on its Scenic Drive and associated parking areas, due to high volumes of visit...

Human impacts and eutrophication patterns during the past ~200 years at Lago Grande di Avigliana (N. Italy)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Finsinger, W.; Bigler, C.; Krähenbühl, U.; Lotter, A.F.; Ammann, B.

2006-01-01

A short sediment core from Lago Grande di Avigliana (Piedmont, Italy), the second most eutrophied lake in Italy, was analysed for pollen and diatoms to reconstruct land-use changes and to estimate baseline conditions for total phosphorus (TP) in the water column. Varve counts on sediment

Reconstituição paleoambiental do Lago Santa Ninha, Várzea do Lago Grande de Curuai, Pará, Brasil Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of an Amazon floodplain lake, Lago Santa Ninha, Varzea do Lago Grande de Curuai, Pará, Brasil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciane Silva Moreira

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Este estudo teve por objetivo reconstituir as mudanças paleoambientais e paleohidrológicas no baixo Amazonas. Um testemunho de sedimento foi coletado no Lago Santa Ninha, na várzea do Lago Grande de Curuai, localizada na margem direita do Rio Amazonas a aproximadamente 850 km da foz. O teor de água, a granulometria, as datações com carbono 14, os conteúdos de carbono orgânico e nitrogênio total e o isótopo estável do carbono (δ13C foram utilizados para determinar os processos sedimentares a que o meio esteve submetido. O testemunho estudado possui 270 cm de comprimento que corresponde a um período de 5600 anos cal AP. Este estudo colocou em evidência diferentes ambientes sedimentares: na base do testemunho até 4900 anos cal AP há uma vegetação inundada que foi gradualmente substituida por bancos de gramíneas e por uma planicie com secas sazonais em 4000 anos cal AP até alcançar, desde 600 anos AP as condições atuais deste lago. Estas alterações podem ter ocorrido em decorrência de mudanças no ciclo hidrológico do Rio Amazonas que, por sua vez, também são reflexos de alterações climáticas.Physical, chemical and geochemical characteristics of lacustrine sediments were studied to reconstruct paleohydrologyical control on sedimentation in an Amazonian floodplain. A core was collected at the Lago Grande de Curuai floodplain, in the Santa Ninha Lake, located on the right margin of the Amazon River at 850 km of the estuary. Water content, granulometry, radiocarbon dating, organic carbon, nitrogen content and δ13C were used to characterize the sedimentary processes. The core is 270 cm-long which corresponds to 5600 cal years BP. The core points out different sedimentary environments: flooded vegetation at the base of the core till 4900 cal years BP is substituted by grass banks changing to a floodplain encompassing prolonged annual dryness at 4000 cal years BP. Since 600 cal years BP, the present day Varzea Lake

30 CFR Appendix to Part 253 - List of U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Maps

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Comal; La Leona; La Parra Ranch NE; Laguna Vista; Lake Austin; Lake Como; Lake Stephenson; Lamar; Long... Canyon; Encinitas; Gaviota; Goleta; Guadalupe; Imperial Beach; Laguna Beach; La Jolla; Las Pulgas Canyon... SE; Steinhatchee SW; Sugar Hill; Sumner; Suwannee; Tampa; Tarpon Springs; Valparaiso; Venice; Vista...

Geomorphic characterization of four shelf-sourced submarine canyons along the U.S. Mid-Atlantic continental margin

Science.gov (United States)

Obelcz, Jeffrey; Brothers, Daniel S.; Chaytor, Jason D.; ten Brink, Uri S.; Ross, Steve W.; Brooke, Sandra

2013-01-01

Shelf-sourced submarine canyons are common features of continental margins and are fundamental to deep-sea sedimentary systems. Despite their geomorphic and geologic significance, relatively few passive margin shelf-breaching canyons worldwide have been mapped using modern geophysical methods. Between 2007 and 2012 a series of geophysical surveys was conducted across four major canyons of the US Mid-Atlantic margin: Wilmington, Baltimore, Washington, and Norfolk canyons. More than 5700 km2 of high-resolution multibeam bathymetry and 890 line-km of sub-bottom CHIRP profiles were collected along the outer shelf and uppermost slope (depths of 80-1200 m). The data allowed us to compare and contrast the fine-scale morphology of each canyon system. The canyons have marked differences in the morphology and orientation of canyon heads, steepness and density of sidewall gullies, and the character of the continental shelf surrounding canyon rims. Down-canyon axial profiles for Washington, Baltimore and Wilmington canyons have linear shapes, and each canyon thalweg exhibits morphological evidence for recent, relatively small-scale sediment transport. For example, Washington Canyon displays extremely steep wall gradients and contains ~100 m wide, 5–10 m deep, v-shaped incisions down the canyon axis, suggesting modern or recent sediment transport. In contrast, the convex axial thalweg profile, the absence of thalweg incision, and evidence for sediment infilling at the canyon head, suggest that depositional processes strongly influence Norfolk Canyon during the current sea-level high-stand. The north walls of Wilmington, Washington and Norfolk canyons are steeper than the south walls due to differential erosion, though the underlying cause for this asymmetry is not clear. Furthermore, we speculate that most of the geomorphic features observed within the canyons (e.g., terraces, tributary canyons, gullies, and hanging valleys) were formed during the Pleistocene, and show only

On the escape of pollutants from urban street canyons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baik, J.J.; Kim, J.J. [Kwangju Inst. of Science and Technology (Korea). Dept. of Environmental Science and Engineering

2002-07-01

Pollutant transport from urban street canyons is numerically investigated using a two-dimensional flow and dispersion model. The ambient wind blows perpendicular to the street and passive pollutants are released at the street level. Results from the control experiment with a street aspect ratio of 1 show that at the roof level of the street canyon, the vertical turbulent flux of pollutants is upward everywhere and the vertical flux of pollutants by mean flow is upward or downward. The horizontally integrated vertical flux of pollutants by mean flow at the roof level of the street canyon is downward and its magnitude is much smaller than that by turbulent process. These results indicate that pollutants escape from the street canyon mainly by turbulent process and that the net effect of mean flow is to make some escaped pollutants reenter the street canyon. Further experiments with different inflow turbulence intensities, inflow wind speeds, and street aspect ratio confirm the findings from the control experiment. In the case of two isolated buildings, the horizontally integrated vertical flux of pollutants by mean flow is upward due to flow separation but the other main results are the same as those from the control experiment. (author)

Preliminary report on the geology and hydrology of Mortandad Canyon near Los Alamos, New Mexico, with reference to disposal of liquid low-level radioactive waste

Science.gov (United States)

Baltz, E.H.; Abrahams, J.H.; Purtyman, W.D.

1963-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, selected the upper part of Mortandad Canyon near Los Alamos, New Mexico for a site for disposal of treated liquid low-level radioactive waste. This report summarizes the part of a study of the geology and hydrology that was done from October 1960 through June 1961. Additional work is being continued. Mortandad Canyon is a narrow east-southeast-trending canyon about 9? miles long that heads on the central part of the Pajarito Plateau at an altitude of about 7,340 feet. The canyon is tributary to the Rio Grande. The drainage area of the part of Mortandad Canyon that was investigated is about 2 square miles, and the total drainage area is about 4.9 square miles. The Pajarito Plateau is capped by the Bandelier Tuff of Pleistocene age. Mortandad Canyon is cut in the Bandelier, and alluvium covers the floor of the canyon to depths ranging from less than 1 foot to as much as 100 feet. The Bandelier is underlain by silt, sand, conglomerate, and interbedded basalt of the Santa Fe Group of Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene(?) age. Some ground water is perched in the alluvium in the canyon; however, the top of the main aquifer is in the Santa Fe Group at a depth of about 990 feet below the canyon floor. Joints in the Bandelier Tuff probably were caused by shrinkage of the tuff during cooling. The joints range in width from hairline cracks to fissures several inches wide. Water can infiltrate along the open joints where the Bandelier is at the surface; however, soil, alluvial fill, and autochthonous clay inhibit infiltration on the tops of mesas and probably in the alluvium-floored canyons also. Thirty-three test holes, each less than 100 feet deep, were drilled in 10 lies across Mortandad Canyon from the western margin of the study area to just west of the Los Alamos-Santa Fe County line. Ten of the holes were cased for observation wells to measure

The timing of sediment transport down Monterey Submarine Canyon, offshore California

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Thomas; Paull, Charles K.; Ussler, William III; McGann, Mary; Buylaert, Jan-Pieter; Lundsten, Eve M.

2013-01-01

While submarine canyons are the major conduits through which sediments are transported from the continents out into the deep sea, the time it takes for sediment to pass down through a submarine canyon system is poorly constrained. Here we report on the first study to couple optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of quartz sand deposits and accelerator mass spectrometry 14C ages measured on benthic foraminifera to examine the timing of sediment transport through the axial channel of Monterey Submarine Canyon and Fan, offshore California. The OSL ages date the timing of sediment entry into the canyon head while the 14C ages of benthic foraminifera record the deposition of hemipelagic sediments that bound the sand horizons. We use both single-grain and small (∼2 mm area) single-aliquot regeneration approaches on vibracore samples from fining-upward sequences at various water depths to demonstrate relatively rapid, decadal-scale sand transport to at least 1.1 km depth and more variable decadal- to millennial-scale transport to a least 3.5 km depth on the fan. Significant differences between the time sand was last exposed at the canyon head (OSL age) and the timing of deposition of the sand (from 14C ages of benthic foraminifera in bracketing hemipelagic sediments) are interpreted as indicating that the sand does not pass through the entire canyon instantly in large individual events, but rather moves multiple times before emerging onto the fan. The increased spread in single-grain OSL dates with water depth provides evidence of mixing and temporary storage of sediment as it moves through the canyon system. The ages also indicate that the frequency of sediment transport events decreases with distance down the canyon channel system. The amalgamated sands near the canyon head yield OSL ages that are consistent with a sub-decadal recurrence frequency while the fining-upward sand sequences on the fan indicate that the channel is still experiencing events with a 150�

Hydraulics of outburst floods spilling over a steep-walled canyon: Implications for paleo-discharges on Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Lapotre, Mathieu; Lamb, Michael

2013-04-01

Canyons carved by outburst floods are common landforms on Earth and Mars. These canyons are generally found in fractured basalts and jointed sedimentary rocks. Flood-carved canyons commonly have steep headwalls and a roughly constant width, and are often thought to have formed from upstream headwall propagation due to waterfall erosion. Because morphology is readily available from satellite imagery, these canyons offer a unique opportunity to quantify the discharge of rare, catastrophic paleo-floods on Earth and Mars. However, mechanistic relationships that relate canyon size to flood discharge have yet to be developed. We propose that the width of a canyon headwall in fractured rock is set by the spatial distribution of erosion around the rim of the canyon, which is controlled by the distribution of shear stresses induced by the overflowing water as it is focused into the canyon head. We test this hypothesis by performing a series of numerical simulations of flood-water focusing using ANUGA Hydro, a 2D-depth averaged, fully turbulent, hydraulic numerical modeling suite allowing for Froude-number transitions. The numerical simulations were designed to explore five dimensionless variables: the aspect ratio of the canyon (length normalized by width), the canyon width to flood-water width ratio, the canyon width to normal-flow depth ratio, the Froude number, and the topographic gradient upstream of the canyon. Preliminary results show that flow focusing leads to increased shear stresses at the canyon head compared to the sides of the canyon for subcritical floods and higher canyon aspect ratios. This suggests that proto-canyons start growing from a topographic defect in all directions until they reach a critical length for the side walls to dry. Once this critical length is attained, canyons focus most of the flood waters into their heads, and propagate upstream only, maintaining roughly constant widths. Preliminary results suggest that canyon width may be used to

Partly standing internal tides in a dendritic submarine canyon observed by an ocean glider

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Rob A.; Aslam, Tahmeena; Huvenne, Veerle A. I.

2017-08-01

An autonomous ocean glider is used to make the first direct measurements of internal tides within Whittard Canyon, a large, dendritic submarine canyon system that incises the Celtic Sea continental slope and a site of high benthic biodiversity. This is the first time a glider has been used for targeted observations of internal tides in a submarine canyon. Vertical isopycnal displacement observations at different stations fit a one-dimensional model of partly standing semidiurnal internal tides - comprised of a major, incident wave propagating up the canyon limbs and a minor wave reflected back down-canyon by steep, supercritical bathymetry near the canyon heads. The up-canyon internal tide energy flux in the primary study limb decreases from 9.2 to 2.0 kW m-1 over 28 km (a dissipation rate of 1 - 2.5 ×10-7 Wkg-1), comparable to elevated energy fluxes and internal tide driven mixing measured in other canyon systems. Within Whittard Canyon, enhanced mixing is inferred from collapsed temperature-salinity curves and weakened dissolved oxygen concentration gradients near the canyon heads. It has previously been hypothesised that internal tides impact benthic fauna through elevated near-bottom current velocities and particle resuspension. In support of this, we infer order 20 cm s-1 near-bottom current velocities in the canyon and observe high concentrations of suspended particulate matter. The glider observations are also used to estimate a 1 °C temperature range and 12 μmol kg-1 dissolved oxygen concentration range, experienced twice a day by organisms on the canyon walls, due to the presence of internal tides. This study highlights how a well-designed glider mission, incorporating a series of tide-resolving stations at key locations, can be used to understand internal tide dynamics in a region of complex topography, a sampling strategy that is applicable to continental shelves and slopes worldwide.

Nourishment of perched sand dunes and the issue of erosion control in the Great Lakes

Science.gov (United States)

Marsh, William M.

1990-09-01

Although limited in coverage, perched sand dunes situated on high coastal bluffs are considered the most prized of Great Lakes dunes. Grand Sable Dunes on Lake Superior and Sleeping Bear Dunes on Lake Michigan are featured attractions of national lakeshores under National Park Service management. The source of sand for perched dunes is the high bluff along their lakeward edge. As onshore wind crosses the bluff, flow is accelerated upslope, resulting in greatly elevated levels of wind stress over the slope brow. On barren, sandy bluffs, wind erosion is concentrated in the brow zone, and for the Grand Sable Bluff, it averaged 1 m3/yr per linear meter along the highest sections for the period 1973 1983. This mechanism accounts for about 6,500 m3 of sand nourishment to the dunefield annually and clearly has been the predominant mechanism for the long-term development of the dunefield. However, wind erosion and dune nourishment are possible only where the bluff is denuded of plant cover by mass movements and related processes induced by wave erosion. In the Great Lakes, wave erosion and bluff retreat vary with lake levels; the nourishment of perched dunes is favored by high levels. Lake levels have been relatively high for the past 50 years, and shore erosion has become a major environmental issue leading property owners and politicians to support lake-level regulation. Trimming high water levels could reduce geomorphic activity on high bluffs and affect dune nourishment rates. Locally, nourishment also may be influenced by sediment accumulation associated with harbor protection facilities and by planting programs aimed at stabilizing dunes.

The Jurassic section along McElmo Canyon in southwestern Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

O'Sullivan, Robert B.

1997-01-01

In McElmo Canyon, Jurassic rocks are 1500-1600 ft thick. Lower Jurassic rocks of the Glen Canyon Group include (in ascending order) Wingate Sandstone, Kayenta Formation and Navajo Sandstone. Middle Jurassic rocks are represented by the San Rafael Group, which includes the Entrada Sandstone and overlying Wanakah Formation. Upper Jurassic rocks comprise the Junction Creek Sandstone overlain by the Morrison Formation. The Burro Canyon Formation, generally considered to be Lower Cretaceous, may be Late Jurassic in the McElmo Canyon area and is discussed with the Jurassic. The Upper Triassic Chinle Formation in the subsurface underlies, and the Upper Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone overlies, the Jurassic section. An unconformity is present at the base of the Glen Canyon Group (J-0), at the base of the San Rafael Group (J-2), and at the base of the Junction Creek Sandstone (J-5). Another unconformity of Cretaceous age is at the base of the Dakota Sandstone. Most of the Jurassic rocks consist of fluviatile, lacustrine and eolian deposits. The basal part of the Entrada Sandstone and the Wanakah Formation may be of marginal marine origin.

Event-driven sediment flux in Hueneme and Mugu submarine canyons, southern California

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, J. P.; Swarzenski, P.W.; Noble, M.; Li, A.-C.

2010-01-01

Vertical sediment fluxes and their dominant controlling processes in Hueneme and Mugu submarine canyons off south-central California were assessed using data from sediment traps and current meters on two moorings that were deployed for 6 months during the winter of 2007. The maxima of total particulate flux, which reached as high as 300+ g/m2/day in Hueneme Canyon, were recorded during winter storm events when high waves and river floods often coincided. During these winter storms, wave-induced resuspension of shelf sediment was a major source for the elevated sediment fluxes. Canyon rim morphology, rather than physical proximity to an adjacent river mouth, appeared to control the magnitude of sediment fluxes in these two submarine canyon systems. Episodic turbidity currents and internal bores enhanced sediment fluxes, particularly in the lower sediment traps positioned 30 m above the canyon floor. Lower excess 210Pb activities measured in the sediment samples collected during periods of peak total particulate flux further substantiate that reworked shelf-, rather than newly introduced river-borne, sediments supply most of the material entering these canyons during storms.

Egg banks in hypersaline lakes of the South-East Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Moscatello, Salvatore; Belmonte, Genuario

2009-01-01

The cyst banks of 6 coastal hypersaline lakes of South-East Europe have been investigated. The study concerned the bottom sediments of Khersonesskoe and Koyashskoe lakes in the Crimea (Ukraine), Nartë saltworks (Albania), Vecchia Salina at Torre Colimena (Apulia, Italy), Pantano Grande and Pantano Roveto at Vendicari (Sicily, Italy). A total of 19 cyst types were recognised. The cyst banks of lakes were found to be well separated in the representation derived from a statistical multivariate data analysis. For all the lakes examined a comparison was possible between the resting community in sediments (cyst bank) and the active one in the water. The cyst banks contained more species than those recorded over a multi-year sampling effort in the water column. The study of cyst hatching, performed on 5 cyst types under lab conditions, demonstrated that cysts do not hatch under the same conditions. Furthermore, each cyst type shows a wide range of preferential hatching conditions, which allow us to confirm the ecological generalism of salt lake species. PMID:19292906

Big Canyon Creek Ecological Restoration Strategy.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rasmussen, Lynn; Richardson, Shannon

2007-10-01

He-yey, Nez Perce for steelhead or rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), are a culturally and ecologically significant resource within the Big Canyon Creek watershed; they are also part of the federally listed Snake River Basin Steelhead DPS. The majority of the Big Canyon Creek drainage is considered critical habitat for that DPS as well as for the federally listed Snake River fall chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) ESU. The Nez Perce Soil and Water Conservation District (District) and the Nez Perce Tribe Department of Fisheries Resources Management-Watershed (Tribe), in an effort to support the continued existence of these and other aquatic species, have developed this document to direct funding toward priority restoration projects in priority areas for the Big Canyon Creek watershed. In order to achieve this, the District and the Tribe: (1) Developed a working group and technical team composed of managers from a variety of stakeholders within the basin; (2) Established geographically distinct sub-watershed areas called Assessment Units (AUs); (3) Created a prioritization framework for the AUs and prioritized them; and (4) Developed treatment strategies to utilize within the prioritized AUs. Assessment Units were delineated by significant shifts in sampled juvenile O. mykiss (steelhead/rainbow trout) densities, which were found to fall at fish passage barriers. The prioritization framework considered four aspects critical to determining the relative importance of performing restoration in a certain area: density of critical fish species, physical condition of the AU, water quantity, and water quality. It was established, through vigorous data analysis within these four areas, that the geographic priority areas for restoration within the Big Canyon Creek watershed are Big Canyon Creek from stream km 45.5 to the headwaters, Little Canyon from km 15 to 30, the mainstem corridors of Big Canyon (mouth to 7km) and Little Canyon (mouth to 7km). The District and the Tribe

Megabenthic assemblages at the Hudson Canyon head (NW Atlantic margin): Habitat-faunal relationships

Science.gov (United States)

Pierdomenico, Martina; Gori, Andrea; Guida, Vincent G.; Gili, Josep-Maria

2017-09-01

The distribution of megabenthic communities at the head of Hudson Canyon and adjacent continental shelf was studied by means of underwater video transects and still photo imagery collected using a towed camera system. The goal was to explore the relationships between faunal distribution and physical seafloor conditions and to test the hypothesis that increased seafloor heterogeneity in the Hudson Canyon supports a larger diversity of benthic communities, compared with the adjacent continental shelf. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to identify benthic assemblages as defined in imagery. The BIO-ENV procedure and the Canonical Correspondence Analysis were carried out to elucidate species groupings in relation to terrain variables extracted from bathymetric data. Species accumulation curves were generated to evaluate species turn over in and out of Hudson Canyon. The results indicate that seafloor morphology is the main physical factor related to benthic community composition and distribution. Assemblages dominated by sponges, zoanthids and cup corals colonized the canyon margins and flanks, and were associated with coarse-grained sediments, while sea pen assemblages were observed along muddy seafloor within the thalweg. An assemblage dominated by sea stars occurred on the shelf, associated with a sandy seafloor. Some assemblages were exclusively observed in the canyon area, suggesting that the increased variability of seafloor composition, together with the oceanographic processes specific to the canyon area, enhance beta diversity. The colonization by benthic suspension feeders within the canyon, in contrast to shelf assemblages, mainly composed of carnivores and detritus feeders could be favored the intense hydrodynamics at the canyon head that increase the availability of suspended organic matter. From the perspective of management and conservation of marine resources, the results obtained support the relevance of Hudson Canyon as a biodiversity hotspot

Marble Canyon spring sampling investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCulley, B.

1985-10-01

The Mississippian Leadville Limestone is the most permeable formation in the lower hydrostratigraphic unit underlying the salt beds of the Paradox Formation in Gibson Dome, Paradox Basin, Utah, which is being considered as a potential nuclear waste repository site. The closest downgradient outcrop of the Mississippian limestone is along the Colorado River in Marble Canyon, Arizona. This report describes the sampling and interpretation of springs in that area to assess the relative contribution of Gibson Dome-type Leadville Limestone ground water to that spring discharge. The high-volume (hundreds of liters per second or thousands of gallons per minute) springs discharging from fault zones in Marble Canyon are mixtures of water recharged west of the Colorado River on the Kaibab Plateau and east of the river in the Kaiparowits basin. No component of Gibson Dome-type Leadville Limestone ground water is evident in major and trace element chemistry or isotopic composition of the Marble Canyon Springs. A low-volume (0.3 liters per second or 5 gallons per minute) spring with some chemical and isotopic characteristics of Gibson Dome-type Leadville Limestone water diluted by Kaiparowits basin-type water issues from a travertine mound in the Bright Angel Shale on the Little Colorado River. However, the stable isotopic composition and bromide levels of that spring discharge, in addition to probable ground-water flow paths, contradict the dilution hypothesis

Submarine canyons represent an essential habitat network for krill hotspots in a Large Marine Ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Santora, Jarrod A; Zeno, Ramona; Dorman, Jeffrey G; Sydeman, William J

2018-05-15

Submarine canyon systems are ubiquitous features of marine ecosystems, known to support high levels of biodiversity. Canyons may be important to benthic-pelagic ecosystem coupling, but their role in concentrating plankton and structuring pelagic communities is not well known. We hypothesize that at the scale of a large marine ecosystem, canyons provide a critical habitat network, which maintain energy flow and trophic interactions. We evaluate canyon characteristics relative to the distribution and abundance of krill, critically important prey in the California Current Ecosystem. Using a geological database, we conducted a census of canyon locations, evaluated their dimensions, and quantified functional relationships with krill hotspots (i.e., sites of persistently elevated abundance) derived from hydro-acoustic surveys. We found that 76% of krill hotspots occurred within and adjacent to canyons. Most krill hotspots were associated with large shelf-incising canyons. Krill hotspots and canyon dimensions displayed similar coherence as a function of latitude and indicate a potential regional habitat network. The latitudinal migration of many fish, seabirds and mammals may be enhanced by using this canyon-krill network to maintain foraging opportunities. Biogeographic assessments and predictions of krill and krill-predator distributions under climate change may be improved by accounting for canyons in habitat models.

B-Plant Canyon Ventilation Control System Description; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MCDANIEL, K.S.

1999-01-01

Project W-059 installed a new B Plant Canyon Ventilation System. Monitoring and control of the system is implemented by the Canyon Ventilation Control System (CVCS). This document describes the CVCS system components which include a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) coupled with an Operator Interface Unit (OIU) and application software. This document also includes an Alarm Index specifying the setpoints and technical basis for system analog and digital alarms

Giant landslides and turbidity currents in the Agadir Canyon Region, NW-Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Krastel, Sebastian; Wynn, Russell B.; Stevenson, Christopher; Feldens, Peter; Mehringer, Lisa; Schürer, Anke

2017-04-01

Coring and drilling of the Moroccan Turbidite System off NW-Africa revealed a long sequence of turbidites, mostly sourced from the Moroccan continental margin and the volcanic Canary Islands. The largest individual flow deposits in the Moroccan Turbidite System contain sediment volumes >100 km3, although these large-scale events are relatively infrequent with a recurrence interval of 10,000 years (over the last 200,000 years). The largest siliciclastic flow in the last 200,000 years was the 'Bed 5 event', which transported 160 km3 of sediment up to 2000 km from the Agadir Canyon region to the southwest Madeira Abyssal Plain. While the Moroccan Turbidite System is extremely well investigated, almost no data from the source region, i.e. the Agadir Canyon, are available. Understanding why some submarine landslides remain as coherent blocks of sediment throughout their passage downslope, while others mix and disintegrate almost immediately after initial failure, is a major scientific challenge, which was addressed in the Agadir Canyon source region during RV Maria S. Merian Cruise MSM32 in late 2013. A major landslide area was identified 200 km south of the Agadir Canyon. A landslide was traced from this failure area to the Agadir Canyon. This landslide entered the canyon in about 2500 m water depth. Despite a significant increase in slope angle, the landslide did not disintegrate into a turbidity current when entering the canyon but moved on as landslide for at least another 200 km down the canyon. The age of the landslide ( 145 ka) does not correspond to any major turbidte deposit in the Moroccan Turbidite System, further supporting the fact that the landslide did not disintegrate into a major turbidity current. A core taken about 350 m above the thalweg in the head region of Agadir Canyon shows a single coarse-grained turbidite, which resembles the composition of the Bed 5 event in the Madeira Abyssal Plain. Hence, the Bed 5 turbidite originated as a failure in the

Implications of tree planting on pollutant dispersion in street canyons

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gromke, C.B.; Ruck, B.

2009-01-01

Traffic pollutant dispersion processes inside urban street canyons with avenue-like tree planting have been studied in wind tunnel experiments. Tree planting of different crown porosities and their effects on the pollutant concentrations at the canyon walls have been investigated for wind

Numerical Study of Traffic Pollutant Dispersion within Different Street Canyon Configurations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yucong Miao

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to numerically study flow and traffic exhaust dispersion in urban street canyons with different configurations to find out the urban-planning strategies to ease the air pollution. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD model used in this study—Open Source Field Operation and Manipulation (OpenFOAM software package—was firstly validated against the wind-tunnel experiment data by using three different k-ε turbulence models. And then the patterns of flow and dispersion within three different kinds of street canyon configuration under the perpendicular approaching flow were numerically studied. The result showed that the width and height of building can dramatically affect the pollution level inside the street canyon. As the width or height of building increases, the pollution at the pedestrian level increases. And the asymmetric configuration (step-up or step-down street canyon could provide better ventilation. It is recommended to design a street canyon with nonuniform configurations. And the OpenFOAM software package can be used as a reliable tool to study flows and dispersions around buildings.

Impact of aspect ratio and solar heating on street canyon air temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Memon, R.A.; Lal, K.

2011-01-01

The results obtained from RNG (Re-Normalization Group) version of k-and turbulence model are reported in this study. The model is adopted to elucidate the impact of different building aspect ratios (i.e., ratio of building-height-to-street-canyon-width) and solar heating on temperatures in street canyon. The validation of Navier-Stokes and energy an sport equations showed that the model prediction for air-temperature and ambient wind provides reasonable accuracy. The model was applied on AR (Aspect Ratios) one to eight and surface temperature difference (delta and theta/sub s-a/)) of 2 -8. Notably, air-temperatures were higher in high AR street canyons in particular on the leeward side of the street canyon. Further investigation showed that the difference between the air-temperature 'high and low AR street canyons (AR) was positive and high with higher delta and theta/sub s-a/) conversely, the AR become negative and low gradually with lower values of delta and theta(/sub s-a/). These results could be very beneficial for the city and regional planners, civil engineers Id HVAC experts who design street canyons and strive for human thermal comfort with minimum possible energy requirements. (author)

Distributions and habitat associations of deep-water corals in Norfolk and Baltimore Canyons, Mid-Atlantic Bight, USA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brooke, S.D.; Watts, M.W.; Heil, A.D.; Rhode, M.; Mienis, F.; Duineveld, G.C.A.; Davies, A.J.; Ross, S.W.

2017-01-01

A multi-disciplinary study of two major submarine canyons, Baltimore Canyon and Norfolk Canyon, off the US mid-Atlantic coast focused on the ecology and biology of canyon habitats, particularly those supporting deep-sea corals. Historical data on deep-sea corals from these canyons were sparse with

H-Canyon Recovery Crawler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kriikku, E. M. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Hera, K. R. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Marzolf, A. D. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Phillips, M. H. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

2015-08-01

The Nuclear Material Disposition Project group asked the Savannah River National Lab (SRNL) Research and Development Engineering (R&DE) department to help procure, test, and deploy a remote crawler to recover the 2014 Inspection Crawler (IC) that tipped over in the H-Canyon Air Exhaust Tunnel. R&DE wrote a Procurement Specification for a Recovery Crawler (RC) and SRNS Procurement Department awarded the contract to Power Equipment Manufacturing Inc. (PEM). The PEM RC was based on their standard sewer inspection crawler with custom arms and forks added to the front. The arms and forks would be used to upright the 2014 Inspection Crawler. PEM delivered the RC and associated cable reel, 2014 Inspection Crawler mockup, and manuals in late April 2015. R&DE and the team tested the crawler in May of 2015 and made modifications based on test results and Savannah River Site (SRS) requirements. R&DE delivered the RC to H-Area at the end of May. The team deployed the RC on June 9, 10, and 11, 2015 in the H-Canyon Air Exhaust Tunnel. The RC struggled with some obstacles in the tunnel, but eventually made it to the IC. The team spent approximately five hours working to upright the IC and eventually got it on its wheels. The IC travelled approximately 20 feet and struggled to drive over debris on the air tunnel floor. Unfortunately the IC tripped over trying to pass this obstacle. The team decided to leave the IC in this location and inspect the tunnel with the RC. The RC passed the IC and inspected the tunnel as it travelled toward H-Canyon. The team turned the RC around when it was about 20 feet from the H-Canyon crossover tunnel. From that point, the team drove the RC past the manway towards the new sand filter and stopped approximately 20 feet from the new sand filter. The team removed the RC from the tunnel, decontaminated the RC, and stored it the manway building, 294-2H. The RC deployment confirmed the IC was not in a condition to perform useful tunnel inspections and

A Numerical Simulation of Traffic-Related Air Pollution Exposures in Urban Street Canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, J.; Fu, X.; Tao, S.

2016-12-01

Urban street canyons are usually associated with intensive vehicle emissions. However, the high buildings successively along both sides of a street block the dispersion of traffic-generated air pollutants, which enhances human exposure and adversely affects human health. In this study, an urban scale traffic pollution dispersion model is developed with the consideration of street distribution, canyon geometry, background meteorology, traffic assignment, traffic emissions and air pollutant dispersion. Vehicle exhausts generated from traffic flows will first disperse inside a street canyon along the micro-scale wind field (generated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model) and then leave the street canyon and further disperse over the urban area. On the basis of this model, the effects of canyon geometry on the distribution of NOx and CO from traffic emissions were studied over the center of Beijing, China. We found that an increase of building height along the streets leads to higher pollution levels inside streets and lower pollution levels outside, resulting in higher domain-averaged concentrations over the area. In addition, street canyons with equal (or highly uneven) building heights on two sides of a street tend to lower the urban-scale air pollution concentrations at pedestrian level. Our results indicate that canyon geometry strongly influences human exposure to traffic pollutants in the populated urban area. Carefully planning street layout and canyon geometry in consideration of traffic demand as well as local weather pattern may significantly reduce the chances of unhealthy air being inhaled by urban residents.

Draft environmental assessment: Lavender Canyon site, Utah. Nuclear Waste Policy Act (Section 112)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-12-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Lavender Canyon site in Utah, as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Lavender Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations are reported in this draft environmental assessment (EA), which is being issued for public review and comment. The DOE findings and determinations that are based on these evaluations are preliminary and subject to public review and comment. A final EA will be prepared after considering the comments received. On the basis of the evaluations contained in this draft EA, the DOE has found that the Lavender Canyon site is not disqualified under the guidelines. The site is contained in the Paradox Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains one other potentially acceptable site - the Davis Canyon site. Although the Lavender Canyon site appears to be suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Davis Canyon site is the preferred site in the Paradox Basin. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is proposing to nominate the Davis Canyon site rather than the Lavender Canyon site as one of the five sites suitable for characterization

Passive air exchanges between building and urban canyon via openings in a single facade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syrios, K.; Hunt, G.R.

2008-01-01

The results of an experimental study examining the steady exchange of air and heat between a building and an urban canyon are presented. The focus is on the effect of the canyon aspect ratio on the airflow through openings made exclusively in one side of the building. The interaction of the external wind flow and the internal thermally-driven flow was shown to depend upon the ratio of the building height H b to the canyon width W (distance between buildings forming the canyons). The trends observed as this aspect ratio (H b /W) was varied allow for identification of canyon geometries that yield reduced or enhanced building ventilation airflow rates

Macrofaunal Patterns in and around du Couedic and Bonney Submarine Canyons, South Australia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathleen E Conlan

Full Text Available Two South Australian canyons, one shelf-incising (du Couedic and one slope-limited (Bonney were compared for macrofaunal patterns on the shelf and slope that spanned three water masses. It was hypothesized that community structure would (H1 significantly differ by water mass, (H2 show significant regional differences and (H3 differ significantly between interior and exterior of each canyon. Five hundred and thirty-one species of macrofauna ≥ 1 mm were captured at 27 stations situated in depth stratified transects inside and outside the canyons from 100 to 1500 m depth. The macrofauna showed a positive relationship to depth in abundance, biomass, species richness and community composition while taxonomic distinctness and evenness remained high at all depths. Biotic variation on the shelf was best defined by variation in bottom water primary production while sediment characteristics and bottom water oxygen, temperature and nutrients defined biotic variation at greater depth. Community structure differed significantly (p<0.01 among the three water masses (shelf-flowing South Australian current, upper slope Flinders current and lower slope Antarctic Intermediate Water (H1. Although community differences between the du Couedic and Bonney regions were marginally above significance at p = 0.05 (H2, over half of the species captured were unique to each region. This supports the evidence from fish and megafaunal distributions that the du Couedic and Bonney areas are in different bioregions. Overall, the canyon interiors were not significantly different in community composition from the exterior (H3. However, both canyons had higher abundance and/or biomass, increased species dominance, different species composition and coarser sediments near the canyon heads compared to outside the canyons at the same depth (500 m, suggestive of heightened currents within the canyons that influence community composition there. At 1000-1500 m, the canyon interiors were

Cold-water coral ecosystems in Cassidaigne Canyon: An assessment of their environmental living conditions

OpenAIRE

Fabri, Marie-claire; Bargain, Annaelle; Pairaud, Ivane; Pedel, Laura; Taupier-letage, I.

2017-01-01

The Cassidaigne canyon is one of the two canyons (together with Lacaze-Duthiers) of the French Mediterranean coast in which cold-water corals have settled and formed large colonies, providing a structural habitat for other species. Nevertheless, the communities settled in the Cassidaigne canyon are physically impacted by discharges of bauxite residues. New information on the distribution of the species Madrepora oculata and the associated species diversity in Cassidaigne canyon was provid...

Geologic map of the Tuba City 30' x 60' quadrangle, Coconino County, northern Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Billingsley, George H.; Stoffer, Philip W.; Priest, Susan S.

2012-01-01

The Tuba City 30’ x 60’ quadrangle encompasses approximately 5,018 km² (1,920 mi²) within Coconino County, northern Arizona. It is characterized by nearly flat lying to gently dipping sequences of Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata that overly tilted Precambrian strata or metasedimentary and igneous rocks that are exposed at the bottom of Grand Canyon. The Paleozoic rock sequences from Cambrian to Permian age are exposed in the walls of Grand Canyon, Marble Canyon, and Little Colorado River Gorge. Mesozoic sedimentary rocks are exposed in the eastern half of the quadrangle where resistant sandstone units form cliffs, escarpments, mesas, and local plateaus. A few Miocene volcanic dikes intrude Mesozoic rocks southwest, northwest, and northeast of Tuba City, and Pleistocene volcanic rocks representing the northernmost extent of the San Francisco Volcanic Field are present at the south-central edge of the quadrangle. Quaternary deposits mantle much of the Mesozoic rocks in the eastern half of the quadrangle and are sparsely scattered in the western half. Principal folds are the north-south-trending, east-dipping Echo Cliffs Monocline and the East Kaibab Monocline. The East Kaibab Monocline elevates the Kaibab, Walhalla, and Coconino Plateaus and parts of Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon erosion has exposed the Butte Fault beneath the east Kaibab Monocline, providing a window into the structural complexity of monoclines in this part of the Colorado Plateau. Rocks of Permian and Triassic age form the surface bedrock of Marble Plateau and House Rock Valley between the East Kaibab and Echo Cliffs Monoclines. The Echo Cliffs Monocline forms a structural boundary between the Marble Plateau to the west and the Kaibito and Moenkopi Plateaus to the east. Jurassic rocks of the Kaibito and Moenkopi Plateaus are largely mantled by extensive eolian sand deposits. A small part of the northeast-dipping Red Lake Monocline is present in the northeast corner of the quadrangle. A broad and

75 FR 34476 - Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-17

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group... Management Work Group. The purpose of the Adaptive Management Work Group is to advise and to provide... of the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group is in the public interest in connection with...

Draft environmental assessment: Davis Canyon site, Utah. Nuclear Waste Policy Act (Section 112)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-12-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Davis Canyon site in Utah, as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Davis Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations are reported in this draft environmental assessment (EA), which is being issued for public review and comment. The DOE findings and determinations that are based on these evaluations are preliminary and subject to public review and comment. A final EA will be prepared after considering the comments received. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this draft EA, the DOE has found that the Davis Canyon site is not disqualified under the guidelines. The site is in the Paradox Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains one other potentially acceptable site - the Lavender Canyon site. Although the Lavender Canyon site appears to be suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Davis Canyon site is the preferred site in the Paradox Basin. Furthermore, the DOE finds that the site is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is proposing to nominate the Davis Canyon site as one of five sites suitable for characterization. Having compared the Davis Canyon site with the other four sites proposed for nomination, the DOE has determined that the Davis Canyon site is not one of the three preferred sites for recommendation to the President as candidates for characterization

Lake Afrera, a structural depression in the Northern Afar Rift (Red Sea).

Science.gov (United States)

Bonatti, Enrico; Gasperini, Elia; Vigliotti, Luigi; Lupi, Luca; Vaselli, Orlando; Polonia, Alina; Gasperini, Luca

2017-05-01

The boundary between the African and Arabian plates in the Southern Red Sea region is displaced inland in the northern Afar rift, where it is marked by the Red Sea-parallel Erta Ale, Alaita, and Tat Ali volcanic ridges. The Erta Ale is offset by about 20 and 40 km from the two en echelon ridges to the south. The offset area is highly seismic and marked by a depression filled by lake Afrera, a saline body of water fed by hydrothermal springs. Acoustic bathymetric profiles show ≈80 m deep canyons parallel to the NNW shore of the lake, part of a system of extensional normal faults striking parallel to the Red Sea. This system is intersected by oblique structures, some with strike-slip earthquakes, in what might evolve into a transform boundary. Given that the lake's surface lies today about 112 m below sea level, the depressed (minus ≈190 m below sea level) lake's bottom area may be considered the equivalent of the "nodal deep" in slow-slip oceanic transforms. The chemistry of the lake is compatible with the water having originated from hydrothermal liquids that had reacted with evaporites and basalts, rather than residual from evaporation of sea water. Bottom sediments include calcitic grains, halite and gypsum, as well as ostracod and diatom tests. The lake's level appears to have dropped by over 10 m during the last ≈50 years, continuing a drying up trend of the last few thousand years, after a "wet" stage 9,800 and 7,800 years before present when according to Gasse (1973) Lake Afrera covered an area several times larger than at present. This "wet" stage corresponds to an early Holocene warm-humid climate that prevailed in Saharan and Sub Saharan Africa. Lake Abhé, located roughly 250 km south of Afrera, shows similar climate-driven oscillations of its level.

Are amphitheater headed canyons indicative of a particular formative process?

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, A. J.; Whipple, K. X.; Johnson, J. P.

2012-12-01

Tributary canyons with amphitheater-shaped heads have previously been interpreted as evidence for groundwater seepage erosion, particularly in environments where fluvial processes are assumed to be negligible. However, some have questioned whether this canyon morphology is truly diagnostic of a particular formative process. We seek to determine the relative roles of fluvial and groundwater-related processes and the strength of stratigraphic control on the Colorado Plateau through a combination of fieldwork and GIS analysis. Amphitheater valleys may have overhanging or steep-sided headwalls with a semicircular plan-view pattern. It is reasonable to assume that this form is a result of focused erosion at the base of the headwall (i.e. sapping). Two frequently cited agents may lead to undermining: plunge-pool scour at the base of waterfalls and seepage induced weathering and erosion where the groundwater table intersects the land surface. Both processes are enhanced where weaker, less permeable layers underlie stronger cap rock. We conducted preliminary fieldwork in two locations on the Colorado Plateau, where there are many classic examples of amphitheater headed canyons. The Escalante River landscape is highly variable with a range of canyon and valley-head forms, many of which cut through the thick Navajo Sandstone into the underlying shale and sand of the Kayenta Formation. Northeast of Escalante National Monument, at the base of the Henry Mountains, is Tarantula Mesa. The canyons there are also considerably variable, with nearly all containing at least one abrupt amphitheater knickpoint at the valley head or farther downstream. Our observations are presented here with an analysis of the canyon profiles, surrounding topography, and potential structural controls. We have found that nearly all amphitheaters in both locales show signs of groundwater seepage weathering and plausibly seepage erosion. However, many also contain plunge pools and evidence of substantial

Effects of building roof greening on air quality in street canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Baik, Jong-Jin; Kwak, Kyung-Hwan; Park, Seung-Bu; Ryu, Young-Hee

2012-12-01

Building roof greening is a successful strategy for improving urban thermal environment. It is of theoretical interest and practical importance to study the effects of building roof greening on urban air quality in a systematic and quantitative way. In this study, we examine the effects of building roof greening on air quality in street canyons using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model that includes the thermodynamic energy equation and the transport equation of passive, non-reactive pollutants. For simplicity, building roof greening is represented by specified cooling. Results for a simple building configuration with a street canyon aspect ratio of one show that the cool air produced due to building roof greening flows into the street canyon, giving rise to strengthened street canyon flow. The strengthened street canyon flow enhances pollutant dispersion near the road, which decreases pollutant concentration there. Thus, building roof greening improves air quality near the road. The degree of air quality improvement near the road increases as the cooling intensity increases. In the middle region of the street canyon, the air quality can worsen when the cooling intensity is not too strong. Results for a real urban morphology also show that building roof greening improves air quality near roads. The degree of air quality improvement near roads due to building roof greening depends on the ambient wind direction. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for constructing green roofs for the purpose of improving air quality near roads or at a pedestrian level as well as urban thermal environment. Further studies using a CFD model coupled with a photochemistry model and a surface energy balance model are required to evaluate the effects of building roof greening on air quality in street canyons in a more realistic framework.

Near-inertial motions in the DeSoto Canyon during Hurricane Georges

Science.gov (United States)

Jordi, Antoni; Wang, Dong-Ping; Hamilton, Peter

2016-09-01

Hurricane Georges passed directly over an array of 13 moorings deployed in the DeSoto Canyon in the northern Gulf of Mexico on 27-28 September 1998. Current velocity data from the mooring array were analyzed together with a primitive-equation model simulation with realistic hurricane forcing, to characterize the generation and propagation of the hurricane-generated near-inertial waves. The model successfully reproduces the observed mean (sub-inertial) and near-inertial motions. The upper ocean response is strongly impacted by the canyon 'wall': a strong jet is formed along the slope, and the near-inertial motions on the shelf are rapidly suppressed. The model results moreover suggest that strong near-inertial waves in the mixed layer are mostly trapped in an energy flux recirculating gyre around the canyon. This gyre retains the near-inertial energy in the canyon region and enhances the transfer of near-inertial energy below the mixed layer. Additional simulations with idealized topographies show that the presence of a steep slope rather than the canyon is fundamental for the generation of this recirculating gyre. The near-inertial wave energy budget shows that during the study period the wind generated an input of 6.79 × 10-2 Wm-2 of which about 1/3, or 2.43 × 10-2 Wm-2, was transferred below the mixed layer. The horizontal energy flux into and out of the canyon region, in contrast, was relatively weak.

The post-mining context at Decazeville-Firmi concession (Aveyron, France): analysis of impacts resulting from the cessation of pumping at the central shaft. Survey of various scenarios related to the water level of the pit lake in the Grande Decouverte

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cojean, R.; Franco, N.; Lazarewicz, J.C.; Blachere, A.; Lefort, D.; Sorgi, C.

2005-01-01

Within the frame of the Survey related to the cessation of mine workings in Decazeville-Firmi concession, various impacts resulting from the cessation of pumping at the Central Shaft were assessed. Mainly these impacts are related to groundwater behaviour in the abandoned underground coal mines, hydro-chemistry of waters discharged to the environment, ground stability concerns and coal gas emanations. This analysis allowed the choice of the most appropriate elevation of the pit lake level in the Grande Decouverte, with the necessity to continue the pumping. Two main objectives were reached. The elected elevation is high enough to result in a permanent chemical stratification, which allows the pumping of the superficial waters and its discharge to natural watercourses without any treatment. The elected elevation is low enough to avoid any problem of inflow of water or ground stability at some particular places which might have been threatened by the rising of the piezometric level of the mining aquifer. Lastly, the elected elevation of the pit lake allows a quality scenery design around the pit lake. (authors)

The post-mining context at Decazeville-Firmi concession (Aveyron, France): analysis of impacts resulting from the cessation of pumping at the central shaft. Survey of various scenarios related to the water level of the pit lake in the Grande Decouverte

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cojean, R. [Ecole des Mines de Paris, Institut des Geosciences, Centre de Geologie de l' Ingenieur, UMLV, 77 - Marne-la-Vallee (France); Franco, N. [Charbonnages de France, Dir. Technique Nationale, 42 - Saint-Etienne (France); Lazarewicz, J.C. [Charbonnages de France, Dir. Technique Nationale, 13 - Meyreuil (France); Blachere, A.; Lefort, D. [Bureau d' Etudes CESAME, 42 - Fraisses (France); Sorgi, C. [INERIS, 60 - Verneuil-en-Halatte (France)

2005-07-01

Within the frame of the Survey related to the cessation of mine workings in Decazeville-Firmi concession, various impacts resulting from the cessation of pumping at the Central Shaft were assessed. Mainly these impacts are related to groundwater behaviour in the abandoned underground coal mines, hydro-chemistry of waters discharged to the environment, ground stability concerns and coal gas emanations. This analysis allowed the choice of the most appropriate elevation of the pit lake level in the Grande Decouverte, with the necessity to continue the pumping. Two main objectives were reached. The elected elevation is high enough to result in a permanent chemical stratification, which allows the pumping of the superficial waters and its discharge to natural watercourses without any treatment. The elected elevation is low enough to avoid any problem of inflow of water or ground stability at some particular places which might have been threatened by the rising of the piezometric level of the mining aquifer. Lastly, the elected elevation of the pit lake allows a quality scenery design around the pit lake. (authors)

Bedrock Canyons Carved by the Largest Known Floods on Earth and Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Lamb, M. P.; Lapôtre, M. G. A.; Larsen, I. J.; Williams, R. M. E.

2017-12-01

The surface of Earth is a dynamic and permeable interface where the rocky crust is sculpted by ice, wind and water resulting in spectacular mountain ranges, vast depositional basins and environments that support life. These landforms and deposits contain a rich, yet incomplete, record of Earth history that we are just beginning to understand. Some of the most dramatic landforms are the huge bedrock canyons carved by catastrophic floods. On Mars, similar bedrock canyons, known as Outflow Channels, are the most important indicators of large volumes of surface water in the past. Despite their importance and now decades of observations of canyon morphology, we lack a basic understanding of how the canyons formed, which limits our ability to reconstruct flood discharge, duration and water volume. In this presentation I will summarize recent work - using mechanistic numerical models and field observations - that suggests that bedrock canyons carved by megafloods rapidly evolve to a size and shape such that boundary shear stresses just exceed that required to entrain fractured blocks of rock. The threshold shear stress constraint allows for quantitative reconstruction of the largest known floods on Earth and Mars, and implies far smaller discharges than previous methods that assume flood waters fully filled the canyons to high water marks.

Submarine canyons off Madras Coast

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Setty, M.G.A.P.

Submarine canyons off the coast of Madras, Tamil Nadu, India were studied during cruise of @iINS Kistna@@ as part of the IIOE programme They consist of hill-like projections and V-shaped valleys Their other features are also reported...

Influence of the Nazaré Canyon, central Portuguese margin, on late winter coccolithophore assemblages

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Guerreiro, C.; Sá, C.; de Stigter, H.; Oliveira, A.; Cachão, M.; Cros, L.; Borges, C.; Quaresma, L.; Santos, A.I.; Fortuño, J.-M.; Rodrigez, A.

2014-01-01

This paper presents a first attempt to characterize coccolithophore assemblages occurring in the context of an active submarine canyon. Coccolithophores from the upper-middle sections of the Nazaré Canyon (central Portuguese margin) – one of the largest canyons of the European continental margin –

THE INFLUENCE OF BUOYANCY ON FLOW AND POLLUTANT DISPERSION IN STREET CANYONS

OpenAIRE

Buccolieri, Riccardo; Pulvirenti, Beatrice; Di Sabatino, Silvana; Britter, Rex

2008-01-01

Abstract: In this paper, the effect of buoyancy on flow and pollutant dispersion within street canyons is studied by means of computational fluid dynamics simulations. We consider a neutral boundary layer approaching a 3D street canyon assuming a wind direction perpendicular to the street canyon. The Boussinesq hypothesis for incompressible fluids is chosen for modelling buoyancy. We distinguish three cases: leeward, ground and windward wall heating. Thermal effects on both the flow ...

Pollutant Concentrations in Street Canyons of Different Aspect Ratio with Avenues of Trees for Various Wind Directions

Science.gov (United States)

Gromke, Christof; Ruck, Bodo

2012-07-01

This study summarizes the effects of avenues of trees in urban street canyons on traffic pollutant dispersion. We describe various wind-tunnel experiments with different tree-avenue models in combination with variations in street-canyon aspect ratio W/ H (with W the street-canyon width and H the building height) and approaching wind direction. Compared to tree-free street canyons, in general, higher pollutant concentrations are found. Avenues of trees do not suppress canyon vortices, although the air ventilation in canyons is hindered significantly. For a perpendicular wind direction, increases in wall-average and wall-maximum concentrations at the leeward canyon wall and decreases in wall-average concentrations at the windward wall are found. For oblique and perpendicular wind directions, increases at both canyon walls are obtained. The strongest effects of avenues of trees on traffic pollutant dispersion are observed for oblique wind directions for which also the largest concentrations at the canyon walls are found. Thus, the prevailing assumption that attributes the most harmful dispersion conditions to a perpendicular wind direction does not hold for street canyons with avenues of trees. Furthermore, following dimensional analysis, an estimate of the normalized wall-maximum traffic pollutant concentration in street canyons with avenues of trees is derived.

Impact of roof height non-uniformity on pollutant transport between a street canyon and intersections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nosek, Štěpán; Kukačka, Libor; Jurčáková, Klára; Kellnerová, Radka; Jaňour, Zbyněk

2017-01-01

This paper presents an extension of our previous wind-tunnel study (Nosek et al., 2016) in which we highlighted the need for investigation of the removal mechanisms of traffic pollution from all openings of a 3D street canyon. The extension represents the pollution flux (turbulent and advective) measurements at the lateral openings of three different 3D street canyons for the winds perpendicular and oblique to the along-canyon axis. The pollution was simulated by emitting a passive gas (ethane) from a homogeneous ground-level line source positioned along the centreline of the investigated street canyons. The street canyons were formed by courtyard-type buildings of two different regular urban-array models. The first model has a uniform building roof height, while the second model has a non-uniform roof height along each building's wall. The mean flow and concentration fields at the canyons' lateral openings confirm the findings of other studies that the buildings' roof-height variability at the intersections plays an important role in the dispersion of the traffic pollutants within the canyons. For the perpendicular wind, the non-uniform roof-height canyon appreciably removes or entrains the pollutant through its lateral openings, contrary to the uniform canyon, where the pollutant was removed primarily through the top. The analysis of the turbulent mass transport revealed that the coherent flow structures of the lateral momentum transport correlate with the ventilation processes at the lateral openings of all studied canyons. These flow structures coincide at the same areas and hence simultaneously transport the pollutant in opposite directions. - Highlights: • The pollutant transport strongly depends on the roof-height arrangement. • The non-uniform canyons also remove the pollutants through their lateral openings. • The higher the upstream wall, the more pollutant is removed through the top. • The lateral coherent structures correlate

The Characterization of Biotic and Abiotic Media Upgradient and Downgradient of the Los Alamos Canyon Weir

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

P.R. Fresquez

2006-01-01

As per the Mitigation Action Plan for the Special Environmental Analysis of the actions taken in response to the Cerro Grande Fire, sediments, vegetation, and small mammals were collected directly up- and downgradient of the Los Alamos Canyon weir, a low-head sediment control structure located on the northeastern boundary of Los Alamos National Laboratory, to determine contaminant impacts, if any. All radionuclides ( 3 H, 137 Cs, 238 Pu, 239,240 Pu, 90 Sr, 241 Am, 234 U, 235 U and 238 U) and trace elements (Ag, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and Tl) in these media were low and most were below regional upper level background concentrations (mean plus three sigma). The very few constituents that were above regional background concentrations were far below screening levels (set from State and Federal standards) for the protection of the human food chain and the terrestrial environment

Effect of stable stratification on dispersion within urban street canyons: A large-eddy simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xian-Xiang; Britter, Rex; Norford, Leslie K.

2016-11-01

This study employs a validated large-eddy simulation (LES) code with high tempo-spatial resolution to investigate the effect of a stably stratified roughness sublayer (RSL) on scalar transport within an urban street canyon. The major effect of stable stratification on the flow and turbulence inside the street canyon is that the flow slows down in both streamwise and vertical directions, a stagnant area near the street level emerges, and the vertical transport of momentum is weakened. Consequently, the transfer of heat between the street canyon and overlying atmosphere also gets weaker. The pollutant emitted from the street level 'pools' within the lower street canyon, and more pollutant accumulates within the street canyon with increasing stability. Under stable stratification, the dominant mechanism for pollutant transport within the street canyon has changed from ejections (flow carries high-concentration pollutant upward) to unorganized motions (flow carries high-concentration pollutant downward), which is responsible for the much lower dispersion efficiency under stable stratifications.

Diet of Lontra longicaudis (Olfers, 1818 (Carnivora: Mustelidae in three limnic systems in Southern Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Marques Quintela

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of the present work was to study the diet of Lontra longicaudis in three limnic systems (anthropogenic shallow lakes, pluvial channel and coastal stream in Rio Grande do Sul State coastal plain, southern Brazil. Fishes were the most consumed item in all the three systems, being Mugilidae the most representative family in the pluvial channel and coastal stream and Cichlidae in the shallow lakes. Other identified items were mollusks, insects, crustaceans, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals and vegetal fragments. The high frequency of birds in the shallow lakes was remarkable, considering the lower frequencies of this item in previous investigations on the species diet. There was a high frequency of swamp eels (Synbranchidae, Synbranchus marmoratus in the pluvial channel and shallow lakes, which were usually absent or found in low frequencies in previous studies.

Aquatic macroinvertebrates and water quality in Sandia Canyon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bennett, K.

1994-05-01

In 1990, field studies of water quality and stream macroinvertebrate communities were initiated in Sandia Canyon at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The studies were designed to establish baseline data and to determine the effects of routine discharges of industrial and sanitary waste. Water quality measurements were taken and aquatic macroinvertebrates sampled at three permanent stations within the canyon. Two of the three sample stations are located where the stream regularly receives industrial and sanitary waste effluents. These stations exhibited a low diversity of macroinvertebrates and slightly degraded water quality. The last sample station, located approximately 0.4 km (0.25 mi) downstream from the nearest wastewater outfall, appears to be in a zone of recovery where water quality parameters more closely resemble those found in natural streams in the Los Alamos area. A large increase in macroinvertebrate diversity was also observed at the third station. These results indicate that effluents discharged into Sandia Canyon have a marked effect on water quality and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities

Turbid releases from Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, following rainfall-runoff events of September 2013

Science.gov (United States)

Wildman, Richard A.; Vernieu, William

2017-01-01

Glen Canyon Dam is a large dam on the Colorado River in Arizona. In September 2013, it released turbid water following intense thunderstorms in the surrounding area. Turbidity was >15 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) for multiple days and >30 NTU at its peak. These unprecedented turbid releases impaired downstream fishing activity and motivated a rapid-response field excursion. At 5 locations upstream from the dam, temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a, and turbidity were measured in vertical profiles. Local streamflow and rainfall records were retrieved, and turbidity and specific conductance data in dam releases were evaluated. Profiling was conducted to determine possible sources of turbidity from 3 tributaries nearest the dam, Navajo, Antelope, and Wahweap creeks, which entered Lake Powell as interflows during this study. We discuss 4 key conditions that must have been met for tributaries to influence turbidity of dam releases: tributary flows must have reached the dam, tributary flows must have been laden with sediment, inflow currents must have been near the depth of dam withdrawals, and the settling velocity of particles must have been slow. We isolate 2 key uncertainties that reservoir managers should resolve in future similar studies: the reach of tributary water into the reservoir thalweg and the distribution of particle size of suspended sediment. These uncertainties leave the source of the turbidity ambiguous, although an important role for Wahweap Creek is possible. The unique combination of limnological factors we describe implies that turbid releases at Glen Canyon Dam will continue to be rare.

Fourmile Canyon Fire Findings

Science.gov (United States)

Russell Graham; Mark Finney; Chuck McHugh; Jack Cohen; Dave Calkin; Rick Stratton; Larry Bradshaw; Ned Nikolov

2012-01-01

The Fourmile Canyon Fire burned in the fall of 2010 in the Rocky Mountain Front Range adjacent to Boulder, Colorado. The fire occurred in steep, rugged terrain, primarily on privately owned mixed ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forests. The fire started on September 6 when the humidity of the air was very dry (¡Ö

Numerical Simulation of Recent Turbidity Currents in the Monterey Canyon System, Offshore California

Science.gov (United States)

Heimsund, S.; Xu, J.; Nemec, W.

2007-12-01

The method of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been used, in the form of a 3D numerical model (Flow- 3D®), to perform a full-scale simulation of turbidity currents measured in December 2002 by three moorings in the Soquel and Monterey canyons. The model was verified by simulation of laboratory flows, and was upscaled to the Monterey Canyon system on the basis of high-resolution bathymetric data and flow measurements. The measured velocity profiles were sufficient to assess the flow thickness, initial velocity and duration in the canyon head zone. A computational grid with a highest feasible resolution was used, and both bathymetry and hydrostatic pressure were accounted for. The volumetric sediment concentration and exact grain- size composition of the flows were unknown, and thus a range of values for the initial concentration and bed roughness were assumed and assessed on a trial-and-error basis. The simulations reveal the behavior of a turbidity current along its descent path, including its local hydraulic characteristics (the 3D field of velocity, sediment concentration, shear stress, strain rate, and dynamic viscosity, as well as the magnitude of velocity and turbulent shear). The results confirm that the velocity structure of turbidity current is highly sensitive to variation in seafloor topography. The December 17th flow in the Soquel Canyon appears to have lost capacity by dilution over a relatively short distance and shown significant velocity fluctuations, which is attributed to the rugged topography of the canyon floor. A major loss of momentum occurred when the flow plunged at high angle into the Monterey Canyon, crashing against its bend's southern wall. The December 20th flow in the Monterey Canyon, in contrast, developed a considerably longer body and strongly accelerated towards the canyon's sharp second bend before crashing against its western wall. The mooring data show a down-canyon decline of velocity and suggest gradual waning, but the

Exposure pathways and biological receptors: baseline data for the canyon uranium mine, Coconino County, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Hinck, Jo E.; Linder, Greg L.; Darrah, Abigail J.; Drost, Charles A.; Duniway, Michael C.; Johnson, Matthew J.; Méndez-Harclerode, Francisca M.; Nowak, Erika M.; Valdez, Ernest W.; van Riper, Charles; Wolff, S.W.

2014-01-01

Recent restrictions on uranium mining within the Grand Canyon watershed have drawn attention to scientific data gaps in evaluating the possible effects of ore extraction to human populations as well as wildlife communities in the area. Tissue contaminant concentrations, one of the most basic data requirements to determine exposure, are not available for biota from any historical or active uranium mines in the region. The Canyon Uranium Mine is under development, providing a unique opportunity to characterize concentrations of uranium and other trace elements, as well as radiation levels in biota, found in the vicinity of the mine before ore extraction begins. Our study objectives were to identify contaminants of potential concern and critical contaminant exposure pathways for ecological receptors; conduct biological surveys to understand the local food web and refine the list of target species (ecological receptors) for contaminant analysis; and collect target species for contaminant analysis prior to the initiation of active mining. Contaminants of potential concern were identified as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, thallium, uranium, and zinc for chemical toxicity and uranium and associated radionuclides for radiation. The conceptual exposure model identified ingestion, inhalation, absorption, and dietary transfer (bioaccumulation or bioconcentration) as critical contaminant exposure pathways. The biological survey of plants, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small mammals is the first to document and provide ecological information on .200 species in and around the mine site; this study also provides critical baseline information about the local food web. Most of the species documented at the mine are common to ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa and pinyon–juniper Pinus–Juniperus spp. forests in northern Arizona and are not considered to have special conservation status by state or federal agencies; exceptions

Hualapai Tribal Utility Development Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hualapai Tribal Nation

2008-05-25

The first phase of the Hualapai Tribal Utility Development Project (Project) studied the feasibility of establishing a tribally operated utility to provide electric service to tribal customers at Grand Canyon West (see objective 1 below). The project was successful in completing the analysis of the energy production from the solar power systems at Grand Canyon West and developing a financial model, based on rates to be charged to Grand Canyon West customers connected to the solar systems, that would provide sufficient revenue for a Tribal Utility Authority to operate and maintain those systems. The objective to establish a central power grid over which the TUA would have authority and responsibility had to be modified because the construction schedule of GCW facilities, specifically the new air terminal, did not match up with the construction schedule for the solar power system. Therefore, two distributed systems were constructed instead of one central system with a high voltage distribution network. The Hualapai Tribal Council has not taken the action necessary to establish the Tribal Utility Authority that could be responsible for the electric service at GCW. The creation of a Tribal Utility Authority (TUA) was the subject of the second objective of the project. The second phase of the project examined the feasibility and strategy for establishing a tribal utility to serve the remainder of the Hualapai Reservation and the feasibility of including wind energy from a tribal wind generator in the energy resource portfolio of the tribal utility (see objective 2 below). It is currently unknown when the Tribal Council will consider the implementation of the results of the study. Objective 1 - Develop the basic organizational structure and operational strategy for a tribally controlled utility to operate at the Tribe’s tourism enterprise district, Grand Canyon West. Coordinate the development of the Tribal Utility structure with the development of the Grand Canyon

Geology of the Mid-Miocene Rooster Comb Caldera and Lake Owyhee Volcanic Field, eastern Oregon: Silicic volcanism associated with Grande Ronde flood basalt

Science.gov (United States)

Benson, Thomas R.; Mahood, Gail A.

2016-01-01

The Lake Owyhee Volcanic Field (LOVF) of eastern Oregon consists of rhyolitic caldera centers and lava fields contemporaneous with and spatially related to Mid-Miocene Columbia River flood basalt volcanism. Previous studies delineated two calderas in the southeastern part of LOVF near Owyhee Reservoir, the result of eruptions of two ignimbrites, the Tuff of Leslie Gulch and the Tuff of Spring Creek. Our new interpretation is that these two map units are differentially altered parts of a single ignimbrite produced in a major phreatomagmatic eruption at 15.8 Ma. Areas previously mapped as Tuff of Spring Creek are locations where the ignimbrite contains abundant clinoptilolite ± mordenite, which made it susceptible to erosion. The resistant intracaldera Tuff of Leslie Gulch has an alteration assemblage of albite ± quartz, indicative of low-temperature hydrothermal alteration. Our new mapping of caldera lake sediments and pre- and post-caldera rhyolitic lavas and intrusions that are chemically similar to intracaldera Tuff of Leslie Gulch point to a single 20 × 25 km caldera, which we name the Rooster Comb Caldera. Erosion of the resurgently uplifted southern half of the caldera created dramatic exposures of intracaldera Tuff of Leslie Gulch cut by post-caldera rhyolite dikes and intrusions that are the deeper-level equivalents of lava domes and flows that erupted into the caldera lake preserved in exposures to the northeast. The Rooster Comb Caldera has features in common with more southerly Mid-Miocene calderas of the McDermitt Volcanic Field and High Rock Caldera Complex, including formation in a basinal setting shortly after flood basalt eruptions ceased in the region, and forming on eruption of peralkaline ignimbrite. The volcanism at Rooster Comb Caldera postdates the main activity at McDermitt and High Rock, but, like it, begins 300 ky after flood basalt volcanism begins in the area, and while flood basalts don't erupt through the silicic focus, are

Influence of cetane improvers on the air quality in an urban street canyon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, H.; Akutsu, Y.; Arai, M.; Tamura, M.

2000-01-01

The concentration distributions of NO x , PM, HC and CO in an urban street canyon have been estimated using a two-dimensional air quality numerical model based on the k-e turbulent model and the atmospheric convection diffusion equation when various cetane improvers were used in diesel fuels. A wind vortex can be found within the street canyon, and the pollutants emitted from the bottom of the street canyon tend to follow the course of the wind field, moving circularly. The addition of cetane improvers can improve the air quality in a street canyon, all of the pollutants were found to decrease with increasing cetane number. (Author)

Impact of roof height non-uniformity on pollutant transport between a street canyon and intersections.

Science.gov (United States)

Nosek, Štěpán; Kukačka, Libor; Jurčáková, Klára; Kellnerová, Radka; Jaňour, Zbyněk

2017-08-01

This paper presents an extension of our previous wind-tunnel study (Nosek et al., 2016) in which we highlighted the need for investigation of the removal mechanisms of traffic pollution from all openings of a 3D street canyon. The extension represents the pollution flux (turbulent and advective) measurements at the lateral openings of three different 3D street canyons for the winds perpendicular and oblique to the along-canyon axis. The pollution was simulated by emitting a passive gas (ethane) from a homogeneous ground-level line source positioned along the centreline of the investigated street canyons. The street canyons were formed by courtyard-type buildings of two different regular urban-array models. The first model has a uniform building roof height, while the second model has a non-uniform roof height along each building's wall. The mean flow and concentration fields at the canyons' lateral openings confirm the findings of other studies that the buildings' roof-height variability at the intersections plays an important role in the dispersion of the traffic pollutants within the canyons. For the perpendicular wind, the non-uniform roof-height canyon appreciably removes or entrains the pollutant through its lateral openings, contrary to the uniform canyon, where the pollutant was removed primarily through the top. The analysis of the turbulent mass transport revealed that the coherent flow structures of the lateral momentum transport correlate with the ventilation processes at the lateral openings of all studied canyons. These flow structures coincide at the same areas and hence simultaneously transport the pollutant in opposite directions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Trees in urban street canyons and their impact on the dispersion of automobile exhausts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gromke, C.B.; Ruck, B.

2007-01-01

The aim of the present study is to clarify the influence of trees on the dispersion of automobile exhausts in urban street canyons. For this purpose, measurements have been performed with a small scale wind tunnel model of an idealized, isolated street canyon with model trees placed along the canyon

Small Mammal Sampling in Mortandad and Los Alamos Canyons, 2005

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kathy Bennett; Sherri Sherwood; Rhonda Robinson

2006-01-01

As part of an ongoing ecological field investigation at Los Alamos National Laboratory, a study was conducted that compared measured contaminant concentrations in sediment to population parameters for small mammals in the Mortandad Canyon watershed. Mortandad Canyon and its tributary canyons have received contaminants from multiple solid waste management units and areas of concern since establishment of the Laboratory in the 1940s. The study included three reaches within Effluent and Mortandad canyons (E-1W, M-2W, and M-3) that had a spread in the concentrations of metals and radionuclides and included locations where polychlorinated biphenyls and perchlorate had been detected. A reference location, reach LA-BKG in upper Los Alamos Canyon, was also included in the study for comparison purposes. A small mammal study was initiated to assess whether potential adverse effects were evident in Mortandad Canyon due to the presence of contaminants, designated as contaminants of potential ecological concern, in the terrestrial media. Study sites, including the reference site, were sampled in late July/early August. Species diversity and the mean daily capture rate were the highest for E-1W reach and the lowest for the reference site. Species composition among the three reaches in Mortandad was similar with very little overlap with the reference canyon. Differences in species composition and diversity were most likely due to differences in habitat. Sex ratios, body weights, and reproductive status of small mammals were also evaluated. However, small sample sizes of some species within some sites affected the analysis. Ratios of males to females by species of each site (n = 5) were tested using a Chi-square analysis. No differences were detected. Where there was sufficient sample size, body weights of adult small mammals were compared between sites. No differences in body weights were found. Reproductive status of species appears to be similar across sites. However, sample

Small Mammal Sampling in Mortandad and Los Alamos Canyons, 2005

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bennett, Kathy; Sherwood, Sherri; Robinson, Rhonda

2006-08-15

As part of an ongoing ecological field investigation at Los Alamos National Laboratory, a study was conducted that compared measured contaminant concentrations in sediment to population parameters for small mammals in the Mortandad Canyon watershed. Mortandad Canyon and its tributary canyons have received contaminants from multiple solid waste management units and areas of concern since establishment of the Laboratory in the 1940s. The study included three reaches within Effluent and Mortandad canyons (E-1W, M-2W, and M-3) that had a spread in the concentrations of metals and radionuclides and included locations where polychlorinated biphenyls and perchlorate had been detected. A reference location, reach LA-BKG in upper Los Alamos Canyon, was also included in the study for comparison purposes. A small mammal study was initiated to assess whether potential adverse effects were evident in Mortandad Canyon due to the presence of contaminants, designated as contaminants of potential ecological concern, in the terrestrial media. Study sites, including the reference site, were sampled in late July/early August. Species diversity and the mean daily capture rate were the highest for E-1W reach and the lowest for the reference site. Species composition among the three reaches in Mortandad was similar with very little overlap with the reference canyon. Differences in species composition and diversity were most likely due to differences in habitat. Sex ratios, body weights, and reproductive status of small mammals were also evaluated. However, small sample sizes of some species within some sites affected the analysis. Ratios of males to females by species of each site (n = 5) were tested using a Chi-square analysis. No differences were detected. Where there was sufficient sample size, body weights of adult small mammals were compared between sites. No differences in body weights were found. Reproductive status of species appears to be similar across sites. However, sample

Internal tides affect benthic community structure in an energetic submarine canyon off SW Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Jian-Xiang; Chen, Guan-Ming; Chiou, Ming-Da; Jan, Sen; Wei, Chih-Lin

2017-07-01

Submarine canyons are major conduits of terrestrial and shelf organic matter, potentially benefiting the seafloor communities in the food-deprived deep sea; however, strong bottom currents driven by internal tides and the potentially frequent turbidity currents triggered by storm surges, river flooding, and earthquakes may negatively impact the benthos. In this study, we investigated the upper Gaoping Submarine Canyon (GPSC), a high-sediment-yield canyon connected to a small mountain river (SMR) off southwest (SW) Taiwan. By contrasting the benthic meiofaunal and macrofaunal communities within and outside the GPSC, we examined how food supplies and disturbance influenced the benthic community assemblages. The benthic communities in the upper GPSC were mainly a nested subset of the adjacent slope assemblages. Several meiofaunal (e.g. ostracods) and macrofaunal taxa (e.g. peracarid crustaceans and mollusks) that typically occurred on the slope were lost from the canyon. The polychaete families switched from diverse feeding guilds on the slope to motile subsurface deposit feeders dominant in the canyon. The diminishing of epibenthic peracarids and proliferation of deep burrowing polychaetes in the GPSC resulted in macrofauna occurring largely within deeper sediment horizons in the canyon than on the slope. The densities and numbers of taxa were depressed with distinct and more variable composition in the canyon than on the adjacent slope. Both the densities and numbers of taxa were negatively influenced by internal tide flushing and positively influenced by food availability; however, the internal tides also negatively influenced the food supplies. While the meiofauna and macrofauna densities were both depressed by the extreme physical conditions in the GPSC, only the macrofaunal densities increased with depth in the canyon, presumably related to increased frequency and intensity of disturbance toward the canyon head. The population densities of meiofauna, on the

First records of Freshwater Bivalves of Ilha Grande National Park, Paraná, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flávio Henrique Ragonha

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The Ilha Grande National Park, Paraná, Brazil, is located in the Upper Paraná River and has characteristics typical of a floodplains. This protected area includes lagoons connected and disconnected to the Paraná River, although the latter also connect during periods of high water level, thus composing a heterogeneous group of lacustrine environments. The enormous potential the flora and fauna diversities are still little known to the region, as can be seen through benthic invertebrates, inclunding bivalves mollusks. The granulometric composition of these floodplain lagoons was formed mainly by mud and very fine sand. Furthermore, organic matter composition was predominantly of fine particulate. The other abiotic factors differed from lagoons located within the island of the park to those located in the left margin of Paraná River. The results demonstrated the importance of abiotic factors such as the physical composition of granulometric texture, organic matter and macrophyte banks, to the establishment of bivalves in these floodplain lagoons. We recorded bivalves of Pisidium (native, Diplodon (native, and Corbicula (invasive. The highest values of Diplodon sp. density were observed at São João/C lake, for Pisidium sterkianum (Pilsbry, 1897 at São João/M lake, and to Jatobá/C lagoon with high density of invasive species Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774. This study to obtain conduct the first records of freshwater bivalves in floodplains lagoon in the Ilha Grande National Park, and provides contributions to better understanding the ecology of these mollusks. The recording of native species in the region of Upper Paraná River floodplain after a lomg period without new records, demonstrated the importance of protecting the lagoons of the Ilha Grande National Park as they can be a possible refuge to some species of native freshwater bivalves.

Savannah River Site: Canyons and associated facilities utilization study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellison, D.; Dickenson, J.

1995-01-01

The Westinghouse Savannah River Company was asked by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to study options for utilization of Savannah River Site (SRS) Canyons and Associated Facilities to support existing and potential future material stabilization and/or disposition missions. This report is WSRC's response to that request. It includes: (1) A compilation of pending DOE material stabilization and/or disposition decisions involving utilization of SRS canyons and associated facilities, including discussion of quantities and expected availability of materials for which SRS handling and/or processing capability is a reasonable alternative under consideration. (2) A description of SRS canyons and associated facilities affected by pending DOE material stabilization and/or disposition decisions, including discussion of material handling and/or processing capabilities and capacities. (3) A comparative evaluation of three proposed scenarios for SRS canyon utilization with respect to startup and operating schedules; annual and life cycle costs; impacts on completion of commitments in the DOE Implementation Plan (IP) for Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Recommendation 94-1; SRS ability to support alternatives under consideration in pending DOE materials stabilization and/or disposition decisions; and timing for potential transition to deactivation. (4) The sensitivity of the comparative evaluation of the three canyon utilization scenarios to the effect of the selection of other alternatives for individual stabilization missions or individual new missions. Briefings on the scope of this study have been presented to key representatives of several SRS public stakeholder groups. Briefings on the major conclusions from this study have been presented to WSRC Management, DOE-SR, EM-60, EM-1, and the DNFSB

Surficial geologic map of the Red Rock Lakes area, southwest Montana

Science.gov (United States)

Pierce, Kenneth L.; Chesley-Preston, Tara L.; Sojda, Richard L.

2014-01-01

The Centennial Valley and Centennial Range continue to be formed by ongoing displacement on the Centennial fault. The dominant fault movement is downward, creating space in the valley for lakes and the deposition of sediment. The Centennial Valley originally drained to the northeast through a canyon now represented by a chain of lakes starting with Elk Lake. Subsequently, large landslides blocked and dammed the drainage, which created Lake Centennial, in the Centennial Valley. Sediments deposited in this late Pleistocene lake underlie much of the valley floor and rest on permeable sand and gravel deposited when the valley drained to the northeast. Cold Pleistocene climates enhanced colluvial supply of gravelly sediment to mountain streams and high peak flows carried gravelly sediment into the valley. There, the lower gradient of the streams resulted in deposition of alluvial fans peripheral to Lake Centennial as the lake lowered through time to the level of the two present lakes. Pleistocene glaciers formed in the high Centennial Range, built glacial moraines, and also supplied glacial outwash to the alluvial fans. Winds from the west and south blew sand to the northeast side of the valley building up high dunes. The central part of the map area is flat, sloping to the west by only 0.6 meters in 13 kilometers (2 feet in 8 miles) to form a watery lowland. This lowland contains Upper and Lower Red Rock Lakes, many ponds, and peat lands inside the “water plane,” above which are somewhat steeper slopes. The permeable sands and gravels beneath Lake Centennial sediments provide a path for groundwater recharged from the adjacent uplands. This groundwater leaks upward through Lake Centennial sediments and sustains wetland vegetation into late summer. Upper and Lower Red Rock Lakes are formed by alluvial-fan dams. Alluvial fans converge from both the south and the north to form outlet thresholds that dam the two shallow lakes upstream. The surficial geology aids in

Thermal effects on vehicle emission dispersion in an urban street canyon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiaomin Xie; Zhen Huang; Jiasong Wang; Zheng Xie [Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ., School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai (China)

2005-05-15

The impact of the thermal effects on vehicle emission dispersion within street canyons is examined. The results show that heating from building wall surfaces and horizontal surfaces lead to strong buoyancy forces close to surfaces receiving direct solar radiation. This thermally induced flow is combined with mechanically induced flows formed in the canyon where there is no solar heating, and affects the transport of pollutants from the canyon to the layer aloft. The relative influence of each of these effects can be estimates by Gr/Re{sup 2}. When the windward wall is warmer than the air, an upward buoyancy flux opposes the downward advection flux along the wall; if Gr/Re{sup 2} > 2, the flow structure is divided into two counter-rotating cells, and pollutants are accumulated on the windward side of the canyon. When the horizontal surface is heated, and Gr/Re{sup 2} > 4, the flow structure is divided into two counter-rotating cells by upward buoyancy flux. Pollutants are accumulated at the windward side of the canyon. When the leeward side is heated, the buoyancy flux adds to the upward advection flux along the wall strengthening the original vortex and pollutant effects of transport compared to the isothermal case. (Author)

Fault tree analysis of Project S-4404, Upgrade Canyon Exhaust System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Browne, E.V.; Low, J.M.; Lux, C.R.

1992-01-01

Project S-4404, Upgrade Canyon Exhaust Systems, is a $177 million project with the purpose of upgrading the Exhaust Systems for both F and H Canyon Facilities. This upgrade will replace major portions of the F and H-Canyon exhaust systems, downstream of their respective sand filters with higher capacity and more reliable systems. Because of the high cost, DOE requested Program Control ampersand Integration (PC ampersand I) to examine specific deletions to the project. PC ampersand I requested Nuclear Processes Safety Research (NPSR) to perform an analysis to compare failure rates for the existing F ampersand H Canyon exhaust systems with the proposed exhaust system and specific proposed exhaust system alternatives. The objective of this work was to perform an analysis and compare failure rates for the existing F ampersand H Canyon exhaust systems with the proposed project exhaust system and proposed project alternatives. Based on fault tree analysis, two conclusions are made. First, D ampersand D activities can be eliminated from the project with no significant decrease to exhaust system safety. Deletion of D ampersand D activities would result in a cost savings of $29 million. Second, deletion of DOE Order 6430.1A requirements regarding DBAs would decrease exhaust system safety by a factor of 12

Evaluation of turbulence from traffic using experimental data obtained in a street canyon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mazzeo, N.A.; Venegas, L.E. [Univ. of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires (Argentina). Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, National Scientific and Technological Research Council

2004-07-01

High air pollution levels have been observed in street canyons. Within these streets, pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and residents are likely to be exposed to pollutant concentrations exceeding current air quality standards. Airflow and dispersion in street canyons are very complicated. Depending on the synoptic wind three main dispersion conditions can be identified: a) low wind conditions, b) perpendicular or near perpendicular flow for winds over 1.5-2.0 m/s blowing at an angle of more than 30 to the canyon axes, c) parallel or near parallel flow for winds over 1.5-2.0 m/s blowing from all other directions. Under condition b), airflow in canyons with H/W{approx}1 (H is the height and W is the width of the canyon) is characterised by the formation of a single vortex within the canyon. The dispersion of gaseous pollutants in a street canyon depends generally on the rate at which the street exchanges air vertically with the above roof-level atmosphere and laterally with connecting streets. There is evidence that when the synoptic wind speed is low, the mechanical traffic-produced turbulence (TPT) might place a significant role in dispersion of traffic-generated pollutants. In this paper, we analyse interactions between wind and traffic induced dispersive air motions. Data from full-scale measurements in Goettinger Strasse (Hannover, Germany) are used for application of parameterisation proposed by Di Sabatino, S. et al. (2003) and Kastner-Klein, P. et al. (2003). (orig.)

A toxic cyanobacterial bloom in an urban coastal lake, Rio Grande do Sul state, Southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciana Retz de Carvalho

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Reports of cyanobacterial blooms developing worldwide have considerably increased, and, in most cases, the predominant toxins are microcystins. The present study reports a cyanobacterial bloom in Lake Violão, Torres, Rio Grande do Sul State, in January 2005. Samples collected on January 13, 2005, were submitted to taxonomical, toxicological, and chemical studies. The taxonomical analysis showed many different species of cyanobacteria, and that Microcystis protocystis and Sphaerocavum cf. brasiliense were dominant. Besides these, Microcystis panniformis, Anabaena oumiana,Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, and Anabaenopsis elenkinii f. circularis were also present. The toxicity of the bloom was confirmed through intraperitoneal tests in mice, and chemical analyses of bloom extracts showed that the major substance was anabaenopeptin F, followed by anabaenopeptin B, microcystin-LR, and microcystin-RR.O número de relatos de ocorrências de florações de cianobactérias em todo o mundo vem aumentando consideravelmente e na maioria desses episódios, as toxinas dominantes são as microcistinas. O presente estudo relata a ocorrência de floração na Lagoa do Violão, município de Torres, RS, em janeiro de 2005. As amostras coletadas em 13/01/2005 foram submetidas a estudos taxonômicos, toxicológicos e químicos. O exame microscópico do fitoplancton mostrou a dominância das espécies Microcystis protocystis e Sphaerocavum cf. brasiliense; foram observadas, também, Microcystis panniformis, Anabaena oumiana,Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii e Anabaenopsis elenkinii f. circularis. A toxicidade da floração foi confirmada através de ensaio intraperitonial em camundongos e a análise química de extratos obtidos da biomassa liofilizada mostrou que a substância majoritária era a anabaenopeptina F, seguida por anabaenopeptina B, microcistina-LR e microcistina-RR.

Megafauna of vulnerable marine ecosystems in French mediterranean submarine canyons: Spatial distribution and anthropogenic impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Fabri, M.-C.; Pedel, L.; Beuck, L.; Galgani, F.; Hebbeln, D.; Freiwald, A.

2014-06-01

Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME) in the deep Mediterranean Sea have been identified by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean as consisting of communities of Scleractinia (Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata), Pennatulacea (Funiculina quadrangularis) and Alcyonacea (Isidella elongata). This paper deals with video data recorded in the heads of French Mediterranean canyons. Quantitative observations were extracted from 101 video films recorded during the MEDSEACAN cruise in 2009 (Aamp/Comex). Qualitative information was extracted from four other cruises (two Marum/Comex cruises in 2009 and 2011 and two Ifremer cruises in 1995 and 2010) to support the previous observations in the Cassidaigne and Lacaze-Duthiers canyons. All the species, fishing impacts and litter recognized in the video films recorded from 180 to 700 m depth were mapped using GIS. The abundances and distributions of benthic fishing resources (marketable fishes, Aristeidae, Octopodidae), Vulnerable Marine Species, trawling scars and litter of 17 canyons were calculated and compared, as was the open slope between the Stoechades and Toulon canyons. Funiculina quadrangularis was rarely observed, being confined for the most part to the Marti canyon and, I. elongata was abundant in three canyons (Bourcart, Marti, Petit-Rhône). These two cnidarians were encountered in relatively low abundances, and it may be that they have been swept away by repeated trawling. The Lacaze-Duthiers and Cassidaigne canyons comprised the highest densities and largest colony sizes of scleractinian cold-water corals, whose distribution was mapped in detail. These colonies were often seen to be entangled in fishing lines. The alcyonacean Callogorgia verticillata was observed to be highly abundant in the Bourcart canyon and less abundant in several other canyons. This alcyonacean was also severely affected by bottom fishing gears and is proposed as a Vulnerable Marine Species. Our studies on anthropogenic

BLANCO MOUNTAIN AND BLACK CANYON ROADLESS AREAS, CALIFORNIA.

Science.gov (United States)

Diggles, Michael F.; Rains, Richard L.

1984-01-01

The mineral survey of the Blanco Mountain and Black Canyon Roadless Areas, California indicated that areas of probable and substantiated mineral-resource potential exist only in the Black Canyon Roadless Area. Gold with moderate amounts of lead, silver, zinc, and tungsten, occurs in vein deposits and in tactite. The nature of the geological terrain indicates little likelihood for the occurrence of energy resources in the roadless areas. Detailed geologic mapping might better define the extent of gold mineralization. Detailed stream-sediment sampling and analysis of heavy-mineral concentrations could better define tungsten resource potential.

Lightning protection for the process canyons at the Savannah River site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McAfee, D.E.

1995-01-01

Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC) has performed Lightning Studies for the existing Process Canyons at the Savannah River Site (SRS). These studies were initiated to verify the lightning protection systems for the facilities and to compare the installations to the National Fire Protection (NFPA) Standard 780, Lighting Protection Code, 1992. The original study of the F-Canyon was initiated to develop answers to concerns raised by the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board (DNFSB). Once this study was completed it was determined that a similar study for H-Canyon would be prudent; followed by an evaluation of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) Vitrification Building (S-Canyon). This paper will provide an overview of the nature of lightning and the principals of lightning protection. This will provide the reader with a basic understanding of the phenomena of lighting and its potential for damaging structures, components, and injuring personnel in or near the structure

Effects of High-Flow Experiments from Glen Canyon Dam on Abundance, Growth, and Survival Rates of Early Life Stages of Rainbow Trout in the Lees Ferry Reach of the Colorado River

Science.gov (United States)

Korman, Josh; Kaplinski, Matthew; Melis, Theodore S.

2010-01-01

High-flow experiments (HFEs) from Glen Canyon Dam are primarily intended to conserve fine sediment and improve habitat conditions for native fish in the Colorado River as it flows through Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. These experimental flows also have the potential to affect the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) population in the Lees Ferry tailwater reach immediately below the dam, which supports a highly valued recreational fishery and likely influences the abundance of rainbow trout in Grand Canyon. Understanding how flow regimes affect the survival and growth of juvenile rainbow trout is critical to interpreting trends in adult abundance. This study reports on the effects of HFEs in 2004 and 2008 on early life stages of rainbow trout in the Lees Ferry reach on the basis of monthly sampling of redds (egg nests) and the abundance of the age-0 trout (fertilization to about 1 to 2 months from emergence) and their growth during a 7-year period between 2003 and 2009. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that the March 2008 HFE resulted in a large increase in early survival rates of age-0 trout because of an improvement in habitat conditions. A stock-recruitment analysis demonstrated that age-0 abundance in July 2008 was more than fourfold higher than expected, given the number of viable eggs that produced these fish. A hatch-date analysis showed that early survival rates were much higher for cohorts that hatched about 1 month after the 2008 HFE (about April 15, 2008) relative to those fish that hatched before this date. These cohorts, fertilized after the 2008 HFE, would have emerged into a benthic invertebrate community that had recovered, and was possibly enhanced by, the HFE. Interannual differences in growth of age-0 trout, determined on the basis of otolith microstructure, support this hypothesis. Growth rates in the summer and fall of 2008 (0.44 mm/day) were virtually the same as in 2006 (0.46 mm/day), the highest recorded during 6 years, even though

Yellowcake National Park

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dagget, D.

1985-01-01

Exploration for and mining of uranium ore is going on within 10 miles of the Grand Canyon National Park. The current rush started in 1980, when a Denver-based company, Energy Fuels Nuclear, took over a claim in Hack Canyon and uncovered a very rich deposit of uranium ore. Recent explorations have resulted in some 1300 claims in the area around the Grand Canyon, many of them in the Arizona Strip, the land between the Canyon and Utah. The center of current controversy is the 1872 Mining Law. Replacement of the law with a leasing system similar to that used for leasable minerals such as coal, oil shale, oil and gas, potash, and phosphate is advocated. 1 figure

Geology and geomorphology of the Lower Deschutes River Canyon, Oregon.

Science.gov (United States)

Robin A. Beebee; Jim E. O' Connor; Gordon E. Grant

2002-01-01

This field guide is designed for geologists floating the approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) of the Deschutes River from the Pelton-Round Butte Dam Complex west of Madras to Maupin, Oregon. The first section of the guide is a geologic timeline tracing the formation of the units that compose the canyon walls and the incision of the present canyon. The second section...

Riparian Vegetation Response to the March 2008 Short-Duration, High-Flow Experiment-Implications of Timing and Frequency of Flood Disturbance on Nonnative Plant Establishment Along the Colorado River Below Glen Canyon Dam

Science.gov (United States)

Ralston, Barbara E.

2010-01-01

Riparian plant communities exhibit various levels of diversity and richness. These communities are affected by flooding and are vulnerable to colonization by nonnative species. Since 1996, a series of three high-flow experiments (HFE), or water releases designed to mimic natural seasonal flooding, have been conducted at Glen Canyon Dam, Ariz., primarily to determine the effectiveness of using high flows to conserve sediment, a limited resource. These experiments also provide opportunities to examine the susceptibility of riparian plant communities to nonnative species invasions. The third and most recent HFE was conducted from March 5 to 9, 2008, and scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey's Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center examined the effects of high flows on riparian vegetation as part of the overall experiment. Total plant species richness, nonnative species richness, percent plant cover, percent organic matter, and total carbon measured from sediment samples were compared for Grand Canyon riparian vegetation zones immediately following the HFE and 6 months later. These comparisons were used to determine if susceptibility to nonnative species establishment varied among riparian vegetation zones and if the timing of the HFE affected nonnative plant establishment success. The 2008 HFE primarily buried vegetation rather than scouring it. Percent nonnative cover did not differ among riparian vegetation zones; however, in the river corridor affected by Glen Canyon Dam operations, nonnative species richness showed significant variation. For example, species richness was significantly greater immediately after and 6 months following the HFE in the hydrologic zone farthest away from the shoreline, the area that represents the oldest riparian zone within the post-dam riparian area. In areas closer to the river channel, tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima X chinensis) seedling establishment occurred (tamarisk seed production, or in 1986, a year following several

Morphology and sediment dynamics of the Capbreton canyon (Bay of Biscay, SW France)

Science.gov (United States)

Gaudin, M.; Umr 5805; Ifremer Team

2003-04-01

The Canyon of Capbreton extending in the Bay of Biscay (SW France) is the deepest canyon in the world. Its structure and morphology was studied using new multibeam bathymetry, acoustic imagery and high-resolution seismic data. The canyon head appears only 250 m away from the coast line and runs westward parallel to the north coast of Spain for 160 km due to structural control, then turns northward, widens and abruptly disappears in the continental rise by 3500 m water depth. Its northern margin is flat and progrades clearly westward. Conversely the southern margin is steep and progrades towards the north (i.e. towards the canyon). Down to 800 m water depth, the canyon deeply incises the continental shelf and the axial channel is meandering (sinuosity of 1.9). The canyon shows both major and minor stream beds, perched tributary valleys, nested terraces and abandoned meanders. The terraces have three morphologies: (1) flat, (2) with a raised side or (3) with a horseshoe structure. These morphologies have been interpreted as overbank deposits or nested levees (1 and 2) or as the result of meander abandon (3). Terraces of types (1) and (2) contain mainly fine deposits resulting from decantation of the top of turbulent surges that flow in the canyon. Westward (800 to 2000 m water depth) the main talweg remains sinuous (1.7). On the southern margin, several straight or slightly sinuous S-N tributary valleys are followed by alignments of pockmarks that also indicate a structural control. On the northern margin, a single large tributary valley with a sinuous central talweg, flowing from the upper Aquitaine continental slope, is interpreted as a giant slump scar due to sediment instability. This valley is bordered to the west by a topographic high with sediment waves on the external flank that might be interpreted as a sedimentary levee. The canyon recorded a recent turbidite activity. An 18 cm-thick turbidite was deposited at 650 m water depth by a turbidity current

Safety Evaluation for Packaging (onsite) T Plant Canyon Items

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

OBRIEN, J.H.

2000-01-01

This safety evaluation for packaging (SEP) evaluates and documents the ability to safely ship mostly unique inventories of miscellaneous T Plant canyon waste items (T-P Items) encountered during the canyon deck clean off campaign. In addition, this SEP addresses contaminated items and material that may be shipped in a strong tight package (STP). The shipments meet the criteria for onsite shipments as specified by Fluor Hanford in HNF-PRO-154, Responsibilities and Procedures for all Hazardous Material Shipments

Safety Evaluation for Packaging (onsite) T Plant Canyon Items

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

OBRIEN, J.H.

2000-07-14

This safety evaluation for packaging (SEP) evaluates and documents the ability to safely ship mostly unique inventories of miscellaneous T Plant canyon waste items (T-P Items) encountered during the canyon deck clean off campaign. In addition, this SEP addresses contaminated items and material that may be shipped in a strong tight package (STP). The shipments meet the criteria for onsite shipments as specified by Fluor Hanford in HNF-PRO-154, Responsibilities and Procedures for all Hazardous Material Shipments.

Data Quality Objectives Summary Report for the 221-U Canyon Disposition Alternatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, M.S.; Oaces, L.E.; Baxter, J.; Brown, T.M.; Enoke, D.E.; Carlson, D.; Rugg, J.E.

1997-08-01

The 221-U Canyon Disposition Alternatives Data Quality Objective (DQO) Process identifies the sampling and analytical requirements necessary to support future detailed evaluation of alternatives via the CERCLA process, for final disposition of the 221-U Canyon Facility. Viable alternatives for the disposition of the 221-U Facility have been identified in a CERCLA Phase I Feasibility Study (FS) (DOE-RL 1997) for the Canyon Disposition Initiative (CDI). The scope of this DQO Process is limited to the 221-U Process Canyon Building and equipment contained within the facility. Associated stacks, filters, solvent handling, vaults, and storage facilities external to the 221-U Building are not addressed in this DQO. This DQO focuses on the 221-U Building because it provides the greatest potential source of contaminant volumes and concentrations and the physical structure poses the greatest challenge for disposition decisions

On the pollutant removal, dispersion, and entrainment over two-dimensional idealized street canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chun-Ho; Wong, Colman C. C.

2014-01-01

Pollutant dispersion over urban areas is not that well understood, in particular at the street canyon scale. This study is therefore conceived to examine how urban morphology modifies the pollutant removal, dispersion, and entrainment over urban areas. An idealized computational domain consisting of 12 two-dimensional (2D) identical street canyons of unity aspect ratio is employed. The large-eddy simulation (LES) is used to calculate the turbulent flows and pollutant transport in the urban boundary layer (UBL). An area source of uniform pollutant concentration is applied on the ground of the first street canyon. A close examination on the roof-level turbulence reveals patches of low-speed air masses in the streamwise flows and narrow high-speed downdrafts in the shear layer. Different from the flows over a smooth surface, the turbulence intensities are peaked near the top of the building roughness. The pollutant is rather uniformly distributed inside a street canyon but disperses quickly in the UBL over the buildings. Partitioning the vertical pollutant flux into its mean and turbulent components demystifies that the pollutant removal is mainly governed by turbulence. Whereas, mean wind carries pollutant into and out of a street canyon simultaneously. In addition to wind speed promotion, turbulent mixing is thus required to dilute the ground-level pollutants, which are then removed from the street canyon to the UBL. Atmospheric flows slow down rapidly after the leeward buildings, leading to updrafts carrying pollutants away from the street canyons (the basic pollutant removal mechanism).

Bell Canyon test summary report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christensen, C.L.; Peterson, E.W.

1981-04-01

The Bell Canyon Test was an in situ evaluation of the ability of a cement grout plug to seal boreholes. It consisted of a 2-m-long, 20-cm-diameter grout plug in an anhydrite formation at a depth of 1370 m, directly above an aquifer that provided a 12.4 MPa (1800 psi) differential pressure. The aquifer had a production capability of 38,000 l/day (240 bbl/day, 10 4 gal/day). The observed leakage after plug installation was 0.6 l/day, which is equivalent to a 50 microdarcy flow path assuming all flow occurred through the plug cross-sectional area. Laboratory results and analysis of field data indicate that the bulk of the flow occurred through a microstructure at the interface between the plug and the host rock. The Bell Canyon Test demonstrated that a plug could be formulated, emplaced, and tested under actual conditions and provide acceptable performance. When these results are related to the WIPP performance assessment models, they provide additional confidence that borehole plugging can be accomplished satisfactorily. The Bell Canyon results can also be used as basis for future activities in the generic repository sealing program for similar emplacements and performance assessment evaluations. If the observed leakage rates are not acceptable at other sites, the BCT results would indicate that the first step in improving such emplacements should deal with improved bonding of the plug to the rock at these sites. The results obtained from the BCT, when coupled with results from long-term durability assessments, form a plug performance data basis for repository designers at other proposed waste repository sites

The Characterization of Biotic and Abiotic Media Upgradient and Downgradient of the Los Alamos Canyon Weir

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

P.R. Fresquez

2006-01-15

As per the Mitigation Action Plan for the Special Environmental Analysis of the actions taken in response to the Cerro Grande Fire, sediments, vegetation, and small mammals were collected directly up- and downgradient of the Los Alamos Canyon weir, a low-head sediment control structure located on the northeastern boundary of Los Alamos National Laboratory, to determine contaminant impacts, if any. All radionuclides ({sup 3}H, {sup 137}Cs, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 239,240}Pu, {sup 90}Sr, {sup 241}Am, {sup 234}U, {sup 235}U and {sup 238}U) and trace elements (Ag, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and Tl) in these media were low and most were below regional upper level background concentrations (mean plus three sigma). The very few constituents that were above regional background concentrations were far below screening levels (set from State and Federal standards) for the protection of the human food chain and the terrestrial environment.

Thermal bioclimate in idealized urban street canyons in Campinas, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Abreu-Harbich, Loyde V.; Labaki, Lucila C.; Matzarakis, Andreas

2014-01-01

Among several urban design parameters, the height-to-width ratio (H/W) and orientation are important parameters strongly affecting thermal conditions in cities. This paper quantifies changes in thermal comfort due to typical urban canyon configurations in Campinas, Brazil, and presents urban guidelines concerning H/W ratios and green spaces to adapt urban climate change. The study focuses on thermal comfort issues of humans in urban areas and performs evaluation in terms of physiologically equivalent temperature (PET), based on long-term data. Meteorological data of air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and solar radiation over a 7-year period (2003-2010) were used. A 3D street canyon model was designed with RayMan Pro software to simulate the influence of urban configuration on urban thermal climate. The following configurations and setups were used. The model canyon was 500 m in length, with widths 9, 21, and 44 m. Its height varied in steps of 2.5 m, from 5 to 40 m. The canyon could be rotated in steps of 15°. The results show that urban design parameters such as width, height, and orientation modify thermal conditions within street canyons. A northeast-southwest orientation can reduce PET during daytime more than other scenarios. Forestry management and green areas are recommended to promote shade on pedestrian areas and on façades, and to improve bioclimate thermal stress, in particular for H/W ratio less than 0.5. The method and results can be applied by architects and urban planners interested in developing responsive guidelines for urban climate issues.

75 FR 27550 - Electrical Interconnection of the Juniper Canyon I Wind Project

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-17

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Bonneville Power Administration Electrical Interconnection of the Juniper Canyon I Wind Project AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy (DOE). ACTION... would be generated from their proposed Juniper Canyon I Wind Energy Project (Wind Project) in Klickitat...

Diablo Canyon plant information management system and integrated communication system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stanley, J.W.; Groff, C.

1990-01-01

The implementation of a comprehensive maintenance system called the plant information management system (PIMS) at the Diablo Canyon plant, together with its associated integrated communication system (ICS), is widely regarded as the most comprehensive undertaking of its kind in the nuclear industry. This paper provides an overview of the program at Diablo Canyon, an evaluation of system benefits, and highlights the future course of PIMS

Diablo Canyon plant information management system and integrated communication system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stanley, J.W.; Groff, C.

1990-06-01

The implementation of a comprehensive maintenance system called the plant information management system (PIMS) at the Diablo Canyon plant, together with its associated integrated communication system (ICS), is widely regarded as the most comprehensive undertaking of its kind in the nuclear industry. This paper provides an overview of the program at Diablo Canyon, an evaluation of system benefits, and highlights the future course of PIMS.

Bioavailability of sinking organic matter in the Blanes canyon and the adjacent open slope (NW Mediterranean Sea)

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez-Fernandez, P.; Bianchelli, S.; Pusceddu, A.; Calafat, A.; Sanchez-Vidal, A.; Danovaro, R.

2013-05-01

Submarine canyons are sites of intense energy and material exchange between the shelf and the deep adjacent basins. To test the hypothesis that active submarine canyons represent preferential conduits of available food for the deep-sea benthos, two mooring lines were deployed at 1200 m depth from November 2008 to November 2009 inside the Blanes canyon and on the adjacent open slope (Catalan Margin, NW Mediterranean Sea). We investigated the fluxes, biochemical composition and food quality of sinking organic carbon (OC). OC fluxes in the canyon and the open slope varied among sampling periods, though not consistently in the two sites. In particular, while in the open slope the highest OC fluxes were observed in August 2009, in the canyon the highest OC fluxes occurred in April-May 2009. For almost the entire study period, the OC fluxes in the canyon were significantly higher than those in the open slope, whereas OC contents of sinking particles collected in the open slope were consistently higher than those in the canyon. This result confirms that submarine canyons are effective conveyors of OC to the deep sea. Particles transferred to the deep sea floor through the canyons are predominantly of inorganic origin, significantly higher than that reaching the open slope at a similar water depth. Using multivariate statistical tests, two major clusters of sampling periods were identified: one in the canyon that grouped trap samples collected in December 2008, concurrently with the occurrence of a major storm at the sea surface, and associated with increased fluxes of nutritionally available particles from the upper shelf. Another cluster grouped samples from both the canyon and the open slope collected in March 2009, concurrently with the occurrence of the seasonal phytoplankton bloom at the sea surface, and associated with increased fluxes of total phytopigments. Our results confirm the key ecological role of submarine canyons for the functioning of deep-sea ecosystems

Environmental monitoring of the La Grande complex (2003-2004) : evolution of mercury levels in the flesh of fish; Reseau de suivi environnemental du complexe La Grande (2003-2004) : evolution du mercure dans la chair des poissons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Therrien, J. [Genivar SEC, Quebec, PQ (Canada); Schetagne, R. [Hydro-Quebec Production, Baie-Comeau, PQ (Canada)

2005-11-15

The results of surveys conducted to assess the duration of temporary mercury levels in piscivorous species in the La Grande Complex were presented. A 2003 survey conducted in the easter sector and a 2004 survey conducted in the western sector of the complex showed that for non-piscivorous fishes of standardized length, a return to mean natural mercury levels will be achieved between 10 and 20 years after impounding. For piscivorous fishes, the evolution pattern of the mean mercury levels suggested that a return to background levels will occur after 20 to 30 years. Mercury levels for northern pike in the Robert-Bourassa Reservoir are expected to return to normal levels after 30 to 35 years. The surveys indicated that mean mercury levels in non-piscivorous fishes were often higher immediately below the La Grande generating stations. Similar observations were made for northern pike and lake trout downstream of the generating stations in the eastern sector of the complex. Mean mercury levels were significantly higher for fishes in the complex than fishes in the natural lakes of the region. Results of the surveys suggested that additional consumption restrictions for piscivorous fishes in the reservoirs are needed. Consumption guidelines for varieties of non-piscivorous and piscivorous fishes from the complex were included.

Earthquakes drive large-scale submarine canyon development and sediment supply to deep-ocean basins.

Science.gov (United States)

Mountjoy, Joshu J; Howarth, Jamie D; Orpin, Alan R; Barnes, Philip M; Bowden, David A; Rowden, Ashley A; Schimel, Alexandre C G; Holden, Caroline; Horgan, Huw J; Nodder, Scott D; Patton, Jason R; Lamarche, Geoffroy; Gerstenberger, Matthew; Micallef, Aaron; Pallentin, Arne; Kane, Tim

2018-03-01

Although the global flux of sediment and carbon from land to the coastal ocean is well known, the volume of material that reaches the deep ocean-the ultimate sink-and the mechanisms by which it is transferred are poorly documented. Using a globally unique data set of repeat seafloor measurements and samples, we show that the moment magnitude ( M w ) 7.8 November 2016 Kaikōura earthquake (New Zealand) triggered widespread landslides in a submarine canyon, causing a powerful "canyon flushing" event and turbidity current that traveled >680 km along one of the world's longest deep-sea channels. These observations provide the first quantification of seafloor landscape change and large-scale sediment transport associated with an earthquake-triggered full canyon flushing event. The calculated interevent time of ~140 years indicates a canyon incision rate of 40 mm year -1 , substantially higher than that of most terrestrial rivers, while synchronously transferring large volumes of sediment [850 metric megatons (Mt)] and organic carbon (7 Mt) to the deep ocean. These observations demonstrate that earthquake-triggered canyon flushing is a primary driver of submarine canyon development and material transfer from active continental margins to the deep ocean.

76 FR 36450 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; State of Nevada; Regional Haze...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-22

... regional haze. This legislation established the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission (GCVTC), which... Canyon National Park (NP), Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Area (WA), Pine Mountain WA, Mazatal WA, and Sierra Ancha WA. In California, they are Desolation WA, Dome Land WA, Hoover WA, Joshua Tree NP, Kaiser WA...

Study of line source characteristics for 2-D physical modelling of pollutant dispersion in street canyons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meroney, Robert N. [Fluid Mechanics and Wind Engineering Program, Civil Engineering Department, Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO (United States); Pavageau, Michel; Rafailidis, Stilianos; Schatzmann, Michael [Meteorologisches Institut, Universitaet Hamburg, Hamburg (Germany)

1996-08-01

The University of Hamburg initiated a wind tunnel study of car exhaust dispersion from street canyons in an urban environment to investigate how pollution dispersion is affected by street geometry. Particular emphasis at the beginning of this work was put on the design of a line source to represent traffic exhaust. Pollution dispersion was studied in two dimensions (i.e., infinite-length streets were assumed). The case of an isolated street canyon in open country was examined first. The same street canyon geometry was subsequently studied in an urban environment, i.e., with additional canyons of similar geometry upstream and downstream of the test street. The dynamic and dispersion characteristics of the flow in the two cases were quite different. In the canyon amidst open country we observed better canyon ventilation than in the urban roughness case

Review of the Diablo Canyon probabilistic risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bozoki, G.E.; Fitzpatrick, R.G.; Bohn, M.P.; Sabek, M.G.; Ravindra, M.K.; Johnson, J.J.

1994-08-01

This report details the review of the Diablo Canyon Probabilistic Risk Assessment (DCPRA). The study was performed under contract from the Probabilistic Risk Analysis Branch, Office of Nuclear Reactor Research, USNRC by Brookhaven National Laboratory. The DCPRA is a full scope Level I effort and although the review touched on all aspects of the PRA, the internal events and seismic events received the vast majority of the review effort. The report includes a number of independent systems analyses sensitivity studies, importance analyses as well as conclusions on the adequacy of the DCPRA for use in the Diablo Canyon Long Term Seismic Program

Sediment transport along the Cap de Creus Canyon flank during a mild, wet winter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Martín

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Cap de Creus Canyon (CCC is known as a preferential conduit for particulate matter leaving the Gulf of Lion continental shelf towards the slope and the basin, particularly in winter when storms and dense shelf water cascading coalesce to enhance the seaward export of shelf waters. During the CASCADE (CAscading, Storm, Convection, Advection and Downwelling Events cruise in March 2011, deployments of recording instruments within the canyon and vertical profiling of the water column properties were conducted to study with high spatial-temporal resolution the impact of such processes on particulate matter fluxes. In the context of the mild and wet 2010–2011 winter, no remarkable dense shelf water formation was observed. On the other hand, the experimental setup allowed for the study of the impact of E-SE storms on the hydrographical structure and the particulate matter fluxes in the CCC. The most remarkable feature in terms of sediment transport was a period of dominant E-SE winds from 12 to 16 March, including two moderate storms (maximum significant wave heights = 4.1–4.6 m. During this period, a plume of freshened, relatively cold and turbid water flowed at high speeds along the southern flank of the CCC in an approximate depth range of 150–350 m. The density of this water mass was lighter than the ambient water in the canyon, indicating that it did not cascade off-shelf and that it merely downwelled into the canyon forced by the strong cyclonic circulation induced over the shelf during the storms and by the subsequent accumulation of seawater along the coast. Suspended sediment load in this turbid intrusion recorded along the southern canyon flank oscillated between 10 and 50 mg L−1, and maximum currents speeds reached values up to 90 cm s−1. A rough estimation of 105 tons of sediment was transported through the canyon along its southern wall during a 3-day-long period of storm-induced downwelling. Following the veering of the wind

The impact of traffic-flow patterns on air quality in urban street canyons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thaker, Prashant; Gokhale, Sharad

2016-01-01

We investigated the effect of different urban traffic-flow patterns on pollutant dispersion in different winds in a real asymmetric street canyon. Free-flow traffic causes more turbulence in the canyon facilitating more dispersion and a reduction in pedestrian level concentration. The comparison of with and without a vehicle-induced-turbulence revealed that when winds were perpendicular, the free-flow traffic reduced the concentration by 73% on the windward side with a minor increase of 17% on the leeward side, whereas for parallel winds, it reduced the concentration by 51% and 29%. The congested-flow traffic increased the concentrations on the leeward side by 47% when winds were perpendicular posing a higher risk to health, whereas reduced it by 17–42% for parallel winds. The urban air quality and public health can, therefore, be improved by improving the traffic-flow patterns in street canyons as vehicle-induced turbulence has been shown to contribute significantly to dispersion. - Highlights: • CFD is used to study impact of traffic-flow patterns on urban air quality. • Facilitating free-flow patterns induce more turbulence in street canyons. • Traffic-generated turbulence alters pollutant levels in urban street canyons. - This study investigates the effect of vehicle-induced-turbulence generated during free-flow traffic pattern in reduction of air pollutant concentrations in urban street canyons.

Validation of a two-dimensional pollutant dispersion model in an isolated street canyon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chan, T.L.; Dong, G.; Leung, C.W.; Cheung, C.S. [The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon (Hong Kong). Research Centre for Combustion and Pollution Control, Department of Mechanical Engineering; Hung, W.T. [The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon (Hong Kong). Department of Civil and Structural Engineering

2002-07-01

A two-dimensional numerical model based on Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations coupled with a series of standard, Renormalization Group (RNG) and realizable k-{epsilon} turbulence models was developed to simulate the fluid-flow development and pollutant dispersion within an isolated street canyon using the FLUENT code. In the present study, the validation of the numerical model was evaluated using an extensive experimental database obtained from the atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel at the Meteorological Institute of Hamburg University, Germany (J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 62 (1996) 37). Among the studied turbulence models, the RNG k-{epsilon} turbulence model was found to be the most optimum turbulence model coupled with the two-dimensional street canyon model developed in the present study. Both the calculated and measured dimensionless pollutant concentrations have been shown to be less dependent on the variation of wind speed and source strength conditions for the studied street canyon aspect ratio of the B/H=1 case. However, the street canyon configuration has significant influence on the pollutant dispersion. The wider street and lower height of the buildings are favorable to pollutant dilution within the street canyon. The fluid-flow development has demonstrated that the rotative vortex or vortices generated within the urban street canyon can transport the pollutants from a line source to the wall surfaces of the buildings. (author)

A Numerical Study on the Effects of Street‒canyon Aspect‒ratio on Reactive Pollutant Dispersion

Science.gov (United States)

Park, S. J.; Kim, J.

2014-12-01

In this study, the effects of street‒canyon aspect‒ratio on reactive pollutant dispersion were investigated using the coupled CFD‒chemistry model. For this, flow characteristics were analyzed first in street canyons with different aspect ratios and flow regimes were classified according to the building height. For each flow regime, dispersion characteristics were investigated in views of reactive pollutant concentration and VOCs‒NOX ratio. Finally, the relations between pollutant concentration and aspect ratio in urban street canyons were investigated. In the case of H/S = 1.0 (H is building height and S is street width), one clockwise‒rotating vortex appeared vertically and the reverse and outward flows were dominant near the street bottom. In the case of H/S = 2.0, two counter‒rotating vortices appeared vertically in the street canyon. The primary (secondary) vortex rotating clockwise (counterclockwise) was formed in upper (lower) layer. The flow patterns affected the reactive pollutant concentration in street canyons. As building height increased, mean concentration of NO decreased when one vortex was generated in street canyons and increased when two vortexes appeared in street canyons. O3 concentration showed almost contrasted tendency with those of NO because O3 was depleted by the NO titration.

Vegetative communities, Davis and Lavender Canyons, Paradox Basin, Utah: ecosystem studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-04-01

The major vegetative communities of Davis and Lavender canyons located in southeastern Utah are characterized. The report identifies potential secondary impacts and appropriate mitigation options. The Davis Canyon and Lavender Canyon Study Area contains nine major vegetative communities: galleta-shadscale, juniper-blackbrush, juniper-shadscale-ephedra, shadscale-ephedra, grayia-shadscale, juniper, drywash, greasewood, and riparian. The natural recovery times of these communities are exceedingly long. Natural reinvasion of various species would take from 15 to 100 years. No threatened or endangered plant species were identified in the study area. Davis and Lavender canyons have been subject to off-road vehicle activity and extensive grazing. The plant communities may be subject to additional impacts as a result of increased human activity and off-highway activities such as camping, hiking, and hunting could result in changes in cover, composition, and frequency of plant species. Mitigation options for potential impacts include shuttle-busing workers to the site from the highway and fencing site access roads to prevent vehicles from leaving the roads

Fluctuating helical asymmetry and morphology of snails (Gastropoda in divergent microhabitats at 'Evolution Canyons I and II,' Israel.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shmuel Raz

Full Text Available Developmental instability of shelled gastropods is measured as deviations from a perfect equiangular (logarithmic spiral. We studied six species of gastropods at 'Evolution Canyons I and II' in Carmel and the Galilee Mountains, Israel, respectively. The xeric, south-facing, 'African' slopes and the mesic, north-facing, 'European' slopes have dramatically different microclimates and plant communities. Moreover, 'Evolution Canyon II' receives more rainfall than 'Evolution Canyon I.'We examined fluctuating asymmetry, rate of whorl expansion, shell height, and number of rotations of the body suture in six species of terrestrial snails from the two 'Evolution Canyons.' The xeric 'African' slope should be more stressful to land snails than the 'European' slope, and 'Evolution Canyon I' should be more stressful than 'Evolution Canyon II.' Only Eopolita protensa jebusitica showed marginally significant differences in fluctuating helical asymmetry between the two slopes. Contrary to expectations, asymmetry was marginally greater on the 'European' slope. Shells of Levantina spiriplana caesareana at 'Evolution Canyon I,' were smaller and more asymmetric than those at 'Evolution Canyon II.' Moreover, shell height and number of rotations of the suture were greater on the north-facing slopes of both canyons.Our data is consistent with a trade-off between drought resistance and thermoregulation in snails; Levantina was significantly smaller on the 'African' slope, for increasing surface area and thermoregulation, while Eopolita was larger on the 'African' slope, for reducing water evaporation. In addition, 'Evolution Canyon I' was more stressful than Evolution Canyon II' for Levantina.

Safety analysis -- 200 Area Savannah River Plant, F-Canyon Operations. Supplement 4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beary, M.M.; Collier, C.D.; Fairobent, L.A.; Graham, R.F.; Mason, C.L.; McDuffee, W.T.; Owen, T.L.; Walker, D.H.

1986-02-01

The F-Canyon facility is located in the 200 Separations Area and uses the Purex process to recover plutonium from reactor-irradiated uranium. The irradiated uranium is normally in the form of solid or hollow cylinders called slugs. These slugs are encased in aluminum cladding and are sent to the F-Canyon from the Savannah River Plant (SRP) reactor areas or from the Receiving Basin for Offsite Fuels (RBOF). This Safety Analysis Report (SAR) documents an analysis of the F-Canyon operations and is an update to a section of a previous SAR. The previous SAR documented an analysis of the entire 200 Separations Area operations. This SAR documents an analysis of the F-Canyon and is one of a series of documents for the Separations Area as specified in the Savannah River Implementation Plans. A substantial amount of the information supporting the conclusions of this SAR is found in the Systems Analysis. Some F-Canyon equipment has been updated during the time between the Systems Analysis and this SAR and a complete description of this equipment is included in this report. The primary purpose of the analysis was to demonstrate that the F-Canyon can be operated without undue risk to onsite or offsite populations and to the environment. In this report, risk is defined as the expected frequency of an accident, multiplied by the resulting radiological consequence in person-rem. The units of risk for radiological dose are person-rem/year. Maximum individual exposure values have also been calculated and reported.

Geomorphic and sedimentologic evidence for the separation of Lake Superior from Lake Michigan and Huron

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, J.W.; Thompson, T.A.; Wilcox, D.A.; Baedke, S.J.

2007-01-01

A common break was recognized in four Lake Superior strandplain sequences using geomorphic and sedimentologic characteristics. Strandplains were divided into lakeward and landward sets of beach ridges using aerial photographs and topographic surveys to identify similar surficial features and core data to identify similar subsurface features. Cross-strandplain, elevation-trend changes from a lowering towards the lake in the landward set of beach ridges to a rise or reduction of slope towards the lake in the lakeward set of beach ridges indicates that the break is associated with an outlet change for Lake Superior. Correlation of this break between study sites and age model results for the strandplain sequences suggest that the outlet change occurred sometime after about 2,400 calendar years ago (after the Algoma phase). Age model results from one site (Grand Traverse Bay) suggest an alternate age closer to about 1,200 calendar years ago but age models need to be investigated further. The landward part of the strandplain was deposited when water levels were common in all three upper Great Lakes basins (Superior, Huron, and Michigan) and drained through the Port Huron/Sarnia outlet. The lakeward part was deposited after the Sault outlet started to help regulate water levels in the Lake Superior basin. The landward beach ridges are commonly better defined and continuous across the embayments, more numerous, larger in relief, wider, have greater vegetation density, and intervening swales contain more standing water and peat than the lakeward set. Changes in drainage patterns, foreshore sediment thickness and grain size help in identifying the break between sets in the strandplain sequences. Investigation of these breaks may help identify possible gaps in the record or missing ridges in strandplain sequences that may not be apparent when viewing age distributions and may justify the need for multiple age and glacial isostatic adjustment models. ?? 2006 Springer Science

Submarine canyons off the Coromandel coast

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Varadachari, V.V.R.; Nair, R.R.; Murty, P.S.N.

During the 26th Cruise of I.N.S. `KISTNA', a bathymetric survey was carried out in some detail off the Pondicherry coast. This survey has revealed the existence of three sets of distinctly separate canyons between Cuddalore and Palar River...

Large-Eddy Simulation of Flow and Pollutant Transport in Urban Street Canyons with Ground Heating

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xian-Xiang; Britter, Rex E.; Koh, Tieh Yong; Norford, Leslie K.; Liu, Chun-Ho; Entekhabi, Dara; Leung, Dennis Y. C.

2010-11-01

Our study employed large-eddy simulation (LES) based on a one-equation subgrid-scale model to investigate the flow field and pollutant dispersion characteristics inside urban street canyons. Unstable thermal stratification was produced by heating the ground of the street canyon. Using the Boussinesq approximation, thermal buoyancy forces were taken into account in both the Navier-Stokes equations and the transport equation for subgrid-scale turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). The LESs were validated against experimental data obtained in wind-tunnel studies before the model was applied to study the detailed turbulence, temperature, and pollutant dispersion characteristics in the street canyon of aspect ratio 1. The effects of different Richardson numbers ( Ri) were investigated. The ground heating significantly enhanced mean flow, turbulence, and pollutant flux inside the street canyon, but weakened the shear at the roof level. The mean flow was observed to be no longer isolated from the free stream and fresh air could be entrained into the street canyon at the roof-level leeward corner. Weighed against higher temperature, the ground heating facilitated pollutant removal from the street canyon.

Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects electric power marketing -- Final environmental impact statement. Volume 1: Summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The Colorado River Storage Project Customer Service Office of the Western Area Power Administration (Western) markets electricity produced at hydroelectric facilities operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. The facilities are known collectively as the Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects (SLCA/IP) and include dams equipped for power generation on the Colorado, Green, Gunnison, and Rio Grande rivers and on Plateau Creek in Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Of these facilities, only the Glen Canyon Unit, the Flaming Gorge Unit, and the Aspinall Unit (which includes Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal dams) are influenced by Western power scheduling and transmission decisions. The environmental impact statement (EIS) alternatives, called commitment-level alternatives, reflect combinations of capacity and energy that would feasibly and reasonably fulfill Western's firm power marketing responsibilities, needs, and statutory obligations. The viability of these alternatives relates directly to the combination of generation capability of the SLCA/IP with energy purchases and interchange. The economic and natural resource assessments in this EIS include an analysis of commitment-level alternatives. Impacts of the no-action alternative are also assessed. Supply options, which include combinations of electrical power purchases and hydropower operational scenarios reflecting different operations of the dams, are also assessed. The EIS evaluates the impacts of these scenarios relative to socioeconomics, air resources, water resources, ecological resources, cultural resources, land use, recreation, and visual resources. Western has identified commitment-level alternative 1, the Post-1989 commitment level, as its preferred alternative. The impact evaluations indicate that this commitment level is also the environmentally preferred alternative

Parametric study of the dispersion aspects in a street-canyon area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koutsourakis, N.; Neofytou, P.; Venetsanos, A.G.; Bartzis, J.G. [NCSR Demokritos (Greece). Environmental Research Lab.

2004-07-01

Continuously increasing vehicles' fleet is still considered to be the main emission factor in urban environments, despite the enormous progress of modern catalytic technology. Under that perspective, calculation of transportation induced pollutant dispersion is of augmented importance, especially within street canyons, where poor ventilation can result in awkward concentration levels. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) studies have been conducted in the past by Neofytou, P. et al, so as to define appropriate locations for measuring-instrument placement by numerically simulating the flow and pollution dispersion fields in the vicinity of the measuring site taking into account the wind rose of the area and selecting locations of high pollution concentrations so that non-zero indications are assured. Vardoulakis, S. et al, provides a general overview of the street-canyon studies concerning both modelling and experimental investigations and offers plenty of references on air quality within street canyons. Besides air-quality, street canyon CFD studies have also been performed to evaluate accident consequences and hydrogen safety, Venetsanos A. et al. The current study examines a real street canyon in Thessaloniki, Greece. It was performed in order to examine dispersion patterns for different parameters' scenarios and help deciding where to place actual pollutant measurement instruments to better capture traffic pollution data. Various wind directions and speeds are examined and height influence on concentration levels is investigated. Complex area geometry is a key factor of the whole study. (orig.)

The urban canyon and building energy use: Urban density versus daylight and passive solar gains

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strømann-Andersen, Jakob Bjørn; Sattrup, Peter Andreas

2011-01-01

.It was found that the geometry of urban canyons has an impact on total energy consumption in the range of up to +30% for offices and +19% for housing, which shows that the geometry of urban canyons is a key factor in energy use in buildings. It was demonstrated how the reflectivity of urban canyons plays...

Resident Fish Stock above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams; 2002 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Connor, Jason M. (Kalispel Department of Natural Resources, Usk, WA); McLellan, Jason G. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Spokane, WA); Butler, Chris (Spokane Tribe of Indians, Department of Natural Resources, Wellpinit, WA)

2003-09-01

. The initial year of the project (1997) identified the need for a central data storage and analysis facility, coordination with the StreamNet project, compilation of Blocked Area fisheries information, and a report on the ecological condition of the Spokane River System. These needs were addressed in 1998 by acquiring a central location with a data storage and analysis system, coordinating a pilot project with StreamNet, compiling fisheries distribution data throughout the Blocked Area, identifying data gaps based on compiled information, and researching the ecological condition of the Spokane River. In order to ensure that any additional information collected throughout the life of this project will be easily stored and manipulated by the central storage facility, it was necessary to develop standardized methodologies between the JSAP fisheries managers. Common collection and analytical methodologies were developed in 1999. In 1999, 2000, and 2001 the project began addressing some of the identified data gaps throughout the Blocked Area. Data collection of established projects and a variety of newly developed sampling projects are ongoing. Projects developed and undertaken by JSAP fisheries managers include investigations of the Pend Orielle River and its tributaries, the Little Spokane River and its tributaries, and water bodies within and near the Spokane Indian Reservation. Migration patterns of adfluvial and reservoir fish in Box Canyon Reservoir and its tributaries, a baseline assessment of Boundary Reservoir and its tributaries, ecological assessment of mountain lakes in Pend Oreille County, and assessments of streams and lakes on the Spokane Indian Reservation were completed by 2001. Assessments of the Little Spokane River and its tributaries, tributaries to the Pend Oreille River, small lakes in Pend Oreille County, WA, and water bodies within and near the Spokane Indian Reservation were conducted in 2002. This work was done in accordance with the scope of work

77 FR 11426 - Safety Zones; Annual Events Requiring Safety Zones in the Captain of the Port Lake Michigan Zone

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-27

... Memorial Day; 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. (6) Michigan Super Boat Grand Prix; Michigan City, IN. (i) Location. All....m. to 11 p.m. (9) Harborfest Music and Family Festival; Racine, WI. (i) Location. All waters of Lake...

Captured in Stone: Women in the Rock Art of Canyon de Chelly.

Science.gov (United States)

Travis, Tara

1997-01-01

Describes the pictographs (painted images on stone) and petroglyphs (pecked images on stone) found in the Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona. Canyon de Chelly includes one of the largest concentrations of American Indian rock art in the southwest. Discusses the depiction of women in these images. (MJP)

Trees as environmental modifier to improve street canyon for pedestrian activities in Muscat

Science.gov (United States)

Khudhayer, Wael A.; Shaaban, Awni K.; Sukor, Nur Sabahiah Abdul

2017-10-01

Street shading efficiency is a function of orientation and profile proportion of its height to width. Under high sun altitude conditions, minimization of solar irradiance within the urban environment may often be a significant criterion in urban design. This reduction in solar irradiance achieved when the obstruction angle is large (high H/W ratio, H=height, W=width). High H/W values often lessen the solar access to streets. The horizontal sprawl of Muscat region is an example of low H/W ratio represented the remarkable challenge that causes the lack of shading rates in the urban street. This characteristic proliferates the negative impact on the pedestrian activities in the urban street. This research aims to improve the morphology of the street to promote the pedestrian behavior. The amendment based on suggesting different configurations of trees to increase effective shading of the urban street in Muscat. The street canyon abstracted into a virtual elongated channel formed of floor and walls of equal heights on both sides. Four street orientations (E/W, N/S, NE/SW, NW/SE) and three H/W ratio (0.5,1 and 2) are considered sufficient representative of street typologies. A mathematical model developed for calculation of shading efficiency of each street canyon. The trees assumed in this study as canyon's modifier to adjust the low H/W ratio of a street canyon to a higher one. Local trees and other plants in Muscat were studied concerning their morphology. The analysis selected two case study in Muscat to investigate the shading performance of their street canyons subsequently propose the modifications to improve it. The research concluded that the suggested changes of the street canyon by using a particular type of trees could increase the H/W ratio of street canyon significantly.

Wind tunnel simulation of air pollution dispersion in a street canyon.

Science.gov (United States)

Civis, Svatopluk; Strizík, Michal; Janour, Zbynek; Holpuch, Jan; Zelinger, Zdenek

2002-01-01

Physical simulation was used to study pollution dispersion in a street canyon. The street canyon model was designed to study the effect of measuring flow and concentration fields. A method of C02-laser photoacoustic spectrometry was applied for detection of trace concentration of gas pollution. The advantage of this method is its high sensitivity and broad dynamic range, permitting monitoring of concentrations from trace to saturation values. Application of this method enabled us to propose a simple model based on line permeation pollutant source, developed on the principle of concentration standards, to ensure high precision and homogeneity of the concentration flow. Spatial measurement of the concentration distribution inside the street canyon was performed on the model with reference velocity of 1.5 m/s.

77 FR 59607 - Black Canyon Hydro, LLC; Notice of Environmental Site Review

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-28

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 14110-001] Black Canyon Hydro, LLC; Notice of Environmental Site Review On Wednesday, October 3, 2012, at 3 p.m., Commission staff will be participating in an environmental site review for the proposed Black Canyon Hydroelectric Project. All interested participants should mee...

Lake Roosevelt Fisheries Monitoring Program; 1990 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Griffith, Janelle R.; Scholz, Allan T. (Eastern Washington University, Upper Columbia United Tribes Fisheries Research Center, Cheney, WA)

1991-09-01

As partial mitigation for the loss of anadromous salmon and steelhead incurred by construction of Grand Coulee Dam, the Northwest Power Planning Council directed Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to construct two kokanee salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) hatcheries on Lake Roosevelt (NPPC 1987 [Section 903 (g)(l)(C)]). The hatcheries are to produce 8 million kokanee salmon fry or 3.2 million adults for outplanting into Lake Roosevelt as well as 500,000 rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) for the Lake Roosevelt net-pen programs. In section 903 (g)(l)(E), the Council also directed BPA to fund a monitoring program to evaluate the effectiveness of the kokanee hatcheries. The monitoring program included the following components: (1) conduction of a year-round creel census survey to determine angler pressure, catch rates and composition, growth and condition of fish caught by anglers, and economic value of the fishery. Comparisons will be made before and after hatcheries are on-line to determine hatchery effectiveness; (2) conduct an assessment of kokanee, rainbow trout, and walleye feeding habits, growth rates, and densities of their preferred prey at different locations in the reservoir and how reservoir operations affect population dynamics of preferred prey organisms. This information will be used to determine kokanee and rainbow trout stocking locations, stocking densities and stocking times; (3) conduct a mark-recapture study designed to assess effectiveness of various release times and locations for hatchery-raised kokanee and net-pen raised rainbow so fish-loss over Grand Coulee Dam will be minimized, homing to egg collection sites will be improved and angler harvest will be increased. The above measures were adopted by the Council based on a management plan developed by Upper Columbia United Tribes Fisheries Center, Spokane Indian Tribe, Colville Confederated Tribes, Washington Department of Wildlife, and the National Park Service. This plan examined the

Trees in urban street canyons and their impact on the dispersion of automobile exhausts

OpenAIRE

Gromke, Christof; Ruck, Bodo

2007-01-01

The aim of the present study is to clarify the influence of trees on the dispersion of automobile exhausts in urban street canyons. For this purpose, measurements have been performed with a small scale wind tunnel model of an idealized, isolated street canyon with model trees placed along the canyon center axis. Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) was released from a line source embedded in the street surface, simulating vehicle exhaust emissions. The influence of various tree planting arrangements on ...

Salt Lake City Utah Integrated Projects electric power marketing. Final environmental impact statement, Volume 5: Appendix E

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The Colorado River Storage Project Customer Service Office of the Western Area Power Administration (Western) markets electricity produced at hydroelectric facilities operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. The facilities are known collectively as the Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects (SLCA/IP) and include dams equipped for power generation on the Colorado, Green, Gunnison, and Rio Grande rivers and on Plateau Creek in Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Of these facilities, only the Glen Canyon Unit, the Flaming Gorge Unit, and the Aspinall Unit (which includes Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal dams) are influenced by Western power scheduling and transmission decisions. The environmental impact statement (EIS) alternatives, called commitment-level alternatives, reflect combinations of capacity and energy that would feasibly and reasonably fulfill Western's firm power marketing responsibilities, needs, and statutory obligations. The viability of these alternatives relates directly to the combination of generation capability of the SLCA/IP with energy purchases and interchange. The economic and natural resource assessments in this EIS include an analysis of commitment-level alternatives. Impacts of the no-action alternative are also assessed. Supply options, which include combinations of electrical power purchases and hydropower operational scenarios reflecting different operations of the dams, are also assessed. The EIS evaluates the impacts of these scenarios relative to socioeconomics, air resources, water resources, ecological resources, cultural resources, land use, recreation, and visual resources. Western has identified commitment-level alternative 1, the Post-1989 commitment level, as its preferred alternative. The impact evaluations indicate that this commitment level is also the environmentally preferred alternative

Migration of Sr-20, Cs-137, and Pu-239/240 in Canyon below Los Alamos outfall

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphy, J.M.; Mason, C.F.V.; Boak, J.M.; Longmire, P.A.

1996-01-01

Technical Area-21 (TA-21) of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is on a mesa bordered by two canyons DP Canyon and Los Alamos (LA) Canyon. DP Canyon is a small semiarid watershed with a well defined channel system where the stream flow is ephemeral. TA-21 has had a complex history of waste disposal as research to determine the chemical and metallurgical properties of nuclear materials occurred here from 1945-1978. Due to these operations, the TA-21 mesa top and bordering canyons have been monitored and characterized by the LANL Environmental Restoration Program. Results identify radionuclide values at outfall. 21-011 (k) which exceed Screening Action Levels, and points along DP Canyon which exceed regional background levels. The radiocontaminants considered in this study are strontium-90, cesium-137, and plutonium-239. This research examines sediment transport and speciation of radionuclide contaminant migration from a source term named SWMU 21-011 (k) down DP Canyon. Three dimensional surface plots of data from 1977-1994 are used to portray the transport and redistribution of radioactive contaminants in an alluvial stream channel. An overall decrease in contamination concentration since 1983 has been observed which could be due to more stringent laboratory controls and also to the removal of main plutonium processing laboratories to another site

Migration of Sr-20, Cs-137, and Pu-239/240 in Canyon below Los Alamos outfall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murphy, J.M.; Mason, C.F.V.; Boak, J.M.; Longmire, P.A.

1996-04-01

Technical Area-21 (TA-21) of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is on a mesa bordered by two canyons DP Canyon and Los Alamos (LA) Canyon. DP Canyon is a small semiarid watershed with a well defined channel system where the stream flow is ephemeral. TA-21 has had a complex history of waste disposal as research to determine the chemical and metallurgical properties of nuclear materials occurred here from 1945-1978. Due to these operations, the TA-21 mesa top and bordering canyons have been monitored and characterized by the LANL Environmental Restoration Program. Results identify radionuclide values at outfall. 21-011 (k) which exceed Screening Action Levels, and points along DP Canyon which exceed regional background levels. The radiocontaminants considered in this study are strontium-90, cesium-137, and plutonium-239. This research examines sediment transport and speciation of radionuclide contaminant migration from a source term named SWMU 21-011 (k) down DP Canyon. Three dimensional surface plots of data from 1977-1994 are used to portray the transport and redistribution of radioactive contaminants in an alluvial stream channel. An overall decrease in contamination concentration since 1983 has been observed which could be due to more stringent laboratory controls and also to the removal of main plutonium processing laboratories to another site.

Human rhinovirus capsid dynamics is controlled by canyon flexibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reisdorph, Nichole; Thomas, John J.; Katpally, Umesh; Chase, Elaine; Harris, Ken; Siuzdak, Gary; Smith, Thomas J.

2003-01-01

Quantitative enzyme accessibility experiments using nano liquid chromatography electrospray mass spectrometry combined with limited proteolysis and isotope-labeling was used to examine the dynamic nature of the human rhinovirus (HRV) capsid in the presence of three antiviral compounds, a neutralizing Fab, and drug binding cavity mutations. Using these methods, it was found that the antivirals WIN 52084 and picovir (pleconaril) stabilized the capsid, while dansylaziridine caused destabilization. Site-directed mutations in the drug-binding cavity were found to stabilize the HRV14 capsid against proteolytic digestion in a manner similar to WIN 52084 and pleconaril. Antibodies that bind to the NIm-IA antigenic site and penetrate the canyon were also observed to protect the virion against proteolytic cleavage. These results demonstrate that quantifying the effects of antiviral ligands on protein 'breathing' can be used to compare their mode of action and efficacy. In this case, it is apparent that hydrophobic antiviral agents, antibodies, or mutations in the canyon region block viral breathing. Therefore, these studies demonstrate that mobility in the canyon region is a major determinant in capsid breathing

Uranium-bearing breccia pipes of northwestern Arizona - an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chenoweth, W.L.

1986-01-01

During the 1950s and 1960s, the uranium deposits in breccia pipes of the Grand Canyon region were regarded as geologic curiosities. Today this area is the site of numerous exploration projects for ore-bearing pipes. The classic example of the older mines is the Orphan Lode, a patented claim within Grand Canyon National Park. Between 1956 and 1969, this deposit produced 4.26 million lb U 3 O 8 . Exploration since the mid-1970s has developed numerous new deposits in the Grand Canyon region. The Hack 1, 2, and 3, Pigeon, Kanab North, Canyon, and Pinenut deposits are, or will be, mined. The pipes are circular and originated by dissolution of the Mississippian Redwall Limestone and collapse of the overlying strata. Uraninite ore occurs in both the pipe fill and in association with the peripheral shear zone. The principal host rocks are the Coconino Sandstone, Hermit Shale, and Esplanade Sandstone. Although small (3 to 5 million lb U 3 O 8 ), the high grade (60 to 70% U 3 O 8 ) of the deposits makes the pipes attractive exploration targets

Turbulent ventilation of a street canyon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Morten

2000-01-01

A selection of turbulence data corresponding to 185 days of field measurements has een analysed. The non-ideal building geometry influenced the circulation patterns in the street canyon and the largest average vertical velocities were observed in the wake of an unbroken line of buildings. The sta...

Compilation of PRF Canyon Floor Pan Sample Analysis Results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pool, Karl N. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Minette, Michael J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Wahl, Jon H. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Greenwood, Lawrence R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Coffey, Deborah S. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); McNamara, Bruce K. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Bryan, Samuel A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Scheele, Randall D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Delegard, Calvin H. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Sinkov, Sergey I. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Soderquist, Chuck Z. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Fiskum, Sandra K. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Brown, Garrett N. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Clark, Richard A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2016-06-30

On September 28, 2015, debris collected from the PRF (236-Z) canyon floor, Pan J, was observed to exhibit chemical reaction. The material had been transferred from the floor pan to a collection tray inside the canyon the previous Friday. Work in the canyon was stopped to allow Industrial Hygiene to perform monitoring of the material reaction. Canyon floor debris that had been sealed out was sequestered at the facility, a recovery plan was developed, and drum inspections were initiated to verify no additional reactions had occurred. On October 13, in-process drums containing other Pan J material were inspected and showed some indication of chemical reaction, limited to discoloration and degradation of inner plastic bags. All Pan J material was sealed back into the canyon and returned to collection trays. Based on the high airborne levels in the canyon during physical debris removal, ETGS (Encapsulation Technology Glycerin Solution) was used as a fogging/lock-down agent. On October 15, subject matter experts confirmed a reaction had occurred between nitrates (both Plutonium Nitrate and Aluminum Nitrate Nonahydrate (ANN) are present) in the Pan J material and the ETGS fixative used to lower airborne radioactivity levels during debris removal. Management stopped the use of fogging/lock-down agents containing glycerin on bulk materials, declared a Management Concern, and initiated the Potential Inadequacy in the Safety Analysis determination process. Additional drum inspections and laboratory analysis of both reacted and unreacted material are planned. This report compiles the results of many different sample analyses conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on samples collected from the Plutonium Reclamation Facility (PRF) floor pans by the CH2MHill’s Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC). Revision 1 added Appendix G that reports the results of the Gas Generation Rate and methodology. The scope of analyses requested by CHPRC includes the determination of

Aerial gamma ray and magnetic survey: Minnesota Project, Grand Forks quadrangle of Minnesota/North Dakota. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-12-01

The Grand Forks 1:250,000 scale quadrangle of Minnesota and North Dakota is almost everywhere covered with Wisconsin age glacial deposits (drift, lake sediments, etc.) of variable thickness. Where exposed, bedrock is Late Cretaceous age marine deposits. There are no uranium deposits (or occurrences) known within the quadrangle. Seventy-eight (78) groups of uranium samples were defined as anomalies and are discussed briefly in this report. None of them are considered significant

Assesment of longwave radiation effects on air quality modelling in street canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Soucasse, L.; Buchan, A.; Pain, C.

2016-12-01

Computational Fluid Dynamics is widely used as a predictive tool to evaluate people's exposure to pollutants in urban street canyons. However, in low-wind conditions, flow and pollutant dispersion in the canyons are driven by thermal effects and may be affected by longwave (infrared) radiation due to the absorption and emission of water vapor contained in the air. These effects are mostly ignored in the literature dedicated to air quality modelling at this scale. This study aims at quantifying the uncertainties due to neglecting thermal radiation in air quality models. The Large-Eddy-Simulation of air flow in a single 2D canyon with a heat source on the ground is considered for Rayleigh and Reynolds numbers in the range of [10e8-10e10] and [5.10e3-5.10e4] respectively. The dispersion of a tracer is monitored once the statistically steady regime is reached. Incoming radiation is computed for a mid-latitude summer atmosphere and canyon surfaces are assumed to be black. Water vapour is the only radiating molecule considered and a global model is used to treat the spectral dependancy of its absorption coefficient. Flow and radiation fields are solved in a coupled way using the finite element solvers Fluidity and Fetch which have the capability of adapting their space and angular resolution according to an estimate of the solution error. Results show significant effects of thermal radiation on flow patterns and tracer dispersion. When radiation is taken into account, the air is heated far from the heat source leading to a stronger natural convection flow. The tracer is then dispersed faster out of the canyon potentially decreasing people's exposure to pollution within the street canyon.

Turkish Straits System and Southern Black Sea: Exchange. Mixing and Shelf / Canyon Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Özsoy, Emin; Gürses, Özgür; Tutsak, Ersin

2015-04-01

Based largely on an experiment employing high-resolution measurements carried out in June-July 2013 and re-interpretation of past experiments, the oceanographic variability of the exchange through the Turkish Straits System (TSS) and the interactions with the southern Black Sea are revealed through CTD, ADCP, oxygen and light transmission measurements. The exchange flow is primarily governed by the complex topography spanning two narrow straits, wide continental shelf regions, steep slopes and numerous canyons connecting deep basins. Water properties and currents in the high energy environment depends on the mosaic of fine-scale processes and pathways. The TSS, often approximated as a two-layer system has a hydraulically controlled, upper ocean and straits intensified regime, leading to surface jets and bottom plumes participating in mixing and renewal processes. The exit of the 'Mediterranean effluent' onto the Black Sea past a sill overflow from the Bosphorus passes through two subsequent hydraulic jumps and proceeds along a narrow canyon that veers to the west clear of the greater Bosphorus Canyon finally cascading down the few small canyons. A diffusive spread from the bottom vein of salty water reforms to the east and spills down the Bosphorus Canyon. The suspended particulate signature of the cascade, as well as its influence in hydrography is traced over the shelf and slope waters and through the numerous canyons into deep water where the reformed flow is found to sustain signatures of the past evolution of intrusive waters. An evaluation of the processes is given with reference to model development carried out in parallel to the analyses of the measurements.

Long-term surveillance plan for the Burro Canyon disposal cell, Slick Rock, Colorado

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-11-01

This long-term surveillance plant (LTSP) describes the US Department of energy's (DOE) long-term care program for the Uranium Mill Tailings Remediation Action (UMTRA) Project's burro Canyon disposal cell in San Miguel County, Colorado. This LTSP describes the long-term surveillance program the DOE will implement to ensure that the Burro Canyon disposal cell performs as designed. The program is based on site inspections to identify threats to disposal cell integrity. No ground water monitoring will be required at the Burro Canyon disposal cell because the ground water protection strategy is supplemental standards based on low-yield from the upper-most aquifer

Resident Fish Stock Status above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams; 2001 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Connor, Jason M. (Kalispell Department of Natural Resources, Usk, WA); McLellan, Jason G. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Spokane, WA); O' Connor, Dick (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

2003-01-01

(1998). The initial year of the project (1997) identified the need for a central data storage and analysis facility, coordination with the StreamNet project, compilation of Blocked Area fisheries information, and a report on the ecological condition of the Spokane River System. These needs were addressed in 1998 by acquiring a central location with a data storage and analysis system, coordinating a pilot project with StreamNet, compiling fisheries distribution data throughout the Blocked Area, identifying data gaps based on compiled information, and researching the ecological condition of the Spokane River. In order to ensure that any additional information collected throughout the life of this project will be easily stored and manipulated by the central storage facility, it was necessary to develop standardized methodologies between the JSAP fisheries managers. Common collection and analytical methodologies were developed in 1999. In 1999, 2000, and 2001 the project began addressing some of the identified data gaps throughout the Blocked Area. Data collection of established projects and a variety of newly developed sampling projects are ongoing. Projects developed and undertaken by JSAP fisheries managers include investigations of the Pend Orielle River and its tributaries, the Little Spokane River and its tributaries, and water bodies within and near the Spokane Indian Reservation. Migration patterns of adfluvial and reservoir fish in Box Canyon Reservoir and its tributaries, a baseline assessment of Boundary Reservoir and its tributaries, ecological assessment of mountain lakes in Pend Oreille County, and assessments of seven streams and four lakes on the Spokane Indian Reservation were completed by 2000. Assessments of the Little Spokane River and its tributaries, tributaries to the Pend Oreille River, small lakes in southern Pend Oreille County, and water bodies within and near the Spokane Indian Reservation were conducted in 2001. This work was done in accordance

Resident Fish Stock above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams; 2003-2004 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Connor, Jason M. (Kalispel Tribe of Indians, Usk, WA); McLellan, Jason G. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA); Butler, Chris (Spokane Tribe of Indians, Wellpinit, WA)

2005-11-01

initial year of the project (1997) identified the need for a central data storage and analysis facility, coordination with the StreamNet project, compilation of Blocked Area fisheries information, and a report on the ecological condition of the Spokane River System. These needs were addressed in 1998 by acquiring a central location with a data storage and analysis system, coordinating a pilot project with StreamNet, compiling fisheries distribution data throughout the Blocked Area, identifying data gaps based on compiled information, and researching the ecological condition of the Spokane River. In order to ensure that any additional information collected throughout the life of this project will be easily stored and manipulated by the central storage facility, it was necessary to develop standardized methodologies between the JSAP fisheries managers. Common collection and analytical methodologies were developed in 1999. The project began addressing identified data gaps throughout the Blocked Area in 1999. Data collection of established projects and a variety of newly developed sampling projects are ongoing. Projects developed and undertaken by JSAP fisheries managers include investigations of the Pend Orielle River and its tributaries, the Little Spokane River and its tributaries, and water bodies within and near the Spokane Indian Reservation. Migration patterns of adfluvial and reservoir fish in Box Canyon Reservoir and its tributaries, a baseline assessment of Boundary Reservoir and its tributaries, ecological assessment of mountain lakes in Pend Oreille County, and assessments of streams and lakes on the Spokane Indian Reservation were completed by 2001. Assessments of the Little Spokane River and its tributaries, Spokane River below Spokane Falls, tributaries to the Pend Oreille River, small lakes in Pend Oreille County, WA, and water bodies within and near the Spokane Indian Reservation were conducted in 2002 and 2003. This work was done in accordance with the scope

Effectiveness of green infrastructure for improvement of air quality in urban street canyons.

Science.gov (United States)

Pugh, Thomas A M; Mackenzie, A Robert; Whyatt, J Duncan; Hewitt, C Nicholas

2012-07-17

Street-level concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) and particulate matter (PM) exceed public health standards in many cities, causing increased mortality and morbidity. Concentrations can be reduced by controlling emissions, increasing dispersion, or increasing deposition rates, but little attention has been paid to the latter as a pollution control method. Both NO(2) and PM are deposited onto surfaces at rates that vary according to the nature of the surface; deposition rates to vegetation are much higher than those to hard, built surfaces. Previously, city-scale studies have suggested that deposition to vegetation can make a very modest improvement (street canyons. This study shows that increasing deposition by the planting of vegetation in street canyons can reduce street-level concentrations in those canyons by as much as 40% for NO(2) and 60% for PM. Substantial street-level air quality improvements can be gained through action at the scale of a single street canyon or across city-sized areas of canyons. Moreover, vegetation will continue to offer benefits in the reduction of pollution even if the traffic source is removed from city centers. Thus, judicious use of vegetation can create an efficient urban pollutant filter, yielding rapid and sustained improvements in street-level air quality in dense urban areas.

Surficial geology and stratigraphy of Pleistocene Lake Manix, San Bernardino County, California

Science.gov (United States)

Reheis, Marith C.; Redwine, Joanna R.; Wan, Elmira; McGeehin, John P.; VanSistine, D. Paco

2014-01-01

Pluvial Lake Manix and its surrounding drainage basin, in the central Mojave Desert of California, has been a focus of paleoclimate, surficial processes, and neotectonic studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) since about 2004. The USGS initiated studies of Lake Manix deposits to improve understanding of the paleoclimatic record and the shifts in atmospheric circulation that controlled precipitation in the Mojave Desert. Until approximately 25,000 years ago, Lake Manix was the terminus of the Mojave River, which drains northeasterly from the San Bernardino Mountains; the river currently terminates in the Soda Lake and Silver Lake playas. Pleistocene Lake Manix occupied several subbasins at its maximum extent. This map focuses on the extensive exposures created by incision of the Mojave River and its tributaries into the interbedded lacustrine and alluvial deposits within the central (Cady) and northeastern (Afton) subbasins of Lake Manix, and extends from the head of Afton Canyon to Manix Wash. The map illuminates the geomorphic development and depositional history of the lake and alluvial fans within the active tectonic setting of the eastern California shear zone, especially interactions with the left-lateral Manix fault. Lake Manix left an extraordinarily detailed but complex record of numerous transgressive-regressive sequences separated by desiccation and deposition of fan, eolian, and fluvial deposits, and punctuated by tectonic movements and a catastrophic flood that reconfigured the lake basin. Through careful observation of the intercalated lacustrine and fan sequences and by determining the precise elevations of unit contacts, this record was decoded to understand the response of the lake and river system to the interplay of climatic, geomorphic, and tectonic forces. These deposits are exposed in steep badland topography. Mapping was carried out mostly at scales of 1:12,000, although the map is presented at 1:24,000 scale, and employs custom unit

The Influence of Roof Material on Diurnal Urban Canyon Breathing

Science.gov (United States)

Abuhegazy, Mohamed; Yaghoobian, Neda

2017-11-01

Improvements in building energy use, air quality in urban canyons and in general urban microclimates require understanding the complex interaction between urban morphology, materials, climate, and inflow conditions. Review of the literature indicates that despite a long history of valuable urban microclimate studies, more comprehensive approaches are needed to address energy, and heat and flow transport in urban areas. In this study, a more comprehensive simulation of the diurnally varying street canyon flow and associated heat transport is numerically investigated, using Large-eddy Simulation (LES). We use computational modeling to examine the impact of diurnal variation of the heat fluxes from urban surfaces on the air flow and temperature distribution in street canyons with a focus on the role of roof materials and their temperature footprints. A detailed building energy model with a three-dimensional raster-type geometry provides urban surface heat fluxes as thermal boundary conditions for the LES to determine the key aero-thermodynamic factors that affect urban street ventilation.

Sediment pollution in margins of the Lake Guaíba, Southern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

de Andrade, Leonardo Capeleto; Tiecher, Tales; de Oliveira, Jessica Souza; Andreazza, Robson; Inda, Alberto Vasconcellos; de Oliveira Camargo, Flávio Anastácio

2017-12-02

Sediments are formed by deposition of organic and inorganic particles on depth of water bodies, being an important role in aquatic ecosystems, including destination and potential source of essential nutrients and heavy metals, which may be toxic for living organisms. The Lake Guaíba supplies water for approximately two million people and it is located in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the sediment pollution in the margins of Lake Guaíba in the vicinity of Porto Alegre city. Surface sediment was sampled in 12 sites to assess the concentration of several elements (C, N, P, Fe, Al, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Mn, Ba, Zn, V, Pb, Cu, Cr, Ni, Cd, Mo, and Se) and the mineralogical composition. Sediment in margins of Lake Guaíba presented predominantly (> 95%) sandy fraction in all samples, but with significant differences between evaluated sites. Sediments in the margins of Lake Guaíba showed indications of punctual water pollution with Pb, Cu, Cr, Ni, TOC, TKN, and P, mainly derived from urban streams that flow into the lake. In order to solve these environmental liabilities, public actions should not focus only on Guaíba, but also in the streams that flow into the lake.

Prehistoric deforestation at Chaco Canyon?

Science.gov (United States)

Wills, W H; Drake, Brandon L; Dorshow, Wetherbee B

2014-08-12

Ancient societies are often used to illustrate the potential problems stemming from unsustainable land-use practices because the past seems rife with examples of sociopolitical "collapse" associated with the exhaustion of finite resources. Just as frequently, and typically in response to such presentations, archaeologists and other specialists caution against seeking simple cause-and effect-relationships in the complex data that comprise the archaeological record. In this study we examine the famous case of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, during the Bonito Phase (ca. AD 860-1140), which has become a prominent popular illustration of ecological and social catastrophe attributed to deforestation. We conclude that there is no substantive evidence for deforestation at Chaco and no obvious indications that the depopulation of the canyon in the 13th century was caused by any specific cultural practices or natural events. Clearly there was a reason why these farming people eventually moved elsewhere, but the archaeological record has not yet produced compelling empirical evidence for what that reason might have been. Until such evidence appears, the legacy of Ancestral Pueblo society in Chaco should not be used as a cautionary story about socioeconomic failures in the modern world.

Experimental simulation of air quality in street canyon under changes of building orientation and aspect ratio.

Science.gov (United States)

Yassin, Mohamed F; Ohba, Masaake

2012-09-01

To assist validation of numerical simulations of urban pollution, air quality in a street canyon was investigated using a wind tunnel as a research tool under neutral atmospheric conditions. We used tracer gas techniques from a line source without buoyancy. Ethylene (C(2)H(4)) was used as the tracer gas. The street canyon model was formed of six parallel building rows of the same length. The flow and dispersion field was analyzed and measured using a hot-wire anemometer with split fiber probe and fast flame ionization detector. The diffusion flow field in the boundary layer within the street canyon was examined at different locations, with varying building orientations (θ=90°, 112.5°, 135° and 157.5°) and street canyon aspect ratios (W/H=1/2, 3/4 and 1) downwind of the leeward side of the street canyon model. Results show that velocity increases with aspect ratio, and with θ>90°. Pollutant concentration increases as aspect ratio decreases. This concentration decreases exponentially in the vertical direction, and decreases as θ increases from 90°. Measured pollutant concentration distributions indicate that variability of building orientation and aspect ratio in the street canyon are important for estimating air quality in the canyon. The data presented here can be used as a comprehensive database for validation of numerical models.

Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects electric power marketing final environmental impact statement. Volume 4: Appendixes B-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The Colorado River Storage Project Customer Office of the Western Area Power Administration (Western) markets electricity produced at hydroelectric facilities operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. The facilities are known collectively as the Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects (SLCA/IP) and include dams equipped for power generation on the Colorado, Green, Gunnison, and Rio Grande rivers and on Plateau Creek in Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Of these facilities, only the Glen Canyon Unit, the Flaming Gorge Unit, and the Aspinall Unit (which includes Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal dams) are influenced by Western power scheduling and transmission decisions. The environmental impact statement (EIS) alternatives, called commitment-level alternatives, reflect combinations of capacity and energy that would feasibly and reasonably fulfill Western's firm power marketing responsibilities, needs, and statutory obligations. The viability of these alternatives relates directly to the combination of generation capability of the SLCA/IP with energy purchases and interchange. The economic and natural resource assessments in this EIS include an analysis of commitment-level alternatives. Impacts of the no-action alternative are also assessed. Supply options, which include combinations of electrical power purchases and hydropower operational scenarios reflecting different operations of the dams, are also assessed. The EIS evaluates the impacts of these scenarios relative to socioeconomics, air resources, water resources, ecological resources, cultural resources, land use, recreation, and visual resources. Western has identified commitment-level alternative 1, the Post-1989 commitment level, as its preferred alternative. The impact evaluations indicate that this commitment level is also the environmentally preferred alter native

Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects electric power marketing -- Final environmental impact statement. Volume 2: Sections 1--16

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The Colorado River Storage Project Customer Service Office of the Western Area Power Administration (Western) markets electricity produced at hydroelectric facilities operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. The facilities are known collectively as the Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects (SLCA/IP) and include dams equipped for power generation on the Colorado, Green, Gunnison, and Rio Grande rivers and on Plateau Creek in Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Of these facilities, only the Glen Canyon Unit, the Flaming Gorge Unit, and the Aspinall Unit (which includes Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal dams) are influenced by Western power scheduling and transmission decisions. The environmental impact statement (EIS) alternatives, called commitment-level alternatives, reflect combinations of capacity and energy that would feasibly and reasonably fulfill Western's firm power marketing responsibilities, needs, and statutory obligations. The viability of these alternatives relates directly to the combination of generation capability of the SLCA/IP with energy purchases and interchange. The economic and natural resource assessments in this EIS include an analysis of commitment-level alternatives. Impacts of the no-action alternative are also assessed. Supply options, which include combinations of electrical power purchases and hydropower operational scenarios reflecting different operations of the dams, are also assessed. The EIS evaluates the impacts of these scenarios relative to socioeconomics, air resources, water resources, ecological resources, cultural resources, land use, recreation, and visual resources. Western has identified commitment-level alternative 1, the Post-1989 commitment level, as its preferred alternative. The impact evaluations indicate that this commitment level is also the environmentally preferred alternative

Lake Roosevelt Fisheries Monitoring Progam; Thyroid-Induced Chemical Imprinting in Early Life Stages and Assessment of Smoltification in Kokanee Salmon Implications for Operating Lake Roosevelt Kokanee Salmon Hatcheries; 1993 Supplement Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tilson, Mary Beth; Galloway, Heather; Scholz, Allan T. (Eastern Washington University, Upper Columbia United Tribes Fisheries Research Center, Cheney, WA)

1994-06-01

In 1991, two hatcheries were built to provide a kokanee salmon and rainbow trout fishery for Lake Roosevelt as partial mitigation for the loss of anadromous salmon and steelhead caused by construction of Grand Coulee Dam. The Sherman Creek Hatchery, located on a tributary of Lake Roosevelt to provide an egg collection and imprinting site, is small with limited rearing capability. The second hatchery was located on the Spokane Indian Reservation because of a spring water source that supplied cold, pure water for incubating and rearing eggs.`The Spokane Tribal Hatchery thus serves as the production facility. Fish reared there are released into Sherman Creek and other tributary streams as 7-9 month old fry. However, to date, returns of adult fish to release sites has been poor. If hatchery reared kokanee imprint to the hatchery water at egg or swim up stages before 3 months of age, they may not be imprinting as 7-9 month old fry at the time of stocking. In addition, if these fish undergo a smolt phase in the reservoir when they are 1.5 years old, they could migrate below Grand Coulee Dam and out of the Lake Roosevelt system. In the present investigation, which is part of the Lake Roosevelt monitoring program to assess hatchery effectiveness, kokanee salmon were tested to determine if they experienced thyroxine-induced chemical imprinting and smoltification similar to anadromous salmonids. Determination of the critical period for olfactory imprinting was determined by exposing kokanee to different synthetic chemicals (morpholine or phenethyl alcohol) at different life stages, and then measuring the ability to discriminate the chemicals as sexually mature adults. Whole body thyroxine content and blood plasma thyroxine concentration was measured to determine if peak thyroid activity coincided with imprinting or other morphological, physiological or behavioral transitions associated with smoltification.

Flow and Pollutant Transport in Urban Street Canyons of Different Aspect Ratios with Ground Heating: Large-Eddy Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xian-Xiang; Britter, Rex E.; Norford, Leslie K.; Koh, Tieh-Yong; Entekhabi, Dara

2012-02-01

A validated large-eddy simulation model was employed to study the effect of the aspect ratio and ground heating on the flow and pollutant dispersion in urban street canyons. Three ground-heating intensities (neutral, weak and strong) were imposed in street canyons of aspect ratio 1, 2, and 0.5. The detailed patterns of flow, turbulence, temperature and pollutant transport were analyzed and compared. Significant changes of flow and scalar patterns were caused by ground heating in the street canyon of aspect ratio 2 and 0.5, while only the street canyon of aspect ratio 0.5 showed a change in flow regime (from wake interference flow to skimming flow). The street canyon of aspect ratio 1 does not show any significant change in the flow field. Ground heating generated strong mixing of heat and pollutant; the normalized temperature inside street canyons was approximately spatially uniform and somewhat insensitive to the aspect ratio and heating intensity. This study helps elucidate the combined effects of urban geometry and thermal stratification on the urban canyon flow and pollutant dispersion.

Environmental monitoring of the La Grande complex (2003-2004) : evolution of mercury levels in the flesh of fish

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Therrien, J.; Schetagne, R.

2005-11-01

The results of surveys conducted to assess the duration of temporary mercury levels in piscivorous species in the La Grande Complex were presented. A 2003 survey conducted in the easter sector and a 2004 survey conducted in the western sector of the complex showed that for non-piscivorous fishes of standardized length, a return to mean natural mercury levels will be achieved between 10 and 20 years after impounding. For piscivorous fishes, the evolution pattern of the mean mercury levels suggested that a return to background levels will occur after 20 to 30 years. Mercury levels for northern pike in the Robert-Bourassa Reservoir are expected to return to normal levels after 30 to 35 years. The surveys indicated that mean mercury levels in non-piscivorous fishes were often higher immediately below the La Grande generating stations. Similar observations were made for northern pike and lake trout downstream of the generating stations in the eastern sector of the complex. Mean mercury levels were significantly higher for fishes in the complex than fishes in the natural lakes of the region. Results of the surveys suggested that additional consumption restrictions for piscivorous fishes in the reservoirs are needed. Consumption guidelines for varieties of non-piscivorous and piscivorous fishes from the complex were included

Mummy Lake: An unroofed ceremonial structure within a large-scale ritual landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Benson, Larry V.; Griffin, Eleanor R.; Stein, J.R.; Friedman, R. A.; Andrae, S. W.

2014-01-01

The structure at Mesa Verde National Park known historically as Mummy Lake and more recently as Far View Reservoir is not part of a water collection, impoundment, or redistribution system. We offer an alternative explanation for the function of Mummy Lake. We suggest that it is an unroofed ceremonial structure, and that it serves as an essential component of a Chacoan ritual landscape. A wide constructed avenue articulates Mummy Lake with Far View House and Pipe Shrine House. The avenue continues southward for approximately 6 km where it apparently divides connecting with Spruce Tree House and Sun Temple/Cliff Palace. The avenue has previously been interpreted as an irrigation ditch fed by water impounded at Mummy Lake; however, it conforms in every respect to alignments described as Chacoan roads. Tree-ring dates indicate that the construction of Spruce Tree House and Cliff Palace began about A.D. 1225, roughly coincident with the abandonment of the Far View community. This pattern of periodically relocating the focus of an Anasazi community by retiring existing ritual structures and linking them to newly constructed facilities by means of broad avenues was first documented by Fowler and Stein (1992) in Manuelito Canyon, New Mexico. Periods of intense drought appear to have contributed to the relocation of prehistoric Native Americans from the Far View group to Cliff Palace/Spruce Tree House in the mid-13th century and eventually to the abandonment of all Anasazi communities in southwestern Colorado in the late-13th century.

Marine litter in submarine canyons of the Bay of Biscay

Science.gov (United States)

van den Beld, Inge M. J.; Guillaumont, Brigitte; Menot, Lénaïck; Bayle, Christophe; Arnaud-Haond, Sophie; Bourillet, Jean-François

2017-11-01

Marine litter is a matter of increasing concern worldwide, from shallow seas to the open ocean and from beaches to the deep-seafloor. Indeed, the deep sea may be the ultimate repository of a large proportion of litter in the ocean. We used footage acquired with a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and a towed camera to investigate the distribution and composition of litter in the submarine canyons of the Bay of Biscay. This bay contains many submarine canyons housing Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) such as scleractinian coral habitats. VMEs are considered to be important for fish and they increase the local biodiversity. The objectives of the study were to investigate and discuss: (i) litter density, (ii) the principal sources of litter, (iii) the influence of environmental factors on the distribution of litter, and (iv) the impact of litter on benthic communities. Litter was found in all 15 canyons and at three sites on the edge of the continental shelf/canyon, in 25 of 29 dives. The Belle-île and Arcachon Canyons contained the largest amounts of litter, up to 12.6 and 9.5 items per 100 images respectively. Plastic items were the most abundant (42%), followed by fishing-related items (16%). The litter had both a maritime and a terrestrial origin. The main sources could be linked to fishing activities, major shipping lanes and river discharges. Litter appeared to accumulate at water depths of 801-1100 m and 1401-1700 m. In the deeper of these two depth ranges, litter accumulated on a geologically structured area, accounting for its high frequency at this depth. A larger number of images taken in areas of coral in the shallower of these two depth ranges may account for the high frequency of litter detection at this depth. A larger number of litter items, including plastic objects in particular, were observed on geological structures and in coral areas than on areas of bare substratum. The distribution of fishing-related items was similar for the various types of

Late Quaternary evolution of the San Antonio Submarine Canyon in the central Chile forearc (∼33°S)

Science.gov (United States)

Laursen, Jane; Normark, William R.

2002-01-01

Hydrosweep swath-bathymetry and seismic-reflection data reveal the morphology, sedimentary processes, and structural controls on the submarine San Antonio Canyon. The canyon crosses the forearc slope of the central Chile margin for more than 150 km before it empties into the Chile Trench near 33°S latitude. In its upper reaches, the nearly orthogonal segments of the San Antonio Canyon incise ∼1 km into thick sediment following underlying margin-perpendicular basement faults and along the landward side of a prominent margin-parallel thrust ridge on the outer mid-slope. At a breach in the outer ridge, the canyon makes a sharp turn into the San Antonio Reentrant. Resistance to erosion of outcropping basement at the head of the reentrant has prevented the development of a uniformly sloping thalweg, leaving gentle gradients (6°) across the lower slope. Emergence of an obstruction across the head of the San Antonio Reentrant has trapped sediment in the mid-slope segments of the canyon. Presently, little sediment appears to reach the Chile Trench through the San Antonio Canyon. The development of the San Antonio Canyon was controlled by the impact of a subducted seamount, which formed the San Antonio Reentrant and warped the middle slope along its landward advancing path. Incision of the canyon landward of the outer mid-slope ridge may be ascribed to a combination of headward erosion and entrenchment by captured unconfined turbidity currents. Flushing of the canyon was likely enhanced during the lowered sea level of the last glaciation. Where the canyon occupies the triangular embayment of the reentrant at the base of the slope, sediment has ponded behind a small accretionary ridge. On the trench floor opposite the San Antonio Canyon mouth, a 200-m-thick levee–overbank complex formed on the left side of a distributary channel emanating from a breach in the accretionary ridge. Axial transfer of sediment was inhibited to the north of the San Antonio Canyon mouth

Relationship between rooftop and on-road concentrations of traffic-related pollutants in a busy street canyon: Ambient wind effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwak, Kyung-Hwan; Lee, Sang-Hyun; Seo, Jaemyeong Mango; Park, Seung-Bu; Baik, Jong-Jin

2016-01-01

Rooftop and on-road measurements of O_3, NO_2, NO_x, and CO concentrations were conducted to investigate the relationship between rooftop and on-road concentrations in a busy and shallow street canyon with an aspect ratio of ∼0.3 in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from 15 April to 1 May 2014. The median road-to-roof concentration ratios, correlation coefficients between rooftop and on-road concentrations, and temporal variations of rooftop and on-road concentrations are analyzed according to the rooftop wind directions which are two cross-canyon and two along-canyon directions. The analysis results indicate that the relationship is strong when the rooftop is situated on the downwind side rather than on the upwind side. Relative to the cross-canyon wind directions, one of the along-canyon wind directions can more enhance the relationship. A conceptual framework is proposed to explain the effect of ambient wind direction on the relationship between rooftop and on-road concentrations in a street canyon. - One of the along-canyon wind directions can enhance the relationship between rooftop and on-road concentrations of traffic-related pollutants in a busy and shallow street canyon.

The down canyon evolution of submarine sediment density flows

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, D. R.; Barry, J.; Clare, M. A.; Cartigny, M.; Chaffey, M. R.; Gales, J. A.; Gwiazda, R.; Maier, K. L.; McGann, M.; Paull, C. K.; O'Reilly, T. C.; Rosenberger, K. J.; Simmons, S.; Sumner, E. J.; Talling, P.; Xu, J.

2017-12-01

Submarine density flows, known as turbidity currents, transfer globally significant volumes of terrestrial and shelf sediments, organic carbon, nutrients and fresher-water into the deep ocean. Understanding such flows has wide implications for global organic carbon cycling, the functioning of deep-sea ecosystems, seabed infrastructure hazard assessments, and interpreting geological archives of Earth history. Only river systems transport comparable volumes of sediment over such large areas of the globe. Despite their clear importance, there are remarkably few direct measurements of these oceanic turbidity currents in action. Here we present results from the multi-institution Coordinated Canyon Experiment (CCE) which deployed multiple moorings along the axis of Monterey Canyon (offshore California). An array of six moorings, with downward looking acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) were positioned along the canyon axis from 290 m to 1850 m water depth. The ADCPs reveal the internal flow structure of submarine density flows at each site. We use a novel inversion method to reconstruct the suspended sediment concentration and flow stratification field during each event. Together the six moorings provide the first ever views of the internal structural evolution of turbidity current events as they evolve down system. Across the total 18-month period of deployment at least 15 submarine sediment density flows were measured with velocities up to 8.1 m/sec, with three of these flows extending 50 kms down the canyon beyond the 1850 m water depth mooring. We use these novel data to highlight the controls on ignition, interval structure and collapse of individual events and discuss the implications for the functioning and deposits produced by these enigmatic flows.

Influence of roadside hedgerows on air quality in urban street canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Gromke, Christof; Jamarkattel, Nabaraj; Ruck, Bodo

2016-08-01

Understanding pollutant dispersion in the urban environment is an important aspect of providing solutions to reduce personal exposure to vehicle emissions. To this end, the dispersion of gaseous traffic pollutants in urban street canyons with roadside hedges was investigated. The study was performed in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel using a reduced-scale (M = 1:150) canyon model with a street-width-to-building-height ratio of W/H = 2 and a street-length-to-building-height ratio of L/H = 10. Various hedge configurations of differing height, permeability and longitudinal segmentation (continuous over street length L or discontinuous with clearings) were investigated. Two arrangements were examined: (i) two eccentric hedgerows sidewise of the main traffic lanes and (ii) one central hedgerow between the main traffic lanes. In addition, selected configurations of low boundary walls, i.e. solid barriers, were examined. For a perpendicular approach wind and in the presence of continuous hedgerows, improvements in air quality in the center area of the street canyon were found in comparison to the hedge-free reference scenario. The pollutant reductions were greater for the central hedge arrangements than for the sidewise arrangements. Area-averaged reductions between 46 and 61% were observed at pedestrian head height level on the leeward side in front of the building for the centrally arranged hedges and between 18 and 39% for the two hedges arranged sidewise. Corresponding area-averaged reductions ranging from 39 to 55% and from 1 to 20% were found at the bottom of the building facades on the leeward side. Improvements were also found in the areas at the lateral canyon ends next to the crossings for the central hedge arrangements. For the sidewise arrangements, increases in traffic pollutants were generally observed. However, since the concentrations in the end areas were considerably lower compared to those in the center area, an overall improvement remained

An Investigation of Amphitheater-Headed Canyon Distribution, Morphology Variation, and Longitudinal Profile Controls in Escalante and Tarantula Mesa, Utah.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, A. J.; Whipple, K. X.

2014-12-01

Amphitheater-headed canyons are primarily distinguished from typical fluvial channels by their abrupt headwall terminations. A key goal in the study of river canyons is to establish a reliable link between form and formation processes. This is of particular significance for Mars, where, if such links can be established, amphitheater-headed canyons could be used to determine ancient erosion mechanisms and, by inference, climate conditions. Type examples in arid regions on Earth, such as in Escalante River, Utah, previously have been interpreted as products of groundwater seepage erosion. We investigate amphitheater-headed canyons in Escalante and Tarantula Mesa where variations in canyon head morphology may hold clues for the relative roles of rock properties and fluvial and groundwater processes. In lower Escalante, amphitheaters are only present where canyons have breached the Navajo Sandstone - Kayenta Formation contact. In some canyons, amphitheater development appears to have been inhibited by an abundance of coarse bedload. In Tarantula Mesa, canyons have a variety of headwalls, from amphitheaters to stepped knickzones. Headwall morphology distribution is directly related to the spatially variable presence of knickpoint-forming, fine-grained interbeds within cliff-forming sandstones. Amphitheaters only form where the sandstone unit is undisrupted by these interbeds. Finally, most canyons in Escalante and Tarantula Mesa, regardless of substrate lithology, amphitheater presence, or groundwater spring intensity, are well described by a slope-area power law relationship with regionally constant concavity and normalized steepness indices. This suggests that all channels here are subject to the same erosion rates, independent of groundwater weathering intensity. Thus: 1) variations in canyon headwall form do not necessary relate to differences in fluvial history, 2) stratigraphic variations are clearly of importance in sedimentary canyon systems, and 3) although

Extinction of Harrington's mountain goat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1986-01-01

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

Effects of street canyon design on pedestrian thermal comfort in the hot-humid area of China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yufeng; Du, Xiaohan; Shi, Yurong

2017-08-01

The design characteristics of street canyons were investigated in Guangzhou in the hot-humid area of China, and the effects of the design factors and their interactions on pedestrian thermal comfort were studied by numerical simulations. The ENVI-met V4.0 (BASIC) model was validated by field observations and used to simulate the micrometeorological conditions and the standard effective temperature (SET) at pedestrian level of the street canyons for a typical summer day of Guangzhou. The results show that the micrometeorological parameters of mean radiant temperature (MRT) and wind speed play key roles in pedestrian thermal comfort. Street orientation has the largest contribution on SET at pedestrian level, followed by aspect ratio and greenery, while surface albedo and interactions between factors have small contributions. The street canyons oriented southeast-northwest or with a higher aspect ratio provide more shade, higher wind speed, and better thermal comfort conditions for pedestrians. Compared with the east-west-oriented street canyons, the north-south-oriented street canyons have higher MRTs and worse pedestrian thermal comfort due to their wider building spacing along the street. The effects of greenery change with the road width and the time of the day. Street canyon design is recommended to improve pedestrian thermal comfort. This study provides a better understanding of the effects of street canyon design on pedestrian thermal comfort and is a useful guide on urban design for the hot-humid area of China.

Structure-forming corals and sponges and their use as fish habitat in Bering Sea submarine canyons.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Robert J; Hocevar, John; Stone, Robert P; Fedorov, Dmitry V

2012-01-01

Continental margins are dynamic, heterogeneous settings that can include canyons, seamounts, and banks. Two of the largest canyons in the world, Zhemchug and Pribilof, cut into the edge of the continental shelf in the southeastern Bering Sea. Here currents and upwelling interact to produce a highly productive area, termed the Green Belt, that supports an abundance of fishes and squids as well as birds and marine mammals. We show that in some areas the floor of these canyons harbors high densities of gorgonian and pennatulacean corals and sponges, likely due to enhanced surface productivity, benthic currents and seafloor topography. Rockfishes, including the commercially important Pacific ocean perch, Sebastes alutus, were associated with corals and sponges as well as with isolated boulders. Sculpins, poachers and pleuronectid flounders were also associated with corals in Pribilof Canyon, where corals were most abundant. Fishes likely use corals and sponges as sources of vertical relief, which may harbor prey as well as provide shelter from predators. Boulders may be equivalent habitat in this regard, but are sparse in the canyons, strongly suggesting that biogenic structure is important fish habitat. Evidence of disturbance to the benthos from fishing activities was observed in these remote canyons. Bottom trawling and other benthic fishing gear has been shown to damage corals and sponges that may be very slow to recover from such disturbance. Regulation of these destructive practices is key to conservation of benthic habitats in these canyons and the ecosystem services they provide.

Fish Lake, Utah - a promising long core site straddling the Great Basin to Colorado Plateau transition zone

Science.gov (United States)

Marchetti, D. W.; Abbott, M. B.; Bailey, C.; Wenrich, E.; Stoner, J. S.; Larsen, D. J.; Finkenbinder, M. S.; Anderson, L.; Brunelle, A.; Carter, V.; Power, M. J.; Hatfield, R. G.; Reilly, B.; Harris, M. S.; Grimm, E. C.; Donovan, J.

2015-12-01

Fish Lake (~7x1.5 km and 2696 m asl) is located on the Fish Lake Plateau in central Utah. The Lake occupies a NE-striking tectonic graben; one of a suite of grabens on the Plateau that cut 21-26 Ma volcanic rocks. The lake outflows via Lake Creek to the NE where it joins Sevenmile Creek to become the Fremont River, a tributary to the Colorado River. A bathymetric survey reveals a mean depth of 27 m and a max depth of 37.2 m. The lake bottom slopes from NW to SE with the deepest part near the SE wall, matching the topographic expression of the graben. Nearby Fish Lake Hightop (3545 m) was glaciated with an ice field and outlet glaciers. Exposure ages indicate moraine deposition during Pinedale (15-23 ka) and Bull Lake (130-150 ka) times. One outlet glacier at Pelican Canyon deposited moraines and outwash into the lake but the main basin of the lake was never glaciated. Gravity measurements indicate that lake sediments thicken toward the SE side of the lake and the thickest sediment package is modeled to be between 210 and 240 m. In Feb 2014 we collected cores from Fish Lake using a 9-cm diameter UWITECH coring system in 30.5 m of water. A composite 11.2-m-long core was constructed from overlapping 2 m drives that were taken in triplicate to ensure total recovery and good preservation. Twelve 14C ages and 3 tephra layers of known age define the age model. The oldest 14C age of 32.3±4.2 cal ka BP was taken from 10.6 m. Core lithology, CT scans, and magnetic susceptibility (ms) reveal three sediment packages: an organic-rich, low ms Holocene to post-glacial section, a fine-grained, minerogenic glacial section with high ms, and a short section of inferred pre-LGM sediment with intermediate composition. Extrapolating the age model to the maximum estimated sediment thicknesses suggest sediments may be older than 500-700 ka. Thus Fish Lake is an ideal candidate for long core retrieval as it likely contains paleoclimatic records extending over multiple glacial cycles.

Project MOHAVE data analysis plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watson, J.G.; Green, M.; Hoffer, T.E.; Lawson, D.R.; Pitchford, M.; Eatough, D.J.; Farber, R.J.; Malm, W.C.; McDade, C.E.

1993-01-01

Project MOHAVE is intended to develop ambient and source emissions data for use with source models, receptor models, and data analysis methods in order to explain the nature and causes of visibility degradation in the Grand Canyon. Approximately 50% of the modeling and data analysis effort will be directed toward understanding the contributions from the Mohave Power Project to haze in the Grand Canyon and other nearby Class areas; the remaining resources will be used to understand the contribution from other sources. The major goals of Project MOHAVE and data analysis are: to evaluate the measurement for applicability to modeling and data analysis activities; to describe the visibility, air quality and meteorology during the field study period and to determine the degree to which these measurements represent typical visibility events at the Grand Canyon; to further develop conceptual models of physical and chemical processes which affect visibility impairment at the Grand Canyon; to estimate the contributions from different emission sources to visibility impairment at the Grand Canyon, and to quantitatively evaluate the uncertainties of those estimates; to reconcile different scientific interpretations of the same data and to present this reconciliation to decision-makers. Several different approaches will be applied. Each approach will involve explicit examination of measurement uncertainties, compliance with implicit and explicit assumptions, and representativeness of the measurements. Scientific disagreements will be sought, expressed, explained, quantified, and presented. Data which can be used to verify methods will be withheld for independent evaluation of the validity of those methods. All assumptions will be stated and evaluated against reality. Data analysis results not supporting hypotheses will be presented with those results supporting the hypotheses. Uncertainty statements will be quantitative and consistent with decision-making needs

Estimation of health damage due to emission of air pollutants by cars: the canyon effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spadaro, J.V. [Ecole des Mines, Centre d' Energetique, Paris, 75 (France); Rabl, A.

1999-07-01

Since current epidemiological evidence suggests that air pollution has harmful effects even at typical ambient concentrations and the dispersion is significant over hundreds to thousands of km, the estimation of total health damage involves consideration of local and regional effects. In recent years, several estimates have been published of health damage due to air pollution from cars, in particular by Delucchi et al of UC Davis and by the ExternE Project of the European Commission. To capture the geographic extent of pollutant dispersion, local and regional models have been used in combination. The present paper addresses a potentially significant contribution of the total damage, not yet taken into account in these studies: the increased concentration of pollutants inside urban street canyons. This canyon effect is appreciable only for primary pollutants, the time constants for the formation of secondary pollutants being long compared to the residence time in the canyon. We assumed linearity of incremental health impact with incremental concentration, in view of the lack of epidemiological evidence for no-effect thresholds or significant deviations from linearity at typical ambient concentrations; therefore, only long term average concentrations matter. We use the FLUENT software to model the dispersion inside a street canyon for a wide range of rectangular geometries and wind velocities. Our results suggest that the canyon effect is of marginal significance for total damages, the contribution of the canyon effect being roughly 10 to 20% of the total. The relative importance of the canyon effect is, of course, highly variable with local conditions; it could be much smaller but it is unlikely to add more than 100% to the flat terrain estimate. (Author)

Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area 2003 visitor use survey: Completion report

Science.gov (United States)

Ponds, Phadrea; Gillette, Shana C.; Koontz, Lynne

2004-01-01

This report represents the analysis of research conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The purpose is to provide socio-economic and recreational use information that can be used in the development of a Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area (CCNCA). The results reported here deal primarily with recreation-based activities in four areas: Kokopelli Loops, Rabbit Valley, Loma Boat Launch, and Devil’s Canyon.

Resident Fish Stock Status above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams; 2002-2003 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Connor, Jason M. (Kalispel Tribe of Indians, Usk, WA); McLellan, Jason G. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife); Butler, Chris (Spokane Tribe of Indians, Wellpinit, WA)

2006-02-01

initial year of the project (1997) identified the need for a central data storage and analysis facility, coordination with the StreamNet project, compilation of Blocked Area fisheries information, and a report on the ecological condition of the Spokane River System. These needs were addressed in 1998 by acquiring a central location with a data storage and analysis system, coordinating a pilot project with StreamNet, compiling fisheries distribution data throughout the Blocked Area, identifying data gaps based on compiled information, and researching the ecological condition of the Spokane River. In order to ensure that any additional information collected throughout the life of this project will be easily stored and manipulated by the central storage facility, it was necessary to develop standardized methodologies between the JSAP fisheries managers. Common collection and analytical methodologies were developed in 1999. The project began addressing identified data gaps throughout the Blocked Area in 1999. Data collection of established projects and a variety of newly developed sampling projects are ongoing. Projects developed and undertaken by JSAP fisheries managers include investigations of the Pend Orielle River and its tributaries, the Little Spokane River and its tributaries, and water bodies within and near the Spokane Indian Reservation. Migration patterns of adfluvial and reservoir fish in Box Canyon Reservoir and its tributaries, a baseline assessment of Boundary Reservoir and its tributaries, ecological assessment of mountain lakes in Pend Oreille County, and assessments of streams and lakes on the Spokane Indian Reservation were completed by 2001. Assessments of the Little Spokane River and its tributaries, Spokane River below Spokane Falls, tributaries to the Pend Oreille River, small lakes in Pend Oreille County, WA, and water bodies within and near the Spokane Indian Reservation were conducted in 2002 and 2003. This work was done in accordance with the scope

A concentration correction scheme for Lagrangian particle model and its application in street canyon air dispersion modelling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiyang Xia [Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai (China). Department of Engineering Mechanics; Leung, D.Y.C. [The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong). Department of Mechanical Engineering

2001-07-01

Pollutant dispersion in street canyons with various configurations was simulated by discharging a large number of particles into the computation domain after developing a time-dependent wind field. Trajectory of the released particles was predicted using a Lagrangian particle model developed in an earlier study. A concentration correction scheme, based on the concept of 'visibility', was adopted for the Lagrangian particle model to correct the calculated pollutant concentration field in street canyons. The corrected concentrations compared favourably with those from wind tunnel experiments and a linear relationship between the computed concentrations and wind tunnel data were found. The developed model was then applied to four simulations to test for the suitability of the correction scheme and to study pollutant distribution in street canyons with different configurations. For those cases with obstacles presence in the computation domain, the correction scheme gives more reasonable results compared with the one without using it. Different flow regimes are observed in the street canyons, which depend on building configurations. A counter-clockwise rotating vortex may appear in a two-building case with wind flow from left to right, causing lower pollutant concentration at the leeward side of upstream building and higher concentration at the windward side of downstream building. On the other hand, a stable clockwise rotating vortex is formed in the street canyon with multiple identical buildings, resulting in poor natural ventilation in the street canyon. Moreover, particles emitted in the downstream canyon formed by buildings with large height-to-width ratios will be transported to upstream canyons. (author)

Three Years of Experience of Wet Gas Allocation on Canyon Express

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Aditya; Hall, James; Letton, Winsor

2005-07-01

In September 2002, production was begun from the three fields that together form the Canyon Express System- King's Peak, Aconcagua, and Camden Hills. The 9 wells from these fields are connected to a pair of 12-inch flow lines carrying the commingled wet gas a distance of approximately 92 kilometers back to the Canyon Station platform for processing. At the 21st NSFMW in October 2003, an initial report was given on the status of Wet Gas Allocation for the Canyon Express project. As discussed in that paper, dual-differential, subsea wet gas meters were chosen for the task of allocating gas and liquids back to individual wells. However, since the gas from all three fields was very dry (Lockhart-Martinelli parameter less than 0.01) and because the operating pressures were quite high (250 bar), application of the dual-differential function of the meters yielded errors in both liquid and gas flow rates. Furthermore, as these problems were being uncovered, scale was beginning to collect inside some of the meters. Taken together, these problems produced system imbalances as great as 20%. To address the problems, one of the individual flow metering elements within each wet gas meter was chosen as the allocation meter, operating as a single-phase gas meter. After three years of operation of the Canyon Express Project, considerable experience has been accumulated. Since at the time it held the record for deep water hydrocarbon production, application of the technologies discussed here were challenging and required considerable flexibility. It is believed that the Canyon Express experiences will benefit future deep water flow metering projects. The knowledge acquired thus far is surveyed and summarized. The emphasis is on the technical aspects. (tk)

Influence of local parameters on the dispersion of traffic-related pollutants within street canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Karra, Styliani; Malki-Epshtein, Liora; Martin Hyde Collaboration

2011-11-01

Ventilation within urban cities and street canyons and the associated air quality is a problem of increasing interest in the last decades. It is important for to minimise exposure of the population to traffic-related pollutants at street level. The residence time of pollutants within the street canyons depends on the meteorological conditions such as wind speed and direction, geometry layout and local parameters (position of traffic lane within the street). An experimental study was carried out to investigate the influence of traffic lane position on the dispersion of traffic-related pollutants within different street canyons geometries: symmetrical (equal building heights on both sides of the street), non-symmetrical (uniform building heights but lower on one side of the street) and heterogeneous (non-uniform building heights on both sides of the street) under constant meteorological conditions. Laboratory experiments were carried out within a water channel and simultaneous measurements of velocity field and concentration scalar levels within and above the street canyons using PIV and PLIF techniques. Traffic -related emissions were simulated using a line emission source. Two positions were examined for all street geometries: line emission source was placed in the centre of the street canyon; line emission source was placed off the centre of the street. TSI Incorporated.

ACUMEN 2012: Atlantic Canyons Undersea Mapping Expeditions

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Between February and August 2012, a team of NOAA and external partners will conduct a mapping ‘blitz’ focused on deepwater canyons off the northeastern...

2013 Pacific Gas and Electric Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP): San Simeon, CA Central Coast

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) LiDAR and Imagery datasets are comprised of three separate LiDAR surveys: Diablo Canyon (2010), Los Osos (2011), and San Simeon...

2011 Pacific Gas and Electric Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP): Los Osos, CA Central Coast

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) LiDAR and Imagery datasets are comprised of three separate LiDAR surveys: Diablo Canyon (2010), Los Osos (2011), and San Simeon...

Structure-forming corals and sponges and their use as fish habitat in Bering Sea submarine canyons.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert J Miller

Full Text Available Continental margins are dynamic, heterogeneous settings that can include canyons, seamounts, and banks. Two of the largest canyons in the world, Zhemchug and Pribilof, cut into the edge of the continental shelf in the southeastern Bering Sea. Here currents and upwelling interact to produce a highly productive area, termed the Green Belt, that supports an abundance of fishes and squids as well as birds and marine mammals. We show that in some areas the floor of these canyons harbors high densities of gorgonian and pennatulacean corals and sponges, likely due to enhanced surface productivity, benthic currents and seafloor topography. Rockfishes, including the commercially important Pacific ocean perch, Sebastes alutus, were associated with corals and sponges as well as with isolated boulders. Sculpins, poachers and pleuronectid flounders were also associated with corals in Pribilof Canyon, where corals were most abundant. Fishes likely use corals and sponges as sources of vertical relief, which may harbor prey as well as provide shelter from predators. Boulders may be equivalent habitat in this regard, but are sparse in the canyons, strongly suggesting that biogenic structure is important fish habitat. Evidence of disturbance to the benthos from fishing activities was observed in these remote canyons. Bottom trawling and other benthic fishing gear has been shown to damage corals and sponges that may be very slow to recover from such disturbance. Regulation of these destructive practices is key to conservation of benthic habitats in these canyons and the ecosystem services they provide.

Rose Canyon Sustainable Aquaculture Project, San Diego, CA

Science.gov (United States)

Documents related to EPA's preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the potential impacts related to the issuance of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the Rose Canyon Sustainable Aquaculture Project.

Food-web dynamics and isotopic niches in deep-sea communities residing in a submarine canyon and on the adjacent open slopes

Science.gov (United States)

Demopoulos, Amanda W.J.; McClain-Counts, Jennifer; Ross, Steve W.; Brooke, Sandra; Mienis, Furu

2017-01-01

Examination of food webs and trophic niches provide insights into organisms' functional ecology, yet few studies have examined trophodynamics within submarine canyons, where the interaction of canyon morphology and oceanography influences habitat provision and food deposition. Using stable isotope analysis and Bayesian ellipses, we documented deep-sea food-web structure and trophic niches in Baltimore Canyon and the adjacent open slopes in the US Mid-Atlantic Region. Results revealed isotopically diverse feeding groups, comprising approximately 5 trophic levels. Regression analysis indicated that consumer isotope data are structured by habitat (canyon vs. slope), feeding group, and depth. Benthic feeders were enriched in 13C and 15N relative to suspension feeders, consistent with consuming older, more refractory organic matter. In contrast, canyon suspension feeders had the largest and more distinct isotopic niche, indicating they consume an isotopically discrete food source, possibly fresher organic material. The wider isotopic niche observed for canyon consumers indicated the presence of feeding specialists and generalists. High dispersion in δ13C values for canyon consumers suggests that the isotopic composition of particulate organic matter changes, which is linked to depositional dynamics, resulting in discrete zones of organic matter accumulation or resuspension. Heterogeneity in habitat and food availability likely enhances trophic diversity in canyons. Given their abundance in the world's oceans, our results from Baltimore Canyon suggest that submarine canyons may represent important havens for trophic diversity.

Calcareous nannoplankton and benthic foraminiferal assemblages from the Nazare Canyon (Portuguese continental margin): Preliminary results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guerreiro, C; Oliveira, A; Rodrigues, A; Rosa, F; Cachao, M; Fatela, F

2009-01-01

Submarine canyons are assumed to play an important role in oceanic/neritic circulation, marine productivity and sedimentary processes, acting as preferential conduits between the littoral and deep oceanic domain. Here we present first results of a comparative micropalaeontological study on calcareous nannoplankton and benthic foraminifera from surface sediments from the surroundings of the upper Nazare Canyon (Portuguese continental margin) and from the shelf north of the canyon. Regardless of the difficulty to distinguish taphonomical from (palaeo)ecological effects in such a complex and still poorly known marine system, the first results suggest that the canyon's hydro-sedimentary dynamic regime act as a prolongation of the shore/inner shelf hydrodynamic conditions towards west, preventing deposition and/or preservation of the smaller and fragile species of calcareous nannoplankton (e.g. E. huxleyi and G. ericsonii) and enhancing the record of the larger and more opportunistic ones (e.g. G. oceanica); and disturbing benthic foraminiferal productivity and/or diversity, or their preservation in the fossil record. Both calcareous nannoplankton and benthic foraminifera are more abundant off the canyon's domain, suggesting that its highly energetic thalweg conditions are probably filtering the fossil record in the sediment. Still, preliminary results suggest that the occurrence of persistent physical phenomena related with the canyon's morphology and proximity to the coast (e.g. solitary internal waves) may be locally promoting favourable conditions for calcareous nannoplankton, as shown by high values of nannoliths, chlorophyll a and 19' hexanoyloxyfucoxantine (unpublished data) north of the canyon's head. It is our goal to test this hypothesis in the near future by (a) studying multicore and surficial sediments from more recent surveys, and (b) calibrating the sediment results with water column data presently in process at the Institute of Oceanography (IO).

Calcareous nannoplankton and benthic foraminiferal assemblages from the Nazare Canyon (Portuguese continental margin): Preliminary results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guerreiro, C; Oliveira, A; Rodrigues, A [Division of Marine Geology, Portuguese Hydrographic Institute (IH), Rua das Trinas 49, 1249-093 Lisboa (Portugal); Rosa, F [CIACOMAR, Algarve University, Av. 16 de Julho s/n 8700-311 Olhao (Portugal); Cachao, M; Fatela, F [Geology Center and Geology Department, FCUL, Bloco C6, 3o Piso, sala 6.3.57 Campo Grande 1749-016 Lisboa (Portugal)], E-mail: catarina.guerreiro@hidrografico.pt

2009-01-01

Submarine canyons are assumed to play an important role in oceanic/neritic circulation, marine productivity and sedimentary processes, acting as preferential conduits between the littoral and deep oceanic domain. Here we present first results of a comparative micropalaeontological study on calcareous nannoplankton and benthic foraminifera from surface sediments from the surroundings of the upper Nazare Canyon (Portuguese continental margin) and from the shelf north of the canyon. Regardless of the difficulty to distinguish taphonomical from (palaeo)ecological effects in such a complex and still poorly known marine system, the first results suggest that the canyon's hydro-sedimentary dynamic regime act as a prolongation of the shore/inner shelf hydrodynamic conditions towards west, preventing deposition and/or preservation of the smaller and fragile species of calcareous nannoplankton (e.g. E. huxleyi and G. ericsonii) and enhancing the record of the larger and more opportunistic ones (e.g. G. oceanica); and disturbing benthic foraminiferal productivity and/or diversity, or their preservation in the fossil record. Both calcareous nannoplankton and benthic foraminifera are more abundant off the canyon's domain, suggesting that its highly energetic thalweg conditions are probably filtering the fossil record in the sediment. Still, preliminary results suggest that the occurrence of persistent physical phenomena related with the canyon's morphology and proximity to the coast (e.g. solitary internal waves) may be locally promoting favourable conditions for calcareous nannoplankton, as shown by high values of nannoliths, chlorophyll a and 19' hexanoyloxyfucoxantine (unpublished data) north of the canyon's head. It is our goal to test this hypothesis in the near future by (a) studying multicore and surficial sediments from more recent surveys, and (b) calibrating the sediment results with water column data presently in process at the Institute of

Long-term surveillance plan for the Burro Canyon disposal cell, Slick Rock, Colorado

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-05-01

This long-term surveillance plan (LTSP) describes the US Department of Energy (DOE) long-term care program for the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project Burro Canyon disposal cell in San Miguel County, Colorado. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) developed regulations for the issuance of a general license for the custody and long-term care of UMTRA Project disposal sites in 10 CFR Part 40. The purpose of this general license is to ensure that the UMTRA Project disposal sites are cared for in a manner that protects the public health and safety and the environment. Before each disposal site is licensed, the NRC requires the DOE to submit a site-specific LTSP. The DOE prepared this LTSP to meet this requirement for the Burro Canyon disposal cell. The general license becomes effective when the NRC concurs with the DOE's determination that remedial action is complete at the Burro Canyon disposal cell and the NRC formally accepts this LTSP. Attachment 1 contains the concurrence letters from NRC. This LTSP describes the long-term surveillance program the DOE will implement to ensure that the Burro Canyon disposal cell performs as designed. The program is based on site inspections to identify threats to disposal cell integrity. Ground water monitoring will not be required at the Burro Canyon disposal cell because the ground water protection strategy is supplemental standards based on low yield from the uppermost aquifer

Assessment of changes at Glen Canyon Dam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherry, D.; McCoy, J.; Crandall, S.

1991-01-01

This paper describes the complexity associated with the assessment of financial impacts of proposed and actual short-term restrictions at Glen Canyon Dam. The reasons for these restrictions are discussed as well as the methods used to measure their financial impact to Western Area Power Administration

Formation of Box Canyon, Idaho, by megaflood: implications for seepage erosion on Earth and Mars.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamb, Michael P; Dietrich, William E; Aciego, Sarah M; Depaolo, Donald J; Manga, Michael

2008-05-23

Amphitheater-headed canyons have been used as diagnostic indicators of erosion by groundwater seepage, which has important implications for landscape evolution on Earth and astrobiology on Mars. Of perhaps any canyon studied, Box Canyon, Idaho, most strongly meets the proposed morphologic criteria for groundwater sapping because it is incised into a basaltic plain with no drainage network upstream, and approximately 10 cubic meters per second of seepage emanates from its vertical headwall. However, sediment transport constraints, 4He and 14C dates, plunge pools, and scoured rock indicate that a megaflood (greater than 220 cubic meters per second) carved the canyon about 45,000 years ago. These results add to a growing recognition of Quaternary catastrophic flooding in the American northwest, and may imply that similar features on Mars also formed by floods rather than seepage erosion.

33 CFR 165.1155 - Security Zone; Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, Avila Beach, California.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Nuclear Power Plant, Avila Beach, California. 165.1155 Section 165.1155 Navigation and Navigable Waters... Coast Guard District § 165.1155 Security Zone; Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, Avila Beach... surface to bottom, within a 2,000 yard radius of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant centered at position 35...

Fluid mechanical dispersion of airborne pollutants inside urban street canyons subjecting to multi-component ventilation and unstable thermal stratifications.

Science.gov (United States)

Mei, Shuo-Jun; Liu, Cheng-Wei; Liu, Di; Zhao, Fu-Yun; Wang, Han-Qing; Li, Xiao-Hong

2016-09-15

The pedestrian level pollutant transport in street canyons with multiple aspect ratios (H/W) is numerically investigated in the present work, regarding of various unstable thermal stratification scenarios and plain surrounding. Non-isothermal turbulent wind flow, temperature field and pollutant spread within and above the street canyons are solved by the realizable k-ε turbulence model along with the enhanced wall treatment. One-vortex flow regime is observed for shallow canyons with H/W=0.5, whereas multi-vortex flow regime is observed for deep canyons with H/W=2.0. Both one-vortex and multi-vortex regimes could be observed for the street canyons with H/W=1.0, where the secondary vortex could be initiated by the flow separation and intensified by unstable thermal stratification. Air exchange rate (AER) and pollutant retention time are adopted to respectively evaluate the street canyon ventilation and pollutant removal performance. A second-order polynomial functional relationship is established between AER and Richardson number (Ri). Similar functional relationship could be established between retention time and Ri, and it is only valid for canyons with one-vortex flow regime. In addition, retention time could be prolonged abruptly for canyons with multi-vortex flow regime. Very weak secondary vortex is presented at the ground level of deep canyons with mild stratification, where pollutants are highly accumulated. However, with the decrease of Ri, pollutant concentration adjacent to the ground reduces accordingly. Present research could be applied to guide the urban design and city planning for enhancing pedestrian environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Seven years of geomorphic change in the head of Monterey Canyon, CA: Steady state equilibrium or monotonic change?

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, D. P.; Kvitek, R. G.; Ross, E.; Iampietro, P.; Paull, C. K.; Sandersfeld, M.

2010-12-01

The head of Monterey submarine canyon has been surveyed with high-precision multibeam sonar at least once each year since September 2002. This poster provides a summary of changes between September 2002 and September 2008. Data were collected with a variety of Reson mulitbeam sonar heads, and logged with an ISIS data acquisition system. Vessel attitude was corrected using an Applanix POS MV equipped with an auxillary C-Nav 2050 GPS receiver. Data were processed and filtered and cleaned in Caris HIPS. Depth changes for various time spans were determined through raster subtraction of pairs of 3-m resolution bathymetric grids in ArcMap. The depth change analyses focused on the canyon floor, except where a landslide occurred on a wall, and where obvious gullying near the headwall had occurred during the time of our study. Canyon walls were generally excluded from analysis. The analysis area was 1,414,240 sq meters. The gross changes between 2002 and 2008 include net erosion of 2,300,000 m^3 +/- 800,000 m^3 of material from the canyon. The annualized rate of net sediment loss from this time frame agrees within an order of magnitude with our previously published estimates from earlier (shorter) time frames, so the erosion events seem to be moderate magnitude and frequent, rather than infrequent and catastrophic. The greatest sediment loss appears to be from lateral erosion of channel-bounding terraces rather than deepening or scouring of the existing channel axis. A single landslide event that occurred in summer 2003 had an initial slide scar (void) volume of 71,000 m^3. The scar was observed to increase annually, and had grown to approximately 96,000 m^3 by 2008. The initial slide was too small to be tsunamigenic. In contrast to the monotonic canyon axis widening, the shoreward terminus of the canyon (canyon lip) appears to be in steady state equilibrium with sediment supply entering the canyon from the littoral zone. The lip position, indicated by the clearly defined

Simulations of the impacts of building height layout on air quality in natural-ventilated rooms around street canyons.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Fang; Zhong, Ke; Chen, Yonghang; Kang, Yanming

2017-10-01

Numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the effects of building height ratio (i.e., HR, the height ratio of the upstream building to the downstream building) on the air quality in buildings beside street canyons, and both regular and staggered canyons were considered for the simulations. The results show that the building height ratio affects not only the ventilation fluxes of the rooms in the downstream building but also the pollutant concentrations around the building. The parameter, outdoor effective source intensity of a room, is then proposed to calculate the amount of vehicular pollutants that enters into building rooms. Smaller value of this parameter indicates less pollutant enters the room. The numerical results reveal that HRs from 2/7 to 7/2 are the favorable height ratios for the regular canyons, as they obtain smaller values than the other cases. While HR values of 5/7, 7/7, and 7/5 are appropriate for staggered canyons. In addition, in terms of improving indoor air quality by natural ventilation, the staggered canyons with favorable HR are better than those of the regular canyons.

Determining the flux of methane into Hudson Canyon at the edge of methane clathrate hydrate stability

Science.gov (United States)

Weinsten, A.; Navarrete, L; Ruppel, Carolyn D.; Weber, T.C.; Leonte, M.; Kellermann, M.; Arrington, E.; Valentine, D.L.; Scranton, M.L; Kessler, John D.

2016-01-01

Methane seeps were investigated in Hudson Canyon, the largest shelf-break canyon on the northern US Atlantic Margin. The seeps investigated are located at or updip of the nominal limit of methane clathrate hydrate stability. The acoustic identification of bubble streams was used to guide water column sampling in a 32 km2 region within the canyon's thalweg. By incorporating measurements of dissolved methane concentration with methane oxidation rates and current velocity into a steady-state box model, the total emission of methane to the water column in this region was estimated to be 12 kmol methane per day (range: 6 – 24 kmol methane per day). These analyses suggest this methane is largely retained inside the canyon walls below 300 m water depth, and that it is aerobically oxidized to near completion within the larger extent of Hudson Canyon. Based on estimated methane emissions and measured oxidation rates, the oxidation of this methane to dissolved CO2 is expected to have minimal influences on seawater pH. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

UV Radiation in an Urban Canyon in Southeast Queensland

Science.gov (United States)

McKinley, A. R.; Moore, M. R.; Kimlin, M. G.

2006-12-01

Ultraviolet radiation (UV) has the possibility to both harm and to benefit human beings when unprotected exposure occurs. After receiving small amounts of UV our bodies begin to synthesise vitamin D, which is essential for maintaining healthy bones, however excessive UV exposure can result in a variety of damaging outcomes ranging from sunburn to skin cancer and cataracts. For this reason it is very important to understand the different environments in which people encounter UV so as to better prepare the public to make smart and healthy sun exposure decisions. Each day more and more people are moving into large cities around the world and spending their time inside the urban canyon, however UV measurements are generally taken at scientific stations in open areas or on top of tall buildings, meaning that at times the environmental characteristics measured may not accurately represent those found at street-level in these highly urbanized areas. Urban canyons are home to both very tall buildings and tropospheric air pollution, each of which reduces the amount of UV reaching street-level. This study measured the varying difference between UV measurements taken at street-level and at a standard UV monitoring site on top of a building outside of the urban canyon. Investigation was conducted in the central business district (CBD) of Brisbane, Australia, which models the CBDs of large cities around the world in that it boasts a great number of tall buildings, including many skyscrapers. Data was collected under clear sky conditions at five different street-level sites in the CBD (on either side of two streets running perpendicular to one another (four sites) and in a public square) and then compared to that obtained on the same day at the Queensland University of Technology's Australian Sun and Health Research Laboratory (ASHRL), which is located 2.5 kilometres outside Brisbane's CBD. Minimum erythemal dose (MED) data was collected at each location and it was found that

Effects of trees on the dilution of vehicle exhaust emissions in urban street canyons

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gromke, C.B.; Ruck, B.

2009-01-01

In order to investigate the natural ventilation and air quality of urban street canyons with trees, boundary layer wind tunnel studies at a small-scale model have been performed. Concentrations in street canyons with a tracer gas emitting line source at the ground level and one row of trees arranged

Kakskümmend üheksa / Juhapekka Tukiainen

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Tukiainen, Juhapekka

2013-01-01

TMi test: 29tollised maastikurattad, hinnaklass 1500 eurot. Bianchi Jab 29.2; Canyon Grand Canyon 8.9 AL 29; Corratec Superbow Team 29; Cube LTD SL 29; Felt Nine 30; Kona Kahuna DL; KTM Ultra Race 29; Merida Big Nine TFS XT Edition

A numerical study of air pollutant dispersion with bimolecular chemical reactions in an urban street canyon using large-eddy simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Kikumoto, Hideki; Ooka, Ryozo

2012-07-01

A large-eddy simulation is performed on a turbulent dispersion of chemically reactive air pollutants in a two-dimensional urban street canyon with an aspect ratio of 1.0. Nitrogen monoxide emitted from a line-source set on the bottom of the street canyon disperses and reacts with Ozone included in a free stream. The reactions have significant influences on the concentrations of pollutants in the canyon space, and they increase the concentrations of the reaction products relative to of the concentrations of the reactants. The transport of air pollutants through a free shear layer above the canyon is closely related to the structure of the turbulence. Gases in the canyon are mainly exhausted when low-speed regions appear above the canyon. In contrast, pollutants in the free stream flow into the canyon with high-speed fluid bodies. Consequently, the correlation between the time fluctuations of the reactants' concentrations strongly affects the reaction rates in the region near the free shear layer. In this calculation, the correlation term reaches to a value of 20% of the mean reaction rate at a maximum there.

Numerical modeling of flow and pollutant dispersion in street canyons with tree planting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balczo, Marton [Budapest Univ. of Technology and Economics (Hungary). Theodore von Karman Wind Tunnel Lab.; Gromke, Christof; Ruck, Bodo [Karlsruhe Univ. (Germany). Lab. of Building- and Environmental Aerodynamics

2009-04-15

Numerical simulations of the impact of tree planting on airflow and traffic pollutant dispersion in urban street canyons have been performed using the commercial CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) code MISKAM. A {kappa}-{epsilon} turbulence model including additional terms for the treatment of vegetation, has been employed to close the Reynolds-averaged-Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. The numerical results were compared to wind tunnel data. In the case of the investigated wind direction perpendicular to the street axis, the presence of trees lead to increased pollutant concentrations inside the canyon. Concentrations increased strongly on the upstream side of the canyon, while on the downstream side a small concentration decrease could be observed. Lower flow velocities and higher pollutant concentrations were found in the numerical simulations when directly compared to the experimental results. However, the impact of tree planting on airflow and concentration fields when compared to the treeless street canyon as a reference configuration were simulated quite well, meaning that relative changes were similar in the wind tunnel investigations and numerical computations. This feature qualifies MISKAM for use as a tool for assessing the impacts of vegetation on local air quality. (orig.)

75 FR 26788 - Public Land Order No. 7742; Withdrawal of Public Land for the Manning Canyon Tailings Repository; UT

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-12

... 79765] Public Land Order No. 7742; Withdrawal of Public Land for the Manning Canyon Tailings Repository... period of 5 years to protect the integrity of the Manning Canyon Tailings Repository and surrounding... withdrawal is to protect public health and safety and the Federal investment in the Manning Canyon Tailings...

Characterizing local traffic contributions to particulate air pollution in street canyons using mobile monitoring techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Zwack, Leonard M.; Paciorek, Christopher J.; Spengler, John D.; Levy, Jonathan I.

2011-05-01

Traffic within urban street canyons can contribute significantly to ambient concentrations of particulate air pollution. In these settings, it is challenging to separate within-canyon source contributions from urban and regional background concentrations given the highly variable and complex emissions and dispersion characteristics. In this study, we used continuous mobile monitoring of traffic-related particulate air pollutants to assess the contribution to concentrations, above background, of traffic in the street canyons of midtown Manhattan. Concentrations of both ultrafine particles (UFP) and fine particles (PM 2.5) were measured at street level using portable instruments. Statistical modeling techniques accounting for autocorrelation were used to investigate the presence of spatial heterogeneity of pollutant concentrations as well as to quantify the contribution of within-canyon traffic sources. Measurements were also made within Central Park, to examine the impact of offsets from major roadways in this urban environment. On average, an approximate 11% increase in concentrations of UFP and 8% increase in concentrations of PM 2.5 over urban background was estimated during high-traffic periods in street canyons as opposed to low traffic periods. Estimates were 8% and 5%, respectively, after accounting for temporal autocorrelation. Within Central Park, concentrations were 40% higher than background (5% after accounting for temporal autocorrelation) within the first 100 m from the nearest roadway for UFP, with a smaller but statistically significant increase for PM 2.5. Our findings demonstrate the viability of a mobile monitoring protocol coupled with spatiotemporal modeling techniques in characterizing local source contributions in a setting with street canyons.

A simple model for calculating air pollution within street canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Venegas, Laura E.; Mazzeo, Nicolás A.; Dezzutti, Mariana C.

2014-04-01

This paper introduces the Semi-Empirical Urban Street (SEUS) model. SEUS is a simple mathematical model based on the scaling of air pollution concentration inside street canyons employing the emission rate, the width of the canyon, the dispersive velocity scale and the background concentration. Dispersive velocity scale depends on turbulent motions related to wind and traffic. The parameterisations of these turbulent motions include two dimensionless empirical parameters. Functional forms of these parameters have been obtained from full scale data measured in street canyons at four European cities. The sensitivity of SEUS model is studied analytically. Results show that relative errors in the evaluation of the two dimensionless empirical parameters have less influence on model uncertainties than uncertainties in other input variables. The model estimates NO2 concentrations using a simple photochemistry scheme. SEUS is applied to estimate NOx and NO2 hourly concentrations in an irregular and busy street canyon in the city of Buenos Aires. The statistical evaluation of results shows that there is a good agreement between estimated and observed hourly concentrations (e.g. fractional bias are -10.3% for NOx and +7.8% for NO2). The agreement between the estimated and observed values has also been analysed in terms of its dependence on wind speed and direction. The model shows a better performance for wind speeds >2 m s-1 than for lower wind speeds and for leeward situations than for others. No significant discrepancies have been found between the results of the proposed model and that of a widely used operational dispersion model (OSPM), both using the same input information.

Flood-inundation maps for Lake Champlain in Vermont and in northern Clinton County, New York

Science.gov (United States)

Flynn, Robert H.; Hayes, Laura

2016-06-30

Digital flood-inundation maps for an approximately100-mile length of Lake Champlain in Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle Counties in Vermont and northern Clinton County in New York were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the International Joint Commission (IJC). The flood-inundationmaps, which can be accessed through the International Joint Commission (IJC) Web site at http://www.ijc.org/en_/, depict estimates of the areal extent flooding correspondingto selected water levels (stages) at the USGS lake gage on the Richelieu River (Lake Champlain) at Rouses Point, N.Y. (station number 04295000). In this study, wind and seiche effects (standing oscillating wave with a long wavelength) were not taken into account and the flood-inundation mapsreflect 11 stages (elevations) for Lake Champlain that are static for the study length of the lake. Near-real-time stages at this lake gage, and others on Lake Champlain, may be obtained on the Internet from the USGS National Water Information System at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ or the National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service at http:/water.weather.gov/ahps/, which also forecasts flood hydrographs at the Richelieu River (Lake Champlain) at Rouses Point.Static flood boundary extents were determined for LakeChamplain in Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle Counties in Vermont and northern Clinton County in New York using recently acquired (2013–2014) lidar (light detection and ranging) and may be referenced to any of the five USGS lake gages on Lake Champlain. Of these five lakgages, USGS lake gage 04295000, Richelieu River (Lake Champlain) at Rouses Point, N.Y., is the only USGS lake gage that is also a National Weather Service prediction location. Flood boundary extents for the Lake Champlain static flood-inundation map corresponding to the May 201 flood(103.2 feet [ft], National Geodetic Vertical Datum [NGVD] 29) were evaluated by comparing these boundary

Radiochemical quality of water in the shallow aquifer in Mortandad Canyon, 1967-1978

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purtymun, W.D.; Hansen, W.R.; Peters, R.J.

1983-03-01

Mortandad Canyon receives treated industrial liquid effluents that contain trace amounts of radionuclides. The effluents, other waste water, and storm runoff recharge a shallow aquifer in the alluvium of the canyon. The aquifer lies within the Los Alamos National Laboratory boundaries. Analyses for gross alpha, gross beta, 137 Cs, 238 Pu, 239 Pu, 241 Am, 90 Sr, 3 H, and total U have been made of water in the aquifer from 1967 through 1978. Average concentrations of the radionuclides in solution decrease downgradient in the canyon with the exception of 3 H. Average 3 H concentrations were highest in the Middle Canyon. Inventories of most radionuclides in the water indicate that in 1978 less than 1% of the total amount released with the effluents in the canyon from 1963 through 1978 remained in solution. The amount of total U in solution in 1978 was about 16% of the total amount released. If there is no significant change in the amounts of radionuclides received at the treatment plant and methods of treatment remain the same, the projected estimates of radionuclide concentrations in the aquifer will increase about 80% from 1978 to 1990. The average concentrations in 1978 and projected concentrations in 1990 of gross alpha, 137 Cs, 238 Pu, 239 Pu, 241 Am, 90 Sr, 3 H, and total U are less than 1% of the Department of Energy's concentration guides (CG) for areas with controlled public access. Gross beta radioactivity in 1978 was 2% of the CG and is projected to increase to 3% of the CG by 1990

Mortandad Canyon: Elemental concentrations in vegetation, streambank soils, and stream sediments - 1979

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferenbaugh, R.W.; Gladney, E.S.

1997-06-01

In 1979, stream sediments, streambank soils, and streambank vegetation were sampled at 100 m intervals downstream of the outfall of the TA-50 radioactive liquid waste treatment facility in Mortandad Canyon. Sampling was discontinued at a distance of 3260 m at the location of the sediment traps in the canyon. The purpose of the sampling was to investigate the effect of the residual contaminants in the waste treatment facility effluent on elemental concentrations in various environmental media

Morphotectonic evolution of Maviboğaz canyon and Suğla polje, SW central Anatolia, Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Doğan, Uğur; Koçyiğit, Ali

2018-04-01

This study focuses on the morphotectonic evolutionary history of two significant geomorphic features, Suğla structural-border polje and Maviboğaz canyon, located within the Suğla-Seydişehir, Akören-Kavakköy, and Bozkır grabens in the central Taurides. Data were obtained by detailed field mapping of faults, rocks, and geomorphic features. Three phases of tectonic deformation were determined. The three erosional surfaces developed, especially in the form of tectonically controlled steps, during Oligocene-early Miocene, middle Miocene, and late Miocene-early Pliocene, sequentially. Southwest- to northeast-trending karstified hanging paleovalleys are present on the high erosional surfaces, which have been attributed to the end of early Miocene and late Miocene. Faulting-induced tectonic movements enabled the formation of Suğla-Seydişehir paleograben in early Miocene. We suggest that the Maviboğaz canyon was formed by captures at the beginning of late Miocene and late Pliocene and by incision in Late Pliocene-Quaternary, depending on the headward erosion of Çarşamba River. Starting from the beginning of Quaternary, a tensional neotectonic regime became prominent and then a series of modern graben-horst structures formed along the reactivated older grabens. One of these is the Suğla-Seydişehir reactivated graben. Suğla structural-border polje developed within the graben. Total visible tectonic subsidence of the polje is 134 m. Underground capture of surface water occurred on the southern slopes of the graben. Waters of Suğla polje are transported intermittently into Konya basin on the surface and into the Mediterranean basin via natural swallow holes. Beach deposits, water marks, cliffs, and notches marking the late Pleistocene lake level (10 m) and two perched corrosion surfaces ( 50 and 22 m) were detected around the polje.

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1994-01-01

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

76 FR 14745 - Notice To Rescind a Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, Ada and Canyon...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-17

... To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, Ada and Canyon Counties, ID AGENCY: Federal Highway... prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed highway project in Ada and Canyon County, Idaho... Highway 44 from Exit 25 at Interstate 84 in Canyon County to Ballantyne Lane in Ada County. The project is...

Effects of Building‒roof Cooling on Flow and Distribution of Reactive Pollutants in street canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Park, S. J.; Choi, W.; Kim, J.; Jeong, J. H.

2016-12-01

The effects of building‒roof cooling on flow and dispersion of reactive pollutants were investigated in the framework of flow dynamics and chemistry using a coupled CFD‒chemistry model. For this, flow characteristics were analyzed first in street canyons in the presence of building‒roof cooling. A portal vortex was generated in street canyon, producing dominant reverse and outward flows near the ground in all the cases. The building‒roof cooling increased horizontal wind speeds at the building roof and strengthened the downward motion near the downwind building in the street canyon, resultantly intensifying street canyon vortex strength. The flow affected the distribution of primary and secondary pollutants. Concentrations of primary pollutants such as NOx, VOC and CO was high near the upwind building because the reverse flows were dominant at street level, making this area the downwind region of emission sources. Concentration of secondary pollutant such as O3 was lower than the background near the ground, where NOX concentrations were high. Building‒roof cooling decreased the concentration of primary pollutants in contrasted to those under non‒cooling conditions. In contrast, building‒roof cooling increased O3 by reducing NO concentrations in urban street canyon compared to concentrations under non‒cooling conditions.

LIMNOLOGY, LAKE BASINS, LAKE WATERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petre GÂŞTESCU

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Limnology is a border discipline between geography, hydrology and biology, and is also closely connected with other sciences, from it borrows research methods. Physical limnology (the geography of lakes, studies lake biotopes, and biological limnology (the biology of lakes, studies lake biocoenoses. The father of limnology is the Swiss scientist F.A. Forel, the author of a three-volume entitled Le Leman: monographie limnologique (1892-1904, which focuses on the geology physics, chemistry and biology of lakes. He was also author of the first textbook of limnology, Handbuch der Seenkunde: allgemeine Limnologie,(1901. Since both the lake biotope and its biohydrocoenosis make up a single whole, the lake and lakes, respectively, represent the most typical systems in nature. They could be called limnosystems (lacustrine ecosystems, a microcosm in itself, as the American biologist St.A. Forbes put it (1887.

Direct sampling during multiple sediment density flows reveals dynamic sediment transport and depositional environment in Monterey submarine canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Maier, K. L.; Gales, J. A.; Paull, C. K.; Gwiazda, R.; Rosenberger, K. J.; McGann, M.; Lundsten, E. M.; Anderson, K.; Talling, P.; Xu, J.; Parsons, D. R.; Barry, J.; Simmons, S.; Clare, M. A.; Carvajal, C.; Wolfson-Schwehr, M.; Sumner, E.; Cartigny, M.

2017-12-01

Sediment density flows were directly sampled with a coupled sediment trap-ADCP-instrument mooring array to evaluate the character and frequency of turbidity current events through Monterey Canyon, offshore California. This novel experiment aimed to provide links between globally significant sediment density flow processes and their resulting deposits. Eight to ten Anderson sediment traps were repeatedly deployed at 10 to 300 meters above the seafloor on six moorings anchored at 290 to 1850 meters water depth in the Monterey Canyon axial channel during 6-month deployments (October 2015 - April 2017). Anderson sediment traps include a funnel and intervalometer (discs released at set time intervals) above a meter-long tube, which preserves fine-scale stratigraphy and chronology. Photographs, multi-sensor logs, CT scans, and grain size analyses reveal layers from multiple sediment density flow events that carried sediment ranging from fine sand to granules. More sediment accumulation from sediment density flows, and from between flows, occurred in the upper canyon ( 300 - 800 m water depth) compared to the lower canyon ( 1300 - 1850 m water depth). Sediment accumulated in the traps during sediment density flows is sandy and becomes finer down-canyon. In the lower canyon where sediment directly sampled from density flows are clearly distinguished within the trap tubes, sands have sharp basal contacts, normal grading, and muddy tops that exhibit late-stage pulses. In at least two of the sediment density flows, the simultaneous low velocity and high backscatter measured by the ADCPs suggest that the trap only captured the collapsing end of a sediment density flow event. In the upper canyon, accumulation between sediment density flow events is twice as fast compared to the lower canyon; it is characterized by sub-cm-scale layers in muddy sediment that appear to have accumulated with daily to sub-daily frequency, likely related to known internal tidal dynamics also measured

77 FR 9698 - Notice of Continuation of Visitor Services

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-17

... National Parks. AMIS002-89 Lake Amistad Resort Amistad National and Marina, LLC. Recreation Area. AMIS003-87 Rough Canyon Amistad National Marina, LLC. Recreation Area. CACH001-84 White Dove, Inc., Canyon de...

Eskers and bedrock gorges (tunnel valleys in the Pakasaivo area, western Finnish Lapland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Johansson

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Studies of the deglaciation of the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet, including the behavior of the ice sheet and meltwater activity, were conducted in the vicinity of the Pakasaivo canyon lake, located in western Finnish Lapland. Pakasaivo itself, a circular basin up to 100 m deep, was formed in the broken bedrock by glacial erosion and meltwater streams. It was originally related to a former subglacial meltwater system, including the deep Keinokursu gorge. Both this gorge and the Pakasaivo canyon lake were formed subglacially duringan early stage of deglaciation. It was characterized by intense meltwater erosion, which in Pakasaivo also seems to have generated a strong whirl. Steep-crested esker ridges were subsequently deposited; subaerial meltwater activity then followed. Finally the meltwaterwas discharged from the ice-dammed lake north of the area and passed through the Pakasaivo canyon to the ice-free areas. This caused additional intense erosion of the canyon floor and walls, and the deep circular basin is highly similar to a plunge pool formed at the base of a cataract.

Safety analysis, 200 Area, Savannah River Plant H-Canyon operations. Supplement 5

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beary, M M; Collier, C D; Fairobent, L A; Graham, R F; Mason, C L; McDuffee, W T; Owen, T L; Walker, D H [Science Applications International Corp., San Diego, CA (United States)

1986-02-01

The H-Canyon facility is located in the 200 Separations Area and uses the HM process to separate uranium, neptunium, plutonium, and fission products. Irradiated uranium fuels containing {sup 235}U at enrichments from 1.1% to 94% are processed and recovered, along with neptunium and plutonium isotopes. This Safety Analysis Report (SAR) documents an analysis of the H-Canyon operations and is an update to a section of a previous SAR. This SAR documents an analysis of the H-Canyon and is one of a series of documents for the Separations Area as specified in the Savannah River Implementation Plans. A substantial amount of the information supporting the Conclusions of this SAR is found in the Systems Analysis. Some H-Canyon equipment has been updated during the time between the Systems Analysis and this SAR and a complete description of this equipment is included in this report. The primary purpose of the analysis was to demonstrate that the H-Carbon can be operated without due risk to onsite or offsite populations and to the environment. In this report, risk is defined an the expected frequency of an accident, multiplied by the resulting radiological consequence in person-rem. The units of risk for radiological does are person-rem/year. Maximum individual exposure values have also been calculated and reported.

Operational Readiness Review Final Report For F-Canyon Restart. Phase 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McFarlane, A.F.; Spangler, J.B.

1995-04-05

An independent WSRC Operational Readiness Review was performed for the restart of Phase 1 processing in F-Canyon, Building 221-F. Readiness to restart the Second Plutonium Cycle process and solvent recovery was assessed. The ORR was conducted by an ORR board of ten members with the support of a subject matter expert. The chairman and four members were drawn from the Operational Safety Evaluation Department, ESH& QA Division; additional members were drawn from other WSRC divisions, independent of the F-Canyon operating division (NMPD). Based on the results of the readiness verification assessments performed according to the ORR plan and the validation of pre-restart corrective actions, the WSRC independent ORR Board has concluded that the facility has achieved the state of readiness committed to in the Restart Plan. Also, based on the scope of the ORR, it is the opinion of the board that F-Canyon Phase 1 processes can be restarted without undue risk to the safety of the public and onsite workers and without undue risk to the environment.

Operational Readiness Review Final Report For F-Canyon Restart. Phase 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McFarlane, A.F.; Spangler, J.B.

1995-01-01

An independent WSRC Operational Readiness Review was performed for the restart of Phase 1 processing in F-Canyon, Building 221-F. Readiness to restart the Second Plutonium Cycle process and solvent recovery was assessed. The ORR was conducted by an ORR board of ten members with the support of a subject matter expert. The chairman and four members were drawn from the Operational Safety Evaluation Department, ESH ampersand QA Division; additional members were drawn from other WSRC divisions, independent of the F-Canyon operating division (NMPD). Based on the results of the readiness verification assessments performed according to the ORR plan and the validation of pre-restart corrective actions, the WSRC independent ORR Board has concluded that the facility has achieved the state of readiness committed to in the Restart Plan. Also, based on the scope of the ORR, it is the opinion of the board that F-Canyon Phase 1 processes can be restarted without undue risk to the safety of the public and onsite workers and without undue risk to the environment

Assessment of multiple sources of anthropogenic and natural chemical inputs to a morphologically complex basin, Lake Mead, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Rosen, Michael R.; Van Metre, P.C.

2010-01-01

Lakes with complex morphologies and with different geologic and land-use characteristics in their sub-watersheds could have large differences in natural and anthropogenic chemical inputs to sub-basins in the lake. Lake Mead in southern Nevada and northern Arizona, USA, is one such lake. To assess variations in chemical histories from 1935 to 1998 for major sub-basins of Lake Mead, four sediment cores were taken from three different parts of the reservoir (two from Las Vegas Bay and one from the Overton Arm and Virgin Basin) and analyzed for major and trace elements, radionuclides, and organic compounds. As expected, anthropogenic contaminant inputs are greatest to Las Vegas Bay reflecting inputs from the Las Vegas urban area, although concentrations are low compared to sediment quality guidelines and to other USA lakes. One exception to this pattern was higher Hg in the Virgin Basin core. The Virgin Basin core is located in the main body of the lake (Colorado River channel) and is influenced by the hydrology of the Colorado River, which changed greatly with completion of Glen Canyon Dam upstream in 1963. Major and trace elements in the core show pronounced shifts in the early 1960s and, in many cases, gradually return to concentrations more typical of pre-1960s by the 1980s and 1990s, after the filling of Lake Powell. The Overton Arm is the sub-basin least effected by anthropogenic contaminant inputs but has a complex 137Cs profile with a series of large peaks and valleys over the middle of the core, possibly reflecting fallout from nuclear tests in the 1950s at the Nevada Test Site. The 137Cs profile suggests a much greater sedimentation rate during testing which we hypothesize results from greatly increased dust fall on the lake and Virgin and Muddy River watersheds. The severe drought in the southwestern USA during the 1950s might also have played a role in variations in sedimentation rate in all of the cores. ?? 2009.

A Numerical Study on Characteristics of Flow and Reactive Pollutant Dispersion in Step‒up Street Canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, E. R.; Kim, J.

2014-12-01

For decades, many metro‒ and/or mega‒cities have grown and densities of population and building have increased. Because pollutants released from sources near ground surface such as vehicles are not easy to escape from street canyons which are spaces between buildings standing along streets pedestrians, drivers and residents are likely to be exposed to high concentrations of hazardous pollutants. Therefore, it is important to understand characteristics of flow and pollutant dispersion in street canyons. In this study, step‒up street canyons with higher downwind buildings are considered for understanding flow and reactive pollutants' dispersion characteristics there as a basic step to understand the characteristics in wider urban areas. This study used a CFD model coupled to a chemistry module. Detailed flow and air pollutant concentration are analyzed in step‒up street canyons with different upwind building heights.

An Evaluation of Mesoscale Model Predictions of Down-Valley and Canyon Flows and Their Consequences Using Doppler Lidar Measurements During VTMX 2000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fast, Jerome D.; Darby, Lisa S.

2004-01-01

A mesoscale model, a Lagrangian particle dispersion model, and extensive Doppler lidar wind measurements during the VTMX 2000 field campaign were used to examine converging flows over the Salt Lake Valley and their effect on vertical mixing of tracers at night and during the morning transition period. The simulated wind components were transformed into radial velocities to make a direct comparison with about 1.3 million Doppler lidar data points and critically evaluate, using correlation coefficients, the spatial variations in the simulated wind fields aloft. The mesoscale model captured reasonably well the general features of the observed circulations including the daytime up-valley flow, the nighttime slope, canyon, and down-valley flows, and the convergence of the flows over the valley. When there were errors in the simulated wind fields, they were usually associated with the timing, structure, or strength of specific flows. Simulated outflows from canyons along the Wasatch Mountains propagated over the valley and converged with the down-valley flow, but the advance and retreat of these simulated flows was often out of phase with the lidar measurements. While the flow reversal during the evening transition period produced rising motions over much of the valley atmosphere in the absence of significant ambient winds, average vertical velocities became close to zero as the down-valley flow developed. Still, vertical velocities between 5 and 15 cm s-1 occurred where down-slope, canyon and down-valley flows converged and vertical velocities greater than 50 cm s-1 were produced by hydraulic jumps at the base of the canyons. The presence of strong ambient winds resulted in smaller average rising motions during the evening transition period and larger average vertical velocities after that. A fraction of the tracer released at the surface was transported up to the height of the surrounding mountains; however, higher concentrations were produced aloft for evening s

Distribution of cold-water corals in the Whittard Canyon, NE Atlantic Ocean

OpenAIRE

Morris, Kirsty J.; Tyler, Paul A.; Masson, Doug G.; Huvenne, Veerle A.I.; Rogers, Alex D.

2013-01-01

The deep-sea floor occupies about 60% of the surface of the planet and is covered mainly by fine sediments. Most studies of deep-sea benthic fauna therefore have concentrated on soft sediments with little sampling of hard substrata, such as rocky outcrops in submarine canyons. Here we assess the distribution and abundance of cold-water corals within the Whittard Canyon (NE Atlantic) using video footage from the ROV Isis. Abundances per 100 m of video transect were calculated and mapped using ...

Habitat Mapping Cruise - Hudson Canyon (HB0904, EK60)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Objectives are to: 1) perform multibeam mapping of transitional and deepwater habitats in Hudson Canyon (off New Jersey) with the National Institute of Undersea...

Canyon Creek: A late Pleistocene vertebrate locality in interior Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Florence R.; Hamilton, Thomas D.; Hopkins, David M.; Repenning, Charles A.; Haas, Herbert

1981-09-01

The Canyon Creek vertebrate-fossil locality is an extensive road cut near Fairbanks that exposes sediments that range in age from early Wisconsin to late Holocene. Tanana River gravel at the base of the section evidently formed during the Delta Glaciation of the north-central Alaska Range. Younger layers and lenses of fluvial sand are interbedded with arkosic gravel from Canyon Creek that contains tephra as well as fossil bones of an interstadial fauna about 40,000 years old. Solifluction deposits containing ventifacts, wedge casts, and rodent burrows formed during a subsequent period of periglacial activity that took place during the maximum phase of Donnelly Glaciation about 25,000-17,000 years ago. Overlying sheets of eolian sand are separated by a 9500-year-old paleosol that may correlate with a phase of early Holocene spruce expansion through central Alaska. The Pleistocene fauna from Canyon Creek consists of rodents (indicated by burrows), Mammuthus primigenius (woolly mammoth), Equus lambei (Yukon wild ass), Camelops hesternus (western camel), Bison sp. cf. B. crassicornis (large-horned bison), Ovis sp. cf. O. dalli (mountain sheep), Canis sp. cf. C. lupus (wolf), Lepus sp. cf. L. othus or L. arcticus (tundra hare), and Rangifer sp. (caribou). This assemblage suggests an open landscape in which trees and tall shrubs were either absent or confined to sheltered and moist sites. Camelops evidently was present in eastern Beringia during the middle Wisconsin interstadial interval but may have disappeared during the following glacial episode. The stratigraphic section at Canyon Creek appears to demonstrate that the Delta Glaciation of the north-central Alaska Range is at least in part of early Wisconsin age and was separated from the succeeding Donnelly Glaciation by an interstadial rather than interglacial episode.

Heavy mineral sorting in downwards injected Palaeocene sandstone, Siri Canyon, Danish North Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kazerouni, Afsoon Moatari; Friis, Henrik; Svendsen, Johan Byskov

2011-01-01

Post-depositional remobilization and injection of sand are often seen in deep-water clastic systems and has been recently recognised as a significant modifier of deep-water sandstone geometry. Large-scale injectite complexes have been interpreted from borehole data in the Palaeocene Siri Canyon...... of depositional structures in deep-water sandstones, the distinction between "in situ" and injected or remobilised sandstones is often ambiguous. Large scale heavy mineral sorting (in 10 m thick units) is observed in several reservoir units in the Siri Canyon and has been interpreted to represent the depositional...... sorting. In this study we describe an example of effective shear-zone sorting of heavy minerals in a thin downward injected sandstone dyke which was encountered in one of the cores in the Cecilie Field, Siri Canyon. Differences in sorting pattern of heavy minerals are suggested as a tool for petrographic...

Capability to Recover Plutonium-238 in H-Canyon/HB-Line - 13248

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuller, Kenneth S. Jr.; Smith, Robert H. Jr.; Goergen, Charles R. [Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC, Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC 29802 (United States)

2013-07-01

Plutonium-238 is used in Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) to generate electrical power and in Radioisotope Heater Units (RHUs) to produce heat for electronics and environmental control for deep space missions. The domestic supply of Pu-238 consists of scrap material from previous mission production or material purchased from Russia. Currently, the United States has no significant production scale operational capability to produce and separate new Pu-238 from irradiated neptunium-237 targets. The Department of Energy - Nuclear Energy is currently evaluating and developing plans to reconstitute the United States capability to produce Pu-238 from irradiated Np-237 targets. The Savannah River Site had previously produced and/or processed all the Pu-238 utilized in Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) for deep space missions up to and including the majority of the plutonium for the Cassini Mission. The previous full production cycle capabilities included: Np- 237 target fabrication, target irradiation, target dissolution and Np-237 and Pu-238 separation and purification, conversion of Np-237 and Pu-238 to oxide, scrap recovery, and Pu-238 encapsulation. The capability and equipment still exist and could be revitalized or put back into service to recover and purify Pu-238/Np-237 or broken General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) pellets utilizing existing process equipment in HB-Line Scrap Recovery, and H-Canyon Frame Waste Recovery processes. The conversion of Np-237 and Pu-238 to oxide can be performed in the existing HB-Line Phase-2 and Phase- 3 Processes. Dissolution of irradiated Np-237 target material, and separation and purification of Np-237 and Pu-238 product streams would be possible at production rates of ∼2 kg/month of Pu-238 if the existing H-Canyon Frames Process spare equipment were re-installed. Previously, the primary H-Canyon Frames equipment was removed to be replaced: however, the replacement project was stopped. The spare equipment

Archaeological Test and Data Recovery Program at Telegraph Canyon, Chula Vista, California,

Science.gov (United States)

1978-09-01

Several areas in the immediate vicinity were known to contain subsurface cables used to control SDG &E’s power network, and required avoidance. Addi...3 oEST FACE A TRENCH 4 Corps of Engineers Telegraph Canyon Creek WESTEC Servjces. Inr . compass bearing 20 7 ;7777,77 .77 7 1 METERS 170 c{ METERS...666 1.00 ~ 0 1.33 E -2.*00 -2.33 2.66 3.00 FUREf TRENCH 4 Corps of EngineersgTelegraph Canyon Creek; compass bearing 20 28 ’Lb..--._ .. *.* o •- -. o

Spatial distribution assessment of particulate matter in an urban street canyon using biomagnetic leaf monitoring of tree crown deposited particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hofman, Jelle; Stokkaer, Ines; Snauwaert, Lies; Samson, Roeland

2013-01-01

Recently, biomagnetic monitoring of tree leaves has proven to be a good estimator for ambient particulate concentration. This paper investigates the usefulness of biomagnetic leaf monitoring of crown deposited particles to assess the spatial PM distribution inside individual tree crowns and an urban street canyon in Ghent (Belgium). Results demonstrate that biomagnetic monitoring can be used to assess spatial PM variations, even within single tree crowns. SIRM values decrease exponentially with height and azimuthal effects are obtained for wind exposed sides of the street canyon. Edge and canyon trees seem to be exposed differently. As far as we know, this study is the first to present biomagnetic monitoring results of different trees within a single street canyon. The results not only give valuable insights into the spatial distribution of particulate matter inside tree crowns and a street canyon, but also offer a great potential as validation tool for air quality modelling. Highlights: ► Spatial distribution of tree crown deposited PM was evaluated. ► SIRM values decrease exponentially with height. ► Azimuthal effects were observed at wind exposed sides of the street canyon. ► Edge and canyon trees seem to be exposed differently. ► Biomagnetic monitoring offers a great potential as validation of air quality models. -- Biomagnetic leaf monitoring provides useful insights into the spatial distribution of particulates inside individual tree crowns and an urban street canyon in Ghent (Belgium)

A new model for turbidity current behavior based on integration of flow monitoring and precision coring in a submarine canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Symons, William O.; Sumner, Esther J.; Paull, Charles K.; Cartigny, Matthieu J.B.; Xu, Jingping; Maier, Katherine L.; Lorenson, Thomas; Talling, Peter J.

2017-01-01

Submarine turbidity currents create some of the largest sediment accumulations on Earth, yet there are few direct measurements of these flows. Instead, most of our understanding of turbidity currents results from analyzing their deposits in the sedimentary record. However, the lack of direct flow measurements means that there is considerable debate regarding how to interpret flow properties from ancient deposits. This novel study combines detailed flow monitoring with unusually precisely located cores at different heights, and multiple locations, within the Monterey submarine canyon, offshore California, USA. Dating demonstrates that the cores include the time interval that flows were monitored in the canyon, albeit individual layers cannot be tied to specific flows. There is good correlation between grain sizes collected by traps within the flow and grain sizes measured in cores from similar heights on the canyon walls. Synthesis of flow and deposit data suggests that turbidity currents sourced from the upper reaches of Monterey Canyon comprise three flow phases. Initially, a thin (38–50 m) powerful flow in the upper canyon can transport, tilt, and break the most proximal moorings and deposit chaotic sands and gravel on the canyon floor. The initially thin flow front then thickens and deposits interbedded sands and silty muds on the canyon walls as much as 62 m above the canyon floor. Finally, the flow thickens along its length, thus lofting silty mud and depositing it at greater altitudes than the previous deposits and in excess of 70 m altitude.

Direct Measurements of the Evolution and Impact of Sediment Density Flows as they Pass Through Monterey Submarine Canyon, Offshore California

Science.gov (United States)

Paull, C. K.; Talling, P.; Maier, K. L.; Parsons, D. R.; Xu, J.; Caress, D. W.; Gwiazda, R.; Lundsten, E. M.; Anderson, K.; Barry, J.; Chaffey, M. R.; O'Reilly, T. C.; Rosenberger, K. J.; Gales, J. A.; McGann, M.; McCann, M. P.; Simmons, S.; Sumner, E.

2017-12-01

Sediment density flows flushing through submarine canyons carry globally significant amounts of material into the deep sea to form many of the largest sediment accumulations on Earth. Despite their global significance, these flows remain poorly understood because they have rarely been directly measured. Here we provide an initial overview of the recently completed Coordinated Canyon Experiment (CCE), which was undertaken specifically to provide detailed measurements of sediment density flows and their impact on seafloor morphology and sedimentology. No previous study has deployed as extensive an array of monitoring sensors along a turbidity current pathway. During the 18 months of the CCE, at least 15 sediment density flows were recorded within the axis of Monterey Canyon. Because no external triggers (i.e., earthquakes or floods) correlate with these flows, they must have originated as failures in the canyon floor or canyon flanks. Three flows ignited and ran out for > 50 km from water depths of 1,860 m, reaching velocities up to 8.1 m/s. The rest of the flows died out within the array. During these events, large objects on or in the canyon floor were displaced substantial distances downslope, including a 7.1 km downslope movement of an entire mooring; a 4.6 km displacement of an 860 kg instrument frame followed by repeated down canyon displacements of this same frame after it was entombed in sediment; and multiple depth changes of man-made boulders containing acceleration and pressure sensors. During this same time interval the canyon floor was mapped six times with autonomous underwater vehicles covering the canyon thalweg at the upper and lower end of the instrument array (200-540 and 1350-1880 m water depths). The repeated mapping surveys reveal that flows caused +3 to -3 m bathymetric changes within a continuous clearly defined 200 m wide swath running along the canyon axis in 540 m water depth. This study shows that sediment density flows caused massive

Sediment transport processes at the head of Halibut Canyon, Eastern Canada margin: An interplay between internal tides and dense shelf water cascading.

Science.gov (United States)

Puig, Pere; Greenan, Blair J. W.; Li, Michael Z.; Prescott, Robert H.; Piper, David J. W.

2013-04-01

To investigate the processes by which sediment is transported through a submarine canyon incised in a glaciated margin, the bottom boundary layer quadrapod RALPH was deployed at 276-m depth in the West Halibut Canyon (off Newfoundland) during winter 2008-2009. Two main sediment transport processes were identified throughout the deployment. Firstly, periodic increases of near-bottom suspended-sediment concentrations (SSC) were recorded associated with the up-canyon propagation of the semidiurnal internal tidal bore along the canyon axis, carrying fine sediment particles resuspended from deeper canyon regions. The recorded SSC peaks, lasting less than one hour, were observed sporadically and were linked to bottom intensified up-canyon flows concomitant with sharp drops in temperature. Secondly, sediment transport was also observed during events of intensified down-canyon current velocities that occurred during periods of sustained heat loss from surface waters, but were not associated with large storms. High-resolution velocity profiles throughout the water column during these events revealed that the highest current speeds (~1 m s-1) were centered several meters above the sea floor and corresponded to the region of maximum velocities of a gravity flow. Such flows had associated low SSC and cold water temperatures and have been interpreted as dense shelf water cascading events channelized along the canyon axis. Sediment transport during these events was largely restricted to bedload and saltation, producing winnowing of sands and fine sediments around larger gravel particles. Analysis of historical hydrographic data suggests that the origin of such gravity flows is not related to the formation of coastal dense waters advected towards the canyon head. Rather, the dense shelf waters appear to be generated around the outer shelf, where convection during winter is able to reach the sea floor and generate a pool of near-bottom dense water that cascades into the canyon

Multibeam bathymetric survey of the Ipala Submarine Canyon, Jalisco, Mexico (20°N): The southern boundary of the Banderas Forearc Block?

Science.gov (United States)

Urías Espinosa, J.; Bandy, W. L.; Mortera Gutiérrez, C. A.; Núñez Cornú, Fco. J.; Mitchell, N. C.

2016-03-01

The Middle America Trench bends sharply northward at 20°N. This, along with the close proximity of the Rivera-North America Euler pole to the northern end of this trench, sharply increases the obliquity of subduction at 20°N. By analogy with other subduction zones with similar sharply changing obliquity, significant trench parallel extension is expected to exist in the forearc region near the bend. To evaluate this possibility, multibeam bathymetric, seafloor backscatter and sub-bottom seismic reflection data were collected in this area during the MORTIC08 campaign of the B.O. El Puma. These data image in detail a large submarine canyon (the Ipala Canyon) extending from the coast at 20°05‧N to the Middle America Trench at 19°50‧N. This canyon is 114 km long and is fed by sediments originating from two, possibly three, small rivers: the Ipala, Tecolotlán and Maria Garza. This canyon deeply incises (up to 600 m) the entire continental slope and at least the outer part of the shelf. Within the canyon, we observe meanders and narrow channels produced by turbidity flows indicating that the canyon is active. In the marginal areas of the canyon slumps, rills, and uplifts suggest that mass movements and fluid flow have had a major impact on the seafloor morphology. The seafloor bathymetry, backscatter images and sub-bottom reflection profiles evidence the tectonic processes occurring in this area. Of particular interest, the canyon is deflected by almost 90° at three locations, the deflections all having a similar azimuth of between 125° and 130°. Given the prominence and geometry of this canyon, along with its tectonic setting, we propose that the presence of the canyon is related to extension produced by the sharp change in the plate convergence. If so, the canyon may lie along the southeast boundary of a major forearc block (the Banderas Forearc Block).

An acute case of intoxication with cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in recreational water in Salto Grande Dam, Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

Giannuzzi, Leda; Sedan, Daniela; Echenique, Ricardo; Andrinolo, Dario

2011-01-01

Cyanobacterial blooms and hepatotoxic microcystins (MCs) usually occur in summer, constituting a sanitary and environmental problem in Salto Grande Dam, Argentina. Water sports and recreational activities take place in summer in this lake. We reported an acute case of cyanobacterial poisoning in Salto Grande dam, Argentina, which occurred in January 2007. Accidentally, a young man was immersed in an intense bloom of Microcystis spp. A level of 48.6 μg·L(-1) of microcystin-LR was detected in water samples. Four hours after exposure, the patient showed nausea, abdominal pain and fever. Three days later, dyspnea and respiratory distress were reported. The patient was hospitalized in intensive care and diagnosed with an atypical pneumonia. Finally, a week after the exposure, the patient developed a hepatotoxicosis with a significant increase of hepatic damage biomarkers (ALT, AST and γGT). Complete recovery took place within 20 days. This is the first study to show an acute intoxication with microcystin-producing cyanobacteria blooms in recreational water.

75 FR 18201 - Juniper Canyon Wind Power, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-09

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. ER10-975-000] Juniper Canyon Wind Power, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket... of Juniper Canyon Wind Power, LLC's application for market-based rate authority, with an accompanying...

New York Canyon Stimulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raemy, Bernard

2012-06-21

The New York Canyon Stimulation Project was to demonstrate the commercial application of Enhanced Geothermal System techniques in Buena Vista Valley area of Pershing County, Nevada. From October 2009 to early 2012, TGP Development Company aggressively implemented Phase I of Pre-Stimulation and Site/Wellbore readiness. This included: geological studies; water studies and analyses and procurement of initial permits for drilling. Oversubscription of water rights and lack of water needed for implementation of EGS were identified and remained primary obstacles. Despite extended efforts to find alternative solutions, the water supply circumstances could not be overcome and led TGP to determine a "No Go" decision and initiate project termination in April 2012.

Large eddy simulation of reactive pollutants in a deep urban street canyon: Coupling dynamics with O3-NOx-VOC chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Jian; Cai, Xiao-Ming; Bloss, William James

2017-05-01

A large eddy simulation (LES) model coupled with O 3 -NO x -VOC chemistry is implemented to simulate the coupled effects of emissions, mixing and chemical pre-processing within an idealised deep (aspect ratio = 2) urban street canyon under a weak wind condition. Reactive pollutants exhibit significant spatial variations in the presence of two vertically aligned unsteady vortices formed in the canyon. Comparison of the LES results from two chemical schemes (simple NO x -O 3 chemistry and a more comprehensive Reduced Chemical Scheme (RCS) chemical mechanism) shows that the concentrations of NO 2 and O x inside the street canyon are enhanced by approximately 30-40% via OH/HO 2 chemistry. NO, NO x , O 3 , OH and HO 2 are chemically consumed, while NO 2 and O x (total oxidant) are chemically produced within the canyon environment. Within-canyon pre-processing increases oxidant fluxes from the canyon to the overlying boundary layer, and this effect is greater for deeper street canyons (as found in many traditional European urban centres) than shallower (lower aspect ratio) streets. There is clear evidence of distinct behaviours for emitted chemical species and entrained chemical species, and positive (or negative) values of intensities of segregations are found between pairs of species with similar (or opposite) behaviour. The simplified two-box model underestimated NO and O 3 levels, but overestimated NO 2 levels for both the lower and upper canyon compared with the more realistic LES-chemistry model. This suggests that the segregation effect due to incomplete mixing reduces the chemical conversion rate of NO to NO 2 . This study reveals the impacts of nonlinear O 3 -NO x -VOC photochemical processes in the incomplete mixing environment and provides a better understanding of the pre-processing of emissions within canyons, prior to their release to the urban boundary layer, through the coupling of street canyon dynamics and chemistry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Erosion during extreme flood events dominates Holocene canyon evolution in northeast Iceland.

Science.gov (United States)

Baynes, Edwin R C; Attal, Mikaël; Niedermann, Samuel; Kirstein, Linda A; Dugmore, Andrew J; Naylor, Mark

2015-02-24

Extreme flood events have the potential to cause catastrophic landscape change in short periods of time (10(0) to 10(3) h). However, their impacts are rarely considered in studies of long-term landscape evolution (>10(3) y), because the mechanisms of erosion during such floods are poorly constrained. Here we use topographic analysis and cosmogenic (3)He surface exposure dating of fluvially sculpted surfaces to determine the impact of extreme flood events within the Jökulsárgljúfur canyon (northeast Iceland) and to constrain the mechanisms of bedrock erosion during these events. Surface exposure ages allow identification of three periods of intense canyon cutting about 9 ka ago, 5 ka ago, and 2 ka ago during which multiple large knickpoints retreated large distances (>2 km). During these events, a threshold flow depth was exceeded, leading to the toppling and transportation of basalt lava columns. Despite continuing and comparatively large-scale (500 m(3)/s) discharge of sediment-rich glacial meltwater, there is no evidence for a transition to an abrasion-dominated erosion regime since the last erosive event because the vertical knickpoints have not diffused over time. We provide a model for the evolution of the Jökulsárgljúfur canyon through the reconstruction of the river profile and canyon morphology at different stages over the last 9 ka and highlight the dominant role played by extreme flood events in the shaping of this landscape during the Holocene.

Hudson Canyon benthic habitats characterization and mapping by integrated analysis of multidisciplinary data

Science.gov (United States)

Pierdomenico, Martina; Guida, Vincent G.; Rona, Peter A.; Macelloni, Leonardo; Scranton, Mary I.; Asper, Vernon; Diercks, Arne

2013-04-01

Hudson Canyon, about 180 km SE of New York City, is the largest eastern U.S. submarine canyon and is under consideration for HAPC (Habitat Area of Particular Concern) status, representing a fisheries and biodiversity hot spot. Interest in the area, within the perspective of ecosystem based management, marine spatial planning, habitat and species conservation, led to a joint project between NOAA Northeast Fisheries, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Mississippi Mineral Research Institute (MMRI), National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology (NIUST), Stony Brook and Rutgers Universities for the study of benthic habitats, that includes the assembly of existing data with newly collected ones: acoustic mapping, visual ground-truthing, hydrographic, sedimentological, and trawl data collections. Acoustic mapping, performed using AUV-mounted multibeam sonar, provided ultra-high resolution bathymetric and backscatter imagery (3m and 1m respectively) at all water depths for identification of geomorphological features and for the characterization of surficial sediments along the two thirds of the shelf portion of the canyon. Identification of benthic and demersal communities was accomplished by visual ground thruthing with underwater vehicle video and still cameras, and from trawl catch data. A CTD-rosette sampler provided water column salinity-temperature profiles and water samples for dissolved methane analysis in the vicinity of suspected bottom sources. Analysis of data revealed a complex of topographic structures and hydrological patterns that provide a wide range of physical habitats in a relatively small area. A mosaic of sandy and muddy substrates, gravel beds, rock outcrops, and semilithified clay outcrops host rich and varied faunal assemblages, including deepwater corals and sponge communities. Pockmark fields, occurring below 300 m depth, suggest that methane-based chemosynthetic carbonate deposition contributes to creation of specific hard bottom habitats

Study on the wind field and pollutant dispersion in street canyons using a stable numerical method.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Ji-Yang; Leung, Dennis Y C

2005-01-01

A stable finite element method for the time dependent Navier-Stokes equations was used for studying the wind flow and pollutant dispersion within street canyons. A three-step fractional method was used to solve the velocity field and the pressure field separately from the governing equations. The Streamline Upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) method was used to get stable numerical results. Numerical oscillation was minimized and satisfactory results can be obtained for flows at high Reynolds numbers. Simulating the flow over a square cylinder within a wide range of Reynolds numbers validates the wind field model. The Strouhal numbers obtained from the numerical simulation had a good agreement with those obtained from experiment. The wind field model developed in the present study is applied to simulate more complex flow phenomena in street canyons with two different building configurations. The results indicated that the flow at rooftop of buildings might not be assumed parallel to the ground as some numerical modelers did. A counter-clockwise rotating vortex may be found in street canyons with an inflow from the left to right. In addition, increasing building height can increase velocity fluctuations in the street canyon under certain circumstances, which facilitate pollutant dispersion. At high Reynolds numbers, the flow regimes in street canyons do not change with inflow velocity.