Life Sciences Commons^™

Our Energy Future, Fall/Winter 2007, Issue 15

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Using Remotely-Sensed Fuel Connectivity Patterns As A Tool For Fire Danger Monitoring, Gabriele Caccamo, Laurie A. Chisholm, Ross A. Bradstock, Marjetta L. Puotinen

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Spatial connectivity of areas of dry fuels is considered a significant influence on the incidence of large fires. Precipitation patterns can dynamically affect fuel connectivity through controls on the distribution of dry fuels. Spatio-temporal monitoring of precipitation-driven variations in dry fuel connectivity patterns could therefore offer the potential to monitor fire danger. In this paper we present an innovative graph theoretic-based approach to monitor fire danger using remotely sensed patterns of dry fuel connectivity. We analysed the temporal evolution of dry fuel connectivity in south-eastern Australia during recent fire seasons. The analysis showed that rapid changes in the connectivity of …

Climate Change, Fuel And Fire Behaviour In A Eucalypt Forest, Stuart Matthews, Andrew L. Sullivan, Penny Watson, Richard J. Williams

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

A suite of models was used to examine the links between climate, fuels and fire behaviour in dry eucalypt forests in south-eastern Australia. Predictions from a downscaled climate model were used to drive models of fuel amount, the moisture content of fuels and two models of forest fire behaviour at a location in western Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. We found that a warming and drying climate produced lower fine fuel amounts, but greater availability of this fuel to burn due to lower moisture contents. Changing fuel load had only a small effect on fuel moisture. A warmer, drier …

A Comparison Of Bushfire Fuel Hazard Assessors And Assessment Methods In Dry Sclerophyll Forest Near Sydney, Australia, Penny J. Watson, Sandra H. Penman, Ross A. Bradstock

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Over the last decade, fire managers in Australia have embraced the concept of ‘fuel hazard’, and guides for its assessment have been produced. The reliability of these new metrics, however, remains to be determined. This study compared fuel hazard ratings generated by five assessment teams using two Australian hazard assessment methods, in two dry sclerophyll forest sites on Sydney’s urban fringe. Attributes that underpin hazard scores, such as cover and height of various fuel layers, were also assessed. We found significant differences between teams on most variables, including hazard scores. These differences were more apparent when fuel hazard assessments focussed …

Towards Space Based Verification Of Co2 Emissions From Strong Localized Sources: Fossil Fuel Power Plant Emissions As Seen By A Carbonsat Constellation, Voltaire A. Velazco, M Buchwitz, H Bovensmann, M Reuter, O Schneising, J P. Heymann, T Krings, K Gerilowski, John P. Burrows

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

Biomass Energy At Colby College, Rachel E. Baron

Honors Theses

In light of growing concern regarding the effects of global climate change, Colby College signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in 2008. Through this pledge, Colby has committed to reducing carbon emissions in its Climate Action Plan (IPCC 2007; CCAP 2010). The College seeks to be carbon neutral by 2015 (CCAP 2010). This will be accomplished through a variety of mechanisms, one of which includes the construction of a biomass facility to replace most of the oil currently used for heating (CCAP 2010).

Anthropogenic global climate change has been documented by many scientists, but was widely …

Slides: Chapter 7 Of The Commission Report, David L. Bernhardt

The Past, Present, and Future of Our Public Lands: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Public Land Law Review Commission’s Report, One Third of the Nation’s Land (Martz Summer Conference, June 2-4)

Presenter: David L. Bernhardt, Partner, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (Washington, DC) and former Solicitor for U.S. Department of the Interior

14 slides

The Effect Of Fuel Age On The Spread Of Fire In Sclerophyll Forest In The Sydney Region Of Australia., Ross A. Bradstock, Owen F. Price

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

We investigated the effect of fuel age on the truncation of spread of unplanned fires using a set of 1473 patches in the Sydney region of Australia. Twenty-two percent of patches derived from prescribed fire experienced a subsequent unplanned fire within 5 years, compared with 42% of patches derived from unplanned fires. Among those encounters, the subsequent unplanned fire stopped at the leading edge of 18% of prescribed patches and 11% of unplanned patches. In comparison, the subsequent fire stopped somewhere in the patch for 44% of both prescribed and unplanned fires. Overall, there was a 10% chance that a …

Carbon Nanotube Architectures As Catalyst Supports For Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Weimin Zhang, Peter Sherrell, Andrew I. Minett, Joselito M. Razal, Jun Chen

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Catalyst support materials exhibit great influence on the performance and durability of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. This minireview article summarises recent developments into carbon nanotube-based support materials for PEM fuel cells, including the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The advantages of using CNTs to promote catalyst performance and stability, a perspective on research directions and strategies to improve fuel cell performance and durability are discussed. It is hoped that this mini-review will act as a conduit for future developments in catalyst supports and MEA design for PEM fuel cells.

Laboratory Measurements Of Trace Gas Emissions From Biomass Burning Of Fuel Types From The Southeastern And Southwestern United States, I R. Burling, R J. Yokelson, David W. Griffith, T J. Johnson, P Veres, J.M. Roberts, Carsten Warneke, S P. Urbanski, J Reardon, D R. Weise, W M Hao, Joost A. De Gouw

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Vegetation commonly managed by prescribed burning was collected from five southeastern and southwestern US military bases and burned under controlled conditions at the US Forest Service Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana. The smoke emissions were measured with a large suite of state-of-the-art instrumentation including an open-path Fourier transform infrared (OP-FTIR) spectrometer for measurement of gas-phase species. The OP-FTIR detected and quantified 19 gas-phase species in these fires: CO2, CO, CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C3H6, HCHO, HCOOH, CH3OH, CH3COOH, furan, H2O, NO, NO2, HONO, NH3, HCN, HCl, and SO2. Emission factors for these species are presented for each vegetation type burned. …

Relative Importance Of Fuel Management, Ignition Management And Weather For Area Burned: Evidence From Five Landscape-Fire-Succession Models, Geoffrey J. Cary, Mike D. Flannigan, Robert E. Keane, Ross A. Bradstock, Ian D. Davies, James M. Lenihan, Chao Li, Kimberley A. Logan, Russell A. Parsons

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The behaviour of five landscape fire models (CAFE, FIRESCAPE, LAMOS(HS), LANDSUM and SEM-LAND) was compared in a standardised modelling experiment. The importance of fuel management approach, fuel management effort, ignition management effort and weather in determining variation in area burned and number of edge pixels burned (a measure of potential impact on assets adjacent to fire-prone landscapes) was quantified for a standardised modelling landscape. Importance was measured as the proportion of variation in area or edge pixels burned explained by each factor and all interactions among them. Weather and ignition management were consistently more important for explaining variation in area …

Slides: Threats To Biological Diversity: Global, Continental, Local, J. Michael Scott

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: J. Michael Scott, U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Idaho

38 slides

Slides: Energy Production And The West's Wild Places, Amy Mall

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Natural Resources Defense Council

28 slides

Bleeding Air From Diesel Fuel Lines & Filters, Von Jarrett

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Drain That Antifreeze, Von Jarrett

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Is There Slime In Your Fuel, Von Jarrett

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Oil Consideration To Lengthen Engine Life, Von Jarrett

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.