Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Evaluation Of Fluorapatite As A Waste-Form Material: First Quarter Report (2004-05), October 1 - December 31, 2004, Dennis W. Lindle, Oliver Hemmers

Separations Campaign (TRP)

Fluorapatite, fluorinated calcium phosphate, has been identified as a potential matrix for the entombment of the zirconium fluoride fission product waste stream from the proposed FLEX process. If the efficacy of fluorapatite-based waste-storage can be demonstrated, then new and potentially more-efficient options for handling and separating high-level wastes, based on fluoride-salt extraction, will become feasible. This proposal will develop a dual-path research project to develop a process to fabricate a synthetic fluorapatite waste form for the ZrF₄, FP waste stream, characterize the waste form, examine its performance under environmental conditions, and correlate the behavior of the waste form …

Development Of Integrated Process Simulation System Model For Spent Fuel Treatment Facility (Sftf) Design: Quarterly Report October 1-December 31, 2004, Yitung Chen, Sean Hsieh

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) and Transmutation Research Program- University Participation Program (TRP-UPP) supported by Department of Energy of the United States have been developing many important technologies for the transmutation of nuclear waste to address long-term disposal issues. While successfully embedding AMUSE module into a dedicated System Engineering Model (TRPSEMPro), developed by the Nevada Center for Advanced Computational Methods (NCACM) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas collaborating with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), ANL is interested in further simulating the Light Water Reactor (LWR) Spent Fuel Treatment Facility (SFTF) combining commercial process simulation and analysis packages and core …

Theoretical Modeling Of Protective Oxide Layer Growth In Non-Isothermal Lead-Alloys Coolant Systems, Yitung Chen

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

The goal of the proposed research project is to provide basic understanding of the protective oxide layer behaviors and to develop oxide layer growth models of steels in non-isothermal lead-alloys (lead or lead-bismuth eutectic) coolant systems. It is widely recognized that the corrosiveness of the lead-alloys is a critical obstacle and challenge for which it can be safely used or applied in the nuclear coolant systems. Active oxygen control technique can promote the formation of the “self-healing” oxide films on the structural material surface, drastically reducing steel corrosion and coolant contamination. Many experiments of steels exposed to flowing lead-alloys have …

Cooperative Conservation - Interagency Volunteer Program Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending December 31, 2004, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

Collaboration with Interagency Team

During the third quarter, the interagency volunteer team and university representatives have held several meetings to continue progress on the Interagency Volunteer Program (IVP). At the beginning of October, candidates for the project manager position were interviewed by the university search committee, followed by interviews with the interagency team on October 6, 2004. After two finalists were identified, reference checks were made and the university and team recommended to the federal managers that Ms. Donna Grady be hired. Ms. Grady’s first day on the job was December 1, 2004. In the interim, Nancy Flagg, Public Lands …

Transmission Of Neospora Caninum Between Wild And Domestic Animals, L.F.P. Gondim, M.M. Mcallister, N.E. Mateus-Pinilla, W.C. Pitt, L. D. Mech, M.E. Nelson

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

To determine whether deer can transmit Neospora caninum, brains of naturally infected white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were fed to 4 dogs; 2 of these dogs shed oocysts. Oocysts from 1 of the dogs were tested by polymerase chain reaction and found to be positive for N. caninum and negative for Hammondia heydorni. The internal transcribed spacer 1 sequence of the new strain (designated NC-deer1) was identical to N. caninum from domestic animals, indicating that N. caninum is transmitted between wild and domestic animals, often enough to prevent divergent evolution of isolated populations of the parasite. NC-deer1 …

Advisory Circular: Reporting Wildlife Aircraft Strikes, J.R. White

Other Bird Strike and Aviation Materials

This Advisory Circular (AC) explains the importance of reporting collisions between aircraft and wildlife, more commonly referred to as wildlife strikes. It also examines recent improvements in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Bird/Other Wildlife Strike Reporting system; how to report a wildlife strike; what happens to the wildlife strike report data; how to access the FAA National Wildlife Aircraft Strike Database; and the FAA’s Feather Identification program.

Chemical Analyses In Support Of Yucca Mountain Studies, Jeanette Daniels, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Drew Coleman, Amy J. Smiecinski, Raymond E. Keeler

Publications (YM)

The objective of this task “Chemical Analyses in Support of Yucca Mountain Studies” is to provide the Department of Energy (DOE) with data and reports from comprehensive chemical analyses of waters sampled from the wells of the Nye County Early Warning Drilling Program (NCEWDP), the Inyo County’s Drilling Program, and the Nye county Tracer Test. In addition, this task will be used to provide other laboratory support needs as they arise within the Yucca Mountain Project. This support is provided by the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies (HRC) at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), which is part of …

Technical Memorandum: Taunton River Assessment, Massachusetts Riverways Program

Reference Documents

No abstract provided.

Certalert: Deer Hazard To Aircraft And Deer Fencing

Other Bird Strike and Aviation Materials

Elevated deer populations in the United States represent an increasingly serious threat to both Commercial and General Aviation Aircraft. It is currently estimated that there over 26 million deer in the United States. Because of increasing urbanization and rapidly expanding deer populations, deer are adapting to human environments, especially around airports, where they often find food and shelter. From 1990 to 2004, over 650 deer-aircraft collisions were reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Of these reports, over 500 indicated the aircraft was damaged as a result of the collision.

In light of recent incidents where a Learjet landing at …

South Florida Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Network Quarterly Report (C-15397), Joseph N. Boyer

SERC Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Atmospheric Circulation And Cyclone Frequency Variations Linked To The Primary Modes Of Greenland Snow Accumulation, Jeffrey C. Rogers, Deborah J. Bathke, Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Sheng-Hung Wang

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Data from 34 Greenland firn cores, extending from 1982 to 1996, are used to identify spatial accumulation variability patterns and their associated atmospheric circulation and cyclone frequencies. The first principal component, representing west-central Greenland accumulation, is correlated to NAO variability, having increased southwesterly (northeasterly) flow over that area during high (low) accumulation winters. The flow is linked to a relative increase in cyclone activity on the west central region of the ice sheet during high accumulation periods. The second principal component represents accumulation over southeastern Greenland where strong westerly flow leads to high accumulation and an increase in lee cyclones …

Probabilistic Risk Assessment For Snails, Slugs, And Endangered Honeycreepers In Diphacinone Rodenticide Baited Areas On Hawaii. Usa, John J. Johnston, William C. Pitt, Robert T. Sugihara, John D. Eisemann, Thomas M. Primus, Melvin J. Holmes, Joe Crocker, Andy Hart

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Three probabilistic models were developed for characterizing the risk of mortality and subacute coagulopathy to Poouli, an endangered nontarget avian species, in broadcast diphacinone-baited areas on Hawaii, USA. For single-day exposure, the risk of Poouli mortality approaches 0. For 5-d exposure, the mean probability of mortality increased to 3% for adult and 8% for juvenile Poouli populations. For Poouli that consume snails containing diphacinone residues for 14 d, the model predicted increased levels of coagulopathy for 0.42 and 11% of adult and juvenile Poouli populations, respectively. Worst-case deterministic risk characterizations predicted acceptable levels of risk for nonthreatened or endangered species …

Damage Reduction Estimates And Benefit-Cost Ratios For Feral Swine Control From The Last Remnant Of A Basin Marsh System In Florida, Richard M. Engeman, Henry T. Smith, Robert Severson, Mary Ann Severson, John Woolard, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Bernice Constantin, Daniel Griffin

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The introduction of swine (Sus scrofa) has adversely affected the environment of many natural habitats throughout the world. Basin marshes are dwindling ecosystems in Florida that are especially vulnerable to damage by feral swine. In January 2003, the estimated amount of swine damage to the exposed portion of the last remnant of a basin marsh system in Savannas Preserve State Park (SPSP) was 19% (an area of 5 ha). Economic valuations for the swine damage were based on the monetary amounts that wetland regulators have allowed permit applicants to spend in mitigation attempts to replace lost wetland resources. …

Atrazine Runoff In The Blue River Basin: Geomorphology, Rainfall, And Agronomic Practices, Kundan Dhakal

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Atrazine concentrations in the Big Blue River Basin (BRB) in Nebraska and Kansas periodically exceed the U.S. EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 3 µg L^-1. The present study is focused on watershed variables influencing surface runoff of atrazine. The assessment includes the impact of corn and sorghum planting progress (indicating atrazine application), rainfall, antecedent soil water content, and soil restrictive layer on stream-measured weekly atrazine load in independent BRB subwatersheds for 1997 - 2004. Maximum atrazine loading occurred after most of the corn had been planted but during sorghum planting from mid-May to early June, immediately following …

Divided Culture: Integrating And Conservation Biology Agriculture, John Banks

SIAS Faculty Publications

Production agriculture, with its implied ecosystem simplification, pesticide and fertilizer use, and emphasis on yield, often appears to be at odds with conservation biology. From a farmer's perspective, the weight conservation biology places on wildlife may seem overly idealistic and naive, detached from economic and sociopolitical reality. In fact, these endeavors are two sides of the same coin, with a shared heritage in decades of population and community ecological theory and experimentation. Better integration of the two disciplines requires acknowledging their various goals and working to produce mutually beneficial outcomes. The best examples of this type of integrated approach result …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 36, No.4 December 2004

The Prairie Naturalist

ROADSIDE BIAS IN POINT COUNT SURVEYS AT ARROWWOOD NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, NORTH DAKOTA ▪ J. S. Dieni and P. Scherr

HISTORY OF GREATER SAGE-GROUSE IN THE DAKOTAS: DISTRIBUTION AND POPULATION TRENDS ▪ . J. T. Smith, L. D. Flake, K. F. Higgins, and G. D. Kobriger

PATCH USE BY A MONOPHAGOUS HERBIVORE IN FRAGMENTED PRAIRIE LANDSCAPES ▪ . M. J. St. Pierre and S. D. Hendrix

SNOWSHOE HARE OCCURRENCE AND WINTER HABITAT ON THE MISSOURI COTEAU IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ R. K. Murphy 243

HIGH ABUNDANCE OF NESTING LONG-EARED OWLS IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ R. K. Murphy, L. J. Rosenfield, …

South East Humps Focus Catchment Report, A Hollick

Resource management technical reports

This report provides a record of the activities carried out by the Lockhart Focus Support Team and the Catchment Group. It covers the results of the investigations and a summary of the group's catchment plan for the South East Humps Catchment east of Hyden in Western Australia. It covers the current best available information on soils, groundwater hydrology, surface water control, alternative crops and pastures, and revegetation options.

The Other Side Of Silence: Rachel Carson’S Views Of Animals, Marc Bekoff, Jan Nystrom

Animal Welfare Collection

The publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962 is widely regarded as one of the major events that launched the modern environmental movement. Silent Spring is a compelling blend of stories, natural history, human values, and biological facts. In this essay we consider Carson’s attitude toward animals in Silent Spring and in other texts. Despite the facts that she was raised to love Nature and animals, little direct attention has been given to Carson’s views about our moral responsibilities to, and the moral standing of animals. Carson favored responsible stewardship, was more of an animal welfarist and environmentalist/conservation biologist …

The Electrochemical Separation Of Curium And Americium: Quaterly Report August-December 2004, David W. Hatchett, Kenneth Czerwinski

Separations Campaign (TRP)

This research report outlines the current status and progress associated with the electrochemical separation of Curium and Americium. The following pages outline the progress on our project to date. We have been actively performing research on this project for three months and are currently on schedule in terms of the proposed timelines.

The initial focus of the project involved setting up the laboratories for the studies outlined in the grant proposal. The instrumentation needed included an electrochemical work station that will perform the bulk of the electrochemical studies. This instrument will complement the electrochemical instrumentation in Dr. Hatchett’s laboratory and …

Neutron Multiplicity Measurements For The Afci Program Quarterly Progress Report September-December 2004, Denis Beller

Transmutation Sciences Physics (TRP)

The U.S. Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) is a program to develop economic and environmental methods to reduce the impact of waste from commercial nuclear fuel cycles. One concept for near-complete destruction of waste isotopes from used nuclear fuel is accelerator driven transmutation. High-power accelerators would be used to produce high-energy charged particles, which then collide with heavy metal targets to create a cascade of neutrons. These neutrons then cause a nuclear chain reaction in subcritical systems. Fission neutrons then transmute fissile waste isotopes as well as other problematic isotopes such as technetium-99 and iodine-129. To design these systems, complex …

Fundamental And Applied Experimental Investigations Of Corrosion Of Steel By Lbe Under Controlled Conditions: Kinetics, Chemistry, Morphology, And Surface Preparation: Quarterly Report (October-December 2004), Allen L. Johnson, John Farley, Dale L. Perry

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

This project has four components:

(1) the fabrication of a materials test apparatus with unique capabilities,

(2) comparative studies of steel corrosion under gas phase conditions comparable to the Lead Bismuth Eutectic (LBE) oxygen control conditions,

(3) isotope labeling studies, and

(4) collaborative efforts with other workers in the field.

Dissolution, Reactor, And Environmental Behavior Of Zro2-Mgo Inert Fuel Matrix: Quarterly Report, October 2004 To December 2004, Earl Wolfram, Thomas Hartmann, Kenneth Czerwinski

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

This project will examine inert matrix fuels containing ZrO₂ and MgO as the inert matrix, with the relative amount of MgO varied from 30% to 70% in ZrO₂. Reactor physics calculations will be used to examine suitable quantities of burnable poisons from the candidate elements Gd, Er, or Hf with reactor grade Pu providing the fissile component, with up to 10% of ²³⁹Pu. Ceramics will be synthesized and characterized based on the reactor physics results. The solubility the fuel ceramics, in reactor conditions, reprocessing conditions, and repository conditions, will be investigated in a manner to provide …

Agenda: Introduction To The Legal Foundation Of Federal Land Management, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Introduction to the Legal Foundation of Federal Land Management (December 1-3)

Materials prepared for the course held at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado on December 1-3, 2004

Course instructors: Charles Wilkinson; Sarah Krakoff; Kathryn Mutz; Ann Morgan; Maggie Fox

Contents:

Introduction -- Agenda -- Summaries of laws -- Case studies. Travel management; Oil and gas development; Timber/fuels reduction -- How to influence agency decision makers -- Natural resource related legal and policy resources for the non-legal professional

Introduction To The Legal Foundation Of Federal Land Management, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Introduction to the Legal Foundation of Federal Land Management (December 1-3)

1 v. (various pagings) : ill., maps ; 28 cm

Materials prepared for the course held at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado on December 1-3, 2004

Course instructors: Charles Wilkinson; Sarah Krakoff; Kathryn Mutz; Ann Morgan; Maggie Fox

Contents:

Introduction -- Agenda -- Summaries of laws -- Case studies. Travel management; Oil and gas development; Timber/fuels reduction -- How to influence agency decision makers -- Natural resource related legal and policy resources for the non-legal professional

Chemical And Toxicological Characterization Of The Upper York River, Virginia The Mattaponi And Pamunkey Rivers, Morris H. Roberts Jr., Mark Richards, Peter F. Delisle

Reports

This study describes the most extensive effort to characterize the chemistry, toxicology and community of the sediments of the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers. This was accomplished using a study design modified to expand the number of stations occupied by reducing the cost of analyses by compositing replicate samples collected from each study site rather than performing toxicity tests on these samples individually. In previous studies, the variability in field replicate samples was equivalent to the variability in laboratory replicates. This design has long been used to analyze samples for various chemical contaminants as a cost savings endeavor. More ....

Diel Foraging Behavior Of American White Pelicans ()Pelecanus Erythrorhynchos) On Experimental Aquaculture Ponds , Scott J. Werner

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Videography and night vision equipment were used to observe the diurnal and nocturnal activities of American white pelicans (Pe1ecanus erythrorhynchos) (N= 6) foraging on three experimental (0.04 ha) channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) aquaculture ponds in March 2001. Captive pelicans spent most time foraging per hour from 1700 through 2300 h (CST). No foraging was observed from 0700 through 0800 h. Fish captures per hour were greatest from 1700 through 1900 h. On average, captive pelicans (N = 5) consumed 1.0 ± 0.2 kg of catfish per bird per day during the 10-d foraging …

Genetic Methods Improve Accuracy Of Gender Determination In Beavers, Christen Lenney Williams, Stewart W. Breck, Bruce W. Baker

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Gender identification of sexually monomorphic mammals can be difficult. We used analysis of zinc-finger protein (Zfx and Zfy) DNA regions to determine gender of 96 beavers (Castor canadensis) from 3 areas and used these results to verify gender determined in the field. Gender was correctly determined for 86 (89.6%) beavers. Incorrect assignments were not attributed to errors in any one age or sex class. Although methods that can be used in the field (such as morphological methods) can provide reasonably accurate gender assignments in beavers, the genetic method might be preferred in certain situations.

Alligators As West Nile Virus Amplifiers, Kaci Klenk, Jamie Snow, Katrina Morgan, Richard Bowen, Michael Stephens, Falacia Foster, Paul Gordy, Susan Beckett, Nicholas Komar, Duane Gubler, Michael Bunning

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Recent evidence suggests that American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) may be capable of transmitting West Nile virus (WNV) to other alligators. We experimentally exposed 24 juvenile alligators to WNV parenterally or orally. All became infected, and all but three sustained viremia titers >5.0 log₁₀ PFU/mL (a threshold considered infectious for Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes) for 1 to 8 days. Noninoculated tankmates also became infected. The viremia profiles and multiple routes of infection suggest alligators may play an important role in WNV transmission in areas with high population densities of juvenile alligators.

Weir River Estuary: Land Protection Plan, Chantal Lefebvre, Michelle Portman

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

If economic growth were the only measure of a community’s health and vitality, then the communities of Cohasset, Hingham, and Hull are fairing well. But this economic success is generally accompanied by changes in the physical landscape that can be unsettling for residents, especially when it means more development and expansion at the expense of culturally and socially important open space areas such as parks, woods, and marshes. The rapid pace and fragmented nature of such sprawling development gives communities little opportunity to come to terms with the long-term impacts, which in turn can lead to a sense of powerlessness …

Tracking The Sea-Level Signature Of The 8.2 Ka Cooling Event: New Constraints From The Mississippi Delta, Torbjörn E. Törnqvist, Scott J. Bick, Juan L. Gonzalez, Klaas Van Der Borg, Arie F. M. De Jong

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The ever increasing need for accurate predictions of global environmental change under greenhouse conditions has sparked immense interest in an abrupt, century‐scale cooling around 8200 years ago, with a focal point in the North Atlantic and with hemispheric teleconnections. Despite considerable progress in the unraveling of this striking feature, including a conceivable driving mechanism (rapid drainage of proglacial Lake Agassiz/Ojibway and a resulting reduced strength of North Atlantic thermohaline circulation), several key questions remain unanswered. One salient aspect concerns the total amount of freshwater released during this catastrophic event, likely echoed by a near‐instantaneous eustatic sea‐level rise. So far, no …