Physics Commons^™

Logistic Curves, Extraction Costs And Peak Oil, Robert Brecha

Robert J. Brecha

Debates about the possibility of a near-term maximum in world oil production have become increasingly prominent over the past decade, with the focus often being on the quantification of geologically available and technologically recoverable amounts of oil in the ground. Economically, the important parameter is not a physical limit to resources in the ground, but whether market price signals and costs of extraction will indicate the efficiency of extracting conventional or nonconventional resources as opposed to making substitutions over time for other fuels and technologies. We present a hybrid approach to the peak-oil question with two models in which the …

Approaching A Universal Scaling Relationship Between Fracture Stiffness And Fluid Flow, David Nolte, Laura Pyrak-Nolte

David D Nolte

South Australian Historical Earthquakes In The Pre-Instrumental Period 1837-1963: A Comprehensive Chronicle And Analysis Of Available Intensity Data, Katherine Dix

Dr Katherine Dix

Reverse Logic - Safety Of Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal, Antti Lempinen, Marianne Silvan-Lempinen

Antti Lempinen

No abstract provided.

Source Attribution Of Ozone In Southeast Texas Before And After The Deepwater Horizon Accident Using Satellite, Sonde, Surface Monitor, And Air Mass Trajectory Data, Gary A. Morris, Barry Lefer, Bernhard Rappenglueck, Christine Haman, Marc Taylor, Mark R. Schoeberl

Gary A. Morris

Since the summer of 2004, over 300 ozonesondes have been launched from Rice University (29.7 N, 95.4 W) or the University of Houston (29.7 N, 95.3 W), each < 5 km from downtown Houston. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality maintains a large database of hourly surface ozone observations in Southeast Texas. In this study, we identify the contributions to surface ozone pollution levels from natural and anthropogenic sources, both local and remote in nature. This source identification is performed two ways: 1) through an analysis of sonde data, including ozone concentrations, wind speed and direction, and relative humidity data, and 2) through an analysis that combines trajectory calculations with surface monitor data. We also examine regional changes in Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) measurements of formaldehyde and ozone from 2004 – 2010. In particular, we compare the 2010 sonde, surface monitor, and satellite data after the Deepwater Horizon accident with data from previous years to determine the impact, if any, of the large source of hydrocarbons in the Gulf of Mexico on air quality in Southeast Texas.

Digital Elevation Accuracy And Grid Cell Size: Effects On Computed Topographic Attributes, Rob H. Erskine, Timothy R. Green

Timothy R. Green

Terrain attributes are commonly used to explain the spatial variability of agronomic, pedologic, and hydrologic variables. The terrain attributes studied here (elevation, slope, aspect, and curvature) are estimated readily from digital elevation models (DEMs), but questions remain about how the accuracy and sample spacing of the elevation data affect the estimated attributes. The main objective of this study was to quantify differences in each terrain attribute due to factors affecting DEM accuracy and grid cell size. Three data sources were compared: (i) real-time kinematic global positioning system (RTKGPS); (ii) satellite-differentially corrected global positioning system (DGPS); and (iii) U.S. Geological Survey …

Trajectory Mapping: A Tool For Validation Of Trace Gas Observations, Gary A. Morris, James F. Gleason, Jerald Ziemke, Mark R. Schoeberl

Gary A. Morris

We investigate the effectiveness of trajectory mapping(TM) as a data validation tool. TM combines a dynamical model of the atmosphere with trace gas observations to provide more statistically robust estimates of instrument performance over much broader geographic areas than traditional techniques are able to provide. We present four detailed case studies selected so that the traditional techniques are expected to work well. In each case the TM results are equivalent to or improve upon the measurement comparisons performed with traditional approaches. The TM results are statistically more robust than those achieved using traditional approaches since the TM comparisons occur over …

Implications Of Atmospheric Test Fallout Data For Nuclear Winter, George H. Baker

George H Baker

Atmospheric test fallout data have been used to determine admissible dust particle size distributions for nuclear winter and nuclear fallout studies. The research was originally motivated by extreme differences noted in the magnitude and longevity of dust effects predicted by particle size distributions routinely used in fallout predictions versus those used for nuclear winter studies. Three different sets of historical data have been analyzed:

1. Stratospheric burden of Strontium-90 and Tungsten-185, 1954-1967 (97 contributing events) 2. Continental U.S Strontium-90 fallout through 1958 (75 contributing events) 3. Local Fallout from selected Nevada tests (16 events)

The contribution of dust to possible …