Digital Commons Network^™

Population Trends Of Wintering Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus) At The Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada, Deanna Morrell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to look at population trends of wintering bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada from 1991 to 2006. Bald eagles were counted on January 5, 2006 along the entire shoreline of Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. This study focused on two questions: (1) how has the population changed over time? (2) How has the proportion of juvenile eagles to adult eagles changed over time? Question one was supported with the number of bald eagles significantly increasing (r=0.76, p=0.002). Question two was supported as the proportion of juveniles to adults …

Presentation To National Park Service – Pacific West Region April 25, 2006, Public Lands Institute

Presentations (PLI)

The Public Lands Institute is dedicated to strengthening the national fabric that is essential for the protection, conservation, and management of public lands.

In collaboration with federal, state, and non-profit partners, we are:

• creating new knowledge
• advancing technology
• improving education
• engaging the public to become involved in conservation and stewardship.

Earth Science & Public Policy: Increasing Our Spheres Of Influence, Margaret N. Rees

Presentations (PLI)

The UNLV Public Lands Institute is dedicated to strengthening the national fabric that is essential for the protection, conservation, and management of public lands.

Unlv Magazine, Carol C. Harter, Joe Cockrell, Tony Allen, Regina Bacolas, Lori Bachand, Jennifer Lawson, Bret C. Birdsong, Steve Parker, Erin O'Donnell, Jennifer Robison

UNLV Magazine

No abstract provided.

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Shane Bevell, Carol C. Harter, Cate Weeks, Mamie Peers, Regina Vaccari

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Afci Quarterly Input – Unlv January 1 Through March 31, 2006, Harry Reid Center For Environmental Studies. Nuclear Science And Technology Division

Transmutation Research Program Reports (TRP)

Quarterly report highlighting research projects, activities and objectives of the Transmutation Research Program at the Nuclear Science & Technology Division, Harry Reid Research Center.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas supports the AFCI through research and development of technologies for economic and environmentally sound refinement of spent nuclear fuel. The UNLV program has four components: infrastructure, international collaboration, student-based research, and management and program support.

Presentation To Green Valley Rotary Club March 16, 2006, Public Lands Institute, Nancy Flagg

Presentations (PLI)

The Public Lands Institute is dedicated to strengthening the national fabric that is essential for the protection, conservation, and management of public lands.

In collaboration with federal, state, and non-profit partners, we are:

• creating new knowledge
• advancing technology
• improving education
• engaging the public to enhance public lands stewardship.

Dissolution, Reactor, And Environmental Behavior Of Zro2-Mgo Inert Fuel Matrix: Quarterly Report, January 2006 To March 2006, Kiel Steven Holliday, 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 of the fuel ceramics, in reactor conditions, reprocessing conditions, and repository conditions, will be investigated in a manner to …

Synthesis And Properties Of Metallic Technetium And Technetium - Zirconium Alloys As A Radioactive Storage Waste Form To Stabilize The Technetium Waste Stream Of The Urex+1 Process, Frederic Poineau, Thomas Hartmann, Kenneth Czerwinski

Waste Forms Campaign (TRP)

In the AFCI program the UREX+1 process is proposed as one of the most promising technique to separate TRU (transuranic elements) form LWR spent nuclear fuel in the years to come. The application of UREX+1 results in good separation of the 5f-transuranics from the 4f-lanthanides, reduced waste volumes by eliminating the uranium content, and reduced waste package costs. Technetium-99 will be separated together with uranium and iodine within the first process steps. After the separation of uranium, technetium and iodine must be immobilized by their incorporation in a suitable waste storage form. Based on recent activities within the AFCI community, …

Results Of Chemical Analyses For Alcove 8/ Niche 3 Tracer Studies, Jeanette Daniels, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

This is the final report detailing the analyses performed under ORD-FY04-011 "Chemical Analyses for Alcove 8/Niche 3 Tracer Studies," The work was performed under The University and Community College System of Nevada (UCCSN) and the Department of Energy (DOE) Cooperative Agreement DE-FC28-04RW12232, This task provided method development and analytical support for the Alcove 8/Niche 3 Tracer Studies in the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF). Concentrations of tracers as well as major anions and cations were reported for samples provided by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the US Geological Survey (USGS). Samples were analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and …

Presentation To Outside Las Vegas Foundation January 23, 2006, Public Lands Institute

Presentations (PLI)

The Public Lands Institute is dedicated to strengthening the national fabric that is essential for the protection, conservation, and management of public lands.

In collaboration with federal, state, and non-profit partners, we are:

• creating new knowledge
• advancing technology
• improving education
• engaging the public to become involved in conservation and stewardship.

Interim Report In Nevada, Children Run Better Unleaded, Nevada Institute For Children’S Research And Policy, The Southern Nevada Health District

Nevada Institute for Children's Research and Policy Reports

The purpose of the current document is to highlight the need for this program in the state of Nevada, information regarding the dangers of lead exposure, current and future directions of the program, and necessary improvements for a successful program.

Uncertainty, Climate Change And Nuclear Power, David M. Hassenzahl

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

Long time-horizon environmental risks with potential for global impacts have increased in visibility over the past several decades. Such issues as climate change, the nuclear fuel cycle, persistent synthetic chemicals, and stratospheric ozone depletion share some characteristics, including intergenerational impacts, strongly decoupled incidence of risks and benefits, substantial decision stakes and extreme uncertainty. What is not well understood are the similarities and differences among sources and implications of uncertainty among these global environmental threats, especially those associate with current and future human behavior. This describes the uncertainties associated with managing two global concerns: the nuclear (fission) fuel cycle and anthropogenic …

Cracking Of Martensitic Alloy Ep-823 Under Controlled Potential, Ajit K. Roy, M. K. Hossain

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

The susceptibility of martensitic Alloy EP-823 to stress corrosion cracking was evaluated with and without an applied cathodic potential using the slow-strain-rate (SSR) testing technique. The magnitude of the applied potential was based on the corrosion potential determined by cyclic polarization. The cracking susceptibility in an acidic environment at different temperatures was expressed in terms of the true failure stress (ơ_f), time to failure (TTF), and ductility parameters, including percent elongation (%El) and percent reduction in area (%RA). The data indicate that the magnitudes of ơ_r, TTF, %El, and %RA were reduced due to cathodic charging. …

University Of Nevada, Las Vegas Transmutation Research Program Annual Report Academic Year 2005-2006, Anthony Hechanova, Rebecca Arbour

Transmutation Research Program Reports (TRP)

It is my pleasure to present the UNLV Transmutation Research Program’s fifth annual report that highlights the academic year 2005 – 2006. Supporting this document are the many technical reports and scientific papers that have been generated over the past five years.

In the fifth year of our program, we saw amazing growth in the Radiochemistry Ph.D. program with a total of 12 students in the second year of the program (twice the number we anticipated in the program proposal). In the back of this issue, under Infrastructure Augmentation, you will find some news about the new academic programs sponsored …

Optical Spectroscopy: Quarterly Report: 01/01/06 – 03/31/06, Harry Reid Center For Environmental Studies. Nuclear Science And Technology Division

Safeguards Campaign (TRP)

Progress report for the quarter: laser system alignment finished, site visit scheduled for final spectrometer configuration; initial studies on UO2 2+/NO3 -/H+ completed; preliminary data regression in progress; preliminary work on uranyl/AHA and organic/aqueous interface systems started.

Immobilization Of Fission Iodine By Reaction With A Fullerene Containing Carbon Compound And Insoluble Natural Matrix, Spencer M. Steinberg, Gary Cerefice, David W. Emerson

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The recovery of iodine released during the processing of used nuclear fuel poses a significant challenge to the transmutation of nuclear waste. Iodine-129, a long-lived fission product formed by both commercial nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons production, is released when reprocessing nuclear fuel. Since iodine can be concentrated in the human thyroid, any uncontrolled release of iodine may result in an increased rate of thyroid cancer in the exposed population. For this reason, recovery of iodine is important for implementing any nuclear transmutation strategy.

The stability of the association of iodine with FCC and NOM products are studied. Product …

Bioaccumulation Of Mercury In The Aquatic Food Chain Of Walleye (Stizostedion Vitreum) In Lake Siskiwit, Northern Wisconsin, United States, Beth Ellen Domowicz

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Great Lakes fishery is highly utilized, despite known contamination. The Great Lakes Region has experienced elevated amounts of atmospheric deposition of mercury, with many of its water bodies having documented levels of mercury (ASTDR 1999, Dellinger 2004, Greib et al. 1990, Kleinert and Degurse 1971). The chemical characteristics of methylmercury contribute to high rates of absorption (highly lipophilic and readily crosses biological membranes) and low rates of elimination. As a result of the properties of methylmercury, 60-90% of the mercury in fish is methylmercury (O'Neill 1993). Methylmercury is taken in by fish from food sources, through the gills (Haydon …

Assessing The Effect Of Group Model Building On Stakeholder Teams Developing Urban Growth Strategies, Michael Francis Dwyer

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Government in growing cities has a difficult time responding to problems that come with growth. The combination of the complexity of the problem, fragmentation in jurisdictions and responsibilities, and regional consequences produce diverse views of exactly what the problem is, what causes it, and how it is best addressed. The organizational structure of municipal government is not conducive to collaboration. Accordingly, governments have turned increasingly to stakeholder groups to develop growth management strategies. However, these stakeholder groups are not particularly successful. They struggle to achieve consensus even when facilitated and their recommendations often go unimplemented. The question I investigate in …

Bomb-Pulse Chlorine-36 At The Proposed Yucca Mountain Repository Horizon: An Investigation Of Previous Conflicting Results And Collection Of New Data, James Cizdziel, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

Previous studies by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) found elevated ratios of chlorine-36 to total chloride (36C1/C1) in samples of rock collected from the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) and the Enhanced Characterization of the Repository Block (ECRB) at Yucca Mountain as the tunnels were excavated. The data were interpreted as an indication that fluids containing "bomb-pulse" 36C1 reached the repository horizon in the -50 years since the peak period of above-ground nuclear testing. Moreover, the data support the concept that so-called fast pathways for infiltration not only exist but are active, possibly through a combination of porous media, …

Isothermal Titration Calorimetry And Transmission Electron Microscopy Of Main-Chain Viologen Polymer Containing Bromide As Counerions, Pradip K. Bhowmik, Marcos A. Cheney, Haesook Han, Longzhou Ma

Transmission Electron Microscope

Polyelectrolytes are an important class of macromolecules that contain dissociable ionic groups. When introduced into polar solvent, usually the universal solvent water, dissociation takes place so that electrically charged macromolecule is suspended in solution. The electrostatic interaction is operative between ionized groups inside the macromolecule, between the macromolecules, between the counterions, and between the macromolecule and counterion. Since this interaction is characterized by its long-range nature, the solution exhibits various interesting properties including the polyelectrolyte behavior very different from solutions of neutral polymers.

Impact Of The Synthesis Process On Structure Properties For Afci Fuel Candidates, Thomas Hartmann

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative research on transmutation fuels includes mono-nitride ceramic fuel forms, and consists of closely coordinated “hot” actinide and “cold” inert and surrogate fuels work. Matrix and surrogate materials work involves three major components: (1) fuel matrix synthesis and fabrication, (2) fuel performance, and (3) fuel materials modeling. The synthesis and fabrication component supports basic material studies, as well as actinide fuel fabrication work through fuel fabrication process development. Fuel performance studies are examining the tolerance of nitride-type fuel to heavy irradiation damage. The fuel materials simulation work involves both atomistic and continuum scale modeling employing first principles, …

Solution-Based Synthesis Of Nitride Fuels, Kenneth Czerwinski, Thomas Hartmann

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

A wide variety of fuel concepts are considered for advanced reactor technology including metals, metal oxides or metal nitrides as solid solutions or composite materials. Nitride fuels have appropriate properties for advanced fuels including high thermal conductivity, thermal stability, solid-state solubility of actinides, fissile metal density, and suitable neutronic properties. A drawback of nitride fuels involves their synthesis. A key parameter for preparing oxide fuels is the precipitation step in the sol-gel process. For nitride fuels, the current synthetic route is carbothermic reduction from the oxide to the nitride. This process step is based on solid phase reactions and for …

Horizontal Unsaturated Flow Across A Single Fracture, Bud J Benneman

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Unsaturated flow in a silica rich rock is driven by two primary forces, gravity, which drives water downward, and capillarity, which acts in all directions. The balance between gravity and capillary forces determines fluid flow. Water in an unsaturated silica rich matrix will adhere to the silica particles and through capillary action spread out in all directions. Fractures under unsaturated conditions, will act as capillary barriers to horizontal capillary flow. This restriction is due to an interruption in the continuity of grains along which water adheres to in the rock matrix. Given adequate time and fluid pressure, water may bridge …

Mercury Concentrations In The Muscles Of The North American Bullfrogs (Rana Catesbeiana), Jarrod Connell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many studies have be done on mercury in the environment. The studies though have focused on sport fish and migratory waterfowl. North American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) has been one species neglected from studies. One study has shown that bullfrogs due accumulate significant amounts of mercury (Gerstenberger S., and Pearson R. 2002). Though, no study has been done to find out if hind limbs have more concentrations that front limbs. Also to see if there is a difference between skin-off and skin-on, to find out if skin accumulates mercury. This study found that there was no significant difference between front and …

A Study Of Environmental Justice In Relation To Air Pollution And Income, Christian A. Malveaux

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this paper is come to a conclusion on whether or not air pollution and income levels are connected. There is an ongoing pollution problem in Las Vegas. The question that will be attempted to answer in this is paper is: Is there a difference in the amount of air pollution in affluent parts of the Las Vegas Valley and the less affluent parts of the valley? Information and data regarding air pollution is gathered from the Clark County website and other literature. Information on income levels is gathered from journals and literature pertinent to the subject and …

Afci Quarterly Input – Unlv October 1 Through December 31, 2005, Harry Reid Center For Environmental Studies. Nuclear Science And Technology Division

Transmutation Research Program Reports (TRP)

Quarterly report highlighting research projects, activities and objectives of the Transmutation Research Program at the Nuclear Science & Technology Division, Harry Reid Research Center.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas supports the AFCI through research and development of technologies for economic and environmentally sound refinement of spent nuclear fuel. The UNLV program has four components: infrastructure, international collaboration, student-based research, and management and program support.

Assessing The Relationships Between The Spatial Variation In Land-Use Spatial Patterns And Surface Water Quality, Majed A. Khater

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the association between the spatial patterns of urban land uses and surface water quality parameters at the watershed outlet. The aim of the study was to understand the strength and nature of this relationship, and examine new methods of classifying and quantifying contributing urban land-uses and their spatial patterns. The hypothesis of this research was: in an urban watershed, the variation in the spatial patterns of contributing land uses will have a significant impact on the surface water quality parameters at the watershed outlet.

This relationship between urbanization and water quality is …

Inside Unlv, Suzan Dibella, Gian Galassi, Carol C. Harter, Mamie Peers, Holly Ivy De Vore, Regina Bacolas, Cate Weeks

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Premier, Dean Mann, Robyn Campbell-Ouchida, Russell Dazzio, Tony Allen, Karen Sharp

Premier: The Magazine of the UNLV Harrah Hotel College

No abstract provided.