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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Approaches To Mitigating Decayed Buried Timber Within Railway Embankments, Barry A. Palynchuk Phd Sep 2007

Approaches To Mitigating Decayed Buried Timber Within Railway Embankments, Barry A. Palynchuk Phd

Barry A. Palynchuk PhD

During the last three years, several sinkholes have been observed along CPR railway lines in Southern Ontario. The sinkholes have formed as a result of the decay of buried timber trestles in railway embankments. Although it has not occurred the sinkholes could result in hazardous changes in track geometry under load. This study summarizes the site investigation results and remedial methods implemented at five sites in southern Ontario. Remedial methods include placement geosynthetic reinforcement, soil-cement column reinforcement and grouting of voids at the trestle bents. The design, installation methods and construction constraints for the remedial options are described in this …


Preliminary Model Tests For The Design Of A Gliding Deep Water Elevator, Christopher Roman, T. Gregory, E. Martin, A. Sanguinetti, J. Drummond Aug 2007

Preliminary Model Tests For The Design Of A Gliding Deep Water Elevator, Christopher Roman, T. Gregory, E. Martin, A. Sanguinetti, J. Drummond

Christopher N. Roman

This paper presents progress on the design of a "smart elevator" to be used in conjunction with deep sea ROV operations. Deep sea elevators are gravity driven untethered platforms used to deliver and or return items from the sea floor. Elevators are used when items are too large or heavy to be handled by the ROV, or when the turn around time to recover and redeploy the ROV system for sample removal is prohibitive. Unfortunately, efficiency is complicated by the precision with which elevators can be landed at a specific location on the bottom and recovered on the surface because …


Design Of A Gas Tight Water Sampler For Auv Operations, Christopher Roman, R. Camilli May 2007

Design Of A Gas Tight Water Sampler For Auv Operations, Christopher Roman, R. Camilli

Christopher N. Roman

This paper presents the design and preliminary test results for a small gas tight water sampler intended to work on scientific AUVs. In recent years AUVs have developed into reliable platforms capable of carrying a wide variety of environmental sensors for in-situ chemical measurements. Physical sample collection however remains difficult, due to the combination of space, power and complexity constraints inherent in working with autonomous platforms. The AUV sampler is a small (12 cm times 85 cm) cylindrical package designed to collect eight 20 ml gas tight volumes of water, with each sample maintained at high pressure to depths of …


Dialogue Television: The Climate Engineers, James Fleming Apr 2007

Dialogue Television: The Climate Engineers, James Fleming

James R. Fleming

The problem of global warming is getting massive public attention. This comes forty years after the first major government report outlining the problem. But there is considerable disagreement over what steps should be taken to mitigate the problem and some scientist fear that politicians are not displaying sufficient urgency. James Fleming describes the technological quick fixes proposed by some scientists and the problems they might create.


Guest Perspective: Energy Efficiency And Conservation: The Most Cost-Effective Approach To Climate Change, John Dernbach Feb 2007

Guest Perspective: Energy Efficiency And Conservation: The Most Cost-Effective Approach To Climate Change, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.


The Climate Engineers: Playing God To Save The Planet, James Fleming Dec 2006

The Climate Engineers: Playing God To Save The Planet, James Fleming

James R. Fleming

As alarm over global warming spreads, a radical idea is gaining momentum. Forget cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions, some scientists argue. Find a technological fix. Bounce sunlight back into space by pumping reflective nanoparticles into the atmosphere. Launch mirrors into orbit around the earth. Create a “planetary thermostat.” But what sounds like science fiction is actually an old story. For more than a century, scientists, soldiers, and charlatans have hatched schemes to manipulate the weather and climate. Like them, today’s aspiring climate engineers wildly exaggerate what is possible, and they scarcely consider political, military, and ethical implications of attempting to manage …


U.S. Policy, John Dernbach Dec 2006

U.S. Policy, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.


Stabilizing And Then Reducing U.S. Energy Consumption: Legal And Policy Tools For Efficiency And Conservation, John Dernbach Dec 2006

Stabilizing And Then Reducing U.S. Energy Consumption: Legal And Policy Tools For Efficiency And Conservation, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

Rising global demand for energy, high energy prices, climate change, and the threat of terrorism all point to the need for greater energy efficiency and conservation in the United States. While technological innovation is plainly needed, our laws and institutional arrangements must also play an important role. The United States has scores of legal and policy tools from which to choose to improve energy efficiency and curb energy consumption. This article evaluates a handful of these tools: transit-oriented development; fuel taxation; real-time pricing for electricity use; public benefit funds; improved efficiency in existing residential and commercial buildings; and expanded use …


Overcoming The Behavioral Impetus For Greater U.S. Energy Consumption, John C. Dernbach Dec 2006

Overcoming The Behavioral Impetus For Greater U.S. Energy Consumption, John C. Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.