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At least 487 records · Page 27

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-WPT Winous Point North Marsh

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-WPT Winous Point North Marsh. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-WPT Winous Point North Marsh produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - The marsh site has been owned by the Winous Point Shooting Club since 1856 and has been managed by wildlife biologists since 1946. The hydrology of the marsh is relatively isolated by the surrounding dikes and drainages and only receives drainage from nearby croplands through three connecting ditches. Since 2001, the marsh has been managed to maintain year-round inundation with the lowest water levels in September. Within the 0–250 m fetch of the tower, the marsh comprises 42.9% of floating-leaved vegetation, 52.7% of emergent vegetation, and 4.4% of dike and upland during the growing season. Dominant emergent plants include narrow-leaved cattail (Typha angustifolia), rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos), and bur reed (Sparganium americanum). Common floating-leaved species are water lily (Nymphaea odorata) and American lotus (Nelumbo lutea) with foliage usually covering the water surface from late May to early October.

Chen, Jiquan↗

gamut: A Geospatial R Package to Analyze Multisectoral Urban Teleconnections

Most cities in the United States withdraw surface water to meet public water supply needs. The lands on which this water is generated are often developed for human activities -- such as agriculture, mining, and industry -- that may compete for water resources or contaminate water supplies. Cities are thereby connected to other sectors through their water supply catchments. This connection is an example of an multisectoral urban teleconnection. The Geospatial Analytics for Multisectoral Urban Teleconnections (``gamut``) package provides national-scale information on these teleconnections by combining land use data with hydrological analysis to characterize urban source watershed human interactions across the conterminous United States.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Long-Term Monitoring & Stewardship at Los Alamos National Laboratory [Slides]

Development and implementation of the Institutional Control Evaluation Project will include: Evaluate institutional surface water controls and infrastructure installed by LANL. Implement pilot project in the Los Alamos Canyon Watershed Spring, 2020. Initial evaluations will include canyon bottom controls with plan to expand program as funding allows. This will be a building block for successful Long-Term Monitoring and Stewardship (LTM&S) Program.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

SRS Composite Analysis Monitoring Plan (FY2019 Model Validation)

Using a projected end-state date of 2065 (SRNS 2015b), the Savannah River Site (SRS) Composite Analysis (CA) modeling for each facility and waste site began on the inventory year assigned to it so that source depletion and radionuclide transport out of the system could be appropriately captured. Some SRS waste sites that have already achieved their end states (i.e. end-state inventories and end-state configuration) are currently contributing to the potential off-site public dose through source release, groundwater transport, discharge to on-site surface streams, and stream transport to the CA point of assessments (POAs). The inventory year assigned to these waste sites is 2002 or before. This means that SRS CA results from 2002 and beyond are a reasonable representation for these waste sites that have already achieved their end states and are currently contributing to the potential off-site public dose. The SRS Annual Environmental Report (AER) monitoring can differentiate and separate liquid pathway data allowing the data representing only waste sites at their end state to be produced. Because the SRS CA has projected reasonable end-state impacts from 2002 and beyond, and the AER monitoring can differentiate and separate operating and end-state contributions to annual liquid pathway release, an opportunity exists to use the AER monitoring data to validate the SRS CA model. The CA model validation program uses a graded and systematic approach for taking corrective action, starting with an SRS established administrative dose limit of 15 mrem/yr, below which no action is required. Based on the location of the 2010 SRS CA POAs, the only potential exposure pathway for the public is through surface water. The completion of the FY2019 CA model validation indicates that the SRS CA projected dose, while generally conservative, provides a reasonable representation of the maximum annual doses. These doses are well below the administrative limit; therefore, no additional action is required.

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Metabolic Constraints of Organic Matter Mineralization and Metal Cycling

Floodplains are poorly understood and dynamic components of the global carbon cycle that not are well represented in Earth system models. Further, they have a dominant influence on the cycling of important metals within critical transport conduits between surface waters and groundwater. The physical characteristics of floodplains make the hydrology and associated coupled biology and geochemistry particularly responsive to ongoing and impending changes in climate, river management, and land development

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

2018 Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program Report for Rio Blanco, Colorado, Site

This report presents the monitoring data collected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) at the Rio Blanco, Colorado, Site (Figure 1). The Rio Blanco site was the location of an underground nuclear test during which three nuclear devices were detonated nearly simultaneously in a single borehole in 1973. The test resulted in residual radionuclide contamination at the detonation depths of 5840, 6230, and 6690 feet (ft) (DOE 2015). Monitoring includes the collection of samples from groundwater wells and surface water locations near the site to assess for any potential impacts that may be attributed to the Rio Blanco nuclear test. This report summarizes the laboratory analytical results obtained from the sampling event conducted in 2018. This annual report and previous reports are available on the LM public website at https://www.lm.doe.gov/rio_blanco/Sites.aspx. Data collected during this and previous monitoring events are available on the Geospatial Environmental Mapping System (GEMS) website at https://gems.lm.doe.gov/#site=RBL.

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2019 Nevada National Security Site Environmental Report Attachment A: Site Description

This attachment expands on the general description of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) presented in the Introduction to the Nevada National Security Site Environmental Report 2019. Included are subsections that summarize the site’s geological, hydrological, climatological, and ecological settings and the cultural resources of the NNSS. The subsections are meant to aid the reader in understanding the complex physical and biological environment of the NNSS. An adequate knowledge of the site’s environment is necessary to assess the environmental impacts of new projects, design and implement environmental monitoring activities for current site operations, and assess the impacts of site operations on the public residing in the vicinity of the NNSS. The NNSS environment contributes to several key features of the site that afford protection to the inhabitants of adjacent areas from potential exposure to radioactivity or other contaminants resulting from NNSS operations. These key features include the general remote location of the NNSS, restricted access, extended wind transport times, the great depths to slow-moving groundwater, little or no surface water, and low population density. This attachment complements the annual summary of monitoring program activities and dose assessments presented in the main body of this report.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Improving Marine Biogeochemistry-Climate Feedbacks in ACME (Final Report)

Improve representation of marine biogeochemistry within E3SM to better capture climate-biogeochemistry feedbacks. This overall goal includes a number of components listed below. A key goal of this project is to better simulate the biological carbon pump, the transfer of carbon from surface waters to the ocean interior by sinking particulate organic matter (POM) and transport of dissolved organic matter (DOM). This is a primary feedback to climate as it directly modifies the air-sea CO 2 flux.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Hydrologic Evaluation of Smallmouth Bass Spawning Sites in the Upper Green River Using LiDAR

The smallmouth bass has been considered one of the most problematic invasive species in the upper Colorado River basin. As a predator of larval fish and juveniles, this nonnative species is an impediment to conservation efforts for endangered fish species of the Colorado River basin including Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius), razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus), humpback chub (Gila cypha), and bonytail chub (Gila elegans). Several measures have been recommended to control smallmouth bass populations to conserve the endangered fish species. Among these measures are efforts to control flows during the spawning season to disrupt smallmouth bass reproduction. Previous work has suggested that smallmouth bass spawning in areas of the Green River could be inhibited during higher flows from the Flaming Gorge Dam due to lack of suitable habitat. Little research has been conducted to evaluate an optimal range of flow increases (“flow spikes”) needed to disrupt smallmouth bass reproduction in the Green River. Current research proposals to evaluate the effectiveness of flow spikes on controlling smallmouth bass reproduction target post-spawning flows of 4,500 cfs, maintained for three days, to inundate side-channel spawning habitats. In this report, we present results of a topographic study of smallmouth bass spawning sites in the upper Green River to characterize flow levels needed to inundate spawning habitats. This study used remotely sensed Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data collected along the entire Green River, including channel margins and floodplain areas, to model water surface elevations and flow spikes needed to connect and inundate smallmouth bass spawning sites.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Saturated Bioenergy Buffers: Site Suitability Classification and Estimated Areas of Candidate Sites in the U.S. Midwest Under Three Scenarios

The loss of nutrients applied to tile-drained row-crop fields is a critically important component of agriculture’s impact on surface water quality, because drain tiles provide a short circuit to ditches and creeks, resulting in rapid nutrient loss. This nutrient loss ultimately advances eutrophication and hypoxia, i.e., the creation of dead zones in bodies of water, both locally and regionally (for example, in western Lake Erie and the Gulf of Mexico). Saturated buffers help address the tile-drainage water quality problem, and incorporating bioenergy crops into saturated bioenergy buffers could provide both environmental protection and an additional source of income for farmers.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Development of a Portable In Situ Phosphorous Sensor

While phosphorus is a critical nutrient for all forms of life, runoff leads to phosphorus accumulation in surface water where it can cause a variety of health, environmental, and economic problems. The Department of Energy is interested in conducting long-term field experiments to monitor the impact of phosphorus in terrestrial and aquatic environments, and to better understand a cost vs. benefit analysis of reducing phosphorus pollution. Performing such long-term experiments requires affordable sensors capable of monitoring low-level phosphorus concentrations under challenging environmental conditions. However, such sensors are currently not available. The goal of this proposed project is to develop and demonstrate a low-cost portable phosphorus sensor suitable for in situ measurements. We will determine the technical requirements for a Raman-based sensor system, design and build a signal amplifier, integrate it with a Raman-based sensor, and demonstrate a proof-of-concept level sensor system. The expected accomplishments for Phase I include the identification of the technical requirements of a combined Raman laser/spectrometer and cavity enhancement system, building a proof-of-concept level sensor system capable of detecting orthophosphate compounds at the desired level of 0.25 mg P/L and organic P compounds, and verification of the sensor performance under laboratory and field conditions. In addition, we will identify initial hardening requirements that will need to be implemented during Phase II. While we plan to develop an integrated sensor system for monitoring phosphorus, the cavity-based enhancement system can also be used in combination with other (non-phosphorus) Raman sensors that we plan to develop or that are already commercially available. A recent market report highlights the increasing demand for such environmental monitoring applications, with the market for chemical detection anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.5% (2020-2025). Wide-spread monitoring of phosphorus could reduce the damage from eutrophication in freshwater, which is estimated to be $2.2 billion annually, thereby increasing biodiversity, reducing costs required for drinking water treatment, and decreasing economic losses related to recreation and angling and lake property values.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Soil, Foodstuffs, and Biota Program [Slides]

We use several environmental monitoring tools to assess ecosystem health and in part, risk to human health. Generally, the concentrations of chemicals we observe are below background and screening levels. All of our monitoring data are available in Intellus, and our analyses and results are reported in the Annual Site Environmental Report. Our program is only one of several monitoring programs at LANL, others include air, surface water, ground water, canyon sediments. We strive to improve the program by incorporating new monitoring techniques, monitoring new locations, monitoring new chemicals of interest, and by using robust statistical analyses.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Decarbonization of Wastewater Treatment with Microalgae Processes.

Microalgae can contribute to the decarbonization of wastewater treatment by municipalities, industries and agriculture, by substituting sunlight for energy intensive conventional treatment processes, while capturing nutrients and carbon in the algal biomass. The carbon fixed into the algal biomass can be converted to renewable natural gas (RNG) using anaerobic digestion or into renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), with greatly reduce the carbon footprints compared to conventional fuels. Bioplastics, biofertilizers and other bioproducts from microalgae biomass also provide potential benefits in greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and domestic supply chains. Microalgae technologies can counter eutrophication caused by harmful algal blooms by recovering nutrients, N and P, from wastewaters, and even from very low nutrient concentrations found in surface waters. CO2 is required in microalgae cultivation and wastewater treatment to support maximal rates of the photosynthesis, with the CO2 obtained from the wastes themselves, other local sources or even atmospheric CO2. Greenhouse gas mitigation with microalgae processes is based on life cycle assessments, comparing such green processes with current energy intensive wastewater treatment, and nutrient reduction technologies. Microalgae technologies are specifically relevant to smaller, often disadvantaged, communities, where currently about 5,000 algae wastewater treatment ponds are operated by public utilities with many more are operated by industries. However, many, if not most, of these pond facilities require urgent technology upgrades to achieve the potential and goals of low cost GHG mitigation and efficient nutrient recycling. MicroBio Engineering Inc. is developing and has demonstrated several technologies that combine innovative carbon mitigation and decarbonization technologies for a circular economy, with longer-term potential for large-scale biofuels and biofertilizer production.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Decarbonization of Wastewater Treatment with Microalgae Processes.

Microalgae can contribute to the decarbonization of wastewater treatment by municipalities, industries and agriculture, by substituting sunlight for energy intensive conventional treatment processes, while capturing nutrients and carbon in the algal biomass. The carbon fixed into the algal biomass can be converted to renewable natural gas (RNG) using anaerobic digestion or into renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), with greatly reduce the carbon footprints compared to conventional fuels. Bioplastics, biofertilizers and other bioproducts from microalgae biomass also provide potential benefits in greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and domestic supply chains. Microalgae technologies can counter eutrophication caused by harmful algal blooms by recovering nutrients, N and P, from wastewaters, and even from very low nutrient concentrations found in surface waters. CO2 is required in microalgae cultivation and wastewater treatment to support maximal rates of the photosynthesis, with the CO2 obtained from the wastes themselves, other local sources or even atmospheric CO2. Greenhouse gas mitigation with microalgae processes is based on life cycle assessments, comparing such green processes with current energy intensive wastewater treatment, and nutrient reduction technologies. Microalgae technologies are specifically relevant to smaller, often disadvantaged, communities, where currently about 5,000 algae wastewater treatment ponds are operated by public utilities with many more are operated by industries. However, many, if not most, of these pond facilities require urgent technology upgrades to achieve the potential and goals of low cost GHG mitigation and efficient nutrient recycling. MicroBio Engineering Inc. is developing and has demonstrated several technologies that combine innovative carbon mitigation and decarbonization technologies for a circular economy, with longer-term potential for large-scale biofuels and biofertilizer production.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Decarbonization of Wastewater Treatment with Microalgae Processes.

Microalgae can contribute to the decarbonization of wastewater treatment by municipalities, industries and agriculture, by substituting sunlight for energy intensive conventional treatment processes, while capturing nutrients and carbon in the algal biomass. The carbon fixed into the algal biomass can be converted to renewable natural gas (RNG) using anaerobic digestion or into renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), with greatly reduce the carbon footprints compared to conventional fuels. Bioplastics, biofertilizers and other bioproducts from microalgae biomass also provide potential benefits in greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and domestic supply chains. Microalgae technologies can counter eutrophication caused by harmful algal blooms by recovering nutrients, N and P, from wastewaters, and even from very low nutrient concentrations found in surface waters. CO2 is required in microalgae cultivation and wastewater treatment to support maximal rates of the photosynthesis, with the CO2 obtained from the wastes themselves, other local sources or even atmospheric CO2. Greenhouse gas mitigation with microalgae processes is based on life cycle assessments, comparing such green processes with current energy intensive wastewater treatment, and nutrient reduction technologies. Microalgae technologies are specifically relevant to smaller, often disadvantaged, communities, where currently about 5,000 algae wastewater treatment ponds are operated by public utilities with many more are operated by industries. However, many, if not most, of these pond facilities require urgent technology upgrades to achieve the potential and goals of low cost GHG mitigation and efficient nutrient recycling. MicroBio Engineering Inc. is developing and has demonstrated several technologies that combine innovative carbon mitigation and decarbonization technologies for a circular economy, with longer-term potential for large-scale biofuels and biofertilizer production.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Electrochemical Acid Sequestration to Ease Ocean Acidification (EASE-OA) - CRADA 600 (Abstract)

The PNNL team will coordinate logistics involved with setting up the field trial on the PNNL Sequim campus in collaboration with Ebb Carbon. Facilities on the PNNL Sequim campus are capable of pumping raw or filtered seawater from Sequim Bay at a rate ~45,000 L hr -1 , which can accommodate the 4000 L hr -1 requirement of the 200 ton CO2 yr-1 Ebb Carbon marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) system. The primary tasks for the PNNL team are 1) laying out appropriate indoor and outdoor spaces for installing the Ebb Carbon’s mCDR system, 2) facilitating Ebb Carbon’s access to the PNNL’s seawater intake on the PNNL Sequim campus, 3) conducting mesocosm experiments within the PNNL Sequim campus laboratories to test how the brine and base discharged from the Ebb Carbon system affect marine life, and 4) facilitating Ebb Carbon access to the PNNL Sequim installation site and aiding in maintenance as needed. In addition to these tasks, the PNNL team will provide surface water quality data (e.g., salinity, temperature, pH, dissolved O2) from a monitoring station located on the pier to contextualize starting conditions of the seawater used in the mCDR process. Finally, the PNNL team will also consult with Ebb Carbon on strategies for improving overall system performance and next steps for further scaling and/or monitoring the effectiveness of the mCDR system.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Operational and Performance Monitoring of East Tennessee Technology Park Ponds—2023 Results

Performance and operational monitoring are regulatory requirements associated with a non–time-critical removal action for three surface water bodies at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee: the K-1007-P1 Pond, the K-901-A Pond, and the K-720 Slough. This progress report summarizes the monitoring activities and results from fiscal year (FY) 2023. The goal of ecological enhancement of the K-1007-P1 and K-901-A Ponds is to reduce risk from polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in fish to humans and wildlife. Lowering PCB concentrations in the water column and in the food that fish eat is expected to decrease PCB bioaccumulation in fish. Performance monitoring of the K-1007-P1 Pond focuses on annual PCB trends in water, clams, and fish. PCBs in fish also are sampled annually at the K-720 Slough. Operational monitoring ensures that ecological enhancement measures—including water quality, plant community, fish community, and wildlife actions—have been implemented as intended. Monitoring provides the information necessary to determine whether modifications are needed to attain the design end state (i.e., a heavily vegetated, clearwater pond dominated by sunfish with significantly diminished or at least downwardly trending PCB levels in fish). In FY 2023, fish removal efforts and vegetation planting primarily focused on the K-901-A Pond. These actions were implemented to help push the systems toward the desired end state. Descriptions of the various monitoring activities and preliminary 2023 results are provided in the following sections. An update on fish and plant management actions in FY 2023 is also included in this report. A summary of the more detailed information in this report will be presented as required in the upcoming Remediation Effectiveness Report.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Cation Exchange Capacity, Anion Exchange Capacity, and Mineralogy of F-Area Aquifer Sediments

Strontium-90 (Sr-90) is a contaminant of concern in groundwater and surface water at both F-Area and H-Area Seepage Basins. This contaminant was disposed of, along with other heavy metals and radionuclides, into a series of unlined seepage basins from 1955 until 1988. The acidity of the wastewater increased Sr-90 mobility from the basin soil through the vadose zone and into the Upper Aquifer Zone (UAZ), creating a groundwater plume that discharges into wetlands areas and a local stream called Fourmile Branch.

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