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At least 1,099 records · Page 61

AmeriFlux US-CF2 CAF-LTAR Cook West

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-CF2 CAF-LTAR Cook West. Site Description - CF2 has operated since May 2017 at the R.J. Cook Agronomy Farm outside of Pullman, Washington, and monitors the conventionally tilled side of a paired-catchment study that is part of the Longterm Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) site common experiment. CF2 is located in “Cook West,” a field that has been in conventional tillage since prior to 1998 and constitutes the Prevalent treatment of the common experiment. In this case, conventional tillage involves chisel plowing after the winter wheat phase of rotations (approximately every 3-4 years) and occasional harrowing. CF2 is paired with the CF1 tower location in “Cook East,” which has been in no-till since 1998 and represents the Alternative treatment of the common experiment. Both fields are planted in the same crops every year. Cook Agronomy Farm is in the high precipitation agroecological zone of the Columbia Plateau’s dryland cropping region. Crop rotations are wheat-based and include winter wheat, spring wheat, chickpea, spring canola, and winter peas. Wheat is the principal cash crop, with other crops grown in rotation for diversity, nutrient, and pest management. Soils are predominantly silt loam texture Mollisols in the Palouse, Thatuna, Naff soil series. The CF2 tower replaced US-RC2, which operated 2012-2016 in a neighboring field that was also conventionally tilled. CF2 and RC2 have distinct footprints, aspects, and soil series compositions.

Huggins, Dave↗

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-CF1 CAF-LTAR Cook East

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-CF1 CAF-LTAR Cook East. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-CF1 CAF-LTAR Cook East produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - CF1 has operated since May 2017 at the R.J. Cook Agronomy Farm outside of Pullman, Washington, and monitors the no-till side of a paired-catchment study that is part of the Longterm Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) site common experiment. CF1 is located in “Cook East,” a field that has been in no-till management since 1998, and represents the Alternative treatment of the LTAR common experiment. It is paired with the CF2 tower location in “Cook West,” which has been in conventional tillage since prior to 1998 and represents the Prevalent treatments of the common experiment. Cook Agronomy Farm is in the high precipitation agroecological zone of the Columbia Plateau’s dryland cropping region. Crop rotations are wheat-based and include winter wheat, spring wheat, chickpea, spring canola, and winter peas. Wheat is the principal cash crop, with other crops grown in rotation for diversity, nutrient, and pest management. Soils are predominantly silt loam texture Mollisols in the Palouse, Thatuna, Naff soil series. The CF1 tower replaced US-RC1, which operated 2012-2016 in a neighboring field that was also in no-till management since 1998. CF1 and RC1 have distinct footprints, aspects, and soil series compositions.

Phillips, Claire L.↗

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-CF2 CAF-LTAR Cook West

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-CF2 CAF-LTAR Cook West. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-CF2 CAF-LTAR Cook West produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - CF2 has operated since May 2017 at the R.J. Cook Agronomy Farm outside of Pullman, Washington, and monitors the conventionally tilled side of a paired-catchment study that is part of the Longterm Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) site common experiment. CF2 is located in “Cook West,” a field that has been in conventional tillage since prior to 1998 and constitutes the Prevalent treatment of the common experiment. In this case, conventional tillage involves chisel plowing after the winter wheat phase of rotations (approximately every 3-4 years) and occasional harrowing. CF2 is paired with the CF1 tower location in “Cook East,” which has been in no-till since 1998 and represents the Alternative treatment of the common experiment. Both fields are planted in the same crops every year. Cook Agronomy Farm is in the high precipitation agroecological zone of the Columbia Plateau’s dryland cropping region. Crop rotations are wheat-based and include winter wheat, spring wheat, chickpea, spring canola, and winter peas. Wheat is the principal cash crop, with other crops grown in rotation for diversity, nutrient, and pest management. Soils are predominantly silt loam texture Mollisols in the Palouse, Thatuna, Naff soil series. The CF2 tower replaced US-RC2, which operated 2012-2016 in a neighboring field that was also conventionally tilled. CF2 and RC2 have distinct footprints, aspects, and soil series compositions.

Huggins, Dave↗

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-xAB NEON Abby Road (ABBY)

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-xAB NEON Abby Road (ABBY). This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-xAB NEON Abby Road (ABBY) produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - The Abby Road (NEON 4-letter code: ABBY) field site is located in Yacolt Burn State Forest which is approximately 30 miles from Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR. Yacolt Burn State Forest is a relatively young growth industrial timber production forest. The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) also allows an array of recreational activities including moutain biking, hiking and camping.

Network), NEON (National Ecological Observatory↗

Discrimination of Small Earthquakes and Buried Single-Fired Chemical Explosions at Local Distances (<150 km) in the Western United States from Comparison of Local Magnitude ( M L ) and Coda Duration Magnitude ( M C )

Seismologists distinguish underground nuclear explosions from more commonly occurring earthquakes using moment tensor inversion, high-frequency P/S amplitude ratios, m b :M s comparisons, and P–pP differential travel times. These methods are generally successful for large seismic events (M >3-4) well recorded at regional-to-teleseismic distances (>150 km); however, it is unclear whether they can be modified to work for small events (M <3) well recorded only at local distances (<150 km). Here, we evaluate a recently proposed, local-distance seismic source discriminant—the difference between local magnitude (M L ) and coda duration magnitude (M C )—using seismograms of earthquakes and buried, single-fired chemical explosions recorded in three regions of the western United States. The quantity M L –M C was previously found to be sensitive to source depth, effectively discriminating mine blasts, induced earthquakes, and very shallow tectonic earthquakes from deeper crustal earthquakes. In this study, we report the first evaluation of M L –M C as a depth discriminant using data from buried, single-fired explosions that, unlike the seismic sources studied earlier, are good analogs for underground nuclear explosions. We find that even when using generic, uncalibrated methods of assigning magnitudes, M L –M C separates single-fired explosions and earthquakes. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve is 0.92 for 19 explosions and 14 earthquakes in Washington, 0.90 for 22 explosions and 90 earthquakes in Wyoming, and 0.99 for three explosions and 149 earthquakes in Nevada. Finally, M L :M C comparisons have the potential to enhance discrimination based on high-frequency P/S amplitudes ratios—which perform less well at local than regional distances—because the two metrics have complementary sensitivities.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Crowdsourcing Felt Reports Using the MyShake Smartphone App

MyShake is a free citizen science smartphone app that provides a range of features related to earthquakes. Features available globally include rapid postearthquake notifications, live maps of earthquake damage as reported by MyShake users, safety tips, and various educational features. The app also uses the accelerometer in the mobile device to detect earthquake shaking, and to record and submit waveforms to a central archive. In addition, MyShake delivers earthquake early warning alerts in California, Oregon, and Washington. Here, in this study, we compare the felt shaking reports provided by MyShake users in California with the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGSs) “Did You Feel It?” intensity reports. The MyShake app simply asks, “What strength of shaking did you feel?” and users report on a five-level scale. When the MyShake reports are averaged in spatial or time bins, we find strong correlation with the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale values reported by the USGS based on the DYFI surveys. The MyShake felt reports can therefore contribute to the creation of shaking intensity maps.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

SECARB Pressure Monitoring Data

Bottom-hole, above zone monitoring interval, and injection zone pressure data collected during the SECARB project in Cranfield, Mississippi to assess the relationship between pressure field and multiphase field. Submission includes 10-second interval data from Detailed Area of Study wells: CFU31-F1 (injector), CFU31-F2 (observation), CFU31-F3 (observation) and Ella G Lees no. 7 (observation) well located west of the DAS. Associated Publications: Joy, C. A., 2011, The effects of pressure variation and chemical reactions on the elasticity of the lower Tuscaloosa sandstone of the Cranfield Field Mississippi, The University of Texas at Austin, Master’s thesis, 97 p. Kim, S., and Hosseini, S. A., 2013, Above-zone pressure monitoring and geomechanical analysis of a field scale CO2 injection, Cranfield Mississippi, Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, doi:10.1002/ghg.1388. Kim, S., and Hosseini, S. A., 2017, Study on the ratio of pore-pressure/stress changes during fluid injection and its implications for CO2 geologic storage: Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, v. 149, p. 138-150, doi:10.1016/j.petrol.2016.10.037. Mathias, S. A., Gluyas, J. G., Gonzalez Martinez de Miguel, G. J., and Hosseini, S. A., 2011, Role of partial miscibility on pressure buildup due to constant rate injection of CO2 into closed and open brine aquifers: Water Resources Research, v. 47, W12525, 11 p., doi:10.1029/2011WR011051. Meckel, T. A., Zeidouni, M., Hovorka, S. D., and Hosseini, S.A., 2013, Assessing sensitivity to well leakage from three years of continuous reservoir pressure monitoring during CO2 injection at Cranfield, MS, USA: International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, [insert volume no., page numbers], doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2013.01.019. Nicot, J.-P., Oldenburg, C. M., Bryant, S. L., and Hovorka, S. D., 2009, Pressure perturbations from geologic carbon sequestration: area-of-review boundaries and borehole leakage driving forces, in Energy Procedia (v. 1, no.1), Proceedings of 9th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies, GHGT9, 16–20 November, Washington DC, p. 47–54. Tao, Q., Bryant, S. L., and Meckel, T. A., 2013, Modeling above-zone measurements of pressure and temperature for monitoring CCS sites: International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, v. 18, p. 523–530, doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2012.08.011.

above zone monitoring interval↗

Climate-linked mechanisms driving spatial and temporal variation in eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) growth and assemblage structure in Pacific Northwest estuaries, USA

Using laboratory experiments on temperature and leaf metabolism, and field data sets from Washington, between 1991 and 2013, we developed lines of evidence showing that variations in water temperature, mean sea level, and desiccation stress appear to drive spatial and temporal variations in eelgrass (Zostera marina).

Thom, Ronald M.↗

Pore-Water Extraction from Unsaturated Porous Media: Intermediate-Scale Laboratory

As a remedial approach, vacuum-induced pore-water extraction offers the possibility of contaminant and water removal from the vadose zone, which may be beneficial in reducing the flux of vadose zone contaminants to groundwater. Vadose zone water extraction is being considered at the Hanford Site in Washington State as a means to remove technetium-99 contamination from low permeability sediments with relatively high water contents. A series of intermediate-scale laboratory experiments have been conducted to improve the fundamental understanding and limitations of the technique. Column experiments were designed to investigate the relations between imposed suctions, water saturations, and water production. Flow cell experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of high-permeability layers and near-well compaction on pore-water extraction efficiency. Results show that water extraction from unsaturated systems can be achieved in low permeability sediments, provided that the initial water saturations are relatively high. The presence of a high-permeability layer decreased the yield, and compaction near the well screen had a limited effect on overall performance. In all experiments, large pressure gradients were observed near the extraction screen. Minimum requirements for water extraction include an imposed vacuum-induced suction larger than the initial sediment capillary pressure, in combination with a fully saturated seepage-face boundary. A numerical multiphase simulator with a coupled seepage-face boundary conditions was used to simulate the experiments. Reasonable matches were obtained between measured and simulated results for both water extraction and capillary pressures, suggesting that numerical simulations may be used as a design tool for field-scale applications of pore-water extraction.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

Field Soil Water Retention of the Prototype Hanford Barrier and Its Variability with Space and Time

Engineered surface barriers (or covers) are used to isolate underlying contaminants from water, plants, animals, and humans. To understand the flow processes within a barrier and the barrier's ability to store and release water, the field hydraulic properties of the barrier need to be known. A multiyear test of the evapotranspiration (ET) barrier at the US Department of Energy's Hanford Site in the southeast of the state of Washington has yielded in situ soil water content and pressure data from multiple locations for a 9‐yr period, offering the opportunity to estimate soil water retention properties at different locations and times. The upper 2‐m layer of the ET barrier is a silt loam, and the top 1 m also contains 15% (w/w) pea gravel. Within this layer, valid monitoring data from 1995 to 2003 for four depths at 12 monitoring stations were used to determine the field water retention of the silt loam, with and without gravel. The data covered a wide range of wetness, from near saturation to the permanent wilting point, and each retention curve contained 51 to 96 data points. The data were described well with the commonly used van Genuchten water retention model. It was found that the spatial variation of the saturated and residual water content and the pore size distribution parameter was relatively small, while that of the van Genuchten α was relatively large. The effects of spatial variability of the retention properties appeared to be larger than the combined effects of added pea gravel and plant roots on the properties. Neither the primary wetting process in the winter season nor the drying process in the summer season nor time had a detectable effect on the water retention of the silt loam barrier.

Zhang, Z. Fred↗

Establishing Vadose Zone Slow‐Release Carbon Sources for Enhanced Bioremediation Using Silica Suspension

Core Ideas Nutrient‐laden silica suspension increases viscosity over time and gels at the end. Aqueous colloidal silica suspension can be readily injected into the subsurface. Silica gelation enables setting up slow‐release nutrient sources in the vadose zone. Gelled silica suspensions act as long‐term nutrients for enhanced bioremediation. Delivery of C sources (nutrients) to the vadose zone and establishing a slow‐release C source in this unsaturated zone are essential for promoting long‐term, enhanced contaminant bioremediation at sites with deep vadose zones, such as the Hanford Site in the southeast of the state of Washington. Conventional solution‐based injection and infiltration approaches face challenges in achieving delivery goals. Aqueous colloidal silica suspension has characteristics that can potentially be used for nutrient delivery and slow‐release source setup. This research was conducted to (i) demonstrate delayed gelation of colloidal silica suspensions with the presence of nutrients; (ii) prove that gelation takes place in sediment and the gel slowly releases nutrients; and (iii) show that silica suspensions are injectable for vadose zone emplacement. Results demonstrated that nutrient‐laden colloidal silica suspensions have low initial viscosity and then increase in viscosity with time until reaching gelation, allowing for a slow release of nutrients into the environment. Higher salt and silica concentrations increased the rate of viscosity climbing and the rate of gelation, whereas higher silica concentrations resulted in stronger gels. Nutrients were slowly released from gels in both batch and column experimental settings. The rheological and injection behavior of the silica suspensions revealed the injectability of these fluids. This study demonstrated that colloidal silica suspension could be used as a carrier to distribute nutrients to the vadose zone and to establish slow‐release nutrient sources.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Performance and flexibility improvements of Staged Pressurized Oxy-Combustion

Staged Pressurized Oxy-Combustion (SPOC) is a low-carbon coal combustion power technology being developed by Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). Oxy-combustion plants enable straightforward capture of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) by removing most of the nitrogen in the combustion air prior to use, thereby burning fuel in near-pure oxygen instead of air, producing a flue gas containing primarily CO 2 and water. CO 2 capture at amounts > 90% is possible, often using cryogenic air separation. Oxy-combustion typically relies on flue gas recycle (FGR) to reduce the peak temperature and radiation that would otherwise occur in a fuel/oxygen only flame. SPOC reduces the peak temperatures of combustion by utilizing two or more pressurized boiler modules connected in series to produce fuel staging; hence, only a portion of the fuel is combusted in any given furnace module. This means that the thermal energy released at each stage can be captured and removed from the gases prior to subsequent stages, when more fuel is introduced. This allows the SPOC process to operate with minimal FGR, avoiding the associated efficiency losses and additional costs. Also, the process operates at an elevated gas-side pressure, reducing boiler size, enhancing heat transfer to achieve a compact boiler configuration as compared to an atmospheric-pressure boiler design, and allowing for recovery of the latent heat of the water from the flue gas at a temperature useful to the steam cycle. The resultant net efficiency of the system is over 3 percentage points greater than traditional atmospheric-pressure oxy-combustion, and 7 percentage points greater than the post combustion variant, representing a step-change improvement over first-generation capture technologies. To further develop the concept, WUSTL and the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc., organized a project with American Air Liquide, Inc., Doosan Babcock Limited, and the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate a practicable and workable boiler design. The team has identified the potential for enhanced process flexibility for controlling power generation over a wider load range than is normally available to conventional coal-fired power plants due to the staged nature of the heat release. With increasing intermittent renewable generator contribution, on-demand generators need to be highly flexible to participate in the future energy market, requiring extensive operation at reduced load. Conventional coal-fired steam generators typically face challenges in maintaining temperature control of the reheat steam and main steam at reduced loads. This results in inefficient operation, both in terms of the boiler efficiency and steam turbine heat rate. The results of this project show the SPOC process is capable of exceptional turndown, both on a stage basis and with the ability to bypass entire stages. Oxygen-supply flexibility was also investigated, as this is also a key consideration for the overall flexibility of the SPOC process given the operating constraints of conventional air separation units. A boiler design concept assessment was conducted and was focused on delivering compact and constructible design. The assessment checked appropriate tube operating metal temperatures at full load and at lower operating loads, balanced against the needs of efficient coal combustion, and the resultant slagging and ash environments. Combustion testing in the 100-kWth pressurized combustion test rig at WUSTL was carried out to validate the combustion, heat flux profiles and burnout at multiple loads. Combustion parameters investigated were flame stability, fuel burnout, ash composition, radiative heat flux, and temperature profiles. The results of these tests formed the basis of a full-scale boiler design that will encompass improvements in both efficiency and flexibility over conventional oxy-combustion processes. The air separation unit flexibility was investigated, and associated cost implications were addressed. Detailed economic assessment results for a 550 MWe net power block are also provided, allowing for a comparison against the baseline NETL oxy-combustion and post combustion capture cases.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

New Insights from Legacy Seismic Data regarding Basalt Elevations and Variability on the Hanford Site

Migration of groundwater contaminants in the Gable Gap area of the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State is strongly influenced by the distribution and permeability of basalts that lie beneath an unconfined aquifer. Locally, folding and faulting of the Columbia River Basalt associated with the Yakima fold and thrust belt followed by erosion due to the Lake Missoula floods resulted in a complex basalt surface that represents either an impermeable lower boundary to the unconfined aquifer system or localized regions of increased permeability that potentially promote communication between the unconfined aquifer system and deeper, confined aquifer systems. Paleo-channels carved into the basalt by floodwaters are thought to provide preferential flow paths for groundwater contaminants. In 2011, a seismic landstreamer campaign was carried out to image the basalt surface and produced pre-stack depth migrated p-wave reflection images. The reflection images identified two large troughs that may represent paleo-channels and several areas of possible faulting. Here, the streamer data are re-analyzed using refraction travel-time and Rayleigh wave dispersion analyses to obtain images of compressional and shear wave velocities within the suprabasalt sediment sections and the upper basalt surface. The combined interpretation of reflection and seismic velocity images shows complexity in the basalt velocity and elevation, which varies by 50 m or more within the study area. These results, along with other ongoing geophysical investigations, will be used to inform the site geologic model and potentially guide placement of future boreholes needed to quantify vertical flow between the confined and unconfined aquifers.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Integrated Disposal Facility FY2011 Glass Testing Summary Report [Erratum]

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory was contracted by Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC to provide the technical basis for estimating radionuclide release from the engineered portion of the disposal facility (e.g., source term). Vitrifying the low-activity waste at Hanford is expected to generate over 1.6 x 10 5 m 3 of glass (Certa and Wells 2010). The volume of immobilized low-activity waste (ILAW) at Hanford is the largest in the DOE complex and is one of the largest inventories (approximately 8.9 x 10 14 Bq total activity) of long-lived radionuclides, principally 99 Tc (t 1/2 = 2.1 x 10 5 ), planned for disposal in a low-level waste (LLW) facility. Before the ILAW can be disposed, DOE must conduct a performance assessment (PA) for the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF) that describes the long-term impacts of the disposal facility on public health and environmental resources. As part of the ILAW glass testing program PNNL is implementing a strategy, consisting of experimentation and modeling, in order to provide the technical basis for estimating radionuclide release from the glass waste form in support of future IDF PAs. The purpose of this report is to summarize the progress made in fiscal year (FY) 2011 toward implementing the strategy with the goal of developing an understanding of the long-term corrosion behavior of low-activity waste glasses.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Hydrogen Technology and Energy Curriculum (HyTEC)

The Lawrence Hall of Science of the University of California, Berkeley has collaborated with scientists and engineers, a local transit agency, school districts, and a commercial curriculum publisher to develop, field-test nationally, and publish a two-week curriculum module on hydrogen and fuel cells for high school science. Key partners in this project are the Schatz Energy Research Center (SERC) of Humboldt State University, the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit), FilmSight Productions, Lab-Aids, Inc., and 32 teachers and 2,370 students in field-test classrooms in California, Connecticut, Ohio, New York, South Carolina, and Washington. Field-test teachers received two to three days of professional development before teaching the curriculum and providing feedback used for revision of the curriculum. The curriculum, titled Investigating Alternative Energy: Hydrogen and Fuel Cells and published by Lab-Aids, Inc., includes a teachers guide (with lesson plans, resources, and student handout pages), two interactive computer animations, a video, a website, and a laboratory materials kit. The project has been disseminated to over 950 teachers through awareness workshops at state, regional, and national science teacher conferences.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Use of ARM observations and numerical models to determine radiative and latent heating profiles of mesoscale convective systems for general circulation models

This three-year project, in cooperation with Professor Bob Houze at University of Washington, has been successfully finished as planned. Both ARM (the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program) data and cloud-resolving model (CRM) simulations were used to identify the water budgets of clouds observed in two international field campaigns. The research results achieved shed light on several key processes of clouds in climate change (or general circulation models).

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Final Report: Axion "Roadmap" Workshop

Final report for "Vistas in Axion Physics: A Roadmap for Theoretical and Experimental Axion Physics through 2025", which was held at the University of Washington, INT, from April 23 - 26, 2012.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Variability in Measured Space Temperatures in 60 Homes

This report discusses the observed variability in indoor space temperature in a set of 60 homes located in Florida, New York, Oregon, and Washington. Temperature data were collected at 15-minute intervals for an entire year, including living room, master bedroom, and outdoor air temperature (Arena, et. al). The data were examined to establish the average living room temperature for the set of homes for the heating and cooling seasons, the variability of living room temperature depending on climate, and the variability of indoor space temperature within the homes. The accuracy of software-based energy analysis depends on the accuracy of input values. Thermostat set point is one of the most influential inputs for building energy simulation. Several industry standards exist that recommend differing default thermostat settings for heating and cooling seasons. These standards were compared to the values calculated for this analysis. The data examined for this report show that there is a definite difference between the climates and that the data do not agree well with any particular standard.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗