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WARE 1-9 Well

Computed tomography and core logger data described in Technical Report "Computed Tomography Scanning and Geophysical Measurements of the J. F. WARE Gas Unit 1-9 Well in Smith County, Texas" by Brinza et al. , 2024.

CoreCM

Mineral exploration potential of ERTS-1 data

The author has identified the following significant results. Preliminary analysis of a mosaic composing eight individual ERTS frames (1:1,000,000) extending well beyond the test site has revealed a number of tectonic structural trends that are controlled by regional lineations. So far most of the regional lineations fall into three general directions: east by northeast, northwest, and north-south. From preliminary examination, it appears that the older Precambrian basement predominates in the NE-bearing structural trends, whereas the predominate NW trend is most likely associated with the Texas Structural Zone, and the north-south trend being the Utah-Arizona belt and/or part of the southern Basin and Range Province. One major lineation, made up of many parallel lineations, is noticeable just north of Lake Pleasant which extends for approximately 100 miles in a northern direction out of the target area. This feature corresponds to a Precambrian schist formation shown on the USGS geologic map of Arizona.

Brewer, W. A.

Tectonic analysis of Baja California and Parras shear belt in Mexico

The author has identified the following significant results. Geological correlation of terrain across the Gulf of California using ERTS-1 imagery revealed significant similarities between Isla Tiburon, Isla Angel de la Guarda, and the San Carlos Range in mainland Mexico. ERTS-1 imagery was used to check the validity of the existence of major trans-Baja fault zones. ERTS-1 imagery also shows that high albedo sediments similar to known late Tertiary marine sediments are widespread in southern and middle Baja and extend in places to the eastern side of the Peninsula. Major faults in northern Mexico and across the border in the United States were mapped, and ample evidence was found that the Parras and parts of the Texas lineament are belts of major transverse shear faults in areas outside the supposed limit of the Texas and Parras lineaments. A fundamental concept which may help explain many complexities in the tectonic development is beginning to emerge: The southwestern part of North America was torn by massive left-lateral shear of transverse trend (east-west) during the compressive stage of the late Mesozoic and early Cenozoic. This tectonic style has changed into tensional rifting (Basin and Range) and right-lateral shear later in the Cenozoic and Quaternary.

Abdel-Gawad, M.

A Modeling Study of the On-Going Drought and Heat Wave over the United States

Ensembles of AGCM experiments have been conducted to examine the causes of the on-going drought and heat wave affecting much of the United States. The results show that the drought and hot temperatures that have been especially severe over Texas and parts of Mexico since late 2010 are the result of a combination of SST forcing from both the tropical Pacific and the tropical Atlantic, with the latter playing a particularly important role during later half of the summer of 2011, and the warm SSTs off the East Coast contributing to the warm conditions along the East Coast. An extension of the model simulations into the summer of 2012 suggests that the warm conditions are again primarily driven by SST forcing - despite the return of the tropical Pacific to neutral conditions. The results of additional experiments currently being conducted to separate the influences of the 2012 SST anomalies in the various ocean basins will be discussed.

Schubert, S.

On the Relationship Between the Length of Season and Tropical Cyclone Activity in the North Atlantic Basin During the Weather Satellite Era, 1960-2013

Officially, the North Atlantic basin tropical cyclone season runs from June 1 through November 30 of each year. During this 183-day interval, the vast majority of tropical cyclone onsets are found to occur. For example, in a study of the 715 tropical cyclones that occurred in the North Atlantic basin during the interval 1945-2010, it was found that about 97 percent of them had their onsets during the conventional hurricane season, with the bulk (78 percent) having had onset during the late summer-early fall months of August, September, and October and with none having had onset in the month of March. For the 2014 hurricane season, it already has had the onset of its first named storm on July 1 (day of year (DOY) 182), Arthur, which formed off the east coast of Florida, rapidly growing into a category-2 hurricane with peak 1-minute sustained wind speed of about 90 kt and striking the coast of North Carolina as a category-2 hurricane on July 3. Arthur is the first hurricane larger than category-1 to strike the United States (U.S.) since the year 2008 when Ike struck Texas as a category-2 hurricane and there has not been a major hurricane (category-3 or larger) to strike the U.S. since Wilma struck Florida as a category-3 hurricane in 2005. Only two category-1 hurricanes struck the U.S. in the year 2012 (Isaac and Sandy, striking Louisiana and New York, respectively) and there were no U.S. land-falling hurricanes in 2013 (also true for the years 1962, 1973, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1990, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2009, and 2010). In recent years it has been argued that the length of season (LOS), determined as the inclusive elapsed time between the first storm day (FSD) and the last storm day (LSD) of the yearly hurricane season (i.e., when peak 1-minute sustained wind speed of at least 34 kt occurred and the tropical cyclone was not classified as 'extratropical'), has increased in length with the lengthening believed to be due to the FSD occurring sooner and the LSD occurring later and with both being related to global warming. In this study, the relationship between the LOS and tropical cyclone activity and climate is examined for the weather satellite era, 1960-2013. Estimates are also given for the LOS and LSD, as well as for the expected number of tropical cyclones (NTC), the total number of storm days (NSD), the total accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), and the net tropical cyclone activity (NTCA) index for the 2014 hurricane season.

Wilson, Robert M.

An East to West Mineralogical Trend in Mars Exploration Rover Spirit Moessbauer Spectra of Home Plate

Home Plate is a light-toned plateau approx.90 m in diameter within the Inner Basin of the Columbia Hills in Gusev crater on Mars. It is the most extensive exposure of layered bedrock encountered by Spirit to date, and it is composed of clastic rocks of moderately altered alkali basalt composition, enriched in some highly volatile elements. Textural observations suggest an explosive origin and geochemical observations favor volcanism, probably a hydrovolcanic explosion [1]. Since it first arrived at Home Plate on sol 744, Spirit has circumnavigated the plateau (Fig. 1) and is now, since sol 1410, resting at its Winter Haven 3 location at the north end of Home Plate. Results: The MER Moessbauer spectrometers determine Fe oxidation states, identify Fe-bearing mineral phases and quantify the distribution of Fe among oxidation states and mineral phases [2]. Moessbauer spectra of Home Plate bedrock were obtained in five different locations from nine different targets (Fig. 1): Barnhill Ace, Posey Manager, and James Cool Papa Bell Stars at the northwest side of Home Plate; Pesapallo, June Emerson, and Elizabeth Emery on the east side; Texas Chili on the south side; Pecan Pie on the west side; and Chanute on the north side.

Schroder, C.

CHESS 2025: Field-collected vegetation attributes and site photos

This dataset represents field observations of vegetation samples collected as part of the Colorado Headwaters Ecological Spectroscopy Study (CHESS) during June and July of 2025. Samples were collected in the field using tablet computers and digital forms, with target data differing by sample type (individual trees, individual shrubs, or 1-meter square plots of meadow and subshrub vegetation). Field samples were collected within 72 hours of airborne data collection using the National Ecological Observatory Network’s Aerial Observation Platform (NEON AOP). The NEON AOP collected waveform LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and imaging spectrometer data in 426 spectral bands from the visible to shortwave infrared. Remote sensing data for the project is available on ESS-DIVE (DOI and citation to be added upon publication). Field data collected included canopy height and per-species horizontal proportional cover for meadow plots, species identity and height information for shrubs, as well as species identity, height, diameter at breast height, and health assessment information for trees. Photos of the focal site and surrounding landscape were taken for all sampling sites and are included in this archive. Green leaves or needles were collected for plant trait and foliar chemistry analysis. This data is archived separately (DOI and citation to be added upon publication). High-precision geospatial data for each sample (crown perimeter polygons for trees and shrubs, plot boundaries for meadow plots) is available here (Henderson et al., 2026). Field and remote sensing protocols largely followed those of a previous field and airborne imaging campaign performed in 2018 (described in Chadwick et al. 2020). Field data from the 2018 campaign can be found here (Chadwick et al., 2020 doi:10.15485/1618130). Because different field measurements were taken for meadow, shrub, and tree sites, data from these three sample types are archived as separate tables (chess_meadow_site_cleaned.csv, chess_shrub_site_cleaned.csv, chess_tree_site_cleaned.csv). Meadow proportional cover data is stored in a separate table (chess_meadow_cover_cleaned.csv). Taxonomy was treated identically between sample types, and the dataset shares a common set of voucher specimens (chess_voucher_IDs_cleaned.csv), as well as a single species list (chess_species_list_cleaned.csv). All taxonomic determinations were performed to the species level, and adhere to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) backbone taxonomy as of January 10th, 2026 (GBIF Secretariat 2023). CHESS Project Description: The Colorado Headwaters Ecological Spectroscopy Study (CHESS) comprised a multi-week airborne remote sensing and field observation campaign in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado, conducted in June and July of 2025. Airborne remote sensing was conducted by the National Ecological Observatory Network Airborne Observation Platform (NEON AOP), concurrent with a field campaign run by the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Watershed Function Science Focus Area (SFA), and NASA-JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) program. Between June 10 and July 18, 2025, the NEON AOP flight team collected high-resolution aerial imaging spectroscopy and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data over three domains: the Upper East River (CRBU), Almont Triangle (ALMO), and the Upper Taylor Basin (UPTA). In coordination with the flights, a field campaign acquired ground-truth observations, including observations of vegetation composition, foliar traits, forest demography, and subsurface properties in 18 core sampling areas within the domains. Additional surface water observations were taken at over 380 point locations. All CHESS campaign datasets can be found within the CHESS ESS-DIVE data portal: https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/portals/chess. Funding Acknowledgment: Field and remote-sensing data acquisition was performed under a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NSSC24K1005). This work was also supported by the Watershed Function Science Focus Area at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

2018 NEON and 2025 CHESS Campaigns