Compact blackbody calibration sources for in-flight calibration of spaceborne infrared instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scheiding, S.; Driescher, H.; Walter, I.; Hanbuch, K.; Paul, M.; Hartmann, M.; Scheiding, M.

2017-11-01

High-emissivity blackbodies are mandatory as calibration sources in infrared radiometers. Besides the requirements on the high spectral emissivity and low reflectance, constraints regarding energy consumption, installation space and mass must be considered during instrument design. Cavity radiators provide an outstanding spectral emissivity to the price of installation space and mass of the calibration source. Surface radiation sources are mainly limited by the spectral emissivity of the functional coating and the homogeneity of the temperature distribution. The effective emissivity of a "black" surface can be optimized, by structuring the substrate with the aim to enlarge the ratio of the surface to its projection. Based on the experiences of the Mercury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer (MERTIS) calibration source MBB3, the results of the surface structuring on the effective emissivity are described analytically and compared to the experimental performance. Different geometries are analyzed and the production methods are discussed. The high-emissivity temperature calibration source features values of 0.99 for wavelength from 5 μm to 10 μm and emissivity larger than 0.95 for the spectral range from 10 μm to 40 μm.

A compilation of chemical quality data for ground and surface waters in Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Connor, John G.; Mitchell, C.G.

1958-01-01

An accelerated use of water resulting from a growing population, industrial expansion, and irrigation has brought into focus the importance of the quality as well as the quantity of this natural resource in Utah. As new demands are made on the existing supply, a search goes on for new sources of ground and surface water. These new sources must not only meet quantity requirements, but also must fall within certain limits of chemical composition - in relation to its proposed use.The prime purpose of this report is to compile into one volume all of the available information that exists on the quality of ground and surface water in Utah. The various sources of information, named in the preface, have supplied data obtained through their own organizations. Analyses from these sources may be identified by reference to the indicated 2-letter code on the data sheets.

Temporal Dynamics of Sodic Playa Salt Crust Patterns: Implications for Aeolian Dust Emission Potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nield, J. M.; King, J.; Bryant, R. G.; Wiggs, G.; Eckardt, F. D.; Thomas, D. S.; Washington, R.

2013-12-01

Salt pans (or playas) are common in arid environments and can be major sources of windblown mineral dust, but there are uncertainties associated with their dust emission potential. These landforms typically form crusts which modify both their erosivity and erodibility by limiting sediment availability, modifying surface and aerodynamic roughness and limiting evaporation rates and sediment production. Here we show the relationship between seasonal surface moisture change and crust pattern development based on both remote-sensing and field surface and atmospheric measurements. We use high resolution (sub-cm) terrestrial laser scanning (TLS; ground-based lidar) surveys over weekly, monthly and annual timescales to accurately characterise crustal ridge thrusting and collapse. This can be as much as 2 mm/day on fresh pan areas that have recently been reset by flooding. Over a two month period, this ridge growth can change aerodynamic roughness length values by 6.5 mm. At the same time, crack densities across the surface increase and this raises the availability of erodible fluffy, low density dust source sediment stored below the crust layer. Ridge spaces are defined in the early stages of crust development, as identified by Fourier Transform analysis, but wider wavelengths become more pronounced over time. We present a conceptual model accounting for the driving forces (subsurface, surface and atmospheric moisture) and feedbacks between these and surface shape that lead to crust pattern trajectories between highly emissive degraded surfaces and less emissive ridged or continuous crusts. These findings improve our understanding of temporal changes in dust availability and supply from playa source regions.

40 CFR 63.4941 - How do I demonstrate initial compliance with the emission limitations?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Surface Coating of... material option is not required to comply with the operating limits or work practice standards required in...

40 CFR 63.4541 - How do I demonstrate initial compliance with the emission limitations?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Surface Coating... required to meet the operating limits or work practice standards required in §§ 63.4492 and 63.4493...

40 CFR 63.3521 - How do I demonstrate initial compliance with the emission limitations?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Surface Coating of... compliant material option is not required to meet the operating limits or work practice standards required...

40 CFR 63.4141 - How do I demonstrate initial compliance with the emission limitations?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Surface Coating of... to meet the operating limits or work practice standards required in §§ 63.4092 and 63.4093...

40 CFR 63.4551 - How do I demonstrate initial compliance with the emission limitations?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Surface Coating... limits or work practice standards in §§ 63.4492 and 63.4493, respectively. You must conduct a separate...

New constraints on neutron star models of gamma-ray bursts. II - X-ray observations of three gamma-ray burst error boxes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boer, M.; Hurley, K.; Pizzichini, G.; Gottardi, M.

1991-01-01

Exosat observations are presented for 3 gamma-ray-burst error boxes, one of which may be associated with an optical flash. No point sources were detected at the 3-sigma level. A comparison with Einstein data (Pizzichini et al., 1986) is made for the March 5b, 1979 source. The data are interpreted in the framework of neutron star models and derive upper limits for the neutron star surface temperatures, accretion rates, and surface densities of an accretion disk. Apart from the March 5b, 1979 source, consistency is found with each model.

Spatiotemporal Modelling of Dust Storm Sources Emission in West Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khodabandehloo, E.; Alimohamdadi, A.; Sadeghi-Niaraki, A.; Darvishi Boloorani, A.; Alesheikh, A. A.

2013-09-01

Dust aerosol is the largest contributor to aerosol mass concentrations in the troposphere and has considerable effects on the air quality of spatial and temporal scales. Arid and semi-arid areas of the West Asia are one of the most important regional dust sources in the world. These phenomena directly or indirectly affecting almost all aspects life in almost 15 countries in the region. So an accurate estimate of dust emissions is very crucial for making a common understanding and knowledge of the problem. Because of the spatial and temporal limits of the ground-based observations, remote sensing methods have been found to be more efficient and useful for studying the West Asia dust source. The vegetation cover limits dust emission by decelerating the surface wind velocities and therefore reducing the momentum transport. While all models explicitly take into account the change of wind speed and soil moisture in calculating dust emissions, they commonly employ a "climatological" land cover data for identifying dust source locations and neglect the time variation of surface bareness. In order to compile the aforementioned model, land surface features such as soil moisture, texture, type, and vegetation and also wind speed as atmospheric parameter are used. Having used NDVI data show significant change in dust emission, The modeled dust emission with static source function in June 2008 is 17.02 % higher than static source function and similar result for Mach 2007 show the static source function is 8.91 % higher than static source function. we witness a significant improvement in accuracy of dust forecasts during the months of most soil vegetation changes (spring and winter) compared to outputs resulted from static model, in which NDVI data are neglected.

Streambanks: A net source of sediment and phosphorus to streams and rivers

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Sediment and phosphorus (P) are two primary pollutants of surface waters. Many studies have investigated loadings from upland sources or even streambed sediment, but in many cases, limited to no data exist to determine sediment and P loading from streambanks on a watershed scale. The objectives of t...

A Targeted Search for Point Sources of EeV Photons with the Pierre Auger Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aab, A.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; Samarai, I. Al; Albuquerque, I. F. M.; Allekotte, I.; Almela, A.; Alvarez Castillo, J.; Alvarez-Muñiz, J.; Anastasi, G. A.; Anchordoqui, L.; Andrada, B.; Andringa, S.; Aramo, C.; Arqueros, F.; Arsene, N.; Asorey, H.; Assis, P.; Aublin, J.; Avila, G.; Badescu, A. M.; Balaceanu, A.; Barreira Luz, R. J.; Beatty, J. J.; Becker, K. H.; Bellido, J. A.; Berat, C.; Bertaina, M. E.; Bertou, X.; Biermann, P. L.; Billoir, P.; Biteau, J.; Blaess, S. G.; Blanco, A.; Blazek, J.; Bleve, C.; Boháčová, M.; Boncioli, D.; Bonifazi, C.; Borodai, N.; Botti, A. M.; Brack, J.; Brancus, I.; Bretz, T.; Bridgeman, A.; Briechle, F. L.; Buchholz, P.; Bueno, A.; Buitink, S.; Buscemi, M.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Caccianiga, L.; Cancio, A.; Canfora, F.; Caramete, L.; Caruso, R.; Castellina, A.; Cataldi, G.; Cazon, L.; Chavez, A. G.; Chinellato, J. A.; Chudoba, J.; Clay, R. W.; Colalillo, R.; Coleman, A.; Collica, L.; Coluccia, M. R.; Conceição, R.; Contreras, F.; Cooper, M. J.; Coutu, S.; Covault, C. E.; Cronin, J.; D'Amico, S.; Daniel, B.; Dasso, S.; Daumiller, K.; Dawson, B. R.; de Almeida, R. M.; de Jong, S. J.; De Mauro, G.; de Mello Neto, J. R. T.; De Mitri, I.; de Oliveira, J.; de Souza, V.; Debatin, J.; Deligny, O.; Di Giulio, C.; Di Matteo, A.; Díaz Castro, M. L.; Diogo, F.; Dobrigkeit, C.; D'Olivo, J. C.; Dorosti, Q.; dos Anjos, R. C.; Dova, M. T.; Dundovic, A.; Ebr, J.; Engel, R.; Erdmann, M.; Erfani, M.; Escobar, C. O.; Espadanal, J.; Etchegoyen, A.; Falcke, H.; Farrar, G.; Fauth, A. C.; Fazzini, N.; Fick, B.; Figueira, J. M.; Filipčič, A.; Fratu, O.; Freire, M. M.; Fujii, T.; Fuster, A.; Gaior, R.; García, B.; Garcia-Pinto, D.; Gaté, F.; Gemmeke, H.; Gherghel-Lascu, A.; Ghia, P. L.; Giaccari, U.; Giammarchi, M.; Giller, M.; Głas, D.; Glaser, C.; Golup, G.; Gómez Berisso, M.; Gómez Vitale, P. F.; González, N.; Gorgi, A.; Gorham, P.; Grillo, A. F.; Grubb, T. D.; Guarino, F.; Guedes, G. P.; Hampel, M. R.; Hansen, P.; Harari, D.; Harrison, T. A.; Harton, J. L.; Haungs, A.; Hebbeker, T.; Heck, D.; Heimann, P.; Herve, A. E.; Hill, G. C.; Hojvat, C.; Holt, E.; Homola, P.; Hörandel, J. R.; Horvath, P.; Hrabovský, M.; Huege, T.; Hulsman, J.; Insolia, A.; Isar, P. G.; Jandt, I.; Jansen, S.; Johnsen, J. A.; Josebachuili, M.; Kääpä, A.; Kambeitz, O.; Kampert, K. H.; Katkov, I.; Keilhauer, B.; Kemp, E.; Kemp, J.; Kieckhafer, R. M.; Klages, H. O.; Kleifges, M.; Kleinfeller, J.; Krause, R.; Krohm, N.; Kuempel, D.; Kukec Mezek, G.; Kunka, N.; Kuotb Awad, A.; LaHurd, D.; Lauscher, M.; Legumina, R.; Leigui de Oliveira, M. A.; Letessier-Selvon, A.; Lhenry-Yvon, I.; Link, K.; Lopes, L.; López, R.; López Casado, A.; Luce, Q.; Lucero, A.; Malacari, M.; Mallamaci, M.; Mandat, D.; Mantsch, P.; Mariazzi, A. G.; Mariş, I. C.; Marsella, G.; Martello, D.; Martinez, H.; Martínez Bravo, O.; Masías Meza, J. J.; Mathes, H. J.; Mathys, S.; Matthews, J.; Matthews, J. A. J.; Matthiae, G.; Mayotte, E.; Mazur, P. O.; Medina, C.; Medina-Tanco, G.; Melo, D.; Menshikov, A.; Micheletti, M. I.; Middendorf, L.; Minaya, I. A.; Miramonti, L.; Mitrica, B.; Mockler, D.; Mollerach, S.; Montanet, F.; Morello, C.; Mostafá, M.; Müller, A. L.; Müller, G.; Muller, M. A.; Müller, S.; Mussa, R.; Naranjo, I.; Nellen, L.; Nguyen, P. H.; Niculescu-Oglinzanu, M.; Niechciol, M.; Niemietz, L.; Niggemann, T.; Nitz, D.; Nosek, D.; Novotny, V.; Nožka, H.; Núñez, L. A.; Ochilo, L.; Oikonomou, F.; Olinto, A.; Palatka, M.; Pallotta, J.; Papenbreer, P.; Parente, G.; Parra, A.; Paul, T.; Pech, M.; Pedreira, F.; Pȩkala, J.; Pelayo, R.; Peña-Rodriguez, J.; Pereira, L. A. S.; Perlín, M.; Perrone, L.; Peters, C.; Petrera, S.; Phuntsok, J.; Piegaia, R.; Pierog, T.; Pieroni, P.; Pimenta, M.; Pirronello, V.; Platino, M.; Plum, M.; Porowski, C.; Prado, R. R.; Privitera, P.; Prouza, M.; Quel, E. J.; Querchfeld, S.; Quinn, S.; Ramos-Pollan, R.; Rautenberg, J.; Ravignani, D.; Revenu, B.; Ridky, J.; Risse, M.; Ristori, P.; Rizi, V.; Rodrigues de Carvalho, W.; Rodriguez Fernandez, G.; Rodriguez Rojo, J.; Rogozin, D.; Roncoroni, M. J.; Roth, M.; Roulet, E.; Rovero, A. C.; Ruehl, P.; Saffi, S. J.; Saftoiu, A.; Salamida, F.; Salazar, H.; Saleh, A.; Salesa Greus, F.; Salina, G.; Sánchez, F.; Sanchez-Lucas, P.; Santos, E. M.; Santos, E.; Sarazin, F.; Sarmento, R.; Sarmiento, C. A.; Sato, R.; Schauer, M.; Scherini, V.; Schieler, H.; Schimp, M.; Schmidt, D.; Scholten, O.; Schovánek, P.; Schröder, F. G.; Schulz, A.; Schulz, J.; Schumacher, J.; Sciutto, S. J.; Segreto, A.; Settimo, M.; Shadkam, A.; Shellard, R. C.; Sigl, G.; Silli, G.; Sima, O.; Śmiałkowski, A.; Šmída, R.; Snow, G. R.; Sommers, P.; Sonntag, S.; Sorokin, J.; Squartini, R.; Stanca, D.; Stanič, S.; Stasielak, J.; Stassi, P.; Strafella, F.; Suarez, F.; Suarez Durán, M.; Sudholz, T.; Suomijärvi, T.; Supanitsky, A. D.; Swain, J.; Szadkowski, Z.; Taboada, A.; Taborda, O. A.; Tapia, A.; Theodoro, V. M.; Timmermans, C.; Todero Peixoto, C. J.; Tomankova, L.; Tomé, B.; Torralba Elipe, G.; Travnicek, P.; Trini, M.; Ulrich, R.; Unger, M.; Urban, M.; Valdés Galicia, J. F.; Valiño, I.; Valore, L.; van Aar, G.; van Bodegom, P.; van den Berg, A. M.; van Vliet, A.; Varela, E.; Vargas Cárdenas, B.; Varner, G.; Vázquez, J. R.; Vázquez, R. A.; Veberič, D.; Vergara Quispe, I. D.; Verzi, V.; Vicha, J.; Villaseñor, L.; Vorobiov, S.; Wahlberg, H.; Wainberg, O.; Walz, D.; Watson, A. A.; Weber, M.; Weindl, A.; Wiencke, L.; Wilczyński, H.; Winchen, T.; Wirtz, M.; Wittkowski, D.; Wundheiler, B.; Yang, L.; Yelos, D.; Yushkov, A.; Zas, E.; Zavrtanik, D.; Zavrtanik, M.; Zepeda, A.; Zimmermann, B.; Ziolkowski, M.; Zong, Z.; Zuccarello, F.

2017-03-01

Simultaneous measurements of air showers with the fluorescence and surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory allow a sensitive search for EeV photon point sources. Several Galactic and extragalactic candidate objects are grouped in classes to reduce the statistical penalty of many trials from that of a blind search and are analyzed for a significant excess above the background expectation. The presented search does not find any evidence for photon emission at candidate sources, and combined p-values for every class are reported. Particle and energy flux upper limits are given for selected candidate sources. These limits significantly constrain predictions of EeV proton emission models from non-transient Galactic and nearby extragalactic sources, as illustrated for the particular case of the Galactic center region.

Improved surface-wave retrieval from ambient seismic noise by multi-dimensional deconvolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wapenaar, Kees; Ruigrok, Elmer; van der Neut, Joost; Draganov, Deyan

2011-01-01

The methodology of surface-wave retrieval from ambient seismic noise by crosscorrelation relies on the assumption that the noise field is equipartitioned. Deviations from equipartitioning degrade the accuracy of the retrieved surface-wave Green's function. A point-spread function, derived from the same ambient noise field, quantifies the smearing in space and time of the virtual source of the Green's function. By multidimensionally deconvolving the retrieved Green's function by the point-spread function, the virtual source becomes better focussed in space and time and hence the accuracy of the retrieved surface-wave Green's function may improve significantly. We illustrate this at the hand of a numerical example and discuss the advantages and limitations of this new methodology.

A Search for Point Sources of EeV Photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aab, A.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; Ahlers, M.; Ahn, E. J.; Samarai, I. Al; Albuquerque, I. F. M.; Allekotte, I.; Allen, J.; Allison, P.; Almela, A.; Alvarez Castillo, J.; Alvarez-Muñiz, J.; Alves Batista, R.; Ambrosio, M.; Aminaei, A.; Anchordoqui, L.; Andringa, S.; Aramo, C.; Arqueros, F.; Asorey, H.; Assis, P.; Aublin, J.; Ave, M.; Avenier, M.; Avila, G.; Badescu, A. M.; Barber, K. B.; Bäuml, J.; Baus, C.; Beatty, J. J.; Becker, K. H.; Bellido, J. A.; Berat, C.; Bertou, X.; Biermann, P. L.; Billoir, P.; Blanco, F.; Blanco, M.; Bleve, C.; Blümer, H.; Boháčová, M.; Boncioli, D.; Bonifazi, C.; Bonino, R.; Borodai, N.; Brack, J.; Brancus, I.; Brogueira, P.; Brown, W. C.; Buchholz, P.; Bueno, A.; Buscemi, M.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Caccianiga, B.; Caccianiga, L.; Candusso, M.; Caramete, L.; Caruso, R.; Castellina, A.; Cataldi, G.; Cazon, L.; Cester, R.; Chavez, A. G.; Cheng, S. H.; Chiavassa, A.; Chinellato, J. A.; Chudoba, J.; Cilmo, M.; Clay, R. W.; Cocciolo, G.; Colalillo, R.; Collica, L.; Coluccia, M. R.; Conceição, R.; Contreras, F.; Cooper, M. J.; Coutu, S.; Covault, C. E.; Criss, A.; Cronin, J.; Curutiu, A.; Dallier, R.; Daniel, B.; Dasso, S.; Daumiller, K.; Dawson, B. R.; de Almeida, R. M.; De Domenico, M.; de Jong, S. J.; de Mello Neto, J. R. T.; De Mitri, I.; de Oliveira, J.; de Souza, V.; del Peral, L.; Deligny, O.; Dembinski, H.; Dhital, N.; Di Giulio, C.; Di Matteo, A.; Diaz, J. C.; Díaz Castro, M. L.; Diep, P. N.; Diogo, F.; Dobrigkeit, C.; Docters, W.; D'Olivo, J. C.; Dong, P. N.; Dorofeev, A.; Dorosti Hasankiadeh, Q.; Dova, M. T.; Ebr, J.; Engel, R.; Erdmann, M.; Erfani, M.; Escobar, C. O.; Espadanal, J.; Etchegoyen, A.; Facal San Luis, P.; Falcke, H.; Fang, K.; Farrar, G.; Fauth, A. C.; Fazzini, N.; Ferguson, A. P.; Fernandes, M.; Fick, B.; Figueira, J. M.; Filevich, A.; Filipčič, A.; Fox, B. D.; Fratu, O.; Fröhlich, U.; Fuchs, B.; Fuji, T.; Gaior, R.; García, B.; Garcia Roca, S. T.; Garcia-Gamez, D.; Garcia-Pinto, D.; Garilli, G.; Gascon Bravo, A.; Gate, F.; Gemmeke, H.; Ghia, P. L.; Giaccari, U.; Giammarchi, M.; Giller, M.; Glaser, C.; Glass, H.; Gomez Albarracin, F.; Gómez Berisso, M.; Gómez Vitale, P. F.; Gonçalves, P.; Gonzalez, J. G.; Gookin, B.; Gorgi, A.; Gorham, P.; Gouffon, P.; Grebe, S.; Griffith, N.; Grillo, A. F.; Grubb, T. D.; Guardincerri, Y.; Guarino, F.; Guedes, G. P.; Hansen, P.; Harari, D.; Harrison, T. A.; Harton, J. L.; Haungs, A.; Hebbeker, T.; Heck, D.; Heimann, P.; Herve, A. E.; Hill, G. C.; Hojvat, C.; Hollon, N.; Holt, E.; Homola, P.; Hörandel, J. R.; Horvath, P.; Hrabovský, M.; Huber, D.; Huege, T.; Insolia, A.; Isar, P. G.; Islo, K.; Jandt, I.; Jansen, S.; Jarne, C.; Josebachuili, M.; Kääpä, A.; Kambeitz, O.; Kampert, K. H.; Kasper, P.; Katkov, I.; Kégl, B.; Keilhauer, B.; Keivani, A.; Kemp, E.; Kieckhafer, R. M.; Klages, H. O.; Kleifges, M.; Kleinfeller, J.; Krause, R.; Krohm, N.; Krömer, O.; Kruppke-Hansen, D.; Kuempel, D.; Kunka, N.; La Rosa, G.; LaHurd, D.; Latronico, L.; Lauer, R.; Lauscher, M.; Lautridou, P.; Le Coz, S.; Leão, M. S. A. B.; Lebrun, D.; Lebrun, P.; Leigui de Oliveira, M. A.; Letessier-Selvon, A.; Lhenry-Yvon, I.; Link, K.; López, R.; Lopez Agüera, A.; Louedec, K.; Lozano Bahilo, J.; Lu, L.; Lucero, A.; Ludwig, M.; Lyberis, H.; Maccarone, M. C.; Malacari, M.; Maldera, S.; Maller, J.; Mandat, D.; Mantsch, P.; Mariazzi, A. G.; Marin, V.; Mariş, I. C.; Marsella, G.; Martello, D.; Martin, L.; Martinez, H.; Martínez Bravo, O.; Martraire, D.; Masías Meza, J. J.; Mathes, H. J.; Mathys, S.; Matthews, A. J.; Matthews, J.; Matthiae, G.; Maurel, D.; Maurizio, D.; Mayotte, E.; Mazur, P. O.; Medina, C.; Medina-Tanco, G.; Melissas, M.; Melo, D.; Menichetti, E.; Menshikov, A.; Messina, S.; Meyhandan, R.; Mićanović, S.; Micheletti, M. I.; Middendorf, L.; Minaya, I. A.; Miramonti, L.; Mitrica, B.; Molina-Bueno, L.; Mollerach, S.; Monasor, M.; Monnier Ragaigne, D.; Montanet, F.; Morello, C.; Moreno, J. C.; Mostafá, M.; Moura, C. A.; Muller, M. A.; Müller, G.; Münchmeyer, M.; Mussa, R.; Navarra, G.; Navas, S.; Necesal, P.; Nellen, L.; Nelles, A.; Neuser, J.; Niechciol, M.; Niemietz, L.; Niggemann, T.; Nitz, D.; Nosek, D.; Novotny, V.; Nožka, L.; Ochilo, L.; Olinto, A.; Oliveira, M.; Ortiz, M.; Pacheco, N.; Pakk Selmi-Dei, D.; Palatka, M.; Pallotta, J.; Palmieri, N.; Papenbreer, P.; Parente, G.; Parra, A.; Pastor, S.; Paul, T.; Pech, M.; Peķala, J.; Pelayo, R.; Pepe, I. M.; Perrone, L.; Pesce, R.; Petermann, E.; Peters, C.; Petrera, S.; Petrolini, A.; Petrov, Y.; Piegaia, R.; Pierog, T.; Pieroni, P.; Pimenta, M.; Pirronello, V.; Platino, M.; Plum, M.; Porcelli, A.; Porowski, C.; Privitera, P.; Prouza, M.; Purrello, V.; Quel, E. J.; Querchfeld, S.; Quinn, S.; Rautenberg, J.; Ravel, O.; Ravignani, D.; Revenu, B.; Ridky, J.; Riggi, S.; Risse, M.; Ristori, P.; Rizi, V.; Roberts, J.; Rodrigues de Carvalho, W.; Rodriguez Cabo, I.; Rodriguez Fernandez, G.; Rodriguez Rojo, J.; Rodríguez-Frías, M. D.; Ros, G.; Rosado, J.; Rossler, T.; Roth, M.; Roulet, E.; Rovero, A. C.; Rühle, C.; Saffi, S. J.; Saftoiu, A.; Salamida, F.; Salazar, H.; Salesa Greus, F.; Salina, G.; Sánchez, F.; Sanchez-Lucas, P.; Santo, C. E.; Santos, E.; Santos, E. M.; Sarazin, F.; Sarkar, B.; Sarmento, R.; Sato, R.; Scharf, N.; Scherini, V.; Schieler, H.; Schiffer, P.; Schmidt, A.; Scholten, O.; Schoorlemmer, H.; Schovánek, P.; Schulz, A.; Schulz, J.; Sciutto, S. J.; Segreto, A.; Settimo, M.; Shadkam, A.; Shellard, R. C.; Sidelnik, I.; Sigl, G.; Sima, O.; Śmiałkowski, A.; Šmída, R.; Snow, G. R.; Sommers, P.; Sorokin, J.; Squartini, R.; Srivastava, Y. N.; Stanič, S.; Stapleton, J.; Stasielak, J.; Stephan, M.; Stutz, A.; Suarez, F.; Suomijärvi, T.; Supanitsky, A. D.; Sutherland, M. S.; Swain, J.; Szadkowski, Z.; Szuba, M.; Taborda, O. A.; Tapia, A.; Tartare, M.; Thao, N. T.; Theodoro, V. M.; Tiffenberg, J.; Timmermans, C.; Todero Peixoto, C. J.; Toma, G.; Tomankova, L.; Tomé, B.; Tonachini, A.; Torralba Elipe, G.; Torres Machado, D.; Travnicek, P.; Trovato, E.; Tueros, M.; Ulrich, R.; Unger, M.; Urban, M.; Valdés Galicia, J. F.; Valiño, I.; Valore, L.; van Aar, G.; van den Berg, A. M.; van Velzen, S.; van Vliet, A.; Varela, E.; Vargas Cárdenas, B.; Varner, G.; Vázquez, J. R.; Vázquez, R. A.; Veberič, D.; Verzi, V.; Vicha, J.; Videla, M.; Villaseñor, L.; Vlcek, B.; Vorobiov, S.; Wahlberg, H.; Wainberg, O.; Walz, D.; Watson, A. A.; Weber, M.; Weidenhaupt, K.; Weindl, A.; Werner, F.; Whelan, B. J.; Widom, A.; Wiencke, L.; Wilczyńska, B.; Wilczyński, H.; Will, M.; Williams, C.; Winchen, T.; Wittkowski, D.; Wundheiler, B.; Wykes, S.; Yamamoto, T.; Yapici, T.; Younk, P.; Yuan, G.; Yushkov, A.; Zamorano, B.; Zas, E.; Zavrtanik, D.; Zavrtanik, M.; Zaw, I.; Zepeda, A.; Zhou, J.; Zhu, Y.; Zimbres Silva, M.; Ziolkowski, M.; Auger Collaboration102, The Pierre

2014-07-01

Measurements of air showers made using the hybrid technique developed with the fluorescence and surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory allow a sensitive search for point sources of EeV photons anywhere in the exposed sky. A multivariate analysis reduces the background of hadronic cosmic rays. The search is sensitive to a declination band from -85° to +20°, in an energy range from 1017.3 eV to 1018.5 eV. No photon point source has been detected. An upper limit on the photon flux has been derived for every direction. The mean value of the energy flux limit that results from this, assuming a photon spectral index of -2, is 0.06 eV cm-2 s-1, and no celestial direction exceeds 0.25 eV cm-2 s-1. These upper limits constrain scenarios in which EeV cosmic ray protons are emitted by non-transient sources in the Galaxy.

CONCENTRATIONS AND ESTIMATED LOADS OF NITROGEN CONTRIBUTED BY TWO ADJACENT WETLAND STREAMS WITH DIFFERENT FLOW-SOURCE TERMS IN WATKINSVILLE, GA

EPA Science Inventory

Inorganic, fixed nitrogen from agricultural settings often is introduced to first-order streams via surface runoff and shallow ground-water flow. Best management practices for limiting the flux of fixed N to surface waters often include buffers such as wetlands. However, the eff...

CONCENTRATIONS AND ESTIMATED LOADS OF NITROGEN CONTRIBUTED BY TWO ADJACENT WETLAND STREAMS WITH DIFFERENT FLOW-SOURCE TERMS IN WATKINSVILLE, GEORGIA

EPA Science Inventory

Inorganic, fixed nitrogen from agricultural settings often is introduced to first-order streams via surface runoff and shallow ground-water flow. Best management practices for limiting the flux of fixed N to surface waters often include buffers such as wetlands. However, the eff...

40 CFR 63.3890 - What emission limits must I meet?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... compliance period. (3) For each new magnet wire coating affected source, limit organic HAP emissions to no...) coating solids used during each 12-month compliance period. (3) For each existing magnet wire coating.... (1) If the general use or magnet wire surface coating operations subject to only one of the emission...

Modeling MESSENGER Observations of Calcium in Mercury's Exosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burger, Matthew Howard; Killen, Rosemary M.; McClintock, William E.; Vervack, Ronald J., Jr.; Merkel, Aimee W.; Sprague, Ann L.; Sarantos, Menelaos

2012-01-01

The Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) on the MESSENGER spacecraft has made the first high-spatial-resolution observations of exospheric calcium at Mercury. We use a Monte Carlo model of the exosphere to track the trajectories of calcium atoms ejected from the surface until they are photoionized, escape from the system, or stick to the surface. This model permits an exploration of exospheric source processes and interactions among neutral atoms, solar radiation, and the planetary surface. The MASCS data have suggested that a persistent, high-energy source of calcium that was enhanced in the dawn, equatorial region of Mercury was active during MESSENGER's three flybys of Mercury and during the first seven orbits for which MASCS obtained data. The total Ca source rate from the surface varied between 1.2x10(exp 23) and 2.6x10(exp 23) Ca atoms/s, if its temperature was 50,000 K. The origin of this high-energy, asymmetric source is unknown, although from this limited data set it does not appear to be consistent with micrometeoroid impact vaporization, ion sputtering, electron-stimulated desorption, or vaporization at dawn of material trapped on the cold nightside.

Estimating the extent of impervious surfaces and turf grass across large regions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Claggett, Peter; Irani, Frederick M.; Thompson, Renee L.

2013-01-01

The ability of researchers to accurately assess the extent of impervious and pervious developed surfaces, e.g., turf grass, using land-cover data derived from Landsat satellite imagery in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is limited due to the resolution of the data and systematic discrepancies between developed land-cover classes, surface mines, forests, and farmlands. Estimates of impervious surface and turf grass area in the Mid-Atlantic, United States that were based on 2006 Landsat-derived land-cover data were substantially lower than estimates based on more authoritative and independent sources. New estimates of impervious surfaces and turf grass area derived using land-cover data combined with ancillary information on roads, housing units, surface mines, and sampled estimates of road width and residential impervious area were up to 57 and 45% higher than estimates based strictly on land-cover data. These new estimates closely approximate estimates derived from authoritative and independent sources in developed counties.

Simulated impacts of artificial groundwater recharge and discharge of the source area and source volume of an Atlantic Coastal Plain Stream, Delaware, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kasper, Joshua W.; Denver, Judish M.; McKenna, Thomas E.; Ullman, William J.

2010-01-01

A numerical groundwater-flow model was used to characterize the source area and volume of Phillips Branch, a baseflow-dominated stream incising a highly permeable unconfined aquifer on the low relief Delmarva Peninsula, USA. Particle-tracking analyses indicate that the source area (5.51 km2) is ~20% smaller than the topographically defined watershed (6.85 km2), and recharge entering ~37% of the surface watershed does not discharge to Phillips Branch. Groundwater residence time within the source volume ranges from a few days to almost 100 years, with 95% of the volume "flushing" within 50 years. Artificial discharge from groundwater pumping alters the shape of the source area and reduces baseflow due to the interception of stream flow paths, but has limited impacts on the residence time of groundwater discharged as baseflow. In contrast, artificial recharge from land-based wastewater disposal substantially reduces the source area, lowers the range in residence time due to the elimination of older flow paths to the stream, and leads to increased discharge to adjacent surface-water bodies. This research suggests that, in this and similar hydrogeologic settings, the "watershed" approach to water-resource management may be limited, particularly where anthropogenic stresses alter the transport of soluble contaminants through highly permeable unconfined aquifers.

A Targeted Search for Point Sources of EeV Photons with the Pierre Auger Observatory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aab, A.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.

Simultaneous measurements of air showers with the fluorescence and surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory allow a sensitive search for EeV photon point sources. Several Galactic and extragalactic candidate objects are grouped in classes to reduce the statistical penalty of many trials from that of a blind search and are analyzed for a significant excess above the background expectation. The presented search does not find any evidence for photon emission at candidate sources, and combined p-values for every class are reported. Particle and energy flux upper limits are given for selected candidate sources. Lastly, these limits significantly constrain predictionsmore » of EeV proton emission models from non-transient Galactic and nearby extragalactic sources, as illustrated for the particular case of the Galactic center region.« less

A Targeted Search for Point Sources of EeV Photons with the Pierre Auger Observatory

DOE PAGES

Aab, A.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; ...

2017-03-09

Simultaneous measurements of air showers with the fluorescence and surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory allow a sensitive search for EeV photon point sources. Several Galactic and extragalactic candidate objects are grouped in classes to reduce the statistical penalty of many trials from that of a blind search and are analyzed for a significant excess above the background expectation. The presented search does not find any evidence for photon emission at candidate sources, and combined p-values for every class are reported. Particle and energy flux upper limits are given for selected candidate sources. Lastly, these limits significantly constrain predictionsmore » of EeV proton emission models from non-transient Galactic and nearby extragalactic sources, as illustrated for the particular case of the Galactic center region.« less

A Targeted Search for Point Sources of EeV Photons with the Pierre Auger Observatory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aab, A.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.

Simultaneous measurements of air showers with the fluorescence and surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory allow a sensitive search for EeV photon point sources. Several Galactic and extragalactic candidate objects are grouped in classes to reduce the statistical penalty of many trials from that of a blind search and are analyzed for a significant excess above the background expectation. The presented search does not find any evidence for photon emission at candidate sources, and combined p -values for every class are reported. Particle and energy flux upper limits are given for selected candidate sources. These limits significantly constrain predictionsmore » of EeV proton emission models from non-transient Galactic and nearby extragalactic sources, as illustrated for the particular case of the Galactic center region.« less

A comparison of partially specular radiosity and ray tracing for room acoustics modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beamer, C. Walter; Muehleisen, Ralph T.

2005-04-01

Partially specular (PS) radiosity is an extended form of the general radiosity method. Acoustic radiosity is a form of bulk transfer of radiant acoustic energy. This bulk transfer is accomplished through a system of energy balance equations that relate the bulk energy transfer of each surface in the system to all other surfaces in the system. Until now acoustic radiosity has been limited to modeling only diffuse surface reflection. The new PS acoustic radiosity method can model all real surface types, diffuse, specular and everything in between. PS acoustic radiosity also models all real source types and distributions, not just point sources. The results of the PS acoustic radiosity method are compared to those of well known ray tracing programs. [Work supported by NSF.

Top and bottom surfaces limit carrier lifetime in lead iodide perovskite films

DOE PAGES

Yang, Ye; Yang, Mengjin; Moore, David T.; ...

2017-01-23

Carrier recombination at defects is detrimental to the performance of solar energy conversion systems, including solar cells and photoelectrochemical devices. Point defects are localized within the bulk crystal while extended defects occur at surfaces and grain boundaries. If not properly managed, surfaces can be a large source of carrier recombination. Separating surface carrier dynamics from bulk and/or grain-boundary recombination in thin films is challenging. Here, we employ transient reflection spectroscopy to measure the surface carrier dynamics in methylammonium lead iodide perovskite polycrystalline films. We find that surface recombination limits the total carrier lifetime in perovskite polycrystalline thin films, meaning thatmore » recombination inside grains and/or at grain boundaries is less important than top and bottom surface recombination. As a result, the surface recombination velocity in polycrystalline films is nearly an order of magnitude smaller than that in single crystals, possibly due to unintended surface passivation of the films during synthesis.« less

A tuneable approach to uniform light distribution for artificial daylight photodynamic therapy.

PubMed

O'Mahoney, Paul; Haigh, Neil; Wood, Kenny; Brown, C Tom A; Ibbotson, Sally; Eadie, Ewan

2018-06-16

Implementation of daylight photodynamic therapy (dPDT) is somewhat limited by variable weather conditions. Light sources have been employed to provide artificial dPDT indoors, with low irradiances and longer treatment times. Uniform light distribution across the target area is key to ensuring effective treatment, particularly for large areas. A novel light source is developed with tuneable direction of light emission in order to meet this challenge. Wavelength composition of the novel light source is controlled such that the protoporphyrin-IX (PpIX) weighed spectra of both the light source and daylight match. The uniformity of the light source is characterised on a flat surface, a model head and a model leg. For context, a typical conventional PDT light source is also characterised. Additionally, the wavelength uniformity across the treatment site is characterised. The PpIX-weighted spectrum of the novel light source matches with PpIX-weighted daylight spectrum, with irradiance values within the bounds for effective dPDT. By tuning the direction of light emission, improvements are seen in the uniformity across large anatomical surfaces. Wavelength uniformity is discussed. We have developed a light source that addresses the challenges in uniform, multiwavelength light distribution for large area artificial dPDT across curved anatomical surfaces. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Limits on the prediction of helicopter rotor noise using thickness and loading sources: Validation of helicopter noise prediction techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Succi, G. P.

1983-01-01

The techniques of helicopter rotor noise prediction attempt to describe precisely the details of the noise field and remove the empiricisms and restrictions inherent in previous methods. These techniques require detailed inputs of the rotor geometry, operating conditions, and blade surface pressure distribution. The Farassat noise prediction techniques was studied, and high speed helicopter noise prediction using more detailed representations of the thickness and loading noise sources was investigated. These predictions were based on the measured blade surface pressures on an AH-1G rotor and compared to the measured sound field. Although refinements in the representation of the thickness and loading noise sources improve the calculation, there are still discrepancies between the measured and predicted sound field. Analysis of the blade surface pressure data indicates shocks on the blades, which are probably responsible for these discrepancies.

Conditioning of the 4 Curies Radium-226 Sealed Radiation Source in Thailand

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Punnachaiya, M.; Sawangsri, T.; Wanabongse, P.

This paper describes the conditioning of the 4 curies Radium-226 (Ra-226) sealed radiation source using as a teletherapy unit for cancer treatment in Thailand. The conditioning was under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supervision and budgetary supports, comprised of 6 operational steps: the surface dose rate and actual dimension of radium unit measurements, the appropriate lead shielding design with IAEA approval, confirmation of radioactive contamination before conditioning (smear test and radon gas leakage test), transfer of radium source unit into the designed shielding, confirmation of radioactive contamination and dose rate measurement after conditioning, and transportation of Ra-226 conditioning wastemore » package to OAP interim waste storage. The Ra-226 unit was taken out of OAP temporary waste storage for the surface dose rate and the actual dimension measurements behind the 12 inches thick heavy concrete shielding. The maximum measured surface dose rate was 70 R/hr. The special lead container was designed according to its surface dose rate along the source unit which the maximum permissible dose limit for surface dose rate of waste package after conditioning at 2 mSv/hr was applied. The IAEA approved container had total weight of 2.4 ton. After the confirmation of radioactive contamination, Ra-226 source unit was transferred and loaded in the designed lead shielding within 2 minutes. The results of smear test before and after conditioning including radon gas leakage test revealed that there was no radioactive contamination. After conditioning, the surface dose rate measured on the top, bottom were 15,10 mR/hr and varied from 6 - 50 mR/hr around lead container. The Ra-226 conditioning waste package was safely transported to store in OAP interim waste storage. Total working time including the time consumed for radon gas leakage test was 3.5 hours. The total radiation dose received by 16 operators, were ranged from 1 - 69.84 {mu}Sv and the operational team completed the conditioning safely within the effective dose limit for occupational exposure of 50 mSv/year (200 {mu}Sv/day). (authors)« less

Methylene migration and coupling on a non-reducible metal oxide: The reaction of dichloromethane on stoichiometric α-Cr 2O 3(0001)

DOE PAGES

Dong, Yujung; Brooks, John D.; Chen, Tsung-Liang; ...

2014-09-17

The reaction of CH 2Cl 2 over the nearly-stoichiometric α-Cr 2O 3(0001) surface produces gas phase ethylene, methane and surface chlorine adatoms. The reaction is initiated by the decomposition of CH 2Cl 2 into surface methylene and chlorine. Photoemission indicates that surface cations are the preferred binding sites for both methylene and chlorine adatoms. Two reaction channels are observed for methylene coupling to ethylene in temperature-programmed desorption (TPD). A desorption-limited, low-temperature route is attributed to two methylenes bound at a single site. The majority of ethylene is produced by a reaction-limited process involving surface migration (diffusion) of methylene as themore » rate-limiting step. DFT calculations indicate the surface diffusion mechanism is mediated by surface oxygen anions. The source of hydrogen for methane formation is adsorbed background water. Chlorine adatoms produced by the dissociation of CH 2Cl 2 deactivate the surface by simple site-blocking of surface Cr 3+ sites. Finally, a comparison of experiment and theory shows that DFT provides a better description of the surface chemistry of the carbene intermediate than DFT+U using reported parameters for a best representation of the bulk electronic properties of α-Cr 2O 3.« less

Compact steady-state and high-flux Falcon ion source for tests of plasma-facing materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Girka, O.; Bizyukov, I.; Sereda, K.

2012-08-15

This paper describes the design and operation of the Falcon ion source. It is based on conventional design of anode layer thrusters. This ion source is a versatile, compact, affordable, and highly functional in the research field of the fusion materials. The reversed magnetic field configuration of the source allows precise focusing of the ion beam into small spot of Almost-Equal-To 3 mm and also provides the limited capabilities for impurity mass-separation. As the result, the source generates steady-state ion beam, which irradiates surface with high heat (0.3 - 21 MW m{sup -2}) and particle fluxes (4 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 21}-more » 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 23} m{sup -2}s{sup -1}), which approaches the upper limit for the flux range expected in ITER.« less

Helicon plasma generator-assisted surface conversion ion source for the production of H- ion beams at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Centera)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarvainen, O.; Rouleau, G.; Keller, R.; Geros, E.; Stelzer, J.; Ferris, J.

2008-02-01

The converter-type negative ion source currently employed at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) is based on cesium enhanced surface production of H- ion beams in a filament-driven discharge. In this kind of an ion source the extracted H- beam current is limited by the achievable plasma density which depends primarily on the electron emission current from the filaments. The emission current can be increased by increasing the filament temperature but, unfortunately, this leads not only to shorter filament lifetime but also to an increase in metal evaporation from the filament, which deposits on the H- converter surface and degrades its performance. Therefore, we have started an ion source development project focused on replacing these thermionic cathodes (filaments) of the converter source by a helicon plasma generator capable of producing high-density hydrogen plasmas with low electron energy. In our studies which have so far shown that the plasma density of the surface conversion source can be increased significantly by exciting a helicon wave in the plasma, and we expect to improve the performance of the surface converter H- ion source in terms of beam brightness and time between services. The design of this new source and preliminary results are presented, along with a discussion of physical processes relevant for H- ion beam production with this novel design. Ultimately, we perceive this approach as an interim step towards our long-term goal, combining a helicon plasma generator with an SNS-type main discharge chamber, which will allow us to individually optimize the plasma properties of the plasma cathode (helicon) and H- production (main discharge) in order to further improve the brightness of extracted H- ion beams.

Helicon plasma generator-assisted surface conversion ion source for the production of H(-) ion beams at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center.

PubMed

Tarvainen, O; Rouleau, G; Keller, R; Geros, E; Stelzer, J; Ferris, J

2008-02-01

The converter-type negative ion source currently employed at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) is based on cesium enhanced surface production of H(-) ion beams in a filament-driven discharge. In this kind of an ion source the extracted H(-) beam current is limited by the achievable plasma density which depends primarily on the electron emission current from the filaments. The emission current can be increased by increasing the filament temperature but, unfortunately, this leads not only to shorter filament lifetime but also to an increase in metal evaporation from the filament, which deposits on the H(-) converter surface and degrades its performance. Therefore, we have started an ion source development project focused on replacing these thermionic cathodes (filaments) of the converter source by a helicon plasma generator capable of producing high-density hydrogen plasmas with low electron energy. In our studies which have so far shown that the plasma density of the surface conversion source can be increased significantly by exciting a helicon wave in the plasma, and we expect to improve the performance of the surface converter H(-) ion source in terms of beam brightness and time between services. The design of this new source and preliminary results are presented, along with a discussion of physical processes relevant for H(-) ion beam production with this novel design. Ultimately, we perceive this approach as an interim step towards our long-term goal, combining a helicon plasma generator with an SNS-type main discharge chamber, which will allow us to individually optimize the plasma properties of the plasma cathode (helicon) and H(-) production (main discharge) in order to further improve the brightness of extracted H(-) ion beams.

Evidence for recent groundwater seepage and surface runoff on Mars.

PubMed

Malin, M C; Edgett, K S

2000-06-30

Relatively young landforms on Mars, seen in high-resolution images acquired by the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera since March 1999, suggest the presence of sources of liquid water at shallow depths beneath the martian surface. Found at middle and high martian latitudes (particularly in the southern hemisphere), gullies within the walls of a very small number of impact craters, south polar pits, and two of the larger martian valleys display geomorphic features that can be explained by processes associated with groundwater seepage and surface runoff. The relative youth of the landforms is indicated by the superposition of the gullies on otherwise geologically young surfaces and by the absence of superimposed landforms or cross-cutting features, including impact craters, small polygons, and eolian dunes. The limited size and geographic distribution of the features argue for constrained source reservoirs.

Limited contribution of ancient methane to surface waters of the U.S. Beaufort Sea shelf

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sparrow, K. J.; Kessler, J. D.

2017-12-01

In response to climate change, methane can be released to ocean sediments and waters from thawing subsea permafrost and decomposing methane hydrates. However, it is unknown if methane derived from these massive stores of frozen, ancient carbon reaches the atmosphere. We quantified the fraction of methane sourced from ancient carbon in shelf waters of the U.S. Beaufort Sea, a region that has both permafrost and methane hydrates and is experiencing significant warming. While the radiocarbon-methane analyses indicate that ancient carbon is being mobilized and emitted as methane into shelf bottom waters, surprisingly, we find that modern sources of methane predominate in surface waters of relatively shallow mid-outer shelf stations. These results suggest that even if there is a heightened liberation of ancient methane as climate change proceeds, oceanic dispersion and oxidation processes can strongly limit its emission to the atmosphere.

Volatile elements in and on lunar volcanic glasses: What do they tell us about lunar genesis?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koeberl, C.

1984-01-01

There are good reasons to believe that lunar volcanic glasses originated from a deep interior source. The presence of a thin layer of surface correlated elements on these glasses may indicate that the Moon has some reservoirs that are enriched in volatiles. Since the glasses themselves do not show similar enrichment, the source should be of limited extent. Three scenarios are advanced for the origin of these elements. The mechanism for lunar volcanism differs from the mechanism for volcanism on Earth since the former produces bubbling and the latter explosive fountaining. From the condensation behavior of the volatile compounds, which leads to heterogeneous condensation, it is concluded that comparing element ratios of surface correlated elements gives little sense. It seems as if the volatile reservoirs are of rather limited extent and that they do not enlarge the volatile content of the bulk Moon significantly.

Evaluating a Space-Based Indicator of Surface Ozone-NOx-VOC Sensitivity Over Midlatitude Source Regions and Application to Decadal Trends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Xiaomeng; Fiore, Arlene M.; Murray, Lee T.; Valin, Lukas C.; Lamsal, Lok N.; Duncan, Bryan; Folkert Boersma, K.; De Smedt, Isabelle; Abad, Gonzalo Gonzalez; Chance, Kelly; Tonnesen, Gail S.

2017-10-01

Determining effective strategies for mitigating surface ozone (O3) pollution requires knowledge of the relative ambient concentrations of its precursors, NOx, and VOCs. The space-based tropospheric column ratio of formaldehyde to NO2 (FNR) has been used as an indicator to identify NOx-limited versus NOx-saturated O3 formation regimes. Quantitative use of this indicator ratio is subject to three major uncertainties: (1) the split between NOx-limited and NOx-saturated conditions may shift in space and time, (2) the ratio of the vertically integrated column may not represent the near-surface environment, and (3) satellite products contain errors. We use the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model to evaluate the quantitative utility of FNR observed from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument over three northern midlatitude source regions. We find that FNR in the model surface layer is a robust predictor of the simulated near-surface O3 production regime. Extending this surface-based predictor to a column-based FNR requires accounting for differences in the HCHO and NO2 vertical profiles. We compare four combinations of two OMI HCHO and NO2 retrievals with modeled FNR. The spatial and temporal correlations between the modeled and satellite-derived FNR vary with the choice of NO2 product, while the mean offset depends on the choice of HCHO product. Space-based FNR indicates that the spring transition to NOx-limited regimes has shifted at least a month earlier over major cities (e.g., New York, London, and Seoul) between 2005 and 2015. This increase in NOx sensitivity implies that NOx emission controls will improve O3 air quality more now than it would have a decade ago.

Evaluating a Space-Based Indicator of Surface Ozone-NO x -VOC Sensitivity Over Midlatitude Source Regions and Application to Decadal Trends.

PubMed

Jin, Xiaomeng; Fiore, Arlene M; Murray, Lee T; Valin, Lukas C; Lamsal, Lok N; Duncan, Bryan; Boersma, K Folkert; De Smedt, Isabelle; Abad, Gonzalo Gonzalez; Chance, Kelly; Tonnesen, Gail S

2017-10-16

Determining effective strategies for mitigating surface ozone (O 3 ) pollution requires knowledge of the relative ambient concentrations of its precursors, NO x , and VOCs. The space-based tropospheric column ratio of formaldehyde to NO 2 (FNR) has been used as an indicator to identify NO x -limited versus NO x -saturated O 3 formation regimes. Quantitative use of this indicator ratio is subject to three major uncertainties: (1) the split between NO x -limited and NO x -saturated conditions may shift in space and time, (2) the ratio of the vertically integrated column may not represent the near-surface environment, and (3) satellite products contain errors. We use the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model to evaluate the quantitative utility of FNR observed from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument over three northern midlatitude source regions. We find that FNR in the model surface layer is a robust predictor of the simulated near-surface O 3 production regime. Extending this surface-based predictor to a column-based FNR requires accounting for differences in the HCHO and NO 2 vertical profiles. We compare four combinations of two OMI HCHO and NO 2 retrievals with modeled FNR. The spatial and temporal correlations between the modeled and satellite-derived FNR vary with the choice of NO 2 product, while the mean offset depends on the choice of HCHO product. Space-based FNR indicates that the spring transition to NO x -limited regimes has shifted at least a month earlier over major cities (e.g., New York, London, and Seoul) between 2005 and 2015. This increase in NO x sensitivity implies that NO x emission controls will improve O 3 air quality more now than it would have a decade ago.

Surface characterization protocol for precision aspheric optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarepaka, RamaGopal V.; Sakthibalan, Siva; Doodala, Somaiah; Panwar, Rakesh S.; Kotaria, Rajendra

2017-10-01

In Advanced Optical Instrumentation, Aspherics provide an effective performance alternative. The aspheric fabrication and surface metrology, followed by aspheric design are complementary iterative processes for Precision Aspheric development. As in fabrication, a holistic approach of aspheric surface characterization is adopted to evaluate actual surface error and to aim at the deliverance of aspheric optics with desired surface quality. Precision optical surfaces are characterized by profilometry or by interferometry. Aspheric profiles are characterized by contact profilometers, through linear surface scans to analyze their Form, Figure and Finish errors. One must ensure that, the surface characterization procedure does not add to the resident profile errors (generated during the aspheric surface fabrication). This presentation examines the errors introduced post-surface generation and during profilometry of aspheric profiles. This effort is to identify sources of errors and is to optimize the metrology process. The sources of error during profilometry may be due to: profilometer settings, work-piece placement on the profilometer stage, selection of zenith/nadir points of aspheric profiles, metrology protocols, clear aperture - diameter analysis, computational limitations of the profiler and the software issues etc. At OPTICA, a PGI 1200 FTS contact profilometer (Taylor-Hobson make) is used for this study. Precision Optics of various profiles are studied, with due attention to possible sources of errors during characterization, with multi-directional scan approach for uniformity and repeatability of error estimation. This study provides an insight of aspheric surface characterization and helps in optimal aspheric surface production methodology.

[Current treatment situation and progress on bone defect of collapsed tibial plateau fractures].

PubMed

Luo, Chang-qi; Fang, Yue; Tu, Chong-qi; Yang, Tian-fu

2016-02-01

Characteristics of collapsed tibial plateau fracture determines that the joint surface must remain anatomical reduction,line of force in tibial must exist and internal fixation must be strong. However, while renewing articular surface smoothness, surgeons have a lot of problems in dealing with bone defect under the joint surface. Current materials used for bone defect treatment include three categories: autologous bone, allograft bone and bone substitutes. Some scholars think that autologous bone grafts have a number of drawbacks, such as increasing trauma, prolonged operation time, the limited source, bone area bleeding,continuous pain, local infection and anesthesia,but most scholars believe that the autologous cancellous bone graft is still the golden standard. Allograft bone has the ability of bone conduction, but the existence of immune responses, the possibility of a virus infection, and the limited source of the allograft cannot meet the clinical demands. Likewise, bone substitutes have the problem that osteogenesis does not match with degradation in rates. Clinical doctors can meet the demand of the patient's bone graft according to patient's own situation and economic conditions.

Equilibrium chemical vapor deposition growth of Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene.

PubMed

Zhao, Pei; Kim, Sungjin; Chen, Xiao; Einarsson, Erik; Wang, Miao; Song, Yenan; Wang, Hongtao; Chiashi, Shohei; Xiang, Rong; Maruyama, Shigeo

2014-11-25

Using ethanol as the carbon source, self-limiting growth of AB-stacked bilayer graphene (BLG) has been achieved on Cu via an equilibrium chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. We found that during this alcohol catalytic CVD (ACCVD) a source-gas pressure range exists to break the self-limitation of monolayer graphene on Cu, and at a certain equilibrium state it prefers to form uniform BLG with a high surface coverage of ∼94% and AB-stacking ratio of nearly 100%. More importantly, once the BLG is completed, this growth shows a self-limiting manner, and an extended ethanol flow time does not result in additional layers. We investigate the mechanism of this equilibrium BLG growth using isotopically labeled (13)C-ethanol and selective surface aryl functionalization, and results reveal that during the equilibrium ACCVD process a continuous substitution of graphene flakes occurs to the as-formed graphene and the BLG growth follows a layer-by-layer epitaxy mechanism. These phenomena are significantly in contrast to those observed for previously reported BLG growth using methane as precursor.

COST EFFECTIVE SEAWATER DESALINATION WITH FICP ELEMENT ARRAYS - PHASE II

EPA Science Inventory

Lack of fresh water hinders economic development, devastates human health, leads to environmental degradation and foments political instability. We obtain our water from limited and unevenly distributed surface and underground freshwater sources. Over withdrawal from these ...

Transverse Coherence Limited Coherent Diffraction Imaging using a Molybdenum Soft X-ray Laser Pumped at Moderate Pump Energies.

PubMed

Zürch, M; Jung, R; Späth, C; Tümmler, J; Guggenmos, A; Attwood, D; Kleineberg, U; Stiel, H; Spielmann, C

2017-07-13

Coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) in the extreme ultraviolet has become an important tool for nanoscale investigations. Laser-driven high harmonic generation (HHG) sources allow for lab scale applications such as cancer cell classification and phase-resolved surface studies. HHG sources exhibit excellent coherence but limited photon flux due poor conversion efficiency. In contrast, table-top soft X-ray lasers (SXRL) feature excellent temporal coherence and extraordinary high flux at limited transverse coherence. Here, the performance of a SXRL pumped at moderate pump energies is evaluated for CDI and compared to a HHG source. For CDI, a lower bound for the required mutual coherence factor of |μ 12 | ≥ 0.75 is found by comparing a reconstruction with fixed support to a conventional characterization using double slits. A comparison of the captured diffraction signals suggests that SXRLs have the potential for imaging micron scale objects with sub-20 nm resolution in orders of magnitude shorter integration time compared to a conventional HHG source. Here, the low transverse coherence diameter limits the resolution to approximately 180 nm. The extraordinary high photon flux per laser shot, scalability towards higher repetition rate and capability of seeding with a high harmonic source opens a route for higher performance nanoscale imaging systems based on SXRLs.

RF power absorption by plasma of low pressure low power inductive discharge located in the external magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kralkina, E. A.; Rukhadze, A. A.; Nekliudova, P. A.; Pavlov, V. B.; Petrov, A. K.; Vavilin, K. V.

2018-03-01

Present paper is aimed to reveal experimentally and theoretically the influence of magnetic field strength, antenna shape, pressure, operating frequency and geometrical size of plasma sources on the ability of plasma to absorb the RF power characterized by the equivalent plasma resistance for the case of low pressure RF inductive discharge located in the external magnetic field. The distinguishing feature of the present paper is the consideration of the antennas that generate not only current but charge on the external surface of plasma sources. It is shown that in the limited plasma source two linked waves can be excited. In case of antennas generating only azimuthal current the waves can be attributed as helicon and TG waves. In the case of an antenna with the longitudinal current there is a surface charge on the side surface of the plasma source, which gives rise to a significant increase of the longitudinal and radial components of the RF electric field as compared with the case of the azimuthal antenna current.

Mapping algorithm for freeform construction using non-ideal light sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chen; Michaelis, D.; Schreiber, P.; Dick, L.; Bräuer, A.

2015-09-01

Using conventional mapping algorithms for the construction of illumination freeform optics' arbitrary target pattern can be obtained for idealized sources, e.g. collimated light or point sources. Each freeform surface element generates an image point at the target and the light intensity of an image point is corresponding to the area of the freeform surface element who generates the image point. For sources with a pronounced extension and ray divergence, e.g. an LED with a small source-freeform-distance, the image points are blurred and the blurred patterns might be different between different points. Besides, due to Fresnel losses and vignetting, the relationship between light intensity of image points and area of freeform surface elements becomes complicated. These individual light distributions of each freeform element are taken into account in a mapping algorithm. To this end the method of steepest decent procedures are used to adapt the mapping goal. A structured target pattern for a optics system with an ideal source is computed applying corresponding linear optimization matrices. Special weighting factor and smoothing factor are included in the procedures to achieve certain edge conditions and to ensure the manufacturability of the freefrom surface. The corresponding linear optimization matrices, which are the lighting distribution patterns of each of the freeform surface elements, are gained by conventional raytracing with a realistic source. Nontrivial source geometries, like LED-irregularities due to bonding or source fine structures, and a complex ray divergence behavior can be easily considered. Additionally, Fresnel losses, vignetting and even stray light are taken into account. After optimization iterations, with a realistic source, the initial mapping goal can be achieved by the optics system providing a structured target pattern with an ideal source. The algorithm is applied to several design examples. A few simple tasks are presented to discussed the ability and limitation of the this mothed. It is also presented that a homogeneous LED-illumination system design, in where, with a strongly tilted incident direction, a homogeneous distribution is achieved with a rather compact optics system and short working distance applying a relatively large LED source. It is shown that the lighting distribution patterns from the freeform surface elements can be significantly different from the others. The generation of a structured target pattern, applying weighting factor and smoothing factor, are discussed. Finally, freeform designs for much more complex sources like clusters of LED-sources are presented.

Maximization of DRAM yield by control of surface charge and particle addition during high dose implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horvath, J.; Moffatt, S.

1991-04-01

Ion implantation processing exposes semiconductor devices to an energetic ion beam in order to deposit dopant ions in shallow layers. In addition to this primary process, foreign materials are deposited as particles and surface films. The deposition of particles is a major cause of IC yield loss and becomes even more significant as device dimensions are decreased. Control of particle addition in a high-volume production environment requires procedures to limit beamline and endstation sources, control of particle transport, cleaning procedures and a well grounded preventative maintenance philosophy. Control of surface charge by optimization of the ion beam and electron shower conditions and measurement with a real-time charge sensor has been effective in improving the yield of NMOS and CMOS DRAMs. Control of surface voltages to a range between 0 and -20 V was correlated with good implant yield with PI9200 implanters for p + and n + source-drain implants.

Development of novel drugs from marine surface associated microorganisms.

PubMed

Penesyan, Anahit; Kjelleberg, Staffan; Egan, Suhelen

2010-03-01

While the oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth's surface, marine derived microbial natural products have been largely unexplored. The marine environment is a habitat for many unique microorganisms, which produce biologically active compounds ("bioactives") to adapt to particular environmental conditions. For example, marine surface associated microorganisms have proven to be a rich source for novel bioactives because of the necessity to evolve allelochemicals capable of protecting the producer from the fierce competition that exists between microorganisms on the surfaces of marine eukaryotes. Chemically driven interactions are also important for the establishment of cross-relationships between microbes and their eukaryotic hosts, in which organisms producing antimicrobial compounds ("antimicrobials"), may protect the host surface against over colonisation in return for a nutrient rich environment. As is the case for bioactive discovery in general, progress in the detection and characterization of marine microbial bioactives has been limited by a number of obstacles, such as unsuitable culture conditions, laborious purification processes, and a lack of de-replication. However many of these limitations are now being overcome due to improved microbial cultivation techniques, microbial (meta-) genomic analysis and novel sensitive analytical tools for structural elucidation. Here we discuss how these technical advances, together with a better understanding of microbial and chemical ecology, will inevitably translate into an increase in the discovery and development of novel drugs from marine microbial sources in the future.

Forecasting Future Sea Ice Conditions in the MIZ: A Lagrangian Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-30

www.mcgill.ca/meteo/people/tremblay LONG-TERM GOALS 1- Determine the source regions for sea ice in the seasonally ice-covered zones (SIZs...distribution of sea ice cover and transport pathways. 2- Improve our understanding of the strengths and/or limitations of GCM predictions of future...ocean currents, RGPS sea ice deformation, Reanalysis surface wind , surface radiative fluxes, etc. Processing the large datasets involved is a tedious

Determination of dominant sources of nitrate contamination in transboundary (Russian Federation/Ukraine) catchment with heterogeneous land use.

PubMed

Vystavna, Y; Diadin, D; Grynenko, V; Yakovlev, V; Vergeles, Y; Huneau, F; Rossi, P M; Hejzlar, J; Knöller, K

2017-09-18

Nitrate contamination of surface water and shallow groundwater was studied in transboundary (Russia/Ukraine) catchment with heterogeneous land use. Dominant sources of nitrate contamination were determined by applying a dual δ 15 N-NO 3 and δ 18 O-NO 3 isotope approach, multivariate statistics, and land use analysis. Nitrate concentration was highly variable from 0.25 to 22 mg L -1 in surface water and from 0.5 to 100 mg L -1 in groundwater. The applied method indicated that sewage to surface water and sewage and manure to groundwater were dominant sources of nitrate contamination. Nitrate/chloride molar ratio was added to support the dual isotope signature and indicated the contribution of fertilizers to the nitrate content in groundwater. Groundwater temperature was found to be an additional indicator of manure and sewerage leaks in the shallow aquifer which has limited protection and is vulnerable to groundwater pollution.

Effects of volcano topography on seismic broad-band waveforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuberg, Jürgen; Pointer, Tim

2000-10-01

Volcano seismology often deals with rather shallow seismic sources and seismic stations deployed in their near field. The complex stratigraphy on volcanoes and near-field source effects have a strong impact on the seismic wavefield, complicating the interpretation techniques that are usually employed in earthquake seismology. In addition, as most volcanoes have a pronounced topography, the interference of the seismic wavefield with the stress-free surface results in severe waveform perturbations that affect seismic interpretation methods. In this study we deal predominantly with the surface effects, but take into account the impact of a typical volcano stratigraphy as well as near-field source effects. We derive a correction term for plane seismic waves and a plane-free surface such that for smooth topographies the effect of the free surface can be totally removed. Seismo-volcanic sources radiate energy in a broad frequency range with a correspondingly wide range of different Fresnel zones. A 2-D boundary element method is employed to study how the size of the Fresnel zone is dependent on source depth, dominant wavelength and topography in order to estimate the limits of the plane wave approximation. This approximation remains valid if the dominant wavelength does not exceed twice the source depth. Further aspects of this study concern particle motion analysis to locate point sources and the influence of the stratigraphy on particle motions. Furthermore, the deployment strategy of seismic instruments on volcanoes, as well as the direct interpretation of the broad-band waveforms in terms of pressure fluctuations in the volcanic plumbing system, are discussed.

Limits to the lunar atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morgan, T. H.; Shemansky, D. E.

1991-02-01

Apollo UV spectrometer experiment set limits on the density of oxygen of less than 500/cu cm, and the Apollo Lunar Atmospheric Composition Experiment data imply a value less than 50/cu cm above the subsolar point. These limits are surprisingly small relative to the measured value for sodium. A simple consideration of sources and sinks predicts significantly greater densities of oxygen. It is possible but doubtful that the Apollo measurements occurred during an epoch in which source rates were small. A preferential loss process for oxygen on the darkside of the moon is considered in which ionization by electron capture in surface collisions leads to escape through acceleration in the local electric field. Cold trapping in permanently shadowed regions as a net sink is considered and discounted, but the episodic nature of cometary insertion may allow formation of ice layers which act as a stabilized source of OH. On the basis of an assumed meteoroid impact source, a possible emission brightness of 50 R in the OH(A - X)(0,0) band above the lunar bright limb is predicted.

Limits to the lunar atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morgan, T. H.; Shemansky, D. E.

1991-01-01

Apollo UV spectrometer experiment set limits on the density of oxygen of less than 500/cu cm, and the Apollo Lunar Atmospheric Composition Experiment data imply a value less than 50/cu cm above the subsolar point. These limits are surprisingly small relative to the measured value for sodium. A simple consideration of sources and sinks predicts significantly greater densities of oxygen. It is possible but doubtful that the Apollo measurements occurred during an epoch in which source rates were small. A preferential loss process for oxygen on the darkside of the moon is considered in which ionization by electron capture in surface collisions leads to escape through acceleration in the local electric field. Cold trapping in permanently shadowed regions as a net sink is considered and discounted, but the episodic nature of cometary insertion may allow formation of ice layers which act as a stabilized source of OH. On the basis of an assumed meteoroid impact source, a possible emission brightness of 50 R in the OH(A - X)(0,0) band above the lunar bright limb is predicted.

Sensitivity of two dispersion models (AERMOD and ISCST3) to input parameters for a rural ground-level area source.

PubMed

Faulkner, William B; Shaw, Bryan W; Grosch, Tom

2008-10-01

As of December 2006, the American Meteorological Society/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regulatory Model with Plume Rise Model Enhancements (AERMOD-PRIME; hereafter AERMOD) replaced the Industrial Source Complex Short Term Version 3 (ISCST3) as the EPA-preferred regulatory model. The change from ISCST3 to AERMOD will affect Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) increment consumption as well as permit compliance in states where regulatory agencies limit property line concentrations using modeling analysis. Because of differences in model formulation and the treatment of terrain features, one cannot predict a priori whether ISCST3 or AERMOD will predict higher or lower pollutant concentrations downwind of a source. The objectives of this paper were to determine the sensitivity of AERMOD to various inputs and compare the highest downwind concentrations from a ground-level area source (GLAS) predicted by AERMOD to those predicted by ISCST3. Concentrations predicted using ISCST3 were sensitive to changes in wind speed, temperature, solar radiation (as it affects stability class), and mixing heights below 160 m. Surface roughness also affected downwind concentrations predicted by ISCST3. AERMOD was sensitive to changes in albedo, surface roughness, wind speed, temperature, and cloud cover. Bowen ratio did not affect the results from AERMOD. These results demonstrate AERMOD's sensitivity to small changes in wind speed and surface roughness. When AERMOD is used to determine property line concentrations, small changes in these variables may affect the distance within which concentration limits are exceeded by several hundred meters.

Bisphenol analogues in surface water and sediment from the shallow Chinese freshwater lakes: Occurrence, distribution, source apportionment, and ecological and human health risk.

PubMed

Yan, Zhengyu; Liu, Yanhua; Yan, Kun; Wu, Shengmin; Han, Zhihua; Guo, Ruixin; Chen, Meihong; Yang, Qiulian; Zhang, Shenghu; Chen, Jianqiu

2017-10-01

Compared to Bisphenol A (BPA), current knowledge on the spatial distribution, potential sources and environmental risk assessment of other bisphenol analogues (BPs) remains limited. The occurrence, distribution and sources of seven BPs were investigated in the surface water and sediment from Taihu Lake and Luoma Lake, which are the Chinese shallow freshwater lakes. Because there are many industries and living areas around Taihu Lake, the total concentrations of ∑BPs were much higher than that in Luoma Lake, which is away from the industry-intensive areas. For the two lakes, BPA was still the dominant BPs in both surface water and sediment, followed by BPF and BPS. The spatial distribution and principal component analysis showed that BPs in Luoma Lake was relatively homogeneous and the potential sources were relatively simple than that in Taihu Lake. The spatial distribution of BPs in sediment of Taihu Lake indicated that ∑BPs positively correlated with the TOC content. For both Taihu Lake and Luoma Lake, the risk assessment at the sampling sites showed that no high risk in surface water and sediment (RQ t  < 1.0, and EEQ t  < 1.0 ng E 2 /L). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Greenhouse gas emissions from reservoir water surfaces: A new global synthesis

EPA Science Inventory

Collectively, reservoirs created by dams are thought to be an important source ofgreenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere. So far, efforts to quantify, model, andmanage these emissions have been limited by data availability and inconsistenciesin methodological approach. Here we ...

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Reservoir Water Surfaces: A New Global Synthesis - journal

EPA Science Inventory

Collectively, reservoirs are an important anthropogenic source of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere. Attempts to model reservoir GHG fluxes, however, have been limited by inconsistencies in methodological approaches and data availability. An increase in the number of pu...

Exploiting Electric and Magnetic Fields for Underwater Characterization

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-01

geophysical surveys are primarily limited to passive magnetic systems towed from a surface vessel. These systems utilize fluxgate , Overhauser, or atomic... magnetometer sensors, often deployed in arrays towed from the stern of small to moderate-size vessels. Active source electromagnetic methods have been

NOVEL CERAMIC-ORGANIC VAPOR PERMEATION MEMBRANES FOR VOC REMOVAL - PHASE I

EPA Science Inventory

Vapor permeation holds much promise for becoming a highly efficient means of preventing VOC emissions that are now generated by a variety of stationary sources, including solvent and surface coating operations, gasoline storage operations, and printing operations. A limitation of...

40 CFR 63.4161 - How do I demonstrate initial compliance?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Surface Coating of Large Appliances Compliance... standards required in § 63.4093; and each controlled coating operation must meet the operating limits...

Supply-limited horizontal sand drift at an ephemerally crusted, unvegetated saline playa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gillette, Dale A.; Niemeyer, T.C.; Helm, P.J.

2001-01-01

A site at Owens Dry Lake was observed for more than 4 years. The site was a vegetation-free saline playa where the surface formed "ephemeral crusts," crusts that form after rainfall. Sometimes these crusts were destroyed and often a layer of particles on the crust would engage in vigorous aeolian activity. Three "phases" of active sand drifting are defined as almost no movement (extreme supply limitation), loose particles on crust with some degree of sand drift (moderate supply limitation), and unlimited source movement corresponding to a destroyed surface crust (unlimited supply). These "phases" occurred 45, 49, and 6% of the time, respectively. The accumulation of loose particles on the crust was mostly the result of in situ formation. Crusted sediments with loose particles on top can exhibit mass flux rates about the same as for noncrusted sediments. Crusted sediments limit or eliminate sand drift in two conditions: for rough crusts that effect a sufficiently high threshold friction velocity (above the wind friction velocity) and for limited amounts of loose particles on the crust where particle supply is less than would be transported in normal saltation for a thick sandy surface. These "supply-limited" cases are similar to wind erosion of limited spilled material on a hard concrete surface. We quantified "supply limitation" by defining a "potential" or "supply unlimited" sand drift function Q = AG where A represents supply limitation that decreases as the particle source is depleted. Here Q is the mass of sand transported through a surface perpendicular to the ground and to the wind and having unit width during time period t, and G = ??? u*(u*2 - u*t2) dt for u* > u*t. G is integrated for the same time period t as for Q, u* is the friction velocity of the wind, and u*t is the threshold friction velocity of the wind. Hard crusts (usually formed in the summer) tended to show almost no change of threshold friction velocity with time and often gave total protection from wind erosion. Rough crusts provided sufficient protection expressed as high threshold friction velocities. For these high threshold friction velocities, aeolian activity was greatly reduced or practically prevented. The softest crusts, usually formed in the winter, provided much less protection and sometimes were destroyed by the wind. Following this destruction the "potential" or "supply unlimited" sand drift would be observed. Copyright 2000 by the American Geophysical Union.

Field-Induced and Thermal Electron Currents from Earthed Spherical Emitters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holgate, J. T.; Coppins, M.

2017-04-01

The theories of electron emission from planar surfaces are well understood, but they are not suitable for describing emission from spherical surfaces; their incorrect application to highly curved, nanometer-scale surfaces can overestimate the emitted current by several orders of magnitude. This inaccuracy is of particular concern for describing modern nanoscale electron sources, which continue to be modeled using the planar equations. In this paper, the field-induced and thermal currents are treated in a unified way to produce Fowler-Nordheim-type and Richardson-Schottky-type equations for the emitted current density from earthed nanoscale spherical surfaces. The limits of applicability of these derived expressions are considered along with the energy spectra of the emitted electrons. Within the relevant limits of validity, these equations are shown to reproduce the results of precise numerical calculations of the emitted current densities. The methods used here are adaptable to other one-dimensional emission problems.

A double-correlation tremor-location method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ka Lok; Sgattoni, Giulia; Sadeghisorkhani, Hamzeh; Roberts, Roland; Gudmundsson, Olafur

2017-02-01

A double-correlation method is introduced to locate tremor sources based on stacks of complex, doubly-correlated tremor records of multiple triplets of seismographs back projected to hypothetical source locations in a geographic grid. Peaks in the resulting stack of moduli are inferred source locations. The stack of the moduli is a robust measure of energy radiated from a point source or point sources even when the velocity information is imprecise. Application to real data shows how double correlation focuses the source mapping compared to the common single correlation approach. Synthetic tests demonstrate the robustness of the method and its resolution limitations which are controlled by the station geometry, the finite frequency of the signal, the quality of the used velocity information and noise level. Both random noise and signal or noise correlated at time shifts that are inconsistent with the assumed velocity structure can be effectively suppressed. Assuming a surface wave velocity, we can constrain the source location even if the surface wave component does not dominate. The method can also in principle be used with body waves in 3-D, although this requires more data and seismographs placed near the source for depth resolution.

Development of lithium and tungsten limiters for test on T-10 tokamak at high heat load condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyublinski, I. E.; Vertkov, A. V.; Zharkov, M. Yu; Vershkov, V. A.; Mirnov, S. V.

2016-04-01

Application of a complex of powerful (up to 3 MW) ECR plasma heating in T-10 tokamak is pulled down with a problem of the strong plasma pollution at power input more than 2 MW. For the solution of these problems the new W and Li limiters is developed and prepared to implementation. As it is supposed, application of W as a plasma facing material will allow excluding carbon influx into vacuum chamber. An additional Li limiter arranged in a shadow of W one will be used as a Li source for plasma periphery cooling due to a reradiation on Li that will lead to decrease in power deposition on W limiters. Parameters and design of limiters are presented. Plasma facing surface of a limiter is made of capillary-porous system (CPS) with Li. Porous matrix of CPS (W felt) provides stability of liquid Li surface under MHD force effect and an opportunity of its constant renewal due to capillary forces. The necessary Li flux from a Li limiter surface is estimated for maintenance of normal operation mode of W limiters at ECRH power of 3 MW during 400 ms. It is shown, that upgrade of limiters in tokamak T-10 will allow providing of ECR plasma heating with power up to 3 MW at reasonable Li flux.

The information content of high-frequency seismograms and the near-surface geologic structure of "hard rock" recording sites

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cranswick, E.

1988-01-01

Due to hardware developments in the last decade, the high-frequency end of the frequency band of seismic waves analyzed for source mechanisms has been extended into the audio-frequency range (>20 Hz). In principle, the short wavelengths corresponding to these frequencies can provide information about the details of seismic sources, but in fact, much of the "signal" is the site response of the nearsurface. Several examples of waveform data recorded at "hard rock" sites, which are generally assumed to have a "flat" transfer function, are presented to demonstrate the severe signal distortions, including fmax, produced by near-surface structures. Analysis of the geology of a number of sites indicates that the overall attenuation of high-frequency (>1 Hz) seismic waves is controlled by the whole-path-Q between source and receiver but the presence of distinct fmax site resonance peaks is controlled by the nature of the surface layer and the underlying near-surface structure. Models of vertical decoupling of the surface and nearsurface and horizontal decoupling of adjacent sites on hard rock outcrops are proposed and their behaviour is compared to the observations of hard rock site response. The upper bound to the frequency band of the seismic waves that contain significant source information which can be deconvolved from a site response or an array response is discussed in terms of fmax and the correlation of waveform distortion with the outcrop-scale geologic structure of hard rock sites. It is concluded that although the velocity structures of hard rock sites, unlike those of alluvium sites, allow some audio-frequency seismic energy to propagate to the surface, the resulting signals are a highly distorted, limited subset of the source spectra. ?? 1988 Birkha??user Verlag.

A first determination of the surface density of galaxy clusters at very low x-ray fluxes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosati, Piero; Della Ceca, Roberta; Burg, Richard; Norman, Colin; Giacconi, Riccardo

1995-01-01

We present the first results of a serendipitous search for clusters of galaxies in deep ROSAT position sensitive proportional counter (PSPC) pointed observations at high Galactic latitude. The survey is being carried out using a wavelet-based detection algorithm which is not biased against extended, low surface brightness sources. A new flux-diameter limited sample of 10 cluster candidates has been created from approximately 3 deg(exp 2) surveyed area. Preliminary CCD observations have revealed that a large fraction of these candidates correspond to a visible enhancement in the galaxy surface density, and several others have been identified from other surveys. We believe these sources to be either low- to moderate-redshift groups or intermediate- to high-redshift clusters. We show X-ray and optical images of some of the clusters identified to date. We present, for the first time, the derived number density of the galaxy clusters to a flux limit of 1 x 10(exp -14) ergs cm(exp -2) s(exp -1) (0.5-2.0 keV). This extends the log N-log S of previous cluster surveys by more than one decade in flux. Results are compared to theoretical predictions for cluster number counts.

40 CFR 63.4961 - How do I demonstrate initial compliance?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Surface Coating of Metal Furniture Compliance... meet the operating limits and work practice standards required in §§ 63.4892 and 63.4893, respectively...

Seismic interferometry by crosscorrelation and by multidimensional deconvolution: a systematic comparison

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wapenaar, Kees; van der Neut, Joost; Ruigrok, Elmer; Draganov, Deyan; Hunziker, Jürg; Slob, Evert; Thorbecke, Jan; Snieder, Roel

2011-06-01

Seismic interferometry, also known as Green's function retrieval by crosscorrelation, has a wide range of applications, ranging from surface-wave tomography using ambient noise, to creating virtual sources for improved reflection seismology. Despite its successful applications, the crosscorrelation approach also has its limitations. The main underlying assumptions are that the medium is lossless and that the wavefield is equipartitioned. These assumptions are in practice often violated: the medium of interest is often illuminated from one side only, the sources may be irregularly distributed, and losses may be significant. These limitations may partly be overcome by reformulating seismic interferometry as a multidimensional deconvolution (MDD) process. We present a systematic analysis of seismic interferometry by crosscorrelation and by MDD. We show that for the non-ideal situations mentioned above, the correlation function is proportional to a Green's function with a blurred source. The source blurring is quantified by a so-called interferometric point-spread function which, like the correlation function, can be derived from the observed data (i.e. without the need to know the sources and the medium). The source of the Green's function obtained by the correlation method can be deblurred by deconvolving the correlation function for the point-spread function. This is the essence of seismic interferometry by MDD. We illustrate the crosscorrelation and MDD methods for controlled-source and passive-data applications with numerical examples and discuss the advantages and limitations of both methods.

Study of RF breakdown and multipacting in accelerator components

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pande, Manjiri; Singh, P., E-mail: manjiri@barc.gov.in, E-mail: psingh@barc.gov.in

2014-07-01

Radio frequency (RF) structures that are part of accelerators and energy sources, operate with sinusoidally varying electromagnetic fields under high RF energy. Here, RF breakdown and multipacting take place in RF structures and limit their performance. Electron field emission processes in a RF structure are precursors for breakdown processes. RF breakdown is a major phenomena affecting and causing the irreversible damage to RF structures. Breakdown rate and the damage induced by the breakdowns are its important properties. The damage is related to power absorbed during breakdown, while the breakdown rate is determined by the amplitudes of surface electric and magneticmore » fields, geometry, metal surface preparation and conditioning history. It limits working power and produces irreversible surface damage. The breakdown limit depends on the RF circuit, structure geometry, RF frequency, input RF power, pulse width, materials used, surface processing technique and surface electric and magnetic fields. Multipactor (MP) is a low power, electron multiplication based resonance breakdown phenomenon in vacuum and is often observed in RF structures. A multipactor discharge is undesirable, as it can create a reactive component that detunes the resonant cavities and components, generates noise in communication system and induces gas desorption from the conductor surfaces. In RF structures, certain conditions are required to generate multipacting. (author)« less

A modified detector concept for SuperCDMS: The HiZIP and its charge performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Page, Kedar Mohan

SuperCDMS is a leading direct dark matter search experiment which uses solid state detectors (Ge crystals) at milliKelvin temperatures to look for nuclear recoils caused by dark matter interactions in the detector. 'Weakly Interacting Massive Particles' (WIMPs) are the most favoured dark matter candidate particles. SuperCDMS, like many other direct dark matter search experiments, primarily looks for WIMPs. The measurement of both the ionization and the lattice vibration (phonon) signals from an interaction in the detector allow it to discriminate against electron recoils which are the main source of background for WIMP detection. SuperCDMS currently operates about 9 kgs worth of germanium detectors at the Soudan underground lab in northern Minnesota. In its next phase, SuperCDMS SNOLAB, it plans to use 100-200 kg of target mass (Ge) which would allow it to probe more of the interesting and unexplored parameter space for WIMPs predicted by theoretical models. The SuperCDMS Queen's Test Facility is a detector testing facility which is intended to serve detector testing and detector research and development purposes for the SuperCDMS experiment. A modified detector called the 'HiZIP' (Half-iZIP), which is reduced in complexity in comparison to the currently used iZIP (interleaved Z-sensitive Ionization and Phonon mediated) detectors, is studied in this thesis. The HiZIP detector design also serves to discriminate against background from multiple scatter events occurring close to the surfaces in a single detector. Studies carried out to compare the surface event leakage in the HiZIP detector using limited information from iZIP data taken at SuperCDMS test facility at UC Berkley produce a highly conservative upper limit of 5 out of 10,000 events at 90% confidence level. This upper limit is the best among many different HiZIP configurations that were investigated and is comparable to the upper limit calculated for an iZIP detector in the same way using the same data. A real HiZIP device operated at Queen's Test Facility produced an exposure limited 90% upper limit of about 1 in 100 events for surface event leakage. The data used in these studies contain true nuclear recoil events from cosmogenic and ambient neutrons. This background was not subtracted in the calculation of the upper limits stated above and hence they are highly conservative. A surface event source was produced by depositing lead-210 from radon exposure onto a copper plate. This source was then used to take data for a surface event discrimination study of the HiZIP detector operated at Queen's Test Facility. A study of the contribution of the noise from capacitive crosstalk between charge sensors in a HiZIP detector configuration was investigated, confirming the expectation that no significant drop in performance is to be expected due to this effect.

Cleaning techniques for intense ion beam sources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Menge, P.R.; Cuneo, M.E.; Bailey, J.E.

Generation of high power lithium ion beams on the SABRE (1TW) and PBFA-X (20 TW) accelerators have been limited by the parallel acceleration of contaminant ions. during the beam pulse lithium is replaced by protons and carbon ions. This replacement is accompanied by rapid impedance decay of the diode. The contaminant hydrogen and carbon is believed to originate from impurity molecules on the surface and in the bulk of the lithium ion source and its substrate material. Cleaning techniques designed to remove hydrocarbons from the ion source have been employed with some success in test stand experiments and on SABRE.more » The test stand experiments have shown that a lithium fluoride (LiF) ion source film can accrue dozens of hydrocarbon monolayers on its surface while sitting in vacuum. Application of 13.5 MHz RF discharge cleaning with 90% Ar/10% O{sub 2} can significantly reduce the surface hydrocarbon layers on the LiF film. On SABRE, combinations of RF discharge cleaning, anode heating, layering gold between the source film (LiF) and its substrate, and cryogenic cathode cooling produced an increase by a factor of 1.5--2 in the quantity of high energy lithium in the ion beam. A corresponding decrease in protons and carbon ions was also observed. Cleaning experiments on PBFA-X are underway. New designs of contamination resistant films and Li ion sources are currently being investigated.« less

Advances in Mineral Dust Source Composition Measurement with Imaging Spectroscopy at the Salton Sea, CA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, R. O.; Realmuto, V. J.; Thompson, D. R.; Mahowald, N. M.; Pérez García-Pando, C.; Miller, R. L.; Clark, R. N.; Swayze, G. A.; Okin, G. S.

2015-12-01

Mineral dust emitted from the Earth's surface is a principal contributor to direct radiative forcing over the arid regions, where shifts in climate have a significant impact on agriculture, precipitation, and desert encroachment around the globe. Dust particles contribute to both positive and negative forcing, depending on the composition of the particles. Particle composition is a function of the surface mineralogy of dust source regions, but poor knowledge of surface mineralogy on regional to global scales limits the skill of Earth System models to predict shifts in regional climate around the globe. Earth System models include the source, emission, transport and deposition phases of the dust cycle. In addition to direct radiative forcing contributions, mineral dust impacts include indirect radiative forcing, modification of the albedo and melting rates of snow and ice, kinetics of tropospheric photochemistry, formation and deposition of acidic aerosols, supply of nutrients to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and impact on human health and safety. We demonstrate the ability to map mineral dust source composition in the Salton Sea dust source region with imaging spectroscopy measurements acquired as part of the NASA HyspIRI preparatory airborne campaign. These new spectroscopically derived compositional measurements provide a six orders of magnitude improvement over current atlases for this dust source region and provide a pathfinder example for a remote measurement approach to address this critical dust composition gap for global Earth System models.

Limiting cases in relativistic field theory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Whitney, C.K.

1988-05-01

For nearly ninety years, electromagnetic fields caused by relativistically moving sources have been modeled according to formulas derived at the turn of the present century by Lienard and Wiechert. Recently, questions have started to surface about the Lienard-Wiechert derivation method, about all the subsequent modern rederivation methods, and about the results themselves. The present paper continues this critique. The field results in various idealized limiting cases are examined for plausibility and absurdities are revealed.

Oxygenic Photosynthesis and the Oxidation State of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartman, Hyman; McKay, Christopher P.

1995-01-01

The oxidation state of the Earth's surface is one of the most obvious indications of the effect of life on this planet. The surface of Mars is highly oxidized, as evidenced by its red color, but the connection to life is less apparent. Two possibilities can be considered. First, the oxidant may be photochemically produced in the atmosphere. In this case the fundamental source of O2 is the loss of H2 to space and the oxidant produced is H2O2. This oxidant would accumulate on the surface and thereby destroy any organic material and other reductants to some depth. Recent models suggest that diffusion limits this depth to a few meters. An alternative source of oxygen is biological oxygen production followed by sequestration of organic material in sediments - as on the Earth. In this case, the net oxidation of the surface was determined billions of years ago when Mars was a more habitable planet and oxidative conditions could persist to great depths, over 100 m. Below this must be a compensating layer of biogenic organic material. Insight into the nature of past sources of oxidation on Mars will require searching for organics in the martian subsurface and sediments.

49 CFR Appendix B to Part 564 - Information to be Submitted for Long Life Replaceable Light Sources of Limited Definition

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... indexing the bulb base in the bulb holder. B. Diameter, width, depth, and surface finish of seal groove... interchangeability dimensions for indexing the bulb base in the bulb holder. B. Mating diameter, width, depth, and...

49 CFR Appendix B to Part 564 - Information to be Submitted for Long Life Replaceable Light Sources of Limited Definition

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... indexing the bulb base in the bulb holder. B. Diameter, width, depth, and surface finish of seal groove... interchangeability dimensions for indexing the bulb base in the bulb holder. B. Mating diameter, width, depth, and...

40 CFR 63.4961 - How do I demonstrate initial compliance?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Surface Coating of Metal Furniture... operation must meet the operating limits and work practice standards required in §§ 63.4892 and 63.4893...

Coherent diffraction surface imaging in reflection geometry.

PubMed

Marathe, Shashidhara; Kim, S S; Kim, S N; Kim, Chan; Kang, H C; Nickles, P V; Noh, D Y

2010-03-29

We present a reflection based coherent diffraction imaging method which can be used to reconstruct a non periodic surface image from a diffraction amplitude measured in reflection geometry. Using a He-Ne laser, we demonstrated that a surface image can be reconstructed solely from the reflected intensity from a surface without relying on any prior knowledge of the sample object or the object support. The reconstructed phase image of the exit wave is particularly interesting since it can be used to obtain quantitative information of the surface depth profile or the phase change during the reflection process. We believe that this work will broaden the application areas of coherent diffraction imaging techniques using light sources with limited penetration depth.

Constricted glow discharge plasma source

DOEpatents

Anders, Andre; Anders, Simone; Dickinson, Michael; Rubin, Michael; Newman, Nathan

2000-01-01

A constricted glow discharge chamber and method are disclosed. The polarity and geometry of the constricted glow discharge plasma source is set so that the contamination and energy of the ions discharged from the source are minimized. The several sources can be mounted in parallel and in series to provide a sustained ultra low source of ions in a plasma with contamination below practical detection limits. The source is suitable for applying films of nitrides such as gallium nitride and oxides such as tungsten oxide and for enriching other substances in material surfaces such as oxygen and water vapor, which are difficult process as plasma in any known devices and methods. The source can also be used to assist the deposition of films such as metal films by providing low-energy ions such as argon ions.

Near perfect optics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goeke, R.; Farnsworth, A.V.; Neumann, C.C.

1996-06-01

This report discusses a novel fabrication process to produce nearly perfect optics. The process utilizes vacuum deposition techniques to optimally modify polished optical substrate surfaces. The surface figure, i.e. contour of a polished optical element, is improved by differentially filling in the low spots on the surface using flux from a physical vapor deposition source through an appropriate mask. The process is expected to enable the manufacture of diffraction-limited optical systems for the UV, extreme UV, and soft X-ray spectral regions, which would have great impact on photolithography and astronomy. This same technique may also reduce the fabrication cost ofmore » visible region optics with aspheric surfaces.« less

Identifying the underlying causes of biological instability in a full-scale drinking water supply system.

PubMed

Nescerecka, Alina; Juhna, Talis; Hammes, Frederik

2018-05-15

Changes in bacterial concentration and composition in drinking water during distribution are often attributed to biological (in)stability. Here we assessed temporal biological stability in a full-scale distribution network (DN) supplied with different types of source water: treated and chlorinated surface water and chlorinated groundwater produced at three water treatment plants (WTP). Monitoring was performed weekly during 12 months in two locations in the DN. Flow cytometric total and intact cell concentration (ICC) measurements showed considerable seasonal fluctuations, which were different for two locations. ICC varied between 0.1-3.75 × 10 5  cells mL -1 and 0.69-4.37 × 10 5  cells mL -1 at two locations respectively, with ICC increases attributed to temperature-dependent bacterial growth during distribution. Chlorinated water from the different WTP was further analysed with a modified growth potential method, identifying primary and secondary growth limiting compounds. It was observed that bacterial growth in the surface water sample after chlorination was primarily inhibited by phosphorus limitation and secondly by organic carbon limitation, while carbon was limiting in the chlorinated groundwater samples. However, the ratio of available nutrients changed during distribution, and together with disinfection residual decay, this resulted in higher bacterial growth potential detected in the DN than at the WTP. In this study, bacterial growth was found to be higher (i) at higher water temperatures, (ii) in samples with lower chlorine residuals and (iii) in samples with less nutrient (carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, iron) limitation, while this was significantly different between the samples of different origin. Thus drinking water microbiological quality and biological stability could change during different seasons, and the extent of these changes depends on water temperature, the water source and treatment. Furthermore, differences in primary growth limiting nutrients in different water sources could contribute to biological instability in the network, where mixing occurs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Frequency power analyses of seismic sources on firn

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanz, Christopher; Diez, Anja; Coen, Hofstede; Kristoffersen, Yngve; Mayer, Christoph; Lambrecht, Astrid; Miller, Heinz; Eisen, Olaf

2013-04-01

A great obstacle for seismic surveys on firn-covered ice masses is the ability of firn to strongly attenuate seismic energy and divert downward ray paths away from the vertical because of the velocity gradient. The standard way to overcome these limitations is the drilling of shotholes about 10-30 m deep. However, drilling of shotholes is a time and energy consuming task. Another possibility is to use vibroseismic sources at the surface and increase the signal-to-noise ratio by repeated stacking. However, compared to explosive charges, vibroseismic signals are bandlimited per se. As a third variant, we investigate the usage of ordered patterns of surface charges consisting of detonation cord. Previous applications of detonation cord only explored their general comparison to bulk explosives when deployed in a linear fashion, i.e. a single line. Our approach extends these results to other geometries, like fan- or comb-shaped patterns. These have two advantages: first, over the pattern area a locally plane wave is generated, limiting the spherical and velocity-gradient induced spreading of energy during propagation; second, the ratio between seismic wave speed of the firn and the detonation cord of typically about 1:5 causes the wave to propagate in an angle downward. When using large offsets like a snow streamer, it is possible to direct the refected energy towards the streamer, depending on offset range and reflector depth. We compare the different source types for several surveys conducted in Antarctica in terms of frequency spectra. Our results show that ordered patterns of detonation cord serve as suitable seismic surface charges, avoiding the need to drill shotholes. Moreover, an example of a short profile with patterned surface charges is presented. The technique can be of advantage for surveys in remote areas, which can only be accessed by aircrafts.

Adjoint-tomography for a Local Surface Structure: Methodology and a Blind Test

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubina, Filip; Michlik, Filip; Moczo, Peter; Kristek, Jozef; Stripajova, Svetlana

2017-04-01

We have developed a multiscale full-waveform adjoint-tomography method for local surface sedimentary structures with complicated interference wavefields. The local surface sedimentary basins and valleys are often responsible for anomalous earthquake ground motions and corresponding damage in earthquakes. In many cases only relatively small number of records of a few local earthquakes is available for a site of interest. Consequently, prediction of earthquake ground motion at the site has to include numerical modeling for a realistic model of the local structure. Though limited, the information about the local structure encoded in the records is important and irreplaceable. It is therefore reasonable to have a method capable of using the limited information in records for improving a model of the local structure. A local surface structure and its interference wavefield require a specific multiscale approach. In order to verify our inversion method, we performed a blind test. We obtained synthetic seismograms at 8 receivers for 2 local sources, complete description of the sources, positions of the receivers and material parameters of the bedrock. We considered the simplest possible starting model - a homogeneous halfspace made of the bedrock. Using our inversion method we obtained an inverted model. Given the starting model, synthetic seismograms simulated for the inverted model are surprisingly close to the synthetic seismograms simulated for the true structure in the target frequency range up to 4.5 Hz. We quantify the level of agreement between the true and inverted seismograms using the L2 and time-frequency misfits, and, more importantly for earthquake-engineering applications, also using the goodness-of-fit criteria based on the earthquake-engineering characteristics of earthquake ground motion. We also verified the inverted model for other source-receiver configurations not used in the inversion.

Can Surface Seeps Elucidate Carbon Cycling in Terrestrial Subsurface Ecosystems in Ophiolite-hosted Serpentinizing Fluids?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer-Dombard, D. R.; Cardace, D.; Woycheese, K. M.; Vallalar, B.; Arcilla, C. A.

2017-12-01

Serpentinization in ophiolite-hosted regimes produces highly reduced, high pH fluids that are often characterized as having copious H2 and CH4 gas, little/no inorganic carbon, and limited electron acceptors. Subsurface microbial biomes shift as deeply-sourced fluids reach the oxygenated surface environment, where organisms capable of metabolizing O2 thrive (Woycheese et al., 2015). The relationship, connection, and communication between surface expressions (such as fluid seeps) and the subsurface biosphere is still largely unexplored. Our work in the Zambales and Palawan ophiolites (Philippines) defines surface habitats with geochemistry, targeted culturing efforts, and community analysis (Cardace et al., 2015; Woycheese et al., 2015). Fluids in the spring sources are largely `typical' and fall in the pH range of 9-11.5 with measurable gas escaping from the subsurface (H2 and CH4 > 10uM, CO2 > 1 mM; Cardace et al., 2015). Outflow channels extend from the source pools. These surface data encourage prediction of the subsurface metabolic landscape. To understand how carbon cycling in the subsurface and surface environments might be related, we focus on community analysis, culturing, and the geochemical context of the ecosystem. Shotgun metagenomic analyses indicate carbon cycling is reliant on methanogenesis, acetogenesis, sulfate reduction, and H2 and CH4 oxidation. Methyl coenzyme M reductase, and formylmethanofuran dehydrogenase were detected, and relative abundance increased near the near-anoxic spring source. In this tropical climate, cellulose is also a likely carbon source, possibly even in the subsurface. Enrichment cultures [pH 8-12] and strains [pH 8-10] from Zambales springs show degradation of cellulose and production of cellulase. DIC, DOC, and 13C of solid substrates show mixed autotrophic/heterotrophic activity. Results indicate a metabolically flexible surface community, and suggest details about carbon cycling in the subsurface.

40 CFR 63.3951 - How do I demonstrate initial compliance with the emission limitations?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Surface Coating..., “Standard Test Method for Density of Liquid Coatings, Inks, and Related Products” (incorporated by reference...

40 CFR 63.3152 - How do I demonstrate continuous compliance with the emission limitations?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Surface Coating of... compliance, the mass average organic HAP content for each compliance period, determined according to § 63...

40 CFR 63.4741 - How do I demonstrate initial compliance with the emission limitations?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Surface Coating of... practice standards required in §§ 63.4692 and 63.4693, respectively. To demonstrate initial compliance with...

40 CFR 63.3151 - How do I demonstrate initial compliance with the emission limitations?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Surface Coating of... mass average organic HAP content of the materials used during the initial compliance period for each...

Do oxygen stable isotopes track precipitation moisture source in vascular plant dominated peatlands?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charman, D.; Amesbury, M. J.; Newnham, R.; Loader, N.; Goodrich, J. P.; Gallego-Sala, A. V.; Royles, J.; Keller, E. D.; Baisden, W. T.

2014-12-01

Variations in the isotopic composition of precipitation are determined by fractionation processes which occur during temperature and humidity dependent phase changes associated with evaporation and condensation. Oxygen stable isotope ratios have therefore been frequently used as a source of palaeoclimate data from a variety of proxy archives. Exploitation of this record from ombrotrophic peatlands, where the source water used in cellulose synthesis is derived solely from precipitation, has been mostly limited to Northern Hemisphere Sphagnum-dominated bogs, with limited application in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) or in peatlands dominated by vascular plants. Throughout New Zealand (NZ), the preserved root matrix of the restionaceous wire rush (Empodisma spp.) forms deep peat deposits. NZ provides an ideal location to undertake empirical research into oxygen isotope fractionation in vascular peatlands because sites are ideally suited to single taxon analysis, preserve potentially high resolution full Holocene palaeoclimate records and are situated in the climatically sensitive SH mid-latitudes. Crucially, large gradients exist in the mean isotopic composition of precipitation across NZ, caused primarily by the relative influence of different climate modes. We test the capacity for δ18O analysis of Empodisma alpha cellulose from ombrotrophic restiad peatlands in NZ to provide a methodology for developing palaeoclimate records. We took surface plant, water and precipitation samples over spatial (six sites spanning >10° latitude) and temporal (monthly measurements over one year) gradients. We found a strong link between the isotopic compositions of surface root water, the most likely source water for plant growth, and precipitation in both datasets. Back-trajectory modelling of precipitation moisture source for rain days prior to sampling showed clear seasonality in the temporal data that was reflected in surface root water. The link between source water and plant cellulose was less clear, although mechanistic modelling predicted mean cellulose values within published error margins for both datasets. Improved understanding and modelling of δ18O in restiad peatlands should enable use of this approach as a new source of palaeoclimate data to reconstruct changes in past atmospheric circulation

Recent Approaches to Modeling Transport of Mercury in Surface Water and Groundwater - Case Study in Upper East Fork Poplar Creek, Oak Ridge, TN - 13349

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bostick, Kent; Daniel, Anamary; Tachiev, Georgio

2013-07-01

In this case study, groundwater/surface water modeling was used to determine efficacy of stabilization in place with hydrologic isolation for remediation of mercury contaminated areas in the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek (UEFPC) Watershed in Oak Ridge, TN. The modeling simulates the potential for mercury in soil to contaminate groundwater above industrial use risk standards and to contribute to surface water contamination. The modeling approach is unique in that it couples watershed hydrology with the total mercury transport and provides a tool for analysis of changes in mercury load related to daily precipitation, evaporation, and runoff from storms. The modelmore » also allows for simulation of colloidal transport of total mercury in surface water. Previous models for the watershed only simulated average yearly conditions and dissolved concentrations that are not sufficient for predicting mercury flux under variable flow conditions that control colloidal transport of mercury in the watershed. The transport of mercury from groundwater to surface water from mercury sources identified from information in the Oak Ridge Environmental Information System was simulated using a watershed scale model calibrated to match observed daily creek flow, total suspended solids and mercury fluxes. Mercury sources at the former Building 81-10 area, where mercury was previously retorted, were modeled using a telescopic refined mesh with boundary conditions extracted from the watershed model. Modeling on a watershed scale indicated that only source excavation for soils/sediment in the vicinity of UEFPC had any effect on mercury flux in surface water. The simulations showed that colloidal transport contributed 85 percent of the total mercury flux leaving the UEFPC watershed under high flow conditions. Simulation of dissolved mercury transport from liquid elemental mercury and adsorbed sources in soil at former Building 81-10 indicated that dissolved concentrations are orders of magnitude below a target industrial groundwater concentration beneath the source and would not influence concentrations in surface water at Station 17. This analysis addressed only shallow concentrations in soil and the shallow groundwater flow path in soil and unconsolidated sediments to UEFPC. Other mercury sources may occur in bedrock and transport though bedrock to UEFPC may contribute to the mercury flux at Station 17. Generally mercury in the source areas adjacent to the stream and in sediment that is eroding can contribute to the flux of mercury in surface water. Because colloidally adsorbed mercury can be transported in surface water, actions that trap colloids and or hydrologically isolate surface water runoff from source areas would reduce the flux of mercury in surface water. Mercury in soil is highly adsorbed and transport in the groundwater system is very limited under porous media conditions. (authors)« less

Limitations on near-surface correction for multicomponent offset VSP

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Macbeth, C.; Li, X.Y.; Horne, S.

1994-12-31

Multicomponent data are degraded due to near-surface scattering and non-ideal or unexpected source behavior. These effects cannot be neglected when interpreting relative wavefield attributes derived from compressional and shear waves. They confuse analyses based on standard scalar procedures and a prima facia interpretation of the vector wavefield properties. Here, the authors highlight two unique polar matrix decompositions for near-surface correction in offset VSPs, consider their inherent mathematical constraints and how they impact on subsurface interpretation. The first method is applied to a four component subset of a six component field data from a configuration of three concentric rings and walkawaymore » source positions forming offset VSPs in the Cymric field, California. The correction appears successful in automatically converting the wavefield into its ideal form, and the qSl polarizations scatter around N15{degree}E in agreement with the layer stripping of Winterstein and Meadows (1991).« less

Cell surface acid-base properties of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus: Influences of nitrogen source, growth phase and N:P ratios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yuxia; Alessi, D. S.; Owttrim, G. W.; Kenney, J. P. L.; Zhou, Qixing; Lalonde, S. V.; Konhauser, K. O.

2016-08-01

The distribution of many trace metals in the oceans is controlled by biological uptake. Recently, Liu et al. (2015) demonstrated the propensity for a marine cyanobacterium to adsorb cadmium from seawater, suggesting that cell surface reactivity might also play an important role in the cycling of metals in the oceans. However, it remains unclear how variations in cyanobacterial growth rates and nutrient supply might affect the chemical properties of their cellular surfaces. In this study we used potentiometric titrations and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry to profile the key metabolic changes and surface chemical responses of a Synechococcus strain, PCC 7002, during different growth regimes. This included testing various nitrogen (N) to phosphorous (P) ratios (both nitrogen and phosphorous dependent), nitrogen sources (nitrate, ammonium and urea) and growth stages (exponential, stationary, and death phase). FT-IR spectroscopy showed that varying the growth substrates on which Synechococcus cells were cultured resulted in differences in either the type or abundance of cellular exudates produced or a change in the cell wall components. Potentiometric titration data were modeled using three distinct proton binding sites, with resulting pKa values for cells of the various growth conditions in the ranges of 4.96-5.51 (pKa1), 6.67-7.42 (pKa2) and 8.13-9.95 (pKa3). According to previous spectroscopic studies, these pKa ranges are consistent with carboxyl, phosphoryl, and amine groups, respectively. Comparisons between the titration data (for the cell surface) and FT-IR spectra (for the average cellular changes) generally indicate (1) that the nitrogen source is a greater determinant of ligand concentration than growth phase, and (2) that phosphorus limitation has a greater impact on Synechococcus cellular and extracellular properties than does nitrogen limitation. Taken together, these techniques indicate that nutritional quality during cell growth can noticeably influence the expression of cell surface ligands and their measurable densities. Given that cell surface charge ultimately affects metal adsorption, our results suggest that the cycling of metals by Synechococcus cells in the oceans may vary regionally.

Infrared Radiation Filament And Metnod Of Manufacture

DOEpatents

Johnson, Edward A.

1998-11-17

An improved IR radiation source is provided by the invention. A radiation filament has a textured surface produced by seeded ion bombardment of a metal foil which is cut to a serpentine shape and mounted in a windowed housing. Specific ion bombardment texturing techniques tune the surface to maximize emissions in the desired wavelength range and to limit emissions outside that narrow range, particularly at longer wavelengths. A combination of filament surface texture, thickness, material, shape and power circuit feedback control produce wavelength controlled and efficient radiation at much lower power requirements than devices of the prior art.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zemcov, M.; Cooray, A.; Bock, J.

We have observed four massive galaxy clusters with the SPIRE instrument on the Herschel Space Observatory and measure a deficit of surface brightness within their central region after removing detected sources. We simulate the effects of instrumental sensitivity and resolution, the source population, and the lensing effect of the clusters to estimate the shape and amplitude of the deficit. The amplitude of the central deficit is a strong function of the surface density and flux distribution of the background sources. We find that for the current best fitting faint end number counts, and excellent lensing models, the most likely amplitudemore » of the central deficit is the full intensity of the cosmic infrared background (CIB). Our measurement leads to a lower limit to the integrated total intensity of the CIB of I{sub 250{mu}m}>0.69{sub -0.03}{sup +0.03}(stat.){sub -0.06}{sup +0.11}(sys.) MJy sr{sup -1}, with more CIB possible from both low-redshift sources and from sources within the target clusters. It should be possible to observe this effect in existing high angular resolution data at other wavelengths where the CIB is bright, which would allow tests of models of the faint source component of the CIB.« less

Active AirCore Sampling: Constraining Point Sources of Methane and Other Gases with Fixed Wing Unmanned Aerial Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bent, J. D.; Sweeney, C.; Tans, P. P.; Newberger, T.; Higgs, J. A.; Wolter, S.

2017-12-01

Accurate estimates of point source gas emissions are essential for reconciling top-down and bottom-up greenhouse gas measurements, but sampling such sources is challenging. Remote sensing methods are limited by resolution and cloud cover; aircraft methods are limited by air traffic control clearances, and the need to properly determine boundary layer height. A new sampling approach leverages the ability of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to measure all the way to the surface near the source of emissions, improving sample resolution, and reducing the need to characterize a wide downstream swath, or measure to the full height of the planetary boundary layer (PBL). The "Active-AirCore" sampler, currently under development, will fly on a fixed wing UAS in Class G airspace, spiraling from the surface to 1200 ft AGL around point sources such as leaking oil wells to measure methane, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The sampler collects a 100-meter long sample "core" of air in an 1/8" passivated stainless steel tube. This "core" is run on a high-precision instrument shortly after the UAS is recovered. Sample values are mapped to a specific geographic location by cross-referencing GPS and flow/pressure metadata, and fluxes are quantified by applying Gauss's theorem to the data, mapped onto the spatial "cylinder" circumscribed by the UAS. The AirCore-Active builds off the sampling ability and analytical approach of the related AirCore sampler, which profiles the atmosphere passively using a balloon launch platform, but will add an active pumping capability needed for near-surface horizontal sampling applications. Here, we show design elements, laboratory and field test results for methane, describe the overall goals of the mission, and discuss how the platform can be adapted, with minimal effort, to measure other gas species.

QCL-based standoff and proximal chemical detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dupuis, Julia R.; Hensley, Joel; Cosofret, Bogdan R.; Konno, Daisei; Mulhall, Phillip; Schmit, Thomas; Chang, Shing; Allen, Mark; Marinelli, William J.

2016-05-01

The development of two longwave infrared quantum cascade laser (QCL) based surface contaminant detection platforms supporting government programs will be discussed. The detection platforms utilize reflectance spectroscopy with application to optically thick and thin materials including solid and liquid phase chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals and materials, and explosives. Operation at standoff (10s of m) and proximal (1 m) ranges will be reviewed with consideration given to the spectral signatures contained in the specular and diffusely reflected components of the signal. The platforms comprise two variants: Variant 1 employs a spectrally tunable QCL source with a broadband imaging detector, and Variant 2 employs an ensemble of broadband QCLs with a spectrally selective detector. Each variant employs a version of the Adaptive Cosine Estimator for detection and discrimination in high clutter environments. Detection limits of 5 μg/cm2 have been achieved through speckle reduction methods enabling detector noise limited performance. Design considerations for QCL-based standoff and proximal surface contaminant detectors are discussed with specific emphasis on speckle-mitigated and detector noise limited performance sufficient for accurate detection and discrimination regardless of the surface coverage morphology or underlying surface reflectivity. Prototype sensors and developmental test results will be reviewed for a range of application scenarios. Future development and transition plans for the QCL-based surface detector platforms are discussed.

Geopotential Field Anomaly Continuation with Multi-Altitude Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Jeong Woo; Kim, Hyung Rae; von Frese, Ralph; Taylor, Patrick; Rangelova, Elena

2012-01-01

Conventional gravity and magnetic anomaly continuation invokes the standard Poisson boundary condition of a zero anomaly at an infinite vertical distance from the observation surface. This simple continuation is limited, however, where multiple altitude slices of the anomaly field have been observed. Increasingly, areas are becoming available constrained by multiple boundary conditions from surface, airborne, and satellite surveys. This paper describes the implementation of continuation with multi-altitude boundary conditions in Cartesian and spherical coordinates and investigates the advantages and limitations of these applications. Continuations by EPS (Equivalent Point Source) inversion and the FT (Fourier Transform), as well as by SCHA (Spherical Cap Harmonic Analysis) are considered. These methods were selected because they are especially well suited for analyzing multi-altitude data over finite patches of the earth such as covered by the ADMAP database. In general, continuations constrained by multi-altitude data surfaces are invariably superior to those constrained by a single altitude data surface due to anomaly measurement errors and the non-uniqueness of continuation.

Geopotential Field Anomaly Continuation with Multi-Altitude Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Jeong Woo; Kim, Hyung Rae; vonFrese, Ralph; Taylor, Patrick; Rangelova, Elena

2011-01-01

Conventional gravity and magnetic anomaly continuation invokes the standard Poisson boundary condition of a zero anomaly at an infinite vertical distance from the observation surface. This simple continuation is limited, however, where multiple altitude slices of the anomaly field have been observed. Increasingly, areas are becoming available constrained by multiple boundary conditions from surface, airborne, and satellite surveys. This paper describes the implementation of continuation with multi-altitude boundary conditions in Cartesian and spherical coordinates and investigates the advantages and limitations of these applications. Continuations by EPS (Equivalent Point Source) inversion and the FT (Fourier Transform), as well as by SCHA (Spherical Cap Harmonic Analysis) are considered. These methods were selected because they are especially well suited for analyzing multi-altitude data over finite patches of the earth such as covered by the ADMAP database. In general, continuations constrained by multi-altitude data surfaces are invariably superior to those constrained by a single altitude data surface due to anomaly measurement errors and the non-uniqueness of continuation.

Distributed feedback guided surface acoustic wave microresonator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golan, G.; Griffel, G.; Seidman, A.; Croitoru, N.

1989-08-01

Surface acoustic wave resonators have been used in a number of applications: high-Q frequency filtering, very accurate frequency sources, etc. A major disadvantage of conventional resonators is their large dimensions, which makes them inadequate for integrated acoustics applications. In order to overcome these size limitations a new type of microresonator was designed, developed, and tested. In this paper, theoretical calculations and measurements on two kinds of such devices (a corrugated waveguide filter and a microresonator structure) are presented and their possible applications are discussed.

The critical angle in seismic interferometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Van Wijk, K.; Calvert, A.; Haney, M.; Mikesell, D.; Snieder, R.

2008-01-01

Limitations with respect to the characteristics and distribution of sources are inherent to any field seismic experiment, but in seismic interferometry these lead to spurious waves. Instead of trying to eliminate, filter or otherwise suppress spurious waves, crosscorrelation of receivers in a refraction experiment indicate we can take advantage of spurious events for near-surface parameter extraction for static corrections or near-surface imaging. We illustrate this with numerical examples and a field experiment from the CSM/Boise State University Geophysics Field Camp.

Formation and fates of nitrosamines and their formation potentials from a surface water source to drinking water treatment plants in Southern Taiwan.

PubMed

Chen, Wei-Hsiang; Wang, Chung-Ya; Huang, Tsung-Hsien

2016-10-01

Nitrosamines are toxic and emerging disinfection byproducts. In this study, three drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) in southern Taiwan treating the same source water in Gaoping River with comparable technologies were selected. The objective was to evaluate the formation and fates of six nitrosamines and their formation potentials (FPs) from a surface water source to drinking water. Albeit decreased further downstream in the river, four nitrosamine-FPs were observed in the source water due to anthropogenic pollution in the upstream areas. In the DWTPs, nitrosamines were formed and NDMA was the main species. While high organic carbon concentrations indicated elevated nitrosamine-FPs in the source water, NDMA formation in the DWTPs was more positively associated with reductions of water parameters that quantify organic matters with double bonded ring structures. Although precursor removal via pre-oxidation is a viable approach to limit nitrosamine formation during post-disinfection, this study clearly indicates that a great portion of NDMA in treated water has been formed in the 1st oxidation step of drinking water treatment. The pre-oxidation simulations in the lab demonstrated the impact of pre-chlorination on nitrosamine formation. Given the limited removal in conventional treatment processes, avoiding nitrosamine-FPs in sources and/or nitrosamine formation during pre-oxidation become important issues to control the threats of nitrosamines in drinking water. Under current circumstance in which pre-oxidation is widely used to optimize the treatment effectiveness in many DWTPs, its adverse effect by forming nitrosamines needs to be carefully minimized and using technologies other than pre-chlorination (e.g., pre-ozonation) may be considered. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

78 FR 34431 - Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Steam Electric Power Generating Point...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-07

...EPA is proposing a regulation that would strengthen the controls on discharges from certain steam electric power plants by revising technology-based effluent limitations guidelines and standards for the steam electric power generating point source category. Steam electric power plants alone contribute 50-60 percent of all toxic pollutants discharged to surface waters by all industrial categories currently regulated in the United States under the Clean Water Act. Furthermore, power plant discharges to surface waters are expected to increase as pollutants are increasingly captured by air pollution controls and transferred to wastewater discharges. This proposal, if implemented, would reduce the amount of toxic metals and other pollutants discharged to surface waters from power plants. EPA is considering several regulatory options in this rulemaking and has identified four preferred alternatives for regulation of discharges from existing sources. These four preferred alternatives differ with respect to the scope of requirements that would be applicable to existing discharges of pollutants found in two wastestreams generated at power plants. EPA estimates that the preferred options for this proposed rule would annually reduce pollutant discharges by 0.47 billion to 2.62 billion pounds, reduce water use by 50 billion to 103 billion gallons, cost $185 million to $954 million, and would be economically achievable.

Limits on Spin-independent Couplings of Light Dark Matter WIMPs with a p-type Point-contact Germanium Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, S. T.; Wong, H. T.

New limits on spin-independent WIMP-nucleon coupling using 39.5 kg-days of data taken with a p-type point-contact germanium detector with fiducial mass of 840 g at the Kuo-Sheng Reactor Neutrino Laboratory (KSNL) is presented. Charactering and understanding the anomalous surface behaviour is of particular significance to this study. The slow rise-time of surface events is identified via software pulse shape analysis techniques. In addition, the signal-retaining and background-rejecting efficiencies are implied to clarify the actual bulk and surface events in the mixed regime at sub-keV range. Both efficiencies are evaluated with calibration sources and a novel n-type point-contact germanium detector. Efficiencies-corrected background spectra from the low-background facility at KSNL are derived. Part of the parameter space in cross-section versus WIMP-mass is probed and excluded.

Adsorption of poly(ethylene glycol)-modified ribonuclease A to a poly(lactide-co-glycolide) surface.

PubMed

Daly, Susan M; Przybycien, Todd M; Tilton, Robert D

2005-06-30

Protein adsorption is a source of variability in the release profiles of therapeutic proteins from biodegradable microspheres. We employ optical reflectometry and total internal reflection fluorescence to explore the extent and kinetics of ribonuclease A (RNase A) adsorption to spin-cast films of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) and, in particular, to determine how covalent grafting of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to RNase A affects adsorption. Adsorption kinetics on PLG surfaces are surface-limited for RNase A but transport-limited for unconjugated PEG homopolymers and for PEG-modified RNase A, indicating that PEG anchors the conjugates to the surface during the transport-limited regime. PEG modification of RNase A decreases the total number of adsorbed molecules per unit area but increases the areal surface coverage because the grafted PEG chains exclude additional surface area. Total internal reflection fluorescence-based exchange measurements show that there is no exchange between adsorbed and solution-phase protein molecules. This indicates an unusually tenacious adsorption. Streaming current measurements indicate that the zeta potential of the PLG surface becomes increasingly negative as the film is exposed to water for several weeks, as expected. Aging of the PLG surface results in increased adsorption of unmodified RNase A but decreased adsorption of unconjugated PEG homopolymers and of PEG-RNase A conjugates, relative to the extent of adsorption on freshly prepared PLG surfaces. Adsorption results correlate well with an increase in the rate, total extent and preservation of bioactivity of RNase A released from PLG microspheres for the PEG-modified version of RNase A.

Formation of stable inverse sheath in ion–ion plasma by strong negative ion emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhe; Wu, Bang; Yang, Shali; Zhang, Ya; Chen, Dezhi; Fan, Mingwu; Jiang, Wei

2018-06-01

The effect of strong charged particle emission on plasma–wall interactions is a classical, yet unresolved question in plasma physics. Previous studies on secondary electron emission have shown that with different emission coefficients, there are classical, space-charge-limited, and inverse sheaths. In this letter, we demonstrate that a stable ion–ion inverse sheath and ion–ion plasma are formed with strong surface emission of negative ions. The continuous space-charge-limited to inverse ion–ion sheath transition is observed, and the plasma near the surface consequently transforms into pure ion–ion plasma. The results may explain the long-puzzled experimental observation that the density of negative ions depends on only charge not mass in negative ion sources.

Review of the CIE system of colorimetry and its use in dentistry.

PubMed

Westland, Stephen

2003-01-01

When we observe the light reflected from surfaces in a scene or look directly at light emitted by light sources, we experience the sensation of color. Color is just one attribute of a complex and not fully understood set of properties that define the appearance of our surroundings. To measure or specify the color of an object, we need to take into account the nature of the light under which the object is viewed, the spectral reflectance properties of the surface, and the properties of the human color vision system. In this article the CIE system of colorimetry is briefly reviewed and its limitations are described. The consequences of these limitations for color measurement in dentistry are discussed.

49 CFR Appendix B to Part 564 - Information To Be Submitted for Long Life Replaceable Light Sources of Limited Definition

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

.... A. Angular locations, diameters, key/keyway sizes, and any other interchangeability dimensions for... base in the bulb holder such as tabs, keys, keyways, surface, etc. III. Bulb Holder Interchangeability Dimensions and Tolerances. A. Mating angular locations, diameters, key/keyway sizes, any other...

49 CFR Appendix B to Part 564 - Information To Be Submitted for Long Life Replaceable Light Sources of Limited Definition

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

.... A. Angular locations, diameters, key/keyway sizes, and any other interchangeability dimensions for... base in the bulb holder such as tabs, keys, keyways, surface, etc. III. Bulb Holder Interchangeability Dimensions and Tolerances. A. Mating angular locations, diameters, key/keyway sizes, any other...

Reforestation of mined land in the northeastern and north-central U.S.

Treesearch

Walter H. Davidson; Russell J. Hutnik; Delbert E. Parr

1984-01-01

This paper reviews the state of the art of surface mine reclamation for forestry in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Legislative constraints, socioeconomic issues, factors limiting the success of reforestation efforts, post-mining land-use trends, species options, and establishment techniques are discussed. Sources of assistance to...

Integrating Emerging Data Sources into Operational Practice: Capabilities and Limitations of Devices to Collect, Compile, Save, and Share Messages from CAVs and Connected Travelers

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2018-03-01

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) and connected travelers will be providing substantially increased levels of data which will be available for agencies to consider using to improve the management and operation of the surface transportation syst...

40 CFR 63.3091 - What emission limits must I meet for an existing affected source?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... bonding primer, and glass bonding adhesive operations plus all coatings and thinners, except for deadener materials and for adhesive and sealer materials that are not components of glass bonding systems, used in... from primer-surfacer, topcoat, final repair, glass bonding primer, and glass bonding adhesive...

Explosive detection using a novel dielectric barrier discharge ionisation source for mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Fletcher, Carl; Sleeman, Richard; Luke, John; Luke, Peter; Bradley, James W

2018-03-01

The detection of explosives is of great importance, as is the need for sensitive, reliable techniques that require little or no sample preparation and short run times for high throughput analysis. In this work, a novel ionisation source is presented based on a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). This not only affects desorption and ionisation but also forms an ionic wind, providing mass transportation of ions towards the mass spectrometer. Furthermore, the design incorporates 2 asymmetric alumina sheets, each containing 3 DBDs, so that a large surface area can be analysed. The DBD operates in ambient air, overcoming the limitation of other plasma-based techniques which typically analyse smaller surface areas and require solvents or gases. A range of explosives across 4 different functional groups was analysed using the DBD with low limits of detection for cyclotrimethylene trinitramine (RDX) (100 pg), pentaerythritol trinitrate (PETN) (100 pg), hexamethylene triperoxide diamide (HMTD) (1 ng), and trinitrotoluene (TNT) (5 ng). Detection was achieved without any sample preparation or the addition of reagents to facilitate adduct formation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Source levels of social sounds in migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).

PubMed

Dunlop, Rebecca A; Cato, Douglas H; Noad, Michael J; Stokes, Dale M

2013-07-01

The source level of an animal sound is important in communication, since it affects the distance over which the sound is audible. Several measurements of source levels of whale sounds have been reported, but the accuracy of many is limited because the distance to the source and the acoustic transmission loss were estimated rather than measured. This paper presents measurements of source levels of social sounds (surface-generated and vocal sounds) of humpback whales from a sample of 998 sounds recorded from 49 migrating humpback whale groups. Sources were localized using a wide baseline five hydrophone array and transmission loss was measured for the site. Social vocalization source levels were found to range from 123 to 183 dB re 1 μPa @ 1 m with a median of 158 dB re 1 μPa @ 1 m. Source levels of surface-generated social sounds ("breaches" and "slaps") were narrower in range (133 to 171 dB re 1 μPa @ 1 m) but slightly higher in level (median of 162 dB re 1 μPa @ 1 m) compared to vocalizations. The data suggest that group composition has an effect on group vocalization source levels in that singletons and mother-calf-singing escort groups tend to vocalize at higher levels compared to other group compositions.

Fundamental uncertainty limit for speckle displacement measurements.

PubMed

Fischer, Andreas

2017-09-01

The basic metrological task in speckle photography is to quantify displacements of speckle patterns, allowing for instance the investigation of the mechanical load and modification of objects with rough surfaces. However, the fundamental limit of the measurement uncertainty due to photon shot noise is unknown. For this reason, the Cramér-Rao bound (CRB) is derived for speckle displacement measurements, representing the squared minimal achievable measurement uncertainty. As result, the CRB for speckle patterns is only two times the CRB for an ideal point light source. Hence, speckle photography is an optimal measurement approach for contactless displacement measurements on rough surfaces. In agreement with a derivation from Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, the CRB depends on the number of detected photons and the diffraction limit of the imaging system described by the speckle size. The theoretical results are verified and validated, demonstrating the capability for displacement measurements with nanometer resolution.

Concentration and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in surface soil near a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill.

PubMed

Melnyk, A; Dettlaff, A; Kuklińska, K; Namieśnik, J; Wolska, L

2015-10-15

Due to a continuous demand of land for infrastructural and residential development there is a public concern about the condition of surface soil near municipal solid waste landfills. A total of 12 surface (0-20 cm) soil samples from a territory near a landfill were collected and the concentration of 16 PAHs and 7 PCB congeners were investigated in these samples. Limits of detection were in the range of 0.038-1.2 μg/kg for PAHs and 0.025-0.041 μg/kg for PCBs. The total concentration of ∑ PAHs ranged from 892 to 3514 μg/kg with a mean of 1974 μg/kg. The total concentration of ∑ PCBs ranged from 2.5 to 12 μg/kg with a mean of 4.5 μg/kg. Data analyses allowed to state that the PAHs in surface soils near a landfill were principally from pyrogenic sources. Due to air transport, PAHs forming at the landfill are transported outside the landfill. PCB origin is not connected with the landfill. Aroclor 1242 can be the source of PCBs in several samples. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Infrasonic induced ground motions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Ting-Li

On January 28, 2004, the CERI seismic network recorded seismic signals generated by an unknown source. Our conclusion is that the acoustic waves were initiated by an explosive source near the ground surface. The meteorological temperature and effective sound speed profiles suggested existence of an efficient near-surface waveguide that allowed the acoustic disturbance to propagate to large distances. An explosion occurring in an area of forest and farms would have limited the number of eyewitnesses. Resolution of the source might be possible by experiment or by detailed analysis of the ground motion data. A seismo-acoustic array was built to investigate thunder-induced ground motions. Two thunder events with similar N-wave waveforms but different horizontal slownesses are chosen to evaluate the credibility of using thunder as a seismic source. These impulsive acoustic waves excited P and S reverberations in the near surface that depend on both the incident wave horizontal slowness and the velocity structure in the upper 30 meters. Nineteen thunder events were chosen to further investigate the seismo-acoustic coupling. The consistent incident slowness differences between acoustic pressure and ground motions suggest that ground reverberations were first initiated somewhat away from the array. Acoustic and seismic signals were used to generate the time-domain transfer function through the deconvolution technique. Possible non-linear interaction for acoustic propagation into the soil at the surface was observed. The reverse radial initial motions suggest a low Poisson's ratio for the near-surface layer. The acoustic-to-seismic transfer functions show a consistent reverberation series of the Rayleigh wave type, which has a systematic dispersion relation to incident slownesses inferred from the seismic ground velocity. Air-coupled Rayleigh wave dispersion was used to quantitatively constrain the near-surface site structure with constraints afforded by near-surface body wave refraction and Rayleigh wave dispersion data. Theoretical standard high-frequency and air-coupled Rayleigh wave dispersion calculated by the inferred site structure match the observed dispersion curves. Our study suggests that natural or controlled air-borne pressure sources can be used to investigate the near-surface site structures for earthquake shaking hazard studies.

Non-Quiescent X-ray Emission from Neutron Stars and Black Holes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tournear, Derek M

X-ray astronomy began with the detection of the persistent source Scorpius X-1. Shortly afterwards, sources were detected that were variable. Centaurus X-2, was determined to be an X-ray transient, having a quiescent state, and a state that was much brighter. As X-ray astronomy progressed, classifications of transient sources developed. One class of sources, believed to be neutron stars, undergo extreme luminosity transitions lasting a few seconds. These outbursts are believed to be thermonuclear explosions occurring on the surface of neutron stars (type I X-ray bursts). Other sources undergo luminosity changes that cannot be explained by thermonuclear burning and last formore » days to months. These sources are soft X-ray transients (SXTs) and are believed to be the result of instabilities in the accretion of matter onto either a neutron star or black hole. Type I X-ray bursts provide a tool for probing the surfaces of neutron stars. Requiring a surface for the burning has led authors to use the presence of X-ray bursts to rule out the existence of a black hole (where an event horizon exists not a surface) for systems which exhibit type I X-ray bursts. Distinguishing between neutron stars and black holes has been a problem for decades. Narayan and Heyl have developed a theoretical framework to convert suitable upper limits on type I X-ray bursts from accreting black hole candidates (BHCs) into evidence for an event horizon. We survey 2101.2 ks of data from the USA X-ray timing experiment and 5142 ks of data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) experiment to obtain the first formal constraint of this type. 1122 ks of neutron star data yield a population averaged mean burst rate of 1.7 {+-} 0.4 x 10{sup -5} bursts s{sup -1}, while 6081 ks of BHC data yield a 95% confidence level upper limit of 4.9 x 10{sup -7} bursts s{sup -1}. Applying the framework of Narayan and Heyl we calculate regions of luminosity where the neutron stars are expected to burst and the BHCs would be expected to burst if they had a similar surface. In this luminosity region 464 ks of neutron star data yield an averaged mean burst rate of 4.1 {+-} 0.9 x 10{sup -5} bursts s{sup -1}, and 1512 ks of BHC data yield a 95% confidence level upper limit of 2.0 x 10{sup -6} bursts s{sup -1} and a strong limit that BHCs do not burst with a rate similar to the rate of neutron stars in these regions. This gives evidence that BHCs do not have surfaces. In addition to studying type I X-ray bursts, we analyzed the SXT behavior. In particular, 4U 1630-47, was analyzed throughout its 1999 outburst. This source is one of the oldest known SXTs. This source is assumed to be a BHC in a low-mass X-ray binary system. Despite the length of time devoted to studying this source, there is still little known about it. We report the results of timing and spectral analysis on the 1999 outburst, and compare these results to other outbursts of 4U 1630-47. We found this source progressed from a low-hard state to a high-soft state and then rapidly transitioned back into the low-hard state before returning to quiescence. Timing analysis detected a low frequency quasi-periodic oscillation (LFQPO) during the initial rise of the outburst, which disappeared and did not return. The variability in the X-ray flux in the 0.1-2000 Hz frequency range is low during the high state, but increases as the source progresses into the low-hard state. The next generation Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), will measure astrophysical phenomena in the 20 MeV--a few TeV energy range. We describe preliminary design and testing of GLAST. The detector is based on a silicon tracker with similar design characteristics of vertex detectors used in high-energy physics experiments at accelerator based facilities. A beam test engineering model was designed, constructed, and tested at SLAC in 1999-2000. We describe this test, and discuss how the results from this test can improve and demonstrate the viability of the GLAST technology.« less

Evaluating the Capability of High-Altitude Infrasound Platforms to Cover Gaps in Existing Networks.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bowman, Daniel

A variety of Earth surface and atmospheric sources generate low frequency sound waves that can travel great distances. Despite a rich history of ground-based sensor studies, very few experiments have investigated the prospects of free floating microphone arrays at high altitudes. However, recent initiatives have shown that such networks have very low background noise and may sample an acoustic wave field that is fundamentally different than that at the Earth's surface. The experiments have been limited to at most two stations at altitude, limiting their utility in acoustic event detection and localization. We describe the deployment of five drifting microphonemore » stations at altitudes between 21 and 24 km above sea level. The stations detected one of two regional ground-based explosions as well as the ocean microbarom while traveling almost 500 km across the American Southwest. The explosion signal consisted of multiple arrivals; signal amplitudes did not correlate with sensor elevation or source range. A sparse network method that employed curved wave front corrections was able to determine the backazimuth from the free flying network to the acoustic source. Episodic broad band signals similar to those seen on previous flights in the same region were noted as well, but their source remains unclear. Background noise levels were commensurate with those on infrasound stations in the International Monitoring System (IMS) below 2 seconds, but sensor self noise appears to dominate at higher frequencies.« less

Exploratory laboratory study of lateral turbulent diffusion at the surface of an alluvial channel

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sayre, William W.; Chamberlain, A.R.

1964-01-01

In natural streams turbulent diffusion is one of the principal mechanisms by which liquid and suspended-particulate contaminants are dispersed in the flow. A knowledge of turbulence characteristics is therefore essential in predicting the dispersal rates of contaminants in streams. In this study the theory of diffusion by continuous movements for homogeneous turbulence is applied to lateral diffusion at the surface of an open channel in which there is uniform flow. An exploratory-laboratory investigation was conducted in which the lateral dispersion at the water surface of a sand-Led flume was studied by measuring the lateral spread from a point source of small floating polyethylene articles. The experiment was restricted to a single set of low and channel geometry conditions. The results of the study indicate that with certain restrictions lateral dispersion in alluvial channels may be successfully described by the theory of diffusion by continuous movements. The experiment demonstrates a means for evaluating the lateral diffusion coefficient and also methods for quantitatively estimating fundamental turbulence properties, such as the intensity and the Lagrangian integral scale of turbulence in an alluvial channel. The experimental results show that with increasing distance from the source the coefficient of lateral turbulent diffusion increases initially but tends toward a constant limiting value. This result is in accordance with turbulent diffusion theory. Indications are that the distance downstream from the source required for the diffusion coefficient to reach its limiting value is actually very small when compared to the length scale of most diffusion phenomena in natural streams which are of practical interest.

Advanced X-ray Optics Metrology for Nanofocusing and Coherence Preservation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goldberg, Kenneth A.; Yashchuk, Valeriy

2007-12-01

What is the point of developing new high-brightness light sources if beamline optics won't be available to realize the goals of nano-focusing and coherence preservation? That was one of the central questions raised during a workshop at the 2007 Advanced Light Source Users Meeting. Titled, 'Advanced X-Ray Optics Metrology for Nano-focusing and Coherence Preservation', the workshop was organized by Kenneth Goldberg and Valeriy Yashchuk (both of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, LBNL), and it brought together industry representatives and researchers from Japan, Europe, and the US to discuss the state of the art and to outline the optics requirements of newmore » light sources. Many of the presentations are viewable on the workshop website http://goldberg.lbl.gov/MetrologyWorkshop07/. Many speakers shared the same view of one of the most significant challenges facing the development of new high-brightness third and fourth generation x-ray, soft x-ray, and EUV light sources: these sources place extremely high demands on the surface quality of beamline optics. In many cases, the 1-2-nm surface error specs that define the outer bounds of 'diffraction-limited' quality are beyond the reach of leading facilities and optics vendors. To focus light to 50-nm focal spots, or smaller, from reflective optics and to preserve the high coherent flux that new sources make possible, the optical surface quality and alignment tolerances must be measured in nano-meters and nano-radians. Without a significant, well-supported research effort, including the development of new metrology techniques for use both on and off the beamline, these goals will likely not be met. The scant attention this issue has garnered is evident in the stretched budgets and limited manpower currently dedicated to metrology. With many of the world's leading groups represented at the workshop, it became clear that Japan and Europe are several steps ahead of the US in this critical area. But the situation isn't all dire: several leading groups are blazing a trail forward, and the recognition of this issue is increasing. The workshop featured eleven invited talks whose presenters came from Japan, Europe, and the US.« less

In vivo microcirculation imaging of the sub surface fingertip using correlation mapping optical coherence tomography (cmOCT)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dsouza, Roshan I.; Zam, Azhar; Subhash, Hrebesh M.; Larin, Kirill V.; Leahy, Martin

2013-02-01

We describe a novel application of correlation mapping optical coherence tomography (cmOCT) for sub-surface fingerprint biometric identification. Fingerprint biometrics including automated fingerprint identification systems, are commonly used to recognise the fingerprint, since they constitute simple, effective and valuable physical evidence. Spoofing of biometric fingerprint devices can be easily done because of the limited information obtained from the surface topography. In order to overcome this limitation a potentially more secure source of information is required for biometric identification applications. In this study, we retrieve the microcirculation map of the subsurface fingertip by use of the cmOCT technique. To increase probing depth of the sub surface microcirculation, an optical clearing agent composed of 75% glycerol in aqueous solution was applied topically and kept in contact for 15 min. OCT intensity images were acquired from commercial research grade swept source OCT system (model OCT1300SS, Thorlabs Inc. USA). A 3D OCT scan of the fingertip was acquired over an area of 5x5 mm using 1024x1024 A-scans in approximately 70 s. The resulting volume was then processed using the cmOCT technique with a 7x7 kernel to provide a microcirculation map. We believe these results will demonstrate an enhanced security level over artificial fingertips. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of imaging microcirculation map of the subsurface fingertip.

Numerical simulation of evaluation of surface breaking cracks by array-lasers generated narrow-band SAW

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Li-Ming; Ni, Chen-Yin; Shen, Zhong-Hua; Ni, Xiao-Wu

2011-09-01

Most of the factors limiting the extensive application of laser-based ultrasonic for nondestructive evaluation of surface breaking crack are its poor sensitivity, low efficiency relative to conventional contact ultrasonic methods and limit on the dimension of the cracks. For this reason, a new technique that multiplepulse narrow-band ultrasound generated by laser arrays has been proposed. It is found that crack detection dependent on spectrum of narrow-band ultrasound generated by laser arrays can be operated with low amplitude requirements. In this paper, the narrow-band ultrasound generated by pulse laser arrays interacting with surface breaking cracks has been simulated in detail by the finite element method (FEM) according to the thermoelastic theory. The pulsed array lasers were assumed to be transient heat source, and the surface acoustic wave (SAW) which propagating on the top of the plate was computed based on thermoelastic theory. Then the frequency spectrums of both reflected waves by crack and transmission ones through crack were compared with the direct waves. Results demonstrate that multiple-frequency components of the narrow-band ultrasound were varied with change of the depth of surface breaking cracks significantly, which provides the possibility for precise evaluation of surface breaking cracks.

A coronal magnetic field model with horizontal volume and sheet currents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhao, Xuepu; Hoeksema, J. Todd

1994-01-01

When globally mapping the observed photospheric magnetic field into the corona, the interaction of the solar wind and magnetic field has been treated either by imposing source surface boundary conditions that tacitly require volume currents outside the source surface or by limiting the interaction to thin current sheets between oppositely directed field regions. Yet observations and numerical Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) calculations suggest the presence of non-force-free volume currents throughout the corona as well as thin current sheets in the neighborhoods of the interfaces between closed and open field lines or between oppositely directed open field lines surrounding coronal helmet-streamer structures. This work presents a model including both horizontal volume currents and streamer sheet currents. The present model builds on the magnetostatic equilibria developed by Bogdan and Low and the current-sheet modeling technique developed by Schatten. The calculation uses synoptic charts of the line-of-sight component of the photospheric magnetic field measured at the Wilcox Solar Observatory. Comparison of an MHD model with the calculated model results for the case of a dipole field and comparison of eclipse observations with calculations for CR 1647 (near solar minimum) show that this horizontal current-current-sheet model reproduces polar plumes and axes of corona streamers better than the source-surface model and reproduces polar plumes and axes of corona streamers better than the source-surface model and reproduces coro nal helmet structures better than the current-sheet model.

Using cross-correlations of random wavefields for surface waves tomography and structural health monitoring.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabra, K.

2006-12-01

The random nature of noise and scattered fields tends to suggest limited utility. Indeed, seismic or acoustic fields from random sources or scatterers are often considered to be incoherent, but there is some coherence between two sensors that receive signals from the same individual source or scatterer. An estimate of the Green's function (or impulse response) between two points can be obtained from the cross-correlation of random wavefields recorded at these two points. Recent theoretical and experimental studies in ultrasonics, underwater acoustics, structural monitoring and seismology have investigated this technique in various environments and frequency ranges. These results provide a means for passive imaging using only the random wavefields, without the use of active sources. The coherent wavefronts emerge from a correlation process that accumulates contributions over time from random sources whose propagation paths pass through both receivers. Results will be presented from experiments using ambient noise cross-correlations for the following applications: 1) passive surface waves tomography from ocean microseisms and 2) structural health monitoring of marine and airborne structures embedded in turbulent flow.

Mapping water availability, cost and projected consumptive use in the eastern United States with comparisons to the west

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tidwell, Vincent C.; Moreland, Barbie D.; Shaneyfelt, Calvin R.; Kobos, Peter

2018-01-01

The availability of freshwater supplies to meet future demand is a growing concern. Water availability metrics are needed to inform future water development decisions. With the help of water managers, water availability was mapped for over 1300 watersheds throughout the 31 contiguous states in the eastern US complimenting a prior study of the west. The compiled set of water availability data is unique in that it considers multiple sources of water (fresh surface and groundwater, wastewater and brackish groundwater); accommodates institutional controls placed on water use; is accompanied by cost estimates to access, treat and convey each unique source of water; and is compared to projected future growth in consumptive water use to 2030. Although few administrative limits have been set on water availability in the east, water managers have identified 315 fresh surface water and 398 fresh groundwater basins (with 151 overlapping basins) as areas of concern (AOCs) where water supply challenges exist due to drought related concerns, environmental flows, groundwater overdraft, or salt water intrusion. This highlights a difference in management where AOCs are identified in the east which simply require additional permitting, while in the west strict administrative limits are established. Although the east is generally considered ‘water rich’ roughly a quarter of the basins were identified as AOCs; however, this is still in strong contrast to the west where 78% of the surface water basins are operating at or near their administrative limit. Little effort was noted on the part of eastern or western water managers to quantify non-fresh water resources.

Oxidation-driven surface dynamics on NiAl(100)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Qin, Hailang; Chen, Xidong; Li, Liang

Atomic steps, a defect common to all crystal surfaces, can play an important role in many physical and chemical processes. However, attempts to predict surface dynamics under nonequilibrium conditions are usually frustrated by poor knowledge of the atomic processes of surface motion arising from mass transport from/to surface steps. Using low-energy electron microscopy that spatially and temporally resolves oxide film growth during the oxidation of NiAl(100) we demonstrate that surface steps are impermeable to oxide film growth. The advancement of the oxide occurs exclusively on the same terrace and requires the coordinated migration of surface steps. The resulting piling upmore » of surface steps ahead of the oxide growth front progressively impedes the oxide growth. This process is reversed during oxide decomposition. The migration of the substrate steps is found to be a surface-step version of the well-known Hele-Shaw problem, governed by detachment (attachment) of Al atoms at step edges induced by the oxide growth (decomposition). As a result, by comparing with the oxidation of NiAl(110) that exhibits unimpeded oxide film growth over substrate steps, we suggest that whenever steps are the source of atoms used for oxide growth they limit the oxidation process; when atoms are supplied from the bulk, the oxidation rate is not limited by the motion of surface steps.« less

Oxidation-driven surface dynamics on NiAl(100)

DOE PAGES

Qin, Hailang; Chen, Xidong; Li, Liang; ...

2014-12-29

Atomic steps, a defect common to all crystal surfaces, can play an important role in many physical and chemical processes. However, attempts to predict surface dynamics under nonequilibrium conditions are usually frustrated by poor knowledge of the atomic processes of surface motion arising from mass transport from/to surface steps. Using low-energy electron microscopy that spatially and temporally resolves oxide film growth during the oxidation of NiAl(100) we demonstrate that surface steps are impermeable to oxide film growth. The advancement of the oxide occurs exclusively on the same terrace and requires the coordinated migration of surface steps. The resulting piling upmore » of surface steps ahead of the oxide growth front progressively impedes the oxide growth. This process is reversed during oxide decomposition. The migration of the substrate steps is found to be a surface-step version of the well-known Hele-Shaw problem, governed by detachment (attachment) of Al atoms at step edges induced by the oxide growth (decomposition). As a result, by comparing with the oxidation of NiAl(110) that exhibits unimpeded oxide film growth over substrate steps, we suggest that whenever steps are the source of atoms used for oxide growth they limit the oxidation process; when atoms are supplied from the bulk, the oxidation rate is not limited by the motion of surface steps.« less

Characteristics of a dynamic holographic sensor for shape control of a large reflector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welch, Sharon S.; Cox, David E.

1991-01-01

Design of a distributed holographic interferometric sensor for measuring the surface displacement of a large segmented reflector is proposed. The reflector's surface is illuminated by laser light of two wavelengths and volume holographic gratings are formed in photorefractive crystals of the wavefront returned from the surface. The sensor is based on holographic contouring with a multiple frequency source. It is shown that the most stringent requirement of temporal stability affects both the temporal resolution and the dynamic range. Principal factor which limit the sensor performance include the response time of photorefractive crystal, laser power required to write a hologram, and the size of photorefractive crystal.

Source attribution of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in surface waters from Rhode Island and the New York Metropolitan Area

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xianming; Lohmann, Rainer; Dassuncao, Clifton; Hu, Xindi C.; Weber, Andrea K.; Vecitis, Chad D.; Sunderland, Elsie M.

2017-01-01

Exposure to poly and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) has been associated with adverse health effects in humans and wildlife. Understanding pollution sources is essential for environmental regulation but source attribution for PFASs has been confounded by limited information on industrial releases and rapid changes in chemical production. Here we use principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical clustering, and geospatial analysis to understand source contributions to 14 PFASs measured across 37 sites in the Northeastern United States in 2014. PFASs are significantly elevated in urban areas compared to rural sites except for perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS), N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (N-MeFOSAA), perfluoroundecanate (PFUnDA) and perfluorododecanate (PFDoDA). The highest PFAS concentrations across sites were for perfluorooctanate (PFOA, 56 ng L−1) and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFOS, 43 ng L−1) and PFOS levels are lower than earlier measurements of U.S. surface waters. PCA and cluster analysis indicates three main statistical groupings of PFASs. Geospatial analysis of watersheds reveals the first component/cluster originates from a mixture of contemporary point sources such as airports and textile mills. Atmospheric sources from the waste sector are consistent with the second component, and the metal smelting industry plausibly explains the third component. We find this source-attribution technique is effective for better understanding PFAS sources in urban areas. PMID:28217711

Sources of emergency water supplies in San Mateo County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wood, P.R.

1975-01-01

San Mateo County has several densely populated urban areas that get most of their water supplies from surface-water sources that could by damaged by a major earthquake or other general disaster. In the event of such a disaster, limited supplies of potable water may be obtained from selected wells, springs, and perennial streams. This report outlines the principal sources of existing water supplies, gives information on the need for emergency water-supply procedures, presents general criteria needed for selecting emergency water-supply wells, summarizes information for 60 selected water wells, numerous springs, and perennial streams that can be used as sources of water, and describes emergency water-purification procedures that can be used by individuals or small groups of people.

Desorption corona beam ionization source for mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Wang, Hua; Sun, Wenjian; Zhang, Junsheng; Yang, Xiaohui; Lin, Tao; Ding, Li

2010-04-01

A novel Desorption Corona Beam Ionization (DCBI) source for direct analysis of samples from surface in mass spectrometry is reported. The DCBI source can work under ambient conditions without time-consuming sample pretreatments. The source shares some common features with another ionization source - Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART), developed earlier. For example, helium was used as the discharge gas (although only corona discharge is involved in the present source), and heating of the discharge gas is required for sample desorption. However, the difference between the two sources is substantial. In the present source, a visible thin corona beam extending out around 1 cm can be formed by using a hollow needle/ring electrode structure. This feature would greatly facilitate localizing sampling areas and performing imaging/profiling experiments. The DCBI source is also capable of performing progressive temperature scans between room temperature and 450 degrees C in order to sequentially desorb samples from the surface and, therefore, to achieve a rough separation of the individual components in a complex mixture, resulting in less congestion in the mass spectrum acquired. Mass spectra for a broad range of compounds (pesticides, veterinary additives, OTC drugs, explosive materials) have been acquired using the DCBI source. For most of the compounds tested, the heater temperature required for efficient desorption is at least 150 degrees C. The molecular weight of the sample that can be desorbed/ionized is normally below 600 dalton even at the highest heater temperature, which is mainly limited by the volatility of the sample.

Sub-Millisecond Time Resolved X-ray Surface Diffraction During Pulsed Laser Deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tischler, J. Z.; Larson, B. C.; Eres, Gyula; Rouleau, C. M.; Lowndes, D. H.; Yoon, M.; Zschack, P.

2001-03-01

The initial crystallization and evolution of the SrTiO3 (001) surface during homoeptaxial pulsed laser deposition growth of SrTiO3 was studied using time resolved surface x-ray diffraction with a time resolution down to 200 μ s. Measurements performed at the UNICAT undulator line at the Advanced Photon Source indicated prompt formation of epitaxial SrTiO3 bi-layers down to our limiting time resolution. The subsequent evolution of the surface occurred on a much greater time scale, and was studied both by measurements of surface truncation rod intensities and by measurements of diffuse scattering near the rod. The effect of temperature and correlation with in-plane order will also be discussed.

Evaluation of a scale-model experiment to investigate long-range acoustic propagation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parrott, Tony L.; Mcaninch, Gerry L.; Carlberg, Ingrid A.

1987-01-01

Tests were conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using a scale-model experiment situated in an anechoic facility to investigate long-range sound propagation over ground terrain. For a nominal scale factor of 100:1, attenuations along a linear array of six microphones colinear with a continuous-wave type of sound source were measured over a wavelength range from 10 to 160 for a nominal test frequency of 10 kHz. Most tests were made for a hard model surface (plywood), but limited tests were also made for a soft model surface (plywood with felt). For grazing-incidence propagation over the hard surface, measured and predicted attenuation trends were consistent for microphone locations out to between 40 and 80 wavelengths. Beyond 80 wavelengths, significant variability was observed that was caused by disturbances in the propagation medium. Also, there was evidence of extraneous propagation-path contributions to data irregularities at more remote microphones. Sensitivity studies for the hard-surface and microphone indicated a 2.5 dB change in the relative excess attenuation for a systematic error in source and microphone elevations on the order of 1 mm. For the soft-surface model, no comparable sensitivity was found.

Numerical simulations of the charged-particle flow dynamics for sources with a curved emission surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altsybeyev, V. V.

2016-12-01

The implementation of numerical methods for studying the dynamics of particle flows produced by pulsed sources is discussed. A particle tracking method with so-called gun iteration for simulations of beam dynamics is used. For the space charge limited emission problem, we suggest a Gauss law emission model for precise current-density calculation in the case of a curvilinear emitter. The results of numerical simulations of particle-flow formation for cylindrical bipolar diode and for diode with elliptical emitter are presented.

Effects of topography on the interpretation of the deformation field of prominent volcanoes - Application to Etna

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cayol, V.; Cornet, F.H.

1998-01-01

We have investigated the effects of topography on the surface-deformation field of volcanoes. Our study provides limits to the use of classical half-space models. Considering axisymmetrical volcanoes, we show that interpreting ground-surface displacements with half-space models can lead to erroneous estimations of the shape of the deformation source. When the average slope of the flanks of a volcano exceeds 20??, tilting in the summit area is reversed to that expected for a flat surface. Thus, neglecting topography may lead to misinterpreting an inflation of the source as a deflation. Comparisons of Mogi's model with a three-dimensional model shows that ignoring topography may lead to an overestimate of the source-volume change by as much as 50% for a slope of 30??. This comparison also shows that the depths calculated by using Mogi's solution for prominent volcanoes should be considered as depths from the summit of the edifices. Finally, we illustrate these topographic effects by analyzing the deformation field measured by radar interferometry at Mount Etna during its 1991-1993 eruption. A three-dimensional modeling calculation shows that the flattening of the deflation field near the volcano's summit is probably a topographic effect.

Problems encountered in the use of neutron methods for elemental analysis on planetary surfaces

USGS Publications Warehouse

Senftle, F.; Philbin, P.; Moxham, R.; Boynton, G.; Trombka, J.

1974-01-01

From experimental studies of gamma rays from fast and thermal neutron reactions in hydrogeneous and non-hydrogeneous, semi-infinite samples and from Monte Carlo calculations on soil of a composition which might typically be encountered on planetary surfaces, it is found that gamma rays from fast or inelastic scattering reactions would dominate the observed spectra. With the exception of gamma rays formed by inelastically scattered neutrons on oxygen, useful spectra would be limited to energies below 3 MeV. Other experiments were performed which show that if a gamma-ray detector were placed within 6 m of an isotopic neutron source in a spacecraft, it would be rendered useless for gamma-ray spectrometry below 3 MeV because of internal activation produced by neutron exposure during space travel. Adequate shielding is not practicable because of the size and weight constraints for planetary missions. Thus, it is required that the source be turned off or removed to a safe distance during non-measurement periods. In view of these results an accelerator or an off-on isotopic source would be desirable for practical gamma-ray spectral analysis on planetary surfaces containing but minor amounts of hydrogen. ?? 1974.

Modeling Ponderomotive Squeezed Light in Gravitational-Wave Laser Interferometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beckey, Jacob; Miao, Haixing; Töyrä, Daniel; Brown, Daniel; Freise, Andreas

2018-01-01

Earth-based gravitational wave detectors are plagued by many sources of noise. The sensitivity of these detectors is ultimately limited by Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle once all other noise sources (thermal, seismic, etc.) are mitigated. When varying laser power, the standard quantum limit of laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors is a trade-off between photon shot noise (due to statistical arrival times of photons) and radiation pressure noise. This project demonstrates a method of using squeezed states of light to lower noise levels below the standard quantum limit at certain frequencies. The squeezed state can be generated by either using nonlinear optics or the ponderomotive squeezer. The latter is the focus of this project. Ponderomotive squeezing occurs due to amplitude fluctuations in the laser being converted into phase fluctuations upon reflecting off of the interferometer’s end test masses. This correlated noise allows the standard quantum limit to be surpassed at certain frequencies. The ponderomotive generation of squeezed states is modeled using FINESSE, an open source interferometer modelling software. The project resulted in a stand-alone element to be implemented in the FINESSE code base that will allow users to model ponderomotive squeezing in their optical setups. Upcoming work will explore the effects of higher order modes of light and more realistic mirror surfaces on the ponderomotive squeezing of light.

Multi-wavelength properties of two supersoft X-ray sources CAL83 and RXJ0513.9-6951

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajoelimanana, A.; Meintjes, P.; Charles, P.

2017-10-01

Supersoft X-ray sources (SSS) are highly luminous (˜10^{38} erg s^{-1}), yet low temperature 10^{6} K sources, interpreted as a white dwarf (WD) accreting matter at a very high rate from its (heavy) companion, leading to Eddington-limited, steady hydrogen burning on the WD surface at T˜15-80 eV. A large fraction of this energy irradiates the surface of the disc, which gives rise to a reprocessed flux much larger than the intrinsic disc luminosity, accounting for the large optical and UV fluxes detected in SSS. We present the multi-wavelength properties of two prototypical LMC SSS, CAL83 and RXJ0513.9-6951, with particular emphasis on the anti-correlation between their X-ray and optical behaviour. Our SALT spectra show variable high excitation OVI emission as a function of optical brightness state, and which we link to the cyclic changes in the temperature and size of the WD, and hence the mass accretion rate.

Tracking plastics in the Mediterranean: 2D Lagrangian model.

PubMed

Liubartseva, S; Coppini, G; Lecci, R; Clementi, E

2018-04-01

Drift of floating debris is studied with a 2D Lagrangian model with stochastic beaching and sedimentation of plastics. An ensemble of >10 10 virtual particles is tracked from anthropogenic sources (coastal human populations, rivers, shipping lanes) to environmental destinations (sea surface, coastlines, seabed). Daily analyses of ocean currents and waves provided by CMEMS at a horizontal resolution of 1/16° are used to force the plastics. High spatio-temporal variability in sea-surface plastic concentrations without any stable long-term accumulations is found. Substantial accumulation of plastics is detected on coastlines and the sea bottom. The most contaminated areas are in the Cilician subbasin, Catalan Sea, and near the Po River Delta. Also, highly polluted local patches in the vicinity of sources with limited circulation are identified. An inverse problem solution, used to quantify the origins of plastics, shows that plastic pollution of every Mediterranean country is caused primarily by its own terrestrial sources. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Radiance limits of ceramic phosphors under high excitation fluxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lenef, Alan; Kelso, John; Zheng, Yi; Tchoul, Maxim

2013-09-01

Ceramic phosphors, excited by high radiance pump sources, offer considerable potential for high radiance conversion. Interestingly, thermodynamic arguments suggest that the radiance of the luminescent spot can even exceed that of the incoming light source. In practice, however, thermal quenching and (non-thermal) optical saturation limit the maximum attainable radiance of the luminescent source. We present experimental data for Ce:YAG and Ce:GdYAG ceramics in which these limits have been investigated. High excitation fluxes are achieved using laser pumping. Optical pumping intensities exceeding 100W/mm2 have been shown to produce only modest efficiency depreciation at low overall pump powers because of the short Ce3+ lifetime, although additional limitations exist. When pump powers are higher, heat-transfer bottlenecks within the ceramic and heat-sink interfaces limit maximum pump intensities. We find that surface temperatures of these laser-pumped ceramics can reach well over 150°C, causing thermal-quenching losses. We also find that in some cases, the loss of quantum efficiency with increasing temperature can cause a thermal run-away effect, resulting in a rapid loss in converted light, possibly over-heating the sample or surrounding structures. While one can still obtain radiances on the order of many W/mm2/sr, temperature quenching effects ultimately limit converted light radiance. Finally, we use the diffusion-approximation radiation transport models and rate equation models to simulate some of these nonlinear optical pumping and heating effects in high-scattering ceramics.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in soils and groundwater of a U.S. metropolitan area: migration and implications for human exposure.

PubMed

Xiao, Feng; Simcik, Matt F; Halbach, Thomas R; Gulliver, John S

2015-04-01

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) are emerging anthropogenic compounds that have recently become the target of global concern due to their ubiquitous presence in the environment, persistence, and bioaccumulative properties. This study was carried out to investigate the migration of PFOS and PFOA in soils and groundwater in a U.S. metropolitan area. We observed elevated levels in surface soils (median: 12.2 ng PFOS/g dw and 8.0 ng PFOA/g dw), which were much higher than the soil-screening levels for groundwater protection developed in this study. The measured levels in subsurface soils show a general increase with depth, suggesting a downward movement toward the groundwater table and a potential risk of aquifer contamination. Furthermore, concentrations of PFOS and PFOA in monitoring wells in the source zone varied insignificantly over 5 years (2009-2013), suggesting limited or no change in either the source or the magnitude of the source. The analysis also shows that natural processes of dispersion and dilution can significantly attenuate the groundwater contamination; the adsorption on aquifer solids, on the other hand, appears to have limited effects on the transport of PFOS and PFOA in the aquifer. The probabilistic exposure assessment indicates that ingestion of contaminated groundwater constitutes a much more important exposure route than ingestion of contaminated soil. Overall, the results suggest that (i) the transport of PFOS and PFOA is retarded in the vadose zone, but not in the aquifer; (ii) the groundwater contamination of PFOS and PFOA often follows their release to surface soils by years, if not decades; and (iii) the aquifer can be a major source of exposure for communities living near point sources. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Payload/orbiter contamination control requirement study, volume 1, exhibit A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bareiss, L. E.; Hooper, V. W.; Rantanen, R. O.; Ress, E. B.

1974-01-01

This study is to identify and quantify the expected molecular and particulate on orbit contaminant environment for selected shuttle payloads as a result of major spacelab and shuttle orbiter contaminant sources. This investigation reviews individual payload susceptibilities to contamination, identifies the combined induced environment, identifies the risk of spacelab/payload critical surface(s) degradation, and provides preliminary contamination recommendations. It also establishes limiting factors which may depend upon operational activities associated with the payloads, spacelab, and the shuttle orbiter interface or upon independent payload functional activities.

Spider Silk: Mother Nature's Bio-Superlens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monks, James N.; Yan, Bing; Hawkins, Nicholas; Vollrath, Fritz; Wang, Zengbo

2016-09-01

This paper demonstrates a possible new microfiber bio near field lens that uses minor ampullate spider silk,spun from the Nephila edulis spider, to create a real time image of a surface using near field optical techniques. The microfiber bio lens is the world's first natural superlens created by exploring biological materials. The resolution of the surface image overcomes the diffraction limit, with the ability to resolve patterns at 100 nm under a standard white light source in reflection mode. This resolution offers further developments in superlens technology and paves the way for new bio optics.

Developing the RAL front end test stand source to deliver a 60 mA, 50 Hz, 2 ms H- beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faircloth, Dan; Lawrie, Scott; Letchford, Alan; Gabor, Christoph; Perkins, Mike; Whitehead, Mark; Wood, Trevor; Tarvainen, Olli; Komppula, Jani; Kalvas, Taneli; Dudnikov, Vadim; Pereira, Hugo; Izaola, Zunbeltz; Simkin, John

2013-02-01

All the Front End Test Stand (FETS) beam requirements have been achieved, but not simultaneously [1]. At 50 Hz repetition rates beam current droop becomes unacceptable for pulse lengths longer than 1 ms. This is fundamental limitation of the present source design. Previous researchers [2] have demonstrated that using a physically larger Penning surface plasma source should overcome these limitations. The scaled source development strategy is outlined in this paper. A study of time-varying plasma behavior has been performed using a V-UV spectrometer. Initial experiments to test scaled plasma volumes are outlined. A dedicated plasma and extraction test stand (VESPA-Vessel for Extraction and Source Plasma Analysis) is being developed to allow new source and extraction designs to be appraised. The experimental work is backed up by modeling and simulations. A detailed ANSYS thermal model has been developed. IBSimu is being used to design extraction and beam transport. A novel 3D plasma modeling code using beamlets is being developed by Cobham Vector Fields using SCALA OPERA, early source modeling results are very promising. Hardware on FETS is also being developed in preparation to run the scaled source. A new 2 ms, 50 Hz, 25 kV pulsed extraction voltage power supply has been constructed and a new discharge power supply is being designed. The design of the post acceleration electrode assembly has been improved.

Modelling of Strains During SAW Surfacing Taking into Heat of the Weld in Temperature Field Description and Phase Transformations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winczek, J.; Makles, K.; Gucwa, M.; Gnatowska, R.; Hatala, M.

2017-08-01

In the paper, the model of the thermal and structural strain calculation in a steel element during single-pass SAW surfacing is presented. The temperature field is described analytically assuming a bimodal volumetric model of heat source and a semi-infinite body model of the surfaced (rebuilt) workpiece. The electric arc is treated physically as one heat source. Part of the heat is transferred by the direct impact of the electric arc, while another part of the heat is transferred to the weld by the melted material of the electrode. Kinetics of phase transformations during heating is limited by temperature values at the beginning and at the end of austenitic transformation, while the progress of phase transformations during cooling is determined on the basis of TTT-welding diagramand JMA-K law for diffusive transformations, and K-M law for martensitic transformation. Totalstrains equal to the sum ofthermaland structuralstrainsinduced by phasetransformationsin weldingcycle.

CAMx Ozone Source Attribution in the Eastern United States using Guidance from Observations during DISCOVER-AQ Maryland

PubMed Central

Goldberg, Daniel L.; Vinciguerra, Timothy P.; Anderson, Daniel C.; Hembeck, Linda; Canty, Timothy P.; Ehrman, Sheryl H.; Martins, Douglas K.; Stauffer, Ryan M.; Thompson, Anne M.; Salawitch, Ross J.; Dickerson, Russell R.

2018-01-01

A Comprehensive Air-Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx) version 6.10 simulation was assessed through comparison with data acquired during NASA’s 2011 DISCOVER-AQ Maryland field campaign. Comparisons for the baseline simulation (CB05 chemistry, EPA 2011 National Emissions Inventory) show a model overestimate of NOy by +86.2% and an underestimate of HCHO by −28.3%. We present a new model framework (CB6r2 chemistry, MEGAN v2.1 biogenic emissions, 50% reduction in mobile NOx, enhanced representation of isoprene nitrates) that better matches observations. The new model framework attributes 31.4% more surface ozone in Maryland to electric generating units (EGUs) and 34.6% less ozone to on-road mobile sources. Surface ozone becomes more NOx-limited throughout the eastern United States compared to the baseline simulation. The baseline model therefore likely underestimates the effectiveness of anthropogenic NOx reductions as well as the current contribution of EGUs to surface ozone. PMID:29618849

CAMx Ozone Source Attribution in the Eastern United States using Guidance from Observations during DISCOVER-AQ Maryland.

PubMed

Goldberg, Daniel L; Vinciguerra, Timothy P; Anderson, Daniel C; Hembeck, Linda; Canty, Timothy P; Ehrman, Sheryl H; Martins, Douglas K; Stauffer, Ryan M; Thompson, Anne M; Salawitch, Ross J; Dickerson, Russell R

2016-03-16

A Comprehensive Air-Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx) version 6.10 simulation was assessed through comparison with data acquired during NASA's 2011 DISCOVER-AQ Maryland field campaign. Comparisons for the baseline simulation (CB05 chemistry, EPA 2011 National Emissions Inventory) show a model overestimate of NO y by +86.2% and an underestimate of HCHO by -28.3%. We present a new model framework (CB6r2 chemistry, MEGAN v2.1 biogenic emissions, 50% reduction in mobile NO x , enhanced representation of isoprene nitrates) that better matches observations. The new model framework attributes 31.4% more surface ozone in Maryland to electric generating units (EGUs) and 34.6% less ozone to on-road mobile sources. Surface ozone becomes more NO x -limited throughout the eastern United States compared to the baseline simulation. The baseline model therefore likely underestimates the effectiveness of anthropogenic NO x reductions as well as the current contribution of EGUs to surface ozone.

Suomi satellite brings to light a unique frontier of nighttime environmental sensing capabilities

PubMed Central

Miller, Steven D.; Mills, Stephen P.; Elvidge, Christopher D.; Lindsey, Daniel T.; Lee, Thomas F.; Hawkins, Jeffrey D.

2012-01-01

Most environmental satellite radiometers use solar reflectance information when it is available during the day but must resort at night to emission signals from infrared bands, which offer poor sensitivity to low-level clouds and surface features. A few sensors can take advantage of moonlight, but the inconsistent availability of the lunar source limits measurement utility. Here we show that the Day/Night Band (DNB) low-light visible sensor on the recently launched Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite has the unique ability to image cloud and surface features by way of reflected airglow, starlight, and zodiacal light illumination. Examples collected during new moon reveal not only meteorological and surface features, but also the direct emission of airglow structures in the mesosphere, including expansive regions of diffuse glow and wave patterns forced by tropospheric convection. The ability to leverage diffuse illumination sources for nocturnal environmental sensing applications extends the advantages of visible-light information to moonless nights. PMID:22984179

Regional-scale estimates of surface moisture availability and thermal inertia using remote thermal measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carlson, T. N.

1986-01-01

A review is presented of numerical models which were developed to interpret thermal IR data and to identify the governing parameters and surface energy fluxes recorded in the images. Analytic, predictive, diagnostic and empirical models are described. The limitations of each type of modeling approach are explored in terms of the error sources and inherent constraints due to theoretical or measurement limitations. Sample results of regional-scale soil moisture or evaporation patterns derived from the Heat Capacity Mapping Mission and GOES satellite data through application of the predictive model devised by Carlson (1981) are discussed. The analysis indicates that pattern recognition will probably be highest when data are collected over flat, arid, sparsely vegetated terrain. The soil moisture data then obtained may be accurate to within 10-20 percent.

Good Manufacturing Practices and Microbial Contamination Sources in Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato Puree Processing Plant in Kenya

PubMed Central

Abong', George Ooko

2018-01-01

Limited information exists on the status of hygiene and probable sources of microbial contamination in Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) puree processing. The current study is aimed at determining the level of compliance to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), hygiene, and microbial quality in OFSP puree processing plant in Kenya. Intensive observation and interviews using a structured GMPs checklist, environmental sampling, and microbial analysis by standard microbiological methods were used in data collection. The results indicated low level of compliance to GMPs with an overall compliance score of 58%. Microbial counts on food equipment surfaces, installations, and personnel hands and in packaged OFSP puree were above the recommended microbial safety and quality legal limits. Steaming significantly (P < 0.05) reduced microbial load in OFSP cooked roots but the counts significantly (P < 0.05) increased in the puree due to postprocessing contamination. Total counts, yeasts and molds, Enterobacteriaceae, total coliforms, and E. coli and S. aureus counts in OFSP puree were 8.0, 4.0, 6.6, 5.8, 4.8, and 5.9 log10 cfu/g, respectively. In conclusion, equipment surfaces, personnel hands, and processing water were major sources of contamination in OFSP puree processing and handling. Plant hygiene inspection, environmental monitoring, and food safety trainings are recommended to improve hygiene, microbial quality, and safety of OFSP puree. PMID:29808161

Good Manufacturing Practices and Microbial Contamination Sources in Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato Puree Processing Plant in Kenya.

PubMed

Malavi, Derick Nyabera; Muzhingi, Tawanda; Abong', George Ooko

2018-01-01

Limited information exists on the status of hygiene and probable sources of microbial contamination in Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) puree processing. The current study is aimed at determining the level of compliance to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), hygiene, and microbial quality in OFSP puree processing plant in Kenya. Intensive observation and interviews using a structured GMPs checklist, environmental sampling, and microbial analysis by standard microbiological methods were used in data collection. The results indicated low level of compliance to GMPs with an overall compliance score of 58%. Microbial counts on food equipment surfaces, installations, and personnel hands and in packaged OFSP puree were above the recommended microbial safety and quality legal limits. Steaming significantly ( P < 0.05) reduced microbial load in OFSP cooked roots but the counts significantly ( P < 0.05) increased in the puree due to postprocessing contamination. Total counts, yeasts and molds, Enterobacteriaceae, total coliforms, and E. coli and S. aureus counts in OFSP puree were 8.0, 4.0, 6.6, 5.8, 4.8, and 5.9 log 10 cfu/g, respectively. In conclusion, equipment surfaces, personnel hands, and processing water were major sources of contamination in OFSP puree processing and handling. Plant hygiene inspection, environmental monitoring, and food safety trainings are recommended to improve hygiene, microbial quality, and safety of OFSP puree.

Luminosity and surface brightness distribution of K-band galaxies from the UKIDSS Large Area Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Anthony J.; Loveday, Jon; Cross, Nicholas J. G.

2009-08-01

We present luminosity and surface-brightness distributions of 40111 galaxies with K-band photometry from the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey (LAS), Data Release 3 and optical photometry from Data Release 5 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Various features and limitations of the new UKIDSS data are examined, such as a problem affecting Petrosian magnitudes of extended sources. Selection limits in K- and r-band magnitude, K-band surface brightness and K-band radius are included explicitly in the 1/Vmax estimate of the space density and luminosity function. The bivariate brightness distribution in K-band absolute magnitude and surface brightness is presented and found to display a clear luminosity-surface brightness correlation that flattens at high luminosity and broadens at low luminosity, consistent with similar analyses at optical wavelengths. Best-fitting Schechter function parameters for the K-band luminosity function are found to be M* - 5 logh = -23.19 +/- 0.04,α = -0.81 +/- 0.04 and φ* = (0.0166 +/- 0.0008)h3Mpc-3, although the Schechter function provides a poor fit to the data at high and low luminosity, while the luminosity density in the K band is found to be j = (6.305 +/- 0.067) × 108LsolarhMpc-3. However, we caution that there are various known sources of incompleteness and uncertainty in our results. Using mass-to-light ratios determined from the optical colours, we estimate the stellar mass function, finding good agreement with previous results. Possible improvements are discussed that could be implemented when extending this analysis to the full LAS.

Hydraulic and biochemical gradients limit wetland mercury supply to an Adirondack stream

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bradley, Paul M.; Burns, Douglas A.; Harvey, Judson; Journey, Celeste A.; Brigham, Mark E.; Murray, Karen

2016-01-01

Net fluxes (change between upstream and downstream margins) for water, methylmercury (MeHg), total mercury (THg), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and chloride (Cl) were assessed twice in an Adirondack stream reach (Sixmile Brook, USA), to test the hypothesized importance of wetland-stream hydraulic and chemical gradients as fundamental controls on fluvial mercury (Hg) supply. The 500 m study reach represented less than 4% of total upstream basin area. During a snowmelt high-flow event in May 2009 surface water, DOC, and chloride fluxes increased by 7.1±1.3%, 8.0±1.3%, and 9.0±1.3%, respectively, within the reach, demonstrating that the adjacent wetlands are important sources of water and solutes to the stream. However, shallow groundwater Hg concentrations lower than in the surface water limited groundwater-surface water Hg exchange and no significant changes in Hg (filtered MeHg and THg) fluxes were observed within the reach despite the favorable hydraulic gradient. In August 2009, the lack of significant wetland-stream hydraulic gradient resulted in no net flux of water or solutes (MeHg, THg, DOC, or Cl) within the reach. The results are consistent with the wetland-Hg-source hypothesis and indicate that hydraulic and chemical gradient (direction and magnitude) interactions are fundamental controls on the supply of wetland Hg to the stream.

Comparison of Boron diffused emitters from BN, BSoD and H3BO3 dopants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singha, Bandana; Singh Solanki, Chetan

2016-12-01

In this work, we are comparing different limited boron dopant sources for the emitter formation in n-type c-Si solar cells. High purity boric acid solution, commercially available boron spin on dopant and boron nitride solid source are used for comparison of emitter doping profiles for the same time and temperature conditions of diffusion. The characterizations done for the similar sheet resistance values for all the dopant sources show different surface morphologies and different device parameters. The measured emitter saturation current densities (Joe) are more than 20 fA cm-2 for all the dopant sources. The bulk carrier lifetimes measured for different diffusion conditions and different solar cell parameters for the similar sheet resistance values show the best result for boric acid diffusion and the least for BN solid source. So, different dopant sources result in different emitter and cell performances.

Interaction between Tropical Atlantic Variability and El Niño-Southern Oscillation.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saravanan, R.; Chang, Ping

2000-07-01

The interaction between tropical Atlantic variability and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is investigated using three ensembles of atmospheric general circulation model integrations. The integrations are forced by specifying observed sea surface temperature (SST) variability over a forcing domain. The forcing domain is the global ocean for the first ensemble, limited to the tropical ocean for the second ensemble, and further limited to the tropical Atlantic region for the third ensemble. The ensemble integrations show that extratropical SST anomalies have little impact on tropical variability, but the effect of ENSO is pervasive in the Tropics. Consistent with previous studies, the most significant influence of ENSO is found during the boreal spring season and is associated with an anomalous Walker circulation. Two important aspects of ENSO's influence on tropical Atlantic variability are noted. First, the ENSO signal contributes significantly to the `dipole' correlation structure between tropical Atlantic SST and rainfall in the Nordeste Brazil region. In the absence of the ENSO signal, the correlations are dominated by SST variability in the southern tropical Atlantic, resulting in less of a dipole structure. Second, the remote influence of ENSO also contributes to positive correlations between SST anomalies and downward surface heat flux in the tropical Atlantic during the boreal spring season. However, even when ENSO forcing is absent, the model integrations provide evidence for a positive surface heat flux feedback in the deep Tropics, which is analyzed in a companion study by Chang et al. The analysis of model simulations shows that interannual atmospheric variability in the tropical Pacific-Atlantic system is dominated by the interaction between two distinct sources of tropical heating: (i) an equatorial heat source in the eastern Pacific associated with ENSO and (ii) an off-equatorial heat source associated with SST anomalies near the Caribbean. Modeling this Caribbean heat source accurately could be very important for seasonal forecasting in the Central American-Caribbean region.

High surface conductivity of Fermi-arc electrons in Weyl semimetals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Resta, Giacomo; Pi, Shu-Ting; Wan, Xiangang; Savrasov, Sergey Y.

2018-02-01

Weyl semimetals (WSMs), a new type of topological condensed matter, are currently attracting great interest due to their unusual electronic states and intriguing transport properties such as chiral anomaly induced negative magnetoresistance, a semiquantized anomalous Hall effect, and the debated chiral magnetic effect. These systems are close cousins of topological insulators (TIs) which are known for their disorder-tolerant surface states. Similarly, WSMs exhibit unique topologically protected Fermi-arc surface states. Here, we analyze electron-phonon scattering, a primary source of resistivity in metals at finite temperatures, as a function of the shape of the Fermi arc where we find that the impact on surface transport is significantly dependent on the arc curvature and disappears in the limit of a straight arc. Next, we discuss the effect of strong surface disorder on the resistivity by numerically simulating a tight-binding model with the presence of quenched surface vacancies using the coherent potential approximation and Kubo-Greenwood formalism. We find that the limit of a straight arc geometry is remarkably disorder tolerant, producing surface conductivity that is one to two orders of magnitude larger than a comparable setup with surface states of TI. This is primarily attributed to a significantly different hybridization strength of the surface states with the remaining electrons in two systems. Finally, a simulation of the effects of surface vacancies on TaAs is presented, illustrating the disorder tolerance of the topological surface states in a recently discovered WSM material.

Development and experimental study of large size composite plasma immersion ion implantation device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falun, SONG; Fei, LI; Mingdong, ZHU; Langping, WANG; Beizhen, ZHANG; Haitao, GONG; Yanqing, GAN; Xiao, JIN

2018-01-01

Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) overcomes the direct exposure limit of traditional beam-line ion implantation, and is suitable for the treatment of complex work-piece with large size. PIII technology is often used for surface modification of metal, plastics and ceramics. Based on the requirement of surface modification of large size insulating material, a composite full-directional PIII device based on RF plasma source and metal plasma source is developed in this paper. This device can not only realize gas ion implantation, but also can realize metal ion implantation, and can also realize gas ion mixing with metal ions injection. This device has two metal plasma sources and each metal source contains three cathodes. Under the condition of keeping the vacuum unchanged, the cathode can be switched freely. The volume of the vacuum chamber is about 0.94 m3, and maximum vacuum degree is about 5 × 10-4 Pa. The density of RF plasma in homogeneous region is about 109 cm-3, and plasma density in the ion implantation region is about 1010 cm-3. This device can be used for large-size sample material PIII treatment, the maximum size of the sample diameter up to 400 mm. The experimental results show that the plasma discharge in the device is stable and can run for a long time. It is suitable for surface treatment of insulating materials.

Health risks associated with heavy metals in the drinking water of Swat, northern Pakistan.

PubMed

Lu, Yonglong; Khan, Hizbullah; Zakir, Shahida; Ihsanullah; Khan, Sardar; Khan, Akbar Ali; Wei, Luo; Wang, Tieyu

2013-10-01

The concentrations of heavy metals such as Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn were investigated in drinking water sources (surface and groundwater) collected from Swat valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The potential health risks of heavy metals to the local population and their possible source apportionment were also studied. Heavy metal concentrations were analysed using atomic absorption spectrometer and compared with permissible limits set by Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization. The concentrations of Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb were higher than their respective permissible limits, while Cu, Mn and Zn concentrations were observed within their respective limits. Health risk indicators such as chronic daily intake (CDI) and health risk index (HRI) were calculated for adults and children separately. CDIs and HRIs of heavy metals were found in the order of Cr > Mn > Ni > Zn > Cd > Cu > Pb and Cd > Ni > Mn > Cr > Cu > Pb > Zn, respectively. HRIs of selected heavy metals in the drinking water were less than 1, indicating no health risk to the local people. Multivariate and univariate statistical analyses showed that geologic and anthropogenic activities were the possible sources of water contamination with heavy metals in the study area.

Managing agricultural phosphorus for water quality: lessons from the USA and China.

PubMed

Sharpley, Andrew; Wang, Xiaoyan

2014-09-01

The accelerated eutrophication of freshwaters and to a lesser extent some coastal waters is primarily driven by phosphorus (P) inputs. While efforts to identify and limit point source inputs of P to surface waters have seen some success, nonpoint sources remain difficult to identify, target, and remediate. As further improvements in wastewater treatment technologies becomes increasingly costly, attention has focused more on nonpoint source reduction, particularly the role of agriculture. This attention was heightened over the last 10 to 20 years by a number of highly visible cases of nutrient-related water quality degradation; including the Lake Taihu, Baltic Sea, Chesapeake Bay, and Gulf of Mexico. Thus, there has been a shift to targeted management of critical sources of P loss. In both the U.S. and China, there has been an intensification of agricultural production systems in certain areas concentrate large amounts of nutrients in excess of local crop and forage needs, which has increased the potential for P loss from these areas. To address this, innovative technologies are emerging that recycle water P back to land as fertilizer. For example, in the watershed of Lake Taihu, China one of the largest surface fresh waters for drinking water supply in China, local governments have encouraged innovation and various technical trials to harvest harmful algal blooms and use them for bio-gas, agricultural fertilizers, and biofuel production. In any country, however, the economics of remediation will remain a key limitation to substantial changes in agricultural production. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Nuclear location of an endogenously expressed antigen, EBNA1, restricts access to macroautophagy and the range of CD4 epitope display.

PubMed

Leung, Carol S; Haigh, Tracey A; Mackay, Laura K; Rickinson, Alan B; Taylor, Graham S

2010-02-02

Whereas exogenously acquired proteins are the major source of antigens feeding the MHC class II pathway in antigen-presenting cells, some endogenously expressed antigens also access that pathway but the rules governing such access are poorly understood. Here we address this using Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-coded nuclear antigen EBNA1, a protein naturally expressed in EBV-infected B lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) and a source of multiple CD4(+) T cell epitopes. Using CD4(+) T cell clones against three indicator epitopes, we find that two epitopes are weakly displayed on the LCL surface whereas the third is undetectable, a pattern of limited epitope presentation that is maintained even when nuclear expression of EBNA1 is induced to high supraphysiological levels. Inhibitor and siRNA studies show that, of the two epitopes weakly presented under these conditions, one involves macroautophagy, and the second involves antigen delivery to the MHC II pathway by another endogenous route. In contrast, when EBNA1 is expressed as a cytoplasmic protein, all three CD4 epitopes are processed and presented much more efficiently, and all involve macroautophagy. We conclude that EBNA1's nuclear location limits its accessibility to the macroautophagy pathway and, in consequence, limits the level and range of EBNA1 CD4 epitopes naturally displayed on the infected cell surface.

Short-Period Surface Wave Based Seismic Event Relocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White-Gaynor, A.; Cleveland, M.; Nyblade, A.; Kintner, J. A.; Homman, K.; Ammon, C. J.

2017-12-01

Accurate and precise seismic event locations are essential for a broad range of geophysical investigations. Superior location accuracy generally requires calibration with ground truth information, but superb relative location precision is often achievable independently. In explosion seismology, low-yield explosion monitoring relies on near-source observations, which results in a limited number of observations that challenges our ability to estimate any locations. Incorporating more distant observations means relying on data with lower signal-to-noise ratios. For small, shallow events, the short-period (roughly 1/2 to 8 s period) fundamental-mode and higher-mode Rayleigh waves (including Rg) are often the most stable and visible portion of the waveform at local distances. Cleveland and Ammon [2013] have shown that teleseismic surface waves are valuable observations for constructing precise, relative event relocations. We extend the teleseismic surface wave relocation method, and apply them to near-source distances using Rg observations from the Bighorn Arche Seismic Experiment (BASE) and the Earth Scope USArray Transportable Array (TA) seismic stations. Specifically, we present relocation results using short-period fundamental- and higher-mode Rayleigh waves (Rg) in a double-difference relative event relocation for 45 delay-fired mine blasts and 21 borehole chemical explosions. Our preliminary efforts are to explore the sensitivity of the short-period surface waves to local geologic structure, source depth, explosion magnitude (yield), and explosion characteristics (single-shot vs. distributed source, etc.). Our results show that Rg and the first few higher-mode Rayleigh wave observations can be used to constrain the relative locations of shallow low-yield events.

A high-mobility electronic system at an electrolyte-gated oxide surface

DOE PAGES

Gallagher, Patrick; Lee, Menyoung; Petach, Trevor A.; ...

2015-03-12

Electrolyte gating is a powerful technique for accumulating large carrier densities at a surface. Yet this approach suffers from significant sources of disorder: electrochemical reactions can damage or alter the sample, and the ions of the electrolyte and various dissolved contaminants sit Angstroms from the electron system. Accordingly, electrolyte gating is well suited to studies of superconductivity and other phenomena robust to disorder, but of limited use when reactions or disorder must be avoided. Here we demonstrate that these limitations can be overcome by protecting the sample with a chemically inert, atomically smooth sheet of hexagonal boron nitride. We illustratemore » our technique with electrolyte-gated strontium titanate, whose mobility when protected with boron nitride improves more than 10-fold while achieving carrier densities nearing 10 14 cm –2. In conclusion, our technique is portable to other materials, and should enable future studies where high carrier density modulation is required but electrochemical reactions and surface disorder must be minimized.« less

Global lunar crust - Electrical conductivity and thermoelectric origin of remanent magnetism

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dyal, P.; Parkin, C. W.; Daily, W. D.

1977-01-01

An upper limit is placed on the average crustal conductivity from an investigation of toroidal (V x B) induction in the moon, using ten-minute data intervals of simultaneous lunar orbiting and surface magnetometer data. Crustal conductivity is determined as a function of crust thickness. For an average global crust thickness of about 80 km, the crust surface electrical conductivity is of the order of 1 hundred millionth mho/m. The toroidal-induction results lower the surface-conductivity limit obtained from poloidal-induction results by approximately four orders of magnitude. In addition, a thermoelectric (Seebeck effect) generator model is presented as a magnetic-field source for thermoremanent magnetization of the lunar crust during its solidification and cooling. Magnetic fields from 1000 to 10,000 gammas are calculated for various crater and crustal geometries. Solidified crustal material cooling through the iron Curie temperature in the presence of such ancient lunar fields could have received thermoremanent magnetization consistent with that measured in most returned lunar samples.

A distance-limited sample of massive star-forming cores from the RMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maud, L. T.; Lumsden, S. L.; Moore, T. J. T.; Mottram, J. C.; Urquhart, J. S.; Cicchini, A.

2015-09-01

We analyse C18O (J = 3-2) data from a sample of 99 infrared (IR)-bright massive young stellar objects (MYSOs) and compact H II regions that were identified as potential molecular-outflow sources in the Red MSX Source survey. We extract a distance-limited (D < 6 kpc) sample shown to be representative of star formation covering the transition between the source types. At the spatial resolution probed, Larson-like relationships are found for these cores, though the alternative explanation, that Larson's relations arise where surface-density-limited samples are considered, is also consistent with our data. There are no significant differences found between source properties for the MYSOs and H II regions, suggesting that the core properties are established prior to the formation of massive stars, which subsequently have little impact at the later evolutionary stages investigated. There is a strong correlation between dust-continuum and C18O-gas masses, supporting the interpretation that both trace the same material in these IR-bright sources. A clear linear relationship is seen between the independently established core masses and luminosities. The position of MYSOs and compact H II regions in the mass-luminosity plane is consistent with the luminosity expected from the most massive protostar in the cluster when using an ˜40 per cent star formation efficiency and indicates that they are at a similar evolutionary stage, near the end of the accretion phase.

Organic and Hybrid Organic Solid-State Photovoltaic Materials and Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-02-19

hybrids have potential applications in solar cells and may thus provide mobile energy sources for aircraft and soldier technologies. Modeling and...modeling and simulation developed in this project are encouraging further development. 2. Technical Activities Hybrid organic solar cells are an...between surface-modified semiconducting nanoparticles and polymers often contributes to the limited efficiency of hybrid photovoltaic cells and

Study of curved and planar frequency-selective surfaces with nonplanar illumination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caroglanian, Armen; Webb, Kevin J.

1991-01-01

A locally planar technique (LPT) is investigated for determining the forward-scattered field from a generally shaped inductive frequency-selective surface (FSS) with nonplanar illumination. The results of an experimental study are presented to assess the LPT accuracy. The effects of a nonplanar incident field are determined by comparing the LPT numerical results with a series of experiments with the feed source placed at varying distances from the planar FSS. The limitations of the LPT model due to surface curvature are investigated in an experimental study of the scattered fields from a set of hyperbolic cylinders of different curvatures. From these comparisons, guidelines for applying the locally planar technique are developed.

Secondary ion mass spectrometry: The application in the analysis of atmospheric particulate matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, Di; Hua, Xin; Xiu, Guang-Li

Currently, considerable attention has been paid to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) investigation due to its importance in human health and global climate change. Surface characterization of PM is important since the chemical heterogeneity between the surface and bulk may vary its impact on the environment and human being. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is a surface technique with high surface sensitivity, capable of high spatial chemical imaging and depth profiling. Recent research shows that SIMS holds great potential in analyzing both surface and bulk chemical information of PM. In this review, we presented the working principal of SIMS in PMmore » characterization, summarized recent applications in PM analysis from different sources, discussed its advantages and limitations, and proposed the future development of this technique with a perspective in environmental sciences.« less

Understanding road surface pollutant wash-off and underlying physical processes using simulated rainfall.

PubMed

Egodawatta, Prasanna; Goonetilleke, Ashantha

2008-01-01

Pollutant wash-off is one of the key pollutant processes that detailed knowledge is required in order to develop successful treatment design strategies for urban stormwater. Unfortunately, current knowledge relating to pollutant wash-off is limited. This paper presents the outcomes of a detailed investigation into pollutant wash-off on residential road surfaces. The investigations consisted of research methodologies formulated to overcome the physical constraints due to the heterogeneity of urban paved surfaces and the dependency on naturally occurring rainfall. This entailed the use of small road surface plots and artificially simulated rainfall. Road surfaces were selected due to its critical importance as an urban stormwater pollutant source. The study results showed that the influence of initially available pollutants on the wash-off process was limited. Furthermore, pollutant wash-off from road surfaces can be replicated using an exponential equation. However, the typical version of the exponential wash-off equation needs to be modified by introducing a non dimensional factor referred to as 'capacity factor' CF. Three rainfall intensity ranges were identified where the variation of CF can be defined. Furthermore, it was found that particulate density rather than size is the critical parameter that influences the process of pollutant wash-off. (c) IWA Publishing 2008.

Mapping water availability, cost and projected consumptive use in the Eastern United States with comparisons to the West

DOE PAGES

Tidwell, Vincent; Moreland, Barbara D.; Shaneyfelt, Calvin; ...

2017-11-08

The availability of freshwater supplies to meet future demand is a growing concern. Water availability metrics are needed to inform future water development decisions. Furthermore, with the help of water managers, water availability was mapped for over 1300 watersheds throughout the 31-contiguous states in the eastern U.S. complimenting a prior study of the west. The compiled set of water availability data is unique in that it considers multiple sources of water (fresh surface and groundwater, wastewater and brackish groundwater); accommodates institutional controls placed on water use; is accompanied by cost estimates to access, treat and convey each unique source ofmore » water, and; is compared to projected future growth in consumptive water use to 2030. Although few administrative limits have been set on water availability in the east, water managers have identified 315 fresh surface water and 398 fresh groundwater basins (with 151 overlapping basins) as Areas of Concern (AOCs) where water supply challenges exist due to drought related concerns, environmental flows, groundwater overdraft, or salt water intrusion. This highlights a difference in management where AOCs are identified in the east which simply require additional permitting, while in the west strict administrative limits are established. Although the east is generally considered "water rich" roughly a quarter of the basins were identified as AOCs; however, this is still in strong contrast to the west where 78% of the surface water basins are operating at or near their administrative limit. There was little effort noted on the part of eastern or western water managers to quantify non-fresh water resources.« less

Mapping water availability, cost and projected consumptive use in the Eastern United States with comparisons to the West

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tidwell, Vincent; Moreland, Barbara D.; Shaneyfelt, Calvin

The availability of freshwater supplies to meet future demand is a growing concern. Water availability metrics are needed to inform future water development decisions. Furthermore, with the help of water managers, water availability was mapped for over 1300 watersheds throughout the 31-contiguous states in the eastern U.S. complimenting a prior study of the west. The compiled set of water availability data is unique in that it considers multiple sources of water (fresh surface and groundwater, wastewater and brackish groundwater); accommodates institutional controls placed on water use; is accompanied by cost estimates to access, treat and convey each unique source ofmore » water, and; is compared to projected future growth in consumptive water use to 2030. Although few administrative limits have been set on water availability in the east, water managers have identified 315 fresh surface water and 398 fresh groundwater basins (with 151 overlapping basins) as Areas of Concern (AOCs) where water supply challenges exist due to drought related concerns, environmental flows, groundwater overdraft, or salt water intrusion. This highlights a difference in management where AOCs are identified in the east which simply require additional permitting, while in the west strict administrative limits are established. Although the east is generally considered "water rich" roughly a quarter of the basins were identified as AOCs; however, this is still in strong contrast to the west where 78% of the surface water basins are operating at or near their administrative limit. There was little effort noted on the part of eastern or western water managers to quantify non-fresh water resources.« less

Organic carbon export from the Greenland Ice Sheet: sources, sinks and downstream fluxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wadham, J. L.; Lawson, E.; Tranter, M.; Stibal, M.; Telling, J.; Lis, G. P.; Nienow, P. W.; Anesio, A. M.; Butler, C. E.

2012-12-01

Runoff from small glacier systems has been shown to contain dissolved organic carbon (DOC) rich in low molecular weight (LMW), and hence more labile forms, designating glaciers as an important source of carbon for downstream heterotrophic activity. Here we assess glacier surfaces as potential sources of labile DOC to downstream ecosystems, presenting data from a wide range of glacier systems to determine sources and sinks of DOC in glacial and proglacial systems. We subsequently focus upon the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) which is the largest source of glacial runoff at present (400 km3 yr-1), with predicted increases in future decades. We report high fluxes of particulate organic carbon (POC), DOC and LMW labile fractions from a large GrIS catchment during two contrasting melt seasons. POC dominates OC export, is sourced from the ice sheet bed and contains a significant bioreactive component (~10% carbohydrates). The LMW-DOC "labile" fraction derives almost entirely from microbial activity on the ice sheet surface, which is supported by data from glacier systems also presented here. Annual fluxes of DOC, POC and labile components were lower in 2010 than 2009, despite a ~2 fold increase in runoff fluxes in 2010, suggesting production-limited DOC/POC sources. Scaled to the entire ice sheet, combined DOC and POC fluxes are of a similar order of magnitude to other large Arctic river systems and may represent an important source of organic carbon to the North Atlantic, Greenland and Labrador Seas.

A Search for Freshwater in the Saline Aquifers of Coastal Bangladesh

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peters, C.; Hornberger, G. M.

2017-12-01

Can we locate pockets of freshwater amidst brackish groundwater in remote villages in Bangladesh? This study explores what we can infer about local groundwater-surface water (GW-SW) interactions in the polders of coastal Bangladesh. In this underdeveloped region, the shallow groundwater is primarily brackish with unpredictable apportioning of freshwater pockets. We use transects of piezometers, cores, electromagnetic induction, and water chemistry surveys to explore two sources of potential fresh groundwater: (1) tidal channel-aquifer exchange and (2) meteoric recharge. Freshwater is difficult to find due to disparate subsurface lithology, asymmetrical tidal dynamics, extreme seasonal fluctuations in rainfall, and limited field data. Observations suggest substantial lateral variability in shallow subsurface conductivity profiles as well as tidal pressure signals in piezometers. Nevertheless, active exchange of freshwater may be limited due to low permeability of banks and surface sediments limits. Small scale heterogeneity in delta formation likely caused much of the groundwater salinity variation. Without adequate ground truthing of groundwater quality, the ability to deduce the exact location of freshwater pockets may be restricted.

Cascading influence of inorganic nitrogen sources on DOM production, composition, lability and microbial community structure in the open ocean.

PubMed

Goldberg, S J; Nelson, C E; Viviani, D A; Shulse, C N; Church, M J

2017-09-01

Nitrogen frequently limits oceanic photosynthesis and the availability of inorganic nitrogen sources in the surface oceans is shifting with global change. We evaluated the potential for abrupt increases in inorganic N sources to induce cascading effects on dissolved organic matter (DOM) and microbial communities in the surface ocean. We collected water from 5 m depth in the central North Pacific and amended duplicate 20 liter polycarbonate carboys with nitrate or ammonium, tracking planktonic carbon fixation, DOM production, DOM composition and microbial community structure responses over 1 week relative to controls. Both nitrogen sources stimulated bulk phytoplankton, bacterial and DOM production and enriched Synechococcus and Flavobacteriaceae; ammonium enriched for oligotrophic Actinobacteria OM1 and Gammaproteobacteria KI89A clades while nitrate enriched Gammaproteobacteria SAR86, SAR92 and OM60 clades. DOM resulting from both N enrichments was more labile and stimulated growth of copiotrophic Gammaproteobacteria (Alteromonadaceae and Oceanospirillaceae) and Alphaproteobacteria (Rhodobacteraceae and Hyphomonadaceae) in weeklong dark incubations relative to controls. Our study illustrates how nitrogen pulses may have direct and cascading effects on DOM composition and microbial community dynamics in the open ocean. © 2017 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Development of a (147)Pm source for beta-backscatter thickness gauge applications.

PubMed

Kumar, Manoj; Udhayakumar, J; Nuwad, J; Shukla, Rakesh; Pillai, C G S; Dash, Ashutosh; Venkatesh, Meera

2011-03-01

This paper describes a method for the preparation of (147)Pm sources, utilized in the determination of graphite coating thickness on the inner surface of the zircaloy cladding tube of nuclear fuels. (147)Pm was adsorbed on a limited surface area [1.5mm (ϕ)×2mm (l)] of a cylindrical aluminum rod [1.5mm (ϕ)×10mm (l)]. In brief, the selected tip area [1.5mm (ϕ)×2mm (l)] was anodized at a current density of 15mA/cm(2) at 15°C in 3M·H(2)SO(4) for 2h followed by immersion of this area in 10μL of (147)Pm solution containing 37MBq (1mCi) of activity at pH 6.0 for 24h. The radioactive area was subsequently covered with a thin layer of Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) to prevent leaching of (147)Pm from the source. The quantity of incorporated (147)Pm activity was assayed in a calibrated ion chamber. Quality control tests were carried out to ensure nonleachability, uniform distribution of activity and stability of the sources. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Streamflow Prediction in Ungauged, Irrigated Basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, M.; Thompson, S. E.

2016-12-01

The international "predictions in ungauged basins" or "PUB" effort has broadened and improved the tools available to support water resources management in sparsely observed regions. These tools have, however, been primarily focused on regions with limited diversion of surface or shallow groundwater resources. Incorporating anthropogenic activity into PUB methods is essential given the high level of development of many basins. We extended an existing stochastic framework used to predict the flow duration curve to explore the effects of irrigation on streamflow dynamics. Four canonical scenarios were considered in which irrigation water was (i) primarily sourced from water imports, (ii) primarily sourced from direct in-channel diversions, (iii) sourced from shallow groundwater with direct connectivity to stream channels, or (iv) sourced from deep groundwater that is indirectly connected to surface flow via a shallow aquifer. By comparing the predicted flow duration curves to those predicted by accounting for climate and geomorphic factors in isolation, specific "fingerprints" of human water withdrawals could be identified for the different irrigation scenarios, and shown to be sensitive to irrigation volumes and scheduling. The results provide a first insight into PUB methodologies that could be employed in heavily managed basins.

Novel fusion for hybrid optical/microcomputed tomography imaging based on natural light surface reconstruction and iterated closest point

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ning, Nannan; Tian, Jie; Liu, Xia; Deng, Kexin; Wu, Ping; Wang, Bo; Wang, Kun; Ma, Xibo

2014-02-01

In mathematics, optical molecular imaging including bioluminescence tomography (BLT), fluorescence tomography (FMT) and Cerenkov luminescence tomography (CLT) are concerned with a similar inverse source problem. They all involve the reconstruction of the 3D location of a single/multiple internal luminescent/fluorescent sources based on 3D surface flux distribution. To achieve that, an accurate fusion between 2D luminescent/fluorescent images and 3D structural images that may be acquired form micro-CT, MRI or beam scanning is extremely critical. However, the absence of a universal method that can effectively convert 2D optical information into 3D makes the accurate fusion challengeable. In this study, to improve the fusion accuracy, a new fusion method for dual-modality tomography (luminescence/fluorescence and micro-CT) based on natural light surface reconstruction (NLSR) and iterated closest point (ICP) was presented. It consisted of Octree structure, exact visual hull from marching cubes and ICP. Different from conventional limited projection methods, it is 360° free-space registration, and utilizes more luminescence/fluorescence distribution information from unlimited multi-orientation 2D optical images. A mouse mimicking phantom (one XPM-2 Phantom Light Source, XENOGEN Corporation) and an in-vivo BALB/C mouse with implanted one luminescent light source were used to evaluate the performance of the new fusion method. Compared with conventional fusion methods, the average error of preset markers was improved by 0.3 and 0.2 pixels from the new method, respectively. After running the same 3D internal light source reconstruction algorithm of the BALB/C mouse, the distance error between the actual and reconstructed internal source was decreased by 0.19 mm.

UV Light Inactivation of Human and Plant Pathogens in Unfiltered Surface Irrigation Water

PubMed Central

Jones, Lisa A.; Worobo, Randy W.

2014-01-01

Fruit and vegetable growers continually battle plant diseases and food safety concerns. Surface water is commonly used in the production of fruits and vegetables and can harbor both human- and plant-pathogenic microorganisms that can contaminate crops when used for irrigation or other agricultural purposes. Treatment methods for surface water are currently limited, and there is a need for suitable treatment options. A liquid-processing unit that uses UV light for the decontamination of turbid juices was analyzed for its efficacy in the treatment of surface waters contaminated with bacterial or oomycete pathogens, i.e., Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes, Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, and Phytophthora capsici. Five-strain cocktails of each pathogen, containing approximately 108 or 109 CFU/liter for bacteria or 104 or 105 zoospores/liter for Ph. capsici, were inoculated into aliquots of two turbid surface water irrigation sources and processed with the UV unit. Pathogens were enumerated before and after treatment. In general, as the turbidity of the water source increased, the effectiveness of the UV treatment decreased, but in all cases, 99.9% or higher inactivation was achieved. Log reductions ranged from 10.0 to 6.1 and from 5.0 to 4.2 for bacterial pathogens and Ph. capsici, respectively. PMID:24242253

UV light inactivation of human and plant pathogens in unfiltered surface irrigation water.

PubMed

Jones, Lisa A; Worobo, Randy W; Smart, Christine D

2014-02-01

Fruit and vegetable growers continually battle plant diseases and food safety concerns. Surface water is commonly used in the production of fruits and vegetables and can harbor both human- and plant-pathogenic microorganisms that can contaminate crops when used for irrigation or other agricultural purposes. Treatment methods for surface water are currently limited, and there is a need for suitable treatment options. A liquid-processing unit that uses UV light for the decontamination of turbid juices was analyzed for its efficacy in the treatment of surface waters contaminated with bacterial or oomycete pathogens, i.e., Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes, Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, and Phytophthora capsici. Five-strain cocktails of each pathogen, containing approximately 10(8) or 10(9) CFU/liter for bacteria or 10(4) or 10(5) zoospores/liter for Ph. capsici, were inoculated into aliquots of two turbid surface water irrigation sources and processed with the UV unit. Pathogens were enumerated before and after treatment. In general, as the turbidity of the water source increased, the effectiveness of the UV treatment decreased, but in all cases, 99.9% or higher inactivation was achieved. Log reductions ranged from 10.0 to 6.1 and from 5.0 to 4.2 for bacterial pathogens and Ph. capsici, respectively.

Laboratory evaluation of polychlorinated biphenyls ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Effectiveness and limitations of the encapsulation method for reducing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) concentrations in indoor air and contaminated surface have been evaluated in the laboratory study. Ten coating materials such as epoxy and polyurethane coatings, latex paint, and petroleum-based paint were tested in small environmental chambers to rank the encapsulants by their resistance to PCB sorption and estimate the key parameters required by a barrier model. Wipe samples were collected from PCB contaminated surface encapsulated with the coating materials to rank the encapsulants by their resistance to PCB migration from the source. A barrier model was used to calculate the PCB concentrations in the sources and the encapsulant layers, and at the exposed surfaces of the encapsulant and in the room air at different times. The performance of the encapsulants was ranked by those concentrations and PCB percent reductions. Overall, the three epoxy coatings performed better than the other coatings. Both the experimental results and the mathematical modeling showed that selecting proper encapsulants can effectively reduce the PCB concentrations at the exposed surfaces. The encapsulation method is most effective for contaminated surfaces that contain low levels of PCBs. This study answers some of these questions by using a combination of laboratory testing and mathematical modeling. The results should be useful to mitigation engineers, building owners and managers

Multi-property modeling of ocean basin carbon fluxes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Volk, Tyler

1988-01-01

The objectives of this project were to elucidate the causal mechanisms in some of the most important features of the global ocean/atomsphere carbon system. These included the interaction of physical and biological processes in the seasonal cycle of surface water pCo2, and links between productivity, surface chlorophyll, and the carbon cycle that would aid global modeling efforts. In addition, several other areas of critical scientific interest involving links between the marine biosphere and the global carbon cycle were successfully pursued; specifically, a possible relation between phytoplankton emitted DMS and climate, and a relation between the location of calcium carbonate burial in the ocean and metamorphic source fluxes of CO2 to the atmosphere. Six published papers covering the following topics are summarized: (1) Mass extinctions, atmospheric sulphur and climatic warming at the K/T boundary; (2) Sensitivity of climate and atmospheric CO2 to deep-ocean and shallow-ocean carbonate burial; (3) Controls on CO2 sources and sinks in the earthscale surface ocean; (4) pre-anthropogenic, earthscale patterns of delta pCO2 between ocean and atmosphere; (5) Effect on atmospheric CO2 from seasonal variations in the high latitude ocean; and (6) Limitations or relating ocean surface chlorophyll to productivity.

Camx Ozone Source Attribution in the Eastern United States Using Guidance from Observations During DISCOVER-AQ Maryland

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldberg, Daniel L.; Vinciguerra, Timothy P.; Anderson, Daniel C.; Hembeck, Linda; Canty, Timothy P.; Ehrman, Sheryl H.; Martins, Douglas K.; Stauffer, Ryan M.; Thompson, Anne M.; Salawitch, Ross J.;

Analysis and improvement of gas turbine blade temperature measurement error

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Shan; Wang, Lixin; Feng, Chi; Daniel, Ketui

2015-10-01

Gas turbine blade components are easily damaged; they also operate in harsh high-temperature, high-pressure environments over extended durations. Therefore, ensuring that the blade temperature remains within the design limits is very important. In this study, measurement errors in turbine blade temperatures were analyzed, taking into account detector lens contamination, the reflection of environmental energy from the target surface, the effects of the combustion gas, and the emissivity of the blade surface. In this paper, each of the above sources of measurement error is discussed, and an iterative computing method for calculating blade temperature is proposed.

Freshwater molluscs as indicators of bioavailability and toxicity of metals in surface-water systems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Elder, John F.; Collins, Jerilyn J.; Ware, George W.

1991-01-01

During the past several decades, studies from a variety of locations have demonstrated widespread occurrence of metals in surface waters at concentrations significantly higher than background levels. Elevated concentrations are not limited to certain water types or polluted areas; they appear in all types of systems and in all geographic areas. It is clear that metals enter the aquatic systems from diverse sources, both point and nonpoint, and they can be readily transported from one system to another. Transport routes include atmospheric, terrestrial, subterranean, aquatic, and biological pathways (Elder 1988; Salomons and Forstner 1984).

The Arctic Ocean as a dead end for floating plastics in the North Atlantic branch of the Thermohaline Circulation

PubMed Central

Cózar, Andrés; Martí, Elisa; Duarte, Carlos M.; García-de-Lomas, Juan; van Sebille, Erik; Ballatore, Thomas J.; Eguíluz, Victor M.; González-Gordillo, J. Ignacio; Pedrotti, Maria L.; Echevarría, Fidel; Troublè, Romain; Irigoien, Xabier

2017-01-01

The subtropical ocean gyres are recognized as great marine accummulation zones of floating plastic debris; however, the possibility of plastic accumulation at polar latitudes has been overlooked because of the lack of nearby pollution sources. In the present study, the Arctic Ocean was extensively sampled for floating plastic debris from the Tara Oceans circumpolar expedition. Although plastic debris was scarce or absent in most of the Arctic waters, it reached high concentrations (hundreds of thousands of pieces per square kilometer) in the northernmost and easternmost areas of the Greenland and Barents seas. The fragmentation and typology of the plastic suggested an abundant presence of aged debris that originated from distant sources. This hypothesis was corroborated by the relatively high ratios of marine surface plastic to local pollution sources. Surface circulation models and field data showed that the poleward branch of the Thermohaline Circulation transfers floating debris from the North Atlantic to the Greenland and Barents seas, which would be a dead end for this plastic conveyor belt. Given the limited surface transport of the plastic that accumulated here and the mechanisms acting for the downward transport, the seafloor beneath this Arctic sector is hypothesized as an important sink of plastic debris. PMID:28439534

The Arctic Ocean as a dead end for floating plastics in the North Atlantic branch of the Thermohaline Circulation.

PubMed

Cózar, Andrés; Martí, Elisa; Duarte, Carlos M; García-de-Lomas, Juan; van Sebille, Erik; Ballatore, Thomas J; Eguíluz, Victor M; González-Gordillo, J Ignacio; Pedrotti, Maria L; Echevarría, Fidel; Troublè, Romain; Irigoien, Xabier

2017-04-01

The subtropical ocean gyres are recognized as great marine accummulation zones of floating plastic debris; however, the possibility of plastic accumulation at polar latitudes has been overlooked because of the lack of nearby pollution sources. In the present study, the Arctic Ocean was extensively sampled for floating plastic debris from the Tara Oceans circumpolar expedition. Although plastic debris was scarce or absent in most of the Arctic waters, it reached high concentrations (hundreds of thousands of pieces per square kilometer) in the northernmost and easternmost areas of the Greenland and Barents seas. The fragmentation and typology of the plastic suggested an abundant presence of aged debris that originated from distant sources. This hypothesis was corroborated by the relatively high ratios of marine surface plastic to local pollution sources. Surface circulation models and field data showed that the poleward branch of the Thermohaline Circulation transfers floating debris from the North Atlantic to the Greenland and Barents seas, which would be a dead end for this plastic conveyor belt. Given the limited surface transport of the plastic that accumulated here and the mechanisms acting for the downward transport, the seafloor beneath this Arctic sector is hypothesized as an important sink of plastic debris.

A search for long-time-scale, low-frequency radio transients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, Tara; Kaplan, David L.; Croft, Steve; Lynch, Christene; Callingham, J. R.; Bannister, Keith; Bell, Martin E.; Hurley-Walker, Natasha; Hancock, Paul; Line, Jack; Rowlinson, Antonia; Lenc, Emil; Intema, H. T.; Jagannathan, P.; Ekers, Ronald D.; Tingay, Steven; Yuan, Fang; Wolf, Christian; Onken, Christopher A.; Dwarakanath, K. S.; For, B.-Q.; Gaensler, B. M.; Hindson, L.; Johnston-Hollitt, M.; Kapińska, A. D.; McKinley, B.; Morgan, J.; Offringa, A. R.; Procopio, P.; Staveley-Smith, L.; Wayth, R.; Wu, C.; Zheng, Q.

2017-04-01

We present a search for transient and highly variable sources at low radio frequencies (150-200 MHz) that explores long time-scales of 1-3 yr. We conducted this search by comparing the TIFR GMRT Sky Survey Alternative Data Release 1 (TGSS ADR1) and the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky Murchison Widefield Array (GLEAM) survey catalogues. To account for the different completeness thresholds in the individual surveys, we searched for compact GLEAM sources above a flux density limit of 100 mJy that were not present in the TGSS ADR1; and also for compact TGSS ADR1 sources above a flux density limit of 200 mJy that had no counterpart in GLEAM. From a total sample of 234 333 GLEAM sources and 275 612 TGSS ADR1 sources in the overlap region between the two surveys, there were 99 658 GLEAM sources and 38 978 TGSS ADR sources that passed our flux density cut-off and compactness criteria. Analysis of these sources resulted in three candidate transient sources. Further analysis ruled out two candidates as imaging artefacts. We analyse the third candidate and show it is likely to be real, with a flux density of 182 ± 26 mJy at 147.5 MHz. This gives a transient surface density of ρ = (6.2 ± 6) × 10-5 deg-2. We present initial follow-up observations and discuss possible causes for this candidate. The small number of spurious sources from this search demonstrates the high reliability of these two new low-frequency radio catalogues.

Significant alteration of Critical Zone processes in urban watersheds: shifting from a transport-limited to a weathering-limited regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, J.; Bird, D. L.; Dobbis, S. K.; Woodward, G.

2016-12-01

Urban areas and associated impervious surface cover (ISC) are among the fastest growing land use types. Rapid growth of urban lands has significant implications for geochemical cycling and solute sources to streams, estuaries, and coastal waters. However, little work has been done to investigate the impacts of urbanization on Critical Processes, including on the export of solutes from urban watersheds. Despite observed elevated solute concentrations in urban streams in some previous studies, neither solute sources nor total solute fluxes have been quantified due to mixed bedrock geology, lack of a forested reference watershed, or the presence of point sources that confounded separation of anthropologic and natural sources. We investigated the geochemical signal of the urban built environment (e.g., roads, parking lots, buildings) in a set of five USGS-gaged watersheds across a rural (forested) to urban gradient in the Maryland Piedmont. These watersheds have ISC ranging from 0 to 25%, no point sources, and similar felsic bedrock chemistry. Weathering from the urban built environment and ISC produces dramatically higher solute concentrations in urban watersheds than in the forested watershed. Higher solute concentrations result in chemical weathering fluxes from urban watersheds that are 11-13 times higher than the forested watershed and are similar to fluxes from mountainous, weathering-limited watersheds rather than fluxes from transport-limited, dilute streams like the forested watershed. Weathering of concrete in urban watersheds produces geochemistry similar to weathering-limited watersheds with high concentrations of Ca2+, Mg2+, and DIC, which is similar to stream chemistry due to carbonate weathering. Road salt dissolution results in high Na+ and Cl- concentrations similar to evaporite weathering. Quantifying processes causing elevated solute fluxes from urban areas is essential to understanding cycling of Ca2+, Mg2+, and DIC in urban streams and in downgradient estuarine or coastal waters.

Microscopic Sources of Paramagnetic Noise on α-Al2O3 Substrates for Superconducting Qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubois, Jonathan; Lee, Donghwa; Lordi, Vince

2014-03-01

Superconducting qubits (SQs) represent a promising route to achieving a scalable quantum computer. However, the coupling between electro-dynamic qubits and (as yet largely unidentified) ambient parasitic noise sources has so far limited the functionality of current SQs by limiting coherence times of the quantum states below a practical threshold for measurement and manipulation. Further improvement can be enabled by a detailed understanding of the various noise sources afflicting SQs. In this work, first principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations are employed to identify the microscopic origins of magnetic noise sources in SQs on an α-Al2O3 substrate. The results indicate that it is unlikely that the existence of intrinsic point defects and defect complexes in the substrate are responsible for low frequency noise in these systems. Rather, a comprehensive analysis of extrinsic defects shows that surface aluminum ions interacting with ambient molecules will form a bath of magnetic moments that can couple to the SQ paramagnetically. The microscopic origin of this magnetic noise source is discussed and strategies for ameliorating the effects of these magnetic defects are proposed. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Overview of environmental and hydrogeologic conditions at Dillingham, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Palcsak, Betty B.; Dorava, Joseph M.

1994-01-01

The remote city of Dillingham is at the northern end of Bristol Bay in southwestern Alaska. The hydrology of the area is strongly affected by the mild maritime climate and local geologic conditions. Dillingham residents obtain drinking water from both deep and shallow aquifers composed of gravels and sands and separated by layers of clay underlying the community. Alternative sources of drinking water are limited to the development of new wells because surface-water sources are of inadequate quantity or quality or are located at too great a distance from the population. The Federal Aviation Administration owns or operates airway support facilities in Dillingham and wishes to consider the severity of contamination and the current environmental setting when they evaluate options for compliance with environmental regulations at their facilities. This report describes the climate. vegetation, geology, soils, ground-water and surface-water hydrology, and flood potential of the areas surrounding the Federal Aviation Administration facilities near Dillingham.

Inversion structure and winter ozone distribution in the Uintah Basin, Utah, U.S.A.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyman, Seth; Tran, Trang

2015-12-01

The Uintah Basin in Utah, U.S.A. experiences high concentrations of ozone during some winters due to strong, multi-day temperature inversions that facilitate the buildup of pollution from local sources, including the oil and gas industry. Together, elevation of monitoring sites and proximity to oil and gas wells explain as much as 90% of spatial variability in surface ozone concentrations during inversion episodes (i.e., R2 = 0.90). Inversion conditions start earlier and last longer at lower elevations, at least in part because lower elevations are more insulated from winds aloft that degrade inversion conditions and dilute produced ozone. Surface air transport under inversions is dominated by light, diurnal upslope-downslope flow that limits net transport distances. Thus, different areas of the Basin are relatively isolated from each other, allowing spatial factors like elevation and proximity to sources to strongly influence ozone concentrations at individual sites.

Surface response of a fractional order viscoelastic halfspace to surface and subsurface sources

PubMed Central

Meral, F. Can; Royston, Thomas J.; Magin, Richard L.

2009-01-01

Previous studies by the second author published in this journal focused on low audible frequency (40–400 Hz) shear and surface wave motion in and on a viscoelastic material representative of biological tissue. Specific cases considered were that of surface wave motion on a halfspace caused by a finite rigid circular disk located on the surface and oscillating normal to it [Royston et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 106, 3678–3686 (1999)] and compression, shear, and surface wave motion in a halfspace generated by a subsurface finite dipole [Royston et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 113, 1109–1121 (2003)]. In both studies, a Voigt model of viscoelasticity was assumed in the theoretical treatment, which resulted in agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental measurements over a limited frequency range. In the present article, the linear viscoelastic assumption in these two prior works is revisited to consider a (still linear) fractional order Voigt model, where the rate-dependent damping component that is dependent on the first derivative of time is replaced with a component that is dependent on a fractional derivative of time. It is shown that in both excitation source configurations, the fractional order Voigt model assumption improves the match of theory to experiment over a wider frequency range (in some cases up to the measured range of 700 Hz). PMID:20000941

Reactive Swarm Formation Control Using Realistic Surface Vessel Dynamics and Environmental Effects

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-10

hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. searching existing data sources. gathering and maintaining the data needed, and...1997, 2001, 2003, % % %(#) Department fo Automation % Danish Technical University, DTU . % DK 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark...tristan.perez@ntnu.no % Date: 2005-05-04 % Comments: %Adapted from the files reference (*) to match the data of the vessel %design of ADI-Limited

Limitations of current dosimetry for intracavitary accelerated partial breast irradiation with high dose rate iridium-192 and electronic brachytherapy sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raffi, Julie A.

Intracavitary accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) is a method of treating early stage breast cancer using a high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy source positioned within the lumpectomy cavity. An expandable applicator stretches the surrounding tissue into a roughly spherical or elliptical shape and the dose is prescribed to 1 cm beyond the edge of the cavity. Currently, dosimetry for these treatments is most often performed using the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group No. 43 (TG-43) formalism. The TG-43 dose-rate equation determines the dose delivered to a homogeneous water medium by scaling the measured source strength with standardized parameters that describe the radial and angular features of the dose distribution. Since TG-43 parameters for each source model are measured or calculated in a homogeneous water medium, the dosimetric effects of the patient's dimensions and composition are not accounted for. Therefore, the accuracy of TG-43 calculations for intracavitary APBI is limited by the presence of inhomogeneities in and around the target volume. Specifically, the breast is smaller than the phantoms used to determine TG-43 parameters and is surrounded by air, ribs, and lung tissue. Also, the composition of the breast tissue itself can affect the dose distribution. This dissertation is focused on investigating the limitations of TG-43 dosimetry for intracavitary APBI for two HDR brachytherapy sources: the VariSource TM VS2000 192Ir source and the AxxentRTM miniature x-ray source. The dose for various conditions was determined using thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and Monte Carlo (MC) calculations. Accurate measurements and calculations were achieved through the implementation of new measurement and simulation techniques and a novel breast phantom was developed to enable anthropomorphic phantom measurements. Measured and calculated doses for phantom and patient geometries were compared with TG-43 calculated doses to illustrate the limitations of TG-43 dosimetry for intracavitary APBI. TG-43 dose calculations overestimate the dose for regions approaching the lung and breast surface and underestimate the dose for regions in and beyond less-attenuating media such as lung tissue, and for lower energies, breast tissue as well.

Micro optical fiber light source and sensor and method of fabrication thereof

DOEpatents

Kopelman, Raoul; Tan, Weihong; Shi, Zhong-You

1997-01-01

This invention relates generally to the development of and a method of fabricating a fiber optic micro-light source and sensor (50). An optical fiber micro-light source (50) is presented whose aperture is extremely small yet able to act as an intense light source. Light sources of this type have wide ranging applications, including use as micro-sensors (22) in NSOM. Micro-sensor light sources have excellent detection limits as well as photo stability, reversibility, and millisecond response times. Furthermore, a method for manufacturing a micro optical fiber light source is provided. It involves the photo-chemical attachment of an optically active material onto the end surface of an optical fiber cable which has been pulled to form an end with an extremely narrow aperture. More specifically, photopolymerization has been applied as a means to photo-chemically attach an optically active material (60). This process allows significant control of the size of the micro light source (50). Furthermore, photo-chemically attaching an optically active material (60) enables the implementation of the micro-light source in a variety of sensor applications.

Micro optical fiber light source and sensor and method of fabrication thereof

DOEpatents

Kopelman, Raoul; Tan, Weihong; Shi, Zhong-You

1994-01-01

This invention relates generally to the development of and a method of fabricating a micro optical fiber light source. An optical fiber micro-light source is presented whose aperture is extremely small yet able to act as an intense light source. Light sources of this type have wide ranging applications, including use as micro-sensors in NSOM. Micro-sensor light sources have excellent detection limits as well as photo stability, reversibility, and millisecond response times. Furthermore, a method for manufacturing a micro optical fiber light source is provided. It involves the photo-chemical attachment of an optically active material onto the end surface of an optical fiber cable which has been pulled to form an end with an extremely narrow aperture. More specifically, photopolymerization has been applied as a means to photo-chemically attach an optically active material. This process allows significant control of the size of the micro light source. Furthermore, photo-chemically attaching an optically active material enables the implementation of the micro-light source in a variety of sensor applications.

Micro optical fiber light source and sensor and method of fabrication thereof

DOEpatents

Kopelman, R.; Tan, W.; Shi, Z.Y.

1997-05-06

This invention relates generally to the development of and a method of fabricating a fiber optic micro-light source and sensor. An optical fiber micro-light source is presented whose aperture is extremely small yet able to act as an intense light source. Light sources of this type have wide ranging applications, including use as micro-sensors in NSOM. Micro-sensor light sources have excellent detection limits as well as photo stability, reversibility, and millisecond response times. Furthermore, a method for manufacturing a micro optical fiber light source is provided. It involves the photo-chemical attachment of an optically active material onto the end surface of an optical fiber cable which has been pulled to form an end with an extremely narrow aperture. More specifically, photopolymerization has been applied as a means to photo-chemically attach an optically active material. This process allows significant control of the size of the micro light source. Furthermore, photo-chemically attaching an optically active material enables the implementation of the micro-light source in a variety of sensor applications. 10 figs.

Micro optical fiber light source and sensor and method of fabrication thereof

DOEpatents

Kopelman, R.; Tan, W.; Shi, Z.Y.

1994-11-01

This invention relates generally to the development of and a method of fabricating a micro optical fiber light source. An optical fiber micro-light source is presented whose aperture is extremely small yet able to act as an intense light source. Light sources of this type have wide ranging applications, including use as micro-sensors in NSOM. Micro-sensor light sources have excellent detection limits as well as photo stability, reversibility, and millisecond response times. Furthermore, a method for manufacturing a micro optical fiber light source is provided. It involves the photo-chemical attachment of an optically active material onto the end surface of an optical fiber cable which has been pulled to form an end with an extremely narrow aperture. More specifically, photopolymerization has been applied as a means to photo-chemically attach an optically active material. This process allows significant control of the size of the micro light source. Furthermore, photo-chemically attaching an optically active material enables the implementation of the micro-light source in a variety of sensor applications. 4 figs.

X-ray lithography using holographic images

DOEpatents

Howells, Malcolm R.; Jacobsen, Chris

1995-01-01

A non-contact X-ray projection lithography method for producing a desired X-ray image on a selected surface of an X-ray-sensitive material, such as photoresist material on a wafer, the desired X-ray image having image minimum linewidths as small as 0.063 .mu.m, or even smaller. A hologram and its position are determined that will produce the desired image on the selected surface when the hologram is irradiated with X-rays from a suitably monochromatic X-ray source of a selected wavelength .lambda.. On-axis X-ray transmission through, or off-axis X-ray reflection from, a hologram may be used here, with very different requirements for monochromaticity, flux and brightness of the X-ray source. For reasonable penetration of photoresist materials by X-rays produced by the X-ray source, the wavelength X, is preferably chosen to be no more than 13.5 nm in one embodiment and more preferably is chosen in the range 1-5 nm in the other embodiment. A lower limit on linewidth is set by the linewidth of available microstructure writing devices, such as an electron beam.

Protection of Polymers from the Space Environment by Atomic Layer Deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindholm, Ned F.; Zhang, Jianming; Minton, Timothy K.; O'Patchen, Jennifer; George, Steven M.; Groner, Markus D.

2009-01-01

Polymers in space may be subjected to a barrage of incident atoms, photons, and/or ions. For example, oxygen atoms can etch and oxidize these materials. Photons may act either alone or in combination with oxygen atoms to degrade polymers and paints and thus limit their usefulness. Colors fade under the intense vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) solar radiation. Ions can lead to the build-up of static charge on polymers. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) techniques can provide coatings that could mitigate many challenges for polymers in space. ALD is a gas-phase technique based on two sequential, self-limiting surface reactions, and it can deposit very uniform, conformal, and pinhole-free films with atomic layer control. We have studied the efficacy of various ALD coatings to protect Kapton® polyimide, FEP Teflon®, and poly(methyl methacrylate) films from atomic-oxygen and VUV attack. Atomic-oxygen and VUV studies were conducted with the use of a laser-breakdown source for hyperthermal O atoms and a D2 lamp as a source of VUV light. These studies used a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) to monitor mass loss in situ, as well as surface profilometry and scanning electron microscopy to study the surface recession and morphology changes ex situ. Al2O3 ALD coatings applied to polyimide and FEP Teflon® films protected the underlying substrates from O-atom attack, and ZnO coatings protected the poly(methyl methacrylate) substrate from VUV-induced damage.

Water Vapor Tracers as Diagnostics of the Regional Hydrologic Cycle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosilovich, Michael G.; Schubert, Siegfried D.; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Numerous studies suggest that local feedback of surface evaporation on precipitation, or recycling, is a significant source of water for precipitation. Quantitative results on the exact amount of recycling have been difficult to obtain in view of the inherent limitations of diagnostic recycling calculations. The current study describes a calculation of the amount of local and remote geographic sources of surface evaporation for precipitation, based on the implementation of three-dimensional constituent tracers of regional water vapor sources (termed water vapor tracers, WVT) in a general circulation model. The major limitation on the accuracy of the recycling estimates is the veracity of the numerically simulated hydrological cycle, though we note that this approach can also be implemented within the context of a data assimilation system. In the WVT approach, each tracer is associated with an evaporative source region for a prognostic three-dimensional variable that represents a partial amount of the total atmospheric water vapor. The physical processes that act on a WVT are determined in proportion to those that act on the model's prognostic water vapor. In this way, the local and remote sources of water for precipitation can be predicted within the model simulation, and can be validated against the model's prognostic water vapor. As a demonstration of the method, the regional hydrologic cycles for North America and India are evaluated for six summers (June, July and August) of model simulation. More than 50% of the precipitation in the Midwestern United States came from continental regional sources, and the local source was the largest of the regional tracers (14%). The Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic regions contributed 18% of the water for Midwestern precipitation, but further analysis suggests that the greater region of the Tropical Atlantic Ocean may also contribute significantly. In most North American continental regions, the local source of precipitation is correlated with total precipitation. There is a general positive correlation between local evaporation and local precipitation, but it can be weaker because large evaporation can occur when precipitation is inhibited. In India, the local source of precipitation is a small percentage of the precipitation owing to the dominance of the atmospheric transport of oceanic water. The southern Indian Ocean provides a key source of water for both the Indian continent and the Sahelian region.

Monitoring of "all-weather" evapotranspiration using optical and passive microwave remote sensing imagery over the River Source Region in Southwest China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Y.; Liu, S.

2017-12-01

Accurate estimation of surface evapotranspiration (ET) with high quality is one of the biggest obstacles for routine applications of remote sensing in eco-hydrological studies and water resource management at basin scale. However, many aspects urgently need to deeply research, such as the applicability of the ET models, the parameterization schemes optimization at the regional scale, the temporal upscaling, the selecting and developing of the spatiotemporal data fusion method and ground-based validation over heterogeneous land surfaces. This project is based on the theoretically robust surface energy balance system (SEBS) model, which the model mechanism need further investigation, including the applicability and the influencing factors, such as local environment, and heterogeneity of the landscape, for improving estimation accuracy. Due to technical and budget limitations, so far, optical remote sensing data is missing due to frequent cloud contamination and other poor atmospheric conditions in Southwest China. Here, a multi-source remote sensing data fusion method (ESTARFM: Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model) method will be proposed through blending multi-source remote sensing data acquired by optical, and passive microwave remote sensors on board polar satellite platforms. The accurate "all-weather" ET estimation will be carried out for daily ET of the River Source Region in Southwest China, and then the remotely sensed ET results are overlapped with the footprint-weighted images of EC (eddy correlation) for ground-based validation.

Influence of light curing units and fluoride mouthrinse on morphological surface and color stability of a nanofilled composite resin.

PubMed

De Oliveira, Ana Luísa Botta Martins; Botta, Ana Carolina; Campos, Juliana Álvares Duarte Bonini; Garcia, Patrícia Petromilli Nordi Sasso

2014-11-01

Composite resin is a dental material susceptible to color change over time which limits the longevity of restorations made with this material. The influence of light curing units and different fluoride mouthrinses on superficial morphology and color stability of a nanofilled composite resin was evaluated. Specimens (N = 150) were prepared and polished. The experimental groups were divided according to the type of light source (halogen and LED) and immersion media (artificial saliva, 0.05% sodium fluoride solution-manipulated, Fluordent Reach, Oral B, Fluorgard). Specimens remained in artificial saliva for 24-h baseline. For 60 days, they were immersed in solutions for 1 min. Color readout was taken at baseline and after 60 days of immersion. Surface morphology was analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) after 60 days of immersion. Color change data were submitted to two-way Analysis of Variance and Tukey tests (α = 0.05). Surface morphology was qualitatively analyzed. The factor light source presented no significant variability (P = 0.281), the immersion media, significant variability (P < 0.001) and interaction between factors, no significant variability (P = 0.050). According to SEM observations, no difference was noted in the surface of the specimens polymerized by different light sources, irrespective of the immersion medium. It was concluded that the light source did not influence the color stability of composite, irrespective of the immersion media, and among the fluoride solutions analyzed, Fluorgard was the one that promoted the greatest color change, however, this was not clinically perceptible. The immersion media did not influence the morphology of the studied resin. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sources and migration pathways of natural gas in near-surface ground water beneath the Animas River valley, Colorado and New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chafin, Daniel T.

1994-01-01

In July 1990, the U.S. Geological Survey began a study of the occurrence of natural gas in near-surface ground water in the Animas River valley in the San Juan Basin between Durango, Colorado, and Aztec, New Mexico. The general purpose of the study was to identify the sources and migration pathways of natural gas in nearsurface ground water in the study area. The purpose of this report is to present interpretive conclusions for the study, primarily based on data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from August 1990 to May 1991.Seventy of the 205 (34 percent) groundwater samples collected during August-November 1990 had methane concentrations that exceeded the reporting limit of 0.005 milligram per liter. The maximum concentration was 39 milligrams per liter, and the mean concentration was 1.3 milligrams per liter. Samples from wells completed in bedrock have greater mean concentrations of methane than samples from wells completed in alluvium. Correlations indicate weak or nonexistent associations between dissolved-methane concentrations and concentrations of dissolved solids, major ions, bromide, silica, iron, manganese, and carbon dioxide. Dissolved methane was associated with hydrogen sulfide.Soil-gas-methane concentrations were measurable at few of 192 ground-water sites, even at sites at which ground water contained large concentrations of dissolved methane, which indicates that soil-gas surveys are not useful to delineate areas of gas-affected ground water. The reporting limit of 0.005 milligram per liter of gas was equaled or exceeded by 40 percent of soil-gas measurements adjacent to 352 gas-well casings. Concentrations of at least 100 milligrams per liter of gas were measured at 25 (7 percent) of the sites.Potential sources of gases in water, soil, gas-well surface casings, and cathodic-protection wells were determined on the basis of their isotopic and molecular compositions and available information about gas-well construction or leaks. Biogenic and thermogenic sources of gas exist in the near-surface environment of the study area. Biogenic gas is present locally in the near-surface Animas and Nacimiento formations, and biogenic gas has been detected in water wells completed in those rocks. Most gas probably is thermogenic gas from deep reservoirs, including the Dakota Sandstone, Mesaverde Group, Lewis Shale, Pictured Cliffs Sandstone, and coals in the Fruitland Formation. Less important sources include sandstones in the upper Fruitland Formation and the Kirtland Shale.Although migration of gas by diffusion or through natural fractures is possible, manmade conduits probably account for most of the upward migration of gas to the near-surface environment of the study area. Primary migration pathways largely consist of 1) leaking, conventional gas wells and 2) uncemented annuli of conventional gas wells along coals in the Fruitland Formation. Secondary migration pathways are gas-well annuli, cathodic-protection wells, seismic-test holes, and bedrock water wells.

HEKATE-A novel grazing incidence neutron scattering concept for the European Spallation Source.

PubMed

Glavic, Artur; Stahn, Jochen

2018-03-01

Structure and magnetism at surfaces and buried interfaces on the nanoscale can only be accessed by few techniques, one of which is grazing incidence neutron scattering. While the technique has its strongest limitation in a low signal and large background, due to the low scattering probability and need for high resolution, it can be expected that the high intensity of the European Spallation Source in Lund, Sweden, will make many more such studies possible, warranting a dedicated beamline for this technique. We present an instrument concept, Highly Extended K range And Tunable Experiment (HEKATE), for surface scattering that combines the advantages of two Selene neutron guides with unique capabilities of spatially separated distinct wavelength frames. With this combination, it is not only possible to measure large specular reflectometry ranges, even on free liquid surfaces, but also to use two independent incident beams with tunable sizes and resolutions that can be optimized for the specifics of the investigated samples. Further the instrument guide geometry is tuned for reduction of high energy particle background and only uses low to moderate supermirror coatings for high reliability and affordable cost.

HEKATE—A novel grazing incidence neutron scattering concept for the European Spallation Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glavic, Artur; Stahn, Jochen

2018-03-01

Structure and magnetism at surfaces and buried interfaces on the nanoscale can only be accessed by few techniques, one of which is grazing incidence neutron scattering. While the technique has its strongest limitation in a low signal and large background, due to the low scattering probability and need for high resolution, it can be expected that the high intensity of the European Spallation Source in Lund, Sweden, will make many more such studies possible, warranting a dedicated beamline for this technique. We present an instrument concept, Highly Extended K range And Tunable Experiment (HEKATE), for surface scattering that combines the advantages of two Selene neutron guides with unique capabilities of spatially separated distinct wavelength frames. With this combination, it is not only possible to measure large specular reflectometry ranges, even on free liquid surfaces, but also to use two independent incident beams with tunable sizes and resolutions that can be optimized for the specifics of the investigated samples. Further the instrument guide geometry is tuned for reduction of high energy particle background and only uses low to moderate supermirror coatings for high reliability and affordable cost.

The history of hexachlorobenzene accumulation in Svalbard fjords.

PubMed

Pouch, A; Zaborska, A; Pazdro, K

2018-05-24

In the present study, we investigated the spatial and historical trends of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) contamination in dated sediments of three Svalbard fjords (Kongsfjorden, Hornsund, Adventfjorden) differing in environmental conditions and human impact. HCB concentrations ranging from below limit of quantification (6.86 pg/g d.w.) to 143.99 pg/g d.w. were measured. The highest concentrations were measured in two surface sediment layers of the core collected in Hornsund near the melting glacier. The lowest concentrations of HCB were measured in Adventfjorden, suggesting that local source of HCB is not significant and global transport processes are the major transport pathways. The history of HCB deposition did not fully reflect the history of HCB emission (largest in 1950s and 1960s). In case of several sediment cores, the HCB enrichment in surface (recent) sediments was noticed. This can indicate importance of secondary sources of HCB, e.g., the influx of HCB accumulated over decades on the surface of glaciers. Detected levels of HCB were generally low and did not exceed background concentration levels; thus, a negative effect on benthic organisms is not expected.

Superlensing effect for surface acoustic waves in a pillar-based phononic crystal with negative refractive index

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Addouche, Mahmoud, E-mail: mamoud.addouche@femto-st.fr; Al-Lethawe, Mohammed A., E-mail: mohammed.abdulridha@femto-st.fr; Choujaa, Abdelkrim, E-mail: achoujaa@femto-st.fr

2014-07-14

We demonstrate super resolution imaging for surface acoustic waves using a phononic structure displaying negative refractive index. This phononic structure is made of a monolithic square lattice of cylindrical pillars standing on a semi-infinite medium. The pillars act as acoustic resonator and induce a surface propagating wave with unusual dispersion. We found, under specific geometrical parameters, one propagating mode that exhibits negative refraction effect with negative effective index close to −1. Furthermore, a flat lens with finite number of pillars is designed to allow the focusing of an acoustic point source into an image with a resolution of (λ)/3 ,more » overcoming the Rayleigh diffraction limit.« less

Hydrologic evaluation and water-supply considerations for five Paiute Indian land parcels, Millard, Sevier, and Iron counties, southwestern Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Price, Don; Stephens, D.W.; Conroy, L.S.

1989-01-01

The hydrologic resources in and adjacent to five parcels of land held in trust for the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah were evaluated. The land, located in southwestern Utah, is generally arid and has had only limited use for grazing. The parcels are located near the towns of Cove Fort, Joseph, Koosharem, and Kanarraville. On the basis of available geohydrologic and hydrologic data, water of suitable quality is locally available in the areas of all parcels for domestic, stock, recreation, and limited irrigation use. Developing this water for use on the parcels would potentially involve obtaining water rights, drilling wells, and constructing diversion structures. Surface water apparently is the most favorable source of supply available for the Joseph parcel, and groundwater apparently is the most favorable source of supply available for the other parcels. (USGS)

Competing for Iron: Duplication and Amplification of the isd Locus in Staphylococcus lugdunensis HKU09-01 Provides a Competitive Advantage to Overcome Nutritional Limitation

PubMed Central

Heilbronner, Simon; Brozyna, Jeremy R.; Heinrichs, David E.; Skaar, Eric P.; Peschel, Andreas; Foster, Timothy J.

2016-01-01

Staphylococcus lugdunensis is a coagulase negative bacterial pathogen that is particularly associated with severe cases of infectious endocarditis. Unique amongst the coagulase-negative staphylococci, S. lugdunensis harbors an iron regulated surface determinant locus (isd). This locus facilitates the acquisition of heme as a source of nutrient iron during infection and allows iron limitation caused by “nutritional immunity” to be overcome. The isd locus is duplicated in S. lugdunensis HKU09-01 and we show here that the duplication is intrinsically unstable and undergoes accordion-like amplification and segregation leading to extensive isd copy number variation. Amplification of the locus increased the level of expression of Isd proteins and improved binding of hemoglobin to the cell surface of S. lugdunensis. Furthermore, Isd overexpression provided an advantage when strains were competing for a limited amount of hemoglobin as the sole source of iron. Gene duplications and amplifications (GDA) are events of fundamental importance for bacterial evolution and are frequently associated with antibiotic resistance in many species. As such, GDAs are regarded as evolutionary adaptions to novel selective pressures in hostile environments pointing towards a special importance of isd for S. lugdunensis. For the first time we show an example of a GDA that involves a virulence factor of a Gram-positive pathogen and link the GDA directly to a competitive advantage when the bacteria were struggling with selective pressures mimicking “nutritional immunity”. PMID:27575058

Competing for Iron: Duplication and Amplification of the isd Locus in Staphylococcus lugdunensis HKU09-01 Provides a Competitive Advantage to Overcome Nutritional Limitation.

PubMed

Heilbronner, Simon; Monk, Ian R; Brozyna, Jeremy R; Heinrichs, David E; Skaar, Eric P; Peschel, Andreas; Foster, Timothy J

2016-08-01

Staphylococcus lugdunensis is a coagulase negative bacterial pathogen that is particularly associated with severe cases of infectious endocarditis. Unique amongst the coagulase-negative staphylococci, S. lugdunensis harbors an iron regulated surface determinant locus (isd). This locus facilitates the acquisition of heme as a source of nutrient iron during infection and allows iron limitation caused by "nutritional immunity" to be overcome. The isd locus is duplicated in S. lugdunensis HKU09-01 and we show here that the duplication is intrinsically unstable and undergoes accordion-like amplification and segregation leading to extensive isd copy number variation. Amplification of the locus increased the level of expression of Isd proteins and improved binding of hemoglobin to the cell surface of S. lugdunensis. Furthermore, Isd overexpression provided an advantage when strains were competing for a limited amount of hemoglobin as the sole source of iron. Gene duplications and amplifications (GDA) are events of fundamental importance for bacterial evolution and are frequently associated with antibiotic resistance in many species. As such, GDAs are regarded as evolutionary adaptions to novel selective pressures in hostile environments pointing towards a special importance of isd for S. lugdunensis. For the first time we show an example of a GDA that involves a virulence factor of a Gram-positive pathogen and link the GDA directly to a competitive advantage when the bacteria were struggling with selective pressures mimicking "nutritional immunity".

Coatings on Atacama Desert Basalt: A Possible Analog for Coatings on Gusev Plains Basalt

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sutter, B.; Golden, D. C.; Amundson, R.; Chong-Diaz, G.; Ming, D. W.

2007-01-01

Surface coatings on Gusev Plains basalt have been observed and may contain hematite and nanophase Fe-oxides along with enrichments in P, S, Cl, and K relative to the underlying rock. The Gusev coatings may be derived from the dissolution of adhering soil and/or parent rock along with the addition of S and Cl from outside sources. Transient water for dissolution could be sourced from melting snow during periods of high obliquity, acid fog, and/or ground water (Haskin et al., 2005). Coatings on basalt in the hyper-arid (less than 2mm y(sup -1)) Atacama Desert may assist in understanding the chemistry, mineralogy and formation mechanisms of the Gusev basalt coatings. The Atacama Desert climate is proposed to be analogous to a paleo-Mars climate that was characterized by limited aqueous activity when the Gusev coatings could have formed. The objectives of this work are to (i) determine the chemical nature and extent of surface coatings on Atacama Desert basalt, and (ii) assess coating formation mechanisms in the Atacama Desert. Preliminary backscattered electron imaging of Atacama basalt thin-sections indicated that the coatings are as thick as 20 m. The boundary between the coating and the basalt labradorite, ilmenite, and augite grains was abrupt indicating that the basalt minerals underwent no chemical dissolution. The Atacama coatings have been added to the basalt instead of being derived from basalt chemical weathering. Semi-quantitative energy dispersive spectroscopy shows the coatings to be chemically homogeneous. The coating is depleted in Ca (0.9 wt% CaO) and enriched in K (1.3 wt.% K2O) and Si (69.1 wt.% SiO2) relative to the augite and labradorite grains. A dust source enriched in Si (e.g., poorly crystalline silica) and K and depleted in Ca appears to have been added to the basalt surface. Unlike the Gusev coatings, no P, S, and Cl enrichment was observed. However, Fe (3.2 wt.% FeO) was present in the Atacama coatings suggesting the present of Fe-oxides. While the chemistry of Atacama coating does not mirror the Gusev coating, the coating formation mechanism may be similar. The Atacama coatings of surface basalt are derived completely from exogenous sources. If surface Mars rocks have experienced limited wetting conditions as in the Atacama, then Mars coatings may be derived only from dissolution of material adhering to rock.

Relevance of drinking water as a source of human exposure to bisphenol A.

PubMed

Arnold, Scott M; Clark, Kathryn E; Staples, Charles A; Klecka, Gary M; Dimond, Steve S; Caspers, Norbert; Hentges, Steven G

2013-03-01

A comprehensive search of studies describing bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations in drinking water and source waters (i.e., surface water and groundwater) was conducted to evaluate the relevance of drinking water as a source of human exposure and risk. Data from 65 papers were evaluated from North America (31), Europe (17), and Asia (17). The fraction of drinking water measurements reported as less than the detection limit is high; 95%, 48%, and 41%, for North America, Europe, and Asia, respectively. The maximum quantified (in excess of the detection limit) BPA concentrations from North America, Europe, and Asia are 0.099 μg/l, 0.014 μg/l, and 0.317 μg/l. The highest quantified median and 95th percentile concentrations of BPA in Asian drinking water are 0.026 μg/l and 0.19 μg/l, while high detection limits restricted the determination of representative median and 95th percentile concentrations in North America and Europe. BPA in drinking water represents a minor component of overall human exposure, and compared with the lowest available oral toxicity benchmark of 16 μg/kg-bw/day (includes an uncertainty factor of 300) gives margins of safety >1100. Human biomonitoring data indicate that ingestion of drinking water represents <2.8% of the total intake of BPA.

Commercial silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers as a versatile substrate for laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Kim, Shin Hye; Kim, Jeongkwon; Moon, Dae Won; Han, Sang Yun

2013-01-01

We report here that a commercial silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer offers an opportunity for laser desorption/ionization (LDI) of peptide molecules, which occurs directly from its flat surface without requiring special surface preparation. The LDI-on-SOI exhibits intact ionization of peptides with a good detection limit of lower than 20 fmol, of which the mass range is demonstrated up to insulin with citric acid additives. The LDI process most likely arises from laser-induced surface heating promoted by two-dimensional thermal confinement in the thin Si surface layer of the SOI wafer. As a consequence of the thermal process, the LDI-on-SOI method is also capable of creating post-source decay (PSD) of the resulting peptide LDI ions, which is suitable for peptide sequencing using conventional TOF/TOF mass spectrometry.

Influence of Thermal Anisotropy on Equilibrium Stellarator Beta Limits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bechtel, T. A.; Hegna, C. C.; Sovinec, C. R.

2017-10-01

The effect of anisotropic heat conduction on the upper beta limit of stellarator plasmas is studied using the nonlinear, extended MHD code NIMROD. The configuration under investigation is an l=2, M=10 torsatron with vacuum rotational transform near unity. Finite-beta plasmas are created using a volumetric heating source and temperature dependent resistivity; modeled with 22 stellarator symmetric (integer multiples of M) toroidal modes. Extended MHD simulations are then performed to generate steady state solutions that represent 3D equilibria. With increased heating, Shafranov shifts occur, and the associated break up of edge magnetic surfaces limits the achievable beta. Due to the presence of finite parallel heat conduction, pressure profiles can exist in regions of magnetic stochasticity. Here, we present results of independently varying the parallel and perpendicular thermal anisotropy. In particular, simulations show that the attained stored energy is a function of the magnitude of parallel and perpendicular thermal conduction for a given heat source, indicating that equilibrium beta limits are sensitive to anisotropic transport properties. Preliminary studies of MHD stability with non-stellarator symmetric modes, near the highest achievable beta, are also presented. Research supported by US DOE under Grant No. DE-FG02-99ER54546.

Material challenges for transducer designers in the 21st century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindberg, Jan F.

2002-07-01

The modern U.S. Navy is rapidly evolving to meet the challenges of operating in the littorals. This focus changes the rules, especially to the designers of sonar systems that now need to aggressively engage quiet diesel electric submarine threats and neutralize sophisticated underwater mines. These new responsibilities dictate that new concepts be developed. To meet these new demands on the sonar system, transducer designers are being tasked to design transducers and to utilize new materials to address performance requirements that were never even imagined a decade ago. Sensor needs are no longer limited to pressure types but now have to sense velocity or acceleration. Sources are challenged to both frequency extent and power levels. The need to physically move sources off of submarines and surface combatants and onto vehicles with limited energy capabilities prompt the challenge of efficient bandwidth and high coupling. These are the needs of the 'next Navy'; the needs of the 'Navy after next' will present an even more demanding scenario. The future will demand revolutionary technology at the micro level with devices utilizing new power sources and new materials.

Graphene-based photovoltaic cells for near-field thermal energy conversion

PubMed Central

Messina, Riccardo; Ben-Abdallah, Philippe

2013-01-01

Thermophotovoltaic devices are energy-conversion systems generating an electric current from the thermal photons radiated by a hot body. While their efficiency is limited in far field by the Schockley-Queisser limit, in near field the heat flux transferred to a photovoltaic cell can be largely enhanced because of the contribution of evanescent photons, in particular for a source supporting a surface mode. Unfortunately, in the infrared where these systems operate, the mismatch between the surface-mode frequency and the semiconductor gap reduces drastically the potential of this technology. In this paper we propose a modified thermophotovoltaic device in which the cell is covered by a graphene sheet. By discussing the transmission coefficient and the spectral properties of the flux, we show that both the cell efficiency and the produced current can be enhanced, paving the way to promising developments for the production of electricity from waste heat. PMID:23474891

Graphene-based photovoltaic cells for near-field thermal energy conversion.

PubMed

Messina, Riccardo; Ben-Abdallah, Philippe

2013-01-01

Thermophotovoltaic devices are energy-conversion systems generating an electric current from the thermal photons radiated by a hot body. While their efficiency is limited in far field by the Schockley-Queisser limit, in near field the heat flux transferred to a photovoltaic cell can be largely enhanced because of the contribution of evanescent photons, in particular for a source supporting a surface mode. Unfortunately, in the infrared where these systems operate, the mismatch between the surface-mode frequency and the semiconductor gap reduces drastically the potential of this technology. In this paper we propose a modified thermophotovoltaic device in which the cell is covered by a graphene sheet. By discussing the transmission coefficient and the spectral properties of the flux, we show that both the cell efficiency and the produced current can be enhanced, paving the way to promising developments for the production of electricity from waste heat.

Determination of bromine, chlorine and iodine in environmental aqueous samples by epithermal neutron activation analysis and Compton suppression

USGS Publications Warehouse

Landsberger, S.; O'Kelly, D. J.; Braisted, J.; Panno, S.

2006-01-01

Halides, particularly Br- and Cl-, have been used as indicators of potential sources of Na+ and Cl- in surface water and groundwater with limited success. Contamination of groundwater and surface water by Na+ and Cl- is a common occurrence in growing urban areas and adversely affects municipal and private water supplies in Illinois and other states, as well as vegetation in environmentally sensitive areas. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) can be effectively used to determine these halogens, but often the elevated concentrations of sodium and chlorine in water samples can give rise to very high detection limits for bromine and iodine due to elevated backgrounds from the activation process. We present a detailed analytical scheme to determine Cl, Br and I in aqueous samples with widely varying Na and Cl concentrations using epithermal NAA in conjunction with Compton suppression. ?? 2006 Akade??miai Kiado??.

Benchmarking the x-ray phase contrast imaging for ICF DT ice characterization using roughened surrogates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dewald, E; Kozioziemski, B; Moody, J

2008-06-26

We use x-ray phase contrast imaging to characterize the inner surface roughness of DT ice layers in capsules planned for future ignition experiments. It is therefore important to quantify how well the x-ray data correlates with the actual ice roughness. We benchmarked the accuracy of our system using surrogates with fabricated roughness characterized with high precision standard techniques. Cylindrical artifacts with azimuthally uniform sinusoidal perturbations with 100 um period and 1 um amplitude demonstrated 0.02 um accuracy limited by the resolution of the imager and the source size of our phase contrast system. Spherical surrogates with random roughness close tomore » that required for the DT ice for a successful ignition experiment were used to correlate the actual surface roughness to that obtained from the x-ray measurements. When comparing average power spectra of individual measurements, the accuracy mode number limits of the x-ray phase contrast system benchmarked against surface characterization performed by Atomic Force Microscopy are 60 and 90 for surrogates smoother and rougher than the required roughness for the ice. These agreement mode number limits are >100 when comparing matching individual measurements. We will discuss the implications for interpreting DT ice roughness data derived from phase-contrast x-ray imaging.« less

Liquid Sampling-Atmospheric Pressure Glow Discharge (LS-APGD) Ionization Source for Elemental Mass Spectrometry: Preliminary Parametric Evaluation and Figures of Merit

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Quarles, C. Derrick; Carado, Anthony J.; Barinaga, Charles J.

2012-01-01

A new, low power ionization source for the elemental analysis of aqueous solutions has recently been described. The liquid sampling-atmospheric pressure glow discharge (LS-APGD) source operates at relatively low currents (<20 mA) and solution flow rates (<50 μL min-1), yielding a relatively simple alternative for atomic mass spectrometry applications. The LS-APGD has been interfaced to what is otherwise an organic, LC-MS mass analyzer, the Thermo Scientific Exactive Orbitrap without any modifications; other than removing the electrospray ionization (ESI) source supplied with that instrument. A glow discharge is initiated between the surface of the test solution exiting a glass capillary andmore » a metallic counter electrode mounted at a 90° angle and separated by a distance of ~5 mm. As with any plasma-based ionization source, there are key discharge operation and ion sampling parameters that affect the intensity and composition of the derived mass spectra; including signal-to-background ratios. We describe here a preliminary parametric evaluation of the roles of discharge current, solution flow rate, argon sheath gas flow rate, and ion sampling distance as they apply on this mass analyzer system. A cursive evaluation of potential matrix effects due to the presence of easily ionized elements (EIEs) indicate that sodium concentrations of up to 500 μg mL-1 generally cause suppressions of less than 50%, dependant upon the analyte species. Based on the results of this series of studies, preliminary limits of detection (LOD) have been established through the generation of calibration functions. Whilst solution-based concentrations LOD levels of 0.02 – 2 μg mL-1 3 are not impressive on the surface, the fact that they are determined via discrete 5 μL injections leads to mass-based detection limits at picogram to singlenanogram levels. The overhead costs associated with source operation (10 W d.c. power, solution flow rates of <50 μL min-1, and gas flow rates <10 mL min-1) are very attractive. While further optimization in the source design is suggested here, it is believed that the LS-APGD ion source may present a practical alternative to inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) sources typically employed in elemental mass spectrometry.« less

Development of a Ballistic Impact Detection System

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-09-01

body surface remains the largest variable to overcome. The snug fit of the body amour stabilizes the sensors and their response . The data from the...estimated to average 1 hour per response , including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data...ABSTRACT 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT UU 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 22 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON

Engineering report single-shell tank farms interim measures to limit infiltration through the vadose zone

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

HAASS, C.C.

1999-10-14

Identifies, evaluates and recommends interim measures for reducing or eliminating water sources and preferential pathways within the vadose zone of the single-shell tank farms. Features studied: surface water infiltration and leaking water lines that provide recharge moisture, and wells that could provide pathways for contaminant migration. An extensive data base, maps, recommended mitigations, and rough order of magnitude costs are included.

Lunar Regolith Excavation Student Competition Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nething, Julia

2009-01-01

The Surface Systems team is working to learn about lunar regolith and how we can use it as a source of air, water, and fuel for spacecrafts. However, excavation of this valuable regolith is difficult because the robot has to conform to many specifications (mass limit, efficiency level, etc.). NASA has therefore decided to include college students and companies in the search to create the best robot by making it into a competition.

MESSENGER Searches for Less Abundant or Weakly Emitting Species in Mercury's Exosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vervack, Ronald J., Jr.; McClintock, William E.; Killen, Rosemary M.; Sprague, Ann L.; Burger, Matthew H.; Merkel, Aimee W.; Sarantos, Menelaos

2011-01-01

Mercury's exosphere is composed of material that originates at the planet's surface, whether that material is native or delivered by the solar wind and micrometeoroids. Many exospheric species have been detected by remote sensing, including H and He by Mariner 10, Na, K, and Ca by ground-based observations, and H, Na, Ca, Mg, and Ca+ by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft. Other exospheric species, including Fe, AI, Si, 0, S, Mn, CI, Ti, OH, and their ions, are expected to be present on the basis of MESSENGER surface measurements and models of Mercury's surface chemistry. Here we report on searches for these species made with the Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrometer (UVVS) channel of the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS). No obvious signatures of the listed species have yet been observed in Mercury's exosphere by the UVVS as of this writing. It is possible that detections are elusive because the optimum regions of the exosphere have not been sampled. The Sun-avoidance constraints on MESSENGER place tight limits on instrument boresight directions, and some regions are probed infrequently. If there are strong spatial gradients in the distribution of weakly emitting species, a high-resolution sampling of specific regions may be required to detect them. Summing spectra over time will also aid in the ability to detect weaker emission. Observations to date nonetheless permit strong upper limits to be placed on the abundances of many undetected species, in some cases as functions of time and space. As those limits are lowered with time, the absence of detections can provide insight into surface composition and the potential source mechanisms of exospheric material.

Coastal retracking using along-track echograms and its dependency on coastal topography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ichikawa, K.; Wang, X.

2017-12-01

Although the Brown mathematical model is the standard model for waveform retracking over open oceans, coastal waveforms usually deviate from open ocean waveform shapes due to inhomogeneous surface reflections within altimeter footprints, and thus cannot be directly interpreted by the Brown model. Generally, the two primary sources of heterogeneous surface reflections are land surfaces and bright targets such as calm surface water. The former reduces echo power, while the latter often produces particularly strong echoes. In previous studies, sub-waveform retrackers, which use waveform samples collected from around leading edges in order to avoid trailing edge noise, have been recommended for coastal waveform retracking. In the present study, the peaky-type noise caused by fixed-point bright targets is explicitly detected and masked using the parabolic signature in the sequential along-track waveforms (or, azimuth-range echograms). Moreover, the power deficit of waveform trailing edges caused by weak land reflections is compensated for by estimating the ratio of sea surface area within each annular footprint in order to produce pseudo-homogeneous reflected waveforms suitable for the Brown model. Using this method, Jason-2 altimeter waveforms are retracked in several coastal areas. Our results show that both the correlation coefficient and root mean square difference between the derived sea surface height anomalies and tide gauge records retain similar values at the open ocean (0.9 and 20 cm) level, even in areas approaching 3 km from coastlines, which is considerably improved from the 10 km correlation coefficient limit of the conventional MLE4 retracker and the 7 km sub-waveform ALES retracker limit. These values, however, depend on the coastal topography of the study areas because the approach distance limit increases (decreases) in areas with complicated (straight) coastlines

UAV using the open-source flight-control-system in the application of aerial survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Ji-chen; Ru, Chen

2015-12-01

The aerial survey as one of the branches of the Space Information Technology system, has an important application in data acquisition of the earth's surface. In recent years, the trend of UVA (unmanned aerial vehicle) to replace traditional survey aircraft has become increasingly obvious with the progress of science and technology. At present, the price of the commercial UAV Flight Control System is higher, limiting the application of UVA. This paper mainly discusses the possibility that the open-source's flight-control-system take the place of the commercial one. Result is that the costs of UVA are reduced, and make the application more widely.

Glint-induced false alarm reduction in signature adaptive target detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crosby, Frank J.

2002-07-01

The signal adaptive target detection algorithm developed by Crosby and Riley uses target geometry to discern anomalies in local backgrounds. Detection is not restricted based on specific target signatures. The robustness of the algorithm is limited by an increased false alarm potential. The base algorithm is extended to eliminate one common source of false alarms in a littoral environment. This common source is glint reflected on the surface of water. The spectral and spatial transience of glint prevent straightforward characterization and complicate exclusion. However, the statistical basis of the detection algorithm and its inherent computations allow for glint discernment and the removal of its influence.

Environmental monitoring of Galway Bay: fusing data from remote and in-situ sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Connor, Edel; Hayes, Jer; Smeaton, Alan F.; O'Connor, Noel E.; Diamond, Dermot

2009-09-01

Changes in sea surface temperature can be used as an indicator of water quality. In-situ sensors are being used for continuous autonomous monitoring. However these sensors have limited spatial resolution as they are in effect single point sensors. Satellite remote sensing can be used to provide better spatial coverage at good temporal scales. However in-situ sensors have a richer temporal scale for a particular point of interest. Work carried out in Galway Bay has combined data from multiple satellite sources and in-situ sensors and investigated the benefits and drawbacks of using multiple sensing modalities for monitoring a marine location.

Potential disturbance interactions with a single IGV in an F109 turbofan engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirk, Joel F.

A common cause of aircraft engine failure is the high cycle fatigue of engine blades and stators. One of the primary causes of these failures is due to blade row interactions, which cause an aerodynamic excitation to be resonant with a mechanical natural frequency. Traditionally, the primary source of such aerodynamic excitations has been practically limited to viscous wakes from upstream components. However, more advanced designs require that blade rows be very highly loaded and closely spaced. This results in aerodynamic excitation from potential fields of down stream engine components, in addition to the known wake excitations. An experimental investigation of the potential field from the fan of a Honeywell F109 turbofan engine has been completed. The investigation included velocity measurements upstream of the fan, addition of an airfoil shaped probe upstream of the fan on which surface pressure measurements were acquired, and measurement of the velocity in the interaction region between the probe and the fan. This investigation sought to characterize the response on the upstream probe due to the fan potential field and the interaction between a viscous wake and the potential field; as such, all test conditions were for subsonic fan speeds. The results from the collected data show that fan-induced potential disturbances propagate upstream at acoustic velocities, to produce vane surface-pressure amplitudes as high as 40 percent Joel F. Kirk of the inlet, mean total pressure. Further, these fan-induced pressure amplitudes display large variations between the two vane surfaces. An argument is made that the structure of the pressure response is consistent with the presence of two distinct sources of unsteady forcing disturbances. The disturbances on the incoming-rotation-facing surface of the IGV propagated upstream at a different speed than those on the outgoing-rotation-facing surface, indicating that one originated from a rotating source and the other from a stationary source. An argument is made to suggest that the stationary source is due to the rotor blades cutting through the wake of the IGV.

Dismantling of Radium-226 Coal Level Gauges: Encountered Problems and How to Solve

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Punnachaiya, M.; Nuanjan, P.; Moombansao, K.

2006-07-01

This paper describes the techniques for dismantling of disused-sealed Radium-226 (Ra-226) coal level gauges which the source specifications and documents were not available, including problems occurred during dismantling stage and the decision making in solving all those obstacles. The 2 mCi (20 pieces), 6 mCi (20 pieces) and 6.6 mCi (30 pieces) of Ra-226 hemi-spherically-shaped with lead-filled coal level gauges were used in industrial applications for electric power generation. All sources needed to be dismantled for further conditioning as requested by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). One of the 2 mCi Ra-226 source was dismantled under the supervision ofmore » IAEA expert. Before conditioning period, each of the 6 mCi and 6.6 mCi sources were dismantled and inspected. It was found that coal level gauges had two different source types: the sealed cylindrical source (diameter 2 cm x 2 cm length) locked with spring in lead housing for 2 mCi and 6.6 mCi; while the 6 mCi was an embedded capsule inside source holder stud assembly in lead-filled housing. Dismantling Ra-226 coal level gauges comprised of 6 operational steps: confirmation of the surface dose rate on each source activity, calculation of working time within the effective occupational dose limit, cutting the weld of lead container by electrical blade, confirmation of the Ra-226 embedded capsule size using radiation scanning technique and gamma radiography, automatic sawing of the source holder stud assembly, and transferring the source to store in lead safe box. The embedded length of 6 mCi Ra-226 capsule in its diameter 2 cm x 14.7 cm length stud assembly was identified, the results from scanning technique and radiographic film revealed the embedded source length of about 2 cm, therefore all the 6 mCi sources were safely cut at 3 cm using the automatic saw. Another occurring problem was one of the 6.6 mCi spring type source stuck inside its housing because the spring was deformed and there was previously a leakage on inner source housing. Thus, during manufacturing the filled-lead for shielding passed through this small hole and fixed the deformed spring together with the source. The circular surface of inner hole was measured and slowly drilled at a diameter 2.2 cm behind shielding, till the spring and the fixed lead sheet were cut, therefore the source could be finally hammered out. The surface dose rate of coal level gauges before weld cutting was 10-15 mR/hr and the highest dose rate at the position of the weld cutter was 2.5 mR/hr. The total time for each weld cutting and automatic sawing was 2-3 minutes and 1 minute, respectively. The source was individually and safely transferred to store in lead safe box using a 1-meter length tong and a light container with 1 meter length handle. The total time for Ra-226 (70 pieces) dismantling, including the encountered problems and their troubles shooting took 4 days operation in which the total dose obtained by 18 operators were ranged from 1-38 {mu}Sv. The dismantling team safely completed the activities within the effective dose limit for occupational exposure of 20 mSv/year (80 {mu}Sv/day). (authors)« less

Integrated bio-fluorescence sensor.

PubMed

Thrush, Evan; Levi, Ofer; Ha, Wonill; Wang, Ke; Smith, Stephen J; Harris, James S

2003-09-26

Due to the recent explosion in optoelectronics for telecommunication applications, novel optoelectronic sensing structures can now be realized. In this work, we explore the integration of optoelectronic components towards miniature and portable fluorescence sensors. The integration of these micro-fabricated sensors with microfluidics and capillary networks may reduce the cost and complexity of current research instruments and open up a world of new applications in portable biological analysis systems. A novel optoelectronic design that capitalizes on current vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) technology is explored. Specifically, VCSELs, optical emission filters and PIN photodetectors are fabricated as part of a monolithically integrated near-infrared fluorescence detection system. High-performance lasers and photodetectors have been characterized and integrated to form a complete sensor. Experimental results show that sensor sensitivity is limited by laser background. The laser background is caused by spontaneous emission emitted from the side of the VCSEL excitation source. Laser background will limit sensitivity in most integrated sensing designs due to locating excitation sources and photodetectors in such close proximity, and methods are proposed to reduce the laser background in such designs so that practical fluorescent detection limits can be achieved.

Six reasons why thermospheric measurements and models disagree

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moe, Kenneth

1987-01-01

The differences between thermospheric measurements and models are discussed. Sometimes the model is in error and at other times the measurements are, but it also is possible for both to be correct, yet have the comparison result in an apparent disagreement. These reasons are collected for disagreement, and, whenever possible, methods of reducing or eliminating them are suggested. The six causes of disagreement discussed are: actual errors caused by the limited knowledge of gas-surface interactions and by in-track winds; limitations of the thermospheric general circulation models due to incomplete knowledge of the energy sources and sinks as well as incompleteness of the parameterization which must be employed; and limitations imposed on the empirical models by the conceptual framework and the transient waves.

New materials based on polylactide modified with silver and carbon ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurzina, I. A.; Pukhova, I. V.; Botvin, V. V.; Davydova, D. V.; Filimoshkin, A. G.; Savkin, K. P.; Oskomov, K. V.; Oks, E. M.

2015-11-01

An integrated study of poly-L-lactide (PL) synthesis and the physicochemical properties of film surfaces, both modified by silver and carbon ion implantation and also unmodified PL surfaces, has been carried out. Surface modification was done using aMevva-5.Ru metal ion source with ion implantation doses of 1.1014, 1.1015 and 1.1016 ion/cm2. Material characterization was done using NMR, IRS, XPS and AFM. The molecular weight (MW), micro-hardness, surface resistivity, and limiting wetting angle of both un-implanted and implanted samples were measured. The results reveal that degradation of PL macromolecules occurs during ion implantation, followed by CO or CO2 removal and MW decrease. With increasing implantation dose, the glycerol wettability of the PL surface increases but the water affinity decreases (hydrophobic behavior). After silver and carbon ion implantation into the PL samples, the surface resistivity is reduced by several orders of magnitude and a tendency to micro-hardness reductionis induced.

Source tracking of leaky sewers: a novel approach combining fecal indicators in water and sediments.

PubMed

Guérineau, Hélène; Dorner, Sarah; Carrière, Annie; McQuaid, Natasha; Sauvé, Sébastien; Aboulfadl, Khadija; Hajj-Mohamad, Mariam; Prévost, Michèle

2014-07-01

In highly urbanized areas, surface water and groundwater are particularly vulnerable to sewer exfiltration. In this study, as an alternative to Microbial Source Tracking (MST) methods, we propose a new method combining microbial and chemical fecal indicators (Escherichia coli (E. coli)) and wastewater micropollutants (WWMPs) analysis both in water and sediment samples and under different meteorological conditions. To illustrate the use of this method, wastewater exfiltration and subsequent infiltration were identified and quantified by a three-year field study in an urban canal. The gradients of concentrations observed suggest that several sources of fecal contamination of varying intensity may be present along the canal, including feces from resident animal populations, contaminated surface run-off along the banks and under bridge crossings, release from contaminated banks, entrainment of contaminated sediments, and most importantly sewage exfiltration. Calculated exfiltration-infiltration volumes varied between 0.6 and 15.7 m(3)/d per kilometer during dry weather, and between 1.1 and 19.5 m(3)/d per kilometer during wet weather. WWMPs were mainly diluted and degraded below detection limits in water. E. coli remains the best exfiltration indicator given a large volume of dilution and a high abundance in the wastewater source. WWMPs are effective for detecting cumulated contamination in sediments from a small volume source and are particularly important because E. coli on its own does not allow source tracking. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cross-correlation of the X-ray background with nearby galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jahoda, Keith; Mushotzky, Richard F.; Boldt, Elihu; Lahav, Ofer

1991-01-01

The detection of a signal in the cross-correlation of the diffuse 2-10 keV HEAO 1 A-2 X-ray surface brightness with the galaxy surface density derived from diameter-limited samples from the Uppsala General Catalogue is reported. An ad hoc relationship between the X-ray flux and the galaxy counts is used to estimate the local X-ray volume emissivity at 2.8 + or - 1.0 x 10 to the 38th ergs/s/cu Mpc. This result implies that unevolved populations of X-ray sources correlated with present-epoch galaxies can contribute only 13 + or - 5 percent of the cosmic X-ray background.

Database of historically documented springs and spring flow measurements in Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heitmuller, Franklin T.; Reece, Brian D.

2003-01-01

Springs are naturally occurring features that convey excess ground water to the land surface; they represent a transition from ground water to surface water. Water issues through one opening, multiple openings, or numerous seeps in the rock or soil. The database of this report provides information about springs and spring flow in Texas including spring names, identification numbers, location, and, if available, water source and use. This database does not include every spring in Texas, but is limited to an aggregation of selected digital and hard-copy data of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), and Capitol Environmental Services.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lam, P.J.; Bishop, J.K.B

Here we show that labile particulate iron and manganese concentrations in the upper 500m of the Western Subarctic Pacific, an iron-limited High Nutrient Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) region, have prominent subsurface maxima between 100-200 m, reaching 3 nM and 600 pM, respectively. The subsurface concentration maxima in particulate Fe are characterized by a more reduced oxidation state, suggesting a source from primary volcagenic minerals such as from the Kuril/Kamchatka margin. The systematics of these profiles suggest a consistently strong lateral advection of labile Mn and Fe from redox-mobilized labile sources at the continental shelf supplemented by a more variable source ofmore » Fe from the upper continental slope. This subsurface supply of iron from the continental margin is shallow enough to be accessible to the surface through winter upwelling and vertical mixing, and is likely a key source of bioavailable Fe to the HNLC North Pacific.« less

Sparse reconstruction for quantitative bioluminescence tomography based on the incomplete variables truncated conjugate gradient method.

PubMed

He, Xiaowei; Liang, Jimin; Wang, Xiaorui; Yu, Jingjing; Qu, Xiaochao; Wang, Xiaodong; Hou, Yanbin; Chen, Duofang; Liu, Fang; Tian, Jie

2010-11-22

In this paper, we present an incomplete variables truncated conjugate gradient (IVTCG) method for bioluminescence tomography (BLT). Considering the sparse characteristic of the light source and insufficient surface measurement in the BLT scenarios, we combine a sparseness-inducing (ℓ1 norm) regularization term with a quadratic error term in the IVTCG-based framework for solving the inverse problem. By limiting the number of variables updated at each iterative and combining a variable splitting strategy to find the search direction more efficiently, it obtains fast and stable source reconstruction, even without a priori information of the permissible source region and multispectral measurements. Numerical experiments on a mouse atlas validate the effectiveness of the method. In vivo mouse experimental results further indicate its potential for a practical BLT system.

Sea Water Characterization at Ujung Kulon Coastal Depth as Raw Water Source for Desalination and Potential Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mugisidi, Dan; Heriyani, Okatrina

2018-02-01

Fresh water is basic need for life while the source is limited. Therefore, sea water is used as fresh water through desalination process. Sea water has different physical and chemical properties ranging from the surface to the seabed. The energy potential that can be obtained from the hydrostatic pressure also changes according to the depth. As part of the research of the utilization of sea water into fresh water, the aim of this study is to know the characteristics of sea water in the depth that can be utilized as source of fresh water. The sea water samples were taken at 11km from Ujung Kulon beach with depth of 0m, 20m, 40m, 60m, 80m, and 100m under the surface. The results showed that the physical properties at every depth were below the maximum allowable drinking water except for the amount of dissolved solids. Chemical characteristics at any depth above allowable level were fluoride, hardness (CaCo3), chloride, sodium, sulphate, and (KMnO4). In addition to the properties, pressure is one of the considerations in this study to determine the depth of sea water as sources for desalination. Pressure increased by 36.11% as the depth of the sea increased.

Thermal Energy for Lunar In Situ Resource Utilization: Technical Challenges and Technology Opportunities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gordon, Pierce E. C.; Colozza, Anthony J.; Hepp, Aloysius F.; Heller, Richard S.; Gustafson, Robert; Stern, Ted; Nakamura, Takashi

2011-01-01

Oxygen production from lunar raw materials is critical for sustaining a manned lunar base but is very power intensive. Solar concentrators are a well-developed technology for harnessing the Sun s energy to heat regolith to high temperatures (over 1375 K). The high temperature and potential material incompatibilities present numerous technical challenges. This study compares and contrasts different solar concentrator designs that have been developed, such as Cassegrains, offset parabolas, compound parabolic concentrators, and secondary concentrators. Differences between concentrators made from lenses and mirrors, and between rigid and flexible concentrators are also discussed. Possible substrate elements for a rigid mirror concentrator are selected and then compared, using the following (target) criteria: (low) coefficient of thermal expansion, (high) modulus of elasticity, and (low) density. Several potential lunar locations for solar concentrators are compared; environmental and processing-related challenges related to dust and optical surfaces are addressed. This brief technology survey examines various sources of thermal energy that can be utilized for materials processing on the lunar surface. These include heat from nuclear or electric sources and solar concentrators. Options for collecting and transporting thermal energy to processing reactors for each source are examined. Overall system requirements for each thermal source are compared and system limitations, such as maximum achievable temperature are discussed.

Imaging irregular magma reservoirs with InSAR and GPS observations: Application to Kilauea and Copahue volcanoes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lundgren, P.; Camacho, A.; Poland, M. P.; Miklius, A.; Samsonov, S. V.; Milillo, P.

2013-12-01

The availability of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry (InSAR) data has increased our awareness of the complexity of volcano deformation sources. InSAR's spatial completeness helps identify or clarify source process mechanisms at volcanoes (i.e. Mt. Etna east flank motion; Lazufre crustal magma body; Kilauea dike complexity) and also improves potential model realism. In recent years, Bayesian inference methods have gained widespread use because of their ability to constrain not only source model parameters, but also their uncertainties. They are computationally intensive, however, which tends to limit them to a few geometrically rather simple source representations (for example, spheres). An alternative approach involves solving for irregular pressure and/or density sources from a three-dimensional (3-D) grid of source/density cells. This method has the ability to solve for arbitrarily shaped bodies of constant absolute pressure/density difference. We compare results for both Bayesian (a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm) and the irregular source methods for two volcanoes: Kilauea, Hawaii, and Copahue, Argentina-Chile border. Kilauea has extensive InSAR and GPS databases from which to explore the results for the irregular method with respect to the Bayesian approach, prior models, and an extensive set of ancillary data. One caveat, however, is the current restriction in the irregular model inversion to volume-pressure sources (and at a single excess pressure change), which limits its application in cases where sources such as faults or dikes are present. Preliminary results for Kilauea summit deflation during the March 2011 Kamoamoa eruption suggests a northeast-elongated magma body lying roughly 1-1.5 km below the surface. Copahue is a southern Andes volcano that has been inflating since early 2012, with intermittent summit eruptive activity since late 2012. We have an extensive InSAR time series from RADARSAT-2 and COSMO-SkyMed data, although both are from descending tracks. Preliminary modeling suggests a very irregular magma body that extends from the volcanic edifice to less than 5 km depth and located slightly north of the summit at shallow depths but to the ENE at greater depths. In our preliminary analysis, we find that there are potential limitations and trade-offs in the Bayesian results that suggest the simplicity of the assumed analytic source may generate systematic biases in source parameters. Instead, the irregular 3-D solution appears to provide greater realism, but is limited in the number and type of sources that can be modeled.

Correlation methods in optical metrology with state-of-the-art x-ray mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yashchuk, Valeriy V.; Centers, Gary; Gevorkyan, Gevork S.; Lacey, Ian; Smith, Brian V.

2018-01-01

The development of fully coherent free electron lasers and diffraction limited storage ring x-ray sources has brought to focus the need for higher performing x-ray optics with unprecedented tolerances for surface slope and height errors and roughness. For example, the proposed beamlines for the future upgraded Advance Light Source, ALS-U, require optical elements characterized by a residual slope error of <100 nrad (root-mean-square) and height error of <1-2 nm (peak-tovalley). These are for optics with a length of up to one meter. However, the current performance of x-ray optical fabrication and metrology generally falls short of these requirements. The major limitation comes from the lack of reliable and efficient surface metrology with required accuracy and with reasonably high measurement rate, suitable for integration into the modern deterministic surface figuring processes. The major problems of current surface metrology relate to the inherent instrumental temporal drifts, systematic errors, and/or an unacceptably high cost, as in the case of interferometry with computer-generated holograms as a reference. In this paper, we discuss the experimental methods and approaches based on correlation analysis to the acquisition and processing of metrology data developed at the ALS X-Ray Optical Laboratory (XROL). Using an example of surface topography measurements of a state-of-the-art x-ray mirror performed at the XROL, we demonstrate the efficiency of combining the developed experimental correlation methods to the advanced optimal scanning strategy (AOSS) technique. This allows a significant improvement in the accuracy and capacity of the measurements via suppression of the instrumental low frequency noise, temporal drift, and systematic error in a single measurement run. Practically speaking, implementation of the AOSS technique leads to an increase of the measurement accuracy, as well as the capacity of ex situ metrology by a factor of about four. The developed method is general and applicable to a broad spectrum of high accuracy measurements.

Potential Space Applications for Body-Centric Wireless and E-Textile Antennas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennedy, Timothy F.; Fink, Patrick W.; Chu, Andrew W.; Studor, George F.

2007-01-01

Space environment benefits of body-centric wireless communications are numerous, particularly in the context of long duration Lunar and Martian outposts that are in planning stages at several space agencies around the world. Since crew time for such missions is a scarce commodity, seamless integration of body-centric wireless from various sources is paramount. Sources include traditional data, such as audio, video, tracking, and biotelemetry. Newer data sources include positioning, orientation, and status of handheld tools and devices, as well as management and status of on-body inventories. In addition to offering lighter weight and flexibility, performance benefits of e-textile antennas are anticipated due to advantageous use of the body s surface area. In creating e-textile antennas and RF devices, researchers are faced with the challenge of transferring conventional and novel designs to textiles. Lack of impedance control, limited conductivity, and the inability to automatically create intricate designs are examples of limitations frequently attributed to e-textiles. Reliable interfaces between e-textiles and conventional hardware also represent significant challenges. Addressing these limitations is critical to the continued development and acceptance of fabric-based circuits for body-centric wireless applications. Here we present several examples of e-textile antennas and RF devices, created using a NASA-developed process, that overcome several of these limitations. The design and performance of an equiangular spiral, miniaturized spiral-loaded slot antenna, and a hybrid coupler are considered, with the e-textile devices showing comparable performance to like designs using conventional materials.

On the reliability and limitations of the SPAC method with a directional wavefield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Song; Luo, Yinhe; Zhu, Lupei; Xu, Yixian

2016-03-01

The spatial autocorrelation (SPAC) method is one of the most efficient ways to extract phase velocities of surface waves from ambient seismic noise. Most studies apply the method based on the assumption that the wavefield of ambient noise is diffuse. However, the actual distribution of sources is neither diffuse nor stationary. In this study, we examined the reliability and limitations of the SPAC method with a directional wavefield. We calculated the SPAC coefficients and phase velocities from a directional wavefield for a four-layer model and characterized the limitations of the SPAC. We then applied the SPAC method to real data in Karamay, China. Our results show that, 1) the SPAC method can accurately measure surface wave phase velocities from a square array with a directional wavefield down to a wavelength of twice the shortest interstation distance; and 2) phase velocities obtained from real data by the SPAC method are stable and reliable, which demonstrates that this method can be applied to measure phase velocities in a square array with a directional wavefield.

Searching for the Source Crater of Nakhlite Meteorites.

PubMed

Kereszturi, A; Chatzitheodoridis, E

2016-11-01

We surveyed the Martian surface in order to identify possible source craters of the nakhlite Martian meteorites. We investigated rayed craters that are assumed to be younger than 11 Ma, on lava surfaces with a solidification age around 1.2 Ga. An area of 17.3 million km 2 Amazonian lava plains was surveyed and 53 rayed craters were identified. Although most of them are smaller than the threshold limit that is estimated as minimum of launching fragments to possible Earth crossing trajectories, their observed size frequency distribution agrees with the expected areal density from cratering models characteristic for craters that are less than few tens of Ma old. We identified 6 craters larger than 3 km diameter constituting the potentially best source craters for nakhlites. These larger candidates are located mostly on a smooth lava surface, and in some cases, on the earlier fluvial-like channels. In three cases they are associated with fluidized ejecta lobes and rays - although the rays are faint in these craters, thus might be older than the other craters with more obvious rays. More work is therefore required to accurately estimate ages based on ray system for this purpose. A more detailed search should further link remote sensing Martian data with the in-situ laboratory analyses of Martian meteorites, especially in case of high altitude, steep terrains, where the crater rays seems to rarely survive several Ma.

Quantitative estimation of source complexity in tsunami-source inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dettmer, Jan; Cummins, Phil R.; Hawkins, Rhys; Jakir Hossen, M.

2016-04-01

This work analyses tsunami waveforms to infer the spatiotemporal evolution of sea-surface displacement (the tsunami source) caused by earthquakes or other sources. Since the method considers sea-surface displacement directly, no assumptions about the fault or seafloor deformation are required. While this approach has no ability to study seismic aspects of rupture, it greatly simplifies the tsunami source estimation, making it much less dependent on subjective fault and deformation assumptions. This results in a more accurate sea-surface displacement evolution in the source region. The spatial discretization is by wavelet decomposition represented by a trans-D Bayesian tree structure. Wavelet coefficients are sampled by a reversible jump algorithm and additional coefficients are only included when required by the data. Therefore, source complexity is consistent with data information (parsimonious) and the method can adapt locally in both time and space. Since the source complexity is unknown and locally adapts, no regularization is required, resulting in more meaningful displacement magnitudes. By estimating displacement uncertainties in a Bayesian framework we can study the effect of parametrization choice on the source estimate. Uncertainty arises from observation errors and limitations in the parametrization to fully explain the observations. As a result, parametrization choice is closely related to uncertainty estimation and profoundly affects inversion results. Therefore, parametrization selection should be included in the inference process. Our inversion method is based on Bayesian model selection, a process which includes the choice of parametrization in the inference process and makes it data driven. A trans-dimensional (trans-D) model for the spatio-temporal discretization is applied here to include model selection naturally and efficiently in the inference by sampling probabilistically over parameterizations. The trans-D process results in better uncertainty estimates since the parametrization adapts parsimoniously (in both time and space) according to the local data resolving power and the uncertainty about the parametrization choice is included in the uncertainty estimates. We apply the method to the tsunami waveforms recorded for the great 2011 Japan tsunami. All data are recorded on high-quality sensors (ocean-bottom pressure sensors, GPS gauges, and DART buoys). The sea-surface Green's functions are computed by JAGURS and include linear dispersion effects. By treating the noise level at each gauge as unknown, individual gauge contributions to the source estimate are appropriately and objectively weighted. The results show previously unreported detail of the source, quantify uncertainty spatially, and produce excellent data fits. The source estimate shows an elongated peak trench-ward from the hypo centre that closely follows the trench, indicating significant sea-floor deformation near the trench. Also notable is a bi-modal (negative to positive) displacement feature in the northern part of the source near the trench. The feature has ~2 m amplitude and is clearly resolved by the data with low uncertainties.

Hard X-ray spectra of neutron stars and black hole candidates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Durouchoux, P.; Mahoney, W.; Clenet, Y.; Ling, J.; Wallyn, P.; Wheaton, W.; Corbet, S.; Chapuis, C.

1997-01-01

The hard X-ray behavior of several X-ray binary systems containing a neutron star or a black hole candidate is analyzed in an attempt to determine the specific signature of these categories of compact objects. Limiting the consideration to two subclasses of neutron stars, Atoll sources and non-pulsating Z sources, it appears that only the Atoll sources have a spectral behavior similar to black holes. It is proposed that Atoll sources are weakly magnetized neutron stars, whereas Z sources are small radius moderate magnetized neutron stars. Large magnetic fields funnel the accreting matter, thus preventing spherical accretion and free fall if the neutron star radius is smaller than the last stable accreting orbit. Weak magnetic fields do not have this effect, and blackbody soft photons from the stellar surface are upscattered on the relativistic infalling matter, leading to excess hard X-rays. This excess is visible in two of the observed Atoll sources and in the spectrum of a black hole candidate. In the case of a Z source, a lack of photons was remarked, providing a possible signature to distinguish between these classes of objects.

The extraction of neural strategies from the surface EMG: an update

PubMed Central

Merletti, Roberto; Enoka, Roger M.

2014-01-01

A surface EMG signal represents the linear transformation of motor neuron discharge times by the compound action potentials of the innervated muscle fibers and is often used as a source of information about neural activation of muscle. However, retrieving the embedded neural code from a surface EMG signal is extremely challenging. Most studies use indirect approaches in which selected features of the signal are interpreted as indicating certain characteristics of the neural code. These indirect associations are constrained by limitations that have been detailed previously (Farina D, Merletti R, Enoka RM. J Appl Physiol 96: 1486–1495, 2004) and are generally difficult to overcome. In an update on these issues, the current review extends the discussion to EMG-based coherence methods for assessing neural connectivity. We focus first on EMG amplitude cancellation, which intrinsically limits the association between EMG amplitude and the intensity of the neural activation and then discuss the limitations of coherence methods (EEG-EMG, EMG-EMG) as a way to assess the strength of the transmission of synaptic inputs into trains of motor unit action potentials. The debated influence of rectification on EMG spectral analysis and coherence measures is also discussed. Alternatively, there have been a number of attempts to identify the neural information directly by decomposing surface EMG signals into the discharge times of motor unit action potentials. The application of this approach is extremely powerful, but validation remains a central issue. PMID:25277737

Spectral Remote Sensing of Dust Sources on the U.S. Great Plains from 1930s Panchromatic Aerial Phtography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolles, K.; Forman, S. L.

2017-12-01

Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of dust sources is essential to accurately quantify the various impacts of dust on the Earth system; however, a persistent deficiency in modeling dust emission is detailed knowledge of surface texture, geomorphology, and location of dust emissive surfaces, which strongly influence the effects of wind erosion. Particle emission is closely linked to both climatic and physical surface factors - interdependent variables that respond to climate nonlinearly and are mitigated by variability in land use or management practice. Recent efforts have focused on development of a preferential dust source (PDS) identification scheme to improve global dust-cycle models, which posits certain surfaces are more likely to emit dust than others, dependent upon associated sediment texture and geomorphological limitations which constrain sediment supply and availability. In this study, we outline an approach to identify and verify the physical properties and distribution of dust emissive surfaces in the U.S. Great Plains from historical aerial imagery in order to establish baseline records of dust sources, associated erodibility, and spatiotemporal variability, prior to the satellite era. We employ a multi-criteria, spatially-explicit model to identify counties that are "representative" of the broader landscape on the Great Plains during the 1930s. Parameters include: percentage of county cultivated and uncultivated per the 1935 Agricultural Census, average soil sand content, mean annual Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), maximum annual temperature and percent difference to the 30-year normal maximum temperature, and annual precipitation and percent difference to the 30-year normal precipitation level. Within these areas we generate random points to select areas for photo reproduction. Selected frames are photogrammetrically scanned at 1200 dpi, radiometrically corrected, mosaicked and georectified to create an IKONOS-equivalent image. Gray-level co-occurrence matrices are calculated in a 3x3 moving window to determine textural properties of the mosaic and delineate bare surfaces of different sedimentological properties. Field stratigraphic assessments and spatially-referenced historical data are integrated within ArcGIS to ground-truth imagery.

The sodium exosphere and magnetosphere of Mercury

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ip, W.-H.

1986-05-01

Following the recent optical discovery of intense sodium D-line emission from Mercury, the scenario of an extended exosphere of sodium and other metallic atoms is explored. It is shown that the strong effect of solar radiation pressure acceleration would permit the escape of Na atoms from Mercury's surface even if they are ejected at a velocity lower than the surface escape velocity. Fast photoionization of the Na atoms is effective in limiting the tailward extension of the sodium exosphere, however. The subsequent loss of the photoions to the magnetosphere could be a significant source of the magnetospheric plasma. The recirculation of the magnetospheric charged particles to the planetary surface could also play an important role in maintaining an extended sodium exosphere as well as a magnetosphere of sputtered metallic ions.

Assessment of quality of water provided for wildlife in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selebatso, Moses; Maude, Glyn; Fynn, Richard W. S.

2018-06-01

Arid and semi-arid environments have low and unpredictable rainfall patterns resulting in limited availability of surface water for wildlife. In the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) wildlife populations have lost access to natural surface water through cordon fences, livestock and human encroachment along the access routes. Artificial waterholes have been developed in the reserve to compensate for this loss. However, there have not been any assessments of the quality of water provided for wildlife and how that may be contributing to populations declines in the CKGR. We assessed water quality from 12 artificial waterholes against both Botswana and international livestock standards for drinking. Overall the quality of water provided is poor and poses a health risk to both animals and humans. Eight out of twelve boreholes tested exceeded the maximum acceptable Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) limits while three and four boreholes have toxic levels of lead and arsenic, respectively. Thus, pumping ground water could have more negative than positive impacts on wildlife thus defeating the intended management purpose. Failure to provide water of acceptable quality is a major concern for wildlife management in the CKGR and it may underlie some wildlife declines in the reserve. These findings confirm that restriction of populations from natural water sources create complex management challenges, especially where safe and sustainable alternative sources are scarce. Restriction of access of the population to natural water sources by fences and provision of poor quality water could compromise the overall fitness of wildlife populations and contribute to their decline.

Intrinsic Controls of Groundwater-Surface Water Dissolved Organic Carbon Quality and Quantity on Hyporheic Carbon Oxidation.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garayburu-Caruso, V. A.; Stegen, J.; Graham, E.

2017-12-01

Inputs of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nutrients from groundwater (GW) and surface water (SW) to the hyporheic zone strongly influence biogeochemical processes. Despite increased research efforts, we still lack a mechanistic understanding of the conditions driving elevated hyporheic metabolism. This work explores hyporheic carbon oxidation from a thermodynamic perspective by evaluating changes in metabolic rates within hyporheic zone sediments in response to changes on DOC concentration and thermodynamic profiles that are characteristic of GW and SW sources. We hypothesize that GW DOC is protected from microbial oxidation due to low concentration and that SW DOC is protected due low thermodynamic favorability. Further, we propose that GW-SW mixing can simultaneously overcome both limitations and stimulate carbon oxidation. Hyporheic sediments from the Hanford site in Richland, WA were exposed to ambient, 2-,5- and 10-fold concentrations of natural DOC from SW and GW sources, separately, and incubated at in-situ temperature. The two DOC sources supply contrasting thermodynamic profiles, with GW providing lower concentration but more thermodynamically favorable DOC and SW higher concentration, more recalcitrant DOC. Across DOC treatments we characterized time series of oxygen concentration, DOC concentration, and pH as well as endpoint measurements of DOC thermodynamics using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). Our results suggest that hyporheic metabolism of distinct carbon pools (GW or SW) can be limited by concentration or thermodynamic favorability. Our work provides an experimental approach to contribute to mechanistic understanding of freshwater carbon oxidation, and a process-based foundation for the development of watershed-scale hydrobiogeochemical models.

Climate Change and Implications for Prevention. California's Efforts to Provide Leadership.

PubMed

Balmes, John R

2018-04-01

The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and the temperature of the earth's surface have been rising in parallel for decades, with the former recently reaching 400 parts per million, consistent with a 1.5°C increase in global warming. Climate change models predict that a "business as usual" approach, that is, no effort to control CO 2 emissions from combustion of fossil fuels, will result in a more than 2°C increase in annual average surface temperature by approximately 2034. With atmospheric warming comes increased air pollution. The concept of a "climate gap" in air quality control captures the decreased effectiveness of regulatory policies to reduce pollution with a hotter climate. Sources of greenhouse gases and climate-forcing aerosols ("black carbon") are the same sources of air pollutants that harm health. California has adopted robust climate change mitigation policies that are also designed to achieve public health cobenefits by improving air quality. These policies include advanced clean car standards, renewable energy, a sustainable communities strategy to limit suburban sprawl, a low carbon fuel standard, and energy efficiency. A market-based mechanism to put a price on CO 2 emissions is the cap-and-trade program that allows capped facilities to trade state-issued greenhouse gas emissions allowances. The "cap" limits total greenhouse gas emissions from all covered sources, and declines over time to progressively reduce emissions. An alternative approach is a carbon tax. California's leadership on air quality and climate change mitigation is increasingly important, given the efforts to slow or even reverse implementation of such policies at the U.S. national level.

The nature of solar brightness variations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shapiro, A. I.; Solanki, S. K.; Krivova, N. A.; Cameron, R. H.; Yeo, K. L.; Schmutz, W. K.

2017-09-01

Determining the sources of solar brightness variations1,2, often referred to as solar noise3, is important because solar noise limits the detection of solar oscillations3, is one of the drivers of the Earth's climate system4,5 and is a prototype of stellar variability6,7—an important limiting factor for the detection of extrasolar planets. Here, we model the magnetic contribution to solar brightness variability using high-cadence8,9 observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the Spectral And Total Irradiance REconstruction (SATIRE)10,11 model. The brightness variations caused by the constantly evolving cellular granulation pattern on the solar surface were computed with the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS)/University of Chicago Radiative Magnetohydrodynamics (MURaM)12 code. We found that the surface magnetic field and granulation can together precisely explain solar noise (that is, solar variability excluding oscillations) on timescales from minutes to decades, accounting for all timescales that have so far been resolved or covered by irradiance measurements. We demonstrate that no other sources of variability are required to explain the data. Recent measurements of Sun-like stars by the COnvection ROtation and planetary Transits (CoRoT)13 and Kepler14 missions uncovered brightness variations similar to that of the Sun, but with a much wider variety of patterns15. Our finding that solar brightness variations can be replicated in detail with just two well-known sources will greatly simplify future modelling of existing CoRoT and Kepler as well as anticipated Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite16 and PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO)17 data.

Lunar surface remanent magnetic fields detected by the electron reflection method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, R. P.; Anderson, K. A.; Bush, R.; Mcguire, R. E.; Mccoy, J. E.

1976-01-01

We present maps of the lunar surface remanent magnetic fields detected by the electron reflection method. These maps provide substantial coverage of the latitude band from 30 N southward to 30 S with a resolution of about 40 km and a sensitivity of about 0.2 gamma at the lunar surface. Regions of remanent magnetization are observed ranging in size from the resolution limit of 1.25 deg to above approximately 60 deg. The largest contiguous region fills the Big Backside Basin where it is intersected by the spacecraft orbital tracks. Preliminary analyses of the maps show that the source regions of lunar limb compressions correspond to regions of strong surface magnetism, and that there does not appear to be sharply discontinuous magnetization at the edges of maria. We also analyze the electron reflection observations to obtain information on the direction and distribution of magnetization in the Van de Graaff anomaly region.

Slip-activated surface creep with room-temperature super-elongation in metallic nanocrystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhong, Li; Sansoz, Frederic; He, Yang

2016-11-28

Atom diffusion assisted by surfaces or interfaces (e.g. Coble creep) has been known to be the origin of large creep rates and superplastic softening in nanosized crystals at low temperature. By contrast, source-limited crystal slip in defect-free nanostructures engenders important strengths, but also premature plastic instability and low ductility. Here, using in-situ transmission electron microscopy, we report a slip-activated surface creep mechanism that suppresses the tendency towards plastic instability without compromising the strength, resulting in ultra-large room-temperature plasticity in face-centered-cubic silver nanocrystals. This phenomenon is shown experimentally and theoretically to prevail over a material-dependent range of diameters where surface dislocationmore » nucleation becomes a stimulus to diffusional creep. This work provides new fundamental insight into coupled diffusive-displacive deformation mechanisms maximizing ductility and strength simultaneously in nanoscale materials.« less

Determination of Fluxes and their Source Partitioning from high-resolution Profile Measurements of Wind Speed and Scalars within and above short Canopies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graf, A.; Ney, P.

2017-12-01

A continuously moving elevator-based system is described to measure vertical profiles of wind speed, temperature, CO2 and H2O within and above short plant canopies with a vertical resolution in the centimeter range. On sample days in 2015 to 2017, we measured profiles from the soil surface to 2 m a.g.l. in a crop rotation including wheat, barley, bare soil, winter catch crops and sugarbeet, with canopy heights of up to 1 m. Profiles over bare soil or very short canopies could be described well by fitting Monin-Obukhov-like profiles, and the derived fluxes of momentum and all three scalars matched well those of a nearby eddy-covariance station. In green canopies during the day, CO2 profiles clearly indicated the plant sink and soil source by a local minimum in the canopy and a maximum at the soil surface. H2O profiles, indicating sources both in the canopy and at the soil surface, did or did not show a local minimum between both, depending on canopy structure and turbulence. Temperature profiles showed various shapes including solar incident angle effects, and often the expected opposing signs of thermal stability between the subcanopy and the roughness sublayer. Finally, we test different existing parametrizations to estimate the vertical source / sink distribution from the measured profiles, compare the resulting vertically integrated fluxes to eddy-covariance based net fluxes, and discuss limitations and needed improvements to quantify subcanopy soil respiration and evaporation from such approaches.

Development of a high performance surface slope measuring system for two-dimensional mapping of x-ray optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lacey, Ian; Adam, Jérôme; Centers, Gary P.; Gevorkyan, Gevork S.; Nikitin, Sergey M.; Smith, Brian V.; Yashchuk, Valeriy V.

2017-09-01

The research and development work on the Advanced Light Source (ALS) upgrade to a diffraction limited storage ring light source, ALS-U, has brought to focus the need for near-perfect x-ray optics, capable of delivering light to experiments without significant degradation of brightness and coherence. The desired surface quality is characterized with residual (after subtraction of an ideal shape) surface slope and height errors of <50-100 nrad (rms) and <1-2 nm (rms), respectively. The ex-situ metrology that supports the optimal usage of the optics at the beamlines has to offer even higher measurement accuracy. At the ALS X-Ray Optics Laboratory, we are developing a new surface slope profiler, the Optical Surface Measuring System (OSMS), capable of two-dimensional (2D) surface-slope metrology at an absolute accuracy below the above optical specification. In this article we provide the results of comprehensive characterization of the key elements of the OSMS, a NOM-like high-precision granite gantry system with air-bearing translation and a custom-made precision air-bearing stage for tilting and flipping the surface under test. We show that the high performance of the gantry system allows implementing an original scanning mode for 2D mapping. We demonstrate the efficiency of the developed 2D mapping via comparison with 1D slope measurements performed with the same hyperbolic test mirror using the ALS developmental long trace profiler. The details of the OSMS design and the developed measuring techniques are also provided.

X-ray bursts: Observation versus theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewin, W. H. G.

1981-01-01

Results of various observations of common type I X-ray bursts are discussed with respect to the theory of thermonuclear flashes in the surface layers of accreting neutron stars. Topics covered include burst profiles; irregular burst intervals; rise and decay times and the role of hydrogen; the accuracy of source distances; accuracy in radii determination; radius increase early in the burst; the super Eddington limit; temperatures at burst maximum; and the role of the magnetic field.

Daytime Detection of Space Objects

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-03-01

photon flux is much larger than the signal flux and is the dominant noise source, we are operating in Background Limited Infrared Photodector (BLIP...electromagnetic radiation (visible, infrared , radar, etc.) strikes a material interface of a body, it can scatter off the top or first surface, as well as...nighttime, daytime and infrared flares respectively. The thermal emission of space objects at 353K, 900K and 1300K with 2 to 20 m2 emitting areas

Ignition of combustible/air mixtures by small radiatively heated surfaces.

PubMed

Welzel, M M; Schenk, S; Hau, M; Cammenga, H K; Bothe, H

2000-02-01

Optical radiation as an ignition source in potentially explosive atmospheres was investigated for a number of explosive mixtures with respect to the most important case occurring in practice, i.e., absorption of the radiation by a solid target. Iron oxide was used as the target material. The combustibles were selected in compliance with the well-known temperature classes and apparatus groups to allow a useful graduation of the power limits to be applied.

3-D Characterization of Seismic Properties at the Smart Weapons Test Range, YPG

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-10-01

confidence limits around each interpolated value. Ground truth was accomplished through cross-hole seismic measurements and borehole logs. Surface wave... seismic method, as well as estimating the optimal orientation and spacing of the seismic array . A variety of sources and receivers was evaluated...location within the array is partially related to at least two seismic lines. Either through good fortune or foresight by the designers of the SWTR site

Development of a Distributed Source Contaminant Transport Model for ARAMS

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-09-01

runoff as a result of rainfall. The transfer of dissolved chemicals from the soil solution to overland flow is a rate-limited process ERDC/EL TN-ECMI...boundary layer that separates the stagnant soil solution and the moving overland flow (Wallach et al. 1988, 1989). Dissolution. Some chemicals may...layer (L/T) The mass transfer coefficient relates solute flux across the soil surface interface to the difference in concentration between the soil

Mars Dust and LETKF Data Assimilation of TES Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greybush, S. J.; Hoffman, R. N.; Wilson, R.; Kang, J.; Zhao, Y.; Hoffman, M. J.; Kalnay, E.; Miyoshi, T.

2012-12-01

Simulation and prediction of dust storms remains one of the greatest challenges in Martian meteorology. Large-scale dust storms impact all Mars operations including spacecraft observations. What makes the difference between a regional event and a planet-encircling event? What are the predictability characteristics of these events and of the transition from regional to global? We examine the meteorology, including dustiness, in the Mars reanalysis created with the GFDL Mars Global Climate Model (MGCM) Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF) data assimilation system (DAS). Characterizing the distribution and temporal evolution of dust in the Martian atmosphere is a considerable challenge. Spacecraft observations are sparse and have limitations in vertical coverage, dust physical properties are not well known, and model parameterizations of surface lifting have limited success in reproducing observed variability. Methods for generating a dust reanalysis begin with satellite inferred dust information in the form of column opacities, dust profile retrievals, or the original radiances. Opacities may be estimated from a formal retrieval of the satellite data or inferred through surface brightness temperatures. The opacities have been ingested via ad hoc adjustments to model tracer fields (Conrath vertical distributions, changes to the boundary layer dust only, etc.), but could also be assimilated by the LETKF or other advanced DAS. We will present dust distributions in the most recent version of the MGCM-LETKF Mars reanalysis. Current results are from two DASs, one assuming a fixed dust distribution and one using TES opacities and updating the boundary layer dust only. In these reanalyses, a full year of Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) temperature profiles have been assimilated. Since an accurate characterization of the sources and sinks of dust would greatly improve our understanding of the Martian dust cycle and its representation in numerical weather prediction models, we will examine two advanced DAS techniques that have been demonstrated in terrestrial DASs and could be applied to the problem -- surface dust flux estimation and estimating the surface parameters that control the source of dust (roughness, inventories). The surface dust flux method requires no a priori information about the fluxes, and uses only atmospheric observations. For the terrestrial CO2 problem, surface sources and sinks of CO2 have been estimated using only time-dependent measurements of atmospheric CO2, temperatures, and winds, and without a priori information on the surface fluxes. This scenario is very analogous to the case of Mars. On Mars we have only information on temperature and dust opacities at spacecraft overpass locations. Results for terrestrial CO2 and plans for Mars dust will be presented. However, to improve model parameterizations of dust lifting, we need to understand not only the planetary distribution of dust but also the evolution of its sources and sinks and their relation to meteorology. The surface parameters method assumes the physical properties have a persistence or damped persistence evolution equation. These are then treated as part of the model state vector in the LETKF. This approach is then analogous to the bias correction method used in LETKF to improve the atmospheric state estimation.

Global Scale Attribution of Anthropogenic and Natural Dust Sources and their Emission Rates Based on MODIS Deep Blue Aerosol Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ginoux, Paul; Prospero, Joseph M.; Gill, Thomas E.; Hsu, N. Christina; Zhao, Ming

2012-01-01

Our understanding of the global dust cycle is limited by a dearth of information about dust sources, especially small-scale features which could account for a large fraction of global emissions. Here we present a global-scale high-resolution (0.1 deg) mapping of sources based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Deep Blue estimates of dust optical depth in conjunction with other data sets including land use. We ascribe dust sources to natural and anthropogenic (primarily agricultural) origins, calculate their respective contributions to emissions, and extensively compare these products against literature. Natural dust sources globally account for 75% of emissions; anthropogenic sources account for 25%. North Africa accounts for 55% of global dust emissions with only 8% being anthropogenic, mostly from the Sahel. Elsewhere, anthropogenic dust emissions can be much higher (75% in Australia). Hydrologic dust sources (e.g., ephemeral water bodies) account for 31% worldwide; 15% of them are natural while 85% are anthropogenic. Globally, 20% of emissions are from vegetated surfaces, primarily desert shrublands and agricultural lands. Since anthropogenic dust sources are associated with land use and ephemeral water bodies, both in turn linked to the hydrological cycle, their emissions are affected by climate variability. Such changes in dust emissions can impact climate, air quality, and human health. Improved dust emission estimates will require a better mapping of threshold wind velocities, vegetation dynamics, and surface conditions (soil moisture and land use) especially in the sensitive regions identified here, as well as improved ability to address small-scale convective processes producing dust via cold pool (haboob) events frequent in monsoon regimes.

The HELLAS2XMM survey. XI. Unveiling the nature of X-ray bright optically normal galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Civano, F.; Mignoli, M.; Comastri, A.; Vignali, C.; Fiore, F.; Pozzetti, L.; Brusa, M.; La Franca, F.; Matt, G.; Puccetti, S.; Cocchia, F.

2007-12-01

Aims:X-ray bright optically normal galaxies (XBONGs) constitute a small but significant fraction of hard X-ray selected sources in recent Chandra and XMM-Newton surveys. Even though several possibilities were proposed to explain why a relatively luminous hard X-ray source does not leave any significant signature of its presence in terms of optical emission lines, the nature of XBONGs is still subject of debate. We aim to better understand their nature by means of a multiwavelength and morphological analysis of a small sample of these sources. Methods: Good-quality photometric near-infrared data (ISAAC/VLT) of four low-redshift (z = 0.1{-}0.3) XBONGs, selected from the HELLAS2XMM survey, have been used to search for the presence of the putative nucleus, applying the surface-brightness decomposition technique through the least-squares fitting program GALFIT. Results: The surface brightness decomposition allows us to reveal a nuclear point-like source, likely to be responsible for the X-ray emission, in two out of the four sources. The results indicate that moderate amounts of gas and dust, covering a large solid angle (possibly 4π) at the nuclear source, combined with the low nuclear activity, may explain the lack of optical emission lines. The third XBONG is associated with an X-ray extended source and no nuclear excess is detected in the near infrared at the limits of our observations. The last source is associated to a close (d≤ 1 arcsec) double system and the fitting procedure cannot achieve a firm conclusion. Based on observations made at the European Southern Observatory, Paranal, Chile (ESO Programme ID 69.A-0554).

Conical Current Sheets in a Source-Surface Model of the Heliosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulz, M.

2007-12-01

Different methods of modeling the coronal and heliospheric magnetic field are conveniently visualized and intercompared by applying them to ideally axisymmetric field models. Thus, for example, a dipolar B field with its moment parallel to the Sun's rotation axis leads to a flat heliospheric current sheet. More general solar B fields (still axisymmetric about the solar rotation axis for simplicity) typically lead to cone-shaped current sheets beyond the source surface (and presumably also in MHD models). As in the dipolar case [Schulz et al., Solar Phys., 60, 83-104, 1978], such conical current sheets can be made realistically thin by taking the source surface to be non-spherical in a way that reflects the underlying structure of the Sun's main B field. A source surface that seems to work well in this respect [Schulz, Ann. Geophysicae, 15, 1379-1387, 1997] is a surface of constant F = (1/r)kB, where B is the scalar strength of the Sun's main magnetic field and k (~ 1.4) is a shape parameter. This construction tends to flatten the source surface in regions where B is relatively weak. Thus, for example, the source surface for a dipolar B field is shaped somewhat like a Rugby football, whereas the source surface for an axisymmetric quadrupolar B field is similarly elongated but somewhat flattened (as if stuffed into a cone) at mid-latitudes. A linear combination of co-axial dipolar and quadrupolar B fields generates a somewhat pear-shaped (but still convex) source surface. If the region surrounded by the source surface is regarded as current-free, then the source surface itself should be (as nearly as possible) an equipotential surface for the corresponding magnetic scalar potential (expanded, for example, in spherical harmonics). The solar wind should then flow not quite radially, but rather in a straight line along the outward normal to the source surface, and the heliospheric B field should follow a corresponding generalization of Parker's spiral [Levine et al., Solar Phys., 77, 363-392, 1982]. In particular, heliospheric current sheets (of which there are two if the underlying solar B field is mainly quadrupolar) should emanate from neutral lines on the corresponding source surface. However, because the source surface is relatively flattened in regions where such neutral lines tend to appear, the radial component of the heliospheric B field at r ~} 1 AU and beyond is much more nearly latitude-independent in absolute value than one would expect from models based on a spherical source surface.

On precisely modelling surface deformation due to interacting magma chambers and dykes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pascal, Karen; Neuberg, Jurgen; Rivalta, Eleonora

2014-01-01

Combined data sets of InSAR and GPS allow us to observe surface deformation in volcanic settings. However, at the vast majority of volcanoes, a detailed 3-D structure that could guide the modelling of deformation sources is not available, due to the lack of tomography studies, for example. Therefore, volcano ground deformation due to magma movement in the subsurface is commonly modelled using simple point (Mogi) or dislocation (Okada) sources, embedded in a homogeneous, isotropic and elastic half-space. When data sets are too complex to be explained by a single deformation source, the magmatic system is often represented by a combination of these sources and their displacements fields are simply summed. By doing so, the assumption of homogeneity in the half-space is violated and the resulting interaction between sources is neglected. We have quantified the errors of such a simplification and investigated the limits in which the combination of analytical sources is justified. We have calculated the vertical and horizontal displacements for analytical models with adjacent deformation sources and have tested them against the solutions of corresponding 3-D finite element models, which account for the interaction between sources. We have tested various double-source configurations with either two spherical sources representing magma chambers, or a magma chamber and an adjacent dyke, modelled by a rectangular tensile dislocation or pressurized crack. For a tensile Okada source (representing an opening dyke) aligned or superposed to a Mogi source (magma chamber), we find the discrepancies with the numerical models to be insignificant (<5 per cent) independently of the source separation. However, if a Mogi source is placed side by side to an Okada source (in the strike-perpendicular direction), we find the discrepancies to become significant for a source separation less than four times the radius of the magma chamber. For horizontally or vertically aligned pressurized sources, the discrepancies are up to 20 per cent, which translates into surprisingly large errors when inverting deformation data for source parameters such as depth and volume change. Beyond 8 radii however, we demonstrate that the summation of analytical sources represents adjacent magma chambers correctly.

Current-voltage characteristics influenced by the nanochannel diameter and surface charge density in a fluidic field-effect-transistor.

PubMed

Singh, Kunwar Pal; Guo, Chunlei

2017-06-21

The nanochannel diameter and surface charge density have a significant impact on current-voltage characteristics in a nanofluidic transistor. We have simulated the effect of the channel diameter and surface charge density on current-voltage characteristics of a fluidic nanochannel with positive surface charge on its walls and a gate electrode on its surface. Anion depletion/enrichment leads to a decrease/increase in ion current with gate potential. The ion current tends to increase linearly with gate potential for narrow channels at high surface charge densities and narrow channels are more effective to control the ion current at high surface charge densities. The current-voltage characteristics are highly nonlinear for wide channels at low surface charge densities and they show different regions of current change with gate potential. The ion current decreases with gate potential after attaining a peak value for wide channels at low values of surface charge densities. At low surface charge densities, the ion current can be controlled by a narrow range of gate potentials for wide channels. The current change with source drain voltage shows ohmic, limiting and overlimiting regions.

Deconvolution of trace element (As, Cr, Mo, Th, U) sources and pathways to surface waters of a gold mining-influenced watershed.

PubMed

Grosbois, C; Schäfer, J; Bril, H; Blanc, G; Bossy, A

2009-03-01

The Upper Isle River (SW France) drains the second most productive gold-mining district of France. A high resolution survey during one hydrological year of As, Cl(-), Cr, Fe, Mn, Mo, SO(4)(2-), Th and U dissolved concentrations in surface water aimed to better understand pathways of trace element export to the river system downstream from the mining district. Dissolved concentrations of As (up to 35000 ng/L) and Mo (up to 292 ng/L) were about 3-fold higher than the regional dissolved background and showed a negative logarithmic relation with discharge. Dissolved concentrations of Cr (up to 483 ng/L), Th (up to 48 ng/L) and U (up to 184 ng/L) increased with discharge. Geochemical relationships between molar ratios in surface water, geochemical background as well as rain- and groundwater data were combined. The contrasting behavior of distinct element groups was explained by a scenario involving three seasonal components: (i) The high flow component is poorly concentrated in As and Mo but highly concentrated in Cr, Th, U. This has been attributed to diffuse sources such as water-soil interactions, atmospheric inputs, bedrock and bed sediment weathering. Although this component probably also includes a contribution by weathering of sulfide veins, this signal is masked by dilution. (ii) One low flow component presents high SO(4)(2-), Fe, As and Mo and moderate Cr, Th and U concentrations. This component has been attributed to point sources such as mine gallery effluents, mining waste weathering and groundwater inputs from natural and/or mining-induced sulfide oxidation in the ore deposit. (iii) A second low flow component showing high As plus Mo concentrations associated with very low SO(4)(2-), Fe, Cr, Th and U concentrations, probably reflects trace element scavenging by ferric oxyhydroxide formation in the adjacent aquifer. This is supported by the decrease of Fe, Cr, Th and U in surface waters. Flux estimates suggest contrasting element-specific impacts on annual dissolved fluxes. Runoff may account for the major part of annual dissolved As, Mo, Th and U fluxes in the Upper Isle River. Inputs related to sulfide oxidation respectively contributed approximately 30% and approximately 24% to annual As and Mo fluxes. The formation of ferric oxyhydroxides strongly retained Cr, Th and U during the low flow, limiting their dissolved concentrations in surface waters. If this process may eventually decrease As mobility, its impact on dissolved As concentrations in surface water may be limited or/and counterbalanced by As release during sulfide oxidation.

Synopsis of ground-water and surface-water resources of North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Winter, T.C.; Benson, R.D.; Engberg, R.A.; Wiche, G.J.; Emerson, D.G.; Crosby, O.A.; Miller, J.E.

1984-01-01

This report describes the surface- and ground-water resources of North Dakota and the limitations of our understanding of these resources. Ground water and surface water are actually one resource, because they are often hydraulically interconnected. They are discussed separately for convenience. In general, the surface-water resources of the mainstem of the Missouri river are abundant and suitable for most uses. Other rivers may be important locally as water-supply sources, but the quantities of flow are small, quite variable in time, and generally of an unsuitable quality for most uses. Streamflow characteristics of North Dakota reflect its arid to semiarid climate (annual precipitation varies from 13 to 20 inches from west to east across the State), cold winters (usually including a significant snowpack available for spring snowmelt runoff), and the seasonal distribution of annual precipitation (almost 50 percent falls from Nky to July).Significant volumes of shallow ground water, of variable quality are found in the glacial-drift aquifers in parts of central, northern, and eastern North Dakota. Existing information provides only a limited capability to assess the long-term reliability of these scattered aquifers. There are significant indications, however, of water-quality problems related to sustained production of wells if long-term utilization of these aquifers is planned. A summary of the general suitability for use of surface water and ground water is given in Table E1.

Antimicrobial Efficacy of Two Surface Barrier Discharges with Air Plasma against In Vitro Biofilms

PubMed Central

Matthes, Rutger; Bender, Claudia; Schlüter, Rabea; Koban, Ina; Bussiahn, René; Reuter, Stephan; Lademann, Jürgen; Weltmann, Klaus-Dieter; Kramer, Axel

2013-01-01

The treatment of infected wounds is one possible therapeutic aspect of plasma medicine. Chronic wounds are often associated with microbial biofilms which limit the efficacy of antiseptics. The present study investigates two different surface barrier discharges with air plasma to compare their efficacy against microbial biofilms with chlorhexidine digluconate solution (CHX) as representative of an important antibiofilm antiseptic. Pseudomonas aeruginosa SG81 and Staphylococcus epidermidis RP62A were cultivated on polycarbonate discs. The biofilms were treated for 30, 60, 150, 300 or 600 s with plasma or for 600 s with 0.1% CHX, respectively. After treatment, biofilms were dispensed by ultrasound and the antimicrobial effects were determined as difference in the number of the colony forming units by microbial culture. A high antimicrobial efficacy on biofilms of both plasma sources in comparison to CHX treatment was shown. The efficacy differs between the used strains and plasma sources. For illustration, the biofilms were examined under a scanning electron microscope before and after treatment. Additionally, cytotoxicity was determined by the MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay with L929 mouse fibroblast cell line. The cell toxicity of the used plasma limits its applicability on human tissue to maximally 150 s. The emitted UV irradiance was measured to estimate whether UV could limit the application on human tissue at the given parameters. It was found that the UV emission is negligibly low. In conclusion, the results support the assumption that air plasma could be an option for therapy of chronic wounds. PMID:23894661

Selection of organic process and source indicator substances for the anthropogenically influenced water cycle.

PubMed

Jekel, Martin; Dott, Wolfgang; Bergmann, Axel; Dünnbier, Uwe; Gnirß, Regina; Haist-Gulde, Brigitte; Hamscher, Gerd; Letzel, Marion; Licha, Tobias; Lyko, Sven; Miehe, Ulf; Sacher, Frank; Scheurer, Marco; Schmidt, Carsten K; Reemtsma, Thorsten; Ruhl, Aki Sebastian

2015-04-01

An increasing number of organic micropollutants (OMP) is detected in anthropogenically influenced water cycles. Source control and effective natural and technical barriers are essential to maintain a high quality of drinking water resources under these circumstances. Based on the literature and our own research this study proposes a limited number of OMP that can serve as indicator substances for the major sources of OMP, such as wastewater treatment plants, agriculture and surface runoff. Furthermore functional indicators are proposed that allow assessment of the proper function of natural and technical barriers in the aquatic environment, namely conventional municipal wastewater treatment, advanced treatment (ozonation, activated carbon), bank filtration and soil aquifer treatment as well as self-purification in surface water. These indicator substances include the artificial sweetener acesulfame, the anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen, the anticonvulsant carbamazepine, the corrosion inhibitor benzotriazole and the herbicide mecoprop among others. The chemical indicator substances are intended to support comparisons between watersheds and technical and natural processes independent of specific water cycles and to reduce efforts and costs of chemical analyses without losing essential information. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of an Implantable Myoelectric Sensor for Advanced Prosthesis Control

PubMed Central

Merrill, Daniel R.; Lockhart, Joseph; Troyk, Phil R.; Weir, Richard F.; Hankin, David L.

2013-01-01

Modern hand and wrist prostheses afford a high level of mechanical sophistication, but the ability to control them in an intuitive and repeatable manner lags. Commercially available systems using surface electromyographic (EMG) or myoelectric control can supply at best two degrees of freedom (DOF), most often sequentially controlled. This limitation is partially due to the nature of surface-recorded EMG, for which the signal contains components from multiple muscle sources. We report here on the development of an implantable myoelectric sensor using EMG sensors that can be chronically implanted into an amputee’s residual muscles. Because sensing occurs at the source of muscle contraction, a single principal component of EMG is detected by each sensor, corresponding to intent to move a particular effector. This system can potentially provide independent signal sources for control of individual effectors within a limb prosthesis. The use of implanted devices supports inter-day signal repeatability. We report on efforts in preparation for human clinical trials, including animal testing, and a first-in-human proof of principle demonstration where the subject was able to intuitively and simultaneously control two DOF in a hand and wrist prosthesis. PMID:21371058

Reaction limits in knallgas saturated with water vapor. Progress report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adler, L.B.; Hobaica, E.C.; Luker, J.A.

1957-12-10

The basic objective of this research investigation is to determine the reactive limits of stoichiometric hydrogen-oxygen mixtures (knallgas) saturated with water vapor. In order to properly define these limits the effect of the following parameters on reaction limits are being investigated: (A) source of ignition; (B) reactor geometry or surface to volume ratio; and (C) density of the initial mixture. At the time of preparation of this progress report two series of runs had been completed. At 100/sup 0/C reactive limits have been investigated in an eight-foot tube of 0.957 inch internal diameter using constant energy spark ignition. For thismore » series the composition range studied was 2.6 to 76.7 mole percent knallgas. At 200/sup 0/C reactive limits have been investigated in a seven and a half-foot tube of 0.434 inch internal diameter using hot wire ignition. The composition range studied was 12.8 to 61 mole percent knallgas.« less

Boron-doped diamond semiconductor electrodes: Efficient photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction through surface modification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Nitish; Hirano, Yuiri; Kuriyama, Haruo; Sudhagar, Pitchaimuthu; Suzuki, Norihiro; Katsumata, Ken-Ichi; Nakata, Kazuya; Kondo, Takeshi; Yuasa, Makoto; Serizawa, Izumi; Takayama, Tomoaki; Kudo, Akihiko; Fujishima, Akira; Terashima, Chiaki

2016-11-01

Competitive hydrogen evolution and multiple proton-coupled electron transfer reactions limit photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction in aqueous electrolyte. Here, oxygen-terminated lightly boron-doped diamond (BDDL) thin films were synthesized as a semiconductor electron source to accelerate CO2 reduction. However, BDDL alone could not stabilize the intermediates of CO2 reduction, yielding a negligible amount of reduction products. Silver nanoparticles were then deposited on BDDL because of their selective electrochemical CO2 reduction ability. Excellent selectivity (estimated CO:H2 mass ratio of 318:1) and recyclability (stable for five cycles of 3 h each) for photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction were obtained for the optimum silver nanoparticle-modified BDDL electrode at -1.1 V vs. RHE under 222-nm irradiation. The high efficiency and stability of this catalyst are ascribed to the in situ photoactivation of the BDDL surface during the photoelectrochemical reaction. The present work reveals the potential of BDDL as a high-energy electron source for use with co-catalysts in photochemical conversion.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface soil across the Tibetan Plateau: spatial distribution, source and air-soil exchange.

PubMed

Wang, Chuanfei; Wang, Xiaoping; Gong, Ping; Yao, Tandong

2014-01-01

There are limited data on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in both the atmosphere and soil of the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Concentrations of PAHs were therefore measured in 13 XAD resin-based passive air samplers and 41 surface (0-5 cm) soil samples across the TP. The average concentration of atmospheric PAHs was 5.55 ng/m(3), which was lower than that reported for other background areas, but higher than the Arctic. Concentrations in the soils fell in a wide range from 5.54 to 389 ng/g, with an average of 59.9 ng/g. Elevation was found to play an important role in determining the spatial distribution of soil PAHs. The air-soil exchange state showed that the soils of the TP will likely remain as a sink for high molecular weight PAHs, but may become a potential "secondary source" for low molecular weight PAHs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Volcanic ash as an oceanic iron source and sink

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogan, Nicholas; Achterberg, Eric P.; Le Moigne, Frédéric A. C.; Marsay, Chris M.; Tagliabue, Alessandro; Williams, Richard G.

2016-03-01

Volcanic ash deposition to the ocean forms a natural source of iron (Fe) to surface water microbial communities. Inputs of lithogenic material may also facilitate Fe removal through scavenging. Combining dissolved Fe (dFe) and thorium-234 observations alongside modeling, we investigate scavenging of Fe in the North Atlantic following the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption. Under typical conditions biogenic particles dominate scavenging, whereas ash particles dominate during the eruption. The size of particles is important as smaller scavenging particles can become saturated with surface-associated ions. Model simulations indicate that ash deposition associated with Eyjafjallajökull likely led to net Fe removal. Our model suggests a threefold greater stimulation of biological activity if ash deposition had occurred later in the growing season when the region was Fe limited. The implications of ash particle scavenging, eruption timing, and particle saturation need to be considered when assessing the impact of ash deposition on the ocean Fe cycle and productivity.

Synthesis of biocompatible and highly photoluminescent nitrogen doped carbon dots from lime: analytical applications and optimization using response surface methodology.

PubMed

Barati, Ali; Shamsipur, Mojtaba; Arkan, Elham; Hosseinzadeh, Leila; Abdollahi, Hamid

2015-02-01

Herein, a facile hydrothermal treatment of lime juice to prepare biocompatible nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) in the presence of ammonium bicarbonate as a nitrogen source has been presented. The resulting N-CQDs exhibited excitation and pH independent emission behavior; with the quantum yield (QY) up to 40%, which was several times greater than the corresponding value for CQDs with no added nitrogen source. The N-CQDs were applied as a fluorescent probe for the sensitive and selective detection of Hg(2+) ions with a detection limit of 14 nM. Moreover, the cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of N-CQDs at different concentration ranges from 0.0 to 0.8 mg/ml were investigated by using PC12 cells as a model system. Response surface methodology was used for optimization and systematic investigation of the main variables that influence the QY, including reaction time, reaction temperature, and ammonium bicarbonate weight. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Relevance of drinking water as a source of human exposure to bisphenol A

PubMed Central

Arnold, Scott M; Clark, Kathryn E; Staples, Charles A; Klecka, Gary M; Dimond, Steve S; Caspers, Norbert; Hentges, Steven G

2013-01-01

A comprehensive search of studies describing bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations in drinking water and source waters (i.e., surface water and groundwater) was conducted to evaluate the relevance of drinking water as a source of human exposure and risk. Data from 65 papers were evaluated from North America (31), Europe (17), and Asia (17). The fraction of drinking water measurements reported as less than the detection limit is high; 95%, 48%, and 41%, for North America, Europe, and Asia, respectively. The maximum quantified (in excess of the detection limit) BPA concentrations from North America, Europe, and Asia are 0.099 μg/l, 0.014 μg/l, and 0.317 μg/l. The highest quantified median and 95th percentile concentrations of BPA in Asian drinking water are 0.026 μg/l and 0.19 μg/l, while high detection limits restricted the determination of representative median and 95th percentile concentrations in North America and Europe. BPA in drinking water represents a minor component of overall human exposure, and compared with the lowest available oral toxicity benchmark of 16 μg/kg-bw/day (includes an uncertainty factor of 300) gives margins of safety >1100. Human biomonitoring data indicate that ingestion of drinking water represents <2.8% of the total intake of BPA. PMID:22805988

Ultrafast Imaging of Surface Plasmons Propagating on a Gold Surface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gong, Yu; Joly, Alan G.; Hu, Dehong

2015-05-13

We record time-resolved nonlinear photoemission electron microscopy (tr-PEEM) images of propagating surface plasmons (PSPs) launched from a lithographically patterned rectangular trench on a flat gold surface. Our tr-PEEM scheme involves a pair of identical, spatially separated, and interferometrically-locked femtosecond laser pulses. Power dependent PEEM images provide experimental evidence for a sequential coherent nonlinear photoemission process, in which one laser source creates a PSP polarization state through a linear interaction, and the second subsequently probes the prepared state via two photon photoemission. The recorded time-resolved movies of a PSP allow us to directly measure various properties of the surface-bound wave packet,more » including its carrier wavelength (785 nm) and group velocity (0.95c). In addition, tr-PEEM in concert with finite-difference time domain simulations together allow us to set a lower limit of 75 μm for the decay length of the PSP on a 100 nm thick gold film.« less

Simulation study and guidelines to generate Laser-induced Surface Acoustic Waves for human skin feature detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Tingting; Fu, Xing; Chen, Kun; Dorantes-Gonzalez, Dante J.; Li, Yanning; Wu, Sen; Hu, Xiaotang

2015-12-01

Despite the seriously increasing number of people contracting skin cancer every year, limited attention has been given to the investigation of human skin tissues. To this regard, Laser-induced Surface Acoustic Wave (LSAW) technology, with its accurate, non-invasive and rapid testing characteristics, has recently shown promising results in biological and biomedical tissues. In order to improve the measurement accuracy and efficiency of detecting important features in highly opaque and soft surfaces such as human skin, this paper identifies the most important parameters of a pulse laser source, as well as provides practical guidelines to recommended proper ranges to generate Surface Acoustic Waves (SAWs) for characterization purposes. Considering that melanoma is a serious type of skin cancer, we conducted a finite element simulation-based research on the generation and propagation of surface waves in human skin containing a melanoma-like feature, determine best pulse laser parameter ranges of variation, simulation mesh size and time step, working bandwidth, and minimal size of detectable melanoma.

Quality characterization and pollution source identification of surface water using multivariate statistical techniques, Nalagarh Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herojeet, Rajkumar; Rishi, Madhuri S.; Lata, Renu; Dolma, Konchok

2017-09-01

Sirsa River flows through the central part of the Nalagarh valley, belongs to the rapid industrial belt of Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh (BBN). The appraisal of surface water quality to ascertain its utility in such ecologically sensitive areas is need of the hour. The present study envisages the application of multivariate analysis, water utility class and conventional graphical representation to reveal the hidden factor responsible for deterioration of water quality and determine the hydrochemical facies and its evolution processes of water types in Nalagarh valley, India. The quality assessment is made by estimating pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness, major ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3 -, Cl-, SO4 2-, NO3 - and PO4 3-), dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and total coliform (TC) to determine its suitability for drinking and domestic purposes. The parameters like pH, TDS, TH, Ca2+, HCO3 -, Cl-, SO4 2-, NO3 - are within the desirable limit as per Bureau of Indian Standards (Indian Standard Drinking Water Specification (Second Edition) IS:10500. Indian Standard Institute, New Delhi, pp 1-18, 2012). Mg2+, Na+ and K+ ions for pre monsoon and EC during pre and post monsoon at few sites and approx 40% samples of BOD and TC for both seasons exceeds the permissible limits indicate organic contamination from human activities. Water quality classification for designated use indicates that maximum surface water samples are not suitable for drinking water source without conventional treatment. The result of piper trillinear and Chadha's diagram classified majority of surface water samples for both seasons fall in the fields of Ca2+-Mg2+-HCO3 - water type indicating temporary hardness. PCA and CA reveal that the surface water chemistry is influenced by natural factors such as weathering of minerals, ion exchange processes and anthropogenic factors. Thus, the present paper illustrates the importance of multivariate techniques for reliable quality characterization of surface water quality to develop effective pollution reduction strategies and maintain a fine balance between the industrialization and ecological integrity.

Overview of environmental and hydrogeologic conditions at Barrow, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

McCarthy, K.A.

1994-01-01

To assist the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in evaluating the potential effects of environmental contamination at their facility in Barrow, Alaska, a general assessment was made of the hydrologic system is the vicinity of the installation. The City of Barrow is located approximately 16 kilometers southwest of Point Barrow, the northernmost point in Alaska, and therefore lies within the region of continuous permafrost. Migration of surface or shallow- subsurface chemical releases in this environ- ment would be largely restricted by near-surface permafrost to surface water and the upper, suprapermafrost zone of the subsurface. In the arctic climate and tundra terrain of the Barrow area, this shallow environment has a limited capacity to attenuate the effects of either physical disturbances or chemical contamination and is therefore highly susceptible to degradation. Esatkuat Lagoon, the present drink- ing water supply for the City of Barrow, is located approximately 2 kilometers from the FAA facility. This lagoon is the only practical source of drinking water available to the City of Barrow because alternative sources of water in the area are (1) frozen throughout most of the year, (2) insufficient in volume, (3) of poor quality, or (4) too costly to develop and distribute.

The Information Available to a Moving Observer on Shape with Unknown, Isotropic BRDFs.

PubMed

Chandraker, Manmohan

2016-07-01

Psychophysical studies show motion cues inform about shape even with unknown reflectance. Recent works in computer vision have considered shape recovery for an object of unknown BRDF using light source or object motions. This paper proposes a theory that addresses the remaining problem of determining shape from the (small or differential) motion of the camera, for unknown isotropic BRDFs. Our theory derives a differential stereo relation that relates camera motion to surface depth, which generalizes traditional Lambertian assumptions. Under orthographic projection, we show differential stereo may not determine shape for general BRDFs, but suffices to yield an invariant for several restricted (still unknown) BRDFs exhibited by common materials. For the perspective case, we show that differential stereo yields the surface depth for unknown isotropic BRDF and unknown directional lighting, while additional constraints are obtained with restrictions on the BRDF or lighting. The limits imposed by our theory are intrinsic to the shape recovery problem and independent of choice of reconstruction method. We also illustrate trends shared by theories on shape from differential motion of light source, object or camera, to relate the hardness of surface reconstruction to the complexity of imaging setup.

Sustainability of agricultural water use worldwide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuninetti, M.; Tamea, S.; Dalin, C.

2017-12-01

Water is a renewable but limited resource. Most human use of freshwater resources is for agriculture, and global water demand for agriculture is increasing because of the growth in food demand, driven by increasing population and changing diets. Hence, measuring the pressure exerted by agriculture on freshwater sources is a key issue. The sustainability of water use depends on the water source renewability rate: the water use is not sustainable (depleting the water storage) where/when it exceeds the renewable freshwater availability. In this study, we explore the sustainability of rain and irrigation water use for the production of nine major crops, globally at a 5'x5' spatial resolution. We split the crop water use into soil moisture (from rainfall) and irrigation, with, for the first time, separating ground- and surface-water sources, which is a key distinction because the renewability of these two water sources can be very different. In order to physically quantify the extent to which crop water use is sustainable, we measure the severity of the source depletion as the number of years required for the hydrological cycle to replenish the water resource used by the annual crop production, namely the Water Debt. This newly developed indicator allows one to compare the depletion level of the three water sources at a certain location for a specific crop. Hence, we mapped, for each crop, the number of years required to replenish the water withdrawn from soil-, surface- and ground-water resources. Each map identifies the hotspots for each water source, highlighting regions and crops that threaten most the water resource. We found that the water debt with soil moisture is heterogeneous in space but always lower than one year indicating a non-surprising sustainability of rain-fed agriculture. Rice and sugarcane make the largest contribution to global soil moisture depletion. Water debt in surface water is particularly high in areas of intense wheat and cotton production; major hotspots are located along the Nile River and near the Aral Lake. The water debt in groundwater is much larger in the High Plain aquifer and Indo-Gangetic plain. On a global average, seed cotton has the highest WD in surface water (i.e., 6.5 years) while rice has the highest WD in groundwater (i.e., 4.2 years).

Map and digital database of sedimentary basins and indications of petroleum in the Central Alaska Province

USGS Publications Warehouse

Troutman, Sandra M.; Stanley, Richard G.

2003-01-01

This database and accompanying text depict historical and modern reported occurrences of petroleum both in wells and at the surface within the boundaries of the Central Alaska Province. These data were compiled from previously published and unpublished sources and were prepared for use in the 2002 U.S. Geological Survey petroleum assessment of Central Alaska, Yukon Flats region. Indications of petroleum are described as oil or gas shows in wells, oil or gas seeps, or outcrops of oil shale or oil-bearing rock and include confirmed and unconfirmed reports. The scale of the source map limits the spatial resolution (scale) of the database to 1:2,500,000 or smaller.

Peak-to-valley ratios for three different HPGe detectors for the assessment of 137Cs deposition on the ground and the impact of the detector field-of-view.

PubMed

Östlund, Karl; Samuelsson, Christer; Mattsson, Sören; Rääf, Christopher L

2017-02-01

The peak-to-valley (PTV) method was investigated experimentally comparing PTV ratios for three HPGe detectors, with complementary Monte Carlo simulations of scatter in air for larger source-detector distances. The measured PTV ratios for 137Cs in air were similar for three different detectors for incident angles between 0 and 90°. The study indicated that the PTV method can differentiate between surface and shallow depth sources if the detector field of view is limited to a radius of less than 3.5m. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reversible control of biofilm formation by Cellulomonas spp. in response to nitrogen availability.

PubMed

Young, Jenna M; Leschine, Susan B; Reguera, Gemma

2012-03-01

The microbial degradation of cellulose contributes greatly to the cycling of carbon in terrestrial environments and feedbacks to the atmosphere, a process that is highly responsive to nitrogen inputs. Yet how key groups of cellulolytic microorganisms adaptively respond to the global conditions of nitrogen limitation and/or anthropogenic or climate nitrogen inputs is poorly understood. The actinobacterial genus Cellulomonas is of special interest because it incorporates the only species known to degrade cellulose aerobically and anaerobically. Furthermore, despite their inability to fix nitrogen, they are active decomposers in nitrogen-limited environments. Here we show that nitrogen limitation induced biofilm formation in Cellulomonas spp., a process that was coupled to carbon sequestration and storage in a curdlan-type biofilm matrix. The response was reversible and the curdlan matrix was solubilized and used as a carbon and energy source for biofilm dispersal once nitrogen sources became available. The biofilms attached strongly to cellulosic surfaces and, despite the growth limitation, produced cellulases and degraded cellulose more efficiently. The results show that biofilm formation is a competitive strategy for carbon and nitrogen acquisition and provide valuable insights linking nitrogen inputs to carbon sequestration and remobilization in terrestrial environments. © 2011 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The use of the virtual source technique in computing scattering from periodic ocean surfaces.

PubMed

Abawi, Ahmad T

2011-08-01

In this paper the virtual source technique is used to compute scattering of a plane wave from a periodic ocean surface. The virtual source technique is a method of imposing boundary conditions using virtual sources, with initially unknown complex amplitudes. These amplitudes are then determined by applying the boundary conditions. The fields due to these virtual sources are given by the environment Green's function. In principle, satisfying boundary conditions on an infinite surface requires an infinite number of sources. In this paper, the periodic nature of the surface is employed to populate a single period of the surface with virtual sources and m surface periods are added to obtain scattering from the entire surface. The use of an accelerated sum formula makes it possible to obtain a convergent sum with relatively small number of terms (∼40). The accuracy of the technique is verified by comparing its results with those obtained using the integral equation technique.

High-resolution sampling and analysis of ambient particulate matter in the Pearl River Delta region of southern China: source apportionment and health risk implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Shengzhen; Davy, Perry K.; Huang, Minjuan; Duan, Jingbo; Wang, Xuemei; Fan, Qi; Chang, Ming; Liu, Yiming; Chen, Weihua; Xie, Shanju; Ancelet, Travis; Trompetter, William J.

2018-02-01

Hazardous air pollutants, such as trace elements in particulate matter (PM), are known or highly suspected to cause detrimental effects on human health. To understand the sources and associated risks of PM to human health, hourly time-integrated major trace elements in size-segregated coarse (PM2.5-10) and fine (PM2.5) particulate matter were collected at the industrial city of Foshan in the Pearl River Delta region, China. Receptor modeling of the data set by positive matrix factorization (PMF) was used to identify six sources contributing to PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations at the site. Dominant sources included industrial coal combustion, secondary inorganic aerosol, motor vehicles and construction dust along with two intermittent sources (biomass combustion and marine aerosol). The biomass combustion source was found to be a significant contributor to peak PM2.5 episodes along with motor vehicles and industrial coal combustion. Conditional probability function (CPF) analysis was applied to estimate the source locations using the PMF-resolved source contribution coupled with the surface wind direction data. Health exposure risk of hazardous trace elements (Pb, As, Si, Cr, Mn and Ni) and source-specific values were estimated. The total hazard quotient (HQ) of PM2.5 was 2.09, higher than the acceptable limit (HQ = 1). The total carcinogenic risk (CR) was 3.37 × 10-3 for PM2.5, which was 3 times higher than the least stringent limit (1.0 × 10-4). Among the selected trace elements, As and Pb posed the highest non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks to human health, respectively. In addition, our results show that the industrial coal combustion source is the dominant non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk contributor, highlighting the need for stringent control of this source. This study provides new insight for policy makers to prioritize sources in air quality management and health risk reduction.

Global dust sources detection using MODIS Deep Blue Collection 6 aerosol products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez García-Pando, C.; Ginoux, P. A.

2015-12-01

Our understanding of the global dust cycle is limited by a dearth of information about dust sources, especially small-scale features which could account for a large fraction of global emissions. Remote sensing sensors are the most useful tool to locate dust sources. These sensors include microwaves, visible channels, and lidar. On the global scale, major dust source regions have been identified using polar orbiting satellite instruments. The MODIS Deep Blue algorithm has been particularly useful to detect small-scale sources such as floodplains, alluvial fans, rivers, and wadis , as well as to identify anthropogenic sources from agriculture. The recent release of Collection 6 MODIS aerosol products allows to extend dust source detection to the entire land surfaces, which is quite useful to identify mid to high latitude dust sources and detect not only dust from agriculture but fugitive dust from transport and industrial activities. This presentation will overview the advantages and drawbacks of using MODIS Deep Blue for dust detection, compare to other instruments (polar orbiting and geostationary). The results of Collection 6 with a new dust screening will be compared against AERONET. Applications to long range transport of anthropogenic dust will be presented.

Interferometry with flexible point source array for measuring complex freeform surface and its design algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jia; Shen, Hua; Zhu, Rihong; Gao, Jinming; Sun, Yue; Wang, Jinsong; Li, Bo

2018-06-01

The precision of the measurements of aspheric and freeform surfaces remains the primary factor restrict their manufacture and application. One effective means of measuring such surfaces involves using reference or probe beams with angle modulation, such as tilted-wave-interferometer (TWI). It is necessary to improve the measurement efficiency by obtaining the optimum point source array for different pieces before TWI measurements. For purpose of forming a point source array based on the gradients of different surfaces under test, we established a mathematical model describing the relationship between the point source array and the test surface. However, the optimal point sources are irregularly distributed. In order to achieve a flexible point source array according to the gradient of test surface, a novel interference setup using fiber array is proposed in which every point source can be independently controlled on and off. Simulations and the actual measurement examples of two different surfaces are given in this paper to verify the mathematical model. Finally, we performed an experiment of testing an off-axis ellipsoidal surface that proved the validity of the proposed interference system.

Summertime photochemistry during CAREBeijing-2007: ROx budgets and O3 formation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Zhen; Wang, Y.; Gu, Dasa

2012-08-28

We analyze summertime photochemistry near the surface in Beijing, China, using a 1-D photochemical model (Regional chEmical and trAnsport Model, REAM-1D) constrained by in situ observations, focusing on the budgets of ROx (OH + HO2 + RO2) radicals and O3 formation. While the modeling analysis focuses on near-surface photochemical budgets, the implications for the budget of O3 in the planetary boundary layer are also discussed. In terms of daytime average, the total ROx primary production rate near the surface in Beijing is 6.6 ppbv per hour (ppbv h{sup 1}, among the highest found in urban atmospheres. The largest primary ROxmore » source in Beijing is photolysis of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs), which produces HO2 and RO2 at 2.5 ppbv h{sup 1}1 and 1.7 ppbv h{sup 1}, respectively. Photolysis of excess HONO from an unknown heterogeneous source is the predominant primary OH source at 2.2 ppbv h{sup 1}, much larger than that of O1D+H2O (0.4 ppbv h{sup 1}). The largest ROx sink is via OH + NO2 reaction (1.6 ppbv h{sup 1}), followed by formation of RO2NO2 (1.0 ppbv h{sup 1}) and RONO2 (0.7 ppbv h{sup 1}). Due to the large aerosol surface area, aerosol uptake of HO2 appears to be another important radical sink, although the estimate of its magnitude is highly variable depending on the uptake coefficient value used. The daytime average O3 production and loss rates near the surface are 32 ppbv h{sup 1} and 6.2 ppbv h{sup 1}, respectively. Assuming NO2 to be the source of excess HONO, the NO2 to HONO transformation leads to considerable O3 loss and reduction of its lifetime. Our observation-constrained modeling analysis suggests that oxidation of VOCs (especially aromatics) and heterogeneous reactions (e.g. HONO formation and aerosol uptake HO2) play potentially critical roles in the primary radical budget and O3 formation in Beijing. One important ramification is that O3 production is neither NOx nor VOC limited, but in a transition regime where reduction of either NOx or VOCs could result in reduction of O3 production. The transition regime implies more flexibility in the O3 control strategies than a binary system of either NOx or VOC limited regime. The co-benefit of concurrent reduction of both NOx and VOCs in reducing column O3 production integrated in the planetary boundary layer is significant. Further research on the spatial extent of the transition regime over the polluted eastern China is critically important for controlling regional O3 pollution.« less

Using Nondestructive Portable X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometers on Stone, Ceramics, Metals, and Other Materials in Museums: Advantages and Limitations.

PubMed

Tykot, Robert H

2016-01-01

Elemental analysis is a fundamental method of analysis on archaeological materials to address their overall composition or identify the source of their geological components, yet having access to instrumentation, its often destructive nature, and the time and cost of analyses have limited the number and/or size of archaeological artifacts tested. The development of portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) instruments over the past decade, however, has allowed nondestructive analyses to be conducted in museums around the world, on virtually any size artifact, producing data for up to several hundred samples per day. Major issues have been raised, however, about the sensitivity, precision, and accuracy of these devices, and the limitation of performing surface analysis on potentially heterogeneous objects. The advantages and limitations of pXRF are discussed here regarding archaeological studies of obsidian, ceramics, metals, bone, and painted materials. © The Author(s) 2015.

Performance limitations of translationally symmetric nonimaging devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bortz, John C.; Shatz, Narkis E.; Winston, Roland

2001-11-01

The component of the optical direction vector along the symmetry axis is conserved for all rays propagated through a translationally symmetric optical device. This quality, referred to herein as the translational skew invariant, is analogous to the conventional skew invariant, which is conserved in rotationally symmetric optical systems. The invariance of both of these quantities is a consequence of Noether's theorem. We show how performance limits for translationally symmetric nonimaging optical devices can be derived from the distributions of the translational skew invariant for the optical source and for the target to which flux is to be transferred. Examples of computed performance limits are provided. In addition, we show that a numerically optimized non-tracking solar concentrator utilizing symmetry-breaking surface microstructure can overcome the performance limits associated with translational symmetry. The optimized design provides a 47.4% increase in efficiency and concentration relative to an ideal translationally symmetric concentrator.

Apparatus for coating a surface with a metal utilizing a plasma source

DOEpatents

Brown, I.G.; MacGill, R.A.; Galvin, J.E.

1991-05-07

An apparatus and method are disclosed for coating or layering a surface with a metal utilizing a metal vapor vacuum arc plasma source. The apparatus includes a trigger mechanism for actuating the metal vacuum vapor arc plasma source in a pulsed mode at a predetermined rate. The surface or substrate to be coated or layered is supported in position with the plasma source in a vacuum chamber. The surface is electrically biased for a selected period of time during the pulsed mode of operation of the plasma source. Both the pulsing of the metal vapor vacuum arc plasma source and the electrical biasing of the surface are synchronized for selected periods of time. 10 figures.

Apparatus for coating a surface with a metal utilizing a plasma source

DOEpatents

Brown, Ian G.; MacGill, Robert A.; Galvin, James E.

1991-01-01

An apparatus and method for coating or layering a surface with a metal utilizing a metal vapor vacuum arc plasma source. The apparatus includes a trigger mechanism for actuating the metal vacuum vapor arc plasma source in a pulsed mode at a predetermined rate. The surface or substrate to be coated or layered is supported in position with the plasma source in a vacuum chamber. The surface is electrically biased for a selected period of time during the pulsed mode of operation of the plasma source. Both the pulsing of the metal vapor vacuum arc plasma source and the electrical biasing of the surface are synchronized for selected periods of time.

Non-Spherical Source-Surface Model of the Corona and Heliosphere for a Quadrupolar Main Field of the Sun

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulz, M.

2008-05-01

Different methods of modeling the coronal and heliospheric magnetic field are conveniently visualized and intercompared by applying them to ideally axisymmetric field models. Thus, for example, a dipolar main B field with its moment parallel to the Sun's rotation axis leads to a flat heliospheric current sheet. More general solar main B fields (still axisymmetric about the solar rotation axis for simplicity) typically lead to cone-shaped current sheets beyond the source surface (and presumably also in MHD models). As in the dipolar case [Schulz et al., Solar Phys., 60, 83-104, 1978], such conical current sheets can be made realistically thin by taking the source surface to be non-spherical in a way that reflects the underlying structure of the Sun's main B field. A source surface that seems to work well in this respect [Schulz, Ann. Geophysicae, 15, 1379-1387, 1997] is a surface of constant F = (1/r)kB, where B is the scalar strength of the Sun's main magnetic field and k (~ 1.4) is a shape parameter. This construction tends to flatten the source surface in regions where B is relatively weak. Thus, for example, the source surface for a dipolar B field is shaped somewhat like a Rugby football, whereas the source surface for an axisymmetric quadrupolar B field is similarly elongated but somewhat flattened (as if stuffed into a pair of co-axial cones) at mid-latitudes. A linear combination of co-axial dipolar and quadrupolar B fields generates a somewhat apple-shaped source surface. If the region surrounded by the source surface is regarded as current-free, then the source surface itself should be (as nearly as possible) an equipotential surface for the corresponding magnetic scalar potential (expanded, for example, in spherical harmonics). More generally, the mean-square tangential component of the coronal magnetic field over the source surface should be minimized with respect to any adjustable parameters of the field model. The solar wind should then flow not quite radially, but rather in a straight line along the outward normal to the source surface, and the heliospheric B field should follow a corresponding generalization of Parker's spiral [Levine et al., Solar Phys., 77, 363-392, 1982]. In this work the above program is implemented for a Sun with an axisymmetric but purely quadrupolar main magnetic field. Two heliospheric current sheets emanate from circular neutral lines at mid-latitudes on the corresponding source surface. However, because the source surface is relatively flattened in regions where these neutral lines appear, the radial component of the heliospheric B field at r ~ 1 AU and beyond is much more nearly latitude-independent in absolute value than one would expect from a model based on a spherical source surface.

Delineating sources of groundwater recharge in an arsenic-affected Holocene aquifer in Cambodia using stable isotope-based mixing models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richards, Laura A.; Magnone, Daniel; Boyce, Adrian J.; Casanueva-Marenco, Maria J.; van Dongen, Bart E.; Ballentine, Christopher J.; Polya, David A.

2018-02-01

Chronic exposure to arsenic (As) through the consumption of contaminated groundwaters is a major threat to public health in South and Southeast Asia. The source of As-affected groundwaters is important to the fundamental understanding of the controls on As mobilization and subsequent transport throughout shallow aquifers. Using the stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen, the source of groundwater and the interactions between various water bodies were investigated in Cambodia's Kandal Province, an area which is heavily affected by As and typical of many circum-Himalayan shallow aquifers. Two-point mixing models based on δD and δ18O allowed the relative extent of evaporation of groundwater sources to be estimated and allowed various water bodies to be broadly distinguished within the aquifer system. Model limitations are discussed, including the spatial and temporal variation in end member compositions. The conservative tracer Cl/Br is used to further discriminate between groundwater bodies. The stable isotopic signatures of groundwaters containing high As and/or high dissolved organic carbon plot both near the local meteoric water line and near more evaporative lines. The varying degrees of evaporation of high As groundwater sources are indicative of differing recharge contributions (and thus indirectly inferred associated organic matter contributions). The presence of high As groundwaters with recharge derived from both local precipitation and relatively evaporated surface water sources, such as ponds or flooded wetlands, are consistent with (but do not provide direct evidence for) models of a potential dual role of surface-derived and sedimentary organic matter in As mobilization.

Miniaturized cathodic arc plasma source

DOEpatents

Anders, Andre; MacGill, Robert A.

2003-04-15

A cathodic arc plasma source has an anode formed of a plurality of spaced baffles which extend beyond the active cathode surface of the cathode. With the open baffle structure of the anode, most macroparticles pass through the gaps between the baffles and reflect off the baffles out of the plasma stream that enters a filter. Thus the anode not only has an electrical function but serves as a prefilter. The cathode has a small diameter, e.g. a rod of about 1/4 inch (6.25 mm) diameter. Thus the plasma source output is well localized, even with cathode spot movement which is limited in area, so that it effectively couples into a miniaturized filter. With a small area cathode, the material eroded from the cathode needs to be replaced to maintain plasma production. Therefore, the source includes a cathode advancement or feed mechanism coupled to cathode rod. The cathode also requires a cooling mechanism. The movable cathode rod is housed in a cooled metal shield or tube which serves as both a current conductor, thus reducing ohmic heat produced in the cathode, and as the heat sink for heat generated at or near the cathode. Cooling of the cathode housing tube is done by contact with coolant at a place remote from the active cathode surface. The source is operated in pulsed mode at relatively high currents, about 1 kA. The high arc current can also be used to operate the magnetic filter. A cathodic arc plasma deposition system using this source can be used for the deposition of ultrathin amorphous hard carbon (a-C) films for the magnetic storage industry.

Influence of a source line position on results of EM observations applied to the diagnostics of underground heating system pipelines in urban area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vetrov, A.

2009-05-01

The condition of underground constructions, communication and supply systems in the cities has to be periodically monitored and controlled in order to prevent their breakage, which can result in serious accident, especially in urban area. The most risk of damage have the underground construction made of steal such as pipelines widely used for water, gas and heat supply. To ensure the pipeline survivability it is necessary to carry out the operative and inexpensive control of pipelines condition. Induced electromagnetic methods of geophysics can be applied to provide such diagnostics. The highly developed surface in urbane area is one of cause hampering the realization of electromagnetic methods of diagnostics. The main problem is in finding of an appropriate place for the source line and electrodes on a limited surface area and their optimal position relative to the observation path to minimize their influence on observed data. Author made a number of experiments of an underground heating system pipeline diagnostics using different position of the source line and electrodes. The experiments were made on a 200 meters section over 2 meters deep pipeline. The admissible length of the source line and angle between the source line and the observation path were determined. The minimal length of the source line for the experiment conditions and accuracy made 30 meters, the maximum admissible angle departure from the perpendicular position made 30 degrees. The work was undertaken in cooperation with diagnostics company DIsSO, Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

Spatial-temporal variability in groundwater abstraction across Uganda: Implications to sustainable water resources management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nanteza, J.; Thomas, B. F.; Mukwaya, P. I.

2017-12-01

The general lack of knowledge about the current rates of water abstraction/use is a challenge to sustainable water resources management in many countries, including Uganda. Estimates of water abstraction/use rates over Uganda, currently available from the FAO are not disaggregated according to source, making it difficult to understand how much is taken out of individual water stores, limiting effective management. Modelling efforts have disaggregated water use rates according to source (i.e. groundwater and surface water). However, over Sub-Saharan Africa countries, these model use estimates are highly uncertain given the scale limitations in applying water use (i.e. point versus regional), thus influencing model calibration/validation. In this study, we utilize data from the water supply atlas project over Uganda to estimate current rates of groundwater abstraction across the country based on location, well type and other relevant information. GIS techniques are employed to demarcate areas served by each water source. These areas are combined with past population distributions and average daily water needed per person to estimate water abstraction/use through time. The results indicate an increase in groundwater use, and isolate regions prone to groundwater depletion where improved management is required to sustainably management groundwater use.

EUV laser produced and induced plasmas for nanolithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sizyuk, Tatyana; Hassanein, Ahmed

2017-10-01

EUV produced plasma sources are being extensively studied for the development of new technology for computer chips production. Challenging tasks include optimization of EUV source efficiency, producing powerful source in 2 percentage bandwidth around 13.5 nm for high volume manufacture (HVM), and increasing the lifetime of collecting optics. Mass-limited targets, such as small droplet, allow to reduce contamination of chamber environment and mirror surface damage. However, reducing droplet size limits EUV power output. Our analysis showed the requirement for the target parameters and chamber conditions to achieve 500 W EUV output for HVM. The HEIGHTS package was used for the simulations of laser produced plasma evolution starting from laser interaction with solid target, development and expansion of vapor/plasma plume with accurate optical data calculation, especially in narrow EUV region. Detailed 3D modeling of mix environment including evolution and interplay of plasma produced by lasers from Sn target and plasma produced by in-band and out-of-band EUV radiation in ambient gas, used for the collecting optics protection and cleaning, allowed predicting conditions in entire LPP system. Effect of these conditions on EUV photon absorption and collection was analyzed. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation, PIRE project.

Quantitative analysis of trace levels of surface contamination by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy Part I: statistical uncertainty near the detection limit.

PubMed

Hill, Shannon B; Faradzhev, Nadir S; Powell, Cedric J

2017-12-01

We discuss the problem of quantifying common sources of statistical uncertainties for analyses of trace levels of surface contamination using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We examine the propagation of error for peak-area measurements using common forms of linear and polynomial background subtraction including the correlation of points used to determine both background and peak areas. This correlation has been neglected in previous analyses, but we show that it contributes significantly to the peak-area uncertainty near the detection limit. We introduce the concept of relative background subtraction variance (RBSV) which quantifies the uncertainty introduced by the method of background determination relative to the uncertainty of the background area itself. The uncertainties of the peak area and atomic concentration and of the detection limit are expressed using the RBSV, which separates the contributions from the acquisition parameters, the background-determination method, and the properties of the measured spectrum. These results are then combined to find acquisition strategies that minimize the total measurement time needed to achieve a desired detection limit or atomic-percentage uncertainty for a particular trace element. Minimization of data-acquisition time is important for samples that are sensitive to x-ray dose and also for laboratories that need to optimize throughput.

Spacecraft Internal Acoustic Environment Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chu, SShao-sheng R.; Allen, Christopher S.

2009-01-01

Acoustic modeling can be used to identify key noise sources, determine/analyze sub-allocated requirements, keep track of the accumulation of minor noise sources, and to predict vehicle noise levels at various stages in vehicle development, first with estimates of noise sources, later with experimental data. In FY09, the physical mockup developed in FY08, with interior geometric shape similar to Orion CM (Crew Module) IML (Interior Mode Line), was used to validate SEA (Statistical Energy Analysis) acoustic model development with realistic ventilation fan sources. The sound power levels of these sources were unknown a priori, as opposed to previous studies that RSS (Reference Sound Source) with known sound power level was used. The modeling results were evaluated based on comparisons to measurements of sound pressure levels over a wide frequency range, including the frequency range where SEA gives good results. Sound intensity measurement was performed over a rectangular-shaped grid system enclosing the ventilation fan source. Sound intensities were measured at the top, front, back, right, and left surfaces of the and system. Sound intensity at the bottom surface was not measured, but sound blocking material was placed tinder the bottom surface to reflect most of the incident sound energy back to the remaining measured surfaces. Integrating measured sound intensities over measured surfaces renders estimated sound power of the source. The reverberation time T6o of the mockup interior had been modified to match reverberation levels of ISS US Lab interior for speech frequency bands, i.e., 0.5k, 1k, 2k, 4 kHz, by attaching appropriately sized Thinsulate sound absorption material to the interior wall of the mockup. Sound absorption of Thinsulate was modeled in three methods: Sabine equation with measured mockup interior reverberation time T60, layup model based on past impedance tube testing, and layup model plus air absorption correction. The evaluation/validation was carried out by acquiring octave band microphone data simultaneously at ten fixed locations throughout the mockup. SPLs (Sound Pressure Levels) predicted by our SEA model match well with measurements for our CM mockup, with a more complicated shape. Additionally in FY09, background NC noise (Noise Criterion) simulation and MRT (Modified Rhyme Test) were developed and performed in the mockup to determine the maximum noise level in CM habitable volume for fair crew voice communications. Numerous demonstrations of simulated noise environment in the mockup and associated SIL (Speech Interference Level) via MRT were performed for various communities, including members from NASA and Orion prime-/sub-contractors. Also, a new HSIR (Human-Systems Integration Requirement) for limiting pre- and post-landing SIL was proposed.

Investigation of fluorine content in PM2.5 airborne particles of Istanbul, Turkey.

PubMed

Ozbek, Nil; Baltaci, Hakki; Baysal, Asli

2016-07-01

Fluorine determination in airborne samples is important due to its spread into the air from both natural and artificial sources. It can travel by wind over large distances before depositing on the Earth's surface. Its concentration in various matrices are limited and controlled by the regulations for causing health risks associated with environmental exposures. In this work, fluorine was determined in PM2.5 airborne samples by high-resolution continuum source electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. For these purpose, the PM2.5 airborne particulates were collected on quartz filters using high-volume samplers (500 L/min) in Istanbul (Turkey) for 96 h during January to June in 2 years. Then, instrumental and experimental parameters were optimized for the analyte in airborne samples. The validity of the method for the analyte was tested using standard reference material, and certified values were found in the limits of 95 % confidence level. The fluorine concentrations and meteorological conditions were compared statistically.

Safety of packaged water distribution limited by household recontamination in rural Cambodia.

PubMed

Holman, Emily J; Brown, Joe

2014-06-01

Packaged water treatment schemes represent a growing model for providing safer water in low-income settings, yet post-distribution recontamination of treated water may limit this approach. This study evaluates drinking water quality and household water handling practices in a floating village in Tonlé Sap Lake, Cambodia, through a pilot cross-sectional study of 108 households, approximately half of which used packaged water as the main household drinking water source. We hypothesized that households purchasing drinking water from local packaged water treatment plants would have microbiologically improved drinking water at the point of consumption. We found no meaningful difference in microbiological drinking water quality between households using packaged, treated water and those collecting water from other sources, including untreated surface water, however. Households' water storage and handling practices and home hygiene may have contributed to recontamination of drinking water. Further measures to protect water quality at the point-of-use may be required even if water is treated and packaged in narrow-mouthed containers.

Widespread methanotrophic primary production in lowland chalk rivers.

PubMed

Shelley, Felicity; Grey, Jonathan; Trimmer, Mark

2014-05-22

Methane is oversaturated relative to the atmosphere in many rivers, yet its cycling and fate is poorly understood. While photosynthesis is the dominant source of autotrophic carbon to rivers, chemosynthesis and particularly methane oxidation could provide alternative sources of primary production where the riverbed is heavily shaded or at depth beneath the sediment surface. Here, we highlight geographically widespread methanotrophic carbon fixation within the gravel riverbeds of over 30 chalk rivers. In 15 of these, the potential for methane oxidation (methanotrophy) was also compared with photosynthesis. In addition, we performed detailed concurrent measurements of photosynthesis and methanotrophy in one large chalk river over a complete annual cycle, where we found methanotrophy to be active to at least 15 cm into the riverbed and to be strongly substrate limited. The seasonal trend in methanotrophic activity reflected that of the riverine methane concentrations, and thus the highest rates were measured in mid-summer. At the sediment surface, photosynthesis was limited by light for most of the year with heavy shading induced by dense beds of aquatic macrophytes. Across 15 rivers, in late summer, we conservatively calculated that net methanotrophy was equivalent to between 1% and 46% of benthic net photosynthetic production within the gravel riverbed, with a median value of 4%. Hence, riverbed chemosynthesis, coupled to the oxidation of methane, is widespread and significant in English chalk rivers.

Widespread methanotrophic primary production in lowland chalk rivers

PubMed Central

Shelley, Felicity; Grey, Jonathan; Trimmer, Mark

2014-01-01

Methane is oversaturated relative to the atmosphere in many rivers, yet its cycling and fate is poorly understood. While photosynthesis is the dominant source of autotrophic carbon to rivers, chemosynthesis and particularly methane oxidation could provide alternative sources of primary production where the riverbed is heavily shaded or at depth beneath the sediment surface. Here, we highlight geographically widespread methanotrophic carbon fixation within the gravel riverbeds of over 30 chalk rivers. In 15 of these, the potential for methane oxidation (methanotrophy) was also compared with photosynthesis. In addition, we performed detailed concurrent measurements of photosynthesis and methanotrophy in one large chalk river over a complete annual cycle, where we found methanotrophy to be active to at least 15 cm into the riverbed and to be strongly substrate limited. The seasonal trend in methanotrophic activity reflected that of the riverine methane concentrations, and thus the highest rates were measured in mid-summer. At the sediment surface, photosynthesis was limited by light for most of the year with heavy shading induced by dense beds of aquatic macrophytes. Across 15 rivers, in late summer, we conservatively calculated that net methanotrophy was equivalent to between 1% and 46% of benthic net photosynthetic production within the gravel riverbed, with a median value of 4%. Hence, riverbed chemosynthesis, coupled to the oxidation of methane, is widespread and significant in English chalk rivers. PMID:24695425

Charge management for gravitational-wave observatories using UV LEDs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pollack, S. E.; Turner, M. D.; Schlamminger, S.; Hagedorn, C. A.; Gundlach, J. H.

2010-01-01

Accumulation of electrical charge on the end mirrors of gravitational-wave observatories can become a source of noise limiting the sensitivity of such detectors through electronic couplings to nearby surfaces. Torsion balances provide an ideal means for testing gravitational-wave technologies due to their high sensitivity to small forces. Our torsion pendulum apparatus consists of a movable plate brought near a plate pendulum suspended from a nonconducting quartz fiber. A UV LED located near the pendulum photoejects electrons from the surface, and a UV LED driven electron gun directs photoelectrons towards the pendulum surface. We have demonstrated both charging and discharging of the pendulum with equivalent charging rates of ˜105e/s, as well as spectral measurements of the pendulum charge resulting in a white noise level equivalent to 3×105e/Hz.

The Herschel-ATLAS: magnifications and physical sizes of 500-μm-selected strongly lensed galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Enia, A.; Negrello, M.; Gurwell, M.; Dye, S.; Rodighiero, G.; Massardi, M.; De Zotti, G.; Franceschini, A.; Cooray, A.; van der Werf, P.; Birkinshaw, M.; Michałowski, M. J.; Oteo, I.

2018-04-01

We perform lens modelling and source reconstruction of Sub-millimetre Array (SMA) data for a sample of 12 strongly lensed galaxies selected at 500μm in the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS). A previous analysis of the same data set used a single Sérsic profile to model the light distribution of each background galaxy. Here we model the source brightness distribution with an adaptive pixel scale scheme, extended to work in the Fourier visibility space of interferometry. We also present new SMA observations for seven other candidate lensed galaxies from the H-ATLAS sample. Our derived lens model parameters are in general consistent with previous findings. However, our estimated magnification factors, ranging from 3 to 10, are lower. The discrepancies are observed in particular where the reconstructed source hints at the presence of multiple knots of emission. We define an effective radius of the reconstructed sources based on the area in the source plane where emission is detected above 5σ. We also fit the reconstructed source surface brightness with an elliptical Gaussian model. We derive a median value reff ˜ 1.77 kpc and a median Gaussian full width at half-maximum ˜1.47 kpc. After correction for magnification, our sources have intrinsic star formation rates (SFR) ˜ 900-3500 M⊙ yr-1, resulting in a median SFR surface density ΣSFR ˜ 132 M⊙ yr-1 kpc-2 (or ˜218 M⊙ yr-1 kpc-2 for the Gaussian fit). This is consistent with that observed for other star-forming galaxies at similar redshifts, and is significantly below the Eddington limit for a radiation pressure regulated starburst.

Optical nulling apparatus and method for testing an optical surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olczak, Eugene (Inventor); Hannon, John J. (Inventor); Dey, Thomas W. (Inventor); Jensen, Arthur E. (Inventor)

2008-01-01

An optical nulling apparatus for testing an optical surface includes an aspheric mirror having a reflecting surface for imaging light near or onto the optical surface under test, where the aspheric mirror is configured to reduce spherical aberration of the optical surface under test. The apparatus includes a light source for emitting light toward the aspheric mirror, the light source longitudinally aligned with the aspheric mirror and the optical surface under test. The aspheric mirror is disposed between the light source and the optical surface under test, and the emitted light is reflected off the reflecting surface of the aspheric mirror and imaged near or onto the optical surface under test. An optical measuring device is disposed between the light source and the aspheric mirror, where light reflected from the optical surface under test enters the optical measuring device. An imaging mirror is disposed longitudinally between the light source and the aspheric mirror, and the imaging mirror is configured to again reflect light, which is first reflected from the reflecting surface of the aspheric mirror, onto the optical surface under test.

Numerical simulation of hydrothermal circulation in the Cascade Range, north-central Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ingebritsen, S.E.; Paulson, K.M.

1990-01-01

Alternate conceptual models to explain near-surface heat-flow observations in the central Oregon Cascade Range involve (1) an extensive mid-crustal magmatic heat source underlying both the Quaternary arc and adjacent older rocks or (2) a narrower deep heat source which is flanked by a relatively shallow conductive heat-flow anomaly caused by regional ground-water flow (the lateral-flow model). Relative to the mid-crustal heat source model, the lateral-flow model suggests a more limited geothermal resource base, but a better-defined exploration target. We simulated ground-water flow and heat transport through two cross sections trending west from the Cascade range crest in order to explore the implications of the two models. The thermal input for the alternate conceptual models was simulated by varying the width and intensity of a basal heat-flow anomaly and, in some cases, by introducing shallower heat sources beneath the Quaternary arc. Near-surface observations in the Breitenbush Hot Springs area are most readily explained in terms of lateral heat transport by regional ground-water flow; however, the deep thermal structure still cannot be uniquely inferred. The sparser thermal data set from the McKenzie River area can be explained either in terms of deep regional ground-water flow or in terms of a conduction-dominated system, with ground-water flow essentially confined to Quaternary rocks and fault zones.

Benchmarking of MCNP for calculating dose rates at an interim storage facility for nuclear waste.

PubMed

Heuel-Fabianek, Burkhard; Hille, Ralf

2005-01-01

During the operation of research facilities at Research Centre Jülich, Germany, nuclear waste is stored in drums and other vessels in an interim storage building on-site, which has a concrete shielding at the side walls. Owing to the lack of a well-defined source, measured gamma spectra were unfolded to determine the photon flux on the surface of the containers. The dose rate simulation, including the effects of skyshine, using the Monte Carlo transport code MCNP is compared with the measured dosimetric data at some locations in the vicinity of the interim storage building. The MCNP data for direct radiation confirm the data calculated using a point-kernel method. However, a comparison of the modelled dose rates for direct radiation and skyshine with the measured data demonstrate the need for a more precise definition of the source. Both the measured and the modelled dose rates verified the fact that the legal limits (<1 mSv a(-1)) are met in the area outside the perimeter fence of the storage building to which members of the public have access. Using container surface data (gamma spectra) to define the source may be a useful tool for practical calculations and additionally for benchmarking of computer codes if the discussed critical aspects with respect to the source can be addressed adequately.

Light trapping for emission from a photovoltaic cell under normally incident monochromatic illumination

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Takeda, Yasuhiko, E-mail: takeda@mosk.tytlabs.co.jp; Iizuka, Hideo; Mizuno, Shintaro

2014-09-28

We have theoretically demonstrated a new light-trapping mechanism to reduce emission from a photovoltaic (PV) cell used for a monochromatic light source, which improves limiting conversion efficiency determined by the detailed balance. A multilayered bandpass filter formed on the surface of a PV cell has been found to prevent the light generated inside by radiative recombination from escaping the cell, resulting in a remarkable decrease of the effective solid angle for the emission. We have clarified a guide to design a suitable configuration of the bandpass filter and achieved significant reduction of the emission. The resultant gain in monochromatic conversionmore » efficiency in the radiative limit due to the optimally designed 18-layerd bandpass filters is as high as 6% under normally incident 1064 nm illumination of 10 mW/cm²~ 1 kW/cm², compared with the efficiency for the perfect anti-reflection treatment to the surface of a conventional solar cell.« less

The dynamic surface tension of atmospheric aerosol surfactants reveals new aspects of cloud activation.

PubMed

Nozière, Barbara; Baduel, Christine; Jaffrezo, Jean-Luc

2014-02-25

The activation of aerosol particles into cloud droplets in the Earth's atmosphere is both a key process for the climate budget and a main source of uncertainty. Its investigation is facing major experimental challenges, as no technique can measure the main driving parameters, the Raoult's term and surface tension, σ, for sub-micron atmospheric particles. In addition, the surfactant fraction of atmospheric aerosols could not be isolated until recently. Here we present the first dynamic investigation of the total surfactant fraction of atmospheric aerosols, evidencing adsorption barriers that limit their gradient (partitioning) in particles and should enhance their cloud-forming efficiency compared with current models. The results also show that the equilibration time of surfactants in sub-micron atmospheric particles should be beyond the detection of most on-line instruments. Such instrumental and theoretical shortcomings would be consistent with atmospheric and laboratory observations and could have limited the understanding of cloud activation until now.

In vivo cross-sectional imaging of the phonating larynx using long-range Doppler optical coherence tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coughlan, Carolyn A.; Chou, Li-Dek; Jing, Joseph C.; Chen, Jason J.; Rangarajan, Swathi; Chang, Theodore H.; Sharma, Giriraj K.; Cho, Kyoungrai; Lee, Donghoon; Goddard, Julie A.; Chen, Zhongping; Wong, Brian J. F.

2016-03-01

Diagnosis and treatment of vocal fold lesions has been a long-evolving science for the otolaryngologist. Contemporary practice requires biopsy of a glottal lesion in the operating room under general anesthesia for diagnosis. Current in-office technology is limited to visualizing the surface of the vocal folds with fiber-optic or rigid endoscopy and using stroboscopic or high-speed video to infer information about submucosal processes. Previous efforts using optical coherence tomography (OCT) have been limited by small working distances and imaging ranges. Here we report the first full field, high-speed, and long-range OCT images of awake patients’ vocal folds as well as cross-sectional video and Doppler analysis of their vocal fold motions during phonation. These vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser source (VCSEL) OCT images offer depth resolved, high-resolution, high-speed, and panoramic images of both the true and false vocal folds. This technology has the potential to revolutionize in-office imaging of the larynx.

A multicharge ion source (Supernanogan) for the OLIS facility at ISAC/TRIUMF.

PubMed

Jayamanna, K; Wight, G; Gallop, D; Dube, R; Jovicic, V; Laforge, C; Marchetto, M; Leross, M; Louie, D; Laplante, R; Laxdal, R; McDonald, M; Wiebe, G J; Wang, V; Yan, F

2010-02-01

The Off-Line Ion Source (OLIS) [K. Jayamanna, D. Yuan, T. Kuo, M. MacDonald, P. Schmor, and G. Dutto, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 67, 1061 (1996); K. Jayamanna, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 79, 02711 (2008)] facility consists of a high voltage terminal containing a microwave cusp ion source, either a surface ion source or a hybrid surface-arc discharge ion source [K. Jayamanna and C. Vockenhuber, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 79, 02C712 (2008)], and an electrostatic switch that allows the selection of any one of the sources without mechanical intervention. These sources provide a variety of +1 beams up to mass 30 for Isotope Separator and ACcelerator (ISAC) [R. E. Laxdal, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 204, 400 (2003)] experiments, commissioning the accelerators, setting up the radioactive experiments, and for tuning the beam lines. The radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) [M. Marchetto, Z. T. Ang, K. Jayamanna, R. E. Laxdal, A. Mitra, and V. Zvyagintsev, Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 150, 241 (2005)] injector accelerator is a constant velocity machine designed to accept only 2 keV/u and the source extraction energy is limited to 60 kV. Further stripping is then needed downstream of the RFQ to inject the beam into the drift tube linac [M. Marchetto, Z. T. Ang, K. Jayamanna, R. E. Laxdal, A. Mitra, and V. Zvyagintsev, Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 150, 241 (2005)] accelerator that requires A/q up to 6. Base on this constraints a multicharge ion source capable to deliver beams above mass 30 with A/q up to 6 was needed in order to reach full capability of the ISAC facility. A Supernanogan [C. Bieth et al., Nucleonika 48, S93 (2003)] multicharge ion source was then purchased from Pantechnik and was installed in the OLIS terminal. Commissioning and performance of the Supernanogan with some results such as emittance dependence of the charge states as well as charge state efficiencies are presented.

Bent-tailed radio sources in the australia telescope large area survey of the Chandra deep field south

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dehghan, S.; Johnston-Hollitt, M.; Franzen, T. M. O.

2014-11-01

Using the 1.4 GHz Australia Telescope Large Area Survey, supplemented by the 1.4 GHz Very Large Array images, we undertook a search for bent-tailed (BT) radio galaxies in the Chandra Deep Field South. Here we present a catalog of 56 detections, which include 45 BT sources, 4 diffuse low-surface-brightness objects (1 relic, 2 halos, and 1 unclassified object), and a further 7 complex, multi-component sources. We report BT sources with rest-frame powers in the range 10{sup 22} ≤ P {sub 1.4} {sub GHz} ≤ 10{sup 26} W Hz{sup –1}, with redshifts up to 2 and linear extents from tens ofmore » kiloparsecs up to about 1 Mpc. This is the first systematic study of such sources down to such low powers and high redshifts and demonstrates the complementary nature of searches in deep, limited area surveys as compared to shallower, large surveys. Of the sources presented here, one is the most distant BT source yet detected at a redshift of 2.1688. Two of the sources are found to be associated with known clusters: a wide-angle tail source in A3141 and a putative radio relic which appears at the infall region between the galaxy group MZ 00108 and the galaxy cluster AMPCC 40. Further observations are required to confirm the relic detection, which, if successful, would demonstrate this to be the least powerful relic yet seen with P {sub 1.4} {sub GHz} = 9 × 10{sup 22} W Hz{sup –1}. Using these data, we predict future 1.4 GHz all-sky surveys with a resolution of ∼10 arcsec and a sensitivity of 10 μJy will detect of the order of 560,000 extended low-surface-brightness radio sources of which 440,000 will have a BT morphology.« less

Investigatigating inter-/intra-annual variability of surface hydrology at northern high latitude from spaceborne measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, K.; Duguay, C. R.

2014-12-01

Lakes encompass a large part of the surface cover in the northern boreal and tundra areas of northern Canada and are therefore a significant component of the terrestrial hydrological system. To understand the hydrologic cycle over subarctic and arctic landscapes, estimating surface parameters such as surface net radiation, soil moisture, and surface albedo is important. Although ground-based field measurements provide a good temporal resolution, these data provide a limited spatial representation and are often restricted to the summer period (from June to August), and few surface-based stations are located in high-latitude regions. In this respect, spaceborne remote sensing provides the means to monitor surface hydrology and to estimate components of the surface energy balance with reasonable spatial and temporal resolutions required for hydrological investigations, as well as for providing more spatially representative lake-relevant information than available from in situ measurements. The primary objective of this study is to quantify the sources of temporal and spatial variability in surface albedo over subarctic wetland from satellite derived albedo measurements in the Hudson Bay Lowlands near Churchill, Manitoba. The spatial variability in albedo within each land-cover type is investigated through optical satellite imagery from Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper, Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, and Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager obtained in different seasons from spring into fall (April and October) over a 30-year period (1984-2013). These data allowed for an examination of the spatial variability of surface albedo under relatively dry and wet summer conditions (i.e. 1984, 1998 versus 1991, 2005). A detailed analysis of Landsat-derived surface albedo (ranging from 0.09 to 0.15) conducted in the Churchill region for August is inversely related to surface water fraction calculated from Landsat images. Preliminary analysis of surface albedo observed between July and August are 0.10 to 0.15, and vary due to differences in meteorological parameters such as rainfall, surface moisture and surface air temperature. Overall, spaceborne optical data are an invaluable source for investigating changes and variability in surface albedo in relation to surface hydrology over subarctic regions.

All-optical photoacoustic microscopy (AOPAM) system for remote characterization of biological tissues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sampathkumar, Ashwin; Chitnis, Parag V.; Silverman, Ronald H.

2014-03-01

Conventional photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) employs light pulses to produce a photoacoustic (PA) effect and detects the resulting acoustic waves using an ultrasound transducer acoustically coupled to the target. The resolution of conventional PAM is limited by the sensitivity and bandwidth of the ultrasound transducer. We investigated a versatile, all-optical PAM (AOPAM) system for characterizing in vivo as well as ex vivo biological specimens. The system employs non-contact interferometric detection of PA signals that overcomes limitations of conventional PAM. A 532-nm pump laser with a pulse duration of 5 ns excites the PA effect in tissue. Resulting acoustic waves produce surface displacements that are sensed using a 532-nm continuous-wave (CW) probe laser in a Michelson interferometer with a 1- GHz bandwidth. The pump and probe beams are coaxially focused using a 50X objective giving a diffraction-limited spot size of 0.48 μm. The phase-encoded probe beam is demodulated using homodyne methods. The detected timedomain signal is time reversed using k-space wave-propagation methods to produce a spatial distribution of PA sources in the target tissue. A minimum surface-displacement sensitivity of 0.19 pm was measured. PA-induced surface displacements are very small; therefore, they impose stringent detection requirements and determine the feasibility of implementing an all-optical PAM in biomedical applications. 3D PA images of ex vivo porcine retina specimens were generated successfully. We believe the AOPAM system potentially is well suited for assessing retinal diseases and other near-surface biomedical applications such as sectionless histology and evaluation of skin burns and pressure or friction ulcers.

Materials Outgassing Rate Decay in Vacuum at Isothermal Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, Alvin Y.; Kastanas, George N.; Kramer, Leonard; Soares, Carlos E.; Mikatarian, Ronald R.

2016-01-01

As a laboratory for scientific research, the International Space Station has been in Low Earth Orbit for nearly 20 years and is expected to be on-orbit for another 10 years. The ISS has been maintaining a relatively pristine contamination environment for science payloads. Materials outgassing induced contamination is currently the dominant source for sensitive surfaces on ISS and modeling the outgassing rate decay over a 20 to 30 year period is challenging. Materials outgassing is described herein as a diffusion-reaction process using ASTM E 1559 rate data. The observation of -1/2 (diffusion) or non-integers (reaction limited) as rate decay exponents for common ISS materials indicate classical reaction kinetics is unsatisfactory in modeling materials outgassing. Non-randomness of reactant concentrations at the interface is the source of this deviation from classical reaction kinetics. A diffusion limited decay was adopted as the result of the correlation of the contaminant layer thicknesses on returned ISS hardware, the existence of high outgassing silicone exhibiting near diffusion limited decay, and the confirmation of non-depleted material after ten years in the Low Earth Orbit.Keywords: Materials Outgassing, ASTM E 1559, Reaction Kinetics, Diffusion, Space Environments Effects, Contamination

Diversity and Activity of Diazotrophs in Great Barrier Reef Surface Waters.

PubMed

Messer, Lauren F; Brown, Mark V; Furnas, Miles J; Carney, Richard L; McKinnon, A D; Seymour, Justin R

2017-01-01

Discrepancies between bioavailable nitrogen (N) concentrations and phytoplankton growth rates in the oligotrophic waters of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) suggest that undetermined N sources must play a significant role in supporting primary productivity. One such source could be biological dinitrogen (N 2 ) fixation through the activity of "diazotrophic" bacterioplankton. Here, we investigated N 2 fixation and diazotroph community composition over 10° S of latitude within GBR surface waters. Qualitative N 2 fixation rates were found to be variable across the GBR but were relatively high in coastal, inner and outer GBR waters, reaching 68 nmol L -1 d -1 . Diazotroph assemblages, identified by amplicon sequencing of the nifH gene, were dominated by the cyanobacterium Trichodesmium erythraeum , γ-proteobacteria from the Gamma A clade, and δ-proteobacterial phylotypes related to sulfate-reducing genera. However, diazotroph communities exhibited significant spatial heterogeneity, correlated with shifts in dissolved inorganic nutrient concentrations. Specifically, heterotrophic diazotrophs generally increased in relative abundance with increasing concentrations of phosphate and N, while Trichodesmium was proportionally more abundant when concentrations of these nutrients were low. This study provides the first in-depth characterization of diazotroph community composition and N 2 fixation dynamics within the oligotrophic, N-limited surface waters of the GBR. Our observations highlight the need to re-evaluate N cycling dynamics within oligotrophic coral reef systems, to include diverse N 2 fixing assemblages as a potentially significant source of dissolved N within the water column.

Extending the Measurement Range of AN Optical Surface Profiler.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cochran, Eugene Rowland, III

This dissertation investigates a method for extending the measurement range of an optical surface profiling instrument. The instrument examined in these experiments is a computer -controlled phase-modulated interference microscope. Because of its ability to measure surfaces with a high degree of vertical resolution as well as excellent lateral resolution, this instrument is one of the most favorable candidates for determining the microtopography of optical surfaces. However, the data acquired by the instrument are restricted to a finite lateral and vertical range. To overcome this restriction, the feasibility of a new testing technique is explored. By overlapping a series of collinear profiles the limited field of view of this instrument can be increased and profiles that contain longer surface wavelengths can be examined. This dissertation also presents a method to augment both the vertical and horizontal dynamic range of the surface profiler by combining multiple subapertures and two-wavelength techniques. The theory, algorithms, error sources, and limitations encountered when concatenating a number of profiles are presented. In particular, the effects of accumulated piston and tilt errors on a measurement are explored. Some practical considerations for implementation and integration into an existing system are presented. Experimental findings and results of Monte Carlo simulations are also studied to explain the effects of random noise, lateral position errors, and defocus across the CCD array on measurement results. These results indicate the extent to which the field of view of the profiler may be augmented. A review of current methods of measuring surface topography is included, to provide for a more coherent text, along with a summary of pertinent measurement parameters for surface characterization. This work concludes with recommendations for future work that would make subaperture -testing techniques more reliable for measuring the microsurface structure of a material over an extended region.

Challenges for Synchrotron X-Ray Optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freund, Andreas K.

2002-12-01

It is the task of x-ray optics to adapt the raw beam generated by modern sources such as synchrotron storage rings to a great variety of experimental requirements in terms of intensity, spot size, polarization and other parameters. The very high quality of synchrotron radiation (source size of a few microns and beam divergence of a few micro-radians) and the extreme x-ray flux (power of several hundred Watts in a few square mm) make this task quite difficult. In particular the heat load aspect is very important in the conditioning process of the brute x-ray power to make it suitable for being used on the experimental stations. Cryogenically cooled silicon crystals and water-cooled diamond crystals can presently fulfill this task, but limits will soon be reached and new schemes and materials must be envisioned. A major tendency of instrument improvement has always been to concentrate more photons into a smaller spot utilizing a whole variety of focusing devices such as Fresnel zone plates, refractive lenses and systems based on bent surfaces, for example, Kirkpatrick-Baez systems. Apart from the resistance of the sample, the ultimate limits are determined by the source size and strength on one side, by materials properties, cooling, mounting and bending schemes on the other side, and fundamentally by the diffraction process. There is also the important aspect of coherence that can be both a nuisance and a blessing for the experiments, in particular for imaging techniques. Its conservation puts additional constraints on the quality of the optical elements. The overview of the present challenges includes the properties of present and also mentions aspects of future x-ray sources such as the "ultimate" storage ring and free electron lasers. These challenges range from the thermal performances of monochromators to the surface quality of mirrors, from coherence preservation of modern multilayers to short pulse preservation by crystals, and from micro- and nano-focusing techniques to the accuracy and stability of mechanical supports.

Limitations and applications of ICA for surface electromyogram.

PubMed

Djuwari, D; Kumar, D K; Naik, G R; Arjunan, S P; Palaniswami, M

2006-09-01

Surface electromyogram (SEMG) has numerous applications, but the presence of artefacts and noise, especially at low level of muscle activity make the recordings unreliable. Spectral and temporal overlap can make the removal of artefacts and noise, or separation of relevant signals from other bioelectric signals extremely difficult. Individual muscles may be considered as independent at the local level and this makes an argument for separating the signals using independent component analysis (ICA). In the recent past, due to the easy availability of ICA tools, numbers of researchers have attempted to use ICA for this application. This paper reports research conducted to evaluate the use of ICA for the separation of muscle activity and removal of the artefacts from SEMG. It discusses some of the conditions that could affect the reliability of the separation and evaluates issues related to the properties of the signals and number of sources. The paper also identifies the lack of suitable measure of quality of separation for bioelectric signals and it recommends and tests a more robust measure of separation. The paper also reports tests using Zibulevsky's technique of temporal plotting to identify number of independent sources in SEMG recordings. The theoretical analysis and experimental results demonstrate that ICA is suitable for SEMG signals. The results identify the unsuitability of ICA when the number of sources is greater than the number of recording channels. The results also demonstrate the limitations of such applications due to the inability of the system to identify the correct order and magnitude of the signals. The paper determines the suitability of the use of error measure using simulated mixing matrix and the estimated unmixing matrix as a means identifying the quality of separation of the output. The work demonstrates that even at extremely low level of muscle contraction, and with filtering using wavelets and band pass filters, it is not possible to get the data sparse enough to identify number of independent sources using Zibulevs.ky's technique.

Hybrid Wing Body Aircraft System Noise Assessment with Propulsion Airframe Aeroacoustic Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Russell H.; Burley, Casey L.; Olson, Erik D.

2010-01-01

A system noise assessment of a hybrid wing body configuration was performed using NASA s best available aircraft models, engine model, and system noise assessment method. A propulsion airframe aeroacoustic effects experimental database for key noise sources and interaction effects was used to provide data directly in the noise assessment where prediction methods are inadequate. NASA engine and aircraft system models were created to define the hybrid wing body aircraft concept as a twin engine aircraft with a 7500 nautical mile mission. The engines were modeled as existing technology high bypass ratio turbofans. The baseline hybrid wing body aircraft was assessed at 22 dB cumulative below the FAA Stage 4 certification level. To determine the potential for noise reduction with relatively near term technologies, seven other configurations were assessed beginning with moving the engines two fan nozzle diameters upstream of the trailing edge and then adding technologies for reduction of the highest noise sources. Aft radiated noise was expected to be the most challenging to reduce and, therefore, the experimental database focused on jet nozzle and pylon configurations that could reduce jet noise through a combination of source reduction and shielding effectiveness. The best configuration for reduction of jet noise used state-of-the-art technology chevrons with a pylon above the engine in the crown position. This configuration resulted in jet source noise reduction, favorable azimuthal directivity, and noise source relocation upstream where it is more effectively shielded by the limited airframe surface, and additional fan noise attenuation from acoustic liner on the crown pylon internal surfaces. Vertical and elevon surfaces were also assessed to add shielding area. The elevon deflection above the trailing edge showed some small additional noise reduction whereas vertical surfaces resulted in a slight noise increase. With the effects of the configurations from the database included, the best available noise reduction was 40 dB cumulative. Projected effects from additional technologies were assessed for an advanced noise reduction configuration including landing gear fairings and advanced pylon and chevron nozzles. Incorporating the three additional technology improvements, an aircraft noise is projected of 42.4 dB cumulative below the Stage 4 level.

Assessment of Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. as a microbial source tracking tool for surface water: application in a mixed-use watershed.

PubMed

Prystajecky, Natalie; Huck, Peter M; Schreier, Hans; Isaac-Renton, Judith L

2014-04-01

Knowledge of host specificity, combined with genomic sequencing of Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp., has demonstrated a microbial source tracking (MST) utility for these common waterborne microbes. To explore the source attribution potential of these pathogens, water samples were collected in a mixed rural-urban watershed in the Township of Langley, in southwestern British Columbia (BC), Canada, over a 2-year period. Cryptosporidium was detected in 63% of surface water samples at concentrations ranging from no positive detection (NPD) to 20,600 oocysts per 100 liters. Giardia was detected in 86% of surface water samples at concentrations ranging from NPD to 3,800 cysts per 100 liters of water. Sequencing at the 18S rRNA locus revealed that 50% of Cryptosporidium samples and 98% of Giardia samples contained species/genotypes (Cryptosporidium) or assemblages (Giardia) that are capable of infecting humans, based on current knowledge of host specificity and taxonomy. Cryptosporidium genotyping data were more promising for source tracking potential, due to the greater number of host-adapted (i.e., narrow-host-range) species/genotypes compared to Giardia, since 98% of Giardia isolates were zoonotic and the potential host could not be predicted. This report highlights the benefits of parasite genomic sequencing to complement Method 1623 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and shows that Cryptosporidium subtyping for MST purposes is superior to the use of Giardia subtyping, based on better detection limits for Cryptosporidium-positive samples than for Giardia-positive samples and on greater host specificity among Cryptosporidium species. These additional tools could be used for risk assessment in public health and watershed management decisions.

Assessment of Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. as a Microbial Source Tracking Tool for Surface Water: Application in a Mixed-Use Watershed

PubMed Central

Huck, Peter M.; Schreier, Hans; Isaac-Renton, Judith L.

2014-01-01

Knowledge of host specificity, combined with genomic sequencing of Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp., has demonstrated a microbial source tracking (MST) utility for these common waterborne microbes. To explore the source attribution potential of these pathogens, water samples were collected in a mixed rural-urban watershed in the Township of Langley, in southwestern British Columbia (BC), Canada, over a 2-year period. Cryptosporidium was detected in 63% of surface water samples at concentrations ranging from no positive detection (NPD) to 20,600 oocysts per 100 liters. Giardia was detected in 86% of surface water samples at concentrations ranging from NPD to 3,800 cysts per 100 liters of water. Sequencing at the 18S rRNA locus revealed that 50% of Cryptosporidium samples and 98% of Giardia samples contained species/genotypes (Cryptosporidium) or assemblages (Giardia) that are capable of infecting humans, based on current knowledge of host specificity and taxonomy. Cryptosporidium genotyping data were more promising for source tracking potential, due to the greater number of host-adapted (i.e., narrow-host-range) species/genotypes compared to Giardia, since 98% of Giardia isolates were zoonotic and the potential host could not be predicted. This report highlights the benefits of parasite genomic sequencing to complement Method 1623 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and shows that Cryptosporidium subtyping for MST purposes is superior to the use of Giardia subtyping, based on better detection limits for Cryptosporidium-positive samples than for Giardia-positive samples and on greater host specificity among Cryptosporidium species. These additional tools could be used for risk assessment in public health and watershed management decisions. PMID:24463970

Food and water security issues in Russia II: water security in general population of Russian Arctic, Siberia and Far East, 2000-2011.

PubMed

Dudarev, Alexey A; Dushkina, Eugenia V; Sladkova, Yuliya N; Alloyarov, Pavel R; Chupakhin, Valery S; Dorofeyev, Vitaliy M; Kolesnikova, Tatjana A; Fridman, Kirill B; Evengard, Birgitta; Nilsson, Lena M

2013-01-01

Poor state of water supply systems, shortage of water purification facilities and disinfection systems, low quality of drinking water generally in Russia and particularly in the regions of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and Far East have been defined in the literature. However, no standard protocol of water security assessment has been used in the majority of studies. Uniform water security indicators collected from Russian official statistical sources for the period 2000-2011 were used for comparison for 18 selected regions in the Russian Arctic, Siberia and Far East. The following indicators of water security were analyzed: water consumption, chemical and biological contamination of water reservoirs of Categories I and II of water sources (centralized--underground and surface, and non-centralized) and of drinking water. Water consumption in selected regions fluctuated from 125 to 340 L/person/day. Centralized water sources (both underground and surface sources) are highly contaminated by chemicals (up to 40-80%) and biological agents (up to 55% in some regions), mainly due to surface water sources. Underground water sources show relatively low levels of biological contamination, while chemical contamination is high due to additional water contamination during water treatment and transportation in pipelines. Non-centralized water sources are highly contaminated (both chemically and biologically) in 32-90% of samples analyzed. Very high levels of chemical contamination of drinking water (up to 51%) were detected in many regions, mainly in the north-western part of the Russian Arctic. Biological contamination of drinking water was generally much lower (2.5-12%) everywhere except Evenki AO (27%), and general and thermotolerant coliform bacteria predominated in drinking water samples from all regions (up to 17.5 and 12.5%, correspondingly). The presence of other agents was much lower: Coliphages--0.2-2.7%, Clostridia spores, Giardia cysts, pathogenic bacteria, Rotavirus--up to 0.8%. Of a total of 56 chemical pollutants analyzed in water samples from centralized water supply systems, 32 pollutants were found to be in excess of hygienic limits, with the predominant pollutants being Fe (up to 55%), Cl (up to 57%), Al (up to 43%) and Mn (up to 45%). In 18 selected regions of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and Far East Category I and II water reservoirs, water sources (centralized--underground, surface; non-centralized) and drinking water are highly contaminated by chemical and biological agents. Full-scale reform of the Russian water industry and water security system is urgently needed, especially in selected regions.

Stacked lensing estimators and their covariance matrices: Excess surface mass density vs. Lensing shear

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shirasaki, Masato; Takada, Masahiro

2018-05-01

Stacked lensing is a powerful means of measuring the average mass distribution around large-scale structure tracers. There are two stacked lensing estimators used in the literature, denoted as ΔΣ and γ+, which are related as ΔΣ = Σcrγ+, where Σcr(zl, zs) is the critical surface mass density for each lens-source pair (zl and zs are lens and source redshifts, respectively). In this paper we derive a formula for the covariance matrix of ΔΣ-estimator focusing on "weight" function to improve the signal-to-noise (S/N). We assume that the lensing fields and the distribution of lensing objects obey the Gaussian statistics. With this formula, we show that, if background galaxy shapes are weighted by an amount of Σ _cr^{-2}(z_l,z_s), the ΔΣ-estimator maximizes the S/N in the shot noise limited regime. We also show that the ΔΣ-estimator with the weight Σ _cr^{-2} gives a greater (S/N)2 than that of the γ+-estimator by about 5-25% for lensing objects at redshifts comparable with or higher than the median of source galaxy redshifts for hypothetical Subaru HSC and DES surveys. However, for low-redshift lenses such as zl ≲ 0.3, the γ+-estimator has higher (S/N)2 than ΔΣ. We also discuss that the (S/N)2 for ΔΣ at large separations in the sample variance limited regime can be boosted, by up to a factor of 1.5, if one adopts a weight of Σ _cr^{-α } with α > 2. Our formula allows one to explore how the combination of the different estimators can approach an optimal estimator in all regimes of redshifts and separation scales.

Point sources of emerging contaminants along the Colorado River Basin: Source water for the arid Southwestern United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones-Lepp, Tammy L.; Sanchez, Charles; Alvarez, David A.; Wilson, Doyle C.; Taniguchi-Fu, Randi-Laurant

2012-01-01

Emerging contaminants (ECs) (e.g., pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, personal care products) have been detected in waters across the United States. The objective of this study was to evaluate point sources of ECs along the Colorado River, from the headwaters in Colorado to the Gulf of California. At selected locations in the Colorado River Basin (sites in Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and California), waste stream tributaries and receiving surface waters were sampled using either grab sampling or polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS). The grab samples were extracted using solid-phase cartridge extraction (SPE), and the POCIS sorbents were transferred into empty SPEs and eluted with methanol. All extracts were prepared for, and analyzed by, liquid chromatography–electrospray-ion trap mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-ITMS). Log DOW values were calculated for all ECs in the study and compared to the empirical data collected. POCIS extracts were screened for the presence of estrogenic chemicals using the yeast estrogen screen (YES) assay. Extracts from the 2008 POCIS deployment in the Las Vegas Wash showed the second highest estrogenicity response. In the grab samples, azithromycin (an antibiotic) was detected in all but one urban waste stream, with concentrations ranging from 30 ng/L to 2800 ng/L. Concentration levels of azithromycin, methamphetamine and pseudoephedrine showed temporal variation from the Tucson WWTP. Those ECs that were detected in the main surface water channels (those that are diverted for urban use and irrigation along the Colorado River) were in the region of the limit-of-detection (e.g., 10 ng/L), but most were below detection limits.

Drop-on-demand sample introduction system coupled with the flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow for direct molecular analysis of complex liquid micro-volume samples

PubMed Central

Schaper, J. Niklas; Pfeuffer, Kevin P.; Shelley, Jacob T.; Bings, Nicolas H.

2012-01-01

One of the fastest developing fields in analytical spectrochemistry in recent years is ambient desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (ADI-MS). This burgeoning interest has been due to the demonstrated advantages of the method: simple mass spectra, little or no sample preparation, and applicability to samples in the solid, liquid, or gaseous state. One such ADI-MS source, the flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (FAPA), is capable of direct analysis of solids just by aiming the source at the solid surface and sampling the produced ions into a mass spectrometer. However, direct introduction of significant volumes of liquid samples into this source has not been possible, as solvent loads can quench the afterglow and, thus, the formation of reagent ions. As a result, the analysis of liquid samples is preferably carried out by analyzing dried residues or by desorbing small amounts of liquid samples directly from the liquid surface. In the former case, reproducibility of sample introduction is crucial if quantitative results are desired. In the present study, introduction of liquid samples as very small droplets helps overcome the issues of sample positioning and reduced levels of solvent intake. A recently developed “drop-on-demand” (DOD) aerosol generator is capable of reproducibly producing very small volumes of liquid (~17 pL). In this paper, the coupling of FAPA-MS and DOD is reported and applications are suggested. Analytes representing different classes of substances were tested and limits of detections were determined. Matrix tolerance was investigated for drugs of abuse and their metabolites by analyzing raw urine samples and quantification without the use of internal standards. Limits of detection below 2 µg/mL, without sample pretreatment, were obtained. PMID:23025277

Drop-on-demand sample introduction system coupled with the flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow for direct molecular analysis of complex liquid microvolume samples.

PubMed

Schaper, J Niklas; Pfeuffer, Kevin P; Shelley, Jacob T; Bings, Nicolas H; Hieftje, Gary M

2012-11-06

One of the fastest developing fields in analytical spectrochemistry in recent years is ambient desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (ADI-MS). This burgeoning interest has been due to the demonstrated advantages of the method: simple mass spectra, little or no sample preparation, and applicability to samples in the solid, liquid, or gaseous state. One such ADI-MS source, the flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (FAPA), is capable of direct analysis of solids just by aiming the source at the solid surface and sampling the produced ions into a mass spectrometer. However, direct introduction of significant volumes of liquid samples into this source has not been possible, as solvent loads can quench the afterglow and, thus, the formation of reagent ions. As a result, the analysis of liquid samples is preferably carried out by analyzing dried residues or by desorbing small amounts of liquid samples directly from the liquid surface. In the former case, reproducibility of sample introduction is crucial if quantitative results are desired. In the present study, introduction of liquid samples as very small droplets helps overcome the issues of sample positioning and reduced levels of solvent intake. A recently developed "drop-on-demand" (DOD) aerosol generator is capable of reproducibly producing very small volumes of liquid (∼17 pL). In this paper, the coupling of FAPA-MS and DOD is reported and applications are suggested. Analytes representing different classes of substances were tested and limits of detections were determined. Matrix tolerance was investigated for drugs of abuse and their metabolites by analyzing raw urine samples and quantification without the use of internal standards. Limits of detection below 2 μg/mL, without sample pretreatment, were obtained.

Constraints on Mercury's Na Exosphere: Combined MESSENGER and Ground-Based Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mouawad, Nelly; Burger, Matthew H.; Killen, Rosemary M.; Potter, Andrew E.; McClintock, William E.; Vervack, Ronald J., Jr.; Bradley, E. Todd; Benna, Mehdi; Naidu, Shantanu

2010-01-01

We have used observations of sodium emission obtained with the McMath-Pierce solar telescope and MESSENGER's Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) to constrain models of Mercury's sodium exosphere, The distribution of sodium in Mercury's exosphere during the period January 12-15. 2008. was mapped using the McMath-Pierce solar telescope with the 5" X 5" image slicer to observe the D-line emission. On January 14, 2008, the Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrometer (UVVS) channel on MASCS sampled the sodium in Mercury's anti-sunward tail region. We find that the bound exosphere has an equivalent temperature of 900-1200 K, and that this temperature can be achieved if the sodium is ejected either by photon-stimulated desorption (PSD) with a 1200 K Maxwellian velocity distribution, or by thermal accommodation of a hotter source. We were not able to discriminate between the two assumed velocity distributions of the ejected particles for the PSD. but the velocity distributions require different values of the thermal accommodation coefficient and result in different upper limits on impact vaporization, We were able to place a strong constraint on the impact vaporization rate that results in the release of neutral Na atoms with an upper limit of 2.1 x 10(exp 6) sq cm/s, The variability of the week-long ground-based observations can be explained by variations in the sources, including both PSD and ion-enhanced PSD, as well as possible temporal enhancements in meteoroid vaporization. Knowledge of both dayside and anti-sunward tail morphologies and radiances are necessary to correctly deduce the exospheric source rates, processes, velocity distribution, and surface interaction.

Distribution, behavior, and transport of inorganic and methylmercury in a high gradient stream

USGS Publications Warehouse

Flanders, J.R.; Turner, R.R.; Morrison, T.; Jensen, R.; Pizzuto, J.; Skalak, K.; Stahl, R.

2010-01-01

Concentrations of Hg remain elevated in physical and biological media of the South River (Virginia, USA), despite the cessation of the industrial use of Hg in its watershed nearly six decades ago, and physical characteristics that would not seem to favor Hg(II)-methylation. A 3-a study of inorganic Hg (IHg) and methylmercury (MeHg) was conducted in physical media (soil, sediment, surface water, porewater and soil/sediment extracts) to identify non-point sources, transport mechanisms, and potential controls on Hg(II)-methylation. Data collected from surface water and sediment indicate that the majority of the non-point sources of IHg to the South River are within the first 14. km downstream from the historic point source. Partitioning data indicate that particle bound IHg is introduced in this reach, releasing dissolved and colloidal bound IHg, which is transported downstream. Extraction experiments revealed that floodplain soils released a higher fraction of their IHg content in aqueous extractions than fine-grained sediment (FGS). Based on ultrafiltration [<5000 nominal molecular weight cutoff (NMWC)] the majority of soil IHg released was colloidal in nature, providing evidence for the continued evolution of IHg for Hg(II)-methylation from soil. Strong seasonal patterns in MeHg concentrations were observed in surface water and sediment. The highest concentrations of MeHg in surface water were observed at moderate temperatures, suggesting that other factors limit net Hg(II)-methylation. Seasonal changes in sediment organic content and the fraction of 1. N KOH-extractable THg were also observed and may be important factors in controlling net Hg(II)-methylation rates. Sulfate concentrations in surface water are low and the evidence suggests that Fe reduction may be an important Hg(II)-methylation process. The highest sediment MeHg concentrations were observed in habitats with large amounts of FGS, which are more prevalent in the upper half of the study area due to the lower hydrologic gradient and agricultural impacts. Past and present land use practices and other geomorphologic controls contribute to the erosion of banks and accumulation of fine-grained sediment in this section of the river, acting as sources of IHg. ?? 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Characteristics and Source Apportionment of Marine Aerosols over East China Sea Using a Source-oriented Chemical Transport Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, M.; Zhang, H.; Fu, P.

2017-12-01

Marine aerosols exert a strong influence on global climate change and biogeochemical cycling, as oceans cover beyond 70% of the Earth's surface. However, investigations on marine aerosols are relatively limited at present due to the difficulty and inconvenience in sampling marine aerosols as well as their diverse sources. East China Sea (ECS), lying over the broad shelf of the western North Pacific, is adjacent to the Asian mainland, where continental-scale air pollution could impose a heavy load on the marine atmosphere through long-range atmospheric transport. Thus, contributions of major sources to marine aerosols need to be identified for policy makers to develop cost effective control strategies. In this work, a source-oriented version of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, which can directly track the contributions from multiple emission sources to marine aerosols, is used to investigate the contributions from power, industry, transportation, residential, biogenic and biomass burning to marine aerosols over the ECS in May and June 2014. The model simulations indicate significant spatial and temporal variations of concentrations as well as the source contributions. This study demonstrates that the Asian continent can greatly affect the marine atmosphere through long-range transport.

Ion-source modeling and improved performance of the CAMS high-intensity Cs-sputter ion source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, T. A.; Roberts, M. L.; Southon, J. R.

2000-10-01

The interior of the high-intensity Cs-sputter source used in routine operations at the Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (CAMS) has been computer modeled using the program NEDLab, with the aim of improving negative ion output. Space charge effects on ion trajectories within the source were modeled through a successive iteration process involving the calculation of ion trajectories through Poisson-equation-determined electric fields, followed by calculation of modified electric fields incorporating the charge distribution from the previously calculated ion trajectories. The program has several additional features that are useful in ion source modeling: (1) averaging of space charge distributions over successive iterations to suppress instabilities, (2) Child's Law modeling of space charge limited ion emission from surfaces, and (3) emission of particular ion groups with a thermal energy distribution and at randomized angles. The results of the modeling effort indicated that significant modification of the interior geometry of the source would double Cs + ion production from our spherical ionizer and produce a significant increase in negative ion output from the source. The results of the implementation of the new geometry were found to be consistent with the model results.

A monitoring of chemical contaminants in waters used for field irrigation and livestock watering in the Veneto region (Italy), using bioassays as a screening tool.

PubMed

De Liguoro, Marco; Bona, Mirco Dalla; Gallina, Guglielmo; Capolongo, Francesca; Gallocchio, Federica; Binato, Giovanni; Di Leva, Vincenzo

2014-03-01

In this study, 50 livestock watering sources (ground water) and 50 field irrigation sources (surface water) from various industrialised areas of the Veneto region were monitored for chemical contaminants. From each site, four water samples (one in each season) were collected during the period from summer 2009 through to spring 2010. Surface water samples and ground water samples were first screened for toxicity using the growth inhibition test on Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and the immobilisation test on Daphnia magna, respectively. Then, based on the results of these toxicity tests, 28 ground water samples and 26 surface water samples were submitted to chemical analysis for various contaminants (insecticides/acaricides, fungicides, herbicides, metals and anions) by means of UPLC-MS(n) HPLC-MS(n), AAS and IEC. With the exception of one surface water sample where the total pesticides concentration was greater than 4 μg L(-1), positive samples (51.9 %) showed only traces (nanograms per liter) of pesticides. Metals were generally under the detection limit. High concentrations of chlorines (up to 692 mg L(-1)) were found in some ground water samples while some surface water samples showed an excess of nitrites (up to 336 mg L(-1)). Detected levels of contamination were generally too low to justify the toxicity recorded in bioassays, especially in the case of surface water samples, and analytical results painted quite a reassuring picture, while tests on P. subcapitata showed a strong growth inhibition activity. It was concluded that, from an ecotoxicological point of view, surface waters used for field irrigation in the Veneto region cannot be considered safe.

Particle Size, Surface Area, and Amorphous Content as Predictors of Solubility and Bioavailability for Five Commercial Sources of Ferric Orthophosphate in Ready-To-Eat Cereal.

PubMed

Dickmann, Robin S; Strasburg, Gale M; Romsos, Dale R; Wilson, Lori A; Lai, Grace H; Huang, Hsimin

2016-03-01

Ferric orthophosphate (FePO₄) has had limited use as an iron fortificant in ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal because of its variable bioavailability, the mechanism of which is poorly understood. Even though FePO₄ has desirable sensory properties as compared to other affordable iron fortificants, few published studies have well-characterized its physicochemical properties. Semi-crystalline materials such as FePO₄ have varying degrees of molecular disorder, referred to as amorphous content, which is hypothesized to be an important factor in bioavailability. The objective of this study was to systematically measure the physicochemical factors of particle size, surface area, amorphous content, and solubility underlying the variation in FePO₄ bioavailability. Five commercial FePO₄ sources and ferrous sulfate were added to individual batches of RTE cereal. The relative bioavailability value (RBV) of each iron source, determined using the AOAC Rat Hemoglobin Repletion Bioassay, ranged from 51% to 99% (p < 0.05), which is higher than typically reported. Solubility in dilute HCl accurately predicted RBV (R² = 0.93, p = 0.008). Amorphous content measured by Dynamic Vapor Sorption ranged from 1.7% to 23.8% and was a better determinant of solubility (R² = 0.91; p = 0.0002) than surface area (R² = 0.83; p = 0.002) and median particle size (R² = 0.59; p = 0.12). The results indicate that while solubility of FePO₄ is highly predictive of RBV, solubility, in turn, is strongly linked to amorphous content and surface area. This information may prove useful for the production of FePO₄ with the desired RBV.

Particle Size, Surface Area, and Amorphous Content as Predictors of Solubility and Bioavailability for Five Commercial Sources of Ferric Orthophosphate in Ready-To-Eat Cereal

PubMed Central

Dickmann, Robin S.; Strasburg, Gale M.; Romsos, Dale R.; Wilson, Lori A.; Lai, Grace H.; Huang, Hsimin

2016-01-01

Ferric orthophosphate (FePO4) has had limited use as an iron fortificant in ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal because of its variable bioavailability, the mechanism of which is poorly understood. Even though FePO4 has desirable sensory properties as compared to other affordable iron fortificants, few published studies have well-characterized its physicochemical properties. Semi-crystalline materials such as FePO4 have varying degrees of molecular disorder, referred to as amorphous content, which is hypothesized to be an important factor in bioavailability. The objective of this study was to systematically measure the physicochemical factors of particle size, surface area, amorphous content, and solubility underlying the variation in FePO4 bioavailability. Five commercial FePO4 sources and ferrous sulfate were added to individual batches of RTE cereal. The relative bioavailability value (RBV) of each iron source, determined using the AOAC Rat Hemoglobin Repletion Bioassay, ranged from 51% to 99% (p < 0.05), which is higher than typically reported. Solubility in dilute HCl accurately predicted RBV (R2 = 0.93, p = 0.008). Amorphous content measured by Dynamic Vapor Sorption ranged from 1.7% to 23.8% and was a better determinant of solubility (R2 = 0.91; p = 0.0002) than surface area (R2 = 0.83; p = 0.002) and median particle size (R2 = 0.59; p = 0.12). The results indicate that while solubility of FePO4 is highly predictive of RBV, solubility, in turn, is strongly linked to amorphous content and surface area. This information may prove useful for the production of FePO4 with the desired RBV. PMID:26938556

Dione and Rhea seasonal exospheres revealed by Cassini CAPS and INMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teolis, B. D.; Waite, J. H.

2016-07-01

A Dione O2 and CO2 exosphere of similar composition and density to Rhea's is confirmed by Cassini spacecraft Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) flyby data. INMS results from three Dione and two Rhea flybys show exospheric spatial and temporal variability indicative of seasonal exospheres, modulated by winter polar gas adsorption and desorption at the equinoxes. Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) pickup ion fluxes also show exospheric structure and evolution at Rhea consistent with INMS, after taking into consideration the anticipated charge exchange, electron impact, and photo-ionization rates. Data-model comparisons show the exospheric evolution to be consistent with polar frost diffusion into the surface regolith, which limits surface exposure and loss of the winter frost cap by sputtering. Implied O2 source rates of ∼45(7) × 1021 s-1 at Dione(Rhea) are ∼50(300) times less than expected from known O2 radiolysis yields from ion-irradiated pure water ice measured in the laboratory, ruling out secondary sputtering as a major exospheric contributor, and implying a nanometer scale surface refractory lag layer consisting of concentrated carbonaceous impurities. We estimate ∼30:1(2:1) relative O2:CO2 source rates at Dione(Rhea), consistent with a stoichiometric bulk composition below the lag layer of 0.01(0.13) C atoms per H2O molecule, deriving from endogenic constituents, implanted micrometeoritic organics, and (in particular at Dione) exogenous H2O delivery by E-ring grains. Impact deposition, gardening and vaporization may thereby control the global O2 source rates by fresh H2O ice exposure to surface radiolysis and trapped oxidant ejection.

Chandra studies of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae: A deeper X-ray source catalogue, five new X-ray counterparts to millisecond radio pulsars, and new constraints to r-mode instability window

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Souradeep; Heinke, Craig O.; Chugunov, Andrey I.; Freire, Paulo C. C.; Ridolfi, Alessandro; Bogdanov, Slavko

2017-12-01

We combined Chandra ACIS observations of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae (47 Tuc) from 2000, 2002 and 2014-2015 to create a deeper X-ray source list, and study some of the faint radio millisecond pulsars (MSPs) present in this cluster. We have detected 370 X-ray sources within the half-mass radius (2.79 arcsec) of the cluster, 81 of which are newly identified, by including new data and using improved source detection techniques. The majority of the newly identified sources are in the crowded core region, indicating cluster membership. We associate five of the new X-ray sources with chromospherically active BY Dra or W UMa variables identified by Albrow et al. We present alternative positions derived from two methods, centroiding and image reconstruction, for faint, crowded sources. We are able to extract X-ray spectra of the recently discovered MSPs 47 Tuc aa, 47 Tuc ab, the newly timed MSP 47 Tuc Z, and the newly resolved MSPs 47 Tuc S and 47 Tuc F. Generally, they are well fitted by blackbody or neutron star atmosphere models, with temperatures, luminosities and emitting radii similar to those of other known MSPs in 47 Tuc, though 47 Tuc aa and 47 Tuc ab reach lower X-ray luminosities. We limit X-ray emission from the full surface of the rapidly spinning (542 Hz) MSP 47 Tuc aa, and use this limit to put an upper bound for amplitude of r-mode oscillations in this pulsar as α < 2.5 × 10-9 and constrain the shape of the r-mode instability window.

Using Network Theory to Understand Seismic Noise in Dense Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riahi, N.; Gerstoft, P.

2015-12-01

Dense seismic arrays offer an opportunity to study anthropogenic seismic noise sources with unprecedented detail. Man-made sources typically have high frequency, low intensity, and propagate as surface waves. As a result attenuation restricts their measurable footprint to a small subset of sensors. Medium heterogeneities can further introduce wave front perturbations that limit processing based on travel time. We demonstrate a non-parametric technique that can reliably identify very local events within the array as a function of frequency and time without using travel-times. The approach estimates the non-zero support of the array covariance matrix and then uses network analysis tools to identify clusters of sensors that are sensing a common source. We verify the method on simulated data and then apply it to the Long Beach (CA) geophone array. The method exposes a helicopter traversing the array, oil production facilities with different characteristics, and the fact that noise sources near roads tend to be around 10-20 Hz.

Geological sources of fluoride and acceptable intake of fluoride in an endemic fluorosis area, southern Iran.

PubMed

Battaleb-Looie, Sedigheh; Moore, Farid; Jacks, Gunnar; Ketabdari, Mohammad Reza

2012-10-01

The present study is the first attempt to put forward possible source(s) of fluoride in the Dashtestan area, Bushehr Province, southern Iran. In response to reports on the high incidence of dental fluorosis, 35 surface and groundwater samples were collected and analysed for fluoride. The results indicate that dissolved fluoride in the study area is above the maximum permissible limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). An additional 35 soil and rock samples were also collected and analysed for fluoride, and rock samples were subjected to petrographic investigations and X-ray diffraction. The results of these analyses show that the most likely source for fluoride in the groundwater is from clay minerals (chlorite) and micas (muscovite, sericite, and biotite) in the soils and rocks in the area. We also note that due to the high average temperatures all year round and excessive water consumption in the area, the optimum fluoride dose level should be lower than that recommended by the WHO.

Analysis of Thousands of Prehistoric Mediterranean Obsidian Artifacts Using a Nondestructive Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tykot, Robert

A portable, hand-held X-ray fluorescence spectrometer has been used for a decade to elementally analyze prehistoric obsidian artifacts in the Mediterranean. Nearly 400 geological obsidian samples and 7500 obsidian artifacts have been analyzed. The pXRF can distinguish all individual sources, as well as assign artifacts specifically to most subsources. For the island sources of Lipari, Pantelleria, Sardinia, and Melos, it is important to address the usage of obsidian from specific subsources due to human selection based on physical properties of the raw material and their production practices, which may have changed over time from the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age. The analysis of 50 or more artifacts from 60 different archaeological sites allows for statistical comparison between sites, and their contexts, geographic areas (e.g. coastal/inland, highland/lowland) and distance from geological sources. The frequency of transport between island sources and mainland sites is suggestive of maritime capabilities also for the transport of domesticated animals, ceramics, and other materials. This presentation will specifically address potential limitations of the portable XRF, including non-destructive surface analysis of potentially heterogeneous materials, and limited trace element detection compared to other analytical methods, versus its highly beneficial ``package'' of analyzing great numbers of artifacts non-destructively and rapidly without needing to export them from museums and facilities in many countries.

Evaluation of emission control strategies to reduce ozone pollution in the Paso del Norte region using a photochemical air quality modeling system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valenzuela, Victor Hugo

Air pollution emissions control strategies to reduce ozone precursor pollutants are analyzed by applying a photochemical modeling system. Simulations of air quality conditions during an ozone episode which occurred in June, 2006 are undertaken by increasing or reducing area source emissions in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Two air pollutants are primary drivers in the formation of tropospheric ozone. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) undergo multiple chemical reactions under favorable meteorological conditions to form ozone, which is a secondary pollutant that irritates respiratory systems in sensitive individuals especially the elderly and young children. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to limit ambient air pollutants such as ozone by establishing an 8-hour average concentration of 0.075 ppm as the threshold at which a violation of the standard occurs. Ozone forms primarily due reactions in the troposphere of NOx and VOC emissions generated primarily by anthropogenic sources in urban regions. Data from emissions inventories indicate area sources account for ˜15 of NOx and ˜45% of regional VOC emissions. Area sources include gasoline stations, automotive paint bodyshops and nonroad mobile sources. Multiplicity of air pollution emissions sources provides an opportunity to investigate and potentially implement air quality improvement strategies to reduce emissions which contribute to elevated ozone concentrations. A baseline modeling scenario was established using the CAMx photochemical air quality model from which a series of sensitivity analyses for evaluating air quality control strategies were conducted. Modifications to area source emissions were made by varying NOx and / or VOC emissions in the areas of particular interest. Model performance was assessed for each sensitivity analysis. Normalized bias (NB) and normalized error (NE) were used to identify variability of the PREDICTED to OBSERVED ozone concentrations of both BASELINE model and simulations with modified emissions assessed by the sensitivity analysis. All simulations were found to vary within acceptable ranges of these two criteria variables. Simulation results indicate ozone formation in the PdN region is VOC-limited. Under VOC-limited conditions, modifications to NOx emissions do not produce a marked increase or decrease in ozone concentrations. Modifications to VOC emissions generated the highest variability in ozone concentrations. Increasing VOC emissions by 75% produced results which minimized model bias and error when comparing PREDICTED and OBSERVED ozone concentrations. Increasing VOC emissions by 75% either alone or in combination with a 75% increase in NOx emissions generated PREDICTED ozone concentrations very near to OBSERVED ozone. By evaluating the changes in ambient ozone concentrations through photochemical modeling, air quality planners may identify the most efficient or effective VOC emissions control strategies for area sources. Among the strategies to achieve emissions reductions are installation of gasoline vapor recovery systems, replacing high-pressure low-volume surface coating paint spray guns with high-volume low-pressure spray paint guns, requiring emissions control booths for surface coating operations as well as undertaking solvent management practices, requiring the sale of low VOC paint solvents in the surface-coating industry, and requiring low-VOC solvents in the dry cleaning industry. Other strategies to reduce VOC emissions include initiating Eco-Driving strategies to reduce fuel consumption from mobile sources and minimize vehicle idling at the international ports of entry by reducing bridge wait times. This dissertation depicts a tool for evaluating impacts of emissions on regional air quality by addressing the highly unresolved fugitive emissions in the Paso del Norte region. It provides a protocol for decision makers to assess the effects of various emission control strategies in the region. Impacts of specific source categories such as the international ports of entry, gasoline stations, paint body shops, truck stops, and military installations on the regional air quality can be easily and systematically addressed in a timely manner in the future.

Source signature estimation from multimode surface waves via mode-separated virtual real source method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Lingli; Pan, Yudi

2018-05-01

The correct estimation of the seismic source signature is crucial to exploration geophysics. Based on seismic interferometry, the virtual real source (VRS) method provides a model-independent way for source signature estimation. However, when encountering multimode surface waves, which are commonly seen in the shallow seismic survey, strong spurious events appear in seismic interferometric results. These spurious events introduce errors in the virtual-source recordings and reduce the accuracy of the source signature estimated by the VRS method. In order to estimate a correct source signature from multimode surface waves, we propose a mode-separated VRS method. In this method, multimode surface waves are mode separated before seismic interferometry. Virtual-source recordings are then obtained by applying seismic interferometry to each mode individually. Therefore, artefacts caused by cross-mode correlation are excluded in the virtual-source recordings and the estimated source signatures. A synthetic example showed that a correct source signature can be estimated with the proposed method, while strong spurious oscillation occurs in the estimated source signature if we do not apply mode separation first. We also applied the proposed method to a field example, which verified its validity and effectiveness in estimating seismic source signature from shallow seismic shot gathers containing multimode surface waves.

Methane fates in the benthos and water column at cold seep sites along the continental margin of Central and North America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hansman, Roberta L.; Thurber, Andrew R.; Levin, Lisa A.; Aluwihare, Lihini I.

2017-02-01

The potential influence of methane seeps on carbon cycling is a key question for global assessments, but the study of carbon cycling in surface sediments and the water column of cold seep environments is complicated by the high temporal and spatial variability of fluid and gas fluxes at these sites. In this study we directly examined carbon sources supporting benthic and planktonic food webs at venting methane seeps using isotopic and molecular approaches that integrate this variability. At four seep environments located along North and Central America, microorganisms from two size fractions were collected over several days from 2800 to 9050 l of seawater to provide a time-integrated measure of key microbial groups and the carbon sources supporting the overall planktonic microbial community. In addition to water column measurements, the extent of seafloor methane release was estimated at two of the sites by examining the stable carbon isotopic signature (δ13C) of benthic metazoan infauna. This signature reveals carbon sources fueling the base of the food chain and thus provides a metric that represents a time-integrated view of the dominant microbial processes within the sediment. The stable carbon isotopic composition of microbial DNA (δ13C-DNA), which had values between -17.0 and -19.5‰, indicated that bulk planktonic microbial production was not ultimately linked to methane or other 13C-depleted seep-derived carbon sources. Instead these data support the importance of organic carbon derived from either photo- or chemoautotrophic CO2 fixation to the planktonic food web. Results of qPCR of microbial DNA sequences coding for a subunit of the particulate methane monooxygenase gene (pmoA) showed that only a small percentage of the planktonic microbial community were potential methane oxidizers possessing pmoA (<5% of 16S rRNA gene copies). There was an overall decrease of 13C-depleted carbon fueling the benthic metazoan community from 3 to 5 cm below the seafloor to the sediment surface, reflecting limited use of isotopically depleted carbon at the sediment surface. Rare methane emission as indicated by limited aerobic methane oxidation acts to corroborate our findings for the planktonic microbial community.

Energy for biologic sulfate reduction in a hydrothermally formed ocean on Europa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zolotov, Mikhail Y.; Shock, Everett L.

2003-04-01

Formation of a sulfate-bearing ocean on Jupiter's satellite Europa by quenched hydrothermal fluids provides a source of metabolic energy for low-temperature sulfate-reducing organisms that use dissolved H2 as an electron donor. Inhibition of thermodynamically favorable sulfate reduction in cooled hydrothermal fluids creates the potential for biologic reduction. Both high temperature and reduced conditions of ocean-forming hydrothermal solutions favor sulfate reduction in quenched fluids. The maximum amount of energy available to support autotrophic sulfate reduction is on the order of a few kilojoules per kilogram of water and is limited by the low abundances of either H2 or sulfate in ocean-forming fluids. Although this irreplaceable energy source might have supported early life on Europa, maintenance of biologic sulfate reduction throughout the ocean's history would require a supply of organic compounds from endogenic sources or from the satellite's surface.

The acoustic field of a point source in a uniform boundary layer over an impedance plane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zorumski, W. E.; Willshire, W. L., Jr.

1986-01-01

The acoustic field of a point source in a boundary layer above an impedance plane is investigated anatytically using Obukhov quasi-potential functions, extending the normal-mode theory of Chunchuzov (1984) to account for the effects of finite ground-plane impedance and source height. The solution is found to be asymptotic to the surface-wave term studies by Wenzel (1974) in the limit of vanishing wind speed, suggesting that normal-mode theory can be used to model the effects of an atmospheric boundary layer on infrasonic sound radiation. Model predictions are derived for noise-generation data obtained by Willshire (1985) at the Medicine Bow wind-turbine facility. Long-range downwind propagation is found to behave as a cylindrical wave, with attention proportional to the wind speed, the boundary-layer displacement thickness, the real part of the ground admittance, and the square of the frequency.

Quantifying sources of fine sediment supplied to post-fire debris flows using fallout radionuclide tracers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Hugh G.; Sheridan, Gary J.; Nyman, Petter; Child, David P.; Lane, Patrick N. J.; Hotchkis, Michael A. C.; Jacobsen, Geraldine E.

2012-02-01

Fine sediment supply has been identified as an important factor contributing to the initiation of runoff-generated debris flows after fire. However, despite the significance of fines for post-fire debris flow generation, no investigations have sought to quantify sources of this material in debris flow affected catchments. In this study, we employ fallout radionuclides ( 137Cs, 210Pb ex and 239,240Pu) as tracers to measure proportional contributions of fine sediment (< 10 μm) from hillslope surface and channel bank sources to levee and terminal fan deposits formed by post-fire debris flows in two forest catchments in southeastern Australia. While 137Cs and 210Pb ex have been widely used in sediment tracing studies, application of Pu as a tracer represents a recent development and was limited to only one catchment. The ranges in estimated proportional hillslope surface contributions of fine sediment to individual debris flow deposits in each catchment were 22-69% and 32-74%. The greater susceptibility of 210Pb ex to apparent reductions in the ash content of channel deposits relative to hillslope sources resulted in its exclusion from the final analysis. No systematic change in the proportional source contributions to debris flow deposits was observed with distance downstream from channel initiation points. Instead, spatial variability in source contributions was largely influenced by the pattern of debris flow surges forming the deposits. Linking the tracing analysis with interpretation of depositional evidence allowed reconstruction of temporal sequences in sediment source contributions to debris flow surges. Hillslope source inputs dominated most elevated channel deposits such as marginal levees that were formed under peak flow conditions. This indicated the importance of hillslope runoff and fine sediment supply for debris flow generation in both catchments. In contrast, material stored within channels that was deposited during subsequent surges was predominantly channel-derived. The results demonstrate that fallout radionuclide tracers may provide unique information on changing source contributions of fine sediment during debris flow events.

Aperture alignment in autocollimator-based deflectometric profilometers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Geckeler, R. D., E-mail: Ralf.Geckeler@ptb.de; Just, A.; Kranz, O.

2016-05-15

During the last ten years, deflectometric profilometers have become indispensable tools for the precision form measurement of optical surfaces. They have proven to be especially suitable for characterizing beam-shaping optical surfaces for x-ray beamline applications at synchrotrons and free electron lasers. Deflectometric profilometers use surface slope (angle) to assess topography and utilize commercial autocollimators for the contactless slope measurement. To this purpose, the autocollimator beam is deflected by a movable optical square (or pentaprism) towards the surface where a co-moving aperture limits and defines the beam footprint. In this paper, we focus on the precise and reproducible alignment of themore » aperture relative to the autocollimator’s optical axis. Its alignment needs to be maintained while it is scanned across the surface under test. The reproducibility of the autocollimator’s measuring conditions during calibration and during its use in the profilometer is of crucial importance to providing precise and traceable angle metrology. In the first part of the paper, we present the aperture alignment procedure developed at the Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA, for the use of their deflectometric profilometers. In the second part, we investigate the topic further by providing extensive ray tracing simulations and calibrations of a commercial autocollimator performed at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Germany, for evaluating the effects of the positioning of the aperture on the autocollimator’s angle response. The investigations which we performed are crucial for reaching fundamental metrological limits in deflectometric profilometry.« less

Rapid releases of metal salts and nutrients following the deposition of volcanic ash into aqueous environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Morgan T.; Gislason, Sigurður R.

2008-08-01

Deposition of volcanic ash into aqueous environments leads to dissolution of adsorbed metal salts and aerosols, increasing the bioavailability of key nutrients. Volcanogenic fertilization events could increase marine primary productivity, leading to a drawdown of atmospheric CO 2. Here we conduct flow-through experiments on unhydrated volcanic ash samples from a variety of locations and sources, measuring the concentrations and fluxes of elements into de-ionized water and two contrasting ocean surface waters. Comparisons of element fluxes show that dissolution of adsorbed surface salts and aerosols dominates over glass dissolution, even in sustained low pH conditions. These surface ash-leachates appear unstable, decaying in situ even if kept unhydrated. Volcanic ash from recent eruptions is shown to have a large fertilization potential in both fresh and saline water. Fluorine concentrations are integral to bulk dissolution rates and samples with high F concentrations display elevated fluxes of some nutrients, particularly Fe, Si, and P. Bio-limiting micronutrients are released in large quantities, suggesting that subsequent biological growth will be limited by macronutrient availability. Importantly, acidification of surface waters and high fluxes of toxic elements highlights the potential of volcanic ash-leachates to poison aqueous environments. In particular, large pH changes can cause undersaturation of CaCO 3 polymorphs, damaging populations of calcifying organisms. Deposition of volcanic ash can both fertilize and/or poison aqueous environments, causing significant changes to surface water chemistry and biogeochemical cycles.

Analysis and Modeling of the Wavefield Generated by Explosions at the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

method to ~ 4 Hz wave propagation using SAFOD borehole seismometers and the Parkfield Array Seismic Observatory (PASO) array (Thurber et al., 2004...limitations in mind, we apply our method to ~ 4 Hz wave propagation using SAFOD borehole seismometers and the Parkfield Array Seismic Observatory (PASO...Proposal No. BAA09-69 ABSTRACT Surface array and deep borehole recordings of chemical explosions in the near-source (0-20 km) region are studied to

Understanding the Impact of Model Surfactants on Cloud Condensation Nuclei Activity of Sea Spray Aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forestieri, S.; Cappa, C. D.; Ruehl, C. R.; Bertram, T. H.; Staudt, S.; Kuborn, T.

2017-12-01

Aerosol impacts on cloud properties, also known as indirect effects, remain a major source of uncertainty in modeling global radiative forcing. Reducing this uncertainty necessitates better understanding of how aerosol chemical composition impacts the cloud-forming ability of aerosols. The presence of surfactants in aerosols can decrease the surface tension of activating droplets relative to water and lead to more efficient activation. The importance of this effect has been debated, but recent surface tension measurements of microscopic droplets indicate that surface tension is substantially depressed relative to water for lab-generated particles consisting of salt and a single organic species and for complex mixtures of organic matter. However, little work has been done on understanding how chemical complexity (i.e. interaction between different surfactant species) impacts surface tension for particles containing mixtures of surfactants. In this work, we quantified the surface tension of lab-generated aerosols containing surfactants that are commonly found in nascent sea spray aerosol (SSA) at humidities close to activation using a continuous flow stream-wise thermal gradient chamber (CFSTGC). Surface tension was quantified for particles containing single surfactant species and mixtures of these surfactants to investigate the role of chemical complexity on surface tension and molecular packing at the air-water interface. For all surfactants tested in this study, substantial surface tension depression (20-40 mN/m) relative to water was observed for particles containing large fractions of organic matter at humidities just below activation. However, the presence of these surfactants only weakly depressed surface tension at activation. Kinetic limitations were observed for particles coated with just palmitic acid, since palmitic acid molecules inhibit water uptake through their ability to pack tightly at the surface. However, these kinetic limitations disappeared when palmitic acid was mixed with oleic acid, indicating a disruption in packing. The impact of oxidation on droplet surface tension will also be discussed.

Line-of-sight deposition method

DOEpatents

Patten, J.W.; McClanahan, E.D.; Bayne, M.A.

1980-04-16

A line-of-sight method of depositing a film having substantially 100% of theoretical density on a substrate. A pressure vessel contains a target source having a surface thereof capable of emitting particles therefrom and a substrate with the source surface and the substrate surface positioned such that the source surface is substantially parallel to the direction of the particles impinging upon the substrate surface, the distance between the most remote portion of the substrate surface receiving the particles and the source surface emitting the particles in a direction parallel to the substrate surface being relatively small. The pressure in the vessel is maintained less than about 5 microns to prevent scattering and permit line-of-sight deposition. By this method the angles of incidence of the particles impinging upon the substrate surface are in the range of from about 45/sup 0/ to 90/sup 0/ even when the target surface area is greatly expanded to increase the deposition rate.

Line-of-sight deposition method

DOEpatents

Patten, James W.; McClanahan, Edwin D.; Bayne, Michael A.

1981-01-01

A line-of-sight method of depositing a film having substantially 100% of theoretical density on a substrate. A pressure vessel contains a target source having a surface thereof capable of emitting particles therefrom and a substrate with the source surface and the substrate surface positioned such that the source surface is substantially parallel to the direction of the particles impinging upon the substrate surface, the distance between the most remote portion of the substrate surface receiving the particles and the source surface emitting the particles in a direction parallel to the substrate surface being relatively small. The pressure in the vessel is maintained less than about 5 microns to prevent scattering and permit line-of-sight deposition. By this method the angles of incidence of the particles impinging upon the substrate surface are in the range of from about 45.degree. to 90.degree. even when the target surface area is greatly expanded to increase the deposition rate.

Elemental composition of the Martian crust.

PubMed

McSween, Harry Y; Taylor, G Jeffrey; Wyatt, Michael B

2009-05-08

The composition of Mars' crust records the planet's integrated geologic history and provides clues to its differentiation. Spacecraft and meteorite data now provide a global view of the chemistry of the igneous crust that can be used to assess this history. Surface rocks on Mars are dominantly tholeiitic basalts formed by extensive partial melting and are not highly weathered. Siliceous or calc-alkaline rocks produced by melting and/or fractional crystallization of hydrated, recycled mantle sources, and silica-poor rocks produced by limited melting of alkali-rich mantle sources, are uncommon or absent. Spacecraft data suggest that martian meteorites are not representative of older, more voluminous crust and prompt questions about their use in defining diagnostic geochemical characteristics and in constraining mantle compositional models for Mars.

Implications of nutrient release from iron metal for microbial regrowth in water distribution systems.

PubMed

Morton, Siyuan C; Zhang, Yan; Edwards, Marc A

2005-08-01

Control of microbial regrowth in iron pipes is a major challenge for water utilities. This work examines the inter-relationship between iron corrosion and bacterial regrowth, with a special focus on the potential of iron pipe to serve as a source of phosphorus. Under some circumstances, corroding iron and steel may serve as a source for all macronutrients necessary for bacterial regrowth including fixed carbon, fixed nitrogen and phosphorus. Conceptual models and experimental data illustrate that levels of phosphorus released from corroding iron are significant relative to that necessary to sustain high levels of biofilm bacteria. Consequently, it may not be possible to control regrowth on iron surfaces by limiting phosphorus in the bulk water.

Evaluation of nitrous acid sources and sinks in urban outflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gall, Elliott T.; Griffin, Robert J.; Steiner, Allison L.; Dibb, Jack; Scheuer, Eric; Gong, Longwen; Rutter, Andrew P.; Cevik, Basak K.; Kim, Saewung; Lefer, Barry; Flynn, James

2016-02-01

Intensive air quality measurements made from June 22-25, 2011 in the outflow of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metropolitan area are used to evaluate nitrous acid (HONO) sources and sinks. A two-layer box model was developed to assess the ability of established and recently identified HONO sources and sinks to reproduce observations of HONO mixing ratios. A baseline model scenario includes sources and sinks established in the literature and is compared to scenarios including three recently identified sources: volatile organic compound-mediated conversion of nitric acid to HONO (S1), biotic emission from the ground (S2), and re-emission from a surface nitrite reservoir (S3). For all mechanisms, ranges of parametric values span lower- and upper-limit values. Model outcomes for 'likely' estimates of sources and sinks generally show under-prediction of HONO observations, implying the need to evaluate additional sources and variability in estimates of parameterizations, particularly during daylight hours. Monte Carlo simulation is applied to model scenarios constructed with sources S1-S3 added independently and in combination, generally showing improved model outcomes. Adding sources S2 and S3 (scenario S2/S3) appears to best replicate observed HONO, as determined by the model coefficient of determination and residual sum of squared errors (r2 = 0.55 ± 0.03, SSE = 4.6 × 106 ± 7.6 × 105 ppt2). In scenario S2/S3, source S2 is shown to account for 25% and 6.7% of the nighttime and daytime budget, respectively, while source S3 accounts for 19% and 11% of the nighttime and daytime budget, respectively. However, despite improved model fit, there remains significant underestimation of daytime HONO; on average, a 0.15 ppt/s unknown daytime HONO source, or 67% of the total daytime source, is needed to bring scenario S2/S3 into agreement with observation. Estimates of 'best fit' parameterizations across lower to upper-limit values results in a moderate reduction of the unknown daytime source, from 0.15 to 0.10 ppt/s.

Virtual rigid body: a new optical tracking paradigm in image-guided interventions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Alexis; Lee, David S.; Deshmukh, Nishikant; Boctor, Emad M.

2015-03-01

Tracking technology is often necessary for image-guided surgical interventions. Optical tracking is one the options, but it suffers from line of sight and workspace limitations. Optical tracking is accomplished by attaching a rigid body marker, having a pattern for pose detection, onto a tool or device. A larger rigid body results in more accurate tracking, but at the same time large size limits its usage in a crowded surgical workspace. This work presents a prototype of a novel optical tracking method using a virtual rigid body (VRB). We define the VRB as a 3D rigid body marker in the form of pattern on a surface generated from a light source. Its pose can be recovered by observing the projected pattern with a stereo-camera system. The rigid body's size is no longer physically limited as we can manufacture small size light sources. Conventional optical tracking also requires line of sight to the rigid body. VRB overcomes these limitations by detecting a pattern projected onto the surface. We can project the pattern onto a region of interest, allowing the pattern to always be in the view of the optical tracker. This helps to decrease the occurrence of occlusions. This manuscript describes the method and results compared with conventional optical tracking in an experiment setup using known motions. The experiments are done using an optical tracker and a linear-stage, resulting in targeting errors of 0.38mm+/-0.28mm with our method compared to 0.23mm+/-0.22mm with conventional optical markers. Another experiment that replaced the linear stage with a robot arm resulted in rotational errors of 0.50+/-0.31° and 2.68+/-2.20° and the translation errors of 0.18+/-0.10 mm and 0.03+/-0.02 mm respectively.

EEG source localization: Sensor density and head surface coverage.

PubMed

Song, Jasmine; Davey, Colin; Poulsen, Catherine; Luu, Phan; Turovets, Sergei; Anderson, Erik; Li, Kai; Tucker, Don

2015-12-30

The accuracy of EEG source localization depends on a sufficient sampling of the surface potential field, an accurate conducting volume estimation (head model), and a suitable and well-understood inverse technique. The goal of the present study is to examine the effect of sampling density and coverage on the ability to accurately localize sources, using common linear inverse weight techniques, at different depths. Several inverse methods are examined, using the popular head conductivity. Simulation studies were employed to examine the effect of spatial sampling of the potential field at the head surface, in terms of sensor density and coverage of the inferior and superior head regions. In addition, the effects of sensor density and coverage are investigated in the source localization of epileptiform EEG. Greater sensor density improves source localization accuracy. Moreover, across all sampling density and inverse methods, adding samples on the inferior surface improves the accuracy of source estimates at all depths. More accurate source localization of EEG data can be achieved with high spatial sampling of the head surface electrodes. The most accurate source localization is obtained when the voltage surface is densely sampled over both the superior and inferior surfaces. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Arsenic speciation and transport associated with the release of spent geothermal fluids in Mutnovsky field (Kamchatka, Russia)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ilgen, Anastasia G.; Rychagov, Sergey N.; Trainor, Thomas P.

The use of geothermal fluids for the production of electricity poses a risk of contaminating surface waters when spent fluids are discharged into (near) surface environments. Arsenic (As) in particular is a common component in geothermal fluids and leads to a degradation of water quality when present in mobile and bioavailable forms. We have examined changes in arsenic speciation caused by quick transition from high temperature reducing conditions to surface conditions, retention mechanisms, and the extent of transport associated with the release of spent geothermal fluids at the Dachny geothermal fields (Mutnovsky geothermal region), Kamchatka, Russia -- a high temperaturemore » field used for electricity production. In the spent fluids, the arsenic concentration reaches 9 ppm, while in natural hot springs expressed in the vicinity of the field, the As concentration is typically below 10 ppb. The aqueous phase arsenic speciation was determined using Liquid Chromatography (LC) coupled to an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). The arsenic speciation in the bottom sediments (< 65 {mu}m fraction) of the local surface waters was analyzed using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS). Arsenic in the geothermal source fluids is predominantly found as As(III), while a mixture of As(III)/As(V) is found in the water and sediment of the Falshivaia River downstream from the power plant. The extent of elevated arsenic concentrations in water is limited by adsorption to the bottom sediment and dilution, as determined using Cl{sup -} from the deep well fluids as a tracer. Analysis of the Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) spectra shows that sediment phase arsenic is associated with both Al- and Fe-rich phases with a bi-dentate corner sharing local geometry. The geothermal waste fluids released in the surface water create a localized area of arsenic contamination. The extent of transport of dissolved As is limited to {approx}7 km downstream from the source, while As associated with bottom sediment travels {approx}3 km farther.« less

Modeling and simulation of RF photoinjectors for coherent light sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y.; Krasilnikov, M.; Stephan, F.; Gjonaj, E.; Weiland, T.; Dohlus, M.

2018-05-01

We propose a three-dimensional fully electromagnetic numerical approach for the simulation of RF photoinjectors for coherent light sources. The basic idea consists in incorporating a self-consistent photoemission model within a particle tracking code. The generation of electron beams in the injector is determined by the quantum efficiency (QE) of the cathode, the intensity profile of the driving laser as well as by the accelerating field and magnetic focusing conditions in the gun. The total charge emitted during an emission cycle can be limited by the space charge field at the cathode. Furthermore, the time and space dependent electromagnetic field at the cathode may induce a transient modulation of the QE due to surface barrier reduction of the emitting layer. In our modeling approach, all these effects are taken into account. The beam particles are generated dynamically according to the local QE of the cathode and the time dependent laser intensity profile. For the beam dynamics, a tracking code based on the Lienard-Wiechert retarded field formalism is employed. This code provides the single particle trajectories as well as the transient space charge field distribution at the cathode. As an application, the PITZ injector is considered. Extensive electron bunch emission simulations are carried out for different operation conditions of the injector, in the source limited as well as in the space charge limited emission regime. In both cases, fairly good agreement between measurements and simulations is obtained.

SGR 0418+5729, Swift J1822.3-1606, and 1E 2259+586 as massive, fast-rotating, highly magnetized white dwarfs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boshkayev, K.; Izzo, L.; Rueda Hernandez, J. A.; Ruffini, R.

2013-07-01

Aims: We describe the so-called low magnetic field magnetars, SGR 0418+5729, Swift J1822.3-1606, and the AXP prototype 1E 2259+586 as massive, fast-rotating, highly magnetized white dwarfs. Methods: We give bounds for the mass, radius, moment of inertia, and magnetic field for these sources by requesting the stability of realistic, general relativistic, uniformly rotating white dwarfs. We also present the theoretical expectation of the infrared, optical, and ultraviolet emission of these objects and show their consistency with the current available observational data. Results: We improve the theoretical prediction of the lower limit of the spindown rate of SGR 0418+5729; for a white dwarf close to its maximum stable mass we obtain the very stringent interval for the spindown rate of 4.1 × 10-16 < Ṗ < 6 × 10-15, where the upper value is the known observational limit. A lower limit has been also set for Swift J1822.3-1606, whose spindown rate is not yet fully confirmed. Our model provides for the source Ṗ ≥ 2.13 × 10-15 if the star is close to its maximum stable mass. We give in addition the frequencies at which absorption features could be present in the spectrum of these sources as the result of the scattering of photons with the quantized electrons by the surface magnetic field.

A time-domain Kirchhoff formula for the convective acoustic wave equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghorbaniasl, Ghader; Siozos-Rousoulis, Leonidas; Lacor, Chris

2016-03-01

Kirchhoff's integral method allows propagated sound to be predicted, based on the pressure and its derivatives in time and space obtained on a data surface located in the linear flow region. Kirchhoff's formula for noise prediction from high-speed rotors and propellers suffers from the limitation of the observer located in uniform flow, thus requiring an extension to arbitrarily moving media. This paper presents a Kirchhoff formulation for moving surfaces in a uniform moving medium of arbitrary configuration. First, the convective wave equation is derived in a moving frame, based on the generalized functions theory. The Kirchhoff formula is then obtained for moving surfaces in the time domain. The formula has a similar form to the Kirchhoff formulation for moving surfaces of Farassat and Myers, with the presence of additional terms owing to the moving medium effect. The equation explicitly accounts for the influence of mean flow and angle of attack on the radiated noise. The formula is verified by analytical cases of a monopole source located in a moving medium.

Comparison of sigma(o) obtained from the conventional definition with sigma(o) appearing in the radar equation for randomly rough surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, D. M.

1981-01-01

A comparison is made of the radar cross section of rough surface calculated in one case from the conventional definition and obtained in the second case directly from the radar equation. The validity of the conventional definition representing the cross section appearing in the radar equation is determined. The analysis is executed in the special case of perfectly conducting, randomly corrugated surfaces in the physical optics limit. The radar equation is obtained by solving for the radiation scattered from an arbitrary source back to a colocated antenna. The signal out of the receiving antenna is computed from this solution and the result put into a form recognizeable as the radar equation. The conventional definition is obtained by solving a similar problem but for backscatter from an incident planewave. It is shown that these tow forms for sigma are the same if the observer is far enough from the surface.

Secondary ion mass spectrometry: The application in the analysis of atmospheric particulate matter

DOE PAGES

Huang, Di; Hua, Xin; Xiu, Guang-Li; ...

2017-07-24

Currently, considerable attention has been paid to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) investigation due to its importance in human health and global climate change. Surface characterization, single particle analysis and depth profiling of PM is important for a better understanding of its formation processes and predicting its impact on the environment and human being. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is a surface technique with high surface sensitivity, high spatial resolution chemical imaging and unique depth profiling capabilities. Recent research shows that SIMS has great potential in analyzing both surface and bulk chemical information of PM. In this review, we give amore » brief introduction of SIMS working principle and survey recent applications of SIMS in PM characterization. In particular, analyses from different types of PM sources by various SIMS techniques were discussed concerning their advantages and limitations. Finally, we propose, the future development and needs of SIMS in atmospheric aerosol measurement with a perspective in broader environmental sciences.« less

Secondary ion mass spectrometry: The application in the analysis of atmospheric particulate matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, Di; Hua, Xin; Xiu, Guang-Li

Currently, considerable attention has been paid to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) investigation due to its importance in human health and global climate change. Surface characterization, single particle analysis and depth profiling of PM is important for a better understanding of its formation processes and predicting its impact on the environment and human being. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is a surface technique with high surface sensitivity, high spatial resolution chemical imaging and unique depth profiling capabilities. Recent research shows that SIMS has great potential in analyzing both surface and bulk chemical information of PM. In this review, we give amore » brief introduction of SIMS working principle and survey recent applications of SIMS in PM characterization. In particular, analyses from different types of PM sources by various SIMS techniques were discussed concerning their advantages and limitations. Finally, we propose, the future development and needs of SIMS in atmospheric aerosol measurement with a perspective in broader environmental sciences.« less

Multiwavelength pyrometer for gray and non-gray surfaces in the presence of interfering radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ng, Daniel L. P. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

A method and apparatus for detecting the temperature of gray and non-gray bodies in the presence of interfering radiation are presented. A gray body has a constant emissivity less than 1 and a non-gray body has an emissivity which varies with wavelength. The emissivity and reflectivity of the surface is determined over a range of wavelengths. Spectra are also measured of the extraneous interference radiation source and the surface of the object to be measured in the presence of the extraneous interference radiation source. An auxiliary radiation source is used to determine the reflectivity of the surface and also the emissivity. The measured spectrum of the surfaces in the presence of the extraneous interference radiation source is set equal to the emissivity of the surface multiplied by a Planck function containing a temperature term T plus the surface reflectivity multiplied by the spectrum of the extraneous interference radiation source. The equation is then solved for T to determine the temperature of the surface.

Design and dosimetric characteristics of a new endocavitary contact radiotherapy system using an electronic brachytherapy source.

PubMed

Richardson, Susan; Garcia-Ramirez, Jose; Lu, Wei; Myerson, Robert J; Parikh, Parag

2012-11-01

To present design aspects and acceptance tests performed for clinical implementation of electronic brachytherapy treatment of early stage rectal adenocarcinoma. A dosimetric comparison is made between the historically used Philips RT-50 unit and the newly developed Axxent(®) Model S700 electronic brachytherapy source manufactured by Xoft (iCad, Inc.). Two proctoscope cones were manufactured by ElectroSurgical Instruments (ESI). Two custom surface applicators were manufactured by Xoft and were designed to fit and interlock with the proctoscope cones from ESI. Dose rates, half value layers (HVL), and percentage depth dose (PDD) measurements were made with the Xoft system and compared to historical RT-50 data. A description of the patient treatment approach and exposure rates during the procedure is also provided. The electronic brachytherapy system has a lower surface dose rate than the RT-50. The dose rate to water on the surface from the Xoft system is approximately 2.1 Gy∕min while the RT-50 is 10-12 Gy∕min. However, treatment times with Xoft are still reasonable. The HVLs and PDDs between the two systems were comparable resulting in similar doses to the target and to regions beyond the target. The exposure rate levels around a patient treatment were acceptable. The standard uncertainty in the dose rate to water on the surface is approximately ±5.2%. The Philips RT-50 unit is an out-of-date radiotherapy machine that is no longer manufactured with limited replacement parts. The use of a custom-designed proctoscope and Xoft surface applicators allows delivery of a well-established treatment with the ease of a modern radiotherapy device. While the dose rate is lower with the use of Xoft, the treatment times are still reasonable. Additionally, personnel may stand farther away from the Xoft radiation source, thus potentially reducing radiation exposure to the operator and other personnel.

Noise cancellation in magnetoencephalography and electroencephalography with isolated reference sensors

DOEpatents

Kraus, Jr., Robert H.; Espy, Michelle A.; Matlachov, Andrei; Volegov, Petr

2010-06-01

An apparatus measures electromagnetic signals from a weak signal source. A plurality of primary sensors is placed in functional proximity to the weak signal source with an electromagnetic field isolation surface arranged adjacent the primary sensors and between the weak signal source and sources of ambient noise. A plurality of reference sensors is placed adjacent the electromagnetic field isolation surface and arranged between the electromagnetic isolation surface and sources of ambient noise.

Shear bond strength to enamel after power bleaching activated by different sources.

PubMed

Can-Karabulut, Deniz C; Karabulut, Baris

2010-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate enamel bond strength of a composite resin material after hydrogen peroxide bleaching, activated by a diode laser (LaserSmile), an ozone device (HealOzone), a light-emitting diode (BT Cool whitening system), and a quartz-Plus. Fifty extracted caries-free permanent incisors were used in this study. Thirty-eight percent hydrogen peroxidegel was applied to sound, flattened labial enamel surfaces and activated by different sources. Enamel surfaces that had received no treatment were used as control samples. Bonding agent was applied according to the manufacturer's instructions and the adhesion test was performed according to ISO/TS 11405. Statistical analysis showed significant influence of the different activation technique of hydrogen peroxide on shear bond strength to enamel (ANOVA, LSD, P < 0.05). The data in this vitro explorative study suggest the activation of hydrogen peroxide by different sources may further affect the shear bond strength of subsequent composite resin restoration to enamel. Within the limitations of this in vitro study, further studies examining the structural changes of activated hydrogen peroxide-treated enamel are needed. Due to the different activation methods; duration of light irradiation effects, longer time periods may be needed before application of adhesive restorations to enamel, compared with non-activated bleaching.

A lower trophic ecosystem model including iron effects in the Okhotsk Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okunishi, Takeshi; Kishi, Michio J.; Ono, Yukiko; Yamashita, Toshihiko

2007-09-01

We applied a three-dimensional ecosystem-physical coupled model including iron the effect to the Okhotsk Sea. In order to clarify the sources of iron, four dissolved iron compartments, based on the sources of supply, were added to Kawamiya et al.'s [1995, An ecological-physical coupled model applied to Station Papa. Journal of Oceanography, 51, 635-664] model (KKYS) to create our ecosystem model (KKYS-Fe). We hypothesized that four processes supply iron to sea water: atmospheric loadings from Northeastern Asia, input from the Amur River, dissolution from sediments and regeneration by zooplankton and bacteria. We simulated one year, from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2001, using both KKYS-Fe and KKYS. KKYS could not reproduce the surface nitrate distribution after the spring bloom, whereas KKYS-Fe agreed well with observations in the northwestern Pacific because it includes iron limitation of phytoplankton growth. During the spring bloom, the main source of iron at the sea surface is from the atmosphere. The contribution of riverine iron to the total iron utilized for primary production is small in the Okhotsk Sea. Atmospheric deposition, the iron flux from sediment and regeneration of iron in the water column play important roles in maintaining high primary production in the Okhotsk Sea.

Acetylene-sourced CVD-synthesised catalytically active graphene for electrochemical biosensing.

PubMed

Osikoya, Adeniyi Olugbenga; Parlak, Onur; Murugan, N Arul; Dikio, Ezekiel Dixon; Moloto, Harry; Uzun, Lokman; Turner, Anthony Pf; Tiwari, Ashutosh

2017-03-15

In this study, we have demonstrated the use of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) grown-graphene to develop a highly-ordered graphene-enzyme electrode for electrochemical biosensing. The graphene sheets were deposited on 1.00mm thick copper sheet at 850°C using acetylene (C 2 H 2 ) as carbon source in an argon (Ar) and nitrogen (N 2 ) atmosphere. An anionic surfactant was used to increase wettability and hydrophilicity of graphene; thereby facilitating the assembly of biomolecules on the electrode surface. Meanwhile, the theoretical calculations confirmed the successful modification of hydrophobic nature of graphene through the anionic surface assembly, which allowed high-ordered immobilisation of glucose oxidase (GOx) on the graphene. The electrochemical sensing activities of the graphene-electrode was explored as a model for bioelectrocatalysis. The bioelectrode exhibited a linear response to glucose concentration ranging from 0.2 to 9.8mM, with sensitivity of 0.087µA/µM/cm 2 and a detection limit of 0.12µM (S/N=3). This work sets the stage for the use of acetylene-sourced CVD-grown graphene as a fundamental building block in the fabrication of electrochemical biosensors and other bioelectronic devices. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nonimaging Optical Illumination System

DOEpatents

Winston, Roland

1994-08-02

A nonimaging illumination optical device for producing selected intensity output over an angular range. The device includes a light reflecting surface (24, 26) around a light source (22) which is disposed opposite the aperture opening of the light reflecting surface (24, 26). The light source (22) has a characteristic dimension which is small relative to one or more of the distance from the light source (22) to the light reflecting surface (24, 26) or the angle subtended by the light source (22) at the light reflecting surface (24, 26).

Propagation of high frequency electrostatic surface waves along the planar interface between plasma and dusty plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Rinku; Dey, M.

2018-04-01

An analytical model is developed that explains the propagation of a high frequency electrostatic surface wave along the interface of a plasma system where semi-infinite electron-ion plasma is interfaced with semi-infinite dusty plasma. The model emphasizes that the source of such high frequency waves is inherent in the presence of ion acoustic and dust ion acoustic/dust acoustic volume waves in electron-ion plasma and dusty plasma region. Wave dispersion relation is obtained for two distinct cases and the role of plasma parameters on wave dispersion is analyzed in short and long wavelength limits. The normalized surface wave frequency is seen to grow linearly for lower wave number but becomes constant for higher wave numbers in both the cases. It is observed that the normalized frequency depends on ion plasma frequencies when dust oscillation frequency is neglected.

Charge management for gravitational-wave observatories using UV LEDs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pollack, S. E.; Turner, M. D.; Schlamminger, S.

Accumulation of electrical charge on the end mirrors of gravitational-wave observatories can become a source of noise limiting the sensitivity of such detectors through electronic couplings to nearby surfaces. Torsion balances provide an ideal means for testing gravitational-wave technologies due to their high sensitivity to small forces. Our torsion pendulum apparatus consists of a movable plate brought near a plate pendulum suspended from a nonconducting quartz fiber. A UV LED located near the pendulum photoejects electrons from the surface, and a UV LED driven electron gun directs photoelectrons towards the pendulum surface. We have demonstrated both charging and discharging ofmore » the pendulum with equivalent charging rates of {approx}10{sup 5}e/s, as well as spectral measurements of the pendulum charge resulting in a white noise level equivalent to 3x10{sup 5}e/{radical}(Hz).« less

Fiber Optic Thermal Detection of Composite Delaminations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, Meng-Chou; Winfree, William P.

2011-01-01

A recently developed technique is presented for thermographic detection of delaminations in composites by performing temperature measurements with fiber optic Bragg gratings. A single optical fiber with multiple Bragg gratings employed as surface temperature sensors was bonded to the surface of a composite with subsurface defects. The investigated structure was a 10-ply composite specimen with prefabricated delaminations of various sizes and depths. Both during and following the application of a thermal heat flux to the surface, the individual Bragg grating sensors measured the temporal and spatial temperature variations. The data obtained from grating sensors were analyzed with thermal modeling techniques of conventional thermography to reveal particular characteristics of the interested areas. Results were compared and found to be consistent with the calculations using numerical simulation techniques. Also discussed are methods including various heating sources and patterns, and their limitations for performing in-situ structural health monitoring.

Use of olivine and plagioclase saturation surfaces for the petrogenetic modeling of recrystallized basic plutonic systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanson, G. N.

1983-01-01

During petrogenetic studies of basic plutonic rocks, there are at least three major questions to be considered: (1) what were the relative proportions of cumulate crystals and intercumulus melt in a given sample? (2) what is the composition and variation in composition of the melts within the pluton? and (3) what is the original composition of the liquids, their source and evolution prior to the time of emplacement? Use of both saturation surfaces can place strong limits on the compositions of potential cumulate phases and intercumulus melts. Consideration of appropriate trace elements can indicate whether a sample is an orthocumulate, adcumulate or mesocumulate. Thus, when trace element and petrographic data are considered together with the saturation surfaces, it should be possible to begin to answer the three major questions given above, even for strongly recrystallized basic plutons.

Solid-state acquisition of fingermark topology using dense columnar thin films.

PubMed

Lakhtakia, Akhlesh; Shaler, Robert C; Martín-Palma, Raúl J; Motyka, Michael A; Pulsifer, Drew P

2011-05-01

Various vacuum techniques are employed to develop fingermarks on evidentiary items. In this work, a vacuum was used to deposit columnar thin films (CTFs) on untreated, cyanoacrylate-fumed or dusted fingermarks on a limited selection of nonporous surfaces (microscope glass slides and evidence tape). CTF deposition was not attempted on fingermarks deposited on porous surfaces. The fingermarks were placed in a vacuum chamber with the fingermark side facing an evaporating source boat containing either chalcogenide glass or MgF(2). Thermal evaporation of chalcogenide glass or MgF(2) under a 1 μTorr vacuum for 30 min formed dense CTFs on fingermark ridges, capturing the topographical features. The results show that it is possible to capture fingermark topology using CTFs on selected untreated, vacuumed cyanoacrylate-fumed or black powder-dusted nonporous surfaces. Additionally, the results suggested this might be a mechanism to help elucidate the sequence of deposition. © 2011 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Evaluation of thermal data for geologic applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahle, A. B.; Palluconi, F. D.; Levine, C. J.; Abrams, M. J.; Nash, D. B.; Alley, R. E.; Schieldge, J. P.

1982-01-01

Sensitivity studies using thermal models indicated sources of errors in the determination of thermal inertia from HCMM data. Apparent thermal inertia, with only simple atmospheric radiance corrections to the measured surface temperature, would be sufficient for most operational requirements for surface thermal inertia. Thermal data does have additional information about the nature of surface material that is not available in visible and near infrared reflectance data. Color composites of daytime temperature, nighttime temperature, and albedo were often more useful than thermal inertia images alone for discrimination of lithologic boundaries. A modeling study, using the annual heating cycle, indicated the feasibility of looking for geologic features buried under as much as a meter of alluvial material. The spatial resolution of HCMM data is a major limiting factor in the usefulness of the data for geologic applications. Future thermal infrared satellite sensors should provide spatial resolution comparable to that of the LANDSAT data.

The Neutral Mass Spectrometer on the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mahaffy, Paul R.; Hodges, R. Richard; Benna, Mehdi; King, Todd; Arvey, Robert; Barciniak, Michael; Bendt, Mirl; Carigan, Daniel; Errigo, Therese; Harpold, Daniel N.;

Application of acoustic surface wave technology to shuttle radar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

The application of surface acoustic wave (SAW) signal processing devices in the space shuttle was explored. In order to demonstrate the functions which a SAW device might perform, a breadboard pulse compression filter (PCF) module was assembled. The PCF permits a pulse radar to operate with a large duty cycle and low peak power, a regime favorable to the use of solid state RF sources. The transducer design, strong coupling compensation, circuit model analysis, fabrication limitations, and performance evaluation of a PCF are described. The nominal value of the compression ratio is 100:1 with 10-MHz bandwidth centered at 60 MHz and 10-microsecond dispersive delay. The PCF incorporates dispersive interdigital transducers and a piezoelectric lithium niobate substrate.

Airborne microbial allergens: Impact and risk assessment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Solomon, W.R.

1990-01-01

Despite their evolution in more natural niches, a variety of microorganisms have also successfully colonized man-made interiors. Such adaptable agents require fairly simple carbon and nitrogen sources, in limited amounts, and find these on surfaces and in fluid collections. Available moisture is also a critical permissive factor. Survival and growth indoors are fostered by the presence of stored biogenic materials and by soiling of surfaces with organic films derived from foodstuffs, soaps, volatile hydrocarbons and organic dusts. Commonly, predators such as protozoa, mites, insects and nematodes graze on a variety of established early invaders so that complex mixed populations aremore » common. At the least, bacteria, fungi and their extracellular products regularly coexist on even marginal substrates.« less

The Use of Multi-Source Satellite and Geospatial Data to Study the Effect of Urbanization of Primary Productivity in the United States

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Imhoff, M. L.; Tucker, C. J.; Lawrence, W. T.; Stutzer, D.; Rusin, Robert

2000-01-01

Data from two different satellites, a digital land cover map, and digital census data were analyzed and combined in a geographic information system to study the effect of urbanization on photosynthetic vegetation productivity in the United States. Results show that urbanization can have a measurable but variable impact on the primary productivity of the land surface. Annual productivity can be reduced by as much as 20 days in some areas, but in resource limited regions, photosynthetic production can be enhanced by human activity. Overall, urban development reduces the productivity of the land surface and those areas with the highest productivity are directly in the path of urban sprawl.

Lead Isotopes in Olivine-Phyric Shergottite Tissint: Implications for the Geochemical Evolution of the Shergottite Source Mantle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moriwaki, R.; Usui, T.; Simon, J. I.; Jones, J. H.; Yokoyama, T.

2015-01-01

Geochemically-depleted shergottites are basaltic rocks derived from a martian mantle source reservoir. Geochemical evolution of the martian mantle has been investigated mainly based on the Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, and Lu-Hf isotope systematics of the shergottites [1]. Although potentially informative, U-Th- Pb isotope systematics have been limited because of difficulties in interpreting the analyses of depleted meteorite samples that are more susceptible to the effects of near-surface processes and terrestrial contamination. This study conducts a 5-step sequential acid leaching experiment of the first witnessed fall of the geochemically-depleted olivinephyric shergottite Tissint to minimize the effect of low temperature distrubence. Trace element analyses of the Tissint acid residue (mostly pyroxene) indicate that Pb isotope compositions of the residue do not contain either a martian surface or terrestrial component, but represent the Tissint magma source [2]. The residue has relatively unradiogenic initial Pb isotopic compositions (e.g., 206Pb/204Pb = 10.8136) that fall within the Pb isotope space of other geochemically-depleted shergottites. An initial µ-value (238U/204Pb = 1.5) of Tissint at the time of crystallization (472 Ma [3]) is similar to a time-integrated mu- value (1.72 at 472 Ma) of the Tissint source mantle calculated based on the two-stage mantle evolution model [1]. On the other hand, the other geochemically-depleted shergottites (e.g., QUE 94201 [4]) have initial µ-values of their parental magmas distinctly lower than those of their modeled source mantle. These results suggest that only Tissint potentially reflects the geochemical signature of the shergottite mantle source that originated from cumulates of the martian magma ocean

Limits to Mercury's Magnesium Exosphere from MESSENGER Second Flyby Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarantos, Menelaos; Killen, Rosemary M.; McClintock, William E.; Bradley, E. Todd; Vervack, Ronald J., Jr.; Benna, Mehdi; Slavin, James A.

2011-01-01

The discovery measurements of Mercury's exospheric magnesium, obtained by the MErcury Surface. Space ENvironment, GEochemistry. and Ranging (MESSENGER) probe during its second Mercury flyby, are modeled to constrain the source and loss processes for this neutral species. Fits to a Chamberlain exosphere reveal that at least two source temperatures are required to reconcile the distribution of magnesium measured far from and near the planet: a hot ejection process at the equivalent temperature of several tens of thousands of degrees K, and a competing, cooler source at temperatures as low as 400 K. For the energetic component, our models indicate that the column abundance that can be attributed to sputtering under constant southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions is at least a factor of five less than the rate dictated by the measurements, Although highly uncertain, this result suggests that another energetic process, such as the rapid dissociation of exospheric MgO, may be the main source of the distant neutral component. If meteoroid and micrometeoroid impacts eject mainly molecules, the total amount of magnesium at altitudes exceeding approximately 100 km is found to be consistent with predictions by impact vaporization models for molecule lifetimes of no more than two minutes. Though a sharp increase in emission observed near the dawn terminator region can be reproduced if a single meteoroid enhanced the impact vapor at equatorial dawn, it is much more likely that observations in this region, which probe heights increasingly near the surface, indicate a reservoir of volatile Mg being acted upon by lower-energy source processes.

Metallic Species, Oxygen and Silicon in the Lunar Exosphere: Upper Limits and Prospects for LADEE Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarantos, Menelaos; Killen, Rosemary M.; Glenar, David A.; Benna, Mehdi; Stubbs, Timothy J.

2011-01-01

The only species that have been continued in the lunar exosphere are Na, K, Ar, and He. Models for the production and loss of lunar regolith-derived exospheric species from source processes including micrometeoroid impact vaporization, sputtering. and, for Na and K, photon-stimulated desorption, predict a host of other species should exist in the lunar exosphere. Assuming that loss processes are limited to ballistic escape and recycling to the surface, we have computed column abundances and compared them to published upper limits from the Moon and to detected abundances from Mercury. Only for Ca do the available measurements show a clear deficiency compared to the model estimates. This result suggests the importance of loss processes not included in the model, such as the possibility of gas-to-solid phase condensation during micrometeoroid impacts or the formation of stable metallic oxides, and underlines the need for improved spectroscopic measurements of the lunar exosphere. Simulations of the neutral mass (NMS) and visible/ultraviolet spectrometry (UVS) investigations planned by the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft are presented. Our calculations indicate that LADEE measurements promise to make definitive observations or set stringent upper limits for all regolith-driven exospheric species. Our models, along with LADEE observations, will constrain assumed model parameters for the Moon, such as sticking coefficients, source processes. and velocity distributions.

A review of global terrestrial evapotranspiration: Observation, modeling, climatology, and climatic variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Kaicun; Dickinson, Robert E.

2012-06-01

This review surveys the basic theories, observational methods, satellite algorithms, and land surface models for terrestrial evapotranspiration, E (or λE, i.e., latent heat flux), including a long-term variability and trends perspective. The basic theories used to estimate E are the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory (MOST), the Bowen ratio method, and the Penman-Monteith equation. The latter two theoretical expressions combine MOST with surface energy balance. Estimates of E can differ substantially between these three approaches because of their use of different input data. Surface and satellite-based measurement systems can provide accurate estimates of diurnal, daily, and annual variability of E. But their estimation of longer time variability is largely not established. A reasonable estimate of E as a global mean can be obtained from a surface water budget method, but its regional distribution is still rather uncertain. Current land surface models provide widely different ratios of the transpiration by vegetation to total E. This source of uncertainty therefore limits the capability of models to provide the sensitivities of E to precipitation deficits and land cover change.

Long Term 2 Second Round Source Water Monitoring and Bin Placement Memo

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR) applies to all public water systems served by a surface water source or public water systems served by a ground water source under the direct influence of surface water.

Methane Flux Estimation from Point Sources using GOSAT Target Observation: Detection Limit and Improvements with Next Generation Instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuze, A.; Suto, H.; Kataoka, F.; Shiomi, K.; Kondo, Y.; Crisp, D.; Butz, A.

2017-12-01

Atmospheric methane (CH4) has an important role in global radiative forcing of climate but its emission estimates have larger uncertainties than carbon dioxide (CO2). The area of anthropogenic emission sources is usually much smaller than 100 km2. The Thermal And Near infrared Sensor for carbon Observation Fourier-Transform Spectrometer (TANSO-FTS) onboard the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) has measured CO2 and CH4 column density using sun light reflected from the earth's surface. It has an agile pointing system and its footprint can cover 87-km2 with a single detector. By specifying pointing angles and observation time for every orbit, TANSO-FTS can target various CH4 point sources together with reference points every 3 day over years. We selected a reference point that represents CH4 background density before or after targeting a point source. By combining satellite-measured enhancement of the CH4 column density and surface measured wind data or estimates from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, we estimated CH4emission amounts. Here, we picked up two sites in the US West Coast, where clear sky frequency is high and a series of data are available. The natural gas leak at Aliso Canyon showed a large enhancement and its decrease with time since the initial blowout. We present time series of flux estimation assuming the source is single point without influx. The observation of the cattle feedlot in Chino, California has weather station within the TANSO-FTS footprint. The wind speed is monitored continuously and the wind direction is stable at the time of GOSAT overpass. The large TANSO-FTS footprint and strong wind decreases enhancement below noise level. Weak wind shows enhancements in CH4, but the velocity data have large uncertainties. We show the detection limit of single samples and how to reduce uncertainty using time series of satellite data. We will propose that the next generation instruments for accurate anthropogenic CO2 and CH4 flux estimation have improve spatial resolution (˜1km2 ) to further enhance column density changes. We also propose adding imaging capability to monitor plume orientation. We will present laboratory model results and a sampling pattern optimization study that combines local emission source and global survey observations.

High-resolution modeling of gaseous methylamines over a polluted region in China: source-dependent emissions and implications of spatial variations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Jingbo; Yu, Fangqun; Zhang, Yan; An, Jingyu; Wang, Lin; Zheng, Jun; Yao, Lei; Luo, Gan; Ma, Weichun; Yu, Qi; Huang, Cheng; Li, Li; Chen, Limin

2018-06-01

Amines have received increasing attention in recent years because of their potential role in new particle formation in the atmosphere and their impact on aerosol chemistry. High concentrations of amines are expected to be limited to the vicinity of source regions due to their short lifetime, highlighting the necessity of having a better understanding of contributions of emissions from different source types. This study presents the first high-resolution model simulation of concentrations of methylamines on a regional scale over the Yangtze River Delta region in East China. The WRF-Chem with nested grids is used in model simulations. In contrast to the very limited existing modeling studies that assumed a fixed ratio (FR) of amines to total ammonia emission, we derive source-dependent ratios (SDR) that distinguish C1-amine (CH3NH2), C2-amines (C2H7N), C3-amines (C3H9N) emissions from five different source types (agriculture, residential, transportation, chemical industry, and other industry). The amines-to-ammonia mass emission ratios, estimated from previous measurements, are 0.026, 0.0015, 0.0011, 0.0011, and 0.0011 for C1-amine; 0.007, 0.0018, 0.0015, 0.01, and 0.0009 for C2-amines; and 0.0004, 0.0005, 0.00043, 0.0006, and 0.0004 for C3-amines for chemical-industrial, other industrial, agricultural, residential, and transportational sources, respectively. The simulated concentrations of C1-, C2-, and C3-amines, based on both FR and SDR, have been compared with field measurements at a suburban site in Nanjing and at an urban site in Shanghai, China. SDR substantially improves the ability of the model in capturing the observed concentrations of methylamines. Concentrations of C1-, C2-, and C3-amines in the surface layer in the Yangtze River Delta region are generally in the range of 2-20, 5-50, and 0.5-4 pptv. Vertically, the concentrations of C1-, C2-, and C3-amines decrease quickly with altitude, dropping by a factor of ˜ 10 from the surface to ˜ 900 hPa. Results from the present study are critical to evaluating potential roles of amines in nucleation and chemical processes in polluted air.

Low-frequency radio constraints on the synchrotron cosmic web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vernstrom, T.; Gaensler, B. M.; Brown, S.; Lenc, E.; Norris, R. P.

2017-06-01

We present a search for the synchrotron emission from the synchrotron cosmic web by cross-correlating 180-MHz radio images from the Murchison Widefield Array with tracers of large-scale structure (LSS). We use two versions of the radio image covering 21.76° × 21.76° with point sources brighter than 0.05 Jy subtracted, with and without filtering of Galactic emission. As tracers of the LSS, we use the Two Micron All-Sky Survey and the Wide-field InfraRed Explorer redshift catalogues to produce galaxy number density maps. The cross-correlation functions all show peak amplitudes at 0°, decreasing with varying slopes towards zero correlation over a range of 1°. The cross-correlation signals include components from point source, Galactic, and extragalactic diffuse emission. We use models of the diffuse emission from smoothing the density maps with Gaussians of sizes 1-4 Mpc to find limits on the cosmic web components. From these models, we find surface brightness 99.7 per cent upper limits in the range of 0.09-2.20 mJy beam-1 (average beam size of 2.6 arcmin), corresponding to 0.01-0.30 mJy arcmin-2. Assuming equipartition between energy densities of cosmic rays and the magnetic field, the flux density limits translate to magnetic field strength limits of 0.03-1.98 μG, depending heavily on the spectral index. We conclude that for a 3σ detection of 0.1 μG magnetic field strengths via cross-correlations, image depths of sub-mJy to sub-μJy are necessary. We include discussion on the treatment and effect of extragalactic point sources and Galactic emission, and next steps for building on this work.

Development and characterization of a high-reliability, extended-lifetime H- ion source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becerra, Gabriel; Barrows, Preston; Sherman, Joseph

2015-11-01

Phoenix Nuclear Labs (PNL) has designed and constructed a long-lifetime, negative hydrogen (H-) ion source, in partnership with Fermilab for an ion beam injector servicing future Intensity Frontier particle accelerators. The specifications for the low-energy beam transport (LEBT) section are 5-10 mA of continuous H- ion current at 30 keV with <0.2 π-mm-mrad emittance. Existing ion sources at Fermilab rely on plasma-facing electrodes, limiting their lifetime to a few hundred hours, while requiring relatively high gas loads on downstream components. PNL's design features an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) microwave plasma driver which has been extensively developed in positive ion source systems, having demonstrated 1000+ hours of operation and >99% continuous uptime at PNL. Positive ions and hyperthermal neutrals drift toward a low-work-function surface, where a fraction is converted into H- hydrogen ions, which are subsequently extracted into a low-energy beam using electrostatic lenses. A magnetic filter preferentially removes high-energy electrons emitted by the source plasma, in order to mitigate H- ion destruction via electron-impact detachment. The design of the source subsystems and preliminary diagnostic results will be presented.

Microplasma-based flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (FAPA) source for ambient desorption-ionization mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Zeiri, Offer M; Storey, Andrew P; Ray, Steven J; Hieftje, Gary M

2017-02-01

A new direct-current microplasma-based flowing atmospheric pressure afterglow (FAPA) source was developed for use in ambient desorption-ionization mass spectrometry. The annular-shaped microplasma is formed in helium between two concentric stainless-steel capillaries that are separated by an alumina tube. Current-voltage characterization of the source shows that this version of the FAPA operates in the normal glow-discharge regime. A glass surface placed in the path of the helium afterglow reaches temperatures of up to approximately 400 °C; the temperature varies with distance from the source and helium flow rate through the source. Solid, liquid, and vapor samples were examined by means of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Results suggest that ionization occurs mainly through protonation, with only a small amount of fragmentation and adduct formation. The mass range of the source was shown to extend up to at least m/z 2722 for singly charged species. Limits of detection for several small organic molecules were in the sub-picomole range. Examination of competitive ionization revealed that signal suppression occurs only at high (mM) concentrations of competing substances. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Estimation of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Sources in Industrial Port Sediments Using a Bayesian Semifactor Model Considering Unidentified Sources.

PubMed

Anezaki, Katsunori; Nakano, Takeshi; Kashiwagi, Nobuhisa

2016-01-19

Using the chemical balance method, and considering the presence of unidentified sources, we estimated the origins of PCB contamination in surface sediments of Muroran Port, Japan. It was assumed that these PCBs originated from four types of Kanechlor products (KC300, KC400, KC500, and KC600), combustion and two kinds of pigments (azo and phthalocyanine). The characteristics of these congener patterns were summarized on the basis of principal component analysis and explanatory variables determined. A Bayesian semifactor model (CMBK2) was applied to the explanatory variables to analyze the sources of PCBs in the sediments. The resulting estimates of the contribution ratio of each kind of sediment indicate that the existence of unidentified sources can be ignored and that the assumed seven sources are adequate to account for the contamination. Within the port, the contribution ratio of KC500 and KC600 (used as paints for ship hulls) was extremely high, but outside the port, the influence of azo pigments was observable to a limited degree. This indicates that environmental PCBs not derived from technical PCBs are present at levels that cannot be ignored.

Coliform contamination of a coastal embayment: Sources and transport pathways

USGS Publications Warehouse

Weiskel, P.K.; Howes, B.L.; Heufelder, G.R.

1996-01-01

Fecal bacterial contamination of nearshore waters has direct economic impacts to coastal communities through the loss of shellfisheries and restrictions of recreational uses. We conducted seasonal measurements of fecal coliform (FC) sources and transport pathways contributing to FC contamination of Buttermilk Bay, a shallow embayment adjacent to Buzzards Bay, MA. Typical of most coastal embayments, there were no direct sewage discharges (i.e., outfalls), and fecal bacteria from human, domestic animal, and wildlife pools entered open waters primarily through direct deposition or after transport through surface waters or groundwaters. Direct fecal coliform inputs to bay waters occurred primarily in winter (December-March) from waterfowl, ~33 x 1012 FC yr-1 or ~67% of the total annual loading. Effects of waterfowl inputs on bay FC densities were mitigated by their seasonality, wide distribution across the bay surface, and the apparent limited dispersal from fecal pellets. On-site disposal of sewage by septic systems was the single largest FC source in the watershed-embayment system, 460 x 1012 FC yr-1, but due to attenuation during subsurface transport only a minute fraction, < 0.006 x 1012 FC yr-1, reached bay waters (<0.01% of annual input to bay). Instead, surface water flows, via storm drains and natural streams under both wet- and dry-weather conditions, contributed the major terrestrial input, 12 x 1012 FC yr-1 (24% of annual input), all from animal sources. Since most of the surface water FC inputs were associated with periodic, short-duration rain events with discharge concentrated in nearshore zones, wet-weather flows were found to have a disproportionately high impact on nearshore FC levels. Elution of FC from shoreline deposits of decaying vegetation (wrack) comprised an additional coliform source. Both laboratory and field experiments suggest significant elution of bacteria from wrack, ~3 x 1012 FC yr-1 on a bay-wide basis (6% of annual input), primarily by periodic tidal flooding and possibly by major rain events. Release of coliforms during resuspension of subtidal sediments was estimated to be a minor source in this system (<1.5 x 1012 FC yr-1 or < 3% of annual input), primarily associated with large storm events in the fall and winter. Based upon the relative source strengths and the spatial and temporal patterns of FC input to Buttermilk Bay, it appears that management practices in similar settings should account for migratory waterfowl, but remediation efforts should focus on the redirection of stormwater runoff through the groundwater transport pathway.

The Border Environmental Health Initiative-investigating the transboundary Santa Cruz watershed

USGS Publications Warehouse

Norman, Laura M.; Callegary, James; van Riper, Charles; Gray, Floyd

2010-01-01

In 2004 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched the Border Environmental Health Initiative (BEHI), a major project encompassing the entire U.S.-Mexico border region. In 2009, a study of the Santa Cruz River Watershed (SCW), located in the border region of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, was initiated as part of the BEHI. In this borderland region of the desert Southwest, human health and the ecosystems on which humans rely depend critically on limited water resources. Surface water is scarce during much of the year, and groundwater is the primary source for industrial, agricultural, and domestic use. In order to identify risks to water resources in the SCW, and the potential consequences to riparian ecosystems and ultimately human health, the USGS is using an interdisciplinary and integrative approach that incorporates the expertise of geographers, hydrologists, biologists, and geologists to track organic and inorganic contaminants and their effects from sources to sinks in sediment, water, plants, and animals. Existing groundwater and surface-water models are being used and modified to assess contaminant and sediment transport.

Design and measurement technique of surface-enhanced Raman scattering for detection of bisphenol A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abu Bakar, Norhayati; Mat Salleh, Muhamad; Umar, Akrajas Ali; Shapter, Joseph George

2017-06-01

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a highly sensitive measurement technique that provides Raman peaks at different Raman shift for different molecule structures. The SERS sensor is potentially used to detect food contamination and monitor environmental pollutants. A self-developed SERS system for specific analysis with low development cost is a challenging issue. This study attempts to develop a simple SERS sensor system for detection of bisphenol A (BPA) molecule using SERS substrate of silver nanoplate film. A SERS sensor system was developed, consisting of a light source to excite analyte molecules, Inphotonic Raman probe, sensor chamber and spectrophotometer as an analyser system. A duplex fibre optic is used to transmit light from the source to the probe and from the probe to the spectrophotometer. For SERS measurement, BPA detection was done by comparing the Raman signal spectra of the BPA on the quartz substrate and BPA on the silver nanoplate film. This SERS sensor successfully sensed BPA with SERS enhancement factor (EF) 5.55  ×  103 and a detection limit of BPA concentration at 1 mM.

Tracing origins of complex pharmaceutical preparations using surface desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Zhang, Xinglei; Jia, Bin; Huang, Keke; Hu, Bin; Chen, Rong; Chen, Huanwen

2010-10-01

A novel strategy to trace the origins of commercial pharmaceutical products has been developed based on the direct chemical profiling of the pharmaceutical products by surface desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (DAPCI-MS). Besides the unambiguous identification of active drug components, various compounds present in the matrixes are simultaneously detected without sample pretreatment, providing valuable information for drug quality control and origin differentiation. Four sources of commercial amoxicillin products made by different manufacturers have been successfully differentiated. This strategy has been extended to secerning six sources of Liuwei Dihuang Teapills, which are herbal medicine preparations with extremely complex matrixes. The photolysis status of chemical drug products and the inferior natural herd medicine products prepared with different processes (e.g., extra heating) were also screened using the method reported here. The limit of detection achieved in the MS/MS experiments was estimated to be 1 ng/g for amoxicillin inside the capsule product. Our experimental data demonstrate that DAPCI-MS is a useful tool for rapid pharmaceutical analysis, showing promising perspectives for tracking the entire pharmaceutical supply chain to prevent counterfeit intrusions.

Polarized optical scattering by inhomogeneities and surface roughness in an anisotropic thin film

DOE PAGES

Germer, Thomas A.; Sharma, Katelynn A.; Brown, Thomas G.; ...

2017-10-18

We extend the theory for scattering by oblique columnar structure thin films to include the induced form birefringence and the propagation of radiation in those films. We generalize the 4 × 4 matrix theory to include arbitrary sources in the layer, which are necessary to determine the Green function for the inhomogeneous wave equation. We further extend first-order vector perturbation theory for scattering by roughness in the smooth surface limit, when the layer is anisotropic. Scattering by an inhomogeneous medium is approximated by a distorted Born approximation, where effective medium theory is used to determine the effective properties of themore » medium and strong fluctuation theory is used to determine the inhomogeneous sources. In this manner, we develop a model for scattering by inhomogeneous films, with anisotropic correlation functions. Here, the results are compared to Mueller matrix bidirectional scattering distribution function measurements for a glancing-angle deposition (GLAD) film. While the results are applied to the GLAD film example, the development of the theory is general enough that it can guide simulations for scattering in other anisotropic thin films.« less

Modeling the transport of PCDD/F compounds in a contaminated river and the possible influence of restoration dredging on calculated fluxes.

PubMed

Malve, Olli; Salo, Simo; Verta, Matti; Forsius, John

2003-08-01

River Kymijoki, the fourth largest river in Finland, has been heavily polluted by pulp mill effluents as well as by chemical industry. Loading has been reduced considerably, although remains of past emissions still exist in river sediments. The sediments are highly contaminated with polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (PCDEs), and mercury originating from production of the chlorophenolic wood preservative (Ky-5) and other sources. The objective of this study was to simulate the transport of these PCDD/F compounds with a one-dimensional flow and transport model and to assess the impact of restoration dredging. Using the estimated trend in PCDD/F loading, downstream concentrations were calculated until 2020. If contaminated sediments are removed by dredging, the temporary increase of PCDD/F concentrations in downstream water and surface sediments will be within acceptable limits. Long-term predictions indicated only a minor decrease in surface sediment concentrations but a major decrease if the most contaminated sediments close to the emission source were removed. A more detailed assessment of the effects is suggested.

Surface Water in Hawaii

USGS Publications Warehouse

Oki, Delwyn S.

2003-01-01

Surface water in Hawaii is a valued resource as well as a potential threat to human lives and property. The surface-water resources of Hawaii are of significant economic, ecologic, cultural, and aesthetic importance. Streams supply more than 50 percent of the irrigation water in Hawaii, and although streams supply only a few percent of the drinking water statewide, surface water is the main source of drinking water in some places. Streams also are a source of hydroelectric power, provide important riparian and instream habitats for many unique native species, support traditional and customary Hawaiian gathering rights and the practice of taro cultivation, and possess valued aesthetic qualities. Streams affect the physical, chemical, and aesthetic quality of receiving waters, such as estuaries, bays, and nearshore waters, which are critical to the tourism-based economy of the islands. Streams in Hawaii pose a danger because of their flashy nature; a stream's stage, or water level, can rise several feet in less than an hour during periods of intense rainfall. Streams in Hawaii are flashy because rainfall is intense, drainage basins are small, basins and streams are steep, and channel storage is limited. Streamflow generated during periods of heavy rainfall has led to loss of property and human lives in Hawaii. Most Hawaiian streams originate in the mountainous interiors of the islands and terminate at the coast. Streams are significant sculptors of the Hawaiian landscape because of the erosive power of the water they convey. In geologically young areas, such as much of the southern part of the island of Hawaii, well-defined stream channels have not developed because the permeability of the surface rocks generally is so high that rainfall infiltrates before flowing for significant distances on the surface. In geologically older areas that have received significant rainfall, streams and mass wasting have carved out large valleys.

Persistence of deeply sourced iron in the Pacific Ocean

PubMed Central

Horner, Tristan J.; Williams, Helen M.; Hein, James R.; Saito, Mak A.; Burton, Kevin W.; Halliday, Alex N.; Nielsen, Sune G.

2015-01-01

Biological carbon fixation is limited by the supply of Fe in vast regions of the global ocean. Dissolved Fe in seawater is primarily sourced from continental mineral dust, submarine hydrothermalism, and sediment dissolution along continental margins. However, the relative contributions of these three sources to the Fe budget of the open ocean remains contentious. By exploiting the Fe stable isotopic fingerprints of these sources, it is possible to trace distinct Fe pools through marine environments, and through time using sedimentary records. We present a reconstruction of deep-sea Fe isotopic compositions from a Pacific Fe−Mn crust spanning the past 76 My. We find that there have been large and systematic changes in the Fe isotopic composition of seawater over the Cenozoic that reflect the influence of several, distinct Fe sources to the central Pacific Ocean. Given that deeply sourced Fe from hydrothermalism and marginal sediment dissolution exhibit the largest Fe isotopic variations in modern oceanic settings, the record requires that these deep Fe sources have exerted a major control over the Fe inventory of the Pacific for the past 76 My. The persistence of deeply sourced Fe in the Pacific Ocean illustrates that multiple sources contribute to the total Fe budget of the ocean and highlights the importance of oceanic circulation in determining if deeply sourced Fe is ever ventilated at the surface. PMID:25605900

Persistence of deeply sourced iron in the Pacific Ocean.

PubMed

Horner, Tristan J; Williams, Helen M; Hein, James R; Saito, Mak A; Burton, Kevin W; Halliday, Alex N; Nielsen, Sune G

2015-02-03

Biological carbon fixation is limited by the supply of Fe in vast regions of the global ocean. Dissolved Fe in seawater is primarily sourced from continental mineral dust, submarine hydrothermalism, and sediment dissolution along continental margins. However, the relative contributions of these three sources to the Fe budget of the open ocean remains contentious. By exploiting the Fe stable isotopic fingerprints of these sources, it is possible to trace distinct Fe pools through marine environments, and through time using sedimentary records. We present a reconstruction of deep-sea Fe isotopic compositions from a Pacific Fe-Mn crust spanning the past 76 My. We find that there have been large and systematic changes in the Fe isotopic composition of seawater over the Cenozoic that reflect the influence of several, distinct Fe sources to the central Pacific Ocean. Given that deeply sourced Fe from hydrothermalism and marginal sediment dissolution exhibit the largest Fe isotopic variations in modern oceanic settings, the record requires that these deep Fe sources have exerted a major control over the Fe inventory of the Pacific for the past 76 My. The persistence of deeply sourced Fe in the Pacific Ocean illustrates that multiple sources contribute to the total Fe budget of the ocean and highlights the importance of oceanic circulation in determining if deeply sourced Fe is ever ventilated at the surface.

Fatty acid methyl ester analysis to identify sources of soil in surface water.

PubMed

Banowetz, Gary M; Whittaker, Gerald W; Dierksen, Karen P; Azevedo, Mark D; Kennedy, Ann C; Griffith, Stephen M; Steiner, Jeffrey J

2006-01-01

Efforts to improve land-use practices to prevent contamination of surface waters with soil are limited by an inability to identify the primary sources of soil present in these waters. We evaluated the utility of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles of dry reference soils for multivariate statistical classification of soils collected from surface waters adjacent to agricultural production fields and a wooded riparian zone. Trials that compared approaches to concentrate soil from surface water showed that aluminum sulfate precipitation provided comparable yields to that obtained by vacuum filtration and was more suitable for handling large numbers of samples. Fatty acid methyl ester profiles were developed from reference soils collected from contrasting land uses in different seasons to determine whether specific fatty acids would consistently serve as variables in multivariate statistical analyses to permit reliable classification of soils. We used a Bayesian method and an independent iterative process to select appropriate fatty acids and found that variable selection was strongly impacted by the season during which soil was collected. The apparent seasonal variation in the occurrence of marker fatty acids in FAME profiles from reference soils prevented preparation of a standardized set of variables. Nevertheless, accurate classification of soil in surface water was achieved utilizing fatty acid variables identified in seasonally matched reference soils. Correlation analysis of entire chromatograms and subsequent discriminant analyses utilizing a restricted number of fatty acid variables showed that FAME profiles of soils exposed to the aquatic environment still had utility for classification at least 1 wk after submersion.

The Effect of Reduced Water Availability in the Great Ruaha River on the Vulnerable Common Hippopotamus in the Ruaha National Park, Tanzania.

PubMed

Stommel, Claudia; Hofer, Heribert; East, Marion L

2016-01-01

In semi-arid environments, 'permanent' rivers are essential sources of surface water for wildlife during 'dry' seasons when rainfall is limited or absent, particularly for species whose resilience to water scarcity is low. The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) requires submersion in water to aid thermoregulation and prevent skin damage by solar radiation; the largest threat to its viability are human alterations of aquatic habitats. In the Ruaha National Park (NP), Tanzania, the Great Ruaha River (GRR) is the main source of surface water for wildlife during the dry season. Recent, large-scale water extraction from the GRR by people upstream of Ruaha NP is thought to be responsible for a profound decrease in dry season water-flow and the absence of surface water along large sections of the river inside the NP. We investigated the impact of decreased water flow on daytime hippo distribution using regular censuses at monitoring locations, transects and camera trap records along a 104km section of the GRR within the Ruaha NP during two dry seasons. The minimum number of hippos per monitoring location increased with the expanse of surface water as the dry seasons progressed, and was not affected by water quality. Hippo distribution significantly changed throughout the dry season, leading to the accumulation of large numbers in very few locations. If surface water loss from the GRR continues to increase in future years, this will have serious implications for the hippo population and other water dependent species in Ruaha NP.

Effect of climate change on runoff of Campylobacter and Cryptosporidium from land to surface water.

PubMed

Sterk, Ankie; Schijven, Jack; de Roda Husman, Ana Maria; de Nijs, Ton

2016-05-15

Faeces originating from wildlife, domestic animals or manure-fertilized fields, is considered an important source of zoonotic pathogens to which people may be exposed by, for instance, bathing or drinking-water consumption. An increase in runoff, and associated wash-off of animal faeces from fields, is assumed to contribute to the increase of disease outbreaks during periods of high precipitation. Climate change is expected to increase winter precipitation and extreme precipitation events during summer, but has simultaneously also other effects such as temperature rise and changes in evapotranspiration. The question is to what extent the combination of these effects influence the input of zoonotic pathogens to the surface waters. To quantitatively analyse the impacts of climate change on pathogen runoff, pathogen concentrations reaching surface waters through runoff were calculated by combining an input model for catchment pathogen loads with the Wageningen Lowland Runoff Simulator (WALRUS). Runoff of Cryptosporidium and Campylobacter was evaluated under different climate change scenarios and by applying different scenarios for sources of faecal pollution in the catchments, namely dairy cows and geese and manure fertilization. Model evaluation of these scenarios shows that climate change has little overall impact on runoff of Campylobacter and Cryptosporidium from land to the surface waters. Even though individual processes like runoff fluxes, pathogen release and dilution are affected, either positively or negatively, the net effect on the pathogen concentration in surface waters and consequently also on infection risks through recreation seems limited. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Quantifying sources of fine sediment supplied to post-fire debris flows using fallout radionuclide tracers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Hugh; Sheridan, Gary; Nyman, Petter; Child, David; Lane, Patrick; Hotchkis, Michael

2013-04-01

The supply of fine sediment and ash has been identified as an important factor contributing to the initiation of runoff-generated debris flows after fire. However, despite the significance of fines for post-fire debris flow generation, no investigations have sought to quantify sources of this material in debris flow affected catchments. In this study, we employ fallout radionuclides (Cs-137, excess Pb-210 and Pu-239,240) as tracers to measure proportional contributions of fine sediment (<10 μm) from hillslope surface and channel bank sources to levee and terminal fan deposits formed by post-fire debris flows in two forest catchments in southeastern Australia. While Cs-137 and excess Pb-210 have been widely used in sediment tracing studies, application of Pu as a tracer represents a recent development and was limited to only one catchment. The estimated range in hillslope surface contributions of fine sediment to individual debris flow deposits in each catchment was 22-69% and 32-74%, respectively. No systematic change in the source contributions to debris flow deposits was observed with distance downstream from channel initiation points. Instead, spatial variability in source contributions was largely influenced by the pattern of debris flow surges forming the deposits. Linking the sediment tracing with interpretation of depositional evidence allowed reconstruction of temporal sequences in sediment source contributions to debris flow surges. Hillslope source inputs dominated most elevated channel deposits such as marginal levees that were formed under peak flow conditions. This indicated the importance of hillslope runoff and sediment supply for debris flow generation in both catchments. In contrast, material stored within channels that was deposited during subsequent surges was predominantly channel-derived. The results demonstrate that fallout radionuclide tracers may provide unique information on the changing source contributions of fine sediment during debris flow events.

Photo-stimulated low electron temperature high current diamond film field emission cathode

DOEpatents

Shurter,; Roger Philips, Devlin [Los Alamos, NM; David James, Moody [Santa Fe, NM; Nathan Andrew, Taccetti [Los Alamos, NM; Jose Martin, Russell [Santa Fe, NM; John, Steven [Los Alamos, NM

2012-07-24

An electron source includes a back contact surface having a means for attaching a power source to the back contact surface. The electron source also includes a layer comprising platinum in direct contact with the back contact surface, a composite layer of single-walled carbon nanotubes embedded in platinum in direct contact with the layer comprising platinum. The electron source also includes a nanocrystalline diamond layer in direct contact with the composite layer. The nanocrystalline diamond layer is doped with boron. A portion of the back contact surface is removed to reveal the underlying platinum. The electron source is contained in an evacuable container.

Estimation of vegetative mercury emissions in China.

PubMed

Quan, Jiannong; Zhang, Xiaoshan; Shim, Shang Gyoo

2008-01-01

Vegetative mercury emissions were estimated within the framework of Biogenic Emission Inventory System (BEIS3 V3.11). In this estimation, the 19 categories of U.S. Geological Survey landcover data were incorporated to generate the vegetation-specific mercury emissions in a 81-km Lambert Conformal model grid covering the total Chinese continent. The surface temperature and cloud-corrected solar radiation from a Mesoscale Meteorological model (MM5) were retrieved and used for calculating the diurnal variation. The implemented emission factors were either evaluated from the measured mercury flux data for forest, agriculture and water, or assumed for other land fields without available flux data. Annual simulations using the MM5 data were performed to investigate the seasonal emission variation. From the sensitivity analysis using two sets of emission factors, the vegetative mercury emissions in China domain were estimated to range from a lower limit of 79 x 10(3) kg/year to an upper limit of 177 x 10(3) kg/year. The modeled vegetative emissions were mainly generated from the eastern and southern China. Using the estimated data, it is shown that mercury emissions from vegetation are comparable to that from anthropogenic sources during summer. However, the vegetative emissions decrease greatly during winter, leaving anthropogenic sources as the major sources of emission.

Towards a first design of a Newtonian-noise cancellation system for Advanced LIGO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coughlin, M.; Mukund, N.; Harms, J.; Driggers, J.; Adhikari, R.; Mitra, S.

2016-12-01

Newtonian gravitational noise from seismic fields is predicted to be a limiting noise source at low frequency for second generation gravitational-wave detectors. Mitigation of this noise will be achieved by Wiener filtering using arrays of seismometers deployed in the vicinity of all test masses. In this work, we present optimized configurations of seismometer arrays using a variety of simplified models of the seismic field based on seismic observations at LIGO Hanford. The model that best fits the seismic measurements leads to noise reduction limited predominantly by seismometer self-noise. A first simplified design of seismic arrays for Newtonian-noise cancellation at the LIGO sites is presented, which suggests that it will be sufficient to monitor surface displacement inside the buildings.

Trace-metal concentrations, waters from selected sky lakes, streams and springs, northern Shawangunk Mountains, New York: geologic and ecologic implications

USGS Publications Warehouse

Friedman, J.D.; Huth, P.C.; Smiley, D.

1990-01-01

Reconnaissance sampling and chemical analysis of water from selected lakes, streams and springs of the northern Shawangunk Mountains in 1987 to 1988 to determine the influence of lithology on trace-metal concentrations in surface water, and to establish a base level of concentration of 27 selected metals by ICP-AES and Hg by cold-vapor AAS methods, for geochemical exploration, ecologic, acid-rain, and climatic-change studies, have yielded trace-metal concentrations greater than detection limits for 10 metallic elements. Eighteen additional metallic elements were also present in trace quantities below the quantitative detection limit. Two distinct geochemical populations are related to source lithology and pH. -from Authors

Growth methods for controlled large-area fabrication of high-quality graphene analogs

DOEpatents

Najmaei, Sina; Liu, Zheng; Ajayan, Pulickel M.; Lou, Jun

2017-02-28

In some embodiments, the present disclosure pertains to methods of growing chalcogen-linked metallic films on a surface in a chamber. In some embodiments, the method comprises placing a metal source and a chalcogen source in the chamber, and gradually heating the chamber, where the heating leads to the chemical vapor deposition of the chalcogen source and the metal source onto the surface, and facilitates the growth of the chalcogen-linked metallic film from the chalcogen source and the metal source on the surface. In some embodiments, the chalcogen source comprises sulfur, and the metal source comprises molybdenum trioxide. In some embodiments, the growth of the chalcogen-linked metallic film occurs by formation of nucleation sites on the surface, where the nucleation sites merge to form the chalcogen-linked metallic film. In some embodiments, the formed chalcogen-linked metallic film includes MoS.sub.2.

How Conjunctive Use of Surface and Ground Water could Increase Resiliency in US?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Josset, L.; Rising, J. A.; Russo, T. A.; Troy, T. J.; Lall, U.; Allaire, M.

2016-12-01

Optimized management practices are crucial to ensuring water availability in the future. However this presents a tremendous challenge due to the many functions of water: water is not only central for our survival as drinking water or for irrigation, but it is also valued for industrial and recreational use. Sources of water meeting these needs range from rain water harvesting to reservoirs, water reuse, groundwater abstraction and desalination. A global conjunctive management approach is thus necessary to develop sustainable practices as all sectors are strongly coupled. Policy-makers and researchers have identified pluralism in water sources as a key solution to reach water security. We propose a novel approach to sustainable water management that accounts for multiple sources of water in an integrated manner. We formulate this challenge as an optimization problem where the choice of water sources is driven both by the availability of the sources and their relative cost. The results determine the optimal operational decisions for each sources (e.g. reservoirs releases, surface water withdrawals, groundwater abstraction and/or desalination water use) at each time step for a given time horizon. The physical surface and ground water systems are simulated inside the optimization by setting state equations as constraints. Additional constraints may be added to the model to represent the influence of policy decisions. To account for uncertainty in weather conditions and its impact on availability, the optimization is performed for an ensemble of climate scenarios. While many sectors and their interactions are represented, the computational cost is limited as the problem remains linear and thus enables large-scale applications and the propagation of uncertainty. The formulation is implemented within the model "America's Water Analysis, Synthesis and Heuristic", an integrated model for the conterminous US discretized at the county-scale. This enables a systematic evaluation of stresses on water resources. We explore in particular geographic and temporal trends in function of user-types to develop a better understanding of the dynamics at play. We conclude with a comparison between the optimization results and current water use to identify potential solutions to increase resiliency.

Geomorphic and land cover identification of dust sources in the eastern Great Basin of Utah, U.S.A.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahnenberger, Maura; Nicoll, Kathleen

2014-01-01

This study identifies anthropogenically disturbed areas and barren playa surfaces as the two primary dust source types that repeatedly contribute to dust storm events in the eastern Great Basin of western Utah, U.S.A. This semi-arid desert region is an important contributor to dust production in North America, with this study being the first to specifically identify and characterize regional dust sources. From 2004 to 2010, a total of 51 dust event days (DEDs) affected the air quality in Salt Lake City, UT. MODIS satellite imagery during 16 of these DEDs was analyzed to identify dust plumes, and assess the characteristics of dust source areas. A total of 168 plumes were identified, and showed mobilization of dust from Quaternary deposits located within the Bonneville Basin. This analysis identifies 4 major and 5 secondary source areas for dust in this region, which produce dust primarily during the spring and fall months and during moderate or greater drought conditions, with a Palmer Drought Index (PDI) of - 2 or less. The largest number of observed dust plumes (~ 60% of all plumes) originated from playas (ephemeral lakes) and are classified as barren land cover with a silty clay soil sediment surface. Playa surfaces in this region undergo numerous recurrent anthropogenic disturbances, including military operations and anthropogenic water withdrawal. Anthropogenic disturbance is necessary to produce dust from the vegetated landscape in the eastern Great Basin, as evidenced by the new dust source active from 2008 to 2010 in the area burned by the 2007 Milford Flat Fire; this fire was the largest in Utah's history due to extensive cover of invasive cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) along with drought conditions. However, dust mobilization from the Milford Flat Burned Area was limited to regions that had been significantly disturbed by post-fire land management techniques that consisted of seeding, followed by chaining or tilling of the soil. Dust storms in the eastern Great Basin negatively impact air quality and transportation in the populated regions of Utah; this study details an improved forecasting protocol for dust storm events that will benefit transportation planning and improve public health.

UHE Cosmic Ray Observations Using the Cygnus Water - Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dion, Cynthia L.

1995-01-01

The CYGNUS water-Cerenkov array, consisting of five surface water-Cerenkov detectors, was built in the CYGNUS extensive air shower array at Los Alamos, New Mexico (latitude 36^circ N, longitude 107^circ W, altitude 2310 meters) to search for point sources of ultra-high energy particles (>1014 eV per particle) with the CYGNUS extensive air shower array. The water-Cerenkov detectors are used to improve the angular resolution of the extensive air shower array. This experiment searches for point sources of UHE gamma-radiation that may be of galactic or extra-galactic origin. The data set from December 1991 to January 1994 consists of data from both the water-Cerenkov array and the CYGNUS extensive air shower array. These data are combined, and the angular resolution of this combined data set is measured to be 0.34^circ+0.03 ^circ-0.04^circ. The measurement is made by observing the cosmic-ray shadowing of the Sun and the Moon. Using a subset of these data, three potential sources of UHE emission are studied: the Crab Pulsar, and the active galactic nuclei Markarian 421 and Markarian 501. A search is conducted for continuous emission from these three sources, and emission over shorter time scales. This experiment is particularly sensitive to emission over these shorter time scales. There is no evidence of UHE emission from these three sources over any time scales studied, and upper bounds to the flux of gamma radiation are determined. The flux upper limit for continuous emission from the Crab Pulsar is found to be 1.2times10^ {-13}/rm cm^2/s above 70 TeV. The flux upper limit for continuous emission from Markarian 421 is found to be 1.3times10^ {-13}/rm cm^2/s above 50 TeV. The flux upper limit for continuous emission from Markarian 501 is found to be 3.8times10^ {-13}/rm cm^2/s above 50 TeV.

Greenland Ice Sheet exports labile organic carbon to the Arctic oceans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawson, E. C.; Wadham, J. L.; Tranter, M.; Stibal, M.; Lis, G. P.; Butler, C. E. H.; Laybourn-Parry, J.; Nienow, P.; Chandler, D.; Dewsbury, P.

2014-07-01

Runoff from small glacier systems contains dissolved organic carbon (DOC) rich in protein-like, low molecular weight (LMW) compounds, designating glaciers as an important source of bioavailable carbon for downstream heterotrophic activity. Fluxes of DOC and particulate organic carbon (POC) exported from large Greenland catchments, however, remain unquantified, despite the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) being the largest source of global glacial runoff (ca. 400 km3 yr-1). We report high and episodic fluxes of POC and DOC from a large (>600 km2) GrIS catchment during contrasting melt seasons. POC dominates organic carbon (OC) export (70-89% on average), is sourced from the ice sheet bed, and contains a significant bioreactive component (9% carbohydrates). A major source of the "bioavailable" (free carbohydrate) LMW-DOC fraction is microbial activity on the ice sheet surface, with some further addition of LMW-DOC to meltwaters by biogeochemical processes at the ice sheet bed. The bioavailability of the exported DOC (26-53%) to downstream marine microorganisms is similar to that reported from other glacial watersheds. Annual fluxes of DOC and free carbohydrates during two melt seasons were similar, despite the approximately two-fold difference in runoff fluxes, suggesting production-limited DOC sources. POC fluxes were also insensitive to an increase in seasonal runoff volumes, indicating a supply limitation in suspended sediment in runoff. Scaled to the GrIS, the combined DOC (0.13-0.17 Tg C yr-1 (±13%)) and POC fluxes (mean = 0.36-1.52 Tg C yr-1 (±14%)) are of a similar order of magnitude to a large Arctic river system, and hence may represent an important OC source to the near-coastal North Atlantic, Greenland and Labrador seas.

Greenland Ice Sheet exports labile organic carbon to the Arctic oceans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawson, E. C.; Wadham, J. L.; Tranter, M.; Stibal, M.; Lis, G. P.; Butler, C. E. H.; Laybourn-Parry, J.; Nienow, P.; Chandler, D.; Dewsbury, P.

2013-12-01

Runoff from small glacier systems contains dissolved organic carbon (DOC), rich in protein-like, low molecular weight (LMW) compounds, designating glaciers as an important source of bioavailable carbon for downstream heterotrophic activity. Fluxes of DOC and particulate organic carbon (POC) exported from large Greenland catchments, however, remain unquantified, despite the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) being the largest source of global glacial runoff (ca. 400 km3 yr-1). We report high and episodic fluxes of POC and DOC from a large (1200 km2) GrIS catchment during contrasting melt seasons. POC dominates organic carbon (OC) export (70-89% on average), is sourced from the ice sheet bed and contains a significant bioreactive component (9% carbohydrates). A major source for the "bioavailable" (free carbohydrates) LMW-DOC fraction is microbial activity on the ice sheet surface, with some further addition of LMW-DOC to meltwaters by biogeochemical processes at the ice sheet bed. The bioavailability of the exported DOC (30-58%) to downstream marine microorganisms is similar to that reported from other glacial watersheds. Annual fluxes of DOC and free carbohydrates during two melt seasons were similar, despite the ~ 2 fold difference in runoff fluxes, suggesting production-limited DOC sources. POC fluxes were also insensitive to an increase in seasonal runoff volumes, indicating supply-limitation of suspended sediment in runoff. Scaled to the GrIS, the combined DOC and POC fluxes (0.13-0.17 Tg C yr-1 DOC, 0.36-1.52 Tg C yr-1 mean POC) are of a similar order of magnitude to a large Arctic river system, and hence represent an important OC source to the North Atlantic, Greenland and Labrador Seas.

Spatial characterization, risk assessment, and statistical source identification of the dissolved trace elements in the Ganjiang River-feeding tributary of the Poyang Lake, China.

PubMed

Zhang, Hua; Jiang, Yinghui; Wang, Min; Wang, Peng; Shi, Guangxun; Ding, Mingjun

2017-01-01

Surface water samples were collected from 20 sampling sites throughout the Ganjiang River during pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon seasons, and the concentrations of dissolved trace elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for the spatial and seasonal variations, risk assessment, source identification, and categorization for risk area. The result demonstrated that concentrations of the elements exhibited significant seasonality. The high total element concentrations were detected at sites close to the intensive mining and urban activities. The concentrations of the elements were under the permissible limits as prescribed by related standards with a few exceptions. The most of heavy metal pollution index (HPI) values were lower than the critical index limit, indicating the basically clean water used as habitat for aquatic life. As was identified as the priority pollutant of non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic concerns, and the inhabitants ingesting the surface water at particular site might be subjected to the integrated health risks for exposure to the mixed trace elements. Multivariate statistical analyses confirmed that Zn, As, Cd, and Tl were derived from mining and urban activities; V, Cd, and Pb exhibited mixed origin; and Co, Ni, and Cu mainly resulted from natural processes. Three categorized risk areas corresponded to high, moderate, and low risks, respectively. As a whole, the upstream of the Ganjiang River was identified as the high-risk area relatively.

Energy exchanges in a Central Business District - Interpretation of Eddy Covariance and radiation flux measurements (London UK)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotthaus, S.; Grimmond, S.

2013-12-01

Global urbanisation brings increasingly dense and complex urban structures. To manage cities sustainably and smartly, currently and into the future under changing climates, urban climate research needs to advance in areas such as Central Business Districts (CBD) where human interactions with the environment are particularly concentrated. Measurement and modelling approaches may be pushed to their limits in dense urban settings, but if urban climate research is to contribute to the challenges of real cities those limits have to be addressed. The climate of cities is strongly governed by surface-atmosphere exchanges of energy, moisture and momentum. Observations of the relevant fluxes provide important information for improvement and evaluation of modelling approaches. Due to the CBD's heterogeneity, a very careful analysis of observations is required to understand the relevant processes. Current approaches used to interpret observations and set them in a wider context may need to be adapted for use in these more complex areas. Here, we present long-term observations of the radiation balance components and turbulent fluxes of latent heat, sensible heat and momentum in the city centre of London. This is one of the first measurement studies in a CBD covering multiple years with analysis at temporal scales from days to seasons. Data gathered at two sites in close vicinity, but with different measurement heights, are analysed to investigate the influence of source area characteristics on long-term radiation and turbulent fluxes. Challenges of source area modelling and the critical aspect of siting in such a complex environment are considered. Outgoing long- and short-wave radiation are impacted by the anisotropic nature of the urban surface and the high reflectance materials increasingly being used as building materials. Results highlight the need to consider the source area of radiometers in terms of diffuse and direct irradiance. Sensible heat fluxes (QH) are positive all year round, even at night. QH systematically exceeds input from net all-wave radiation (Q*), probably sustained by a both storage and anthropogenic heat fluxes (QF). Model estimates suggest QF can exceed the Q* nearly all year round. The positive QH inhibits stable conditions, but the stability classification is determined predominantly by the pattern of friction velocity over the rough urban surface. Turbulent latent heat flux variations are controlled (beyond the available energy) by rainfall due to the small vegetation cover. The Bowen ratio is mostly larger than one. Analysis of the eddy covariance footprint surface controls for the different land cover types by flow patterns for measurements at the two heights suggests the spatial variations of the sensible heat flux observed are partly related to changes in surface roughness, even at the local scale. Where the source areas are most homogeneous, flow conditions are vertically consistent - even if initial morphometric parameters suggested the measurements may be below the blending height. Turbulence statistics and momentum flux patterns prove useful for the interpretation of turbulent heat exchanges observed.

Acoustic event location and background noise characterization on a free flying infrasound sensor network in the stratosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, Daniel C.; Albert, Sarah A.

2018-06-01

A variety of Earth surface and atmospheric sources generate low-frequency sound waves that can travel great distances. Despite a rich history of ground-based sensor studies, very few experiments have investigated the prospects of free floating microphone arrays at high altitudes. However, recent initiatives have shown that such networks have very low background noise and may sample an acoustic wave field that is fundamentally different than that at Earth's surface. The experiments have been limited to at most two stations at altitude, making acoustic event detection and localization difficult. We describe the deployment of four drifting microphone stations at altitudes between 21 and 24 km above sea level. The stations detected one of two regional ground-based chemical explosions as well as the ocean microbarom while travelling almost 500 km across the American Southwest. The explosion signal consisted of multiple arrivals; signal amplitudes did not correlate with sensor elevation or source range. The waveforms and propagation patterns suggest interactions with gravity waves at 35-45 km altitude. A sparse network method that employed curved wave front corrections was able to determine the backazimuth from the free flying network to the acoustic source. Episodic signals similar to those seen on previous flights in the same region were noted, but their source remains unclear. Background noise levels were commensurate with those on infrasound stations in the International Monitoring System below 2 s.

Magnetic field strength of a neutron-star-powered ultraluminous X-ray source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brightman, M.; Harrison, F. A.; Fürst, F.; Middleton, M. J.; Walton, D. J.; Stern, D.; Fabian, A. C.; Heida, M.; Barret, D.; Bachetti, M.

2018-04-01

Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are bright X-ray sources in nearby galaxies not associated with the central supermassive black hole. Their luminosities imply they are powered by either an extreme accretion rate onto a compact stellar remnant, or an intermediate mass ( 100-105M⊙) black hole1. Recently detected coherent pulsations coming from three bright ULXs2-5 demonstrate that some of these sources are powered by accretion onto a neutron star, implying accretion rates significantly in excess of the Eddington limit, a high degree of geometric beaming, or both. The physical challenges associated with the high implied accretion rates can be mitigated if the neutron star surface field is very high (1014 G)6, since this suppresses the electron scattering cross-section, reducing the radiation pressure that chokes off accretion for high luminosities. Surface magnetic field strengths can be determined through cyclotron resonance scattering features7,8 produced by the transition of charged particles between quantized Landau levels. Here, we present the detection at a significance of 3.8σ of an absorption line at 4.5 keV in the Chandra spectrum of a ULX in M51. This feature is likely to be a cyclotron resonance scattering feature produced by the strong magnetic field of a neutron star. Assuming scattering off electrons, the magnetic field strength is implied to be 1011 G, while protons would imply a magnetic field of B 1015 G.

Acoustic Event Location and Background Noise Characterization on a Free Flying Infrasound Sensor Network in the Stratosphere

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bowman, Daniel C.; Albert, Sarah A.

We present that a variety of Earth surface and atmospheric sources generate low frequency sound waves that can travel great distances. Despite a rich history of ground-based sensor studies, very few experiments have investigated the prospects of free floating microphone arrays at high altitudes. However, recent initiatives have shown that such networks have very low background noise and may sample an acoustic wave field that is fundamentally different than that at Earth’s surface. The experiments have been limited to at most two stations at altitude, making acoustic event detection and localization difficult. We describe the deployment of four drifting microphonemore » stations at altitudes between 21 and 24 km above sea level. The stations detected one of two regional ground-based chemical explosions as well as the ocean microbarom while traveling almost 500 km across the American Southwest. The explosion signal consisted of multiple arrivals; signal amplitudes did not correlate with sensor elevation or source range. The waveforms and propagation patterns suggest interactions with gravity waves in the 35-45 km altitude. A sparse network method that employed curved wave front corrections was able to determine the backazimuth from the free flying network to the acoustic source. Episodic signals similar to those seen on previous flights in the same region were noted, but their source remains unclear. Lastly, background noise levels were commensurate with those on infrasound stations in the International Monitoring System below 2 seconds.« less

Acoustic Event Location and Background Noise Characterization on a Free Flying Infrasound Sensor Network in the Stratosphere

DOE PAGES

Bowman, Daniel C.; Albert, Sarah A.

2018-02-22

We present that a variety of Earth surface and atmospheric sources generate low frequency sound waves that can travel great distances. Despite a rich history of ground-based sensor studies, very few experiments have investigated the prospects of free floating microphone arrays at high altitudes. However, recent initiatives have shown that such networks have very low background noise and may sample an acoustic wave field that is fundamentally different than that at Earth’s surface. The experiments have been limited to at most two stations at altitude, making acoustic event detection and localization difficult. We describe the deployment of four drifting microphonemore » stations at altitudes between 21 and 24 km above sea level. The stations detected one of two regional ground-based chemical explosions as well as the ocean microbarom while traveling almost 500 km across the American Southwest. The explosion signal consisted of multiple arrivals; signal amplitudes did not correlate with sensor elevation or source range. The waveforms and propagation patterns suggest interactions with gravity waves in the 35-45 km altitude. A sparse network method that employed curved wave front corrections was able to determine the backazimuth from the free flying network to the acoustic source. Episodic signals similar to those seen on previous flights in the same region were noted, but their source remains unclear. Lastly, background noise levels were commensurate with those on infrasound stations in the International Monitoring System below 2 seconds.« less

The current state of knowledge on the interaction of Escherichia coli within vegetative filter strips as a sustainable best management practice to reduce fecal pathogen loading into surface waters

PubMed Central

Olilo, Casianes Owino; Muia, Anastasia Wairimu; Moturi, Wilkister Nyaora; Onyando, Japhet Ogalo; Amber, Ford Roegner

2016-01-01

Agro-pastoral operations have the potential to threaten public health with loading of diverse pathogens into surface waters through overland flow; increasing awareness of the limitations of fecal indicators has led to development of a number of advancements in detection, source tracking and predictive modeling of public health risk. These tools and techniques are beginning to be integrated into management strategies. The objective of this review was to determine the status of current knowledge and challenges of the fate and transport of Escherichia coli in overland flow and their interaction within vegetative filter strip (VFS) as one of these implemented best management practices and to critically evaluate its use in that setting as an indicator organism. With few studies directly focusing on VFS removal of E. coli from overland flow, we critically evaluated the available data on movement of E. coil from fecal source loading to retention and decay or re-release for potential contamination of water ways and pointed out potential limitations in both pathogen-specific removal and its use as an indicator organisms within overland flow and VFS. Critical areas of focus for future studies to reduce gaps in knowledge were identified, and the integration of newer approaches in source tracking, alternative indicators and the use of non-pathogenic surrogates for field testing of existing VFS models was encouraged. With VFS as a growing field of interest as an economical conservation practice and as an avenue for conservation of resources for small-scale agro-pastoral operations, management strategies to reduce initial fecal load from either applied manure constituents or shedding from free-range animals will continue to test the limits in the applications of models to overland flow and VFS management strategies. Further studies at the microscale in understanding discrepancies between low and high pathogenicity strains of E. coil and between E. coil and other fecal pathogens in the context of VFS will be critical. However, nuanced studies are needed to understand either biological or environmental differences in the fate and transport of the diverse types of fecal pathogens within these settings PMID:28042601

Generation, ascent and eruption of magma on the Moon: New insights into source depths, magma supply, intrusions and effusive/explosive eruptions (Part 2: Predicted emplacement processes and observations)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Head, James W.; Wilson, Lionel

2017-02-01

We utilize a theoretical analysis of the generation, ascent, intrusion and eruption of basaltic magma on the Moon to develop new insights into magma source depths, supply processes, transport and emplacement mechanisms via dike intrusions, and effusive and explosive eruptions. We make predictions about the intrusion and eruption processes and compare these with the range of observed styles of mare volcanism, and related features and deposits. Density contrasts between the bulk mantle and regions with a greater abundance of heat sources will cause larger heated regions to rise as buoyant melt-rich diapirs that generate partial melts that can undergo collection into magma source regions; diapirs rise to the base of the anorthositic crustal density trap (when the crust is thicker than the elastic lithosphere) or, later in history, to the base of the lithospheric rheological trap (when the thickening lithosphere exceeds the thickness of the crust). Residual diapiric buoyancy, and continued production and arrival of diapiric material, enhances melt volume and overpressurizes the source regions, producing sufficient stress to cause brittle deformation of the elastic part of the overlying lithosphere; a magma-filled crack initiates and propagates toward the surface as a convex upward, blade-shaped dike. The volume of magma released in a single event is likely to lie in the range 102 km3 to 103 km3, corresponding to dikes with widths of 40-100 m and both vertical and horizontal extents of 60-100 km, favoring eruption on the lunar nearside. Shallower magma sources produce dikes that are continuous from the source region to the surface, but deeper sources will propagate dikes that detach from the source region and ascend as discrete penny-shaped structures. As the Moon cools with time, the lithosphere thickens, source regions become less abundant, and rheological traps become increasingly deep; the state of stress in the lithosphere becomes increasingly contractional, inhibiting dike emplacement and surface eruptions. In contrast to small dike volumes and low propagation velocities in terrestrial environments, lunar dike propagation velocities are typically sufficiently high that shallow sill formation is not favored; local low-density breccia zones beneath impact crater floors, however, may cause lateral magma migration to form laccoliths (e.g., Vitello Crater) and sills (e.g., Humboldt Crater) in floor-fractured craters. Dikes emplaced into the shallow crust may stall and produce crater chains due to active and passive gas venting (e.g., Mendeleev Crater Chain) or, if sufficiently shallow, may create a near-surface stress field that forms linear and arcuate graben, often with pyroclastic and small-scale effusive eruptions (e.g., Rima Parry V). Effusive eruptions are modulated by effusion rates, eruption durations, cooling and supply limitations to flow length, and pre-existing topography. Relatively low effusion rate, cooling-limited flows lead to small shield volcanoes (e.g., Tobias Mayer, Milicius); higher effusion rate, cooling-limited flows lead to compound flow fields (e.g., most mare basins) and even higher effusion rate, long-duration flows lead to thermal erosion of the vent, effusion rate enhancement, and thermal erosion of the substrate to produce sinuous rilles (e.g., Rimae Prinz). Extremely high effusion rate flows on slopes lead to volume-limited flow with lengths of many hundreds of kilometers (e.g., the young Imbrium basin flows). Explosive, pyroclastic eruptions are common on the Moon. The low pressure environment in propagating dike crack-tips can cause gas formation at great depths and throughout dike ascent; at shallow crustal depths both the smelting reaction and the recently documented abundant magmatic volatiles in mare basalt magmas contribute to significant shallow degassing and pyroclastic activity associated with the dike as it erupts at the surface. Dikes penetrating to the surface produce a wide range of explosive eruption types whose manifestations are modulated by lunar environmental conditions: (1) terrestrial strombolian-style eruptions map to cinder/spatter cone-like constructs (e.g., Isis and Osiris); (2) Hawaiian-style eruptions map to broad flat pyroclastic blankets (e.g., Taurus-Littrow Apollo 17 dark mantle deposits); (3) gas-rich ultraplinian-like venting can cause Moon-wide dispersal of gas and foam droplets (e.g., many isolated glass beads in lunar soils); (4) vulcanian-like eruptions caused by solidification of magma in the dike tip, buildup of gas pressure and explosive disruption, can form dark-halo craters with mixed country rock (e.g., Alphonsus Crater floor); (5) ionian-like eruptions can be caused by artificial gas buildup in wide dikes, energetic explosive eruption and formation of a dark pyroclastic ring (e.g., Orientale dark ring); (6) multiple eruptions from many gas-rich fissures can form regional dark mantle deposits (e.g., Rima Bode, Sinus Aestuum); and (7) long duration, relatively high effusion rate eruptions accompanied by continuing pyroclastic activity cause a central thermally eroded lava pond and channel, a broader pyroclastic 'spatter' edifice, an even broader pyroclastic glass deposit and, if the eruption lasts sufficiently long, an associated inner thermally eroded vent and sinuous rille channel (e.g., Cobra Head and Aristarchus Plateau dark mantle). The asymmetric nearside-farside distribution of mare basalt deposits is most plausibly explained by crustal thickness differences; intrusion is favored on the thicker farside crust and extrusion is favored on the thinner nearside crust. Second-order effects include regional and global thermal structure (areal variations in lithospheric thickness as a function of time) and broad geochemical anomalies (the Procellarum-KREEP Terrain). Differences in mare basalt titanium content as a function of space and time are testimony to a laterally and vertically heterogeneous mantle source region. The rapidly decreasing integrated flux of mare basalts is a result of the thermal evolution of the Moon; continued cooling decreased diapiric rise and mantle melting, thickened the lithosphere, and caused the global state of stress to be increasingly contractional, all factors progressively inhibiting the generation, ascent and eruption of basaltic magma. Late-stage volcanic eruptions are typically widely separated in time and characterized by high-volume, high-effusion rate eruptions producing extensive volume-limited flows, a predictable characteristic of deep source regions below a thick lithosphere late in lunar history. This improved paradigm for the generation, ascent, intrusion and eruption of basaltic magma provides the basis for the broader interpretation of the lunar volcanic record in terms of variations in eruption conditions in space and time, and their relation to mantle heterogeneity and a more detailed understanding of lunar thermal evolution.

Jet-Surface Interaction Test: Far-Field Noise Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Clifford A.

2012-01-01

Many configurations proposed for the next generation of aircraft rely on the wing or other aircraft surfaces to shield the engine noise from the observers on the ground. However, the ability to predict the shielding effect and any new noise sources that arise from the high-speed jet flow interacting with a hard surface is currently limited. Furthermore, quality experimental data from jets with surfaces nearby suitable for developing and validating noise prediction methods are usually tied to a particular vehicle concept and, therefore, very complicated. The Jet/Surface Interaction Test was intended to supply a high quality set of data covering a wide range of surface geometries and positions and jet flows to researchers developing aircraft noise prediction tools. During phase one, the goal was to measure the noise of a jet near a simple planar surface while varying the surface length and location in order to: (1) validate noise prediction schemes when the surface is acting only as a jet noise shield and when the jet/surface interaction is creating additional noise, and (2) determine regions of interest for more detailed tests in phase two. To meet these phase one objectives, a flat plate was mounted on a two-axis traverse in two distinct configurations: (1) as a shield between the jet and the observer (microphone array) and (2) as a reflecting surface on the opposite side of the jet from the observer.

Historic brownfields and industrial activity in Kingston, Ontario: assessing potential contributions to mercury contamination in sediment of the Cataraqui River.

PubMed

Manion, N C; Campbell, L; Rutter, A

2010-04-01

The waterfront of historic Kingston, Ontario (pop: 113,000) has been used for industrial activities for over a century. More than 40 industries have existed within the inner harbour, and while many of these industries are no longer present, the properties that they operated on remain as potential sources of persistent contamination to the present day, including mercury. To assess the extent and distribution of total mercury (THg) contamination, 21 sediment cores as well as pore water samples were collected within the inner harbour of Kingston. The spatial distribution of THg in the surface sediment is not homogenous; with concentrations in the surface sediment along the southwestern shoreline, adjacent to the former industrial properties, are significantly greater (p<0.01) than the rest of the inner harbour, and were above the Federal severe effect limit (>2000 microg/kg;) guideline for sediment. MeHg was detected in some sediment cores, and was found to have a significant, positive correlation with [THg] in the surface sediment (0-5 cm). THg was not found in storm sewer discharges, but was detected in terrestrial soil near the Kingston Rowing Club at a concentration of more than 4000 microg/kg. Significant [THg] was detected in runoff draining from contaminated shoreline soils, indicating that erosion from terrestrial sources may be an ongoing source of Hg to the sediment. It can be concluded that there is an increased risk over time to surrounding ecosystems where properties with historical contamination are not remediated until they are developed. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Real-time continuous nitrate monitoring in Illinois in 2013

USGS Publications Warehouse

Warner, Kelly L.; Terrio, Paul J.; Straub, Timothy D.; Roseboom, Donald; Johnson, Gary P.

2013-01-01

Many sources contribute to the nitrogen found in surface water in Illinois. Illinois is located in the most productive agricultural area in the country, and nitrogen fertilizer is commonly used to maximize corn production in this area. Additionally, septic/wastewater systems, industrial emissions, and lawn fertilizer are common sources of nitrogen in urban areas of Illinois. In agricultural areas, the use of fertilizer has increased grain production to meet the needs of a growing population, but also has resulted in increases in nitrogen concentrations in many streams and aquifers (Dubrovsky and others, 2010). The urban sources can increase nitrogen concentrations, too. The Federal limit for nitrate nitrogen in water that is safe to drink is 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L) (http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/nitrate.cfm, accessed on May 24, 2013). In addition to the concern with nitrate nitrogen in drinking water, nitrogen, along with phosphorus, is an aquatic concern because it feeds the intensive growth of algae that are responsible for the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The largest nitrogen flux to the waters feeding the Gulf of Mexico is from Illinois (Alexander and others, 2008). Most studies of nitrogen in surface water and groundwater include samples for nitrate nitrogen collected weekly or monthly, but nitrate concentrations can change rapidly and these discrete samples may not capture rapid changes in nitrate concentrations that can affect human and aquatic health. Continuous monitoring for nitrate could inform scientists and water-resource managers of these changes and provide information on the transport of nitrate in surface water and groundwater.

Remote-sensing-based analysis of landscape change in the desiccated seabed of the Aral Sea--a potential tool for assessing the hazard degree of dust and salt storms.

PubMed

Löw, F; Navratil, P; Kotte, K; Schöler, H F; Bubenzer, O

2013-10-01

With the recession of the Aral Sea in Central Asia, once the world's fourth largest lake, a huge new saline desert emerged which is nowadays called the Aralkum. Saline soils in the Aralkum are a major source for dust and salt storms in the region. The aim of this study was to analyze the spatio-temporal land cover change dynamics in the Aralkum and discuss potential implications for the recent and future dust and salt storm activity in the region. MODIS satellite time series were classified from 2000-2008 and change of land cover was quantified. The Aral Sea desiccation accelerated between 2004 and 2008. The area of sandy surfaces and salt soils, which bear the greatest dust and salt storm generation potential increased by more than 36 %. In parts of the Aralkum desalinization of soils was found to take place within 4-8 years. The implication of the ongoing regression of the Aral Sea is that the expansion of saline surfaces will continue. Knowing the spatio-temporal dynamics of both the location and the surface characteristics of the source areas for dust and salt storms allows drawing conclusions about the potential hazard degree of the dust load. The remote-sensing-based land cover assessment presented in this study could be coupled with existing knowledge on the location of source areas for an early estimation of trends in shifting dust composition. Opportunities, limits, and requirements of satellite-based land cover classification and change detection in the Aralkum are discussed.

40 CFR 63.5987 - What are my alternatives for meeting the emission limits for tire cord production affected sources?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... the emission limits for tire cord production affected sources? 63.5987 Section 63.5987 Protection of... Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing Emission Limits for Tire Cord Production Affected Sources § 63.5987 What are my alternatives for meeting the emission limits for tire cord production affected sources? You...

High-resolution sampling and analysis of air particulate matter in the Pear River Delta region of Southern China: source apportionment and health risk assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, S.; Day, P. K.; Wang, X.

2017-12-01

Hazardous air pollutants, such as trace elements in particulate matters (PM), are known or highly suspected to cause detrimental effects on human health. To understand the sources and associated risks of PM to human health, hourly time-integrated major trace elements in size-segregated coarse (PM10-2.5) and fine (PM2.5) particulate matter were collected and examined in an industrial city of Foshan in the Pearl River Delta region, China. Receptor modeling of the dataset by positive matrix factorization (PMF) was used to identify six sources contributing to PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations at the site. Dominant sources included industrial coal combustion, secondary inorganic aerosol, motor vehicles and construction dust along with two intermittent sources, biomass combustion and marine aerosol. The biomass combustion source was found to be a significant contributor to peak PM2.5 episodes along with motor vehicles and industrial coal combustion. Conditional probability function (CPF) was applied to estimate the local source effects from wind direction using the PMF-resolved source contribution coupled with the surface wind direction data. Health exposure risk for hazardous trace elements (Pb, As, Cr, Ni, Zn, V, Cu, Mn, Fe) and source-specific values were estimated. The total hazard quotient (total HQ =HI) of PM2.5 was 2.09, which is two times higher than the acceptable limit (HQ = 1). The total carcinogenic risk was 3.37*10-3 for PM2.5, which was three orders higher than the acceptable limit (i.e. 1.0*10-6). Among the selected trace elements, As and Pb posed the highest non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks for human health, respectively. In additional, our results showed that industrial coal combustion source was the dominant non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks contributor, highlighting the need for stringent control of this source. This study can provide new insight for policy makers to prioritize sources in air quality management and health risk reduction.

Applicability of the single equivalent point dipole model to represent a spatially distributed bio-electrical source

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Armoundas, A. A.; Feldman, A. B.; Sherman, D. A.; Cohen, R. J.

2001-01-01

Although the single equivalent point dipole model has been used to represent well-localised bio-electrical sources, in realistic situations the source is distributed. Consequently, position estimates of point dipoles determined by inverse algorithms suffer from systematic error due to the non-exact applicability of the inverse model. In realistic situations, this systematic error cannot be avoided, a limitation that is independent of the complexity of the torso model used. This study quantitatively investigates the intrinsic limitations in the assignment of a location to the equivalent dipole due to distributed electrical source. To simulate arrhythmic activity in the heart, a model of a wave of depolarisation spreading from a focal source over the surface of a spherical shell is used. The activity is represented by a sequence of concentric belt sources (obtained by slicing the shell with a sequence of parallel plane pairs), with constant dipole moment per unit length (circumferentially) directed parallel to the propagation direction. The distributed source is represented by N dipoles at equal arc lengths along the belt. The sum of the dipole potentials is calculated at predefined electrode locations. The inverse problem involves finding a single equivalent point dipole that best reproduces the electrode potentials due to the distributed source. The inverse problem is implemented by minimising the chi2 per degree of freedom. It is found that the trajectory traced by the equivalent dipole is sensitive to the location of the spherical shell relative to the fixed electrodes. It is shown that this trajectory does not coincide with the sequence of geometrical centres of the consecutive belt sources. For distributed sources within a bounded spherical medium, displaced from the sphere's centre by 40% of the sphere's radius, it is found that the error in the equivalent dipole location varies from 3 to 20% for sources with size between 5 and 50% of the sphere's radius. Finally, a method is devised to obtain the size of the distributed source during the cardiac cycle.

PULSED ION SOURCE

DOEpatents

Ford, F.C.; Ruff, J.W.; Zizzo, S.G.; Cook, B.

1958-11-11

An ion source is described adapted for pulsed operation and producing copious quantities of ions with a particular ion egress geometry. The particular source construction comprises a conical member having a conducting surface formed of a metal with a gas occladed therein and narrow non-conducting portions hereon dividing the conducting surface. A high voltage pulse is applied across the conducting surface or producing a discharge across the surface. After the gas ions have been produced by the discharge, the ions are drawn from the source in a diverging conical beam by a specially constructed accelerating electrode.

Estimation of Land Surface Fluxes and Their Uncertainty via Variational Data Assimilation Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdolghafoorian, A.; Farhadi, L.

2016-12-01

Accurate estimation of land surface heat and moisture fluxes as well as root zone soil moisture is crucial in various hydrological, meteorological, and agricultural applications. "In situ" measurements of these fluxes are costly and cannot be readily scaled to large areas relevant to weather and climate studies. Therefore, there is a need for techniques to make quantitative estimates of heat and moisture fluxes using land surface state variables. In this work, we applied a novel approach based on the variational data assimilation (VDA) methodology to estimate land surface fluxes and soil moisture profile from the land surface states. This study accounts for the strong linkage between terrestrial water and energy cycles by coupling the dual source energy balance equation with the water balance equation through the mass flux of evapotranspiration (ET). Heat diffusion and moisture diffusion into the column of soil are adjoined to the cost function as constraints. This coupling results in more accurate prediction of land surface heat and moisture fluxes and consequently soil moisture at multiple depths with high temporal frequency as required in many hydrological, environmental and agricultural applications. One of the key limitations of VDA technique is its tendency to be ill-posed, meaning that a continuum of possibilities exists for different parameters that produce essentially identical measurement-model misfit errors. On the other hand, the value of heat and moisture flux estimation to decision-making processes is limited if reasonable estimates of the corresponding uncertainty are not provided. In order to address these issues, in this research uncertainty analysis will be performed to estimate the uncertainty of retrieved fluxes and root zone soil moisture. The assimilation algorithm is tested with a series of experiments using a synthetic data set generated by the simultaneous heat and water (SHAW) model. We demonstrate the VDA performance by comparing the (synthetic) true measurements (including profile of soil moisture and temperature, land surface water and heat fluxes, and root water uptake) with VDA estimates. In addition, the feasibility of extending the proposed approach to use remote sensing observations is tested by limiting the number of LST observations and soil moisture observations.

Self-Cleaning Coatings and Materials for Decontaminating Field-Deployable Land and Water-Based Optical Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ryan, Robert; Underwood, Lauren; Holekamp, Kara; May, George; Spiering, Bruce; Davis, Bruce

2011-01-01

This technology exploits the organic decomposition capability and hydrophilic properties of the photocatalytic material titanium dioxide (TiO2), a nontoxic and non-hazardous substance, to address contamination and biofouling issues in field-deployed optical sensor systems. Specifically, this technology incorporates TiO2 coatings and materials applied to, or integrated as a part of, the optical surfaces of sensors and calibration sources, including lenses, windows, and mirrors that are used in remote, unattended, ground-based (land or maritime) optical sensor systems. Current methods used to address contamination or biofouling of these optical surfaces in deployed systems are costly, toxic, labor intensive, and non-preventative. By implementing this novel technology, many of these negative aspects can be reduced. The functionality of this innovative self-cleaning solution to address the problem of contamination or biofouling depends on the availability of a sufficient light source with the appropriate spectral properties, which can be attained naturally via sunlight or supplemented using artificial illumination such as UV LEDs (light emitting diodes). In land-based or above-water systems, the TiO2 optical surface is exposed to sunlight, which catalyzes the photocatalytic reaction, facilitating both the decomposition of inorganic and organic compounds, and the activation of superhydrophilic properties. Since underwater optical surfaces are submerged and have limited sunlight exposure, supplementary UV light sources would be required to activate the TiO2 on these optical surfaces. Nighttime operation of land-based or above-water systems would require this addition as well. For most superhydrophilic self-cleaning purposes, a rainwater wash will suffice; however, for some applications an attached rainwater collector/ dispenser or other fresh water dispensing system may be required to wash the optical surface and initiate the removal of contaminates. Deployment of this non-toxic,non-hazardous-technology will take advantage of environmental elements (i.e. rain and sunlight), increase the longevity of unattended optical systems, increase the amount of time between required maintenance, and improve the long-term accuracy of sensor measurements.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dorum, O.H.; Hoover, A.; Jones, J.P.

This paper addresses some issues in the development of sensor-based systems for mobile robot navigation which use range imaging sensors as the primary source for geometric information about the environment. In particular, we describe a model of scanning laser range cameras which takes into account the properties of the mechanical system responsible for image formation and a calibration procedure which yields improved accuracy over previous models. In addition, we describe an algorithm which takes the limitations of these sensors into account in path planning and path execution. In particular, range imaging sensors are characterized by a limited field of viewmore » and a standoff distance -- a minimum distance nearer than which surfaces cannot be sensed. These limitations can be addressed by enriching the concept of configuration space to include information about what can be sensed from a given configuration, and using this information to guide path planning and path following.« less

A GREEN'S FUNCTION APPROACH FOR DETERMINING DOSE RATES FOR SMALL GRAM QUANTITIES IN SHIPPING PACKAGINGS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nathan, S.

The Small Gram Quantity (SGQ) concept is based on the understanding that small amounts of hazardous materials, in this case radioactive materials (RAM), are significantly less hazardous than large amounts of the same materials. This paper describes a methodology designed to estimate an SGQ for several neutron and gamma emitting isotopes that can be shipped in a package in compliance with 10 CFR Part 71 external radiation level limits regulations. The neutron and photon sources were calculated using both ORIGEN-S and RASTA. The response from a unit source in each neutron and photon group was calculated using MCNP5 with eachmore » unshielded and shielded container configuration. Effects of self-shielding on both neutron and photon response were evaluated by including either plutonium oxide or iron in the source region for the case with no shielded container. For the cases of actinides mixed with light elements, beryllium is the bounding light element. The added beryllium (10 to 90 percent of the actinide mass) in the cases studied represents between 9 and 47 percent concentration of the total mixture mass. For beryllium concentrations larger than 50 percent, the increase in the neutron source term and dose rate tend to increase at a much lower rate than at concentrations lower than 50%. The intimately mixed actinide-beryllium form used in these models is very conservative and thus the limits presented in this report are practical bounds on the mass that can be safely shipped. The calculated dose rate from one gram of each isotope was then used to determin the maximum amount of a single isotope that could be shipped in the Model 9977 Package (or packagings having the same or larger external dimensions as well as similar structural materials) and have the external radiation level within the regulatory dose limits at the surface of the package. The estimates of the mass limits presented would also serve as conservative limits for both the Models 9975 and 9978 packages. If a package contains a mixture of isotopes, the acceptability for shipment can be determined by a sum of fractions approach. It should be noted that the SGQ masses presented in this report represent limits that would comply with the external radiation limits under 10CFR Part 71. They do not necessarily bound lower limits that may be required to comply with other factors such as heat load of the package.« less

Estimation of Chinese surface NO2 concentrations combining satellite data and Land Use Regression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anand, J.; Monks, P.

2016-12-01

Monitoring surface-level air quality is often limited by in-situ instrument placement and issues arising from harmonisation over long timescales. Satellite instruments can offer a synoptic view of regional pollution sources, but in many cases only a total or tropospheric column can be measured. In this work a new technique of estimating surface NO2 combining both satellite and in-situ data is presented, in which a Land Use Regression (LUR) model is used to create high resolution pollution maps based on known predictor variables such as population density, road networks, and land cover. By employing a mixed effects approach, it is possible to take advantage of the spatiotemporal variability in the satellite-derived column densities to account for daily and regional variations in surface NO2 caused by factors such as temperature, elevation, and wind advection. In this work, surface NO2 maps are modelled over the North China Plain and Pearl River Delta during high-pollution episodes by combining in-situ measurements and tropospheric columns from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). The modelled concentrations show good agreement with in-situ data and surface NO2 concentrations derived from the MACC-II global reanalysis.

Optimal design of permeable fiber network structures for fog harvesting.

PubMed

Park, Kyoo-Chul; Chhatre, Shreerang S; Srinivasan, Siddarth; Cohen, Robert E; McKinley, Gareth H

2013-10-29

Fog represents a large untapped source of potable water, especially in arid climates. Numerous plants and animals use textural and chemical features on their surfaces to harvest this precious resource. In this work, we investigate the influence of the surface wettability characteristics, length scale, and weave density on the fog-harvesting capability of woven meshes. We develop a combined hydrodynamic and surface wettability model to predict the overall fog-collection efficiency of the meshes and cast the findings in the form of a design chart. Two limiting surface wettability constraints govern the re-entrainment of collected droplets and clogging of mesh openings. Appropriate tuning of the wetting characteristics of the surfaces, reducing the wire radii, and optimizing the wire spacing all lead to more efficient fog collection. We use a family of coated meshes with a directed stream of fog droplets to simulate a natural foggy environment and demonstrate a five-fold enhancement in the fog-collecting efficiency of a conventional polyolefin mesh. The design rules developed in this work can be applied to select a mesh surface with optimal topography and wetting characteristics to harvest enhanced water fluxes over a wide range of natural convected fog environments.

Beyond 31 mag arcsec-2: The Frontier of Low Surface Brightness Imaging with the Largest Optical Telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trujillo, Ignacio; Fliri, Jüergen

2016-06-01

The detection of structures in the sky with optical surface brightnesses fainter than 30 mag arcsec-2 (3σ in 10 × 10 arcsec boxes; r-band) has remained elusive in current photometric deep surveys. Here we show how present-day telescopes of 10 m class can provide broadband imaging 1.5-2 mag deeper than most previous results within a reasonable amount of time (I.e., <10 hr on-source integration). In particular, we illustrate the ability of the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio de Canarias telescope to produce imaging with a limiting surface brightness of 31.5 mag arcsec-2 (3σ in 10 × 10 arcsec boxes; r-band) using 8.1 hr on source. We apply this power to explore the stellar halo of the galaxy UGC 00180, a galaxy analogous to M31 located at ˜150 Mpc, by obtaining a radial profile of surface brightness down to μ r ˜ 33 mag arcsec-2. This depth is similar to that obtained using the star-counts techniques for Local Group galaxies, but is achieved at a distance where this technique is unfeasible. We find that the mass of the stellar halo of this galaxy is ˜4 × 109 M ⊙, I.e., (3 ± 1)% of the total stellar mass of the whole system. This amount of mass in the stellar halo is in agreement with current theoretical expectations for galaxies of this kind.

Analysis of the Los Angeles Basin ground subsidence with InSAR data by independent component analysis approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, B.

2017-12-01

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) has the advantages of high spatial resolution which enable measure line of sight (LOS) surface displacements with nearly complete spatial continuity and a satellite's perspective that permits large areas view of Earth's surface quickly and efficiently. However, using InSAR to observe long wavelength and small magnitude deformation signals is still significantly limited by various unmodeled errors sources i.e. atmospheric delays, orbit induced errors, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) errors. Independent component analysis (ICA) is a probabilistic method for separating linear mixed signals generated by different underlying physical processes.The signal sources which form the interferograms are statistically independent both in space and in time, thus, they can be separated by ICA approach.The seismic behavior in the Los Angeles Basin is active and the basin has experienced numerous moderate to large earthquakes since the early Pliocene. Hence, understanding the seismotectonic deformation in the Los Angeles Basin is important for analyzing seismic behavior. Compare with the tectonic deformations, nontectonic deformations due to groundwater and oil extraction may be mainly responsible for the surface deformation in the Los Angeles basin. Using the small baseline subset (SBAS) InSAR method, we extracted the surface deformation time series in the Los Angeles basin with a time span of 7 years (September 27, 2003-September 25,2010). Then, we successfully separate the atmospheric noise from InSAR time series and detect different processes caused by different mechanisms.

Mechanisms for dose retention in conformal arsenic doping using a radial line slot antenna microwave plasma source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ueda, Hirokazu; Ventzek, Peter L. G.; Oka, Masahiro; Kobayashi, Yuuki; Sugimoto, Yasuhiro

2015-06-01

Topographic structures such as Fin FETs and silicon nanowires for advanced gate fabrication require ultra-shallow high dose infusion of dopants into the silicon subsurface. Plasma doping meets this requirement by supplying a flux of inert ions and dopant radicals to the surface. However, the helium ion bombardment needed to infuse dopants into the fin surface can cause poor dose retention. This is due to the interaction between substrate damage and post doping process wet cleaning solutions required in the front end of line large-scale integration fabrication. We present findings from surface microscopy experiments that reveal the mechanism for dose retention in arsenic doped silicon fin samples using a microwave RLSA™ plasma source. Dilute aqueous hydrofluoric acid (DHF) cleans by themselves are incompatible with plasma doping processes because the films deposited over the dosed silicon and ion bombardment damaged silicon are readily removed. Oxidizing wet cleaning chemistries help retain the dose as silica rich over-layers are not significantly degraded. Furthermore, the dosed retention after a DHF clean following an oxidizing wet clean is unchanged. Still, the initial ion bombardment energy and flux are important. Large ion fluxes at energies below the sputter threshold and above the silicon damage threshold, before the silicon surface is covered by an amorphous mixed phase layer, allow for enhanced uptake of dopant into the silicon. The resulting dopant concentration is beyond the saturation limit of crystalline silicon.

Dissolved trace and minor elements in cryoconite holes and supraglacial streams, Canada Glacier, Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fortner, Sarah K.; Lyons, W. Berry

2018-04-01

Here we present a synthesis of the trace element chemistry in melt on the surface Canada Glacier, Taylor Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), Antarctica ( 78°S). The MDV is largely ice-free. Low accumulation rates, strong winds, and proximity to the valley floor make these glaciers dusty in comparison to their inland counterparts. This study examines both supraglacial melt streams and cryoconite holes. Supraglacial streams on the lower Canada Glacier have median dissolved (<0.4 µm) concentrations of Fe, Mn, As, Cu, and V of 71.5, 75.5, 3.7, 4.6, and 4.3 nM. All dissolved Cd concentrations and the vast majority of Pb values are below our analytical detection (i.e. 0.4 and 0.06 nM). Chemical behavior did not follow similar trends for eastern and western draining waters. Heterogeneity likely reflects distinctions eolian deposition, rock:water ratios, and hydrologic connectivity. Future increases in wind-delivered sediment will likely drive dynamic responses in melt chemistry. For elements above detection limits, dissolved concentrations in glacier surface melt are within an order of magnitude of concentrations observed in proglacial streams (i.e. flowing on the valley floor). This suggests that glacier surfaces are an important source of downstream chemistry. The Fe enrichment of cryoconite water relative to N, P, or Si exceeds enrichment observed in marine phytoplankton. This suggests that the glacier surface is an important source of Fe to downstream ecosystems.

The solid angle (geometry factor) for a spherical surface source and an arbitrary detector aperture

DOE PAGES

Favorite, Jeffrey A.

2016-01-13

It is proven that the solid angle (or geometry factor, also called the geometrical efficiency) for a spherically symmetric outward-directed surface source with an arbitrary radius and polar angle distribution and an arbitrary detector aperture is equal to the solid angle for an isotropic point source located at the center of the spherical surface source and the same detector aperture.

Negative hydrogen ion sources for accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moehs, D.P.; /Fermilab; Peters, J.

2005-08-01

A variety of H{sup -} ion sources are in use at accelerator laboratories around the world. A list of these ion sources includes surface plasma sources with magnetron, Penning and surface converter geometries as well as magnetic-multipole volume sources with and without cesium. Just as varied is the means of igniting and maintaining magnetically confined plasmas. Hot and cold cathodes, radio frequency, and microwave power are all in use, as well as electron tandem source ignition. The extraction systems of accelerator H{sup -} ion sources are highly specialized utilizing magnetic and electric fields in their low energy beam transport systemsmore » to produce direct current, as well as pulsed and/or chopped beams with a variety of time structures. Within this paper, specific ion sources utilized at accelerator laboratories shall be reviewed along with the physics of surface and volume H{sup -} production in regard to source emittance. Current research trends including aperture modeling, thermal modeling, surface conditioning, and laser diagnostics will also be discussed.« less

The value and limitations of global air-sampling networks for improving our understanding trace gas behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montzka, S. A.

2016-12-01

Measurements from global surface-based air sampling networks provide a fundamental understanding of how and why concentrations of long-lived trace gases are changing over time. Results from these networks are used to quantify trace-gas concentrations and their time-dependent changes on global and smaller scales, and thus provide a means to quantify emission rates, loss frequencies, and mixing processes. Substantial advances in measurement and sampling technologies and the ability of these programs to create and maintain reliable gas standards mean that spatial concentration gradients and time-dependent changes are often very reliably measured. The presence of multiple independent networks allows an assessment of this reliability. Furthermore, recent global `snap-shot' surveys (e.g., HIPPO and ATom) and ongoing atmospheric profiling programs help us assess the ability of surface-based data to describe concentration distributions throughout most of the atmosphere ( 80% of its mass). In this overview talk, I'll explore the usefulness and limitations of existing long-term, ongoing sampling network programs and their advantages and disadvantages for characterizing concentrations on global and regional scales, and how recent advances (and short-term sampling programs) help us assess the accuracy of the surface networks to provide estimates of source and sink magnitudes, and inter-annual variability in both.

Plasma-surface interaction in negative hydrogen ion sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wada, Motoi

2018-05-01

A negative hydrogen ion source delivers more beam current when Cs is introduced to the discharge, but a continuous operation of the source reduces the beam current until more Cs is added to the source. This behavior can be explained by adsorption and ion induced desorption of Cs atoms on the plasma grid surface of the ion source. The interaction between the ion source plasma and the plasma grid surface of a negative hydrogen ion source is discussed in correlation to the Cs consumption of the ion source. The results show that operation with deuterium instead of hydrogen should require more Cs consumption and the presence of medium mass impurities as well as ions of the source wall materials in the arc discharge enlarges the Cs removal rate during an ion source discharge.

New upper limits on the local metagalactic ionizing radiation density

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vogel, Stuart N.; Weymann, Ray; Rauch, Michael; Hamilton, Tom

1995-01-01

We have obtained H-alpha observations with the Maryland-Caltech Fabry-Perot Spectrometer attached to the Cassegrain focus of the 1.5 m telescope at Palomer Observatory in order to set limits on the number of ionizing photons from the local metagalactic radiation field. We have observed the SW component of the Haynes-Giovanelli cloud H I 1225+01, an intergalactic cloud which should be optimum for measuring the metagalactic flux because it is nearly opaque to ionizing photons, it does not appear to be significantly shielded from the metagalactic radiation field, and the limits on embedded or nearby ionizing sources are unusually low. For the area of the cloud with an H I column density greater than 10(exp 19)/sq cm we set a 2 sigma limit of 1.1 x 10(exp -19) ergs/sq cm/s/sq arcsec (20 mR) for the surface brightness of diffuse H-alpha. This implies a 2 sigma upper limit on the incident one-sided ionizing flux of Phi(sub ex) is less than 3 x 10(exp 4)/sq cm/s. For a radiation field of the form J(sub nu) is approximately nu(exp -1.4), this yields a firm 2 sigma upper limit on the local metagalactic photoionization rate of Gamma is less than 2 x 10(exp -13)/s, and an upper limit for the radiation field J(sub nu) at the Lyman limit of J(sub nu0) is less than 8 x 10(exp -23) ergs/sq cm/Hz/sr. We discuss previous efforts to constrain the metagalactic ionizing flux using H-alpha surface brightness observations and also other methods, and conclude that our result places the firmest upper limit on this flux. We also observed the 7 min diameter region centered on 3C 273 in which H-alpha emission at a velocity of approximately 1700 km/s was initially reported by Williams and Schommer. In agreement with T. B. Williams (private communication) we find the initial detection was spurious. We obtain a 2 sigma upper limit of 1.8 x 10(exp -19) ergs/sq cm/s/sq arcsec (32 mR) for the mean surface brightness of diffuse H-alpha, about a factor of 6 below the published value.

Test chamber investigation of the volatilization from source materials of brominated flame retardants and their subsequent deposition to indoor dust.

PubMed

Rauert, C; Harrad, S; Stranger, M; Lazarov, B

2015-08-01

Numerous studies have reported elevated concentrations of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in dust from indoor micro-environments. Limited information is available, however, on the pathways via which BFRs in source materials transfer to indoor dust. The most likely hypothesized pathways are (a) volatilization from the source with subsequent partitioning to dust, (b) abrasion of the treated product, transferring microscopic fibers or particles to the dust (c) direct uptake to dust via contact between source and dust. This study reports the development and application of an in-house test chamber for investigating BFR volatilization from source materials and subsequent partitioning to dust. The performance of the chamber was evaluated against that of a commercially available chamber, and inherent issues with such chambers were investigated, such as loss due to sorption of BFRs to chamber surfaces (so-called sink effects). The partitioning of polybrominated diphenyl ethers to dust, post-volatilization from an artificial source was demonstrated, while analysis in the test chamber of a fabric curtain treated with the hexabromocyclododecane formulation, resulted in dust concentrations exceeding substantially those detected in the dust pre-experiment. These results provide the first experimental evidence of BFR volatilization followed by deposition to dust. Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are ubiquitous in indoor air and dust, leading to human exposure and resultant concerns about their adverse impact on health. Indoor dust has been demonstrated to constitute an important vector of human exposure to BFRs, especially for toddlers. Despite the greater importance of dust contamination in the context of human exposure to BFRs, the mechanisms via which BFRs transfer from source materials to dust have hitherto been subject to only limited research. In this study, a test chamber is utilized to simulate the migration of BFRs to dust via volatilization from source materials and subsequent deposition to dust. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Reaching nearby sources: comparison between real and virtual sound and visual targets

PubMed Central

Parseihian, Gaëtan; Jouffrais, Christophe; Katz, Brian F. G.

2014-01-01

Sound localization studies over the past century have predominantly been concerned with directional accuracy for far-field sources. Few studies have examined the condition of near-field sources and distance perception. The current study concerns localization and pointing accuracy by examining source positions in the peripersonal space, specifically those associated with a typical tabletop surface. Accuracy is studied with respect to the reporting hand (dominant or secondary) for auditory sources. Results show no effect on the reporting hand with azimuthal errors increasing equally for the most extreme source positions. Distance errors show a consistent compression toward the center of the reporting area. A second evaluation is carried out comparing auditory and visual stimuli to examine any bias in reporting protocol or biomechanical difficulties. No common bias error was observed between auditory and visual stimuli indicating that reporting errors were not due to biomechanical limitations in the pointing task. A final evaluation compares real auditory sources and anechoic condition virtual sources created using binaural rendering. Results showed increased azimuthal errors, with virtual source positions being consistently overestimated to more lateral positions, while no significant distance perception was observed, indicating a deficiency in the binaural rendering condition relative to the real stimuli situation. Various potential reasons for this discrepancy are discussed with several proposals for improving distance perception in peripersonal virtual environments. PMID:25228855

On the limits of uniaxial magnetic anisotropy tuning by a ripple surface pattern

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arranz, Miguel A.; Colino, Jose M., E-mail: josemiguel.colino@uclm.es; Palomares, Francisco J.

Ion beam patterning of a nanoscale ripple surface has emerged as a versatile method of imprinting uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (UMA) on a desired in-plane direction in magnetic films. In the case of ripple patterned thick films, dipolar interactions around the top and/or bottom interfaces are generally assumed to drive this effect following Schlömann's calculations for demagnetizing fields of an ideally sinusoidal surface [E. Schlömann, J. Appl. Phys. 41, 1617 (1970)]. We have explored the validity of his predictions and the limits of ion beam sputtering to induce UMA in a ferromagnetic system where other relevant sources of magnetic anisotropy aremore » neglected: ripple films not displaying any evidence of volume uniaxial anisotropy and where magnetocrystalline contributions average out in a fine grain polycrystal structure. To this purpose, the surface of 100 nm cobalt films grown on flat substrates has been irradiated at fixed ion energy, fixed ion fluency but different ion densities to make the ripple pattern at the top surface with wavelength Λ and selected, large amplitudes (ω) up to 20 nm so that stray dipolar fields are enhanced, while the residual film thickness t = 35–50 nm is sufficiently large to preserve the continuous morphology in most cases. The film-substrate interface has been studied with X-ray photoemission spectroscopy depth profiles and is found that there is a graded silicon-rich cobalt silicide, presumably formed during the film growth. This graded interface is of uncertain small thickness but the range of compositions clearly makes it a magnetically dead layer. On the other hand, the ripple surface rules both the magnetic coercivity and the uniaxial anisotropy as these are found to correlate with the pattern dimensions. Remarkably, the saturation fields in the hard axis of uniaxial continuous films are measured up to values as high as 0.80 kG and obey a linear dependence on the parameter ω{sup 2}/Λ/t in quantitative agreement with Schlömann's prediction for a surface anisotropy entirely ruled by dipolar interaction. The limits of UMA tuning by a ripple pattern are discussed in terms of the surface local angle with respect to the mean surface and of the onset of ripple detachment.« less

The effects of stainless steel finish on Salmonella Typhimurium attachment, biofilm formation and sensitivity to chlorine.

PubMed

Schlisselberg, Dov B; Yaron, Sima

2013-08-01

Bacterial colonization and biofilm formation on stainless steel (SS) surfaces can be sources for cross contamination in food processing facilities, possessing a great threat to public health and food quality. Here the aim was to demonstrate the influence of surface finish of AISI 316 SS on colonization, biofilm formation and susceptibility of Salmonella Typhimurium to disinfection. Initial attachment of S. Typhimurium on surfaces of SS was four times lower, when surface was polished by Bright-Alum (BA) or Electropolishing (EP), as compared to Mechanical Sanded (MS) or the untreated surface (NT). The correlation between roughness and initial bacterial attachment couldn't account on its own to explain differences seen. Biofilms with similar thickness (15-18 μm) were developed on all surfaces 1-day post inoculation, whereas EP was the least covered surface (23%). Following 5-days, biofilm thickness was lowest on EP and MS (30 μm) and highest on NT (62 μm) surfaces. An analysis of surface composition suggested a link between surface chemistry and biofilm development, where the higher concentrations of metal ions in EP and MS surfaces correlated with limited biofilm formation. Interestingly, disinfection of biofilms with chlorine was up to 130 times more effective on the EP surface (0.005% surviving) than on the other surfaces. Overall these results suggest that surface finish should be considered carefully in a food processing plant. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of dissolved gas and fluid chemistry in mountainous region of Goaping river watershed in southern Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Kai-Wen; Chen, Cheng-Hong; Liu, Tsung-Kwei

2016-04-01

Annual rainfall in Taiwan is up to 2500 mm, about 2.5 times the average value of the world. However due to high topographic relief of the Central Mountain Range in Taiwan, groundwater storage is critical for water supply. Mountain region of the Goaping river watershed in southern Taiwan is one of the potential areas to develop groundwater recharge model. Therefore the target of this study is to understand sources of groundwater and surface water using dissolved gas and fluid chemistry. Four groundwater and 6 surface water samples were collected from watershed, 5 groundwater and 13 surface water samples were collected from downstream. All samples were analyzed for stable isotopes (hydrogen and oxygen), dissolved gases (including nitrogen, oxygen, argon, methane and carbon dioxide), noble gases (helium and radon) and major ions. Hydrogen and oxygen isotopic ratios of surface water and groundwater samples aligned along meteoric water line. For surface water, dissolved gases are abundant in N2 (>80%) and O2 (>10%); helium isotopic ratio is approximately equal to 1 RA (RA is 3He/4He ratio of air); radon-222 concentration is below the detection limit (<200 Bq/m3); and concentrations of major anions and cations are low (Na+ <20 ppm, Ca2+ < 60 ppm, Cl- <2 ppm). All these features indicate that surface waters are predominately recharged by precipitation. For groundwater, helium isotopic ratios (0.9˜0.23 RA) are lower and radon-222 concentrations (300˜6000 Bq/m3) are much higher than the surface water. Some samples have high amounts of dissolved gases, such as CH4 (>20%) or CO2 (>10%), most likely contributed by biogenic or geogenic sources. On the other hand, few samples that have temperature 5° higher than the average of other samples, show significantly high Na+ (>1000 ppm), Ca2+ (>150 ppm) and Cl- (>80 ppm) concentrations. An interaction between such groundwater and local hot springs is inferred. Watershed and downstream samples differ in dissolved gas species and fluid chemistry for groundwater and surface water. The higher hydrogen and oxygen isotopic ratios for surface water from downstream are most probably caused by evaporation. Low radon-222 concentrations of some groundwater from downstream may represent sources from different aquifers. Therefore, we conclude that surface water from downstream are recharged directly from its watershed, but groundwater are influenced by the local geological environment. Keywords: groundwater, dissolved gas, noble gas, radon in water, 3He/4He

Carbon source-sink limitations differ between two species with contrasting growth strategies.

PubMed

Burnett, Angela C; Rogers, Alistair; Rees, Mark; Osborne, Colin P

2016-11-01

Understanding how carbon source and sink strengths limit plant growth is a critical knowledge gap that hinders efforts to maximize crop yield. We investigated how differences in growth rate arise from source-sink limitations, using a model system comparing a fast-growing domesticated annual barley (Hordeum vulgare cv. NFC Tipple) with a slow-growing wild perennial relative (Hordeum bulbosum). Source strength was manipulated by growing plants at sub-ambient and elevated CO 2 concentrations ([CO 2 ]). Limitations on vegetative growth imposed by source and sink were diagnosed by measuring relative growth rate, developmental plasticity, photosynthesis and major carbon and nitrogen metabolite pools. Growth was sink limited in the annual but source limited in the perennial. RGR and carbon acquisition were higher in the annual, but photosynthesis responded weakly to elevated [CO 2 ] indicating that source strength was near maximal at current [CO 2 ]. In contrast, photosynthetic rate and sink development responded strongly to elevated [CO 2 ] in the perennial, indicating significant source limitation. Sink limitation was avoided in the perennial by high sink plasticity: a marked increase in tillering and root:shoot ratio at elevated [CO 2 ], and lower non-structural carbohydrate accumulation. Alleviating sink limitation during vegetative development could be important for maximizing growth of elite cereals under future elevated [CO 2 ]. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Food and water security issues in Russia II: Water security in general population of Russian Arctic, Siberia and Far East, 2000–2011

PubMed Central

Dudarev, Alexey A.; Dushkina, Eugenia V.; Sladkova, Yuliya N.; Alloyarov, Pavel R.; Chupakhin, Valery S.; Dorofeyev, Vitaliy M.; Kolesnikova, Tatjana A.; Fridman, Kirill B.; Evengard, Birgitta; Nilsson, Lena M.

2013-01-01

Background Poor state of water supply systems, shortage of water purification facilities and disinfection systems, low quality of drinking water generally in Russia and particularly in the regions of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and Far East have been defined in the literature. However, no standard protocol of water security assessment has been used in the majority of studies. Study design and methods Uniform water security indicators collected from Russian official statistical sources for the period 2000–2011 were used for comparison for 18 selected regions in the Russian Arctic, Siberia and Far East. The following indicators of water security were analyzed: water consumption, chemical and biological contamination of water reservoirs of Categories I and II of water sources (centralized – underground and surface, and non-centralized) and of drinking water. Results Water consumption in selected regions fluctuated from 125 to 340 L/person/day. Centralized water sources (both underground and surface sources) are highly contaminated by chemicals (up to 40–80%) and biological agents (up to 55% in some regions), mainly due to surface water sources. Underground water sources show relatively low levels of biological contamination, while chemical contamination is high due to additional water contamination during water treatment and transportation in pipelines. Non-centralized water sources are highly contaminated (both chemically and biologically) in 32–90% of samples analyzed. Very high levels of chemical contamination of drinking water (up to 51%) were detected in many regions, mainly in the north-western part of the Russian Arctic. Biological contamination of drinking water was generally much lower (2.5–12%) everywhere except Evenki AO (27%), and general and thermotolerant coliform bacteria predominated in drinking water samples from all regions (up to 17.5 and 12.5%, correspondingly). The presence of other agents was much lower: Coliphages – 0.2–2.7%, Clostridia spores, Giardia cysts, pathogenic bacteria, Rotavirus – up to 0.8%. Of a total of 56 chemical pollutants analyzed in water samples from centralized water supply systems, 32 pollutants were found to be in excess of hygienic limits, with the predominant pollutants being Fe (up to 55%), Cl (up to 57%), Al (up to 43%) and Mn (up to 45%). Conclusion In 18 selected regions of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and Far East Category I and II water reservoirs, water sources (centralized – underground, surface; non-centralized) and drinking water are highly contaminated by chemical and biological agents. Full-scale reform of the Russian water industry and water security system is urgently needed, especially in selected regions. PMID:24350065

Time Reversal Mirrors and Cross Correlation Functions in Acoustic Wave Propagation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fishman, Louis; Jonsson, B. Lars G.; de Hoop, Maarten V.

2009-03-01

In time reversal acoustics (TRA), a signal is recorded by an array of transducers, time reversed, and then retransmitted into the configuration. The retransmitted signal propagates back through the same medium and retrofocuses on the source that generated the signal. If the transducer array is a single, planar (flat) surface, then this configuration is referred to as a planar, one-sided, time reversal mirror (TRM). In signal processing, for example, in active-source seismic interferometry, the measurement of the wave field at two distinct receivers, generated by a common source, is considered. Cross correlating these two observations and integrating the result over the sources yield the cross correlation function (CCF). Adopting the TRM experiments as the basic starting point and identifying the kinematically correct correspondences, it is established that the associated CCF signal processing constructions follow in a specific, infinite recording time limit. This perspective also provides for a natural rationale for selecting the Green's function components in the TRM and CCF expressions. For a planar, one-sided, TRM experiment and the corresponding CCF signal processing construction, in a three-dimensional homogeneous medium, the exact expressions are explicitly calculated, and the connecting limiting relationship verified. Finally, the TRM and CCF results are understood in terms of the underlying, governing, two-way wave equation, its corresponding time reversal invariance (TRI) symmetry, and the absence of TRI symmetry in the associated one-way wave equations, highlighting the role played by the evanescent modal contributions.

Seismic Technology Adapted to Analyzing and Developing Geothermal Systems Below Surface-Exposed High-Velocity Rocks Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hardage, Bob A.; DeAngelo, Michael V.; Ermolaeva, Elena

The objective of our research was to develop and demonstrate seismic data-acquisition and data-processing technologies that allow geothermal prospects below high-velocity rock outcrops to be evaluated. To do this, we acquired a 3-component seismic test line across an area of exposed high-velocity rocks in Brewster County, Texas, where there is high heat flow and surface conditions mimic those found at numerous geothermal prospects. Seismic contractors have not succeeded in creating good-quality seismic data in this area for companies who have acquired data for oil and gas exploitation purposes. Our test profile traversed an area where high-velocity rocks and low-velocity sedimentmore » were exposed on the surface in alternating patterns that repeated along the test line. We verified that these surface conditions cause non-ending reverberations of Love waves, Rayleigh waves, and shallow critical refractions to travel across the earth surface between the boundaries of the fast-velocity and slow-velocity material exposed on the surface. These reverberating surface waves form the high level of noise in this area that does not allow reflections from deep interfaces to be seen and utilized. Our data-acquisition method of deploying a box array of closely spaced geophones allowed us to recognize and evaluate these surface-wave noise modes regardless of the azimuth direction to the surface anomaly that backscattered the waves and caused them to return to the test-line profile. With this knowledge of the surface-wave noise, we were able to process these test-line data to create P-P and SH-SH images that were superior to those produced by a skilled seismic data-processing contractor. Compared to the P-P data acquired along the test line, the SH-SH data provided a better detection of faults and could be used to trace these faults upward to the boundaries of exposed surface rocks. We expanded our comparison of the relative value of S-wave and P-wave seismic data for geothermal applications by inserting into this report a small part of the interpretation we have done with 3C3D data across Wister geothermal field in the Imperial Valley of California. This interpretation shows that P-SV data reveal faults (and by inference, also fractures) that cannot be easily, or confidently, seen with P-P data, and that the combination of P-P and P-SV data allows VP/VS velocity ratios to be estimated across a targeted reservoir interval to show where an interval has more sandstone (the preferred reservoir facies). The conclusion reached from this investigation is that S-wave seismic technology can be invaluable to geothermal operators. Thus we developed a strong interest in understanding the direct-S modes produced by vertical-force sources, particularly vertical vibrators, because if it can be demonstrated that direct-S modes produced by vertical-force sources can be used as effectively as the direct-S modes produced by horizontal-force sources, geothermal operators can acquire direct-S data across many more prospect areas than can be done with horizontal-force sources, which presently are limited to horizontal vibrators. We include some of our preliminary work in evaluating direct-S modes produced by vertical-force sources.« less

Capability assessment and challenges for quantum technology gravity sensors for near surface terrestrial geophysical surveying

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boddice, Daniel; Metje, Nicole; Tuckwell, George

2017-11-01

Geophysical surveying is widely used for the location of subsurface features. Current technology is limited in terms of its resolution (thus size of features it can detect) and penetration depth and a suitable technique is needed to bridge the gap between shallow near surface investigation using techniques such as EM conductivity mapping and GPR commonly used to map the upper 5 m below ground surface, and large features at greater depths detectable using conventional microgravity (> 5 m below ground surface). This will minimise the risks from unknown features buried in and conditions of the ground during civil engineering work. Quantum technology (QT) gravity sensors potentially offer a step-change in technology for locating features which lie outside of the currently detectable range in terms of size and depth, but that potential is currently unknown as field instruments have not been developed. To overcome this, a novel computer simulation was developed for a large range of different targets of interest. The simulation included realistic noise modelling of instrumental, environmental and location sources of noise which limit the accuracy of current microgravity measurements, in order to assess the potential capability of the new QT instruments in realistic situations and determine some of the likely limitations on their implementation. The results of the simulations for near surface features showed that the new technology is best employed in a gradiometer configuration as opposed to the traditional single sensor gravimeter used by current instruments due to the ability to suppress vibrational environmental noise effects due to common mode rejection between the sensors. A significant improvement in detection capability of 1.5-2 times was observed, putting targets such as mineshafts into the detectability zone which would be a major advantage for subsurface surveying. Thus this research, for the first time, has demonstrated clearly the benefits of QT gravity gradiometer sensors thereby increasing industry's confidence in this new technology.

Carbon source-sink limitations differ between two species with contrasting growth strategies: Source-sink limitations vary with growth strategy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burnett, Angela C.; Rogers, A.; Rees, M.

When we understand how carbon source and sink strengths limit plant growth we realized how critical the knowledge gap is in hindering efforts to maximize crop yield. Here, we investigated how differences in growth rate arise from source–sink limitations, using a model system comparing a fast-growing domesticated annual barley (Hordeum vulgare cv. NFC Tipple) with a slow-growing wild perennial relative (Hordeum bulbosum). Source strength was manipulated by growing plants at sub-ambient and elevated CO 2 concentrations ([CO 2]). Limitations on vegetative growth imposed by source and sink were diagnosed by measuring relative growth rate, developmental plasticity, photosynthesis and major carbonmore » and nitrogen metabolite pools. Growth was sink limited in the annual but source limited in the perennial. RGR and carbon acquisition were higher in the annual, but photosynthesis responded weakly to elevated [CO 2] indicating that source strength was near maximal at current [CO 2]. In contrast, photosynthetic rate and sink development responded strongly to elevated [CO 2] in the perennial, indicating significant source limitation. Sink limitation was avoided in the perennial by high sink plasticity: a marked increase in tillering and root:shoot ratio at elevated [CO 2], and lower non-structural carbohydrate accumulation. Finally, by alleviating sink limitation during vegetative development could be important for maximizing growth of elite cereals under future elevated [CO 2].« less

Carbon source-sink limitations differ between two species with contrasting growth strategies: Source-sink limitations vary with growth strategy

DOE PAGES

Burnett, Angela C.; Rogers, A.; Rees, M.; ...

2016-09-22

When we understand how carbon source and sink strengths limit plant growth we realized how critical the knowledge gap is in hindering efforts to maximize crop yield. Here, we investigated how differences in growth rate arise from source–sink limitations, using a model system comparing a fast-growing domesticated annual barley (Hordeum vulgare cv. NFC Tipple) with a slow-growing wild perennial relative (Hordeum bulbosum). Source strength was manipulated by growing plants at sub-ambient and elevated CO 2 concentrations ([CO 2]). Limitations on vegetative growth imposed by source and sink were diagnosed by measuring relative growth rate, developmental plasticity, photosynthesis and major carbonmore » and nitrogen metabolite pools. Growth was sink limited in the annual but source limited in the perennial. RGR and carbon acquisition were higher in the annual, but photosynthesis responded weakly to elevated [CO 2] indicating that source strength was near maximal at current [CO 2]. In contrast, photosynthetic rate and sink development responded strongly to elevated [CO 2] in the perennial, indicating significant source limitation. Sink limitation was avoided in the perennial by high sink plasticity: a marked increase in tillering and root:shoot ratio at elevated [CO 2], and lower non-structural carbohydrate accumulation. Finally, by alleviating sink limitation during vegetative development could be important for maximizing growth of elite cereals under future elevated [CO 2].« less

A Krebs Cycle Component Limits Caspase Activation Rate through Mitochondrial Surface Restriction of CRL Activation.

PubMed

Aram, Lior; Braun, Tslil; Braverman, Carmel; Kaplan, Yosef; Ravid, Liat; Levin-Zaidman, Smadar; Arama, Eli

2016-04-04

How cells avoid excessive caspase activity and unwanted cell death during apoptotic caspase-mediated removal of large cellular structures is poorly understood. We investigate caspase-mediated extrusion of spermatid cytoplasmic contents in Drosophila during spermatid individualization. We show that a Krebs cycle component, the ATP-specific form of the succinyl-CoA synthetase β subunit (A-Sβ), binds to and activates the Cullin-3-based ubiquitin ligase (CRL3) complex required for caspase activation in spermatids. In vitro and in vivo evidence suggests that this interaction occurs on the mitochondrial surface, thereby limiting the source of CRL3 complex activation to the vicinity of this organelle and reducing the potential rate of caspase activation by at least 60%. Domain swapping between A-Sβ and the GTP-specific SCSβ (G-Sβ), which functions redundantly in the Krebs cycle, show that the metabolic and structural roles of A-Sβ in spermatids can be uncoupled, highlighting a moonlighting function of this Krebs cycle component in CRL activation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Laser Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry for Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brinckerhoff, W. B.; Managadze, G. G.; McEntire, R. W.; Cheng, A. F.; Green, W. J.

2000-01-01

A miniature reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer for in situ planetary surface analysis is described. The laser ablation mass spectrometer (LAMS) measures the regolith's elemental and isotopic composition without high-voltage source extraction or sample preparation. The compact size (< 2 x 10(exp 3) cubic cm) and low mass (approximately 2 kg) of LAMS, due to its fully coaxial design and two-stage reflectron, fall within the strict resource limitations of landed science missions to solar system bodies. A short-pulse laser focused to a spot with a diameter approximately 30-50 micrometers is used to obtain microscopic surface samples. Assisted by a microimager, LAMS can interactively select and analyze a range of compositional regions (with lateral motion) and with repeated pulses can access unweathered, subsurface materials. The mass resolution is calibrated to distinguish isotopic peaks at unit masses, and detection limits are on resolved to a few ppm. The design and calibration method of a prototype LAMS device is described, which include the development of preliminary relative sensitivity coefficients for major element bulk abundance measurements.

Identification of Dust Source Regions at High-Resolution and Dynamics of Dust Source Mask over Southwest United States Using Remote Sensing Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sprigg, W. A.; Sahoo, S.; Prasad, A. K.; Venkatesh, A. S.; Vukovic, A.; Nickovic, S.

2015-12-01

Identification and evaluation of sources of aeolian mineral dust is a critical task in the simulation of dust. Recently, time series of space based multi-sensor satellite images have been used to identify and monitor changes in the land surface characteristics. Modeling of windblown dust requires precise delineation of mineral dust source and its strength that varies over a region as well as seasonal and inter-annual variability due to changes in land use and land cover. Southwest USA is one of the major dust emission prone zone in North American continent where dust is generated from low lying dried-up areas with bare ground surface and they may be scattered or appear as point sources on high resolution satellite images. In the current research, various satellite derived variables have been integrated to produce a high-resolution dust source mask, at grid size of 250 m, using data such as digital elevation model, surface reflectance, vegetation cover, land cover class, and surface wetness. Previous dust source models have been adopted to produce a multi-parameter dust source mask using data from satellites such as Terra (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer - MODIS), and Landsat. The dust source mask model captures the topographically low regions with bare soil surface, dried-up river plains, and lakes which form important source of dust in southwest USA. The study region is also one of the hottest regions of USA where surface dryness, land use (agricultural use), and vegetation cover changes significantly leading to major changes in the areal coverage of potential dust source regions. A dynamic high resolution dust source mask have been produced to address intra-annual change in the aerial extent of bare dry surfaces. Time series of satellite derived data have been used to create dynamic dust source masks. A new dust source mask at 16 day interval allows enhanced detection of potential dust source regions that can be employed in the dust emission and transport pathways models for better estimation of emission of dust during dust storms, particulate air pollution, public health risk assessment tools and decision support systems.

Surface Wave Mode Conversion due to Lateral Heterogeneity and its Impact on Waveform Inversions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Datta, A.; Priestley, K. F.; Chapman, C. H.; Roecker, S. W.

2016-12-01

Surface wave tomography based on great circle ray theory has certain limitations which become increasingly significant with increasing frequency. One such limitation is the assumption of different surface wave modes propagating independently from source to receiver, valid only in case of smoothly varying media. In the real Earth, strong lateral gradients can cause significant interconversion among modes, thus potentially wreaking havoc with ray theory based tomographic inversions that make use of multimode information. The issue of mode coupling (with either normal modes or surface wave modes) for accurate modelling and inversion of body wave data has received significant attention in the seismological literature, but its impact on inversion of surface waveforms themselves remains much less understood.We present an empirical study with synthetic data, to investigate this problem with a two-fold approach. In the first part, 2D forward modelling using a new finite difference method that allows modelling a single mode at a time, is used to build a general picture of energy transfer among modes as a function of size, strength and sharpness of lateral heterogeneities. In the second part, we use the example of a multimode waveform inversion technique based on the Cara and Leveque (1987) approach of secondary observables, to invert our synthetic data and assess how mode conversion can affect the process of imaging the Earth. We pay special attention to ensuring that any biases or artefacts in the resulting inversions can be unambiguously attributed to mode conversion effects. This study helps pave the way towards the next generation of (non-numerical) surface wave tomography techniques geared to exploit higher frequencies and mode numbers than are typically used today.

Annual land cover change mapping using MODIS time series to improve emissions inventories.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López Saldaña, G.; Quaife, T. L.; Clifford, D.

2014-12-01

Understanding and quantifying land surface changes is necessary for estimating greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions, and for meeting air quality limits and targets. More sophisticated inventories methodologies for at least key emission source are needed due to policy-driven air quality directives. Quantifying land cover changes on an annual basis requires greater spatial and temporal disaggregation of input data. The main aim of this study is to develop a methodology for using Earth Observations (EO) to identify annual land surface changes that will improve emissions inventories from agriculture and land use/land use change and forestry (LULUCF) in the UK. First goal is to find the best sets of input features that describe accurately the surface dynamics. In order to identify annual and inter-annual land surface changes, a times series of surface reflectance was used to capture seasonal variability. Daily surface reflectance images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) at 500m resolution were used to invert a Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) model to create the seamless time series. Given the limited number of cloud-free observations, a BRDF climatology was used to constrain the model inversion and where no high-scientific quality observations were available at all, as a gap filler. The Land Cover Map 2007 (LC2007) produced by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) was used for training and testing purposes. A prototype land cover product was created for 2006 to 2008. Several machine learning classifiers were tested as well as different sets of input features going from the BRDF parameters to spectral Albedo. We will present the results of the time series development and the first exercises when creating the prototype land cover product.

Bacterial community diversity and variation in spray water sources and the tomato fruit surface.

PubMed

Telias, Adriana; White, James R; Pahl, Donna M; Ottesen, Andrea R; Walsh, Christopher S

2011-04-21

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) consumption has been one of the most common causes of produce-associated salmonellosis in the United States. Contamination may originate from animal waste, insects, soil or water. Current guidelines for fresh tomato production recommend the use of potable water for applications coming in direct contact with the fruit, but due to high demand, water from other sources is frequently used. We sought to describe the overall bacterial diversity on the surface of tomato fruit and the effect of two different water sources (ground and surface water) when used for direct crop applications by generating a 454-pyrosequencing 16S rRNA dataset of these different environments. This study represents the first in depth characterization of bacterial communities in the tomato fruit surface and the water sources commonly used in commercial vegetable production. The two water sources tested had a significantly different bacterial composition. Proteobacteria was predominant in groundwater samples, whereas in the significantly more diverse surface water, abundant phyla also included Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Verrucomicrobia. The fruit surface bacterial communities on tomatoes sprayed with both water sources could not be differentiated using various statistical methods. Both fruit surface environments had a high representation of Gammaproteobacteria, and within this class the genera Pantoea and Enterobacter were the most abundant. Despite the major differences observed in the bacterial composition of ground and surface water, the season long use of these very different water sources did not have a significant impact on the bacterial composition of the tomato fruit surface. This study has provided the first next-generation sequencing database describing the bacterial communities living in the fruit surface of a tomato crop under two different spray water regimes, and therefore represents an important step forward towards the development of science-based metrics for Good Agricultural Practices.

Internal variability of fine-scale components of meteorological fields in extended-range limited-area model simulations with atmospheric and surface nudging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Separovic, Leo; Husain, Syed Zahid; Yu, Wei

2015-09-01

Internal variability (IV) in dynamical downscaling with limited-area models (LAMs) represents a source of error inherent to the downscaled fields, which originates from the sensitive dependence of the models to arbitrarily small modifications. If IV is large it may impose the need for probabilistic verification of the downscaled information. Atmospheric spectral nudging (ASN) can reduce IV in LAMs as it constrains the large-scale components of LAM fields in the interior of the computational domain and thus prevents any considerable penetration of sensitively dependent deviations into the range of large scales. Using initial condition ensembles, the present study quantifies the impact of ASN on IV in LAM simulations in the range of fine scales that are not controlled by spectral nudging. Four simulation configurations that all include strong ASN but differ in the nudging settings are considered. In the fifth configuration, grid nudging of land surface variables toward high-resolution surface analyses is applied. The results show that the IV at scales larger than 300 km can be suppressed by selecting an appropriate ASN setup. At scales between 300 and 30 km, however, in all configurations, the hourly near-surface temperature, humidity, and winds are only partly reproducible. Nudging the land surface variables is found to have the potential to significantly reduce IV, particularly for fine-scale temperature and humidity. On the other hand, hourly precipitation accumulations at these scales are generally irreproducible in all configurations, and probabilistic approach to downscaling is therefore recommended.

Stochastic analysis of 1D and 2D surface topography of x-ray mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyurina, Anastasia Y.; Tyurin, Yury N.; Yashchuk, Valeriy V.

2017-08-01

The design and evaluation of the expected performance of new optical systems requires sophisticated and reliable information about the surface topography for planned optical elements before they are fabricated. The problem is especially complex in the case of x-ray optics, particularly for the X-ray Surveyor under development and other missions. Modern x-ray source facilities are reliant upon the availability of optics with unprecedented quality (surface slope accuracy < 0.1μrad). The high angular resolution and throughput of future x-ray space observatories requires hundreds of square meters of high quality optics. The uniqueness of the optics and limited number of proficient vendors makes the fabrication extremely time consuming and expensive, mostly due to the limitations in accuracy and measurement rate of metrology used in fabrication. We discuss improvements in metrology efficiency via comprehensive statistical analysis of a compact volume of metrology data. The data is considered stochastic and a new statistical model called Invertible Time Invariant Linear Filter (InTILF) is developed now for 2D surface profiles to provide compact description of the 2D data additionally to 1D data treated so far. The model captures faint patterns in the data and serves as a quality metric and feedback to polishing processes, avoiding high resolution metrology measurements over the entire optical surface. The modeling, implemented in our Beatmark software, allows simulating metrology data for optics made by the same vendor and technology. The forecast data is vital for reliable specification for optical fabrication, to be exactly adequate for the required system performance.

Water-quality assessment of south-central Texas: Occurrence and distribution of volatile organic compounds in surface water and ground water, 1983-94, and implications for future monitoring

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ging, P.B.; Judd, L.J.; Wynn, K.H.

1997-01-01

The study area of the South-Central Texas study unit of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program comprises the Edwards aquifer in the San Antonio region and its catchment area. The first phase of the assessment includes evaluation of existing water-quality data for surface water and ground water, including volatile organic compounds, to determine the scope of planned monitoring. Most analyses of volatile organic compounds in surface water are from the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System sites in San Antonio, Texas. Nine volatile organic compounds were detected at the six sites. The three compounds with the most detections at National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System sites are 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, toluene, and xylene. Analysis of volatile organic compounds in ground water was limited to Edwards aquifer wells. Twenty-eight volatile organic compounds were detected in samples from 89 wells. The five most commonly detected compounds in samples from wells, in descending order, are tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene, bromoform, chloroform, and dibromochloromethane. Detections of volatile organic compounds in surface water and ground water within the South-Central Texas study area are limited to site-specific sources associated with development; therefore, planned monitoring for possible detections of volatile organic compounds as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program will emphasize areas of expanding population and development. Monitoring of volatile organic compounds is planned at National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System sites, at basic fixed surface-water sites, and in the ground-water study-unit surveys.

Challenges/issues of NIS used in particle accelerator facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faircloth, Dan

2013-09-01

High current, high duty cycle negative ion sources are an essential component of many high power particle accelerators. This talk gives an overview of the state-of-the-art sources used around the world. Volume, surface and charge exchange negative ion production processes are detailed. Cesiated magnetron and Penning surface plasma sources are discussed along with surface converter sources. Multicusp volume sources with filament and LaB6 cathodes are described before moving onto RF inductively coupled volume sources with internal and external antennas. The major challenges facing accelerator facilities are detailed. Beam current, source lifetime and reliability are the most pressing. The pros and cons of each source technology is discussed along with their development programs. The uncertainties and unknowns common to these sources are discussed. The dynamics of cesium surface coverage and the causes of source variability are still unknown. Minimizing beam emittance is essential to maximizing the transport of high current beams; space charge effects are very important. The basic physics of negative ion production is still not well understood, theoretical and experimental programs continue to improve this, but there are still many mysteries to be solved.

Analysis of heavy metal sources in storm water from urban areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scherer, U.; Fuchs, S.

2009-04-01

The input of heavy metals into surface waters is a serious impairment of the aquatic environment. The emissions of heavy metals via point and diffuse pathways into the German river basins were thus quantified for the period of 1985 through 2005. The total emission into the German river systems decreased for each metal during the observed period. This reduction is mainly caused by the decline of emissions via point sources. The measures taken by industry and implemented within the scope of a stringently water legislation have decisively contributed to an improvement of environmental conditions. Today's emissions of heavy metals into river basins of Germany are dominated by the input via diffuse pathways. One of the most important diffuse input is the storm water discharged from paved urban areas into the surface waters via storm sewers and combined sewer overflows especially for the metals copper, zinc and lead. The objective of this project was to identify the sources of these three heavy metals washed of from paved urban areas. The use of copper, zinc and lead on the outsides of buildings results in emissions to water and soil via rainwater due to weathering and runoff of soluble and insoluble metallic compounds. Copper and zinc are traditionally used materials in the building sector especially for roofs, gutters and facades. Lead, in contrast, plays only a subordinate role due to its more limited outdoor use. The corrosion rates vary widely. Climatic factors (temperature, humidity etc.), above all the presence of corrosive gases (sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, ozone etc.) influence the corrosion processes. Estimates of industrial associations were referred to in order to determine the corrosion relevant metal surfaces. Heavy metal emissions caused by traffic are complex and depend on many parameters which vary by locality, time and substance. In principle, substances can be emitted by vehicles, the road surface and by maintenance. Emissions of copper, lead and zinc are mainly caused by wear and tear of tyres and brake pads. The reference figures of the environmental emissions are usually the kilometres driven per vehicle. The emissions can then be calculated based on the road performance. Furthermore atmospheric deposition on paved urban areas was considered. The heavy metal emission from each individual source and the portion discharged into surface waters via storm sewers and combined sewer overflows was quantified. The emission sum of all sources was validated using emission data of storm sewers based on measured heavy metal concentrations and the discharge volume showing a good agreement.

Regional Detection of Decoupled Explosions, Yield Estimation from Surface Waves, Two-Dimensional Source Effects, Three-Dimensional Earthquake Modeling and Automated Magnitude Measures

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-07-01

41 3.2 EXPERIMENTAL DETERMINATION OF THE DEPENDENCE OF RAYLEIGH WAVE AMPLITUDE ON PROPERTIES OF THE SOURCE MATERIAL ...Surface Wave Observations ...... ................ 48 3.3.3 Surface Wave Dependence on Source Material Properties ..... ................ .. 51 SYSTEMS...with various aspects of the problem of estimating yield from single station recordings of surface waves. The material in these four summaries has been

Permitted water use in Iowa, 1985

USGS Publications Warehouse

Runkle, D.L.; Newman, J.L.; Shields, E.M.

1985-01-01

This report summarizes where, how much and for what purpose water is allocated for use in Iowa with permits issued by the Department of Water, Air and Waste Management. In Iowa, from a total permitted water use of 855,175.45 million gallons per year, about 58 percent is from surface-water sources and about 42 percent is from ground-water sources. Streams are 80.5 percent of the total surface-water use and wells make up 80.1 percent of the total ground-water use, with 65.4 percent of ground water coming from surficial aquifers. Power generation is the use category that is permitted the largest amount of total water use, 46.6 percent, with surface water being the source of 96.7 percent and 77.9 percent of the surface water is from streams. The public water suppliers' category is the next largest use type with 15.7 percent of the total permitted water. Ground water constitutes 74.4 percent of the public water supplier category with 51.7 percent from surficial aquifers. Surface water makes up 25.6 percent of this category with 83.0 percent of the surface water withdrawn from streams. Mining comprises 13.4 percent of the total water use and is the third largest water-use category. Ground water is the source of 63.3 percent of permitted mining water use with 94.3 percent of this from quarries and sand and gravel pits. Surface water is the source of 36.7 percent of the permitted mining water use with 97.6 percent from streams. Irrigation is the fourth largest permitted use type using 12.0 percent of the total water use. Eighty-eight percent of irrigation is from ground-water sources where surficial aquifers account for 94.7 percent. Streams are 81.1 percent of irrigational surface-water use. Self-supplied industrial users are permitted 10.6 percent of the total permitted water use with 85.5 percent of this from ground-water sources and 14.5 percent from surface-water sources. Of the self-supplied industrial ground-water use, 47.9 percent comes from surficial aquifers and of the self-supplied industrial surface-water use 86.1 percent is from streams. Self-supplied commercial use is allocated 1.5 percent of the total permitted water. Surface-water is the source of 37.7 percent of this and 62.3 percent is from ground-water sources. Agricultural (non-irrigation) use is 0.3 percent of the total permitted water with 73.3 percent from groundwater sources and 26.7 percent from surface-water sources. The areas that are allocated the most water permits are east-central Iowa and west-central Iowa.

High intensity, pulsed thermal neutron source

DOEpatents

Carpenter, J.M.

1973-12-11

This invention relates to a high intensity, pulsed thermal neutron source comprising a neutron-producing source which emits pulses of fast neutrons, a moderator block adjacent to the last neutron source, a reflector block which encases the fast neutron source and the moderator block and has a thermal neutron exit port extending therethrough from the moderator block, and a neutron energy- dependent decoupling reflector liner covering the interior surfaces of the thermal neutron exit port and surrounding all surfaces of the moderator block except the surface viewed by the thermal neutron exit port. (Official Gazette)

Stratification of a closed region containing two buoyancy sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Andrew; Linden, Paul

2005-11-01

Many closed systems such as lakes, ocean basins, rooms etc. have inputs of buoyancy at different levels. We address the question of how the resulting stratification depends on the location of these sources. For example a lake is heated and cooled at the surface, while for a room cool air may be applied at the ceiling but the heat source may be a person standing on the floor. We present an experimental study of convection in a finite box in which we systematically vary the vertical location of two well-separated, constant buoyancy sources. We specifically consider the case of a dense source and a light source so that there is no net buoyancy flux into the tank. We study the development of the large-time stratification in the tank, which falls between one of two limits. When the location of the dense source is significantly higher than the light source, the fluid is well mixed and the system remains largely unstratified. When the location of the light source is significantly higher than the dense source, a two- layer stratification develops. We find that the circulation pattern is dominated by counter-flowing shear layers (Wong, Griffiths & Hughes, 2001), whose number and strength are strongly influenced by the buoyancy source locations. The shear layers are the primary means of communication between the plumes and thus play a large role in the resulting stratification. We support our findings with a simple numerical model.

Continuous and pulsed laser high power beam combiner for additive manufacturing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bassignana, Marta; Califano, Alessio; Pescarmona, Francesco; Braglia, Andrea; Perrone, Guido

2018-02-01

Laser-based additive manufacturing (AM) from metal powders is emerging as the new industrial revolution, although current fabrication approaches still require long mechanical post-processing to improve the final surface quality and meet the design tolerances. To overcome this limitation, the next generation machines are expected to complement laser AM with laser ablation (LA) to implement surface finishing and micro texturing already during the device growth process. With this aim, a new beam combiner to allow the real-time interchange of additive and subtractive processes using the same scanner head has been designed. Extensive tests have been carried out using a 6 kW continuous-wave laser similar to that used for the metal powder fusion and a nanosecond 100W pulsed source similar to that used for laser ablation.

A High-Average-Power Free Electron Laser for Microfabrication and Surface Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dylla, H. F.; Benson, S.; Bisognano, J.; Bohn, C. L.; Cardman, L.; Engwall, D.; Fugitt, J.; Jordan, K.; Kehne, D.; Li, Z.;