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ARCHIVE - EES Division Highlights/Accomplishments 2003
Los Alamos Releases New Version of Computational Hydrology Code EES intends to continue pushing the forefront of computational hydrology with future versions of the code, and further the use of the code by the hydrologic community by distributing it, and providing technical support through user workshops and one-on-one interactions. Environmental Systems Research Institute publishes Los Alamos' Maps Los Alamos Participates in First Geologic Sequestration Field Test in New Mexico As part of the project actual field injection of carbon dioxide was performed. Between December 20, 2002 and February 10, 2003, approximately 2,100 tons of carbon dioxide was injected into Strata Production Company's West Pearl Queen reservoir near Hobbs, which is comparable to a single day of emissions from an average coal-fired plant. The carbon dioxide "plume" is currently soaking into the depleted oil reservoir rock while the researchers are monitoring whether the gases are likely to stay within the formation and what physical, mineral, and chemical changes might occur in the geologic structures over the next year. In April, the researchers will perform a 3-D seismic survey and provide before and after pictures of the reservoir to begin determining the fate of the injected plume. In addition, data from the field tests and laboratory experiments will be used to determine the accuracy of several modeling and simulation tools that will be used to predict the storage capacity and physical or chemical effects of the carbon dioxide on the reservoir. March 17, 2003 Los Alamos Hydrologist's Book "Succeeds Admirably" Traditional analyses of groundwater problems rely on solution of partial differential equations that require precise definition of parameters, water sources, and conditions at the boundaries of the hydrogeologic system. The combination of spatio-temporal variation, measurement error, and uncertainty has led the development of stochastic sub-surface hydrology. Zhang, according to the Eos Review, "surveys a broad range of approaches used by scientists in the sub-surface hydrologic community, and presents some of the most recent accomplishments in the development of stochastic methods." Eos also states, "Perhaps the most important aspect offered by the book is the complete and authoritative manner with which the topics are covered, thus allowing stochastic sub-surface hydrology to claim that it has outgrown the research environment, and is ready for use by practicing hydrologists." National Institute of Nuclear Research of Mexico Tours Los Alamos' GISLab March 12, 2003 Japan Interested in Yucca Mountain The "tours" consist of a general briefing of the tunnel layout and experiments (both completed and ongoing). This occurs underground in a side drift from the main tunnel called an "alcove" that has been customized for tours (including maps/display) and it is about 200 yards underground). The group boarded a train and traveled about 1.5 miles further underground and observed one of the project's long-term tests and then returned to the surface. March 5, 2003 Employee honored with his own comet --Spotlight article in the LANL Newsletter by Lecole Trujillo Last year's meeting was held in Berlin, Germany, and the next meeting will be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2005. ReVelle was socializing at the meeting when he noticed that one of his colleagues was extra friendly. This friend persuaded him to approach a large balcony, where they were about to announce the names of the people to be honored. When they announced ReVelle's name, he was shocked because he was unaware that he had even been nominated. It has been 42 years since an American meteor physicist or astronomer has had an asteroid named after him or her. There were 600 attendees from 34 countries at the meeting. ReVelle was one of 30 people nominated and only three of these were meteor physicists. He said, "It's really neat for me and also for the Laboratory, which has at least half-a-dozen people studying this field of science." The planet is called ReVelle=1998 TA34, and its number is 13358. It is a main-belt asteroid and was discovered on Oct. 14, 1998, by the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth Object Search at the Anderson Mesa Station. The planet is 15 kilometers across and in the belt between Mars and Jupiter. ReVelle is well-known for his pioneering theoretical work in meteor physics and astronomy based on theoretical aerodynamics, meter acoustics and in the interpretation of infrasonic meteor observations. He is a member of American Geophysical Union, Acoustical Society of America, American Institute of Physics, American Meteorological Society and International Astronomical Union. ReVelle received his bachelor's in meteorology and oceanography in 1968, his master's in aeronomy and planetary atmospheres in 1970 and his doctorate in atmospheric science in 1974. All of these degrees were in the department of atmospheric ocean and space sciences from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His thesis for his doctorate program was about acoustics of meteors. To view pictures of ReVelle =1998 TA34, visit the EES Web site at http://www.ees.lanl.gov/archive_index/index.shtml online. Employee honored with his own comet Researcher quantifies meteor false-alarm rate for nuclear test monitoring system --- by James E. Rickman, as featured in the LANL Newsletter March 3.A Los Alamos National Laboratory researcher is helping to provide an extra measure of confidence in an international array of listening posts that keep an ear out for clandestine nuclear weapons tests. Doug ReVelle of Atmospheric, Climate and Environmental Dynamics (EES-2) presented calculations showing the number of false alarms in international monitoring stations that can be attributed to meteors. ReVelle presented his findings at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual meeting in Denver recently. ReVelle and his Los Alamos colleagues operate a series of stations that listen for infrasonic signals — very low frequency sound waves that lie below the range of normal human hearing. The stations are part of an international monitoring system that is used to detect, among other things, rogue atomic tests. Such tests create infrasonic signals, and researchers can analyze data from the stations to pinpoint the location and even the magnitude of a clandestine blast. But incoming meteors also create infrasonic signals. When a meteor enters the atmosphere and continues traveling through it, it creates a pressure wave — the infrasonic signal. The pressure wave is akin to a pressure wave created by an explosion. Because of this, ReVelle often discusses meteor size in terms of explosive yield: the larger the yield, the greater the diameter of the meteor. Recently, ReVelle teamed up with researchers from Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Western Ontario, ET Space Systems and U.S. Space Command and looked at sound and light signatures from large meteors that had entered the atmosphere during the last eight years. From these data, the researchers were able to more precisely calculate the size and energy of incoming meteors. In addition, ReVelle was able to calculate the frequency of meteor encounters with the atmosphere. A meteor that’s 100 feet in diameter — with the energy equivalency of a one-megaton explosion — enters the atmosphere about every 100 years. But smaller meteors enter more frequently. ReVelle looked at the number of meteors in the one-kiloton energy range (or meteors just under 10 feet in diameter) to determine the number of false alarms that might be seen on international monitoring stations worldwide. Based on his calculations, ReVelle found that individual monitoring stations would see, on the average, about five meteor signals a year. “ This research will help give added confidence Terry Wallace Named as New Deputy Division Leader of Earth and Environmental Sciences Division France, Japan, Korea, Canada, Great Britain, and Others Tour WIPP On February 26, Richard Kovach toured 22 individuals from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) Western Region, in addition, representatives from the Japan Nuclear Fuel Cycle Development Institute (JNC) were also part of the briefing. They included Yuzo Kiyono, Deputy Director, JNC, Yoichi Onuma, Director, Litigation Department/Sendai Legal Affairs Bureau, JNC, Shigemichi Saito, Counselor, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of Justice, Christopher McVay, Policy Analyst, JNC, and Richard Spence, DOE, Office of Facility Operation, Director, Environmental Safety and Health On February 28, Richard Kovach and Bruce Reinert, Yucca Mountain Project Group, led a tour of 50 individuals from the Waste Management 03 Conference held in Tucson, AZ. These individuals traveled from Tucson specifically to tour Yucca Mountain. Approximately, half of the group was foreign nationals. An example of some of the attendees was: Louis Johnson, Program Manager, General Atomic Stewart Smith, Advisory Engineer, Bechtel Bettis, Inc., Annoh Akio, Engineer, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Wang-kyu Choi, Principal Researcher, Korea Atomic Energy Institute, Denis Deroubaix, Senior Analyst, COGEMA (French Nuclear Fuel Co.), Mark Gardiner, Project Specialist, Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd., Makoto Kikuchi, Chief Project Manager, Hitachi Ltd., Ian Streatfield, Nuclear Regulator, Environment Agency, Seietsu Takeda, Deputy Director, Japan Nuclear Cycle, Development Institute, Ian George, Remediation Project Manager, British Nuclear Fuel, ltd. The "tours" consist of a general briefing of the tunnel layout and experiments (both completed and ongoing). This occurs underground in side drift from the main tunnel called an alcove that has been customized for tours (including maps/displays and is about 200 yards underground). The group then boards a train and travels about 1.5 miles further underground to observe one of our long-term tests and then returns to the surface. February 25, 2003 Interagency Geotechnical Assessment Team Activities in Washington February 19, 2003 Japan Atomic Research Institute Tours Yucca Mountain Richard Kovach, Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, conducted a tour of the Yucca Mountain Project on February 13 for the Japan Atomic Research Institute. Fujiyasu Nomura, Director, Office of Auditors, and Kaoru Naito, Senior Auditor, both from Japan Atomic Research Institute, and Richard Spence, DOE, Office of Project Execution, Deputy Assistant Manager attended the tour. The Institute is interested in our program at YMP as they study the disposition of spent nuclear fuel from their commercial nuclear reactors. Meteor Impacts The findings of catastrophic meteor strikes by Douglas ReVelle, of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, and his colleagues from Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Western Ontario, ET Space Systems, and the U.S. Space Command were published in the November 21 issue of Nature. Infrasound detectors (small microphones) used by Los Alamos for "listening" for clandestine nuclear tests played a key role in helping scientists to more accurately determine how often Earth is hammered by giant meteors. The Laboratory's infrasound arrays are tuned to detect ultra low-frequency and very small amplitude waves. The Earth and Environmental Sciences Division operate five infrasound arrays across the western United States that routinely monitor and locate global atmospheric explosions. February 11, 2003
Zero-Emission Carbon-Necessary and Achievable "The controversies over the details of global climate change are in danger of obscuring an important fact: even without considering climate change, the world is rapidly approaching critical carbon overload in our atmosphere," the authors state in the article. "Important fossil fuel usage will have to be eliminated, or a means will have to be found of achieving zero emissions for fossil energy in all sectors of the economy. The development of zero-emission carbon needs to become a large national and international effort and requires strong support from industry, academia, and state and federal governments." ECOS' Web site URL is http://www.ecos.org. February 4, 2003 A Message from Paul G. Weber, Division Leader, Earth and Environmental Sciences Division Ardyth Simmons has a Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. Cum Laude in Geology and an M.S. Ed. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her thesis topic was, "The Miocene Mohon Mountains volcanic field, west-central Arizona: geology, geochemistry, and petrogenesis." She is a member of the Geological Society of America, American Geophysical Union, National Association of Geology Teachers, and the Association of Women in Geoscience. Ardyth will start work with us on 10 March 2003. She will coordinate and manage the Yucca Mountain work at Los Alamos, working closely with Paul Dixon (who remains the primary Yucca Mountain Program Manager who is on assignment in Las Vegas, NV). Ardyth will also represent Repository Science for Yucca Mountain and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in such venues as the Nuclear Technologies Applications Initiatives led by Tom Meyer, Associate Director for Strategic Research. Please join me in welcoming Ardyth Simmons to Los Alamos. Regards P.S. My thanks to Greg Valentine, Group Leader of EES-6, and the search team for their time and contributions in this endeavor! January 15, 2003 LANL Presents Regional Seismic Event Location in Asia at AGU The presentation was given at the American Geophysical Union's fall meeting in San Francisco. The paper was co presented by undergraduate student, Jill Franks, who made significant contributions to the paper during her undergraduate work at LANL. January 8, 2003 LANL PROVIDES DATA FOR ARM: 10th Anniversary of ARM LANL'S Earth & Environmental Sciences Division's Tropical Western Pacific Team operate the climate stations for the DOE's ARM Program at sites in the Pacific in Papua New Guinea, The Republic of Nauru, and Darwin, Australia.
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