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At least 91 records · Page 5

Large Game Distribution Camera Study at Los Alamos National Laboratory

The unique habitats at the Laboratory support a diverse community of wildlife. The habitat types that include Pinon Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, and Mixed-conifer forests each provide different resources important for a variety of species. Wildlife monitoring for large game animals can be challenging because they avoid interactions with humans, and prefer undeveloped areas. This study was conducted to analyze the distribution of predators and other game animals seasonally across the Laboratory. This research informs decisions regarding wildlife management recommendations for conservation and protection. This study utilized game cameras to remotely monitor wildlife. As camera technology has advanced, game cameras have become adequate for documenting individuals, and are commonly used in wildlife studies on predation, abundance, occupancy, diversity, and endangered species detection. Twenty cameras were placed across the LANL landscape using a modified systematic sampling design. They were deployed in February 2018 and retrieved in January 2019, thus each camera sampled for one full year. All images were reviewed and the species, number, age, and sex of all animals in the photo were recorded. Here we present data for the most abundant species encountered: deer, elk, coyote, bear, bobcat, mountain lion, and fox respectively. The data were summarized by species and season. Future work will include occupancy modelling for each species. This will allow the development of heat maps showing species distributions across the Laboratory.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Advanced Multi-Functional Diesel Particulate Filters (CRADA 455)

Diesel engines continue to play crucial roles in many transportation and off-road applications. More specifically, heavy duty diesel engines are expected to remain the only practical option for long-range hauling and many off-road industrial and agricultural applications for decades. As such, the U.S. Department of Energy places high priority on the development and optimization of advanced diesel engine and diesel aftertreatment systems for maximum efficiency and minimum emissions. This collaborative effort between PNNL and Deere & Co. is aimed at enabling the industrially relevant potential of DOCF (diesel oxidation catalyst-on-filter) technology towards the development of the next generation of advanced aftertreatment systems with high performance, superior flexibility, and reduced backpressure.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Igiugig Site Visit Report

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) team conducted a site visit during January 23-25, 2019 with the Igiugig Village Council (IVC) and other stakeholders to assist the community of Igiugig in refining their long-term energy strategy. The agenda included a tour of the village, data collection, presentations, long-term visioning exercises, identification of energy scenarios, and a school presentation. Participants in the site visit activities spanned a range of local, regional, government, and industry participation. There were 24 attendees at the all-day community workshop on Thursday, January 24th, with participants from the IVC, NREL, Bristol Bay Native Association (BBNA), Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC), Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska Energy Authority, Intergrid, ORPC, Deer Stone Consulting, the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference, and University of Alaska Fairbanks - Alaska Center for Energy and Power. Igiugig is a well-organized rural Alaskan community, with a leadership team that appears to have broad community support. The use of consensus-based decision making is one tangible example of how the leadership team actively invokes and promotes community-focused thinking. The NREL team observed anecdotal evidence of how this approach seems to be strengthening the community: active participation in the visioning exercise, a student hosted fund-raiser dinner at the school, a clean and organized landfill, and well-maintained roads and buildings. Igiugig has wind, solar, and river hydrokinetic resources readily available within the community. Wind has shown to be a promising resource in the region, and has been integrated into microgrids around the state, but the community has had mixed success with wind technologies: some devices failed quickly and others continue to operate. The economics of solar energy are improving in Alaska, and economical solar projects are being installed around the state. Considering that economic activity in Igiugig peaks during the summer sport fishing season, solar could prove to be a valuable supplement to the electrical system. Igiugig has been a test site for two different river hydrokinetic devices, and they have began a third project to operate ORPC's RivGen device, which is delivering valuable device performance data, operations and maintenance experience, and design refinement information. Already, this device has made over 7-million revolutions, and delivered over 8 MWh of power to the community. Igiugig's river resource is fairly unique because it is available year-round and has the potential to provide reliable base-load power for months at a time. A preliminary investigation of this diverse resource mix suggests that Igiugig could achieve very high levels (70% or more) of annual renewable generation contributions. A critical step in pursuing this path is identifying the mix of energy assets (generation and storage) that best meets the community's budget, needs, and goals. The assets that a community installs early in their grid-modernization initiative can constrain the options that are economical at later stages, which may lead to sub-optimal solutions. This is where technical and economic analysis of potential scenarios (i.e., distinct mixes of energy assets) can be useful in identifying the most promising pathways so that a community can make informed and strategic decisions about the assets they install. These analyses are most accurate and informative when they are based on actual technology performance and cost data. As the RivGen project continues to operate and generate this data, we will be better prepared to evaluate the technology's long-term viability and to identify research areas that would improve it. Igiugig's energy projects are at the cutting edge of two intersecting technology areas: 1) deploying an operational river hydrokinetic turbine, and 2) integrating renewable energy sources to achieve very high percent renewables. If these projects are successful, the lessons learned and technologies developed could be valuable for other microgrids around the world. Igiugig's unique resource mix make it an ideal location for this work, and the community's organizational strength make it an ideal partner in this ground-breaking work. Ongoing support for technical assistance to manage and address technical challenges along the way will maximize the probability of project success.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

200-IA-1 Operable Unit Ecological Risk Screen

The purpose of this environmental calculation file (ECF) is to document the assumptions, inputs, methodology, equations, and results of a screening level ecological risk assessment (SLERA) conducted for eight of 12 representative waste sites within the newly formed 200 IA-1 Operable Unit (OU); the remaining four waste sites lacked soil data within the shallow vadose zone and were not further evaluated. The SLERA was conducted to evaluate ecological receptor exposure and potential risk using soil data for radionuclides and nonradionuclides occurring within the shallow vadose zone (0 to 15 ft) soil of the OU. The representative Hanford ecological receptors evaluated are: plants, soil invertebrates, California quail (Callipepla californica), Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), Great Basin pocket mouse (Perognathus parvus), Deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), Grasshopper mouse (Onychomys leucogaster), and badger (Taxidea taxus). During the SLERA, detected soil sample results from the shallow vadose zone were used to calculate Hazard Quotients (HQs) for nonradionuclides and Sum of Fractions (SOF) for radionuclides. The results of this SLERA support the preparation of DOE/RL-2020-51, 200-IA-1 Operable Unit Focused Feasibility Study.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Motor with Advanced Concepts for High power density and INtegrated cooling for Efficiency (MACHINE)

Raytheon Technologies Research Center (RTRC) is the central research and development (R&D) organization for RTX, and has extensive expertise in the design, modeling and analysis of high-performance electrical machines and thermal management for all its business units. The proposing team consists of researchers from RTRC and John Deere (JD), will be referred as “Team”. Each organization a has long track record of successful R&D of materials, manufacturing, components, and systems for energy efficiency applications. Motor power density and efficiency are limited by fundamental physical trade-offs between electromagnetics, thermal management, and structural design considerations. The team is proposing to utilize novel technologies and multi-physics design methods to develop a Motor with Advanced Concepts for High power density and INtegrated cooling for Efficiency (MACHINE), demonstrating an 8X improvement in power density.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Transfer Factors for the FRMAC Assessment Manual and Turbo FRMAC to Improve Radiological Dose Assessment

The Turbo FRMAC analysis tool is used to perform complex calculations to quickly evaluate radiological consequences and aid in decision making during an emergency response by assessing impacts to the public, workers, and the food supply. Turbo FRMAC calculations are based on methods established by the Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center (FRMAC). To be able to assess impacts, input data called transfer factors that describe radionuclide uptake by local plants and animals are required. During the code application exercises in late 2016, identifying, finding, and validating nonstandard transfer factors proved to be time consuming and diverted the teams’ activity away from other critical tasks. As a result, a task was undertaken to dramatically expand the list of available transfer factors (food and non-food) and incorporate these factors into Turbo FRMAC. This will ultimately result in improved efficiency of the assessment team to perform calculations during times when the FRMAC is activated and provide more defensible, vetted data from which to calculate results. As a result of these and subsequent exercises, transfer factors were needed for the following items: bell peppers, Christmas tree, deer, flowers, fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, grapefruit, lichens, mushrooms, oranges, snap beans, squash, strawberries, sugarcane for sugar and seed, sweet corn, tea, tobacco, tree bark, and watermelon. To expand the applicability of the information tables, generic transfer data were also provided for common categories and recommendations were made for expanding the list of chemicals based on chemical similarity. The data presented in this report were compiled from recent literature with most of the data encompassing the period from 2000 to 2018. The following radionuclides were targeted during the literature search: elements associated with reactor accidents or nuclear detonations (Sr 89/90, Cs 134/137, Ce 141/144, Ru 103/106, I 129/131/133, Pu 238/239, Am 241, Zr 95, and Nb 95) and elements associated with industrial accidents or dirty bombs (Ir 192 and Co 60). Data from other elements were evaluated if they were identified during the literature search. In addition, reports were evaluated that were recommended by the research consultants. For each plant or animal transfer factor, the goal was to determine the geometric mean, the geometric standard deviation, the minimum, the maximum, and the number of measurements used. If only one measurement was available that was presented as the mean. Concentration ratios with large geometric standard deviations (GSDs) were generally the result of a paucity of measurements or a few disparate measurements. Measurement disparity was observed for data from different soil types. The geometric mean (GM) is a good reference value for planning and responses purposes, but the location-specific concentrations are unlikely to be similar to the model results. Recommendations for further work include: segregating the data to reflect the influence of soil type, developing approaches to incorporate animal data based on aggregated transfer measurements, and including data for foliar deposition on plants.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

PowerAmerica (Final Technical Report)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (predecessor to AMMTO) established PowerAmerica in December 2014 to develop and accelerate the adoption of wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor chips and power electronics in manufacturing. The objective was to spark early commercialization of energy efficient products; educate and train the workforce; create high-tech jobs; and nurture the growth of the U.S. WBG semiconductor manufacturing industry. PowerAmerica isled by North Carolina State University by way of a five-year, $140M cooperative agreement with DoE. This private-public partnership with DoE includes member companies ranging from startups and small-medium enterprises to large system integrators, world-class universities, and national labs. The WBG power electronic ecosystem formed by our diverse membership is focused on using advanced manufacturing to 1) lower the cost of silicon carbide and gallium nitride semiconductor devices to be comparable to silicon devices; 2) demonstrate the system benefits and energy efficiency advantages of WBG semiconductor power electronics through system demonstrations that validate their effectiveness; and 3) build an education pipeline for a skilled workforce to meet the future demand for emerging WBG semiconductor markets — and enhance U.S. economic competitiveness globally. PowerAmerica was initially funded in six budget periods, each lasting 12 to 18 months. By the end of Budget Period 6 (August 2023), PowerAmerica had achieved its major objectives in technology development, semiconductor device cost reduction, ecosystem growth and engagement, and education and workforce development. Through strategic foundry investments, we helped to establish the first U.S. SiC foundry (X-FAB) and supported a lab (Microchip) to start SiC volume production. We’ve helped bring together companies from different parts of the supply chain, resulting in several successful new partnerships and business relationships. Through projects with some of the largest manufacturers of energy-intensive equipment in the U.S. — John Deere, GE, United Technologies, Raytheon, Carrier, Toshiba, and others — we have successfully demonstrated the energy and system benefits of WBG technology. We have also harnessed the unique capabilities and facilities of national labs — the Naval Research Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory — to help solve challenging technical problems for industry. Thanks to our many webinars, tutorials, annual events, and presence at major energy and electronics conferences around the world, the PowerAmerica name has become synonymous with WBG technology advancement. The commercial interest in WBG technology is higher than ever; companies and governments around the world have announced hundreds of millions of dollarsin future investment to build capacity — and compete with silicon in many markets and applications. We have trained hundreds of engineering students, from universities across the U.S., through hands-on projects and WBG coursework. Working professionals have also benefited through the years from our many targeted short courses, tutorials, and technical webinars. In short, PowerAmerica has made great strides in each of our key objectives, and the organization has been operating without government or NC State

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Preservation of Mammalian Teeth and Bones Influences Identification of Terminal Pleistocene to Middle Holocene Hunter-Gatherer Subsistence at Ban Rai Rockshelter, Northwest Thailand

Ban Rai Rockshelter in northwest Thailand, dating to the Terminal Pleistocene and Middle Holocene, includes evidence for hunter-gatherer exploitation of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and arthropods. Abundant faunal remains, identified throughout site deposits, include macaques (Macaca sp.) and Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor), but these identifications are influenced by an assemblage largely comprised of preserved tooth elements and fragmented bone. Area 3 at Ban Rai has the largest abundance and diversity of faunal remains recovered and identified in this study. Here, we examine the zooarchaeological assemblage from Ban Rai Rockshelter, to understand long-term hunter-gatherer subsistence change, influenced by site preservation, during and after the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Our results support the presence of the exploitation of arboreal taxa during the Early and Middle Holocene in northwest Thailand.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

A CLC-ec1 mutant reveals global conformational change and suggests a unifying mechanism for the CLC Cl–/H+ transport cycle

Among coupled exchangers, CLCs uniquely catalyze the exchange of oppositely charged ions (Cl– for H+). Transport-cycle models to describe and explain this unusual mechanism have been proposed based on known CLC structures. While the proposed models harmonize with many experimental findings, gaps and inconsistencies in our understanding have remained. One limitation has been that global conformational change – which occurs in all conventional transporter mechanisms – has not been observed in any high-resolution structure. Here, we describe the 2.6 Å structure of a CLC mutant designed to mimic the fully H+-loaded transporter. This structure reveals a global conformational change to improve accessibility for the Cl– substrate from the extracellular side and new conformations for two key glutamate residues. Together with DEER measurements, MD simulations, and functional studies, this new structure provides evidence for a unified model of H+/Cl– transport that reconciles existing data on all CLC-type proteins.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Applications of remote sensor data by state and Federal user agencies in Arizona

The use of NASA high altitude aerial photography of south eastern Arizona to develop a natural resources information system for Federal lands is discussed. The data are to be used by local, State, and Federal agencies in connection with geologic mapping projects, water resources investigations, and land use studies to determine the alignment of a proposed major aqueduct. In addition, the data are used to confirm land ownership boundaries, detect changes in land use, and legislative reappointment mapping. Other applications include mapping vegetive cover, evaluation of changes in wildlife habitat, location of deer kills, and as a base for recording telemetry data from radio-collared big game animals.

Schumann, H. H.↗

Evolution of ribonuclease in relation to polypeptide folding mechanisms.

Comparisons of the N-terminal region of pancreatic RNAase in seven species are presented, taking into account cow, bison, deer, rat, pig, kangaroo, and turtle. The available limited evidence on hypervariable regions indicates that there is still an evolutionary constraint on them. It is proposed that there is a selection pressure acting on all regions of a protein sequence in evolution. Mutations that tend to obstruct the folding process can lead to various intensities of selection pressure.

Barnard, E. A.↗

Inventory and analysis of natural vegetation and related resources from space and high altitude photography

A multiple sampling technique was developed whereby spacecraft photographs supported by aircraft photographs could be used to quantify plant communities. Large scale (1:600 to 1:2,400) color infrared aerial photographs were required to identify shrub and herbaceous species. These photos were used to successfully estimate a herbaceous standing crop biomass. Microdensitometry was used to discriminate among specific plant communities and individual plant species. Large scale infrared photography was also used to estimate mule deer deaths and population density of northern pocket gophers.

Poulton, C. E.↗

Application of LANDSAT data to wetland study and land use classification in west Tennessee

The Obion-Forked Deer River Basin in northwest Tennessee is confronted with several acute land use problems which result in excessive erosion, sedimentation, pollution, and hydrologic runoff. LANDSAT data was applied to determine land use of selected watershed areas within the basin, with special emphasis on determining wetland boundaries. Densitometric analysis was performed to allow numerical classification of objects observed in the imagery on the basis of measurements of optical densities. Multispectral analysis of the LANDSAT imagery provided the capability of altering the color of the image presentation in order to enhance desired relationships. Manual mapping and classification techniques were performed in order to indicate a level of accuracy of the LANDSAT data as compared with high and low altitude photography for land use classification.

Jones, N. L.↗

Application of Landsat data to wetland study and land use classification in West Tennessee

Landsat data were employed in determining land use of a 32,300-hectare watershed area within the Obion-Forked Deer River Basin in northwest Tennessee. Black and white transparency chips for all four wavelength bands were interpreted by use of a video-input analog/digital automatic analysis and classification facility; densitometric methods showed that wetlands, urban areas, agricultural lands and forests could be discriminated by analysis of band 6 or 7 together with band 4 or 5. Comparison with high- and low-altitude photography indicated that the Landsat data could provide sufficiently accurate resource information and determine drainage trends.

Jones, N. L.↗

The natural resources inventory system ASVT project

The hardware/software and the associated procedures for a natural resource inventory and information system based on the use of LANDSAT-acquired multispectral scanner digital data is described. The system is designed to derive land cover/vegetation information from LANDSAT data and geographically reference this information for the production of various types of maps and for the compilation of acreage by land cover/vegetation category. The system also provides for data base building so that the LANDSAT-derived information can be related to information digitized from other sources (e.g., soils maps) in a geographic context in order to address specific applications. These applications include agricultural crop production estimation, erosion hazard-reforestation need assessment, whitetail deer habitat assessment, and site selection. The system is tested in demonstration areas located in the state of Mississippi, and the results of these application demonstrations are presented. A cost-efficiency comparison of producing land cover/vegetation maps and statistics with this system versus the use of small-scale aerial photography is made.

Joyce, A. T.↗

Application of remote sensing to state and regional problems

Progress is reported in the following areas: remote sensing applications to land use planning Lowndes County, applications of LANDSAT data to strip mine inventory and reclamation, white tailed deer habitat evaluation using LANDSAT data, remote sensing data analysis support system, and discrimination of unique forest habitats in potential lignite areas of Mississippi. Other projects discussed include LANDSAT change discrimination in gravel operations, environmental impact modeling for highway corridors, and discrimination of fresh water wetlands for inventory and monitoring.

Miller, W. F.↗

An investigation of vegetation and other Earth resource/feature parameters using LANDSAT and other remote sensing data. 1: LANDSAT. 2: Remote sensing of volcanic emissions

A fanning technique based on a simplistic physical model provided a classification algorithm for mixture landscapes. Results of applications to LANDSAT inventory of 1.5 million acres of forest land in Northern Maine are presented. Signatures for potential deer year habitat in New Hampshire were developed. Volcanic activity was monitored in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala along with the Mt. St. Helens eruption. Emphasis in the monitoring was placed on the remote sensing of SO2 concentrations in the plumes of the volcanoes.

Birnie, R. W.↗