Disturbance patterns in southern Rocky Mountain forests

The pattern of landscape diversity in the Southern Rocky Mountains has been described as resulting from two superimposed vegetation pat- terns: the distribution of species along gradients of limiting factors, and patterns of disturbance and recovery within the communities at each point along the environmental gradients (Romme and Knight 1982). The previous chapter (D. H. Knight and W. A. Reiners, this volume) has emphasized the first pattern whereas this chapter emphasizes the role of natural disturbance in creating landscape patterns. Although human impacts on fundamentally natural disturbances such as fires and insect outbreaks are included, other chapters treat disturbances of exclusively human origin such as logging and road construction

Capabilities to measure geothermal material properties at simulated in situ conditions. Final report

The lack of reservoir material property data has been identified as a major obstacle to geothermal development and commercialization. To meet this need a high pressure/high temperature test facility was designed and constructed at Terra Tek under Department of Energy funding. Testing capabilities include confining and pore fluid pressure to 200 MPa and temperatures to 535/sup 0/C. Rock samples to 10.2 cm diameter can be accommodated. The program summarized herein is the second year (October 1977-September 1978) effort. Test techniques were developed to meet the geothermal community needs and tests were conducted to determine: mechanical properties, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, thermal expansion, permeability, electrical resistivity and ultrasonic velocities. Sandstones, graywackes, granites, and basalts, from KGRA's in Baca, New Mexico; Milford, Utah; Geysers, California and Northern Nevada, respectively were characterized