Field experiments on solar geoengineering: report of a workshop exploring a representative research portfolio

We summarize a portfolio of possible field experiments on solar radiation management (SRM) and related technologies. The portfolio is intended to support analysis of potential field research related to SRM including discussions about the overall merit and risk of such research as well as mechanisms for governing such research and assessments of observational needs. The proposals were generated with contributions from leading researchers at a workshop held in March 2014 at which the proposals were critically reviewed. The proposed research dealt with three major classes of SRM proposals: marine cloud brightening, stratospheric aerosols and cirrus cloud manipulation. The proposals are summarized here along with an analysis exploring variables such as space and time scale, risk and radiative forcing. Possible gaps, biases and cross-cutting considerations are discussed. Finally, suggestions for plausible next steps in the development of a systematic research programme are presented

The CARE guidelines: consensus-based clinical case reporting guideline development

Abstract Background A case report is a narrative that describes, for medical, scientific, or educational purposes, a medical problem experienced by one or more patients. Case reports written without guidance from reporting standards are insufficiently rigorous to guide clinical practice or to inform clinical study design. Primary Objective. Develop, disseminate, and implement systematic reporting guidelines for case reports. Methods We used a three-phase consensus process consisting of (1) pre-meeting literature review and interviews to generate items for the reporting guidelines, (2) a face-to-face consensus meeting to draft the reporting guidelines, and (3) post-meeting feedback, review, and pilot testing, followed by finalization of the case report guidelines. Results This consensus process involved 27 participants and resulted in a 13-item checklist—a reporting guideline for case reports. The primary items of the checklist are title, key words, abstract, introduction, patient information, clinical findings, timeline, diagnostic assessment, therapeutic interventions, follow-up and outcomes, discussion, patient perspective, and informed consent. Conclusions We believe the implementation of the CARE (CAse REport) guidelines by medical journals will improve the completeness and transparency of published case reports and that the systematic aggregation of information from case reports will inform clinical study design, provide early signals of effectiveness and harms, and improve healthcare delivery.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112624/1/13256_2013_Article_2617.pd

Effect of water temperature on cattle performance

When average outside air temperature was about 40 F, water temperatures of 40, 60, Of\u27 80 F had little effect on water intakes of yearling steers and heifers. In addition, there were no significant differences in average daily feed or efficiency. No electrical energy was required to maintain water at 40 F, and it took about twice as much electricity to maintain water at 80 F instead of 60 F

The CARE Guidelines: Consensus‐Based Clinical Case Reporting Guideline Development

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/101880/1/head12246.pd

Release Data Package for Hanford Site Assessments

Beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2003, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Richland Operations Office initiated activities, including the development of data packages, to support a Hanford assessment. This report describes the data compiled in FY 2003 through 2005 to support the Release Module of the System Assessment Capability (SAC) for the updated composite analysis. This work was completed as part of the Characterization of Systems Project, part of the Remediation and Closure Science Project, the Hanford Assessments Project, and the Characterization of Systems Project managed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Related characterization activities and data packages for the vadose zone and groundwater are being developed under the remediation Decision Support Task of the Groundwater Remediation Project managed by Fluor Hanford, Inc. The Release Module applies release models to waste inventory data from the Inventory Module and accounts for site remediation activities as a function of time. The resulting releases to the vadose zone, expressed as time profiles of annual rates, become source terms for the Vadose Zone Module. Radioactive decay is accounted for in all inputs and outputs of the Release Module. The Release Module is implemented as the VADER (Vadose zone Environmental Release) computer code. Key components of the Release Module are numerical models (i.e., liquid, soil-debris, cement, saltcake, and reactor block) that simulate contaminant release from the different waste source types found at the Hanford Site. The Release Module also handles remediation transfers to onsite and offsite repositories

Observations of volcanic clouds in their first few days of atmospheric residence: The 1992 eruptions of crater peak, Mount Spurr volcano, Alaska

Satellite SO2 and ash measurements of Mount Spurr’s three 1992 volcanic clouds are compared with ground‐based observations to develop an understanding of the physical and chemical evolution of volcanic clouds. Each of the three eruptions with ratings of volcanic explosivity index three reached the lower stratosphere (14 km asl), but the clouds were mainly dispersed at the tropopause by moderate to strong (20–40 m/s) tropospheric winds. Three stages of cloud evolution were identified. First, heavy fallout of large (\u3e500 μm) pyroclasts occurred close to the volcano (vent) during and immediately after the eruptions, and the cloud resembled an advected gravity current. Second, a much larger, highly elongated region marked by a secondary‐mass maximum occurred 150–350 km downwind in at least two of the three events. This was the result of aggregate fallout of a bimodal size distribution including fine (\u3c25 \u3eμm) ash that quickly depleted the solid fraction of the volcanic cloud. For the first several hundred kilometers, the cloud spread laterally, first as an intrusive gravity current and then by wind shear and diffusion as downwind cloud transport occurred at the windspeed (during the first 18–24 h). Finally, the clouds continued to move through the upper troposphere but began decreasing in areal extent, eventually disappearing as ash and SO2 were removed by meteorological processes. Total SO2 in each eruption cloud increased by the second day of atmospheric residence, possibly because of oxidation of coerupted H2S or possibly because of the effects of sequestration by ice followed by subsequent SO2 release during fallout and desiccation of ashy hydrometeors. SO2 and volcanic ash travelled together in all the Spurr volcanic clouds. The initial (18–24 h) area expansion of the clouds and the subsequent several days of drifting were successfully mapped by both SO2 (ultraviolet) and ash (infrared) satellite imagery