Guidelines for Minimizing Salinity Buildup in Groundwaters of Utah

In arid Utah practically all of the replenishable surface water supplies are nearly fully developed. At least some groundwater resources are being used in every basin. Groundwater use is expanding throughout the state and in some areas the draft is nearly equal to the sustained yield. Irrigated agriculture is the major water user. Multiple reuse of water is common in many areas, but as salinity increases with each cycle of usage, salinity also is usually the limiting factor for usefulness. Effective control of salinity buildup will permit more efficient and more extensive use of the state’s waters with potentially large benefits to irrigated agriculture. This report describes physical and chemical processes which contribute to salinity buildup and suggests methods that might be used to control it. Some areas are described where groundwater salinity is becoming a serious problem in the state. Hypothetical cases of salinity buildup are portrayed graphically to illustrate the relationship to time and the effects of the various processes. Emphasis is upon groundwater, but control of surface water salinity is also addressed as these resources are often inextricably interrelated

A Survey and Evaluation of Shallow Groundwater Contamination Hazards in the State of Utah

A survey was made to appraise current man-made contamination of shallow groundwater in Utah. Very little has been published on the subject, and most of the information was obtained by personal observation and through interviews of individuals concerned with water quality protection in Utah. After presenting the relevant physiographic, geologic, and hydrologic characteristics of the various regions of Utah and discussing how these relate to groundwater contamination in general, representative groundwater quality hazards in 32 sites or regions in Utah are presented. A very wide range of hazards to groundwater quality was found to exist. These cases cover the range of situations which need to be covered for an effective shallow groundwater pollution control program. Shallow aquifers with the largest amounts of deleterious contaminations underlie cities and towns. Agricultural areas generate greater quantities of dissolved salts and possible other contaminants, but the contamination is spread over considerably larger areas and thus is more dilute. Improper disposal of oil-field brines is a very serious problem in the state. Leaking disposal ponds, mining operations, and poorly managed solid waste dumps are serious hazards locally. Septic and other wastes from recreational activities in the state are a small but increasing hazard. By law, the State of Utah has the authority and enforcement framework to cope with thee problems of shallow groundwater contamination. More understanding, personnel, guidelines, regulations, and funding are needed to bring the protection of shallow groundwater quality into perspective with the present heavy emphasis upon surface water quality

The potential for groundwater contamination along basin margins in the arid west: Alluvial fans and lake features

Many towns of the arid west were built upon alluvial fans and upon sites underlain by Pleistocene lake deposits. The objective of this study was to assess the potential impact of these activities of man upon groundwater quality within these geological features. Emphasis was placed on shallow groundwater quality after it was determined that deep groundwater is rarely contaminated at such sites. A reconnaissance of Utah and Nevada was made and four sites underlain by alluvial fans (Willard, Manti, Elsinore, and Spring City) and four sites underlain by lake shore deposits (Hyde Park, Fielding, Providence and Richmond) were selected in Utah for more detailed geologic, hydrologic, and water quality studies. Samples for water quality analyses were taken from existing wells and springs where available. At Hyde Park a shallow, small diameter well was constructed. Three groundwater sampling wells were constructed on the Willard Creek fan. Sites were selected to represent various degrees and types of land use. It was concluded that septic effluents, agricultural wastes, and other sources of man-made contamination can be hazards to shallow groundwater quality in alluvial fans and lake shore sediments. Mercury was found in concentrations exceeding the EPA drinking water standards at a few of the sites, but its source was probably natural. Nitrates and phosphates usually were the observable indicators of shallow groundwater contamination at the sites investigated, while coliform bacteria evidently are not transported appreciable distances underground and made poor indicators. The conclusions reached in this report are believed to be applicable to other areas of the arid west where similar geologic features and basin margin sediments occur

Recovery from disturbance requires resynchronization of ecosystem nutrient cycles

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are tightly cycled in most terrestrial ecosystems, with plant uptake more than 10 times higher than the rate of supply from deposition and weathering. This near-total dependence on recycled nutrients and the stoichiometric constraints on resource use by plants and microbes mean that the two cycles have to be synchronized such that the ratio of N:P in plant uptake, litterfall, and net mineralization are nearly the same. Disturbance can disrupt this synchronization if there is a disproportionate loss of one nutrient relative to the other. We model the resynchronization of N and P cycles following harvest of a northern hardwood forest. In our simulations, nutrient loss in the harvest is small relative to postharvest losses. The low N:P ratio of harvest residue results in a preferential release of P and retention of N. The P release is in excess of plant requirements and P is lost from the active ecosystem cycle through secondary mineral formation and leaching early in succession. Because external P inputs are small, the resynchronization of the N and P cycles later in succession is achieved by a commensurate loss of N. Through succession, the ecosystem undergoes alternating periods of N limitation, then P limitation, and eventually co-limitation as the two cycles resynchronize. However, our simulations indicate that the overall rate and extent of recovery is limited by P unless a mechanism exists either to prevent the P loss early in succession (e.g., P sequestration not stoichiometrically constrained by N) or to increase the P supply to the ecosystem later in succession (e.g., biologically enhanced weathering). Our model provides a heuristic perspective from which to assess the resynchronization among tightly cycled nutrients and the effect of that resynchronization on recovery of ecosystems from disturbance

Management of Groundwater Recharge Areas in the Mouth of Weber Canyon

Proper management of surface and groundwater resources is important for their prolonged and a beneficial use. Within the Weber Delta area there has existed a continual decline in the piezometric surface of the deep confined aquifer over the last 40 years. This decline ranges from approximately 20 feet along the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake to 50 feet along in the vicinity of Hill Air Force Base. Declines in the piezometric surface are undesirable because of the increased well installation costs, increased pumping costs, decreased aquifer storage, increased risk of salt water intrusion, and the possibility of land subsidence. Declines in the piezometric surface can be prevented or reduced by utilizing artificial groundwater recharge. The purpose of this study was to develop and operate a basin groundwater model with stochastic recharge inputs to determine the feasibility of utilizing available Weber River water for the improvement of the groundwater availability. This was accomplished by preparing auxiliary computer models which generated statistically similar river flows from which river water rights were subtracted. The feasibility of utilizing this type of recharge input was examined by comparing the economic benefit gained by reducing area wide pumping lifts through artificial recharge with the costs of the recharge operations. Institutions for implementing a recharge program were examined. Through this process a greater understanding of the geohydrologic conditions of the area was obtained. Piezometric surface contour maps, geologic profiles, calibrated values for geologic and hydrologic variables, as well as system response to change were quantified

Hydrologic Evaluation of the Coastal Belt Water Project Sarir and Tazerbo Well Fields, Libya

Executive Summary: The basic purpose of this study was to conduct a finite-element computer model and give an dindependent appraisal of the reliability of the groundwater supply for the proposed Coastal Belt Water Project (CBWP_ Well Fields at Sarir and Tazerbo. There is no doubt that ample quantities of groundwater of acceptable quality occur at the sites selected for these well fields for the estimated 50-year life of the project and longer. Of major concern is the predicted drawdown of wells and total pumping lifts throughout the 50-year period. Excessive drawdowns could cause operating costs to become prohibitibely expensive. Average drawdown in wells not including well-field interference and hydraulic friction losses at the CBWP Well Field at Sarir is expected to be only about 30 m at the end of 50 years, but the static water level is relatively deep (56 m) which makes the total pumping lift fairly high when well-field interference and other losses are added. This optimistic estimate of drawdown is based upon computer analysis for almost 7 years of pumping history of the existing Sarir South agricultural well field nearby, where the subsurface geology is believed to be quite similar to that at the propsed CBWP Well Field at Sarir. The average dpumping lift, which includes many other factors besides aquifer drawdown, is estimated to be about 142 m. at the end of the 50-year pumping period at Sarir and should average about 136 m during the 50 years. Interference from pumpage at the existing agricultural well fields at Sarir may be responsible for about 10 m of this predicted pumping lift. Drawdown at Tazerbo is predicted to be about 90 m. at the end of 50 years, but the static water level is only about 9 m. there. Consequently its average pumping lift should be about 133 m at the end of the 50-year pumping period and should average about 118 m during the 50 years. no appreciable interference from nearby well fields is expected in the Tazerbo area based upon presently known conditions. Significatn reductions in pumping lifts at Tazerbo and in water-collection network costs at Sarir are possible by improved well field layout and well design. Suggested inprovements and estimated cost savings are presented in detail in Appendix A (especially see well-field design comparisons of Tables A-1 and A-4)

Marketing as a means to transformative social conflict resolution: lessons from transitioning war economies and the Colombian coffee marketing system

Social conflicts are ubiquitous to the human condition and occur throughout markets, marketing processes, and marketing systems.When unchecked or unmitigated, social conflict can have devastating consequences for consumers, marketers, and societies, especially when conflict escalates to war. In this article, the authors offer a systemic analysis of the Colombian war economy, with its conflicted shadow and coping markets, to show how a growing network of fair-trade coffee actors has played a key role in transitioning the country’s war economy into a peace economy. They particularly draw attention to the sources of conflict in this market and highlight four transition mechanisms — i.e., empowerment, communication, community building and regulation — through which marketers can contribute to peacemaking and thus produce mutually beneficial outcomes for consumers and society. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for marketing theory, practice, and public policy

Search for exotic resonances decaying into WZ/ZZ in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Journal of High Energy Physics 2013.2 (2013): 036 reproduced by permission of Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA)Artículo escrito por un elevado número de autores, solo se referencian el que aparece en primer lugar, el nombre del grupo de colaboración, si le hubiere, y los autores pertenecientes a la UAMA search for new exotic particles decaying to the VZ final state is performed, where V is either a W or a Z boson decaying into two overlapping jets and the Z decays into a pair of electrons, muons or neutrinos. The analysis uses a data sample of pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 fb-1 collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at √s=7 TeV in 2011. No significant excess is observed in the mass distribution of the VZ candidates compared with the background expectation from standard model processes. Model-dependent upper limits at the 95% confidence level are set on the product of the cross section times the branching fraction of hypothetical particles decaying to the VZ final state as a function of mass. Sequential standard model W′ bosons with masses between 700 and 940 GeV are excluded. In the Randall-Sundrum model for graviton resonances with a coupling parameter of 0.05, masses between 750 and 880 GeV are also exclude

Alignment of the CMS silicon tracker during commissioning with cosmic rays

This is the Pre-print version of the Article. The official published version of the Paper can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 IOPThe CMS silicon tracker, consisting of 1440 silicon pixel and 15 148 silicon strip detector modules, has been aligned using more than three million cosmic ray charged particles, with additional information from optical surveys. The positions of the modules were determined with respect to cosmic ray trajectories to an average precision of 3–4 microns RMS in the barrel and 3–14 microns RMS in the endcap in the most sensitive coordinate. The results have been validated by several studies, including laser beam cross-checks, track fit self-consistency, track residuals in overlapping module regions, and track parameter resolution, and are compared with predictions obtained from simulation. Correlated systematic effects have been investigated. The track parameter resolutions obtained with this alignment are close to the design performance.This work is supported by FMSR (Austria); FNRS and FWO (Belgium); CNPq, CAPES, FAPERJ, and FAPESP (Brazil); MES (Bulgaria); CERN; CAS, MoST, and NSFC (China); COLCIENCIAS (Colombia); MSES (Croatia); RPF (Cyprus); Academy of Sciences and NICPB (Estonia); Academy of Finland, ME, and HIP (Finland); CEA and CNRS/IN2P3 (France); BMBF, DFG, and HGF (Germany); GSRT (Greece); OTKA and NKTH (Hungary); DAE and DST (India); IPM (Iran); SFI (Ireland); INFN (Italy); NRF (Korea); LAS (Lithuania); CINVESTAV, CONACYT, SEP, and UASLP-FAI (Mexico); PAEC (Pakistan); SCSR (Poland); FCT (Portugal); JINR (Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan); MST and MAE (Russia); MSTDS (Serbia); MICINN and CPAN (Spain); Swiss Funding Agencies (Switzerland); NSC (Taipei); TUBITAK and TAEK (Turkey); STFC (United Kingdom); DOE and NSF (USA)

Commissioning and performance of the CMS pixel tracker with cosmic ray muons

This is the Pre-print version of the Article. The official published verion of the Paper can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 IOPThe pixel detector of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment consists of three barrel layers and two disks for each endcap. The detector was installed in summer 2008, commissioned with charge injections, and operated in the 3.8 T magnetic field during cosmic ray data taking. This paper reports on the first running experience and presents results on the pixel tracker performance, which are found to be in line with the design specifications of this detector. The transverse impact parameter resolution measured in a sample of high momentum muons is 18 microns.This work is supported by FMSR (Austria); FNRS and FWO (Belgium); CNPq, CAPES, FAPERJ, and FAPESP (Brazil); MES (Bulgaria); CERN; CAS, MoST, and NSFC (China); COLCIENCIAS (Colombia); MSES (Croatia); RPF (Cyprus); Academy of Sciences and NICPB (Estonia); Academy of Finland, ME, and HIP (Finland); CEA and CNRS/IN2P3 (France); BMBF, DFG, and HGF (Germany); GSRT (Greece); OTKA and NKTH (Hungary); DAE and DST (India); IPM (Iran); SFI (Ireland); INFN (Italy); NRF (Korea); LAS (Lithuania); CINVESTAV, CONACYT, SEP, and UASLP-FAI (Mexico); PAEC (Pakistan); SCSR (Poland); FCT (Portugal); JINR (Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan); MST and MAE (Russia); MSTDS (Serbia); MICINN and CPAN (Spain); Swiss Funding Agencies (Switzerland); NSC (Taipei); TUBITAK and TAEK (Turkey); STFC (United Kingdom); DOE and NSF (USA)