Phase One Cultural Resource/Archaeological Investigation Results, Northern Natural Gas, Bakersfield Compressor Station Project, Pecos County, Texas

The following report describes the results field and literature research conducted as part of a Phase One Cultural Resource/Archaeological Investigation requested by Stantec Consulting Services Inc., (Stantec) on behalf of Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern) for a proposed pipeline and future location of a planned compressor station and interconnect station to be located south of US Interstate 10 in rural Pecos County, Texas. In compliance with requirements of Federal (Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act) and applicable elements of Texas State laws (Texas Statues 138.40, 138.665, and 116B), a Phase I Cultural Resources (intensive survey) study was made for the Project area to investigate the presence or absence of archeological materials. Since the Project is on stateowned land, a Texas Antiquities Field Study Permit was approved by Texas Historical Commission (Permit # 8038). The majority of the Project corridor is located in the Trans-Pecos area. A portion of the surveyed area includes an existing roadway and utility line corridors that have been previously graded and heavily disturbed from the excavation and installation of these facilities during the latter half of the 20th century. No standing structures are present in the immediate Project corridor. The described investigation identified two rock pile/cairn human grave size surface features that are located in the original environmental buffer zone. These features are not identified as graves but are the size and type of other grave examples seen by the Principal Investigator (John G. Hodgson). Following consultation with Northern and THC, the Project area was redefined to exclude the general area of the rock pile/cairn features from the environmental buffer area. The cairn piles are now located more than 100 feet from the nearest construction workspace and are on the opposite side of the road from any construction related activity. The locations have both been reported to Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory (TARL) and assigned the trinomial archaeological site numbers 41-PC-0821 (Feature 1) and 41-PC-0822 (Feature 2). The sites were not investigated beyond identification as archaeological features. As a result, both sites been reported to TARL and having “undetermined” NRHP eligibility. The two features are outside of the area proposed for ground disturbance and will not be physically affected by the proposed Project activities. To protect the two features, Northern will place “no project access” signs along the western side of the access road prior to the start of construction. No construction-related traffic will be allowed on the west side of the road. Aside from these two features, the survey did not locate any archaeological or historic cultural resources within the Project area. Based on study findings, the current Project design will have no effect on historic properties. As a result of the investigation, the principal investigator recommends that no further archaeological or cultural resource investigations be required prior to proceeding with planned construction for the described Project

The use of ecological theory and autecological datasets in studies of endangered plant and animal species and communities

Few, if any, European habitats have been unaffected by modern land-use and the problems of conserving the diversity of the European flora and fauna are both urgent and immense. This paper describes a simple method for analyzing floristic change that is hoped will prove useful for assessing the nature and severity of these threats. The method involves the use of ecological theory and the collection of simple autecological data. Examples are given to illustrate how this approach can be used both to identify reasons for floristic change and to provide functional analyses of phytosociological data. Also, as a result of analyses of reasons for commonness and rarity in butterflies and birds, it is argued that similar functional interpretations of zoological datasets may soon be possible.[es] Considerando que prácticamente todos los hábitats de Europa han sido afectados por los usos de la tierra modernos, la conservación de la diversidad de su flora y fauna se presenta como un problema muy grave y urgente. En este artículo se describe un método simple para analizar cambios florísticos, contemplando el uso de la teoría ecológica y la colección de datos autoecológicos sencillos. Dicho método constituye una herramienta para evaluar la naturaleza y severidad de procesos de pérdida de la diversidad biológica. Se dan ejemplos ilustrando el uso de este enfoque en la identificación de las causas de cambios florísticos y en el análisis funcional de datos fitosociológicos. Se presentan, además, las razones que explican la presencia de especies raras o muy comunes de mariposas y aves. A partir de estos últimos resultados, se concluye que en breve será posible realizar una interpretación funcional similar de datos zoológicos. [de] Nur wenige, wenn überhaupt, der Lebensrame in Europa sind unberührt von moderner Landnutzung und die Probleme der Erhaltung der Vielfalt in der Flora und Fauna sind sowohl dringend als auch immens. Dieser Artikel beschreibt eine einfache Methode um die Veränderungen in der floristischen Zusammensetzung zu untersuchen. Diese Methode wird sich hoffentlich als nützlich für die Abschätzung von Ausprägung und Intensität dieser Bedrohungen herausstellen. Die Methode beinhaltet die Benutzung von ökologischer Theory und die Sammlung einfacher autökologischer Daten. Es werden Beispiele gegeben, die lllustrieren sollen, wie diese Vorgehensweise benutzt werden kann, um zum einen die Gründe für den Wandel in der floristischen Zusammensetzung zu identifiziern und zum anderen eine funktionale Analyse pflanzensoziologischer Daten bereitzustellen. Außerdem wird dargestellt, daß als ein Ergebnis einer Untersuchung der Gründe für die Häufigkeit und Seltenheit von Vöglein und Schmetterlingen eine ähnlichfunktional begründete Interpretation zoologischer Daten sehr bald möglich sein wird

Late Quaternary Sea Level Changes on Brock and Prince Patrick Islands, Western Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Emerged shorelines are few and poorly defined on Prince Patrick and Brock islands. The sparse radiocarbon dates show emergence of only 10 m through the Holocene on the Arctic Ocean coast, increasing to 20 m 100 km to the east. Hence, from Brock Island, representative of westernmost coasts, the sea level curve since the latest Pleistocene has a very low gradient, whereas on eastern Prince Patrick Island the curve takes the more typical exponential form. A decline in isobases towards the west is thus registered. Drowned estuaries, breached lakes, and coastal barriers, particularly in southwest Prince Patrick Island, suggest that the sea is now transgressing at a rate that decreases towards the north end of the island, hence there is also a component of tilt to the south. Delevelling is assumed to result from undefined ice loads, but may have a tectonic component. The sole prominent raised marine deposit is a ridge probably built in a period of more mobile sea ice, possibly at a time of stable or slightly rising sea level in the middle or early Holocene. It winds discontinuously along several hundred of kilometres of the shores of the Arctic Ocean and connecting channels, declining to the south.Les rivages émergés sont peu nombreux et mal définis dans les îles Brock et du Prince-Patrick. Les rares datations au radiocarbone n'indiquent qu'une émergence de 10 m des côtes de l'océan Arctique, au cours de l'Holocène, s'accroissant à 20 m, à 100 km vers l'est. Ainsi, à partir des côtes de l'île Brock, représentatives de la partie la plus occidentale, le niveau marin depuis le Pléistocène supérieur a un très faible gradient; par contre, dans la partie est de l'île du Prince-Patrick, la courbe du niveau marin a un caractère nettement exponentiel. On enregistre donc un abaissement des isobases vers l'ouest. Les estuaires submergés, les lacs ébréchés et les barrières littorales, surtout dans le sud-ouest de l'île du Prince-Patrick, semblent indiquer qu'il y a actuellement transgression marine à un taux qui décroît vers le nord de l'île; il y a donc aussi inclinaison vers le sud. On présume que le dénivelé découle de charges glaciaires indéterminées, mais peut aussi avoir une composante tectonique. Le seul dépôt marin soulevé d'importance est une crête probablement édifiée alors que la glace de mer était plus mobile, pendant que le niveau marin était stable ou légèrement en hausse, au début ou au milieu de l'Holocène. La crête serpente de façon irrégulière sur plusieurs centaines de kilomètres de côtes de l'océan Arctique et de chenaux adjacents, tout en s'abaissant vers le sud.Auf-getauchte Uferlinien sind rar und kaum festgelegt auf den Insein Prince Patrick und Brock. Die spàrlichen Radiokarbondaten zeigen im Holozàn ein Auftauchen an der arktischen Ozeankùste von nur 10 m, das 100 km ostlich auf > 20 m ansteigt. So hat die Meeresniveaukurve von der lnsel Brock ausgehend, welche fur die am westlichsten gelegenen Kùsten reprâsentativ ist, seit dem spàtesten Pleistozàn ein sehr niedriges Gefàlle, wohingegen die Kurve im ôstlichen Teil der Insel Prince Patrick die mehr typische exponentielle Form hat. Man registriert also eine Senkung der Isobasen nach Westen hin. Ùberflutete Gezeitenmûndungen, geschartete Seen und Kùstendamme, besonders im Westen der Prince Patrick-lnsel, lassen vermuten, dassjetztdie horizontale Verlagerungsrate des Meeres zum Nordende der Insel hin abnimmt, folglich gibt es auch eine Neigung nach Sùden hin. Man fùhrt die Verstellung auf unbes-timmte Eisfrachten zurùck, doch kônnte sie eine tektonische Komponente haben. Die einzige herausragende marine Auftauchablagerung ist eine Schwelle, die wohl in einer Période mobileren Meereises gebaut wurde, môglicherweise in einer Zeit mit sta-bilem oder gering ansteigendem Meeresniveau im mittleren oderfrùhen Holozàn. Sie windet sich diskontinuierlich ùber mehrere hundert Kilometer an den Kùsten des arktischen Ozeans und der angrenzenden Kanàle entlang und senkt sich nach Sùden

Do subtropical seasonal forests in the Gran Chaco, Argentina, have a future?

While much information is available about tropical and temperate ecosystems, there is a remarkably little information as to land cover and land use changes in the subtropical biomes of the world. Here, we quantify changes in the spatial patterns of land cover types at the southern edge of the seasonally dry, subtropical Chaco forest of South America during the second half of the 20th century using a vegetation map printed in 1969 and a Landsat TM based digital map produced 30 years later. Results show a massive contraction of forest; ca. 1.2 million ha of original lowland and mountain subtropical dry forests and woodlands, 85% of the total, have been cleared in only 30 years. This loss of Chaco forests of 2.2% year1 is consistent with or even exceeds, global trends. Forest vegetation now persists as fragments where there was formerly continuous cover. Most of undisturbed Chaco forest has now been converted to pasture or is undergoing secondary succession. Today, these new vegetation types, resulting mainly from agricultural expansion, have increased 10-fold in cover and now represent the commonest land cover types. The increased intensity of agricultural usage, possibly triggered by an increase in annual rainfall during the last decades, has been accompanied by changes in agricultural practices and a relative decline in the rural population.Fil: Zak, Marcelo Román. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Cabido, Marcelo Ruben. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Hodgson, John G.. Peak Science and Environment, Station House; Reino Unido. University of Sheffield; Reino Unid

734-4 Can Intracoronary Ultrasound Improve PTCA Results?: Preliminary Core Lab Ultrasound Analysis from the CLOUT Pilot Study

The CLOUT Pilot Study hypothesis is that intracoronary ultrasound (ICUS) guidance can maximize the potential of balloon angioplasty through the safe application of carefully chosen oversized balloons. PTCA was performed until success was obtained using standard angiographic criteria. ICUS was then performed and, based on the degree of reference segment disease, balloons were upsized from 0.25 to 0.75mm (mean 0.4mm) regardless of the angiographic results. There have been no complications using this strategy in the initial 14 of a planned 100 patients. ICUS measures were performed using semiautomated programs at a core laboratory.ResultsIn the reference segment, ICUS revealed a mean lumen diameter of 2.60±0.35mm and plaque thickness of 0.78±0.11mm; on average 54.75±11.05% of the reference vessel was occupied by atheroma. At initial ICUS evaluation after angiographically successful PTCA, the lesion had a minimal lumen diameter (MLD) of 1.78±0.22mm and lumen area of 3.14±0.88mm2. Following balloon upsizing, the lesion MLD increased to 1.95±0.15mm (8.7% gain, p<0.02) and lumen area to 3.76±0.63mm2(16.7% gain, p<0.01). When compared to the reference segment lumen area, the lesional %lumen area reduction improved from 38.14±16.74% to 25.91±12.17% (p<0.01). Lumen improvement occurred primarily by expansion of the total vessel area (12.08±3.01mm2to 12.51±3.11 mm2, p=ns). As expected, there was a large degree of residual atheroma (68.62±7.47% cross sectional narrowing). After routine PTCA, only 5 of 12 patients reached a target MLD of 75% of the reference lumen diameter. Following balloon upsizing, 8 of 12 had reached this criteria.ConclusionsICUS guided balloon upsizing based on the degree of reference segment disease may be safely performed and results in significant improvement in luminal cross sectional area above that achieved by angiographic guidance alone. This may potentially lower restenosis rates if these initial gains are sustained long term

Drivers of vegetation change in grasslands of the Sheffield region, northern England, between 1965 and 2012/13

Questions: How has vegetation species diversity and species composition changed between 1965 and 2012/13 in acidic and calcareous grasslands? What has driven this change in vegetation? Location: A 2400-km2 area around Sheffield, northern England. Methods: In 1965 a survey was conducted to describe grassland vegetation of the Sheffield region. We repeated this survey in 2012/13, revisiting acidic and calcareous grassland sites (455 quadrats). Climate, N and sulphur deposition, cattle and sheep stocking rates, soil pH, altitude, aspect and slope were considered to be potential drivers of variation in vegetation. We analysed temporal changes in vegetation and examined relationships with spatial and temporal variation in driver variables. Results: Both acidic and calcareous grasslands showed clear changes in species composition between the two time periods. In acidic grasslands there was no significant change in richness but there were declines in diversity. There were significant increases in Ellenberg N. Nitrogen deposition and grazing were identified as potential drivers of spatial and temporal patterns but it was not possible to discriminate the respective impacts of potential drivers. In calcareous grasslands there were declines in species richness, diversity and appropriate diversity indices. Climate and soil pH were identified as potential drivers of spatial and temporal patterns. Conclusions: Despite only small site losses compared to other surveys in the UK, especially within the national park, both calcareous and acidic grasslands showed very clear changes in species composition. In acidic grasslands, high abundance of Pteridium aquilinum was a particular problem and had increased considerably between the two survey periods. Atmospheric N deposition and grazing were identified as drivers of species diversity. A number of calcareous grasslands showed signs of reduced management intensity leading to scrub invasion

Phenomenology of the Equivalence Principle with Light Scalars

Light scalar particles with couplings of sub-gravitational strength, which can generically be called 'dilatons', can produce violations of the equivalence principle. However, in order to understand experimental sensitivities one must know the coupling of these scalars to atomic systems. We report here on a study of the required couplings. We give a general Lagrangian with five independent dilaton parameters and calculate the "dilaton charge" of atomic systems for each of these. Two combinations are particularly important. One is due to the variations in the nuclear binding energy, with a sensitivity scaling with the atomic number as $A^{-1/3}$. The other is due to electromagnetism. We compare limits on the dilaton parameters from existing experiments.Comment: 5 page

Changes in Holocene climate and the intensity of Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds based on a high-resolution palynological record from sub-Antarctic South Georgia

Sub-Antarctic South Georgia is a key region for studying climate variability in the Southern Hemisphere, because of its position at the core of the Southern Hemisphere Westerly Wind belt and between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the Polar Frontal Zone. Here, we present a 5.8-m long high-resolution pollen record from Fan Lake on Annenkov Island dominated by local sub-polar vegetation, with Acaena and Poaceae being present throughout the last 7000 years. Palynological and sedimentological analyses revealed a warm late Holocene ‘climate optimum’ between 3790 and 2750 cal. yr BP, which was followed by a gradual transition to cool and wet conditions. This cooling was interrupted by slightly warmer environmental conditions between 1670 and 710 cal. yr BP that partly overlap with the Northern Hemisphere ‘Medieval Climate Anomaly’. Increases in non-native and long-distance pollen grains transported from South America (e.g. Nothofagus, Podocarpus) indicate that stronger Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds over South Georgia possibly occurred during some ‘colder’ phases of the late Holocene, most notably between c. 2210 and 1670 cal. yr BP and after 710 cal. yr BP