History and morphology of faulting in the Noctis Labyrinthus-Claritas Fossae Region of Mars

The topographically high areas cut by Noctis Labyrinthus, Noctis Fossae, and Claritas Fossae were subjected to only minor resurfacing during and following local tectonic activity. Principal resurfacing materials consist of lava flows from Syria Planum and Tharsis Montes. Thus, these areas preserve much of the fault record produced by tectonism in this region. Although recent geologic maps of the area have been produced from Viking images, the only detailed fault histories available until now were described from Mariner 9 images. Much of the faulting in the Tharsis tectonic province was centered in Syria Planum; therefore, understanding the fault history in this region is critical to understanding the stress history and tectonism of Tharsis as a whole

Students Exposure to Sustainable Thermal Energy Storage Technologies at West Texas A&M University

In the mechanical and civil engineering programs at West Texas A&M University, students are exposed to a variety of sustainability-oriented projects through senior design and research courses. The projects are selected to provide an in-depth understanding of the investigated area through analytical and experimental studies. In this particular project, students in thermal design were asked to investigate the feasibility of using paraffin-oil mixture as a phase change material (PCM) in residential walls. A PCM material with a melting point of 23°C (73°F) was designed and mixed. The mass of PCM required for a 1 m2 (10.8 ft2) wall (the size of the test apparatus) was determined to be 5.8 kg (12.8 lb) in a vertical 3.18 cm (1.25 in) thick sheet. A wall containing the PCM and another wall designated as a “control” were placed on 1 meter cubic insulated structures and were monitored through controlled experimentation. The testing was conducted indoors and an interior heating element simulated four complete day cycles. The result of the indoor study proved conclusively that with the correct modifications and optimization, PCM, as a form of insulation, is economically viable over its lifespan of 20 years. The reduced cost to the owner of a 186 m2 (2,000 ft2) home is $129.73/year. The proposed design causes a minuscule 5.76 kg/m2 (1.2 lb/ft2) of additional load to the structure. Because the PCM is in the configuration of a uniform sheet, the majority of the extra load will be supported by the concrete slab of the home.Cockrell School of Engineerin

Advances in upscaling of eddy covariance measurements of carbon and water fluxes

Eddy covariance flux towers provide continuous measurements of ecosystem-level net exchange of carbon, water, energy, and other trace gases between land surface and the atmosphere. The upscaling of flux observations from towers to broad regions provides a new and independent approach for quantifying these fluxes over regions, continents, or the globe. The seven contributions of this special section reflect the most recent advances in the upscaling of fluxes from towers to these broad regions. The section mainly stems from presentations at the recent North American Carbon Program (NACP), FLUXNET, and AGU meetings. These studies focus on different aspects of upscaling: (1) assessing the representativeness of flux networks; (2) upscaling fluxes from towers to broad spatial scales; (3) examining the magnitude, distribution, and interannual variability of fluxes over regions, continents, or the globe; and (4) evaluating the impacts of spatial heterogeneity and parameter variability on flux estimates. Collectively, this special issue provides a timely update on upscaling science and also generates gridded flux data that can be used for model evaluations. Future upscaling studies are expected to advance toward incorporating the impacts of disturbance on ecosystem carbon dynamics, quantifying uncertainties associated with gridded flux estimates, and comparing various upscaling methods and the resulting gridded flux fields

Last Rights: A Theory of Individual Impact

Title VII recognizes both individual and group disparate treatment claims, which allege intentional discrimination. But Title VII recognizes only group claims for disparate impact. Conspicuously absent are claims for individual impact. The reason for the absence of an individual-disparate-impact claim is a problem of proof. To establish a Title VII claim, a plaintiff must prove that he or she lost a job opportunity was “because of” membership in a protected class. Showing that a single individual lost a job opportunity because of a test score, resume evaluation, or interview does not prove that any of these selection criteria unlawfully discriminated within the meaning of Title VII. A plaintiff would seemingly need a statistical basis to prove that one of these selection criteria would discriminate against the protected class in question. But an individual plaintiff faces the problem that the relevant sample size – perhaps only one – may be too small to support a meaningful inferential statistic. This observation casts doubt on the viability of individual-impact theory. If a group-based statistic is necessary to prove an individual’s case, then no independent theory of individual impact seems tenable. A feasible solution to this problem comes from the framework announced in McDonnell Douglas v. Green. Applied currently to disparate-treatment cases, this ingenious three-step burden-shifting framework provides a means of inferring intent absent direct evidence. If suitably adapted, this framework provides a means to sidestep the difficulty in developing a statistical basis for an impact claim and would permit an inference that an employment practice has a discriminatory impact on a protected class. This approach would rescue individual-impact theory from the dead zone that it now occupies. Such an approach would bring significant benefits. Deserving plaintiffs, previously denied judicial recourse, would have a viable claim. By broadening Title VII protections, such claims would deter employment discrimination. Perhaps most important, such claims would hold employers accountable for unconscious bias that might otherwise escape detection