Chevron Is a Phoenix

Judicial deference to agency interpretations of their own statutes is a foundational principle of the administrative state. It recognizes that Congress has the need and desire to delegate the details of regulatory policy to agencies rather than specify those details or default to judicial determinations. It also recognizes that interpretation under regulatory statutes is intertwined with implementation of those statutes. Prior to the famous decision in Chevron, the Supreme Court had long regarded judicial deference as a foundational principle of administrative law. It grew up with the administrative state alongside other foundational administrative law principles. In Chevron, the Court gave judicial deference a particular articulation and set of express justifications that made the principle seem new and bold—and ultimately set it on a path to become convoluted and vulnerable. But judicial deference is no less a foundational principle because Chevron took on a life of its own. And foundational principles—particularly those that help to maintain balance among the branches—do not simply go away. They change and reappear in the law. The Court can try to kill Chevron, but judicial deference will find its way back to administrative law

Density functional theory and DFT+U study of transition metal porphines adsorbed on Au(111) surfaces and effects of applied electric fields

We apply Density Functional Theory (DFT) and the DFT+U technique to study the adsorption of transition metal porphine molecules on atomistically flat Au(111) surfaces. DFT calculations using the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) exchange correlation functional correctly predict the palladium porphine (PdP) low-spin ground state. PdP is found to adsorb preferentially on gold in a flat geometry, not in an edgewise geometry, in qualitative agreement with experiments on substituted porphyrins. It exhibits no covalent bonding to Au(111), and the binding energy is a small fraction of an eV. The DFT+U technique, parameterized to B3LYP predicted spin state ordering of the Mn d-electrons, is found to be crucial for reproducing the correct magnetic moment and geometry of the isolated manganese porphine (MnP) molecule. Adsorption of Mn(II)P on Au(111) substantially alters the Mn ion spin state. Its interaction with the gold substrate is stronger and more site-specific than PdP. The binding can be partially reversed by applying an electric potential, which leads to significant changes in the electronic and magnetic properties of adsorbed MnP, and ~ 0.1 Angstrom, changes in the Mn-nitrogen distances within the porphine macrocycle. We conjecture that this DFT+U approach may be a useful general method for modeling first row transition metal ion complexes in a condensed-matter setting.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure

Proudman resonance with tides, bathymetry and variable atmospheric forcings

Proudman resonance is a primary amplification mechanism for meteotsunamis, which are shallow-water waves generated by atmospheric forcings. The effect of tides, sloping bathymetry and the speed, amplitude and aspect ratio of the atmospheric forcing on Proudman resonant wave growth are investigated using analytical approximations and numerical models. With tides included, maximum wave growth through Proudman resonance occurred when the atmospheric-forcing speed matched the tidal-wave speed. Growth greater than Proudman resonance occurred with a positive tidal elevation together with a tidal current in the opposite direction to wave propagation, due to linear growth combined with further amplification from wave-flux conservation. Near-Proudman resonant growth occurred when the forced-wave speed or free-wave speed varied by either a small amount, or varied rapidly, around a speed appropriate for Proudman resonance. For a forcing moving at Proudman resonant speed, resultant wave growth was proportional to the total, time-integrated forcing amplitude. Finally, Proudman resonant wave growth was lower for forcings with lower aspect ratios (AP), partly because forced-wave heights are proportional to 1 + A 2P , but also because free waves could spread in two dimensions. Whilst the assumptions of strict Proudman resonance are never met, near-Proudman resonant growth may occur over hundreds of kilometres if the effective Froude number is near 1 and the resultant wave propagates predominantly in one dimension

Development of a Near-Real Time Hail Damage Swath Identification Algorithm for Vegetation

The Midwest is home to one of the world's largest agricultural growing regions. Between the time period of late May through early September, and with irrigation and seasonal rainfall these crops are able to reach their full maturity. Using moderate to high resolution remote sensors, the monitoring of the vegetation can be achieved using the red and near-infrared wavelengths. These wavelengths allow for the calculation of vegetation indices, such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The vegetation growth and greenness, in this region, grows and evolves uniformly as the growing season progresses. However one of the biggest threats to Midwest vegetation during the time period is thunderstorms that bring large hail and damaging winds. Hail and wind damage to crops can be very expensive to crop growers and, damage can be spread over long swaths associated with the tracks of the damaging storms. Damage to the vegetation can be apparent in remotely sensed imagery and is visible from space after storms slightly damage the crops, allowing for changes to occur slowly over time as the crops wilt or more readily apparent if the storms strip material from the crops or destroy them completely. Previous work on identifying these hail damage swaths used manual interpretation by the way of moderate and higher resolution satellite imagery. With the development of an automated and near-real time hail swath damage identification algorithm, detection can be improved, and more damage indicators be created in a faster and more efficient way. The automated detection of hail damage swaths will examine short-term, large changes in the vegetation by differencing near-real time eight day NDVI composites and comparing them to post storm imagery from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard Terra and Aqua and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard Suomi NPP. In addition land surface temperatures from these instruments will be examined as for hail damage swath identification. Initial validation of the automated algorithm is based upon Storm Prediction Center storm reports but also the National Severe Storm Laboratory (NSSL) Maximum Estimated Size Hail (MESH) product. Opportunities for future work are also shown, with focus on expansion of this algorithm with pixel-based image classification techniques for tracking surface changes as a result of severe weather