3D vadose zone modeling using geostatistical inferences

In developing a 3D model of the 600 ft thick interbedded basalt and sediment complex that constitutes the vadose zone at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) geostatistical data were captured for 12--15 parameters (e.g. permeability, porosity, saturation, etc. and flow height, flow width, flow internal zonation, etc.). This two scale data set was generated from studies of subsurface core and geophysical log suites at RWMC and from surface outcrop exposures located at the Box Canyon of the Big Lost River and from Hell's Half Acre lava field all located in the general RWMC area. Based on these currently available data, it is possible to build a 3D stochastic model that utilizes: cumulative distribution functions obtained from the geostatistical data; backstripping and rebuilding of stratigraphic units; an expert'' system that incorporates rules based on expert geologic analysis and experimentally derived geostatistics for providing: (a) a structural and isopach map of each layer, (b) a realization of the flow geometry of each basalt flow unit, and (c) a realization of the internal flow parameters (eg permeability, porosity, and saturation) for each flow. 10 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

Preliminary evaluation of 30 potential granitic rock sites for a radioactive waste storage facility in southern Nevada

Results of preliminary study are presented which was performed under subtask 2.7 of the NTS Terminal Waste Storage Program Plan for 1978. Subtask 2.7 examines the feasibility of locating a nuclear waste repository in a granitic stock or pluton in southern Nevada near the Nevada Test Site (NTS). It is assumed for the purposes of this study that such a repository cannot be located at NTS. This assumption may or may not be correct. This preliminary report does not identify a particular site as being a suitable location for a repository. Nor does it absolutely eliminate a particular site from further consideration. It does, however, answer the basic question of probable suitability of some of the sites and present a systematic method for site evaluation. Since the findings of this initial study have been favorable, it will be followed by more exhaustive and detailed studies of the original 30 sites and perhaps others. In future studies some of the evaluation criteria used in the preliminary study may be modified or eliminated, and new criteria may be introduced

Immaturities in Reward Processing and Its Influence on Inhibitory Control in Adolescence

The nature of immature reward processing and the influence of rewards on basic elements of cognitive control during adolescence are currently not well understood. Here, during functional magnetic resonance imaging, healthy adolescents and adults performed a modified antisaccade task in which trial-by-trial reward contingencies were manipulated. The use of a novel fast, event-related design enabled developmental differences in brain function underlying temporally distinct stages of reward processing and response inhibition to be assessed. Reward trials compared with neutral trials resulted in faster correct inhibitory responses across ages and in fewer inhibitory errors in adolescents. During reward trials, the blood oxygen level–dependent signal was attenuated in the ventral striatum in adolescents during cue assessment, then overactive during response preparation, suggesting limitations during adolescence in reward assessment and heightened reactivity in anticipation of reward compared with adults. Importantly, heightened activity in the frontal cortex along the precentral sulcus was also observed in adolescents during reward-trial response preparation, suggesting reward modulation of oculomotor control regions supporting correct inhibitory responding. Collectively, this work characterizes specific immaturities in adolescent brain systems that support reward processing and describes the influence of reward on inhibitory control. In sum, our findings suggest mechanisms that may underlie adolescents’ vulnerability to poor decision-making and risk-taking behavior

Mucedorus: the last ludic playbook, the first stage Arcadia

This article argues that two seemingly contradictory factors contributed to and sustained the success of the anonymous Elizabethan play Mucedorus (c. 1590; pub. 1598). First, that both the initial composition of Mucedorus and its Jacobean revival were driven in part by the popularity of its source, Philip Sidney's Arcadia. Second, the playbook's invitation to amateur playing allowed its romance narrative to be adopted and repurposed by diverse social groups. These two factors combined to create something of a paradox, suggesting that Mucedorus was both open to all yet iconographically connected to an elite author's popular text. This study will argue that Mucedorus pioneered the fashion for “continuations” or adaptations of the famously unfinished Arcadia, and one element of its success in print was its presentation as an affordable and performable version of Sidney's elite work. The Jacobean revival of Mucedorus by the King's Men is thus evidence of a strategy of engagement with the Arcadia designed to please the new Stuart monarchs. This association with the monarchy in part determined the cultural functions of the Arcadia and Mucedorus through the Interregnum to the close of the seventeenth century

Geographical and temporal distribution of SARS-CoV-2 clades in the WHO European Region, January to June 2020

We show the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 genetic clades over time and between countries and outline potential genomic surveillance objectives. We applied three available genomic nomenclature systems for SARS-CoV-2 to all sequence data from the WHO European Region available during the COVID-19 pandemic until 10 July 2020. We highlight the importance of real-time sequencing and data dissemination in a pandemic situation. We provide a comparison of the nomenclatures and lay a foundation for future European genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.Peer reviewe

Geopressure industrial forums, newsletter and lease support. Final report, April 7, 1981-December 31, 1983

In the course of this contract C. K. GeoEnergy: (1) planned, organized, conducted, and reported on six DOE/Industry Forum meetings where the progress of DOE's resource development program was outlined and discussed (these six forum meetings included three meetings of the Drilling and Testing Subgroup and three meetings of the Overview Group), (2) prepared and distributed 15 newsletters, and (3) prepared three reports for DOE lease support. This final report includes summaries of each of the forum meetings as well as the three lease support meetings and the newsletter program

Screening of three proposed DOE geopressured-geothermal aquifer natural gas project areas for potential conflicting commercial production: Freshwater Bayou, Lake Theriot, and Kaplan, Louisiana

Three proposed DOE geopressured geothermal prospects defined by the Louisiana State University resource assessment group were screened for possible conflict with existing gas production. The analysis used the public records available at the Louisiana Department of Conservation offices in Baton Rouge and structural and statigraphic interpretations made by the L.S.U. resource assessment group. (MHR

Reservoir characteristics in Uinta basin gas wells. Final report, September 1, 1978-January 31, 1980

Volumes of 29 lenticular tight gas sandstone reservoirs in the Uinta Basin, Utah have been approximated from long-term pressure buildups on 6 wells. Average reservoir volume was interpreted to be about 240,000 ft/sup 3/ per ft of net pay. Outcrop reservoir geometry studies indicate an average reservoir volume (without any reservoir interconnection assumed) of about 30% less than the average based upon production analysis. Therefore, some reservoir interconnection may exist. Results of this study are consistent with the Knutson lenticular reservoir model in which average reservoir width is 22 times the gross sand thickness, length is 10 times the width, and reservoir interconnection is a function of the sand fraction in the productive interval. Apparent reservoir permeabilities, assuming radial flow, range from .009 to .052 millidarcies and actual sandstone matrix permeabilities are interpreted to range from .06 to .21 millidarcies. Fracture half lengths are interpreted to be about 0.1 ft/bbl of fluid with an average proppant load of 1.2 to 1.7 lb/gal at injection rates of 18 to 24 BPM and injection pressures of 2,500 to 4,600 psi for each 100 ft of gross sand in the fracced interval