Salinity of the lower middle Rio Grande, Socorro County, New Mexico

Found approximately in the geographic middle of New Mexico, Socorro County is an agricultural community that relies on the Rio Grande as the major source of water for irrigation. The Rio Grande is used throughout the region for agricultural, industrial, domestic-municipal consumption, recreation and riparian vegetation, as well as for the protection of endangered species found in the environment. Salinity, a concern for all users, has been studied throughout the Rio Grande from Colorado to the Mexico border. Previous research suggests that salinity may increase through irrigation practices, municipal and industrial uses, evapotranspiration, climatic changes, and natural geologic processes and weathering of minerals. This study examines salinity variability in river and irrigation water through the Socorro region, from late February to November; within the time that irrigation water is diverted by the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, and delivered to agricultural lands through a series of canals and diversions. The study reach extends from the San Acacia Diversion Dam, north of Socorro, where irrigation for agriculture is supplied by the surface and groundwater return flows from the Unit 7 Drain and runs south for approximately 44 kilometers to San Antonio, NM, near the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. The Low Flow Conveyance Channel (LFCC) is found directly west of the river and is hydrologically connected through ground water seepage to the river in areas where the river bed is higher than the valley floor, and through diversions to the drain and irrigation systems. The Riverside drain is found west of the LFCC, between the irrigation canals and farms, and LFCC, drawing off excess water from agricultural fields. Salinity of the Rio Grande, LFCC, drains, and the irrigation canal flows were measured semi-monthly, both preseason and throughout the irrigation season from February 28 to November 10, 2011. Regional flows of the Rio Grande, within the Socorro region between San Acacia and San Antonio, NM, were compared to associated salinity within this time frame. Seasonality accounted for the greatest salinity variations. Electroconductivity (EC), as well as alkalinity, in general, rose over time along the study reach. For example, the EC at any given point in early spring (April 18) was between 590 and 861 μs/cm, while by the later part of the irrigation season ranged from 812 and 967 μs/cm (October 28). During the same time period, the alkalinity of samples (as CaCO3) ranged from 105-156 mg/L (April 18) to 176-209 mg/L (October 28). As expected, in most cases, salinity increased further south down river. Alkalinity and streamflow showed a positive correlation. Salinity increased in the river and associated channels when there was less streamflow. The salinity of the Rio Grande at San Acacia on April 7 was 537 μs/cm compared to San Antonio at 605 μs/cm on the same day. In addition, irrigation water, in general, had higher EC and alkalinity than the Rio Grande, except for periods in late summer when the river was at its lowest stream flow or had no flow at all. For instance, San Antonio irrigation was higher over the course of the season (average 868 μs/cm), than the river water EC average (715 μs/cm) at San Antonio. The major ions were primarily calcium and sodium cations and carbonate, and to a lesser degree sulfate anions. The river and irrigation samples showed similar ionic compositions through time, while the drain and LFCC water samples showed less calcium and sodium carbonates

Effects of the 2014 major Baltic inflow on methane and nitrous oxide dynamics in the water column of the Central Baltic Sea

Peer reviewe

Enhanced lifetime of methane bubble streams within the deep ocean

We have made direct comparisons of the dissolution and rise rates of methane and argon bubbles experimentally released in the ocean at depths from 440 to 830 m. The bubbles were injected from the ROV Ventana into a box open at the top and the bottom, and imaged by HDTV while in free motion. The vehicle was piloted upwards at the rise rate of the bubbles. Methane and argon show closely similar behavior at depths above the methane hydrate stability field. Below that boundary (∼520 m) markedly enhanced methane bubble lifetimes are observed, and are attributed to the formation of a hydrate skin. This effect greatly increases the ease with which methane gas released at depth, either by natural or industrial events, can penetrate the shallow ocean layers

Mixed Waste Management Facility (MWMF) Old Burial Ground (OBG) source control technology and inventory study

This report has been developed to support information needs for wastes buried in the Burial Ground Complex. Information discussed is presented in a total of four individual attachments. The general focus of this report is to collect information on estimated source inventories, leaching studies, source control technologies, and to provide information on modeling parameters and associated data deficiencies

Compute as Fast as the Engineers Can Think! Utrafast Computing Team Final Report

This report documents findings and recommendations by the Ultrafast Computing Team (UCT). In the period 10-12/98, UCT reviewed design case scenarios for a supersonic transport and a reusable launch vehicle to derive computing requirements necessary for support of a design process with efficiency so radically improved that human thought rather than the computer paces the process. Assessment of the present computing capability against the above requirements indicated a need for further improvement in computing speed by several orders of magnitude to reduce time to solution from tens of hours to seconds in major applications. Evaluation of the trends in computer technology revealed a potential to attain the postulated improvement by further increases of single processor performance combined with massively parallel processing in a heterogeneous environment. However, utilization of massively parallel processing to its full capability will require redevelopment of the engineering analysis and optimization methods, including invention of new paradigms. To that end UCT recommends initiation of a new activity at LaRC called Computational Engineering for development of new methods and tools geared to the new computer architectures in disciplines, their coordination, and validation and benefit demonstration through applications

Action of Coriandrum sativum L. Essential Oil upon Oral Candida albicans Biofilm Formation

The efficacy of extracts and essential oils from Allium tuberosum, Coriandrum sativum, Cymbopogon martini, Cymbopogon winterianus, and Santolina chamaecyparissus was evaluated against Candida spp. isolates from the oral cavity of patients with periodontal disease. The most active oil was fractionated and tested against C. albicans biofilm formation. The oils were obtained by water-distillation and the extracts were prepared with macerated dried plant material. The Minimal Inhibitory Concentration—MIC was determined by the microdilution method. Chemical characterization of oil constituents was performed using Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). C. sativum activity oil upon cell and biofilm morphology was evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The best activities against planktonic Candida spp. were observed for the essential oil and the grouped F8–10 fractions from C. sativum. The crude oil also affected the biofilm formation in C. albicans causing a decrease in the biofilm growth. Chemical analysis of the F8–10 fractions detected as major active compounds, 2-hexen-1-ol, 3-hexen-1-ol and cyclodecane. Standards of these compounds tested grouped provided a stronger activity than the oil suggesting a synergistic action from the major oil constituents. The activity of C. sativum oil demonstrates its potential for a new natural antifungal formulation

Measurements of the fate of gas hydrates during transit through the ocean water column

We report on controlled experiments to document the fate of naturally occurring methane hydrate released from the sea floor (780 m, 4.3°C) by remotely operated vehicle (ROV) disturbance. Images of buoyant sediment-coated solids rising (∼0.24 m/s) from the debris cloud, soon revealed clear crystals of methane hydrate as surficial material sloughed off. Decomposition and visible degassing began close to the predicted phase boundary, yet pieces initially of ∼0.10 m size easily survived transit to the surface ocean. Smaller pieces dissolved or dissociated before reaching the surface ocean, yet effectively transferred gas to depths where atmospheric ventilation times are short relative to methane oxidation rates

The role of maternal infection in preterm birth: evidence from the Brazilian Multicentre Study on Preterm Birth (EMIP)

OBJECTIVES: Evidence suggests that infection or inflammation is a major contributor to early spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the development and causes of maternal infection associated with maternal and neonatal outcomes in women with sPTB. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of a multicenter cross-sectional study with a nested case–control component, the Brazilian Multicentre Study on Preterm Birth (EMIP), conducted from April 2011 to July 2012 in 20 Brazilian referral obstetric hospitals. Women with preterm birth (PTB) and their neonates were enrolled. In this analysis, 2,682 women undergoing spontaneous preterm labor and premature pre-labor rupture of membranes were included. Two groups were identified based on self-reports or prenatal or hospital records: women with at least one infection factor and women without any maternal infection (vulvovaginitis, urinary tract infection, or dental infection). A bivariate analysis was performed to identify potential individual risk factors for PTB. The odds ratios (ORs) with their respective 95% confidence intervals were calculated. RESULTS: The majority of women with sPTB fulfilled at least one criterion for the identification of maternal infection (65.9%), and more than half reported having urinary tract infection during pregnancy. Approximately 9.6% of women with PTB and maternal infection were classified as having periodontal infection only. Apart from the presence of a partner, which was more common among women with infectious diseases (p=0.026; OR, 1.28 [1.03–1.59]), other variables did not show any significant difference between groups. CONCLUSION: Maternal infection was highly prevalent in all cases of sPTBs, although it was not clearly associated with the type of PTB, gestational age, or any adverse neonatal outcomes

Air–sea CO2 exchange in the Baltic Sea - A sensitivity analysis of the gas transfer velocity

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordAir–sea gas fluxes are commonly estimated using wind-based parametrizations of the gas transfer velocity. However, neglecting gas exchange forcing mechanisms – other than wind speed – may lead to large uncertainties in the flux estimates and the carbon budgets, in particular, in heterogeneous environments such as marginal seas and coastal areas. In this study we investigated the impact of including relevant processes to the air–sea CO flux parametrization for the Baltic Sea. We used six parametrizations of the gas transfer velocity to evaluate the effect of precipitation, water-side convection, and surfactants on the net CO flux at regional and sub-regional scale. The differences both in the mean CO fluxes and the integrated net fluxes were small between the different cases. However, the implications on the seasonal variability were shown to be significant. The inter-annual and spatial variability were also found to be associated with the forcing mechanisms evaluated in the study. In addition to wind, water-side convection was the most relevant parameter controlling the air–sea gas exchange at seasonal and inter-annual scales. The effect of precipitation and surfactants seemed negligible in terms of the inter-annual variability. The effect of water-side convection and surfactants resulted in a reduction of the downward fluxes, while precipitation was the only parameter that resulted in an enhancement of the net uptake in the Baltic Sea.BONUS Secretariat (EEIG