Review Protocol – Final: Have arid land springs restoration projects been effective in restoring hydrology, geomorphology, and invertebrates and plant species composition comparable to natural springs with minimal anthropogenic disturbance?

The aim of this review is to examine the effectiveness of springs restoration projects in the southwestern United States in restoring hydrology, geomorphology, and plant and invertebrates species composition to condiitions comparable with natural springs with minimal anthropogenic disturbances

Systematic Review Protocol – Final: Have wet meadow restoration projects in the Southwestern U.S. been effective in restoring hydrology, geomorphology, soils, and plant species composition to conditions comparable to wet meadows with minimal human-induced disturbance?

The aim of this review is to evaluate whether wet meadow restoration projects in the Southwestern U.S. have been effective in restoring hydrology, geomorphology, soils, and plant species composition to conditions comparable to wet meadows with minimal human-induced disturbance

Ecohydrogeology: The interdisciplinary convergence needed to improve the study and stewardship of springs and other groundwater-dependent habitats, biota, and ecosystems

This essay discusses the need for, advantages and challenges of integrating the scientific disciplines of ecology and hydrogeology in the study of groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs). We provide a definition for ecohydrogeology as \u201ca unifying, synthetic field of study integrating the approaches from the ecological and hydrogeological sciences in the study of groundwater (GW)-related ecosystems, habitats, and organisms to advance science, stewardship, and policy\u201d. We selected specific case studies to illustrate first how hydrogeological approaches can favour in-depth understanding and modelling of springs and crenobiontic (spring-dependent) species distribution, assemblage composition and organization. Second, this essay also examines how taxa and assemblages serve as bioassays and ecosystem indicators to infer hydrogeological aspects of GW flow and discharge, as well as quantitative and qualitative human impacts. We consider both types of features and parameters as ecohydrogeological indicators. The examples presented include topics related to springs and other GDE geomorphological types and classification, GW quality influences on crenobiont distribution, phreatophyte (= plant species the roots of which reach to and into the water table) ecophysiology in relation to water table depth, and flow variability in karstic systems, to nutrient dynamics in relation to dinoflagellate blooms in GDE montane lakes. Conceptual approaches that integrate ecology with hydrogeology include the investigation of GDE distribution and ecology, groundwater-surface water (GW-SW) interactions, and the development of the discipline of ecohydrology. Despite widespread applications, the scientific community still lacks a complete or effective integration of the principles described in the fields of groundwater hydrogeology with ecology, ecophysiology, and environmental biology. Springs are aquatic-wetland-riparian habitats that link shallow subsurface-surface processes and assemblages, often functioning as biodiversity hotspots, ecotones, keystone, and refugial ecosystems, for which coordination between studies of hydrogeology and ecology are both obvious and essential. Over the past century, springs ecosystem ecology has been largely ignored by hydrologists, and, conversely, hydrogeology has been under-emphasized by ecologists. Recent global recognition of the extraordinary biodiversity and socio-cultural significance of springs, coupled with their globally highly threatened conservation status, stimulated this inquiry into how to better integrate hydrogeology with springs ecosystem ecology. Acknowledging the highly threatened status of springs ecosystems around the world, there is an urgent need to integrate and invigorate the union of these disciplines into ecohydrogeology, the study of groundwater-dependent organisms, habitats, ecosystems, and management policy

International workshop on next generation gamma-ray source

A workshop on The Next Generation Gamma-Ray Source sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Physics at the Department of Energy, was held November 17-19, 2016 in Bethesda, Maryland. The goals of the workshop were to identify basic and applied research opportunities at the frontiers of nuclear physics that would be made possible by the beam capabilities of an advanced laser Compton beam facility. To anchor the scientific vision to realistically achievable beam specifications using proven technologies, the workshop brought together experts in the fields of electron accelerators, lasers, and optics to examine the technical options for achieving the beam specifications required by the most compelling parts of the proposed research programs. An international assembly of participants included current and prospective γ-ray beam users, accelerator and light-source physicists, and federal agency program managers. Sessions were organized to foster interactions between the beam users and facility developers, allowing for information sharing and mutual feedback between the two groups. The workshop findings and recommendations are summarized in this whitepaper

International workshop on next generation gamma-ray source

A workshop on The Next Generation Gamma-Ray Source sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Physics at the Department of Energy, was held November 17-19, 2016 in Bethesda, Maryland. The goals of the workshop were to identify basic and applied research opportunities at the frontiers of nuclear physics that would be made possible by the beam capabilities of an advanced laser Compton beam facility. To anchor the scientific vision to realistically achievable beam specifications using proven technologies, the workshop brought together experts in the fields of electron accelerators, lasers, and optics to examine the technical options for achieving the beam specifications required by the most compelling parts of the proposed research programs. An international assembly of participants included current and prospective γ-ray beam users, accelerator and light-source physicists, and federal agency program managers. Sessions were organized to foster interactions between the beam users and facility developers, allowing for information sharing and mutual feedback between the two groups. The workshop findings and recommendations are summarized in this whitepaper

The tight Danian Ekofisk chalk reservoir formation in the South Arne Field, North Sea: mineralogy and porosity properties

In the Danish North Sea, the chalk of the Danian Ekofisk Formation is largely pelagic and includes horizons of clay-sized quartz and/or clay minerals. The upper part of the Ekofisk Formation (“Ekofisk Porous”) has reservoir potential, whereas the lower part of the formation (“Ekofisk Tight”) is of low permeability. The Ekofisk Formation was studied in wells Rigs-1, Rigs-2 and SA-1 in the South Arne field in the Danish North Sea. Clay-poor and clay-rich horizons were sampled in order to evaluate the effect of the mineralogical composition on the reservoir properties of the Ekofisk Formation. The Ekofisk chalk samples were investigated by scanning electron and atomic force microscopy, by thermal analysis and for isotopic composition. Helium porosity, gas permeability and nitrogen adsorption (for specific surface area and fine porosity) were measured to characterize the chalk structure. Calcite was removed by titration and the residues investigated by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. The clay layers consisting of nano-quartz, clay minerals and carbonates have He-porosity similar to that of the tight chalk matrix and have a large amount of fine pores (<200 Å diameter) which favour diffusion. This diffusion has dissolved calcite in the layers and has resulted in the formation of low-porosity chalk due to recrystallization of calcite adjacent to the layers. <p/>The chalk matrix of the Ekofisk Formation contains a considerable amount of non-calcite residue, of which the major part (∼2/3) is nano-quartz. The nano-quartz is assumed to have formed by sedimentation. For the samples investigated, there is no clear correlation between mineralogy (% residue, % nano-quartz, % clay minerals) and porosity/permeability. However, samples with <20% residue have high He-porosity and relatively high permeability; whereas samples with >25% residue have permeability <0.4 mD. The effect on He-porosity is due to the content of both nano-quartz and clay minerals, whereas the effect on permeability is mainly due to the content of nano-quartz, because the nano-size quartz particles pack between the coccoliths and thereby reduce the effective pore throat size. Consequently, for reservoir evaluation purposes, it is important to distinguish between the clay minerals and the nano-quartz in the clay fraction. However, the high proportion of nano-quartz in the Ekofisk Formation in general, and the relative high content in the Ekofisk Tight in particular, suggest that nano-quartz may have a major impact on the reservoir properties