Snowy Plover Nesting at Lake McConaughy in 2004 and 2005

The Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) is a small shore bird that upon casual observation resembles the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus). The most obvious differences are in the dark beak and legs of the Snowy Plover in contrast to the orange bill with the black tip and orange legs of the Piping Plover. The two also have strikingly different calls (pers. obs.). In Nebraska the Piping Plover can be found along the Missouri, Platte, Niobrara, Loup, and Elkhorn Rivers and the sandpits associated with those rivers (Haig and Plissner 1993). Piping Plovers are also common along the shore of Lake McConaughy (Peyton 2004). The Snowy Plover, in contrast, has been recorded from only a few locations in Nebraska, and the only reported areas for successful breeding within the state are Harlan County Reservoir (Silcock 2004) and Lake McConaughy, where breeding has been documented since 2000 (Silcock 2000, 2001b, and 2003). In Nebraska the Snowy Plover was listed as Casual until the designation was changed to Regular in 2003 (NOU Records Committee 2004). This change is reflective of the increase in sightings reported in The Nebraska Bird Review and the documentation of nesting within the state. The first report of nesting Snowy Plovers in Nebraska was in 1998 from the Missouri River near Santee, Nebraska (Silcock 200la). This nest was apparently lost. The second and third reports for the state, and the first reports of successful nesting, were of adults with young at Lake McConaughy in 2000 and 2001 (Silcock 2001b). Adult birds were sighted at Lake McConaughy in 2002, but it wasn\u27t until June 2003 that a Snowy Plover nest with eggs was located at Lake McConaughy (Silcock 2003a). Later that summer three additional broods were located, two of which eventually fledged chicks (Silcock 2003b). Thus, between 2000 and 2003, there was one nest with eggs and four broods of Snowy Plovers documented at Lake McConaughy. Starting in 2004, the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District added the monitoring of nesting Snowy Plovers at Lake McConaughy to its annual Piping Plover monitoring plan. Presented here are the nesting data for Snowy Plovers at Lake McConaughy in 2004 and 2005

Snowy Plover Nesting at Lake McConaughy in 2004 and 2005

The Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) is a small shore bird that upon casual observation resembles the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus). The most obvious differences are in the dark beak and legs of the Snowy Plover in contrast to the orange bill with the black tip and orange legs of the Piping Plover. The two also have strikingly different calls (pers. obs.). In Nebraska the Piping Plover can be found along the Missouri, Platte, Niobrara, Loup, and Elkhorn Rivers and the sandpits associated with those rivers (Haig and Plissner 1993). Piping Plovers are also common along the shore of Lake McConaughy (Peyton 2004). The Snowy Plover, in contrast, has been recorded from only a few locations in Nebraska, and the only reported areas for successful breeding within the state are Harlan County Reservoir (Silcock 2004) and Lake McConaughy, where breeding has been documented since 2000 (Silcock 2000, 2001b, and 2003). In Nebraska the Snowy Plover was listed as Casual until the designation was changed to Regular in 2003 (NOU Records Committee 2004). This change is reflective of the increase in sightings reported in The Nebraska Bird Review and the documentation of nesting within the state. The first report of nesting Snowy Plovers in Nebraska was in 1998 from the Missouri River near Santee, Nebraska (Silcock 200la). This nest was apparently lost. The second and third reports for the state, and the first reports of successful nesting, were of adults with young at Lake McConaughy in 2000 and 2001 (Silcock 2001b). Adult birds were sighted at Lake McConaughy in 2002, but it wasn\u27t until June 2003 that a Snowy Plover nest with eggs was located at Lake McConaughy (Silcock 2003a). Later that summer three additional broods were located, two of which eventually fledged chicks (Silcock 2003b). Thus, between 2000 and 2003, there was one nest with eggs and four broods of Snowy Plovers documented at Lake McConaughy. Starting in 2004, the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District added the monitoring of nesting Snowy Plovers at Lake McConaughy to its annual Piping Plover monitoring plan. Presented here are the nesting data for Snowy Plovers at Lake McConaughy in 2004 and 2005

Magnetic characterisation of microstructural feature distribution in P9 and T22 steels by major and minor BH loop measurements

This paper investigates the magnetic properties and parameters measured from major/minor loops and used to characterise different microstructural feature distributions in P9 and T22 steel in different heat treatment or service conditions. The present study introduces a non-destructive way of selecting microstructural features of interest and/or excluding those of little relevance by examination of minor loop measurements at a selected range of applied fields and discusses the fundamental mechanism in terms of domain processes. There is remarkable consistency in magnetic behaviours and properties such as initial/incremental permeability values between the measurements by different techniques. This behaviour has been ascribed to the similar underlying domain processes and hence similar selected microstructural features that are affecting the domain processes

Electromagnetic evaluation of the microstructure of grade 91 tubes/pipes

This paper assesses the feasibility of transferring a laboratory-based electromagnetic (EM) sensor technique, which has already proved sensitive to significant (e.g. phase balance) or subtle (e.g. number density of fine precipitates) microstructural changes in steel, to non-destructive evaluation of the microstructure of power generation components such as tubes/pipes. It has been found that Grade 91 steels, in different conditions representative of service entry, thermally aged or ex-service, can be distinguished using laboratory-based measurement systems on small machined cylindrical samples as well as by an industry deployment EM sensor system on full-diameter tube samples. The measurements for the tube samples follow the same trend as the machined cylindrical samples. The results indicate an industrial deployable sensor system can be used for sorting service-exposed or mis-heat-treated/mis-manufactured Grade 91 steel tubes/pipes from the correctly heat treated service-entry ones

High temperature magnetic characterisation of structural steels using Epstein frame

Abstract: Electromagnetic non-destructive testing techniques provide an attractive solution to the problem of monitoring microstructural changes in steels undergoing heat treatment as they are non-contact, have a short response time and are relatively inexpensive. However, to take full advantage of these techniques it is necessary to be able accurately measure the magnetisation characteristics of the materials of interest at temperatures up to the Curie point. This paper details the development of a novel high temperature Epstein frame for installation in a furnace with the design informed and results validated by finite element modelling. Hysteresis loop characteristics are successfully measured for a dual phase steel up to the Curie point for heating and cooling. Results show the developed system has the potential to provide valuable data to inform online electromagnetic monitoring systems

An Evaluation of Technology to Remove Problematic Organic Compounds from the International Space Station Potable Water

Since activation of the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) on the International Space Station (ISS) in November of 2008, there have been three events in which the TOC (Total Organic Carbon) in the product water has increased to approximately 3 mg/L and has subsequently recovered. Analysis of the product water in 2010 identified the primary component of the TOC as dimethylsilanediol (DMSD). An investigation into the fate of DMSD in the WPA ultimately determined that replacement of both Multifiltration (MF) Beds is the solution to recovering product water quality. The MF Beds were designed to ensure that ionic breakthrough occurs before organic breakthrough. However, DMSD saturated both MF Beds in the series, requiring removal and replacement of both MF Beds with significant life remaining. Analysis of the MF Beds determined that the adsorbent was not effectively removing DMSD, trimethylsilanol, various polydimethylsiloxanes, or dimethylsulfone. Coupled with the fact that the current adsorbent is now obsolete, the authors evaluated various media to identify a replacement adsorbent as well as media with greater capacity for these problematic organic contaminants. This paper provides the results and recommendations of this collaborative study

High temperature magnetic characterisation of structural steels using Epstein frame

From IOP Publishing via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2021-05-25, revised 2021-07-06, oa-requested 2021-07-07, accepted 2021-07-27, open-access 2021-08-23, epub 2021-08-23, ppub 2021-12Publication status: PublishedFunder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000266; Grant(s): EP/S018107/1, EP/P027210/01Funder: Research Fund for Coal and Steel; Grant(s): 847296Abstract: Electromagnetic non-destructive testing techniques provide an attractive solution to the problem of monitoring microstructural changes in steels undergoing heat treatment as they are non-contact, have a short response time and are relatively inexpensive. However, to take full advantage of these techniques it is necessary to be able accurately measure the magnetisation characteristics of the materials of interest at temperatures up to the Curie point. This paper details the development of a novel high temperature Epstein frame for installation in a furnace with the design informed and results validated by finite element modelling. Hysteresis loop characteristics are successfully measured for a dual phase steel up to the Curie point for heating and cooling. Results show the developed system has the potential to provide valuable data to inform online electromagnetic monitoring systems