Mendocino power plant site ecological study final report

A preoperational ecological study of a proposed nuclear power plant site on the Mendocino County coast was initiated in September 1971. The study resulted from an agreement between the Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the California Department of Fish and Game signed in July 1971. In the agreement, Pacific Gas and Electric Company provided funds for the Department's studies of the site. Studies of the subtidal animal and plant communities were conducted by divers from September 1971 through March 1973; intertidal animal and plant populations were surveyed from November 1971 through February 1973. Sportfisheries for abalone and finfish were surveyed during 1972 and Spring of 1973. Stomach contents of many of the more abundant subtidal and intertidal fishes were examined. All of these studies were designed to determine the dominant species of plants, invertebrates and fishes in the various communities, their relative abundance, and where applicable, size composition, predators and competitors. The parameters developed from these studies would be used for comparison with similar studies conducted after the proposed plant went into operation to determine what effect construction and operation of the plant might have on the various plants and animals studied. (291pp.

80-Gb/s OTDM system analysis of a vertical microcavity-based saturable absorber for the enhancement of pulse pedestal suppression

In future high-speed optical time-division-multiplexed (OTDM) systems, an important factor that needs to be considered for optical pulse generation schemes is the impact of pulse pedestals on the overall system performance. The results presented in this letter are two-fold; first, the impact due to the height of pulse pedestals in an 80-Gb/s OTDM system are established. Second, a solution is provided to overcome these high pedestal levels through the use of a vertical microcavity saturable absorber, which can significantly reduce the pulse pedestal level and give enhanced system performanc

Testing the "spread"

Economic indicators

Is there a role for gold in monetary policy?

Gold - Purchasing ; Monetary policy

Mars Molniya Orbit Atmospheric Resource Mining

This NIAC (NASA Advanced Innovative Concepts) work will focus on Mars and will build on previous efforts at analyzing atmospheric mining at Earth and the outer solar system. Spacecraft systems concepts will be evaluated and traded, to assess feasibility. However the study will primarily examine the architecture and associated missions to explore the closure, constraints and critical parameters through sensitivity studies. The Mars atmosphere consists of 95.5 percent CO2 gas which can be converted to methane fuel (CH4) and Oxidizer (O2) for chemical rocket propulsion, if hydrogen is transported from electrolyzed water on the Mars surface or from Earth. By using a highly elliptical Mars Molniya style orbit, the CO2 atmosphere can be scooped, ram-compressed and stored while the spacecraft dips into the Mars atmosphere at periapsis. Successive orbits result in additional scooping of CO2 gas, which also serves to aerobrake the spacecraft, resulting in a decaying Molniya orbit

Discovery of a Classic FR-II Broad Absorption Line Quasar from the FIRST Survey

We have discovered a remarkable quasar, FIRST J101614.3+520916, whose optical spectrum shows unambiguous broad absorption features while its double-lobed radio morphology and luminosity clearly indicate a classic Fanaroff-Riley Type II radio source. Its radio luminosity places it at the extreme of the recently established class of radio-loud broad absorption line quasars (Becker et al. 1997, 2000; Brotherton et al. 1998). Because of its hybrid nature, we speculate that FIRST J101614.3+520916 is a typical FR-II quasar which has been rejuvenated as a broad absorption line (BAL) quasar with a Compact Steep Spectrum core. The direction of the jet axis of FIRST J101614.3+520916 can be estimated from its radio structure and optical brightness, indicating that we are viewing the system at a viewing angle of > 40 degrees. The position angles of the radio jet and optical polarization are not well-aligned, differing by 20 to 30 degrees. When combined with the evidence presented by Becker et al. (2000) for a sample of 29 BAL quasars showing that at least some BAL quasars are viewed along the jet axis, the implication is that no preferred viewing orientation is necessary to observe BAL systems in a quasar's spectrum. This, and the probable young nature of compact steep spectrum sources, leads naturally to the alternate hypothesis that BALs are an early stage in the lives of quasars.Comment: 14 pages, 6 postscript figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa