There is increasing evidence that the type of land cover surrounding remnant patches of native habitats (the ‘matrix’) can modify effects of landscape change on biodiversity; thus the traditional idea of dichotomous habitat and non-habitat following island biogeography theory is insufficient in complex landscapes. Matrix type can have dramatic influences...
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) grants legal standing for any individual or party willing to challenge a species status finding in court. As a result, the legislation has become a controversial, but powerful tool leveraged in political battles and legal disputes that go far beyond the narrow confines of conservation...
We present a deterministic spectral method to predict equilibrium temperature distributions, heat flux, and thermal conductivity in homogeneous and heterogeneous media. We solve the Boltzmann transport equation in a second order spatial, self-adjoint angular flux formulation. We implemented this method into the radiation transport code Rattlesnake, built using the MOOSE...
The Boltzmann transport equation derived in the Self-Adjoint Angular Flux (SAAF) formulation is applied to simulate phonon transport. The neutron transport code Rattlesnake is leveraged in this fashion, slightly modi ed to accept input from variables consistent with phonon transport simulations. Several benchmark problems are modeled to assess the potential...
Surface transient storage (STS) and hyporheic transient storage (HTS) have functional significance in stream ecology and hydrology. Both provide refugia for aquatic communities and their longer mean residence times (compared to the main flow) increase the potential for biogeochemical reactions that can improve water quality. As STS and HTS have...
The Generation IV Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) design is being actively
studied in various countries for application due to its inherent passive safe design,
higher thermal efficiencies, and proposed capability of providing high temperature
process heat. The pebble bed core is one of two core designs used in gas...
Downward flow opposing mixed convection conditions have been studied using the FLUENT CFD code. This work was comprised of two primary objectives. The first was to study core channel flow reversal susceptibility in the Gas Reactor Test Section (GRTS) at low flow conditions. The second objective was the development of...
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) flux is an important mechanism to convey soil carbon (C) from aboveground organic debris (litter) to deeper soil horizons and can influence the formation of stable soil organic carbon (SOC) compounds. Aboveground litter quantity and quality was manipulated for 20-years in an old-growth Douglas fir forest...
The Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas) is one of the most economically and ecologically significant shellfish species worldwide. In the Pacific Northwest United States (PNW), the sustainability oyster stocks is increasingly threatened by ocean acidification (OA), which has had significant negative effects on the aquaculture industry in this region over the...
A Finite Element Model of a deployed Fiber-Optic Micro Cable (FOMC) was performed using the marine cable modeling software, OrcaFlex. The focus of this study was a parametric analysis of a two-part, towed cable array with the FOMC dragged behind a depressor and connected to a drogue chute. Length-to-diameter ratios...