Aerosol Activation: Theoretical Predictions versus Observations. ROOSEVELT RIOJAS (University of Texas Pan - American Edinburg, TX 78501) DR. V. RAO KOTAMARTHI (Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439)

It has been hypothesized that microscopic anthropogenic aerosol particles are having direct and indirect affects on earth's radiation budget. The aerosols impact the radiation incident on the earth's surface directly by absorbing the incoming radiation or by scattering. The indirect affect of aerosols results from their role in activation of cloud droplets and as a result the possibility of increased aerosol concentrations leading to enhanced cloud formation or an increase in the number of cloud droplets in a given cloud. This indirect effect of aerosols on the radiation budget is by far the least known and understood process in the current climate models. Here we use measurements made in the atmosphere to evaluate a recently developed parameterization for predicting aerosol activation leading to the formation of cloud droplets. We're primarily focusing on data collected during an ARM IOP, conducted during May 2003 from Twin-Otter measurement platform; these fights were flown over the Southern Great Plains site, a facility near north central Oklahoma. The aircraft was equipped with standard meteorological sensors to retrieve temperature, pressure, humidity and more sophisticated ones were used to measure cloud droplet number concentration. The aquired data was then used to constrain a numericla model simulating aerosol activation (developed by my professor, Dr. H.Abdul-Razzak) to predict no. of droplets formed under the measured conditions. The data and model results were plotted using Excel and IDL program. The analysis suggests that the observed data and the numerical model are qualitatively similar, except when zero or negative updrafts velocities were present. Since cloud formation and aerosol activation occurs only under updraft conditions, the activated aerosols measured during the flight pass suggests an anomalous measurement of aerosol activation, possibly a result of the coarse integration time used by the instrument. This indicated that field researchers in future studies may need to employ even higher frequencies of data collection for aerosols to obtain better constraints for model evaluation and developing new and improving current parameterizations.

Analysis of the Ecosystem Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks from a Prescribed Burn Seeking to Increase Soil Carbon Sequestration. LINESHA SIMS (Bevill State Community College Fayette, AL 35555) ROSER MATAMALA (Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439)

The soil organic matter (SOM) contained in a prairie is rich and deep and has vanished over the past several years. Agricultural practices, such as tillage, depleted the SOM reservoir, reduced soil fertility, and released CO2 into the atmosphere. The purpose of the proposed project is to study the mechanisms of carbon loss and accrual under different management practices seeking to increase soil carbon sequestration. One major strategy to prevent SOM loss and increase carbon sequestration in the soil is to restore degraded soils and long-term cultivated lands to native vegetation. Designated prairies within Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) were prescribed bi-annual burnings to reduce weeds and encourage the establishment of native grasses. Samples were taken before and after the fire to compare the difference in the ecosystem carbon and nitrogen stocks. The samples were properly prepared and placed in the elemental analyzer instrument. The carbon content was measured by infrared absorption and the nitrogen was determined by thermal conductivity in a horizontal combustion system at approximately 1300oC. When comparing the total system's carbon and nitrogen stocks before and after the prescribed burn, we found there to be no significant differences. We believe a drought may have delayed the plant productivity, while reducing the water availability. We did notice that the carbon and nitrogen content of our research was similar to other simulated effects of an annually burned prairie. This work is a small portion of a much larger project being researched. We will next research the compounds such as nitrates and soil respiration that are in the soil as well as analyze the elements in the charcoal and ashes produced by the fire. This data will contribute to the annual carbon budget for the prairie to explain the differential net ecosystem exchange before and after the burn.

Analyzing Mexico City's Air Quality Data to Better Understand the Sources, Sinks, and Chemical Modification of Black Carbon Aerosols. JUANITA RIOJAS (Texas A&M University-Kingsville Kingsville, TX 78363) DR. V. RAO KOTAMARTHI (Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439)

To contribute to the understanding of the sources, sinks, and radiative properties of black carbon (BC), a field experiment is planned by the Department of Energy Atmospheric Science Program (DOE ASP) in the year 2006 in and around Mexico City. As a precursor to this experiment, measurements were made in Mexico City of BC and other aerosols during 2003. In this study, these measurements were analyzed to understand the sources of the BC aerosols and evaluate the significance of a primary sink. These issues were addressed using: measurements of BC from El Centro Nacional de Investigacion y Capacitacion Ambiental (CENICA) site, the aid of data analysis software such as KaleidaGraph, backward air-parcel trajectory calculations using HYSPLIT 4 model, and Fire Map derived from satellite datasets. Black carbon wavelength measurements varied between the IR band and the UV band. The two hypotheses for this behavior were (a) the BC during these periods were chemically different from the rest of the time series i.e. had a different source or (b) high values of relative humidity modified the locally emitted BC giving its absorption a dependence on wavelength. When comparing the backwards trajectories to the satellite pictures of the Yucatan Peninsula forest fires, we were able to see that BC in the air was due to the forest fires during some of these times. The results of the correlation analysis between relative humidity and concentration of BC indicated only a few time periods with strong correlations. The correlations were not consistent enough to conclude that relative humidity was the only factor affecting the BC behavior. We were also able to prove that the rain events did not wash out all the BC in the air. Aerosol emission inventories currently do not include information resulting from burning of biomass or forest fires. Therefore, it is important to continue with the DOE ASP in 2006 in order to update aerosol emission inventories. Studying the air quality in Mexico City will help us understand more about the air pollution problems that exist throughout the world.

Comparison of Adaptive Sampling Designs in Determining the Contamination Footprint at a Contaminated Site. ABBEY RECHNER (University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Champaign, IL 61820) ROBERT JOHNSON (Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439)

Contamination must be cleaned up for the health of society and the environment. Adaptive sampling, a sampling design based on results of previous samples and spatial correlation, is needed at contaminated sites to find the exact boundary or the footprint of the contamination within some margin of error. But the number of samples needs to be minimized to eliminate unnecessary cost. At one contaminated site, this research compared three types of adaptive sampling designs: the Bayesian Approaches to Adaptive Spatial Sampling (BAASS) computer program, an experiment with two sets of employees and three heuristic methods. BAASS uses Bayesian statistics and Geostatistics on a rectangular grid. The experiment with two sets of employees tested how the average person sampled given either no information or a probability of contamination distribution. The heuristic methods- diamond, hexagonal, and modified hexagonal- had no information, were constructed on a triangular grid and were algorithmic. False clean error (the amount of dirty area left dirty), false dirty error (the amount of clean area cleaned), and the number of samples taken were recorded for the adaptive sampling designs relative to the number of possible samples. The percent of samples, false clean error and false dirty error for BAASS were 5.6%, zero and 0.010, respectively. The percent of area sampled, false clean error and false dirty error for the set of employees supplied with no information, on average, were 8.8%, 0.007 and 0.070, respectively. The percent of area sampled, false clean error and false dirty error for the set of employees supplied with a probability of contamination distribution, on average, were 6.7%, 0.023 and 0.024, respectively. The percent of area sampled, false clean error and false dirty error for the diamond method were 6.9%, 0.007 and 0.016, respectively. The percent of area sampled, false clean error and false dirty error for the hexagonal method were 6.0%, 0.016 and 0.050, respectively. The percent of area sampled, false clean error and false dirty error for the modified hexagonal method were 7.8%, 0.007 and 0.009, respectively. Therefore, BAASS is the best adaptive sampling design for this contaminated site because it had the least false clean and false dirty errors and did so in the smallest percent of area sampled. To study whether BAASS is truly a better adaptive sampling design, this research should be replicated at other contaminated sites.

Development of Toxicological Matrices, Standard and Guideline Tables, and Provisional Advisory Levels for Contaminants Released in Water and Air. MEGAN WILLIAMS (University of New Orleans New Orleans, LA 70148) DR. MARGARET MACDONELL (Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439)

With the potential for terror attacks on the rise throughout the world, measures are being taken to reassure the safety of Americans. One mode toward protecting the country is to set provisional advisory levels (PALs) for potential threat contaminants that may be released by terrorists into the public drinking water supply and/or air. These contaminants that we research include biotoxins, toxic industrial chemicals (TICs), biological and chemical warfare (CW) agents, as well as radionuclides. An initial step is to evaluate current standards and guidelines to channel near-term decisions of contaminant exposure controls for the general public. Once we have evaluated preexisting guidelines, we the gather information to create toxicological matrices from which PALs are set for each contaminant. Our primary focus is to set initial PALs for ingestion. We also consider the inhalation aspect of contaminants in the secondary phase of the PALs.

Health Based Provisional Advisory Levels for the Initial Study of Contaminants In Drinking Water and Air: Acute, Short Term, and Long Term Exposures. DANIEL FRANCIES (Estrella Mountain Community College Avondale, AZ 85323) MARGARET MACDONELL (Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is developing PALs (provisional advisory levels) which are health based exposure levels for contaminants that terrorists could release into buildings, drinking water supplies, or the air. The PALs are for industrial chemicals, poisons, biological agents/biotoxins, and radionuclides that could be obtained and released by terrorist organizations. The EAD (Environmental Assessment Division) is working with the EPA in developing these PALs so the world can be prepared by knowing how to deal with a future contaminant release. Each contaminant must be assessed accurately, and in developing the PALs scientist research all studies, experiments, and exposures related to a specific contaminant. The PAL must address the toxicodynamics and toxicokinetics of the contaminant and consider acute and short term studies, longer duration studies, and acute lethality studies. The information is then assessed and evaluated in developing a concentration level that the population can consume without significant side effects; if there are side effects they need to be reversible and full recovery needs to take place.

Monitoring a Mitigation Wetland: Changes in the Diversity of Vegetation in Wetland R at Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois. NICHOLE LYCZAK (Elmhurst College Elmhurst, IL 60126) KIRK LAGORY (Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439)

Wetlands are known for their diverse biota. However, they are being depleted at an alarming rate across the United States. During the 1990 construction of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory in DuPage County, Illinois, 1.8 acres of wetland were destroyed. To comply with current wetland regulations, a mitigation wetland (Wetland R) was created with the same total area south of the APS construction site. Wetland R was sampled from 1992-1996 to determine the frequency of plant species, relative cover, and water surface area. Annual monitoring of Wetland R began again in 2002 and has continued through 2005. The purpose of this study was to monitor changes in Wetland R through time; particular attention was given to any changes in the relative abundance of dominant species and the number of invasive species present. In 2005, 0.25 m2 quadrats were randomly placed along 10 transects established in the 2004 study. The plant species present, percent cover and Braun-Blanquet index were recorded for each quadrat. The origin (native, non-native), coefficient of conservatism (C), and wetland status for all species present were also documented. A total of 64 species were collected from the quadrats in Wetland R and identified. Of these species, 13 are non-native to the Chicago region. Fifteen species found in previous years were not seen in 2005. The 10 most abundant species were also identified using the mean percent cover and compared to the dominant species found in previous studies. The only species that was considered to be an abundant species all nine years was Phalaris arundinacea, a species not native to the Chicago area. The percent cover of Alisma triviale, which is native, and Cirsium arvense, a non-native species, has also increased significantly from 2003-2005. It is evident from this study that the diversity of plants found in Wetland R has increased significantly since 1992. Of the 10 dominant species found in Wetland R in 2005, only three were invasive species. Native plants with high C values such as Leersia oryzoides and Sagittaria graminea appear to be thriving in Wetland R, indicating that the quality of the wetland is improving. It is recommended that annual monitoring of Wetland R should be continued to determine trends in species abundance. Active management of native species (e.g., planting, controlled burns), and control of non-natives will be needed to preserve biodiversity of the wetland.

Polymer Recovery from Automobile Shredder Residue: Separation Techniques and Analysis. RYAN BEAMS (Wheaton College Wheaton, IL 60187) BASSAM JODY (Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439)

Increasing costs of waste disposal combined with rising prices for virgin materials has caused recycling of discarded materials to become an important alternative. Obsolete automobiles are among the major sources of recyclable materials, contributing 14.5 million tons of steal from North America in 2003 alone [2], due to the high content of valuable metals and plastics. Recovery of the plastics after removal of the metals from the remaining automobile shredder residue (ASR) involves more complicated techniques for recovery and analysis. By using the polymers' characteristics, such as density and hydrophobicity, chemical separation techniques can be developed to create pure fractions of polymers. Acylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polycarbonate are among the target polymers for recovery. Separation conditions are tested in the laboratory and analyzed using spectroscopy and wet chemistry. Solution conditions are then tested on a large scale separation at the pilot plant on site. Successful separation and analysis has been demonstrated for a variety of ASR materials as well as electronics residue.

Preparation for Possible Terrorism Threats to Water and or Air: Emphasis on Acute and Short-Term Exposures. JERUSHA SPARKS (Southern University at New Orleans New Orleans, LA 70126) DR. MARGARET MACDONELL (Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439)

There are current standards regulating the public water and air supply. These standards consider lifetime exposures to specific chemicals or contaminants rather than acute or short-term exposures. Shorter exposure duration standards are needed in possible cases of terrorism in which higher concentrations of these contaminants can be tolerated in order to continue or restore usage of these supplies. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supplied a list of possible contaminants to be studied. Background information was initially collected for each contaminant studied this summer in order to determine threat, fate, the potential for interactions, detectability, and current standards and guidelines available through other organizations. For each contaminant studied, research about previous experiments performed was reviewed in order to determine relevant studies upon which to base the Provisional Advisory Levels (PALs). Sensitive populations and possible tolerant populations were discovered, noted, and taken into consideration as well. These studies were organized into a matrix for clarity and organizational purposes. Subsequently, an accurate PAL was derived for many of the contaminants undertaken. This portion is only a small part of the entire scope of the project.

The Distribution of Plant Species in Relation to Hydrologic Conditions at a Mitigation Wetland at Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois. ELIZABETH SNYDER (University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL 60612) DR. KIRK E. LAGORY (Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439)

Wetlands are valuable ecosystems, not only for plants and animals, but also for people throughout the world. For years, wetlands were destroyed because people did not see their value. Then, in 1990, the "no net loss" policy, which called for wetland conservation, was established in the U.S. This policy stated that for every wetland destroyed, a new one of equal size would have to be created to replace it. Three wetlands were destroyed at Argonne National Laboratory because of the construction of the Advanced Photon Source. In order to keep with the policy, Wetland R was created using topsoil from these destroyed wetlands. Since 1992, this wetland has been observed by scientists interested in the area's vegetation abundance and distribution. These same studies were carried out in the summer of 2005, along with a study of the most abundant species and their distribution in relation to the hydrology of the wetland. In order to determine plant cover, ten transect lines were established and 50 quadrat points were laid out, five per line. Plant cover was estimated visually and using the Braun-Blanquet index. A 0.25m2 frame was used to encapsulate each quadrat. Once vegetation was determined, a scientific symbol was given to each species, along with its wetland status, origin (native vs. non-native), and coefficient of conservatism. A Global Positioning System device was used to map the surface area of the water. Sixty four plant species were identified during this study: 51 native to the area and 13 non-native. Based on mean percent coverage, ten species were identified as the most abundant. The distribution of species was strongly influenced by the hydrologic condition, and location correlated well with the species' wetland indicator values. At the end of the study, Wetland R was completely dry due to drought conditions. Overall, Wetland R is a fully functioning wetland. Not many mitigation wetlands survive but this one has been succeeding due to proper monitoring and management. While it does contain non-native species, it is covered mostly with species native to the area. Continuing controlled burnings and herbicide applications will help ensure that non-native species do not take control of the site. The lack of water this year had little effect on the plant life, but how it may affect this study next year is unknown. Plant distribution based on hydrology should continue to be studied for this reason.