LANL News Roundup For Week Of Sept. 19, 2022
Science: Brewing beer at the speed of sound
Brewing beer might be a novelty at Los Alamos, but the physics of materials is a longstanding specialty. So, a Laboratory research team developed the SoniView acoustic sensor system to offer brewers a unique solution to a long-standing problem. Read the full article here. Courtesy/LANL
LANL News:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) shares a compilation of news stories for the week of Sept. 19, 2022.
Celebrating 50 years of mission-essential research
For more than 50 years, the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center — the Laboratory’s linear accelerator Read More
Daily Postcard: Season For Rose Gardens Winds Down
Daily Postcard: The season for roses is winding down in a garden along Grand Canyon Drive in White Rock. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com Read More
Heinrich: Get Outside On Public Lands Day
By SEN. MARTIN HEINRICH
New Mexico
Today is National Public Lands Day, a great time to visit one of New Mexico’s incredible national parks, monuments, forests, and wilderness areas—most have waived their entrance fees to mark the occasion.
The outdoors has always been at the center of my life. When other kids were playing baseball, I was catching snapping turtles to keep as pets. After college, I served in AmeriCorps with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in New Mexico and worked on the effort to restore the Mexican wolf. Later, I became an outfitter guide, taking young people into the backcountry Read More
Savannah River Site Set To Decommission Building Used To Produce Space Program Fuel
An aerial view of the 235-F Facility at SRS. EM is set to decommission the building. Courtesy/DOE
DOE News:
AIKEN, S.C. — EM is slated to decommission a building at the Savannah River Site (SRS) containing residual plutonium once used to power deep space missions after workers finished deactivating the facility.
Blast resistant and windowless, the former material storage building known as Building 235-F has been inactive for more than 25 years. One section of the two-story concrete building, known as the Plutonium Fuel Form Facility, was used to make fuel spheres and pellets out of plutonium-238 Read More
New Mexico Tech Announces Hydrologic Center, Dedicates Deju University House
NMT News:
SOCORRO — Improving the understanding of water resources and the management of those resources is the aim of a new national hydrologic innovation center at New Mexico Tech.
The university launched the Hantush-Deju National Center for Hydrologic Innovation at an afternoon ceremony Fridday, at the Raul and Shari Deju University House, a new facility on campus that was officially opened at a morning dedication ceremony.
Named for alumnus and philanthropist Dr. Raul Deju and his wife Shari Deju, the Deju University House is a 5,200-square-foot facility located on the north side of Read More
Pajarito Astronomers Host Dark Night Star Party Tonight!
Photo of the Triangulum Galaxy. Photo by Jeremy Best
Pajarito Astronomers News:
Los Alamos County Parks, Recreation and Open Space Divisions have partnered up with the Pajarito Astronomers for the Dark Night program.
Anyone with an interest in star gazing and the chance to look through a telescope is invited to come out to Spirio Soccer Fields tonight, Sept. 24 at Overlook Park in White Rock.
Arrive at nightfall for viewing, or around sunset for setting up. Jupiter and Saturn will be visible most of the night as well as lots of lovely stars, star clusters, and deep space objects. If arriving at Read More
Daily Postcard: Grouse Spotted Recently In Valles Caldera
Daily Postcard: A large Dusky Grouse is spotted recently at the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Courtesy/VCNPFloodplain Assessment For LANL Gate Available For Public Review, Comment
LANL News:
The Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration’s (DOE/NNSA) Los Alamos Field Office has issued a Floodplain Assessment for the Technical Area 72 Outdoor Live Fire Range Gate Installation Project for a 15-day public review and comment period beginning with publication of this notice.
DOE/NNSA is proposing new construction in lower Sandia Canyon at TA-72 at the Outdoor Live Fire Range facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The proposed upgrades are intended to improve range safety.
The project activities within the 100-year floodplain include: Read More
Scenes From NMED Los Alamos Oversite Office Community Open House
The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) Department of Energy (DOE) Oversight Bureau invited members of the public to visit the NMED Los Alamos Oversight Section Office Friday at 1183 Diamond Dr., Suite B. The staff are giving presentations and explaining what the environmental scientists do to monitor possible hazards in Los Alamos. Here, Site Manager Steve Yanicak shows off equipment used to measure gamma radiation. The team works closely with LANL, Yanicak said. NMED’s DOE Oversight Bureau closely monitors the environment within and around U.S. DOE facilities in New Mexico to confirm Read More
Environment Department Calls For Water Stories In Celebration Of 50th Anniversary Of Clean Water Act
NMED News:
SANTA FE — In 1972, growing public awareness of the importance of water quality led to sweeping amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
The amended law became known as the Clean Water Act. This Act established a goal of restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters for the use and benefit of every American. These goals have helped achieve a dramatic decrease in the levels of pollution in waters of New Mexico.
In October, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED)’s Surface Water Quality Bureau (SWQB) will host a Read More
Daily Postcard: Bull Elk At Valles Caldera National Preserve
Daily Postcard: A bull elk spotted recently at the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Adult male elk, referred to as bulls, attain their largest size at 7 years old, averaging 5 feet tall at the shoulders and weighing 700 to 1,100 pounds. Bull elk are the second largest members of the deer family (moose are the largest). Antler growth is in preparation for the elk mating season, which primarily occurs in September and October. Antlers can weigh up to 40 pounds per set. Velvet, which covers antlers during the growth phase, carries blood to the growing bone tissue. During the summer months, antlers Read More
Fort Selden Historic Site: ‘Ghosts Of The Past’ Tours Oct. 8
Scene from ‘Ghosts of the Past’ at Fort Selden Historic Site. Courtesy/NMDCA
NMDCA News:
Join Fort Selden Historic Site for their “Ghosts of the Past” moonlit tours, a new spin on their annual fall event from 4-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8.
This year’s theme is “Death in New Mexico.” Tours will be offered every 10 minutes starting at 6 p.m. Tickets are $5, and you can purchase them ahead of time here.
There also will be music, food and fun ahead of the tours — and a 30-minute talk at 4:30 p.m. on Día de los Muertos, Halloween, and New Mexico.
Be sure to dress warmly!
“Ghosts of the Past”, is a series of timed moonlit Read More
Council Greenlights Municipal-Wide Compost Program
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
By unanimously approving municipal-wide composting, Los Alamos County Council is optimistic this will be a win for all – environmentally and economically.
During the Sept. 6 regular council meeting, a motion was passed to direct the County Manager to implement a food composting system in Bayo Canyon that will generate compost soil. Drop-off sites at the Eco Station and the Overlook Collection Center will be made available to residents while curbside pickup will be offered to businesses. Council further moved that the program Read More
SFNF Hiring Students, Graduates In Forestry & Timber
SFNF News:
SANTA FE — The Forest Service is hiring student and recent graduate positions across the nation.
Jobs are available in a variety of fields, including forestry, timber and wildland fire management. The Southwest Region, which includes the 11 national forests in Arizona and New Mexico, has 66 positions available for students and recent graduates in forestry, timber and natural resources.
More than 800 positions are available nationwide.
Applications are only accepted through www.usajobs.gov through Sept. 28. Review the job announcement carefully for deadlines and required Read More
Homer & Edna Resting Peacefully In Ashley Pond
Beloved local geese Homer and Edna are spotted resting peacefully together on some small rocks under the warm sunshine recently in Ashley Pond. Photo by Amy Birnbaum Read More
BLM Hosts Public Meetings For Development Of Shooting Ranges In Santa Fe County
BLM News:
TAOS — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Taos Field Office invites the public to attend upcoming public meetings for the proposed recreational target shootings ranges on public lands located within Santa Fe County.
Aug. 25, the BLM published a Federal Register notice announcing its intent to amend the Taos Resource Management Plan to consider the development of the recreational target shooting ranges on public lands in the Santa Fe area. The proposal aims to reduce urban interface and user conflicts adjacent to private lands and public trails.
The Federal Register notice also Read More
View Of Cloudy Sunrise Over Sangre De Cristos
Early morning view of a cloudy sunrise Wednesday over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains after a stormy night as seen from a residence in White Rock. Photo by Nancy Ann Hibbs Read More
Bandelier To Waive Entrance Fees Saturday Sept. 24
Upper Frijoles Canyon. Courtesy/NPS
NPS News:
Saturday, Sept. 24 is an entrance fee free day for everyone providing no cost access to all of America’s National Park Service (NPS) sites including Bandelier National Monument in celebration of National Public Lands Day (NPLD).
NPLD was established in 1994 and is traditionally known as the nation’s largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands. It celebrates the connection between people and green space in their community, inspires environmental stewardship, and encourages use of open space for education, recreation, and health Read More
Daily Postcard: Giant Skeleton Spotted On Local Lawn
Daily Postcard: Signs of Halloween are popping up around Los Alamos including this giant skeleton on the lawn of a residence Wednesday on La Poloma Drive in White Rock. Photo by Tom Hill Read More
N3B Awards Subcontracts To Three Small Businesses To Support Environmental Remediation At Los Alamos
A Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) employee collects a soil sample for analysis of potential contaminants associated with historical operations at LANL. N3B recently awarded $120 million in subcontracts for its work investigating and, as necessary, remediating potentially contaminated sites in canyon watersheds around LANL. Courtesy/DOE
DOE News:
As part of its goal to increase small business involvement in the legacy cleanup mission, EM Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) contractor Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) recently awarded subcontracts to three small Read More
