Environment

WIPP Update: Ground Control Review Underway Following Rock Fall

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Courtesy/WIPP

WIPP News:

Salt rock debris was discovered by ground control crews Tuesday, Sept. 27 during routine monitoring and inspections of the Panel 4 entrance within the WIPP underground.

Panel 4, one of the most southern portions of WIPP, was closed in 2010 and consists of seven disposal rooms filled with transuranic (TRU) waste. No WIPP personnel were present at the time of the salt rock fall, as the area had already been under restricted access – requiring management approval to access – since March 2016.

Recently, access was more strictly prohibited – no personnel entry allowed – since Read More

Valles Caldera National Preserve Burns Planned

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Firefighter ignites prescribed burn at VCNP with a driptorch. Courtesy/NPS

VCNP News:

JEMEZ SPRINGS – Valles Caldera National Preserve is planning to implement prescribed burn projects from early October through the end of November, based on suitable weather and fuel conditions.

The prescribed burn will take place within an approximately 1,800-acre project area in the Banco Bonito district of the preserve – north of N.M. 4 near mile marker 30. The burn operations will be completed in phases over a total of 8-10 days and are not expected to cause road closures or disrupt visitor activities Read More

Celebrate World Archaeology Day Oct. 15

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Pots and bowl found at 17th-century archaeology sites in Northern New Mexico from Museum of Indian Arts and Culture collections. Photo by Blair Clark, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
 
CNMA News:
 
SANTA FE ― A celebration of World Archaeology Day is Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Center for New Mexico Archaeology, 7 Old Cochiti Road in Santa Fe.
 
Join the staff of The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology and the Office of Archaeological Studies 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the annual celebration. This event celebrates 12,000 years of
Read More

SFNF Field Trip In Los Alamos Area Oct. 15

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SFNF News:
 
The Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) is revising its Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan), which guides management for all resources throughout the forest for the next 10 to 15 years.
This Fall there will be a series of Forest led field trips designed to provide opportunities for you to see resources on the forest, have conversations with SFNF specialists, and begin discussions with us and each other about what should be in the Forest Plan.
 
The idea for field trips came from public meetings held in spring 2014 and YOUR
Read More

Takeaways From Regional Development Summit

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Department Secretary Celina Bussey of the New M exico Department of Workforce Solutions and Alan Webber, owner of One New Mexico, were the keynote speakers for the Sept. 28 Regional Economic Development Initiative’s 2016 summit. By Roger Snodgrass/ladailypost.com

Regina Wheeler, center, of Positive Energy Solar and Steve Buelow, ditector of the New Mexico Consortium participate in a panel on green energy during the Summit. Photo by Roger Snodgrass/ladailypost.com

 

By ROGER SNODGRASS
Los Alamos Daily Post

Secretary Celina Bussey of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions Read More

Valles Caldera Geology Field Trip With Fraser And Cathy Goff Oct. 9

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Geologist Fraser Goff, who wrote the book on Valles’ geology, is leading a trip Oct. 9 to the Valles Caldera with his wife Cathy Goff. Courtesy photo
 
PEEC News:
 
Explore six different areas of the geothermal springs in the Valles Caldera Sunday, Oct. 9 with geologists Fraser and Cathy Goff. This is an opportunity to learn about the volcanology of the preserve and see little-known geothermal springs with the person who literally wrote the book on the Valles’ geology.
 
The group will start at the Valles Caldera Visitor Center, drive through the northeastern valley
Read More

Construction Of World’s Most Sensitive Dark Matter Detector Moves Forward

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Tomasz Biesiadzinski, left, and Jeremy Mock install a mini version of the future LZ dark matter detector at a test stand at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The white container is a prototype of the detector’s core, also known as a time projection chamber (TPC). For the dark matter hunt, LZ’s TPC will be filled with liquid xenon. Courtesy/ SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

LBNL News:

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reports that the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ), a next-generation dark matter detector that will be at least 100 times more sensitive than its predecessor, has cleared another Read More

New Mexico Delegation Supports Navajo Nation’s Request For Disaster Declaration

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NM CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― In a letter to the President of the United States, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce, Ben Ray Luján and Michelle Lujan Grisham expressed support for Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye’s request for a major disaster declaration in response to August flooding that occurred on the Navajo Nation in Shiprock.
 
“This rainstorm caused severe flooding and prompted evacuation of the primary flood area in Shiprock where the flood waters displaced boulders, trees, fences, and other
Read More

PEEC Provides Fishing Adventure At Fenton Oct. 8

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Casey Harthorn teaching the next generation how to fish. Courtesy photo
 
PEEC News:
 
Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) is providing a fishing clinic for youth and families 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 8 at Fenton Lake.
 
For those who want to learn how to fish, improve their skills, or want to know more about local aquatic ecosystems, this is an excellent opportunity. This fishing adventure will include lessons on knot tying, casting, fish biology, macro-invertebrates, fish prints, baits and lures.
 
Fishing expert, Casey
Read More

How B Reactor Worked And Its Mysterious Failure

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Physicist Enrico Fermi. Courtesy/AHC

ATOMIC HERITAGE FOUNDATION News:

On Sept. 26, 1944, the B Reactor, the world’s first full-scale plutonium reactor, started up at Hanford. The next day, it mysteriously shut down. “The reactor went dead, just plain dead! Everybody stood around and stared,” physicist Leona Woods Marshall recalled.

After working all night, scientists led by Enrico Fermi calculated that the problem was being caused by Xenon, an element produced during the nuclear reaction. Physicist John Wheeler had warned that Xenon and similar elements, which absorb Read More