West Antarctic Ice Sheet may be on “the brink of change”


A project to map the Weddell Sea area of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet from the air has revealed that this largely unexplored region is potentially on the threshold of change.

"If the ocean water under an ice shelf warms, even by a few degrees Celsius, the ice shelf will melt much faster.  If it melts faster, it will thin and cause an acceleration in the flow of grounded glacial ice into the ocean.  This acceleration of glacial flow, when applied to the massive glaciers that drain the Antarctic ice sheet, can easily result in multiple meters of global sea level rise over timescales of hundreds to thousands of years," said Jeremy Fyke, glacier and sheet modeler at Los Alamos National Laboratory. (Full Story)






Researchers test theory of planets

Artist’s conception showing a young Sun-like star surrounded by a planet-forming disk of gas and dust.

Recent research by Jarrett Johnson and Hui Li of LANL’s Nuclear and Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology group suggests that the first planets in the universe formed well after the first generations of stars.

The scientists calculated the minimum metallicity that must be present in the dusty disks surrounding newborn stars in order for planets to take shape. (Full Story)



DOE hybrid cloud may be model for future

The Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration are creating a cloud computing environment that could be a model for other federal agencies.

An integrated project team with representatives from DOE and NNSA is developing the hybrid, community cloud, which builds on an infrastructure-as-a-service environment deployed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. (Full Story)

Shine to share in federal funding for Mo-99 development

Example of a myocardial profusion scan with a radio isotope tracer.  FSNM image.

Shine Medical Technologies and its partner, the Morgridge Institute for Research, will collaborate on a $20.6 million cooperative agreement to develop a new process for the production of molybdenum-99.

The project team, which includes collaborators at Phoenix Nuclear Labs, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Argonne National Laboratory, Savannah River National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory, is led by the Morgridge Institute. (Full Story)

Video: Cyber Security Defense Using HPC

"Adversaries in the cyber domain continue to escalate their use of more sophisticated attacks and associated detection countermeasures. As a result, the difficulty and complexity of finding such adversaries and their attacks increasingly challenges cyber defenders. Traditionally, high performance and parallel computing (HPC) has been a successful tool in tackling complex problems, particularly over large data sets. Yet it has only been recently that HPC has successfully impacted the cyber defense problem," said Alex Kent from Los Alamos National Laboratory. (Full Story)

Outstanding corporate volunteer programs to be announced






The 2012 nominees for the "Employee Volunteer Program of the Year (Large Size Business)" award are: Google, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Morgan Stanley, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, and UnitedHealth Group. (Full Story)

Town of Taos joins regional LANL coalition

The Taos Town Council voted unanimously April 24 to join the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities, giving the town representation on a board that works to address environmental and economic issues related to the Los Alamos National Laboratories. (Full Story) 

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Los Alamos, Sandia Recognize New Mexico Small Businesses for Innovation

Ten projects developed by New Mexico small businesses using technical expertise and assistance of Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories will be recognized at the 11^th Innovation Celebration….

The researchers from LANL and Sandia Labs who assisted the companies will receive a medal from the New Mexico Small Business Administration (NMSBA) (full story).

LANL wins six pollution prevention awards

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has congratulated its national laboratories and sites for achievements in environmental stewardship, awarding a total of 24 PollutionPrevention (P2) Awards for innovative initiatives across the enterprise.

The P2 Awards recognize performance in integrating environmental stewardship practices that helps to reduce risk, protect natural resources and enhance site operations (full story).

Also from the Monitor this week:

Labs recognize small businesses for innovation

Ten projects developed by New Mexico small businesses using technical expertise and assistance of Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories were recognized at the11th Innovation Celebration Tuesday sponsored by the New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program (full story).

Valveless Laser Processing

Los Alamos National Laboratory andY-12 have created a process to investigate the contents of high-value hermetically sealed containers without destroying them or compromising their integrity. We've designed and built and feel that the very complex systems that that involve sealed systems that have to last a very long time. As part of this surveillance or maintenance activity we need to take samples of what's inside of those devices to ensure things like corrosion aren't taking place (full story).

LAHS Student Earns Platinum Scholarship, 64 Also Gain Awards

LAHS student Scott Carlsten
(Courtesy Los Alamos Monitor)

Sixty-five students from seven Northern New Mexico counties are recipients of Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund scholarships, funded through more than $500,000 in donations from Los Alamos National Laboratory employees and the company that manages the Laboratory.

Los Alamos High School senior Scott Carlsten received the top award, the platinum scholarship, which provides $7,500 in financial assistance annually for four years (full story).

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World's glaciers 'out of balance’

The retreat of McCall Glacier in North Alaska. The left panel is 1958; the right panel is 2003.
 
Earth's glaciers are seriously out of balance with the global climate and are already on their way to losing almost 40% of their volume.
 
"When we look at the data, we can see that the glaciers are out of balance, meaning the climate has actually changed faster than the changes we've seen in ice area and volume," explained Sebastian Mernild from Los Alamos National Laboratory (Full Story)

Brain-scan program wins computing prize


Jordan Medlock describing his winning research project. LANL photo.
 
Manzano High School senior who taught a computer how to identify plaques in brain scans of mice for Alzheimer’s disease research won this year’s Supercomputing Challenge in Los Alamos.
 
The 22nd annual competition, sponsored mainly by Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, had more than 200 New Mexico elementary through high school students, who competed in teams of up to five, according to a lab statement. (Full Story)








Firefighers use new high-tech tool
 
Firefighting takes on a futuristic look. On tonight’s “Drought Watch” Byron Morton shows us a new firefighting technology being used at Los Alamos National Lab.
 
It’s called a “Sim-Table” and it uses an overhead projection system and a sandbox to simulate terrain, fire progression, fire mitigation variables, and an amazing array of fire response techniques. (Full Story)







Lab recognizes pollution prevention efforts

George Rael, LASO assistant manager, presents a P2 award to Lab Deputy Director Beth Sellers.  LANL photo.

Efforts to refurbish used gas containers, perform wildfire-related work in the winter, and recycle thousands of lead bricks were among projects winning awards at the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s annual P2 Awards.
 
Employee ideas allowed the Laboratory to save or avoid using more than 100,000 reams of paper, 3,000 chemical containers, 9,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, 50 million gallons of fuel, and 80 tons of metal.  (Full Story)




Fused genes tackle deadly Pierce’s disease in grapevines

A gene fusion research project led by a UC Davis plant scientist and collaborators at Los Alamos National Laboratory delivers a one-two punch to Pierce's disease, a deadly threat to California’s world-renowned wine industry. The study was published in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Full Story)

Heavy elements 'spark planet formation'
 
Usually, planets form in star systems with comparatively high concentrations of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, a new study has suggested.
 
Such heavier elements are necessary to form the dust grains and planetesimals that build planetary cores, according to the study, which was carried out by researchers Jarrett Johnson and Hui Li of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. (Full Story)




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Detecting nuclear terrorism

Robert Whalen, Decision Sciences: The leap forward came from — at the Los Alamos National Laboratory about five years ago, that if you look at the muons and you look at the deflection that related to whether there was nuclear material there or not (full story).

Los Alamos lab to produce new cancer agent

Using proton beams, a collaboration between Los Alamos, Brookhaven and Oak Ridge national laboratories is developing a plan for full-scale production and stable supply of Ac-225, which emits alpha radiation. Alpha particles are energetic enough to destroy cancer cells but are unlikely to move beyond a tightly controlled target region and destroy healthy cells, according to LANL (full story).

Fire info session sizzles

The Los Alamos National Laboratory’s fire simulation table was a big hit among attendees. A projector was used to produce topographical images on a walnut-shell sand table. The table allowed viewers to see how fast the fire spread, how and where.

Deputy Fire Chief Justin Grider said the Department will likely ask the lab to use the table to map out future fire responses (full story).

Watch the YouTube video:

Also from the Monitor this week:

Supercomputing challenge slated for next week

More than 200 New Mexico students and their teachers will convene at Los Alamos National Laboratory April 23 and 24 for judging and the awards ceremony in the 22nd annual New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge (full story).

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