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July/August 2002 S&TR

July/August
2002

The Laboratory in the News

Integration Is Key to Understanding Climate Change
Commentary by C. K. Chou

The Outlook Is for Warming, with Measurable Local Effects
Livermore climate models are zeroing in on the effects of human activities on global climate, representing them in simulations with the finest resolution ever.

How Metals Fail
Experiments are guiding the development of codes that predict how metals react to high explosives.

Converting Data to Decisions
A new statistical method executed on supercomputers is bridging the gap between complex data and usable information.

Knowing the Enemy, Anticipating the Threat
The Laboratory’s charter to counter the nuclear threat has evolved over the years and now includes intelligence analysis and technology to understand and counter biological and chemical threats.

Patents and Awards

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How to view PDF files // View the Entire July/August 2002 Issue in PDF (14.4MB)

The Outlook Is for Warming, with Measurable Local Effects
(pdf file, 3MB)
Livermore scientists are examining some of the causes of global climate change and its localized effects. One team has used sophisticated climate models to separate the effects of recent major volcanic eruptions and El Niños from other causes of climate change. These scientists identified the fingerprints of explosive volcanoes and El Niño ocean warming and factored them out of mean global climate data for 1979 to 1999. The research results indicate that cooling caused by major eruptions in Mexico and the Philippines in 1982 and 1991, respectively, has masked some of the warming brought about by human activities. At the same time, another team has brought the highest resolution yet to climate modeling, revealing regional effects accurately for the first time. The team performed global and local simulations using models with resolutions of 75 and even 50 kilometers. The former state of the art used 300-kilometer-resolution models.

How Metals Fail
(pdf file, 3MB)
The Laboratory’s national security missions require an understanding of how metals respond to the sudden shock waves and subsequent high-strain-rate deformations caused by high explosives. However, the current ability to predict how and when metals will dynamically fail is inadequate. Computational models need to reflect in detail how cracks form, evolve, and lead to the failure of a part. Such models are required for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASCI) program. The results of a wide range of Livermore experiments are supporting the construction of advanced computer models of how metals crack and ultimately fail. As part of ASCI, the new models will help to assure nuclear weapon safety and reliability. The models will also advance nonnuclear military applications, such as shaped charges and armor-defeating projectiles.

Converting data to Decisions (pdf file, 4.6MB)
A new statistical method executed on supercomputers is bridging the gap between complex data and usable information.

Knowing the Enemy, Anticipating the Threat (pdf file, 2.5MB)
The Laboratory’s charter to counter the nuclear threat has evolved over the years and now includes intelligence analysis and technology to understand and counter biological and chemical threats.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Operated by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy

UCRL-52000-02-7/8 | July 12, 2002