[en] Environmental cleanup and restoration of hazardous waste sites are major activities at federal facilities around the US. Geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing technologies are very useful computer tools to aid in site characterization, monitoring, assessment, and remediation efforts. Results from applying three technologies are presented to demonstrate examples of site characterization and environmental assessment for a federal facility. The first technology involves the development and use of GIS within the comprehensive Oak Ridge Environmental Information System (OREIS) to integrate facility data, terrain models, aerial and satellite imagery, demographics, waste area information, and geographic data bases. The second technology presents 3-D subsurface analyses and displays of groundwater and contaminant measurements within waste areas. In the third application, aerial survey information is being used to characterize land cover and vegetative patterns, detect change, and study areas of previous waste activities and possible transport pathways. These computer technologies are required to manage, analyze, and display the large amounts of environmental and geographic data that must be handled in carrying out effective environmental restoration

[en] A Geographic Information System (GIS) provides the ability to manage and analyze all types of geographic and environmental information. It performs these functions by providing the tools necessary to capture, access, analyze, and display spatially referenced information in graphic and tabular form. Typical data elements that can be visualized in a map might include roads, buildings, topography, streams, waste areas, monitoring wells, groundwater measurements, soil sample results, landcover, and demography. The intent of this document is to provide data management and quality assurance (QA) guidelines that will aid implementors and users of GIS technology and data bases. These guidelines should be useful in all, phases of GIS activities, including the following: (1) project planning, (2) data collection and generation, (3) data maintenance and management, (4) QA and standards, (5) project implementation, (6) spatial analysis and data interpretation, (7) data transformation and exchange, and (8) output and reporting. The daily use of desktop GIS technologies within Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. (Energy Systems), is a relatively new phenomenon, but usage is increasing rapidly. Large volumes of GIS-related data are now being collected and analyzed for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) and its facilities. It is very important to establish and follow good data management practices for GIS. In the absence of such practices, data-related problems will overwhelm users for many years. In comparison with traditional data processing and software life-cycle management, there is limited information on GIS QA techniques, data standards and structures, configuration control, and documentation practices. This lack of information partially results from the newness of the technology and the complexity of spatial information and geographic analysis techniques as compared to typical tabular data management

[en] The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Remedial Action Program (RAP) was established in FY 1985 to apply corrective measures at areas contaminated with radioactive and/or hazardous chemical wastes. To achieve this goal, numerous and varied studies are being conducted to characterize the waste disposal sites. Environmental data collected in support of other programs at ORNL are also of use to RAP. These studies are generating a voluminous amount of data on a scale unprecedented for ORNL. A computerized Data and Information Management System (DIMS) was developed for RAP to (1) provide a centralized repository for data pertinent to RAP and (2) provide support for the investigations and assessments leading to the long-term remediation of contaminated facilities and sites. 10 refs., 25 figs., 16 tabs

[en] The data base of the Oak Ridge Environmental Information System (OREIS) contains data of known quality that can be accessed by OREIS users. OREIS meets data management/access requirements for environmental data as specified in the Federal Facility Agreement for the Oak Ridge Reservation and the State Oversight Agreement between the State of Tennessee and the Department of Energy. The types of environmental data within OREIS include measurement data from the following environmental disciplines: groundwater, surface water, sediment, soils, air, and biota. In addition to measurement data, the OREIS data base contains extensive descriptive and qualifier metadata to help define data quality and to enable end users to analyze the appropriateness of data for their purposes. Another important aspect of measurement data is their spatial context; OREIS maintains a comprehensive library of geographic data and tools to analyze and display spatial relationships of the data. As of November 1993, the OREIS data base consists of approximately 100,000 records associated with three environmental restoration projects along with coordinate data and background map data. The data base also contains 2,700 supporting codes and other reference data records. Geographic data include the S-16A base map for the Oak Ridge Reservation, boundaries for operable units, and high-resolution raster images for each of the sites

[en] The ORNL Remedial Action Program (RAP) was established in 1985 in response to state and federal regulations mandating corrective actions at contaminated sites. To achieve this goal, numerous and varied studies are being conducted to characterize the type and extent of contamination. Environmental data collected in support of other programs at ORNL are also of use to RAP. Collectively, these studies are generating a voluminous amount of data. A computerized Data and Information Management System (DIMS) was developed for RAP to (1) provide a centralized repository for data pertinent to RAP and (2) provide support for the investigations and assessments leading to the long-term remediation of contaminated facilities and sites. The current DIMS and its role in supporting RAP during 1988 are described. The DIMS consists of three components: (1) the Numeric Data Base, (2) the Bibliographic Data Base, and (3) the Records Control Data Base. This report addresses all three data bases, but focuses on a description of the contents of the Numeric Data Base. The types of numeric data currently available are summarized in the tables and figures. More detailed information on the contents of the RAP Numeric Data Base has been assembled in a menu-driven format on IBM PC diskettes, which are available upon request. 6 refs

[en] A Remedial Action Program (RAP) was established in FY 1985 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to provide corrective measures at areas contaminated with radioactive and/or hazardous chemical wastes. To achieve this goal, numerous and varied studies are being conducted to characterize the waste disposal sites. Environmental data collected in support of other programs at ORNL are also of use to RAP. Collectively, these studies are generating a voluminous amount of data on a scale unprecedented for ORNL. A computerized Data and Information Management System (DIMS) was developed to (1) provide a centralized repository for data pertinent to RAP and (2) provide support for the investigations and assessments leading to the long-term remediation of contaminated sites and facilities. The current DIMS and its role in supporting RAP are described. The DIMS consists of three components: (1) the Bibliographic Data Base, (2) the Records Control Data Base, and (3) the Numeric Data Base. This paper/poster emphasizes the Numeric Data Base, including its development and organization, and also summarizes the status of other activities associated with management and use of such data (i.e., bibliographic information, records control, geographic information, and quality assurance). The types of data currently available have been summarized, and a synopsis of the contents of the RAP numeric data base has been compiled in a menu-driven program available on PC diskettes. The synopsis will be demonstrated at the conference

[en] This report documents key aspects of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) data quality assurance program as it existed in 2008. The performance of ACRF instruments, sites, and data systems is measured in terms of the availability, usability, and accessibility of the data to a user. First, the data must be available to users; that is, the data must be collected by instrument systems, processed, and delivered to a central repository in a timely manner. Second, the data must be usable; that is, the data must be inspected and deemed of sufficient quality for scientific research purposes, and data users must be able to readily tell where there are known problems in the data. Finally, the data must be accessible; that is, data users must be able to easily find, obtain, and work with the data from the central repository. The processes described in this report include instrument deployment and calibration; instrument and facility maintenance; data collection and processing infrastructure; data stream inspection and assessment; the roles of value-added data processing and field campaigns in specifying data quality and characterizing the basic measurement; data archival, display, and distribution; data stream reprocessing; and engineering and operations management processes and procedures. Future directions in ACRF data quality assurance also are presented