28 Dec 2021

Fort Huachuca Ranges: A History and Analysis

Abstract: Fort Huachuca Environmental and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) sent funds to ERDC-CERL to develop a historic context that assists Fort Huachuca personnel in identifying the likely history and provenance of numerous historic range features located across Fort Huachuca's training lands. The historic context will be used by cultural resources personnel to evaluate and manage the resources appropriately. Various historic training range features (e.g., structures, fragments, and items left over from previous activities) are located across the ranges of Fort Huachuca, representing its long and storied history. To help identify and catalog these features, ERDC-CERL conducted a field survey of the training ranges in 2016 in or-der to photograph the historic range features. Forty-one historic range features were identified. Researchers conducted archival research, literature reviews, and image analysis of historic and current maps and photographs to identify the 41 historic range features and place them within a chronological context of Fort Huachuca's training ranges. The report concludes with guidance on how to identify and associate sites and features within the overall historic training range chronology and evaluate them appropriately for significance and National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility.

10 May 2021

The Effectiveness of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) as a Quantitative Tool for Environmental Characterization

Abstract: Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a rapid, low-cost analytical method with potential applications for quantitative analysis of soils for heavy metal contaminants found in military ranges. The Department of Defense (DoD), Army, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have mission requirements to acquire the ability to detect and identify chemicals of concern in the field. The quantitative potential of a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hand-held LIBS device and a classic laboratory bench-top LIBS system was examined by measuring heavy metals (antimony, tungsten, iron, lead, and zinc) in soils from six military ranges. To ensure the accuracy of the quantified results, we also examined the soil samples using other hand-held and bench-top analytical methods, to include Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). The effects of soil heterogeneity on quantitative analysis were reviewed with hand-held and bench-top systems and compared multivariate and univariate calibration algorithms for heavy metal quantification. In addition, the influence of cold temperatures on signal intensity and resulting concentration were examined to further assess the viability of this technology in cold environments. Overall, the results indicate that additional work should be performed to enhance the ability of LIBS as a reliable quantitative analytical tool.