The cost of meeting increased cooling-water demands for CO2 capture and storage utilizing non-traditional waters from geologic saline formations

Deep (> ～800 m) saline water-bearing formations in the United States have substantial pore volume that is targeted for storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and the associated saline water can be extracted to increase CO₂ storage efficiency, manage pressure build up, and create a new water source that, once treated, can be used for power-plant cooling or other purposes. Extraction, treatment and disposal costs of saline formation water to meet added water demands from CO₂ capture and storage (CCS) are discussed. This underutilized water source may be important in meeting new water demand associated with CCS. For a representative natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) power plant, simultaneous extraction of brine from the storage formation could provide enough water to meet all CCS-related cooling demands for 177 out of the 185 (96 %) saline formations analyzed in this study. Calculated total cost of water extraction, treatment and disposal is less than 4.00 US Dollars (USD) m^?3 for 93 % of the 185 formations considered. In 90 % of 185 formations, treated water costs are less than 10.00 USD tonne^?1 of CO₂ injected. On average, this represents approximately 6 % of the total CO₂ capture and injection costs for the NGCC scenario.     

The deep geothermal potential of the Berlin area

In this study, we model the geothermal potential of deep geological formations located in the Berlin region in Germany. Berlin is situated in a sedimentary geological setting (northeastern German basin), comprising low-enthalpic aquifers at horizons down to 4–5 km depth. In the Berlin region, the temperature increases almost linearly with depth by about 30 K per kilometer, thus allowing for direct heating from deep aquifer reservoirs in principle. Our model incorporates eight major sedimentary units (Jurassic, Keuper, Muschelkalk, Upper/Middle/Lower Buntsandstein, Zechstein Salt and Sedimentary Rotliegend). Owing to lack of available petro-physical rock data for the Berlin region, we have evaluated literature data for the larger northeastern German basin to develop a thermodynamic field model which regards depth-corrected equations of state within statistical intervals of confidence. Integration over the thicknesses of the respective structural units yields their “heat in place”—energy densities associated with the pore fluid and the rock matrix under local conditions in Joule per unit area at the surface. The model predicts that aquifers in the Middle Buntsandstein and in the Sedimentary Rotliegend may well exhibit energy densities about 10 GJ m^?2 for the pore fluids and 20 GJ m^?2 to 40 GJ m^?2 for the rock matrices on average. Referring these figures to the city area of Berlin (about 892 km²), a significant hydrothermal potential results, which however remained undeveloped until today for the reason of present development risks. The model accounts for these risks through statistical intervals of confidence which are in the order of ±60 to ±80 % of the trend figures. To minimize these uncertainties, scientific field explorations were required in order to assess the petro-physical aquifer properties locally.     

Organic sedimentary deposits in Titan’s dry lakebeds: Probable evaporite

We report the discovery of organic sedimentary deposits at the bottom of dry lakebeds near Titan’s north pole in observations from the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS). We show evidence that the deposits are evaporitic, making Titan just the third known planetary body with evaporitic processes after Earth and Mars, and is the first that uses a solvent other than water.     

Electron transport and precipitation at Mercury during the MESSENGER flybys: Implications for electron-stimulated desorption

To examine electron transport, energization, and precipitation in Mercury's magnetosphere, a hybrid simulation study has been carried out that follows electron trajectories within the global magnetospheric electric and magnetic field configuration of Mercury. We report analysis for two solar-wind parameter conditions corresponding to the first two MESSENGER Mercury flybys on January 14, 2008, and October 6, 2008, which occurred for similar solar wind speed and density but contrasting interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) directions. During the first flyby the IMF had a northward component, while during the second flyby the IMF was southward. Electron trajectories are traced in the fields of global hybrid simulations for the two flybys. Some solar wind electrons follow complex trajectories at or near where dayside reconnection occurs and enter the magnetosphere at these locations. The entry locations depend on the IMF orientation (north or south). As the electrons move through the entry regions they can be energized as they execute non-adiabatic (demagnetized) motion. Some electrons become magnetically trapped and drift around the planet with energies on the order of 1–10 keV. The highest energy of electrons anywhere in the magnetosphere is about 25 keV, consistent with the absence of high-energy (>35 keV) electrons observed during either MESSENGER flyby. Once within the magnetosphere, a fraction of the electrons precipitates at the planetary surface with fluxes on the order of 10⁹ cm⁻² s⁻¹ and with energies of hundreds of eV. This finding has important implications for the viability of electron-stimulated desorption (ESD) as a mechanism for contributing to the formation of the exosphere and heavy ion cloud around Mercury. From laboratory estimates of ESD ion yields, a calculated ion production rate due to ESD at Mercury is found to be on par with ion sputtering yields.     

Support Vector Machine for Spatial Variation

Large, multivariate geographic datasets have been used to characterize geographic space with the help of spatial data mining tools. In our study, we explore the sufficiency of the Support Vector Machine (SVM), a popular machine‐learning technique for unsupervised classification and clustering, to help recognize hidden patterns in a college admissions dataset. Our college admissions dataset holds over 10,000 students applying to an undisclosed university during one undisclosed year. Students are qualified almost exclusively by their standardized test scores and school records, and a known admissions decision is rendered based on these criteria. Given that the university has a number of political, social and geographic econometric factors in its admissions decisions, we use SVM to find implicit spatial patterns that may favor students from certain geographic regions. We first explore the characteristics of the applicants in the college admissions case study. Next, we explain the SVM technique and our unique ‘threshold line’ methodology for both discrete (regional) and continuous (k‐neighbors) space. We then analyze the results of the regional and k‐neighbor tests in order to respond to the methodological and geographic research questions.     

晚古生代冈瓦纳的演化长逾13500 km的基墨利超级地体的裂离及其向亚洲的漂移

The Cimmerian terrane forms an almost unbroken chain stretching >13,500 km, from central southern Europe to western Indonesia, via SE Europe, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Tibet, SW China and Myanmar. Ar-guably, it is Earth’s most spectacular example of a “sliver” terrane, dwarfing in size more recently devel-oped examples, for instance the Palawan Block in the western Philippines, and the Lord Howe Rise in the Tasman Sea. The presentation will first outline the in-triguing geological features associated with this unique tectonic entity. Following that, recently obtained results following paleomagnetic investigations of two lower Permian rift-related basalt suites will be summarized (Abor Volcanics in northeastern India and Woniusi Ba-salts in Yunnan, China). The two studies are part of a larger programme of ongoing research aimed at deducing (I) the geodynamic configuration that generated the un-usual rifting system, and (II) exactly how Cimmeria fit-ted against Gondwana prior to its dispersal in the Early Permian. The critical unit is Baoshan, which we fit against Gondwana within a narrow longitudinal belt close to where northern India and northwestern Australia were once in close proximity (Fig. 1). Furthermore, we suggest that Sibumasu lay to directly the east, offshore of Australia; Qiangtang and Lhasa almost certainly sat to the west (off northern Greater India-SE Arabia), but we are uncertain as to their exact configuration. Our findings will be compared with several rather different models that have been published in recent years. The new pa-leomagnetic constraint highlights the flexibility authors currently have in reconstructing the region, principally because of the overall lack of similar high-quality data from the various blocks. We explain how new data could resolve these ambiguities, thereby offering more robust explanations for eastern Gondwana’s late Paleozoic de-velopment.     

When green is White: The cultural politics of race,nature and social exclusion in a Los Angeles urban national park

Scholars have attributed park (non)use, especially ethno-racially differentiated (non)use, to various factors, including socio-cultural (e.g. poverty, cultural preferences, etc.) and socio-spatial determinants (e.g. travel distance, park features, etc.). But new geographic research is proposing alternative explanations for park (non)use, employing a ‘cultural politics’ theoretical lens. The cultural politics frame offers fresh insights into how practices of socio-ecological exclusion and attachment in parks may be undergirded by political struggles over the making and ordering of racialized identities. Challenging partial and essentialist explanations from leisure research, some cultural politics scholars have recently argued that ethno-racial formations, cultural histories of park-making (e.g. segregated park systems), and land-use systems (e.g. zoning and property taxes) can operate to circumscribe park access and use for some people of color. Using the cultural politics frame, this paper documents the ethno-racial and nativist barriers Latino focus group participants faced in accessing and using some Los Angeles parks. Participants reported feeling ‘out of place’, ‘unwelcome’ or excluded from these parks. They identified the predominantly White clientele of parks; the ethno-racial profile of park-adjacent neighborhoods; a lack of Spanish-language signs; fears of persecution; and direct experiences of discrimination as exclusionary factors. These findings have implications for future research and for park planning and management.     

Evidence for Holocene Aeolian Activity at the Close of the Middle Bronze Age in the Eastern Carpathian Basin: Geoarchaeological Results from the Mureş River Valley,Romania

While extensive Pleistocene loess deposits have been identified across Eurasia, Holocene age loess (typically nonglaciogenic) is rarely recognized. We explore possible loess deposits in the Mureş River Valley of western Romania, providing a regional signal of increased aridity during the mid‐late Holocene. This proposed aridity may be responsible for the abandonment of Middle Bronze Age tell settlements along the major drainages of the eastern Carpathian Basin (Pannonian plain). This hypothesis centers on a proposed aeolian deposit (the “Pecica deposit”), a ca. 50–80 cm thick, relatively homogeneous, gray layer blanketing the top of the Bronze Age tell of Pecica—Şanţul Mare. Comparing the morphological, geochemical, and physical characteristics of this specific tell deposit with two representative profiles near the site containing glaciogenic calcareous loess and potential Holocene loess deposits developed in Chernozems, we find significant similarities to support this hypothesis. We then review various forms of proxy data published from elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe suggesting a warming trend during this period. The temporal placement of the Pecica deposit is bracketed using diagnostic artifacts, radiocarbon dates, and the degree of soil development, suggesting a period of increased aridity likely occurring soon after the 17th century B.C.     

Emerging Contaminants at a Closed and an Operating Landfill in Oklahoma

Landfills are the final depositories for a wide range of solid waste from both residential and commercial sources, and therefore have the potential to produce leachate containing many organic compounds found in consumer products such as pharmaceuticals, plasticizers, disinfectants, cleaning agents, fire retardants, flavorings, and preservatives, known as emerging contaminants (ECs). Landfill leachate was sampled from landfill cells of three different age ranges from two landfills in Central Oklahoma. Samples were collected from an old cell containing solid waste greater than 25 years old, an intermediate age cell with solid waste between 16 and 3 years old, and operating cell with solid waste less than 5 years old to investigate the chemical variability and persistence of selected ECs in landfill leachate of differing age sources. Twenty‐eight of 69 analyzed ECs were detected in one or more samples from the three leachate sources. Detected ECs ranged in concentration from 0.11 to 114 μg/L and included 4 fecal and plant sterols, 13 household\industrial, 7 hydrocarbon, and 4 pesticide compounds. Four ECs were solely detected in the oldest leachate sample, two ECs were solely detected in the intermediate leachate sample, and no ECs were solely detected in the youngest leachate sample. Eleven ECs were commonly detected in all three leachate samples and are an indication of the contents of solid waste deposited over several decades and the relative resistance of some ECs to natural attenuation processes in and near landfills.