ALBERT

Description: Carbonate reservoirs are highly heterogeneous. During waterflooding stage, the channeling phenomenon of displacing fluid in high-permeability layers easily leads to early water breakthrough and high water-cut with low recovery rate. To quantitatively characterize the inter-well connectivity parameters (including conductivity and connected volume), we developed an inter-well connectivity model based on the principle of inter-well connectivity and the geological data and development performance of carbonate reservoirs. Thus, the planar water injection allocation factors and water injection utilization rate of different layers can be obtained. In addition, when the proposed model is integrated with automatic history matching method and production optimization algorithm, the real-time oil and water production can be optimized and predicted. Field application demonstrates that adjusting injection parameters based on the model outputs results in a 1.5% increase in annual oil production, which offers significant guidance for the efficient development of similar oil reservoirs. In this study, the connectivity method was applied to multi-layer real reservoirs for the first time, and the injection and production volume of injection-production wells were repeatedly updated based on multiple iterations of water injection efficiency. The correctness of the method was verified by conceptual calculations and then applied to real reservoirs. So that the oil field can increase production in a short time, and has good application value.

Description: The application of accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dating in forensics is made possible by the use of the large excursion of the 14C concentration in the post-WWII terrestrial atmosphere due to nuclear testing as a reference curve for data calibration. By this approach high-precision analyses are possible on samples younger than ∼70 years. Nevertheless, the routine, widespread application of the method in the practice of forensics still appears to be limited by different issues due to possible complex interpretation of the results. We present the results of an intercomparison exercise carried out in the framework of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) CRP-Coordinated Research Project between three AMS laboratories in Italy, Hungary, and Switzerland. Bone and ivory samples were selected with ages spanning from background (〉50 ka) to 2018. The results obtained allow us to assess the high degree of reproducibility of the results and the remarkable consistency of the experimental determinations.

Description: This paper analyzes the small cosmopolitan and stability of the industrial coupling symbiotic network of eco-industrial parks of oil and gas resource-based cities. Taking Daqing A Ecological Industrial Park as an example, we constructed the characteristic index system and calculated the topological parameters such as the agglomeration coefficient and the average shortest path length of the industrial coupling symbiotic network. Based on the complex network theory we analyzed the characteristics of the scaled world, constructed the adjacency matrix of material and information transfers between enterprises, drew the network topology diagram. We simulated the system analysis and analyzed the stability of the industrial coupling symbiotic network of the eco-industrial park using the network efficiency and node load and maximum connected subgraph. The analysis results are as follows: the small world degree δ of Daqing A Eco-industrial Park is 0.891, which indicates that the industrial coupled symbiotic network has strong small world characteristics; the average path is 1.268, and the agglomeration coefficient is 0.631. The probability of edge connection between two nodes in a symbiotic network is 63.1%, which has a relatively high degree of aggregation, indicating that energy and material exchanges are frequent among all enterprises in the network, the degree of network aggregation is high, and the dependence between nodes is high; when the tolerance parameter is 0 to 0.3, the network efficiency and the maximum connected subgraphs show a sharp change trend, indicating that the topology of the industrial coupling symbiotic network of the eco-industrial park changes drastically when the network is subjected to deliberate attacks. It is easy to cause the breakage of material flow and energy flow in the industrial park, which leads to the decline of the stability of the industrial coupling symbiotic network of the eco-industrial park.

Description: The study was conducted in 2 urbanized areas of the Baikal region of Russia. These are the cities of Shelekhov and Tayshet with their suburbs. Aluminum production has been carried out in Shelekhov for over 60 years and in Tayshet for 5 years. The purpose of the study was to determine the pollution of urban soils with toxic elements—Al, F, Be, Li, as well as Cr, Ni, Pb, and so on under the influence of industrial enterprises (aluminum and cable plants, thermal power plants). Also, the purpose of the research was to determine the effect of increased fluorite (F) in the environment on children’s health. Pure aluminum is used much less frequently than in alloys. The addition of various elements (Be, B, Li, Fe, Si, Mg, Mn, Zr, Ag, Pb, Cu, Ni, and others) increases the hardness, density, thermal conductivity, and other properties of the alloys. The area of high F content in urban soil is 15 times higher than the regional context. The maximum content of Na, Be, and Al is 2 to 4 times higher than the regional background. An increased Li content is marked only near aluminum smelters. The F content in urine samples from children living in areas with long-term pollution exposure (Shelekhov) is 1.5 to 2 times higher than in the group of children with a short exposure period (Tayshet).

Description: The Nekselø Wickerwork provides an unusually solid estimate on the marine reservoir age in the Holocene. The basis for this result is a 5200-year-old fish weir, built of hazel wood with a brief biological age of its own. Oysters settled on this construction. They had lived only for a short number of years when the fence capsized and was covered in mud and the mollusks suffocated. Based on the difference in radiocarbon (14C) age between accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) samples of oyster shells and wood, respectively, the marine reservoir age for this site is estimated to 273 ± 18 14C years. Re-evaluations of previously produced data from geological and archaeological sites of Holocene date in the Danish archipelago indicate marine reservoir ages in the same order as that of the Wickerwork. Consequently, we recommend the use of the new value, rather than the ca. 400 14C years hitherto favored, when correcting for the dietary induced reservoir effect in radiocarbon dates of humans and animals from the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic periods of this region.

Description: As an important type of unconventional hydrocarbon, tight sandstone oil has great present and future resource potential. Reservoir quality evaluation is the basis of tight sandstone oil development. A comprehensive evaluation approach based on the gray correlation algorithm is established to effectively assess tight sandstone reservoir quality. Seven tight sandstone samples from the Chang 6 reservoir in the W area of the AS oilfield in the Ordos Basin are employed. First, the petrological and physical characteristics of the study area reservoir are briefly discussed through thin section observations, electron microscopy analysis, core physical property tests, and whole-rock and clay mineral content experiments. Second, the pore type, throat type and pore and throat combination characteristics are described from casting thin sections and scanning electron microscopy. Third, high-pressure mercury injection and nitrogen adsorption experiments are optimized to evaluate the characteristic parameters of pore throat distribution, micro- and nanopore throat frequency, permeability contribution and volume continuous distribution characteristics to quantitatively characterize the reservoir micro- and nanopores and throats. Then, the effective pore throat frequency specific gravity parameter of movable oil and the irreducible oil pore throat volume specific gravity parameter are introduced and combined with the reservoir physical properties, multipoint Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area, displacement pressure, maximum mercury saturation and mercury withdrawal efficiency parameters as the basic parameters for evaluation of tight sandstone reservoir quality. Finally, the weight coefficient of each parameter is calculated by the gray correlation method, and a reservoir comprehensive evaluation indicator (RCEI) is designed. The results show that the study area is dominated by types II and III tight sandstone reservoirs. In addition, the research method in this paper can be further extended to the evaluation of shale gas and other unconventional reservoirs after appropriate modification.

Description: Coalbed gas (CBG) has been widely used as an important energy source. However, its utilization and allocation system is imperfect in mining areas. During the utilization process, a large amount of CBG is discharged into the air, causing environmental pollution. In this study, we proposed a “full spectrum-domain-time” CBG utilization model. In this model, by combining high methane concentration gas power generation, low methane concentration gas purification, and ultra-low methane concentration gas thermal storage and oxidation utilization, we were able to utilize CBG with full-spectrum of methane concentrations. In addition, by establishing CBG transportation and storage system in mining area, we were able to realize CBG supply in the entire network domain. Furthermore, based on the time series prediction algorithm, the CBG demand of different mining areas is predicted and regulatorily met by real time allocation. Through these three steps, an efficient “full spectrum-domain-time” CBG utilization system was formed and practically applied in Yangquan mining area. The application results showed that under the comprehensive control of “full spectrum-domain-time” CBG utilization model, CBG with methane concentration ≥0.2% could be used in the mining area and its utilization rate increased year by year, reaching the highest of 77.15%. Overall, our study provided a reference for the efficient CBG utilization in the mining area.

Description: Very little is known about the manufacturing and use of ancient Egyptian instruments, and their discovery is very rare. An extensive radiocarbon (14C) dating program has been conducted on 25 ancient Egyptian musical instruments currently held at the Louvre Museum (musée du Louvre) and the Lyon Museum of Fine Arts (musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon). This study includes cordophones (harps, lyres, lutes), membranophones (drums, tambourines), idiophones (clappers, crotales), as well as wind instruments (oboe) that have entered the museum collections during the 19th century or the first half of the 20th century; consequently, the original archaeological contexts of their discoveries are poorly understood. Approximately 50 14C dates enable drawing a general overview of the instruments manufacturing. A wide variety of wood material has been identified, representing both indigenous species and imported species. Results indicate that the native flora of Egypt was exclusively used until the Third Intermediate Period when the first imports could be identified. 14C results are not always consistent with relative dates previously thought, mainly based on stylistic criteria. They demonstrate these collections hold very well-preserved objects extending over 2500 years, from the Second Intermediate Period (ca. 1700 BCE) to the start of the Islamic Period (8th century CE). This project provides important results for the knowledge of ancient Egyptian musical instrument crafts.

Description: Low-pressure N2 adsorption (LPNA) could provide quantitative data for characterizing the pores in gas shale. However, the inconsistencies of outgas temperature have caused significant deviations in LPNA experiments. To explore the effects of outgas temperature on pore characteristics, two shale samples of Lower Cambrian Niutitang formation from Northern Guizhou, China, were collected for LPNA experiments and thermogravimetry-fourier transform infrared (TG-FTIR) spectroscopy. The samples were outgassed at six temperatures: 80°C, 100°C, 150°C, 200°C, 250°C, 300°C. Larger adsorbed volumes were presented in the isotherms at higher outgas temperatures. Similar regularity is obtained from the relationship between specific surface area, micropore volume and outgas temperature. Comprehensive analysis of TG-FTIR and LPNA at different outgas temperature indicated that at lower outgas temperatures (from 80°C to 100°C), the free water was unlikely to be removed completely, and resulted in large amounts of micropores couldn’t be accessed. An excessive outgas temperature might expulse liquid hydrocarbons or decompose organic matter (from 200°C to 300°C), and could lead to the generation of micropores. When the sample were outgassed at 150°C, TG-FTIR analysis indicated that the sample composition unchanged and a better removal of free water happened. Therefore, 150°C should be a suitable outgas temperature for shale in LPNA experiments. The findings in this research not only provide reliable evidence for the selection of outgas procedure in LPNA for shale, but clarify the important effects of free water and volatile materials on pore accessibility in shale.

Description: This study investigates the causal relationship between renewable energy sources and clean environmental economic growth among South Asian economies. This study comprises the panel data sets for eight (8) South Asian countries, and data start from 2003 to 2017. This study implies a Hausman test to identify which particular tests are more suitable and selected a fixed effect test and granger causality test for effective analysis perspective. Moreover, this study further relies on the panel vector error correction model (PVECM) test to suggest for long-run relationship existence among variables. Furthermore, the evaluation of the panel and the dynamic ordinary least squares regression shows that the production of renewable energy has compelled an effect on economic growth. While other sources of energy for instance, hydropower, geothermal, wind, and solar, have valuable and considerable influence on the economic growth of South Asian economies. The results reveal with these remarks the existence of positive associations among productions of renewable energies, energy dependence, and gross domestic product per capita. The obtained results reveal that renewable energy sources show a momentous effect on the economic growth of South Asian economies.

Description: In view of the uncertainty and volatility of wind power generation and the inability to provide stable and continuous power, this paper proposes a hydrogen storage wind-gas complementary power generation system, using Matlab/Simulink to simulate and model wind generators and gas turbines. Considering the economy and power supply reliability of the wind-gas complementary power generation system, and taking the economic and environmental cost of the system as the objective function, the capacity optimization model of the wind-gas complementary power generation system is established. The brain storming algorithm (BSO) is used to solve the optimization problem, and the BSO algorithm is used to optimize the BP neural network, which improves the accuracy of the BP neural network for load forecasting. Finally, a simulation is carried out with load data in a certain area, and the simulation verification verifies that BSO-BP can improve the accuracy of load forecasting and reduce the error of load forecasting. Multi-objective optimization of system economic cost and environmental cost through BSO algorithm can make the system cost reach the most reasonable level. Through the analysis of the calculation examples, it is verified that gas-fired power generation can effectively alleviate the volatility of wind power generation, showing the role and advantages of energy complementary power generation. Therefore, the wind-gas complementary system can effectively increase energy utilization and reduce wind curtailment.

Description: El Mirón is an important archaeological cave site in Cantabria (Spain) with a stratigraphy covering the late Middle Paleolithic to the Modern Period. The Magdalenian levels are especially rich in artifacts, faunal remains, and features, and included the burial of an adult female (“the Red Lady”), as well as other scattered human remains, while the Neolithic levels contained the oldest combined evidence of ceramics, domesticated grain and livestock in the region. However, in the absence of diagnostic artifacts in many levels that would always provide a traditional cultural chronology, radiocarbon dating has been essential in understanding the temporal framework for human activity at the site. Over the duration of more than two decades, the El Mirón Project has therefore obtained 93 radiocarbon dates, which cover the entire stratigraphic record as found in several different excavation areas. In light of the considerable methodological advances that radiocarbon dating has seen since 1996 we aim to evaluate the reliability of the published 14C record for El Mirón Cave, and to improve the accuracy of the radiocarbon based chronostratigraphy through Bayesian modeling. The results shed light on which dates may be used for future research and where dating discrepancies reflect taphonomic processes, thereby advancing intra-site and regional archaeological comparisons.

Description: In this paper we argue that international environmental law cannot continue to exist in its present form for the purpose of the Anthropocene. We show that analytically, international environmental law and its lawyers are unable to fully understand and respond to the complex governance challenges arising from a complex Earth system. Normatively, international environmental law has failed to provide appropriate norms to prevent humans from encroaching on Earth system limits. In a transformative sense, international environmental law has not been sufficiently ambitious to achieve the type of radical transformations necessary to ensure planetary integrity and socio-ecological justice. We need a new legal paradigm that is better suited for the purpose of the Anthropocene that must address international environmental law’s analytical, normative and transformative concerns. We call this new paradigm earth system law. Building on our recent work, we offer here some preliminary thoughts about what we think the analytical, normative, and transformative dimensions of earth system law could and should entail, and why they would be more appropriate for the purpose of governing a complex Earth system in the Anthropocene.

Description: Today, it is evident that we are part of a planetary trust. Conserving our planet represents a public good, global as well as local. The threats to future generations resulting from human activities make applying the normative framework of a planetary trust even more urgent than in the past decades. Initially, the planetary trust focused primarily on threats to the natural system of our human environment such as pollution and natural resource degradation, and on threats to cultural heritage. Now, we face a higher threat of nuclear war, cyber wars, and threats from gene drivers that can cause inheritable changes to genes, potential threats from other new technologies such as artificial intelligence, and possible pandemics. In this context, it is proposed that in the kaleidoscopic world, we must engage all the actors to cooperate with the shared goal of caring for and maintaining planet Earth in trust for present and future generations.

Description: The chapter seeks to make a modest effort in making sense of the international environmental law-making process. It comprises the subtle normative process currently at work, including ‘global conferencing’ technique resorted to by the UN General Assembly how it draws upon the basic legal underpinnings of international law, the unique treaty-making enterprise at work, and what this enormous legal churning process portends for the protection of the global environment at this critical time of perplexity in the Anthropocene epoch. It calls for taking serious cognizance of mass destruction of plant and animal species, heavy pollution of fresh water resources, choking of the oceans with plastic and other litter, and alteration of the atmosphere, among other lasting impacts that imperil our only abode Earth. International environmental law-making process is ad hoc and piecemeal and is generally understood to be the product of a lack of a single, central specialized institution having expertise on the subject, scientific uncertainty on many environmental issues, and the hard-headed economic interests of sovereign states. Still, the international environmental law-making process with its inherent resilience could possibly be able to adapt to the vagaries of scientific assessments and the political realities of in the future.

Description: Earth is home to all known life, on land, within the oceans, inland waters, and amidst the atmosphere. This community of life exists within well recognized frontiers. But, human induced degradation of ecosystems is rendering much of the Earth less habitable for the humans and the other species. To cope with the escalating insults to human life and health, governments have been establishing environmental laws since the 1970s. It posits a vital question at this juncture: What should be the functions that environmental law should serve, both today and into the foreseeable future? This chapter will suggest four thematic areas for action in this regard. First, all laws and policies should embrace a holistic view of Earth; second, a common and shared analytic methodology needs to be deployed such as environmental impact assessment; third, a strategic cock-pit for ecological cooperation required to provide solutions for environmental crises; finally, a set of mutually recognized and shared principles will need to be embraced in order to provide a coherent and harmonized outlook for humanity’s ecological civilization.

Description: The environmental crisis compels humanity to redefine its relationship with nature. This calls for the principles that would guide the new pathway to be outlined and enshrined into a global treaty. An environmental charter for the future would serve the purpose of a social contract and define the norms which would allow humanity to coexist with its natural environment. In this context, this chapter argues that faith in the international system could be restored by a global agreement on the basic principles which are to guide the new system for international environmental governance. It will thus first focus on (i) exposing the merits of principles in a legal system, (ii) tackling the purely technical vision that weakens both the creation and implementation of international environmental law and (iii) finally, it will make the case for a global environmental charter that would enshrine fundamental principles and rejuvenate the values that founded the international system.

Description: Environmental law has always been hampered by its reductionist approach to the natural environment or more precisely, to the human-nature relationship. In contrast, ecological law would encourage us to think about the law from an Earth-centered perspective. But even more than thinking about the legal issues, ecological law reflects and advocates a changed mindset. We need to develop a mindset that is conscious of what has worked in the past and what promises to work in the future. This could be addressed through development of eco-centric law, inclusion of eco-centric grundnorm, transforming law and governance, and institutionalizing trusteeship governance. At the end, it is proposed that ecological law would frame our thinking in a way that reflects not only the traditional values of connectedness with nature, but equally leading cutting-edge sciences of today such as ecology, earth system science and health sciences.

Description: This article identifies the potential environmental effects large-scale indoor farming may have on air, water, and soil. We begin with an overview of what indoor farming is with a focus on greenhouses and indoor vertical farms (eg, plant factories). Next, the differences between these 2 primary methods of indoor farming are presented based on their structural requirements, methods of growing, media, nutrient sources, lighting requirements, facility capacity, and methods of climate control. We also highlight the benefits and challenges facing indoor farming. In the next section, an overview of research and the knowledge domain of indoor and vertical farming is provided. Various authors and topics for research are highlighted. In the next section, the transformative environmental effects that indoor farming may have on air, soil, and water are discussed. This article closes with suggestions for additional research on indoor farming and its influence on the environment.

Description: The paper presents and discusses a series of radiocarbon (14C) dates from a medieval Nubian monastery found on Kom H of Old Dongola, the capital of the kingdom of Makuria located in modern-day Sudan. The monastery was founded in the 6th–7th century AD and although it probably ceased to function in the 14th century, the site remained occupied until the beginning of the 15th century. The investigated courtyard of the monastery was in use from the 11th to the 14th century, as indicated by the ceramics and 14C analysis results presented here. The dates under consideration are the first published series of 14C dates from this site, which is of crucial importance for historical research on medieval Nubian Christianity and monasticism. They permit to begin building an absolute chronological framework for research on the archaeological finds from the site and region. A group of finds in particular need of such a framework are ceramics, and the implications of the 14C dates for pottery assemblages found in the dated contexts are discussed. The conclusions summarize the significance of the datings for the history of the site.

Description: We report a new series of radiocarbon (14C) dates on the MIS 3 megafauna for a previously poorly studied region of southeastern West Siberia. Some species, like woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros, and Pleistocene bison and horse, existed throughout the MIS 3 (ca. 29–59 ka cal BP); cave hyaena is dated to ca. 46,400 cal BP. The very late 14C dates on Khozarian steppe elephant (Mammuthus trogontherii chosaricus), ca. 45,100–45,400 cal BP, may indicate the survival of this species in Siberia up to MIS 3. More work is needed to confirm or reject this suggestion. Previously, Khozarian steppe elephant was known in Siberia only at the beginning of the Late Pleistocene (MIS 5e).

Description: The role of pyrogenic carbon (PyC) in the global carbon cycle is still incompletely characterized. Much work has been done to characterize PyC on landforms and in soils where it originates or in “terminal” reservoirs such as marine sediments. Less is known about intermediate reservoirs such as streams and rivers, and few studies have characterized hillslope and in-stream erosion control structures (ECS) designed to capture soils and sediments destabilized by wildfire. In this preliminary study, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (N), and stable isotope parameters, δ13C and δ15N, were compared to assess opportunities for carbon and nitrogen sequestration in postwildfire sediments (fluvents) deposited upgradient of ECS in ephemeral- and intermittent-stream channels. The variability of OC, N, δ13C, and δ15N were analyzed in conjunction with fire history, age of captured sediments, topographic position, and land cover. Comparison of samples in 2 watersheds indicates higher OC and N in ECS with more recently captured sediments located downstream of areas with higher burn severity. This is likely a consequence of (1) higher burn severity causing greater runoff, erosion, and transport of OC (organic matter) to ECS and (2) greater cumulative loss of OC and N in older sediments stored behind older ECS. In addition, C/N, δ13C, and δ15N results suggest that organic matter in sediments stored at older ECS are enriched in microbially processed biomass relative to those at newer ECS. We conservatively estimated the potential mean annual capture of OC by ECS, using values from the watershed with lower levels of OC, to be 3 to 4 metric tons, with a total potential storage of 293 to 368 metric tons in a watershed of 7.7 km2 and total area of 2000 ECS estimated at 2.6 ha (203-255 metric tons/ha). We extrapolated the OC results to the regional level (southwest USA) to estimate the potential for carbon sequestration using these practices. We estimated a potential of 0.01 Pg, which is significant in terms of ecosystem services and regional efforts to promote carbon storage.

Description: It has been nearly 50 years since the pioneering first global UN Conference on Human Environment was organized in Stockholm in 1972. After that, several global conferences took place over the last decades. Some of them have been praised for their contribution to shaping international environmental institutions and international treaties; others have passed almost unnoticed by the wider public. Yet, these global environmental conferences have cumulatively provided the foundations for the development of international environmental policies and the progressive development of law. In the light of ongoing environmental degradation in the ‘Anthropocene,’ the further development of environmental governance seems more important than ever. Hence, this chapter seeks to examine how this future pathway would look like as regards the technique of global environmental conferences have hitherto shaped the existing structures of international environmental governance. It surmises that the UNGA could be described as an anchor that merely maintains the status quo of international environmental law and policy.

Description: In order to reduce the restroom envelope energy consumption, one optimization method on basis of analyzing the influence of heat transfer coefficient on the performance of a prefabricated restroom envelope in a hot summer and cold winter zone was proposed. An energy-consuming model of prefabricated restroom in Nanjing is initially built based on Designer's Simulation Toolkit software. Subsequently, the effect of external walls, rooftops, external windows with various thermal characteristics on the building envelope is analyzed respectively. Simultaneously, a method that only changes the heat transfer coefficient of the prefabricated restroom envelope while keeping other parameters unchanged is adopted. Results show that, for a prefabricated restroom, the optimal range of heat transfer coefficient of the external wall, rooftop, and external window in hot summer and cold winter zone is 0.199∼0.22, 0.16∼0.19, and 3.0∼3.1 W/(m2·K), respectively. When the window-to-wall ratio is less than 0.2, the priority of the wall heat transfer coefficient on building energy consumption is higher than that of the rooftop heat transfer coefficient, simultaneously, the rooftop heat transfer coefficient has priority higher than window heat transfer coefficient. Thus, it is of great significance to optimize the design of the prefabricated restroom envelope in a hot summer and cold winter zone, which provides relative reference for thermal performance improvement of prefabricated restrooms.

Description: The objective of this study was to evaluate the treatment efficiency of a coupled stillage anaerobic digestion, which was performed in scoria-packed continuous reactors and following aerobic degradation. The optimum organic loading rate was determined for the continuous anaerobic digestion of a molasses ethanol distillery stillage with and without wet air feed pretreatment. The pretreatment of the molasses ethanol distillery stillage brought a significantly higher chemical oxygen demand removal in anaerobic digestion with an increased loading rate of 2000 mg/L d when compared with the raw stillage. The results also showed a complete removal of the biological oxygen demand following the coupling of anaerobic digestion with aerobic degradation. During the later stillage aerobic treatment, 68% of the chemical oxygen demand was removed within 8 hours of retention time. Despite the color, the removal of organics in stillage due to integrating wet air pretreatment, continuous anaerobic digestion, and aerobic degradation was successful. The pretreatment and hybrid technique also appears as a promising technique toward the sustainable management of stillage, thereby meeting discharge limit set for the ethanol industry by regulators.

Description: Soil erosion is 1 of the most important environmental problems that pose serious challenges to food security and the future development prospects of Ethiopia. Climate change influences soil erosion and is critical for the planning and management of soil and water resources. This study aimed to assess the current and future climate change impact on soil loss rate for the near future (2011-2040), middle future (2041-2070), and far future (2071-2100) periods relative to the reference period (1989-2018) in the Agewmariam watershed, Northern Ethiopia. The 20 models of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 global climate models (GCMs) under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 (intermediate scenario) and 8.5 (high emissions scenario) scenarios were used for climate projection. The statistical bias correction method was used to downscale GCMs. Universal Soil Loss Equation integrated with geographic information system was used to estimate soil loss. The results showed that the current average annual soil loss rate and the annual total soil loss on the study area were found to be 25 t ha−1 year−1 and 51 403.13 tons, respectively. The soil loss has increased by 3.0%, 4.7%, and 5.2% under RCP 4.5 scenarios and 6.0%, 9.52%, and 14.32% under RCP 8.5 scenarios in the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s, respectively, from the current soil loss rate. Thus, the soil loss rate is expected to increase on all future periods (the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s) under both scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) due to the higher erosive power of the future intense rainfall. Thus, climate change will exacerbate the existing soil erosion problem and would need for vigorous new conservation policies and investments to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on soil loss.

Description: This review assessed the effects of environmental labels on consumers’ demand for more sustainable food products. Six electronic databases were searched for experimental studies of ecolabels and food choices. We followed standard Cochrane methods and results were synthesized using vote counting. Fifty-six studies ( N = 42,768 participants, 76 interventions) were included. Outcomes comprised selection ( n = 14), purchase ( n = 40) and consumption ( n = 2). The ecolabel was presented as text ( n = 36), logo ( n = 13) or combination ( n = 27). Message types included: organic ( n = 25), environmentally sustainable ( n = 27), greenhouse gas emissions ( n = 17), and assorted “other” message types ( n = 7). Ecolabels were tested in actual ( n = 15) and hypothetical ( n = 41) environments. Thirty-nine studies received an unclear or high RoB rating. Sixty comparisons favored the intervention and 16 favored control. Ecolabeling with a variety of messages and formats was associated with the selection and purchase of more sustainable food products.

Description: Climate change will ultimately result in higher surface temperature and more variable precipitation, negatively affecting agricultural productivity. To sustain the agricultural production in the face of climate change, adaptive agricultural management or best management practices (BMPs) are needed. The currently practiced BMPs include crop rotation, early planting, conservation tillage, cover crops, effective fertilizer use, and so on. This research investigated the agricultural production of BMPs in response to climate change for a Hydrologic Unit Code12 sub-watershed of Choctawhatchee Watershed in Alabama, USA. The dominating soil type of this region was sandy loam and loamy sand soil. Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator and Cropping Systems Simulation Model were used to estimate the agricultural production. Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP8.5 that projected a temperature increase of 2.3℃ and 4.7℃ were used as climate scenarios. The research demonstrated that crop rotation had positive response to climate change. With peanuts in the rotation, a production increase of 105% was observed for cotton. There was no consistent impact on crop yields by early planting. With selected peanut-cotton rotations, 50% reduced nitrogen fertilizer use was observed to achieve comparable crop yields. In response to climate change, crop rotation with legume incorporation is thus suggested, which increased crop production and reduced fertilizer use.

Description: Basin-scale simulation is fundamental to understand the hydrological cycle, and in identifying information essential for water management. Accordingly, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is applied to simulate runoff in the semi-arid Tambo River Basin in southern Peru, where economic activities are driven by the availability of water. The SWAT model was calibrated using the Sequential Uncertainty Fitting Ver-2 (SUFI-2) algorithm and two objective functions namely the Nash-Sutcliffe simulation efficiency (NSE), and coefficient of determination ( R2) for the period 1994 to 2001 which includes an initial warm-up period of 3 years; it was then validated for 2002 to 2016 using daily river discharge values. The best results were obtained using the objective function R2; a comparison of results of the daily and monthly performance evaluation between the calibration period and validation period showed close correspondence in the values for NSE and R2, and those for percent bias (PBIAS) and ratio of standard deviation of the observation to the root mean square error (RSR). The results thus show that the SWAT model can effectively predict runoff within the Tambo River basin. The model can also serve as a guideline for hydrology modellers, acting as a reliable tool.

Description: The current research aimed to develop a model for the governance of Arab family companies and their legislation, which could contribute to the interconnection between the vision and the structures of supervision and control, and reduce conflicts, and duplication of decision-making and performance. This is an attempt to address the problem faced by Arab family companies, namely the ambiguity of roles, overlapping tasks, lack of discipline and reflection of family problems on the performance and growth of the company due to the absence of a structure for the governance of these companies. The research used survey methods and a literature review to gather opinions and make comparisons and simulations, in order to extract indicators and evidence from them. The research concluded with the development of a model of corporate governance that seeks to unify the components of the various models and their indicators within a single model to avoid the defects in these models and benefit from their advantages and make all practices understandable, easy to implement and review. This article summarises the research and its recommendations to address the various challenges discussed.

Description: The floriculture sector is booming in Ethiopia, making the country the second largest flower exporter in Africa and one of the largest suppliers of flowers globally. Despite the enormous advantages of the Ethiopian floriculture industry to the country’s economy, the industry’s environmental unsustainability related to environmental and human rights is growing. Failure to protect the environment can have profound negative impacts on long-term economic development and human rights, including the right to life, adequate food, water and housing. The floriculture industry has been identified as having the potential to grow and contribute positively to the agricultural transformation and economy of Ethiopia. Policy (laws and regulations) plays a vital role in the implementation of any regulatory framework. During the last decade, Ethiopia has developed many policies and laws that link to improving the environment, and the flower farm industry itself has adopted self-regulation and standards, enhancing the protection of workers and the environment. But there is increasing evidence that the economic benefits of the flower industry come at the expense of the environment. So, what is the impact of these State and non-State regulations on a safe and clean environment? This paper aims to analyse how, why and under what circumstances environmental policy implementation might work or fail, by investigating the challenges for the floriculture industry relating to the intensive use of pesticides and water, and inappropriate waste disposal in the policy implementation process. It is safe to say that Ethiopia has developed a lot of legislation on the environment but the challenge remains that of effective monitoring and enforcement. This paper concludes that the principles of environmental rights, the right to life and the right to development cannot be realised in the absence of the right to a healthy environment.

Description: The rights-of-nature model is gaining traction as an innovative legal approach for nature conservation. Although adopted in several countries, it remains in its infancy, including in Australia. An important research question is whether rights of nature will offer superior environmental outcomes compared to traditional nature conservation techniques including creation of protected areas. This article investigates that question through a case study of the Tarkine wilderness, in the Australia state of Tasmania. It first identifies key lessons from existing international experience with affirmation of rights of nature, such as in New Zealand and Ecuador. The article then explores how rights of nature could apply in Australia’s Tarkine region and their value compared to existing or potential protected areas and other nature conservation measures under Australian or Tasmanian law. Affirming rights of nature represents a major conceptual shift in how people via the law relate to the natural world, but whether the model offers practical benefits for nature conservation depends on a variety of conditions, in addition to the need to address broader societal drivers of environmentaldegradation.

Description: Plastic pollution has become a major environmental concern around the world due to the rapidly increasing production, consumption of single-use plastic products, and our inability to manage it properly. Plastic production increased exponentially, from about 2 million metric tonnes in 1950 to 348 million metric tonnes in 2017, and it is expected to double in capacity yet again by 2040. However, only 9 percent of the 8.3 billion metric tonnes of plastic produced since the early 1950s, has been recycled, and that most plastic ends its life in landfills, dumps and the environment is an increasing cause of concern. Plastic pollution is a major challenge in developing nations like India, where garbage collection systems are often informal with low recycling rates. The COVID 19 pandemic has exacerbated the use of plastic through personal protective equipments (PPEs). Management of this biomedical plastic waste is an addition to this existing challenge. Tackling plastic pollution is high up on UNEP’s global agenda to enhance the political visibility of this concern, UNEP along with the Government of India designated it as the theme of World Environment Day 2018. UNEP also provides technical assistance through its partners to support India towards its national and sub-national initiatives. This paper highlights the magnitude of the problem and the role UNEP is playing in addressing some concerns.

Description: Many studies in air, soil, and water research involve observations and sampling of a specific location. Knowing where studies have been previously undertaken can be a valuable addition to future research, including understanding the geographical context of previously published literature and selecting future study sites. Here, we introduce Literature Mapper, a Python QGIS plugin that provides a method for creating a spatial bibliography manager as well as a specification for storing spatial data in a bibliography manager. Literature Mapper uses QGIS’ spatial capabilities to allow users to digitize and add location information to a Zotero library, a free and open-source bibliography manager on basemaps or other geographic data of the user’s choice. Literature Mapper enhances the citations in a user’s online Zotero database with geo-locations by storing spatial coordinates as part of traditional citation entries. Literature Mapper receives data from and sends data to the user’s online database via Zotero’s web API. Using Zotero as the backend data storage, Literature Mapper benefits from all of its features including shared citation Collections, public sharing, and an open web API usable by additional applications, such as web mapping libraries. To evaluate Literature Mapper’s ability to provide insights into the spatial distribution of published literature, we provide a case study using the tool to map the study sites described in academic publications related to the biogeomorphology of California’s coastal strand vegetation, a line of research in which air movement, soil, and water are all driving factors. The results of this exercise are presented in static and web map form. The source code for Literature Mapper is available in the corresponding author’s GitHub repository: https://github.com/MicheleTobias/LiteratureMapper

Description: This paper examines a broad spectrum of challenges plaguing electric power supply in Africa. The challenges have lingered very long that policymakers, energy companies, and government agencies have shown docility in tackling the problem headlong. The increasing human population and technological innovations are evidence that the more the problem lingers, the more it becomes insurmountable. In this paper, it was proposed the lingering challenges can be solved using the standalone system of power generation. The renewable energy option and its adaptability were highlighted to guide standalone users on the way forward. The growing population in Africa can be advantageous in generating biogas from human feaces. It was discovered that renewable energy devices are quite expensive; hence, the biogas option for cooking and powering gas generators seem to be sustainable as its technology can be modified to suit the users' financial base. Therefore, it is projected that if the human excretal biogas can be adopted, Africa will soon overcome its energy crisis through the doggedness of its standalone users.

Description: To better evaluate the spatial steering effect of directional perforation hydraulic fractures, evaluation indexes for the spatial steering effect are first proposed in this paper. Then, these indexes are used to quantitatively evaluate existing physical experimental results. Finally, with the help of RFPA2D-Flow software, the influence of perforation length and azimuth on the spatial steering process of hydraulic fracture are quantitatively analysed using four evaluation indexes. It is shown by the results that the spatial deflection trajectory, deflection distance, deflection angle and initiation pressure of hydraulic fractures can be used as quantitative evaluation indexes for the spatial steering effect of hydraulic fractures. The deflection paths of directional perforation hydraulic fractures are basically the same. They all gradually deflect to the maximum horizontal principal stress direction from the perforation hole and finally represent a double-wing bending fracture. The deflection distance, deflection angle and initiation pressure of hydraulic fractures increase gradually with increasing perforation azimuth, and the sensitivity of the deflection angle to the perforation azimuth of hydraulic fractures also increases. With increasing perforation length, the deflection distance of hydraulic fractures increases gradually. However, the deflection angle and initiation pressure decrease gradually, as does the sensitivity.

Description: In order to mine the coal seam under super-thick hard roof, improve the utilization rate of resources and prolong the remaining service life of the mine, a case study of the Gaozhuang Coal Mine in the Zaozhuang Mining Area has been performed in this paper. Based on the specific mining geological conditions of ultra-close coal seams (#3up and #3low coal seams), their joint systematic analysis has been performed, with the focus made in the following three aspects: (i) prevention of rock burst under super-thick hard roof, (ii) deformation control of surrounding rock of roadways in the lower coal seam, and (iii) fire prevention in the goaf of working face. Given the strong bursting tendency observed in upper coal seam and lower coal seam, the technology of preventing rock burst under super-thick hard roof was proposed, which involved setting of narrow section coal pillars to protect roadways and interleaving layout of working faces. The specific supporting scheme of surrounding rock of roadways in the #3low1101 working face was determined, and the grouting reinforcement method of local fractured zones through Marithan was further proposed, to ensure the deformation control of surrounding rock of roadways in lower coal seams. The proposed fire prevention technology envisaged goaf grouting and spraying to plug leaks, which reduced the hazard of spontaneous combustion of residual coals in mined ultra-close coal seams. The technical and economic improvements with a direct economic benefit of 5.55 million yuan were achieved by the application of the proposed comprehensive technical support. The research results obtained provide a theoretical guidance and technical support of safe mining strategies of close coal seams in other mining areas.

Description: Long-term watershed management in Ethiopia was evaluated in various agro-ecologies starting in the 1980s. Our research was carried out to investigate the effects of long-term watershed management on soil macronutrient status and crop production in the Maybar subwatershed terrace positioning system, which has a long-term data set on various aspects, such as hydroclimatology, agriculture, and social studies. Crop yield data were collected from 40 fixed plots of that data set, and soil samples were collected by topo-sequencing of the catchment from the cultivation field based on different terrace position plot arrangements. The results showed higher crop yield and production of biomass in the upper section or deposition zone of soil and water conservation structure than below the structure or loss zone, but did not vary significantly from the annual production potential. The annual production of cereals was marginally decreased, but not pulse crops, reducing the wheat harvest production from the middle to the loss zone (23.8%) rather than the deposition zone to middle portion of the terrace (8.0%). In comparison, to increase the slope position of the terrace, the redaction percentage of pulse crops (field pea and lentil) is greater, because in the first terrace location (upper to middle) and in the second terrace, the output capacity of field pea was reduced by 22.4%. The condition of soil fertility between the 2 consecutive systems for soil and water protection differed from the upper to the lower land positions. Improvement in soil chemical and physical properties relatively increased toward the upper land position. Soil organic matter, available phosphorus, bulk density, and soil moisture content were significantly affected by soil and water conservation structures ( P ⩽ .05). Long-term terrace growth typically has a positive effect on improvements in onsite soil resources and the capacity for crop production. It therefore has a beneficial impact on onsite natural resources, such as enhancing soil macronutrients and increasing productivity in crop yields.

Description: Protagonists of global environmental governance often view the sovereign State as well as the principle of sovereignty as major stumbling blocks for effective environmental conservation and sustainable development. Some even herald the demise of the idea of the sovereign State. However, reality has it differently. Sovereignty is no longer an unqualified concept. Manifold new duties have been imposed upon the sovereign State as a result of the progressive development of international law. Much of the modern international law movement vests States with the responsibility to adopt regulations, to monitor and secure compliance and exercise justice in order to achieve its implementation, whereas supranational global environmental governance has remained notoriously weak. This article examines this proposition by reference to the environmental and developmental role of states in three landmark multilateral treaties: The United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (1982), the Convention on the Conservation of Biological Diversity (1992) and the Paris Agreement on climate change (2015). They demonstrate that sovereignty serves as a key organisational principle for the realization of global values, such as environmental conservation and sustainable development.

Description: Non-technical summary The thesis of this paper is that the COVID-19 crisis creates opportunities for fundamental change towards a more sustainable economy, for two reasons: structural change in the economy and a change in public opinion. The paper identifies how the COVID-19 crisis accelerates six processes of change that can be leveraged in policy making. With a focus on the Netherlands, it argues for activist government policy because of the tipping-point nature of the economic system in the crisis. Technical summary Structural change in the economy and a change in public opinion during the COVID-19 crisis jointly imply that government choices regarding investments, regulation and taxes can now create stronger synergies of cleaner economic growth and employment creation with ecological, social and financial sustainability. The paper details this for six areas, with examples taken from The Netherlands. High levels of private and (in some countries) public debt may become so unsustainable that this prompts a restructuring of financing systems which are more productive and more in support of ecological goals. In value chains, ICT systems and urban transport systems, forced changes such as more work from home, more cycling lanes and more local production may, once in place, be used as proof of concepts for permanently different infrastructures and organizations. Aviation and energy became dependent on public support, which created financial leverage for enforcing change. Social media summary COVID-19 creates opportunities for change towards sustainability as it accelerates six processes of change.

Description: Wetlands are a critical resource, essential not only to water quality and quantity, but also to human sustenance and to the thriving ecosystems. Human and ecosystem dependence on wetlands is not well recognised in governmental oversight and community attitudes. As such, markets undervalue them and businesses and industry consider them disposable. Given that the market economy controls the “new normal”, it has not been uncommon for States, when formulating policies to exploit wetland resources for gain, thereby undermining their future and sustainability. India has made some attempts, both nationally and internationally to resolve these matters. This paper is an attempt to showcase one such common property resource, i.e. wetlands in the city of Bangalore, which are under tremendous stress from capitalism.

Description: When gob side entry retaining is carried out in backfill mining, the roof will show different subsidence morphology due to the difference of compactness and supporting force of the backfill body at different positions. This paper analyzed the immediate roof subsidence structure under two extreme conditions, constructed the roof segmented subsidence structure and the mechanical model of roadside backfill body, and used FLAC3D software to investigate the roof migration and the force law of the roadside backfill body under the conditions of different goaf backfilled rates, different width and strength of roadside backfill body. Finally, the backfill practice of a mine in Shandong Province of China is taken as an example for analysis. The results show that the segmented subsidence structure of the immediate roof is related to the mechanical properties of the roadside backfill body and the goaf backfill body. When the backfilled rate of goaf decreases from 95% to 70%, the width of roadside backfill body decreases from 5 m to 1 m, and the elastic modulus decreases from 10 GPa to 0.5 GPa, the greater difference in the subsidence and inclination of the immediate roof on both sides of the roadside backfill body is, the more obvious the segmented subsidence structure characteristics of the immediate roof are, and the greater force on the roadside backfill body will be, the more unfavorable it is to maintain the stability of the roadway surrounding rock and the roadway backfill body. Therefore, when gob side entry retaining is carried out in backfill mining, the surrounding rock structure and the force on roadside backfill body should be considered comprehensively.

Description: The availability of cost-effective and environmentally friendly electricity to the entire population is a prime concern of the South African government. It has brought attention to microgrid projects, especially when rural population is considered properly. To address the energy needs of any country, the focus line should be the cost and availability of local resources. Due to the abundance of coal reserves and lack of alternative resources, coal dependence cannot be overlooked in the near future. This paper focuses not only on microgrid needs in South Africa but also on the possible use of hydrogen extracted from coal as a fuel in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) in microgrids. The complete assembly of PEMFC and its use in the microgrid are discussed. To make the H2 extraction process eco-friendly and hence worth considering, Carbon capture and sequestration process is discoursed. Furthermore, cost benefit analysis and the long term benefit of the use of PEMFC in microgrids with coal-based hydrogen production are presented in this research.

Description: The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has now attained the milestone of 60 years (1960– 2020). It has become a global role model of an international legal mechanism for shared transboundary water resources. It has withstood all the strains, conflicts and lows in the bilateral relations between the riparian states of India and Pakistan. The current trends of global climate change in the Anthropocene age have exacerbated the risk of conflict over the shared international freshwater resources under the IWT. The receding glaciers, scanty snowfall, changing land system patterns, increasing demands for water to meet irrigation, industrial and domestic water demands, all have cumulatively made an impact on water availability in the shared Indus Basin. The study seeks to analyze the actual working of the IWT, efficacy of the in-built conflict resolution mechanism and the sheer tenacity to stay course especially on the part of the large upper riparian country, India. It, in turn, has become an exemplar in a treaty-based mechanism as well as in making hydro-diplomacy work for shared transboundary water resources in the era of climate change.

Description: Understanding the microheterogeneity of tight sandstone is the basis of reservoir science, and quantitative characterization of the reservoir’s microheterogeneity is key to reservoir evaluation. In this study, an image-processing analysis method to study the heterogeneity of tight reservoirs is established. A modified Image J plugin is used to accurately identify the surface porosity of a thin casting sheet; the heterogeneity of the microscopic pores in a reservoir is then abstracted into discrete values of the surface porosity. A new parameter for quantitative characterization of the microscopic heterogeneity of tight sandstone, that is, the heterogeneity index Q, is proposed. The fractal dimension calculated via a liquid nitrogen adsorption experiment is used to test the new parameter, and the geological significance of Q is discussed. The results show that Q has a good positive correlation with the fractal dimension, which is beneficial in determining the heterogeneity of the reservoir, pore throat distribution, and roughness of the pore surface. Q has a good correlation with physical parameters such as the specific surface area, average pore diameter, and total pore volume of the sample, indicating that this index can effectively characterize and quantitatively evaluate the reservoir. Therefore, this parameter provides a new basis for reservoir evaluation and classification and provides a new direction for delineating advantageous horizons as well as guiding development and mining.

Description: The Old Copper Complex (OCC) refers to the production of heavy copper-tool technology by Archaic Native American societies in the Lake Superior region. To better define the timing of the OCC, we evaluated 53 (eight new and 45 published) radiocarbon (14C) dates associated with copper artifacts and mines. We compared these dates to six lake sediment-based chronologies of copper mining and annealing in the Michigan Copper District. 14C dates grouped by archaeological context show that cremation remains, and wood and cordage embedded in copper artifacts have ages that overlap with the timing of high lead (Pb) concentrations in lake sediment. In contrast, dates in stratigraphic association and from mines are younger than those from embedded and cremation materials, suggesting that the former groups reflect the timing of processes that occurred post-abandonment. The comparatively young dates obtained from copper mines therefore likely reflect abandonment and infill of the mines rather than active use. Excluding three anomalously young samples, the ages of embedded organic material associated with 15 OCC copper artifacts range from 8500 to 3580 cal BP, confirming that the OCC is among the oldest known metalworking societies in the world.

Description: A coupled accelerator mass spectrometer–gas interface system has been successfully operating at the Hertelendi Laboratory of Environmental Studies, Debrecen, Hungary, since 2013. Over the last 6 years more than 500 gas targets were measured below 100 µg carbon content for carbon isotopic composition. The system was tested with blanks, OxII, IAEA-C1, IAEA-C2, and IAEA-C7 standards. The performance of our instrumentation shows good agreement with other published gas-interface system data and also shows a quite good agreement with the nominal value of international standard samples. There is a measurable but quite small memory effect after modern samples, but this does not significantly affect the final results. Typical ion currents at the low energy side were between 10–15 µA with a 5% CO2 in He mixing ratio. The relative errors average ±6% for samples greater than or equal to 10 µgC sample with mean count rates of 300 counts per microgram C for OxII. The blank is comparable with other systems, which is 0.0050 ± 0.0018 F14C or 34,000–47,000 yr BP, which allows for the routine measurement of both of small environmental and archeological samples.

Description: Dating lime mortar samples using the radiocarbon (14C) method can be difficult. This is because the contamination is similar to the primary dating material (CaCO3) and consequently difficult to remove. Mortar can also have late-in-formation pyrogenic carbonate from interactions with the environment after the initial hardening phase, such as recrystallization, fire damage or delayed hardening. When 14C dating a system of primary dating material, contamination and late-in-formation pyrogenic carbonate, one approach is multi-fraction dating with conclusiveness criteria. If a sample has sufficient contamination or late-in-formation pyrogenic carbonate, the criteria evaluate the result inconclusive. To improve inconclusive results from such samples, this study investigates sample preparation by thermal decomposition. Here samples that were inconclusively dated by the authors’ traditional method, sequential dissolution with 85% phosphoric acid, are investigated further. This study finds that CO2 thermally decomposed at low temperatures contains some late-in-formation pyrogenic carbonate. By rejecting CO2 decomposed at low temperatures, Kastelholm castle and Kimito church in Finland are conclusively and accurately dated. Furthermore, a preheating method removes some late-in-formation carbonate, but not enough for a conclusive result. Finally, thermal decomposition finds difficulty in discerning binder carbonate from limestone and marble contamination.

Description: The article reports on a new sampling method and the archaeological context of cave drawings, which include the oldest currently known graffiti in the Czech Republic. Between 2016 and 2020, samples with a small amount of charcoal were taken from drawings found in Kateřinská Cave (Catherine’s Cave) of the Moravian Karst in the Czech Republic. A new gentle method of sampling charcoal from the cave walls was developed for the purpose of radiocarbon (14C) dating cave drawings of unknown age, while preserving the contours of the drawings. 14C analysis has provided data from four periods of prehistory and history: from the Neolithic around 5000 BC, the turn of the Neolithic and Eneolithic around 4300 BC, the Hallstatt Period from 800–450 BC, and also from the Middle Ages (13th century). The radiocarbon dates of the graffiti correspond to the dates of the pottery finds from the entrance portal of Kateřinská Cave, thus validating the dates and the sampling method.

Description: Low-permeability to ultralow-permeability reservoirs of the China National Petroleum Corporation are crucial to increase the reserve volumes and the production of crude oil in the present and future times. This study aimed to address the two major technical bottlenecks faced by the low-permeability to ultralow-permeability reservoirs by a comprehensive use of technologies and methods such as rate-controlled mercury injection, nuclear magnetic resonance, conventional logging, physical simulation, numerical simulation, and field practices. The reservoir characteristics of low-permeability to ultralow-permeability reservoirs were first analyzed. The water flooding development adjustment mode in the middle and high water-cut stages for the low-permeability to ultralow-permeability reservoirs, where water is injected along the fracture zone and lateral displacement were established. The formation mechanism and distribution principles of dynamic fractures, residual oil description, and expanding sweep volume were studied. The development mode for Type II ultralow-permeability reservoirs with a combination of horizontal well and volume fracturing was determined; this led to a significant improvement in the initial stages of single-well production. The volume fracturing core theory and optimization design, horizontal well trajectory optimization adjustment, horizontal well injection-production well pattern optimization, and horizontal well staged fracturing suitable for reservoirs with different characteristics were developed. This understanding of the reservoir characteristics and the breakthrough of key technologies for effective development will substantially support the oil-gas valent weight of the Changqing Oilfield to exceed 50 million tons per year, the stable production of the Daqing Oilfield with 40 million tons per year (oil-gas valent weight), and the realization of 20 million tons per year (oil-gas valent weight) in the Xinjiang Oilfield.

Description: The impact of neglected well bore pressure losses due to fluid accumulation and kinetic energy in the fundamental energy equation used for derivation of flowing bottom-hole pressure in horizontal well have been conceived to be a considerable reason for the discrepancy between computed rates from the existing models and actual rates got from production tests. In the study, a new model that investigate all possible well bore pressure losses effect on the production rate of a horizontal oil well have been established. The newly developed model has been validated using the field data obtained from the literature and outcome got from the new model yields more satisfactory results. A more realistic results that evident all flow phenomena in petroleum production well include the initial unsteady, pseudo-steady and steady state flow condition hence flow rate at any given production time has been established for flow of oil along horizontal production well. The concept is useful to estimate flowing bottom-hole pressure and analyze its effect on production rate value of a horizontal oil well without ignoring any pressure resisting terms in the governing thermodynamic equation. The unsteadiness fluid flow period that generally observed after shut in a well have also been demonstrated. Closer agreement between the results obtained using the newly developed model and real life field measurement was observed when compared with the previous model in the literature. The study gives reservoir engineer an exact and helpful device for estimating and assessing horizontal oil well production rate.

Description: This article examines –from an international law perspective –the interface between soil protection, land degradation neutrality, food security, climate governance and trade in agriculture. Although these different spheres are most often viewed in isolation, an attempt is made to analyse them more holistically with the aim of identifying the connectedness for the purpose of finding some strategies for a better common future.

Description: The issue, international organization for the protection of the environment perhaps more than those in any other area of international law, is characterized by the contestation of the policies and aspirations of developing and industrialized countries. The discussions which preceded the 1972 Stockholm Conference concerned partly the type of international institutional arrangement required for addressing the environmental problems. As regards the institutional reforms with respect to international environmental governance (IEG), the main question is whether to focus on the existing global institution, i.e. UNEP, or to create a new functional international organization. After almost five decades of existence, turning UNEP into a ‘specialized agency’ within the UN system is a reasonable move. It would meet the long-felt need to elevate its status and equip it with the necessary competence and financial stability for the demanding task it should have as an efficient global environmental organization.

Description: Hydrodesulfurization reaction, as the last step of hydrothermal cracking reaction, is of great significance for the reduction of viscosity and desulfurization of heavy oil. Based on Density Functional Theory and using Dmol3 module of Materials Studio, this research simulated the adsorption and hydrodesulfurization of thiophene on Ni2P (001) surface, and discussed the hydrodesulfurization reaction mechanism of thiophene on Ni2P (001) surface. It was found that the direct hydrodesulfurization of thiophene had more advantages than the indirect hydrodesulfurization of thiophene. Finally, the optimal reaction path was determined: C4H4S+H2→C4H6.

Description: Carbon dioxide (CO2) flooding is an effective method to enhance oil recovery in low-permeability reservoirs. Studying key geological factors controlling oil displacement efficiency is of great significance to the CO2 injection scheme design in low-permeability reservoirs. Focusing on low-permeable H reservoir in Songliao Basin, China, this paper describes the contact and connection of sand bodies, natural fractures and high-permeability zones with core samples, log data and experiment firstly. After that, the impact of interaction of sand body connection, natural fracture and high-permeability zone on oil displacement efficiency is determined by using geological and dynamic data in CO2 injection area. Results indicate that the connection of single sand bodies between injectors and producters wells primarily controls CO2 flooding in low-permeability reservoirs. Furthermore, coupling of sand body connection, natural fractures and high-permeability zones is the key geological factor governing oil displacement efficiency of CO2 injection in low-permeability reservoirs, where well or generally-connected sand bodies can improve the efficiency significantly. Meanwhile, the dominant seepage channels in other directions have no influence on producers, which is beneficial to improve CO2 flooding efficiency.

Description: In this study, we analyse the impact of oil price uncertainty (as measured by an observable measure of oil price volatility, i.e. realised volatility) on United States state-level real consumption by accounting for oil dependency. We account for both the long- and short-run dynamics of the state-level consumption function using the panel Pooled Mean Group estimator. The analysis makes use of a novel dataset including housing and stock market wealth at the state level covering the quarterly period 1975:Q1 to 2012:Q2, supplemented with an annual dataset up to 2018. We simultaneously estimate the long-run relationship and short-run impact of oil price volatility at the state-level conditional upon their oil dependency. We find that the negative impact of volatility is most severe for the states of Wyoming, Alaska and New Mexico, while the negative impact is least for Illinois, New York and Nebraska. States with lower per capita income and consumption expenditure, notably in the Southeast and Southwest region of the country are exposed to be more vulnerable to the negative impact of adverse developments and uncertainty in the oil market, as they may have less access to a stock of wealth and other means as recourse. Heterogenous responses, therefore, necessitate additional state-level response besides the national response to oil uncertainty.

Description: Generating electricity through renewable energies is growing increasingly to reduce the huge demand on electricity and the impact of fossil energies on the environment, the most common sources forms used are: the wind, the sun, the photovoltaic and the thermal, without forgetting hydropower by the bays of dams. Fortunately, 70% of our planet is covered by the seas and oceans, this area constitutes a huge potential for electricity production to be exploited. The scientific advances of recent years allow a better exploitation of these resources especially the marine current due to its reliability and predictability. The marine current energy is extracted using a hydrokinetic turbine (HKT) which transform the kinetic energy of water into an electrical energy. The exploitation of this resource needs in the first step the assessment of marine currents in the study area for implementing the HKT, and the second step is designing an adequate technology. The main goal of this study is the assessment of the marine current resource on the Moroccan Mediterranean coast to evaluate the suitable area to implement the HKT, and to determine the marine current speed intensities at different depths. As well as, to estimate an average potential existing in the site. Moreover, we will conduct a study based on the results of the assessment that was made to design a horizontal axis marine current turbine (HAMCT). Two hydrofoil profile were considered to design a HAMCT using the Blade Element Theory (BEM) and calculating their performances adapted to the site conditions Naca4415 and s8052. In addition, a comparison was made between this two HAMCT hydrofoil profile for deciding the best one for implementing in the studied area.

Description: With resource crisis and environmental crisis increasingly grim, many countries turn the focus to pollution-free and renewable wind energy resources, which are mainly used for offshore wind power generation, seawater desalination and heating, etc., on the premise that the characteristics of resources are fully grasped. In this study, the evaluation of offshore wind energy in offshore waters in China, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of existing studies were overviewed from four aspects: the spatial-temporal characteristics of wind energy, wind energy classification, the short-term forecast of wind energy and the long-term projection of wind energy, according to the research content and the future considerations about wind energy evaluation (evaluation of wind energy on islands and reefs, the impact of wind energy development on human health) were envisaged, in the hope of providing a scientific basis for the site selection and business operation ‘or military applications’ here (after business operation), etc. of wind energy development, ‘aritime navigation against environmental construction,’ here and also contributing to the sustainable development and health of human beings.

Description: The Sky Island Restoration Collaborative (SIRC) is a growing partnership between government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private landowners in southeast Arizona, the United States, and northern Sonora, Mexico. Starting in 2014 as an experiment to cultivate restoration efforts by connecting people across vocations and nations, SIRC has evolved over 5 years into a flourishing landscape-restoration initiative. The group is founded on the concept of developing a restoration economy, where ecological and socioeconomic benefits are interconnected and complimentary. The variety of ideas, people, field sites, administration, and organizations promote learning and increase project success through iterative adaptive management, transparency, and sharing. The collaborative seeks to make restoration self-sustaining and improve quality of life for citizens living along the US-Mexico border. Research and experiments are developed between scientists and practitioners to test hypotheses, qualify procedures, and quantify impacts on shared projects. Simultaneously, partners encourage and facilitate connecting more people to the landscape—via volunteerism, internships, training, and mentoring. Through this history, SIRC’s evolution is pioneering the integration of community and ecological restoration to protect biodiversity in the Madrean Archipelago Ecoregion. This editorial introduces SIRC as a unique opportunity for scientists and practitioners looking to engage in binational partnerships and segues into this special journal issue we have assembled that relates new findings in the field of restoration ecology.

Description: The Iron Age chronology at Arslantepe is the result of the interpretation of Luwian hieroglyphic inscriptions and archaeological data coming from the site and its surrounding region. A new round of investigations of the Iron Age levels has been conducted at the site over the last 10 years. Preliminary results allowed the combination of the archaeological sequence with the historical events that extended from the collapse of the Late Bronze Age empires to the formation and development of the new Iron Age kingdoms. The integration into this picture of a new set of radiocarbon (14C) dates is aimed at establishing a more solid local chronology. High precision 14C dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and its correlation with archaeobotanical analysis and stratigraphic data are presented here with the purpose of improving our knowledge of the site’s history and to build a reliable absolute chronology of the Iron Age. The results show that the earliest level of the sequence dates to ca. the mid-13th century BC, implying that the site started developing a new set of relationships with the Levant already before the breakdown of the Hittite empire, entailing important historical implications for the Syro-Anatolian region at the end of the 2nd millennium BC.

Description: In order to solve the problem of difficult gas extraction in coal mine, a method of gas extraction from coal seam by interval hydraulic flushing is put forward. Based on the coal seam gas occurrence conditions of 7609 working face in Wuyang Coal Mine, the numerical simulation research on gas drainage by ordinary drilling and hydraulic flushing drilling was carried out by using COMSOL numerical simulation software. The results show that with the increase of hydraulic flushing coal quantity, the effective gas drainage radius also increases. The effective extraction radius of ordinary drilling is 0.5 m, and the effective extraction radius is 1.0 m, 1.2 m and 1.3 m respectively when the coal flushing quantity is 0.5t/m, 1.0t/m and 1.5t/m. As multiple boreholes are drained at the same time, the boreholes will affect each other, which will reduce the gas pressure and increase the effective drainage radius, the spacing between boreholes can be greater than twice the effective drainage radius of a single borehole when arranging boreholes. And the smaller the flushing interval, the more uniform the gas pressure reduction area. According to the numerical simulation results, the ordinary drilling and 1.0t/m interval hydraulic flushing test were carried out in the field. Through observation and analysis, the gas concentration of the interval hydraulic flushing drilling module was increased by 31.2% and the drainage purity was increased by 5.77 times compared with the ordinary drilling module. It shows that the interval hydraulic flushing drilling can effectively improve the gas drainage effect.

Description: To achieve high-precision and reproducible results from radiocarbon (14C) dating of carbonate samples in paleoclimate research, a new CO2 extraction line was designed, constructed, and characterized at the Heidelberg Radiocarbon Lab of the Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg. The setup includes a circular glass-tube design, which is operated at vacuum pressure levels of the order of 10–5 mbar. The efficiency of the extraction process was assessed, showing significantly favorable conditions for solid piece samples (99.58 ± 4.69)% over powdered samples (88.28 ± 10.03)%. Process blank values are below 0.2 pMC apparent 14C activity. Repeated measurements of IAEA C2 standards with an average value of (41.09 ± 0.23) pMC attest high accuracy and reproducibility of the instrument. Six consecutive samples of 6 to 12 mg carbonate mass can be processed in one run of roughly 2.5 hours. Thus, the new setup contributes to time-efficient and reproducible radiocarbon dating results for paleoclimate research at the Institute of Environmental Physics. In a first application, Dead Carbon Fraction (DCF) values of a Holocene alpine stalagmite from Schratten Cave are presented, revealing extraordinarily high offsets between atmospheric and stalagmite 14C with DCF values between (49.4 ± 0.4)% and (61.6 ± 0.4)%.

Description: This paper integrates the first rock art directly dated with radiocarbon (14C) in Southeast Asia with the archaeological activity in the area and with stylistically similar rock art in the region. Peñablanca is a hotspot of archaeological research that includes the oldest dates for human remains in the Philippines. The caves in Peñablanca with known rock art were revisited and only 37.6% of the original recorded figures were found; the others are likely lost to agents of deterioration. A sample was collected from an anthropomorph and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dated to 3570–3460 cal BP. The date corresponds to archaeological activity in the area and provides a more holistic view of the people inhabiting the Peñablanca caves at that time. A systematic review was used to find similar black anthropomorph motifs in Southeast Asia to identify potential connections across the region and provide a possible chronological association.

Description: This paper is a response to criticism by Carson (2020) concerning the age of the Unai Bapot archaeological site in the Mariana Islands. Of specific contention are supposed errors in the marine radiocarbon (14C) research reported by Petchey et al. (2017). According to Carson, this work produced marine reservoir offsets (ΔR) of “suspiciously wide variance from each other … and those results were incompatible with the site’s reported stratigraphy and dating (Carson 2008) as well as with other previously calculated marine reservoir corrections in the Mariana Islands (Carson 2010: 3).” This statement is misleading on all three points. Our reply discusses the problems encountered when dating shells from near-shore “marine” environments where terrestrial input, in particular hard water, may complicate date interpretation. We outline a cautionary tale relevant to any researcher using “marine” shell dates to develop regional archaeological chronologies in regions dominated by limestone.

Description: To clarify the influence of pore pressure gradient on hydraulic fracture propagation, the stress distribution in and around the borehole is explained by theoretical analysis method in this paper. A mechanical model of hydraulic fracture initiation under the action of pore pressure gradient is established. Then coupled seepage-stress-damage software is used to simulate the initiation and propagation of hydraulic fractures in rock samples under the action of pore pressure gradient. Finally, the influence of the number and spatial position of the induction holes on the initiation and propagation of hydraulic fractures is analyzed. It is shown that: (1) Pore pressure gradient can effectively reduce the initiation pressure of hydraulic fractures. (2) The greater the pore pressure gradient is, the easier the hydraulic fracture is to spread to the region with high pore pressure. (3) With the action of pore pressure gradient, the hydraulic fracture is shaped as ‘丨’, ‘丿’ and ‘S’ types and can be represented by the four abstract conceptual models.

Description: To study the influence of vibration on gas desorption and diffusion in particle coal, gas desorption experiments on soft coal with outburst risk under different frequency vibrations were carried out by using a self-designed gas adsorption and desorption platform under vibration conditions, and the influence of different frequency vibrations on the diffusion kinetic parameters was quantitatively analyzed by using a dynamic diffusion coefficient model. The influence mechanism of vibration on gas desorption and diffusion in coal was further analyzed from the three aspects of gas molecules, energy conversion and pore structure through theoretical analysis and mercury injection experiments. The results showed that with increasing vibration frequency, the gas desorption of the coal samples first increases and then decreases. The initial diffusion coefficient of gas in the coal samples increases linearly with increasing vibration frequency, but the attenuation coefficient of the diffusion coefficient decreases first and then increases with increasing vibration frequency. The "throwing effect" and thermal effect of vibration on the gas molecules are both conducive to the desorption of gas molecules. In addition, vibration causes changes in the pore structure in coal, increasing gas diffusion paths and reducing diffusion resistance.

Description: Armed conflicts have direct and indirect impacts on the natural environment, and climate risks now magnify this harm for dependent communities. Too often, the natural environment is directly attacked or suffers incidental damage as a result of the use of certain methods or means of warfare. It is also at risk from damage and destruction to the built environment–including industrial complexes, combustible storage and processing facilities, factories and plants, agricultural facilities, and waste sites–across urban and rural areas. Parties to armed conflict can integrate legal protections for the environment into their armed forces’ doctrine to reduce damage as they fight. Humanitarians in turn must commit sufficient resources and expertise to respond to the needs of those coping with the environmental consequences of conflict, and limit their own climate and environmental footprint. In order to address this simmering challenge, in November 2020, the ICRC released the Guidelines on the Protection of the Natural Environment in Armed Conflict that aims to contribute in a practical way to promoting respect for and protection of this precious asset especially, during armed conflicts.

Description: As a body of rules and a basis for inter-State cooperative practice, international water law suffers from certain important shortcomings. Most significantly, it is characterised by substantive normative indeterminacy, and from related deficiencies in its associated procedural and institutional frameworks, which retard its progressive development and limit its capacity to respond to the looming challenges of the impending global water crisis. Though it has evolved progressively in recent years to incorporate a far-reaching obligation upon watercourse States to adopt an ecosystem approach to the management of shared watercourses, this very development highlights international water law’s systemic difficulty in accommodating water management techniques which are critically important to effective implementation of such an approach and, ultimately, to addressing the water crisis. Such techniques, with which international water law struggles, include multi-faceted benefit-sharing, adaptive management, and public and stakeholder participation. The latter two are considered essential for implementation of an ecosystem approach, while the former comprises a cooperative technique facilitated by an ecosystem approach, by means of which watercourse States might eliminate inefficiencies and ensure optimal utilisation of shared water resources. These problems illustrate the urgent imperative of continuing to develop and refine, if not completely reimagine, the rules of international water law.

Description: Non-technical summary The ‘last mile’ is a transportation planning term that describes the movement of people and goods from a transportation hub to a final destination; a local place such as a home or a shop. This is the final step of the logistics process that unites the product with its new owner. We present and explain challenges of science-guided adaptation at the local level, and how this is an equivalent ‘last mile’ challenge for climate adaptation. Technical summary The ‘last mile’ issue, a term used in transportation planning, describes the movement of people and goods from a transportation hub to a final destination, a local place such as a home or a shop. This is the critical final step of the logistics process that unites the product with its new owner, and the point of the value chain. This analogy aptly describes the last steps between presenting scientific evidence of climate change to decision-makers for use in local adaptation and planning. Climate change data (observational and model simulation data e.g. climate change projections and predictions) remain under-utilised, especially by local institutions and actors for which adaptation is a priority. The assumptions and assertions of the classical data–information–knowledge–wisdom are challenged, and a derivative form of the information hierarchy is proposed. Elements of the classical information hierarchy are offset by four balancing elements of access (to data); usability (of information); governance (of knowledge) and politics (of wisdom). These balancing elements and their relatedness coincide with newer models of innovation relating to the interaction between different stakeholders across the different levels of governance, the inclusion of stakeholder expectations, transparency and accountability. Social media summary Climate data to wise decision-making in the ‘last mile’: a novel perspective on science-guided local adaptation.

Description: Jacob’s Well, located in modern city of Nablus and ancient Shechem (Tall Balata) in the northern West Bank of Palestine, attracts modern day tourists and pilgrims. It is found in the eastern suburbs of the city. Since 333 AD, pilgrims have been writing accounts of the well, and it has been venerated by both Christian and Jewish communities throughout its history. It is believed to be the well referred to in the New Testament, where Jesus conversed with a Samaritan woman, the orthodox saint, Photini. It now forms the central feature in the crypt of the St Photini Greek Orthodox church in the walled grounds of a monastery. In order to gain more information on the chronology of the site, we analyzed human skeletal remains found at the site in 1997. These consist of three skulls and a femur. One of the skulls was found in a sarcophagus alongside the church and the two other skulls and a femur were found in a burial ground alongside the monastery, north of the church, over which a room has now been built. Radiocarbon analysis reveals that the remains date to four historical periods or events: the early Christian period, before structural additions to the well by Constantine the Great in the fourth century; the Samaritan Revolts (AD 529 and 556), the Sassanid Invasion (AD 614–628), and Abbasid rule (AD 750–1258). Dating of one skull suggests it may have been that of Germanus, a fourth century bishop of Nablus, and that there may have been a very early structure, shrine, or burial chamber at the site before the fourth century. We provide contextual information based on historical and contemporary literature.

Description: ‘Climate change law’ is an emergent novel discipline. The question, then, is whether the advent (and future prospect) of climate change has resulted in a coherent autonomous new body of law, be it a nascent one or is it nothing more or less than the application of existing national and international environmental law to climatic problems? It is perhaps worth recalling that international environmental law itself only ascended to the rank of a recognized discipline of its own in the 1990s, over protracted resistance by prominent scholars insisting that ‘the cold-eyed application of legal analysis may be just as fruitful as the invention of a new vehicle such as “international environmental law”’. The episode touches on the core of international climate law and its future evolution. Expressly based on recognition of the intergenerational interest in conserving the quality of the Earth’s atmosphere, the International Law Commission (ILC) project may indeed encourage further legal development of a concept of planetary trusteeship, owed by States as public trustees to present and future citizens as the beneficiaries.

Description: In recent years an increasing number of organizations have started to rethink their physical work environments and recognized the value of having activity-based workspaces (ABWs). This allows employees to choose freely between several work environments based on their specific task. There is growing debate amongst researchers about the effects of ABWs on employee behavior, but companies are still not aware of the options available or the consequences of moving to an ABW layout. This single-case, exploratory study uses 36 interviews and multiple data sources in a German organization leading in use of ABWs to generate insight into this topic. We develop a taxonomy of ABWs and analyze how various design parameters affect how people perform in ABWs regarding communication, leadership, working style, and work performance. We relate these findings to previous research and develop a cause-effects framework of ABWs. Against these findings, we generate recommendations for future research and practice.

Description: Olof Palme, the former Prime Minister of Sweden, underlined the importance of a firm global response to the growing environmental crisis in his 06 June 1972 address to the first UN Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) held in Stockholm. He prophetically observed: “it is absolutely necessary that concerted, international action is undertaken . . . solutions will require far-reaching changes in attitudes and social structures”. Almost 50 years later, it is painfully clear that the necessary changes have not taken place and that time is now even more limited to make the necessary, far-reaching changes. How can the conclusions from the Stockholm Conference and ideas envisioned by Olof Palme can guide us into a better common greener future?

Description: Reviving the United Nations Trusteeship Council (UNTC) and the evolution of the idea of trust in the global domain underscores that there are places, territories, and areas known as ‘global commons’ that require special and careful nurturing. The TC under the UN Charter sought to continue the spirit and essence of the ‘sacred trust’ with a ‘new mandate,’ even as it now lies dormant since 1994. From a scholarly perspective, such a move eminently makes sense since it could bring to life an entity within the UN. It will essentially serve as a guardian of the global ‘common concerns’ and ‘common heritage of mankind’ as well as the global environment. It would serve as a trustee for the present and future generations of humankind. A revived TC with a new mandate (for the environment and the global commons) could strengthen the UN and vindicate one of the core purposes for which the ‘United Nations’ came together (in 1945) with a solemn resolve “to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained”

Description: This chapter seeks to focus on ‘peacebuilding’ as a construct of peace among groups that have previously been in conflict. This calls for moving beyond peacemaking and conflict resolution to consider the longer-term efforts at establishing sustainable peace. Notwithstanding the longstanding efforts of UNEP’s Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch, there has been very limited development of international normative and institutional structures targeting the process of post-conflict sustainable peacebuilding. How far the current international environmental governance (IEG) regimes are responsive to the specific challenges to post-conflict situations? It seeks to briefly consider four key aspects of IEG regimes: (i) Ad- hoc and subject specific (ii) Incremental and facilitative (iii) Degree of reciprocity and (iv) Science-based.

Description: Petrological analysis, thin-section observation and laboratory analysis data were selected to systematically study the physical and diagenetic features of the first member of the Paleogene Shahejie Formation (Es1) in the No. 3 structural belt of the Nanpu Sag, Bohai Bay Basin. The intensities of different diagenetic processes were determined, the diagenetic evolution sequence was reconstructed, the typical diagenetic facies were identified and the effects of different diageneses on the reservoir were quantitatively analyzed. The results show that the main intergranular fillings include authigenic-quartz, quartz secondary enlargement, clay minerals, carbonate cement and matrix. The pore types include intergranular porosity, dissolution porosity and microfractures. The reservoir has experienced compaction, early cementation, dissolution and late cementation, among which compaction is the most important porosity reducer. Compaction was the main diagenetic process involved in porosity reduction, accounting for about 24.4% of the loss of thin-section porosity. The dissolution process clearly improved the porosity, increasing thin-section porosity by 2.7%. Five diagenetic facies were identified on the basis of petrographic analyses, namely, (a) strongly compacted-weakly cemented-weakly dissolved facies; (b) weakly compacted-strongly cemented-weakly dissolved facies; (c) moderately compacted-moderately cemented-weakly dissolved facies; (d) strongly compacted-weakly cemented-moderately dissolved facies; and (e) strongly compacted-weakly cemented-strongly dissolved facies. According to the analysis of diagenesis intensity, the porosity evolution model of various diagenetic facies was reconstructed, and the reservoir quality of various diagenetic facies was quantitatively predicted. The reservoir quality of different diagenetic facies clearly changed with depth. The best reservoir quality was in strongly compacted–weakly cemented–strongly dissolution facies, which have good sorting, contain a large amount of feldspar and soluble debris, and are mainly developed in the main part of the river channel. Our study can provide a reference for the subsequent exploration and development of deep petroleum systems.

Description: Environmental law became global through the adoption of environmental treaties in the last quarter decade of the 20th century. Similarly, globalisation of criminal law accelerated when the Convention on Transnational Organised Crime 2000 (CTOC) deepened international legal cooperation between States to combat transnational crime. A protocol to the CTOC, complemented by voluntary guidelines and model legislation, could promote environmental crime harmonisation. This article argues that the time is right to bring together certain elements of international environmental and transnational criminal law.

Description: One optimization method of hourly heat load calculation model for heat storage air-conditioning heating system in different climate zones was proposed. A building model is initially built in six different climate zones. Subsequently, the hourly heat load and steady-state design heat load in different climate zones were analyzed. Simultaneously, the hourly heat load additional coefficient of the air-conditioning system with different heating modes on a typical day was compared. It can be found that steady-state design heat load on a typical day is mostly between the peak load and average load of the air-conditioning heating system. Simultaneously, results indicate that the hourly heat load additional coefficient in each climate zone can be fitted to different exponential functions. When the heat storage capacity of building components was changed, the maximum increase of the hourly heat load additional coefficient of the air-conditioning system with intermittent heating was 5%. Thus, the research of the optimal design of hourly heat load calculation method provides a relative reference for performance improvement of the heat storage air-conditioning heating system.

Description: This chapter seeks to place under scanner the role of international courts and tribunals (ICTs) as important agents for the peaceful settlement of international disputes through the instrumentality of law. The rapid upswing in the number of specialized international courts and tribunals (in areas such as trade, human rights, law of the sea, criminal justice and environment) can be perceived as an attempt by the sovereign states to maintain viability of the ICTs in light of perplexity in international relations, growing recognition of peaceful co-existence, quest for institutionalized cooperation and emergence of some of the ‘Common Concerns of Humankind’ and the ‘Duty to Cooperate’. It has sought to make sense of emergence of ICTs as the ‘New Environmental Sentinels’. Do we need a specialized International Environmental Court (IEC) as an ‘ideal’? What does it portend for our common future?

Description: The low-frequency pulse wave makes the velocity of the fluid in the reservoir fluctuate dramatically, which results in a remarkable inertia force. The Darcy’s law was inapplicable to the pulse flow with strong effect of inertial force. In this paper, the non-Darcy flow equation and the calculation method of capillary number of pressure pulse displacement are established. The pressure pulse experiments of single-phase and two- phase flow are carried out. The results show that the periodic change of velocity can decrease the seepage resistance and enhance apparent permeability by generating the inertial force. The higher the pulse frequency improves the apparent permeability by enhancing influence of inertial force. The increase of apparent permeability of high permeability core is larger than that of low permeability core, which indicates that inertial force is more prominent in high permeability reservoir. For the water-oil two-phase flow, inertia force makes the relative permeability curve move towards right, and the equal permeability point becomes higher. In other words, with the increase of capillary number, part of residual oil is activated, and the displacement efficiency is improved.

Description: The Ongamira Valley (Córdoba, Argentina) shows a persistent occupational history of its territory. Even one of the first Argentinian radiocarbon (14C) dates was calculated in this valley; for 70 years, the chronology was based on relative dates (stratigraphy and its cultural content). For this reason, since 2010 a 14C dating program has been developed focusing on the chronology of eight of the 60 sites identified so far for the valley. This work reports the outcomes of this program with 27 new dates. These data have been related to characteristics of the material culture, use of space and mobility of hunter-gatherer societies. The results have allowed us to bring new insights into a continuous occupation of the valley since the Middle Holocene according to the human peopling models proposed. It has also been possible to provide greater chronological precision to various activities related to feeding practices, use of space associated with rock-shelters, palaeoenvironmental changes and incorporation of new technologies into daily practices.

Description: Radiocarbon (14C) dating was applied to the Neolithic open-air, flat-extended settlement at Revenia-Korinos in Pieria, North Greece. The samples came from the earlier habitation period of the settlement, characterized by more than 100 pits that vary significantly in shape and dimensions, some of them being identified as subterranean or semi-subterranean pit dwellings. It is suggested that the fills of the pits were the result of secondary, structured refuse deposition, except for pits that preserve their habitational use, according to stratigraphic data. The 14C results confirm that Revenia is among the earliest Neolithic settlements in North Greece and the Aegean in general. The initial phase of habitation is dated at around 6600/6550 BC comparable only to two other EN sites in North Greece. Habitation intensified at around 6460/6430 BC, accompanied by a shift in pottery style. This phase lasts until 6200/6100 BC when the pit habitation mode is followed by above-ground, rectangular post-framed structures. The dates of the human burials from Revenia also identify them as among the earliest Neolithic burials in Greece. Finally, the radiocarbon dates proved very useful for sequencing the chronological use of the pits and the excavated area in general.

Description: The Kostenki-Borshchevo site complex (Voronezh region, Russia) serves as the foundation of Eastern Europe’s Upper Paleolithic chronocultural framework. Here we present new radiocarbon dates for three Kostenki sites. Dates of ∼27.5–27 ka BP for Kostenki 15 suggest that its archaeological layer accumulated over a short period. These results help to confirm that the site is unrelated to Aurignacian assemblages. New dates for the Kostenki-Avdeevo Culture (KAC) Layer I of Kostenki 1 address the longstanding question of its chronology. Our results of ∼23.5–23 ka BP from different areas of the site are consistent with the layer’s accumulation over a short period. These results accord with recently obtained dates for Kostenki’s other KAC sites. Our younger results of ∼22.5–21 ka BP for different material from Layer III of Kostenki 21 are similarly consistent with a short chronological window for Kostenki’s KAC sites. Overall, this and other recent publications support the view that many Kostenki assemblages are chronologically distinct. This provides an important insight into the tempo of Upper Paleolithic cultural change.

Description: Climate change is one of the greatest threats that our civilization is facing because increases in extreme temperatures severely affect humans, the economy, and ecosystems. General circulation models, which adequately predict climate change around the world, are less accurate at regional levels. Therefore, trends must be locally assessed, particularly in regions such as the Baja California Peninsula, which is a thin mass of land surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. Herein, we discuss extreme temperature trends in the Baja California Peninsula and whether they are statistically significant based on the Spearman’s nonparametric statistical test. For these purposes, 18 weather stations covering the entire region were analyzed, revealing that maximum temperatures for the hottest months are rising at a rate that is consistent with the RCP 8.5 scenario. Changes in minimum temperatures were also analyzed.

Description: While 2020 –dubbed the “Super Year for Nature –has seen the world battling an unforeseen global pandemic, this article comes back on the Convention of Biological Diversity and its regime, studies the aim of the negotiations of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and the relevance of this framework for the planet, considering that the protection of biological diversity impacts all aspects of human life, including the full enjoying of human rights and protection against future pandemics.

Description: We already know that the ocean is at a crisis point. For the last twenty years and more, scientific report after report has flagged the increasing decline of ocean biodiversity and the damaging impacts of human activities –including over-extraction of resources and pollution, by plastic, of course, but overwhelmingly by anthropogenic climate change. It is only by allowing wildness to return –allowing natural ecosystems to return and heal themselves can we save the planet from ourselves. There are already two complex legal regimes governing both the ocean and climate change: the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) and the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). However, it appears, “the Law of the Sea and the Climate Change regimes are two of the giants of the international law treaty arena, yet ... they appear like ships that pass in the night.” How do we move forward on saving the blue half of our endangered planet?

Description: During horizontal well staged fracturing, there is stress interference between multiple transverse fractures in the same perforation cluster. Theoretical analysis and numerical calculation methods are applied in this study. We analysed the mechanism of induced stress interference in a single fracture under different fracture spacings and principal stress ratios. We also investigated the hydraulic fracture morphology and synchronous expansion process under different fracture spacings and principal stress ratios. The results show that the essence of induced stress is the stress increment in the area around the hydraulic fracture. Induced stress had a dual role in the fracturing process. It created favourable ground stress conditions for the diversion of hydraulic fractures and the formation of complex fracture network systems, inhibited fracture expansion in local areas, stopped hydraulic fractures, and prevented the formation of effective fractures. The curves of the maximum principal stress, minimum principal stress, and induced principal stress difference with distance under different fracture lengths, different fracture spacings, and different principal stress ratios were consistent overall. With a small fracture spacing and a small principal stress ratio, intermediate hydraulic fractures were difficult to initiate or arrest soon after initiation, fractures did not expand easily, and the expansion speed of lateral hydraulic fractures was fast. Moreover, with a smaller fracture spacing and a smaller principal stress ratio, hydraulic fractures were more prone to steering, and even new fractures were produced in the minimum principal stress direction, which was beneficial to the fracture network communication in the reservoir. When the local stress and fracture spacing were appropriate, the intermediate fracture could expand normally, which could effectively increase the reservoir permeability.