Environmental issues and the geological storage of CO2 : a discussion document

Increasing CO2 emissions will lead to climate change and ocean acidification with severe consequences for ecosystems and for human society. Strategies are being sought to reduce emissions including the geological storage of CO2. Existing studies operate within existing oil and gas regulatory frameworks, but if other non-oil reservoir geological formations are used these existing regulations may not apply. At UK and European levels the potential environmental impacts of uncontrolled CO2 releases from storage sites have been highlighted to be of significance for regulators. Thus a new regulatory framework may be needed. The precautionary principle is likely to be adopted by regulators, so it is important that the effects of acute and chronic exposures of ecosystems to CO2 leakages are evaluated. Consequently, existing regulations are likely to be developed to include specific recommendations concerning leakages. This review shows that many basic data simply do not exist to assist regulators in this process

Interpretation of the characteristics of ocean-dumped sewage sludge related to remote sensing

Wastewater sludge characteristics in general, and characteristics of wastewater sludges generated by the City of Philadelphia in particular, were addressed. The types and sources of wastewater sludges, a description of sludge treatment and disposal processes, examination of sludge generation and management for the City of Philadelphia, and definition of characteristics for typical east coast sludges undergoing ocean disposal were discussed. Specific differences exist between the characteristics of primary and secondary wastewater sludges, especially with the nature and size distribution of the solids particles. The sludges from the City of Philadelphia monitored during remote sensing experiments were mixtures of various sludge types and lacked distinguishing characteristics. In particular, the anaerobic digestion process exerted the most significant influence on sludge characteristics for the City of Philadelphia. The sludges generated by the City of Philadelphia were found to be typical and harbor no unique features

Oceanus.

v. 26, no. 2 (1983

Biochar as a Soil Amendment: A Review of the Environmental Implications

The term 'biochar' refers to black carbon formed by the pyrolysis of biomass i.e. by heating biomass in an oxygen-free or low oxygen environment such that it does not (or only partially) combusts. Traditional charcoal is one example of biochar produced from wood. The term 'biochar' is much broader than this however, encompassing black carbon produced from any biomass feedstock. The use of biochar as a soil additive has been proposed as a means to simultaneously mitigate anthropogenic climate change whilst improving agricultural soil fertility. This paper provides a review of what is known about both of these claims and also about the wider environmental implications of the adoption of this process. The intention of this review is not just to summarise current knowledge of the subject, but also to identify gaps in knowledge that require further research

Topex: Observing the Oceans from Space

Measurement of global ocean topography by a radar altimeter aboard the TOPEX satellite is discussed. Technical aspects of satellite altimetry as they pertain to the measurement of ocean circulation are described. The TOPEX mission is explained and a general history of oceanography is included

Pollution in the open oceans: 2009-2013

This review of pollution in the open oceans updates a report on this topic prepared by GESAMP five years previously (Reports and Studies No. 79, GESAMP, 2009). The latter report, the first from GESAMP focusing specifically on the oceans beyond the 200 m depth contour, was prepared for purposes of the Assessment of Assessments, the preparatory phase of a regular process for assessing the state of the marine environment, led jointly by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO-IOC)

A semi-empirical representation of the temporal variation of total greenhouse gas levels expressed as equivalent levels of carbon dioxide

Abstract and PDF report are also available on the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change website (http://globalchange.mit.edu/).In order to examine the underlying longer-term trends in greenhouse gases, that are driven for example by anthropogenic emissions or climate change, it is useful to remove the recurring effects of natural cycles and oscillations on the sources and/or sinks of those gases that have strong biological (e.g., CO2, CH4, N2O) and/or photochemical (e.g. CH4) influences on their global atmospheric cycles. We use global observations to calculate monthly estimates of greenhouse gas levels expressed as CO2 equivalents, and then fit these estimates to a semi-empirical model that includes the natural seasonal, QBO, and ENSO variations, as well as a second order polynomial expressing longer-term variations. We find that this model provides a reasonably accurate fit to the observation-based monthly data. We also show that this semiempirical model has some predictive capability; that is it can be used to provide a reasonably reliable estimate of CO2 equivalents at the current time using validated observations that lag real time by a few to several months.This study received support from the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, which is funded by a consortium of government, industry and foundation sponsors