Britain’s Shale Gas Zeal and Riches

The United Kingdom is considered to be shale gas rich with substantial volumes distributed both onshore and offshore. Recent technological development has made shale gas exploration commercially viable. The UK’s shale gas industry is at an early stage, with a few companies actively operating in this area and merely a few specific regulations exist for it. Many questions are waiting to be answered, many barriers must be overcome. This article analyses the UK’s current state of play for shale gas. First, background information and a brief description of shale gas hydraulic fracturing is given. Government and business points of view will be illustrated and analysed before offering an outlook

Feasibility Study of a Campus-Based Bikesharing Program at UNLV

Bikesharing systems have been deployed worldwide as a transportation demand management strategy to encourage active modes and reduce single-occupant vehicle travel. These systems have been deployed at universities, both as part of a city program or as a stand-alone system, to serve for trips to work, as well as trips on campus. The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTCSNV) has built a public bikesharing system in downtown Las Vegas, approximately five miles from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). This study analyzes the feasibility of a campus-based bikesharing program at UNLV. Through a review of the literature, survey of UNLV students and staff, and field observations and analysis of potential bikeshare station locations, the authors determined that a bikesharing program is feasible at UNLV

Effects of intraseasonal variations of the Arctic Oscillation on the Barents Sea

This paper investigates possible connections among the wintertime Arctic Oscillation(AO), North Atlantic water inflow into the Barents Sea, and sea ice and sea water temperature in the Barents Sea on monthly to seasonal time scales using a coupled sea-ice-ocean model. The forcing is from winters with large anomalies of the AO. The inflow of the North Atlantic water into the Barents Sea forced by significantly different wind stresses over the area south of the Barents Sea shows a close relation to the AO only during the AO high-phase periods rather than during the low-phase periods. The responses to forcing by the opposite phases of the AO differ substantially in surface and subsurface water temperature of the Barents Sea. The positive phase of the AO raises subsurface water temperature in the Barents Sea, with concurrent surface cooling in the western and central Barents Sea. One exception is in the eastern Barents Sea where the surface water temperature is higher during the positive phase than during the negative phase. The enhanced net inflow of warmer Atlantic water into the Barents Sea causes decrease of sea ice