Direct Use of Low Enthalpy Deep Geothermal Resources in the East African Rift Valley

Geothermal energy is already harnessed across East Africa to provide hundreds of megawatts of electricity, with significant plans for future expansion towards generation at the gigawatt scale. This power generation utilizes the high steam temperatures (typically more than 200 °C) that are available in several locations in Kenya, Ethiopia and elsewhere. The presence of these high enthalpy resources has deflected attention from the often attractive low and medium enthalpy resources present across a more extensive portion of the region. Geothermally heated water at cooler temperatures (less than 90 °C) could be widely produced by drilling shallower and cheaper boreholes than those required for power production. This low enthalpy resource could be widely exploitable throughout the Rift Valley, offering a low carbon, sustainable, reliable and commercially competitive source of heating, drying and cooling (via absorption chillers) to local farmers and growers, and for low temperature commercial and industrial uses. Applications of this type would displace expensive fossil fuels, reducing costs and carbon emissions as well as improving the region’s energy and food security. The power input for pump systems can be accommodated by relatively small generators, so direct heat projects could be beneficial to consumers in areas with no grid access

Direct Use of Low Enthalpy Deep Geothermal Resources in the East African Rift Valley

Geothermal energy is already harnessed across East Africa to provide hundreds of megawatts of electricity, with significant plans for future expansion towards generation at the gigawatt scale. This power generation utilizes the high steam temperatures (typically more than 200 °C) that are available in several locations in Kenya, Ethiopia and elsewhere. The presence of these high enthalpy resources has deflected attention from the often attractive low and medium enthalpy resources present across a more extensive portion of the region. Geothermally heated water at cooler temperatures (less than 90 °C) could be widely produced by drilling shallower and cheaper boreholes than those required for power production. This low enthalpy resource could be widely exploitable throughout the Rift Valley, offering a low carbon, sustainable, reliable and commercially competitive source of heating, drying and cooling (via absorption chillers) to local farmers and growers, and for low temperature commercial and industrial uses. Applications of this type would displace expensive fossil fuels, reducing costs and carbon emissions as well as improving the region’s energy and food security. The power input for pump systems can be accommodated by relatively small generators, so direct heat projects could be beneficial to consumers in areas with no grid access

Predictive Understanding of the Oceans' Wind-Driven Circulation on Interdecadal Time Scales

The goal of this project was to obtain a predictive understanding of a major component of the climate systemâs interdecadal variability: the oceansâ wind-driven circulation. To do so, we developed and applied advanced computational and statistical methods to the problem of climate variability and climate change. The methodology was developed first for models of intermediate complexity, such as the quasi-geostrophic and the primitive equations, which describe the wind-driven, near-surface flow in mid-latitude ocean basins. Our computational work consisted in developing efficient multi-level methods to simulate this flow and study its dependence on physically relevant parameters. Our oceanographic and climate work consisted in applying these methods to study the bifurcations in the wind-driven circulation and their relevance to the flows observed at present and those that might occur in a warmer climate. Both aspects of the work are crucial for the efficient treatment of large-scale, eddy-resolving numerical simulations of the oceans and an increased understanding and better prediction of climate change. Considerable progress has been achieved in understanding ocean-atmosphere interaction in the mid-latitudes. An important by-product of this research is a novel approach to explaining the North Atlantic Oscillation

Research perspectives on the Arab-Israeli conflict: introduction to a symposium

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67714/2/10.1177_002200277201600201.pd

Renewing the Exploration Approach for Mid-Enthalpy Geothermal Systems: Examples from Northern England and Scotland

ABSTRACT After a promising start in the 1970s and 80s, the UK rather fell behind other countries in the search for viable mid-enthalpy geothermal resources. This situation began to turn around in 2004, when the first of three deep geothermal exploration boreholes were drilled in northern England. What distinguished these from earlier drilling in Cornwall was the deliberate search for naturallyhigh permeability associated with major faults, especially those that have undergone strike-slip reactivation during the Cenozoic. Boreholes at Eastgate in the North Pennines targeted buried radiothermal granite, whereas the 1,821m-deep Science Central Borehole in Newcastle upon Tyne targeted a postulated deep sedimentary aquifer (the Fell Sandstones), which were inferred to be connected laterally to the granitic heat source by a major fault (the reactivation of the Iapetus geo-suture). The drilling was in both cases rewarded with impressive heat flows, and in the case of Eastgate with what is believed to be the highest permeability yet found in a deep granite batholith anywhere in the world. In parallel with these developments, a re-assessment was made of the preexisting geothermal heat flow database for the UK, applying newly-standardised correction protocols for palaeoclimatic and topographic distortions, which were found to be particularly marked in Scotland (where only shallow boreholes had been used to establish geothermal gradients in the original 1980s analysis), Similar prospects in northern England (similar to that drilled at Science Central) are now the focus of commercial exploration efforts. Appraisal of fault dispositions relative to the present-day maximum compressive stress azimuth are being used to identify the most promising areas for intersecting fault-related permeability at depth. New geophysical tools -most notably atomic dielectric resonance scanning -are also being appraised for their ability to directly detect features (such as hot brines) which are indicative of localised convection in target fault zones and aquifers. INTRODUCTION After a promising start in geothermal exploration and resource quantification in the 1970s and 1980s (Downing and Gray 1986a,b

Global impact of COVID-19 on stroke care

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic led to profound changes in the organization of health care systems worldwide. AIMS: We sought to measure the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes for mechanical thrombectomy, stroke, and intracranial hemorrhage hospitalizations over a three-month period at the height of the pandemic (1 March-31 May 2020) compared with two control three-month periods (immediately preceding and one year prior). METHODS: Retrospective, observational, international study, across 6 continents, 40 countries, and 187 comprehensive stroke centers. The diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes and/or classifications in stroke databases at participating centers. RESULTS: The hospitalization volumes for any stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, and mechanical thrombectomy were 26,699, 4002, and 5191 in the three months immediately before versus 21,576, 3540, and 4533 during the first three pandemic months, representing declines of 19.2% (95%CI, -19.7 to -18.7), 11.5% (95%CI, -12.6 to -10.6), and 12.7% (95%CI, -13.6 to -11.8), respectively. The decreases were noted across centers with high, mid, and low COVID-19 hospitalization burden, and also across high, mid, and low volume stroke/mechanical thrombectomy centers. High-volume COVID-19 centers (-20.5%) had greater declines in mechanical thrombectomy volumes than mid- (-10.1%) and low-volume (-8.7%) centers (p < 0.0001). There was a 1.5% stroke rate across 54,366 COVID-19 hospitalizations. SARS-CoV-2 infection was noted in 3.9% (784/20,250) of all stroke admissions. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a global decline in the volume of overall stroke hospitalizations, mechanical thrombectomy procedures, and intracranial hemorrhage admission volumes. Despite geographic variations, these volume reductions were observed regardless of COVID-19 hospitalization burden and pre-pandemic stroke/mechanical thrombectomy volumes.status: publishe

Global impact of COVID-19 on stroke care.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic led to profound changes in the organization of health care systems worldwide. AIMS: We sought to measure the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes for mechanical thrombectomy, stroke, and intracranial hemorrhage hospitalizations over a three-month period at the height of the pandemic (1 March-31 May 2020) compared with two control three-month periods (immediately preceding and one year prior). METHODS: Retrospective, observational, international study, across 6 continents, 40 countries, and 187 comprehensive stroke centers. The diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes and/or classifications in stroke databases at participating centers. RESULTS: The hospitalization volumes for any stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, and mechanical thrombectomy were 26,699, 4002, and 5191 in the three months immediately before versus 21,576, 3540, and 4533 during the first three pandemic months, representing declines of 19.2% (95%CI, -19.7 to -18.7), 11.5% (95%CI, -12.6 to -10.6), and 12.7% (95%CI, -13.6 to -11.8), respectively. The decreases were noted across centers with high, mid, and low COVID-19 hospitalization burden, and also across high, mid, and low volume stroke/mechanical thrombectomy centers. High-volume COVID-19 centers (-20.5%) had greater declines in mechanical thrombectomy volumes than mid- (-10.1%) and low-volume (-8.7%) centers (p \u3c 0.0001). There was a 1.5% stroke rate across 54,366 COVID-19 hospitalizations. SARS-CoV-2 infection was noted in 3.9% (784/20,250) of all stroke admissions. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a global decline in the volume of overall stroke hospitalizations, mechanical thrombectomy procedures, and intracranial hemorrhage admission volumes. Despite geographic variations, these volume reductions were observed regardless of COVID-19 hospitalization burden and pre-pandemic stroke/mechanical thrombectomy volumes

Global Impact of COVID-19 on Stroke Care and IV Thrombolysis

Objective To measure the global impact of COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of IV thrombolysis (IVT), IVT transfers, and stroke hospitalizations over 4 months at the height of the pandemic (March 1 to June 30, 2020) compared with 2 control 4-month periods. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional, observational, retrospective study across 6 continents, 70 countries, and 457 stroke centers. Diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes or classifications in stroke databases. Results. There were 91,373 stroke admissions in the 4 months immediately before compared to 80,894 admissions during the pandemic months, representing an 11.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] −11.7 to −11.3, p \u3c 0.0001) decline. There were 13,334 IVT therapies in the 4 months preceding compared to 11,570 procedures during the pandemic, representing a 13.2% (95% CI −13.8 to −12.7, p \u3c 0.0001) drop. Interfacility IVT transfers decreased from 1,337 to 1,178, or an 11.9% decrease (95% CI −13.7 to −10.3, p = 0.001). Recovery of stroke hospitalization volume (9.5%, 95% CI 9.2–9.8, p \u3c 0.0001) was noted over the 2 later (May, June) vs the 2 earlier (March, April) pandemic months. There was a 1.48% stroke rate across 119,967 COVID-19 hospitalizations. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection was noted in 3.3% (1,722/52,026) of all stroke admissions. Conclusions. The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a global decline in the volume of stroke hospitalizations, IVT, and interfacility IVT transfers. Primary stroke centers and centers with higher COVID-19 inpatient volumes experienced steeper declines. Recovery of stroke hospitalization was noted in the later pandemic months