Baseline groundwater chemistry: the Corallian of the Vale of Pickering, Yorkshire

This report describes the regional geochemistry of the groundwater from the Corallian aquifer in the Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire. The study aims to assess the likely natural baseline chemistry of the groundwater. Data have been collected from strategic sampling of 24 groundwater sources, in conjunction with collation of existing groundwater, rainfall, and mineralogical data. The Corallian aquifer comprise Upper Jurassic shallow shelf marine sediments, with a variety of facies including muds to micritic limestone and oolites, to bioclastic limestones with interbeds of silts and sands. These strata represent an important groundwater source in north-east England. The main chemical properties of the groundwater are determined by the interaction of rainwater recharge reacting with the aquifer minerals. Within the Corallian aquifer, groundwater major ion composition is dominantly influenced by reaction with calcite, and little variation is seen within the major ion proportions. Human impacts on the water quality are clearly evident, mainly through the presence of NO3-N as an indicator contaminant. The widespread presence, commonly in excess of the drinking water limit and the increases over time suggest that the aquifer is heavily influenced by agricultural practices. Agricultural land dominates the area underlain by the unconfined aquifer. With the exception of NO3-N, the available data for groundwater within the Corallian aquifer of the Vale of Pickering indicate they are of good quality for the analytes tested, with few elevated concentrations of potentially harmful trace elements. For many analytes the 95th percentile serves as a first approximation of the upper limit of the baseline range of concentrations, as this serves to eliminate the most extreme outlier concentrations

Stem cell factor (SCF) and c-kit in the ovine fetal testis in normal and nutrition perturbed pregnancies

Stem cell factor (SCF) and c-kit in the ovine fetal testis in normal and nutrition perturbed pregnancie

Risk maps for evaluation of water-quality monitoring requirements in England & Wales

This report details the steps taken in the process of producing risk (hazard) maps for chemical parameters listed in the European Commission Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption and the national Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations that implement the requirements of the directive for drinking water in England and Wales. Amendments to 98/83/EC set out in Directive 2015/1787 provide the terms for reduced monitoring requirements by European Member States for drinking water where evidence indicates that waterquality risk is low. On the basis of the Water Safety Plan approach of the World Health Organization, DWI requires mapping of available data on raw-water sources in England and Wales to provide an evaluation of spatial distributions of the listed chemical parameters and their concentration ranges as evidence of risk for drinking water. An evaluation of temporal variability was also required to assess evidence for any trends to aid with decision making on future drinkingwater monitoring requirements. Data for an agreed list of 27 chemical parameters were collated, screened, evaluated and mapped, with surface water and groundwater being treated separately. This report details the data sources and steps taken to collate, evaluate, process and map them. Risk maps produced for individual parameters include expected values and 95th percentiles of measured values relative to the prescribed concentration or value (PCV) at any given location. The methodology employed required prediction of the entire statistical distribution of each parameter at each prediction location so that both expected value and percentile values for each parameter could be determined. This required the use of a statistical model to represent the variation of the data. The produced risk maps are produced for water-quality data analysed over the last three years, in line with the requirements of the 2015/1787 Directive. The correspondence between the two layers is an indication of the spatial data availability and the strength of correlation between measurements from nearby sites. The maps are presented in ArcGIS with additional explanatory layers comprising open-source data for coastline, multiscaled atlases, postcode sectors, place names, simplified geology, Environment Agency region boundaries and local authority boundaries as points of reference. The GIS is presented as a separate mxd file. The maps have inevitable limitations derived from inability to guarantee complete elimination of errors from the cleaned datasets, paucity of data for some parameters, spatial and temporal variability of available data for others, variable spreads of surface-water drainage or aquifers, variable detection limits for some trace elements, and for groundwaters, variable chemistry with depth, especially for concealed and/or stacked aquifers. Nonetheless, the maps provide an estimate of the current best-available spatial distributions for parameters for surface water and groundwater to aid DWI in assessing drinking-water risks and determining monitoring requirements, in line with Directive 2015/1787. It is anticipated that the maps will be used alongside available sitespecific water-quality monitoring data and site risk assessments for decision making in the context of the Directive. Temporal variability of raw water chemical data have also been assessed. As temporal trends vary significantly spatially for individual parameters and between parameters, recommendations for timescales of map revision are difficult to make. As a pragmatic recommendation, a mapping renewal interval on the order of 10 years is considered appropriate. In the case of amendments to the statutory PCVs in the meantime, remapping is possible using the existing rasters and relating to the revised threshold values

The General Solution of Bianchi Type VIIhVII_h Vacuum Cosmology

The theory of symmetries of systems of coupled, ordinary differential equations (ODE) is used to develop a concise algorithm in order to obtain the entire space of solutions to vacuum Bianchi Einstein Field Equations (EFEs). The symmetries used are the well known automorphisms of the Lie algebra for the corresponding isometry group of each Bianchi Type, as well as the scaling and the time re-parametrization symmetry. The application of the method to Type VII_h results in (a) obtaining the general solution of Type VII_0 with the aid of the third Painlev\'{e} transcendental (b) obtaining the general solution of Type $VII_h$ with the aid of the sixth Painlev\'{e} transcendental (c) the recovery of all known solutions (six in total) without a prior assumption of any extra symmetry (d) The discovery of a new solution (the line element given in closed form) with a G_3 isometry group acting on T_3, i.e. on time-like hyper-surfaces, along with the emergence of the line element describing the flat vacuum Type VII_0 Bianchi Cosmology.Comment: latex2e source file, 27 pages, 2 tables, no fiure

Impacts on groundwater quality from abandoned hydrocarbon wells - final report

This report details a reconnaissance investigation carried out between 2016 and 2018 from a British Geological Survey (BGS)–Environment Agency (EA) collaboration on the impacts of abandoned hydrocarbon (HC) wells on groundwater quality in England. The investigation involved collation of a database of HC wells that were identified from records provided by DECC (Department of Energy & Climate Change; now BEIS: Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy) as being abandoned (as opposed to operational or unspecified), categorising according to factors such as oil or gas designation, depth of HC resource, time since abandonment, productive life, absence of active wells nearby, and occurrence and type of overlying aquifer(s). From this categorisation, a subset of 27 sites were shortlisted for further investigation and fact sheets were produced for each outlining regional geology, hydrogeology and potential groundwater monitoring points in the area. Using these factsheets, four study areas were assessed as being most suitable for further field investigation. These comprised two gas fields: Nooks Farm (Staffordshire), and Ashdown (Sussex), and two oil fields: Hemswell (Lincolnshire) and Lomer (Hampshire). Groundwater sampling campaigns were conducted in 2016–2017 in the four study areas, with potential sampling points identified within a 5 km buffer zone around (downstream of) the HC well or HC field. In several areas, the number of sampling points was very limited as locations of HC wells do not necessarily have any relationship with locations of overlying aquifers. In others, large numbers of sites were deemed unsuitable for sampling, for reasons including disuse, decommissioning, safety or lack of access. This made representative sampling of groundwater a severe challenge. Suitable sites from the four study areas were sampled twice during the project, with a total of 48 groundwater samples being collected over the two campaigns. Results from both sampling rounds have shown that the presence of hydrocarbons in the groundwater is limited. In the first sampling round, a maximum dissolved methane (CH4) concentration of 407 μg/L was recorded. However, this relatively high value was not repeated when the site was visited during the second round of groundwater sampling. The value was below the threshold required for δ13CCH4 isotopic analysis. Some groundwater samples showed detectable quantities of organic compounds including VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) as well as pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, surfactants, analgesics and veterinary compounds. These were, however, almost invariably present in low concentrations, none could be linked unequivocally to the presence of abandoned HC wells and many were clearly due to other anthropogenic activities. As a result of the difficulties finding representative and suitable groundwater sampling sites, a further reconnaissance was undertaken in May 2017 to identify potential alternative gas and oil fields. This confirmed further the difficulties in finding suitable areas for investigating groundwater quality and further groundwater sampling was therefore not attempted. An alternative approach was used to investigate two abandoned HC well areas: Ashdown, one of the original study areas, and a new location at Bolney (also Sussex). A soil gas survey was completed at each of these locations in order to investigate whether soil gas proximal to the former well location contained any evidence of HC leakage. Due to poor ground conditions at the time of sampling, the results are ambiguous, but do show elevated concentrations of both CO2 and CH4. Further work in dry ground conditions would be required to say with certainty that these concentrations are linked directly to the presence of the gas wells

Nonlinear Differential Equations Satisfied by Certain Classical Modular Forms

A unified treatment is given of low-weight modular forms on \Gamma_0(N), N=2,3,4, that have Eisenstein series representations. For each N, certain weight-1 forms are shown to satisfy a coupled system of nonlinear differential equations, which yields a single nonlinear third-order equation, called a generalized Chazy equation. As byproducts, a table of divisor function and theta identities is generated by means of q-expansions, and a transformation law under \Gamma_0(4) for the second complete elliptic integral is derived. More generally, it is shown how Picard-Fuchs equations of triangle subgroups of PSL(2,R) which are hypergeometric equations, yield systems of nonlinear equations for weight-1 forms, and generalized Chazy equations. Each triangle group commensurable with \Gamma(1) is treated.Comment: 40 pages, final version, accepted by Manuscripta Mathematic

Effect of extended cefquinome treatment on clinical persistence or recurrence of environmental clinical mastitis

The effectiveness of antibiotic treatment of clinical mastitis (CM) is classically evaluated using bacteriological cure, which provides a concise and objective way of assessing efficacy but does not reflect the situation in the field where persistence or recurrence of clinical signs lead to perceived treatment failure. If clinical signs persist or recur, intramammary (IMM) treatment is often extended or supplemented with parenteral therapy in the expectation of a more efficient elimination of clinical signs or a lower probability of recurrence. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy against clinical persistence or recurrence of three cefquinome treatment regimes, standard 1.5-day intramammary (SIMM), 5-day extended intramammary (EIMM) and combination of EIMM plus 5-day extended parenteral (ECOMBO) treatment. The study was conducted on three dairy farms with a high recurrence rate of environmental mastitis. Efficacy was evaluated using a multi-level model at the quarter and at the cow level, based on the persistence or recurrence of clinical signs at any time during a 105-day period following the end of the initial treatment, independent of pathogen. The most prevalent pathogens were E. coli (16.9%) and S. uberis (11.97%). EIMM and ECOMBO significantly decreased the persistence or recurrence of CM by 8% and 6% at the quarter level and by 9% and 8% at the cow level, respectively. ECOMBO may not reduce the persistence or recurrence of CM beyond EIMM. Whilst extended treatment regimens offered an improved outcome in this study, the producer and practitioner need to carefully consider such regimens from the perspective of prudent antibiotic use

Preliminary assessment of the environmental baseline in the Fylde, Lancashire

This report presents the collated preliminary results from the British Geological Survey (BGS) led project Science-based environmental baseline monitoring associated with shale gas development in the Fylde, Lancashire. The project has been funded by a combination of BGS National Capability funding, in-kind contributions from project partners and a grant awarded by the Department of Business Energy and Investment Strategy (BEIS). It complements an on-going project, in which similar activities are being carried out, in the Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire. Further information on the projects can be found on the BGS website: www.bgs.ac.uk. The project has initiated a wide-ranging environmental baseline monitoring programme that includes water quality (groundwater and surface water), seismicity, ground motion, atmospheric composition (greenhouse gases and air quality), soil gas and radon in air (indoors and outdoors). The motivation behind the project(s) was to establish independent monitoring in the area around the proposed shale gas hydraulic fracturing sites in the Fylde, Lancashire (Cuadrilla Resources Ltd) before any shale gas operations take place. As part of the project, instrumentation has been deployed to measure, in real-time or near real-time, a range of environmental variables (water quality, seismicity, atmospheric composition). These data are being displayed on the project’s web site (www.bgs.ac.uk/lancashire). Additional survey, sampling and monitoring has also been carried out through a co-ordinated programme of fieldwork and laboratory analysis, which has included installation of new monitoring infrastructure, to allow compilation of one of the most comprehensive environmental datasets in the UK. The monitoring programme is continuing. However, there are already some very important findings emerging from the limited datasets which should be taken into account when developing future monitoring strategy, policy and regulation. The information is not only relevant to Lancashire but will be applicable more widely in the UK and internationally. Although shale gas operations in other parts of the world are well-established, there is a paucity of good baseline data and effective guidance on monitoring. The project will also allow the experience gained, and the scientifically-robust findings to be used, to develop and establish effective environmental monitoring strategies for shale gas and similar industrial activities

Magnetic fields in cosmic particle acceleration sources

We review here some magnetic phenomena in astrophysical particle accelerators associated with collisionless shocks in supernova remnants, radio galaxies and clusters of galaxies. A specific feature is that the accelerated particles can play an important role in magnetic field evolution in the objects. We discuss a number of CR-driven, magnetic field amplification processes that are likely to operate when diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) becomes efficient and nonlinear. The turbulent magnetic fields produced by these processes determine the maximum energies of accelerated particles and result in specific features in the observed photon radiation of the sources. Equally important, magnetic field amplification by the CR currents and pressure anisotropies may affect the shocked gas temperatures and compression, both in the shock precursor and in the downstream flow, if the shock is an efficient CR accelerator. Strong fluctuations of the magnetic field on scales above the radiation formation length in the shock vicinity result in intermittent structures observable in synchrotron emission images. Resonant and non-resonant CR streaming instabilities in the shock precursor can generate mesoscale magnetic fields with scale-sizes comparable to supernova remnants and even superbubbles. This opens the possibility that magnetic fields in the earliest galaxies were produced by the first generation Population III supernova remnants and by clustered supernovae in star forming regions.Comment: 30 pages, Space Science Review