Quantification of dissolved CO2 plumes at the Goldeneye CO2-release experiment

According to many prognostic scenarios by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a scaling-up of carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS) by several orders-of-magnitude is necessary to meet the target of ≤2 °C global warming by 2100 relative to preindustrial levels. Since a large fraction of the predicted CO2 storage capacity lies offshore, there is a pressing need to develop field-tested methods to detect and quantify potential leaks in the marine environment. Here, we combine field measurements with numerical models to determine the flow rate of a controlled release of CO2 in a shallow marine setting at about 119 m water depth in the North Sea. In this experiment, CO2 was injected into the sediment at 3 m depth at 143 kg d-1. The new leakage monitoring tool predicts that 91 kg d-1 of CO2 escaped across the seafloor, and that 51 kg d-1 of CO2 were retained in the sediment, in agreement with independent field estimates. The new approach relies mostly on field data collected from ship-deployed technology (towed sensors, Acoustic Doppler current profiler—ADCP), which makes it a promising tool to monitor existing and upcoming offshore CO2 storage sites and to detect and quantify potential CO2 leakage

Identification of a resistance gene Rpi-dlc1 to Phytophthora infestans in European accessions of Solanum dulcamara

Initial screening of 14 Solanum dulcamara accessions enabled the identification of individuals resistant and susceptible to Phytophthora infestans. Crosses between contrasting genotypes resulted in three F2–BC1 populations segregating for resistance to late blight in a laboratory assay and under field conditions. Genetic profiling of one of these populations using 128 AFLP primers generated three markers linked to the resistant phenotype. Blast analysis of the sequenced markers resulted in a plausible gene position on the distal end of the long arm of chromosome 9 that could be confirmed by CAPS markers. Thus, we describe a first resistant gene, named Rpi-dlc1, from S. dulcamara, a Solanum species native to Europe. In addition, one population was tested for broadness of resistance responses using a set of seven additional P. infestans isolates, varying in virulence. This indicated the possible presence of additional Rpi genes

Exome-wide Rare Variant Analysis Identifies TUBA4A Mutations Associated with Familial ALS

Exome sequencing is an effective strategy for identifying human disease genes. However, this methodology is difficult in late-onset diseases where limited availability of DNA from informative family members prohibits comprehensive segregation analysis. To overcome this limitation, we performed an exome-wide rare variant burden analysis of 363 index cases with familial ALS (FALS). The results revealed an excess of patient variants within TUBA4A, the gene encoding the Tubulin, Alpha 4A protein. Analysis of a further 272 FALS cases and 5,510 internal controls confirmed the overrepresentation as statistically significant and replicable. Functional analyses revealed that TUBA4A mutants destabilize the microtubule network, diminishing its repolymerization capability. These results further emphasize the role of cytoskeletal defects in ALS and demonstrate the power of gene-based rare variant analyses in situations where causal genes cannot be identified through traditional segregation analysis

Towards improved monitoring of offshore carbon storage: A real-world field experiment detecting a controlled sub-seafloor CO2 release

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a key technology to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial processes in a feasible, substantial, and timely manner. For geological CO2 storage to be safe, reliable, and accepted by society, robust strategies for CO2 leakage detection, quantification and management are crucial. The STEMM-CCS (Strategies for Environmental Monitoring of Marine Carbon Capture and Storage) project aimed to provide techniques and understanding to enable and inform cost-effective monitoring of CCS sites in the marine environment. A controlled CO2 release experiment was carried out in the central North Sea, designed to mimic an unintended emission of CO2 from a subsurface CO2 storage site to the seafloor. A total of 675 kg of CO2 were released into the shallow sediments (∼3 m below seafloor), at flow rates between 6 and 143 kg/d. A combination of novel techniques, adapted versions of existing techniques, and well-proven standard techniques were used to detect, characterise and quantify gaseous and dissolved CO2 in the sediments and the overlying seawater. This paper provides an overview of this ambitious field experiment. We describe the preparatory work prior to the release experiment, the experimental layout and procedures, the methods tested, and summarise the main results and the lessons learnt

Spores de moisissures en air intérieur : cas d'un bâtiment en Guadeloupe

International audienc

Data for "Potato tuber origin and microbial composition determines resistance against soft rot Pectobacteriaceae"

In this study differences in disease incidence between potato seed lots inoculated with soft rot Pectobacteriaceae were assessed in two years. Subsequently the microbial communities in tubers and soils from seed lots with a low and high disease incidence were determined by amplicon sequencing

Natural Infections of Potato Plants Grown from Minitubers with Blackleg-Causing Soft Rot Pectobacteriaceae

Information on the infection incidence of blackleg-causing soft rot Pectobacteriaceae (BL-SRP) in potato crops grown from minitubers (PB1-crop) and the distribution of BL-SRP in individual plants was collected during a two-year survey conducted at five potato growers located in the Netherlands. In the last weeks before haulm destruction, leaves, stems, and tubers of 100 or 200 plants were analyzed separately for the presence of Pectobacterium parmentieri, P. brasiliense, P. atrosepticum, and Dickeya spp. Extracted plant parts enriched for BL-SRP were analyzed with TaqMan assays specific for the detection of blackleg-causing BL-SRP. In 2019, low incidences of P. parmentieri (1–6%) in leaves were found at four growing sites. At one farm, reactions were detected in TaqMan assays for D. zeae and D. chrysanthemi in leaves. In 2020, the crops of two growers were largely free from BL-SRP. At one farm, a high infection incidence (21%) was found for D. fangzhongdai in tubers. The isolated pathogen was able to cause potato blackleg. At two other farms, high infection incidences in tubers were found with P. brasiliense (35–39%) and P. parmentieri (12–19%), whereas the incidence of P. brasiliense in leaves was also high (8%). In conclusion, high infection incidences with BL-SRP in potatoes can be found in a PB1 crop at the end of the growing season. Infections in individual plants were found either in tubers or in leaves. The potential sources of initial infection are discussed

Turbulent Flows Structures Crossing Conical Diffusers: Angle Effect Analysis using PIV Technique and POD for Post-Processing

International audienceIn this work, we investigated experimentally the hydrodynamics of flows crossing conical diffusers. On our previous work (Aloui et al., 2011), CFD turbulent models were validated for flows crossing the critical angle (2α=16°). Indeed, the PIV data base constructed was exploited to validate a variant of SST-RLC model. Taking into account the conical diffuser angle effect, the apparition and the development of vortices were observed and studied. The dynamics of the recirculation zones which may be observed at the lower and higher parts of the singularity, has not formed the subject of numerous studies. There were no studies that characterize the vortices at the conical diffusers in terms of size, centre positions, and vortex intensity. Consequently, two conical diffusers were studied using the Particle Image Velocimetry technique (PIV). The results illustrate effects of " opening angle " (2α=16°) and (2α=30°) on the flow structures developed in such type of diffusers. From such opening angle of conical diffusers, the progressive angle increasing generates a detachment of the boundary layer of the conical diffuser depending on the turbulence level. This detachment may lead to a coherent flow structures. We applied the coherent structures criterion Γ2 to the recorded velocity fields to detect and characterize the vortices at the conical diffusers. We used the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) to filter the PIV data base constructed and to extract the most energetic modes. The results illustrate that the turbulent flow structures can be constituted using a limited number of energetic modes

Deviations from environmental baseline: Detection of subsea CO2 release in the water column from real-time measurements at a potential offshore Carbon Dioxide Storage site

Highlights • Real-time monitoring of CO2 release. • Measurements of water column pH and pCO2 via towed Video-CTD system. • Assessment of towed sensors capacity to detect potential CO2 leakage in the water column. • Estimation of thresholds for the detection of anomalous pCO2. Within the framework of the STEMM-CCS project, a controlled CO2 release experiment was conducted under real-life conditions in the Goldeneye complex area, a depleted gas field located in the UK sector of the North Sea. Here, the viability of water column monitoring for the detection of the injected CO2 is evaluated. Real-time pH and pCO2 measurements were taken in the water column during the CO2 release experiment. Monitoring was carried out throughout the full water column, from the near-seafloor to the sea surface, in order to assess the spatial extent of the CO2 release. The dispersion of the CO2 plume was strongly influenced by tidal circulation in the area. The strongest signals were detected within 8 m of the bubble stream during low tide. The lowest pH and highest pCO2 values were 7.965 and 942.1 µatm, respectively, corresponding to variations of 16.4% [H+] and 125.6% from baseline values. The pCO2 baseline dynamics of Goldeneye area were assessed by the evaluation of the natural pCO2-O2 covariance. The estimation of seasonal thresholds for anomalous pCO2 (pCO2:O2 ratio May= 1.63 ± 0.04) allowed us to assess with confidence the non-biological origin of the detected CO2 during the release experiment