Underwater robotics in the future of arctic oil and gas operations

Master's thesis in Petroleum engineeringArctic regions have lately been in the centre of increasing attention due to high vulnerability to climate change and the retreat in sea ice cover. Commercial actors are exploring the Arctic for new shipping routes and natural resources while scientific activity is being intensified to provide better understanding of the ecosystems. Marine surveys in the Arctic have traditionally been conducted from research vessels, requiring considerable resources and involving high risks where sea ice is present. Thus, development of low-cost methods for collecting data in extreme areas is of interest for both industrial purposes and environmental management. The main objective of this thesis is to investigate the use of underwater vehicles as sensor platforms for oil and gas industry applications with focus on seabed mapping and monitoring. Theoretical background and a review of relevant previous studies are provided prior to presentation of the fieldwork, which took place in January 2017 in Kongsfjorden (Svalbard). The fieldwork was a part of the Underwater Robotics and Polar Night Biology course offered at the University Centre in Svalbard. Applied unmanned platforms included remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV). They were equipped with such sensors as side-scan sonar, multi-beam echo sounder, camera and others. The acquired data was processed and used to provide information about the study area. The carried out analysis of the vehicle performance gives an insight into challenges specific to marine surveys in the Arctic regions, especially during the period of polar night. The discussion is focused on the benefits of underwater robotics and integrated platform surveying in remote and harsh environment. Recommendations for further research and suggestions for application of similar vehicles and sensors are also given in the thesis

One-stage Synthesis of Thermally Stable Nano-anatase with High Photocatalytic Activity

Anatase nano-powder (TSP) was synthesized by annealing of peroxide-treated titanyl sulfate hydrate at 800°C. The product and intermediates (prepared at lower temperatures) were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and IR spectroscopy. Their photocatalytic activity was studied in the model reaction of Methyl Orange degradation under UV irradiation. The properties of so-made samples were compared to the properties of the products of annealing naked titanyl sulfate hydrate under similar conditions (TS). Photocatalytic activity of the TSP samples is higher than photocatalytic activity of TS and commercial anatase Hombikat UV100, which is manufactured by pyrolysis of naked titanyl sulfate. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3515

Cosmic ray modulation by high-speed solar wind fluxes

Cosmic ray intensity variations connected with recurrent high-speed fluxes (HSF) of solar wind are investigated. The increase of intensity before the Earth gets into a HSF, north-south anisotropy and diurnal variation of cosmic rays inside a HSF as well as the characteristics of Forbush decreases are considered

Estimation of intraband and interband relative coupling constants from temperature dependences of the order parameter for two-gap superconductors

We present temperature dependences of the large and the small superconducting gaps measured directly by SnS-Andreev spectroscopy in various Fe-based superconductors and MgB$_2$. The experimental $\Delta_{L,S}(T)$ are well-fitted with a two-gap model based on Moskalenko and Suhl system of equations (supplemented with a BCS-integral renormalization). From the the fitting procedure, we estimate the key attribute of superconducting state \textemdash relative electron-boson coupling constants and eigen BCS-ratios for both condensates. Our results evidence for a driving role of a strong intraband coupling in the bands with the large gap, whereas interband coupling is rather weak for all the superconductors under study.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted to J. Supercond. Novel Mag

Die Möglichkeiten einer Beteiligung an der gemeinsamen Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik der Europäischen Union aus russischer Sicht

Insgesamt ist die Kooperation zwischen der EU und Russland im Rahmen der ESVP schwach. Intensiver Dialog und Konsultationen während der gemeinsamen Gipfel und die Dokumente und Erklärungen, die von beiden Seiten unterschrieben wurden, sind in der Praxis nicht weitergeführt worden. Die EU hatte von Anfang an keine genaue Vorstellung darüber, wie das eigene verteidigungs- und sicherheitspolitische Potenzial zu realisieren war. Diese Unklarheiten erschwerten den Dialog der EU mit den Partnerstaaten. Die russische Seite wiederum war sich nicht sicher, ob die EU früher oder später zu einem starken Akteur wird, der fähig ist, eine selbstständige Verteidigungs- und Sicherheitspolitik zu formulieren; jedoch bestand Russland (in jedem Fall) ständig darauf, am Mechanismus der Entscheidungsfindung in der ESVP auf gleicher Augenhöhe teilzunehmen

Applying beetroot as food ingredient in ice-cream production

The development of new food products with functional ingredients of plant origin is highly promising and relevant direction in food industry. Assortment of products, including ice cream is constantly expanding due to the introduction of various plant ingredients into its composition, enriching the product with health beneficial nutrients. In this study, beetroot (Beta vulgaris) was selected as a plant component for ice cream production. The roots of common beets contain many useful inorganic and organic substances, such as carbohydrates, proteins, organic acids, mineral salts, betalaines, vitamins, folic acid and betaine. The influence of different thermal treatment techniques of beetroots on the content of dry substances and organoleptic properties of beetroot puree have been compared and analyzed. The heat exposure technique recommended for beetroots is microwave processing for 9 minutes at a power of 800 watts. This method of heat treatment ensures the culinary readiness of vegetable raw materials while preserving dry substances in it, including betanine. The effect of the beetroot puree dose on the formation of the ice cream quality was studied. The recommended dose of the beetroot puree was established as 20%

Hypocrisy as a form of social behaviour represented by idioms in the English language

The article deals with English idioms covering the semantic area of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is seen as a specific form of social behavior and communication. Idioms are examined as a linguistic representation of hypocrisy as well as an effective means of creating pragmatic impact and thus revealing the social attitude of English native speakers to hypocrisy as a form of behaviour. The research is carried out within the boundary of cognitive-pragmatic approach. The authors apply contextual analysis in order to define the key factors affecting social attitude to hypocrisy in various communicative situation