CO2 STORage Evaluation Database (CO2 Stored): the UK's online storage atlas

The CO2 Storage Evaluation Database (CO2 Stored) is the UK's offshore storage atlas. It provides online access to information for over 500 potential offshore storage units. CO2 Stored is hosted and developed in partnership by The Crown Estate (TCE) and The British Geological Survey (BGS). CO2 Stored provides access to some of the results of the UK Storage Appraisal Project (UKSAP; commissioned and funded by the Energy Technologies Institute). Through CO2 Stored information can be delivered for a range of storage types including saline aquifers and oil and gas fields concerning the geological parameters of the storage units, potential geological risks and economic projections for cost of storage

Future of technology in NERC data models and informatics: outputs from InformaTEC

The ‘Big Data’ paradigm will revolutionize understanding of the natural environment. New technologies are revolutionizing our ability to measure, model, understand and make robust, evidence-based predictions at increasingly spatial and temporal resolutions. Realising this potential will require reengineering of environmental sciences in the observation infrastructure, in data management and processing, and in the culture of environmental sciences. Collectively these will deliver vibrant, integrated research communities. Manipulating such enormous data streams requires a new data infrastructure underpinned by four technologies. Pervasive environmental sensor networks will continuously measure suites of environmental parameters and transmit these wirelessly to scientists, regulators and modellers in real time. Integrated environmental modelling will process data, streamed from sensor networks, using components synthesizing natural systems developed by domain experts, each of which will be linked at runtime to other expert developed components. Semantic interoperability will facilitate cross-disciplinary working, as has already happened within the biosciences so that data items can be exchanged with unambiguous, shared meaning. Cloud computing will revolutionize data processing allowing scalable computing close to observations on an as-needed basis. Leveraging the full potential of these technologies requires a major culture change in the environmental sciences where national and continental scale observatories of sensors networks become basic scientific tools

Global database on large magnitude explosive volcanic eruptions (LaMEVE)

© 2012 Crosweller et al. To facilitate the assessment of hazards and risk from volcanoes, we have created a comprehensive global database of Quaternary Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions (LaMEVE). This forms part of the larger Volcanic Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA), and also forms part of the Global Volcano Model (GVM) initiative (www.globalvolcanomodel.org). A flexible search tool allows users to select data on a global, regional or local scale; the selected data can be downloaded into a spreadsheet. The database is publically available online at www.bgs.ac. uk/vogripa and currently contains information on nearly 3,000 volcanoes and over 1,800 Quaternary eruption records. Not all volcanoes currently have eruptions associated with them but have been included to allow for easy expansion of the database as more data are found. Data fields include: Magnitude, Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI), deposit volumes, eruption dates, and rock type. The scientific community is invited to contribute new data and also alert the database manager to potentially incorrect data. Whilst the database currently focuses only on large magnitude eruptions, it will be expanded to include data specifically relating to the principal volcanic hazards (e.g. pyroclastic flows, tephra fall, lahars, debris avalanches, ballistics), as well as vulnerability (e.g. population figures, building type) to facilitate risk assessments of future eruptions

A novel absorptive/reflective solar concentrator for heat and electricity generation: an optical and thermal analysis.

The crossed compound parabolic concentrator (CCPC) is one of the most efficient non-imaging solar concentrators used as a stationary solar concentrator or as a second stage solar concentrator. In this study, the CCPC is modified to demonstrate for the first time a new generation of solar concentrators working simultaneously as an electricity generator and thermal collector. The CCPC is designed to have two complementary surfaces, one reflective and one absorptive, and is named as an absorptive/reflective CCPC (AR-CCPC). Usually, the height of the CCPC is truncated with a minor sacrifice of the geometric concentration. These truncated surfaces rather than being eliminated are instead replaced with absorbent surfaces to collect heat from solar radiation. The optical efficiency including absorptive/reflective part of the AR-CCPC was simulated and compared for different geometric concentration ratios varying from 3.6× to 4×. It was found that the combined optical efficiency of the AR-CCPC 3.6×/4× remained constant and high all day long and that it had the highest total optical efficiency compared to other concentrators. In addition, the temperature distributions of AR-CCPC surfaces and the assembled solar cell were simulated based on those heat flux boundary conditions. It was shown that the addition of a thermal absorbent surface can increase the wall temperature. The maximum value reached 321.5 K at the front wall under 50° incidence. The experimental verification was also adopted to show the benefits of using absorbent surfaces. The initial results are very promising and significant for the enhancement of solar concentrator systems with lower concentrations

Modern American populism: Analyzing the economics behind the Silent Majority, the Tea Party and Trumpism

This article researches populism, more specifically, Modern American Populism (MAP), constructed of white, rural, and economically oppressed reactionarianism, which was borne out of the political upheaval of the 1960’s Civil Rights movement. The research looks to explain the causes of populism and what leads voters to support populist movements and politicians. The research focuses on economic anxiety as the main cause but also examines an alternative theory of racial resentment. In an effort to answer the question, what causes populist movements and motivations, I apply a research approach that utilizes qualitative and quantitative methods. There is an examination of literature that defines populism, its causes and a detailed discussion of the case studies, including the 1972 election of Richard Nixon; the Tea Party election of 2010; and the 2016 election of Donald Trump. In addition, statistical data analysis was run using American National Election Studies (ANES) surveys associated with each specific case study. These case studies were chosen because they most represent forms of populist movements in modern American history. While ample qualitative evidence suggested support for the hypothesis that economic anxiety is a necessary condition for populist voting patterns that elected Nixon, the Tea Party and Trump, the statistical data only supported the hypothesis in two cases, 2010 and 2016, with 1972 coming back inconclusive. The data also suggested that both economic anxiety and racial resentment played a role in 2010 and 2016, while having no significant effect in 1972 in either case. This suggests that further research needs to be conducted into additional populist case studies, as well as an examination into the role economic anxiety and economic crises play on racial resentment and racially motivated voting behavior

Coupled simulation of performance of a crossed compound parabolic concentrator with solar cell

An optimal installation of a compound parabolic concentrator (CCPC) into a scalable solar thermoelectrics and photovoltaics system is desirable by applying analytical tools to improve the optical and thermal performance of a CCPC with a solar cell. In this paper, the optical and thermal performances of an isolated CCPC with solar cell are investigated by employing commercial software ‘ANSYS CFX 15.0’ with a coupled optical grey and multiphysics model. Numerical results are validated against the experimental data at various incidence angles, especially for the optical concentration ratio and optical efficiency. Results confirm that ‘ANSYS CFX’ is an effective numerical tool for determining correctly both the optical and thermal behaviour of CCPC. The very important finding is a highest temperature core in the silicon layer of solar cell which may be responsible for a solar cell to work properly. The limitation of the work is that the electric performance of the solar cell is not involved and the simulations are steady

Priorities for synthesis research in ecology and environmental science

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank the National Science Foundation grant #1940692 for financial support for this workshop, and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and its staff for logistical support.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Priorities for synthesis research in ecology and environmental science

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank the National Science Foundation grant #1940692 for financial support for this workshop, and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and its staff for logistical support.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The British Geological Survey's new geomagnetic data web-service

The British Geological Survey (BGS) operates eight geomagnetic observatories around the world. The data from these observatories are transmitted to Edinburgh, where they are processed and subjected to rigorous quality control procedures. The data are then disseminated to the community over the internet via a number of channels, including the Edinburgh INTERMAGNET Geomagnetic Information Node (GIN), and BGS's own public website. Increasing demand for real-time or near-real-time observatory data means there is a requirement for institutes to have a robust and scalable data-processing architecture capable of delivering geomagnetic data products over the internet in a variety of commonly-used formats. BGS have spent the past year developing a new software system for the processing and distribution of our geomagnetic observatory data. The system provides a uniform interface for data access, available to any software capable of making HTTP requests, e.g. web-browsers, command-line tools, and web-enabled software packages such as MATLAB and R. The system provides data in common formats such as IAGA-2002, WDC, NetCDF, XML and JSON, and enables third-parties to build applications which make use of the data in near-real-time, or to integrate our data into their own systems. We use the same web-service internally to access our observatory data, and have built a browser-based data exploration and quality control tool which we use to support daily observatory operations

co2stored.co.uk

BGS with The Crown Estate were granted a 5 year licence from the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) to manage and advance the CO2Stored website which provides a data portal to carbon capture data. In May, the existing website was successfully passed on from ETI and running from BGS servers. An updated version was released in June with improved functionality. This was the first of a series of iterative improvements to be provided over the course of the licence period. (www.co2stored.co.uk