Assessment of a mature hydrocarbon field in SE Czech Republic for a CO2 storage pilot

Preparation and execution of a CO2 storage pilot project is one of the first logical steps in the effort to kick-start CCS in the region of Central & Eastern Europe, utilizing onshore geological structures for permanent CO2 storage. The main aims of this activity are to test the suitability of local geological structures and demonstrate the feasibility and safety of the technology to local stakeholders. The Czech-Norwegian CO2-SPICER project is an example of such developments. The target structure of CO2-SPICER – Zar−3 – is a hydrocarbon field situated in an erosional relict of fractured carbonates of Jurassic age on the SE slopes of the Bohemian Massif, covered by Paleogene deposits and Carpathian flysch nappes. The first stage of site assessment has been completed, and the article provides an overview of its results. Construction of a 3D geological model of the storage complex was the first important step on the route, preparing input for subsequent reservoir simulations of the field history and planned CO2 injection. Reservoir assessment is also focusing on specific features of the fractured-vuggy reservoir and accounting for the effects associated with CO2 injection, including geochemistry and geomechanics. Geochemical studies focus on fluid-rock interactions, and geomechanical ones on formation integrity and fracture mechanics under reservoir pressure build-up and cooling of the formation by injected CO2. Risk assessment is another component of the project, aiming at identifying potential leakage pathways and assessing consequences for the area of interest. Preparatory work for the site monitoring plan includes applicability analysis of various monitoring methods, supported by execution of baseline monitoring of selected phenomena, in particular composition of soil gas, natural and induced seismicity and properties of shallow groundwater. The project also includes evaluation of advanced reservoir containment monitoring technologies including time-lapse pressure transient analysis. While the key actions are directed towards the piloting activities, the project also looks beyond to full-field implementation and potential to establish a regional CCS cluster.acceptedVersio

UrbanTEP – Earth Observation Based Services for the Urban Community

With the increasing volume of information from satellites observing Earth, the technical and methodological prerequisites of users in science and applications are becoming more demanding and complex for generating demand-driven products while exploiting the full potential of large Earth observation (EO) data archives. Since 2014, the European Space Agency (ESA) is addressing this challenge with the concept of Thematic Exploitation Platforms (TEPs), aiming to create an ecosystem of interconnected platforms providing thematic EO-based data and services for currently seven thematic sectors

Measurement of gas hold-up distribution in stirred vessels equipped with pitched blade turbines by means of electrical resistance tomography

Gas dispersion is a widespread operation in the process industry. The effectiveness of the dispersion affects fluid mixing, heat and mass transfer rates and, as a consequence, the chemical or biochemical reactions involved. In this work, the gas-liquid dispersion in stirred tanks equipped with pitched blade turbines (PBT) is investigated by means of Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT). The main goal of this study is the assessment of gas-distribution in the vessel. Measurements are taken in case of different fluid dynamic regimes, which occurrence depends on the operating conditions. The effect of impeller rotational speed on gas-liquid dispersion is investigated in vessels having different sizes. The adoption of ERT allows the assessment of gas distribution through the vessel volume without any particular limitation about the maximum gas volume fraction, so that experimental conditions close to that adopted in industrial operation can be effectively managed. The transition between flooding and loading regime is investigated, in which the impeller starts to effectively distribute the gas throughout the liquid phase. The vessel size is found to play a role in determining the condition at which loading regime occurs. The data could be either used to set up simplified correlations for the transition between flooding/loading regimes or as a valuable benchmark for CFD simulation, given the detailed information available about the spatial distribution the dispersed gas

Urban Thematic Exploitation Platform - supporting urban research with EO data processing, integrative data analysis and reporting

Urbanization is among the most relevant global trends that affects climate, environment, as well as health and socio-economic development of a majority of the global population. As such, it poses a major challenge for the current urban population and the well-being of the next generation. To understand how to take advantage of opportunities and properly mitigate to the negative impacts of this change, we need precise and up-to-date information of the urban areas. The Urban Thematic Exploitation Platform (UrbanTEP) is a collaborative system, which focuses on the processing of earth observation (EO) data and delivering multi-source information on trans-sectoral urban challenges. The U-TEP is developed to provide end-to-end and ready-to-use solutions for a broad spectrum of users (service providers, experts and non-experts) to extract unique information/ indicators required for urban management and sustainability. Key components of the system are an open, web-based portal connected to distributed high-level computing infrastructures and providing key functionalities for i) high-performance data access and processing, ii) modular and generic state-of-the art pre-processing, analysis, and visualization, iii) customized development and sharing of algorithms, products and services, and iv) networking and communication. The service and product portfolio provides access to the archives of Copernicus and Landsat missions, Datacube technology, DIAS processing environments, as well as premium products like the World Settlement Footprint (WSF). External service providers, as well as researchers can make use of on-demand processing of new data products and the possibility of developing and deploying new processors. The onboarding of service providers, developers and researchers is supported by the Network of Resources program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the OCRE initiative of the European Commission. In order to provide end-to-end solutions, the VISAT tool on UrbanTEP allows analyzing and visualizing project-related geospatial content and to develop storylines to enhance the transport of research output to customers and stakeholders effectively. Multiple visualizations (scopes) are already predefined. One available scope exemplary illustrates the exploitation of the WSF-Evolution dataset by analyzing the settlement and population development for South-East Asian countries from 1985 to 2015 in the context of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11.3.1 indicator. Other open scopes focus on urban green, functional urban areas, land-use and urban heat island modelling (e.g.)

Flow induced HeLa cell detachment kinetics show that oxygen-containing functional groups in graphene oxide are potent cell adhesion enhancers

A broader and quantitative understanding of cell adhesion to two-dimensional carbon-based materials is needed to expand the applications of graphene and graphene oxide (GO) in tissue engineering, prosthetics, biosensing, detection of circulating cancer cells, and (photo)thermal therapy. We therefore studied the detachment kinetics of human cancer cells HeLa adhered on graphene, GO, and glass substrates using stagnation point flow on an impinging jet apparatus. HeLa cells detached easily from graphene at a force of 9.4 nN but adhered very strongly to GO. The presence of hydrophilic functional groups thus apparently enhanced the HeLa cells' adherence to the GO surface. On graphene, smaller HeLa cells adhered more strongly and detached later than cells with larger projected areas, but the opposite behavior was observed on GO. These findings reveal GO to be a suitable platform for detecting cells or establishing contacts, e.g. between graphene-based circuits/electrodes and tissues. Our experiments also show that the impinging jet method is a powerful tool for studying cellular detachment mechanisms and adhesion strength, and could therefore be very useful for investigating interactions between cells and graphene-based materials. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic [CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000754]; Palacky University Olomouc [IGA_PrF_2018_032]; OP PIK program of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic [CZ.01.1.02/0.0/0.0/16_084/0010256]; European Union [683024

UrbanTEP – a Collaborative Work Environment for EO Service Providers, Urban Researchers and User Communities

Urbanization is one of the key global challenges and affects the environment, as well as health and socio-economic development of a majority of the global population. It is also a major contributor to climate change. Collaborative efforts are needed in order to mitigate the negative impacts of urbanization on the one hand, but on the other hand to understand how to take advantage of opportunities that arise out of this process. Platform based initiatives have proven to be game changing technologies, which are capable of revolutionizing service provision, workflows and products. The Urban Thematic Exploitation Platform (UrbanTEP; urban-tep.eu) is a collaborative system, which focuses on the processing of earth observation (EO) data and delivering multi-source information on trans-sectoral urban challenges. The UrbanTEP is developed to provide end-to-end and ready-to-use solutions for a broad spectrum of users (service providers, expert and non-expert users and researchers) to extract unique information/ indicators required for urban planning, urban management and sustainable development. Key components of the system are an open, web-based portal connected to distributed and scalable high-level computing infrastructures and providing key functionalities for i) high-performance data access and processing (IaaS – Infrastructure as a Service), ii) modular and generic state-of-the art pre-processing, analysis, and visualization tools and algorithms (SaaS – Software as a Service), iii) customized development and sharing of algorithms, products and services (PaaS – Platform as a Service), and iv) networking and communication. The service and product portfolio of UrbanTEP provides access to several EO product archives (e.g. Copernicus, Landsat, etc.), as well as premium products like the World Settlement Footprint (WSF) and of the European Space Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI). The platform provides access to the Copernicus Data and Information Access Services (DIAS) processing environments. A cooperation with the Euro Data Cube allows users and service providers to make use of data cube technology and customized City Data Cubes enable user communities to derive actionable information from extensive EO-datasets. External service providers, as well as researchers can make use of on-demand processing of new data products and the possibility of developing and deploying new processors. The onboarding of service providers, developers and researchers is supported by the Network of Resources program of ESA and the OCRE initiative of the European Commission. In order to provide end-to-end solutions, the Visualization and Analysis Tool (VISAT) on UrbanTEP allows analyzing and visualizing project-related geospatial content and to develop storylines to enhance the transport of research output to customers and stakeholders effectively. Multiple visualizations (scopes) are already predefined and cover a wide range of applications like land-use monitoring, urban climate modelling, functional urban areas, population development and ecosystem accounting. One available scope exemplary illustrates the exploitation of the WSF-Evolution dataset by analyzing the settlement and population development for South-East Asian countries from 1985 to 2015 in the context of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11.3.1 indicator

UrbanTEP – a Collaborative Work Environment for EO Service Providers, Urban Researchers and User Communities

Urbanization is one of the key global challenges and affects the environment, as well as health and socio-economic development of a majority of the global population. It is also a major contributor to climate change. Collaborative efforts are needed in order to mitigate the negative impacts of urbanization on the one hand, but on the other hand to understand how to take advantage of opportunities that arise out of this process. Platform based initiatives have proven to be game changing technologies, which are capable of revolutionizing service provision, workflows and products. The Urban Thematic Exploitation Platform (UrbanTEP; urban-tep.eu) is a collaborative system, which focuses on the processing of earth observation (EO) data and delivering multi-source information on trans-sectoral urban challenges. The UrbanTEP is developed to provide end-to-end and ready-to-use solutions for a broad spectrum of users (service providers, expert and non-expert users and researchers) to extract unique information/ indicators required for urban planning, urban management and sustainable development. Key components of the system are an open, web-based portal connected to distributed and scalable high-level computing infrastructures and providing key functionalities for i) high-performance data access and processing (IaaS – Infrastructure as a Service), ii) modular and generic state-of-the art pre-processing, analysis, and visualization tools and algorithms (SaaS – Software as a Service), iii) customized development and sharing of algorithms, products and services (PaaS – Platform as a Service), and iv) networking and communication. The service and product portfolio of UrbanTEP provides access to several EO product archives (e.g. Copernicus, Landsat, etc.), as well as premium products like the World Settlement Footprint (WSF) and of the European Space Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI). The platform provides access to the Copernicus Data and Information Access Services (DIAS) processing environments. A cooperation with the Euro Data Cube allows users and service providers to make use of data cube technology and customized City Data Cubes enable user communities to derive actionable information from extensive EO-datasets. External service providers, as well as researchers can make use of on-demand processing of new data products and the possibility of developing and deploying new processors. The onboarding of service providers, developers and researchers is supported by the Network of Resources program of ESA and the OCRE initiative of the European Commission. In order to provide end-to-end solutions, the Visualization and Analysis Tool (VISAT) on UrbanTEP allows analyzing and visualizing project-related geospatial content and to develop storylines to enhance the transport of research output to customers and stakeholders effectively. Multiple visualizations (scopes) are already predefined and cover a wide range of applications like land-use monitoring, urban climate modelling, functional urban areas, population development and ecosystem accounting. One available scope exemplary illustrates the exploitation of the WSF-Evolution dataset by analyzing the settlement and population development for South-East Asian countries from 1985 to 2015 in the context of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11.3.1 indicator