Maximising the value of electricity storage

Grid-scale energy storage promises to reduce the cost of decarbonising electricity, but is not yet economically viable. Either costs must fall, or revenue must be extracted from more of the services that storage provides the electricity system. To help understand the economic prospects for storage, we review the sources of revenue available and the barriers faced in accessing them. We then demonstrate a simple algorithm that maximises the profit from storage providing arbitrage with reserve under both perfect and no foresight, which avoids complex linear programming techniques. This is made open source and freely available to help promote further research. We demonstrate that battery systems in the UK could triple their profits by participating in the reserve market rather than just providing arbitrage. With no foresight of future prices, 75-95% of the optimal profits are gained. In addition, we model a battery combined with a 322 MW wind farm to evaluate the benefits of shifting time of delivery. The revenues currently available are not sufficient to justify the current investment costs for battery technologies, and so further revenue streams and cost reductions are required

Tissue reactions to foreign lipoid substances.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityWhile lipoid pneumonia have been extensively described by many authors, reactions to oil in other locations have received little attention and are infrequently diagnosed. The present discussion will consider the varied extra-thoracic lesions, review the literature, and submit a detailed case with clinical and autopsy records to show an extensive involvement of the peritoneal cavity with mineral oil. [TRUNCATED

Holocene Geomorphology of the Macdonald and Tuross Rivers

The floodplains that grade to the estuaries along the New South Wales coast primarily record a history of valley aggradation induced by post-glacial sea level rise. However, post-glacial sea level along this coast has both risen, then fallen, relative to the land during the Holocene due to isostatic compensation to loading of the ocean basins. Geomorphological and stratigraphic data from the Macdonald and Tuross valleys, whichdrain to this coast, are combined with radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating to examine how the floodplains of these coastal rivers have responded to such base level changes and also to the variable Holocene climate. From 9000 to 6000 years BP, as sea level was rising to its Holocene maximum, aggradation occurred in the alluvial reaches of both the Tuross and Macdonald rivers but at very different rates. In the Macdonald valley, aggradation occurred at 5.6mm per year, which greatly exceeded the 0.5 to 0.9mm per year rate of the Tuross valley. This difference reflects the shoreline transgression into the Tuross valley by rising sea level, whilst the Macdonald River, on account of its confined valley which was more conducive to sediment entrapment, was prograding. When sea level stabilised 6500 years ago, progradation of the Tuross River was initiated, but continued to occur in the Macdonald valley. The aggradation that formed the highest and most extensive alluvial surfaces along the two valleys occurred between 6000 and 2000 years ago. The floodplain sediments of this period are comprised of slightly coarser sand with less silt and clay than the underlying early Holocene deposits, and show weak pedogenesis. Aggradation in this interval occurred at 1.2 to 1.9mm per year in the Tuross Valley which was comparable with the 2 to 4mm per year rate of the Macdonald valley. The fluvial landforms such as the land-tied bars, ix x levees and floodbasins built at this time are the dominant landforms of the present day valley floors. Aggradation of the alluvial reaches of both rivers was synchronous with progradation into their estuaries and demonstrates the link between these two processes. The alluvial surfaces constructed by each river during the 6000 to 2000 year period were abandoned as active floodplains about 2000 years ago. This represented an important change in floodplain evolution and was accompanied by the construction of a mid-level bench inset below the abandoned floodplains. The relationship of the mid-level bench to this abandoned floodplain surface in each case is consistent with a climate change involving a shift to smaller floods occurring 2000 years ago. Consequently, it is concluded that this was the main reason these high floodplain surfaces were abandoned. However, subsequent abandonment of the Macdonald River’s midlevel bench between 600 and 800 years ago, and the formation of a modern floodplain surface below it, are consistent with a stronger influence of post-highstand base level fall upon floodplain formation and evolution along this river

A statistical analysis of flood hydrology and bankfull discharge for the Daly River catchment, Northern Territory, Australia<br />

Executive SummaryThis report presents a flood frequency analysis for ten gauging stations within the Daly River catchment. A flood frequency analysis allows the estimation of the magnitude of selected flood quantiles, such as a 1 in 20 year flood, at particular gauging stations. A series of statistical relationships were developed to allow flood quantile estimation at ungauged locations. Finally, estimates of bankfull discharge and its corresponding recurrence interval were obtained from gauging station cross section, direct stream gaugings and rating curve data. Bankfull discharge in the Daly River catchment has a recurrence interval from less than two to more than eight years on average at the stations examined here

Using OSL to assess hypotheses related to the impacts of land use change with the early nineteenth century arrival of Europeans in south-eastern Australia: an exploratory case study from Grabben Gullen Creek, New South Wales

A common explanation for intense soil erosion and gullying in SE Australia is the introduction by Europeans of new land use practices following their arrival in Australia in the late 18th century. Eucalyptus woodlands were cleared to introduce farming, and valley bottoms, characterized by chains of ponds with organic-rich swampy meadow (SM) soils, were subsequently buried by thick deposits of ‘post-settlement alluvium’ (PSA) generated by erosion in the catchment. In this study, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) is used to evaluate the source(s) of the PSA in Grabben Gullen Creek (GGC), Australia. We use a portable OSL reader to measure total photon counts on bulk polymineral and polygrain-size samples from nine profiles along the Creek. We use these luminescence signals as geotracers of sediment source(s) and transport pathways. We obtained higher luminescence signals in the PSA than in the SM sediments, suggesting different sources and fluvial transport conditions for these two widespread sedimentary units. Portable OSL reader data from soils in the GGC catchment that are potential sources for the SM sediments and PSA show that the high luminescence signals recorded in the PSA are similar to those from subsoil samples in granite soils, suggesting that the PSA was derived by gullying of granite subsoils. In the SM sediments, luminescence signals decrease upwards from the base of the profile, as expected in well-reset fluvial deposits, but with one or more changes in gradient in the profile of photon counts with depth, most likely indicating changes in sediment deposition rates. To calculate deposition rates in the SM sediments, several samples were dated using OSL. The OSL ages produced low scatter in the equivalent doses, confirming the well-reset nature of the grains composing the SM and indicating a process of sediment transport in dilute flows, as is interpreted from the portable OSL signals. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Reducing uncertainty with flood frequency analysis: the contribution of palaeoflood and historical flood information

Using a combination of stream gauge, historical, and paleoflood records to extend extreme flood records has proven to be useful in improving flood frequency analysis (FFA). The approach has typically been applied in localities with long historical records and/or suitable river settings for paleoflood reconstruction from slack‐water deposits (SWDs). However, many regions around the world have neither extensive historical information nor bedrock gorges suitable for SWDs preservation and paleoflood reconstruction. This study from subtropical Australia demonstrates that confined, semialluvial channels such as macrochannels provide relatively stable boundaries over the 1000–2000 year time period and the preserved SWDs enabled paleoflood reconstruction and their incorporation into FFA. FFA for three sites in subtropical Australia with the integration of historical and paleoflood data using Bayesian Inference methods showed a significant reduction in uncertainty associated with the estimated discharge of a flood quantile. Uncertainty associated with estimated discharge for the 1% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) flood is reduced by more than 50%. In addition, sensitivity analysis of possible within‐channel boundary changes shows that FFA is not significantly affected by any associated changes in channel capacity. Therefore, a greater range of channel types may be used for reliable paleoflood reconstruction by evaluating the stability of inset alluvial units, thereby increasing the quantity of temporal data available for FFA. The reduction in uncertainty, particularly in the prediction of the ≤1% AEP design flood, will improve flood risk planning and management in regions with limited temporal flood data