Tapping the leakages: Methane losses, mitigation options and policy issues for Russian long distance gas transmission pipelines

The Russian natural gas industry is the world's largest producer and transporter of natural gas. This paper aims to characterize the methane emissions from Russian natural gas transmission operations, to explain projects to reduce these emissions, and to characterize the role of emissions reduction within the context of current GHG policy. It draws on the most recent independent measurements at all parts of the Russian long distance transport system made by the Wuppertal Institute in 2003 and combines these results with the findings from the US Natural Gas STAR Program on GHG mitigation options and economics.With this background the paper concludes that the methane emissions from the Russian natural gas long distance network are approximately 0.6% of the natural gas delivered. Mitigating these emissions can create new revenue streams for the operator in the form of reduced costs, increased gas throughput and sales, and earned carbon credits. Specific emissions sources that have cost-effective mitigation solutions are also opportunities for outside investment for the Joint Implementation Kyoto Protocol flexibility mechanism or other carbon markets.     

A deterministic approach to evaluate and implement monitored natural attenuation for chlorinated solvents

A US EPA directive and related technical protocol outline the information needed to determine if monitored natural attenuation (MNA) for chlorinated solvents is a suitable remedy for a site. For some sites, conditions such as complex hydrology or perturbation of the contaminant plume caused by an existing remediation technology (e.g., pump‐and‐treat) make evaluation of MNA using only field data difficult. In these cases, a deterministic approach using reactive transport modeling can provide a technical basis to estimate how the plume will change and whether it can be expected to stabilize in the future and meet remediation goals. This type of approach was applied at the Petro‐Processors Inc. Brooklawn site near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to evaluate and implement MNA. This site consists of a multicomponent nonaqueous‐phase source area creating a dissolved groundwater contamination plume in alluvial material near the Mississippi River. The hydraulic gradient of the groundwater varies seasonally with changes in the river stage. Due to the transient nature of the hydraulic gradient and the impact of a hydraulic containment system operated at the site for six years, direct field measurements could not be used to estimate natural attenuation processes. Reactive transport of contaminants were modeled using the RT3D code to estimate whether MNA has the potential to meet the site‐specific remediation goals and the requirements of the US EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response Directive 9200.4‐17P. Modeling results were incorporated into the long‐term monitoring plan as a basis for evaluating the effectiveness of the MNA remedy. As part of the long‐term monitoring plan, monitoring data will be compared to predictive simulation results to evaluate whether the plume is changing over time as predicted and can be expected to stabilize and meet remediation goals. This deterministic approach was used to support acceptance of MNA as a remedy. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Global information sampling in the honey bee

Central to the question of task allocation in social insects is how workers acquire information. Patrolling is a curious behavior in which bees meander over the face of the comb inspecting cells. Several authors have suggested it allows bees to collect global information, but this has never been formally evaluated. This study explores this hypothesis by answering three questions. First, do bees gather information in a consistent manner as they patrol? Second, do they move far enough to get a sense of task demand in distant areas of the nest? And third, is patrolling a commonly performed task? Focal animal observations were used to address the first two predictions, while a scan sampling study was used to address the third. The results were affirmative for each question. While patrolling, workers collected information by performing periodic clusters of cell inspections. Patrolling bees not only traveled far enough to frequently change work zone; they often visited every part of the nest. Finally, the majority of the bees in the middle-age caste were shown to move throughout the nest over the course of a few hours in a manner suggestive of patrolling. Global information collection is contrary to much current theory, which assumes that workers respond to local information only. This study thus highlights the nonmutually exclusive nature of various information collection regimes in social insects.     

Elevated concentrations of primordial radionuclides in sediments from the Reedy River and surrounding creeks in Simpsonville, South Carolina

A gamma-ray survey and analysis of 16 riverbed samples from the Reedy River watershed near Simpsonville, SC were conducted and compared with national and international studies of primordial radionuclides. The study reported here follows on a recent discovery of anomalously high uranium concentrations in several private well waters in the area. An HPGe spectrometer was used for quantification of gamma emitting radionuclides in the sediments. All sediments contained radionuclides from the uranium and thorium series as well as (40)K. Uranium-238 concentrations in sediment samples ranged from 11.1 to 74.2Bqkg(-1). The measured radionuclide concentrations were compared with data from UNSCEAR and NURE reports. The river and stream sediment data were augmented by in situ NaI(Tl) gamma-ray spectrometer measurements. Comparisons between the ex situ and in situ measurements indicate equivalently distributed uranium in the surface soils and stream sediments, the source of which is likely attributed to the monazite belts that are known to exist in the area.     

A comparison of fish tissue mercury concentrations from homogenized fillet and nonlethal biopsy plugs

The use of biopsy plugs to sample fish muscle tissue for mercury analyses is a viable alternative to lethal sampling; however, the practice has yet to be widely implemented in routine monitoring due to concerns about variability of mercury concentrations in fish muscle tissues. Here we examine distribution of mercury in fillets of four fish species (Walleye, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass and Lake Trout), suitability of left/right side of fillet for biopsy sampling, and appropriateness of re-using a biopsy punch. The results showed that average mercury concentrations in left and right fillets of fish are similar. Mercury concentrations in biopsy plug samples, taken from the anterior dorsal area of the fish fillet, were statistically equivalent to the mercury concentrations in homogenized fillets. There was no discernible cross contamination between samples when a biopsy punch was reused after washing in hot soapy water, and as such, biopsy punches can be recycled during sampling to reduce the sampling cost. If a tissue mass collected from a specific site on the fillet is insufficient, then we suggest sampling corresponding locations on the other fillet rather than sampling two adjacent sites on one fillet to obtain more tissue. The results presented here can improve the accuracy of fillet biopsy plug sampling, minimize fish mortality for mercury monitoring, and reduce labor and material costs in monitoring programs.     

Variable Source Area Hydrology Modeling with the Water Erosion Prediction Project Model

In nondegraded watersheds of humid climates, subsurface flow patterns determine where the soil saturates and where surface runoff is occurring. Most models necessarily use infiltration‐excess (i.e., Hortonian) runoff for predicting runoff and associated constituents because subsurface flow algorithms are not included in the model. In this article, we modify the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model to simulate subsurface flow correctly and to predict the spatial and temporal location of saturation, the associated lateral flow and surface runoff, and the location where the water can re‐infiltrate. The modified model, called WEPP‐UI, correctly simulated the hillslope drainage data from the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory hillslope plot. We applied WEPP‐UI to convex, concave, and S‐shaped hillslope profiles, and found that multiple overland flow elements are needed to simulate distributed lateral flow and runoff well. Concave slopes had the greatest runoff, while convex slopes had the least. Our findings concur with observations in watersheds with saturation‐excess overland flow that most surface runoff is generated on lower concave slopes, whereas on convex slopes runoff infiltrates before reaching the stream. Since the WEPP model is capable of simulating both saturation‐excess and infiltration‐excess runoff, we expect that this model will be a powerful tool in the future for managing water quality.     

Pre‐Development Groundwater Conditions Surrounding Memphis,Tennessee: Controversy and Unexpected Outcomes

Reliance on groundwater resources by differing governing bodies can create transboundary disputes raising questions of ownership and apportionment as the resource becomes strained through overuse or threatened by contamination. Transboundary disputes exist at varying scales, from conflicts between countries to smaller disputes between intrastate jurisdictions. In 2005 within the United States, the State of Mississippi filed a lawsuit against its political neighbor and their utility, the City of Memphis and Memphis Light, Gas, and Water, for groundwater deemed owned by the State of Mississippi to be wrongfully diverted across the state line and into Tennessee by the defendants. The basis of the lawsuit was potentiometric maps of groundwater levels for the Memphis aquifer that showed under suggested pre‐development conditions no flow occurring across the Mississippi‐Tennessee state line, but subsequent historic potentiometric maps show a cone of depression under the City of Memphis with a clear northwesterly gradient from Mississippi into Tennessee. The suggested pre‐development conditions were derived from limited groundwater level observations between 41 and 74 years post‐development. A new pre‐development map is constructed using historic records that range 0‐17 years post‐development that shows the natural flow is northwesterly from Mississippi into Tennessee and transboundary groundwater quantities have actually decreased since pre‐development conditions.     

Modeling population effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a long-lived species

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill exposed common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Barataria Bay, Louisiana to heavy oiling that caused increased mortality and chronic disease and impaired reproduction in surviving dolphins. We conducted photographic surveys and veterinary assessments in the decade following the spill. We assigned a prognostic score (good, fair, guarded, poor, or grave) for each dolphin to provide a single integrated indicator of overall health, and we examined temporal trends in prognostic scores. We used expert elicitation to quantify the implications of trends for the proportion of the dolphins that would recover within their lifetime. We integrated expert elicitation, along with other new information, in a population dynamics model to predict the effects of observed health trends on demography. We compared the resulting population trajectory with that predicted under baseline (no spill) conditions. Disease conditions persisted and have recently worsened in dolphins that were presumably exposed to DWH oil: 78% of those assessed in 2018 had a guarded, poor, or grave prognosis. Dolphins born after the spill were in better health. We estimated that the population declined by 45% (95% CI 14–74) relative to baseline and will take 35 years (95% CI 18–67) to recover to 95% of baseline numbers. The sum of annual differences between baseline and injured population sizes (i.e., the lost cetacean years) was 30,993 (95% CI 6607–94,148). The population is currently at a minimum point in its recovery trajectory and is vulnerable to emerging threats, including planned ecosystem restoration efforts that are likely to be detrimental to the dolphins’ survival. Our modeling framework demonstrates an approach for integrating different sources and types of data, highlights the utility of expert elicitation for indeterminable input parameters, and emphasizes the importance of considering and monitoring long-term health of long-lived species subject to environmental disasters. Article impact statement: Oil spills can have long-term consequences for the health of long-lived species; thus, effective restoration and monitoring are needed.