Factors in offshore planning that affect the risk for major accidents

The purpose of this paper is to systematically analyse a typical planning process in the offshore industry from the perspective of causes of major accidents, with the ultimate aim of identifying factors that affect the risk for major accidents occurring. We first study and describe a typical planning process for offshore oil and gas operations in Norway. Then we analyse a number of theories of major accidents, to see how the different theories and their explanations of causes and contributing factors can be of relevance for future plans and planning processes. Finally, we review accident investigations to search for evidence of how weaknesses in planning processes can contribute to major accidents through the above identified factors. Also, we try to identify any additional factors that have not been recognised through the theoretical review. This provides empirical support for the theoretical basis. Thirteen factors which directly or indirectly can influence the planning process causing a major accident potential are identified. These are exemplified through a review of investigation reports. The paper suggests that planning process should focus more on increasing quality in the plans at an early phase, with examples from incidents, and illustrate the relation between planning quality and potential for major accidents.     

The Aging of America's Reservoirs: In‐Reservoir and Downstream Physical Changes and Habitat Implications

Reservoirs are important for various purposes including flood control, water supply, power generation, and recreation. The aging of America's reservoirs and progressive loss of water storage capacity resulting from ongoing sedimentation, coupled with increasing societal needs, will cause the social, economic, environmental, and political importance of reservoirs to continually increase. The short‐ and medium‐term (<50 years) environmental consequences of reservoir construction and operation are well known and include an altered flow regime, lost connectivity (longitudinal, floodplain), an altered sediment regime, substrate compositional change, and downstream channel degradation. In general, reservoir‐related changes have had adverse consequences for the natural ecosystem. Longer term (>50 years) environmental changes as reservoirs enter “old” age are less understood. Additional research is needed to help guide the future management of aging reservoir systems and support the difficult decisions that will have to be made. Important research directions include assessment of climate change effects on aging and determination of ecosystem response to ongoing aging and various management actions that may be taken with the intent of minimizing or reversing the physical effects of aging.     

长江源区基于坡面尺度的土壤水热过程模拟研究

长江源多年冻土区土壤水热传输过程机理与模拟,是广泛关系到高原生态环境保护恢复和区域水文过程的关键科学问题。因此,以GEOtop模型为研究平台,以长江源不同植被盖度下（裸地、30%、65%和92%）高寒草甸的观测数据为基础,检验模型对土壤水热迁移过程的描述与模拟精度。总体而言,GEOtop模型需要率定的参数较少,从而减少模型模拟的不确定性,提高了模拟精度。对不同植被盖度下土壤温度、水分和实际蒸散发模拟的NSE 系数基本达到08,表明模型能准确模拟高寒生态系统土壤的水热传输过程,可以作为长江源区土壤水热过程的有效模拟工具     

水环境中的碘化X-射线造影剂及其去除工艺研究进展

碘化X-射线造影剂(Iodinated X-ray contrast media,ICM)在水环境中被广泛检出,因其近期被发现是碘化消毒副产物的前体物而受到越来越多的关注.本文总结了ICM在污水、地表水和饮用水等水环境中的污染现状;分析了ICM的转化产物及转化机制;重点介绍了ICM的去除工艺,包括高级氧化技术、辐射技术以及生物降解转化技术;讨论了ICM及其降解转化产物可能对环境造成的生态风险.最后,本文对未来ICM的研究前景进行了展望.     

Does Riparian Forest Restoration Thinning Enhance Biodiversity? The Ecological Importance of Large Wood

Intact riparian ecosystems are rich in biological diversity, but throughout the world, many have been degraded. Biodiversity declines, particularly of vertebrates, have led to experimental efforts to restore riparian forests by thinning young stands to accelerate creation of large diameter live trees. However, many vertebrates depend on large diameter deadwood that is standing as snags or fallen to the forest floor or fallen into streams. Therefore, we reviewed the sizes of deadwood and live trees used by different vertebrate species to understand which species are likely to benefit from different thinning treatments. We then examined how riparian thinning affects the long‐term development of both large diameter live trees and deadwood. To this end, we used a forest growth model to examine how different forest thinning intensities might affect the long‐term production and abundance of live trees and deadwood. Our results suggest that there are long‐term habitat tradeoffs associated with different thinning intensities. Species that utilize large diameter live trees will benefit most from heavy thinning, whereas species that utilize large diameter deadwood will benefit most from light or no thinning. Because far more vertebrate species utilize large deadwood rather than large live trees, allowing riparian forests to naturally develop may result in the most rapid and sustained development of structural features important to most terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates.     

Spectral tests of randomness for spatial point patterns

We develop a spectral framework for testing the hypothesis of complete spatial randomness (CSR) for a spatial point pattern. Five formal tests based on the periodogram (sample spectrum) proposed in Mugglestone (1990) are considered. A simulation study is used to evaluate and compare the power of the tests against clustered, regular and inhomogeneous alternatives to CSR. A subset of the tests is shown to be uniformly more powerful than the others against the alternatives considered. The spectral tests are also compared with three widely used space-domain tests that are based on the mean nearest-neighbor distance, the reduced second-order moment function (K-function), and a bivariate Cramér-von Mises statistic. The test based on the scaled cumulative R-spectrum is more powerful than the space-domain tests for detecting clustered alternatives to CSR, especially when the number of events is small.     

Fenton 法降解抗生素磺胺间甲氧嘧啶钠

应用Fenton高级氧化技术降解水溶液中抗生素磺胺间甲氧嘧啶钠(SMMS),系统探讨了起始pH、CSMMS、CFe2+、CH2O2和温度等因素对SMMS降解效果的影响。结果表明:CSMMS=4.53 mg/L,pH=4.0,CH2O2=0.49 mmol/L,CFe2+=19.51μmol/L,T=25℃为最佳反应条件。在最佳条件下,87.4%的SMMS可以在120 min内降解。反应动力学研究表明Fenton氧化降解SMMS分为两个阶段,快速反应阶段和慢速反应阶段,并建立了两阶段动力学模型,模型拟合结果较好。研究结果为含有SMMS的污废水处理提供了基础数据和科学参考。     

Oxidative removal of acetaminophen using zero valent aluminum-acid system: Efficacy, influencing factors, and reaction mechanism

Commercial available zero valent aluminum under air-equilibrated acidic conditions (ZVAl/H⁺/air system) demonstrated an excellent capacity to remove aqueous organic compounds. Acetaminophen (ACTM), the active ingredient of the over-the-counter drug Tylenol^®, is widely present in the aquatic environment and therefore the treatment of ACTM-contaminated water calls for further research. Herein we investigated the oxidative removal of ACTM by ZVAl/H⁺/air system and the reaction mechanism. In acidic solutions (pH < 3.5), ZVAl displayed an excellent capacity to remove ACTM. More than 99% of ACTM was eliminated within 16 hr in pH 1.5 reaction solutions initially containing 2.0 g/L aluminum and 2.0 mg/L ACTM at 25 ± 1\textcelsius. Higher temperature and lower pH facilitated ACTM removal. The addition of different iron species Fe⁰, Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ into ZVAl/H⁺/air system dramatically accelerated the reaction likely due to the enhancing transformation of H₂O₂ to HO. via Fenton's reaction. Furthermore, the primary intermediate hydroquinone and the anions formate, acetate and nitrate, were identified and a possible reaction scheme was proposed. This work suggested that ZVAl/H⁺/air system may be potentially employed to treat ACTM-contaminated water.     

珠江口夏季有机碳的分布特征及其收支模拟研究

基于三维水质模型对珠江口夏季有机碳的分布特征及其收支进行了研究,量化了各动力学过程对有机碳分布的影响,这对于深入了解珠江口碳循环过程有重要意义.同时,采用2006年7—8月观测数据对模型进行了验证,结果显示模型模拟效果良好.研究表明,珠江口夏季有机碳呈明显的空间变化,其浓度总体上从口门向外海逐步降低,底层递减幅度大于表层;表层平均浓度为2.42 mg·L~(-1),底层平均浓度为1.91 mg·L~(-1).此外,有机碳在垂向上的分布与水体层化紧密相关,层化水域中的有机碳浓度随水深迅速下降,非层化水域上、下层的浓度差异不大.有机碳收支结果则表明,珠江口不同水域有机碳的物理、生化过程差异明显.在内伶仃洋,有机碳分布由物理过程主控,其主要来源与消耗分别为径流输送和沉降,两者分别约占该区域有机碳输入总量的83.80%、83.18%;在中伶仃洋,有机碳分布受物理和生化因素共同调控,其来源以生化产碳为主,动力输送为辅,主要耗碳项为沉降;在外伶仃洋,其西侧水域的有机碳主要来源与消耗分别为径流输送和沉降,有机碳分布受物理和生化过程共同调控,其中,物理过程占优势,而在其东侧水域,有机碳主要来源与消耗分别为生化产碳和生化耗碳,有机碳分布由生化过程主控.另外,捕食产碳和氧化耗碳分别是珠江口各生化过程中最重要的产、耗碳过程.