Assessing drilling mud and technical fluid contamination in rock core and brine samples intended for microbiological monitoring at the CO2 storage site in Ketzin using fluorescent dye tracers

The CO₂SINK project in Ketzin represents a field laboratory for the storage of CO₂ in a 650-m deep saline aquifer. The project is accompanied by a microbiological monitoring programme to characterise the composition and activity of the autochthonous microbial community in rock and brine samples and their changes in response to CO₂ storage. A prerequisite of these studies is the acquisition of samples free of contamination from microorganisms and organic and inorganic components. Drilling mud and technical fluids are the main sources of contamination. This study describes the application of the fluorescent dye tracers fluorescein and rhodamine B as contamination controls for rock core and brine samples. Fluorescein was added to drilling mud that was used during the coring phase of the Ketzin wells Ktzi 200, 201 and 202. In addition, total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations, reflecting the carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) component of the drilling mud, were determined to verify the tracer results. The fluorescence and TOC analyses revealed that drilling mud filtrate penetrated the outer 20 mm of mildly permeable sandstone cores. Rhodamine B was added to brines that were used to displace the drilling mud and to flush the wells after completion. The tracer monitoring during the discharge of drilling mud and displacement brines from the wells during hydraulic tests and nitrogen lifts enabled the quantification of reservoir fluid quality. After the production of 140–190 m³ (16–21 borehole volumes) of fluid, the drilling mud concentration was reduced to about 0.05%. The use of fluorescein emerged as a field-capable, sensitive and reliable method during the sampling of rock core and formation brine samples.     

The Role of Ethnobotanical Skills and Agricultural Labor in Forest Clearance: Evidence from the Bolivian Amazon

Research on the benefits of local ecological knowledge for conservation lacks empirical data on the pathways through which local knowledge might affect natural resources management. We test whether ethnobotanical skills, a proxy for local ecological knowledge, are associated to the clearance of forest through their interaction with agricultural labor. We collected information from men in a society of gatherers–horticulturalist, the Tsimane’ (Bolivia). Data included a baseline survey, a survey of ethnobotanical skills (n = 190 men), and two surveys on agricultural labor inputs (n = 466 plots). We find a direct effect of ethnobotanical skills in lowering the extent of forest cleared in fallow but not in old-growth forest. We also find that the interaction between ethnobotanical skills and labor invested in shifting cultivation has opposite effects depending on whether the clearing is done in old-growth or fallow forest. We explain the finding in the context of Tsimane’ increasing integration to the market economy.     

从理念到行动:日本建设循环型社会的主要做法

20世纪90年代末,日本政府面对21世纪的环境和资源压力．针对严峻的资源与环境问题,提出了建立循环经济的构想,2000年还把建立循环型社会提升为基本国策,将该年定为“循环型社会元年”,并颁布和实施了《循环型社会形成推动基本法》等6部法律,采职了一系列行动措施,标志着日本进入了推进循环经济,建立循环型社会的全面发展阶段。日本在推进建设循环型社会进程中,理念先进,措施具体,效果明显。其中．完备的立法和严格的执法是根本保障;必要的经济支持和鼓励优惠政策是重要条件;建立生态工业园区,发展静脉产业是典型示范;以政府绿色采购来启动和引导市场需求是有效手段;政府相关部门管理职能强化和职责明晰是组织保证;加强科学研究,发挥公众和中介组织作用是重要措施。     

京津地区生态系统特征与污染防治

前言 京津地区生态系统特征与污染防治的研究是由中国科学院和院外的14个研究所共同承担和完成的。三年来,在京、津两市和河北省廊房地区34000 km~2的范围内,开展了多学科、多层次的区域生态环境研究。 京津地区是我国首都和华北经济中心所在地。建国以来,京津地区的工农业和城市     

Correcting serum concentrations of organochlorine compounds by lipids: Alternatives to the organochlorine/total lipids ratio

IntroductionWhen studying the effects of organochlorine compounds (OCs) on human health it is common to correct serum concentrations of OC by total lipids (TL). However, the relationship between serum OCs and serum TL is far from established in many diseases, including several cancers. Our aim was to analyze the relationship between serum OC and TL in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), and to explore several alternatives to perform the OC lipid correction.MethodsIncident cases of PDA were interviewed and had blood drawn soon around hospital admission (n = 144). Serum concentrations of OCs were analysed by high-resolution gas chromatography with electron-capture detection.ResultsMost patients with high TL had moderate or low concentrations of OCs. By contrast, the variability of OC values among patients with normal TL was large. Correlations were of a similar magnitude between OC and TL and between OC and total cholesterol; while these correlations were weak (all Spearman's ρ < 0.3 and R² < 0.11), no OC were significantly correlated with triglycerides. Although all alternatives to the OC/TL linear ratio were statistically significant for at least one OC, their R² was always below 10%.ConclusionsIn patients with severe diseases as PDA, linear correction of OC by TL as commonly performed in epidemiologic studies may be inappropriate. Results contribute to the scant literature on the rationale to correct serum concentrations of OC by lipids. They suggest that it is unwarranted to routinely correct OC by TL, offer ways to assess such need, and present alternatives as no TL correction, correction by total cholesterol only or use of different statistical models.     

巨化循环经济产业链构建的探索与实践

阐述了化工企业实施循环经济的必要性和重要性,总结了巨化集团公司对循环经济产业链构建的探索和实践,重点介绍了循环经济产业链构建中关键技术的开发与应用情况.     

More than something to hold the plants up: soil as a non-human ally in the struggle for food justice

Healthy, fertile soil is the material of life itself. It is chemically, biologically and physically structured to support the growth of healthy, environmentally sustainable foods. Recent years have seen a resurgent focus on soil science in Australia. Yet, the influence of soil in the politics of food systems has received comparatively little attention, despite long awareness in farming communities of how the natural world shapes farmers’ choices and possible actions. Drawing on work with SoilCare, a Landcare group with a focus on soil processes in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, this paper explores the usefulness of approaching soil as an actor in food systems. Taking a participatory approach, and drawing on recent work on new materialisms, we argue that soil can be understood as an important ally in the struggle to shape a just and sustainable food system. While this work is intended to test this idea through a modest local case study, it may point to important new avenues for investigation in food politics.     

Re-establishment of the proper injectivity of the CO2-injection well Ktzi 201 in Ketzin, Germany

The onshore CO₂-storage site Ketzin consists of one CO₂-injection well and two observation wells. Hydraulic tests revealed permeabilities between 50 and 100 mD for the sandstone rock units. The designated injection well Ktzi 201 showed similar production permeability. After installation of the CO₂-injection string, an injection test with water yielded a significantly lower injectivity of 0.002 m³/d kPa, while the observation wells showed an injection permeability in the same range as the productivity. Several possible reasons for the severe decline in injectivity are discussed. Acidification of the reservoir interval, injection at high wellhead pressure, controlled mini-fractures and back-production of the well are discussed to remove the plugging material to re-establish the required injectivity of the well. It has been decided to perform a nitrogen lift and analyse the back-produced fluids. Initially during the lift, the back-produced fluids were dark-black. Chemical and XRD analyses proved that the black solids consisted mainly of iron sulphide. Sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were detected in fluid samples with up to 10⁶ cells/ml by fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) indicating that the formation of iron sulphide was caused by bacterial activity. Organic compounds within the drilling mud and other technical fluids were likely left during the well completion process, thus providing the energy source for strong proliferation of bacteria. During the lift, the fraction of SRB in the whole bacterial community decreased from approximately 32% in downhole samples to less than 5%. The lift of Ktzi 201 succeeded in the full restoration of the well productivity and injectivity. Additionally, the likely energy source of the SRB was largely removed by the lifting, thus ensuring the long-term preservation of the injectivity.     

至2050年中国生态高值农业体系建设特征与目标

2010年6月7日,国家主席胡锦涛在两院（中国科学院、中国工程院）院士大会上针对农业科技明确指出：构建我国生态高值农业和生物产业体系,建成农业高值转化的产业体系。本文对＂生态高值农业＂进行论述。所谓生态,就是要体现农业既能为社会提供安全优质的农产品又能实现农业资源的永续利用,将农业纳入可持续发展的道路;所谓高值,就是要体现农业有很高的土地产出率、投入产出率、劳动生产率。因此,＂生态高值农业＂是集约化经营与生态化生产有机结合的现代农业。它以健康消费需求为导向,以提高农业市场竞争力和可持续发展能力为核心,兼有高投入、高产出、高效益与可持续发展的双重特性,是转变农业增长方式、提高农业综合生产能力的集中体现。