Discharge of oilfield-produced water in nueces bay,texas: A case study

During oil and gas production, water is often extracted from geological formations along with the hydrocarbons. These "produced waters" have been discharged to Nueces Bay since the turn of the century. These effluents were found to be highly toxic, and sediments in the vicinity of the discharges were also toxic. We developed a map of wells and produced-water discharge sites in the vicinity of Nueces Bay and identified numerous unplugged wells suitable for conversion to produced water disposal wells. An economic analysis of conversion to subterranean injection of produced water indicates that most of the wells currently in production could pay out the cost of conversion to injection in one to three years. The use of one injection well for two or more water-producing wells could yield greater savings. Wells that could not support the cost of injection are small producers, and their loss would not constitute a major loss of jobs or dollars to the area. This study could serve as a useful model for evaluating the economic feasibility of conversion to injection in other areas of Texas and Louisiana.     

Human Settlements on the Northern Shores of Lake Aral and Water Level Changes

The shore of Lake Aral in Kazakhstan is a perfect area for studying the human adaptation strategy to past climate changes. New archaeological material, gathered along the northern shores during the expedition of the INTAS project CLIMAN, is briefly presented. Changes in settlement activity during the Atlantic and Subboreal are related to lake level changes of the Aral Sea. A previ-ously proposed lake level maximum needs to be revised. In particular the lake level stand at 72/73 m, with an assumed age of 5000 BP is definitely refused. Based on the presented data the maximum lake level most probably never reached beyond 57/58 mean average sea level (masl). Furthermore the regression during the 15^th–16^th centuries has been underestimated. It may have been lower than the present day level. Thus the present desiccation of the Aral Sea is historically not unique, as a similar regression, probably induced by man as well, has occurred at least once during history. A readjustment of the water level is, therefore, possible at any time.     

华南地区薇甘菊叶片挥发性有机化合物的空间差异研究

外来入侵植物薇甘菊对华南地区的生态环境造成严重危害,为探讨薇甘菊叶片挥发性有机化合物在华南地区的空间差异,运用GC-MS分析了华南地区23个不同地理种群230个薇甘菊植株叶片挥发性有机化合物的组分,并用峰面积归一化法计算各组分相对含量;利用线性混合模型分析不同地理种群的气候环境因素对薇甘菊叶片挥发性有机化合物含量的影响;采用聚类分析和主成分分析23个不同地理种群薇甘菊叶片挥发性有机化合物组分的特征。结果表明:利用GC-MS从薇甘菊叶片中鉴定了42种挥发性有机化合物,其主要成分为β-荜澄茄油烯(24.63%)、β-石竹烯(16.81%)、大香叶烯D(10.47%)、α-古芸烯(9.95%)和α-姜烯(9.77%);线性混合模型分析结果显示经度、纬度、海拔高度和温度可显著影响薇甘菊叶片中5种主要挥发性有机化合物的含量;聚类分析和主成分分析表明薇甘菊叶片挥发性有机化合物组分表现出较强的地域特征。研究结果可为阐明薇甘菊的入侵机制及防控措施的制定提供理论与实践参考。     

FADs influence on settlement and dispersal of the young-of-the-year greater amberjack (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Seriola dumerili</Emphasis>)

FADs are fish aggregating devices applied worldwide over the centuries to increase fish catch. However, the utilisation of such floating devices can influence dispersion patterns of some fish species. At present it is still not clear if FADs play a role in the shoreward migrations of juvenile fish of reef associated species, such as the greater amberjack Seriola dumerili. In this study, we hypothesised that FADs located along a distance gradient from the shore might lead the greater amberjack inshore. In such case, mean abundance of S. dumerili should decrease over time in offshore FADs and increase in inshore FADs. To test the hypothesis three FAD systems were positioned in the Gulf of Castellammare (Sicily, Italy), between July and September 2001, at increasing distances from the coast. During the study period, five visual censuses were carried out within FADs fields. During the first sampling period, no significant difference in abundance and size of juvenile S. dumerili was found between the three FAD systems. All the other sampling periods reported higher abundances and sizes in the offshore FADs than in the two inshore FADs. The findings suggest that FAD systems might be exerting two different effects on young of the year (YOY) S. dumerili distribution: (a) offshore FADs tend to retain associated fish for longer periods of time, (b) coastal FADs favour the transition of YOY S. dumerili from the pelagic to the benthic domain.     

RAPD markers suggest genotypic effects on forager specialization in a eusocial wasp

Genetic variability within insect societies may provide a mechanism for increasing behavioral diversity among workers, thereby augmenting colony efficiency or flexibility. In order to assess the possibility that division of labor has a genetic component in the eusocial wasp Polybia aequatorialis, I asked whether the genotypes of workers within colonies correlated with behavioral specialization. Workers specialized by foraging for one of the four materials (wood pulp, insect prey, nectar, or water) gathered by their colonies. I collected foragers on 2 days from each of three colonies and identified the material the foragers were carrying when collected. I produced random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers from the genomic DNA of these foragers and estimated genotypic similarity of foragers based on sharing of variable RAPD marker bands. Contingency tests on 20 variable loci per colony showed statistically significant (P <0.05) biases in RAPD marker frequencies among forager types in the three colonies. Patterns of association of RAPD marker bands with specializations were constant in two colonies, but changed between collection days in one colony. RAPD marker biases suggest that division of labor among workers includes a genetic component in P. aequatorialis. Colony-level selection on variation in division of labor is a possible factor favoring the evolutionary maintenance of high genotypic variability (low relatedness) in epiponine wasp colonies and in other eusocial insects. Received: 18 July 1995/Accepted after revision: 1 October 1995     

Knowing your enemies: seasonal dynamics of host–social parasite recognition

Despite its evolutionary significance, behavioural flexibility of social response has rarely been investigated in insects. We studied a host–social parasite system: the slave-making ant Polyergus rufescens and its host Formica rufibarbis. Free-living host workers from parasitized and from unparasitized areas were compared in their level of aggression against the parasite and alien conspecifics. We expected that a seasonal change would occur in the acceptance threshold of F. rufibarbis workers from a parasitized area towards the parasite, whereas F. rufibarbis workers from an unparasitized area would not show substantial changes connected with the parasites peak in activity (raiding and colony-founding season). The results showed a significant adaptive behavioural flexibility of host species workers and are consistent with the acceptance threshold models (Reeve 1989) prediction that recognition systems are not fixed but context-dependent. In particular, host workers from the unparasitized area were highly aggressive towards the parasite regardless of the season, whereas host workers from the parasitized area significantly increased their aggression towards the parasite during its raiding and colony-founding season. Being able to detect and possibly kill a Polyergus scout searching for host nests can be an effective strategy for a Formica colony to avoid being raided or usurped by a parasite queen.     

Evaluating multiple emission pathways for fixed cumulative carbon dioxide emissions from global-scale socioeconomic perspectives

Recent climate modeling studies have concluded that cumulative carbon emissions determine temperature increase, regardless of emission pathways. Accordingly, the optimal emission pathway can be determined from a socioeconomic standpoint. To access the path dependence of socioeconomic impacts for cumulative carbon emissions, we used a computable general equilibrium model to analyze impacts on major socioeconomic indicators on a global scale for 30–50 pathways with different emission reduction starting years, different subsequent emission pathways, and three different cumulative 2100 emission scenarios (emissions that meet the 2 °C target, the 2 °C target emissions plus 10 %, and emissions producing radiative forcing of 4.5 W/m²). The results show that even with identical cumulative emission figures, the resulting socioeconomic impacts vary by the pathway realized. For the United Nations 2 °C target, for example, (a) the 95 % confidence interval of cumulative global gross domestic product (GDP) is 1355–1363 trillion US dollars (2010–2100, discount rate = 5 %), (b) the cumulative GDP of pathways with later emission reduction starting years grows weaker (5 % significance level), and (c) emissions in 2100 have a moderate negative correlation with cumulative GDP. These results suggest that GDP loss is minimized with pathways with earlier emission reduction followed by more moderate reduction rates to achieve lower emission levels. Consequently, we suggest an early emission peak to meet the stringent target. In our model setting, it is desirable for emissions to peak by 2020 to reduce mitigation cost and by 2030 at the latest to meet the 2 °C target.     

双盲消防灭火救援演练模式构建

为了构建双盲消防灭火救援演练模式,提高消防指战员的临机决策能力。通过分析医学双盲实验的要点和优势,总结双盲消防演练的关键要素,并根据演练的一般环节和双盲的特点构建演练框架,将演练模式分为演练计划、演练准备、演练实施3个阶段。演练中按照时间梯度向演练者发布信息流、建立信息不对称性,演练者根据获得的信息分析、判断初始情景的危险程度,预判灾情的发展趋势,进而开展救援行动;评判者对演练者的处置过程和结果进行客观评价,依据设计评价指标,利用灰色关联度综合评估演练过程的方法。研究结果表明:通过双盲演练模型可以最大程度地避免演练评判者的主观影响,训练和检验消防指挥员信息获取、临机决策等能力,从而提高消防救援队伍的应急水平。     

滑坡三维局部稳定性评价研究

目前滑坡稳定性研究主要以滑坡整体为研究对象,而大部分滑坡特别是大型、特大型滑坡失稳破坏均从滑坡局部开始,因此从三维局部的角度对滑坡稳定性进行研究有其必要性。采用单元安全度法,以三峡库区某滑坡为例,运用FLAC3D数值模拟软件对该滑坡各单元的安全系数进行计算,得到滑坡各部位稳定性系数分布图,并根据滑坡宏观变形和地表位移监测结果对滑坡的三维局部稳定性评价结果进行验证。结果表明:滑坡宏观变形和地表位移监测结果与三维局部稳定性评价结果较为一致;该滑坡目前整体较稳定,但滑坡前缘在降雨和库水的持续作用下将会发生失稳破坏。