Comprehensive site screening and selection for offshore CO2 storage in the Early Miocene formations of the eastern Gunsan Basin, Yellow Sea

Assessing environmental carrying capacity of sea cage culture in the Yellow Sea, China, using a coupled diffusion model

The scarcity of land resources has become a bottleneck restricting the development of photovoltaic (PV) energy, and it is imperative to expand PV layout into the ocean. However, existing studies lack a refined site selection framework for large-scale sea areas. This study takes the Northwest Pacific coastal waters as the research area and constructs a three-stage evaluation framework for the suitability of offshore PV site selection, which includes “resource potential–spatial exclusion–multi-criteria assessment”. The results show that the theoretical power generation potential is generally “higher in the south and lower in the north”, with some deviations in local areas due to differences in temperature and wind speed. Only 4.3% of the sea area is feasible for development. The high-suitability areas are concentrated in the southeast coast of Vietnam and the northwest side of Taiwan Island. The South China Sea has superior development potential, while the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea are relatively less suitable. This study generates the first offshore PV site selection map covering the research area, providing a scientific basis for the formulation of differentiated development strategies for regional offshore PV. It has important practical value for promoting the sustainable development of blue energy.

Proteolytic enzymes, which play a crucial role in peptide bond cleavage, are widely applied in various industries. In this study, protease-producing bacteria were isolated and characterized from marine sediments collected from the Yellow Sea, China. Comprehensive screening and 16S rDNA sequencing identified a promising G4 strain as Bacillus atrophaeus. Following meticulous optimization of fermentation conditions and medium composition via response surface methodology, protease production using strain G4 was significantly enhanced by 64%, achieving a yield of 3258 U/mL. The G4 protease exhibited optimal activity at 50 °C and pH 7.5, demonstrating moderate thermal stability with 52% residual activity after 30-min incubation at 50 °C-characteristics typical of an alkaline protease. Notably, the enzyme retained over 79% activity across a broad pH range (6-11) and exhibited excellent salt tolerance, maintaining over 50% activity in a saturated NaCl solution. Inhibition by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, a serine protease inhibitor, confirmed its classification as a serine protease. The enzyme's potential in generating bioactive peptides was further demonstrated through hydrolysis of sheep (Ovis aries) placenta, resulting in a hydrolysate with notable antioxidant properties. The hydrolysate exhibited a 64% superoxide anion scavenging activity, surpassing that of reduced glutathione. These findings expand the current understanding of Bacillus atrophaeus G4 proteases and provide a foundation for innovative sheep placenta utilization with potential industrial applications.

CCS Prospect Evaluation for Early Miocene Formation in the Eastern Gunsan Basin, Yellow Sea

As an important migratory bird habitat along the East Asian-Australasian route, the coastal wetlands along the Yellow Sea have experienced significant human losses and threats due to the impact of wind farms. In this study, the radar data was adopted to examine and analyse the spatial and temporal changes of the human-made characteristic areas that caused the change of the migration route of birds in the Yellow Sea from 2015 to 2022. The results show that the areas of impact zones in the study area on water of the Yellow Sea, during the last 8 years, increased 14 times, from 35.7 km2 to 506.3 km2. The areas of impact zones in the study area on land, during the last 8 years, increased almost two times, from 303.4 km2 to 544.2 km2, which also has a serious impact on the number of migratory birds. Therefore, China should carefully evaluate the impact and potential threat of domestic wind farms under operation and construction on birds and other wildlife, and provide scientific solutions for the site selection of new wind farms.

Early Cretaceous slumps and turbidites with peculiar soft-sediment deformation structures on Lingshan Island (Qingdao, China) indicating a tensional tectonic regime

Differences in dietary specialization, habitat use and susceptibility to human disturbance influence feeding rates and resource partitioning between two migratory Numenius curlew species

Carbon dioxide (CO2) storage in underwater reservoirs is a valuable method of reducing carbon emissions. Saline aquifers such as those in the South Yellow Sea Basin (SYSB), China, have great potential for geological CO2 storage. Thus, we use the recommended calculation method of USDOE and a formation volume model to determine the geological conditions for CO2 storage and estimate the CO2 storage capacity of the Cenozoic saline aquifers in the SYSB (depth: 800–3200 m). Overall, the SYSB exhibits weak fault activity and seismicity, medium and low geothermal fields, four types of source sandstone reservoir, and four sets of carbon reservoir–caprock assemblages developed from the Cenozoic strata, providing relatively good geological conditions for CO2 storage. The estimated capacity of the Cenozoic strata ranges from 39.59 Gt to 426.94 Gt (average: 155.25 Gt), indicating an extensive storage capacity that can meet the carbon sequestration needs of Shandong and Jiangsu Provinces for approximately 89 years. The Yantai Depression has a lower geothermal gradient and terrestrial heat, weaker seismic activity, and double the storage capacity of the Qingdao Depression, indicating that it is the most suitable area for Cenozoic CO2 storage in the SYSB, whereas the Laoshan Uplift is not suitable for storage. This study provides a scientific basis for the selection of offshore CO2 storage sites.

GCS site selection in saline Miocene formations in South Louisiana

Assessment of the effective CO2 storage capacity in the Beibuwan Basin, offshore of southwestern P. R. China

A theoretical CO2 storage capacity of the southwestern margin (ca. 13,000 km2) of Ulleung Basin, offshore Korea is estimated using the relatively large amount of exploratory data including 2D (ca. 8,500 L-km) / 3D (ca. 2,400 km2) multi-channel reflection seismic data integrated with twenty-three (23) well bore data that had been acquired in the area through exploration activities over the two decades since the late 1980s. The study area is located between the Korea Peninsular to the west and the Japanese Arc to the east, and it is divided into two distinct regions: one is a tectonically deformed area (Dolgorae) and the other is a relatively less influenced area by the plate motions (Gorae) during the Tertiary. The KNOC (Korea National Oil Corporation) has discovered several discoveries in the areas one of which is a commercially producing gas field (Dong-Hae 1). The study area is believed to be evolved as a rifted basin margin during the Oligocene followed by a rapid thermal subsidence until the early Miocene, accumulating alluvial/fluvio-deltaic sediments across the entire area. During the middle Miocene, the subsidence was ceased by a tectonically induced compressional stress from both the south by the Philippine plate and the east by the Pacific plate, producing faulted and folded structural features which are the main targets for CO 2 sequestration as well as hydrocarbon exploration. The uplifted areas provided relatively long-lasting sediment sources contributing to the formation of a continental-shelf-to-slope system that reaches a maximum thickness of 10 km. The thick sediment filling is the focus of the study. The prestack time-migrated 2D/ 3D seismic data were interpreted using a conventional seismic interpretation technique to identify sequences bounded by regional unconformities above and below throughout the Gorae area within a limited depth of 2,200 m, considering both sealing capability above 800 m and tightness of the formation below 3,000 m. The seismic interpretation results in five different seismic units, although ten sequences are recognized, in the time domain that are converted into the depth domain using an average velocity from checkshot surveys conducted in the area. To estimate possibly effective CO 2 storage volumes, the depth-converted seismic sequences are limited in area of the shelf margins prior to incorporation of the other required parameters that include porosity and permeability from the borehole data, and theoretically inferred CO 2 density with depth. In addition, an efficient factor defined by a depositional environment (i.e., continental shelf) which is, for the first time in Korea, used for the greenhouse-gas storage capacity calculation. The factor was evaluated by comparing levels P10, P50, and P90, representing 2.2%, 5.5%, and 13.7%, respectively, and the corresponding accumulated possible storage volumes in the study are 2,053 Mton, 5,131 Mton, and 12,782 Mton. The theoretically computed potential volumes will be effectively revised not only because the entire area is investigated in the next phase but also because more variables will be considered. The approaches made in this study will be applied to the other continental shelves (i.e., Yellow Sea and northern part of East China Sea) around the Korean Peninsula.

Fossil fuel fired plants are responsible for the one third of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions which thought to be a major contributor to the current rise in the Earth's surface temperature. Reducing CO2 atmospheric concentrations by capturing emissions at the source—power plants or chemical units—and then storing them in subsurface reservoirs is thought by many scientists to be a reliable solution until emission-free energy sources are developed and viable. The current options for captured CO2 utilization are; Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), Enhanced Coal Bed Methane Recovery (ECBM), Enhanced Gas Recovery (EGR), Food processing applications, Mineral products, Fertilizer manufacture, Algae growth promoter, Enhanced plant growth. The capture and storage of CO2 continues to accelerate as new projects are initiated and existing projects confirm the development scenarios. A crucial element in CO2 storage is reliable monitoring of CO2 migration behavior and storage volumes. An innovative seismic monitoring techniques, has recently been awarded a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) project that will examine the application of time-lapse (4D) seismic technology and advanced reservoir simulation to optimize CO2 EOR operations. Well design, cementing, completions techniques and long life cycle mechanical integrity assurance are currently subject of many R&D projects. Industry expertise also is being tapped in CO2 projects across Europe and in Australia, including four major EU proposals under the Framework Program Six and the Australian CO2CRC Otway Project. These projects address pertinent issues in CO2 capture and storage such as site selection, storage monitoring and verification techniques, developing local CO2 storage sites from hydrogen- and power-generation plants, and industry training. In our paper framework of CO2 sequestration and vital aspects such as; site selection, reservoir characterization, modeling of storage and long term leakage monitoring techniques will be illustrated.

Embryos are vulnerable. Rapid development decreases the period of vulnerability. Parents' protections also decrease vulnerability and may decrease selection for rapid development. A previous study showed that invertebrate embryos with more protection had slower early cell cycles. The slowing varied greatly among species. Hypotheses for the slowing include genetic drift and selection for developmental improvements. Here, published data on teleost fish indicated that (1) guarded and hidden embryos exhibit a similar pattern of varied slowing and (2) the pattern of slowing is similar for early cell cycles (mostly dependent on times for DNA replication and cell division) and somite formation (which also involves transcription and cell signaling). Times for early cell cycles and somite formation were more uniformly fast for teleosts with scattered nonadhesive eggs than for those with guarded or hidden eggs. Some species with adhesive eggs that were not reported to be guarded or hidden also developed slowly, as expected if parents select safe sites for egg attachment. Slower development is expected to increase bias against evolutionary reversals to less protection of embryos. Differences in egg size did not account for slower development of protected embryos. Slow development increased age at hatching but did not account for all the increase in age at hatching of protected embryos. Greater protection of embryos was associated with an evolutionary slowing of developmental processes as simple as early cell multiplication and complex as somite formation, in fish with disparate protections of embryos, in habitats ranging from the ocean to temporary ponds.

Long-term trend analysis and wave energy assessment based on ERA5 wave reanalysis along the Chinese coastline

A unified approach to selection and qualification of sites for geological storage of CO2 is being developed by key industry players in the CO2QUALSTORE Joint Industry Project. The partners represent companies with diverse roles within CCS; oil and gas companies (BP, BG Group, Petrobras, Shell and StatoilHydro); energy companies (DONG Energy, RWE Dea and Vattenfall); technical consultancy and service providers (Schlumberger and Arup); the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme; and two Norwegian public enterprises (Gassnova and Gassco). The project is coordinated by DNV, a major provider of independent verification and risk management consultancy services. CO2QUALSTORE aims to produce a guideline that shall help project developers pass internal milestones during the site selection stage of the project life cycle and simultaneously demonstrate compliance with regulations and stakeholder expectations. A primary objective of the qualification workflow is to assist operators, authorities, verifiers and other stakeholders in assuring that storage sites are qualified following a transparent, consistent and cost-effective process. The guideline should lay the groundwork for a risk-based approach where monitoring programs and contingency measures are derived from preceding risk assessments. Furthermore, the guideline aims to facilitate the following processes; identifying, characterizing and selecting the sites that are well suited for CO2 geological storage among a list of candidates;defining qualification criteria and providing the evidence that the site and project will function reliably according to these qualification criteria;verifying that the selected site and its planned management procedures comply with given standards and regulations, and that the available data and management procedures as well as the contingency (remediation) plans provide sufficient confidence that the site will provide long-term storage of CO2. In this paper we present results and conclusions from five satellite projects that test and evaluate critical components of the main steps of the proposed qualification framework. The main objectives of these projects are described below. Site selection offshore Norway: Document the ongoing site selection process for storage of CO2 from two gas-fired power plants, and assess if the documentation provided at the key milestones corresponds with the guideline framework.Site characterisation criteria: Develop site characterisation criteria for geological storage of CO2 in saline aquifers or hydrocarbon reservoirs, and evaluate how to convert the criteria into recommendations.Site verification: Show how monitoring and verification has been carried out on projects in the injection phase, and evaluate how the verification process could be improved and completed.Site selection onshore Germany: Apply the qualification framework to the process of site selection for two planned onshore storage projects in Germany, and identify documentation necessary for regulatory approval processes in compliance with the German mining law, the EC CCS directive, and the upcoming German CCS law (KSPG).Risk assessment and communication with stakeholders: Perform a critical review of risk assessment work conducted for the In Salah project in Algeria and use lessons learned from the In Salah project as a basis for demonstrating effective communication of risk assessment for a CO2 storage site between an operator and stakeholders.