Natural Boundary Research Articles

Casting Justice Before Swine: Late Mediaeval Pig Trials as Instances of Human Exceptionalism

In recent years, several cases about the legal personhood of nonhuman animals garnered global attention, e.g. the recognition of ‘basic rights’ for the Argentinian great apes Sandra and Cecilia. Legal scholars have embraced the animal turn, blurring the once sovereign boundaries between persons and objects, recognising nonhuman beings as legal subjects. The zoonotic origins of the Covid-19 pandemic stress the urgency of establishing ‘global animal law’ and deconstructing anthropocentrism. To this end, it is vital to also consider the extensive premodern legal history that humans share with other animals. Over 200 so-called animal trials have been documented in premodern Europe. In these proceedings, certain nonhuman animals—particularly domestic pigs—were prosecuted, often resulting in their capital punishment or anathema. This paper takes a history of ideas approach to these historical instances where Western philosophy of law and philosophical anthropology intersect, problematising the notion that such trials constitute wholesome precedents of the kind of legal personhood presently debated in jurisprudence. My counter-hegemonic analysis of the legal prosecution and execution of several pigs in fifteenth-century France demonstrates that late mediaeval notions of criminality transcended the alleged human-nonhuman divide whilst reaffirming and reifying human distinctiveness. I propose that pig trials were local laboratories where Christian communities reflected upon the natural hierarchy of God’s creation. Ensuing the apparent breach of the prescribed boundaries of nature, these communities renegotiated and re-naturalised everyday interspecies sociability by utilising the offending animals to exemplify particular norms about what it means to be human, generally to the animals’ detriment.

Estimating Natural Boundary Change on a Large Lake

The natural boundary is intuitively understood to be the line dividing the bed of a water body from the adjacent land. It is used in many jurisdictions to define the boundary of ownership between a land parcel and a state-owned watercourse. It is typically defined on the ground through observations by a professional surveyor. Predicting changes to the natural boundary has obvious utility (e.g., with climate change); however, its’ observational nature does not lend itself to such predictions. This paper uses a case study of a large lake to explore the relationship between shoreline morphology and hydrology, and the elevation of the natural boundary. Significant correlation was found between the natural boundary elevation and average wave power, but not with variables beach slope, sediment type, or presence of vegetation. Below 0.4 W/m of average wave power, the correlation with natural boundary elevation is very weak, suggesting a lower limit of influence. Two process-based methods for estimation of natural boundary change are proposed, one based on the observed statistical relationship between the average wave power and the natural boundary elevation, and another method based on detailed analytical modelling of bottom stress from breaking waves using the Xbeach software (v1.23). Both methods were used to estimate natural boundary change under a hypothetical change in water level regime due to proposed weir upgrades. While observational data are not available to support evaluation, both approaches predict similar changes to the natural boundary despite their significantly different basis. While the modelling approach requires significant analyst and computational effort, the parametric approach is comparatively efficient, making it practical to apply at high resolution over very large shorelines.

LES of natural convection along a side-heated vertical wall in a water cavity applied for the scale of Small Modular Reactor ([formula omitted

The passive safety concept of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) is based on the transfer of residual heat from the reactor to a water pool. Since the height of the reactor vessel reaches approximately 15 m, this leads to a strong heat exchange between the wall and the water by the way of natural convection. The maximum Rayleigh number (Ra) reaches 1014 or 1015. Reliable heat transfer correlations exist only up to Ra≈1012, still along with uncertainties in the extrapolation to higher Rayleigh number values. To improve the understanding of natural convection at high Rayleigh number values, the turbulent natural convection boundary layer (TNCBL) along a 15 m high, side-heated vertical wall in a water tank is simulated by employing the Large Eddy Simulation method with the CEA in-house code Triocfd (Angeli et al., 2015). The numerical results in terms of heat transfer correlation, mean temperature and mean velocity, second moment variables show a reasonable agreement with available experimental data in the range of Ra < 1012. It is observed in the simulation that the powers of the heat transfer correlations in the laminar (Nuy=0.56Gry∙Pr0.25) and the turbulent regimes (Nuy=0.114Gry∙Pr1/3) correspond well to the classical regimes at Ra<2×1012. A slight deviation from the classical exponent (1/3) is found at higher Rayleigh number (2×1012 <Ra<1.8×1015), namely Nuy=0.114(Gry∙Pr)0.33 . Through the analysis of turbulent kinetic energy budget, it is found that turbulent contribution from shear stress increases continuously with the increase of Rayleigh number. However, the turbulence contribution from buoyancy keeps increasing until Ra≈6.6×1013, then decreases gradually at higher Rayleigh number. The behavior of the maximum buoyant force shifts slowly from the inner boundary layer to the outer boundary layer may indicate the potential transition of the buoyancy-dominated regime to the shear stress dominated regime, thus confirming previous theoretical prediction (Wells Andrew and Worster, 2008). The increasing scale of the streak-like turbulent structures with the increase of Rayleigh number are clearly demonstrated through visualization process.

The disproportionate impact of post-George Floyd violence increases on minority neighborhoods in Philadelphia

In early 2020 the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic swept across the globe, impacting the criminal justice system in myriad ways. The effects of this significant societal upheaval were then exacerbated by unprecedented and extended protests and social unrest following the murder of George Floyd. This analysis seeks to clarify the disproportionate impacts on communities of color in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) neighborhoods. This analysis considers all acts of violence, weighted by severity, and examined across the natural societal boundaries of the city for a seven-year period, while controlling for temporal trends and seasonality. Analysis using a fixed effects cross-sectional panel design of different racial/ethnic groups in the city finds that the increase in violent harm experienced by the city disproportionately impacted Hispanic communities, and one neighborhood specifically. In other words, during and following the 2020 ‘Summer of Racial Reckoning’, violence rose across Philadelphia, but increased more so in the Upper Kensington neighborhood. Possible reasons for this are discussed.

Deep reduced-order least-square method—A parallel neural network structure for solving beam problems

In this paper, a novel physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) called deep reduced-order least-square (ROLS) is proposed. The deep ROLS is a combination of reduced-order and least-square methods in the context of PINN methodology. The key idea of the deep ROLS is to convert a higher-order PDE to a system of lower-order PDEs by using primary and secondary variables, then the loss function constituted by integrals of corresponding squared residuals over the problem domain is minimized. Specifically, the squared residuals are established based on L2 norm of respective reduced-order PDE terms, and the Gauss–Legendre quadrature rule is applied to approximate their integrals. A multi-network structure is also designed, in which each sub-network serves as one field variable corresponding to each reduced-order PDE. Moreover, this work proposes a scheme to handle both essential and natural boundary conditions (BCs) directly. The deep ROLS demonstrates its better advantages in comparison to original PINN method in terms of solution accuracy, computational cost and data efficiency for several beam bending problems having continuous and discontinuous solutions.

Towards the Phenomenology of Hybrids as Regenerative Design and use – a Post-Heideggerian Account

Grasping the identity of hybrids, that is beings which cross the binarism of nature and technology (e.g. genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), synbio inventions, biomimetic projects), is problematic since it is still guided by self-evident dualistic categories, either as artefacts or as natural entities. To move beyond the limitations of such a one-sided understanding of hybrids, we suggest turning towards the categories of affordances and the juxtaposition of needs and patterns of proper use, as inspired by the Heideggerian version of phenomenology. Drawing upon selected concepts by Heidegger, we argue that hybrids can be conceptualised as a regenerative design and use to serve the planet. We argue that the ideal type of non-exploitative account of hybrids consists of the adaptive approach to the environment, which does not, however, exclude the possibility of designing and constructing new beings. We also point out that hybrids undermine the divide of being destructive/regenerative which marks the boundaries of nature and technology.

Scientific and legal principles of determining the territorial boundaries of cathedral Ukraine in the light of revolutionary practice (1917–1920)

Formulation of the problem. Recently, issues related to the history of the implementation of the idea of Ukrainian unity have become extremely acute in ideological life. Along with statements about the absence of the phenomenon of the Ukrainian nation, denials of the fact of the existence of a full-fledged statehood of Ukraine, Russian politicians and some scientists are promoting misleading statements that the current Ukraine was the result of unfortunate mistakes of the leaders of the previous stages of social development, turned out to be a conglomerate of artificially "glued together" in the information space. a territory with an ethnically heterogeneous,or even simply predominantly non-Ukrainian, population. The purpose of the article is to highlight the chronologically first attempt at scientific and practical-political determination of the natural boundaries of territories with the predominance of the Ukrainian ethnographic element as an objective, fair, convincing criterion for their regular composition into a single national-state space. Using the methods of scientific objectivity, concrete-historical and analytical comparative research, the processes of ideological-theoretical and legal substantiation of the concepts of achieving Ukrainian unity in the times of the Ukrainian People's Republic, the times of the Central Council and the Directory, the Hetman's Ukrainian State and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1917-1920) are reproduced yr.). On the basis of the available documents and real facts, the picture of the implementation of interconnected concepts of the Ukrainian national-democratic revolution and the unification of the branches of Ukrainianism, which had been dispersed until then, is being reconstructed. A convincing conclusion is made that the observance of clear, principled guidelines for the ethnographic principle, as an unshakable legal basis for the formation of an independent cathedral state, brought undeniable practical results, while neglecting this principle, replacing it with other,mostly opportunistic approaches, ended without results. Key words: Ukrainian revolution, national unity, ethnographic principle, national territorial autonomy, independence, regionalism, separatism, Act of Zluka.

Large-scale motions in a turbulent natural convection boundary layer immersed in a stably stratified environment

This study investigates the coherence of turbulent fluctuations in a turbulent vertical natural convection boundary layer immersed in a stably stratified medium (turbulent buoyancy layer). A turbulent buoyancy layer of a fluid having a Prandtl number of $0.71$ at a Reynolds number of $800$ is numerically simulated using direct numerical simulation. The two-point correlations reveal that the streamwise velocity fluctuations are coherent over large streamwise distances, with the length scale of the streamwise coherence being greater than the boundary layer thickness. This is due to large-scale motions (LSMs), similar to the LSMs observed in canonical wall-bounded turbulence despite the stark differences in flow dynamics. Both high-speed (positive) and low-speed (negative) streamwise velocity fluctuations form LSMs, with their streamwise length scales increasing with increasing wall-normal distance. High-speed LSMs are composed of upwash flow with high temperatures, while low-speed LSMs are composed of downwash flow with low temperatures. Both high-speed and low-speed LSMs meander appreciably in the streamwise direction, with the degree of meandering being correlated with the sign of the spanwise velocity fluctuations. The LSMs exhibit coherence across significant wall-normal distances and contribute significantly to the turbulence production in the outer layer. Examining the one-dimensional energy spectra of the turbulent buoyancy layer shows that the LSMs are the dominant energy-containing motions, implying that the length scale of the energy-containing range is of the order of boundary layer thickness. Notably, wall-normal velocity, spanwise velocity and buoyancy fluctuations do not form LSMs with streamwise length scales comparable to streamwise velocity fluctuations.

Old railways, new borders. The impact of treaty of Trianon on Western Transdanubia network (1918–1924)

The Great War and Trianon opened a new chapter in the history, not only of the Kingdom of Hungary, but also of Western Hungary. Besides dividing up the counties of Sopron, Moson and Vas, the newly re-drawn borders also split up most of the railway lines running within them as well. From the territory sliced from the three counties, the previously non-existent province of Austria, Burgenland, was established in 1922. In many cases, the new demarcation lines followed boundaries of old districts or settlements, but it was rare to find natural boundaries among them. As a result, between the two World Wars, the use of the affected railway tracks began to change similar to several contemporary Central European cases, with the exception of GYSEV (Győr–Sopron–Ebenfurth Railway Company), which could remain in its original form. This research paper aims to examine how the shift of borders in this region affected railway transport. It is based on the local historical literature on the railway, regional history and primary resources.

Hydro & thermo dynamics at causal boundaries, examples in 3d gravity

We study 3-dimensional gravity on a spacetime bounded by a generic 2-dimensional causal surface. We review the solution phase space specified by 4 generic functions over the causal boundary, construct the symplectic form over the solution space and the 4 boundary charges and their algebra. The boundary charges label boundary degrees of freedom. Three of these charges extend and generalize the Brown-York charges to the generic causal boundary, are canonical conjugates of boundary metric components and naturally give rise to a fluid description at the causal boundary. Moreover, we show that the boundary charges besides the causal boundary hydrodynamic description, also admit a thermodynamic description with a natural (geometric) causal boundary temperature and angular velocity. When the causal boundary is the asymptotic boundary of the 3d AdS or flat space, the hydrodynamic description respectively recovers an extension of the known conformal or conformal-Carrollian asymptotic hydrodynamics. When the causal boundary is a generic null surface, we recover the null surface thermodynamics of [1] which is an extension of the usual black hole thermodynamics description.

Significance of heat and mass transport in peristaltic flow of Jeffrey material subject to chemical reaction and radiation phenomenon through a tapered channel

Abstract Using mathematical modeling and computational analysis, this study aims to examine the peristaltic blood flow of a non-Newtonian material in a tapered channel with radiative heat flux and response mechanisms. By utilizing a long-wavelength approximation, ignoring the wave number, and performing under conditions of low Reynolds number, closed form solutions for the velocity, temperature, and concentration fields are achieved. Several governing parameters and their effects on the system were analyzed, and relevant diagrams were provided. Increasing the Biot number, Jeffrey material, and thermal radiation parameter of the heat and mass transfer mechanism increases the velocity profile. When the heat source/sink parameter and the heat transfer Biot number increase, the temperature profile improves. The resultant concentration distributions are enhanced when mass transfer Biot number, heat radiation, and chemical processes are all raised. We observe that the pressure rate decreases in all three pumping zones when the heat transfer Grashof number and heat transfer Biot number rise. This is because the pressure rate is affected by the Grashof number and Biot number of heat transmission. The increase in thermal radiation parameter and heat transfer Biot number results in a slower rate of heat transfer than when Prandtl number and heat source/sink parameter increases. When the Soret number, Schmidt number, Biot number, and heat source/sink parameter are all raised, the mass transfer coefficient also rises. This rate, however, decreases as the heat radiation and chemical reaction parameters rise. The findings presented in this study have interesting implications for other aspects of human physiology. The preponderance of organs are permeable. Furthermore, fluids render the location of natural boundaries uncertain. The presented mathematical model can be used to derive predictions about the behavior of various systems. For the study of cancer treatment in biological systems, a mathematical model that includes nanoparticles, viscosity dissipation, and rotation holds much promise. Model development incorporated Soret–Dufour effects and thermal analysis of the digestive system.

Скорочення розмірності нелінійної динамічної системи для моделювання багатостінної нанотрубки

A system of nonlinear partial differential equations is derived to describe the vibrations of a multi-walled nanotube. The system reduces to a nonlinear dynamic system with а large number of degrees of freedom (DOFs). To reduce its dimension, the nonlinear modal analysis method is used to give 2-DOF dynamic system, which is studied by the asymptotic multiple scale method. This gives a system of modulation equations, whose fixed points describe the free vibrations of the nanotube. The fixed points are described by nonlinear algebraic equations, whose solutions are given on a backbone curve. Use is made of the Sanders–Koiter shell model to describe the nonlinear deformation of the nanotube and Hook’s nonlocal anisotropic law to simulate its vibrations. Notice that the elastic constants of the nanotube walls differ. The nanotube model is a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations, which is obtained by applying the weighed residuals method to the nonlinear partial equations. Three types of nonlinearities are accounted for in the nanotube model. First, the Van der Waals forces are nonlinear functions of the radial displacements. Second, the displacements of the nanotube walls are assumed to be moderate, which is described by a geometrically nonlinear model. Third, since the resultant forces are nonlinear functions of the displacements, the use of natural boundary conditions in the weighted residuals method results in additional nonlinear terms. A finite-DOF nonlinear dynamical system is derived. The free nonlinear vibrations of the nanotube are analyzed. The calculated results are shown on a backbone curve.

Finite Element Implementation of Computational Fluid Dynamics With Reactive Neutral and Charged Solute Transport in FEBio.

The objective of this study was to implement a novel fluid-solutes solver into the open-source finite element software FEBio, that extended available modeling capabilities for biological fluids and fluid-solute mixtures. Using a reactive mixture framework, this solver accommodates diffusion, convection, chemical reactions, electrical charge effects, and external body forces, without requiring stabilization methods that were deemed necessary in previous computational implementations of the convection-diffusion-reaction equation at high Peclet numbers. Verification and validation problems demonstrated the ability of this solver to produce solutions for Peclet numbers as high as 1011, spanning the range of physiological conditions for convection-dominated solute transport. This outcome was facilitated by the use of a formulation that accommodates realistic values for solvent compressibility, and by expressing the solute mass balance such that it properly captured convective transport by the solvent and produced a natural boundary condition of zero diffusive solute flux at outflow boundaries. Since this numerical scheme was not necessarily foolproof, guidelines were included to achieve better outcomes that minimize or eliminate the potential occurrence of numerical artifacts. The fluid-solutes solver presented in this study represents an important and novel advancement in the modeling capabilities for biomechanics and biophysics as it allows modeling of mechanobiological processes via the incorporation of chemical reactions involving neutral or charged solutes within dynamic fluid flow. The incorporation of charged solutes in a reactive framework represents a significant novelty of this solver. This framework also applies to a broader range of nonbiological applications.

Limits to the Anthropocene: geopolitical conflict or cooperative governance?

In the Anthropocene the world is facing an acceleration of human growth and its impact on nature. The expansionist world order which emerged from Europe since colonial times is reaching multiple limits (environmental, economic, social, political and scientific-technical), increasing marginal costs and risks which trigger multiple crises, conflicts and catastrophes that challenge this world order. Alternative futures range from a collapse of human civilization to geopolitical power competition and conflict between rivals to disruptive technical innovations and systemic transformation of the economy and society within natural boundaries. In response to geopolitical conflicts and their consequences, such as climate change and the Russia-Ukraine war, efforts of cooperative governance can help to mitigate, adapt to and manage complex crisis landscapes. Instead of an epochal turn (Zeitenwende) for arms race and war, more promising are sustainable climate protection and a peaceful energy transition within planetary boundaries. To further prevent escalating and mutually enforcing crisis dynamics and geopolitical conflicts in the Anthropocene, cooperative governance needs to adjust to the world's complexity and move from a negative nexus of problems to a positive nexus of solutions. The interaction between geopolitics and governance and the transition from risk cascades to synergies is discussed for the energy-security nexus and the climate-conflict-migration nexus. Energy conflicts can be contained by diminishing land competition and biodiversity loss, as well as risky dependencies on strategic raw materials and conflict minerals. Measures for a sustainable energy transition include energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy and decarbonization, a circular economy and nature-based solutions. To prevent risk multiplication in the climate-conflict-migration nexus, synergies in climate, migration and security policy facilitate integrative solutions for a socio-ecological transformation based on mitigation and adaptation, conflict resolution and environmental peacebuilding, aiming for a mutual enforcement of sustainability and peace.

The effects of thermal radiation, internal heat generation (absorption) on unsteady MHD free convection flow about a truncated cone in presence of pressure work

The aim of present paper is to analyse the effect of radiation, internal heat generation (absorption) on unsteady laminar natural convective boundary layer flow over a truncated cone considering pressure work and magnetic field due to the variation in fluid flow behavior in various physical conditions. Suitable transformation is used to form system of coupled non linear partial differential equations is to governing the flow and heat transfer. These equations have been solved numerically by using an implicit finite difference scheme along with quasilinearization technique. According to numerical findings, the pressure work, internal heat generation (absorption), radiation, and magnetic field have a significant impact on both skin friction and heat transfer. Further, skin friction is found to decrease 12.13%, 30.3% and 41.67% for various values (from 0.0 to 0.5) of pressure work, magnetic field and heat generation (absorption) alongside the cone surface whereas heat transfer rate rises 17.19%, 17.65% and 73.51% respectively due to unsteadiness in the flow. It is observed that the thickness of boundary layer enhances for various values (from 0.0 to 0.5) of heat generation and radiation parameter but diminishes for pressure work and Prandtl number.

Numerical solutions of free convective flow from a moving cone in the presence of non-uniform surface temperature

This computational study intends to determine the impact of non-isothermal surface temperature on the natural convective boundary layerflow of fluid along a moving vertical cone. The governing equation deals with continuity, momentum, and energy along with thermal fluctuations are reduced into dimensionless unsteady non-linear coupled PDE. The non-dimensional governing equations of the boundary layer are then illuminated by a systematic and unconditionally stable method of implicit finite difference Crank-Nicolson scheme. Analyzing the stability and convergence of the system has helped in the optimization of parameters and accuracy of the system. Using a tabular approach, we validate the present numerical methodology by comparing it to the previously discussed results. Through a table of values, the physical impacts of parameters are analyzed and graphical representations are provided. From the graphs, it is evident that an increment in Pr and n results in lower temperature and velocity profiles.

Application of quantitative methods for the assessment of landslide susceptibility of the Aghsuchay river basin

Problem statement. Azerbaijan is making a lot of efforts to reduce the impact of dangerous geological processes on natural geosystems, but they still cause huge damage. To a greater extent, the region of the Greater Caucasus, namely the southern slope, is subject to such processes, where the whole range of dangerous geological processes occurs: earthquake (7-8 b and above), landslides, landslides, screes, mudflows, etc. All of them are large-scale processes in terms of damage - they affect large areas and lead to economic losses. Purpose - to identify the main factors of the formation and spread of landslides in the basin of one of the most mudflow-bearing rivers not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the South Caucasus - the Agsuchay river, identify the conditions for their formation, assess the risk of the territory's susceptibility to landslide processes, as well as ways to prevent and protect. Research method. To assess landslide susceptibility and create maps of the potential development of landslides in the basin of the Agsuchay river we used the Frequency Ratio method (FR). Research results. For minimize damage from landslides on the example of the Agsuchay river basin a detailed study of the factors (hypsometry, slope angles (slope steepness) was carried out by us. Also slope exposure, geological structure (lithology), distance from faults, average annual precipitation, distance to the erosion network, distance to roads and land use) that determine the development of landslide processes with taking into account the mechanism of their development, as well as an analysis of the obtained values of landslide susceptibility and their potential development was studied. In the ArcGIS software environment, using the “Raster Calculator” spatial analysis tool, summing up each landslide factor multiplied by its weights, a map of the landslide susceptibility of the Agsuchay river basin was obtained. In the river basin Agsuchay we identified over 120 landslide areas. Most of the landslides were recorded along the Baskal tectonic cover, the Steppe Plateau, as well as on the slopes of the Langyabiz ridge, and also partially on the slopes of the Nialdag ridge. Conclusion. Using the natural boundary classification method in the ArcGIS software environment, the study area was divided into five landslide potential zones: very low, low, medium, high, and very high. The result of the analysis showed that zones with very low, low, medium, high and very high landslide development potential are: 13.75; 24.48; 31.51; 20.51 and 9.74% of the study area, respectively. Ultimately, the reliability of the obtained models was evaluated using AUC ROC (area under the error curve) analysis, which showed high performance of the method used (82%). Due to the high reliability, the method used can be used to assess the landslide susceptibility not only of the territory of Azerbaijan, but of similar regions of the Alpine-Himalayan belt.

The turbulence development of a vertical natural convection boundary layer

Results from direct numerical simulations of a vertical natural convection boundary layer (NCBL) with $Pr=0.71$ reveal that the turbulence development of such a thermally driven convective flow has two distinct stages: at relatively low Grashof number, the bulk flow is turbulent while the near-wall region is laminar-like or weakly turbulent; at sufficiently high Grashof number, the entire flow becomes turbulent in the sense of von Kármán (cf. Grossmann &amp; Lohse, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 407, 2000, pp. 27–56, for the ultimate turbulent regime). Investigations on the turbulence statistics show that the near-wall Reynolds shear stress is negligible in the weakly turbulent regime but will grow in magnitude as the flow transitions to the ultimate regime at higher Grashof number. Similar behaviour is also seen in the streamwise turbulence intensity, where it develops from a mono-peak profile into a dual-peak structure as the Grashof number increases. At higher Grashof number, the near-wall energetic site is shown to have an energy distribution similar to that of a canonical wall-bounded turbulence (e.g. Hutchins &amp; Marusic, Phil. Trans. R. Soc.A, vol. 365, 2007, pp. 647–664), with a peak centred at fixed location and wavelength ( $y^+=18$ and $\lambda ^+_x=1000$ ) in viscous coordinates. Investigation on the spanwise spectra also suggests that the turbulent near-wall streaks emerge only at sufficiently high Grashof number, with constant spacing $\lambda _z^+\approx 130$ . The extent of the weakly turbulent regime is identified using the maximum velocity location $\delta_m$ and a laminar length scale $\delta_u$ . The development of near-wall turbulence is also investigated by examining the turbulence kinetic energy budget. In the weakly turbulent regime, the near-wall turbulence is sustained predominantly by the pressure transport in addition to the shear production. At higher Grashof number, the flow becomes fully turbulent, and both turbulent transport and shear production become stronger, while the pressure transport is decreased. These results also reveal that the production–dissipation ratio $P/\varepsilon$ of the NCBL would follow a fundamentally different trend to the canonical wall-bounded flows, which further supports that the near-wall turbulence generation is affected by the bulk flow.

Changing Water Cycle under a Warming Climate: Tendencies in the Carpathian Basin

In this mini-review, we present evidence from the vast literature that one essential part of the coupled atmosphere–ocean system that makes life on Earth possible, the water cycle, is exhibiting changes along with many attributes of the global climate. Our starting point is the 6th Assessment Report of the IPCC, which appeared in 2021, where the almost monograph-size Chapter 8, with over 1800 references, is devoted entirely to the water cycle. In addition to listing the main observations on the Earth globally, we focus on Europe, particularly on the Carpathian (Pannonian) Basin. We collect plausible explanations of the possible causes behind an observably accelerating and intensifying water cycle. Some authors still suggest that changes in the natural boundary conditions, such as solar irradiance or Earth’s orbital parameters, explain the observations. In contrast, most authors attribute such changes to the increasing greenhouse gas concentrations since the industrial revolution. The hypothesis being tested, and which has already yielded convincing affirmative answers, is that the hydrological cycle intensifies due to anthropogenic impacts. The Carpathian Basin, a part of the Danube watershed, including the sub-basin of the Tisza River, is no exception to these changes. The region is experiencing multiple drivers contributing to alterations in the water cycle, including increasing temperatures, shifting precipitation regimes, and various human impacts.

Investigation of the Impact of Natural Fracture Geomechanics on the Efficiency of Oil Production and CO2 Injection from/to a Petroleum Structure: A Case Study

The paper addresses the problem of geomechanical effects in the vicinity of production/injection wells and their impacts on the processes of enhanced oil recovery by CO2 injection and CO2 sequestration in a partially depleted oil reservoir. In particular, it focuses on natural fracture systems and their dynamics caused by variations in the rock geomechanical state due to reservoir pressure changes during production/injection processes. The comprehensive approach to the problem requires the combined modeling of both geomechanical and flow phenomena associated with effective coupling simulations of their evolution. The paper applies such an approach to a real, partially depleted oil reservoir in Poland. An effective method of coupled geomechanical and dynamic simulations was used together with the natural boundary and initial conditions for both simulation types. In addition, typical operating conditions were applied in analyzing the processes of enhanced oil recovery by CO2 injection and CO2 sequestration. The detailed results of relevant modeling and simulations are presented and discussed focusing on various scale consequences, including the reservoir, well, and completion ones. Both general conclusions as well as the ones specific to the analyzed geological structure are drawn; they confirm the significant dependence of well performance on geomechanical effects and point out several key factors for this dependence. The conclusions specific to the analyzed structure concern fracture reactivation in tensile/hybrid failure mode caused by pressure build-up during CO2 injection and the importance of the fracture-induced aperture changes resulting from the normal stress, while the shear stress is found to be negligible.