Environmental Research Center Research Articles

Debris collision mitigation from the ground using laser guide star adaptive optics at mount Stromlo observatory

The Australian National University (ANU) and industry partners EOS Space Systems and Lockheed Martin are part of the Space Environment Research Centre (SERC), an Australian-Government funded cooperative research centre headquartered in Canberra, Australia. SERC aims to mitigate the threat of collisions with space debris using a ground-based high power (10-20kW) infrared (IR) laser to modify the debris orbit should a collision be predicted. To that end, the ANU has equipped the EOS 1.8m laser tracking station telescope on the ANU Mount Stromlo campus with a state-of-the-art Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics (LGS AO) system to pre-compensate the IR laser prior to propagation through earth's atmosphere. The ANU LGS AO system is currently being integrated with the EOS telescope and the high-power IR laser. This paper provides a brief overview of the LGS AO system and focus more specifically on the design, integration and commissioning of the first LGS facility ever constructed in Australia. The LGS Facility includes two sodium guide star laser sources which can be either propagated separately or combined so as to produce a brighter reference star to maximise adaptive optics correction. The two lasers, their beam combining optics, their common beam transfer optics, and the laser launch telescope are hereby described.

Preface

The International Conference on Environmental and Sustainability Context (ICoESCo) 2021 is the first international conference hosted by Environmental Sustainability Research Group (EnSi-RG) and co-hosted by Environmental Research Center, Lembaga Penelitian Universitas Trisakti, Environmental Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro, and Kitakyushu Indonesian Students’ Union. This conference was successfully held on August 24, 2021 which brings the theme of “Emerging Challenges and Opportunities for Achieving Environmental Sustainability” since the theme of “sustainability” has become the most crucial issue of the world by now. This conference was attended by 81 participants that came from 34 universities across the world which include as follows.List of ICOESCO 2021 Committees are available in this pdf.

ANALISIS IKLIM KESELAMATAN KERJA DI PT. XYZ BALIKPAPAN 2021

This study was conducted to determine the safety climate, the safety climate reflects workers' perceptions of the true value of safety in an organization - as a contributing factor to the reduction of accidents due to accidents. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of health and safety scores in the company. This study uses a descriptive analytical method with a total of 100 respondents (total respondents) with a variable measuring the level of work safety using a questionnaire published by the National Research Center for the Danish work environment, namely the Nordic Climate Safety Questionnaire 50 (NOSACQ-50) which contains 50 statements and has been completed. tested and translated in 40 languages, one of which is Indonesian. This research was conducted at PT. XYZ Balikpapan which starts in January until March 2021,. The results of this study indicate that there are 3 dimensions that have an average value below 3.30, namely the management safety empowerment dimension, management safety justice dimension and worker’s safety priority and risk non-acceptance dimension. Suggested improvements include making decisions and receiving advice and input from workers regarding work safety and being fair to workers regarding occupational safety and health for management and prioritizing work safety and not taking risks even though the work is busy and reducing risk-taking behavior that is dangerous for workers.

The Education and Research Center for Marine Resources and Environment, Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima University

The Education and Research Center for Marine Resources and Environment, Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima University

Assessing impacts of canopy 3D structure on chlorophyll fluorescence radiance and radiative budget of deciduous forest stands using DART

Although remote sensing (RS) of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is increasingly used as a valuable source of information about vegetation photosynthetic activity, the RS SIF observations are significantly influenced by canopy-specific structural features (i.e., canopy architecture including leaf area index and presence of woody components), atmospheric conditions during their acquisition (e.g., proportion of direct and diffuse irradiance) and observational geometric configurations (e.g., sun and viewing directions). Radiative transfer (RT) models have the potential to provide a better understanding of the canopy structural effects on the SIF emission and RS signals. Here, we used the DART model to assess the daily influence, from morning to evening, of forest 3D architecture on SIF nadir radiance, emission, escape factor and nadir yield of eight 100 m × 100 m forest study plots established in a temperate deciduous forest of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (Edgewater, MD, USA). The 3D architecture of each plot was derived from airborne LiDAR. DART simulations of these 3D forest plots and their 1D (i.e., vertical profile of sun-adapted and shade-adapted leaves) and 0D (i.e., homogeneous layer of sun-adapted leaves above an homogeneous layer of shade-adapted leaves) abstractions were compared to assess the relative errors (ε1D−3D and ε0D−3D) associated with horizontal and vertical structural heterogeneity, respectively. Forest 3D structure, especially horizontal heterogeneity, had a great influence on forest nadir SIF radiance, resulting in ε1D−3D up to 55% at 8:00 and 18:00 (i.e., for oblique sun directions). The key indicators of this impact, in the descending order of importance, were the SIF escape factor (ε1D−3D up to 40%), the attenuation of incident photosynthetically active radiation (ε1D−3D less than 5%), and the SIF emission yield (ε1D−3D less than 2%). The influence of forest architecture on the nadir SIF escape factor and SIF yield (ε1D−3D up to 40%) varied over time, with differences in forest stand structure, and per spectral domain, being always larger between 640 and 700 nm than between 700 and 850 nm. In addition, woody elements demonstrated a large influence on forest SIF radiance due to their “shading” effect (ε up to 17%) and their “blocking” effect (ε ≈ 10%), both of them higher for far-red than for red SIF. These results underline the importance of 3D forest canopy architecture, especially 2D heterogeneity, and inclusion of woody elements in RT modeling used for interpretation of the RS SIF signal, and subsequently for the estimation of gross primary production and detection of vegetation stress.

Short-term Storage of Seeds and Cryopreservation of Embryonic Axes of Lepisanthes fruticosa

Aims: This work highlights short-term storage of recalcitrant Lepisanthes fruticosa seeds and long-term conservation attempts of its embryonic axes (EAs) through cryopreservation.
 Study design: This study adopted the Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Ten samples were used for each experiment and replicated for 3 – 5 times.
 Place and Duration of Study: Cryopreservation Laboratory, Agrobiodiversity and Environment Research Centre, MARDI Headquarters, Malaysia, in 2017 and 2018.
 Methodology: Short-term storage was carried out using fresh seeds at 54% moisture content and stored at 8±1 °C and 25±2 °C for 7 weeks. Three variations to sterilization were attempted to optimize survival while keeping contamination low. Cryopreservation using two different methods were tested, namely vitrification and the encapsulation vitrification method. Vitrification technique involved the pre-culturing of EAs overnight in different sucrose pre-culture concentrations (0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 M) prior to, loading, dehydration with vitrification solution (PVS2), rapid immersion into liquid nitrogen (-196°C), rapid warming, unloading and recovery. While, encapsulation vitrification involved encapsulation of the EAs using 3% sodium alginate followed by exposure to different duration (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 minutes) of vitrification solution (PVS2) prior to cryopreservation.
 Results: L. fruticosa seeds can be safely stored for short-term up to 7 weeks of storage either at 8±1 °C or 25±2 °C with no loss in germination. This study also showed that EA was amenable to cryopreservation and 13.33 – 66.67% of viability was obtained when the EAs were cryopreserved using the vitrification technique. The best result was obtained with 66.67% viability, when the EAs were pre-cultured with 0.4M sucrose prior to exposure to PVS2 and liquid nitrogen. Cryopreservation of EAs using the encapsulation-vitrification method was unsuccessful.
 Conclusion: Seeds of L. fruticosa can be stored for short-term (up to 7 weeks) using hydrated/non-dried seeds where they can be successfully stored at 8±1 °C and 25±2 °C for up to 7 weeks. For long-term (cryopreservation), EAs can be cryopreserved upon pre-culture with 0.4M sucrose prior to exposure to PVS2 and liquid nitrogen through vitrification technique.

Monitoring Non-indigenous Species in Port Habitats: First Application of a Standardized North American Protocol in the Mediterranean Sea

Baseline port monitoring for fouling communities is an essential tool to assess non-indigenous species (NIS) introduction and spread, but a standardized and coordinated method among Mediterranean and European countries has not yet been adopted. In this context, it is important to test monitoring protocols that allow for the collection of standardized and directly comparable data, replicated across time and space. Here, for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, we tested a standardized protocol developed by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and used now in several countries. The 3-year monitoring survey (2018–2020) was conducted in the Gulf of La Spezia (Ligurian Sea, Italy), with the deployment of a total of 50 PVC panels per year in five different sites (a commercial harbor, three marinas and a site in the proximity of a shellfish farm). A total of 79 taxa were identified, including 11 NIS, ranging from zero to seven NIS for each panel. In comparison with previous surveys, new NIS arrivals were observed in the Gulf of La Spezia: Botrylloides cf. niger, Branchiomma sp., Branchiomma luctuosum, Paraleucilla magna, and Watersipora arcuata. At the end of the 3-year monitoring, mean richness? and percent cover of NIS were measured, and both measures differed across the monitoring sites, with higher values in two marinas and in the commercial harbor. Among years, richness of NIS was relatively stable at each monitoring site. The structure of the fouling was influenced more by native and cryptogenic species than by NIS. Moreover, among the monitoring sites, the density of artificial structures was not a reliable predictor or proxy for local NIS abundance. This first application of the SERC method in the Mediterranean Sea, demonstrates both pros and cons, including the detection of new NIS reported here. Further direct comparisons with other NIS monitoring tools are recommended, and additional tests to assess its effectiveness in this biogeographical area are encouraged. A broader application of this and other standard methods across temporal and spatial scales in the Mediterranean basin should be implemented, providing critical data needed to assess changes in the structure of fouling communities.

Comments: Water Pressures

Drought conditions rated as “moderate or worse” affected 31 US states as of 8 June, as reported by the US National Integrated Drought Information System. Particularly dry are the West and Upper Midwest regions, relevant to the Permian and Bakken, respectively. While not a record-level drought, attention is turning to the Missouri River in North Dakota where streamflow levels are at low levels for this time of year—about 48% below the seasonal average. About 96% of the water in North Dakota’s rivers and streams flows through it, making it one of the main sources of fresh water for oil and gas production in the Bakken. In the extreme drought, water restrictions could come into play. Throughout the industry, recycling and reuse of frac and produced water have been studied, and where the chemical makeup of the frac or produced water is suitable for optimal and economical treatment, it has been implemented. However, Bakken production is typically associated with 1.0 to 1.5 bbl of produced water per barrel of oil (a water cut of approximately 50%). It is highly saline with total dissolved solids (TDS) ranging up to 350,000 mg/L (seawater is about 35,000, or 10 times less salty than Bakken brine). Treatment options for such high TDS levels are limited and often cost-prohibitive. The Bakken’s produced water volumes increased fourfold since 2008 to about 740 million bbl per year due to increasing volumes per well and increasing water cut. Produced water disposal volumes in the same period increased fivefold to about 680 million bbl per year. More than 95% of saltwater disposal (SWD) targets the Inyan Kara Formation, the lowermost sandstone interval of the Dakota Group. The increase in SWD volumes has resulted in localized areas of high pressure in the formation in geographic regions associated with high levels of oil and gas activity. This increased pressure affects the economics and risk associated with the drilling of new wells that now require additional intermediate casing strings (“Dakota Strings”), adding a cost of $300,000 to $700,000 per well. About 200 wells to date have been identified with additional casing strings, according to the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC). Faced with the challenges of high salinity in recycling/reuse of produced water, constraints on SWD injection, freshwater limitations, pressure regulation, and inflated drilling costs, a 2-year project was begun in January 2020 which may hold promise for greater use of the produced water. Participants in the $1.3-million project are EERC, Nuverra Environmental Solutions, and the US Department of Energy.

GROWTH RESPONSE OF 3YEARS AGE JERNANG RATTAN PLANT (Daemonorops draco Willd.) ON LIGHT INTENSITY UNDER MIXED STAND AT KHDTK KEMAMPO, BANYUASIN REGENCY

Rattan jernang (Daemonorops draco Willd.) is a type of non-timber forest product that has a high market value. To reduce dependence on natural forests, jernang rattan cultivation is important. This study aims to determine the growth response of 3 year old jernang rattan plants to light intensity under mixed stands. The study was carried out at KHDTK Kemampo, Palembang Environmental and Forestry Research and Development Center from June to July 2020. This study used an experimental method with a Non-Factoral Randomized Block Design consisting of 3 treatments with 9 replications. The treatments consisted of P1 = canopy closure 10–30% (light intensity 72.19%), P2 = canopy closure 40–60% (light intensity 55.63%), and P3 = canopy closure 70–90% (light intensity 23.39%). The results showed that the growth of jernang rattan gave a very good response to light intensity under mixed stands for all parameters observed, namely plant height, leaf midrib length and number of leaves, as well as leaf color. The best growth of jernang rattan is in light conditions with a canopy cover of 10%-30% (light intensity 72.19%). There is a positive correlation between light intensity and the growth of jernang rattan under mixed stands, that is, the higher the light intensity, the better the growth of jernang rattan.

Analisis Kualitas Air Lindi dan Permukaan pada areal TPA Sowi Gunung dan Sekitarnya di Kabupaten Manokwari Papua Barat

The aim of the research was to determine the quality of leachate water in the processing unit (IPAL) of TPA Sowi Gunung and the quality of surface water around the TPA in relation to the operation of the IPAL TPA.The method used in this research is descriptive method with cross sectional survey technique by collecting leachate samples from the IPAL unit and surface water samples from two springs around the landfill area accompanied by in situ measurements of pH parameters and continued with 6 parameter quality analysis others (TSS, TDS, BOD, COD, N-total, TOC) at the Laboratory of the Center for Environmental Research, University of Papua. The result of the research it is known that the parameters of pH, TSS, BOD, COD, N-total, and TOC in the TPA IPAL unit are categorized as under quality standards (PerMenLHK No.59 of 2016 concerning leachate quality standards for businesses and / or activities for final processing sites trash).In particular, the TDS parameter does not have a tolerance limit corresponding to this quality standard so that it becomes a separate consideration in its management considering that water with a high amount of dissolved solids> 1000 mg / L has an unpleasant taste, so it is not suitable for consumption.Likewise, the quality of surface water at 2 (two) observation points of springs through parameters of pH, TSS, TDS, BOD, COD, N-total, and TOC are categorized as under class I water quality standards according to PP No. 82 of 2001 concerning water quality management and water pollution control.

Preface

The issue of environment and sustainable development demands the mobilization of all the actors to become a common community issue to develop an environmental culture, adopt prospects and visions on sustainable development, measure the interconnectedness between environmental sciences, and evaluate their relationship to sustainable development. The Environment Research Centre – University of Technology, has been actively involved in organizing scientific activities and events that contribute to environmental sustainability. In this context, the "Fifth International Scientific Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development" will be organized in cooperation with Gaziantep University, Turkey, and in collaboration with many Iraqi, governmental and private, universities and foundations.List of Conference Vision, Aims and Objectives, Conference Topics, 5ISCESD 2021 - Committees, Scientific Committee are available in this Pdf.

Peer review declaration

All papers published in this volume of IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.• Type of peer review: Double-blind• Conference submission management system: Website, Google forms & Emails (iscesd@uotechnology.edu.iq)Sub (for topics):Topic 1: iscesd.topic.1@gmail.comTopic 2: iscesd.topic.2@gmail.comTopic 3: iscesd.topic.3@gmail.comTopic 4: iscesd.topic.4@gmail.comTopic 5: iscesd.topic.5@gmail.comThe persons in charge:Prof. Dr. Abdul Hameed M. J. Al-Obaidy (Corresponding Editor) Environment Research Center-University of Technology, Baghdad-Iraq. 10929@uotechnology.edu.iq +9647901535662Dr. Mohammed Muayad Taha (Co- Corresponding Editor) Environment Research Center-University of Technology, Baghdad-Iraq. mmt198@gmail.com, Mohammed.m.ta@uotechnology.edu.iq +9647823269352• Number of submissions received: 194• Number of submissions sent for review: 189• Number of submissions accepted: 139• Acceptance Rate (Number of Submissions Accepted / Number of Submissions Received X 100): 72%• Average number of reviews per paper: Two Reviewers (most of them were Three)• Total number of reviewers involved: 234• Any additional info on review process: None• Contact person for queries: Name: Dr. Mohammed Muayad TahaAffiliation: Environment Research Center, University of Technology-IraqEmail: mmt198@gmail.com OR mohammed.m.ta@uotechnology.edu.iq

Considering coasts: Adapting terrestrial models to characterize coastal wetland ecosystems

The Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) simulates fully coupled processes and interactions among water, energy, carbon and nutrient cycles. E3SM connects vegetation and soil dynamics through nutrient uptake, plant production, litterfall and decomposition as a function of abiotic parameters (e.g. temperature and moisture). However, E3SM is designed to characterize terrestrial ecosystems and connects land and open ocean systems using a single streamflow transport term, ignoring the complex dynamics of energy, water, carbon, and nutrients in coastal systems. The goals of our project were to: (1) Parameterize a point version of E3SM to capture coastal wetland habitats and (2) Determine marsh community responses to increased temperature and elevated CO2. We adapted a version of the E3SM land model, previously configured to represent forested bog hydrology to a coastal ecosystem using datasets from field experiments conducted at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center's Global Change Research Wetland (GCReW). Tidal forcing in a marsh environment was simulated using a two-column system in which the columns are connected by lateral hydrologic flows. One column simulates interactions between vegetation and soil while a second column simulates variation in water level (both tidal and sea level rise). The updated model captures many aspects of the field experiments, showing that plant community responses to environmental change are non-linear, non-additive and different between plant types. Elevated CO2 treatments increased C3 plant biomass more than C4 (33% vs 17%). Temperature exacerbated CO2 responses in C3 plants (0 °C: 26%, 5.1 °C: 56%). We were more successful at characterizing C3 than C4 responses and simulating above rather than belowground biomass production. Next steps will include updates to key physiological parameters such as root:shoot carbon allocation and the addition of mechanistic feedbacks between vegetation and biogeochemical processes.

Application of Active Reservoir Management to Enable Geologic CO2 Storage

Active reservoir management (ARM) can enhance geologic CO2 storage activities via strategic extraction of formation water and can provide site operators with a means of managing risks and costs associated with carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) projects. Implementation of ARM strategies for CCUS can provide several advantages to a project, including 1) reducing stress on sealing formations and separating pressure from the CO2 footprint; 2) geosteering of injected fluids away from hazards or permitted storage facility boundaries; 3) reducing area of review (AOR) and/or amalgamated lease area; and 4) improving injectivity, capacity, and storage efficiency to reduce infrastructure and operating requirements. The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) is conducting field tests of ARM strategies for CCUS at a commercial saltwater disposal facility in western North Dakota, USA. Ongoing commercial injection of oilfield produced brine serves as a proxy for CO2 injection at the site. Initial interference testing has substantiated connectivity between project wells and that extraction response should be observable in the injection wells. A water treatment development and test facility has also been established at the North Dakota Brine Extraction and Storage Test (BEST) site to enable the development and demonstration of new and emerging water treatment technologies on produced or extracted waters. The test bed facility enables pilot testing, demonstration, and performance monitoring of novel water treatment technologies capable of treating high-salinity (average of 180,000 mg/L total dissolved solids [TDS]) fluids associated with CO2 storage in deep saline formations (DSFs).

Study of the Partial Shading Effect on the Performance of Silicon PV Panels String

In this work, the effect of maintenance bridges partial shading on the performance of the Renewable Energy and Environment Research Center (REERC) PV system was thoroughly investigated, in order to estimate the power loss amount in the PV system due to the maintenance bridges. The study was performed on one panel, then projected on the whole system (540 panels). Partial shade area of the bridges was measured monthly for 9 months (3 months were missing because of the pandemic). The utilized panel in this study is a 2 m2 area panel with 96 solar cells connected in series. Measurements were carried out at three different daytimes for each month (8:30AM, 10:00AM, and 12:00PM). The results showed that loss is occurred in current and power only, where voltage showed less influence with partial shade. The results of the panel were projected to the whole system to estimate the loss of the total REERC system (540 PV panel). The designed power of the system is 155kW. The actual rated power was 78kW at noon in March 9, 2020. This is a drop of 50% of the power. This huge drop is a combined effect for both partial shade and ambient temperature.

The PCOR Partnership Initiative: The State of the Region

The PCOR Initiative, a 5-year project beginning in early 2020, is one of four newly selected regional initiative awards funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The PCOR Initiative will accelerate the deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) in the central and northwestern region of North America, comprising ten U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. With extensive fossil fuel resources, large-scale anthropogenic CO2 sources, and geologic storage options, this region provides all of the essential elements necessary for infrastructure development and widespread CCUS deployment. The project builds on 16 years of applied research undertaken by the Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership throughout the northern Great Plains, including the successful assessment and monitoring of over 6 million metric tons of associated CO2 storage, incidental to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations at the Bell Creek oil field in southeastrn Montana. Managed by the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the PCOR Initiative is supported by the North Dakota Industrial Commission, through the Oil and Gas and Lignite Research Programs, and by research partners at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks and the University of Wyoming. Many of the 120+ previous PCOR Partnership member organizations are supporting this new initiative, with additional members also expected. Our team also includes the partners associated with Project Tundra, which constitutes the largest planned capture of CO2 in the world from a power generation facility. With many partners actively engaged in commercial projects, the PCOR Initiative draws together a powerful team to advance and accelerate CCUS deployment in the region and satisfy the objectives put forth by DOE. The PCOR Initiative will identify and address onshore regional storage and transport challenges facing commercial deployment of CCUS within its region. To achieve this, the PCOR Initiative will 1) address key technical challenges by advancing critical knowledge and capabilities; 2) facilitate data collection, sharing, analysis, and collaboration; 3) evaluate regional infrastructure challenges and needs; and 4) promote regional technology transfer. The PCOR Initiative will engage federal and state regulators in the region to support the continued development and knowledge transfer of regulatory policies to accelerate the deployment of CCUS. The regulatory efforts will focus on understanding the federal and state permitting processes and timing and address major regulatory topics, including pore space ownership, practical approaches to defining the area of review, and management of the long-term liability associated with a closed storage site. The PCOR Initiative will facilitate dialogue regarding the status of CCUS projects and regulatory challenges, with an emphasis on knowledge transfer between states with active CCUS projects and Class VI primacy and states with less CCUS development and no CCUS regulations established. North Dakota is the only state currently with Class VI primacy, and Wyoming has a pending Class VI primacy application. These states can provide valuable insight to other states by sharing their learnings from the Class VI primacy application process and Class VI regulatory program implementation at the state level. The expected outcomes of the PCOR Initiative include: • Solving technical challenges through collaboration, and addressing issues including stacked storage; storage optimization; effective monitoring, verification, and accounting strategies; and risk assessment resulting in increased regulator and industry confidence. • Advancing knowledge transfer and data sharing to develop key technologies, including National Risk Assessment Partnership tools and machine-learning applications, through collaboration with the DOE National Laboratory Network complex. • Accelerating CCUS through the evaluation and promotion of infrastructure requirements, building stakeholder support through techno- and socioeconomic assessments. • Promoting regional technology transfer to accelerate infrastructure development and deployment of CCUS, and building regulatory confidence and supporting business case developments that support the CCUS goals of the DOE Fossil Energy Program.

First North Dakota CCS Project: Advancing North Dakota Ethanol Economics

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), in partnership since 2016 with North Dakota ethanol producer Red Trail Energy (RTE), the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC), the U.S. Department of Energy, and Trimeric Corporation, has determined that commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a technically viable option for the significant reduction of CO2 emissions from ethanol production at the RTE site near Richardton, North Dakota. In addition, CCS may be economically viable for RTE should pathways be approved for this lower-carbon-intensity ethanol in developing low-carbon fuel (LCF) programs. Current activities are allowing project partners to move closer to creating the first integrated CCS effort in North Dakota. Capture Facility Moves Closer to Construction. Project partner, Trimeric Corporation, developed process flow diagrams (PFDs), heat and material balances, piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), and utilities documents specific to the RTE project site to prepare a bid package for potential vendor response. Three vendor bids for the potential liquefied CO2 system were received and evaluated. A CO2 capture process design package document was developed, compiling the PFDs, heat and material balances, and P&IDs, including recommendations from the vendor bids received. Geophysical Survey Provides More Clarity of the Subsurface. An 8-square-mile 3-D geophysical survey was conducted at the RTE site near Richardton, North Dakota, in March 2019. Data processing and interpretation from the seismic acquisition survey have been completed. Results were incorporated into the geologic modeling simulation efforts from the first stage of the project to determine recommended locations for the future stratigraphic test. Baseline Near-Surface Monitoring Begins. The EERC is investigating seasonal changes related to the natural carbon cycle of regional soil and groundwater in the study region near Richardton, North Dakota. Groundwater- and soil gas-monitoring activities included meter readings on location as well as sample collection for a full suite of laboratory analyses to establish natural water and soil gas conditions through several seasons. Three sampling events were conducted in May, August, and November 2019. Preparing the First North Dakota Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class VI Permit Application. North Dakota’s Class VI Program requires all owners/operators applying to inject CO2 for the purpose of geologic storage to obtain a storage facility permit, a permit to drill, and a permit to operate prior to commencement of injection activities. The storage facility permit covers multiple design aspects such as technical evaluation, area-of-review delineation, a corrective action plan, an emergency and remedial response plan, a casing and cementing program, a testing and monitoring plan, a well-plugging plan, and a postinjection site care and facility closure plan. Draft plans are currently under development using existing regional data available and the recently acquired seismic survey results. The permit-to-drill application for a stratigraphic test hole was also prepared, submitted, and approved in December 2019. Results from the test hole will provide the necessary data to finalize the storage facility permit for submittal. Building CCS Support in North Dakota Through Outreach. Significant outreach activities for this rural North Dakota project have included two community open houses, presentations at local commission meetings, and maintaining up-to-date materials to communicate project information and progress. The first open house was organized and held in March 2019. About 30 community visitors were hosted, including participation by the EERC, RTE, and North Dakota permitting agents; feedback was generally positive and supportive for the project. RTE and the EERC also presented at county and city commission meetings several times throughout 2019. Outreach materials were prepared such as a RTE CCS fact sheet, Geophysical Survey FAQs and Sampling FAQs, and Geophysical Survey Results. A follow-up open house was conducted in December 2019. Next Steps in 2020: Drilling a Stratigraphic Test Hole. A next step in development toward implementation is to drill a stratigraphic test hole at the RTE site by summer 2020. The EERC will provide technical assistance to conduct reservoir characterization through analysis of collected core and interpretation of downhole tests from the drilling effort. Downhole monitoring technology will also be installed to begin collection of baseline data. These activities will generate the necessary scientific data for CO2 storage predictions and development of the numerous plans (e.g., monitoring, testing, reporting, etc.) required to finalize the first North Dakota Class VI Program permit application.

Application of CO2 injection monitoring techniques for CO2 EOR and associated geologic storage

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), through its efforts leading the Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership, has successfully developed practices and technologies that can be used in future commercial-scale CO2 storage projects in different geologic formations, including both dedicated CO2 storage in saline formations and associated CO2 storage incidental to enhanced oil recovery (EOR). In this work, reservoir monitoring activities have been conducted in a large-scale CO2 EOR project to understand performance and associated storage. The activities include pulsed-neutron well logs (PNLs), 4D (time-lapse 3D) seismic surveys, and numerical simulation of injection and production. This enabled monitoring at different scales, from individual wells to field-scale reservoir assessments. The oil, water, and CO2 saturations were profiled to identify bypassed oil and high-conductivity CO2 migration pathways in the reservoir. These techniques provided actionable information, enabling better management of CO2 flooding, diagnosing performance and sweep efficiency while ensuring injected CO2 remained within the reservoir.

Microbial and environmental controls on wood decomposition in deciduous forests of different ages

Wood decomposition is regulated by microbial community and soil conditions and plays an important role in global carbon cycling. Among many factors, local conditions, associated with forest age and the leaf litter adjacent to decaying wood may directly and indirectly influence microbial colonization and rate of decay. In this study, wood sticks with and without leaf litter were buried in young (50–70 years), old (120–150 years) and uncut (over 200 years) forests at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), Maryland, USA to test hypotheses about woody and foliar litter interaction during decomposition and whether decay rates are associated with differences in microbial community and soil properties. At the early stages of decomposition, wood mass loss in the young forests was significantly higher than that in other two forests but was not different between old and uncut forests. Adjacent foliar litter increased functional diversity of wood colonizing fungi, and enhanced decay in old and uncut stands. Factors, significantly correlated with decomposition, included fungal community composition, soil moisture, pH and C:N ratio. This study highlights the importance of local factors, such as land use and forest age affecting wood decomposition rates.

Projected climate change impacts in the Tahoe Basin: Recent findings from global climate models

Since 2002, the Tahoe Environmental Research Center has been studying the effects of climate change in the Tahoe Basin. We are using the output from four General Circulation Models downscaled by the method of Localized Constructed Analogues and provided by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). The daily data were used by SIO to drive the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model and derive a suite of 24 hydrologic and climate variables at a 1/16° (ca. 6 km) grid scale, for two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP 4.5 and 8.5). Here we focus on trends in the return levels of extreme climatic events, including annual maximum daily discharge of six basin streams, maximum and total annual kinetic energy (KE) of raindrops falling on snow-free ground, basin-wide climatic water deficit, and wind speed. To analyze time trends in historic and modeled future extreme values, we applied the program extRemes, based on the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution.Values of KE on snow-free ground were derived by statistically disaggregating daily rainfall to hourly, and using literature values to convert rainfall intensity (mm/hr) for days without snowpack to KE (Joules/m2/hr). We found strong upward trends in extreme values, with most of the effect due to loss of snowpack, but a significant effect of increasing rainfall for one model. To estimate future trends in maximum annual daily discharge of six streams, we adjusted the modeled future annual maximum runoff to the distribution of gage data, using regression of gage data on modeled historic runoff at equal return intervals. The GEV results for the six streams, averaged across the four models, indicate an increase in the 20-year flood of 65–117 percent. Climatic water deficit showed strong upward trends for three of the four models, with a maximum at mid-century for one model. Averaged across the basin and across the four models, average and maximum seasonal winds under RCP 8.5 are projected to decrease slightly in all seasons. The trends in averages and extreme values that we found will have important effects on vegetation, wildfire severity, flood hazards and the clarity of Lake Tahoe.