Earth Science, Systems and Society最新文献

{"title":"Time Zero for Net Zero: A Coal Mine Baseline for Decarbonising Heat","authors":"A. Monaghan, L. Bateson, A. Boyce, N. Burnside, Rebecca M. Chambers, J. R. de Rezende, Eilidh Dunnet, P. Everett, S. Gilfillan, M. S. Jibrin, G. Johnson, R. Luckett, D. J. MacAllister, A. MacDonald, J. Moreau, L. Newsome, A. Novellino, B. Palumbo-Roe, R. Pereira, Douglas R Smith, M. J. Spence, V. Starcher, H. Taylor-Curran, C. Vane, T. Wagner, D. B. Walls","doi":"10.3389/esss.2022.10054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/esss.2022.10054","url":null,"abstract":"Mine water geothermal energy could provide sustainable heating, cooling and storage to assist in the decarbonisation of heat and achieving Net Zero carbon emissions. However, mined environments are highly complex and we currently lack the understanding to confidently enable a widespread, cost-effective deployment of the technology. Extensive and repeated use of the mined subsurface as a thermal source/store and the optimisation of operational infrastructure encompasses a range of scientific and technical challenges that require broad partnerships to address. We present emerging results of a pioneering multidisciplinary collaboration formed around an at-scale mine water geothermal research infrastructure in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Focused on a mined, urban environment, a range of approaches have been applied to both characterise the environmental change before geothermal activities to generate “time zero” datasets, and to develop novel monitoring tools for cost-effective and environmentally-sound geothermal operations. Time zero soil chemistry, ground gas, surface water and groundwater characterisation, together with ground motion and seismic monitoring, document ongoing seasonal and temporal variability that can be considered typical of a post-industrial, urban environment underlain by abandoned, flooded coal mine workings. In addition, over 550 water, rock and gas samples collected during borehole drilling and testing underwent diverse geochemical, isotopic and microbiological analysis. Initial results indicate a connected subsurface with modern groundwater, and resolve distinctive chemical, organic carbon and stable isotope signatures from different horizons that offer promise as a basis for monitoring methods. Biogeochemical interactions of sulphur, carbon and iron, plus indications of microbially-mediated mineral oxidation/reduction reactions require further investigation for long term operation. Integration of the wide array of time zero observations and understanding of coupled subsurface processes has significant potential to inform development of efficient and resilient geothermal infrastructure and to inform the design of fit-for-purpose monitoring approaches in the quest towards meeting Net Zero targets.","PeriodicalId":148192,"journal":{"name":"Earth Science, Systems and Society","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125408636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"European Raw Materials Resilience—Turning a Blind Eye","authors":"V. Troll, N. Arndt","doi":"10.3389/esss.2022.10058","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/esss.2022.10058","url":null,"abstract":"Europe’s almost total dependence on foreign suppliers of metals impacts negatively on the continent’s balance of trade, opens the region to potentially damaging supply problems, allows foreign actors to place political demands on European leaders and economies, and has a considerable negative environmental impact in many parts of the world. Europe has sound economic reasons, and a moral responsibility, to promote more mining in the many parts of the continent where it can be conducted in a responsible and sustainable manner.","PeriodicalId":148192,"journal":{"name":"Earth Science, Systems and Society","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124286651","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Climatic Hazards: High Importance but Low Severity to Coastal Rural Fishing Communities","authors":"Daniel Koomson, K. Davies-Vollum, Debadayita Raha","doi":"10.3389/esss.2022.10052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/esss.2022.10052","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the relative importance and severity of climate change in the context of multiple socio-economic stressors in rural coastal fishing communities in Ghana. Although climate change poses significant threats to these communities, it is yet unclear where it fits in the range of stressors that shape the vulnerability of such communities. Without an understanding of how vulnerability is experienced by the fishing communities, it is difficult to appreciate what adaptation to climate change means to them and which adaptation options are realistic. Household surveys, interviews, gender and age-group disaggregated focus group discussions and participatory risk mapping were used to assess type, importance and severity of climatic and socio-economic stressors that impinge on the lives and livelihood of the fishing communities. Climatic stressors include erratic rainfall, increased storminess, flooding and high temperatures. Socio-economic stressors include infrastructural (e.g., water and energy insecurity), socio-cultural (e.g., conflicts and land insecurity), occupational (e.g., exploitation, power asymmetries, illegal fishing), and environmental (e.g., plastic waste pollution) factors. The participatory risk maps showed that climatic stressors generally rank higher than all others in importance due to their direct impact on fishing and fish processing activities. However, socio-economic stressors were more severely felt, especially in major fishing seasons. The study therefore highlights socio-economic stressors as realistic focus for adaptation priorities that can safeguard the lives, livelihood and wellbeing of rural coastal-small scale fishing communities.","PeriodicalId":148192,"journal":{"name":"Earth Science, Systems and Society","volume":"67 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130061376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Formation of the Figge Maar Seafloor Crater During the 1964 B1 Blowout in the German North Sea","authors":"J. Karstens, J. Schneider von Deimling, C. Berndt, C. Böttner, Michel Kühn, Benedict T. I. Reinardy, A. Ehrhardt, J. Gros, Bettina Schramm, Dirk Klaeschen, J. Elger, M. Haeckel, M. Schmidt, S. Heinrich, Philipp Müller, F. Bense","doi":"10.3389/esss.2022.10053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/esss.2022.10053","url":null,"abstract":"In 1964, exploration drilling in the German Sector of the North Sea hit a gas pocket at ∼2900 m depth below the seafloor and triggered a blowout, which formed a 550 m-wide and up to 38 m deep seafloor crater now known as Figge Maar. Although seafloor craters formed by fluid flow are very common structures, little is known about their formation dynamics. Here, we present 2D reflection seismic, sediment echosounder, and multibeam echosounder data from three geoscientific surveys of the Figge Maar blowout crater, which are used to reconstruct its formation. Reflection seismic data support a scenario in which overpressured gas ascended first through the lower part of the borehole and then migrated along steeply inclined strata and faults towards the seafloor. The focused discharge of gas at the seafloor removed up to 4.8 Mt of sediments in the following weeks of vigorous venting. Eyewitness accounts document that the initial phase of crater formation was characterized by the eruptive expulsion of fluids and sediments cutting deep into the substrate. This was followed by a prolonged phase of sediment fluidization and redistribution widening the crater. After fluid discharge ceased, the Figge Maar acted as a sediment trap reducing the crater depth to ∼12 m relative to the surrounding seafloor in 2018, which corresponds to an average sedimentation rate of ∼22,000 m3/yr between 1995 and 2018. Hydroacoustic and geochemical data indicate that the Figge Maar nowadays emits primarily biogenic methane, predominantly during low tide. The formation of Figge Maar illustrates hazards related to the formation of secondary fluid pathways, which can bypass safety measures at the wellhead and are thus difficult to control.","PeriodicalId":148192,"journal":{"name":"Earth Science, Systems and Society","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129267917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Importance of Physiochemical Processes in Decarbonisation Technology Applications Utilizing the Subsurface: A Review","authors":"I. Kaminskaite, S. Piazolo, A. Emery, N. Shaw, Q. Fisher","doi":"10.3389/esss.2022.10043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/esss.2022.10043","url":null,"abstract":"The Earth’s subsurface not only provides a wide range of natural resources but also contains large pore volume that can be used for storing both anthropogenic waste and energy. For example, geothermal energy may be extracted from hot water contained or injected into deep reservoirs and disused coal mines; CO2 may be stored within depleted petroleum reservoirs and deep saline aquifers; nuclear waste may be disposed of within mechanically stable impermeable strata; surplus heat may be stored within shallow aquifers or disused coal mines. Using the subsurface in a safe manner requires a fundamental understanding of the physiochemical processes which occur when decarbonising technologies are implemented and operated. Here, thermal, hydrological, mechanical and chemical perturbations and their dynamics need to be considered. Consequently, geoscience will play a central role in Society’s quest to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This contribution provides a review of the physiochemical processes related to key technologies that utilize the subsurface for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the resultant challenges associated with these technologies. Dynamic links between the geomechanical, geochemical and hydrological processes differ between technologies and the geology of the locations in which such technologies are deployed. We particularly focus on processes occurring within the lithologies most commonly considered for decarbonisation technologies. Therefore, we provide a brief comparison between the lithologies, highlighting the main advantages and disadvantages of each, and provide a list of key parameters and properties which have first order effects on the performance of specific rock types, and consequently should be considered during reservoir evaluation for decarbonising technology installation. The review identifies several key knowledge gaps that need to be filled to improve reservoir evaluation and performance prediction to be able to utilize the subsurface efficiently and sustainably. Most importantly, the biggest uncertainties emerge in prediction of fracture pattern development and understanding the extent and timescales of chemical reactions that occur within the decarbonising applications where external fluid or gas is cyclically injected and invariably causes disequilibrium within the system. Furthermore, it is clear that whilst geoscience can show us the opportunities to decarbonise our cities and industries, an interdisciplinary approach is needed to realize these opportunities, also involving social science, end-users and stakeholders.","PeriodicalId":148192,"journal":{"name":"Earth Science, Systems and Society","volume":"72 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114137274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Metal Sourcing For a Sustainable Future","authors":"Ortwin Renn, R. Gloaguen, C. Benighaus, L. Ajjabou, L. Benighaus, Virginia del Rio, J. Gómez, S. Kauppi, M. Kesselring, M. Kirsch, M. Komac, Juha M. Kotilainen, E. Kozlovskaya, Jari Lyytimaki, C. McCallum, Tuija Mononen, J. Nevalainen, L. Peltonen, J. Ranta, S. Ruiz, J. Russill, F. Wagner","doi":"10.3389/esss.2022.10049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/esss.2022.10049","url":null,"abstract":"Drastic measures are required to meet the standards of the Paris Agreement and limit the increase of global average temperatures well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels. Mining activities are typically considered as unsustainable but, at the same time, metals such as cobalt and lithium are essential to sustain the energy transition. Several sustainability goals defined by the United Nations (UN) require large quantities of raw materials. Exploration and extractives activities are required in order to contribute to meeting sustainability standards. Future sourcing of metals will need to implement procedures that go well beyond current ecological, economic, and social requirements and practices. In this paper we assess the usual sustainability criteria and how they apply to the extractives sector. Sustainability can only be achieved if one accepts that the natural capital can be substituted by other forms of capital (so called weak concept of sustainability). Sourcing the raw materials increasingly demanded by our societies will need transparent and inclusive stakeholder participation as well as a holistic understanding of the impact of extractives activities to reach this weak sustainability status. Our analysis shows that the sustainability of mining cannot be reached without harmonized political instruments and investment policies that take the three pillars of environmental, economic, and social sustainability as a major priority.","PeriodicalId":148192,"journal":{"name":"Earth Science, Systems and Society","volume":"59 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125866511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Sustainable Extractive Industry Requires Educated Responsible Geoscientists","authors":"Mike Katz","doi":"10.3389/esss.2022.10046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/esss.2022.10046","url":null,"abstract":"Most geoscience undergraduate courses are technical with little regard to social responsibility and sustainable development implications. Workshop outcomes have suggested that the introduction of this content into their studies is necessary so that they can apply their technical knowledge in a responsible way. In regard to the extractive industry where most geoscientists in resource rich countries are employed, the industry’s record of social and environmental impact with non–sustainable outcomes, particularly in developing countries are evident. Important extractive industry issues such as sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, social license to operate and free, prior and informed consent for Indigenous People have attracted great attention and scrutiny in the development of industry and government policy and rightful concerns from all stakeholders. There are very few examples of these responsibility and sustainability subjects being introduced in undergraduate geoscience education except in some environmental courses in universities in North America, Europe and Australia/New Zealand, but not so well established in developing countries where there is a greater need for this content.","PeriodicalId":148192,"journal":{"name":"Earth Science, Systems and Society","volume":"36 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131908049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Geobattery Concept: A Geothermal Circular Heat Network for the Sustainable Development of Near Surface Low Enthalpy Geothermal Energy to Decarbonise Heating","authors":"A. Fraser-Harris, C. McDermott, Mylène Receveur, Julien Mouli-Castillo, F. Todd, A. Cartwright-Taylor, A. Gunning, M. Parsons","doi":"10.3389/esss.2022.10047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/esss.2022.10047","url":null,"abstract":"Decarbonisation of heating represents a major challenge in efforts to reach Net Zero carbon emissions, especially for countries that rely heavily on the combustion of carbon-based fossil fuels to meet heating demand such as the United Kingdom. In this paper we explore the use of near surface low enthalpy geothermal energy accessed via commercial and domestic heat pump technology. These resources may become increasingly important in decarbonisation efforts but, while they are renewable, their sustainability is contingent on appropriate management. Here, we introduce a new geothermal circular heat network concept, known as a “geobattery,” which redistributes recyclable heat from emitters to users via elevated permeability pathways in the subsurface and offers a platform to manage shallow geothermal resources. If successfully implemented the concept has the potential to provide low carbon, resilient, low-cost heating that is sustainable both in terms of heat pump performance and the shallow geothermal resource. We demonstrate the concept based on the cooling requirements of a case study data centre with existing high energy use and the potential to inject the generated heat into elevated permeability pathways in the shallow subsurface. We show that thermal recharge under these conditions has the potential to arrest subsurface temperature declines associated with closely spaced borehole heat exchangers, ensure the long-term sustainability of shallow geothermal resources for generations to come, and play an important role in the decarbonisation of heating.","PeriodicalId":148192,"journal":{"name":"Earth Science, Systems and Society","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125739282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Value of a Hole in Coal: Assessment of Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage and Recovery in Flooded Coal Mines","authors":"Jesus Perez Silva, C. McDermott, A. Fraser-Harris","doi":"10.3389/esss.2022.10044","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/esss.2022.10044","url":null,"abstract":"Seasonal storage and extraction of heat in legacy coal mines could help decarbonize the space heating sector of many localities. The modelled evolution of a conceptual mine-water thermal scheme is analysed in this study, involving cyclical storage of heat in an enclosed underground coal mine. Conductive heat transport simulations are performed in a 3D model of a flooded room-and-pillar panel, based on typical mine layouts, to quantify the maximum thermal recovery from the host rock in different scenarios. We show that, by optimizing the seasonal management, from 25% to 45% of the energy transferred to the subsurface could be potentially recovered at the end of the first operational year. The modelled heat retrieval, achieved by subsurface cold-water circulation, does not consider the potentially enhancing effect of local advection around mine voids and applies to cases of relatively low dispersal of heat by the regional groundwater flow. The cumulative heat recovered from the modelled host rock could equal the thermal energy provided by the “mined” coal in less than 70 years. A comparison of the value of the original coal “mined,” at today’s prices, to a representative value for the heat recycled in the space created by its extraction, suggests that within less than 3 decades of thermal cycling similar monetary values are reached for the specific conditions modelled.","PeriodicalId":148192,"journal":{"name":"Earth Science, Systems and Society","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121966375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Role of Subsurface Geo-Energy Pilot and Demonstration Sites in Delivering Net Zero","authors":"M. Stephenson, Dolleen Tisawii'ashii Manning, M. J. Spence, L. Stalker, Z. Shipton, A. Monaghan","doi":"10.3389/esss.2022.10045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/esss.2022.10045","url":null,"abstract":"Recent research suggests that the effects of climate change are already tangible, making the requirement for net zero more pressing than ever. New emissions targets have been announced in April 2021 by various governments, including by the United Kingdom, United States, and China, prior to the Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow. Part of the solution for net zero will be geo-energy technologies in the subsurface, these include: mine water geothermal, aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES), enhanced geothermal systems and other thermal storage options, compressed air energy storage (CAES), and carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) including bioenergy CCS (BECCS). Subsurface net zero technologies have been studied by geologists at laboratory scale and with models, but also require testing at greater-than laboratory scale and in representative conditions not reproducible in laboratories and models. Test, pilot and demonstration facilities aid rock characterisation process understanding and up-scaling, and thereby provide a bridge between laboratory testing and computer modelling and full-scale operation. Examples of test sites that have progressed technology development include the Otway International Test Centre (Australia, CCS) and the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (Sweden, geological radioactive waste disposal). These sites have provided scale up for key research questions allowing science issues of relevance to regulation, licencing and permitting to be examined at scale in controlled environments. Successful operations at such sites allow research to be seen at first hand to inform the public, regulators, supply chain companies and investors that such technologies can work safely and economically. A Geological Society conference on the “Role of subsurface research labs in delivering net zero” in February 2021 considered the value of test sites and gaps in their capability. Gaps were identified in two areas: 1) test facilities to aid the design of low cost, high resolution, unobtrusive seismic and other monitoring for a seismically noisy urban environment with a sensitive human population, for example for ATES in urban areas; and 2) a dedicated through-fault zone test site to understand fault transmissivity and reactivation. Conference participants also recommended investment and development in test sites, shared facilities and risk, joint strategies, data interoperability and international collaboration.","PeriodicalId":148192,"journal":{"name":"Earth Science, Systems and Society","volume":"37 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124297413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}