ABSTRACTReductionist thinking will no longer suffice to address contemporary, complex challenges that defy sectoral, national, or disciplinary boundaries. Furthermore, lessons learned from the past cannot be confidently used to predict outcomes or guide future actions. The authors propose that the confluence of a number of technology and social disruptors presents a pivotal moment in history to enable real time, accelerated, and integrated action that can adequately support a ‘future earth’ through transformational solutions. Building on more than a decade of dialogues hosted by the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE), and evolving a briefing note presented to delegates of Pivotal 2015, the paper presents an emergent context for collectively addressing spatial information, sustainable development, and good governance through three guiding principles for enabling prosperous living in the twenty-first century. These are: (1) open data, (2) real-world context, and (3) informed visualization for decision support. The paper synthesizes an interdisciplinary dialogue to create a credible and positive future vision of collaborative and transparent action for the betterment of humanity and planet. It is intended that these Pivotal Principles can be used as an elegant framework for action toward the Digital Earth vision, across local, regional, and international communities and organizations. 相似文献
Oil or gas production from unconsolidated reservoirs could be hampered by sand migration near the wellbore. This paper presents a numerical investigation of production-induced migration of fine sands towards a wellbore drilled in a gap-graded sediment. The solid–fluid interaction is simulated by coupling the discrete element method and the dynamic fluid mesh. With the merit of DEM and a dynamic mesh, the model is capable of naturally capturing particle movements and spatiotemporal variations of hydraulic properties of the sediment at the pore scale. The results show that fine particles are mobilized by radial flow under an imposed hydraulic gradient, and the increase in the hydraulic gradient causes an increase in the fines production. The microscopic pattern of sand migration is clearly visualized through the simulation. The presence of fine particles affects the process of fines migration through two competing mechanisms. Under a low fine content, fine sands mainly serve as the fines production source, and thus, fines production is enhanced as the fine content increases up to a critical value, beyond which fines production is weakened with a further increase in the fine content since the blocking effect gradually dominates. A barrier layer is likely formed during sand migration due to settling and jamming of fine sands at the throats of pores, as fine sands migrate with the radial flow towards the wellbore. This layer is helpful to slow down sand migration, while it could impede production due to reduced permeability in the affected reservoir.
A controlled petroleum release was conducted to evaluate bioremediation in a wetland near Houston, Texas. The 140-day study was conducted using a randomized, complete block design to test three treatments with six replicates per treatment. The three treatment strategies were inorganic nutrients, inorganic nutrients with an alternative electron acceptor, and a no-action oiled control. Samples were analyzed for petroleum chemistry and inorganic nutrients. These results are discussed in the context of our related research involving toxicology and microbiology at the site during the experiment. To evaluate biodegradation, the targeted compounds were normalized to the conservative compound C3017alpha, 21beta-[H]hopane, thus reducing the effects of spatial heterogeneity and physical transport. The two biostimulation treatments demonstrated statistically-higher rates of biodegradation than the oiled no-action control. For the majority of the experiment, target nutrient levels were maintained. Further research may be warranted to optimize these bioremediation strategies as well as evaluating additional treatment strategies for wetlands and other shoreline systems. 相似文献
Adverse impacts on the health of some fish populations, such as skewed sex distributions, have been noted in surface waters and in laboratory experiments with relatively low concentrations (above 25 ng/L) of natural estrogen (17 beta-estradiol--E2). Sources of E2 to surface and ground waters can include avian, human, and mammalian waste products. The Ozark Plateau Aquifer (OPA) is a karstic basin that receives a significant portion of its water through losing reaches of rivers. Thus, there is a direct connection between surface water and ground water. The OPA was targeted for an E2 study to assess the potential for adverse health effects to aquatic organisms living in the system. Eight springs, which drain the aquifer, were sampled quarterly. The concentrations of E2 in the OPA ranged from 13 to 80 ng/L. For any one sampling event, the concentrations of E2 at the spring waters were statistically similar; however, the concentrations of E2 at all springs varied throughout the year. At Maramec Spring, one of the larger springs, the E2 concentration, was correlated with discharge. Based on the correlation between discharge and E2 concentration, aquatic organisms living in the plateau or in its discharged waters, including the threatened southern cavefish T. subterraneus, are exposed to concentration of E2 above 25 ng/L approximately 60% of the time. This implies that organisms living in karst basins throughout the OPA are likely exposed to E2 concentrations that may adversely impact their reproductive success for a significant portion of each year. 相似文献
We present a model for the formation of massive ( M ≳10 M⊙) stars through accretion-induced collisions in the cores of embedded dense stellar clusters. This model circumvents the problem of accreting on to a star whose luminosity is sufficient to reverse the infall of gas. Instead, the central core of the cluster accretes from the surrounding gas, thereby decreasing its radius until collisions between individual components become sufficient. These components are, in general, intermediate-mass stars that have formed through accretion on to low-mass protostars. Once a sufficiently massive star has formed to expel the remaining gas, the cluster expands in accordance with this loss of mass, halting further collisions. This process implies a critical stellar density for the formation of massive stars, and a high rate of binaries formed by tidal capture. 相似文献
Data from a convective internal boundary layer (IBL) are analyzed by focusing on the instantaneousstructure of the top of the IBL instead of the time-average structure.A conditional averaging technique is developed todiscriminate between air from above the IBL and air from below the IBL , which alternately invade some instrument levels due tosubstantial variation of the top of the convective IBL.Sensitivity to the conditional sampling criteria is examined.Inside the IBL , buoyant and mechanicalproduction and dissipation dominate the turbulent kinetic energy budget.The horizontal advection and turbulent transport terms are smaller, but not negligible. The inferred pressure correlation term is negligible.Above the IBL , buoyant production and dissipation, although weak,dominate the turbulent kinetic energy budget. Shear generation andturbulent transport are smaller but significant. 相似文献