Sustainability Commons^™

Compressibility Behavior Of Conditioned Sandy Clay Considering The Physical Degradation Of Foam: Tunneling Issue, Mœz Selmi, Yahya Alassaf, Mariem Kacem, Mehrez Jamei

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Surfactants in the form of liquid foam are commonly used for ensuring the fluidity of conditioned soil during shield tunneling in mining zone. The compressibility can be significantly affected, depending on the percentage of fine soil. Thus, this paper investigates the compressibility of foam-conditioned fine soil. Oedometric tests as a function of the percentage of foam have been performed. Foam’s stability was analyzed, considering a laboratory soil made from 40% kaolinite and 60% of sand and mixed with a foaming agent based on an anionic surfactant. Experimental results showed that the foam stability was manifested through a reduction of the …

Fisheries Science Update - Pilbara Demersal Scalefish Resource - November 2023, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Fisheries Science Updates

Key points: 2023 stock assessment outcomes:

• The Pilbara Demersal Scalefish Resource (PDSR) spans from the North West Cape to 120ºE and comprises over 60 demersal scalefish species, including indicator species red emperor, rankin cod, and bluespotted emperor.
• The PDSR is accessed by recreational fishers, charter operators and three commercial fisheries: Pilbara Fish Trawl (Interim) Managed Fishery, Pilbara Trap Managed Fishery, and the Pilbara Line Fishery.
• The PDSR is a key ‘food bowl’ for Western Australia, supplying the local market with about 2,500 tonnes of demersal scalefish annually.
• The PDSR provides unique and valuable recreational fishing opportunities at locations such as …

Groundwater System Characterisation: Fortescue Alluvial Fan, Michael J. Donn, Olga V. Barron, Axel Suckow, Chris Turnadge, John A. Simons, Robert J. Paul, Christopher Schelfhout Dr

Natural resources commissioned reports

This report focuses on groundwater system characterisation in the region north of Newman, based on analysis of pre-existing data and data newly acquired during project activities. Groundwater system characterisation was an important research component supporting the assessment of managed aquifer recharge opportunities, using mine dewatering surplus generated (due to mining below the watertable) at large BHP Billiton Iron Ore operations in the eastern Pilbara mining zone, and aiming to support irrigated agriculture. The assessment area is located north of Ethel Gorge and covers the Upper Fortescue River floodplain and surroundings. The project added much knowledge to this largely ‘data-poor’ region, …

Transforming Agriculture In The Pilbara: Newman Managed Aquifer Recharge (Mar) Feasibility Assessment, Michael J. Donn, Joanne L. Vanderzalm, Olga V. Barron

Natural resources commissioned reports

In the Newman region, DPIRD commissioned an assessment of the potential for managed aquifer recharge (MAR) near Newman using surplus water resulting from mine dewatering as the water supply for irrigated agriculture. The objectives of the MAR assessment were to:

• identify focus area for MAR feasibility assessment within the initial larger area of interest for MAR
• assess the viability of MAR with mine dewater near Newman to support development of irrigated agriculture, in keeping with national and state MAR guidelines
• identify key risks associated with MAR with mine dewater for irrigation supply, and identify knowledge/investigation required to adequately assess risks …

Fisheries Science Update - Spanish Mackerel - November 2023, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Fisheries Science Updates

Key Points: 2023 stock assessment:

• The statewide large pelagic finfish resource (SWLPR) is distributed throughout Western Australia (WA) and includes a range of tropical and temperate pelagic species.
• Spanish mackerel is an indicator species for the SWLPR.
• The latest stock assessment provides a ‘health check” on the status of WA Spanish mackerel statewide and in each management region.
• The 2023 stock assessment shows WA Spanish mackerel remains sustainable with some concerns in the Pilbara region.
• Current management measures are expected to maintain WA Spanish mackerel at an acceptable level outside the Pilbara region.
• The next Spanish Mackerel stock assessment is …

Riding The Decarbonisation Wave: Bhp And Its Lng Dual-Fuelled Vessels, Shantanu Bhattacharya, Flocy Joseph, Mahima Rao-Kachroo

Asian Management Insights

What does it take to decarbonise charter-related shipping?

Reimagining Sustainable Urban Communities In Hong Kong, Jeroen Van Ameijde, Sifan Cheng, Junwei Li

Asian Management Insights

Using environmental and social urban design principles to create future new towns. Hong Kong began building New Towns in the 1970s in response to a post-war period of rapid population growth.

Flying To Net Zero With Sustainable Atos; Changing Cultures​, Eva Maleviti

Publications

What is Sustainability?

• World Commission on Environment and Development’s (WCED) 1987 Brundtland Report ‘’Our Common Future’’.
• Help world nations towards sustainable development.

17 Sustainable Development Goals

• The start of all industries are the 17 SDGs
• Aviation can address the 15 SDGs
• Net zero target suggest reduction of aviation emissions up to 21.2 Gt CO2

Precipitation And Greenness In Pastoral Lands Of East Turkana, Kenya, Paul Akpejeluh

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Pastoralism has long supported livelihoods and provided essential ecosystem services in landscapes of East Africa. Vegetation productivity is central to the functioning of pastoral systems but may be affected by changes in climate and landuse. Vegetation monitoring is important for understanding the effects of global change in pastoral lands; however, it can be time and resource intensive. Remote sensing provides opportunities for efficient multi-scale monitoring of vegetation and climatic drivers. In this thesis, I explore the utility of satellite and UAV remote sensing for monitoring vegetation and precipitation trends and relationships in the East of Lake Turkana Region of northern …

From Mindset To Action: Accountants As Stewards For Sustainability, Yvonne Chan

Asian Management Insights

They need to start preparing for this new role now.

Pursuing Profit And Sustainability In The Age Of Climate Change, Tracy Xie

Asian Management Insights

Building dual-agenda innovation capabilities is the way to go.

Building Urban Sustainability With Quality Elites, Havovi Joshi

Asian Management Insights

Do elites contribute to a society more than they extract from it? In many countries where populism has surged in tandem with declining trust in elites in the political and other spheres, the answer.

Building The Soil Carbon Sponge At Murray Wells Farm, Tambellup, Western Australia, Wendy Bradshaw

Natural resources published reports

Peter and Wendy Bradshaw farmed at Murray Wells Farm about 25 km west of Tambellup for around 46 years until they sold and retired in 2022. They produced barley, oats, merino and prime lambs on an annual rainfall of 450 mm over 1,000 arable hectares. The farm was on a moderately undulating landscape with a mix of soils including sandy duplex, well-drained sand over gravel over clay, shallow sandy or loamy gravel over cemented laterite and red to brown loamy soils.Their farming philosophy was to view agriculture as an ecological enterprise that included them as part of the ecosystem, and …

Agricultural Groundcover Update October 2023, Justin Laycock

Natural resources published reports

Summary

• About 98% of the grainbelt had adequate vegetative groundcover (more than 50%) to prevent wind erosion in October 2023. This amount of groundcover is normal at the end of spring and pre-harvest in most areas.
• There was a larger than average area with 51–60% groundcover, and groundcover in these areas is expected to reduce over summer to below 50%.
• About 2% of the grainbelt (293,000 ha) had less than 50% groundcover, which is inadequate to prevent wind erosion. Mullewa to Morawa Ag Soil Zone had the highest risk of wind erosion and 8% of this farmland had inadequate groundcover. …

Balancing Energy Consumption, Economic Growth, And Emission Reduction In Asean Nations: Insights Into The Green Energy Transition, King Harold A. Recto, Romano Q. Neyra, Rex Paolo C. Gamara

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

As the global pandemic recedes, economic activities around the world are resuming. However, this action has also impacted various facets of the society, particularly energy use, economic expansion, and pollution control. While numerous studies have investigated this issue, they have predominantly focused on the global level, with an emphasis on industrialized nations. Naturally, this backdrop is much different from Southeast Asia. In this study, the mathematical relationships between energy consumption, economic growth, and emission reduction were determined using regression modelling of the World Energy Council (WEC) trilemma scores of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, as well as …

Enabling Data Driven Analysis Of Vulnerabilities And Sustainability Challenges In Urban Settings, Shrideep Pallickara

Sustainability Seminar Series

Can data help us understand and mitigate sustainability and vulnerability challenges? Can these data can spur exploration of new questions and hypotheses, particularly across traditionally disparate disciplines, and offer unprecedented opportunities for discovery and innovation? In this talk, Dr. Pallickara will describe an NSF-funded multi-institution effort that he leads, Sustain. Crucially, analytics capabilities within Sustain are accessible via a browser, allowing researchers to formulate hypotheses and explore multiple dimensions of vulnerability and sustainability that crosscut diverse domains and spatiotemporal scopes.

Water Efficiency & Sustainability In The Mountain West, 2022, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet analyzes the effectiveness of state-level policies related to water usage, conservation, and sustainability for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in 2022. The original data are published in the “2022 State Policy Scorecard for Water Efficiency and Sustainability” report written by the Alliance for Water Efficiency.

Experiential Humanitiesx

DePaul Magazine

DePaul University's HumanitiesX program promotes project-based learning through innovative community collaborations.

Designing Depaul

DePaul Magazine

DePaul’s comprehensive, collaborative plan creates a road map that positions the university for monumental impact.

Ventilation Of Tunnels During Drilling Using A Forcing Ventilation System – A Case Study, Krzysztof Słota, Zbigniew Słota

Journal of Sustainable Mining

In Poland, more and more tunnels are being built using mining methods. Mostly ventilation systems are described for tunnels already commissioned. There are few examples of ventilation calculations for tunnels under construction. The paper shows a case study where calculations were made of the minimum air volume flow required to ventilate a tunnel during its tunnelling using four duct ventilation systems. The first system used two separate fans with a 1200 mm diameter duct line, the second system changed the diameter of the duct line to 1400 mm, the third system used one fan with two 1200 mm diameter duct …

Influence Of Explosive Maximum Instantaneous Charge On Blasting Environmental Impact, Olukemi Yetunde Odeyemi, Blessing Olamide Taiwo, Olarewaju Alaba

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Our research looked at the effect of explosive maximum instantaneous charge on ground vibrations and noise levels during blasting operations at the Calaba limestone quarry in Nigeria. Vibrock (V9000) seismograph was used to take readings related to ground vibrations and noise generated during all blasting operations that took place in the quarry for a period of one year. The results obtained indicate that the average ground vibration readings fall between 0.25mm/s to 3.6mm/s and the average noise decibel generated during the blasting operations between 35 to 158 dB. An artificial neural network (ANN) model is developed in this study for …

The Cold Side Of Connectivity: A Journey In The Southern Ocean With Antarctic Fish, Chiara Papetti

Sustainability Seminar Series

Characterizing connectivity among populations and species differences provides information on distribution of fish biodiversity, dispersal and genetic variability. This information is essential to set conservation priorities, identify scarce management resources and to monitor effectiveness of protection. This information is urgently requested by policymakers evaluating proposals for marine protected areas (MPAs) in Antarctica where fish dominate marine communities and connectivity may be driven by multiple factors affected by climate change. In this talk, I will summarize some recent results on population connectivity of Antarctic fish by looking at hydrodynamics, genetic variability and various life history traits of some species which differ …

Supply Chain Simulation Of Manufacturing Shirts Using System Dynamics For Sustainability, Gurinder Kaur, Ron Kander

School of Design and Engineering Papers

In supply chain management (SCM), goods and services flow from the raw materials stage to the end user with complexities and uncertainty at each stage. Computer modeling and simulation is a particularly useful method to examine supply chain operational issues because it can solve operational complexities that are challenging and time consuming to analyze. Manufacturing companies fear losing valuable time and assets during the manufacturing process; the inaccurate estimation of raw materials, human capital, or physical infrastructure not only leads to monetary loss for the manufacturing unit, but also has a detrimental effect on the environment. The purpose of this …

Examining The Corn Seedling Emergence–Temperature Relationship For Recent Hybrids: Insights From Experimental Studies, Sahila Beegum, Charles Hunt Walne, Krishna N. Reddy, Vangimalla Reddy, Kambham Raja Reddy

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Corn seedling emergence is a critical factor affecting crop yields. Accurately predicting emergence is crucial for precise crop growth and development simulation in process-based crop models. While various experimental studies have investigated the relationship between corn seedling emergence and temperature, there remains a scarcity of studies focused on newer corn hybrids. In the present study, statistical models (linear and quadratic functional relationships) are developed based on the seedling emergence of ten current corn hybrids, considering soil and air temperatures as influencing factors. The data used for model development are obtained from controlled soil plant atmospheric research chamber experiments focused on …

Analysis Of Wastewater Samples To Explore Community Substance Use In The United States: Pilot Correlative And Machine Learning Study, Marie A. Severson, Sathaporn Onanong, Alexandra Dolezal, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow, Lisa M. Mcfadden

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Background: Substance use disorder and associated deaths have increased in the United States, but methods for detecting and monitoring substance use using rapid and unbiased techniques are lacking. Wastewater-based surveillance is a cost-effective method for monitoring community drug use. However, the examination of the results often focuses on descriptive analysis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore community substance use in the United States by analyzing wastewater samples. Geographic differences and commonalities of substance use were explored.

Methods: Wastewater was sampled across the United States (n=12). Selected drugs with misuse potential, prescriptions, and over-the-counter drugs …

Methods For Estimating Carbon Emissions From Coals In Underground Mines: A Case Study Of The Western Fukang Mining Area, Peng Rendong, Wei Bo, Li Xin, Zhang Ji, Zhang Zizhao, Wang Bo, Zhang Na, Cui Deguang

Coal Geology & Exploration

Carbon emissions have come into sharp focus of human society. The carbon emissions from coals rank as the most predominant part of China’s total carbon emissions. Presently, there is no available study on the accurate calculation of carbon emissions from coals in typical underground mines in Xinjiang, with the CH₄ emission even overlooked. This study centers on the carbon emissions from coals in underground mines in the western Fukang mining area. As per the occurrence laws of CH₄ and CO₂ in coal seams, as well as coal mining plans, this study classified the sources of carbon emissions …

A New Physics-Informed Method For The Fracability Evaluation Of Shale Oil Reservoirs, Li Yuwei, Li Zijian, Shao Lifei, Tian Fuchun, Tang Jizhou

Coal Geology & Exploration

The accurate evaluation of reservoir fracability is an essential prerequisite for the fracturing design and post-fracturing productivity evaluation of reservoirs. Rock mechanical parameters have been applied to the fracability evaluation of shales presently, exhibiting great field application performance. Accordingly, it is crucial to obtain accurate rock mechanical parameters. This study developed a physics-informed neural network (PINN) model. Driven by data and physical information, the PINN model can accurately predict rock mechanical parameters using only a small amount of data. To verify its performance, the PINN model was compared with the artificial neural network, random forest, and XGBoost models. The comparison …

Water Inrush Mechanism Of Coal Mine Shaft Fracture Under Fluid-Solid Coupling, Xue Weipei, Shen Lei, Yao Zhishu, Cheng Hua, Rong Chuanxin

Coal Geology & Exploration

The occurrence of coal mine shaft fractures and water inrush accidents is alarmingly frequent, endangering the lives of underground personnel and compromising mine safety. To comprehend the influence of confined groundwater in the process of shaft fracture and the formation mechanism of water inrush channels, a model test was devised using similarity theory and coupled fluid-solid numerical simulation technology. The findings reveal that direct contact between the shaft lining and pressurized water hinders the development of load-bearing and deformation capacities. This is specifically evidenced by the premature appearance of the yield point, a reduction in peak strength and strain, and …

Zoned Prediction Of Water Inflow After Dewatering Of Working Face Based On Waterrichness Zoning Of Aquifer, Yang Lei, Lei Fangchao, Hou Enke, Lu Bo, Feng Dong, Zhao Kaixing

Coal Geology & Exploration

As the weathered bedrock and burned rock aquifers seriously threaten the production safety of mines in the Jurassic coalfield of northern Shaanxi Province, accurate prediction of their waterrichness and water inflow at the working face is of great significance for water control in mines. Aiming at the weathered bedrock and burned rock aquifers with close hydraulic connection, the area where working face 15217 of Shaanxi Hongliulin Coal Mine is located was taken as the study area. Meanwhile, the aquifer thickness, lithological combination index, index of rock burning and weathering degree and core recovery was taken as the evaluation indexes. The …

Study On Mesoscopic Failure Characteristics Of Layered Red Shale, Ma Zhenqian, Zhou Lang, Zuo Yujun, Zhang Jimin, Zou Yihuai, Cao Yunqin

Coal Geology & Exploration

To study the mesoscopic failure characteristics of the layered red shale, uniaxial mechanical experiments were carried out by applying DSTD-1000 electro-hydraulic servo rigid pressure on the red shale with different bedding angles. Meanwhile, SEM and XRD experiments were implemented on debris to obtain its mechanical parameters, failure characteristics, microstructure, and relative content of components. Based on this, models of the red shale with different bedding angles were constructed using the discrete element PFC^3D for the uniaxial compression experiments to study the mesoscopic failure characteristics of red shale. The results show that: (1) When the bedding angle θ=30°, 45°, …