![Reduction of emission of a number of heavy metals (lead, cadmium and mercury) in 1990-2012 according to the Vostok Meteorological Synthesizing Center [100].](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valeriy-Snakin-2/publication/349987455/figure/fig1/AS:1003032422670336@1616152973674/Reduction-of-emission-of-a-number-of-heavy-metals-lead-cadmium-and-mercury-in_Q320.jpg)
![Dynamics of annual increase in the concentration of methane in the atmosphere in the world according to NASA [70].](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valeriy-Snakin-2/publication/349987455/figure/fig2/AS:1003032422666244@1616152973706/Dynamics-of-annual-increase-in-the-concentration-of-methane-in-the-atmosphere-in-the_Q320.jpg)
![Global methane emissions by economic sectors, carbon dioxide equivalent (CDE, CO 2 e) [92].](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valeriy-Snakin-2/publication/349987455/figure/fig3/AS:1003032422645761@1616152973772/Global-methane-emissions-by-economic-sectors-carbon-dioxide-equivalent-CDE-CO-2-e_Q320.jpg)
![Trends and forecast of the use of various energy sources in the world [19].](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valeriy-Snakin-2/publication/349987455/figure/tbl1/AS:1003032422670338@1616152973819/Trends-and-forecast-of-the-use-of-various-energy-sources-in-the-world-19_Q320.jpg)
![Baseline forecast of the population and primary energy consumption in the world until 2100 [48].](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valeriy-Snakin-2/publication/349987455/figure/tbl2/AS:1003032422649860@1616152973847/Baseline-forecast-of-the-population-and-primary-energy-consumption-in-the-world-until_Q320.jpg)
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Methane in the atmosphere, methanotrophs and development of oil and gas industry
Abstract and Figures
Dynamics of methane content alterations in the Earth's atmosphere in the conditions of globalization is analyzed and methane emission sources are estimated. Oil and gas industry is proved to be the most important anthropogenic source of atmospheric methane growth. Natural mechanisms of methane concentration regulation in the biosphere are considered. Particular attention is paid to the process of methane absorption by methanotrophic microorganisms and peculiarities of their functioning in extreme conditions. Methodology for reducing methane technogenic inflow into the atmosphere using methanotrophs is proposed. The book is addressed to oil and gas industry employees and everyone interested in the behavior of methane in the atmosphere, especially in connection with the atmospheric pollution and natural degradation of pollutants.
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The carbon nanotubes (CNT) market is anticipated to witness a twofold expansion throughout the 2020s, in parallel with the ascendance of hydrogen (H2) as a pivotal element in the energy mix. This study assesses the economic feasibility of manufacturing CNTs and hydrogen utilizing Floating Catalyst Chemical Vapor Deposition (FC-CVD) methodologies within oil and gas (O&G) infrastructures. This approach is proposed as a strategic initiative to monetize methane, which is frequently subjected to flaring and possesses a Global Warming Potential (GWP) 27–30 times higher than that of carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 100-year period (Understanding Global Warming Potentials 2023).
A comprehensive techno-economic model was constructed utilizing a process-driven cost framework that encompasses precursor materials, energy expenditures, and infrastructural investment considerations. These precursors include methane as a carbon source, specialized catalysts facilitating the dissociation of carbon and hydrogen during the reaction, and carriers that enhance the quality of the resultant CNT materials. From an infrastructural perspective, costs incorporate the utilization of distinct reactors tailored for methane pyrolysis. Additionally, the model integrates the costs of pressure swing adsorption systems (PSA) for hydrogen segregation and systems for hot gas processing. For the economic evaluation, a production timeframe of 10 years is postulated. Metrics such as the unit production breakeven price are assessed assuming a discount rate of 10%.
An industrial-scale FC-CVD process facility, designed to produce 1,000 metric tons of CNT materials yearly, is projected to manufacture at costs as low as 14/kg. The economic analysis suggests that O&G companies could secure profits given the present market price for CNTs ranging from 100 to $1000, effectively reducing the production costs of hydrogen (another co-product) to a negligible level. This would, in effect, create a "free" revenue stream from hydrogen production while supplying a crucial material integral to advanced technologies, such as highly efficient batteries. Such a low-carbon approach could potentially be an alternative to the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) model, which typically incurs high energy and financial costs.
The problem of global climate warming and attempts to solve it, including using low-carbon power engineering, are analyzed. The success of solving this problem depends on the degree of understanding of the processes which cause it. As more and more data speak about natural causes of climate fluctuations, and of anthropogenic factors the greatest contribution to the warming is made by thermal pollution rather than the anthropogenic growth of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, low-carbon power, with all its positive qualities, is unable to solve the problem of climate warming.
Цель исследований – изучение взаимосвязи потоков метана (измеряемых с помощью дистанционного зондирования Земли) с геологическими и антропогенными источниками. По результатам съемки Sentinel-5P TROPOMI (лето 2022 года) получены содержания метана в тропосфере над регионами Восточной Европы, Юго-Западной Азии и Средней Азии. Повышенные концентрации метана (более 1900 ppb) характерны для Катара, Афганистана, Кувейта, Туркменистана, Пакистана и других стран, находящихся в зоне столкновения литосферных плит и обладающих высокой нефтегазоносностью недр. Установлена положительная корреляция между средним и медианным содержаниями тропосферного метана и сейсмической активностью (коэффициенты корреляции соответственно 0,756 и 0,786), запасами природного газа (0,745 и 0,759), поголовьем крупного рогатого скота (0,403 и 0,336), плотностью населения (0,322 и 0,447). Среднее содержание метана над городами положительно коррелирует с сейсмической активностью (0,557) и с численностью населения (0,355).
The proceedings of the conference “The Physical Economy of the noösphere: Reviving the Heritage of Vladimir Vernadsky”, organized by the International Schiller Institute in honor of the 160th anniversary of Vladimir Vernadsky’s birth on 12 November, 2022, are presented. The participants stressed the great importance of Vernadsky’s doctrine in the development of modern civilization, from the standpoints of both strengthening international cooperation and the growth of productive forces. Some of the speakers noted the greater value of the anti-malthusian approach for humanity as compared to the construction of limits to growth
Based on V.I. Vernadsky’s teaching of the biosphere and modern scientific data, an attempt was made to analyze the mechanisms of the dynamics of modern global processes using the example of climate changes. Possible causes of the warming, both natural and anthropogenic, observed in the last century are considered. It is shown that it is the increase in temperature that causes the increase in the concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, and not vice versa, as follows from the greenhouse effect hypothesis. This seems to be the main cause for the low effectiveness of any international efforts to stabilize the climate. The course of natural processes, as well as the evolution of the biosphere as a whole, has an unstable, cyclical nature, running according to its own laws. Particular attention is paid to V.I. Vernadsky’s doctrine of the biosphere, his views on the role of reason and scientific research in solving problems inevitably arisen in the course of evolution on Earth, caused by the rapidly developing, from a historical standpoint, humanity. Scientific research is a reliable defender of both the interests of mankind and the biosphere as a whole. This was V.I. Vernadsky’s basis of his positive outlook on the future of our civilization and the biosphere.
The analysis is made of natural and anthropogenic sources of methane emission into the atmosphere-one of the important greenhouse gases. New quantitative estimates of methane intake from wetland ecosystems, municipal solid waste landfills, agricultural production, and rapidly developing oil and gas industry are given. The dynamics of oil and gas industry development and possible losses of natural gas are analyzed in the chain: oil and gas exploration-production-transportation-underground storage. Quantitative estimates of methane losses in this chain indicate the leading role of oil and gas industry in the methane dynamics in the Earth's atmosphere over the last 50 years. The ways of reducing methane emission into the atmosphere are suggested.
DOI 10.29003/m670.0514-7468.2019_41_3/272-283
ГЛОБАЛИЗАЦИЯ КАК ЗАКОНОМЕРНЫЙ ЭТАП ЭВОЛЮЦИИ БИОСФЕРЫ
В.В. Снакин
Анализируются естественноисторические корни глобализации и различные аспекты её воздействия на экосистемы и человеческий социум. Глобализация обусловлена экспансией живого вещества (т. н. давлением жизни), сопровождается глубокими преобразованиями окружающей природной среды и представляет собой закономерный этап развития человеческого общества. По мере исчерпания экстенсивного пути развития степень этого преобразования среды обитания резко возрастает. К настоящему времени биосфера стала для человеческой популяции единым жизненным пространством, преображаясь как внешне, так и по самой сути происходящих в ней процессов. Часть следствий глобализации воспринимается позитивно (окультуривание ландшафтов, охрана природы, снижение агрессивности и конкуренции в человеческом социуме), какие-то – негативно (загрязнение практически всех природных сред, инвазии, исчезновение видов). Глобализация вызывает множество других неоднозначно воспринимаемых процессов: изменения в культурном разнообразии, антропогенное расселение видов, миграции населения, демографические взрыв и переход, смещение стратегии выживания в пользу К-отбора, феминизация мужчин и маскулинизация женщин и др. Но все эти процессы являются следствием развития биосферы, для которой человек на этапе глобализации стал самым мощным орудием ускорения эволюции.
Ключевые слова: глобальные природные процессы, глобализация, давление жизни, биоразнообразие, антропогенное расселение видов, инвазия, миграции населения, демографический переход, загрязнение природы, охрана природы, природопользование, преобразование окружающей среды, стратегия жизни популяций, агрессивность, маскулинизация и феминизация, антиглобализм, глокализация.
Ссылка для цитирования: Снакин В.В. Глобализация как закономерный этап эволюции биосферы // Жизнь Земли. Т. 41, № 3. С. 272–283 DOI 10.29003/ m670.0514-7468.2019_41_3/272-283. Поступила 31.05.2019 / Принята к публикации 03.07.2019
GLOBALIZATION AS THE NATURAL STAGE OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE BIOSPHERE
V.V. Snakin
Lomonosov Moscow State University (Earth Science Museum), Institute of Basic Biological Problems of Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Moscow Region, snakin@mail.ru
The natural historical roots of globalization and various aspects of its impact on ecosystems and human society are analyzed below. Globalization is due to the expansion of living matter (the so-called pressure of life), accompanied by deep transformations of the environment, and is a natural stage in the development of human society. As the extensive development path is exhausted, the extent of this habitat transformation increases rapidly. To date, the biosphere has become a single living space for the human population, transforming both externally and in the essence of the inner occurring processes. Some globalization consequences are perceived positively (reclaiming landscapes, nature protection, reducing aggression and competition in human society), whereas some negatively (pollution of almost all natural environments, invasions, extinction of species).* Globalization causes many other ambiguously perceived processes: changes in cultural diversity, anthropogenic resettlement of species, population migration, demographic explosion and transition, shift of survival strategy in favor of K-selection, feminization and masculinization, etc. But all these processes are a consequence of the development of the biosphere, for which the human being at present stage of globalization has become the most powerful tool to accelerate evolution.
Keywords: global natural processes, the evolution of the biosphere, globalization, pressure of life, biodiversity, anthropogenic species resettlement, invasion, population migration, demographic transition, nature pollution, nature conservation, nature management, biosphere transformations, the strategy of living populations, anthropogenic settlement of species, aggressiveness, masculinization and feminization, anti-globalization, glocalization.
Plain Language Summary
Hadal trenches (depth > 6,000 m) are the remotest and the least explored places on our planet, with characteristics of low temperatures, high pressure, limited food, and frequent geological activity. Knowing the source of organic matter for hadal life is key in understanding the ocean carbon cycle and the biological adaptation in trenches. We report the first ¹⁴C results of hadal amphipods from three trenches in the West Pacific, including the deepest ocean trench, Mariana, which indicates that the organic matter for amphipods is mostly from the surface water. This tight linkage between the organic matter within the hadal fauna and in surface water points out that the anthropogenic pollution can reach the deepest ocean trench rapidly via the food chain. Moreover, the bomb ¹⁴C dating method can be applied to hadal amphipods, thereby suggesting a low tissue turnover rate and an unexpectedly long lifetime, which might be a result of an adaptation to the impoverished and harsh environment.
The oft-repeated claim that Earth's biota is entering a sixth " mass extinction " depends on clearly demonstrating that current extinction rates are far above the " background " rates prevailing in the five previous mass extinctions. Earlier estimates of extinction rates have been criticized for using assumptions that might overestimate the severity of the extinction crisis. We assess, using extremely conservative assumptions, whether human activities are causing a mass extinction. First, we use a recent estimate of a background rate of 2 mammal extinctions per 10,000 species per 100 years (that is, 2 E/MSY), which is twice as high as widely used previous estimates. We then compare this rate with the current rate of mammal and vertebrate extinctions. The latter is conservatively low because listing a species as extinct requires meeting stringent criteria. Even under our assumptions, which would tend to minimize evidence of an incipient mass extinction, the average rate of vertebrate species loss over the last century is up to 114 times higher than the background rate. Under the 2 E/MSY background rate, the number of species that have gone extinct in the last century would have taken, depending on the vertebrate taxon, between 800 and 10,000 years to disappear. These estimates reveal an exceptionally rapid loss of biodiversity over the last few centuries, indicating that a sixth mass extinction is already under way. Averting a dramatic decay of biodiversity and the subsequent loss of ecosystem services is still possible through intensified conservation efforts, but that window of opportunity is rapidly closing.
Aquatic habitats beneath ice masses contain active microbial ecosystems capable of cycling important greenhouse gases, such as methane (CH4). A large methane reservoir is thought to exist beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, but its quantity, source and ultimate fate are poorly understood. For instance, O2 supplied by basal melting should result in conditions favourable for aerobic methane oxidation. Here we use measurements of methane concentrations and stable isotope compositions along with genomic analyses to assess the sources and cycling of methane in Subglacial Lake Whillans (SLW) in West Antarctica. We show that sub-ice-sheet methane is produced through the biological reduction of CO2 using H2. This methane pool is subsequently consumed by aerobic, bacterial methane oxidation at the SLW sediment–water interface. Bacterial oxidation consumes >99% of the methane and represents a significant methane sink, and source of biomass carbon and metabolic energy to the surficial SLW sediments. We conclude that aerobic methanotrophy may mitigate the release of methane to the atmosphere upon subglacial water drainage to ice sheet margins and during periods of deglaciation.
Methane is one of the main greenhouse gases, and that is the reason why, after the interest in methanotrophic bacteria as a possible source of single-cell protein and in methanogens as producers of biogas (an alternative source of energy), the attention of researchers shifted to the studies of the microbial community controlling the emission of methane into the atmosphere. The point is that both production and consumption of methane are controlled exclusively by very specialized groups of microbes.
The globally-averaged atmospheric methane abundance determined from an extensive network of surface air sampling sites was constant at ∼1751 ppb from 1999 through 2002. Assuming that the methane lifetime has been constant, this implies that during this 4-year period the global methane budget has been at steady state. We also observed a significant decrease in the difference between northern and southern polar zonal annual averages of CH4 from 1991 to 1992. Using a 3-D transport model, we show that this change is consistent with a decrease in CH4 emissions of ∼10 Tg CH4 from north of 50°N in the early-1990s. This decrease in emissions may have accelerated the global methane budget towards steady state. Based on current knowledge of the global methane budget and how it has changed with time, it is not possible to tell if the atmospheric methane burden has peaked, or if we are only observing a persistent, but temporary pause in its increase.
The experimental data of the past decade concerning the metabolic peculiarities of aerobic methylobacteria and the prospects for their use in different fields of modern biotechnology, including genetic engineering techniques, have been summarized.