New Oil Deposits Can Be Identified Through Satellite Images

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New Oil Deposits Can Be Identified Through Satellite

Images

Global Warming News : New Oil Deposits Can Be Identified Through Satellite Images

A new map of the Earths gravitational force based on satellite measurements makes it much less

resource intensive to find new oil deposits. The map will be particularly useful as the ice melts in

the oil-rich Arctic regions. Ole Baltazar, senior scientist at the National Space Institute,Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space), headed the development of the map.

The US company Fugro, one of the worlds leading oil exploration companies, is one of the

companies that have already made use of the gravitational map. The company has now initiated a

research partnership with DTU Space.

Ole Baltazars gravitational map is the most precise and has the widest coverage to date, says

Li Xiong, Vice President and Head Geophysicist with Fugro. On account of its high resolutionand accuracy, the map is particularly useful in coastal areas, where the majority of the oil islocated.

Satellite measurements result in high precision

Ole Baltazars map shows variations in gravitational force across the surface of the Earth andknowledge about these small variations is a valuable tool in oil exploration. Subterranean oil

deposits are encapsulated in relatively light materials such as limestone and clay and because

these materials are light, they have less gravitational force than the surrounding materials.

Ole Baltazars map is based on satellite measurements and has a hitherto unseen level of detailand accuracy. With this map in your hands, it is, therefore, easier to find new deposits of oil

underground.

Climate change is revealing new sea regions

The gravitational map from DTU Space is unique on account of its resolution of only 2 km and

the fact that it covers both land and sea regions. Oil companies use the map in the first phases ofoil exploration. Previously, interesting areas were typically selected using protracted, expensive

measurements from planes or ships. The interesting areas appear clearly on the map and the

companies can, therefore, plan their exploration much more efficiently.

The map will also be worth its weight in gold when the ice in the Arctic seriously begins to

melt, revealing large sea regions where it is suspected that there are large deposits of oil

underground. With our map, the companies can more quickly start to drill for oil in the rightplaces without first having to go through a resource-intensive exploration process, explains Ole

Baltazar.

Based on height measurements instead of direct gravitation measurements
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The success of the gravitational map is due in large part to the fact that it is not based on direct

gravitation measurements but on observations of the height of the sea, which reflects the

gravitation.

Height measurements have the advantage that it is possible to determine the gravitational field

very locally and thus make a gravitational map with a resolution of a few km. For comparison,the resolution of satellite measurements of gravitational force is typically around 200 km.

Satellite gravitation measurements are used, for example, to explore conditions in the deeper

strata of the Earth, but are not well suited to our purposes, Ole Baltazar explains.

Source: Global Warming News, Climate Change, Greenhouse Effect information at

sciencedaily.com

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February 28th, 2009 | Posted inGlobal Warming News|No Comments

Commercial Ships Spew Half As Much Particulate Pollution

As Worlds Cars

Global Warming News : Commercial Ships Spew Half As Much Particulate Pollution As

Worlds Cars

Commercial ships emit almost half as much particulate pollutants into the air globally as the total

amount releasedby the worlds cars, according to a new study led by the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The study is the first to provide a global estimate of maritime shippings total contribution to air

particle pollution based on direct emission measurements. The authors estimate ships emit about1,100 tons of particle pollution globally each year.

Ship pollutants affect both global climate and the health of people living along coastlines,

according to the study authors. The findings appear online the week of Feb. 23 in the Journal of

Geophysical Research.

Since more than 70 percent of shipping traffic takes place within 250 miles of the coastline, this

is a significant health concern for coastal communities, said lead study author Daniel Lack, a

researcher with the NOAA-supported CU Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental

Sciences based at NOAAs Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder.

Earlier research by one of the studys co-authors, James Corbett of the University of Delaware,linked particle pollution to premature deaths among coastal populations.
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Commercial ships emit both particle pollution and carbon dioxide, but they have opposite effects

on the climate, said the researchers. The particles have a global cooling effect that is at least five

times greater than the global warming effect from the ships CO2 emissions.

The particles affect both climate and health, said the researchers. CO2 from ships makes up

roughly 3 percent of all human-emitted CO2 and almost 30 percent of smog-forming nitrogenoxide gases.

During summer 2006, Lack and colleagues aboard the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown analyzedthe exhaust from over 200 commercial vessels, including cargo ships, tankers and cruise ships in

the Gulf of Mexico, Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel. The researchers also

examined the chemistry of particles in ship exhaust to understand what makes ships such heftypolluters.

Ships emit sulfates, the same particles associated with diesel-engine cars and trucks and whichhave resulted in tighter regulations regarding on-road vehicle fuel standards, according to the

research team. Sulfate emissions from ships vary with the concentration of sulfur in ship fuel, theauthors found.

Globally, fuel sulfur content is capped under the International Convention for the Prevention of

Pollution from Ships. As a result of the cap, some ships use cleaner, low-sulfur fuels, whileothers continue to use the high-sulfur counterparts.

But sulfates make up just under half of shippings total particle emissions, according to theNOAA-CU study. Organic pollutants and sooty, black carbonwhich make up the other half of

emissionsare not directly targeted by todays regulations. A 2008 study by Lacks team

focused exclusively on soot.

Emissions of non-sulfate particles depend on the operating speed of the engine and the amount of

lubricating oil needed to deal with wear and tear from burning less-refined fuels, according to the

researchers. Fortunately, engines burning cleaner, low-sulfur fuels tend to require less

complex lubricants, said Corbett. So the sulfur fuel regulations have the indirect effect of

reducing the organic particles emitted.

One surprising result of burning low-sulfur fuels was that while total particle emissions diminish,

the time the remaining particles spend in the air appears to increase. Its while theyre airborne

that particles pose a risk to human health and affect climate, according to the study.

Lack and colleagues found that the organic and black carbon portion of ship exhaust is less likelyto form cloud droplets. As a result, the particles remain suspended for longer periods of timebefore being washed to the ground through precipitation.

NOAA-supported Cooperative Institutes are academic and nonprofit research institutions that

demonstrate the highest level of performance and conduct research that supports NOAAs

Mission Goals and Strategic Plan.


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Source: Global Warming News, Climate Change, Greenhouse Effect information at

sciencedaily.com

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New Oil Deposits Can Be Identified Through Satellite Images