Experimental investigation of carbon dioxide trapping due to capillary retention in saline aquifers

Capillary trapping is a physical mechanism by which carbon dioxide (CO₂) is naturally immobilized in the pore spaces of aquifer rocks during geologic carbon sequestration operations, and thus a key aspect of estimating geologic storage potential. Here, we studied capillary trapping of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂), and the effect of initial scCO₂ saturation and flow rate on the storage/trapping potential of Berea sandstone. We performed two‐phase, scCO₂‐brine displacements in two samples, each subject to four sequential drainage–imbibition core‐flooding cycles to quantify end‐point saturations of scCO₂ with the aid of micro‐ and macro‐computed tomography imaging. From these experiments, we found that between 51% and 75% of the initial CO₂ injected can be left behind after the brine injection. We also observed that the initial scCO₂ saturation influenced the residual scCO₂ saturation to a greater extent than the rate of brine injection under the experimental conditions examined. In spite of differences in the experimental conditions tested, as well as those reported in the literature, initial and residual saturations were found to follow a consistent relationship.     

The case of Asialink’s arts residency program: towards a critical cosmopolitan approach to cultural diplomacy

This paper explores the ways in which one of Australia’s cultural diplomacy initiatives aimed at bringing Australia closer to Asia – the Asialink Arts Residency Program – may provide valuable insights for reimagining cultural diplomacy with a revised understanding of the national interest that reflects the increasingly transnational realities of the contemporary world. Drawing on extensive data gained from interviews and an online survey, the author found that program participants are engaging in exceptionally complex and at times unintended activities, and that policy concerns, such as positive image projection abroad, are rarely high on the residents’ list of priorities. However, these experiences are of particular value for the national interest, in ways not yet formulated by or included in existing cultural diplomacy discourses. With the findings in mind, the author takes a critical cosmopolitan approach to reconceptualising cultural diplomacy.     

Preliminary Characterization of Pottery by Cathodoluminescence and SEM–EDX Analyses: An Example from the Yeha Region (Ethiopia)

Yeha was a political and cultural centre of the Ethio‐Sabaean culture (D’MT) in northern Ethiopia and southern Eritrea. Part of the archaeological research deals with pottery of local, regional and imported origin. The research—investigations and examinations—tries to classify local pottery in two ways: first, by analysing the mineralogy of the temper using light microscopy and cathodoluminescence; and, second, by analysing the main element composition of the clay matrix using a scanning electron microscope with energy‐dispersive X‐ray detection (SEM–EDX). The cathodoluminescence shows that the temper material has differences in the colours of feldspars with a similar mineralogical composition. The results demonstrate that the pottery was produced by using local material that originates from various sources in the Yeha region and that the same raw materials were used in different types of pottery.     

The preservation of exposed mudbrick architecture in Karanis (Kom Aushim), Egypt

Excavations in the arid regions of Egypt provide insight into the many types and uses of mudbrick architecture. Upon exposure the inherently unstable building material decays rapidly, resulting in severe loss or complete destruction of once well-preserved buildings. The preservation of mudbrick structures is relatively complicated and expensive. Research has focused on the circumstances that enable preservation and the influence of climate and weather over time. Conservation treatments should address these two processes as soon as possible after exposure of the structures. Our assessment of a range of conservation methods leads to the conclusion that reburial is among the least objectionable method of preservation, despite its drawback of returning the excavated buildings to a situation where they are invisible to both researchers and the public.     

Auf gute Nachbarschaft!

Companies' community involvement turns out to be spatially relevant and–in many cases–to be focused on the near surroundings of the place of business. Some companies strategically align their involvement in order to systematically address local challenges. The essay at hand addresses the subject of corporate social responsibility from a local development perspective. Using the example of two family-owned enterprises based in Duisburg, Haniel and Grillo, it illustrates how socially committed companies can get involved with their local community by acting as good neighbours. Furthermore, it argues that socially committed companies can function as producers of space concerning matters of urban and local development. The specific local settings as well as the economic conditions of the local community serve as an explanatory background of the companies' involvement. The cases presented in this paper prove the firms' specific knowledge of local development needs and possibilities. This makes them qualified partners for local government actors and civil society actors. Thus, in the future, it is worth addressing corporate local responsibility from a governance point of view both in theory and in practice.     

„Was für Grün in der Stadt?“

Urban green space is a key subject of actual urban negotiation processes on how the city shall develop. Visions of the ideal city are reflected in the meanings currently ascribed to urban gardening. Thereby the relation between human and nature as well as between build and natural environment in the city plays a central role. Results from different Swiss cities show that allotment gardens as well as newer forms of urban gardening are oscillating between a compensatory and a complementary understanding of nature, and they equally combine the desire for pristine nature with the demand for functional green space in the city.     

Studying the International,Serving the Nation: The Origins of International Relations (IR) Scholarship in Germany, 1912–33

This paper examines the dynamics of internationalist and nationalist political thought in the formation of International Relations (IR) scholarship in Germany during the early twentieth century. It argues that while liberal internationalism played a significant role in shaping the discipline, IR scholars were often devout nationalists and worked for their government rather than for international peace. German institutions for the study of IR, like their Anglo-American counterparts, were founded in the aftermath of the First World War. Celebrated during the 1920s as ‘bulwarks of democracy’, they were nationalised by the Nazi government, lost their academic profile and since then have been largely forgotten. This paper explains the origins of IR research at the Institut für Auswärtige Politik, based in Hamburg and directed by Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy, as well as at the Deutsche Hochschule für Politik, led by Ernst Jäckh in Berlin. Formally inaugurated in 1923 and 1920 respectively, both institutions drew on pre-war intellectual traditions as well as wartime networks. In light of recent re-appraisals of inter-war IR scholarship in other countries, the German case offers new and important insights into the complex intellectual traditions of what has traditionally been oversimplified as a first ‘great debate’ between ‘idealists’ and ‘realists’.     

The holotype of Pseudisograptus manubriatus manubriatus (Hall, 1914)—implications for the identification of Pseudisograptus manubriatus subspecies

VandenBerg, A.H.M. & Maletz, J., April 2016. The holotype of Pseudisograptus manubriatus manubriatus (Hall, 1914)—implications for the identification of Pseudisograptus manubriatus subspecies. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

The holotype of Pseudisograptus manubriatus manubriatus (Hall, 1914) has been rediscovered in the collections of Museum Victoria and is recognized to belong to Pseudisograptus manubriatus harrisi as described by Cooper & Ni (1986). This taxon becomes a junior synonym of P. m. manubriatus. The selected neotype of Pseudisograptus manubriatus manubriatus (Hall, 1914) can be referred to Pseudisograptus manubriatus texanus Cooper & Ni, 1986. The proximal development in all known relief specimens of Pseudisograptus and their descendants indicates that a symmetrical development of the manubrium must be regarded as the rule, and the interpretation of a strong asymmetry in Pseudisograptus manubriatus texanus is rejected.

Alfons H.M. VandenBerg [avandenberg@museum.vic.gov.au, lanceolatus@hotmail.com], Geology, Museum Victoria, GPO Box 666, Vic 3001, Australia; Jörg Maletz [yorge@zedat.fu-berlin.de], Department of Earth Sciences, FU Berlin, Malteserstrasse 74-100, D-12249 Berlin, Germany.