Mine water heat and heat storage research opportunities at the UK Geoenergy Observatory in Glasgow, UK

Mine water geothermal heat production and storage can provide a decarbonised source of energy for space heating and cooling, however the large resource potential has yet to be exploited widely. Besides economic, regulatory and licensing barriers, the geoscientific uncertainties remain significant. A lack of detailed understanding of thermal and hydrogeological subsurface conditions and processes, resource sustainability, and the potential impacts on the subsurface-to-surface environmental impacts have so far hampered a more widespread development of this resource.The British Geological Survey (BGS) is in the final stages of constructing the Glasgow Geothermal Energy Research Field Site on behalf of the Natural Environment Research Council with UK Government funding. As one of the two new UK Geoenergy Observatories, the Glasgow site will facilitate collaborative research to improve our understanding of subsurface processes and change. It will provide scientific infrastructure for investigating the shallow, low-temperature coal mine water geothermal energy resources available in abandoned and flooded mine workings at depths of around 50-90 m below the eastern parts of the city.The Glasgow site was chosen due to its commonalities with other parts of the UK and beyond in terms of its coal mining history, geology and legacy of industrial land use. Mine water geothermal resources in these settings could provide sufficient heat for community-scale district heating networks.The research infrastructure comprises arrays of mine water and environmental baseline boreholes for characterisation and monitoring, and the boreholes are instrumented with permanent geophysical sensors. Here we report on interim results from drilling the environmental baseline and mine water boreholes, and opportunities for research and innovation.Continuous monitoring and regular sampling data will be provided for the science community to examine a dynamic subsurface geo-, hydro- and bio-sphere. The facility will also provide opportunities for researchers to undertake their own experiments, with the aim of producing high-quality scientific evidence to reduce uncertainty on mine heat energy systems and understand their environmental impacts, for schemes across the UK and beyond.

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Underground Mine Water for Heating and Cooling using Geothermal Heat Pump Systems

Mine Water and the Environment ◽

10.1007/s10230-006-0103-9 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 1-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 68

Author(s):

George R. Watzlaf ◽

Terry E. Ackman

Keyword(s):

Heat Pump ◽

Mine Water ◽

Underground Mine ◽

Geothermal Heat ◽

Heating And Cooling ◽

Geothermal Heat Pump

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Citizen Science and Food: A Review

10.46756/sci.fsa.nao903 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Christian Reynolds ◽

Libby Oakden ◽

Sarah West ◽

Rachel Pateman ◽

Chris Elliott

Keyword(s):

Data Collection ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Scientific Evidence ◽

Research Priorities ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Learning Opportunities ◽

Research Community ◽

Geographic Spread ◽

Chemical Contaminant ◽

The Uk

Citizen science and food is part of a new programme of work to explore how we can involve the communities we serve when building the evidence-base on which policy decisions are made. Citizen science is an approach that can provide high volumes of data with a wide geographic spread. It is relatively quick to deploy and allows access to evidence we would ordinarily have difficulty collating. This methodology has been endorsed by the European Commission for Research, Science and Innovation. There is no one size fits all definition, but citizen science projects involves engaging with communities and asking them to be part of the project, either through engaging them in data collection or through other ways of co-creation. For participants, citizen science offers learning opportunities, the satisfaction of contributing to scientific evidence and the potential to influence policy. It can also give us data which is high in volume, has wide geographical spread, is relatively quick to deploy and that we couldn’t access any other way. Projects using these methods often involve engaging with communities and asking them to be part of the project. This can be either through working with them in data collection, or through co-creation. This report demonstrates that the research community are already undertaking numerous pieces of research that align with FSA’s evidence needs. This includes examples from the UK and other global communities. Participants in such research have collected data on topics ranging from food preparation in the home to levels of chemical contaminant in foods. The findings of this report outline that citizen science could allow the FSA to target and facilitate more systematic engagement with UK and global research communities, to help address key research priorities of the FSA.

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The UK Government agrees to create the world's largest marine reserve around the Pitcairn Islands, a UK Overseas Territory in the South Pacific

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc14916 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 108 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Terence P. Dawson

Keyword(s):

Scientific Evidence ◽

Marine Reserve ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Concerted Effort ◽

Members Of Parliament ◽

The Pacific ◽

Advocacy Campaigns ◽

The Pacific Ocean ◽

Uk Government ◽

The Uk

In March 2015, the UK Government announced their intention to create the World’s largest marine reserve in the territorial waters of the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific Ocean. This achievement followed a concerted effort by a consortium of scientists, environmental campaigners and Members of Parliament, who engaged cooperatively in the building of the scientific evidence base and advocacy campaigns.

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What Will Happen to This Dog? A Qualitative Analysis of Rehoming Organisations' Pre-adoption Dog Behaviour Screening Policies and Procedures

Frontiers in Veterinary Science ◽

10.3389/fvets.2021.796596 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Karen E. Griffin ◽

Elizabeth John ◽

Tom Pike ◽

Daniel S. Mills

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Analysis ◽

Scientific Evidence ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Activity Level ◽

Validity And Reliability ◽

Safety Risk ◽

Human Safety ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Types Of Information ◽

The Uk

Rehoming organisations often undertake some type of behaviour evaluation to determine dogs' suitability for rehoming and/or the type of suitable home. Assessments can carry considerable weight in determining dogs' fates. Although evaluation of the validity and reliability of any test is important, a more fundamental consideration is if the nature of the information sought and the weight given to this in organisations' decision making is of more than anecdotal value. Therefore, this study's aim was to conduct a qualitative analysis of organisations' pre-adoption dog behaviour screenings and potential justifications, comparing this with the available scientific evidence. A written enquiry was sent electronically to rehoming organisations in the UK and US from February 2016-July 2017. Of 73 respondents, the majority conducted assessments for all dogs. Using a thematic analysis, nine themes and 71 sub-themes emerged concerning the types of information respondents aim to gather from assessments. The majority of respondents used, at least partially, pass/fail scoring, i.e., certain outcomes would lead to dogs being deemed unadoptable. Forty-one sub-themes and one theme were identified as potentially leading to a dog being deemed unadoptable. The evidence base for these factors was identified from the scientific literature relating to: increased risk for relinquishment, impact on a dog's quality of life, and human safety risk. Evidence supported 10 factors: “aggression towards people”, “aggression towards cats or other animals”, “aggression towards dogs”, “biting or snapping”, “resource guarding”, “activity level or exercise needs”, “destructiveness”, “housetrained”, “fearfulness”, and “knowledge of basic commands and/or general training”. Of those, seven were associated only with relinquishment risk, two (“resource guarding”, “knowledge of basic commands”) with human safety risk, and one (“fearfulness”) with both. Thus, for >85% of characteristics organisations deemed important for dogs' adoptability, scientific evidence to support this is lacking. More research is needed to investigate the value of behaviour assessments, especially concerning the assessment of factors that could pose a public safety risk. However, given the current lack of scientific support for many decisions regarding dogs' rehoming suitability and recognised pressure on resources, it is suggested that organisations should focus on pre-adoption adopter education and post-adoption support.

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AMR Consumer Perceptions Survey

10.46756/sci.fsa.elb852 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rebecca Gillespie ◽

Maya King

Keyword(s):

Action Plan ◽

Scientific Evidence ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Consumer Perceptions ◽

Consumer Survey ◽

National Action Plan ◽

Food Standards ◽

The Uk ◽

Changes Over Time ◽

Over Time

As part of the UK national action plan on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is working to improve the scientific evidence base around consumer perceptions and understanding. A consumer survey was carried out in 2016 and 2019, and replicated in 2021, to understand current views and awareness, and to identify any changes over time.

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Drilling into mines for heat: geological synthesis of the UK Geoenergy Observatory in Glasgow and implications for mine water heat resources

Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology ◽

10.1144/qjegh2021-033 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. qjegh2021-033

Author(s):

Alison A. Monaghan ◽

V Starcher ◽

H F Barron ◽

K Shorter ◽

K Walker-Verkuil ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mine Water ◽

Fractured Rock ◽

Mine Waste ◽

Water Reservoir ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Content Type ◽

Link Type ◽

Supplementary Material ◽

High Yields ◽

The Uk

Thermal energy from groundwater in abandoned, flooded, coal mines has the potential to make a significant contribution to decarbonisation of heat and Net-Zero carbon emissions. In Glasgow, UK, a subsurface observatory has been constructed for mine water heat and heat storage research. We synthesise geological and mine water resource findings from a four-year period of borehole planning, drilling, logging and testing. The heterogenous bedrock is typical of the Scottish Coal Measures Group, whereas superficial deposits are more sand- and gravel-dominated than prognosed. Mine water boreholes encountered workings in the Glasgow Upper, Glasgow Ell and Glasgow Main coal seams, proving water-filled voids, mine waste, fractured rock mass and intact coal pillars with high yields on initial hydrogeological testing. Whilst the depth and extent of mine workings delineated on mine abandonment plans proved accurate, metre-scale variability was expected and proved in the boreholes. A mine water reservoir classification established from the observatory boreholes highlights the resource potential in areas of total extraction, stowage, and stoop and room workings. Since their spatial extent is more extensive across the UK than shafts or roadways, increasing the mine water energy evidence base and reducing exploration risk in these types of legacy workings is important.Supplementary material Borehole reports and other datasets are available at https://ukgeos.ac.uk/data-downloads (mixture of over 20 DOI datasets and reports/data packs published openly on https://nora.nerc.ac.uk, all material is deposited in the National Geoscience Data Centre)

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So near yet so far: why won’t the UK prescribe medical cannabis?

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038687 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. e038687 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David Nutt ◽

Steve Bazire ◽

Lawrence D Phillips ◽

Anne Katrin Schlag

Keyword(s):

Patient Reported Outcomes ◽

Scientific Evidence ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Medical Cannabis ◽

Medicinal Use ◽

Patient Reported ◽

The Uk ◽

Improve Patient ◽

Gain Access

Although cannabis-based products for medicinal use are now legal in the UK, it is still challenging for patients to gain access, and only very few National Health Service prescriptions have been written to date. This paper attempts to make sense of why the UK lags behind so many other countries which also have legalised medical cannabis. From consulting with parents and patients, prescribers, pharmacists and decision-makers it seems that there are a series of distinct barriers to prescribing that need to be overcome in order to improve patient access to medical cannabis in the UK. These include concerns about the perceived lack of scientific evidence. To alleviate these concerns, we highlight the importance of patient-centred approaches including patient-reported outcomes, pharmacoepidemiology and n=1 trials, which can contribute to the development of the evidence base for medical cannabis. We hope that this paper will help policymakers and prescribers understand the challenges to prescribing and so help them develop approaches to overcome the current situation which is detrimental to patients.

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Medical cannabis in the UK: From principle to practice

Journal of Psychopharmacology ◽

10.1177/0269881120926677 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 34 (9) ◽

pp. 931-937

Author(s):

Anne Katrin Schlag ◽

David S Baldwin ◽

Michael Barnes ◽

Steve Bazire ◽

Rachel Coathup ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Profession ◽

Scientific Evidence ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Patient Survey ◽

Chronic Illnesses ◽

Medical Cannabis ◽

Medical Problems ◽

Patient Reported ◽

Recent Patient ◽

The Uk

Background: In the UK, medical cannabis was approved in November 2018, leading many patients to believe that the medicine would now be available on the NHS. Yet, to date, there have been only 12 NHS prescriptions and less than 60 prescriptions in total. In marked contrast, a recent patient survey by the Centre for Medical Cannabis (Couch, 2020) found 1.4 m people are using illicit cannabis for medical problems. Aims: Such a mismatch between demand and supply is rare in medicine. This article outlines some of the current controversies about medical cannabis that underpin this disparity, beginning by contrasting current medical evidence from research studies with patient-reported outcomes. Outcomes: Although definite scientific evidence is scarce for most conditions, there is significant patient demand for access to medical cannabis. This disparity poses a challenge for prescribers, and there are many concerns of physicians when deciding if, and how, to prescribe medical cannabis which still need to be addressed. Potential solutions are outlined as to how the medical profession and regulators could respond to the strong demand from patients and families for access to medical cannabis to treat chronic illnesses when there is often a limited scientific evidence base on whether and how to use it in many of these conditions. Conclusions: There is a need to maximise both clinical research and patient benefit, in a safe, cautious and ethical manner, so that those patients for whom cannabis is shown to be effective can access it. We hope our discussion and outlines for future progress offer a contribution to this process.

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