A Fractal Simulation Method for Simulating the Resource Abundance of Oil and Gas and Its Application

In this study, a fractal simulation method for simulating resource abundance is proposed based on the evaluation results of the exploration risk and prediction technology for the spatial distribution of oil and gas resources at home and abroad. In addition, a key technical workflow for simulating resource abundance was developed. Furthermore, the model for predicting resource abundance has been modified, and the objective functions for conditional simulation have been improved. A series of prediction technologies for predicting the spatial distribution of oil and gas resources have been developed, and the difficulties in visualizing the exploration risks and predicting the spatial distribution of oil and gas resources have been solved. Prediction technologies have been applied to the Jurassic Sangonghe Formation in the hinterland of the Junggar Basin, and good results have been obtained. The results indicated that within the known area, taking the known abundance as the constraint condition, the coincidence rate of the simulated quantities of the original model and the improved model with the actual reserves reached 99.98% after the conditional simulation, indicating that the conditional simulation was effective. In addition, with the improved model, the predicted remaining resources are 0.7899$$\times 10^{8}$$ × 10 8 t, which is 65% of the discovered reserves, and the original model predicts that the remaining resources are 3.5033$$\,\times \,10^{8}$$ × 10 8 t, which is 2.89 times greater than the discovered reserves. Compared with the area in the middle stage of exploration, the results of the improved model are more consistent, and the results of the original model are obviously larger, indicating that the improved model has a good predictive effect for the unknown area. Finally, according to the risk probability and remaining resource distribution, the favorable areas for exploration were optimized as follows: the neighborhood of the triangular area formed by Well Lunan1, Well Shimo1, and Well Shi008, the area near Well Mo11, the area east of Well Mo5, the area west of Well Pen7, the area southwest of Well Shidong1, and the surroundings, as well as the area north of Well Fang2. The application results show that these prediction technologies are effective and can provide important reference and decision-making for resource evaluation and target optimization.

Hatching phenology is lagging behind an advancing snowmelt pattern in a high-alpine bird

To track peaks in resource abundance, temperate-zone animals use predictive environmental cues to rear their offspring when conditions are most favourable. However, climate change threatens the reliability of such cues when an animal and its resource respond differently to a changing environment. This is especially problematic in alpine environments, where climate warming exceeds the Holarctic trend and may thus lead to rapid asynchrony between peaks in resource abundance and periods of increased resource requirements such as reproductive period of high-alpine specialists. We therefore investigated interannual variation and long-term trends in the breeding phenology of a high-alpine specialist, the white-winged snowfinch, Montifringilla nivalis, using a 20-year dataset from Switzerland. We found that two thirds of broods hatched during snowmelt. Hatching dates positively correlated with April and May precipitation, but changes in mean hatching dates did not coincide with earlier snowmelt in recent years. Our results offer a potential explanation for recently observed population declines already recognisable at lower elevations. We discuss non-adaptive phenotypic plasticity as a potential cause for the asynchrony between changes in snowmelt and hatching dates of snowfinches, but the underlying causes are subject to further research.

Does Nigeria Non-Renewable Resource Abundance Leads to Macroeconomic Performance? A Trend Analysis (1970-2014)

Theoretically, natural resource abundance is expected to create national wealth; however, the inconclusiveness in the literature and among the African rich resources motivated this study. Our paper investigated that does Nigeria's non-renewable resource abundance leads to sustainable macroeconomic performance? To achieve the objectives of this study, our paper employs descriptive trends analysis, using tables and charts to measure the relationship between the non-renewable resource abundance, proxied as oil and gas variables, and the selected macroeconomic variables to draw an inference within the study period of 1970 – 2014 in Nigeria. In summary, our study concludes that an inverse relationship exists between non-renewable resource abundance and macroeconomic performance in Nigeria for the covered period 1970 – 2014. Therefore, our study conforms to the existing studies of Sachs & Warner, 2001; Gylfasson, 2005, VanPloeg and Venables, 2013 that African rich-resources countries, including Nigeria, a non-renewable resource abundance retards macroeconomic performance within the period of study. Nonetheless, this study recommends that government should consistently endeavor to increase the proportion of education expenditure to total expenditure as well as same for capital expenditure to total expenditure, and finally, transform the economy from an oil-dependent economy to a non-oil driven economy, that is diversification of the economy, which would change the non-renewable resource-abundant nation from curse to blessing and thus, guarantee sustainable macroeconomic performance in Nigeria.

The Ecology of War and Peace

The connection between ecology and conflict has been the object of extensive study by political scientists and economists. From the contribution of natural resource 'scarcity' to violent unrest and armed conflict; to resource 'abundance' as an incentive for initiating and prolonging armed struggles; to dysfunctional resource management and environmental degradation as obstacles to peacebuilding, this literature has exerted a huge influence upon academic discussions and policy developments. While international law is often invoked as the solution to the socio-environmental challenges faced by conflict-affected countries, its relationship with the ecology of war and peace remains undertheorised. Drawing upon environmental justice perspectives and other theoretical traditions, the book unpacks and problematizes some of the assumptions that underlie the legal field. Through an analysis of the practice of international courts, the UN Security Council, and Truth Commissions, it shows how international law silences and even normalizes forms of structural and slow environmental violence.

The relationship between resource abundance and insect herbivory on islands

We examined the relationship between resource abundance and the feeding activity of phytophagous insects on three common island plants. The aim was to investigate the correlation between phytophagous insects’ abundance and availability of food and island geography. We collected 30,835 leaves from three tree species groups (Mallotus japonicus, Prunus species, and Quercus species) on 18 islands in southwest Korea. The number of plant resources for herbivores varied: the number of leaves per shoot was the highest in Mallotus, leaf weight and the water content per leaf was significantly lower in Quercus species. External feeding was higher for Prunus and Quercus species, whereas the internal feeding type was significantly higher for Quercus species. Geography (area and distance), elevation and food resource (elevation, number of plant species, and the forest cover rate) had a variable effect on phytophagous insects feeding activities: distance and the number of plant species were more explainable to the external feeding guild. In contrast, area and forest cover were more to the internal feeding guild.