Validation of Rapid and Low-Cost Approach for the Delineation of Zone Management Based on Machine Learning Algorithms

Proximal soil sensors are receiving strong attention from several disciplinary fields, and this has led to a rise in their availability in the market in the last two decades. The aim of this work was to validate agronomically a zone management delineation procedure from electromagnetic induction (EMI) maps applied to two different rainfed durum wheat fields. The k-means algorithm was applied based on the gap statistic index for the identification of the optimal number of management zones and their positions. Traditional statistical analysis was performed to detect significant differences in soil characteristics and crop response of each management zones. The procedure showed the presence of two management zones at both two sites under analysis, and it was agronomically validated by the significant difference in soil texture (+24.17%), bulk density (+6.46%), organic matter (+39.29%), organic carbon (+39.4%), total carbonates (+25.34%), total nitrogen (+30.14%), protein (+1.50%) and yield data (+1.07 t ha−1). Moreover, six unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight missions were performed to investigate the relationship between five vegetation indexes and the EMI maps. The results suggest performing the multispectral images acquisition during the flowering phenological stages to attribute the crop spatial variability to different soil proprieties.

Analysis of Shoreline Changes in Ikoli River in Niger Delta Region Yenagoa, Bayelsa State Using Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS)

The use of Digital Shoreline Analysis System was used to determine shoreline changes in Ikoli River, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Shoreline data were extracted from satellite imagery over thirty years (1991-2021). The basis of this study is to use Digital Shoreline Analysis System to determine erosion and accretion areas. The result reveals that the average erosion rate in the study area is 1.16 m/year and the accretion rate is 1.62 m/year along the Ikoli River in Ogbogoro Community in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. The mean shoreline length is 5.24 km with a baseline length of 5.2 km and the area is classified into four zones to delineate properly area of erosion and accretion based on the five class of Linear regression rate, endpoint rate and weighted linear rate of which zone I contain very high erosion and high erosion with an area of landmass 255449.93 m2 of 38%, zone II contain moderate accretion, very high accretion and high accretion with a land area of 1666816.46 m2 with 24%, zone III has very high erosion and high erosion with an area of landmass 241610.85 m2 of 34 % and zone IV contain moderate accretion and high accretion with land area 30888.08 m2 with 4%. Out of the four zones, zone I and II were found to be eroding with 72% and zone II and IV contain accretion with 28%. The result shows that 44% of the area have been eroded. Therefore, coastal engineers, planners, and shoreline zone management authorities can use DSAS to create more appropriate management plans and regulations for coastal zones and other coastal parts of the state with similar geographic features.

Introducing New Concepts in Red Zone Management

As red zone management continues to be one of the most challenging risks on different types of drilling rigs, a Combined Operator Contractor Pilot was launched by Helin Data on a Maersk Drilling offshore rig contacted for bp Egypt that was operating in the Mediterranean for 10 years drilling and completing deep water HPHT wells aiming to integrate efficient drilling operations along with maximized safety. The Red Zone Management Pilot system is composed of two main scopes; monitoring and detecting people and equipment on the drill floor using advanced video analytics technology and subsequently developing new technology to include alarmed movement of prime moving/hoisting drill floor equipment. The Helin Data pilot system demonstrates full insight of both personnel and equipment movement in the red zone. In addition, the team looked to further reduce dropped objects related risks using hydraulic wireline winches. This was achieved by installing digital load cells on drill floor tuggers. Remote winch operation with load cells effectively mitigates overpull incidents and associated risks, while involving less persons in the red zone. The pilot project brought simple concepts together with successful results on raising situational awareness on the drill floor and reducing human error, the presentation focuses on the project's functionalities, main challenges and detailed system implementation phases.

Field Experience from Robot Tests on Drill Floor and Pipe Deck

The objective of this paper is to present results from extensive testing of fully robotic drilling and pipe handling operations in the drilling industry, including several robots and tests on both land and offshore. Throughout the last eight years, all-electric, heavy-duty drilling and pipe handling robots of up to seven tons capacity have been tested and piloted on dedicated test facilities, land rigs and offshore rigs. The robotic equipment includes drill floor robot, pipe handler robot, robotic roughneck and pipe deck robot with the purpose of removing the people from the drill floor, derrick and the pipe deck. The testing and qualification have been conducted in phases and in a cooperation between equipment manufacturer, rig contractors and operating companies. The industry has great expectations with the introduction of robotics for red zone management and eliminating all manual operations and human exposure to heavy machinery. Expected value would be a substantial saving in rig days due to fast, precise and consistent operations and removal of people out of harm's way. In addition to improved safety, reduced OPEX, less downtime and faster installation, the robotics systems lower the noise and the carbon footprint due to higher energy efficiency and less GHG emissions. Also, the precise motion control of robots enables digitalization of the drilling process. The testing of robots in drilling applications has been done with the purpose of testing and qualifying the technology, as well as gaining experience with performance, reliability, maintainability, safety, and value to the users. This paper presents performance data from robot operations including both single robots and full system operations, such as tripping and stand-building. Reliability of electric robots in hostile environment is analyzed with regards to field experience from land rig drilling and offshore operations. Finally, the value to the users is substantiated. The paper provides unique results and experience from the longest and broadest tests of heavy-duty all-electric robots in the drilling environment. It therefore provides valuable input for decisions of future use of industrialized robots in the oil and gas upstream industry.

Maritime Spatial Planning and Protection of the Marine Environment

Protection and preservation of the marine environment is a priority under international law, as codified and further developed in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Nonetheless, the current state of the marine environment questions whether the approach adopted in the UNCLOS and other legal instruments, whereby each type of pollution is addressed separately, really suffices to ensure good environmental status. For this reason, new tools have been developed, including marine (or maritime) spatial planning (MSP) and integrated coastal zone management (ICZM). This article discusses MSP and its role in ensuring protection of the marine environment, both within and beyond areas under national jurisdiction.

Connectivity Patterns for Direct Developing Invertebrates in Fragmented Marine Habitats: Fish Farms Fouling as Source Population in the Establishment and Maintenance of Local Metapopulations

Artificial structures can be considered as high spatially structured habitats in the marine pelagic system, where patch connectivity would be strongly dependent on the exchange of larvae or dispersing individuals. Fish-farms located offshore may alter ecological connectivity, modifying trophic resources, and species dispersal among patches. High population densities of invertebrates can be found associated with fish-farm fouling communities, which can act as a seed source, contributing to the patterns of connectivity through individuals exchange between subpopulations or with sink populations. A field experiment was performed to analyse the role of fish-farms in the colonisation of new uninhabited habitats (floating experimental units) located at different positions relative to the fish farm and the main current, containing artificial habitats with and without feed pellets similar to those used in the fish farm. Amphipods were used as example of direct developing invertebrates for studying dispersing individuals from the fish farm to the new habitats. The richest and most abundant populations in this study were found close to and downstream of the fish farm, surpassing 1,000 amphipods at their maximum. Moreover, some floating habitats located more than 2 km from the fish farm were colonised in only 15 days. Thus, the role of fish farms has been shown to extend beyond a ‘stepping-stones’ effect in species dispersal, and have an additional effect on ecological connectivity by increasing population sizes and acting as population source. Our study aims to provide recommendations for coastal zone management in order to predict potential spread from fish farms to other platforms in the future and promote solutions related to interactions and consequences of connectivity within and between marine facilities.

Integrated Methodological Approach for the Documentation of Marine Priority Habitats and Submerged Antiquities: Examples from the Saronic Gulf, Greece

The rising human activities and resource exploitation have increased pressure in the coastal zone and the marine environment, risking the very existence of Marine Priority Habitats (MPH) and Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH). The delimitation of these two priority areas in a time- and cost-effective way is essential for the sustainable management and exploitation of sea resources and natural-cultural heritage preservation. We propose an Integrated Methodological Approach for the Detection and Mapping of MPH and UCH. To achieve this, we used a downscale methodological approach of increasing spatial resolution based on three main methodological axes: (i) desk-based research, (ii) marine geophysics/seafloor classification, and (iii) in-depth visual inspection/3D mapping. This methodological scheme was implemented at the Saronic Gulf and focused on Aegina island. The methodology proposed, which combines existing and new techniques, proved successful in detecting and mapping the MPH and UCH in detail, while it compiled the information necessary for the establishment of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) maps. Finally, the MSP map constructed for the Saronic Gulf demonstrated the lack of holistic coastal zone management plans due to impacts on UCH linked to anthropogenic intervention and the sparsity of marine habitats owing to marine pollution.