The second project, led by Jonny Rutqvist, will receive $1.6 million to develop a new 3-D methodology to identify and monitor areas at high risk of ground deformation caused by sinking land.
"There is an urgent need for a risk management system that is thorough, robust, and reliable and that will facilitate early damage detection and leak prevention."
Zhang will lead a multidisciplinary team of scientists who will develop and demonstrate a system aimed at helping facility operators and risk managers characterize, model, and manage the safety and integrity of underground natural gas storage infrastructure.
Scientific models to manage risk California has 14 underground storage facilities in 12 fields with a capacity of 385 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
In addition to leaks through wells, earthquakes, landslides, and caprock fracturing could also cause potential damage to natural gas storage facilities and possible natural gas leakage.
"The way these wells were constructed decades ago may not be adequate for today’s standards," Zhang said.
Zhang’s system — dubbed the Integrated Risk Management and Decision-Support System (IRMDSS) — will merge advanced monitoring technologies with scientific models to continuously assess risks and provide early leakage detection.
How drought led to ground deformation To make matters worse for the state’s aging pipelines, the extreme drought led to large increases in groundwater pumping, which in turn has resulted in unprecedented rates of subsidence.
Berkeley Lab and InfraTerra Inc., in collaboration with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, PG&E, and Natural Resources Canada, will develop a new methodology that combines large-scale, state-of-the-art remote sensing surveys linked with advanced modeling and inverse analysis of ground deformation.
A key advancement of this technology is to consider the full 3-D ground deformations and their impact on pipelines, including both horizontal (lateral) and vertical components of surface deformation.

Early weather forecasts key to saving lives in drought – U.N.. ROME, June 19 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – With droughts set to become more frequent due to global warming, delivering timely, long-term weather forecasts to farmers in the developing world will be key to limiting damage and saving lives, the head of the U.N. food agency said on Monday.
Droughts have killed more than 11 million people worldwide since 1900 and now affect double the land area than in 1970, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Better access to reliable weather data and early warning systems could help farmers in rural areas get ready to endure long spells of no rain, said FAO director-general Jose Graziano da Silva.
"Most of the times poor rural communities in developing countries don’t even know that a drought is about to strike," he told a conference at the FAO headquarters in Rome.
Measures such as planting resistant crops and building water reservoirs can greatly reduce the impact of droughts, but international responses too often focus on emergency relief, said Graziano da Silva.
"People die because they are not prepared to face the impacts of the drought – because their livelihoods are not resilient enough," he said.
WMO secretary general Petteri Taalas said weather forecast accuracy had greatly increased in recent years thanks developments in satellite, computing and scientific research.
The last El Nino, a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific that typically occurs every few years, subsided in 2016 and was linked to crop damage, fires and flash floods.
(Reporting by Umberto Bacchi @UmbertoBacchi, Editing by Ros Russell.
Visit news.trust.org)

Drought Conditions Improve, but Streams Remain Low.
Greenwich experienced about 15.4 inches of rainfall cumulatively over March, April and May, according to a water supply update issued by Aquarion Water Co. on June 9.
“Drinking water reservoirs have improved and average levels statewide were more than 100 percent of normal as of the end of April, with three systems at less than 90 percent of normal,” McClure said in his release.
Although efforts to refill the state’s reservoirs have been successful, Connecticut’s stream flow and groundwater levels remain below their historical average.
On March 6, the river averaged 14.6 cubic feet of water per second, and on March 14 it averaged 20.3 cubic feet of water per second.
Rippowam River remains at low flow—it is currently about four inches below the historical average for the month, and its stream flow has fallen to lower levels since the beginning of the month.
Over the week of June 4 through June 10, the river averaged at 29.4 cubic feet of water per second, while the same week has historically seen flow discharge rates of 55.9 cubic feet of water per second between 1976 and 2016.
In this region, because of the coolness and the natural rainfall we have, for the most part people can get away with watering once a week,” Savageau said.
“It’s going to require years of adding infrastructure and conservation to make up for the loss of water that’s no longer available,” Fazekas said.
“For us, that means increasing the amount of water from the Bridgeport system transported into Stamford and Greenwich.” People-Tag: Denise Savageau, Peter Fazekas, Rob Katz, Savagaeu Tags: drought, greenwich, water supply

ISLAMABAD (AP) The 600 people of the Dawoodi bohra community were supposed to be gathering to have food together in a hall soon after breaking a 15 1/2 -hour fast on Sunday.
For them, and for millions of people across Pakistan, the taste of victory was sweet.
”You can expect anything from only one cricket team in the world and that is Pakistan,” Ali Abbas Mandosarwala, who was at the center with his wife, two sons and a daughter, said as India was bowled out for 158 and lost the final by a margin of 180 runs.
”Honestly I wasn’t expecting Pakistan to go beyond the group stage,” he added, reflecting on the unpredictable nature of the national team, ”but the young players have shown there’s nothing impossible in this world.” Communities gathered around TV screens throughout the country on Sunday night to share the moment as Pakistan won its first ever Champions Trophy, just weeks after being written off following a loss in the tournament’s opening match – also against India.
Led by Fakhar Zaman’s aggressive 114 off 106 balls, Pakistan scored 338-4 at The Oval in London after India won the toss and surprisingly opted to field first.
The national media on Monday heaped praise on the team.
”India couldn’t even make half of the score, whole team booked in 30.3 overs,” the Daily Jang said.
It was a stunning turnaround for Pakistan, which was ranked eighth in the eight-team competition and lost its opening group match against India by 124 runs.
Ali, the right-arm seamer, took 13 wickets to win the player-of-the-tournament award ”All hail the champs,” the English-language Express Tribune headlined its lead front page story.
The News said Pakistan ”sizzled at the sun-baked Oval” to record their first major victory in the 50-over format since winning the World Cup in 1992.

We need drought relief.
Today in South Dakota, much of our state is experiencing a significant drought.
Ranchers are struggling to feed their livestock and farmers are concerned about their crops.
Despite recent rainfall across much of the state, these dry conditions are expected to continue into the summer.
The drought underscores the importance of the farm bill, the primary ag and food policy legislation that directs U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs and is generally up for reauthorization every five years.
Those discussions include the importance of safety net programs such as crop insurance and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which are designed to help farmers and ranchers during adverse times, such as during a drought.
In our letter, we asked him to be ready to provide expedited assistance to counties that will likely soon be in extreme drought conditions and eligible for assistance from the Livestock Forage Program (LFP).
We also requested that CRP acres be made available for emergency haying and grazing as soon as possible due to the substantial loss of grazing and forage for feed.
Most recently, Governor Dennis Daugaard declared a statewide emergency because of the ongoing drought conditions in South Dakota.
In South Dakota, our farmers and ranchers are not immune to challenging conditions.

Nigeria: AfDB to Invest $1.1 Billion to Fight Drought, Famine.
The African Development Bank is planning to deploy $1.1 bn following board approval to fight drought and famine in some African countries, the bank said in a statement on Saturday.
The bank issued the statement to commemorate the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought which was observed on June 17, aiming to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification.
The day is used to remind stakeholders that land degradation neutrality is achievable through problem-solving, strong community involvement and cooperation at all levels.
The statement, signed by Emeka Anuforo, said the socio-economic impact of displacement and forced migration due to drought and environmental pressures were significant.
"Refugee and displaced populations pose significant pressure on weak local and national institutions and strain national and local governments and host communities.
"Forest reserves are diminishing due to use of wood for heating and cooking in poor households resulting in soil erosion; and damages to grazing habitat for livestock is on the increase.
In addition, while charcoal is a traditional source of energy and fuel, demand for it drastically affects forest reserves and further reduces rainfall thereby exacerbating aridity."
"The bank has committed $24bn towards agriculture in the next 10 years, with a sharp focus on food self-sufficiency and agricultural industrialisation," AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, said recently.
The recent drought and famine facing some countries (Southern Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda) deserve swift action, as over 20 million face food insecurity and severe malnutrition.

Governor declares drought emergency.
Drought conditions in South Dakota have prompted Gov.
Dennis Daugaard to issue an emergency declaration which eases hay and transportation restrictions.
The South Dakota Department of Transportation has suspended mowing operations along those ditches until July 5 in order to give farmers access.
The declaration isn’t likely to affect the state’s pheasant population, said Travis Runia senior upland game biologist for the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department.
The mowing restriction was created as an effort to give pheasants more places to nest.
Runia said pheasants do indeed nest in highway ditches.
Still, compliance with the restrictions hasn’t been all that great and state highway ditches don’t amount to all that many acres of land, Runia said, so the impact of mowing the ditches likely won’t be too big when it comes to pheasants.
The drought conditions affecting ranchers are much more likely to cause a problem.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map shows about 80 percent of the state being either abnormally dry or in some stage of drought, up just slightly from last week.

"Severe" drought now affecting northeast Montana.
A considerable lack of rain is having major impacts on farmers and ranchers in eastern Montana.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows a "severe" drought has developed in northeast Montana.
As of last Thursday, 10% of Montana is now in a severe drought, with 64% of the state experiencing "abnormally dry" conditions.
April – June are normally the wettest months of the year for Montana, and some counties in northeast Montana haven’t received much rain at all in recent weeks.
Glasgow has only recorded 2.68" of precipitation so far in 2017.
The normal-to-date is 5.29", which means the city is running up a deficit closing in on 3".
Without the much-anticipated rain in late spring, this area could be dealing with a crippling drought come late summer.
Some farmers and ranchers in eastern areas have reported that dry conditions are prompting them to sell cow/calf pairs due to poor grazing conditions.
The short-term outlook isn’t good, either.

Thune, Rounds Urge USDA to Provide Timely Drought Assistance, Open CRP.
Extreme drought conditions throughout the Northern Plains have led to a shortage of hay and pasture WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens.
John Thune (R-S.D.)
today urged U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary (USDA) Sonny Perdue to provide timely assistance to counties currently facing extreme drought conditions, and if drought conditions worsen, as expected, to be ready to provide expedited assistance to counties that will likely soon be in extreme drought conditions and eligible for assistance from the Livestock Forage Program (LFP).
In their letter to Perdue, Thune and Rounds also requested that Conservation Reserve Program acres be made available for emergency haying and grazing as soon as possible due to the substantial loss of grazing and forage for feed.
“Timely assistance is needed in order to preserve foundation grazing livestock herds in the drought-stricken areas of our state from further downsizing due to lack of feed and forage …
“In addition, we request that as counties are triggered for emergency haying and grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres, that you make as many of the 977,555 CRP-enrolled acres in South Dakota available for haying and grazing due to the already realized substantial loss of grazing and forage for feed as soon as reasonably possible.” Counties are determined eligible for immediate assistance under the LFP as soon as any part of a county is at a D3 (extreme drought) category rating by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Several counties in South Dakota are currently rated D2 and are expected to be rated D3 in the near future.
More than 484,000 CRP-enrolled acres in South Dakota are considered “environmentally sensitive” by USDA, which does not normally allow these acres to be hayed or grazed under emergency conditions.
Thune and Rounds are requesting that the environmentally sensitive acres be opened for haying and grazing, as they were in 2012, and that haying and grazing be allowed in eligible counties beginning no later than July 15.

According to the USDA, only 45 percent of the hard red spring wheat crop is in good or excellent condition.
This stress could ultimately lead to lower yields and a sharply lower harvest this fall.
Hard red spring wheat is a high-protein variety used in bread production.
National stockpiles rose by 1.79 million barrels last week, as U.S. drivers are burning less fuel.
Meanwhile, domestic crude oil production continues to stay strong, and refineries are processing oil into gasoline, diesel fuel and other products, resulting in a glut of the refined products ahead of the summer driving season.
Fed raises rates again In a widely-anticipated move, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates this week, moving the benchmark rate over 1 percent for the first time since 2008.
These moves show signs that the Fed is confident in the U.S. economy’s strength, but these measures may also affect markets.
After the most recent announcement, the U.S. dollar rose in value and gold fell to $1,250 per ounce.
Walt and Alex Breitinger are commodity futures brokers in Silver Lake, Kansas.
They can be reached at 800-411-3888 or www.paragoninvestments.com.