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Bud enters a race and gets so distracted by a mud puddle he finishes last, but still has fun because he loves to be muddy.

Regular release of sediment from reservoir has been increasingly adopted as a strategy for sustainable management. Here, we use a process‐based morphodynamic model to simulate the estuarine sediment dynamics impacted by turbidity current venting implemented by the Shihmen Reservoir during three typhoon events in 2008. Upon validation with the post‐event bathymetries, the model hindcasts reveal that mud releasing can be effective in mitigating reservoir siltation, yet may be a suboptimal strategy for alleviating coastal sediment deficit. A vast majority of the released muds were delivered through the estuary and exported to offshore by flood advection, wave dispersion, and tidal flushing. The flood‐driven sands, sourced mainly from downstream tributaries, were instead the major contributor to coastal sediment budget. However, mud mantling (covering and immobilizing sand deposits by the reservoir‐released muds) reduced sand availability and thus sand delivery to the coast. For the present case, 25% of the released muds were deposited along the way, presence of these mud covers reduced sand delivery by 15%, compared to a hypothetical scenario of clear‐water flood releases. The relative sand transport deficit is found to increase linearly with the degree of bed mud saturation, 1–D/R, with D/R the ratio of single‐event mud deposit to release. Given broad relevance to global reservoirs encountering the problems of siltation and coastal sediment deficit, our findings highlight that sustainable management needs to look beyond just a bulk amount of sediment, but it is critical to consider how different sediment fractions are interacting and impacted by human activities. Key Points Increasingly adopted mud release strategy is effective to mitigate reservoir siltation yet suboptimal to alleviate coastal sediment deficit Flood‐driven tributary‐sourced sands dominate supply to coastal sediment budget yet sand delivery is reduced by mantling of released muds Sand delivery deficit (relative to sand delivery of clear‐water flood release scenario) increases linearly with degree of bed mud saturation

As winter melts into spring, the frozen earth turns into magnificent mud.

The Nirano Salse, known since the Roman Times, are one of the most beautiful and scenic mud volcanoes areas of Italy with thousands of visitors every year. In this work, we apply novel (for the context) hydrogeological techniques to characterize mud levels in the Salse by means of GPS-RTK positioning and continuous level logging within mud conduits. This is important to quantify the gas–liquid ratio in the conduits and evaluate the potential for dangerous abrupt mud eruptions. The results presented suggest that different mud levels in mud volcanoes clusters are due to the different gas–liquid ratio in the conduits and not necessarily exclude interconnection at depth, a hypothesis, on the other hand, that seems strengthened by mud level time series correlations. The presence of shallow aquifers at a depth of 5 to 30 m is also supported by our field data and allows us to delineate the boundaries of the shallow mud reservoir—pipes system and its overall shape. The shallow aquifers may provide a temporary storage for the ascending gas and when fluid pressure in these aquifers exceeds the tensional strength of the sedimentary rock, leakage of fluids to the surface would occur. In this case, if the gas–liquid ratio is high, mud volcanoes develop into tall gryphons and tend to have a discontinuous activity with sudden eruptions of mud after long periods of quiescence. This, together with the knowledge of shallow conduits localization has an important implication for site safety in proximity to the mud volcanoes. Our inferences based on mud level relationships to mud extrusion dynamics can be applied to lower risk in other mud volcanoes areas of the world with high geo-tourist visits, such as those of Trinidad, Azerbaijan, and Colombia.

In order to address the issue of hole collapse, which frequently arises when boring piles are being constructed in intricate marine strata, this paper discusses the influence of the slurry ratio on the slurry performance as well as the mechanism of slurry wall protection. It performs this by means of theoretical analysis, laboratory ratio testing, engineering analogies, numerical simulation, and field testing. Our findings demonstrate that adding sodium polyacrylate and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose can enhance mud’s viscosity, contribute to flocculation, and improve the connection between mud and soil layers. Refering similar engineering cases, three optimization schemes are proposed for achieving a mud ratio that offers wall protection in complex marine strata. Furthermore, the particle flow model of slurry viscous fluid is established. The collapse of holes in the sand layer is reflected in the uneven radial displacement of hole walls and the invasion of mud particles. Increasing the viscosity of mud gradually transforms the uneven radial deformation of pore walls in the sand layer into a uniform radial deformation, whereas increasing the proportion of mud significantly decreases the radial displacement of hole walls. Additionally, when the mud pressure in the hole is 300 kPa and 600 kPa, the wall protection effect is better, and there is no particle penetration by substances such as sand. It is found that a high mud pressure can promote the diffusion of mud particles into the sand layer, while low mud pressure cannot balance the pressure on deep soil. The results of the field tests show that the ratio of water–clay–bentonite–CMC-Na–sodium carbonate = 700:110:90:1.5:0.5 used (where the mass percentage of each material is 77.8% water, 12.2% clay, 10% bentonite, 0.16% CMC-Na, and 0.05% sodium carbonate) can effectively prevent hole collapse and reduce the thickness of the sand layer at the bottom of the hole by 50%.

When Liam's favorite teddy bear, Winston, gets muddy and needs to be washed, he plots to save his friend from the terrible fate of the big, loud, scary washing machine.

Red mud is the waste of bauxite refinement into alumina, the feedstock for aluminium production 1 . With about 180 million tonnes produced per year 1 , red mud has amassed to one of the largest environmentally hazardous waste products, with the staggering amount of 4 billion tonnes accumulated on a global scale 1 . Here we present how this red mud can be turned into valuable and sustainable feedstock for ironmaking using fossil-free hydrogen-plasma-based reduction, thus mitigating a part of the steel-related carbon dioxide emissions by making it available for the production of several hundred million tonnes of green steel. The process proceeds through rapid liquid-state reduction, chemical partitioning, as well as density-driven and viscosity-driven separation between metal and oxides. We show the underlying chemical reactions, pH-neutralization processes and phase transformations during this surprisingly simple and fast reduction method. The approach establishes a sustainable toxic-waste treatment from aluminium production through using red mud as feedstock to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from steelmaking. Red mud is shown to yield green steel through fossil-free hydrogen-plasma-based reduction, a simple and fast method involving rapid liquid-state reduction, chemical partitioning, and density-driven and viscosity-driven separation.

In its Sixth Edition, this book has been updated and revised to incorporate new information on technology, economic, and political issues that have impacted the use of fluids to drill and complete oil and gas wells. With updated content on completion fluids and reservoir drilling fluids; health, safety and environment; drilling fluid systems and products; new fluid systems and additives from both chemical and engineering perspectives; wellbore stability, adding the new R&D on water-based muds; and equipment and procedures for evaluating drilling fluid performance in light of the advent of digital technology and better manufacturing techniques, this book has been thoroughly updated to meet the drilling and completion engineer's needs.

Deep‐sea sediments enriched in rare‐earth elements and yttrium (REY) plus scandium (Sc), termed “REY‐rich mud,” have attracted attention as a possible resource for these critical industrial elements. Examples have been reported from the western North Pacific, central Pacific, low‐latitude South Pacific, and eastern South Pacific. Although previous studies of pelagic clay have reported the existence of highly REY‐rich mud in the ultraoligotrophic South Pacific Gyre, neither the source materials nor the resource potentials for REY and Sc of the sediment have been quantified. We analyzed the major‐ and trace‐element contents of bulk sediments in Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Holes U1365A to U1370D, drilled in the South Pacific Gyre. The elemental relationships suggest that the enrichment in REY and Sc reflects the accumulation of biogenic Ca phosphate in an environment with low sedimentation rates as well as the tectonic transition of depositional environments from hydrothermally influenced sites near the mid‐ocean ridge to distal basins far from hydrothermal vents. The maximum total REY content of 4,662 ppm at Hole U1366C is the highest value yet reported from the South Pacific Ocean. Although the REY‐ and Sc‐enriched sediment layers of most cores from the South Pacific Gyre are located deeper beneath the seafloor than those elsewhere in the Pacific Ocean, Hole U1367B demonstrates large resource potentials (1.21 × 104 t/km2 of REY oxides and 102 t/km2 of Sc) in the uppermost 6.5‐m interval, making it the most promising site for REY and Sc yet found in the South Pacific Gyre. Plain Language Summary Rare‐earth elements and yttrium (REY) and scandium (Sc) are essential materials in current technology. These elements are concentrated in deep‐sea sediments, called “REY‐rich mud,” which is being considered as a future resource for REY and Sc. However, in the South Pacific Gyre, a mid‐latitude South Pacific pelagic area with extremely low bioproductivity, the source materials and resource potentials for REY and Sc of REY‐rich mud remain uncertain. We analyzed major‐ and trace‐element contents of six previously drilled sediment cores from the South Pacific Gyre to assess the factors contributing to their REY and Sc enrichment and to estimate their REY and Sc resource potentials. We confirmed the presence of several REY‐ and Sc‐rich layers (total ΣREY >2,000 ppm and Sc >50 ppm) in the cores, with maximum levels of total ΣREY = 4,662 ppm and Sc = 106 ppm. We attribute this enrichment mainly to biogenic Ca phosphate (fish teeth and bones) accumulation in an environment with slow sedimentation rates and to oceanic plate movement from the mid‐ocean ridge to a deep‐sea basin far from hydrothermal vents. The resource potentials in the most promising site were estimated as 1.21 × 104 t/km2 of REY oxides and 102 t/km2 of Sc. Key Points Biogenic Ca‐phosphate deposition at a slow sedimentation rate enriched rare‐earth elements in the South Pacific Gyre deep‐sea sediments The most promising site contains 1.21 × 104 t/km2 of rare‐earth oxides within the sediment 0–6.5 m below the seafloor The uppermost 6.5 m of sediment at the most promising site contains 102 t/km2 of easily extractable Sc