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Seepage-related characteristics of weak interlayer suffering from a physically-chemically mediated erosion in grotto relics
The coexistence of the weak interlayer and groundwater could give rise to an undesirable geological condition, resulting in seepage-induced hazards,...
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Analysis of rock microstructure after CO2 breakthrough based on CT scanning
The alteration of mudstone’s microscopic properties within the caprock in CO 2 geological storage determines the effect of storage. One of the crucial...
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Applications of the Correlation Length
The correlation length is the system–dependent parameter, which defines the structure of the dominant current–carrying (electric or fluid) paths....
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Pressure Saturation Curves and the Critical Volume Fraction for Percolation
The pressure-saturation curves of porous media give fundamental information about the pore space. In equilibrium, ignoring effects due to hysteresis,...
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Effects of Multi-Scale Heterogeneity
It is generally agreed that problems with multi-scale heterogeneity present the biggest challenge to computation and understanding. A few such...
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2. Definition of Life
The definition of life is a long-standing debate with no general scientific consensus to be expected any time soon. The underlying problem is that...
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4. Energy Sources and Life
An external energy source is a necessary condition for life, because living systems require a flow of energy to organize materials and maintain a low...
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5. Building Blocks of Life
Life is based on complex chemistry yet only a few of all the available elements participate in most life-supporting reactions on Earth: carbon,...
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8 Entropy Production of Atmospheric Heat Transport
We examine the rate of entropy produced by the atmospheric general circulation and the hypothesis that it adjusts itself towards a macroscopic state...
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10 Thermodynamics of the Ocean Circulation: A Global Perspective on the Ocean System and Living Systems
In this chapter, we investigate thermodynamics in a global-scale open ocean circulation and discuss the physical properties of “living systems”, that...
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16 Temperature, Biogenesis, and Biospheric Self-Organization
We argue that the biosphere has evolved deterministically as a selforganized system, given the initial conditions of the Sun-Earth system. With...
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18 Insights from Thermodynamics for the Analysis of Economic Processes
The laws of thermodynamics constrain transformation of materials and energy, and thus have implications for economic processes. This paper provides...
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1 Entropy Production by Earth System Processes
Degradation of energy to lower temperatures and the associated production of entropy is a general direction for Earth system processes, ranging from...
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15 Coupled Evolution of Earth’s Atmosphere and Biosphere
Earth’s climate has remained conducive to life for more than 3.5 billion years, probably because of higher concentrations of CO2 and CH4 greenhouse...
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12 Entropy Production in the Planetary Context
In this paper I review some applications of nonequilibrium thermodynamics to planetary science. Of particular importance are the horizontal and...
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Performance of coupling agent-amended clay/sand mixture under vacuum suction
This paper presents a comprehensive investigation on anti-seepage/erosion performance of a hydroxypropyl starch (HPS)-based coupling agent (CA)...
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3. Lessons from the History of Life
The discussion of life on other worlds is inevitably qualified by the phrase, “life as we know it.” This customary and appropriate caution among...
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8. Ideas of Exotic Forms of Life
Science and speculation have converged at the boundaries of human imagination to conceive of some very exotic states of matter and/or energy that...
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1. Introduction
Astrobiology studies the origin, evolution, distribution, and fate of life throughout the universe, with no direct evidence that life exists anywhere...
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3 Stumbling into the MEP Racket: An Historical Perspective
An historical tale is told of the author’s involvement with research on the possible application of a principle of maximum entropy production to...