Browsing by Subject "Oil"
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Item "More Enduring Structures": The Oil Industry's Effects on the Social and Economic Transformation of Pennsylvania's Oil Region, 1850-1865(2023-01-01) Varee, Nolan; Rubin, Anne; History; Historical StudiesThis study examines the social and economic changes that occurred throughout Pennsylvania?s oil region following the introduction of the commercial oil industry in 1859. By connecting the history of the oil industry to the development of local towns within the region where it began, this study fills a gap in the understanding of the industry?s effects on rural communities in the late nineteenth century. By highlighting the involvement of locals who understood the capabilities of oil far beyond what previous scholars have given them credit for, this study argues that social and economic networks flourished prior to the development of the oil industry. The rapid developments in the social and economic structures of the region which took place following the introduction of the oil industry are also discussed in length.Item NAFTOON: REFLECTIONS ON OIL IN IRANIAN SOCIETY(2017-01-01) Keshavarz, Ghazaleh; Durant, Mark Alice; Visual Arts; Imaging and Digital ArtsNaftoon is a multimedia art project in which I integrate video, audio, photo, and animation to explore the essential role of oil in Iranian society. Using the natural substance of oil as a medium and a metaphor, I consider concepts of personal and national identity. My intention is to emphasize the role of oil on a social, more than political or economic, level, but the latter issues necessarily seep through. With a focus on nature and time, as well as processes of reflection, repetition, and absorption, I aim for this site-specific installation to simultaneously mesmerize and elicit thoughtful engagement.Item Satellite observation of pollutant emissions from gas flaring activities near the Arctic(Elsevier, 2016-03-19) Li, Can; Hsu, N. Christina; Sayer, Andrew; Krotkov, Nickolay A.; Fu, Joshua S.; Lamsal, Lok N.; Lee, Jaehwa; Tsay, Si-CheeGas flaring is a common practice in the oil industry that can have significant environmental impacts, but has until recently been largely overlooked in terms of relevance to climate change. We utilize data from various satellite sensors to examine pollutant emissions from oil exploitation activities in four areas near the Arctic. Despite the remoteness of these sparsely populated areas, tropospheric NO₂ retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) is substantial at ∼1 × 10¹⁵ molecules cm⁻², suggesting sizeable emissions from these industrial activities. Statistically significant (at the 95% confidence level, corresponding uncertainties in parentheses) increasing trends of 0.017 (±0.01) × 10¹⁵ and 0.015 (±0.006) × 10¹⁵ molecules cm⁻² year⁻¹ over 2004–2015 were found for Bakken (USA) and Athabasca (Canada), two areas having recently experienced fast expansion in the oil industry. This rapid change has implications for emission inventories, which are updated less frequently. No significant trend was found for the North Sea (Europe), where oil production has been declining since the 1990s. For northern Russia, the trend was just under the 95% significance threshold at 0.0057 (±0.006) × 10¹⁵ molecules cm⁻² year⁻¹. This raises an interesting inconsistency as prior studies have suggested that, in contrast to the continued, albeit slow, expansion of Russian oil/gas production, gas flaring in Russia has decreased in recent years. However, only a fraction of oil fields in Russia were covered in our analysis. Satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) data revealed similar tendencies, albeit at a weaker level of statistical significance, due to the longer lifetime of aerosols and contributions from other sources. This study demonstrates that synergetic use of data from multiple satellite sensors can provide valuable information on pollutant emission sources that is otherwise difficult to acquire.