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• GHG emissions of Arctic LNG transportation are estimated. • Emissions related environmental costs are accounted. • Unit cost of LNG transportation via Northern Sea Route is estimated. • LNG may be the most efficient fuel in total cost saving and emission reduction. • Policy suggestions for energy use on Arctic routes have been recommended. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) might be a promising route for LNG transportation from the LNG plants in Russia's Yamal Peninsula to Northeast Asia countries with significant savings in sailing distance and time compared to traditional Suez Canal Route (SCR). However, surging transportation activities along NSR might harm the environment with the greenhouse gas (GHG) and atmospheric pollutant emissions. Little research has been done to investigate the environmental and techno-economic potential of transporting LNG via NSR. Furthermore, this paper analyses the relevance of an Arc4 ice-class vessel, not currently used for this route. This paper targets to address the question that how much GHGs and atmospheric pollutants does a carrier emit and how is the feasibility of different fuel types for the summer and winter transportation considering environmental impacts. An environmental and techno-economic model quantifying the emissions and total costs have been developed and 3 scenarios of using different fuel types (HFO, MDO, LNG) are proposed to investigate the environmental and economic performances in summer and winter respectively. Our results reveal that the unit cost of transporting LNG via NSR is around 90 U.S. $ cents/GJ in summer and 120 $ cents/GJ in winter considering environmental cost. The findings also show that in the short run when regardless of environmental cost, HFO is still the preferable option for ships by its competitive cost. While when considering the environmental cost, LNG has better economic and environmental performance than other fuel types. So, for the long run, LNG might be encouraged to be the main fuel used in Arctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic ice has been observed to be decreasing both in terms of extent and thickness since the 1950s in all seasons due to global warming. The retreat of the Arctic sea ice creates unprecedented opportunities to maritime shipping industry and opens the door for exploring new navigable shipping routes across the Arctic Ocean. The Northern Sea Route is of particular interest as it has the most favorable ice conditions among all transarctic routes and the Russia government has been actively encouraging international use of the sea route. This paper aims to quantitatively assess the impact of opening of the Northern Sea Route on the Suez Canal Route by means of discrete choice model. Industrial preferences and choices under different situations are gathered by a state preference survey. Logit models are then built based on choice data from the survey. Based on modeling results, scenario analyses are conducted to predict company’s choices under difference cases and thus some policy insights are put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Combined internal overvoltage occurs as a result of the disturbances and failures development in the distribution electrical grids. • In power supply schemes for remote low-power consumers on long-distance lines, quasi-stationary voltage increases are possible due to the capacitive effect of long lines. • Quasi-stationary overvoltages can pose a danger to all substation equipment insulation, including power transformers, voltage transformers, non-linear surge arresters, etc. • Long-term currents exceeding the rated currents of power transformers can lead to power transformers thermal damage or the appearance of insulation defects. • In the event of a violation of the longitudinal symmetry of phase voltages, priority switching is not switching off the load, but disconnecting the network element on which the combined violation occurred. One of the main conditions for the non-development of quasi-stationary overvoltages is the operational work of personnel and the well-established operation of the relay protection. For consumers more than 100km away, this is not always possible to provide. This paper presents simulation-based studies on the 110 kV substations located in the Euro-Arctic region of Russia. Longitudinal and transversal disturbances in the high voltage grid are studied. The influence of the harsh climatic conditions on the rate of occurrence of accidents is shown. The 110-kV section of the Kola power system was considered and the features of this section were analyzed. The simulation model of the investigated section was created in the ATP-EMTP software and a wire break of the overhead transmission line followed by a single phase-to-ground faults of the same phase was simulated. The influence of combined overvoltage on substations electrical equipment is considered. The simulation results show that overvoltages in power grids with one-way power supply can pose a significant threat to insulation of any substation equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper documents in detail the morphology, epidermal features and cuticle ultrastructure of the leaves of the Mesozoic conifer genus Anabarella Abramova 1984. For the first time, the leaf epidermal and cuticle structures of the type species Anabarella kryshtofovichii Abramova from the Albian–Cenomanian (Cretaceous) of the Anabar river basin (East Siberia, Arctic Russia) were studied with the scanning electron (SEM) and the transmission electron (TEM) microscopes. Emended diagnosis for the genus Anabarella and the diagnosis for the species A. kryshtofovichii are provided, since only a description of this species was given in the original publication. Because the holotype has been lost, a lectotype is selected. The cuticular membrane of Anabarella leaves belongs to the type 1 of the cuticle classification of Holloway 1982: it is made up of the cuticle proper A (composed of an outer polylamellate A1 layer and an inner homogeneous A2 layer) and a cuticular fibrillate layer B1. The leaves of Anabarella kryshtofovichii differ from other fossil conifers by a very thick cuticle membrane consisting predominantly of a cuticle proper A; the cuticular layer B1 is less than 1% from the total thickness of cuticular membrane in the ordinary epidermal cells. The studied leaves have both xeromorphic (thick cuticle and sunken stomata) and mesomorphic (amphistomatic leaves, unprotected stomata) features. The mesomorphic features of the Anabarella leaves, as well as the deciduousness, were probably an adaptation to the humid conditions of the mid-Cretaceous Arctic climate with warm and dark winters. • Emended generic diagnosis for Anabarella is provided. • A lectotype of Anabarella kryshtofovichii (the type species) is designated. • The leaf cuticle structure of Anabarella kryshtofovichii is studied by SEM and TEM. • The thickness and features of the cuticle layers are described. • Comparison of the Anabarella leaf cuticular structure with other conifers is done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]