Imaging of Stratigraphic Pinch-Out Traps Within the Lower-Cretaceous Shaly-Sandstone System,Pakistan, Using 3D Quantitative Seismic Inverted Porosity–Velocity Modeling

Incised valleys form excellent stratigraphic pinch-out traps. Traditional seismic data analysis techniques fail to predict quantitatively the porous and low-velocity sand-fills for incised valleys. The 3D quantitative seismic inverted porosity–velocity (3DQSIPV) analysis was applied in the Indus Basin, SW Pakistan. The reflection strength attribute better portrayed the reservoir sandstone and faults compared to seismic amplitude attribute. The sweetness-based continuous wavelet transform authenticated the development of the stratigraphic play. The 17 Hz amplitude delineated the non-porous seal and porous reservoirs of sand-filled incised valley and strand plain, and faults. The integrated model of seismic attributes categorizes the reservoir and seal constituents. The petrophysical modeling corroborated the gas-bearing “sweet-spots” within the stratigraphic-based dynamical system. The facies modeling predicted the for coarse-grained sandstone and fine-grained shales, depositional environments, fluctuations of sea level and their impacts on the overall development of stratigraphic plays. The predicted density and P-wave velocity for the sandstone-filled incised valley of the lowstand system tract were?~?1.4–1.75 g/cc and?~?3217–3802 m/s, respectively. The predicted density and P-wave velocity for the sealing shales facies of strand plain of transgressive system tract were?~?1.9–2.1 g/cc and 2.55–2.7 g/cc and 3900–4700 m/s, respectively. The 3DQSIPV predicted?>?25% porosity and?~?3300 m/s velocity of reservoirs in the west. The eastern zones shows?<?12% porosity and high velocity of?~?4580 m/s. Cross-plots of porosity, velocity, and thickness showed correlation coefficients of R²?>?0.90 for inverted velocity. This workflow may serve as an analogue for the remaining oil and gas fields of the Indus Basins of Pakistan and similar geological settings of divergent plate margins.

     

Performance of CMORPH,TMPA, and PERSIANN rainfall datasets over plain,mountainous, and glacial regions of Pakistan

The present study aims at the assessment of six satellite rainfall estimates (SREs) in Pakistan. For each assessed products, both real-time (RT) and post adjusted (Adj) versions are considered to highlight their potential benefits in the rainfall estimation at annual, monthly, and daily temporal scales. Three geomorphological climatic zones, i.e., plain, mountainous, and glacial are taken under considerations for the determination of relative potentials of these SREs over Pakistan at global and regional scales. All SREs, in general, have well captured the annual north-south rainfall decreasing patterns and rainfall amounts over the typical arid regions of the country. Regarding the zonal approach, the performance of all SREs has remained good over mountainous region comparative to arid regions. This poor performance in accurate rainfall estimation of all the six SREs over arid regions has made their use questionable in these regions. Over glacier region, all SREs have highly overestimated the rainfall. One possible cause of this overestimation may be due to the low surface temperature and radiation absorption over snow and ice cover, resulting in their misidentification with rainy clouds as daily false alarm ratio has increased from mountainous to glacial regions. Among RT products, CMORPH-RT is the most biased product. The Bias was almost removed on CMORPH-Adj thanks to the gauge adjustment. On a general way, all Adj versions outperformed their respective RT versions at all considered temporal scales and have confirmed the positive effects of gauge adjustment. CMORPH-Adj and TMPA-Adj have shown the best agreement with in situ data in terms of Bias, RMSE, and CC over the entire study area.     

Processes of initial collision and suturing between India and Asia

The initial collision between Indian and Asian continents marked the starting point for transformation of land-sea thermal contrast, uplift of the Tibet-Himalaya orogen, and climate change in Asia. In this paper, we review the published literatures from the past 30 years in order to draw consensus on the processes of initial collision and suturing that took place between the Indian and Asian plates. Following a comparison of the different methods that have been used to constrain the initial timing of collision, we propose that the tectono-sedimentary response in the peripheral foreland basin provides the most sensitive index of this event, and that paleomagnetism presents independent evidence as an alternative, reliable, and quantitative research method. In contrast to previous studies that have suggested collision between India and Asia started in Pakistan between ca. 55 Ma and 50 Ma and progressively closed eastwards, more recent researches have indicated that this major event first occurred in the center of the Yarlung Tsangpo suture zone (YTSZ) between ca. 65 Ma and 63 Ma and then spreading both eastwards and westwards. While continental collision is a complicated process, including the processes of deformation, sedimentation, metamorphism, and magmatism, different researchers have tended to define the nature of this event based on their own understanding, an intuitive bias that has meant that its initial timing has remained controversial for decades. Here, we recommend the use of reconstructions of each geological event within the orogenic evolution sequence as this will allow interpretation of collision timing on the basis of multidisciplinary methods.     

DHI evaluation by combining rock physics simulation and statistical techniques for fluid identification of Cambrian-to-Cretaceous clastic reservoirs in Pakistan

The use of seismic direct hydrocarbon indicators is very common in exploration and reservoir development to minimise exploration risk and to optimise the location of production wells. DHIs can be enhanced using AVO methods to calculate seismic attributes that approximate relative elastic properties. In this study, we analyse the sensitivity to pore fluid changes of a range of elastic properties by combining rock physics studies and statistical techniques and determine which provide the best basis for DHIs. Gassmann fluid substitution is applied to the well log data and various elastic properties are evaluated by measuring the degree of separation that they achieve between gas sands and wet sands. The method has been applied successfully to well log data from proven reservoirs in three different siliciclastic environments of Cambrian, Jurassic, and Cretaceous ages. We have quantified the sensitivity of various elastic properties such as acoustic and extended elastic (EEI) impedances, elastic moduli (K _sat and K _sat–μ), lambda–mu–rho method (λρ and μρ), P-to-S-wave velocity ratio (V _P/V _S), and Poisson’s ratio (σ) at fully gas/water saturation scenarios. The results are strongly dependent on the local geological settings and our modeling demonstrates that for Cambrian and Cretaceous reservoirs, K _sat–μ, EEI, V _P/V _S, and σ are more sensitive to pore fluids (gas/water). For the Jurassic reservoir, the sensitivity of all elastic and seismic properties to pore fluid reduces due to high overburden pressure and the resultant low porosity. Fluid indicators are evaluated using two metrics: a fluid indicator coefficient based on a Gaussian model and an overlap coefficient which makes no assumptions about a distribution model. This study will provide a potential way to identify gas sand zones in future exploration.     

The Occurrence of Sporadic-E Layer over Equatorial Anomaly Crest Region Bhopal

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - Ionospheric anomaly crest regions are most challenging for scientific community to understand its mechanism and investigation, for this purpose we are investigating some...     

Updated earthquake catalogue for seismic hazard analysis in Pakistan

A reliable and homogenized earthquake catalogue is essential for seismic hazard assessment in any area. This article describes the compilation and processing of an updated earthquake catalogue for Pakistan. The earthquake catalogue compiled in this study for the region (quadrangle bounded by the geographical limits 40–83° N and 20–40° E) includes 36,563 earthquake events, which are reported as 4.0–8.3 moment magnitude (M_W) and span from 25 AD to 2016. Relationships are developed between the moment magnitude and body, and surface wave magnitude scales to unify the catalogue in terms of magnitude M_W. The catalogue includes earthquakes from Pakistan and neighbouring countries to minimize the effects of geopolitical boundaries in seismic hazard assessment studies. Earthquakes reported by local and international agencies as well as individual catalogues are included. The proposed catalogue is further used to obtain magnitude of completeness after removal of dependent events by using four different algorithms. Finally, seismicity parameters of the seismic sources are reported, and recommendations are made for seismic hazard assessment studies in Pakistan.     

Seismic fragility functions for code compliant and non-compliant RC SMRF structures in Pakistan

Fragility functions are derived for low-rise code compliant & non-compliant special moment resisting frames (SMRFs). Non-compliant SMRFs those built in low strength concrete and lacking confining ties in joint panel zones, commonly found in developing countries. Shake table tests were performed on single-storey and two-storey 1:3 reduced scale representative frames to understand the damage mechanism and develop deformation-based damage scale. The non-compliant SMRF experienced column flexure cracking, longitudinal bar-slip in beam and observed with cover concrete spalling from the joint panels. The code compliant SMRF experienced flexure cracks in beam/column, and experienced joint cracking under extreme shaking. Numerical modeling technique is developed for inelastic modeling of reinforced concrete frame with beam bar-slip and joint damageability using SeismoStruct. Natural accelerograms were used to analyze the considered frames through incremental dynamic analyses in SeismoStruct. A probabilistic based approach was used to derive fragility functions for the considered frames. An example case study is presented for damageability evaluation of structures for earthquakes of various return periods (43, 72, 475, 2475 years).     

Towards Real‐Time Geodemographics: Clustering Algorithm Performance for Large Multidimensional Spatial Databases

Geodemographic classifications provide discrete indicators of the social, economic and demographic characteristics of people living within small geographic areas. They have hitherto been regarded as products, which are the final “best” outcome that can be achieved using available data and algorithms. However, reduction in computational cost, increased network bandwidths and increasingly accessible spatial data infrastructures have together created the potential for the creation of classifications in near real time within distributed online environments. Yet paramount to the creation of truly real time geodemographic classifications is the ability for software to process and efficiency cluster large multidimensional spatial databases within a timescale that is consistent with online user interaction. To this end, this article evaluates the computational efficiency of a number of clustering algorithms with a view to creating geodemographic classifications “on the fly” at a range of different geographic scales.     

Water sustainability model for estimation of groundwater availability in Kemuning district,Riau-Indonesia

There are rising interests in the utility of groundwater in various aspects,which is capable of triggering problematic issues.The excessive exploitation for anthropologic uses,without regards to aquifer capacity,will decreases the water table as well as capacity of groundwater in the aquifer.This research was aimed to provide aquifer model of underground water by consideration of various environmental factors,with the propensity of being modeled,in an attempt to predict groundwater conditions in subsequent years.The purpose of this research was to forecast water requirements,availability,as well as three-dimensional model of groundwater depth in Kemuning,Indragiri Hilir Regency-Indonesia between 2015 and 2022.Furthermore,various environmental factors,from aquifer profiles to anthropologic demand,are taken into account in the evaluated model,including water requirements,encompassing recharge and aquifer parameters,which consists of storativity and transmissivity.From anthropologic side are domestic requirements,trade,public facilities,agriculture,and livestock.The results show that groundwater availability in Kemuning is to be safe condition,and average difference is 1.06×108 m3/yr.The coefficient of storativity and transmissivity are 16.514 m2/day and 9897.26 m2/day,respectively,while the average depth was recorded as 2.8965 m to 10.4927 m.