The permeability of faults within siliciclastic petroleum reservoirs of the North Sea and Norwegian Continental Shelf

Faulting in Middle Jurassic reservoirs occurred at shallow depth during regional extension. Clean sandstones (<15% clay) deformed without significant grain fracturing and permeability reduction. Faults in impure sandstones (15–40% clay) experienced significant syn-deformation compaction and permeability reduction. Enhanced compaction during deeper burial reduced their permeabilities further from an average of 0.05 mD at <2.5 km to 0.001 mD at >4 km. Clay-rich sediments (>40% clay) deformed to produce clay smears with very low permeabilities (<0.001 mD). Faulting in the Rotliegendes occurred at greater depth during both basin extension and inversion. Extensional faulting produced cataclasites with permeability reductions of <10–>10⁶; their permeabilities range from 0.2 to 0.0001 mD and are inversely related to their maximum burial depth. Faults formed or reactivated during inversion experienced permeability increase. These results can be extrapolated to other hydrocarbon reservoirs if differences in stress and temperature history are taken into account.The permeability of most (>80%) faults is not sufficiently low, compared to their wallrock, to retard single-phase fluid flow on a km-scale. Nevertheless, most faults could retard the flow of a non-wetting phase if present at low saturations. It may be necessary to incorporate the two-phase fluid flow properties of fault rocks into reservoir simulators using upscaling or pseudoisation techniques. Fault property data should be calibrated against production data before it can be used confidently.     

Estimation of Land Subsidence Based on Groundwater Flow Model

This article presents an approach for estimating land subsidence due to withdrawal of groundwater. The proposed method calculates the groundwater seepage in 3-D-condition and calculates the land subsidence one-dimensionally. The governing equation on groundwater seepage is based on the three-dimensional mass conservation law and the principle of effective stress. The land subsidence calculation method is derived based on the following assumptions: (1) displacements occur only in the vertical direction, and (2) in vertical direction the total stresses do not change. The governing equation is solved by numerical method, i.e., finite element method (FEM) in spatial discretization and finite difference method (FDM) in time series discretization. In FEM Galerkin method is adopted and in FDM, lumped matrix method is employed. The proposed method is calibrated via analyzing 1-D consolidation problem and the results are compared with those from Terzaghi's one-dimensional consolidation theory and oedometer test. The proposed method is employed to analyze the consolidation of a soft layer due to withdrawal of groundwater from an aquifer under it. Moreover, this method is also applied to a field case of land subsidence due to groundwater pumping in a gas production field in Japan. The analytical results are compared with the field observed data. The results show that this approach simulates the field case well.     

Sediment movement under unidirectional flows: an assessment of empirical threshold curves

A selection of threshold data sets from previous investigations is used to re-examine, selectively, some of the empirical curves that are most commonly used for the prediction of sediment threshold. Simple analytical formulae are derived describing single line curves for mean threshold values and envelopes for the initial movement of discrete particles and the commencement of mass sediment transport phases of the critical condition.The complexity of factors governing the prevailing conditions at threshold, together with the randomness of events, limits deterministic solutions; however, the curves provide an approach that can be used readily in practical applications. In contrast, the envelope presentation is more of a stochastic approach to the definition of threshold. It recognises that there is no definitive threshold condition under which a particular particle size can be displaced, but rather that a range of threshold values exist.The empirical threshold relationships were derived on the basis of a relatively large amount of data. However, the sources utilised have interpreted the ‘critical condition’ in various ways, implying that the formulae must be treated with caution in applications.     

南海北部冬季和夏季逆风流机制初探Ⅱ.季风逆风流产生机制

分析讨论了季风风应力、大陆坡地形及底摩擦在产生季风逆风流的必要条件和间接逆风流诊断判据中的作用；应用季风逆风流必要条件和间接逆风流诊断判据，解释冬季风和夏季风逆风流是如何产生的。结果表明：季风风应力是产生季风逆风流的主导因素；冬季风风应力、大陆坡地形及底摩擦三者联合作用导致表层海水在大陆坡上产生辐合生成高水位带和高动力高度带，在大陆被北侧产生NE向的冬季逆风流，南侧产生SW向顺风流；夏季风风应力、大陆坡地形及底摩擦三者联合作用导致表层海水在大陆坡上产生辐散生成低水位带和低动力高度带，在大陆被北侧产生SW向的夏季逆风流，南侧产生NE向的顺风流；冬季风盛行期间，风致经巴士海峡流入南海的黑潮水，将加速冬季逆风流的形成，加大冬季逆风流的强度；夏季风盛行期间，风应力的作用使巴上海峡以东的黑潮水不能进入南海，即使别的原因令巴上海峡以东的黑潮水流入南海，但高温、高盐的黑潮水对夏季逆风流具有阻扼作用。     

Does subterranean flow initiate mud banks off the southwest coast of India?

Coastal waters off the southwest coast of India draw special attention because of the occurrence of mud banks at certain locations during southwest monsoon period. The present study puts forward a hypothesis of a subterranean flow, which could be a plausible mechanism to initiate the mud banks. The subterranean flow is believed to be coupled with activated trending faults and originate from the adjacent watershed (Vembanad Lake) separated from the sea by a narrow strip of land where submerged porous lime shell beds are present. When the lake water injection occurs through the fault, the mud/clay gets excited by its thixotrophic properties (as the overlying water looses its electrolyte) and transforms into a flowing fluid. The lowering of salinity due to the introduction of fresh water keeps the mud suspension in the water column for longer duration, leading to the formation of mud banks. The idea of subterranean flow through lime shell beds initiating formation of mud banks may apply globally to any coastal regions hugged by wetlands and of similar geological conditions.     

A Numerical Model for Natural Backfill of Pipeline Trenches Subjected to Unidirectional／Oscillatory Flows

A numerical model for the self-burial of a pipeline trench is developed. Morphological evolutions of a pipeline trench under steady-current or oscillatory-flow conditions are simulated with/without a pipeline inside the trench. The oscillatory flow in this study represents the action of waves. The two-dimensional Reynolds-averaged continuity and Navier-Stokes equations with the standard k-e turbulence closure, as well as the sediment transport equations, are solved with the finite difference method in a eurvilirrear coordinate system. Both bed and suspended loads of sediment transport are included in the morphological model. Because of the lack of experimental data on the backfilling of pipeline trenches, the numericalmodel is firstly verified against three closely-relevant experiments available in literature. A detailed measurement of the channel migration phenomenon under steady currents is employed for the assessment of the integral performance of themodel. The two experimental results from U-tube tests are used to validate the model‘s ability in predicting oscillatory flows. Different time-marching schemes are employed for the morphological computation under unidirectional and oscillatory conditions. It is found that vortex motions within the trench play an important role in the trench development.     

含沙量对草地坡面径流泥沙沉积和水力特性的影响

通过室内模拟试验,在坡度为3°和9°、流量为20和60L/min条件下研究了不同浓度(0～350kg/m3)含沙水流流经草地的泥沙沉积过程及其水力学特性。结果表明,坡面泥沙沉积量随含沙量的增加而增大,3°时泥沙沉积率与含沙量呈正相关,而9°时沉积率与含沙量呈反势。坡度对泥沙沉积影响显著,而在相同坡度条件下,两种流量试验的泥沙沉积量无明显差异。相同坡面坡上部位流速小于坡下部位,且含沙量对坡面流速影响较小。在相同坡度和流量条件下,水流雷诺数随含沙量的增大而减小。3°时水流阻力系数和曼宁糙率均随含沙量的增加而增大,而9°时含沙量对阻力影响不明显,因此在土壤侵蚀较严重地区进行坡面水文过程演算时需考虑含沙量对缓坡糙率的影响。     

Fault Characteristics in Longmen Mountain Thrust Belt,Western Sichuan Foreland Basin,China

Through field geological survey,the authors found that abundant thrust faults developed in the Longmen (龙门) Mountain thrust belt.These faults can be divided into thrust faults and strike-slip faults according to their formation mechanisms and characteristics.Furthermore,these faults can be graded into primary fault,secondary fault,third-level fault,and fourth-level fault according to their scale and role in the tectonic evolution of Longmen Mountain thrust belt.Each thrust fault is composed of several secondary faults,such as Qingchuan (青川)-Maowen (茂汶) fault zone is composed of Qiaozhuang (乔庄) fault,Qingxi (青溪) fault,Maowen fault,Ganyanggou (赶羊沟) fault,etc..The Longmen Mountain thrust belt experienced early Indosinian movement,Anxian (安县) movement,Yanshan (燕山)movement,and Himalayan movement,and the faults formed gradually from north to south.     

内陆河流域山区水文与生态研究

以河西走廊黑河干流山区流域为例,从山区水文循环、水文与生态系统以及径流形成和预测等方面讨论山区流域水文和生态相互作用研究的有关问题。山区降水的空间和时间分布规律和固态、液态降水组成变化主要受制于海拔和地形的影响,而不同海拔和地形条件下的下垫面不同土地覆被和复杂的空间异质性则主要影响蒸散发量。对内陆河山区流域的水文小循环的研究,有助于进一步研究和认识内陆河流域上、中、下游水文和生态系统的相互联系问题。至今,对山区水文过程与生态系统的相互作用问题的研究还非常薄弱,需要研究山区森林草地生态系统在山区水文循环中的作用以及在维持和保护山区生态和环境中的作用和意义。内陆河流域山区水文过程复杂而综合性强,须加强对山区径流形成机理的多学科交叉研究,不断改善出山径流对气候变化和人类活动响应过程的模拟和预测水平。