Determining effective wellbore permeability from a field pressure test: a numerical analysis of detection limits

We propose a simple pressure test that can be used in the field to determine the effective permeability of existing wellbores. Such tests are motivated by the need to understand and quantify leakage risks associated with geological storage of CO₂ in mature sedimentary basins. If CO₂ is injected into a deep geological formation, and the resulting CO₂ plume encounters a wellbore, leakage may occur through various pathways in the “disturbed zone” surrounding the well casing. The effective permeability of this composite zone, on the outside of the well casing, is an important parameter for models of leakage. However, the data that exist on this key parameter do not exist in the open literature, and therefore specific field tests need to be done in order to reduce the uncertainty inherent in the leakage estimates. The test designed and analyzed herein is designed to measure effective wellbore permeability within a low-permeability caprock, bounded above and below by permeable reservoirs, by pressurizing the reservoir below and measuring the response in the reservoir above. Alternatively, a modified test can be performed within the caprock without directly contacting the reservoirs above and below. We use numerical simulation to relate pressure response to effective well permeability and then evaluate the range of detection of the effective permeability based on instrument measurement error and limits on fracture pressure. These results can guide field experiments associated with site characterization and leakage analysis.     

Microcrack networks in granite affected by a fault zone: Visualization by confocal laser scanning microscopy

Microcracks in the Cretaceous Ryoke-type granite in Japan were investigated by using deep drilling core samples collected in the Mizunami Underground Research Project of the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC). The granite body suffered brittle deformation associated with Tertiary thrust movement. Based on core-scale and microscopic deformation features, the drill core from a depth of 300 to 700 m is divided into four domains, i.e. (A) undeformed granite, (B) granite intruded by cataclastic seams, (C) fractured granite in the fault damage zone, and (D) foliated cataclasite at the fault center. To characterize microcrack geometries in each domain, we employed the impregnation method using a low-viscous acrylic resin doped with fluorescent agents and captured the microcrack images by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The CLSM image in the fault damage zone revealed anisotropic development of microcrack networks related to the fault movement. Both CLSM observation and porosity measurements reveal a drastic increase of micro-pores in the foliated cataclasite, possibly caused by fragmentation, and granulation and crack sealing in the fault zone.     

Carbon fluxes through major phytoplankton groups during the spring bloom and post-bloom in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea

The carbon flux through major phytoplankton groups, defined by their pigment markers, was estimated in two contrasting conditions of the Northwestern Mediterranean open ocean ecosystem: the spring bloom and post-bloom situations (hereafter Bloom and Post-bloom, respectively). During Bloom, surface chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration was higher and dominated by diatoms (53% of Chl a), while during Post-bloom Synechococcus (42%) and Prymnesiophyceae (29%) became dominant. The seawater dilution technique, coupled to high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of pigments and flow cytometry (FCM), was used to estimate growth and grazing rates of major phytoplankton groups in surface waters. Estimated growth rates were corrected for photoacclimation based on FCM-detected changes in red fluorescence per cell. Given the 30% average decrease in the pigment content per cell between the beginning and the end of the incubations, overlooking photoacclimation would have resulted in a 0.40 d^?1 underestimation of phytoplankton growth rates. Corrected average growth rates (μ_o) were 0.90±0.20 (SD) and 0.40±0.14 d^?1 for Bloom and Post-bloom phytoplankton, respectively. Diatoms, Cryptophyceae and Synechococcus were identified as fast-growing groups and Prymnesiophyceae and Prasinophyceae as slow-growing groups across Bloom and Post-bloom conditions. The higher growth rate during Bloom was due to dominance of phytoplankton groups with higher growth rates than those dominating in Post-bloom. Average grazing rates (m) were 0.58±0.20 d^?1 (SD) and 0.31±0.07 d^?1. The proportion of phytoplankton growth consumed by microzooplankton grazing (m/μ_o) tended to be lower in Bloom (0.69±0.34) than in Post-bloom (0.80±0.08). The intensity of nutrient limitation experienced by phytoplankton indicated by μ_o/μ_n (where μ_n is the nutrient-amended growth rate), was similar during Bloom (0.78) and Post-bloom (0.73). Primary production from surface water (PP) was estimated with ¹⁴C incubations. A combination of PP and Chl a synthesis rate yielded C/Chl a ratios of 34±21 and 168±75 (g:g) for Bloom and Post-bloom, respectively. Transformation of group-specific Chl a fluxes into carbon equivalents confirmed the dominant role of diatoms during Bloom and Synechococcus and Prymnesiophyceae during Post-bloom.     

The effects of trophic interactions and spatial competition on algal community composition on Hawaiian coral reefs

Much of coral reef ecology has focused on how human impacts change coral reefs to macroalgal reefs. However, macroalgae may not always be a good indicator of reef decline, especially on reefs with significant sea urchin populations, as found in Kenya and Hawaii. This study tests the effects of trophic interactions (i.e. herbivory by fishes and sea urchins) and spatial competition (between algae and coral) on algal community structure of reefs surrounding two Hawaiian Islands that vary in their level of human impacts. Reef‐building organisms (corals and crustose coralline algae) were less abundant and turf algae were more abundant on Maui as compared to Lanai, where human impacts are lower. In contrast to previous studies, we found no evidence that macroalgae increased with human impacts. Instead, low turf and macroalgal abundance were best explained by the interactive effects of coral cover and sea urchin abundance. Fishing sea urchin predators appeared to have cascading effects on the benthic community. The absence of sea urchin predators and high sea urchin densities correspond to a disproportionately high abundance of turf and crustose coralline algae. We propose that high turf algal abundance is a better indicator of reef decline in Hawaii than high macroalgal abundance because turf abundance was highest on reefs with low coral cover and few fish. The results of this study emphasize that understanding changes in community composition are context‐dependent and that not all degraded reefs look the same.     

新疆地区表土孢粉分布规律及其与植被关系研究

对中国新疆地区218个样点进行植被调查及表土孢粉分析的研究结果表明,新疆地区温带山地针叶林、高寒草甸及盐生草甸、温带草原、荒漠以及荒漠-沙漠过渡带均具有相对特殊的孢粉组合,新疆南北向样带的孢粉图式揭示出表土孢粉从北到南随地形、纬度和植被的改变而发生的空间变化。针叶林区表土孢粉浓度平均值为22 602粒/g、草原为3 834粒/g、荒漠为1 762粒/g、沙漠为0-10粒/g。但在同一植被类型中,特别是在草原和荒漠中,孢粉浓度与植被盖度之间并不呈现线性相关关系。根据大空间尺度样品的A/C(蒿Artemisia/藜Chenopodiaceae)值的中位数统计,草原为1.264、荒漠为0.565、沙漠为0.243。Ep/C(麻黄Ephedra/藜Chenopodiaceae)比值的中位数在荒漠为0.098、草原为0.063。     

A dynamic network model for two‐phase immiscible flow

A dynamic pore‐scale network model is formulated for two‐phase immiscible flow. Interfaces are tracked through the pore throats using a modified Poiseuille equation, whereas special displacement rules are used at the pore bodies. The model allows interfaces to move over several pore‐lengths within a time step. Initial computational results are presented for a drainage experiment to demonstrate some of the features of the model. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Algal δ15N values detect a wastewater effluent plume in nearshore and offshore surface waters and three-dimensionally model the plume across a coral reef on Maui, Hawai'i, USA

The coral reef at Kahekili, Maui is located ~300 m south of the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility which uses four Class V injection wells to dispose of 3-5 million gallons of wastewater effluent daily. Prior research documented that the wastewater effluent percolates into the nearshore region of Kahekili. To determine if the wastewater effluent was detectable in the surface waters offshore, we used algal bioassays from the nearshore region to 100 m offshore and throughout the water column from the surface to the benthos. These algal bioassays documented that significantly more wastewater effluent was detected in the surface rather than the benthic waters and allowed us to generate a three-dimensional model of the wastewater plume in the Kahekili coastal region. Samples located over freshwater seeps had the highest δ(15)N values (~30-35‰) and the effluent was detected in surface samples 500 m south and 100 m offshore of the freshwater seeps (~8-11‰).     

Daily morphological changes determined by high‐energy events on an embayed beach: a qualitative model

This paper examines the daily morphological responses of Sununga Beach, an embayed beach located on the south‐eastern Brazilian coast, to storms in the South Atlantic Ocean. The main mechanisms and timing of beach erosion and accretion, the relationship between wave height and direction, and beach volume changes are considered, to establish a qualitative model for short‐term embayed beach morphological changes. The methodology consisted of daily topographic surveys during the month of May in 2001, 2002, and 2003, using an RTK‐GPS (real‐time kinematics – global positioning system). Weather and wave model results were used to correlate hydrodynamics and beach morphology. The results indicate that the morphodynamics of Sununga Beach are characterized by a process of beach rotation, which occurred more or less clearly during all three surveys. Unlike what has been commonly described in the literature for longer time intervals and alternations of fair and stormy weather, the beach rotation processes on Sununga Beach occurred under conditions of moderate‐to‐high wave energy change (wave heights greater than 2 m). An integrated evaluation of the behaviour of the meteorological aspects, together with beach morphology, enabled us to recognize that extra‐tropical cyclones were the most important agent in remobilizing the beach planform, whether in beach rotation or in cross‐shore erosion. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An ecohydrological approach to predicting regional woody species distribution patterns in dryland ecosystems

This paper presents a quantitative ecohydrological framework for predicting regional distribution patterns of woody species in dryland ecosystems. The framework is based on an existing stochastic model for the daily mass balance of water that represents the interactions between soils, climate, and vegetation. Individual species selection is based on an optimality trade-off hypothesis, which states that dryland vegetation patterns are constrained by maximization of water use and simultaneous minimization of water stress. The relative importance of water use and stress avoidance to the overall fitness of three Acacia species is determined from the heterogeneous basin, the Upper Ewaso Ng’iro river basin, of the central Kenya highlands. The model results indicate that overall fitness is more strongly influenced by water use than stress avoidance but that consideration of both stress avoidance and water use is critical to predicting basin-scale patterns of species distribution. We identify a linear trend in the frequency and intensity of storms with the same annual total using a basin-wide gauge precipitation dataset. After calibration, we apply the basin average linear trends in time for average rain per storm and storm arrival rates. The model results indicate the upslope migration of two species, Acacia tortilis and Acacia xanthophloea to areas with higher total rainfall. Lastly, we explore the modeled changes of species cover in the basin influenced by changes in rainfall total holding growing season rainfall variability constant and changes in growing season rainfall variability holding total rainfall constant. We find that changes in dryland species distribution patterns and relative abundance may be as sensitive to growing season rainfall variability as they are to changes in total rainfall amounts.