Thermal–hydraulic measurements and modelling of the brine circuit in a geothermal well

Wellhead temperature and pressure are critical parameters of a geothermal well. Their prediction requires knowledge of the geofluid properties and detailed thermal modelling of the well and formation. High salinity and gas content complicate the task. This article presents a comprehensive thermal–hydraulic wellbore model, which is parameterized and validated with data from the Gross Schoenebeck site, and used for a long-term prognosis. Geofluid properties are calculated based on the specific gas and salt contents by determining the vapour–liquid equilibrium.     

Authigenic albite in carbonate rocks – a tracer for deep-burial brine migration?

Euhedral, post-depositional albite from the Eastern and Western Alps, the western Carpathians and some Greek islands was examined petrographically and geochemically to gain insights into the nature of feldspar reactions in carbonate rocks. This study focuses on coarsely crystalline, homogeneously nucleated albite in order to avoid problems related to the presence of inseparable detrital material in fine-grained albite varieties. All albite samples show a very restricted compositional variability and are typically ≥ 99 mol% Ab component. Unit-cell parameters determined by Rietveld analysis are slightly more variable than previously accepted, but confirm high Al–Si ordering characteristic of low albite. The oxygen isotopic composition of albite ranges from + 19·4‰ to + 28·3‰ VSMOW. There is no direct relationship between the δ¹⁸O value and the inferred temperature of albite formation, nor is there one with stoichiometry. The coarse crystal size (up to several millimetres in diameter), petrographic evidence showing albite cross-cutting stylolites, greater abundance of albite in carbonate rocks subject to high-grade diagenetic or weak metamorphic overprinting and available fluid inclusion data suggest that albite precipitation is favoured at higher temperatures in carbonates than in sandstones. Pore fluids were invariably brines, as suggested by the inferred high positive δ¹⁸O_fluid values, the common association of albite-bearing carbonates and evaporites and reports of saline fluid inclusions in albite. The presence of authigenic albite may thus be a useful tracer of palaeobrine–carbonate reactions, particularly in deep-burial and incipient metamorphic settings.     

Reduced forms of sulfur in the brine of Saline–Soda Lake Doroninskoe,eastern Transbaikal Region

Contents of inorganic reduced forms of sulfur were determined in the oxygen-bearing waters of saline-soda Lake Doroninskoe. The vertical and annual distributions of individual species and total reduced sulfur have been studied. It was found that oxic zone ubiquitously contains reduced sulfur with contents: HS⁻ 0.002–3.86 mg/l, S⁰ 0.002–0.129 mg/l, S^{0; 4+} 0.014–9.19 mg/l. Oxygen concentrations varied from 0 to 6.8 mg/l. These sulfur compounds show unsystematic vertical distribution, which during transitional season is controlled by intensity of bacterial processes.     

Experimental identification of CO2–oil–brine–rock interactions: Implications for CO2 sequestration after termination of a CO2-EOR project

Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO₂-EOR) has been widely applied to the process of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). Here, we investigate CO₂–oil–water–rock interactions under reservoir conditions (100 °C and 24 MPa) in order to understand the fluid–rock interactions following termination of a CO₂-EOR project. Our experimental results show that CO₂-rich fluid remained the active fluid controlling the dissolution–precipitation processes in an oil-undersaturated sandstone reservoir; e.g., the dissolution of feldspar and calcite, and the precipitation of kaolinite as well as solid phases comprising O, Si, Al, Na, C, and Ti. Mineral dissolution rates were reduced in the case that mineral surfaces were coated by oil. Mineral wettability and composition, and oil saturation were the main controls on the exposed surface area of grains, and mineral wettability in particular led to selective dissolution. In addition, the permeability of the reservoir decreased substantially due to the precipitation of kaolinite and solid-phase particles, and due to the clogging of less soluble mineral particles released by the dissolution of K-feldspar and carbonate cement, whereas porosity increased. The results provide insight into potential formation damage resulting from CO₂-EOR projects.     

Early taphonomy of benthic foraminifera in Storfjorden ‘sea-ice factory’: the agglutinated/calcareous ratio as a proxy for brine persistence

The recurrent latent-heat polynya characterizing Storfjorden (Svalbard, Norway) triggers seasonal formation of thin first-year sea ice. This leads to the production of dense, salty, and corrosive brines that cascade towards the sea floor and mix with shelf waters. The bottom topography of the fjord is responsible for the retention of these dense waters in two central deep basins throughout the year. Recent studies show that living benthic foraminifera in Storfjorden are particularly affected by the persistence of brines on the sea floor, with a strong dominance of agglutinated (A) species and high degrees of dissolution of calcareous(C) faunas. Therefore, the A/C ratio, calculated on living faunas, was proposed as a proxy for brine persistence. In the present study we analyse the fossil faunas, found below the taphonomically active zone, to investigate the residual signal of the A/C proxy after the intense early taphonomic processes and challenge its applicability in sedimentary archives. Our results show that despite the generally high taphonomic loss inside the fjord, a high proportion of agglutinated species is still visible in fossil faunas at the stations experiencing regular and/or persistent presence of brine-enriched shelf waters. These results support the application of the A/C ratio in historical records to reconstruct the persistence of brines and indirectly the first-year sea ice formation in Storfjorden. This can be further applied to other Arctic fjords with similar settings and characterized by the production of brines during the winter–early spring season.     

Dynamics of regional metamorphism,using a model of “simple sinking” of a crust of oceanic type

This petrophysical model represents a very slow metamorphism, with its characteristically “pre-granitic” stages and facies, the kind that develops in deep geosynclinal downwarps and deep platformal syneclises, but not in intermontane downwarps or aulacogens. The rate of the subsidence, as in the model, indicates 6 to 7 km thicknesses of the 100°C metamorphic zones and much greater depths for the high-temperature metamorphism and actual smelting of the sediments, under certain conditions. — V .P Sokoloff.     

Application of brine differentiation and Langelier–Ludwig plots to fresh-to-brine waters from sedimentary basins: Diagnostic potentials and limits

Classical chemical classification plots that use major anions and cations can discern between different water facies but they do not offer sufficient discriminatory power for salt waters from sedimentary basins, whose origin is therefore frequently misunderstood.     

Neotectonics of Turkey – a synthesis

Turkey forms one of the most actively deforming regions in the world and has a long history of devastating earthquakes. The better understanding of its neotectonic features and active tectonics would provide insight, not only for the country but also for the entire Eastern Mediterranean region. Active tectonics of Turkey is the manifestation of collisional intracontinental convergence- and tectonic escape-related deformation since the Early Pliocene (∼5 Ma). Three major structures govern the neotectonics of Turkey; they are dextral North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ), sinistral East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ) and the Aegean–Cyprean Arc. Also, sinistral Dead Sea Fault Zone has an important role. The Anatolian wedge between the NAFZ and EAFZ moves westward away from the eastern Anatolia, the collision zone between the Arabian and the Eurasian plates. Ongoing deformation along, and mutual interaction among them has resulted in four distinct neotectonic provinces, namely the East Anatolian contractional, the North Anatolian, the Central Anatolian ‘Ova’ and the West Anatolian extensional provinces. Each province is characterized by its unique structural elements, and forms an excellent laboratory to study active strike-slip, normal and reverse faulting and the associated basin formation.     

Neotectonics of Turkey – a synthesis

Abstract

Turkey forms one of the most actively deforming regions in the world and has a long history of devastating earthquakes. The belter understanding of its neotectonic features and active tectonics would provide insight, not only for the country but also for the entire Eastern Mediterranean region. Active tectonics of Turkey is the manifestation of collisional intracontinental convergence- and tectonic escape-related deformation since the Early Pliocene (~5 Ma). Three major structures govern the neotectonics of Turkey; they are dextral North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ), sinistral East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ) and the Aegean–Cyprean Arc. Also, sinistral Dead Sea Fault Zone has an important role. The Anatolian wedge between the NAFZ and EAFZ moves westward away from the eastern Anatolia, the collision zone between the Arabian and the Eurasian plates. Ongoing deformation along, and mutual interaction among them has resulted in four distinct neotectonic provinces, namely the East Anatolian contractional, the North Anatolian, the Central Anatolian ‘Ova’ and the West Anatolian extensional provinces. Each province is characterized by its unique structural elements, and forms an excellent laboratory to study active strike-slip, normal and reverse faulting and the associated basin formation. © 2001 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS     

Identification of Self-Potential Anomalies of a Diffusion–Absorption Origin

Diffusion and adsorption (DA) potentials are frequently the sources of self-potential (SP) anomalies, but they do not arouse practical interest in contrast to anomalies of oxidation–reduction and filtration origins. DA anomalies are common and geophysicists sometimes mistakenly consider DA anomalies as examples of filtration anomalies. Identification of DA anomalies is based on correlation of SP and apparent resistivity values along the same profiles. During the student geophysical training workshop for students of the Moscow State University (Aleksandrovka village, Kaluga Region) we obtained profiles with SP and resistivity anomalies with good correlation between them. This makes it possible to consider such SP anomalies as a result of DA processes.     

Ecological–Biogeochemical Monitoring of a Linden Avenue in a Megapolis

Ecological–biogeochemical monitoring of a linden avenue on Kosygin Street, Moscow, has revealed that soils at sites regarded as contaminated contain elevated Mn, Fe, Sr, and Se concentrations and lower Zn contents. Linden leaves at the assumed contaminated sites typically contain higher Cu and Fe concentrations and not as much higher Zn, As, and Cr concentrations but much lower Mn and Sr concentrations. Water leachates of soils at sites regarded as background have slightly lower pH and lower Ca, Mg, K, and Na concentrations and total mineralization. Test for phytochelatins in the leaves proved to be rather ineffective, as also were estimates of the fluctuating asymmetry of the leaf laminas. The greatest differences were detected in the degree of leaf pathology and the contents of pigments.     

Military uses of groundwater: a driver of innovation?

Military need has been a positive driver to the development of the modern day, and now mature, science of hydrogeology. The important synergy between geology and water supply was appreciated by military men in the mid-nineteenth century but the first real test of this learning only took place in the First World War. German, British and American geologists then mapped water resources and the potential for exploiting groundwater in Belgium and northern France. Technical innovations included deployment of rapid drilling techniques and the promotion of well screens for use in unconsolidated sediments. The mapping techniques were developed further during the Second World War when innovative remote mapping of enemy-occupied territory became an important planning tool to both Allied and German armies. Work in North Africa and other arid and semi-arid terrains promoted insight into the occurrence of groundwater in fresh-water aquifers little replenished by recharge. Mapping of hard rock basement-type environments in the islands of Jersey and Guernsey by German geologists was a concept new to the British Isles. Collectively, these varied initiatives provided part of the foundation for post-Second World War development of modern-day applied hydrogeology.     

Acclimatization and screening of a chloramphenicol-degrading strain

Chloramphenicol （CAP） is an antibiotic commonly used in aquaculture as a prophylactic or disinfectant to prevent diseases, or as a chemotherapeutic agent to control diseases. This antibiotic is either spread directly in the aquatic environment or administered through medicated feeds. It may be directly exposed to or enter the environment by leaching from uneaten feeds or from the aquatic animals＇ excrements. The antibiotic also directly enters the environment through pharmaceutical wastewater. Toxicity of CAP to human bone marrow has been linked to fatal aplastic anemia. Antimicrobial residues enter the environment, which may also establish a selective pressure in favour of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. The residues of antibiotics may pose potential risk to public health or increase the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the aquatic environment. Due to these perceived risk, treatment of CAP in farm animals intended for human consumption has been restricted. However, residue of CAP in the environment is still a concern. There have been some reports on the residual effects of CAP on aquaculture and on microbial resistance to CAP in certain environments. The biotransformation of CAP in aquaculture pond sediments has been reported, which indicated that salinity is one of the many environmental factors that affect the degradation of CAP. However, acclimatization and screening of dominant bacteria for biodegrading CAP have been rarely studied. This paper studied the microbial degradation of CAP. In order to screen the dominant bacteria for degrading, the source of bacteria was sampled from the aquaculture pond sediments of Baiyun Borough, Guangzhou, China. 60 mg/L CAP was used as a sole carbon source to screen CAP-degrading bacteria and the dominant bacteria were acclimated after 2 months.     

A thousand years of loneliness? Globalization from the perspective of a city in a European periphery

Most cities face the challenge of increasing global and local change. Much of what has been said about cities in a globalized world has been concerned with large metropolitan cites. It has been postulated that increased competitiveness is the relevant response, and that urban governance has to change from managerialism to entrepeneurialism in order to cope with this challenge. The first part of the paper discusses some aspects of this body of theory, and the relevance for sub-national regional capitals. It also discusses how the scope of strategies depend on changing national and regional policies. The second part uses the case of Trondheim to discuss how these cities perceive and deal with globalization. Four policy options are discussed; the clientist strategy, the competitive strategy, the isolationist strategy and finally the option of doing nothing at all. The article concludes that global challenges will force local government in small cities to forge new strategies, but the preferred option is a clientist strategy rather than an entrepreneurial one, and the scope of strategy is national rather than global. Thus, when dealing with small peripheral cities and globalization, the range of perspectives must be extended beyond entrepreneurialism and competitiveness.     

A natural analogue for the long-term corrosion of copper nuclear waste containers—reanalysis of a study of a bronze cannon

The study of natural analogues is often used to support long-term predictions of the safety of geological disposal of used nuclear fuel. The case of a bronze cannon, submerged in seawater-saturated clay sediments for a period of 310 a, is reassessed with reference to a corrosion mechanism developed for copper nuclear waste containers in a conceptual disposal vault in the Canadian Shield. Redox reactions between Cu, Fe and dissolved O₂ are believed to have played an important role in the corrosion of the bronze cannon and also form an essential part of the corrosion mechanism proposed for nuclear waste containers. Limited rates of mass transport through compacted clay are also important in determining the corrosion behaviour of both the cannon and the containers.     

Refinement of a lunar FeO mapping method

Clementine UVVIS and NIR data from the lunar sampling sites (totaling 46 sampling sites) were processed and used to refine the iron determination method of Le Mouéic et al. (2000, 2002). We found that about 21 sampling sites are unsuitable to Le Mouéic et al's spectral parameters ("slope" and "depth l") because their 1500 nm filter could not be used as spectral parameters' right shoulders and to evaluate the depth of the 1-μm absorption feature accurately. We used the rest 25 sampling sites to refine the method developed by Le Mouéic et al. (2000, 2002 ) and obtained our own equation of FeO content determination. We tested our own equation, and the results are satifactory. In our work we also acquired some useful experiences in scientific applications of our own dataset of the Chang'E-1 mission.     

Behaviour of REE during weathering of granite in a tropical climate

Weathering is essentially a leaching process and thus, one way of determining the extent of weathering is to monitor the mobility of different elements. Rate of loss of elements in a weathering profile can be determined by comparing the concentrations of …     

On Mathematical Aspects of a Combined Inversion of Gravity and Normal Mode Variations by a Spline Method

This paper provides a brief overview of two linear inverse problems concerned with the determination of the Earth’s interior: inverse gravimetry and normal mode tomography. Moreover, a vector spline method is proposed for a combined solution of both problems. This method uses localised basis functions, which are based on reproducing kernels, and is related to approaches which have been successfully applied to the inverse gravimetric problem and the seismic traveltime tomography separately.