Identification of marine natural gases with different origin sources

Kinetic experiments of gas generation for typical samples of marine gas precursors including low-maturity kerogen,residual kerogen and oil as well as dispersed liquid hydrocarbon(DLH)in source rocks were performed by closed system,and the evolution trends of molecular and isotopic compositions of natural gases from different precursors against the maturity(R0%)at laboratory conditions were analyzed.Several diagrams of gas origin were calibrated by using the experimental data.A diagram based on the ratio of normal and isomerous butane and pentane(i/nC4-i/nC5)was proposed and used to identify the origins of the typical marine natural gases in the Sichuan Basin and the Tarim Basin, China.And the maturities of natural gases were estimated by using the statistical relationships between the gaseous molecular carbon isotopic data and maturities(δ13C-R 0 %)with different origins.The results indicate that the molecular and isotopic compositions of simulated gases from different precursors are different from each other.For example,the dryness index of the oil-cracking gas is the lowest;the dryness indices of gases from DLH and kerogen in closed system are almost the same;and the dryness index of gases from residual kerogen is extremely high,indicating that the kerogen gases are very dry;the contents of non-hydrocarbon gases in kerogen-cracking gases are far higher than those in oil-cracking and DLH-cracking gases.The molecular carbon isotopes of oil-cracking gases are the lightest,those of kerogen in closed system and GLH-cracking gases are the second lightest,and those of cracking gases from residual kerogen are the heaviest.The calibration results indicate that the diagrams of ln(C1/C2)-ln(C2/C3)andδ13C2-δ13C3-ln(C2/C3)can discriminate primary and secondary cracking gases,but cannot be used to identify gas origin sources,while the diagram of i/nC4-i/nC5 can differentiate the gases from different precursors.The application results of these diagrams show that gas mixtures extensively exist in China,which involved the gases from multiple precursors and those from different maturity stages.For example,marine gases in the Sichuan Basin involve the mixture of oil-cracking gases and high-over-maturated kerogen gases,while those in the Tarim Basin involve not only the mixture of gases from multiple precursors,but also those from different maturity gases and post-reservoir alternations such as oxidized degradation and gas intrusion processes.     

Classification and origin of natural gases from Lishui Sag,the East China Sea Basin

Natural gases discovered up to now in Lishui Sag, the East China Sea Basin, differ greatly in gaseous compositions, of which hydrocarbon gases amount to 2%–94% while non-hydrocarbon gases are dominated by CO₂. Their hydrocarbon gases, without exception, contain less than 90% of methane and over 10% of C₂ ⁺ heavier hydrocarbons, indicating a wet gas. Carbon isotopic analyses on these hydrocarbon gases showed that δ ¹³C₁, δ ¹³C₂ and δ ¹³C₃ are basically lighter than ?44‰, ?29‰ and ?26‰, respectively. The difference in carbon isotopic values between methane and ethane is great, suggesting a biogenic oil-type gas produced by the mixed organic matter at peak generation. δ ¹³ \(C_{CO_2 } \) values of nonhydrocarbon gases are all heavier than ?10‰, indicating a typical abiogenic gas. The simulation experiment on hydrocarbon generation of organic matter in a closed gold-tube system showed that the proportion of methane in natural gases produced by terrigenous organic matter in the Lingfeng Formation marine deposit is obviously higher than that in natural gases derived from the aquatic and terrigenous mixed organic matter in the Yueguifeng Formation lacustrine deposit, consequently the proportion of heavier hydrocarbons of the former is remarkably lower than that of the latter. Moreover, δ ¹³C₁ values of natural gases produced by terrigenous organic matter in the Lingfeng Formation marine deposit are about 5‰ heavier than those of natural gases derived from the aquatic and terrigenous mixed organic matter in the Yueguifeng Formation lacustrine deposit while δ ¹³C₂ and δ ¹³C₃ values of the former are over 9‰ heavier than those of the latter. Currently the LS36-1 oil-gas pool is the only commercial oil-gas reservoir in Lishui Sag, where carbon isotopic compositions of various hydrocarbon components differ greatly from those of natural gases produced by the Lingfeng Formation organic matter but are very similar to those of natural gases derived from the Yueguifeng Formation organic matter, therefore, natural gases in the LS36-1 oil-gas pool are mainly derived from the Yueguifeng Formation lacustrine source rock rather than the Lingfeng Formation marine or Mingyuefeng Formation coal-measures source rocks.     

Classification and origin of natural gases from Lishui Sag,the East China Sea Basin

Natural gases discovered up to now in Lishui Sag,the East China Sea Basin,differ greatly in gaseous compositions,of which hydrocarbon gases amount to 2%―94%while non-hydrocarbon gases are dominated by CO2.Their hydrocarbon gases,without exception,contain less than 90%of methane and over 10%of C2 heavier hydrocarbons,indicating a wet gas.Carbon isotopic analyses on these hydrocarbon gases showed thatδ13C 1 ,δ13C 2 andδ13C 3 are basically lighter than-44‰,-29‰and-26‰, respectively.The difference in carbon isotopic values between methane and ethane is great,suggesting a biogenic oil-type gas produced by the mixed organic matter at peak generation.δ13C CO2 values of nonhydrocarbon gases are all heavier than-10‰,indicating a typical abiogenic gas.The simulation experiment on hydrocarbon generation of organic matter in a closed gold-tube system showed that the proportion of methane in natural gases produced by terrigenous organic matter in the Lingfeng Formation marine deposit is obviously higher than that in natural gases derived from the aquatic and terrigenous mixed organic matter in the Yueguifeng Formation lacustrine deposit,consequently the proportion of heavier hydrocarbons of the former is remarkably lower than that of the latter.Moreover, δ13C 1 values of natural gases produced by terrigenous organic matter in the Lingfeng Formation marine deposit are about 5‰heavier than those of natural gases derived from the aquatic and terrigenous mixed organic matter in the Yueguifeng Formation lacustrine deposit whileδ13C 2 andδ13C 3 values of the former are over 9‰heavier than those of the latter.Currently the LS36-1 oil-gas pool is the only commercial oil-gas reservoir in Lishui Sag,where carbon isotopic compositions of various hydrocarbon components differ greatly from those of natural gases produced by the Lingfeng Formation organic matter but are very similar to those of natural gases derived from the Yueguifeng Formation organic matter,therefore,natural gases in the LS36-1 oil-gas pool are mainly derived from the Yueguifeng Formation lacustrine source rock rather than the Lingfeng Formation marine or Mingyuefeng Formation coal-measures source rocks.     

Classification and origin of natural gases from Lishui Sag,the East China Sea Basin

Natural gases discovered up to now in Lishui Sag, the East China Sea Basin, differ greatly in gaseous compositions, of which hydrocarbon gases amount to 2%–94% while non-hydrocarbon gases are dominated by CO₂. Their hydrocarbon gases, without exception, contain less than 90% of methane and over 10% of C₂ ⁺ heavier hydrocarbons, indicating a wet gas. Carbon isotopic analyses on these hydrocarbon gases showed that δ ¹³C₁, δ ¹³C₂ and δ ¹³C₃ are basically lighter than −44‰, −29‰ and −26‰, respectively. The difference in carbon isotopic values between methane and ethane is great, suggesting a biogenic oil-type gas produced by the mixed organic matter at peak generation. δ ¹³ \( C_{CO_2 } \) values of nonhydrocarbon gases are all heavier than −10‰, indicating a typical abiogenic gas. The simulation experiment on hydrocarbon generation of organic matter in a closed gold-tube system showed that the proportion of methane in natural gases produced by terrigenous organic matter in the Lingfeng Formation marine deposit is obviously higher than that in natural gases derived from the aquatic and terrigenous mixed organic matter in the Yueguifeng Formation lacustrine deposit, consequently the proportion of heavier hydrocarbons of the former is remarkably lower than that of the latter. Moreover, δ ¹³C₁ values of natural gases produced by terrigenous organic matter in the Lingfeng Formation marine deposit are about 5‰ heavier than those of natural gases derived from the aquatic and terrigenous mixed organic matter in the Yueguifeng Formation lacustrine deposit while δ ¹³C₂ and δ ¹³C₃ values of the former are over 9‰ heavier than those of the latter. Currently the LS36-1 oil-gas pool is the only commercial oil-gas reservoir in Lishui Sag, where carbon isotopic compositions of various hydrocarbon components differ greatly from those of natural gases produced by the Lingfeng Formation organic matter but are very similar to those of natural gases derived from the Yueguifeng Formation organic matter, therefore, natural gases in the LS36-1 oil-gas pool are mainly derived from the Yueguifeng Formation lacustrine source rock rather than the Lingfeng Formation marine or Mingyuefeng Formation coal-measures source rocks.

     

Dissolved noble gases in marine waters

The supersaturation of neon in southeastern Pacific deep sea water is unexpectedly high, 6.6% on the average, while surface waters have values about a factor of two lower. A comparison of neon and argon concentrations indicates the presence of injected air in the deep water. The results from surface samples cannot be reconciled with air injection.     

Modelling of natural sources of magnetospheric origin in the interpretation of regional induction studies: A review

Traditional interpretation of regional induction studies relies on the assumption that the external inducing field is quasi-form. My review is devoted to as clear as possible a definition of the limitations of this assumption, which is not always justified. Therefore, I will first systematically describe the actual current systems responsible for induction at high, middle or low-latitudes, and then review the means presently available for taking their localised nature into consideration when interpretating surface electromagnetic data. Realistic source models will be presented for all latitudes.

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Résumé Les méthodes géophysiques traditionnelles basées sur l'induction électromagnétique régionale utilisent toutes l'hypothèse de base suivant laquelle le champ externe inducteur est quasi-uniforme. Puisque cette hypothèse n'est pas toujours justifiable, ma revue a pour but de définir ses limites aussi clairement que possible. Pour ce faire, je décrirai d'abord systématiquement les véritables systèmes de courants responsables de l'induction à hautes, moyennes ou basses latitudes, pour passer ensuite aux méthodes permettant de prendre en considération leur étendue limitée lors de l'interprétation d'observations de surface. Des modèles réalistes de sources seront présentés pour toutes latitudes.

     

Characteristics of high-resolution marine reflection profiling sources

Midwater signatures of eight common types of marine seismic sources have been recorded and characteristics of importance for high-resolution reflection profiling have been analyzed. Analyzed characteristics include wavelet shape, peak frequency, bandwidth, repeatability and directivity. Digitization rates required to describe the signatures before any processing and after whitening deconvolution were determined.It was intended that most of the broad range of available source types be represented. Toward that end, both resonant and impulsive types were studied; the impulsive types being both electric-discharge and pneumatic. They included a conventional sonar transducer, a chirped sonar transducer, a boomer, a plasmagun, a multi tip sparker, a watergun, an airgun and three sizes of sleevegun.It was observed that the peak frequency of each conventional sonar is similar to its nominal value and that of the chirped sonar is about the midpoint of its nominal sweep bandwidth. The dominant frequencies of the electric-discharge impulsive sources are about an order of magnitude higher than those of the pneumatic impulsive sources. Among impulsive sources, the boomer has the highest peak frequency and the watergun has the broadest bandwidth. The sleevegun and airgun were found to be comparable, both having low frequencies, poor repeatability and weak directivity. The conventional sonar and the boomer are the most repeatable sources. The boomer shows the strongest directivity with the chip sonar and the watergun being the most nondirectional.Sample rates required to describe the unprocessed signatures vary from 2 to 88 times the peak frequency and from 1 to 4 times the bandwidth 40dB below peak power. The required rate depends largely on source type but can also be affected by energy level. Bandwidth seems to be a more stable indicator than peak frequency. Rates required to describe the results of applying whitening deconvolution to signatures were about 1.5–3 times higher than rates calculated for the unprocessed signatures. This leads to the conclusion that the digitization rate required in a specific situation can depend as much on the intended processing scheme as it does on source type.     

Rare gas isotopic compositions in natural gases of Japan

Isotopic and elemental compositions of rare gases in various types of gas samples collected in the Japanese Islands were investigated. Excess³He was found in most samples. Many samples showed a regionally uniform high³He/⁴He ratio of about 7 times the atmospheric ratio. The He concentrations varied from 0.6 to 1800 ppm, and they were low in CO₂-rich gases and high in N₂-rich gases. Ne isotopic deviations from the atmospheric Ne were detected in most volcanic gases. The deviations and the elemental abundance patterns in volcanic gases can be explained by a mixing between two components, one is mass fractionated rare gases and the other is isotopically atmospheric and is enriched in heavy rare gas elements. Ar was a mixture of mass fractionated Ar, atmospheric Ar and radiogenic Ar, and the contribution of radiogenic⁴⁰Ar was small in all samples. Except for He, elemental abundance patterns were progressively enriched in the heavier rare gases relative to the atmosphere. Several samples were highly enriched in Kr and Xe relative to the abundance pattern of dissolution equilibrium of atmospheric rare gases in water. The component which is highly enriched in heavy rare gases may be released from sedimentary materials in the crust.     

电离层影响下不同类型源激发的电磁场特征

大地电磁法(MT)和可控源音频大地电磁法(CSAMT)虽然在多种勘探领域均得到了广泛的应用,但是也存在着一些问题.于是结合了这两种勘探方法的优点,一种采用固定的大功率源进行电磁波发射,在全国范围内进行电磁信号接收的人工源电磁法得到了发展.此方法中收发距可达上千公里,在此大尺度范围下如何保证电磁信号的强度成为一个关键问题,而其中发射源的类型是决定着信号强度的重要因素.当收发距很大时,电离层的存在将影响到电磁信号的传播,为了探讨适合于大功率固定源方法的发射源类型,本文将大功率固定源方法模型抽象为地-电离层模型,研究电离层影响下的三维积分方程法,其中地-电离层模式背景模型的格林函数用波数域中的层矩阵法获得.利用此正演方法模拟对比了发射源分别为水平长线源、环状源和L型源时电离层影响下的电磁场传播特征,并初步探讨了L型发射源对三维异常体的分辨能力.综合分析认为L型源是较优的发射源,有利于在大功率固定源方法中进行实际应用.     

Material sources of escaped gases from Tianchi volcanic geothermal area, Changbai Mountains

On the basis of the chemical components and stable isotopic compositions of escaped gases from the Tianchi volcanic geothermal area, the material sources of these gases are discussed, presenting that they are mainly derived from the residual mantle-derived magma in the crust; Changbai geothermal area may be directly interlinked with the eruption canal in history; there is a stable reservoir of the geothermal water and the deep-seated gases under the Changbai geothermal area, with water temperature of the reservoir being about (166 ± 9)°C. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Diffusion of rare gases of solar wind origin from lunar fines as bubbles

A diffusion mechanism is proposed which takes into account phenomena observed in ion-implanted solids, in particular the precipitation of rare gas in the form of bubbles and their migration. The composition of rare gases in the bubbles is inferred from the calculated distribution of solar wind rare gas ions as a function of depth in the grains. These calculations are made for the location and average composition of Apollo 11 samples. It is shown by analogy with experimental observations in ion-implanted solids that the bubbles would migrate towards the surface and that the diffusion constant for this migration would be strongly depth dependent. Relative abundances of rare gas nuclides remaining behind due to the resultant degassing are estimated for one Apollo 11 soil sample and are compared with observed relative abundances for this sample. A qualitative explanation of some of the experimental observations of Ducati et al. on individual lunar grains is also offered.     

Research on 3D marine electromagnetic interferometry with synthetic sources for suppressing the airwave interference

In order to suppress the airwave noise in marine controlled-source electromagnetic （CSEM） data, we propose a 3D deconvolution （3DD） interferometry method with a synthetic aperture source and obtain the relative anomaly coefficient （RAC） of the EM field reflection responses to show the degree for suppressing the airwave. We analyze the potential of the proposed method for suppressing the airwave, and compare the proposed method with traditional methods in their effectiveness. A method to select synthetic source length is derived and the effect of the water depth on RAC is examined via numerical simulations. The results suggest that 3DD interferometry method with a synthetic source can effectively suppress the airwave and enhance the potential of marine CSEM to hydrocarbon exploration.     

Strategy for mitigation of marine debris: Analysis of sources and composition of marine debris in northern Taiwan

Six sites (two sites for each of rocky shores, sandy beaches, and fishing ports) in northern Taiwan were selected to investigate the amount and density of marine debris in each of the four seasons and after spring and neap tides from 2012 to 2013. The results indicate that marine debris was higher on rocky shores than sandy beaches and fishing ports. There is no significant difference between season and tide. The dominant debris was plastic-type, followed by polystyrene. The majority of debris originated from recreational activities, followed from ocean/waterway activities. The results suggest that the following actions are needed: (1) continue and reinforce the plastic-limit policy; (2) increase the cleaning frequency at rocky shores; (3) promote marine environmental education, with a goal of debris-free coasts; (4) recycle fishing gear and to turn that gear into energy; and (5) coordinate between agencies to establish a mechanism to monitor debris.     

Carbon isotope characteristics,origin and distribution of the natural gases from the Tertiary salty lacustrine facies in the West Depression Region in the Qaidam Basin

Since the Meso-Cenozoic, controlled by paleoclimate, a series of fresh to brackish water basins and salt to semi-salt water basins were developed in wet climatic zones and in dry climate zones in China, respectively[1]. The geological and geochemical char…     

Response of the ionosphere to natural and man-made acoustic sources

A review is presented of the effects influencing the ionosphere which are caused by acoustic emission from different sources (chemical and nuclear explosions, bolides, meteorites, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, launches of spacecrafts and flights of supersonic jets). A terse statement is given of the basic theoretical principles and simplified theoretical models underlying the physics of propagation of infrasonic pulses and gravity waves in the upper atmosphere. The observations of “quick” response by the ionosphere are pointed out. The problem of magnetic disturbances and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave generation in the ionosphere is investigated. In particular, the supersonic propagation of ionospheric disturbances, and the conversion of the acoustic energy into the so-called gyrotropic waves in the ionospheric E-layer are considered.     

Quantifying the sources of simulation uncertainty in natural catastrophe models

The risk from natural catastrophes is typically estimated using complex simulation models involving multiple stochastic components in a nested structure. This risk is principally assessed via the mean annual loss, and selected quantiles of the annual loss. Determining an appropriate simulation strategy is important in order to achieve satisfactory convergence of these statistics, without excessive computation time and data storage requirements. This necessitates an understanding of the relative contribution of each of the stochastic components to the total variance of the statistics. A simple framework using random effects models and analysis of variance is used to partition the variance of the annual loss, which permits calculation of the variance of the mean annual loss with varying numbers of samples of each of the components. An extension to quantiles is developed using the empirical distribution function in combination with bootstrapping. The methods are applied to a European flood model, where the primary stochastic component relates to the frequency and severity of flood events, and three secondary components relate to defence levels, exposure locations and building vulnerability. As expected, it is found that the uncertainty due to the secondary components increases as the size of the portfolio of exposures decreases, and is higher for industrial and commercial business, compared with residential for all statistics of interest. In addition, interesting insights are gained as to the impact of flood defences on convergence.     

Three-dimensional forward modeling and inversion of borehole-to-surface electrical imaging with different power sources

Borehole-to-surface electrical imaging (BSEI) uses a line source and a point source to generate a stable electric field in the ground. In order to study the surface potential of anomalies, three-dimensional forward modeling of point and line sources was conducted by using the finite-difference method and the incomplete Cholesky conjugate gradient (ICCG) method. Then, the damping least square method was used in the 3D inversion of the formation resistivity data. Several geological models were considered in the forward modeling and inversion. The forward modeling results suggest that the potentials generated by the two sources have different surface signatures. The inversion data suggest that the low-resistivity anomaly is outlined better than the high-resistivity anomaly. Moreover, when the point source is under the anomaly, the resistivity anomaly boundaries are better outlined than when using a line source.     

Identification of petroleum pollution sources of water bodies and streams

A three-level scheme is proposed for the identification of sources of fresh and old petroleum pollution of water bodies and streams, including an optimal complex of simple, available, and highly effective physicochemical techniques, criteria, and sample processing methods ensuring the reliability of conclusions derived from them. The efficiency of application of the proposed methods is illustrated in several water bodies and streams (the Bol’shaya Krepkaya, Tuzlov, Chitinka, and other rivers), which have experienced oil pollution.     

Screening of biosurfactant producers from petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated sources in cold marine environments

An overview of literature about isolating biosurfactant producers from marine sources indicated no such producers have been reported form North Atlantic Canada. Water and sediment samples were taken from petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated coastal and offshore areas in this region. Either n-hexadecane or diesel was used as the sole carbon source for the screening. A modified colony-based oil drop collapsing test was used to cover sessile biosurfactant producers. Fifty-five biosurfactant producers belong to genera of Alcanivorax, Exiguobacterium, Halomonas, Rhodococcus, Bacillus, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, and Streptomyces were isolated. The first three genera were established after 1980s with interesting characteristics and limited relevant publications. Some of the 55 isolated strains were found with properties such as greatly reducing surface tension, stabilizing emulsion and producing flocculant. Isolates P6-4P and P1-5P were selected to demonstrate the performance of biosurfactant production, and were found to reduce the surface tension of water to as low as 28 dynes/cm.