Influence of Bedding and Mineral Composition on Mechanical Properties and Its Implication for Hydraulic Fracturing of Shale Oil Reservoirs

The premise of hydraulic fracturing is to have an accurate and detailed understanding of the rock mechanical properties and fracture propagation law of shale reservoirs. In this paper, a comprehensive evaluation of the mechanical properties of the shale oil reservoir in the south of Songliao Basin is carried out. Based on the experiments and the in-situ stress analysis, the fracture propagation law of three types of shale reservoirs is obtained, and the suggestions for fracturing are put forward. The results have shown that the fracture propagation of pure shale and low mature reservoir is easy to open along the bedding plane under compression loading, which is greatly influenced by the bedding. Sand-bearing shale is slightly better, the fractures of which are not easy to open along the bedding plane. The mechanical experimental results show that all the samples have the characteristics of low compressive strength, low Young''s modulus and strong anisotropy, indicating that the shale oil reservoir is certain plastic, which is related to its high clay mineral content and controlled by the bedding development. Compared with pure shale and low mature shale, the sand-bearing shale has less clay content and less developed bedding, which maybe the main reason for its slightly better brittleness. Overall, the expansion of hydraulic fracture is controlled by in-situ stress and bedding. Because of the development of bedding, it is easy to form horizontal fractures. Thus it is not suitable for horizontal well fracturing. Because of the high content of clay minerals, the applicability of conventional slick hydraulic fracturing fluid is poor. It is suggested to use vertical well or directional well to carry out volume fracturing. In this way, the effect of bedding can be effectively used to open and connect the bedding and form a larger fracture network.     

Conceptual model of fracture-limited sea cliff erosion: Erosion of the seaward tilted flyschs of Socoa,Basque Country,France

Sea cliff morphology and erosion rates are modulated by several factors, including rock control that reflects both lithology and rock structure. Erosion is anticipated to preferentially exploit ‘fractures’, broadly meant as any discontinuity in an otherwise continuous medium, where the rock mass is weakest. Unpicking the direct control of such fractures on the spatial and temporal pattern of erosion remains, however, challenging. To analyse how such fractures control erosion, we monitored the evolution of a 400 m-long stretch of highly structured sedimentary cliffs in Socoa, Basque Country, France. The rock is known as the Socoa flysch formation. This formation combines decimetre-thick turbidites composed of repeat triplets of medium to strong calcareous sandstone, laminated siltstones and argillaceous marls. The sequence plunges at 45° into the sea with a shore-parallel strike. The cliffs are cross-cut by two normal and reverse fault families, with 10–100 m alongshore spacing, with primary and secondary strata-bound fractures perpendicular to the bedding, which combined delimit the cliff rock mass into discrete blocks that are exploited by the erosion process. Erosion, and sometimes plucking, of such beds and blocks on the cliff face was monitored using ground-based structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry, over the course of 5.7 years between 2011 and 2017. To compare with longer time change, cliff-top retreat rate was assessed using SfM-orthorectified archive aerial photographs spanning 1954–2008. We show that the 13,250 m² cliff face released 4500 blocks exceeding 1.45 × 10⁻³ m³, removing a total volume of 170 m³. This equates to an average cliff erosion rate of 3.4 mm/year, which is slightly slower than the 54-year-long local cliff-top retreat (10.8 ± 1.8 mm/year). The vertical distribution of erosion reflects the height of sea water inundation, where the maximum erosion intensity occurs ca. 2 m above high spring-tide water level. Alongshore, the distribution of rockfall scars is concentrated along bed edges bounding cross-cutting faults; the extent of block detachment is controlled by secondary tectonic joints, which may extend through several beds locally sharing similar mechanical strength; and rockfall depth is always a multiple of bed thickness. Over the longer term, we explain block detachment and resultant cliff collapse as a cycle. Erosion nucleates on readily exploitable fractures but elsewhere, the sea only meets defect-free medium-strong to strong rock slabs offering few morphological features for exploitation. Structurally delimited blocks are quarried, and with sufficient time, carve semi-elliptic scars reaching progressively deeper strata to be eroded. Lateral propagation of erosion is directed along mechanical weaknesses in the bedding, and large episodic collapses affect the overhanging slabs via sliding on the weak marl beds. Collapse geometry is confined to one or several triplets of turbidite beds, but never reaches deeper into the cliff than the eroded depth at the foot. We contend that this fracture-limited model of sea-cliff erosion, inferred from the Socoa site dynamics and its peculiar sets of fractures, applies more broadly to other fractured cliff contexts, albeit with site-specific geometries. The initiation of erosion, the propagation of incremental block release and the ultimate full failure of the cliff, have each been shown to be fundamentally directly controlled by structure, which remains a vital control in understanding how cliffed coasts have changed in the past and will change in the future.     

Where Does Water Go During Hydraulic Fracturing?

During hydraulic fracturing millions of gallons of water are typically injected at high pressure into deep shale formations. This water can be housed in fractures, within the shale matrix, and can potentially migrate beyond the shale formation via fractures and/or faults raising environmental concerns. We describe a generic framework for producing estimates of the volume available in fractures and undamaged shale matrix where water injected into a representative shale site could reside during hydraulic fracturing, and apply it to a representative site that incorporates available field data. The amount of water that can be stored in the fractures is estimated by calculating the volume of all the fractures associated with a discrete fracture network (DFN) based on real data and using probability theory to estimate the volume of smaller fractures that are below the lower cutoff for the fracture radius in the DFN. The amount of water stored in the matrix is estimated utilizing two distinct methods—one using a two‐phase model at the pore‐scale and the other using a single‐phase model at the continuum scale. Based on these calculations, it appears that most of the water resides in the matrix with a lesser amount in the fractures.     

Evidence for seasonal subglacial outburst events at a polythermal glacier,Finsterwalderbreen, Svalbard

Bulk runoff and meteorological data suggest the occurrence of two meltwater outburst events at Finsterwalderbreen, Svalbard, during the 1995 and 1999 melt seasons. Increased bulk meltwater concentrations of Cl^? during the outbursts indicate the release of snowmelt from storage. Bulk meltwater hydrochemical data and suspended sediment concentrations suggest that this snowmelt accessed a chemical weathering environment characterized by high rock:water ratios and long rock–water contact times. This is consistent with a subglacial origin. The trigger for both the 1995 and 1999 outbursts is believed to be high rates of surface meltwater production and the oversupply of meltwater to areas of the glacier bed that were at the pressure melting point, but which were unconnected to the main subglacial drainage network. An increase in subglacial water pressure to above the overburden pressure lead to the forcing of a hydrological connection between the expanding subglacial reservoir and the ice‐marginal channelized system. The purging of ice blocks from the glacier during the outbursts may indicate the breach of an ice dam during connection. Although subglacial meltwater issued continually from the glacier terminus via a subglacial upwelling during both melt seasons, field observations showed outburst meltwaters were released solely via an ice‐marginal channel. It is possible that outburst events are a seasonal phenomenon at this glacier and reflect the periodic drainage of meltwaters from the same subglacial reservoir from year to year. However, the location of this reservoir is uncertain. A 100 m high bedrock ridge traverses the glacier 6·5 km from its terminus. The overdeepened area up‐glacier from this is the most probable site for subglacial meltwater accumulation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The distribution rule and seepage effect of the fractures in the ultra-low permeability sandstone reservoir in east Gansu Province,Ordos Basin

To study the impact of the fractures on development in the ultra-low permeability sandstone reservoir of the Yangchang Formation of the Upper Triassic in the Ordos Basin,data on outcrops,cores,slices,well logging and experiments are utilized to analyze the cause of the formation of the fractures,their distribution rules and the control factors and discuss the seepage flow effect of the fractures. In the studied area developed chiefly high-angle tectonic fractures and horizontal bedding fractures,inter-granular fractures and grain boundary fractures as well. Grain boundary fractures and intragranular fractures serve as vital channels linking intragranular pores and intergranular solution pores in the reservoir matrix,thus providing a good connectivity between the pores in the ultra-low perme-ability sandstone reservoir. The formation of fractures and their distribution are influenced by such external and internal factors as the palaeo-tectonic stress field,the reservoir lithological character,the thickness of the rock layer and the anisotropy of a layer. The present-day stress field influences the preservative state of fractures and their seepage flow effect. Under the tec-tonic effect of both the Yanshan and Himalayan periods,in this region four sets of fractures are distributed,respectively assuming the NE-SW,NW-SE,nearly E-W and nearly S-N orientations,but,due to the effect of the rock anisotropy of the rock formation,in some part of it two groups of nearly orthogonal fractures are chiefly distributed. Under the effect of the present-day stress field,the fractures that assume the NE-SW direction have a good connectivity,big apertures,a high permeability and a minimum starting pressure,all of which are main advantages of the seepage fractures in this region. With the development of oilfields,the permeability of the fractures of dif-ferent directions will have a dynamic change.     

广西龙滩库区深部孕震结构大地电磁探测研究

在广西龙滩库区布置2条北北西-南东东向大地电磁探测剖面进行了32个测点的观测,观测频段为320 Hz~1000 s.对2条剖面上测量和计算得到的各种电磁参数、深部电性结构图像以及库区地质构造、岩性和水域分布等进行分析研究.结果显示库区发育的6条断裂在电性上表现为不同程度的电性差异边界,其中拉浪-达良断裂和拉色-辉马断裂为库区主要断裂带.库区深部电性结构总体表现为纵向上自地表到20 km深度呈现高-低-高的波浪起伏的三层结构,横向上呈明显的高低电阻块状组合样式.龙滩库区4个地震丛集区的震源都位于高、低电阻接触带附近,其中3个地震丛集区的震源位于低阻特性的石炭系地层的下部,为岩溶水体诱发地震;发生最大震级的地震丛集区的震源位于上宽下窄似"铆钉状"的高阻体下部,推测是因水库蓄水后水体压力增大和库水渗透作用下在聚集高变形能的脆性高电阻体内部发生的地震.     

In situ hydraulic tests in the active fault survey tunnel, Kamioka Mine, excavated through the active Mozumi-Sukenobu Fault zone and their hydrogeological significance

Abstract   The spatial hydrogeological and structural character of the active Mozumi-Sukenobu Fault (MSF) was investigated along a survey tunnel excavated through the MSF in the Kamioka Mine, central Japan. Major groundwater conduits on both sides of the MSF are recognized. One is considered to be a subvertical conduit between the tunnel and the surface, and the other is estimated to be a major reservoir of old meteoric water alongside the MSF. Our studies indicate that part of the MSF is a sub-vertical continuous barrier that obstructs younger meteoric water observed in the south-eastern part of the Active Fault Survey Tunnel (AFST) and water recharge to the rock mass intersected by the north-western part of the AFST. The MSF might be a continuous barrier resulting in the storage of a large quantity of older groundwater to the northwest. The observations and results of in situ hydraulic tests indicate that the major reservoir is not the fault breccia associated with the northeast–southwest trending faults of the MSF, but the zone in which blocks of fractured rocks occur beside high angle faults corresponding to X shears whose tectonic stress field coincides with the present regional stress field and antithetic Riedel shears of the MSF. The results from borehole investigations in the AFST indicate that secondary porosity is developed in the major reservoir due to the destruction of filling minerals and fracture development beside these shears. The increase in hydraulic conductivity is not directly related to increased density of fractures around the MSF. Development of secondary porosity could cause the increase in hydraulic conductivity around the MSF. Our results suggest that minor conduits of the fracture network are sporadically distributed in the sedimentary rocks around the MSF in the AFST.     

密云水库的构造磁实验

为探讨水库地区的构造磁效应,在密云水库周围布设了221个测点,测点间距为2——5km,测点离水库堤岸的距离为几十米至15km不等,使用G-816型与G-826型质子旋进磁力仪,在1983——1987年期间,每季度观测一次地磁场总强度.地磁与密云水库蓄水的资料分析得到,地磁变化与水库的水位变化、水容量变化的关系系数分别为-(0.280.22)nT/m与-(0.350.31)10-8nT/m3,表明地磁变化与该水库蓄水变化有着较强的负相关.这种较强的负相关可能是密云水库地区地下较强磁性岩石的压磁效应的反映.由于水库构造磁实验是地震磁现象的较好模拟,因此,根据实验结果可以相信,在地震活动区布设加密的高精度地磁观测,是能够捕捉到震磁前兆信息的.      

Elastic deformation models of Krafla Volcano,Iceland, for the decade 1975 through 1985

The dynamics of the shallow magma reservoir at Krafla Volcano in NE Iceland have been analyzed with three types of elastic models based on over 70 surveys of tilt and displacement made from 1975 to 1985, a period of continuous volcano-tectonic activity. Modeling results are integrated with geophysical and geological information to estimate the position, geometry, and volume change of magma reservoir domains subjected to periodic inflation and deflation. Dominating influences on magma reservoir dynamics are examined in the context of activity in Krafla's associated rift system and the deformation of its caldera from 1975–1985. Rather than the fluid-filled cavity concept of Mogi (1958) and most recent workers, our models are idealized as strained regions with spherical, double-spherical, or general ellipsoidal symmetry. The models are mathematically generalized from that of Mogi (1958) and are derived by inversion of displacements. Model results from different displacement components are remarkably consistent, although models based on vertical displacements typically have errors-of-fit much closer to expected measurement errors than those based on tilt or horizontal displacements. About one half of the double-sphere and ellipsoid models have significantly better fits than single-sphere models. Double-sphere model results are consistent with a 2 to 3 km center-to-center separation of magma storage zones from at least 2 km to 4 km depth by portions of the fissure system, as implied by S-wave attenuation patterns for 1976–1977. However, all models suggest pressurization zones of more limited extent than possible domains of storage inferred from S-wave attenuation. Ellipsoid models typically implied unrealistically shallow depths of magma storage. Caldera inflation rates decreased after January 1978 when the caldera periodically reinflated to its level prior to the initial December 1975 deflation event. From 1975–1980 the volume and duration of inflation between deflation events was strongly correlated with the volume of the previous deflation. After 1980 there was a significant increase in the duration of inflation periods and a decrease in rates of caldera inflation and fissure system widening. Consistent with these results, the magma reservoir is conceptualized as a hot rock mass containing numerous magma chambers and pressure-sensitive conduits connecting the chambers and deep magma sources. Magma is injected into the fissure system at critical pressures determined by the confining stress and rock mass strength. The duration and volume of inflation required to reach a critical pressure threshold is largely dependent on the volume of magma released in the previous deflation. Reduction of the extension rate across the Krafla fissure system after 1980 suggests that extensional forces were also reduced. A resultant rise of confining pressure on the magma reservoir and a reduced capacity of the fissure system to accommodate dike injection in combination would have increased critical stress levels for reservoir deflation and reduced the pressure gradient driving magma supply from deep sources.     

Analysis of macroscopic fractures in granite in the HDR geothermal well EPS-1, Soultz-sous-Forêts, France

An exhaustive analysis of 3000 macroscopic fractures encountered in the geothermal Hot Dry Rock borehole, EPS-1, located inside the Rhine graben (Soultz-sous-Forêts, France), was done on a continuous core section over a depth interval from 1420 to 2230 m: 97% of the macroscopic structures were successfully reorientated with a good degree of confidence by comparison between core and acoustic borehole imagery. Detailed structural analysis of the fracture population indicates that fractures are grouped in two principal fractures sets striking N005 and N170 °, and dipping 70 °W and 70 °E, respectively. This average attitude is closely related to the past tectonic rifting activity of the graben during the Tertiary, and is consistent with data obtained from nearby boreholes and from neighbouring crystalline outcrops. Fractures are distributed in clusters of hydrothermally altered and fractured zones. They constitute a complex network of fault strands dominated by N–S trends, except within some of the most fractured depth intervals (1650 m, 2170 m), where an E–W-striking fracture set occurs. The geometry of the pre-existing fracture system strikes in a direction nearly parallel to the maximum horizontal stress. In this favorable situation, hydraulic injections will tend both to reactivate natural fractures at low pressures, and to create a geothermal reservoir.     

浙江湖南镇水库的诱发地震

1982年和1983年汛期在水库地震区设立密集地震台网。观测表明,地震群集在水库近岸,深度仅几百米。地震与库水位的急剧升降几乎同时出现。几百次单个地震的震源机制解显示出以逆断层和正断层机制为主。地震是库水渗入后在库岸局部应力和岩体重力作用下沿小断层、节理错动的结果,发生破坏性地震的可能性很小     

Englacial and subglacial water flow at Skálafellsjökull,Iceland derived from ground penetrating radar,in situ Glacsweb probe and borehole water level measurements

We reconstruct englacial and subglacial drainage at Skálafellsjökull, Iceland, using ground penetrating radar (GPR) common offset surveys, borehole studies and Glacsweb probe data. We find that englacial water is not stored within the glacier (water content ~0–0.3%). Instead, the glacier is mostly impermeable and meltwater is able to pass quickly through the main body of the glacier via crevasses and moulins. Once at the glacier bed, water is stored within a thin (1 m) layer of debris‐rich basal ice (2% water content) and the till. The hydraulic potential mapped across the survey area indicates that when water pressures are high (most of the year), water flows parallel to the margin, and emerges 3 km down glacier at an outlet tongue. GPR data indicates that these flow pathways may have formed a series of braided channels. We show that this glacier has a very low water‐storage capacity, but an efficient englacial drainage network for transferring water to the glacier bed and, therefore, it has the potential to respond rapidly to changes in melt‐water inputs. © 2015 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

地层倾角测井在雁木西油田白垩系沉积微相研究中的应用

针对雁木西油田白垩系低阻油层受沉积相带及其断裂、构造和岩性等多种因素控制影响,测井信息应用难度增大的特点,采用地层倾角测井资料确定古水流方向、砂体延伸、层理构造和微相特征.利用倾角方位频率矢量统计,确定出白垩系K1s3、K1s2、K1s1目的层段古水流及其相应河道砂体延伸方向为北北东20°.利用层理构造倾角模式分析,确定出白垩系K1s3、K1s2、K1s1期分别发育楔状交错层理、波状斜层理、波状交错层理和水平层理,结合岩心、井径、自然伽马和微侧向电阻率曲线特征,分别阐明白垩系K1s3、K1s2到K1s1期水动力能量由较高到较低变化,形成了扇三角洲前缘扇中的水下辫状河道到扇端的浅水河道有利微相砂体发育带,它们由南南西向北北东方向展布,控制着研究区最为有利的油气储集砂体分布.     

龙滩水库诱发地震三维孔隙弹性有限元数值模拟

本文以龙滩水库为例,根据库区地质构造、深部速度结构及数字地面高程,建立了库区三维有限元模型,基于孔隙弹性理论计算了水库蓄水过程中库底断层和围岩体孔隙压力、有效附加正应力、剪应力和库伦应力的动态变化,并结合水库蓄水后库区地震活动时空分布的特征,讨论了RIS时空演化与库水加卸载及渗透过程的动态响应关系及其可能的成因机制.结果表明：（1） 龙滩水库蓄水后地震活动呈现出明显的丛集性,主要分布在罗妥（丛Ⅰ）、八茂（丛Ⅱ）、拉浪（丛Ⅲ）、坝首（丛Ⅳ）和布柳河（丛Ⅴ）5个水库蓄水后淹没的深水区,这些区域也恰恰是库水加卸载及渗透过程中ΔCFS增加最明显的区域,而ΔCFS的影区几乎没有地震发生,表明水库蓄水后库区地震活动与ΔCFS的变化密切相关.（2） 在水库蓄水过程中,与水库有直接水力联系且渗透性较好的断裂成为地表水体附加水头压力向深部扩散的优势通道,沿此通道附加水头压力扩散的最大深度达13 km左右,震旦系-古生界以碳酸盐岩为主的地层成为附加水头压力扩散的主体层位,这与蓄水后库区中、小地震震源深度均小于13 km,且优势分布在5~10 km的特征相吻合,表明由于孔隙压力的存在降低了岩石的抗剪强度,同时部分抵消了围压的影响,致使该层位的岩体易于产生脆性破坏从而诱发地震活动.（3） 无论是深部还是浅部,各丛地震密集发生的时段绝大部分与相应深度ΔCFS加速升高或阶段性高值时段相重叠,可能说明在库水位快速抬升或阶段性高值时段,受外部荷载加载速率快速升高的影响,库底岩体和断层、裂隙等结构面更容易实现失稳扩展;深、浅部地震响应时间、活动频度和强度的差异可能与不同层位岩体力学性质及渗透性能的不均匀性有关.（4） 各丛地震诱发的物理力学机制有所不同.丛Ⅰ、丛Ⅱ、丛Ⅲ地震的诱发可能与库体重力荷载、孔隙压力扩散和库水浸润弱化3种作用都有关;丛Ⅳ地震的诱发主要受控于库体重力荷载作用,孔隙压力扩散和库水浸润弱化不起主导作用;丛Ⅴ地震的诱发主要受孔隙压力扩散和库水浸润弱化作用的影响,库体重力荷载作用一定程度上抑制了地震的发生.     

Optimum operation of restoration techniques for eutrophic water bodies

Operating rules have been applied in water resources management for a long time in order to control and supply a requiredquantity (volume) of water. The operating rules have to guarantee the optimum management of the reservoir(s). Thequality of the stored water has been satisfactory for the desired utilization up to the sixties. Due to the deterioration of reservoir water quality through human impacts, however, increased attention had to be paid since. Eutrophication of stagnant waters is still an unsolved problem. Through means of various restoration techniques, i.e., dilution/flushing or hypolimnetic withdrawal, the quality of the stored water can be improved. Continuous operation or appropriate time or depth variant operating rules are required to achieve this goal. The paper presents such rules for long-term operation. They have been established for the first time and can he represented in two or three-dimensional graphs depending on the number of included components (e.g., actual water storage and quality). The quality operating rules take into account the dynamics of the processes in aquatic ecosystems. Simplifications with regard to application and acceptance (e.g., clarity) are developed and tested. The general validity and efficiency of the operating rules have been proved in a case study (a multi-purpose reservoir) and a fictitious lake.     

Structure and stability of the former subglacial drainage system of the glacier De Tsanfleuron,Switzerland

A well-developed subglacial drainage system consisting of large cavities developed in the lee of bedrock steps connected together by a network of Nye channels is exposed on an area of recently deglaciated limestone bedrock in front of Glacier de Tsanfleuron, Switzerland. This system covers some 51 per cent of the bedrock surface area, and is believed to have transported the bulk of supraglacially-derived meltwaters through the glacier. Using the cavity hydraulics model of Kamb (1987), it is shown that the geometry of the system rendered it stable against collapse by meltback of channel roofs into a tunnel-dominated system. For likely combinations of glacier geometry and meltwater discharge, the steady state water pressure in this system would have been only a small fraction of that required for flotation, and for discharges of less than about 0·5–5 m³ s^?1 water would have flowed at atmospheric pressure. The system appears to have adjusted to varying discharges by a combination of varying water pressure and changing the total cross-sectional area of flow by altering the number of active channels connecting cavities. Glacier sliding velocity would have been independent of meltwater discharge for discharges at which water flowed at atmospheric pressure, but would have risen with increasing discharge for higher flows. Velocities on the order of 0·1 m d^?1 are predicted for a realistic range of discharges and effective pressures, and these are believed to be plausible. Episodes of enhanced sliding in glaciers with similar drainage systems could be triggered by a rise in meltwater discharge across the threshold between flows at atmospheric pressure and flow under pressure from the glacier.     

Evolution of the Yellow River delta,China: Impacts of channel avulsion and progradation

The evolution of the Yellow River delta is characterized by heavy sediment load,rapid seaward migration,frequent avulsions,and intense anthropogenic disturbances.Evolution of the delta channel following avulsions is very complex and has not yet been thoroughly understood.In the research presented by this paper,we conducted comprehensive analyses of the changes in the water stages,slopes,longitudinal profiles,and the erosion and deposition in the Yellow River delta channels during a time period of over five decades.Results showed that,following each avulsion,channels migrated seaward at decaying rates and the slopes at the downstream of the avulsion point decreased exponentially with time and completed its major adjustment within about four to five years.A generalized geometric model was proposed to describe the changes in the longitudinal profiles of the delta channels.A calculation method to determine the characteristic water stages at the delta was proposed based on the geometric model and the delayed response model for the morphological responses of fluvial rivers to perturbations.Water stages corresponding to a discharge of 3000 m3/s at Lijin and Xihekou during 1954 through 2012 were calculated by using the proposed method.The proposed method may be used to predict the evolution of the delta channels in response to artificial avulsions at the Yellow River delta in the future.     

Delta size and plant patchiness as controls on channel network organization in experimental deltas

Understanding the feedbacks between water, sediment, and vegetation in deltas is an important part of understanding deltas as ecomorphodynamic systems. We conducted a set of laboratory experiments using alfalfa (Medicago sativa) as a proxy for delta vegetation to investigate: (1) the effects of plants on delta growth and channel network formation; and (2) the timescales controlling delta evolution in the presence of plants. Experiments were conducted with fluctuating discharge (i.e. flood and base flow periods) and variable seeding densities. We found that when deltas were small, channels had no memory across flood cycles, as floods could completely fill the incised channel network. When deltas were large, the larger channel volume could remain underfilled to keep channel memory. Plant patches also helped to increase the number of channels and make a more distributive network. Patchiness increased over time to continually aid in bifurcation, but as vegetation cover and patch sizes increased, patches began to merge. Larger patches blocked the flow to enhance topset deposition and channel filling, even for the case of large deltas with a high channel volume. We conclude that both plant patchiness and delta size affect the development of the channel network, and we hypothesize that their influences are manifested through two competing timescales. The first timescale, T_v, defines the time when the delta is large enough for channels to have memory (i.e. remain underfilled), and the second, T_p, defines the time when vegetation patches merge, amplifying deposition and blocking channels. When run time is between these two timescales, the delta can develop a persistent distributary network of channels aided by bifurcation around plant patches, but once T_p is reached, the channel network can again be destroyed by vegetation. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

新疆克孜尔水库地震危险性预测研究

应用库区多项形变观测资料，对克孜尔水库蓄水后出现的形变异常及诱发水库地震的危险性进行了研究。结果认为：①穿过水库大坝的F2活断层在水后出现水平和垂直形变的特大异常变化主要是前期水库施工开挖土石方、填筑土石方及水库蓄水引起地面负荷变化的综合效应所致；②克孜尔水库虽然存在诱发水库地震的潜在因素，但从库容、坝高、F2活断层产状、地质构造背景、水地质条件、岩性以及世界各国发生水库 诱发地震的充分条件；③由库区各项形变观测资料分析表明，库区地壳形变已由施工－蓄水初期时的反向异常变化恢复到了施工蓄水前的正常变化状态，各种受力因素经过调整达到了新的平衡，已进入相对稳定的继承性运动期，因此今后因蓄水诱发水库地震的可能性不大。     

裂缝介质旋转交错网格正演模拟

油气勘探实践表明, 裂缝是油气的储存空间或运移通道, 裂缝介质地震波场的研究越来越受到关注. 实际地层中裂缝形成受多种因素控制, 物理属性比较复杂, 表现出强烈的各向异性. 由于上覆地层的压力使得水平或低陡倾角裂缝存在较少, 大多数为高陡倾角裂缝, 利用线性滑动裂缝介质的等效理论将高陡倾角裂缝介质等效为横向各向同性介质, 便于实际应用. 本文采用各向异性弹性波旋转交错网格模拟方法对含裂缝介质单炮记录进行模拟与分析. 结果表明: 裂缝的存在相当于人为增加反射界面; 裂缝密度越大, 裂缝纵横比越小, 裂缝充填物与背景介质弹性性质差别越大, 引起的反射波能量变化越大. 本文模拟结果为利用地震数据进行裂缝介质参数反演与储层识别及油气预测提供了依据.