Brittleness characteristics of tight oil siltstones

Rock brittleness directly affects reservoir fracturing and its evaluation is essential for establishing fracturing conditions prior to reservoir reforming. Dynamic and static brittleness data were collected from siltstones of the Qingshankou Formation in Songliao Basin. The brittle–plastic transition was investigated based on the stress–strain relation. The results suggest that the brittleness indices calculated by static elastic parameters are negatively correlated with the stress drop coefficient and the brittleness index B₂, defined as the average of the normalized Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio, is strongly correlated with the stress drop. The brittleness index B₂, Young’s modulus, and Poisson’s ratio correlate with the brittle minerals content; that is, quartz, carbonates, and pyrite. We also investigated the correlation between pore fluid and porosity and dynamic brittle characteristic based on index B₂. Pore fluid increases the plasticity of rock and reduces brittleness; moreover, with increasing porosity, rock brittleness decreases. The gas-saturated siltstone brittleness index is higher than that in oil- or water-saturated siltstone; the difference in the brittleness indices of oil- and water-saturated siltstone is very small. By comparing the rock mechanics and ultrasonic experiments, we find that the brittleness index obtained from the rock mechanics experiments is smaller than that obtained from the ultrasonic experiments; nevertheless, both decrease with increasing porosity as well as their differences. Ultrasonic waves propagate through the rock specimens without affecting them, whereas rock mechanics experiments are destructive and induce microcracking and porosity increases; consequently, the brittleness of low-porosity rocks is affected by the formation of internal microcrack systems.     

Deglacial palaeoclimate at Puerto del Hambre,subantarctic Patagonia,Chile

The primary objective of this study is to further substantiate multistep climatic forcing of late‐glacial vegetation in southern South America. A secondary objective is to establish the age of deglaciation in Estrecho de Magallanes–Bahía Inútil. Pollen assemblages at 2‐cm intervals in a core of the mire at Puerto del Hambre (53°36′21″S, 70°55′53″W) provide the basis for reconstructing the vegetation and a detailed account of palaeoclimate in subantarctic Patagonia. Chronology over the 262‐cm length of core is regulated by 20 AMS radiocarbon dates between 14 455 and 10 089 ¹⁴C yr BP. Of 13 pollen assemblage zones, the earliest representing the Oldest Dryas chronozone (14 455–13 000 ¹⁴C yr BP) records impoverished steppe with decreasing frequencies and loss of southern beech (Nothofagus). Successive 100‐yr‐long episodes of grass/herbs and of heath (Empetrum/Ericaceae) before 14 000 ¹⁴C yr BP infer deglacial successional communities under a climate of increased continentality prior to the establishment of grass‐dominated steppe. The Bølling–Allerød (13 000–11 000 ¹⁴C yr BP) is characterised by mesic grassland under moderating climate that with abrupt change to heath dominance after 12 000 ¹⁴C yr BP was warmer and not as humid. At the time of the Younger Dryas (11 000–10 000 ¹⁴C yr BP), grass steppe expanded with a return of colder, more humid climate. Later, with gradual warming, communities were invaded by southern beech. The Puerto del Hambre record parallels multistep, deglacial palaeoclimatic sequences reported elsewhere in the Southern Andes and at Taylor Dome in Antarctica. Deglaciation of Estrecho de Magallanes–Bahía Inútil is dated close to 14 455 ¹⁴C yr BP, invalidating earlier dates of between 15 800 and 16 590 ¹⁴C yr BP. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中国古代牧业社会骨制品的初步考察:以新疆巴里坤石人子沟遗址为例

考古遗址出土骨制品的研究对于揭示古代社会的动物资源获取和利用、手工业生产、社会组织结构等问题具有重要意义.国内骨制品研究目前多集中在农业区域,这些研究为探讨新石器时代至青铜时代的动物使用及其与社会发展、早期国家形成的关系等问题作出了重要贡献.然而,针对牧业社会骨制品的考察十分缺乏.新疆哈密地区巴里坤草原分布有大量古代牧业文化遗址,石人子沟遗址(43°31′12.8″~43°34′28.9″N,93°13′44.8″~93°16′49.1″E)是其中一处青铜时代晚期至铁器时代早期的大型聚落.本文从动物考古学视角研究该遗址2006年至2011年发掘出土的426件骨制品.结果显示,石人子沟遗址骨制品的原料主要为以羊(Ovis aries/Capra hircus)、马(Equus caballus)为主的家养动物和以鹿(Cervidae)为主的野生动物,其中羊的比例最高(69.7%),鹿(13.8%)、马(2.3%)次之,这与中原地区青铜时代农业文化遗址的骨制品多以牛为原料的情况明显不同.羊在骨制品原料中占绝对多数且大量使用羊距骨制品的现象是对石人子沟遗址以牧业为主的生业经济方式的直接反映.石人子沟遗址不同类型骨制品的制作各具特点,但整体表现出"省时省力"的特点,即对使用部位细致打磨,对非使用部位仅做简单处理.与中原地区商周时期大型制骨作坊规范化、规模化、产业化的骨器生产不同,石人子沟遗址未见专门的制骨场所,骨制品生产的操作链条也并不完整.遗址的骨制品生产可能是以家庭为单元进行的,产品的专业化、精细化程度也相对较低.该研究填补了我国古代牧业文化遗址出土骨制品动物考古学专门研究的空白,为进一步探究我国古代不同区域、不同生业经济基础下的制骨手工业面貌提供了重要资料.     

室内星空仿真软件的研制初探

基于电脑显示器来显示仿真的星空图,可以根据任意给定的观测时间、观测地点、观测天区来实时生成真实的星空背景,利用电子经纬仪即可对其进行观测。仿真结果表明,利用该仿真软件可使视场内星的选取速度加快且更加准确,星空仿真的实时性好,提高星点的位置精度,使运行方向正确,并实现了星点显示的等角距性。     

A 180 ka record of environmental change at Erdut (Croatia): a new chronology for the loess–palaeosol sequence and its implications for environmental interpretation

While there are numerous thick loess–palaeosol sequences preserved across the Carpathian Basin, well dated sites that provide terrestrial palaeoenvironmental records extending beyond last glacial–interglacial cycle are scarce. Robust chronologies are essential for correlations of loess with other long-term Quaternary records and to further understanding of the palaeoenvironment and climate of this important region beyond the last 125 ka. Here a new geochronology based on 13 post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence ages focused on the lower part of the loess–palaeosol sequence at Erdut is presented. The results show that the lower part of the Erdut profile spans the penultimate glacial cycle (MIS 7 to MIS 5). The considerable sediments overlaying the investigated part of the profile suggest that this section spans two glacial cycles, rather than the previously suggested one. The most likely source of the discrepancy is the use of uncorrected infrared stimulated luminescence signal, which can cause age underestimation if not accounted for. This study demonstrates the need to revisit sites such as Erdut, re-date them using updated measurement protocols, and update existing palaeoenvironmental interpretations.     

An examination of the validation of a model of the hydro/thermo/mechanical behaviour of engineered clay barriers

This paper focuses attention on the development of a numerical model of the hydro/thermo/mechanical behaviour of unsaturated clay and its consequent verification and validation. The work presented describes on-going collaboration between the Cardiff School of Engineering and Atomic Energy of Canada. The model development, which was carried out at Cardiff, can be described as being based on a mechanistic approach to coupled heat, moisture and air flow. This is then linked to a deformation analysis of the material within a ‘consolidation’ type of model. The whole is solved via the finite element method to yield a computer software code named COMPASS (COde for Modelling PArtly Saturated Soil). Some aspects of verification and validation of the model have been addressed in-house. However, the purpose of current AECL work is to provide an independent, rigorous, structured programme of validation and the paper will also explore the further validation of COMPASS within this context. © 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Groundwater contaminant source identification based on iterative local update ensemble smoother

Identification of the location and intensity of groundwater pollution source contributes to the effect of pollution remediation, and is called groundwater contaminant source identifcation. This is a kind of typical groundwater inverse problem, and the solution is usually ill-posed. Especially considering the spatial variability of hydraulic conductivity field, the identification process is more challenging. In this paper, the solution framework of groundwater contaminant source identification is composed with groundwater pollutant transport model (MT3DMS) and a data assimilation method (Iterative local update ensemble smoother, ILUES). In addition, Karhunen-Loève expansion technique is adopted as a PCA method to realize dimension reduction. In practical problems, the geostatistical method is usually used to characterize the hydraulic conductivity feld, and only the contaminant source information is inversely calculated in the identifcation process. In this study, the identification of contaminant source information under Kriging K-field is compared with simultaneous identification of source information and K-field. The results indicate that it is necessary to carry out simultaneous identification under heterogeneous site, and ILUES has good performance in solving high-dimensional parameter inversion problems.     

Late quaternary glacial stades in the Cordillera Central,Colombia, based on glacial geomorphology,tephra–soil stratigraphy,palynology, and radiocarbon dating

Using data from glacial geomorphology, tephra–soil stratigraphy and mineralogy, palynology, and radiocarbon dating, a sequence of glacial and bioclimatic stades and interstades has been identified for the last ca. 50000 yr in the Ruiz-Tolima massif, Cordillera Central, Colombia. Six Pleistocene cold stades separated by warmer interstades occurred: before 48000, between 48000 and 33000, between 28000 and 21000, from ≥16000 to ca. 14000, ca. 13000–12400, and ca. 11000–10000 yr BP. Although these radiocarbon ages are minimum-limiting ages obtained from tephra layers on top of tills, the tills are not significantly older because most are bracketed by dated tephra sets in measured stratigraphic sections. Two minor moraine stages likely reflect glacier standstill during cold intervals ca. 7400 yr BP and slightly earlier. Finally, glaciers readvanced between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. In contrast to the ice-clad volcanoes of the massif, ca. 34 km² in area above an altitude of ca. 4800 m, the ice cover expanded to 1200 km² during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and was still 800 km² during Late-glacial time (LGT). Glacier reconstructions based on the moraines suggest depression of the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) by ca. 1100 m during the LGM and 500–600 m during LGT relative to the modern ELA, which lies at ca. 5100 m in the Cordillera Central. Glaciers in this region apparently reached their greatest extent when the climate was cold and wet, e.g. during stades corresponding to Oxygen Isotope Stage 3; glaciers were still expanding during the LGM ca. 28000–21000 yr BP, but they shrank considerably after 21000 yr BP because of greatly reduced precipitation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CTD海上剖面测量性能综合评定方法研究

随着国产温盐深剖面仪（Conductivity-Temperature-Depth profiler,CTD） 测量性能的不断提高,其使用范围和规模也逐步扩大,需要规范CTD 海上剖面测量性能评定方法。在威海附近海域开展基于锚泊式平台CTD 海上比对试验,通过改变同架比对CTD 数量、引入相关系数和平均差数据处理方法研究海上比对试验效果,提出以精准度和灵敏度为目标层的CTD 海上剖面测量性能评价指标体系,实现了对被测CTD 海上剖面测量性能相对全面的评价,准确量化了被测CTD 在实际海洋环境中的剖面测量性能,为国产CTD 海上剖面测量性能的优化提供依据。