A multi‐method investigation of temperature,moisture and salt dynamics in tafoni (Tafraoute,Morocco)

Despite numerous investigations and theoretical models, tafoni weathering is still not fully understood largely because of limited data available on temperature, moisture and salt regimes. We investigated tafoni developed in granite in the Tafraoute region, Morocco, through an exploratory, two‐week multi‐method field campaign. Temperatures were measured with iButtons and by means of infrared thermography; moisture distribution and progress were captured with handheld moisture sensors and with drilled‐in iButtons. Salts were analysed in drill dust samples from different positions and rock depths. The results derived from very different techniques mutually support one another. Salts and moisture are concentrated near the base of the investigated tafoni, probably due to a saturated pore water body around the base of rock tors. Salts are accumulated close to the rock surface in tafoni, but not on the surrounding rock surfaces. A clear correlation was found between moisture and salt contents. Within a tafone, areas of higher humidity also display increased salt concentration near the surface. The temperature/humidity records allied with ionic analyses suggest that sodium sulfate dominates and is likely to undergo frequent phase changes from thenardite to mirabilite and vice versa. Two pathways of salt transport in and around tafoni are assumed based on the data: infiltration with rainfall on the top and around tors and boulders, and capillary rise from saturated pore water bodies to the surface. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

准噶尔盆地新生代构造应力对石炭纪火山岩构造裂缝发育的控制

构造裂缝的发育对改善储层的储渗条件有着重要的作用,特别是火山岩这种非传统储层,构造裂缝的发育是其成为有效储层的必要条件。本文主要借助构造应力场有限元数值模拟这一成熟的方法对准噶尔盆地石炭纪火山岩构造裂缝的发育状况进行预测。其两个主要的步骤是首先对区域构造应力场进行模拟计算,然后结合岩石的强度指标判断构造裂缝的发育状况。通过对准噶尔盆地地质背景和构造演化的分析,明确了新生代构造应力场的的决定性作用和石炭纪火山岩的分布区域(划分出六个区域),建立了数值模拟的计算模型、确定了边界条件与载荷。通过二维有限元数值模拟(应用Ansys软件)得到了新生代盆地应力场的分布特征和应力值。结合岩石强度指标,对火山岩构造裂缝(张裂缝和剪裂缝)的发育进行了预测并圈出相应的区域,主要为盆地西北缘、中央坳陷中部、滴西1东部,彩参2周缘、大井-将军庙等地区,对石炭纪火山岩的油气勘探战略选区, 优化勘探部署具有重要指导意义。     

Fluid–Rock Interactions in Geothermal Reservoirs,Germany: Thermal Autoclave Experiments Using Sandstones and Natural Hydrothermal Brines

As renewable energy, geothermal can contribute substantially to the energy transition. To generate electricity or to harvest heat, high-saline fluids are tapped by wells of a few kilometres and extracted from hydrothermal reservoirs. After the heat exchanger units have been passed by, these fluids are reinjected into the reservoir. Due to the pressure and temperature differences between the subsurface and the surface, as well as the cooling of the fluids in the power plant, unwanted chemical reactions can occur within the reservoir, in the borehole, and within the power plant itself. This can reduce the permeability of the reservoir as well as the output of the geothermal power plant. This study aims to simulate real subsurface reactions using batch and leaching experiments with sandstone or sandstone powder as solid phase, and deionised water or natural brine as liquid phase. It is demonstrated that fluid composition changes after only a few days. In particular, calcite, aragonite, clay minerals, and zinc phases precipitate from the natural brine. In contrast, in particular minerals containing potassium, arsenic, barium, and silica are dissolved. Due to the experimental set-up, these mineral reactions mainly took place on the surface of the samples, which is why no substantial changes in petrophysical properties could be observed. However, it is assumed that the observed reactions on the reservoir scale have a relevant influence on parameters such as permeability.

     

塔北隆起二叠纪岩浆岩产状的地震解释及其侵位模式

塔北隆起西部发育大面积岩浆岩,岩浆岩发育产状的研究不仅对岩浆岩油气藏勘探具有重要意义,而且对塔北隆起碳酸盐岩油气藏研究具有重要意义。本文利用钻井和地震资料,提出塔北隆起二叠纪岩浆岩岩性主要为玄武岩、流纹岩、辉绿岩、正长岩、花岗岩和凝灰岩。岩浆岩发育模式与构造作用密切相关,在英买力低凸起北部地区,主要发育一条逆冲断层,地层受构造作用扰动较少,岩浆岩主要为玄武岩,通过近于垂直的通道到达地表; 英买2地区,构造挤压作用在盐上形成大量的构造裂缝,岩浆岩侵入其中,形成辉绿岩侵入体; 哈拉哈塘地区构造变形微弱,岩浆岩通过垂直的火山通道到达地表,在地表形成了一层平行分布的喷发岩; 而在塔北隆起的中部,由于受拉张作用的影响,地壳发育一定的减压熔融,形成中酸性岩浆,岩浆侵位产生了大量的中酸性侵入体和喷出岩。     

A compilation of Australian heat‐flow measurements

A map is presented based on all known Australian heat‐flow estimates, including five new ones. A second map, based on the first, also is presented, but excludes any determinations judged for any reason to be unreliable. The data show that heat flow over large areas of the continent is effectively uniform to within 0.5 heat flow units (i.e. to within 20 mW m^‐2), with perhaps three major regional heat‐flow provinces being defined in western, central, and eastern Australia.     

Characterizing hydrodynamics on boreal landscapes using archived synthetic aperture radar imagery

Characterizing the spatial and temporal variation in surface hydrological dynamics of large boreal landscapes is vital, since these patterns define the occurrence of key areas of land‐to‐lake and land‐to‐atmosphere hydrological and biogeochemical linkages that are critical in the movement of matter and energy at local to global scales. However, monitoring surface hydrological dynamics over large geographic extents and over long periods of time is a challenge for hydrologists, as traditional point measurements are not practical. In this study we used European Remote Sensing satellite radar imagery to monitor the variation in surface hydrological patterns over a 12‐year period and to assess the change in the organization of saturated and inundated areas of the landscape. Using the regional Utikuma River drainage basin (2900 km²) as the test area, the analyses of patterns of wetlands indicated that, during dry climatic conditions, wetland sizes were small and disconnected from each other and receiving bodies of water. As climatic conditions changed from dry to mesic, wetland numbers increased but were still disconnected. Very wet climatic conditions were required before the disconnected wetlands coalesced and connected to lakes. During these wet conditions, the response of the lake level at Utikuma Lake was observed to be much higher than under drier conditions. Analyses of individual wetland maps and integrated wetland probability maps have the potential to inform future biogeochemical and ecological investigations and forest management on the Boreal Plain. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing streamflow sensitivity to variations in glacier mass balance

We examine long-term streamflow and mass balance data from two Alaskan glaciers located in climatically distinct basins: Gulkana Glacier, a continental glacier located in the Alaska Range, and Wolverine Glacier, a maritime glacier located in the Kenai Mountains. Over the 1966–2011 study interval, both glaciers lost mass, primarily as a result of summer warming, and streamflow increased in both basins. We estimate total glacier runoff via summer mass balance and quantify the fraction of runoff related to annual mass imbalances. In both climates, annual (net) mass balance contributes, on average, less than 20 % of total streamflow, substantially less than the fraction related to summer mass loss (>50 %), which occurs even in years of glacier growth. The streamflow fraction related to changes in annual balance increased significantly only in the continental environment. In the maritime climate, where deep winter snowpacks and frequent rain events drive consistently high runoff, the magnitude of this streamflow fraction was small and highly variable, precluding detection of any existing trend. Furthermore, our findings suggest that glacier mass change is likely to impact total basin water yield, timing of runoff and water quality in the continental environment. However, the impacts of maritime glacier change appear more likely to be limited to water quality and runoff timing.     

Thermo-optical parameter acquisition and characterization of geologic properties: a 400-m deep BHE in a karstic alpine marble aquifer

To dimension a geothermal array, it is necessary to explore the geophysical and geologic qualities of the subsoil. At the following example the project engineering of a prospective geothermal array is shown from the investigation up to the execution planning. For the geothermic investigation a 400 m (1312 ft.) deep drilling was established and equipped with 50 mm (1.97 in.) duplex BHE. With the mounting of the BHE a fiberglass hybrid cable was inserted as a loop parallel to the shanks of the BHE. By means of optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) an enhanced geothermal response test has been executed. Due the high local resolution of the resulting profile of conductivities the geological profile can be differentiated in areas with mainly conductive and areas of convective influenced heat transfer. By knowledge of these both parts and its parameters the incident of groundwater flow on the BHE can be calculated (Peclet number analysis/ Darcy velocity). With the help of the ascertained geophysical and hydraulic rock parameters solid rock, cleavages and karst cavity could be identified. Also the undisturbed ground temperature, the effective thermal conductivity and areas with different geothermal gradients and the groundwater velocity in cleaved and caveated rocks could be determined.     

Simulation of moisture content in alpine rockwalls during freeze–thaw events

Rock moisture during freeze–thaw events is a key factor for frost weathering. Data on moisture levels of natural rockwalls are scarce and difficult to obtain. To close this gap, we can benefit from the extensive knowledge of moisture‐related phenomena in building materials, which is incorporated into simulation software, for example the WUFI® package of the Fraunhofer Institute of Building Physics. In this paper we applied and adapted this type of simulation to natural rockwalls to gain new insights on which moisture‐related weathering mechanisms may be important under which conditions. We collected the required input data on physical rock properties and local climate for two study areas in the eastern European Alps with different elevation [Sonnblick, 3106 m above sea level (a.s.l.) and Johnsbach, 700 m a.s.l.] and different lithologies (gneiss and dolomite, respectively). From this data, moisture profiles with depth and fluctuations in the course of a typical year were calculated. The results were cross‐checked with different thermal conditions for frost weathering reported in the literature (volumetric expansion and ice segregation theories). The analyses show that in both study areas the thresholds for frost cracking by volumetric expansion of ice (90% pore saturation, temperature < ?1 °C) are hardly ever reached (in one year only 0.07% of the time in Johnsbach and 0.4% at Sonnblick, mostly in north‐exposed walls). The preconditions for weathering by ice segregation (?3 to ?8 °C, > 60% saturation) prevail over much longer periods; the time spent within this ‘frost cracking window‘ is also higher for north‐facing sites. The influence of current climate warming will reduce effective frost events towards 2100; however the increase of liquid precipitation and rock moisture will promote weathering processes like ice segregation at least at the Sonnblick site. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.