The petroleum evaluation of a tectonically complex area: The western margin of the Southeast Basin (France)

The Southeast Basin of France is the thickest onshore French sedimentary basin which contains locally as much as 10 km of Mesozoic-Cenozoic sediment. Basin development occurred in several stages between late Carboniferous and late Cretaceous times. Partial tectonic inversion took place during two compressive events, the so-called ‘Pyrenean’ and ‘Alpine’ phases of late Cretaceous-early Tertiary and late Tertiary ages respectively. They are separated by an intervening stretching event of Oligocene age, which further south resulted in the opening of the western Mediterranean oceanic basin. As a result of this complex tectonic history, structural traps were difficult to image on the seismic data shot during the first phase of exploration prior to 1980. Oil and gas natural seeps, and shows in several wells, indicate that some petroleum systems are, or have been active, at least in some places.The present erosional western margin of the basin is more or less superimposed on the initial Triassic-Jurassic margin. Margin subsidence and Tertiary inversion are discussed using regional sections on which the polyphase history of the entire basin is well shown. These sections are located on three major segments where the Mesozoic margin is either partly preserved (Ardèche), or has been partly inverted in late Tertiary times (Vercors-Chartreuse), or has been completely inverted in early Tertiary times (Corbières-eastern Pyrenees). 1-D ‘Genex’ basin modelling on the Ardèche segment, and 2-D ‘Thrustpack’ structural-maturity modelling in the Vercors-Chartreuse segment are used to further assess the remaining petroleum plays.     

Study of a Crustacea Decapoda Taxocoenosis of Posidonia oceanica Beds from the Southeast of Spain

Abstract. During 1986 and 1987 a decapod crustacean taxocoenosis of Posidonia oceanica beds from the southeast of Spain has been studied.
Data on abundance-dominance of the 50 species found and other information such as reproduction and the selective use of gastropod shells by the dominant hermit crabs arc given.
Differences in richness and cquitability between shallow (3–4 m) and deeper (5–7 m) samples arc also shown.
The taxocoenosis presents a geometrical distribution in which only 9 species have a relative abundance higher than 1 % and in which the structure is basically controlled by the two dominant hermit crabs, Cestopagitius limidus and Calcium tubularis , and hydrodynamic conditions.     

The effects of oil exploration and production in the northern North Sea: Part 2—microbial biodegradation of hydrocarbons in water and sediments, 1978–1981

The potential of heterotrophs to degrade aromatic hydrocarbons derived from oil in water and sediments in the northern North Sea around the Brent, Beryl, Forties and Murchison oilfields and at a number of stations, from the Forties field to the Firth of Forth, was estimated using 1-¹⁴C naphthalene and 7, 10-¹⁴C benzo(a)pyrene. The degradation of uniformly labelled ¹⁴C mixed 1-amino acids was used as a measure of total heterotrophic activity. Results showed that microorganisms have the potential to degrade the smaller aromatic hydrocarbon molecules rapidly in the water column and in surface sediments. Close to the Beryl platform, where diesel-washed drill cuttings have been continuously dumped, the rate of input of hydrocarbons to the sediment has exceeded the rate of degradation. Mineralization of benzo(a)pyrene, estimated in the sediments only, was minimal. Close to production platforms the biodegradation rate of mixed 1-amino acids showed no increase comparable with that found for naphthalene, suggesting that existing microbial populations had not increased but adapted to degrade oil in water and sediments.     

On the radiation and diffraction of linear water waves by an infinitely long rectangular structure submerged in oblique seas

The radiation and diffraction of linear water waves by an infinitely long rectangular structure submerged in oblique seas of finite depth is investigated. The analytical expressions for the radiated and diffracted potentials are derived as infinite series by use of the method of separation of variables. The unknown coefficients in the series are determined by the eigenfunction expansion matching method. The expressions for wave forces, hydrodynamic coefficients and reflection and transmission coefficients are given and verified by the boundary element method. Using the present analytical solution, the hydrodynamic influences of the angle of incidence, the submergence, the width and the thickness of the structure on the wave forces, hydrodynamic coefficients, and reflection and transmission coefficients are discussed in detail.     

中国近海的蔓足类 Ⅰ.藤壶属

藤壶属(Genus Balanus)是甲壳类蔓足亚纲(Subclass Cirripedia)藤壶科(Family Balanidae)中最大的一属，它在有害海洋附着生物中是主要组成成分。许多种附着于船底、水下设施或建筑物上，致使船舰燃料消耗增加，航速减低，降低浮标浮力，缩小管道通路，侵占某些水产养殖对象的有效附着面，污损养殖架筏和绳索，加快水下金属的腐蚀等，对海防、海运交通、工业和渔业常造成一定危害，同人类的关系颇为密切。随着我国科学事业的发展，特别是附着生物防除工作的进展，对于种类的确切鉴定和生物学及生态学资料需要日益增多，只有在搞清种类的基础上，根据不同种的生物学和生态特征，采取相应的措施，才能有效地进行防除工作。 中国近海的藤壶属，国内外仅有一些零星记载，缺乏全面而系统的报告。我们早在五十年代，就注意到我国沿海常见的一些主要附着生物，特别是当时作为“布纹藤壶” Balanus Amphitrite communis Darwin(=B.reticulatus Utinomi)和“克氏藤壶”Balanus Amphitrite krügeri Nilsson-Cantell(=B.uliginosus Utinomi)描记的两个类型，无论在栖息环境、繁殖习性或幼虫形态上都有显著差异，因而怀疑它们不是一个种内的亚种，而应属于不同的种。为了解决上述和类似的问题，给生态和防除研究工作提供更为准确的基本资料，我们对藤壶亚目的种类进行了系统的研究，本文是研究报告的第一部分。根据的是中国科学院海洋研究所历年采集收藏的标本，共鉴定31种和亚种，分隶于7个亚属，其中有6新种，有9种在我国是首次记录(种名录见190页)。新种的模式标本均保存于中国科学院海洋研究所。     

Palynological characterization of gassy sediments in the inner part of Ría de Vigo (NW Spain). New chronological and environmental data

Palynological characterization of the pollen assemblages from core ZV-01 offers a reliable age record of shallow ‘gas seal’ and ‘gas reservoir’ sediments from the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain). Gassy sediments show a direct correspondence with the palynological assemblage zones (LPAZ) 2, 3 and 4, which range in age from 950 to 1510 a.d. for the interval 81–176 cm where gas is found. The facies acting as a seal would correspond to the sedimentation in the ria starting from 1510 a.d. These assemblages also provide significant data which make it possible to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental changes recorded in the sedimentary infill of the Ría de Vigo. The gassy horizon corresponds to the phase when riparian and mesophilous forest were better represented. This coincides with a relative high abundance of Lingulodinium machaerophorum, which indicates that the waters of the ria had been less renewed by oceanic waters and had a plentiful supply of continental nutrients. At that time, anoxic conditions resulted from restricted vertical circulation of seawater and/or high biological productivity. The dinocyst assemblages overlying and underlying the gassy horizon in core ZV-01 are clearly different from those concomitant with the accumulation of the gassy sediments. This suggests that oceanographic conditions in the Ría de Vigo may have changed several times during the time interval covered by our record. The weaker relationship between L. machaerophorum/Spiniferites spp., and simultaneous significant increases in Impagidinium spp. and Bitectatodinium tepikiense may indicate a greater intrusion of colder, more oceanic waters into the Ría de Vigo, which may have provoked intensification in upwelling during two periods, ca. 700–850 a.d. and ca. 1500–1750 a.d.