The Hydraulic Effects of Lost Circulation and the Implications for Contaminant Migration During Drilling

The impact of lost circulation during rotary drilling near an existing monitoring well cluster was evaluated by periodic measurements of water levels and contaminant concentrations at the well cluster. Due to regulatory concerns, changes in water levels or VOC concentration in the well cluster during drilling would trigger monitoring well redevelopment. The borehole was drilled approximately 30 feet northeast of four nested monitoring wells that screen Devonian and Silurian carbonate bedrock at depths of 15, 60, 130, and 190 feet. Following complete circulation loss at depths of 177 and 1 S3 feet in the borehole, a rapid decrease in water levels was observed in the upper three monitoring wells. The water level in the well that was screened through the lost circulation zones increased slightly.
Decreasing water levels in formations located above the point of circulation loss appear to occur in response to a sudden decrease in borehole fluid pressure caused by the flow of drilling fluid into the formation. The relative contribution of contaminated formation water lo the borehole can be estimated by using the time-drawdown relationship and estimates of transmissivity. At the point of circulation loss, significant dilution of contaminant concentrations occurs from the loss of drilling fluid into the contaminated zone. Contaminated formation water entering the borehole during periods of complete lost circulation may mobilize contaminants from upper lo lower formations. Lost circulation into a formation would be signaled by a water level increase in monitoring wells. The wells would subsequently require development to remove the volume of fluid lost to the formation, including both drilling fluid and contaminated formation water. Monitoring wells exhibiting declining water levels following lost circulation would not require development since drilling water has not entered the zones screened by these wells.     

Defence and the environment: An economic approach

Abtract The environmental impacts of defence is a neglected and under-researched area for economists. This article presents a conceptual approach outlining some of the economic issues involved in the environmental impacts of defence spending and the activities of the armed forces. It reviews the economics and politics of externalities and then considers beneficial and harmful externalities and concludes by identifying some of the environmental costs of disarmanent.     

A review of the geochemistry of methane in natural gas hydrate

The largest accumulations on Earth of natural gas are in the form of gas hydrate, found mainly offshore in outer continental margin sediment and, to a lesser extent, in polar regions commonly associated with permafrost. Measurements of hydrocarbon gas compositions and of carbon-isotopic compositions of methane from natural gas hydrate samples, collected in subaquatic settings from around the world, suggest that methane guest molecules in the water clathrate structures are mainly derived by the microbial reduction of CO₂ from sedimentary organic matter. Typically, these hydrocarbon gases are composed of > 99% methane, with carbon-isotopic compositions (δ¹³C_PDB) ranging from − 57 to − 73‰. In only two regions, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caspian Sea, has mainly thermogenic methane been found in gas hydrate. There, hydrocarbon gases have methane contents ranging from 21 to 97%, with δ¹³C values ranging from − 29 to − 57‰. At a few locations, where the gas hydrate contains a mixture of microbial and thermal methane, microbial methane is always dominant. Continental gas hydrate, identified in Alaska and Russia, also has hydrocarbon gases composed of > 99% methane, with carbon-isotopic compositions ranging from − 41 to − 49‰. These gas hydrate deposits also contain a mixture of microbial and thermal methane, with thermal methane likely to be dominant. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd     

Assessing the impact of weather and climate in Australia

Weather and climate have a significant impact on the Australian society and environment. While the impacts of major changes in the Australian climate likely to occur from the enhanced greenhouse effect have been reported in the literature fewer studies have addressed the impact of the climate's natural variability. Ways in which weather and climate and its variability impact on the decision making process are described and methods available to assess the sensitivity of the economy and the natural environment are also presented. Methods which are being developed to determine the value of weather and climate information to decision makers are briefly described. The El Niño Southern Oscillation is a strong contributor to the variability of the Australian climate. It is used to illustrate the impact of climate variability on both the economy and natural environment of Australia. Finally, the extent to which there is political awareness of the impact of climate variability on the Australian society and environment is briefly examined.     

Development of a non-linear mixed spectral finite difference model for turbulent boundary-layer flow over topography

Further development of the non-linear mixed spectral finite difference (NLMSFD) model of turbulent boundary-layer flow over topography is documented. This includes modifications and refinements to the solution procedure, the incorporation of second-order turbulence closures to the model and the three-dimensional extension of the model. Based on these higher order closures, linear limitations, boundary-layer approximation and non-linear effects are discussed. The impact of different turbulence closures on the prediction of the NLMSFD model is also demonstrated. Furthermore, sample results for 3D idealized topography (sinusoidal) are presented. The parameterization of drag over small-scale topography is also addressed.     

Nd,Pb and Sr isotopic data from the Napak carbonatite-nephelinite centre,eastern Uganda: an example of open-system crystal fractionation

Nd, Pb and Sr isotopic data from nephelinite lavas from the Tertiary nephelinite-carbonatite complex of Napak, eastern Uganda, show large isotopic variations that can only be attributed to open-system behaviour. Possible explanations of the data include mixing between nephelinitic melts derived from an isotopically heterogeneous mantle, or interaction between a HIMU melt and mafic granulites. In both models crystal fractionation, involving olivine and clinopyroxene, played an important role. Major element chemistry, textural evidence and isotopic data from clinopyroxene phenocrysts from the olivine-bearing nephelinites, suggest that the pyroxenes did not crystallize from their host liquids. The isotopic data from the clinopyroxene phenocrysts support an interpretation of crystal fractionation in an open magma system that was undergoing continuous isotopic change. This study emphasises the importance of using combined isotopic data from both whole rock and mineral phases to interpret the evolutionary history of a single eruptive centre.