Geologic controls on gas hydrate occurrence in the Mount Elbert prospect, Alaska North Slope

Data acquired at the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, drilled in the Milne Point area of the Alaska North Slope in February, 2007, indicates two zones of high gas hydrate saturation within the Eocene Sagavanirktok Formation. Gas hydrate is observed in two separate sand reservoirs (the D and C units), in the stratigraphically highest portions of those sands, and is not detected in non-sand lithologies. In the younger D unit, gas hydrate appears to fill much of the available reservoir space at the top of the unit. The degree of vertical fill with the D unit is closely related to the unit reservoir quality. A thick, low-permeability clay-dominated unit serves as an upper seal, whereas a subtle transition to more clay-rich, and interbedded sand, silt, and clay units is associated with the base of gas hydrate occurrence. In the underlying C unit, the reservoir is similarly capped by a clay-dominated section, with gas hydrate filling the relatively lower-quality sands at the top of the unit leaving an underlying thick section of high-reservoir quality sands devoid of gas hydrate. Evaluation of well log, core, and seismic data indicate that the gas hydrate occurs within complex combination stratigraphic/structural traps. Structural trapping is provided by a four-way fold closure augmented by a large western bounding fault. Lithologic variation is also a likely strong control on lateral extent of the reservoirs, particularly in the D unit accumulation, where gas hydrate appears to extend beyond the limits of the structural closure. Porous and permeable zones within the C unit sand are only partially charged due most likely to limited structural trapping in the reservoir lithofacies during the period of primary charging. The occurrence of the gas hydrate within the sands in the upper portions of both the C and D units and along the crest of the fold is consistent with an interpretation that these deposits are converted free gas accumulations formed prior to the imposition of gas hydrate stability conditions.     

Simulation of tunnel response under spatially varying ground motion

Various components including wave scattering, wave passage, and site amplification effects cause the ground motion to vary spatially. The spatially varying ground motion can significantly influence the dynamic response of longitudinal structures such as bridges and tunnels. While its effect on bridges has been extensively studied, there is a lack of study on its effect on underground tunnels. This paper develops a new procedure for simulating the tunnel response under spatially varying ground motion. The procedure utilizes the longitudinal displacement profile, which is developed from spatially variable ground motion time histories. The longitudinal displacement profile is used to perform a series of pseudo-static three-dimensional finite-element analyses. Results of the analyses show that the spatially variable ground motion causes longitudinal bending of the tunnel and can induce substantial axial stress on the tunnel lining. The effect can be significant at boundaries at which the properties of the ground change in the longitudinal direction.     

A search for decay of with tin-loaded liquid scintillator

A search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of ¹²⁴Sn was carried out using the tin-loaded liquid scintillator for an active source-detector technique. Tin (32.6%) in weight was successfully loaded into the liquid scintillator, and light output was as high as 57% of the unloaded liquid scintillator. A tin-loaded liquid scintillator with 1.1 ℓ volume was installed at the 700 m underground laboratory in YangYang, and data were taken for 5285 h. No evidence for the 0νββ decay was found and a lower limit on the ¹²⁴Sn half-life was obtained to be 2.0×10¹⁹ year with 90% C.L. The new limit represents a significant improvement with respect to those previously available for ¹²⁴Sn.     

Modified Biot-Gassmann Theory for Calculating Elastic Velocities for Unconsolidated and Consolidated Sediments*

Marine Geophysical Research - The classical Biot-Gassmann theory (BGT) generally overestimates shear-wave velocities of water-saturated sediments. To overcome this problem, a new theory is...     

The Development of Anoxia in the Artificial Lake Shihwa, Korea, as a Consequence of Intertidal Reclamation

The reclamation of an intertidal flat recently created Lake Shihwa, in Kyunggi province, on the western coast of Korea. The artificial, saline lake was expected to transform into a freshwater one. However, the drainage structure of the lake does not allow entrapped Yellow Sea water to be fully replaced by freshwater from its hinterland. The lake water is strongly stratified with polluted freshwater at the surface and entrapped, saline water on the bottom. The pycnocline, lying at a depth range of 6–8 m, prevents mixing between the two water bodies, and thus generates anoxic conditions in the deeper waters. The pycnocline matches the oxic/anoxic interface between the oxygenated surface water and the hydrogen sulphide rich deep water. Stratification, the inflow of polluted water, and anoxia all contribute to the disastrous pollution of the lake.     

A comparative study for the fatigue assessment of a ship structure by use of hot spot stress and structural stress approaches

Recently, a mesh-size insensitive structural stress definition (Battelle structural stress method) has been proposed. This method gives a stress state at a weld toe with a relatively coarse mesh, such as up to 2t (t=plate thickness) or irregular mesh shapes. The structural stress definition is based on the elementary structural mechanics theory and provides an effective measure of a stress state in front of a weld toe. In this present study, a fatigue strength assessment was carried out for a side shell connection of a container vessel using both the hot spot stress and the structural stress methods. A consistent approach to computing extrapolated hot spot stress for design purposes based on converged hot spot stresses is described and current fatigue guidance is evaluated. Fatigue strength predicted by the two methods, i.e. hot spot stress and structural stress approaches, at hot spot locations of a typical ship structure are compared and discussed.     

On the internal generation of waves: control volume approach

The literature contains theoretical derivation of the internal wave generation techniques by using control volume approach. The source term in three-dimensional continuity equation is derived by Reynolds transport theorem. The source term in two-dimensional wave model is derived by work-energy equation. The results confirmed that the appropriate velocity to be included in the source term is physically the group velocity which is the energy velocity for a wave model.     

Simulation of marine controlled source electromagnetic measurements using a parallel fourier <Emphasis Type="Italic">hp</Emphasis>-finite element method

We introduce a new numerical method to simulate geophysical marine controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) measurements for the case of 2D structures and finite 3D sources of electromagnetic (EM) excitation. The method of solution is based on a spatial discretization that combines a 1D Fourier transform with a 2D self-adaptive, goal-oriented, hp-Finite element method. It enables fast and accurate simulations for a variety of important, challenging and practical cases of marine CSEM acquisition. Numerical results confirm the high accuracy of the method as well as some of the main physical properties of marine CSEM measurements such as high measurement sensitivity to oil-bearing layers in the subsurface. In our model, numerical results indicate that measurements could be affected by the finite oil-bearing layer by as much as 10⁴% (relative difference). While the emphasis of this paper is on EM simulations, the method can be used to simulate different physical phenomena such as seismic measurements.     

Distribution of small plastic debris in cross-section and high strandline on Heungnam beach, South Korea

The spatial distribution of small plastic debris on Heungnam beach in February 2011 was investigated. The abundances of small plastic debris over 2 mm in size along the high strandline and cross-sectional line of the beach were determined. The mean abundances of small plastics were 976 ± 405 particles/m² at the high strandline in the upper tidal zone along the shoreline and 473 ± 866 particles/m² at the cross-section perpendicular to the shoreline. Specifically, styrofoam (expanded polystyrene) spherules accounted for 90.7% of the total plastic abundance in the high strandline and 96.3% in the cross-section. The spatial distribution patterns of small plastic debris differed between the high strandline and cross-sectional line. The cross-sectional distribution of small plastic abundance differed among plastic types, indicating that representative sampling of small plastic debris on a beach is necessary.