Using Geomechanical Method to Predict Tectonic Fractures in Low-Permeability Sandstone Reservoirs

Understanding and interpreting the timing, location, orientation, and intensity of natural fractures within a geological structure are commonly important to both exploration and production planning activities of low-porosity and low-permeability carbonate reservoirs. In this study, we explore the application of comprehensive geomechanical methods to quantitatively characterize the fracture parameters based on Strain Energy Density Theory, such as linear fracture density and volume fracture density. This study approach is based on the idea that energy generated by tectonic stress on brittle sandstone,which can be distinguished fracture surface energy, friction energy dissipation and residual strain energy and natural fractures can be interpreted or inferred from geomechanical-model-derived strains. For this analysis, we model an extension and compression compound fault block developed in a mechanically stratified sandstone and shale sequence because mechanics experimental data and drilling data exist that can be directly compared with model results.However, the results show that the approach and our study conclusion are independent of the specified structural geometry, which can correlate fracture parameters in different stages with different tectonic activities, and finally build and visualize fracture networks in sandstone. The presence or absence of filling minerals in fractures is shown to strongly control the destruction and transformation of low-permeability sandstone, and this control possesses crucial implications for interpreting fracture aperture and reservoir flow simulation.     

The roles of different mechanisms related to the tide-induced fronts in the Yellow Sea in summer

In summer, the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass （YSCWM） is a stable water mass of low temperature lying at the bottom of the central Yellow Sea （YS）. It is fringed by some typical tidal fronts, which separate deep, stratified water on the offshore side from the well-mixed, shallow water on the inshore side. Three striking fronts--Subei Bank Front （SBF）, Shandong Peninsula Front （SPF）, and Mokpo Front （MKF; a front off the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula）--have been iden- tified by various studies from both satellite observations and model results. Tide plays an important role in the formation and maintenance of these fronts. However, it is still a matter of debate as to the roles these two kinds of mechanisms of upwelling and tidal mixing play, and how importance they are in the maintenance processes of the above three fronts. Basing a nested high-resolution model HYCOM （the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model）, this study focuses on the different mechanisms of tidal effects on the thermal fronts in the YS in summertime. Through comparative experiments with and without tidal forcing, the results indicate that the MKF is mainly driven by tide-induced upwelling. For the SPF, tidal mixing is the dominant factor, when lower cold water is stirred upwards along the sloping topography of the western YS. Meanwhile, the combined effect of upwelling and tidal mixing is the main cause of the formation of the SBF. Diagnostic analysis of thermal balance shows that horizontal nonlinear advection induced by strong tidal currents also contributes to the thermal balance of frontal areas.     

Modern modes of provenance and dispersal of terrigenous sediments in the North Pacific and Bering Sea: implications and perspectives for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions

During expedition 202 aboard the RV Sonne in 2009, 39 seafloor surface sediment sites were sampled over a wide sector of the North Pacific and adjoining Bering Sea. The data served to infer land–ocean linkages of terrigenous sediment supply in terms of major sources and modes of sediment transport within an over-regional context. This is based on an integrated approach dealing with grain-size analysis, bulk mineralogy and clay mineralogy in combination with statistical data evaluation (end-member modelling of grain-size data, fuzzy cluster analysis of mineralogical data). The findings on clay mineralogy served to update those of earlier work extracted from the literature. Today, two processes of terrigenous sediment supply prevail in the study area: far-distance aeolian sediment supply to the pelagic North Pacific, and hemipelagic sediment dispersal from nearby land sources via ocean currents along the continental margins and island arcs. Aeolian particles show the finest grain sizes (clay and fine silt), whereas hemipelagic sediments have high abundances of coarse silt. Exposed sites on seamounts and the continental slope are partly swept by strong currents, leading to residual enrichment of fine sand. Four sediment sources can be distinguished on the basis of distinct index minerals revealed by statistical data analysis: dust plumes from central Asia (quartz, illite), altered materials from the volcanic regions of Kamchatka and the Aleutian Arc (smectite), detritus from the Alaskan Cordillera (chlorite, hornblende), and fluvial detritus from far-eastern Siberia and the Alaska mainland (quartz, feldspar, illite). These findings confirm those of former studies but considerably expand the geographic range of this suite of proxies as far south as 39°N in the open North Pacific. The present integrated methodological approach proved useful in identifying the major modern processes of terrigenous sediment supply to the study region. This aspect deserves attention in the selection of sediment core sites for future palaeoenvironmental reconstructions related to aeolian and glacial dynamics, as well as the recognition of palaeo-ocean circulation patterns in general.     

Distribution patterns of chlorophyll <Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis> in spring and autumn in association with hydrological features in the southern Yellow Sea and northern East China Sea

Two field studies were conducted to measure pigments in the Southern Yellow Sea (SYS) and the northern East China Sea (NECS) in April (spring) and September (autumn) to evaluate the distribution pattern of phytoplankton stock (Chl a concentration) and the impact of hydrological features such as water mass, mixing and tidal front on these patterns. The results indicated that the Chl a concentration was 2.43±2.64 (Mean ± SD) mg m^?3 in April (range, 0.35 to 17.02 mg m^?3) and 1.75±3.10 mg m^?3 in September (from 0.07 to 36.54 mg m^?3) in 2003. Additionally, four areas with higher Chl a concentrations were observed in the surface water in April, while two were observed in September, and these areas were located within or near the point at which different water masses converged (temperature front area). The distribution pattern of Chl a was generally consistent between onshore and offshore stations at different depths in April and September. Specifically, higher Chl a concentrations were observed along the coastal line in September, which consisted of a mixing area and a tidal front area, although the distributional pattern of Chl a concentrations varied along transects in April. The maximum Chl a concentration at each station was observed in the surface and subsurface layer (0–10 m) for onshore stations and the thermocline layer (10–30 m) for offshore stations in September, while the greatest concentrations were generally observed in surface and subsurface water (0–10 m) in April. The formation of the Chl a distributional pattern in the SYS and NECS and its relationship with possible influencing factors is also discussed. Although physical forces had a close relationship with Chl a distribution, more data are required to clearly and comprehensively elucidate the spatial pattern dynamics of Chl a in the SYS and NECS.     

Screening of extraction methods for glycoproteins from jellyfish (Rhopilema esculentum) oral-arms by high performance liquid chromatography

In order to select an optimum extraction method for the target glycoprotein (TGP) from jellyfish (Rhopilema esculentum) oral-arms, a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-assay for the determination of the TGP was developed. Purified target glycoprotein was taken as a standard glycoprotein. The results showed that the calibration curves for peak area plotted against concentration for TGP were linear (r = 0.9984, y = 4.5895x+47.601) over concentrations ranging from 50 to 400 mgL-1. The mean extraction recovery was 97.84% (CV2.60%). The fractions containing TGP were isolated from jellyfish (R. esculentum) oral-arms by four extraction methods: 1) water extraction (WE), 2) phosphate buffer solution (PBS) extraction (PE), 3) ultrasound-assisted water extraction (UA-WE), 4) ultrasound-assisted PBS extraction (UA-PE). The lyophilized extract was dissolved in Milli-Q water and analyzed directly on a short TSK-GEL G4000PWXL (7.8 mm×300 mm) column. Our results indicated that the UA-PE method was the optimum extraction method selected by HPLC.     

The First Solar Seeing Profile Measurement with Two Apertures and Multiple Guide Regions

The sky brightness is a critical parameter for estimating the coronal observation conditions for a solar observatory. As part of a site-survey project in Western China, we measured the sky brightness continuously at the Lijiang Observatory in Yunnan province in 2011. A sky brightness monitor (SBM) was adopted to measure the sky brightness in a region extending from 4.5 to 7.0 apparent solar radii based on the experience of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) site survey. Every month, the data were collected manually for at least one week. We collected statistics of the sky brightness at four bandpasses located at 450, 530, 890, and 940 nm. The results indicate that aerosol scattering is of great importance for the diurnal variation of the sky brightness. For most of the year, the sky brightness remains under 20 millionths per airmass before local Noon. On average, the sky brightness is less than 20 millionths, which accounts for 40.41% of the total observing time on a clear day. The best observation time is from 9:00 to 13:00 (Beijing time). The Lijiang Observatory is therefore suitable for coronagraphs investigating the structures and dynamics of the corona.     

厚壳贻贝（Mytilus coruscus）McNF-κB基因的克隆及其在发育中的作用

核因子κB（Nuclear Factor kappa-B,NF-κB）具有免疫、炎症、凋亡、细胞增殖和发育的调节作用,目前NF-κB在脊椎动物和果蝇中的研究较为丰富,在贝类中的报道较少。为进一步探究NF-κB在厚壳贻贝（Mytilus coruscus）免疫和发育中的作用,本研究克隆了厚壳贻贝McNF-κB基因的序列全长,其全长为4 087 bp,开放阅读框为2 613 bp,编码871个氨基酸,具有典型的锚蛋白重复序列（ankyrinrepeat, ANK）结构域和死亡结构域。氨基酸序列分析结果发现,该基因与欧洲贻贝（Mytilus edulis）和地中海贻贝（Mytilus galloprovincialis）分别具有72.76%和66.58%同源性,且在系统进化树中与欧洲贻贝和地中海贻贝聚为一支。经实时荧光定量PCR（qRT-PCR）技术检验表明,McNF-κB基因于厚壳贻贝各组织均有分布,在鳃中表达最高;McNF-κB基因在厚壳贻贝眼点幼虫阶段和稚贝阶段均有表达,且在稚贝阶段表达量显著高于眼点幼虫阶段。利用RNA干扰技术沉默眼点幼虫McNF-κB基因后幼虫变态率显著下降,推测McNF-κB基因调控厚壳贻贝幼虫变态过程。本研究为探究McNF-κB基因如何调控厚壳贻贝发育奠定了基础。     

海南岛直尾颚足钩虾(甲壳动物:端足目,颚足钩虾科)的补充描述

颚足钩虾属 Maxillipius (端足目,颚足钩虾科 Family Maxillipiidae)中,迄今仅有2种,即直尾颚足钩虾 Maxillipius rectitelson Ledoyer和共栖颚足钩虾 Maxillipius commensalis Ledoyer。直尾颚足钩虾的模式标本采自马达加斯加,仅有雌体。虽然后来Ledoyer(1986)又进行了补充描记,但因缺乏雄体标本,使该种的描述不完善。作者在海南岛潮间带采集中,获得较多该种标本,仅雄体就有27个,并发现雄、雌第1触角形态表现为雌、雄异形(sexual dimorphism)。这与Thomas (1996)所描述的Maxillipius commensalis Ledoyer雌、雄体形态差异相似,即在雄体第1触角第3柄节上具柄突(callynophore),该柄突在 Maxillipiidae 科中为 Maxillipius 属区别于 Maxillipides 属的主要特征。 本文为直尾颚足钩虾 Maxillipius rectitelson Ledoyer 的补充描述。     

黄河口及其邻近水域强壮箭虫密度的时空分布及其与环境因子的关系

为探究强壮箭虫（Sagitta crassa）在黄河口及其邻近水域的时空分布特征及其与生物和非生物环境等因子的关系,本文依据2013—2014年在黄河口及其邻近水域6个航次的调查数据,采用丛生指标（I）、聚块性指标（A）和负二项分布参数的倒数（C_A）等聚集指标,分析了强壮箭虫的空间分布特征;应用广义可加模型（GAM）研究了强壮箭虫密度的时空分布和环境因子的关系。结果表明,黄河口及其邻近水域强壮箭虫平均密度为21.85 ind/m3,春、秋季高,冬、夏季低;其密度的空间分布以黄河入海口附近水域为密集中心,向远岸水域逐渐降低;强壮箭虫在黄河口及其邻近水域的聚集特征随密度的变化存在两次聚集和两次扩散;水深、表层水温和浮游桡足类密度是影响其密度时空分布的主要因子,总偏差解释率为55.11%,强壮箭虫密度随水深的增加而减小,随表层水温的升高先增加后减小,随桡足类密度的增加而增加。强壮箭虫密度受黄河口及其邻近水域环境因子变动的影响,具有明显的季节变化和空间分布规律。     

洛阳市暴雨时空分布特征

对洛阳市1961-2005年10个站逐日雨量资料统计分析结果表明:洛阳暴雨集中在7-9月,且7-8月单站暴雨较多。有2个暴雨多发区域中心,一个在北部的丘陵区,另一个在南部山区。年区域暴雨出现≥4次时,有准3 a的周期变化规律;≤3次时,有准5 a的周期变化规律。