Multi-disciplinary earthquake researches in Western Turkey: Hints to select sites to study geochemical transients associated to seismicity

Warm and hot spring water as well as soil gas radon release patterns have been monitored in the Aegean Extensional Province of Western Turkey, alongside regional seismic events, providing a multi-disciplinary approach. In the study period of 20 months, seven moderate earthquakes with M _L between 4.0 and 4.7 occurred in this seismically very active region; two earthquakes with magnitude 5.0 also occurred near the study area. Seismic monitoring showed no foreshock activity. By contrast, hydro-geochemical anomalies were found prior to these seismic events, each lasting for weeks. The anomalies occurred foremost in conjunction with dip-slip events and seem to support the dilatancy and water diffusion hypothesis. Increased soil gas radon release was recorded before earthquakes associated with strike-slip faults, but no soil radon anomalies were seen before earthquakes associated with dip-slip faults. Geochemical anomalies were also noticeably absent at some springs throughout the postulated deformation zones of impending earthquakes. The reason for this discrepancy might be due to stress/strain anisotropies.     

Urban dilemmas in Southeast Asia

The implications of increasing urbanization in Southeast Asia are considered using U.N. projections of urban growth. Issues discussed include the urban bias in development, informal sector development, the provision of urban services, and urban poverty and inequality. Policy dilemmas are examined in terms of these issues and of the increasing internationalization of the urbanization experience and the changing division of labor worldwide.     

Paleostress analysis of the Cretaceous rocks in the eastern margin of the Dead Sea transform, Jordan

This paper presents the first paleostress results from fault-slip data on Cretaceous limestone at the eastern rim of the Dead Sea transform (DST) in Jordan. Stress inversion of fault-slip data is performed using an improved right dieder method, followed by rotational optimization (Delvaux, TENSOR Program). The orientation of the principal stress axes (σ₁, σ₂ and σ₃) and the ratio of the principal stress differences ( ) show two main paleostress fields marking two main stress regimes, strike-slip and extensional. The first is characterized by NNW–SSE compression and ENE–WSW extension and related to Middle Miocene-Recent sinistral movement along the Dead Sea transform and the opening of the Red Sea. The second paleostress field is a WNW–ESE compression and NNE–SSW extension restricted to the northern part of the investigated area. This stress field could be associated with the development of the Syrian Arc fold belt which started during the Turonian, or it may be due to an anticlockwise rotation of the first stress field.     

An experimental investigation of a vertical wall response to breaking wave impact

Laboratory experiments are conducted to measure the impact pressures and resulting deflections from breaking oscillatory waves on a vertical wall with 1/10 foreshore slope. The maximum impact pressure data on the wall are statistically analysed and the relationships between the magnitudes of impact pressures and forces, and their durations, are investigated. The maximum impact pressures, among the 90 wave impacts, are found to vary between 1.37 × 10⁴and 28.3 × 10⁴Pa. The maximum impact pressures are shown to reasonably satisfy the log-normal probability distribution and they occur most frequently slightly below the still-water level. The greatest wall deflection at the point of measurement is caused by an impact which has a maximum pressure of 3.6 × 10⁴Pa, corresponding to 50% probability in the log-normal distribution. It is found that the longer-lasting low impact forces are more effective in producing the larger wall deflections. In this respect, the maximum impact pressures in the range between 2.5 × 10⁴and 5 × 10⁴Pa obtained in this study are found to be the most effective. The upper limit of this range (when non-dimensionalised by the specific weight of water and deep-water wave steepness) is suggested as a design value for vertical walls.     

Lithologic characteristics and diagenesis of the Devonian Jauf sandstone at Ghawar Field, Eastern Saudi Arabia

The Lower Devonian Jauf Formation in Saudi Arabia is an important hydrocarbon reservoir. However, in spite of its importance as a reservoir, published studies on the Jauf Formation more specifically on the reservoir quality (including diagenesis), are very few. This study, which is based on core samples from two wells in the Ghawar Field, northeastern Saudi Arabia, reports the lithologic and diagenetic characteristics of this reservoir. The Jauf reservoir is a fine to medium-grained, moderate to well-sorted quartz arenite. The diagenetic processes recognized include compaction, cementation (calcite, clay minerals, quartz overgrowths, and a minor amount of pyrite), and dissolution of the calcite cements and of feldspar grains. The widespread occurrences of early calcite cement suggest that the Jauf reservoir lost a significant amount of primary porosity at a very early stage of its diagenetic history. Early calcite cement, however, prevented the later compaction of the sandstone, thus preserving an unfilled part of the primary porosity. Based on the framework grain–cement relationships, precipitation of the early calcite cement was either accompanied or followed by the development of part of the pore-lining and pore-bridging clay cement. Secondary porosity development occurred due to partial to complete dissolution of early calcite cements and feldspar. Late calcite cement occurs as isolated patches, and has little impact on reservoir quality of the sandstones.In addition to calcite, several different clay minerals including illite and chlorite occur as pore-filling and pore-lining cements. While the pore-filling illite and chlorite resulted in a considerable loss of porosity, the pore-lining chlorite may have helped in retaining the porosity by preventing the precipitation of syntaxial quartz overgrowths. Illite, which largely occurs as hair-like rims around the grains and bridges on the pore throats, caused a substantial deterioration to permeability of the reservoir. Diagenetic history of the Jauf Formation as established here is expected to help better understanding and exploitation of this reservoir.     

Impulse modelling of wave impact pressures on vertical wall

Breaking waves on coastal structures cause high magnitude impact pressures which may be important for the structural stability. In estimating the impact pressure distribution on the wall, there have been a lot of theoretical and experimental work. The present study is concerned with a theoretical approach which is based on the pressure impulse, to find the impact pressures on vertical wall. The numerical solution of the governing equation is carried out using the boundary element method. The theoretical impact pressures are determined using the experimental values of impact pressure rising time. The computational results of the impact pressures from the pressure impulse model are found to agree well with the experimental data of an earlier study.     

Effect of Water Flooding on Oil Reservoir Permeability: Saturation Index Prediction Model for Giant Oil Reservoirs,Southern Iraq

Natural Resources Research - This research was conducted on five oilfields in the Mishrif reservoir, southern Iraq, to illustrate the effects of permeability on the damage caused by the injection...     

Geochemistry and petrology of Late Miocene-Pleistocene Dibdibba sandstone formation in south and central Iraq: implications for provenance and depositional setting

Major, trace, and some rare earth element compositions in clastic sediments of the Dibdibba Formation (Late Miocene-Pleistocene) in central and southern Iraq have been investigated to describe the sedimentary environment and provenance. These sediments are classified as subarkosic to arkosic with few sublithic arenite, lithic arenite, and gray wacke; they are mainly composed of quartz (Q) followed by feldspar (F) and rock fragments (L) with a petrologic composition of Q73-F21-L6. The Arabian Shield is a probable source of the studied sediments which are derived from multi-sources including igneous rocks (felsic to mafic) and metamorphic rocks and were transported by river currents towards the northeast. Eventually, the clastic sediments were deposited in a fluviatile environment covering a wide area in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Iraq during the Late Miocene-Pleistocene. They were developed on a passive continental margin under a semi-humid climate alternating with drought periods. The grain size analysis indicates that Basra in the south of Iraq is close to the source, but Karbala and Najaf in central Iraq are farthest from the source.     

Facies analysis and geochemistry of the Euphrates Formation in Central Iraq

The Euphrates Formation (Lower Miocene) in the Central Iraq consists mainly of shallow marine carbonates. Two hundred ten samples were collected from 21 wells (1E to 21ED) at Bahar Najaf area, and 18 samples were collected at Wadi Asadi in Baghdadi area, from Euphrates Formation. Four microfacies are identified, namely mudstone, wackestone, packstone, and rare grainstone with ten submicrofacies. The allochems in the Euphrates Formation are dominated by bioclasts. Peloids, ooids, and intraclasts are less abundant. The common fossils in the Euphrates Formation are miliolids, algae, ostracods, Miogypsina, and abundant shells of pelecypods and gastropods. Calcite and dolomite are the predominant mineral components of the Euphrates Formation. The carbonates of the Euphrates Formation have been affected by a variety of diagenetic processes such as micritization, dissolution, neomorphism, cementation, stylolitization, dolomitization, dedolomitization, and silicification. The Euphrates Formation was deposited in open to restricted platforms which indicated lagoonal environment with warm and restricted open circulation. In fact, prevalence and abundance of micrite provide an evidence of a shallow marine of low-energy environment and, in some places, may be approaching to be stagnant environment. The average of CaO in Najaf area (51.5 %) is slightly lower than that in Baghdadi area (53.3 %), which was reflected in calcite content found being 91 % in Najaf and 94 % in Baghdadi. Dolomite and gypsum appeared as minor minerals beside calcite, so low concentration of MgO (0.83 % in Najaf; 0.63 in Baghdadi) and SO₃ (0.55 % in Najaf; 0.53 % in Baghdadi) was reflected information of small amounts of dolomite (2 % in Najaf; 1.6 % in Baghdadi) and gypsum (0.7 % in Najaf and 0.6 in Baghdadi) in the Euphrates Formation. The insoluble residue in Najaf area (4.37 %) is relatively higher than that in Baghdadi area (1.9 %), indicating that the Euphrates Formation in Najaf Area has deposited in an environment closer to the shoreline. Concentrations of the trace elements Sr, Mn, and Fe which support the conclusion that reminds the Euphrates Formation had been deposited in a shallow marine environment of quiet energy, with the likelihood that the shoreline was the nearest to Najaf rather than to Baghdadi.     

Balneological study based on the hydrogeochemical aspects of the sulfate springs water (Hit–Kubaiysa region), Iraq

This research examined the balneological characteristics of spring waters within the area of Abu-Jir Fault Zone throughout the hydrogeologic aspects explained by the setting of the hydrogeologic units including the water-bearing horizons of Euphrates, Ana, and Baba Formations. The groundwater flow in the hydrogeologic system correlated with the trends of enrichment or depletion case processes of mineralization (spatial distribution maps of TDS and other components) show different phenomena of groundwater source and interconnection, which helps in the classification springs into two potential site. The physicochemical characteristics of the water flow from springs indicate a hydrochemical approach throughout the spatial variation of important parameters (using Rockware software) related to the balneological study. The monitoring network of the spring waters performed by seven field measurements and 33 variables (totaling to 720 detected measurements) in 18 springs approved the after desk study and water point inventory using a GPS apparatus (GARMIN SUMMIT-e TREX). The study examined the integrated hydrogeological aspects and spring water properties for evolutions and the classification of minero-medicinal water. The traditional hydrochemical information of the spring waters and their sediment properties correlated with balneological limits (standards and definitions) are used in the selection of springs characterized by balneotherapeutic applications. A suggested screening and ranking technique has been developed for evaluating preferable springs selected for natural therapy. The application of ranking technique indicates four graded consequent preferable springs for balneotherapeutic investment: first grade spring represented by Kubaiysa spring (S-4); second grade springs represented by Tawila spring (S-12); third grade springs represented by Mamora spring (S-15), Arnab spring (S-10), Zazoe spring (S-5), and Maqtoom spring (S-13); and fourth grade springs represented by Khalidiya spring (S-16) and Layeg spring (S-7).