Deep petroleum occurrences in the Lower Kura Depression, South Caspian Basin, Azerbaijan: an organic geochemical and basin modeling study

High sedimentation rates (as much as 2500 m/Ma) during Pliocene-Pleistocene, with a resultant undercompacted section as thick as 10,000 m, and lower than normal geothermal gradients are the main characteristics which have created all the means for generation and preservation of oil at deep layers in the Lower Kura Depression.Oils collected from eight different oil fields for analyses seem to have originated from a common source rock which probably is clastic, deposited in relatively subanoxic to suboxic transitional marine environment receiving low to moderate input of terrestrial organic matter.Oils from shallow (< 3000 m) and cold (< 70–80°C) reservoirs have been altered to various extent by bacterial activity.A computer-aided basin modeling study has been carried out to outline the spatial variation of the oil window and thus help in further identification of possible source rocks for the reservoired oil in the Lower Kura Depression. Results suggest that the potential hydrocarbon source horizons of the Miocene and Pliocene Red Bed Series of the so called Productive Succession are, even at depocenter areas, immature with respect to oil generation, and thus, are very unlikely to have been source rocks for the reservoired oils. However, the Oligocene-Lower Miocene Maykop rocks are marginally mature to mature depending on locality and the Eocene and older rocks are mature with respect to oil generation at all representative field locations. Oil generation commenced at the end of Pliocene and continues at present at depths between 6000 and 12,000 m.An unusually deep (> 10,000 m) oil window in the depocenter areas has been caused by the depressed isotherms due to extremely high sedimentation rates (up to 3000 m/Ma) for the last two million years. The main phase of oil generation is taking place at depths greater than what most of the wells in the study are have reached.     

Stochastic excitation of a simple system with impact damper

An approximate analytical solution is obtained for the stationary response of a highly nonlinear auxiliary mass damper (impact damper) attached to a single-degree-of-freedom oscillator that is subjected to an excitation with white power spectral density and Gaussian probability distribution. Experimental measurements with an electronic analogue computer verify the analytical findings both qualitatively and quantitatively. Results are given for the mean-squared level and the power spectral density of the response. The effects of various damper parameters on the response of the primary system are determined. The impact damper under consideration is shown to be substantially more effective than the conventional dynamic vibration neutralizer in controlling the response of stochastically excited primary systems.     

Decrease in the clear air transmission at Helwan Observatory site

Clear air atmospheric transparency of eight nights at Helwan Observatory site during autumn period of 1987 have been determined using the yellow filter GG5. The prevailing atmospheric transmission extends to 58%. A comparison with previous values obtained with the same filter and site during autumn period of 1963 shows a considerable decrease at the present years in the clear air transmission of the site of Helwan. This can be attributed to the aerosol pollution of the site caused mainly by the increase of the industrial centers at Helwan Zone. Clear air atmospheric transparency values at the beginning of winter season and at spring season are also given.     

Interpretation of magnetic anomalies of dikes using correlation factors

The magnetic anomaly due to a buried dike consists of the sum of two easily separated elementary functions. These functions, which have simple symmetry, are called even and odd functions. The correlation factors (r _0,1 for the even andr _0,2 for the odd function) between least-squares residual anomalies from even and odd functions are computed. Correlation values are used to determine the depth to the top and the half-width of the dike. The method also includes the determination of the index parameter and the amplitude coefficient. The validity of the method is tested against a theoretical and a field example where the parameters of the latter were determined by other investigators in comparing the results.     

Automated classification technique for edge-on galaxies based on mathematical treatment of brightness data

Classification of edge-on galaxies is important to astronomical studies due to our Milky Way galaxy being an edge-on galaxy.Edge-on galaxies pose a problem to c...     

Petrochemical and Tectonogenesis of Granitoids in the Wuyo-Gubrunde Horst,Northeastern Nigeria: Implication for Uranium Enrichment

The Wuyo-Gubrunde Horst in the northeastern Nigeria consists of migmatite gneiss, unaltered, altered, and sheared porphyritic granites, pegmatites, aplites, basalts, and sandstone. Uranium has been reported in rhyolite, sheared rocks, and sandstone within the area. The petrogenesis of the granitoids and associated rocks in the area was evaluated in the light of new geochemical data, which showed that the U content of altered porphyritic granite is highest and hydrothermal-related. The granitoids are metaluminous, sub-alkaline, and S-type granite, and have evolved by partial melting of crustal material emplaced at moderate depth of 20–30 km in a syn-to late-collisional within-plate tectonic setting. The negative Eu/Eu* anomaly and high (La/Yb)_N ratio of the granitoids indicate magma fractionation. The low SiO₂ (<53%) and high Fe₂O₃ (10%) of the altered porphyritic granite compared to other similar rock units suggest pervasive alteration. The associated basalts are tholeiitic, emplaced within continental plate tectonic setting, and enriched in Ni, V, Nb, Sr, and light rare earth elements, and they have SiO₂, Fe₂O₃, V, Th, and Co contents that are similar to those of the altered porphyritic granites. The U occurrence in the Wuyo-Gubrunde Horst is believed to be sourced from the adjoining Bima sandstone in the Benue Trough, which locally contains carbonaceous zones with anomalously high concentrations of U. The Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ redox fronts formed by alteration of the iron-rich basalts provided the requisite geochemical barrier for U-bearing hydrothermal fluid, causing enrichment of U leached and mobilized from the sandstone through fractures in the rocks.     

Diatomaceous deposits of Fayium, Egypt; characterization and evaluation for industrial application

The Holocene lacustrine diatomaceous earth of Fayium,South West of Cairo,has been studied to define its minerals,chemistry,petrography and physical properties.Minerals were processed by way of calcination at 550℃ ,followed by acid leaching to reduce levels of mineral impurities.The diatomite is of biogenic opal A.with calcite as the main ganue mineral,quartz and clay minerals(smectite followed by kaolinite in abundance and a trace amount of illite).Silica in the diatomaceous earth accounts for about 63% on average.Positive correlation between CaO and CO2 indicates that Ca is present mainly as calcite.Al2O3,Fe2O3,MgO and K2O are attributed mainly to clay minerals.However,the physical properties of the diatomaceous earth as filter-aids and filler for paints and plastics are poor because of general high levels of impurities.The technological performances of the diatomaceous earth have been significantly improved owing to upgrading of diatoms through mineral processing trical.     

Surrogate-based parameter inference in debris flow model

This work tackles the problem of calibrating the unknown parameters of a debris flow model with the drawback that the information regarding the experimental data treatment and processing is not available. In particular, we focus on the evolution over time of the flow thickness of the debris with dam-break initial conditions. The proposed methodology consists of establishing an approximation of the numerical model using a polynomial chaos expansion that is used in place of the original model, saving computational burden. The values of the parameters are then inferred through a Bayesian approach with a particular focus on inference discrepancies that some of the important features predicted by the model exhibit. We build the model approximation using a preconditioned non-intrusive method and show that a suitable prior parameter distribution is critical to the construction of an accurate surrogate model. The results of the Bayesian inference suggest that utilizing directly the available experimental data could lead to incorrect conclusions, including the over-determination of parameters. To avoid such drawbacks, we propose to base the inference on few significant features extracted from the original data. Our experiments confirm the validity of this approach, and show that it does not lead to significant loss of information. It is further computationally more efficient than the direct approach, and can avoid the construction of an elaborate error model.     

Monitoring the tectonic plate movements in Turkey based on the national continuous GNSS network

In recent decades, the space geodesy has been applied to the areas such as transportation, infrastructure planning, navigation, etc. Among them, the precise positioning at the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations yields better view in the understanding of the crustal deformation that requires global-scale measurements. There have been numerous studies examining the data process of continuous GNSS observations in the field of earth monitoring. More recently, GNSS stations established for continuously operating reference station networks have been beneficial resources in the tectonic plate-monitoring studies in lieu of campaign-type observations. However, this requires that the Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) should be established on stable structures acting like foundations and requires investigation of the long-term repeatability time series. This study aims to introduce recently established national CORS network, named CORS-TR, covering the entire Turkey and Northern Cyprus, and to explain the process of the long-term data obtained from the network on the characteristics of the tectonic plate movement within the area. The results of the CORS-TR data process present a great potential of using continuously operating reference stations not only in real-time kinematic applications of conventional geodesy studies but also in detecting and monitoring the crustal deformations of those that are crucial in earthquake-prone areas like Turkey. Since the findings are computed from the results of the all permanent stations of CORS-TR network, this study also examines the GNSS observation quality of the network for the given time interval. One of the major conclusions of the data process conducted in the study displays that the CORS-TR stations established on the carefully selected large and low-rise existing building had been more stable than the stations on the ground which have been subjected to soil settlement since the construction.