Formation of methane and hydrocarbons by pyrolysis of immature kerogens

Pyrolysis of sedimentary organic matter under inert atmosphere and by low-rate temperature programming produces solid and liquid pyrolyzates which have been studied by different techniques. The result is a good agreement between such pyrolyzates and samples having undergone natural maturation. For methane such a comparison is not possible, because of the mobility of methane in nature but, on the basis of previous studies, methane formation from different types of organic matter can be studied in the same conditions. The organic matter is studied as kerogen, outside and inside the original rock. No significant difference is seen in methane formation, which always occurs during the main stage of hydrocarbon formation or after it, but never before. The minimum temperature is 250°C. In order to test the likeliness of a catalytic effect, some kerogens are mixed with industrial catalysts and processed as usual. The distribution of hydrocarbons is thereby modified, the temperature of formation of hydrocarbons is lowered by circa 50°C, but the formation of methane is not modified.Thermal cracking mechanisms explain quite well the formation of hydrocarbons and methane as it occurs in our experiment. Catalysts, though inducing other mechanisms, do not modify the methane formation.Other mechanisms should be used to explain the presumed formation of “early”, non biogenic, methane, but, due to the mobility of methane in nature, arguments are only experimental or theoretical, but no direct evidence can be brought.     

Verifying warnings for point precipitation

Short-term risk forecasts of point precipitation are obtained with COTREC/RainCast, a technique for extrapolation of radar images. The risk forecasts are updated every 5 min for the next 0–2 h. Risk levels are defined for moderate, heavy and extreme precipitation. Warning messages are generated if, at the locations of 23 rain gauges, these risk levels are reached or exceeded. The time-resolved gauge data are used to judge if the warning messages are in time, early or late.Data over a period of 4 months (summer 2002) are used for verification. The largest number of warnings (1790) was obtained for moderate precipitation. About 55% of these warnings were in time, 23% were early and 22% were late. This finding is in a good agreement with the defined risk level for warnings (50%), indicating that the model for calculating the risk factors is reliable. Less warnings in time, and more late warnings were found for heavy and extreme precipitation. Hence, the risk levels need to be lowered for heavy and extreme precipitation, in order to reduce the number of late warnings.     

The radio frequency dielectric properties of the stratified UG1–UG2 geological unit in the Bushveld Complex

A new measurement technique enables the complex dielectric properties of the geological strata comprising the UG1–UG2 (Upper Group 1–Upper Group 2) unit of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa to be determined with unprecedented detail at radio frequencies (RF). Results of non-destructive laboratory measurements of representative diamond drill core samples from the UG1–UG2 unit are presented at 25 MHz. These data establish that the UG1 and UG2 chromitite layers are embedded in rock strata (norite, pyroxenite and anorthosite) which are translucent in the HF spectral band, whereas the chromitite layers themselves exhibit significant velocity contrast, making them good radar reflectors. The data presented here is useful for calibration of the radar system, and for predicting the range and resolution performance of borehole radars operating in both the hanging and footwalls of the economically important platiniferous UG2 reef.     

The effects of surface area, grain size and mineralogy on organic matter sedimentation and preservation across the modern Squamish Delta, British Columbia: the potential role of sediment surface area in the formation of petroleum source rocks

Surface sediment samples were collected from the Squamish River Delta, British Columbia, in order to determine the role of sediment surface area in the preservation of organic matter (OM) in a paralic sedimentary environment. The Squamish Delta is an actively prograding delta, located at the head of Howe Sound.Bulk total organic carbon (TOC) values across the Squamish Delta are low, ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 wt.%. The carbon/total nitrogen ratio (C_org/N) ranges from 6 to 17, which is attributed to changes in OM type and facies variations. The <25-μm fraction has TOC concentrations up to 2.0 wt.%, and a C_org/N ratio that ranges from 14 to 16. The 53–106-μm fraction has higher TOC concentrations and C_org/N ratios relative to the 25–53-μm fraction. The C_org/N ratio ranges from 9 to 18 in the 53–106-μm fraction and 5.5–10.5 in the 25–53-μm fraction. Surface area values for bulk sediments are low (0.5–3.0 m²/g) due to the large proportion of silt size material. Good correlation between surface area and TOC in bulk samples suggests that OM is adsorbed to mineral surfaces. Similar relationships between surface area and TOC were observed in size-fractionated samples. Mineralogy and elemental composition did not correlate with TOC concentration.The relationships between surface area, TOC and total nitrogen (TN) can be linked to the hydrodynamic and sedimentological conditions of the Squamish Delta. As a result, the Squamish Delta is a useful modern analogue for the formation of petroleum source rocks in ancient deltaic environments, where TOC concentrations are often significantly lower than those in source rocks formed in other geological settings.     

Study of the air-sea interactions at the mesoscale: the SEMAPHORE experiment

The SEMAPHORE (Structure des Echanges Mer-Atmosphère, Propriétés des Hétérogénéités Océaniques: Recherche Expérimentale) experiment has been conducted from June to November 1993 in the Northeast Atlantic between the Azores and Madeira. It was centered on the study of the mesoscale ocean circulation and air-sea interactions. The experimental investigation was achieved at the mesoscale using moorings, floats, and ship hydrological survey, and at a smaller scale by one dedicated ship, two instrumented aircraft, and surface drifting buoys, for one and a half month in October-November (IOP: intense observing period). Observations from meteorological operational satellites as well as spaceborne microwave sensors were used in complement. The main studies undertaken concern the mesoscale ocean, the upper ocean, the atmospheric boundary layer, and the sea surface, and first results are presented for the various topics. From data analysis and model simulations, the main characteristics of the ocean circulation were deduced, showing the close relationship between the Azores front meander and the occurrence of Mediterranean water lenses (meddies), and the shift between the Azores current frontal signature at the surface and within the thermocline. Using drifting buoys and ship data in the upper ocean, the gap between the scales of the atmospheric forcing and the oceanic variability was made evident. A 2 °C decrease and a 40-m deepening of the mixed layer were measured within the IOP, associated with a heating loss of about 100 W m⁻². This evolution was shown to be strongly connected to the occurrence of storms at the beginning and the end of October. Above the surface, turbulent measurements from ship and aircraft were analyzed across the surface thermal front, showing a 30% difference in heat fluxes between both sides during a 4-day period, and the respective contributions of the wind and the surface temperature were evaluated. The classical momentum flux bulk parameterization was found to fail in low wind and unstable conditions. Finally, the sea surface was investigated using airborne and satellite radars and wave buoys. A wave model, operationally used, was found to get better results compared with radar and wave-buoy measurements, when initialized using an improved wind field, obtained by assimilating satellite and buoy wind data in a meteorological model. A detailed analysis of a 2-day period showed that the swell component, propagating from a far source area, is underestimated in the wave model. A data base has been created, containing all experimental measurements. It will allow us to pursue the interpretation of observations and to test model simulations in the ocean, at the surface and in the atmospheric boundary layer, and to investigate the ocean-atmosphere coupling at the local and mesoscales.     

Considérations sur le volcanisme post-ophiolitique dans les Alpes occidentales

Résumé L'activité magmatique ophiolitique du géosynclinal alpin (diabases, gabbros, serpentines, etc.) a été suivie par une activité à caractère volcanique moins bien connue. En effet, les appareils correspondant à cette activité ont complètement disparu; nous devons nous contenter pour tous renseignements de l'étude des fragments de roches contenus dans des grauwackes tertiaires appartenant au Flysch (grès de Taveyanne, grès d'AItdorf pro parte, grès du Champsaur).La détermination de la nature originelle des laves est, en outre, rendue difficile par le fait, découvert récemment, que ces grauwackes ont subi un métamorphisme régional les plaçant dans le faciès à zéolites; on peut raisonnablement admettre qu'il s'agissait d'andésites basaltiques.L'áge des épanchements est encore indéterminé, il doit être compris entre le Crétacé supérieur et la fin de l'Eocène. L'hypothèse la plus plausible consiste à admettre que les volcans, aujourd'hui complètement érodés se trouvaient dans la partie la plus interne du domaine pennique. Toutefois au moment du dépôt des grès de Taveyanne, les coulées ne se trouvaient plus dans leur position initiale, elles avaient glissé vers l'avant-pays sous forme d'une nappe.Il est très probable que cette activité volcanique post-ophiolitique n'est pas restreinte au segment franco-suisse des Alpes occidentales mais que des formations analogues aux grès de Taveyanne se retrouvent ailleurs, notamment en Sicile et dans les Apennins.

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The magmatic activity which gave birth to the ophiolites (diabases, gabbros, serpentinites) of the alpine geosyncline was followed by subaerial volcanism. This volcanic activity is not well known as the volcanoes were completely destroyed by erosion. Our only source of information is to be found in fragments of volcanic rocks which are part of Tertiary Flysch graywackes (Taveyanne sandstones, part of the Altorf sandstones, Champsaur sandstones).The determination of the initial composition of the lavas is further complicated by metasomatic transformations; it has been recently shown that the Taveyanne graywackes were submitted to a light regional metamorphism corresponding to the zeolitic facies ofCoombs. However, it seems that these lavas were originally basaltic andesites.The age of this volcanism is not precisely known, it cannot be later than Upper Eocene as the time of deposition of the Taveyanne sandstones is Uppermost Eocene-Lower Oligocene; it is probably post-Cenomanian. It is likely that the volcanoes were located in the southern part of the Penninic zone; however at the time of deposition of the graywackes the volcanic flows had already left their initial location, gliding toward the Foreland as part of a Nappe.Very probably, remnants of this post-ophiolitic volcanism are not restricted to the French-Swiss segment of the Western Alps, but will be found elsewhere, particularly in the Apennine Mountains and in Sicily.

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Zusammenfassung Die magmatische Tätigkeit, die Ophiolithe (Diabase, Gabbros, Serpentinite) der alpinen Geosynklinale entstehen ließ, wurde von subärischem Vulkanismus abgelöst. Diese Vulkantätigkeit ist wenig bekannt, da die Vulkane durch Erosion völlig zerstört wurden. Unsere einzige Informationsquelle findet sich in vulkanischen Gesteinsfragmenten, die Bestandteile der Tertiär-Flysch-Grauwacken sind.Die Bestimmung der ursprünglichen Zusammensetzung der Laven wird weiter durch metasomatische Umwandlungen erschwert. Kürzlich wurde gezeigt, daß die Taveyanne-Grauwacken einem regionalen Metamorphismus ausgesetzt waren, welcher der zeolithischen Fazies von Coombs entspricht. Es scheint jedoch, daß diese Laven ursprünglich basaltische Andésite waren.Das Alter dieses Vulkanismus ist nicht genau bekannt; es kann aber nicht später sein als das Obere Eozän, da die Ablagerungszeit der Taveyanne-Sandsteine Oberstes Eozän—Unteres Oligozän ist. Wahrscheinlich lagen die Vulkane im südlichen Teil der penninischen Zone; zur Zeit der Ablagerung der Grauwacken waren die Vulkanite bereits in die Überschiebungsmassen mit einbezogen.Sehr wahrscheinlich sind die Überreste dieses nach-ophiolithischen Vulkanismus nicht auf den französisch-schweizerischen Abschnitt der Westalpen beschränkt, sondern werden sich auch andernorts speziell auf dem Apennin und in Sizilien finden lassen.

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