A Workflow for Static Reservoir Modeling Guided by Seismic Data in a Fluvial System

Realistic and accurate static geologic models are an essential element needed to predict the behavior of subsurface reservoirs and play an important role in petroleum engineering. Data used in the development of a static geologic model are gathered from various sources, such as seismic, log, and core data, each of them providing information on different physical properties of interest and with varying degrees of resolution. Compiling all data from various sources into a single representation of the subsurface formation of interest is a daily challenge for many petroleum geologists and engineers. This paper describes a framework to develop and select process-mimicking models that are consistent with available seismic attributes, namely impedance. Using a process-mimicking modeling package, 75 models of a fluvial meandering system are generated, one of which is chosen as the “true” model and masked thereafter. The implemented selection method relies on the degree of similarity in the histogram of representations of clusters of all possible patterns in the seismic impedance domain based on each process-mimicking model and that of the “true” model at several resolutions. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the use of a weighted average divergence distance across multiple levels to select process-mimicking models that honor seismic data the best.     

Analysis of burnt schist outcrops in the alps: Relation to historical archaeology and Hannibal's crossing in 218 B.C.

Identification of the exact route followed by Hannibal during his invasion of Italia in the Second Punic War is one of the major questions of antiquity and one that historians/archaeologists have long studied. One of the many clues in the ancient literature that can help answer this question is the mention of fired rock, the result of a conflagration Hannibal is reputed to have employed to reduce the size of boulders in a blocking rockslide some distance down from the high col on the Italian side. The only route with evidence of fired rock along the roadway leading into Italia follows the Col du Clapier, one of the possible northern routes discussed by historians. Radiocarbon dating of calcined rocks is not possible, but whereas Time‐of‐Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM‐EDS), backscatter electron scanning microscopy (BSE), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HRTEM), and Raman Spectroscopic data do not provide an age for the burnt rock, compositional evidence of the conflagration derived from these analyses may shed light on Hannibal's actual route. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Identification of a sulfide derivative with a bicyclic hydrocarbon skeleton related to squalene. Part II: synthesis of a S-spiro-like dithiolane triterpenoid

A sulfide with a bicyclic squalene hydrocarbon skeleton present in sediments from various depositional settings and of different geological age has been identified by synthesis of a reference compound. In contrast to previous expectations [cf. Schouten, S., Sinninghe Damsté, J.S., de Leeuw, J.W., 1995. A novel triterpenoid carbon skeleton in immature sulphur-rich sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 59, 953–958; Gug, S., Schaeffer, P., Adam, P., Klein, S., Motsch, E., Albrecht, P., 2009. Identification of a sulfide derivative with a bicyclic hydrocarbon skeleton related to squalene. Part I: Synthesis of a dithiane triterpenoid. Organic Geochemistry 40, 876–884.], this sulfide bears two “S-spiro type“ thiolane moities, but not the two thiochromane moieties originally envisaged. The synthesis resulted in the formation of a complex isomeric mixture of compounds, all co-eluting in gas chromatography (GC) in the form of one broad peak, as is the case with the geochemical compound. The spiro-type sulfide was formed by intramolecular sulfurization of a polyunsaturated bicyclic squalene derivative of unknown biological origin. The presence of this sulfide in a number of Triassic to Miocene marine sediments from various and contrasting depositional settings (upwelling environments, shallow continental platforms, lagoonal sub-basins, hypersaline environments), all characterized by strongly anoxic conditions, but with or without photic zone anoxia, indicates that the microorganisms biosynthesizing the precursor bicyclic squalene occupy diverse ecological niches.     

Modelling the impact of tectonics,surface conditions and sea surface temperatures on Saharan and sub-Saharan climate evolution

Using an Atmospheric Global Circulation Model, we assess the relevance of selected atmospheric mechanisms for climate evolution of Saharan and sub-Saharan regions since the Miocene. First, we test the influence of the East-African Rift System uplift on atmospheric dynamics. Although the uplift played an important role in triggering East-African rainfall, no significant impact over central and western Africa has been detected. We also analyse the feedbacks of a giant lake on the climate of Chad basin. First results infer a negative feedback of the giant lake on the water balance, as convection is weakened by the cold water surface and as water evaporated from the lake does not feed the basin hydrological cycle. Lastly, we suggest that colder than present sea surface temperatures over the Gulf of Guinea reinforce the West-African monsoon, by enhancing the moisture advection engine via stronger thermal contrast between the ocean and the continent.     

Establishing constraints on groundwater ages with Cl,C, H,and noble gases: A case study in the eastern Paris basin,France

Groundwaters from the Tithonian/Kimmeridgian, Oxfordian and Upper Dogger aquifers, within the eastern part of the Paris basin (France), were characterised using ³H, ¹⁴C and ³⁶Cl, and noble gases tracers, to evaluate their residence times and determine their recharge period. This information is an important prerequisite to evaluating the confinement properties of the Callovo-Oxfordian clay formation sandwiched between the Oxfordian aquifer and the Dogger aquifer, currently being investigated by the French nuclear waste management agency (Andra) for radioactive waste disposal. Data presented in this paper are used to test 4 hypotheses.     

Decoupling between the middle and upper crust during transpression-related lateral flow: Variscan evolution of the Aston gneiss dome (Pyrenees, France)

We present a structural, AMS, microstructural and kinematic study of the Aston gneiss dome (French Pyrenees), which consists of a core made up of orthogneiss and paragneiss intruded by numerous sills of Carboniferous peraluminous granite. The orthogneiss corresponds to a former Ordovician granitic laccolith. Four Variscan events have been evidenced in this gneiss dome: (i) D1 deformation observed only as relics in the orthogneisses and their country-rocks located above the sillimanite isograd, and characterized by a NS to NE–SW non coaxial stretch associated to top to the south motions (NS convergence); (ii) D2-a deformation observed in the orthogneisses and their country-rocks, mainly migmatitic paragneisses, located below the sillimanite isograd and in the peraluminous granites whatever their structural level, and characterized by an EW to N120°E stretch associated to a top to the east flat shearing (lateral flow in the hot middle crust in a transpressive regime); (iii) D2-b deformation characterized by EW-trending megafolds corresponding to the domes in the middle crust and by EW-trending tight folds with subvertical axial planes in the metasedimentary upper crust; (iv) subvertical medium-temperature mylonitic bands developed by the end of the transpression.The Aston massif is a good example of decoupling between a cold upper crust and a hotter middle crust overheated by a thermal event originated in the upper mantle. This decoupling allowed the lateral flow of the migmatitic middle crust along a direction at high angle with respect to the more or less NS-trending direction of convergence. We suggest that the HT-LP metamorphism developed before the formation of the domes during D2-a, coevally with the emplacement of numerous sills of peraluminous granite, whereas the emplacement of the large calc-alkaline plutons in the upper crust occurred by the end of D2-b. Our data invalidate the previous geodynamical models based on either early or late extensional regime to explain the development of the HT-LP metamorphism. This new interpretation of the dynamics of the Variscan crust of the Pyrenees is consistent with recent studies conducted in Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic hot continental crusts having undergone oblique convergence, and characterized by a competition between vertical thickening and lateral flow induced by the important rheological contrast between two thermally different levels.     

A review of jet grouting practice and development

The jet grouting technique was originally initiated in the UK and progressively developed following the needs for larger geometries, ease of implementation, economic rationality, and better mechanical properties. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the development and practice of jet grouting through some fundamental concepts and relevant case studies. Subsequently, a laboratory testing program is performed to investigate the factors affecting the efficacy of the twin grouting system. The principal objective of this study is to define the suitable conditions for the jet grouting efficacy regarding economic rationality as well as quality control. For the first phase, a particular emphasis is placed on the properties of jet columns, site geological conditions, implementation methods, and the justification of each selected treatment option, while the second phase mainly focuses on the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests. It follows that the mono-fluid jet grouting system presents a valuable flexibility in dealing with complex configurations; yet, the double- and triple-fluid systems are more indicated for cases of mass treatments for which large portions of space must be treated and overlapping is fundamentally important for the reliability of the treatment. Furthermore, it was established that the efficacy of the twin-jet method primarily relies on the proper adequacy of some critical parameters, namely, the cement content, the water-cement ratio, and cement slurry-water glass ratio. In spite of some uncertainties inherently related to the technique, the UCS test represents the quintessential laboratory index for evaluating the mechanical properties of grouted elements, deriving jet grouting efficacy and the economics of jet grouts.     

From outwash to coastal systems in the Portneuf–Forestville deltaic complex (Québec North Shore): Anatomy of a forced regressive deglacial sequence

Deglacial sequences typically include backstepping grounding zone wedges and prevailing glaciomarine depositional facies. However, in coastal domains, deglacial sequences are dominated by depositional systems ranging from turbiditic to fluvial facies. Such deglacial sequences are strongly impacted by glacio‐isostatic rebound, the rate and amplitude of which commonly outpaces those of post‐glacial eustatic sea‐level rise. This results in a sustained relative sea‐level fall covering the entire depositional time interval. This paper examines a Late Quaternary, forced regressive, deglacial sequence located on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence Estuary (Portneuf Peninsula, Québec, Canada) and aims to decipher the main controls that governed its stratigraphic architecture. The forced regressive deglacial sequence forms a thick (>100 m) and extensive (>100 km²) multiphased deltaic complex emplaced after the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet margin from the study area ca 12 500 years ago. The sedimentary succession is composed of ice‐contact, glaciomarine, turbiditic, deltaic, fluvial and coastal depositional units. A four‐stage development is recognized: (i) an early ice‐contact stage (esker, glaciomarine mud and outwash fan); (ii) an in‐valley progradational stage (fjord head or moraine‐dammed lacustrine deltas) fed by glacigenics; (iii) an open‐coast deltaic progradation, when proglacial depositional systems expanded beyond the valley outlets and merged together; and (iv) a final stage of river entrenchment and shallow marine reworking that affected the previously emplaced deltaic complex. Most of the sedimentary volume (10 to 15 km³) was emplaced during the three‐first stages over a ca 2 kyr interval. In spite of sustained high rates of relative sea‐level fall (50 to 30 mm·year^?1), delta plain accretion occurred up to the end of the proglacial open‐coast progradational stage. River entrenchment only occurred later, after a significant decrease in the relative sea‐level fall rates (<30 mm·year^?1), and was concurrent with the formation and preservation of extensive coastal deposits (raised beaches, spit platform and barrier sands). The turnaround from delta plain accretion to river entrenchment and coastal erosion is interpreted to be a consequence of the retreat of the ice margin from the river drainage basins that led to the drastic drop of sediment supply and the abrupt decrease in progradation rates. The main internal stratigraphic discontinuity within the forced regressive deglacial sequence does not reflect changes in relative sea‐level variations.