Structure of the Mid Atlantic Ridge province between 12° and 18°N

An analysis is given of air-gun profiler and magnetic data obtained in the central North Atlantic between 12° and 18°N. Eight fracture zones were crossed, one of which (the 15°20N fracture zone) was traced over a distance of 1500 km. The mode of adjustment of fracture zones to a change in direction of spreading is discussed. It is shown that also if this new direction would lead to an opening of the fracture zone, and adjustment fracture can originate and actually does so in several instances.The about E-W fracture zones dominate the structure of the Ridge province entirely, both with regard to the topography and to the magnetics. A magnetic model is proposed accounting for the different types of anomalies found over fracture zones. No intrusive bodies are needed to explain these anomalies.The origin of fracture zones is related to thermal contraction of a cooling lithosphere while moving from the ridge. Thermal contraction may also explain how the American and the African plates are freed from the grip they are caught in by the fanning of the fracture zones in the central North Atlantic. The fanning of fracture zones has consequences for the determination of the pole of spreading. This pole can only be found as a best fit from a synthesis of the total plate boundary, i.e. from the Azores to Bouvet Island. Local poles have only restricted value, since deviations up to 5 deg occur from a small circle pattern based on existing data.Several huge structures, viz. Researcher Ridge and Royal Trough, are found in the area which seem to parallel the flow lines of the fracture zone system. No adequate explanation exists for these structures.     

Analytic modeling of groundwater dynamics with an approximate impulse response function for areal recharge

An analytic approach is presented for the simulation of variations in the groundwater level due to temporal variations of recharge in surficial aquifers. Such variations, called groundwater dynamics, are computed through convolution of the response function due to an impulse of recharge with a measured time series of recharge. It is proposed to approximate the impulse response function with an exponential function of time which has two parameters that are functions of space only. These parameters are computed by setting the zeroth and first temporal moments of the approximate impulse response function equal to the corresponding moments of the true impulse response function. The zeroth and first moments are modeled with the analytic element method. The zeroth moment may be modeled with existing analytic elements, while new analytic elements are derived for the modeling of the first moment. Moment matching may be applied in the same fashion with other approximate impulse response functions. It is shown that the proposed approach gives accurate results for a circular island through comparison with an exact solution; both a step recharge function and a measured series of 10 years of recharge were used. The presented approach is specifically useful for modeling groundwater dynamics in aquifers with shallow groundwater tables as is demonstrated in a practical application. The analytic element method is a gridless method that allows for the precise placement of ditches and streams that regulate groundwater levels in such aquifers; heads may be computed analytically at any point and at any time. The presented approach may be extended to simulate the effect of other transient stresses (such as fluctuating surface water levels or pumping rates), and to simulate transient effects in multi-aquifer systems.     

薄层CT对肺内结节性病变的诊断价值

本文利用薄层CT扫描技术,对支气管微细结构和改变,对肺内结节性病变大小、边缘、钙化、CT值及定位进行观察,分析了炎性纵隔淋已结肿大的特点。对肺内不肯定结节行CT 导引下活检,可明确诊断。切凹征、胸膜牵拉征、小泡征、小蜘蛛状改变、血管聚集等对肺癌的定性诊断具有重要价值。     

Estimating Travel Time in Bank Filtration Systems from a Numerical Model Based on DTS Measurements

An approach is presented to determine the seasonal variations in travel time in a bank filtration system using a passive heat tracer test. The temperature in the aquifer varies seasonally because of temperature variations of the infiltrating surface water and at the soil surface. Temperature was measured with distributed temperature sensing along fiber optic cables that were inserted vertically into the aquifer with direct push equipment. The approach was applied to a bank filtration system consisting of a sequence of alternating, elongated recharge basins and rows of recovery wells. A SEAWAT model was developed to simulate coupled flow and heat transport. The model of a two‐dimensional vertical cross section is able to simulate the temperature of the water at the well and the measured vertical temperature profiles reasonably well. MODPATH was used to compute flowpaths and the travel time distribution. At the study site, temporal variation of the pumping discharge was the dominant factor influencing the travel time distribution. For an equivalent system with a constant pumping rate, variations in the travel time distribution are caused by variations in the temperature‐dependent viscosity. As a result, travel times increase in the winter, when a larger fraction of the water travels through the warmer, lower part of the aquifer, and decrease in the summer, when the upper part of the aquifer is warmer.     

Effects of discharge,wind, and tide on sedimentation in a recently restored tidal freshwater wetland

Sediment deposition is one of the key mechanisms to counteract the impact of sea level rise in tidal freshwater wetlands (TFWs). However, information about sediment deposition rates in TFWs is limited, especially for those located in the transition zone between the fluvially dominated and tidally dominated sections of a river delta where sedimentation rates are affected by the combined impact of river discharge, wind, and tides. Using a combined hydrodynamic–morphological model, we examined how hydrometeorological boundary conditions control sedimentation rates and patterns in a TFW located in the Rhine–Meuse estuary in the Netherlands. The modelling results show that net sedimentation rate increases with the magnitude of the river discharge, whereas stronger wind increasingly prevents sedimentation. Sediment trapping efficiency decreases for both increasing river discharge and wind magnitude. The impact of wind storms on the trapping efficiency becomes smaller for higher water discharge. The spatial sedimentation patterns are affected by all controls. Our study illustrates the importance of evaluating both the separate and the joint impact of discharge, wind, and tides when estimating sedimentation rates in a TFW affected by these controls. Such insights are relevant to design measures to reactivate the sedimentation process in these areas.     

Three-dimensional Marchenko internal multiple attenuation on narrow azimuth streamer data of the Santos Basin,Brazil

In recent years, a variety of Marchenko methods for the attenuation of internal multiples has been developed. These methods have been extensively tested on two-dimensional synthetic data and applied to two-dimensional field data, but only little is known about their behaviour on three-dimensional synthetic data and three-dimensional field data. Particularly, it is not known whether Marchenko methods are sufficiently robust for sparse acquisition geometries that are found in practice. Therefore, we start by performing a series of synthetic tests to identify the key acquisition parameters and limitations that affect the result of three-dimensional Marchenko internal multiple prediction and subtraction using an adaptive double-focusing method. Based on these tests, we define an interpolation strategy and use it for the field data application. Starting from a wide azimuth dense grid of sources and receivers, a series of decimation tests are performed until a narrow azimuth streamer geometry remains. We evaluate the effect of the removal of sail lines, near offsets, far offsets and outer cables on the result of the adaptive double-focusing method. These tests show that our method is most sensitive to the limited aperture in the crossline direction and the sail line spacing when applying it to synthetic narrow azimuth streamer data. The sail line spacing can be interpolated, but the aperture in the crossline direction is a limitation of the acquisition. Next, we apply the adaptive Marchenko double-focusing method to the narrow azimuth streamer field data from the Santos Basin, Brazil. Internal multiples are predicted and adaptively subtracted, thereby improving the geological interpretation of the target area. These results imply that our adaptive double-focusing method is sufficiently robust for the application to three-dimensional field data, although the key acquisition parameters and limitations will naturally differ in other geological settings and for other types of acquisition.     

Declines in oil-rates of stranded birds in the North Sea highlight spatial patterns in reductions of chronic oil pollution

Strandings of oiled seabirds are used to signal the problem of chronic oil pollution. Species-specific oil rates reflect the risk for marine birds to become oiled at sea. High oil rates were characteristic for seabirds common in areas with frequent oil spills; low oil rates for birds wintering away from the busiest shipping lanes. Declining trends in oil-rates were found, reflecting a reduction in the amount of oil intentionally discharged over the past 50 years. Spatial patterns in the risk to become oiled could be identified, when the winter distribution patterns of the affected birds were incorporated in the analysis. Declines in oil rates were most pronounced in coastal birds. These trends were consistent with tendencies to police nearshore waters more effectively than offshore waters. While levels of chronic oil pollution are much reduced, future emphasis should be to reduce chronic oiling more effectively in offshore waters.     

Virtual signals combination – phase analysis for 2D and 3D data representation (acoustic medium)

We formulate the Kirchhoff‐Helmholtz representation theory for the combination of seismic interferometry signals synthesized by cross‐correlation and by cross‐convolution in acoustic media. The approach estimates the phase of the virtual reflections from the boundary encompassing a volume of interest and subtracts these virtual reflections from the total seismic‐interferometry wavefield. The reliability of the combination result, relevant for seismic exploration, depends on the stationary‐phase and local completeness in partial coverage regions. The analysis shows the differences in the phase of the corresponding seismic interferometry (by cross‐correlation) and virtual reflector (by cross‐convolution) signals obtained by 2D and 3D formulations, with synthetic examples performed to remove water layer multiples in ocean bottom seismic (OBS) acoustic data.     

Retrieving virtual reflection responses at drill‐bit positions using seismic interferometry with drill‐bit noise

In the field of seismic interferometry, researchers have retrieved surface waves and body waves by cross‐correlating recordings of uncorrelated noise sources to extract useful subsurface information. The retrieved wavefields in most applications are between receivers. When the positions of the noise sources are known, inter‐source interferometry can be applied to retrieve the wavefields between sources, thus turning sources into virtual receivers. Previous applications of this form of interferometry assume impulsive point sources or transient sources with similar signatures. We investigate the requirements of applying inter‐source seismic interferometry using non‐transient noise sources with known positions to retrieve reflection responses at those positions and show the results using synthetic drilling noise as source. We show that, if pilot signals (estimates of the drill‐bit signals) are not available, it is required that the drill‐bit signals are the same and that the phases of the virtual reflections at drill‐bit positions can be retrieved by deconvolution interferometry or by cross‐coherence interferometry. Further, for this case, classic interferometry by cross‐correlation can be used if the source power spectrum can be estimated. If pilot signals are available, virtual reflection responses can be obtained by first using standard seismic‐while‐drilling processing techniques such as pilot cross‐correlation and pilot deconvolution to remove the drill‐bit signatures in the data and then applying cross‐correlation interferometry. Therefore, provided that pilot signals are reliable, drill‐bit data can be redatumed from surface to borehole depths using this inter‐source interferometry approach without any velocity information of the medium, and we show that a well‐positioned image below the borehole can be obtained using interferometrically redatumed reflection responses with just a simple velocity model. We discuss some of the practical hurdles that restrict the application of the proposed method offshore.