Spatial analysis of extension fracture systems: A process modeling approach

Little consensus exists on how best to analyze natural fracture spacings and their sequences. Field measurements and analyses published in geotechnical literature imply fracture processes radically different from those assumed by theoretical structural geologists. The approach adopted in this paper recognizes that disruption of rock layers by layer-parallel extension results in two spacing distributions, one representing layer-fragment lengths and another separation distances between fragments. These two distributions and their sequences reflect mechanics and history of fracture and separation. Such distributions and sequences, represented by a 2 × nmatrix of lengths L,can be analyzed using a method that is history sensitive and which yields also a scalar estimate of bulk extension, e(L).The method is illustrated by a series of Monte Carlo experiments representing a variety of fracture-and-separation processes, each with distinct implications for extension history. Resulting distributions of e(L) are process-specific, suggesting that the inverse problem of deducing fracture-and-separation history from final structure may be tractable.     

A laboratory and field comparison of sediment polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon bioaccumulation by the cosmopolitan estuarine polychaete Streblospio benedicti (Webster)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) bioaccumulation by the polychaete worm Streblospio benedicti (Webster) was measured under exposure to PAH-contaminated sediments in the field and for 28 d in the laboratory. Streblospio benedicti collected from field sediments contaminated at 2.94, 1.07, and l.52 μg g⁻¹ fluoranthene (FLU), benz[a]anthracene (BAA), and benzo[a]pyrene (BAP), bioaccumulated those PAHs at 1.53, 0.215, and 0.332 μg g⁻¹, while worms isolated from less contaminated field sediments (0.399, 0.228, 0.288 μg g⁻¹ FLU, BAA, and BAP) had FLU, BAA, and BAP body burdens of 0.543, 0.236, and 0.083 μg g⁻¹. Worms incubated for 28 d in PAH-spiked sediments (1.52, 0.991, 0.504 μg g⁻¹ FLU, BAA, and BAP) bioaccumulated those PAHs at 0.382, 0.966, and 0.602 μg g⁻¹, respectively. Data normalization to organism lipid and sediment organic carbon (biota-sediment accumulation factors [BSAFs] strongly suggest that Streblospio PAH bioaccumulation was directly related to percent sediment organic carbon, but BSAFs were substantially lower than predicted by equilibrium partitioning theory. BSAFs decreased with increasing PAH log K_ow, in worms collected from field sediments, but in spiked sediments BSAFs increased with increasing PAH hydrophobicity. This disparity may have been caused by insufficient spiked-sediment equilibration time (1.5h) in the case of the laboratory test sediments.     

Some notes on radiation and long‐term climatic variations

Canadian definitions of break‐up and freeze‐up are shown to have changed substantially on several occasions since 1957. This paper demonstrates that because of these changes, great care must be exercised in the tabulation and interpretation of dates of break‐up and freeze‐up. In part, these changes have been occasioned by historical concerns, so that scrupulous attention to definition is necessary if the Canadian record is to be used for scientific purposes.     

Redbed‐associated sabkhas and tidal flats at Shark Bay,Western Australia: Their significance for genetic models of stratiform Cu‐(Pb‐Zn) deposits

Interaction of metalliferous continental brines with biogenic sulphide is the basis of some syngenetic and early diagenetic models for the formation of Cu‐(Pb‐Zn) sulphides during a depositional cycle of carbonates in restricted marine environments. A variation of these models (an ‘evaporative concentration‐lateral groundwater flow’ model) is proposed, using hydrological, geochemical and biological data from low metal, but otherwise pertinent redbed‐associated, sabkha, tidal flat and subtidal environments at Nilemah Embayment, in Hamelin Pool (Shark Bay, Western Australia).

The model is constrained by: (i) the short time available for ore accumulation during a single depositional cycle; (ii) limitation of adequate rates of bacterial sulphate reduction for the formation of an ore deposit to near‐surface sediments; (iii) restriction of the most favourable ore‐forming sites to the intertidal zone and the littoral shelf; (iv) coincidence in these sites of laterally‐flowing marine/meteoric groundwater brine, and mosaics of in situ cyanobacterial mats and shallow erosional depressions containing detrital organic matter eroded from the mats. Under these conditions the metalliferous fluid would have to contain about 1000 ppm Cu and flow for 1000 years at a rate of 5 m/a through the intertidal/littoral shelf environment to produce an ore deposit.

Critical features of a model that could generate this combination of very high metal concentrations and flow rates are: (i) a highly permeable unconfined aquifer system comprising alluvial fans at the base of basaltic mountain ranges and continental redbeds beneath a broad coastal plain; (ii) mobilization, concentration and transport of the metals in this aquifer to intertidal/littoral shelf sites of ore deposition; (iii) effective concentration processes in the aquifer, involving evaporation and reflux of brines in groundwater discharge areas on the coastal plain and evaporation in marine‐continental and marine sabkhas bordering the sites of deposition; (iv) rapid lateral groundwater flow of the concentrated metalliferous brines under a strong seawards‐directed hydraulic gradient; and (v) discharge of the metalliferous brines into or through topographic depressions generated by erosion and shoaling in the peritidal and littoral shelf environments.

The model hydrodynamic processes and their magnitude are within the range observed in modern environments but they are most likely to be effective in coarse‐grained, topographically irregular carbonate sabkhas and tidal flats, which usually form under high‐energy conditions. Even under these conditions, the individual ore‐forming processes must combine in an optimum manner before the highly demanding metal concentrations and flow rates required for ore formation in a single marine depositional cycle can be met.     

Ground‐penetrating radar and sedimentological analysis of Holocene floodplains: Insight from the Tuross valley,New South Wales

Ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) has been used on an array of floodplain types on the lower Tuross River, in southeastern New South Wales, as part of an investigation into controls on channel‐floodplain relationships. Ground‐penetrating radar transects from two floodplains are presented, along with sedimentological detail from trenches dug along the profiles at key locations. Sedimentological investigations showed that 100 MHz antenna gave an approximation of overall bedding trends in the upper 3 m when automatic gain control processing was used. Spreading and exponential compensation processing provided insight into textural changes associated with increased silt content distal of the levee crest. One trench showed that thinning beds were responsible for onlapping reflectors. Signal attenuation at ～4 m depth below the raised floodplain surface resulted from a >50 cm‐thick bed of sandy clay. The close integration of GPR and sedimentological data produced an excellent dataset, that enabled form‐process associations and floodplain evolution to be established for these sandy floodplains. However, accurate subsurface assessment and interpretation must stem from carefully combined GPR and sedimentological datasets.     

Heterogeneity and thermal modeling of ground water

Heat transport in aquifers is becoming an increasingly important topic due to recent growth in the use of ground water in thermal applications. However, the effect of heterogeneity on heat transport in aquifers has yet to be examined in the same detail as it has been for solute transport, and it is unclear what effect this may have on our ability to create accurate models. This study examines this issue through stochastic modeling using the geostatistics for two aquifers with low and high degrees of heterogeneity. The results indicate that there is considerable uncertainty in the distribution of heat associated with injection of warm water into an aquifer. Heterogeneity in the permeability field was also found to slightly reduce the ability to recover this introduced heat at a later time. These simulations also reveal that hydrodynamic macrodispersion is an important consideration in some heat flow problems.     

Hydrogeology of the Judith River Formation in southwestern Saskatchewan,Canada

The Judith River Formation forms an important regional aquifer in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. This aquifer is used for domestic and agricultural purposes in some areas and supports oil and gas production in other areas. As a result, the available data come from a range of sources and integration is required to provide an overview of aquifer characteristics. Here, data from oil and gas databases are combined with data from groundwater resource assessments. Analysis of cores, drill-stem tests and pumping tests provide a good overview of the physical hydrogeology of the Judith River Aquifer. Water chemistry data from oil and gas databases were less helpful in understanding the chemical hydrogeology due contamination of samples and unreliable laboratory analyses. Analytical modeling of past pumping in the aquifer indicates that decreases in hydraulic head exceeding 2 m are possible over distances of 10s of kilometers. Similar decreases in head should be expected for additional large withdrawals of groundwater from the Judith River Aquifer. Long-term groundwater abstraction should be limited by low pumping rates. Higher pumping rates appear to be possible for short-term uses, such as those required by the oil and gas industry.