Temporal constraints on basin inversion provided by 3D seismic and well data: a case study from the South Viking Graben, offshore Norway

Three-dimensional (3D) seismic, well and biostratigraphic data are integrated to determine the timing of inversion on the hangingwall of the South Viking Graben, offshore Norway. Within the study area two, NW–SE to NE–SW trending normal faults are developed which were active during a Late Jurassic rift event. In the hangingwall of these faults asymmetric, 2–5 km wide anticlines are developed which trend parallel to the adjacent faults and are interpreted as growth folds formed in response to compressional shortening (inversion) of the syn-rift basin-fill. Marked thickness variations are observed in Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous growth strata with respect to the inversion-related folds, with seismic data indicating onlap and thinning of these units across the folds. In addition, well data suggests that not only are erosional surfaces only locally developed towards the crests of the folds, but these surfaces may also truncate underlying flooding surfaces towards the fold crests. Taken together, these observations indicate that inversion and growth of inversion-related structures initiated in the late Early Volgian and continued until the Late Albian. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that individual folds amplified and propagated laterally through time, and that fold growth was not synchronous across the study area. This study demonstrates that the temporal evolution of structures associated with the inversion of sedimentary basins can be accurately determined through the integration of 3D seismic, well and biostratigraphic data. Furthermore, this study has local implications for constraining the timing of inversion within the South Viking Graben during the Late Mesozoic.     

A robust mesh optimisation method for multiphase porous media flows

Flows of multiple fluid phases are common in many subsurface reservoirs. Numerical simulation of these flows can be challenging and computationally expensive. Dynamic adaptive mesh optimisation and related approaches, such as adaptive grid refinement can increase solution accuracy at reduced computational cost. However, in models or parts of the model domain, where the local Courant number is large, the solution may propagate beyond the region in which the mesh is refined, resulting in reduced solution accuracy, which can never be recovered. A methodology is presented here to modify the mesh within the non-linear solver. The method allows efficient application of dynamic mesh adaptivity techniques even with high Courant numbers. These high Courant numbers may not be desired but a consequence of the heterogeneity of the domain. Therefore, the method presented can be considered as a more robust and accurate version of the standard dynamic mesh adaptivity techniques.     

A MEG study of the olivine and spinel forms of Mg2SiO4

In this paper we present a theoretical investigation of the structures and relative stability of the olivine and spinel phases of Mg₂SiO₄. We use both a purely ionic model, based on the Modified Electron Gas (MEG) model of intermolecular forces, and a bond polarization model, developed for low pressure silica phases, to investigate the role of covalency in these compounds. The standard MEG ionic model gives adequate structural results for the two phases but incorrectly predicts the spinel phase to be more stable at zero pressure. This is mainly because the ionic modeling of Mg₂SiO₄ only accounts for 95 percent of the lattice energy. The remainder can be attributed to covalency and many-body effects. An extension of the MEG ionic model using “many-body” pair potentials corrects the phase stability error, but predicts structures which are in poorer agreement with experiment than the standard ionic approach. In addition, calculations using these many-body pair potentials can only account for 10 percent of the missing lattice energy. This model predicts an olivine-spinel phase transition of 8 GPa, below the experimental value of 20 GPa. Therefore, in order to understand more fully the stability of these structures we must consider polarization. A two-shell bond polarization model enhances the stability of both structures, with the olivine structure being stabilized more. This model predicts a phase transition at about 80 GPa, well above the observed value. Also, the olivine and spinel structures calculated with this approach are in poorer agreement with experiment than the ionic model. Therefore, based on our investigations, to properly model covalency in Mg₂SiO₄, a treatment more sophisticated than the two-shell model is needed.     

The role of wind direction in eolian transport on a narrow sandy beach

Comparison of eolian transport during five high-velocity wind events over a 29 day period on a narrow estuarine beach in Delaware Bay, New Jersey, USA, reveals the temporal variability of transport, due to changes in direction of wind approach. Mean wind speed measured 6 m above the dune crest for the five events ranged from 8·5 to 15·9 ms^?1. Mean wind direction was oblique to the shoreline (63° from shore-normal) during one event but was within 14° of shore-normal during the other events. Eolian transport is greatest during low tide and rising tide, when the beach source area is widest and when drying of surface sediments occurs. The quantity of sediment caught in a vertical trap for the five events varied from a total of 0·07 to 113·73 kgm^?1. Differences in temperature, relative humidity and moisture and salt content of surficial sediments were slight. Mean grain sizes ranged from 0·33 to 0·58 mm, causing slight differences in threshold shear velocity, but shear velocities exceeded the threshold required for transport during all events. Beach width, measured normal to the shoreline, varied from 15·5 to 18·0 m; beach slope differed by 0·5°. The oblique wind during one event created a source width nearly double the width during other days. Beach slope, measured in the direction of the wind, was less than half as steep as the slope measured normal to the shoreline. The amount of sand trapped during the oblique wind was over 20 times greater than any other event, even those with higher shear velocities. The ability of the beach surface to supply grains to the air stream is limited on narrow beaches, but increased source width, due to oblique wind approach, can partially overcome limitations of surface conditions on the beach.     

Flood tide circulation near beaufort inlet, North Carolina: Implications for larval recruitment

Drifter tracks and shipboard CTD observations have revealed a number of distinct features of the flood tide circulation carrying water through Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. One of the most noteworthy of these features is a nearshore jet in the flow carrying water to the inlet on a flood tide. Characterized by a shoreward increase in longshore flow, the jet produces a narrow coastal zone over which water is carried into the inlet. The jet appears to be principally a tidal phenomenon, as it is closely reproduced by a tidally-driven barotropic numerical model. The model results also indicate the jet may be a near-inlet feature. Model simulations of spring tide conditions show the jet confined to within 4 km of the inlet mouth. Another observed phenomenon, which is reproduced by the tidal model, is a distinct splitting of the flow entering the inlet, in which water passing through a particular inlet segment tends to move up-estuary along a well-defined path. An observed flow feature not reproduced by the tidal model is an eastward skew of the region over which water is drawn into the inlet on a flood tide. This asymmetry is unrelated to the local wind. Modeling results from a previous study suggest it may be due to convergent flow at the edge of the low salinity plume issuing from the inlet. Taken together, the results of this and other recent studies in the Beaufort Inlet region reveal the importance of nearshore currents on the eastern side of the inlet in delivering oceanic-spawned larvae to the estuarine system connected to the inlet.     

Fine-scale volume heterogeneity measurements in sand

As part of the effort to characterize the acoustic environment during the high frequency sediment acoustics experiment (SAX99), fine-scale variability of sediment density was measured by an in situ technique and by core analysis. The in situ measurement was accomplished by a newly developed instrument that measures sediment conductivity. The conductivity measurements were conducted on a three-dimensional (3-D) grid, hence providing a set of data suited for assessing sediment spatial variability. A 3-D sediment porosity matrix is obtained from the conductivity data through an empirical relationship (Archie's Law). From the porosity matrix, sediment bulk density is estimated from known average grain density. A number of cores were taken at the SAX99 site, and density variations were measured using laboratory techniques. The power spectra were estimated from both techniques and were found to be appropriately fit by a power-law. The exponents of the horizontal one-dimensional (1-D) power-law spectra have a depth-dependence and range from 1.72 to 2.41. The vertical 1-D spectra have the same form, but with an exponent of 2.2. It was found that most of the density variability is within the top 5 mm of the sediment, which suggests that sediment volume variability will not have major impact on acoustic scattering when the sound frequency is below 100 kHz. At higher frequencies, however, sediment volume variability is likely to play an important role in sound scattering.     

Composition,age and origin of two proterozoic diorite—tonalite complexes in the Arabian shield

Large amounts of diorite—tonalite magma were intruded into the island-arc successions of the southern Arabian shield between ca. 900 and 700 Ma ago. Major oxide, trace element, rare earth (REE) and isotopic data are presented for two plutons exemplifying older and younger members of this plutonic phase. The Thurrat pluton, which was emplaced into virtually unmetamorphosed volcanics of sequence B, has yielded a 10-point Rb-Sr isochron indicating emplacement 744 ± 22 Ma ago and an initial ${}^{87}\text{Sr}{}^{86}\text{Sr}$ ratio of 0.70281. It consists of gabbros, diorites, quartz diorites, tonalites and low-Al₂O₃ trondhjemites which are compositionally primitive, with depleted lithophile element contents and flat REE patterns with a negative Eu anomaly in the trondhjemites. The magma was most probably mantle-derived, and analogies with other trondhjemitic plutons suggest that it was probably emplaced in an island-arc setting. The Bidah pluton, which was emplaced into a compositionally very immature succession of metamorphosed volcanics and volcaniclastics of sequence C, has yielded a nine-point near-isochron (MSWD = 2.86) indicating an age of 901 ± 37Ma and an initial ${}^{87}\text{Sr}{}^{86}\text{Sr}$ ratio of 0.70246. This date is accepted as the age of emplacement. The rocks are compositionally primitive gabbros, diorites, quartz diorites, tonalites and granodiorites with depleted lithophile element contents, and flat REE patterns with a negative Eu anomaly in the more siliceous components. The country-rock volcanics were formed in an immature island-arc environment, and the composition of the Bidah pluton is suggestive of a mainly mantle-derived magma emplaced into that arc. The data for these two plutons therefore provide further evidence that most of the rock material added to the Arabian shield between 900 and 700 Ma ago was derived from the mantle.     

Geochemical dispersion of heavy metals via organic complexing: A laboratory study of copper,lead, zinc,and nickel behaviour at a simulated sediment-water boundary

Data are presented in this study from laboratory model experiments describing the behaviour of Cu, Pb, Zn and Ni at a simulated sediment-water boundary. The interactions involved are sorption by kaolin and by bentonite, organic complexing in solution by fulvic acid and by humic acid, carbonate reactions, hydrolysis, and desorption of the cations from a clay-bound phase and from their metal hydroxides by the organic acids. The organic acids increase the solubility of Cu, Zn and Ni in the presence of clay. The Pb solubility is variable and can even decrease, particularly at acidic pH, with organic complexing likely due to colloidal coagulation. Both Zn and Ni are influenced by hydrolysis at basic pH. When carbonate was added to the metal-organic acid-clay mixtures, a further decrease in solubility was observed for Ni and, to a lesser extent, for Zn. The organic acids prove capable of remobilizing Cu, Pb, Zn and Ni from the solid phases examined. However, there is a general kinetic hindrance to the desorption particularly at basic pH. Copper desorption appears to be the most kinetically hindered. Conclusions pertinent to the geochemical dispersion of these metals are drawn.     

A resistivity section of Holy Island (Anglesey)

An account is given of the use of square array resistivity techniques to derive an apparent resistivity section down the length of Holy Island (Anglesey). Possible interpretations of this section in terms of the distribution of true resistivity with depth are given and discussed briefly in relation to proposed geological structure.