Detailed mapping of marine erosional surfaces and the geometry of clinoforms on seismic data: a tool to identify the thickest reservoir sand

Deltaic sediments of the Billund and Bastrup sands were deposited in a ramp setting in the storm-dominated North Sea during the early Miocene. A marked relief in the hinterland and the relatively high precipitation resulted in a high sediment supply to the sea and progradation of major delta-coastal plains south of the present-day Norway. The focus of this study is on the forced regressive wedge system tracts of the two delta complexes, which show remarkably well-developed marine erosional surfaces associated with sand-rich packages characterised by steeply dipping clinoforms (up to 10°). The well-developed clinoformal packages indicate that deposition occurred in water depths of 60–100 m even under a sea-level fall. The sand-rich delta lobes also demonstrate that it was a high-energy environment and that wave-generated re-suspension at the delta front effectively re-sorted the sediments and sand-rich systems became separated from mud-dominated portions of the delta complexes. The evolution of the above occurred in a basin that has been exposed by inversion tectonism. The sediment supply was consequently high. During deposition, eustatic sea-level changes strongly controlled the evolution of sequences. The results found in this study may be applicable for mapping reservoir sands in ramp settings and in rift basins especially when looking for reservoir rocks in the basinal setting or when carrying out detailed reservoir mapping in already existing hydrocarbon fields.     

Palaeoceanographic development in Storfjorden,Svalbard, during the deglaciation and Holocene: evidence from benthic foraminiferal records

Brines can have a profound influence on the relative abundance of calcareous and agglutinated foraminiferal faunas. Here we investigated the distribution of benthic foraminiferal species in four cores from a brine‐enriched environment in Storfjorden, Svalbard. Stratigraphically, the cores comprise the last 15 000 years. The purpose of the study was to reconstruct changes in the palaeoecology and palaeoceanography of Storfjorden in relation to past climate changes, and to identify potential indicator species for brine‐affected environments. The benthic foraminifera in Storfjorden all have widespread occurrences in the Arctic realm. Calcareous species dominated Storfjorden during the deglaciation and early Holocene until c. 8200 a BP. However, agglutinated species increased in abundance whenever conditions became colder with more sea ice and stronger brine formation, such as during the Older Dryas, the Intra‐Allerød Cold Period and the Younger Dryas. Following a moderately cold period with numerous agglutinated foraminifera from c. 8200–4000 a BP, conditions became more changeable from c. 4000 a BP with repeated shifts between warmer periods dominated by calcareous species and colder periods dominated by agglutinated species. The warmer periods show a stronger influence of Atlantic Water, with reduced brine formation and less corrosive conditions at the sea bottom. Conversely, the colder periods show a stronger influence of Arctic water, with higher brine production and more corrosive bottom water. The distribution patterns of the calcareous species are basically the same whether calculated relative to the total fauna (including agglutinated specimens) or relative to calcareous specimens alone. Moreover, the patterns are similar to the patterns found elsewhere along western Svalbard in areas without the influence of brines. No particular species appear to be specifically linked to brine formation. However, the most persistent agglutinated species R. scorpiurus and A. glomerata are also the species most tolerant of the acidic bottom water that normally is associated with brine formation.     

Variations in the Hydrological Regime of Kara-Bogaz-Gol Gulf,Lake Issyk-Kul,and the Aral Sea Assessed Based on Data of Bottom Sediment Studies

The isotopic and material composition of bottom deposits, examined in the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Gulf, Lake Issyk-Kul, and the Aral Sea, is considered. The obtained data are used to characterize variations in the regime of the water bodies in the Holocene.     

Aquifer Vulnerability Assessment Based on Sequence Stratigraphic and 39Ar Transport Modeling

A large‐scale groundwater flow and transport model is developed for a deep‐seated (100 to 300 m below ground surface) sedimentary aquifer system. The model is based on a three‐dimensional (3D) hydrostratigraphic model, building on a sequence stratigraphic approach. The flow model is calibrated against observations of hydraulic head and stream discharge while the credibility of the transport model is evaluated against measurements of ³⁹Ar from deep wells using alternative parameterizations of dispersivity and effective porosity. The directly simulated 3D mean age distributions and vertical fluxes are used to visualize the two‐dimensional (2D)/3D age and flux distribution along transects and at the top plane of individual aquifers. The simulation results are used to assess the vulnerability of the aquifer system that generally has been assumed to be protected by thick overlaying clayey units and therefore proposed as future reservoirs for drinking water supply. The results indicate that on a regional scale these deep‐seated aquifers are not as protected from modern surface water contamination as expected because significant leakage to the deeper aquifers occurs. The complex distribution of local and intermediate groundwater flow systems controlled by the distribution of the river network as well as the topographical variation (Tóth 1963) provides the possibility for modern water to be found in even the deepest aquifers.     

Applications of multivariate statistical analysis in remote sensing of agriculture

Rasmussen, Kjeld & Olesen, Henrik Hagen: Applications of multivariate statistical analysis in remote sensing of agriculture. Geografisk Tidsskrift 88:100–107. Copenhagen 1988.

Applications of satellite remote sensing to agriculture involve two main objectives, the identification and mapping of crops, including estimation of acreages, and monitoring of plant growth or production factors, aiming at estimation/prediction of yields.

Deterministic models of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation and plant canopies are used to relate the measured reflected or emitted radiation to crop type and agronomically relevant parameters. The great natural variation of reflectance properties of crops does, however, call for use of a statistical approach. The high dimensionality of the data-sets involved, very often more than ten, requires the use of multivariate techniques.

This paper will deal with the use of multivariate statistical techniques for both crop identification and crop monitoring based on high-resolution satellite remote sensing data, such as those produced by Landsat MSS and -TM and SPOT. Emphasis will be placed upon use of statistical methods in classification and on removal of redundancy in multi-dimensional data-sets. The relative merits of deterministic and statistical methods will be discussed as will the possibilities of incorporating spatial information into statistical methods.     

Removal of barometric pressure effects and earth tides from observed water levels

The effects of barometric pressure and earth tide changes are often observed in ground water level measurements. These disturbances can make aquifer test interpretation difficult by masking the small changes induced by aquifer testing at late times and great distances. A computer utility is now available that automatically removes the effects of barometric pressure and earth tides from water level observations using regression deconvolution. This procedure has been shown to remove more noise then traditional constant barometric efficiency techniques in both confined and unconfined aquifers. Instead of a single, instantaneous barometric efficiency, the procedure more correctly accounts for the lagged responses caused by barometric pressure and earth tide changes. Simultaneous measurements of water levels (or total heads) and nearby barometric pressures are required. As an additional option, the effects of earth tides can also be removed using theoretical earth tides. The program is demonstrated for two data sets collected at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, Carlsbad, New Mexico. The program is available free by request at http://www.hydrology.uga.edu/tools.html.     

Field expansion and reallocation in the Sahel - land use pattern dynamics in a fluctuating biophysical and socio-economic environment

The paper addresses the dynamic relationship between the human use of land and alterations in the biophysical environment, demographic pressure or socio-economic conditions. An empirical study from the Sahelian zone in northern Burkina Faso illustrates the dynamics of cultivation pattern at the village level and the changing priorities given to different landscape units over time. Field measurements, aerial photos and satellite images from seven successive years provide information on land use pattern changes from 1945 to 1995. A household survey illustrates how socio-economic and cultural parameters enable and constrain land use strategies at the farm level.     

Enhancement in wind-driven sand transport by electric fields

Aeolian grain transport is a powerful erosion mechanism and a significant factor affecting atmospheric dynamics by the creation of particulate aerosols. Electric fields, both natural and man-made, occur widely at the Earths surface in environments where granular material is found. Such electric fields may induce electrification of granular material and affect the transport dynamics of the grains. In this laboratory study we show that the influence of such electric fields is significant at field strengths well below that at which breakdown occurs and present a simple semi-empirical expression which allows this mechanism to be quantified.