The first use of Fulton's K for assessing and comparing the conditions of inter‐tidal fish populations

Fulton's K condition factor was applied, for the first time, to inter‐tidal specimens of the shanny (Lipophrys pholis) and long‐spined scorpion fish (Taurulus bubalis) from two English rocky shore and two Welsh rocky shore sites during summer 2010 and winter 2011. As both species contribute to the diet of commercial species such as cod (Gadus morhua) and near‐threatened species such as the European otter (Lutra lutra), their condition may affect that of these predators. Fulton's K found that inter‐tidal Welsh fish maintained a ‘good’ condition between seasons, whereas the inter‐tidal English fish were in a poorer condition during winter. Although condition also changed amongst the sites on each coast, further studies are needed into fish morphologies, environmental parameters, prey availabilities and abundances, and fish specimen sex and maturities.     

Accuracy and efficiency of stencils for the eikonal equation in earth modelling

Motivated by the needs for creating fast and accurate models of complex geological scenarios, accuracy and efficiency of three stencils for the isotropic eikonal equation on rectangular grids are evaluated using a fast marching implementation. The stencils are derived by direct modelling of the wave front, resulting in new and valuable insight in terms of improved upwind and causality conditions. After introducing a method for generalising first-order upwind stencils to higher order, a new second-order diagonal stencil is presented. Similarly to the multistencil fast marching approach, the diagonal stencil makes use of nodes in the diagonal directions, whereas the traditional Godunov stencil uses solely edge-connected neighbours. The diagonal stencil uses nodes close to each other, reaching upwind, to get a more accurate estimate of the angle of incidence of the arriving wave front. Although the stencils are evaluated in a fast marching setting, they can be adapted to other efficient eikonal solvers. All first- and second-order stencils are evaluated in a range of tests. The first test case models a folded structure from the Zagros fold belt in Iran. The other test cases are constructed to investigate specific properties of the examined stencils. The numerical investigation considers convergence rates and CPU times for non-constant and constant speed first-arrival computations. In conclusion, the diagonal stencil is the most efficient and accurate of the three alternatives.     

A Numerical Framework for Modeling Folds in Structural Geology

A numerical framework for modeling folds in structural geology is presented. This framework is based on a novel and recently published Hamilton–Jacobi formulation by which a continuum of layer boundaries of a fold is modeled as a propagating front. All the fold classes from the classical literature (parallel folds, similar folds, and other fold types with convergent and divergent dip isogons) are modeled in two and three dimensions as continua defined on a finite difference grid. The propagating front describing the fold geometry is governed by a static Hamilton–Jacobi equation, which is discretized by upwind finite differences and a dynamic stencil construction. This forms the basis of numerical solution by finite difference solvers such as fast marching and fast sweeping methods. A new robust and accurate scheme for initialization of finite difference solvers for the static Hamilton–Jacobi equation is also derived. The framework has been integrated in simulation software, and a numerical example is presented based on seismic data collected from the Karama Block in the North Makassar Strait outside Sulawesi.     

The Paleo Heat Flow Contents in Vitrinite Reflectance Observations

The heat flow content in vitrinite reflectance (VR) observations is studied based on a simple model of burial at a constant rate. The model is made dimensionless, and it has just one parameter except for the paleo heat flow. The question of existence and uniqueness of a solution is studied, and there exist in general no paleo heat flow that will reproduce a given VR-depth curve. But a solution is unique if it exists. A computed VR-depth function is shown to be smooth, even for piecewise constant heat flow histories. The paleo heat flow can be obtained from a VR-depth function after two times with derivations. It is also shown how the present day thermal gradient can be obtained by derivation of a VR-depth representation. The one-parameter model allows for approximate expressions for the optimal paleo heat flow as a step function. The results obtained from the one-parameter model is also compared with similar results from a real case study from the North Sea using a state-of-the-art basin simulator.     

Effect of sub‐core scale heterogeneities on acoustic and electrical properties of a reservoir rock: a CO2 flooding experiment of brine saturated sandstone in a computed tomography scanner

The effect of sub‐core scale heterogeneity on fluid distribution pattern, and the electrical and acoustic properties of a typical reservoir rock was studied by performing drainage and imbibition flooding tests with CO₂ and brine in a laboratory. Moderately layered Rothbach sandstone was used as a test specimen. Two core samples were drilled; one perpendicular and the other parallel to the layering to allow injection of fluids along and normal to the bedding plane. During the test 3D images of fluid distribution and saturation levels were mapped by an industrial X‐ray CT‐scanner together with simultaneous measurement of electrical resistivity, ultrasonic velocities as well as amplitudes. The results showed how the layering and the flooding direction influenced the fluid distribution pattern and the saturation level of the fluids. For a given fluid saturation level, the measured changes in the acoustic and electrical parameters were affected by both the fluid distribution pattern and the layering orientation relative to the measurement direction. The P‐wave amplitude and the electrical resistivity were more sensitive to small changes in the fluid distribution patterns than the P‐wave velocity. The change in amplitude was the most affected by the orientation of the layering and the resulting fluid distribution patterns. In some instances the change due to the fluid distribution pattern was higher than the variation caused by the change in CO₂ saturation. As a result the Gassmann relation based on ‘uniform' or ‘patchy' saturation pattern was not suitable to predict the P‐wave velocity variation. Overall, the results demonstrate the importance of core‐imaging to improve our understanding of fluid distribution patterns and the associated effects on measured rock‐physics properties.     

Observation-based evaluation of surface wave effects on currents and trajectory forecasts

Knowledge of upper ocean currents is needed for trajectory forecasts and is essential for search and rescue operations and oil spill mitigation. This paper addresses effects of surface waves on ocean currents and drifter trajectories using in situ observations. The data set includes colocated measurements of directional wave spectra from a wave rider buoy, ocean currents measured by acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs), as well as data from two types of tracking buoys that sample the currents at two different depths. The ADCP measures the Eulerian current at one point, as modelled by an ocean general circulation model, while the tracking buoys are advected by the Lagrangian current that includes the wave-induced Stokes drift. Based on our observations, we assess the importance of two different wave effects: (a) forcing of the ocean current by wave-induced surface fluxes and the Coriolis–Stokes force, and (b) advection of surface drifters by wave motion, that is the Stokes drift. Recent theoretical developments provide a framework for including these wave effects in ocean model systems. The order of magnitude of the Stokes drift is the same as the Eulerian current judging from the available data. The wave-induced momentum and turbulent kinetic energy fluxes are estimated and shown to be significant. Similarly, the wave-induced Coriolis–Stokes force is significant over time scales related to the inertial period. Surface drifter trajectories were analysed and could be reproduced using the observations of currents, waves and wind. Waves were found to have a significant contribution to the trajectories, and we conclude that adding wave effects in ocean model systems is likely to increase predictability of surface drifter trajectories. The relative importance of the Stokes drift was twice as large as the direct wind drag for the used surface drifter.     

Application of a mass-balance model to predict PCDD/F turnover in a Baltic coastal estuary

A dynamical, process-based mass-balance model was applied to quantify the transports of polychlorinated-p-dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) to, within and from the Kallrigafjärden Bay, a coastal estuary in the Baltic Sea, and to predict the PCDD/F levels in the water and sediments of the bay. Before the modelling, a one-year sampling programme was implemented in 2007–2008 to measure the flows of PCDD/Fs in tributaries entering the system, the fluxes from the adjacent sea and the levels in water, sediment and fish within the estuary. The collected data set was used as input data to the model and for validation purposes.