Numerical analysis of the effect of natural microcracks on the supercritical CO2 fracturing crack network of shale rock based on bonded particle models

The problem of predicting the geometric structure of induced fractures is highly complex and significant in the fracturing stimulation of rock reservoirs. In the traditional continuous fracturing models, the mechanical properties of reservoir rock are input as macroscopic quantities. These models neglect the microcracks and discontinuous characteristics of rock, which are important factors influencing the geometric structure of the induced fractures. In this paper, we simulate supercritical CO₂ fracturing based on the bonded particle model to investigate the effect of original natural microcracks on the induced‐fracture network distribution. The microcracks are simulated explicitly as broken bonds that form and coalesce into macroscopic fractures in the supercritical CO₂ fracturing process. A calculation method for the distribution uniformity index (DUI) is proposed. The influence of the total number and DUI of initial microcracks on the mechanical properties of the rock sample is studied. The DUI of the induced fractures of supercritical CO₂ fracturing and hydraulic fracturing for different DUIs of initial microcracks are compared, holding other conditions constant. The sensitivity of the DUI of the induced fractures to that of initial natural microcracks under different horizontal stress ratios is also probed. The numerical results indicate that the distribution of induced fractures of supercritical CO₂ fracturing is more uniform than that of common hydraulic fracturing when the horizontal stress ratio is small.     

Fluoride enrichment in aquifers of the Thar Desert: controlling factors and its geochemical modelling

The groundwater is the only source of drinking water in the Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan, India. The study area is a part of the Thar Desert. It has low and scattered population and no industries; hence, the possibility of anthropogenic input of fluoride is almost negligible. Thus, the enrichment of fluoride is only possible due to geochemical processes taking place in the groundwater of the region. A total of 100 groundwater samples, 34 samples from Jaisalmer and 66 samples from the Pokharan administrative blocks, were collected. It was observed that the concentration of fluoride ranged from 0.08 mg/l to 4.56 mg/l in the groundwater of Jaisalmer and from 0.56 mg/l to 6.60 mg/l in the samples of the Pokharan block. The alkaline condition (average pH, 7.7 ± 0.22 and 8.01 ± 0.25 in Jaisalmer and the Pokharan administrative block, respectively) in the region favours fluorite dissolution. Ion exchange, dissolution of calcite, semi‐arid climate, alkaline conditions and weathering are responsible for fluoride enrichment in the groundwater of the study area. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Water flux measurement and prediction in young cashew trees using sap flow data

Measurements of sap flow, meteorological parameters, soil water content and tension were made for 4 months in a young cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) plantation during the 2002 rainy season in Ejura, Ghana. This experiment was part of a sustainable water management project in West Africa. The Granier system was used to measure half‐hourly whole‐tree sap flow. Weather variables were observed with an automatic weather station, whereas soil moisture and tension were measured with a Delta‐T profile probe and tensiometers respectively. Clearness index (CI), a measure of the sky condition, was significantly correlated with tree transpiration (r² = 0·73) and potential evaporation (r² = 0·86). Both diurnal and daily stomata conductance were poorly correlated with the climatic variables. Estimated daily canopy conductance g_c ranged from 4·0 to 21·2 mm s⁻¹, with a mean value of 8·0 ± 3·3 mm s⁻¹. Water flux variation was related to a range of environmental variables: soil water content, air temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity and vapour pressure deficit. Linear and non‐linear regression models, as well as a modified Priestley–Taylor formula, were fitted with transpiration, and the well‐correlated variables, using half‐hourly measurements. Measured and predicted transpiration using these regression models were in good agreement, with r² ranging from 0·71 to 0·84. The computed measure of accuracy δ indicated that a non‐linear model is better than its corresponding linear one. Furthermore, solar radiation, CI, clouds and rain were found to influence tree water flux. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

新疆乌鲁木齐地区地震水化震例深入剖析

本文在水化前兆清理研究的基础上,采用统一的异常判别方法,应用适合本地区的“异常可靠性评价标准”,对新疆乌鲁木齐地区150km范围内的中强地震和反例事件进行了深入剖析,对水化异常与地震三要素的关系进行了统计分析。研究结果是制定地震水化异常判据和定量化指标的基础。     

洛川黄土剖面的粉砂与粘粒比值及粒度旋回

洛川黑木沟黄土剖面发育了一套完整的黄土地层。据剖面百余块标本粒度资料阐述了Kd=(粉砂(0.05-0.01mm％))/(粘粒(<0.005mm)％)的地质及物理意义。它反映了受风化的粉尘粒组与次生粒组之间的消长关系,Kd值变化既受风尘来源区干湿状况或生物气候条件的制约,又受风化成壤作用的制约。因此,Kd值可视为黄土、古土壤生成环境的一个指标。据Mφ(平均值)由粗到细的变化划为一个粒度旋回,全剖面共分11个旋回。每个旋回反映了一定的岩性地层组合及生物气候环境的变化。     

地图数据库中的结构化河网及其自动建立

本文提出了一种基于河段的结构化河网,讨论了这种结构化河网的自动建立过程,主要包括两个结构索引即线索树结构索引及层次结构索引的自动产生;根据包含以上两个索引的结构化河网,提供了若干检索函数,作为地图数据库中结构处理时结构信息的提取手段。     

地热异常的水槽模型实验

作为地球物理场的一个分支,地温场在理论和应用研究方面与其它地球物理场一样,也主要是依靠数学方法和物理模型实验的方法来进行的。本文讨论了地热异常水槽模型实验的理论原理;介绍了实验方法技术、实验结果和实际应用效果。     

An introduction to ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism

Abstract Ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphism refers to mineralogical and structural readjustment of supracrustal protoliths and associated mafic-ultramafic rocks at mantle pressures greater than ∼ 25 kbar (80-90 km). Typical products include metapelite, quartzite, marble, granulite, eclogite, paragneiss and orthogneiss; minor mafic and ultramafic rocks occur as eclogitic-ultramafic layers or blocks of various dimensions within the supracrustal rocks. For appropriate bulk compositions, metamorphism at great depths produces coesite, microdiamond and other characteristic UHP minerals with unusual compositions. Thus far, at least seven coesite-bearing eclogitic terranes and three diamond-bearing UHP regions have been documented. All lie within major continental collision belts in Eurasia, have similar supracrustal protoliths and metamorphic assemblages, occur in long, discontinuous belts that may extend several hundred kilometers or more, and typically are associated with contemporaneous high-P blueschist belts. This paper defines the P-T regimes of UHP metamorphism and describes mineralogical, petrological and tectonic characteristics for a few representative UHP terranes including the western gneiss region of Norway, the Dora Maira massif of the western Alps, the Dabie Mountains and the Su-Lu region of east-central China, and the Kokchetav massif of the former USSR. Prograde P-T paths for coesite-bearing eclogites require abnormally low geothermal gradients (approximately 7°C/km) that can be accomplished only by subduction of cold, oceanic crust-capped lithosphere ± pelagic sediments or an old, cold continent. The preservation of coesite inclusions in garnet, zircon, omphacite, kyanite and epidote, and microdiamond inclusions in garnet and zircon during exhumation of an UHP terrane requires either an extraordinarily fast rate of denudation (up to 10 cm/year) or continuous refrigeration in an extensional regime (retreating subduction zone).     

Comparative evaluation of Poisson partial duration models for mixed flood populations

Simple homogeneous formulations of two extreme value partial duration flood models are compared to more sophisticated compound formulations in terms of asymptotic performance of quantile estimates. The compound model formulations were developed to model flood series resulting from mixed climatological processes. It was found that only in the case of marked nonhomogeneity in the data samples did the compound formulation of the models offer significant advantages in terms of variance of quantile estimates. However, the estimates from the homogeneous model were significantly biased in the negative direction. This negative bias of quantile estimates from the simple model was even more pronounced when the more sophisticated Weibull model was used as the base.