New geochemical data from the Nigerian sector of the Chad basin: implications on hydrocarbon prospectivity

Organic geochemical studies have been carried out to assess the qualities of source rocks penetrated by four wells (Kemar-1, Murshe-1, Tuma-1 and Ziye-1) in the Nigerian sector of the Chad basin. The Chad basin is a large intracratonic basin in Central West Africa. Commercial hydrocarbon accumulations have been discovered in some sectors of the basin outside the Nigerian border in a structurally related contiguous basin. Fair to poor quality source rocks are inherent in the sequences penetrated by the studied wells. About 80% of all samples have their total organic carbon (TOC) contents more than 0.5 wt.%, the minimum limit for hydrocarbon generation. Juxtaposition of the hydrogen indices against the TOC and T_max indicates that the source rocks are entirely gas-prone. However, biomarker chromatograms and extract vs. TOC plots indicate the presence of oil shows in Ziye-1 well at a depth of 1210 m. Although generated hydrocarbons (wherever they have accumulated) would be overwhelmingly gaseous, gas is the energy of the future. The gas resources of this part of Nigeria's inland basins can be economically exploited through policies that will increase the tempo of gas-utilization projects and the construction of a national grid of gas pipelines with nodal points of input and output.     

Seasonal variation of the total electron content, maximum electron density and equivalent slab thickness at a South-American station

Total electron content (TEC) and foF2 ionosonde data obtained at Tucumán (26.9°S; 65.4°W) from April 1982 to March 1983 (high solar activity period) are analyzed to show the seasonal variation of TEC, NmF2 (proportional to square of foF2) and the equivalent slab thickness EST. Bimonthly averages of the monthly median for January–February, April–May, July–August and October–November have been considered to represent summer, autumn, winter and spring seasons, respectively. The results show that the higher values of TEC and maximum electron density of F2-layer NmF2 are observed during the equinoxes (semiannual anomaly). During daytime, both in TEC and in NmF2 the seasonal or winter anomaly can be seen. At nighttime, this effect is not observed. Also, the observed NmF2 values are used to check the validity of International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) to predict the seasonal variability of this parameter. In general, it is found that averaged monthly medians (obtained with the IRI model) overestimate averaged monthly median data for some hours of the day and underestimate for the other hours.     

Assessment of regional air pollution distribution by point cumulative semivariogram method at Erzurum urban center, TURKEY

In the assessment of air quality, regional distribution and dispersion with distance are important, together with the variations of pollutants in time. On this occasion, the point cumulative semi-variogram (PCSV) method is used in order to find simply regional distribution of pollutants of Erzurum urban centre. This method is based simply on the summation of square differences in air pollutant concentrations between different sites. Monthly regional variation maps of Erzurum are constructed by finding radius of influence (for SO₂, from 1000 m to 3500 m and, for TSP, 1000–2000 m) and PCSV scattering diagram data at different levels by using monthly average sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and total suspended particulate (TSP) matter concentrations in 2001–2002 winter season. Consequently, the air pollution distribution of Erzurum is assessed.     

Assessment of contaminants in Dubai coastal region, United Arab Emirates

Coastal uses and other human activities have inevitably impinged on the Gulf environment; therefore, these regions require continuous monitoring. The investigated area covered the maximum fragments of Dubai coastal region in the Arabian Gulf. The determination of major oxides and trace metal concentrations in Dubai sediments revealed three heavily and moderately contaminated regions. One is in the far northeastern part at Al-Hamriya Sts 1–3 and contaminated by Fe, Cu, Pb, and Zn; the second is in the mid-northeastern part at Dry Docks and contaminated by Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn; and finally, the third is in the near southwestern part at Dubal and contaminated by Fe, Mg, Cr, Ni, and Zn. Al-Hamriya St 3 represented the highest values of Cu, Pb, and Zn, whereas Dubal exhibited the maximum values of Fe, Mg, Ba, Cr, Mn, Ni, and V. The anthropogenic discharge and natural deposits are the main sources of contamination. In general, all trace and major elements showed the minimal levels at Jebel Ali Sanctuary (Sts 11, 12, 13) except for Sr and Ca, which showed their maximum values. The highest concentrations of Ca and Sr are mainly attributed to carbonate gravel sands and sands, which cover most stations. Each of V and Ni showed negative correlation with TPH, which may be indicated that the source of oil contamination in the region is not related to crude oil but mostly attributable to anthropogenic sources. The significant positive correlation, which was found between trace metals and TOC indicates that organic matter plays an important role in the accumulation of trace metals in case of Cu, Zn, and Pb.     

Stabilisation/solidification and bioaugmentation treatment of petroleum drill cuttings

Petroleum drill cuttings are usually treated by techniques suitable for particular contaminant groups. The significance of this study consists in the development of a treatment technology that can simultaneously handle the hydrocarbon and metal constituents of drill cuttings. Bioaugmentation is combined with stabilisation/solidification (S/S), within S/S monoliths and in granulated S/S monoliths. Portland cement was used for S/S treatment at 30% binder dosage. Bioaugmentation treatment involved two bacterial densities of a mixed culture bio-preparation. The effects of inclusion of compost, fertiliser and activated carbon were also evaluated. After 28 days, the combined S/S and bioaugmentation treatments recorded up to 15% higher total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) loss than control S/S treatment without bioaugmentation. Embedding fertiliser, activated carbon and higher bacterial density within S/S monoliths resulted in the highest (99%) TPH reduction but higher concentrations of metals. The addition of compost and lower bacterial density to granulated S/S monoliths led to similar (98%) TPH degradation and lower amounts of metals. The results suggest that with better mixture optimisation, combining S/S and bioaugmentation could engender more sustainable treatment of drill cuttings.     

Assessment of MSC-certified fish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic

This study examines the status and exploitation level of 31 northern European stocks targeted by fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as being sustainable and well managed. In the first year of certification, 11 stocks (52% of stocks with available data) were exploited above the maximum sustainable level and four stocks (16% of stocks with available data) were outside of safe biological limits. MSC states that it certifies sub-standard stocks because they will improve once they are in their program. However, after a duration of certification of one to ten years (average four years), no significant changes in fishing pressure or stock size were detected. In the last certified year with available data, seven stocks (44% of stocks with available data) were subject to overfishing and five stocks (21% of stocks with available data) were outside of safe biological limits. Certification should guarantee that fishing quotas are set correctly and are enforced. However, in 11 stocks quotas were set 20–60% above the level that fishers were taking, whereas in three stocks landings exceeded quotas by 30–50%. The study concludes that MSC should change its rules such that overfishing or unsafe stock sizes lead to immediate suspension of certification and that no certification is issued in the first place for a stock that is already in such a situation.     

Geochemical characteristics of the Paleogene shales in the Dongying depression,eastern China

Fluctuations in lacustrine sedimentary environments significantly affect distributions of organic matter (OM), uranium, and other elements in shales. In this study a high-resolution geochemical record of fluctuations in the paleo-depositional environment of a terrestrial lake basin is provided on the basis of extensive samples collected from the Member 3 of the Paleogene Shahejie Formation (Es₃) of the Niu-38 well in the Dongying Depression, Eastern China. These samples were tested for total organic carbon (TOC), element concentrations, and biomarkers to study the evolution and fluctuation in the depositional environments of an ancient lake basin and associated geochemical response. The evolution and fluctuation of the sedimentary environment from a deep lake to a semi-deep lake and then to a shallow lake delta were indicated by geochemical response. During this evolution, the values of TOC, S₁, S₂, Sr, and Ts/(Ts + Tm) remarkably decreased, whereas those of Co, Ni, Rb, Na, Fe/Mn, Fe/(Ca + Mg), and C₂₉ mortane/C₂₉ hopane significantly increased. The deep lake basin shows depositional fluctuations, as indicated by rock lithofacies and their geochemical parameters. A close interrelationship was observed among U concentration, TOC content, and inorganic element content. Uranium concentrations are positively correlated with TOC contents, Ca and Sr concentrations, and Sr/Ba and Ca/Mg ratios but negatively with K, Na, Ba, and Rb contents and Fe/(Ca + Mg) and Fe/Mn ratios. The observed increase in U concentration in the lower Es₃ section is closely related to surface adsorption by clay minerals and OM, together with some replacements of Ca and Sr by U in the shales.     

A novel method to estimate mineral compositions of mudrocks: A case study for the Canadian unconventional petroleum systems

The mineral composition of mudrocks is an essential attribute in controlling the reservoir quality of unconventional petroleum systems. The present study introduces a semi-quantitative method to estimate mineral phases of mudrocks in various Canadian unconventional hydrocarbon systems using total elemental analysis (inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)) and Rock-Eval data (total organic carbon (TOC) and mineral carbon (MinC)).This method involves statistical analysis based on a sound knowledge of hydrocarbon source rock inorganic geochemistry. The workflow can be divided into four steps: (i) converting major elements (Si, Al, Fe, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Ti, and P) to their oxides, (ii) inferring modes of occurrence of elements using statistical analysis of geochemical data (major elements, TOC, and MinC), (iii) identifying the mineral types (oxide, aluminosilicates, carbonates, sulfide, and phosphate) according to elemental occurrences and calculating mineral phase concentrations, and (iv) verifying the results by comparing to XRD data on selected samples. The results, especially for brittle minerals such as quartz, carbonates (e.g. calcite, dolomite, and ankerite), and pyrite, show that the estimated mineral compositions correspond closely and consistently with measured mineralogy obtained from XRD. This method takes advantage of bulk geochemical data already available for hydrocarbon potential and chemostratigraphic studies, without devoting additional samples and cost for XRD analysis.     

织锦巴非蛤斧足颜色与总类胡萝卜素含量相关分析

斧足是织锦巴非蛤重要的食用部位。本研究检测了94个织锦巴非蛤斧足的总类胡萝卜素含量(TCC)和3个颜色指标L*(明暗度)、a*(红绿值)、b*(黄蓝值),发现织锦巴非蛤斧足总类胡萝卜素含量和颜色指标在不同个体之间存在较大差异。相关性分析表明,织锦巴非蛤斧足的总类胡萝卜素含量与颜色指标L*、a*、b*之间相关极显著(P0.01),相关系数分别为:–0.546、0.569、0.449。本研究表明,斧足颜色越深,其类胡萝卜素含量也越高可能是一个普遍规律,这对我们接下来选育高类胡萝卜素含量贝类提供了一种直观的参考指标。     

Twenty-five years of spectral UV-B measurements over Canada,Europe and Japan: Trends and effects from changes in ozone,aerosols, clouds,and surface reflectivity

Spectral UV records of solar irradiance at stations over Europe, Canada, and Japan were used to study long-term trends at 307.5 nm for a 25-year period, from 1992 to 2016. Ground-based measurements of total ozone, as well as satellite measurements of the Aerosol Index, the Total Cloud Cover and the surface reflectivity were also used in order to attribute the estimated changes of the UV to the corresponding changes of these factors. The present study shows that over the Northern Hemisphere, the long-term changes in UV-B radiation reaching the Earth's surface vary significantly over different locations, and that the main drivers of these variations are changes in aerosols and total ozone. At high latitudes, part of the observed changes may also be attributed to changes in the surface reflectivity. Over Japan, the UV-B irradiance at 307.5 nm has increased significantly by ∼3%/decade during the past 25 years, possibly due to the corresponding significant decrease of its absorption by aerosols. It was found that the greatest part of this increase took place before the mid-2000s. The only European station, over which UV radiation increases significantly, is that of Thessaloniki, Greece. Analysis of the clear-sky irradiance for the particular station shows increasing irradiance at 307.5 nm by ∼3.5%/decade during the entire period of study, with an increasing rate of change during the last decade, possibly again due to the decreasing absorption by aerosols.