Does subterranean flow initiate mud banks off the southwest coast of India?

Coastal waters off the southwest coast of India draw special attention because of the occurrence of mud banks at certain locations during southwest monsoon period. The present study puts forward a hypothesis of a subterranean flow, which could be a plausible mechanism to initiate the mud banks. The subterranean flow is believed to be coupled with activated trending faults and originate from the adjacent watershed (Vembanad Lake) separated from the sea by a narrow strip of land where submerged porous lime shell beds are present. When the lake water injection occurs through the fault, the mud/clay gets excited by its thixotrophic properties (as the overlying water looses its electrolyte) and transforms into a flowing fluid. The lowering of salinity due to the introduction of fresh water keeps the mud suspension in the water column for longer duration, leading to the formation of mud banks. The idea of subterranean flow through lime shell beds initiating formation of mud banks may apply globally to any coastal regions hugged by wetlands and of similar geological conditions.     

A Numerical Model for Natural Backfill of Pipeline Trenches Subjected to Unidirectional／Oscillatory Flows

A numerical model for the self-burial of a pipeline trench is developed. Morphological evolutions of a pipeline trench under steady-current or oscillatory-flow conditions are simulated with/without a pipeline inside the trench. The oscillatory flow in this study represents the action of waves. The two-dimensional Reynolds-averaged continuity and Navier-Stokes equations with the standard k-e turbulence closure, as well as the sediment transport equations, are solved with the finite difference method in a eurvilirrear coordinate system. Both bed and suspended loads of sediment transport are included in the morphological model. Because of the lack of experimental data on the backfilling of pipeline trenches, the numericalmodel is firstly verified against three closely-relevant experiments available in literature. A detailed measurement of the channel migration phenomenon under steady currents is employed for the assessment of the integral performance of themodel. The two experimental results from U-tube tests are used to validate the model‘s ability in predicting oscillatory flows. Different time-marching schemes are employed for the morphological computation under unidirectional and oscillatory conditions. It is found that vortex motions within the trench play an important role in the trench development.     

Patterns and controls of surface sediment distribution: west-central Florida inner shelf

The west-central Florida inner shelf represents a transition between the quartz-dominated barrier-island system and the carbonate-dominated mid-outer shelf. Surface sediments exhibit a complex distribution pattern that can be attributed to multiple sediment sources and the ineffectiveness of physical processes for large-scale sediment redistribution. The west Florida shelf is the submerged extension of the Florida carbonate platform, consisting of a limestone karst surface veneered with a thin unconsolidated sediment cover. A total of 498 surface sediment samples were collected on the inner shelf and analyzed for texture and composition. Results show that sediment consists of a combination of fine quartz sand and coarse, biogenic carbonate sand and gravel, with variable but subordinate amounts of black, phosphorite-rich sand. The carbonate component consists primarily of molluskan fragments. The distribution is patchy and discontinuous with no discernible pattern, and the transition between sediment types is generally abrupt. Quartz-rich sediment dominates the inner 15 km north of the entrance into Tampa Bay, but south of the Bay is common only along the inner 3 km. Elsewhere, carbonate-rich sediment is the predominate sediment type, except where there is little sediment cover, in which cases black, phosphorite-rich sand dominates. Sediment sources are likely within, or around the periphery of the basin. Fine quartz sand is likely reworked from coastal units deposited during Pleistocene sea-level high stands. Carbonate sand and gravel is produced by marine organisms within the depositional basin. The black, phosphorite-rich sand likely originates from the bioerosion and reworking of the underlying strata that irregularly crop out within the study area. The distribution pattern contains elements of both storm- and tide-dominated siliciclastic shelves, but it is dictated primarily by the sediment source, similar to some carbonate systems. Other systems with similar sediment attributes include cool-water carbonate, sediment-starved, and mixed carbonate/siliciclastic systems. This study suggests a possible genetic link among the three systems.     

Steady Response of a Ventilated Thermocline to Enhanced Ekman Pumping

The steady response of the ventilated thermocline to an increase in Ekman pumping is investigated, focusing on the effect of the mixed layer depth distribution on the subsurface density anomaly. We consider only the subtropical gyre, and the mixed layer is assumed to be deep in the northwest and shallow elsewhere with a narrow transition zone separating the deep and shallow mixed layer regions. At the intersection of this narrow transition zone and the outcrop line, low potential vorticity fluid is subducted into and ventilates the thermocline. In such a situation, an enhancement of the Ekman pumping confined to the northern subtropical gyre leads to pronounced subsurface cold anomalies in the southern subtropics, which is free of anomalous forcing. These density anomalies are much greater than those that occur when either the mixed layer depth is zonally uniform or the Ekman pumping is enhanced in the whole subtropical gyre. They are caused by anomalous changes in the trajectory of the low potential vorticity fluid in response to anomalous Sverdrup flow. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

含沙量对草地坡面径流泥沙沉积和水力特性的影响

通过室内模拟试验,在坡度为3°和9°、流量为20和60L/min条件下研究了不同浓度(0～350kg/m3)含沙水流流经草地的泥沙沉积过程及其水力学特性。结果表明,坡面泥沙沉积量随含沙量的增加而增大,3°时泥沙沉积率与含沙量呈正相关,而9°时沉积率与含沙量呈反势。坡度对泥沙沉积影响显著,而在相同坡度条件下,两种流量试验的泥沙沉积量无明显差异。相同坡面坡上部位流速小于坡下部位,且含沙量对坡面流速影响较小。在相同坡度和流量条件下,水流雷诺数随含沙量的增大而减小。3°时水流阻力系数和曼宁糙率均随含沙量的增加而增大,而9°时含沙量对阻力影响不明显,因此在土壤侵蚀较严重地区进行坡面水文过程演算时需考虑含沙量对缓坡糙率的影响。     

大港油田官142断块巨厚砂岩的储层流动单元

以黄骅坳陷官142断块中生界油藏为例,探讨巨厚砂岩储层流动单元的研究方法。巨厚砂岩储层流动单元研究包括两个层次,一为确定渗流屏障和连通体的分布,二为连通体内部储层渗流差异分析。研究表明,官142断块渗流屏障主要有泥质屏障、钙质砂岩胶结屏障和钙质砂砾岩胶结屏障3种类型。通过对连通体内部砂体渗流差异性分析,将连通体划分为3类流动单元。其中A类流动单元以粗孔、粗喉类型为主,渗流性能好,吸水强度大;B类流动单元储层为中孔、中喉型,渗流性能中等,吸水强度次之;C类流动单元储层多为粉细砂岩、砂砾岩或钙质胶结稍差的储层,吸水强度较差。通过流动单元的划分与研究,对预测该区的剩余油分布规律和优化调整方案提供依据。     

低渗透储层水平井—直井联合布井极限注采井距研究

低渗透储层水平井—直井联合布井技术具有广泛的应用前景,其布井方式至关重要。首先利用劈分流场的方法直观地给出常规储层水平井—直井联合布井的产能评价方法;然后针对低渗透储层的渗流特点,在考虑启动压力梯度条件下建立新的井网渗流物理模型并求解得到产能评价公式;最后经分析计算给出启动压力梯度影响的面积井网极限注采井距关系曲线。研究结果为低渗透储层部署水平井—直井联合井网提供理论依据。     

岩石中的渗透率、流体流动及热液成矿作用

热液成因的固体金属矿床形成过程中都曾拥有一段流动的历史。成矿物质以溶液的形式从矿源地穿过孔隙或断裂达到了现在的栖身之所,在此过程中流体通过的路径决定了它们的走向,而溶液本身也改变了路径的特征。因此,对于此类矿床的研究不能仅仅囿于眼之所见,而应将古流体流动的观念融入其中,并考察它们的跋涉之路。文中总结了近年来国内外在岩石孔隙、断裂介质及与其相关渗透率对热液成矿作用的控制等领域的研究成果和最新进展,对岩石渗透率、渗透率的影响因素、岩石中流体流动的特征等问题进行了阐述,讨论了渗透率对于热液成矿作用深度、成矿规模、矿质沉淀机制等方面的重要影响,藉此在固体金属矿床研究中强化流"体运动"的观念,并促进构造地质学和成矿作用地球化学间一个新研究方向的发展。     

泥石流堆积物的粒度分布及其分形结构

泥石流堆积物主要由砾石、砂砾、粉粒和粘粒组成,组成泥石流堆积物的颗粒级配变幅很大,从直径大于数十米的巨砾到肉眼难以看见的几微米的胶体微粒均有分布,大小颗粒粒径之比可达106—107。泥石流堆积物颗粒具有明显的自相似性和无标度区间。本文以小江流域多处泥石流堆积物为研究对象,采用图解法全面分析了泥石流堆积物的粒度组成特征,根据分形理论计算了泥石流堆积物颗粒的分维值,对泥石流堆积物的分形特征进行探讨,并与泥石流堆积物粒度特征相联系,发现分维很好的反映了泥石流堆积物颗粒组成及其粒度分布特征。将泥石流堆积物颗粒分维与泥石流的粘性、形成年代等性质相联系,以找出它们彼此之间的关系。     

高程控制测量中的混合构网法

针对目前常规水准测量在山区公路高程控制测量中的局限性,本文提出了一种三角高程与常规水准测量相结合的混合构网方法,并通过实例得出,这种方法充分利用了两者的优势,在保证成果的可靠性和精度的同时,大大提高了工作效率,缩短了生产周期。