The kinetic nature of turbulence at short scales in the solar wind

The analysis of the transition from the large-scale fluid regime to the short-scale kinetic range of wavelengths in the development of the turbulent cascade of energy is nowadays subject of fervent discussion in the space plasmas scientific community. We make use of Hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell simulations where the full kinetic dynamics of ions is taken into account, while electrons are treated as a fluid. We investigate the development of turbulence in the solar wind, in 1D-3V phase space configuration and in the frequency range across the ion cyclotron frequency. These simulations allow for the analysis of the role of kinetic effects in the short-scale region of the energy spectra in the direction parallel to the background magnetic field. Our numerical results show the presence of a significant electrostatic activity at small wavelengths, triggered by the resonant interaction of ions with longitudinal waves. Our model does not allow to take into account the evolution of the turbulent spectra in the plane perpendicular to the ambient field, due to limited dimensionality in phase space. On the other hand, this model permits to isolate and study the possibility of transferring the electromagnetic large-scale energy on the small-scale kinetic electrostatic component of the spectrum. Peculiar features observed in the spacecraft data in the solar wind are qualitatively reproduced within the hybrid-Vlasov model, such as the generation of perpendicular temperature anisotropy and accelerated longitudinal beams of ions in the distribution of particle velocities as well as the appearance of a marked peak of electrostatic activity in the short-scale termination of the turbulent spectra.     

Influence of hydrocarbon injection on the compaction by pressure-solution of a carbonate rock: An experimental study under triaxial stresses

The preservation of good petrophysical properties (high porosity/high permeability) at great depth in carbonate rocks may lead to the existence of a deeply buried reservoir (DBR), a target of interest for the oil industry. One of the key processes controlling diagenesis of the burial environment is Pressure Solution Creep (PSC), an efficient compaction process responsible for the evolution of porosity and permeability in many carbonate reservoirs. In this experimental study, we examine the effect of i) the presence of oil in the pore space and ii) its timing of injection on the PSC process and the petrophysical properties of a carbonate rock. The experiments were performed using a flow-through high-pressure cell, allowing the simulation of the pressure/stresses and temperature conditions of a DBR. Multi-disciplinary data (mechanical, chemical, petrographical and petrophysical) demonstrate that, without oil in the pore space, the main diagenetic process is the PSC, a process reducing by three the initial porosity but having no influence on intrinsic water permeability. An early injection of oil prior to water circulation causes the inhibition of PSC by the coating of the grains, leading to the preservation of porosity. Conversely, a late injection of oil does not preserve initial porosity. The dataset obtained from these experiments show the importance of the timing of oil charging in a reservoir in the preservation of initial porosity at great depth by the inhibition of PSC. However, the coating of grains by hydrocarbons may also inhibit further diagenetic processes leading to a creation of secondary porosity at depth.     

Australasian asphaltite strandings: Their origin reviewed in light of the effects of weathering and biodegradation on their biomarker and isotopic profiles

Asphaltites, long known to strand along the coastline of southern Australia and as distantly as New Zealand and Macquarie Island, are widely regarded as artefacts of submarine oil seepage. Their remarkably uniform composition suggests a common source: marine shale containing sulphur-rich Type II kerogen, probably deposited during an Early Cretaceous oceanic anoxic event (OAE). Suitable hydrocarbon kitchens may exist in the offshore Bight and Otway basins. The physical character of the asphaltites, including laminations and flow structures, and their degree of alteration, which is not the result of biodegradation or extensive water washing, suggest an origin from subsurface tar mats subsequently exposed by the incision of submarine canyons, with the possible formation of asphaltic volcanoes. API gravities of 4–18° impart quasi-neutral buoyancy, implying many asphaltites were submerged drifters prior to stranding, their degree of weathering reflecting, at least in part, the residence time in the marine environment. For any individual asphaltite specimen, this will depend on the proximity of the seafloor seep to the stranding site, an important consideration when attempting to locate their point of origin.This study investigates the hydrocarbon biomarker signatures and n-alkane δ¹³C profiles of asphaltite specimens from stranding sites on the Eyre Peninsula (n = 2), Kangaroo Island (n = 4) and the Limestone Coast (n = 3), South Australia, and the south island of New Zealand (n = 2). Sub-samples of the interior and weathered surface of each specimen were analysed. No distinction could be made between strandings based on their source-dependent molecular and isotopic signatures, confirming their common origin. Comparison of the interior and exterior sub-samples revealed subtle although consistent differences. Given their degree of degradation and isotopic variance, these Australasian asphaltites seem to be products of low intensity seeps in the Ceduna Sub-basin of the Bight Basin and/or Morum Sub-basin of the Otway Basin.     

塔东地区褶皱构造精细分析及油气勘探方向

塔东地区存在四种褶皱构造类型:应变型主要发育于满加尔凹陷中央,劈理型主要发育于满加尔凹陷和英吉苏凹陷的斜坡部位,张裂型主要发育在阿尔金山前的塔南隆起和天山山前的塔北隆起,剪裂型主要发育于阿尔金山脉、天山山脉的山前地带。塔东地区发育有加里东—海西期、印支—燕山期以及喜马拉雅期三期构造中和面的叠加。喜马拉雅期形成的新中和面对之前的古中和面具有改造作用,它是控制油气聚集的重要界面。本区早古生代是剧烈下沉的拗拉槽,晚古生代—三叠纪是急剧抬升的古隆起,本区实际上是在残余古隆起上找油找气。古隆起的上中和面地层大多被严重剥蚀,而所残留的下中和面不是油气聚集有利区。认为有些钻井在背斜下中和面获得残留油气流,预示着相邻的向斜下中和面斜坡区构造-岩性油气藏可能成为本区的有利勘探方向。上震旦统、中—上寒武统、下奥陶统蓬莱坝组中的三套白云岩以及志留系和侏罗系碎屑岩是塔东地区的有利勘探目标。     

气流式雾化器结构的改进

气流式雾化器常存在产品颗粒粗,水分高等问题,因而影响产品质量。根据某工厂生产操作数据,对气流式雾化器性能进行了校核计算。根据计算结果,分析了影响产品质量的原因,并对气流式雾化器的结构进行改造。经改造后的雾化器,产品细度、所含水分等有所降低。     

广东近海油类漂流扩散的试验和实践

根据海上溢油试验结果，结合20a来对海上溢油事故的观察结果分析了油类入海后漂流和扩散过程。经分析认为1）海面油类漂流的速度和方向取决于风和表层海流的速度和方向，海面油类漂流的速度和方向基本符合UO=UC+ζW和D=C     

In-channel surficial fine-grained sediment laminae. Part I: Physical characteristics and formational processes

An in-channel surficial depositional feature (surficial fine-grained laminae) composed of loosely bound fine sediment deposited during low flow conditions has often been observed in river systems in south-western Ontario. The physical characteristics of this feature have been determined by a direct observation image analysis system. This sediment consists primarily of flocculated fine-grained material. The size distributions of surficial fine-grained laminae and suspended sediment were not significantly different. Each distribution is bimodal in nature and shows a characteristic grain size deficiency in the 4-5 μm size range. This observation suggests that flocculation and not low discharge or low competence is the dominant mechanism for the formation of surficial fine-grained laminae under conditions of low flow in fluvial systems of south-western Ontario. A quantitative assessment of this feature shows its potential importance as a source of fine-grained sediment and associated contaminants for downstream transport.     

Mud volcanic natural phenomena in the South Caspian Basin: geology,fluid dynamics and environmental impact

The South Caspian sedimentary basin is a unique area with thick Mesozoic-Cenozoic sediments (up to 30–32 km) characterized by an extremely high fluid generation potential. The large amount of active mud volcanoes and the volumes of their gas emissions prove the vast scale of fluid generation. Onshore and offshore mud volcanoes annually erupt more than 10⁹ cubic meters of gases consisting of CH₄ (79–98%), and a small admixture of C₂H₆, C₃H₈, C₄H₁₀, C₅H₁₂, CO₂, N, H₂S, Ar, He. Mud volcanism is closely connected to the processes occurring in the South Caspian depression, its seismicity, fluctuations of the Caspian Sea level, solar activity and hydrocarbon generation.The large accumulations of gas hydrates are confined to the bottom sediments of the Caspian Sea, mud volcanoes crater fields (interval 0–0.4 m, sea depth 480 m) and to the volcanoes body at the depth of 480–800 from the sea bottom. Resources of HC gases in hydrates saturated sediments up to a depth of 100 m and are estimated at 0.2×10¹⁵–8×10¹⁵ m³. The amount of HC gases concentrated in them is 10¹¹–10¹² m³.The Caspian Sea, being an inland closed basin is very sensitive to climatic and tectonic events expressed in sea level fluctuations. During regressive stages as a result of sea level fall and the reducing of hydrostatic pressure the decomposition of gas hydrates and the releasing of a great volume of HC gases consisting mainly of methane are observed.From the data of deep drilling, seismoacoustics, and deep seismic mud volcanic activity in the South Caspian Basin started in the Lower Miocene. Activity reached its highest intensity at the boundary between the Miocene and Pliocene and was associated with dramatic Caspian Sea level fall in the Lower Pliocene of up to 600 m, which led to the isolation of the PaleoCaspian from the Eastern ParaTethys. Catastrophic reduction of PaleoCaspian size combined with the increasing scale of mud volcanic activity caused the oversaturation and intoxication of water by methane and led to the mass extinction of mollusks, fishes and other groups of sea inhabitants. In the Upper Pliocene and Quaternary mud volcanism occurred under the conditions of a semi-closed sea periodically connected with the Pontian and Mediterranean Basins. Those stages of Caspian Sea history are characterized by the revival of the Caspian organic world.Monitoring of mud volcanoes onshore of the South Caspian demonstrated that any eruption is predicted by seismic activation in the region (South-Eastern Caucasus) and intensive fluid dynamics on the volcanoes.     

Height profile of the mean velocity of an aeolian saltating cloud: Wind tunnel measurements by Particle Image Velocimetry

The velocity of saltating particles is an important parameter in studying the aeolian sand movement. We used Particle Image Velocimetry to measure the variation with height of the mean particle velocity of a saltating cloud over a loose sand surface in a wind tunnel. The results suggest that both the horizontal and vertical particle velocities fit the Gaussian distribution well, and that the mean particle velocity of a saltating cloud varies with wind velocity, particle size and the height above bed. The mean horizontal velocity is mainly the result of acceleration by the wind and increases with an increase in friction wind velocity but decreases with an increase in grain size because greater wind velocity causes more acceleration and finer particles are more easily accelerated at a given wind velocity. It also increases with an increase in height by a power function, in agreement with previous results obtained by other methods such as the high-speed multi-flash photographic method and Particle Dynamics Analyzer (PDA), reflecting, first, the increase in wind velocity with height through the boundary layer, and second, the longer trajectory-particle path length increases with height and affords a longer time for acceleration by the wind. An empirical model relating the mean horizontal particle velocity and height, friction wind velocity as well as particle size is developed. The ratio of the mean horizontal particle velocity to the clean wind velocity at the same height increases with height but decreases with grain size. The magnitude of mean vertical velocity is much less (one or two orders less) compared with the mean horizontal velocity. The average movement in the vertical direction of a saltating cloud is upward (the mean vertical velocity is positive). Although the upward velocity of a saltating particle should decrease with height due to gravity the mean vertical (upward) velocity (the average of both ascending and descending particles) generally shows a tendency to increase with height. It seems that at higher elevations the data are more and more dominated by the ‘high-flyers’. The underlying mechanism for the mean vertical velocity distribution patterns needs to be clarified by further study.     

Evolution of particle size and concentration in the Rhône river mixing zone: : influence of salt flocculation

The salt induced flocculation phenomenon is often proposed as a major mechanism influencing the deposition of the suspended matter near the mouth of major rivers. However, depending on the particular mixing conditions between fresh water and marine water and on suspended solids (SS) reactivity, salt induced aggregation may be a minor factor controlling fast deposition of SS. This work combines field studies and laboratory experiments in order to assess the importance of salt induced flocculation in the case of the saltwedge estuary of the Rhône river. Sampling of the mixing zone has been performed in contrasted hydrodynamic conditions from a low water discharge period (500 m³ s⁻¹) to a small flood event (2400 m³ s⁻¹) for particle counting and salinity measurements. Through laboratory experiments, it is shown that the Rhône river particulate matter has a poor average reactivity regarding salt induced flocculation. Considering the hydrodynamics of the estuary, we show that the evolution of the concentration of larger particles (>5 μm) can be explained by settling and dilution. In contrast, the smallest measured fraction (2–5 μm) shows a more complex behavior and settling processes alone cannot explain the observed particle concentrations during the field studies. Four hypotheses are discussed for explaining the 2–5 μm particle concentration evolutions.