Seismic indicators of focused fluid flow and cross-evaporitic seepage in the Eastern Mediterranean

We present for the first time a synthesis of the evidence of focused fluid flow in the Eastern Mediterranean, providing an updated record that includes recent and past occurrences through the last ca. 6 My of evolution of the basin. We do this by adding the interpretation of a previously unpublished regional 2D seismic dataset to the existing occurrences of focused fluid flow reported in the literature. Our interpretation shows a high number (141) of focused fluid flow features, which span the stratigraphic interval from late Miocene to Recent. Of these features, (82) are at the seabed, and (59) are buried. The previous published record is more difficult to quantify, but in comparison shows an overwhelming majority of seabed features, with only rare examples of buried features.The spectrum of the buried and seabed features covers pockmarks, pipes, mud volcanoes, clastic intrusions and collapse structures. Clustering of the fluid flow features is observed at different times in specific areas, including the Nile Cone, and the Levant, Herodotus, Cyprus and Latakia basins. With the buried record, we are able to highlight the evolution of the leakage points through time. Focused fluid flow venting has been occurring since the onset of the Messinian Salinity Crisis and the start of basinwide deposition of evaporites. We focus in particular on seismic indicators of leakage through evaporites, and of sub-evaporitic source for fluids and remobilised sediments. We also discuss the role of the evaporites as a seal to ascending fluids, and in which circumstances they can be breached.Fluids (and associated remobilised sediments) are sourced from different intervals, from the sub- and supra-evaporitic section, and possibly within the evaporites. Only a minor proportion of the fluid flow features are certainly sourced from below the Messinian evaporites, and most of them are located in the Nile-Levant-Eratosthenes areas. The few examples of pathways that are able to cross thick, undeformed and well preserved evaporites are typically correlated to overpressure release and hydrofracturing. This confirms that the evaporites do act regionally as a very good seal as expected, while fluids are able to cross the evaporites only in their most extreme expression, i.e. in near-lithostathic overpressure conditions. This is confirmed by our observations made in the Eastern Mediterranean, where in the presence of relatively undisturbed evaporites, cross-evaporite vertical fluid pathways are only observed at the high end of the flux-pressure range, and involve sediment remobilisation. Maps combining these different elements can be used to detect areas potentially more prone to breaching.     

Seafloor and buried mounds on the western slope of the Niger Delta

Seafloor mounds are potential geohazards to offshore rig emplacement and drilling operations and may contain evidence of underlying petroleum systems. Therefore, identifying and mapping them is crucial in de-risking exploration and production activities in offshore domains.A 738 km² high resolution three-dimensional seismic dataset was used to investigate the occurrence, seismic characteristics and distribution of features interpreted as seafloor and buried sediment mounds, at water-depths of 800–1600 m, on the western Niger Delta slope. Fifteen seafloor mounds and eighteen shallowly buried mounds were identified. The seafloor mounds are characterised by lower seismic amplitude anomalies than the surrounding seabed sediments, and overlie vertical zones of acoustic blanking. The buried mounds in contrast are characterised by high amplitude anomalies; they also directly overlie sub-vertical zones of acoustic blanking. Seismic evidences from the features, their distribution patterns and tectono-stratigraphic associations suggest that their formation was controlled by the juxtaposition of buried channels and structural highs and their formation caused by focused fluid flow and expulsion of entrained sediments at the seabed.Considering the acoustic and geometrical characteristics of the mounds and comparing them with mound-shaped features from around the world, we conclude that the mounds most likely comprise heterolithic seafloor extrusions of muds and sands from the Agbada Formation with gas and possibly oil in some of the pore space giving rise to the acoustic characteristics.     

Study on Pure IL VIV of A Free Spanning Pipeline Under General Boundary Conditions

Pipeline spans may occur due to natural seabed irregularities or local scour of bed sediment. The pure in-line (IL) vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) analysis of the free spans is an important subject for design of pipeline in uneven seabed. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the characteristics of pure IL VIV of a free spanning pipeline under general boundary conditions. An IL wake oscillator model which can describe the coupling of pipeline structure and fluctuating drag is introduced and employed. The coupled partial differential equations of structure and wake are transformed into a set of ordinary differential equations using two-mode Galerkin method. Some case studies are presented and thoroughly discussed in order to investigate the effects of internal fluid, axial force and boundary conditions on the pure IL VIV.     

Fluid Inclusions and Hydrogen,Oxygen, and Lead Isotopes of the Antuoling Molybdenum Deposit,Northern Taihang Mountains,China

The Antuoling Mo deposit is a major porphyry‐type deposit in the polymetallic metallogenic belt of the northern Taihang Mountains, China. The processes of mineralization in this deposit can be divided into three stages: an early quartz–pyrite stage, a middle quartz–polymetallic sulfide stage, and a late quartz–carbonate stage. Four types of primary fluid inclusions are found in the deposit: two‐phase aqueous inclusions, daughter‐mineral‐bearing multiphase inclusions, CO₂–H₂O inclusions, and pure CO₂ inclusions. From the early to the late ore‐forming stages, the homogenization temperatures of the fluid inclusions are 300 to >500°C, 270–425°C, and 195–330°C, respectively, with salinities of up to 50.2 wt%, 5.3–47.3 wt%, and 2.2–10.4 wt% NaCl equivalent, revealing that the ore‐forming fluids changed from high temperature and high salinity to lower temperature and lower salinity. Moreover, based on the laser Raman spectra, the compositions of the fluid inclusions evolved from the NaCl–CO₂–H₂O to the NaCl–H₂O system. The δ¹⁸O_H2O and δD values of quartz in the deposit range from +3.9‰ to +7.0‰ and ?117.5‰ to ?134.2‰, respectively, reflecting the δD of local meteoric water after oxygen isotopic exchange with host rocks. The Pb isotope values of the sulfides (²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, 36.320–37.428; ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, 15.210–15.495; ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, 16.366–17.822) indicate that the ore‐forming materials originated from a mixed upper mantle–lower crust source.     

The δ18O of UST Quartz in Two Porphyry Deposits,China

The unidirectional solidification textures (UST) quartz is generally thought to form from fluids exsolved from shallow intrusions and/or magma chambers, but such an idea is still poorly constrained from the evidence of stable isotopes. In this study, we report for the first time the δ¹⁸O of quartz that shows UST from the Qulong Cu–Mo and the Yechangping Mo porphyry deposits in China. The analysis results show that the UST quartz samples from the Qulong deposit have δ¹⁸O values ranging from +6.2 ‰ to +7.6 ‰, which are similar to that of quartz phenocrysts (+6.7 ‰ to +7.8 ‰). In contrast, the UST quartz samples from the Yechangping porphyry Mo deposit yield a high δ¹⁸O value (+10.0 ‰). The δ¹⁸O_water value of Yechangping UST quartz (+8.5 ‰) is also higher than that of Qulong (+4.6 ‰ to +5.8 ‰). Hydrothermal biotite from potassic alteration and sericite from early phyllic alteration at Qulong have similar δ¹⁸O values to UST quartz, suggesting the involvement of magmatic fluids during this stage of deposit evolution.     

古流体研究的无机地球化学方法综述

研究与成藏过程相关的古流体活动有助于深入认识油气成藏过程,从经济目的出发预测储层质量,精确分析不同阶段古流体活动对油气成藏的影响具有重要意义。目前国内外石油地质学家主要利用同位素地球化学、元素地球化学、流体包裹体分析等无机地球化学方法分析古流体活动特征及其对油气成藏的影响。在归纳前人研究成果的基础上,总结了各种无机地球化学方法的最新研究进展,认为同位素地球化学方法有助于分析古流体来源与成因,元素地球化学方法可示踪烃类流体的运移,流体包裹体分析技术结合岩相学研究可分析油气运移的时间、期次、相态、通道和油气藏的富集规律,并指出油气运移和聚集的有利方向。在运用无机地球化学方法研究古流体活动时不应局限于单一方法,综合利用多种无机地球化学方法更有利于全面分析古流体活动特征。     

南极洲纳尔逊冰帽的某些动力学特征*

纳尔逊冰帽是南设得兰群岛的一个小冰帽,受海洋性气候影响冰帽上降水丰富,冰温较高。冰帽表面运动速度完全由冰帽表面形态和冰帽底床形态所控制,其中E剖面更为复杂。冰帽驱动应力基本小于100kPa.由V/Z～Za曲线得到在V/7为0.6～3×10^-9范围内的流动参数:n约为1;B≈4.3×10¹⁰dynescm^-2sec.这表明在低应力区,冰体流动更接近牛顿流体。     

不同围压和流体饱和状态下致密砂岩弹性各向异性特征

为研究致密砂岩声波速度及其各向异性随围压的变化规律以及不同流体饱和状态下的弹性各向异性特征,钻取了不同方向的岩心并在实验室超声波频率下对致密砂岩的声学特性进行了测量,分别给出干燥和饱和水状态下,不同方向样品纵横波速度、刚性系数以及各向异性系数随围压的变化规律,并对实验结果进行了分析讨论.实验结果表明致密砂岩纵横波速度、纵横波速度比以及刚性系数均随围压增加而增加,但其在不同饱和状态下的变化率却截然不同;纵横波速度比、各向异性系数在饱和水状态下变化规律不明显,表明孔隙流体的存在对于岩石物理性质有着非常重要的影响.这方面的实验工作不但对于考察不同流体性质对致密岩石弹性各向异性影响是必要的,而且有助于致密砂岩油水和气层的识别.     

Comparison of P‐wave attenuation models of wave‐induced flow

Wave‐induced oscillatory fluid flow in the vicinity of inclusions embedded in porous rocks is one of the main causes for P‐wave dispersion and attenuation at seismic frequencies. Hence, the P‐wave velocity depends on wave frequency, porosity, saturation, and other rock parameters. Several analytical models quantify this wave‐induced flow attenuation and result in characteristic velocity–saturation relations. Here, we compare some of these models by analyzing their low‐ and high‐frequency asymptotic behaviours and by applying them to measured velocity–saturation relations. Specifically, the Biot–Rayleigh model considering spherical inclusions embedded in an isotropic rock matrix is compared with White's and Johnson's models of patchy saturation. The modeling of laboratory data for tight sandstone and limestone indicates that, by selecting appropriate inclusion size, the Biot‐Rayleigh predictions are close to the measured values, particularly for intermediate and high water saturations.     

我国地震地下流体观测台网调整与优化方案探讨

本文首先简要介绍了我国地震地下流体观测台网的现状,然后针对其存在的主要问题提出了调整与优化的建议: ① 调整布局,重点加强我国中西部地区(105°E以西)的监测; ② 扩大规模,观测井(泉)数要达到1000个左右; ③ 全面提高观测井质量,淘汰不符合规范要求的观测井(泉),改造不完全符合规范要求的观测井,新建一批完全符合规范的观测井; ④ 优化观测项目的组合,大力发展观测井(泉)水流量观测,强化以H₂、 He、 CO₂等为主测项的断层带土壤气观测,建立断层带土壤气观测网; ⑤ 优化现有的观测模式,开展平面上的台阵式观测与垂向的多层次立体化观测; ⑥ 完善与提升现有数字化观测技术水平.