Mud dispersal across a Cretaceous prodelta: Storm‐generated,wave‐enhanced sediment gravity flows inferred from mudstone microtexture and microfacies

Determining sediment transport direction in ancient mudrocks is difficult. In order to determine both process and direction of mud transport, a portion of a well‐mapped Cretaceous delta system was studied. Oriented samples from outcrop represent prodelta environments from ca 10 to 120 km offshore. Oriented thin sections of mudstone, cut in three planes, allowed bed microstructure and palaeoflow directions to be determined. Clay mineral platelets are packaged in equant, face‐face aggregates 2 to 5 μm in diameter that have a random orientation; these aggregates may have formed through flocculation in fluid mud. Cohesive mud was eroded by storms to make intraclastic aggregates 5 to 20 μm in diameter. Mudstone beds are millimetre‐scale, and four microfacies are recognized: Well‐sorted siltstone forms millimetre‐scale combined‐flow ripples overlying scoured surfaces; deposition was from turbulent combined flow. Silt‐streaked claystone comprises parallel, sub‐millimetre laminae of siliceous silt and clay aggregates sorted by shear in the boundary layer beneath a wave‐supported gravity flow of fluid mud. Silty claystone comprises fine siliceous silt grains floating in a matrix of clay and was deposited by vertical settling as fluid mud gelled under minimal current shear. Homogeneous clay‐rich mudstone has little silt and may represent late‐stage settling of fluid mud, or settling from wave‐dissipated fluid mud. It is difficult or impossible to correlate millimetre‐scale beds between thin sections from the same sample, spaced only ca 20 mm apart, due to lateral facies change and localized scour and fill. Combined‐flow ripples in siltstone show strong preferred migration directly down the regional prodelta slope, estimated at ca 1 : 1000. Ripple migration was effected by drag exerted by an overlying layer of downslope‐flowing, wave‐supported fluid mud. In the upper part of the studied section, centimetre‐scale interbeds of very fine to fine‐grained sandstone show wave ripple crests trending shore normal, whereas combined‐flow ripples migrated obliquely alongshore and offshore. Storm winds blowing from the north‐east drove shore‐oblique geostrophic sand transport whereas simultaneously, wave‐supported flows of fluid mud travelled downslope under the influence of gravity. Effective wave base for sand, estimated at ca 40 m, intersected the prodelta surface ca 80 km offshore whereas wave base for mud was at ca 70 m and lay ca 120 km offshore. Small‐scale bioturbation of mud beds co‐occurs with interbedded sandstone but stratigraphically lower, sand‐free mudstone has few or no signs of benthic fauna. It is likely that a combination of soupground substrate, frequent storm emplacement of fluid mud, low nutrient availability and possibly reduced bottom‐water oxygen content collectively inhibited benthic fauna in the distal prodelta.     

Matrix‐rich and associated matrix‐poor sandstones: Avulsion splays in slope and basin‐floor strata

A common facies observed in deep‐water slope and especially basin‐floor rocks of the Neoproterozoic Windermere Supergroup (British Columbia, Canada) is structureless, coarse‐tail graded, medium‐grained to coarse‐grained sandstone with from 30% to >50% mud matrix content (i.e. matrix‐rich). Bed contacts are commonly sharp, flat and loaded. Matrix‐rich sandstone beds typically form laterally continuous units that are up to several metres thick and several tens to hundreds of metres wide, and commonly adjacent to units of comparatively matrix‐poor, scour‐based sandstone beds with large tabular mudstone and sandstone clasts. Matrix‐rich units are common in proximal basin‐floor (Upper Kaza Group) deposits, but occur also in more distal basin‐floor (Middle Kaza Group) and slope (Isaac Formation) deposits. Regardless of stratigraphic setting, matrix‐rich units typically are directly and abruptly overlain by architectural elements comprising matrix‐poor coarse sandstone (i.e. channels and splays). Despite a number of similarities with previously described matrix‐rich beds in the literature, for example slurry beds, linked debrites and co‐genetic turbidites, a number of important differences exist, including the stratal make‐up of individual beds (for example, the lack of a clean sandstone turbidite base) and their stratigraphic occurrence (present throughout base of slope and basin‐floor strata, but most common in proximal lobe deposits) and accordingly suggest a different mode of emplacement. The matrix‐rich, poorly sorted nature of the beds and the abundance and size of tabular clasts in laterally equivalent sandstones imply intense upstream scouring, most probably related to significant erosion by an energetic plane‐wall jet or within a submerged hydraulic jump. Rapid energy loss coupled with rapid charging of the flow with fine‐grained sediment probably changed the rheology of the flow and promoted deposition along the margins of the jet. Moreover, these distinctive matrix‐rich strata are interpreted to represent the energetic initiation of the local sedimentary system, most probably caused by a local upflow avulsion.     

Influence of carbonate facies on fault zone architecture

Normal faults on Malta were studied to analyse fault propagation and evolution in different carbonate facies. Deformation of carbonate facies is controlled by strength, particle size and pore structure. Different deformation styles influence the damage characteristics surrounding faults, and therefore the fault zone architecture. The carbonates were divided into grain- and micrite-dominated carbonate lithofacies. Stronger grain-dominated carbonates show localised deformation, whereas weaker micrite-dominated carbonates show distributed deformation. The weaker micrite-dominated carbonates overlie stronger grain-dominated carbonates, creating a mechanical stratigraphy. A different architecture of damage, the ‘Fracture Splay Zone’ (FSZ), is produced within micrite-dominated carbonates due to this mechanical stratigraphy. Strain accumulates at the point of juxtaposition between the stronger grain-dominated carbonates in the footwall block and the weaker micrite-dominated carbonates in the hanging wall block. New slip surfaces nucleate and grow from these points, developing an asymmetric fault damage zone segment. The development of more slip surfaces within a single fault zone forms a zone of intense deformation, bound between two slip surfaces within the micrite-dominated carbonate lithofacies (i.e., the FSZ). Rather than localisation onto a single slip surface, allowing formation of a continuous fault core, the deformation will be dispersed along several slip surfaces. The dispersed deformation can create a highly permeable zone, rather than a baffle/seal, in the micrite-dominated carbonate lithofacies. The formation of a Fracture Splay Zone will therefore affect the sealing potential of the fault zone. The FSZ, by contrast, is not observed in the majority of the grain-dominated carbonates.     

Effect of macropore tortuosity and morphology on preferential flow through saturated soil: A Lattice Boltzmann study

Unlike micropores where water moves upward or downward based on hydraulic gradient, in macropores, water flows predominantly downward due to the gravity. Therefore, models based on capillary flow are not capable of simulating macropore flow. There are attempts to model the macropore flow using two domains, one for capillary flow and another one for macropores. These models use Richard’s equation for capillary flow and Poiseuille’s law for macropores in which the macropore is approximated to be cylindrical or planar. This study quantifies the magnitudes of the errors induced by this assumption. Influence of macropore shapes and tortuosity was quantified by using a 3D Lattice Boltzmann model, which is capable of simulating fluid flow in micropores as well as macropores of cracked clays. Artificial macropores of constant sectional area and volume, but different shapes were generated in 3D and the influence of macropore shapes, shape related parameters, and tortuosity were systematically investigated. Macropore flow rate decreases with different shapes compared to cylindrical macropores and increase in aspect ratio of sectional shape leads to decrease in macropore flow rate. The maximum effect of bends/turnings along the tortuous macropore was about 25% on overall decrease of flow rate due to tortuosity. However, more detailed study is required on the influence of bends on macropore flow rate. The macropore flow rate reduces by about 70% for tortuosity of 1.41. A prediction equation is verified to predict the flow rate of different shapes and tortuous macropores based on straight cylindrical macropore using aspect ratio and tortuosity factor.     

Numerical studies on the effect of temperature on the unsaturated hydraulic response of geotextiles

A series of coupled thermo-hydraulic simulations were performed on a soil–geotextile column to understand the effect of temperature on suction distribution throughout the soil column and on the hydraulic performance of the geotextile as a drainage/capillary barrier layer. Two different constant temperatures of 0 °C and 38 °C and a temperature gradient of 4 °C along the column were modeled. Changing the temperature from 0 °C to 38 °C did not have a significant effect on the suction head distribution in the soil–geotextile column. The temperature gradient resulted in appreciable thermal vapor flow and changes in suction head and hydraulic conductivity of the geotextile. During drainage, the temperature gradient and lower temperature at the top of the column increased suction in the geotextile and its ability to function as a capillary barrier. During capillary rise, the temperature gradient and lower temperature at the top of the column decreased the suction in the geotextile and its ability to function as a capillary barrier. Changing the direction of the thermal gradient reversed the water vapor flow direction and its effect on the suction in the geotextile. A temperature gradient did not have a noticeable effect on the suction head of the geotextile when positive pore pressure was developed in the geotextile and adjacent soil during drainage.     

Design of drainage blankets for leachate recirculation in bioreactor landfills using two-phase flow modeling

Drainage blankets (DB) are used for leachate recirculation in bioreactor landfills and consist of highly permeable material placed over a large area of the landfill with the leachate injection pipe embedded in the material at specified locations. DBs are generally installed at different depth levels during the waste filling operations. Very limited information is reported on performance of DBs, and that which exists is based on a small number of field monitoring and modeling studies. A rational method for the design of landfills using DBs has not been developed. This study performs a parametric analysis based on a validated two-phase flow model and presents design charts to guide the design of DBs for given hydraulic properties of MSW, the leachate injection rate and the dimensions and locations of the DB as measured from the leachate collection and recirculation system (LCRS) located at the bottom of the landfill cell. Numerical simulations were performed for the two established MSW conditions: homogeneous–isotropic and heterogeneous–anisotropic waste. The optimal levels of leachate saturation, wetted width, wetted area and developed pore water and pore gas pressures were determined, and design charts using the normalized parameters were developed. An example is presented on the use of design charts for typical field application.     

西江枯季径流退水系数与流域特征关系研究

文章采用基于遗传算法的经典退水曲线对西江上游主要站点枯季日平均流量进行研究,所率定的退水系数经验证精度较好,能够反映所在流域的径流特性。通过退水系数与流域面积、下垫面性质、植被覆盖度、多年平均径流深等流域特征关系的分析,发现退水系数值(1)对降雨和蒸散发的变化不敏感,整体上随流域面积和植被覆盖度的增加而减小;(2)随地形高差和下垫面透水性的下降而减小;(3)对喀斯特岩溶地貌尤其敏感,表现为退水系数值较非岩溶地区偏大;(4)随多年平均径流深的增大而增大,二者具有指数函数关系。退水系数与流域特征因子的这些规律,可为无资料流域水文预报提供思考和借鉴。     

深水油气浅层钻井的“三浅”地质灾害

深水浅层钻井过程中可能遇到浅水流、浅层气以及天然气水合物层分解等3种浅层地质灾害（简称＂三浅＂）。要规避这些风险,必须需要开展浅水流、浅层气和天然气水合物成因机理、识别特征及工程危害等方面的研究。国外利用地球物理识别技术和数值模拟方法,结合深水油气钻井测井开展了这方面的研究,在＂三浅＂地质灾害的形成机理和控制因素方面取得了较为重要的研究进展。目前国内学者利用地球物理方法在南海北部深水区LW3-1大气田的周围发现了超压系统、浅层气和天然气水合物。深水水道砂体的发现也推断南海北部深水区具有＂三浅＂地质灾害发育的地质条件。随着深水油气勘探开发的不断深入,评估和预测南海北部深水钻井的＂三浅＂地质灾害十分迫切。     

基坑工程管井回灌优化设计探讨

目前基坑管井回灌设计及优化尚无专门成熟的方法,通过不同基坑回灌类型的分析,提出了基坑管井回灌设计原则及设计流程,并对回灌参数进行了探讨,对回灌可施加的最大压力进行了分析,通过285组基坑水文地质数值模型的计算,对比分析了不同渗透各向异性系数、回灌井结构、回灌井位置和保护建（构）筑物位置下的渗流特征,提出了回灌设计综合指数,从经济、技术及施工难度角度综合评估回灌对保护建（构）筑物以及对坑内降水的双重作用,指导抽灌一体化设计。     

自钻式原位剪切旁压模型不同固结荷载颗粒流数值试验

自钻式原位剪切旁压仪具有扰动小,能同时测出不同深度土的变形和强度参数,在精确测定土体参数方面具有广阔的应用前景。然而,目前受分析手段与研究水平的限制,对SBISP多级加载过程中周围土体的变形响应研究较少,而土体变形参数的确定与其变形机制是密切相关的。基于此,应用PFC3D颗粒流程序对不同固结荷载SBISP模型进行了仿真数值试验,试验结果表明:随着剪应力的逐级施加,中间区域颗粒的位移量不断增大,且位移矢量方向性更加显著,在第5级剪应力作用下,影响区域位移矢量形状呈现为倒锥形;而随着上覆固结压力的增大,探头周围试样的受影响范围逐渐变小;在探头作用下球颗粒的运动轨迹呈台阶状,台阶形态随距探杆中心距离增大而趋于平缓,球颗粒的Z向位移量亦随之呈负指数形式衰减;此外,剪应力与探头摩擦系数呈正相关关系,但当摩擦系数达到某一阈值时,剪应力-位移曲线不再变化。其研究成果对于深入开展SBISP试验多级加载过程中影响域内土体变形过程与变形模量之间关系研究具有重要启迪意义。