The alluvial architecture of a suspended sediment dominated meandering river: the Río Bermejo,Argentina

The alluvial architecture of fine‐grained (silt‐bed) meandering rivers remains poorly understood in comparison to the extensive study given to sand‐bed and gravel‐bed channels. This paucity of knowledge stems, in part, from the difficulty of studying such modern rivers and deriving analogue information from which to inform facies models for ancient sediments. This paper employs a new technique, the parametric echosounder, to quantify the subsurface structure of the Río Bermejo, Argentina, which is a predominantly silt‐bed river with a large suspended sediment load. These results show that the parametric echosounder can provide high‐resolution (decimetre) subsurface imaging from fine‐grained rivers that is equivalent to the more commonly used ground‐penetrating radar that has been shown to work well in coarser‐grained rivers. Analysis of the data reveals that the alluvial architecture of the Río Bermejo is characterized by large‐scale inclined heterolithic stratification generated by point‐bar evolution, and associated large‐scale scour surfaces that result from channel migration. The small‐scale and medium‐scale structure of the sedimentary architecture is generated by vertical accretion deposits, bed sets associated with small bars, dunes and climbing ripples and the cut and fill from small cross‐bar channels. This style of alluvial architecture is very different from other modern fine‐grained rivers reported in the literature that emphasize the presence of oblique accretion. The Río Bermejo differs from these other rivers because it is much more active, with very high rates of bank erosion and channel migration. Modern examples of this type of highly active fine‐grained river have been reported rarely in the literature, although ancient examples are more prevalent and show similarities with the alluvial architecture of the Río Bermejo, which thus represents a useful analogue for their identification and interpretation. Although the full spectrum of the sedimentology of fine‐grained rivers has yet to be revealed, meandering rivers dominated by lateral or oblique accretion probably represent end members of such channels, with the specific style of sedimentation being controlled by grain size and sediment load characteristics.     

Integration of the life of field seismic data with the reservoir model at the Valhall Field‡

The frequent time‐lapse observations from the life of field seismic system across the Valhall field provide a wealth of information. The responses from the production and injection wells can be observed through time‐shift and amplitude changes. These observations can be compared to modelled synthetic seismic responses from a reservoir simulation model of the Valhall Field. The observed differences between the observations and the modelling are used to update and improve the history match of the reservoir model. The uncertainty of the resulting model is reduced and a more confident prediction of future reservoir performance is provided. A workflow is presented to convert the reservoir model to a synthetic seismic response and compare the results to the observed time‐lapse responses for any time range and area of interest. Correlation based match quality factors are calculated to quantify the visual differences. This match quality factor allows us to quantitatively compare alternative reservoir models to help identify the parameters that best match the seismic observations. Three different case studies are shown where this workflow has helped to reduce the uncertainty range associated with specific reservoir parameters. By updating various reservoir model parameters we have been able to improve the match to the observations and thereby improve the overall reservoir model predictability. The examples show positive results in a range of different reservoir modelling issues, which indicates the flexibility of this workflow and the ability to have an impact in most reservoir modelling challenges.     

Comparing the transitional behaviour of kaolinite and bentonite suspension flows

Past research has demonstrated the dramatic effects that variations in suspended clay can have on the properties of flow by producing a range of transitional flows between turbulent and laminar states, depending on clay concentration and fluid shear. Past studies have been restricted to kaolinite flows, a clay mineral that has relatively weak cohesive properties. This paper extends these studies to suspension flows of bentonite, a clay mineral that attains higher viscosities at far lower volumetric concentrations within a flow. The results show that the types of transitional flow behaviour recognized in past studies can also be found in bentonite suspension flows, but at lower suspended sediment concentrations, thus demonstrating an even more dramatic effect on flow properties, and potentially on sediment transport and resulting bed morphology, than kaolinite flows. The paper proposes new stability diagrams for the phase space of bentonite flows and compares these to past work on kaolinite suspension flows. These new data suggest that the transitional‐flow Reynolds number can be used to delineate the types of transitional flow across different clay types and assess modern and ancient clay‐suspension flows. © 2016 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

How U.S. ocean policy and market power can reform the coral reef wildlife trade

As the world’s largest importer of marine ornamental species for the aquaria, curio, home décor, and jewelry industries, the United States has an opportunity to leverage its considerable market power to promote more sustainable trade and reduce the effects of ornamental trade stress on coral reefs worldwide. Evidence indicates that collection of some coral reef animals for these trades has caused virtual elimination of local populations, major changes in age structure, and promotion of collection practices that destroy reef habitats. Management and enforcement of collection activities in major source countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines remain weak. Strengthening US trade laws and enforcement capabilities combined with increasing consumer and industry demand for responsible conservation can create strong incentives for improving management in source countries. This is particularly important in light of the March 2010 failure of the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to take action on key groups of corals.     

Organochlorine residues in whales landed at Durban,South Africa

The levels of DDT and its metabolites found in the blubber of 29 minke, 6 fin and 1 sei whale landed at the Durban whaling station in 1974 were on average much lower than those found in baleen whales from the North Atlantic, but of the same order as those measured from the Antarctic and North Pacific. In 12 sperm whales examined at Durban the levels of DDT and its metabolites in the blubber were substantially lower than in any other locality so far examined, including the Antarctic, but this may partly reflect the comparative youth of the animals sampled. Low levels of Dieldrin were found in some minke whales only. No PCB could be detected in any of the whales examined.     

PCBs in the firth of clyde

Attention to detail is essential for the reduction of pollution. By detective work, a river purification board has been able to track down an important single source of PCB contamination of its sewage sludge and institute remedial action.