A note on the effects of a thin visco-elastic mud layer on small amplitude water-wave propagation

In this note we investigated the effects of a thin visco-elastic mud layer on wave propagation. Within the framework of linear water-wave theory, analytical solutions are obtained for damping rate, dispersion relation between wave frequency and wave number, and velocity components in the water column and mud layer. The wave attenuation rate reaches a maximum value when the mud layer thickness is about the same as the mud boundary layer thickness. Heavier mud has a weaker effect on the wave damping. However, the wave attenuation rate does not always decrease as the elastic shear modulus increases. In the range of small values for elastic shear modulus, the wave attenuation can be amplified quite significantly. The current solutions are compared with experimental data with different wave conditions and mud properties. In general, good agreements are observed.     

海州湾淤泥质海滩剖面堆积过程的计算模式

分别于1986年12月和1985年3月1日—1987年3月1日在海州湾进行了波浪和含沙量观测，运用所获资料以及本区长期水文、地形资料，采用流体力学、沉积学和泥沙运动力学相结合的研究方法，建立了海州湾淤泥质海滩剖面堆积过程的二维计算模式。结果表明，在堆积型淤泥质海滩，由于浮泥的经常性存在，使波浪急剧衰减，其对岸滩的作用甚为微弱，潮流成为塑造淤泥质海滩的主要动力，岸滩在淤涨过程中，在平均高潮位厂沿和平均低潮位附近出现两个凸点，上一个凸点外推速率大于下一个凸点，潮下带变化缓慢。     

泥浆性能对定向钻进铺管孔壁稳定性的影响

本文通过对泥浆性能的分析,特别是对泥浆流变参数的控制与调节在定向钻进非开挖铺管中的作用及其护壁原理的分析,简要阐述了泥浆性能对定向钻进铺管孔壁稳定性的影响,对非开挖定向钻进铺管施工有一定的指导意义。     

防冒浆泥浆优化设计软件的开发与应用

冒浆问题不仅给工程带来影响和经济损失,同时还对当地的环境保护造成一定程度的影响,严重时还会危及地表建筑物的安全,本文介绍了针对冒浆问题自主研发的防冒浆泥浆优化设计软件。     

Three dimensional seismic studies of deep-water hazard-related features on the northern slope of South China Sea

Mass transport deposits and geological features related to fluid flow such as gas chimneys, mud diapirs and volcanos, pockmarks and gas hydrates are pervasive on the canyon dominated northern slope of the Pearl River Mouth basin of the South China Sea. These deposits and structures are linked to serious geohazards and are considered risk factors for seabed installations. Based on high resolution three dimensional seismic surveys, seismic characteristics, distributions and origins of these features are analyzed. A distribution map is presented and geometrical parameters and spatial distribution patterns are summarized. Results show that various groups of the mapped features are closely tied to local or regional tectonism and sedimentary processes. Mass transport complexes are classified as slides near the shelf break, initially deformed slumps on the flanks of canyons and highly deformed slumps on the lower slope downslope of the mouth of canyons. We propose them to be preconditioned by pore pressure changes related to sea level fluctuations, steep topography, and fluid and fault activities. Gas chimneys are mainly located in the vicinity of gas reservoirs, while bottom-simulating reflectors are observed within the gas chimney regions, suggesting gas chimneys serve as conduits for thermogenic gas. Mud diapirs/volcanos and pockmarks are observed in small numbers and the formation of pockmarks is related to underlying gas chimneys and faults. This study aims at reducing risks for deep-water engineering on the northern slope of South China Sea.     

A predictive numerical model for potential mapping of the gas hydrate stability zone in the Gulf of Cadiz

This paper presents a computational model for mapping the regional 3D distribution in which seafloor gas hydrates would be stable, that is carried out in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment. The construction of the model is comprised of three primary steps, namely: (1) the construction of surfaces for the various variables based on available 3D data (seafloor temperature, geothermal gradient and depth-pressure); (2) the calculation of the gas function equilibrium functions for the various hydrocarbon compositions reported from hydrate and sediment samples; and (3) the calculation of the thickness of the hydrate stability zone. The solution is based on a transcendental function, which is solved iteratively in a GIS environment.The model has been applied in the northernmost continental slope of the Gulf of Cadiz, an area where an abundant supply for hydrate formation, such as extensive hydrocarbon seeps, diapirs and fault structures, is combined with deep undercurrents and a complex seafloor morphology. In the Gulf of Cadiz, the model depicts the distribution of the base of the gas hydrate stability zone for both biogenic and thermogenic gas compositions, and explains the geometry and distribution of geological structures derived from gas venting in the Tasyo Field (Gulf of Cadiz) and the generation of BSR levels on the upper continental slope.     

Distinct activity phases during the recent geologic history of a Gulf of Mexico mud volcano

Laser line scan imaging and chirp sub-bottom profiling were used to detail the morphology of a submarine mud volcano and brine-filled crater at 652 m water depth in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The mud volcano has a relief of 6 m and a basal diameter of about 80 m. The feature comprises a central, brine-filled crater (253 m²) surrounded by a continuous bed of methanotrophic mussels (Bathymodiolus childressi) covering 434 m² and a patchy bed covering an additional 214 m² of the periphery. The brine pool was mostly <2 m deep, but there were two holes of >28 m and 12 m deep, respectively at the northern end of the pool which emitted continual streams of small clear bubbles. Sub-bottom profiles indicated three distinct strata beneath the present surface of the mud volcano. Integration of 17 profiles shows that the mud volcano has been built in at least three successive stages: the lowest stage deposited 35,400 m³, while the middle and upper stages deposited 7700 and 20,400 m³, respectively. Piston cores were taken at the northern edge of the mussel bed and a site ∼100 m southwest of the pool. Mussel and lucinid shells were recovered from the closer core, lucinid shells from the distant core. A mussel shell from 3.4 m sub-bottom had a Δ¹⁴C age of 16.2 ka. Mixture of modern carbon with “carbon dead” reservoir material would produce actual ages ∼2 ka less than the radiocarbon ages.     

The thermal structure of the Dvurechenskii mud volcano and its implications for gas hydrate stability and eruption dynamics

The sediment temperature distribution at mud volcanoes provides insights into their activity and into the occurrence of gas hydrates. If ambient pressure and temperature conditions are close to the limits of the gas hydrate stability field, the sediment temperature distribution not only limits the occurrence of gas hydrates, but is itself influenced by heat production and consumption related to the formation and dissociation of gas hydrates. Located in the Sorokin Trough in the northern Black Sea, the Dvurechenskii mud volcano (DMV) was in the focus of detailed investigations during the M72/2 and M73/3a cruises of the German R/V Meteor and the ROV Quest 4000 m in February and March 2007. A large number of in-situ sediment temperature measurements were conducted from the ROV and with a sensor-equipped gravity corer. Gas hydrates were sampled in pressurized cores using a dynamic autoclave piston corer (DAPC). The thermal structure of the DMV suggests a regime of fluid flow at rates decreasing from the summit towards the edges of the mud volcano, accompanied by intermittent mud expulsion at the summit. Modeled gas hydrate dissociation temperatures reveal that the gas hydrates at the DMV are very close to the stability limits. Changes in heat flow due to variable seepage rates probably do not result in changes in sediment temperature but are compensated by gas hydrate dissociation and formation.