Lacustrine basin unconventional resource plays: Key differences

There has been a revival in hydrocarbon source rock characterization and development associated with growing interest in unconventional resources, where these fine-grained organic-rich rocks act as both source and reservoir. To-date, the exploration focus on shale reservoirs has been largely on marine systems. Lacustrine source rocks for conventional resources are geographically important, dominating regions such as China, Indonesia, and Brazil's resource-base. However, they have been generally untested for unconventional resources.There are a number of key differences in the nature of these hydrocarbon systems that should be considered when assessing whether lacustrine systems may represent future unconventional opportunities in areas where the conventional resource-base is dominated by lacustrine-sourced oil. Among the key differences between these depositional systems is the greater sensitivity to high frequency climatic variability within lacustrine systems. Lacustrine systems are highly sensitive to changes in the balance between precipitation and evaporation, which may lead to rapid changes in lake level, potentially exceeding 600 m. These changes in depositional conditions are geologically rapid and may occur over periods of thousands of years. Such changes can reduce the areal extent of potentially thick source rock intervals to only those portions of a basin where a permanent deep lake was present. Thus the core unconventional target area may be geographically limited compared with their marine counterpart. Although potentially areally limited, a review of many lacustrine source rocks suggests that their thicknesses are often significantly greater than marine source rocks. An examination of the more distal portions of lacustrine systems, where better source rock potential is present reveals that there is generally limited connectivity between source and conventional reservoir. In these settings, such as the Wind River basin (Waltman Shale), the hydrocarbons remain trapped within the shales, potentially leading to over-pressured hydrocarbon charged systems. Such conditions suggest that although areally limited, viable unconventional targets may exist, if suitable reservoir conditions are present. Finally, the character of the oils produced is different in these settings, with lacustrine oils being waxy and displaying different hydrocarbon generation and cracking kinetics. High wax oils display distinct flow characteristics, being more viscous, and may offer different production challenges than their non-waxy marine equivalents. Additionally, differences in their cracking kinetics may indicate that the timing of gas generation for shale gas plays may differ significantly from marine systems.     

Shrinkage and desiccation cracking in bentonite–sand landfill liners

Data are reported on the shrinkage and desiccation cracking exhibited by bentonite-enhanced sand mixtures (BES) upon air-drying. Mixtures containing 10 and 20% bentonite by dry weight, compacted at moisture contents ranging from 8 to 32%, were investigated. Hydraulic conductivity data for BES specimens saturated and tested immediately after compaction, and for similar specimens that had no visible damage after air-drying, are also presented.

All the mixtures exhibited volumetric shrinkage upon air-drying with the amount of shrinkage increasing with increasing moisture content during compaction. At any initial moisture content mixtures containing 20% bentonite shrink more than those containing 10% bentonite, but the shrinkage is insensitive to the compactive effort. Compacted beds of BES containing 10 and 20% bentonite exhibit no visible desiccation cracking as the top surface is dried when compacted at 15 and 14% moisture content, respectively, and only minor cracking when compacted at initial moisture contents of 20 and 15%, respectively. For the range of mixtures tested, it appears that cracking only occurs when BES undergoes more than about 4% volumetric shrinkage when air-dried. The saturated hydraulic conductivity of intact BES specimens is unaffected by a drying episode prior to testing.     

Dynamics of cracking and swelling clay soils: Displacement of skeletal grains,optimum depth of slickensides,and rate of intra-pedonic turbation

Grumusols (Vertisols), though having a uniformly high clay content with depth, commonly exhibit a coarsening upward in the sand fraction, either of skeletal grains or of nodules. The non-uniform way in which the wetting front advances in swelling clay soils, with preferred advance and swelling around the coarse grains, produces upward directional forces and uplifting of the grains, thus producing the observed textural differentiation in the coarse fraction. From observations of slickenside distribution in the profile, and using published data on the ratio of lateral to vertical stresses and swelling pressure distribution with depth, a concept of optimum depth for slickensides is developed. Generally at 150–200cm, below the depth of cracking, this depth depends in part on climatic conditions. Below the optimal depth increased overburden pressure and smaller moisture variations restrain the extent of swelling and deformation, above it drying produces cracks and obliterates large slickensides, though a strong bimasepic microfabric remains. The extent of intrapedonic turbation was estimated from measurements of the volume of cracks and of surface material falling into the cracks. It indicates a turnover time of several hundred to a few thousand of years. This agrees with the known increase of radiocarbon ages of organic matter (MRT) with depth which in Vertisols (Grumusols) is only slightly slower than in non-turbating Udolls (Chernozems) and Udalfs (Lessivés). The moderate rate of homogenization due to intrapedonic turbation does not prevent the development of a normal organic carbon profile and it is slower than the upswelling of coarse grains by upward directional forces. The development of shear planes and slickenside structures is a rapid process and not dependent on turbation.     

Study of desiccation crack initiation and development at ground surface

Cracks are common in clayey or expansive soils and provide preferential pathways for water infiltration into soils. A field study was conducted to investigate the mechanisms of initiation and development of desiccation cracks on two soils. Based on results of the field study and measurements of soil-water retention curves and soil shrinkage properties in the laboratory, the conditions of crack initiation and the development of crack geometric parameters (i.e., crack porosity, crack aperture, and crack density) with water content or drying time were quantified. The results show that desiccation cracks developed in three stages: initial stage, primary stage, and steady state stage. In the initial stage, few cracks developed with gradually decreasing water content. When the water content reached a critical value for crack initiation, cracks developed quickly and this was the start of the primary stage. The critical suction at crack initiation was calculated using a stress criterion, which is in the range of 5.3–21.3 times the preconsolidation pressure of the soil. As the water content approached the shrinkage limit of the soil, cracks developed slowly and approached a steady state. The cracks were found to be repeatable during three drying–wetting cycles.     

Water ice on outer solar system surfaces: Basic properties and radiation effects

This paper reviews the properties of vapor-deposited water ice in connection with icy surfaces in the outer solar system. The emphasis is on knowledge gained during the last decade, and on the properties of the amorphous phase, especially those affected by the presence of microporosity. The paper discusses the role played by the properties of different phases of ice and the effect of irradiation on the icy surfaces of satellites in the outer solar system: sputtering, phase transformation, the production and trapping of molecular radiation products, and stress induced cracking. The understanding of how growth and irradiation processes affect the optical properties of ice will lead to extract better information from optical remote sensing than is possible today. It is argued that cracks in ice induced by stresses are the main reason causing low-temperature ices to be strongly scattering.     

High-frequency rock temperature data from hyper-arid desert environments in the Atacama and the Antarctic Dry Valleys and implications for rock weathering

In desert environments with low water and salt contents, rapid thermal variations may be an important source of rock weathering. We have obtained temperature measurements of the surface of rocks in hyper-arid hot and cold desert environments at a rate of 1/s over several days. The values of temperature change over 1-second intervals were similar in hot and cold deserts despite a 30 °C difference in absolute rock surface temperature. The average percentage of the time dT/dt > 2 °C/min was ~ 8 ± 3%, > 4 °C/min was 1 ± 0.9%, and > 8 °C/min was 0.02 ± 0.03%. The maximum change over a 1-second interval was ~ 10 °C/min. When sampled to simulate data taken over intervals longer than 1 s, we found a reduction in time spent above the 2 °C/min temperature gradient threshold. For 1-minute samples, the time spent above any given threshold was about two orders of magnitude lower than the corresponding value for 1-second sampling. We suggest that a rough measure of efficacy of weathering as a function of frequency is the product of the percentage of time spent above a given threshold value multiplied by the damping depth for the corresponding frequency. This product has a broad maximum for periods between 3 and 10 s.     

Light hydrocarbons in hydrothermal and magmatic fumaroles: hints of catalytic and thermal reactions

Volcanic gaseous mixtures emitted from active volcanoes frequently show variable amounts of saturated (alkanes), unsaturated (alkenes) and aromatic volatile hydrocarbons. Three major patterns of distributions can be recognized, apparently related to the chemical-physical environment of formation of the gas exhalations: alkane-rich, low-temperature gas emissions from recently active volcanic areas; aromatic-rich hydrothermal manifestations; and alkene-rich, magmatic fumaroles on active volcanoes. Thermodynamic data, together with theoretical and practical findings from the petroleum industry, point to two main types of reactions occurring in these volcanic environments: cracking and reforming. Cracking processes, mainly caused by thermal effects, occur when hydrocarbon-bearing hydrothermal fluids enter and mix with a hot and dry, rapidly rising magmatic gas phase. The most probable products are light alkenes with carbon numbers decreasing with increasing reaction temperatures. The presence of aromatic species in hydrothermal fluids can be linked to reforming processes, catalysed by several possible agents, such as smectites and zeolites, generally present in the hydrothermally altered volcanic terranes, and facilitated by long residence times in a hydrothermal envelope.     

Numerical simulation of desiccation cracking in a thin clay layer using 3D discrete element modeling

Desiccation cracking of clay soil is of critical importance in many applications, such as industrial waste containment, hydraulic barriers, road embankments, and agricultural operations. The factors that influence cracking are known qualitatively, but it is not clear how to predict the initiation and propagation of cracks. This study presents a discrete element approach to modeling desiccation cracking in thin clay layers, considering material property changes. First, an aggregate shrinkage model based on the aggregate structure of clay was proposed, and the drying shrinkage of clay soil was modeled by imposing drying shrinkage kinetics for each aggregate at the micro-scale. Second, the clay soil was represented by an assembly of aggregates linked by bonds, and desiccation cracking of the clay layer was modeled using a three-dimensional discrete element code (PFC3D), with the aid of the embedded programming language FISH. When the clay layer is sufficiently thin, the water content gradient along the section can be neglected; thus, the shrinkage kinetics are the same for all of the grains of clay. In the model based on the discrete element method (DEM), the bond strength and contact stiffness changed during drying. Their changes were determined by matching the simulation results with the experimental data. Third, the DEM approach was validated by reproducing experimental desiccation tests performed on a thin clay layer in a disk shape. The geometric parameters of surface cracks were quantified using image analysis techniques and were compared with experimental observations. Fourth, some factors of influence, such as the sample thickness, the properties of the soil–base interface, micro-mechanical parameters, and shrinkage parameters, were investigated using the DEM model. The results obtained from the DEM analyses were compared with the results of prior research in this field of study. The approach used in this study is very promising for simulating desiccation cracking in thin clay soil because the model captures the initiation and propagation mechanism of desiccation cracks. Although this study was carried out on surface cracking in a thin clay layer, the extension of this methodology is of potential benefit not only for predicting three-dimensional desiccation cracking in real clay liners but also for modeling cracking in other materials with properties that vary with water content or temperature, such as concrete and rock.     

湿干循环作用对压实黏土干裂特性的影响

开展了湿干循环作用下压实黏土的开裂试验和微观结构特性研究,分析了湿干循环作用对黏土开裂和孔隙结构的影响,将压汞试验(MIP)和扫描电镜(SEM)的结果与宏观开裂进行比较。结果表明:湿干循环作用显著影响了压实黏土的开裂,用开裂因子表征黏土的开裂程度,开裂因子随含水率减小而增大并明显大于湿干循环作用前; 随湿干循环次数的增加,黏土孔隙的总体积、中间孔径、平均孔径、平均孔隙率和团粒内孔隙均在增加,而黏土的颗粒内孔隙、颗粒间孔隙和团粒间孔隙却在减小。湿干循环作用使黏土体从大团粒逐渐转化为小颗粒,并增大了土颗粒的凸凹性,分析SEM二值化图像得知土体孔隙率均在增加; 用压汞法和扫描电镜法分析和解释土体开裂是可行的,所得的微观孔隙特征与宏观开裂规律基本相符。     

The dependence of surface tidal stress on the internal structure of Europa: The possibility of cracking of the icy shell

This study shows dependence of the surface diurnal tidal stress on the internal structure of Europa. Its purpose is to investigate possibility of cracking of the icy shell. The stress is evaluated under the plausible model of the internal structure constrained by the gravity field data. The possible effective stress at the sub-Jovian point decreases with thickening of the shell, while it does not depend on the core radius and the thickness of the H₂O layer. The range of this value is from 0.095 to 0.161 MPa, which does not exceed the tensile strength of ice. The stress required for the surface cracking would be mainly due to longer period deformations, especially non-synchronous rotation. And/or the actual strength of the ice at the surface would be smaller because of the preexisting cracks than that at a laboratory of the same temperature.