Subsurface Location Research Articles

Subsurface location of a major water pollution control plant presently under construction in the Oslo area : Medbo, F; Loset, F In: Norwegian hard rock tunneling. Norwegian soil and rock engineering association publicationN1, P55–60. Publ Trondheim: Tapir Publishers, 1982

ABSTRACT The largest sewage treatment plant in Norway is being constructed underground at Bjerkas, 30 km south of Oslo. The plant will serve 300 000 persons and is designed to treat a dry weather flow of 3.0 m3/s. The main reason for the subsurface location is environmental. The plant is being placed in 11 parallel caverns of 16 m span with 12 m wide pillars between. The rocks in the area are Cambro-Silurian shale and nodular limestone. The conditions revealed by excavation were very similar to those predicted from the combined results of surface mapping, drill core analyses and seismic measurements The support is systematic bolting and shotcrete, partly mesh reinforced. Some injection work has been undertaken to prevent inflow of water. The rock mass underlying an industrial area nearby is fed by water through several bore-holes to prevent lowering of the ground water table in the overlying clay.

Channeling contrast microscopy: Application to semiconductor structures

The new technique is demonstrated for the imaging of semiconductor structures. The technique involves the use of a channeled 4He+ microbeam, scanned across the surface to provide a channeling-contrast image of subsurface lattice disorder and atom location. The present arrangement provides a lateral resolution of ∼5 μm and an in-depth resolution of ∼30 Å. The technique is applied to the imaging of small, laser annealed regions on ion implanted silicon wafers.

The effect of defects on the fatigue crack initiation process in two p/m superalloys: part ii. surface-subsurface transition

The change in fatigue failure initiation sites from a surface to subsurface location for two P/M nickel-based superalloys is analyzed. In particular the influences of defect size, shape, and population on the elevated temperature fatigue processes are assessed. The analysis shows that at high strain ranges, crack initiation occurs rapidly, and crack propagation rates determine the fatigue life and failure site. As a result, defect location (related to population) and size are the more important parameters. At lower strain ranges, however, crack initiation is critical in determining the failure origin, and this is primarily controlled by defect shape.

Remote Sensing in Development

Remote sensing is used to acquire statistics on crops in developing countries and to locate petroleum and mineral deposits. It has increasing potential for forest monitoring and subsurface water location. Problems related to Third World use of the technology include sensitivity about the dissemination of data with high spatial resolution, exploitation by multinational companies, absorptive capacity of countries for advanced technology, autonomy in acquiring resource information, and competing foreign policy interests of the industrialized world in the global search for raw materials. The attitude of Third World countries toward use of remote sensing tends to depend on the development model they adopt.

Mineralization controls in the sandstone lead-zinc deposits at Vassbo, Sweden

The sandstone-lead-zinc mineralization in the Vassbo region of west-central Sweden is concentrated in two deposits, Vassbo and Guttusjoe. The ores occur in Lower Cambrian quartz sandstones in a thin sedimentary sequence, underlain by a Precambrian basement and overlain by Caledonian nappes. Although the ores are stratabound, mineralization occurs in suitable arenaceous horizons throughout the sedimentary sequence.The Precambrian basement is crossed by a number of diabases dated at 1,100 to 1,350 m.y. Erosion of these diabases and their associated joints led to the formation of basement depressions. This is reflected in thickening in the overlying sediments. The distribution of mineralization in the area is found to be strongly controlled by the location of the basement diabases and, consequently, the sediment thickness. The recognition of this relationship and the fact that the subsurface location of the diabase dikes could be traced by aeromagnetics led to the discovery of the Guttusjoe deposit.Within the ores, mineralization is strongly controlled by sedimentary structures. However, the ore minerals infill the interstices between the sand grains, and thus high ore concentrations are independent of sedimentary structures. The spatial relationships suggest that the mineralization originated through penetration of the sedimentary sequence by solutions, preferentially flowing along the low pressure conduits provided by the thicker sandstones overlying the diabases.

Correlation of Cherokee (Desmoinesian) Sandstones, Missouri-Kansas-Oklahoma Tri-State Area: ABSTRACT

Abstract Traditional stratigraphic classification of the sandstone-bearing Cherokee Group (Desmoinesian) in southeastern Kansas and contiguous areas has not recognized the uncertainty of correlation from type areas of the and Sandstones in northeastern Oklahoma, across poor exposures in Kansas, to outcrops of similar appearing sandstones in Missouri. New data, logs and cores of recently drilled shallow test holes, suggest that the Bluejacket of Missouri is older than the Sandstone Member of the Boggy Formation of Oklahoma and that the Warner of Missouri is younger than the Sandstone Member of the McAlester Formation of Oklahoma. All four sandstones are present in some subsurface locations in Kansas. The discontinuity of these sandstones is explained by their origin as alluvial-deltaic sands.

Guidelines for Engineering Geologic Investigations in Areas of Coal Mine Subsidence: A Response to Land-Use Planning Needs

The following discussion is based on work done in the Boulder-Weld coalfield located in central Colorado. However, much of what is discussed and concluded here will apply in principle to other areas in which material is removed from its natural subsurface location, particularly in low dipping bedded sedimentary rocks. Subsidence problems in the coalfield began in the 18609s when mining first started, however the extent and degree of the problems were not anticipated. The coal mine operators, and the miners of the pre- and early-1900 eras, were not concerned so much with the ultimate effect of their activity as with the immediate production and sale of coal. It is doubtful that the early miners foresaw or even had a hint of the expanding urbanization that would take place by the latter half of this century.

On the Diagenesis of Lime Mud: Scanning Electron Microscopic Observations of Subsurface Material from Barbados, W.I.

ABSTRACT Diagenesis of lime mud involves mineralogic stabilization, addition of large amounts of porosity-reducing cement and/or compaction, and grain shape changes, processes that may occur rapidly when fresh water invades the sediment pore systems. Scanning electron microscopy of lithified and semilithified Pleistocene lime mudstone from a subsurface location on Barbados (Borehole #17) illustrate some of these early diagenetic processes. Mineralogically stable muds that have resided in fresh water phreatic lenses are well cemented with porosity less than 15%. Mud particles are 0.5 to 2 µm in diameter Three to 8 µm grains of cement occur in aggregates lining irregular coarse silt- and sand-sized cavities (molds?). In the modern zone of mixing of fresh and marine ground water. mineralogically metastable muds contain 20-30% calcite crystals, 3 to 5 µm in size, partially filling micropores and cementing 0.25 to 2 µm mud particles; porosity is 20-40%. These data indicate that early cementation of lime mud can occur in fresh and brackish phreatic environments. Mineralogic stabilization of the muds involves dissolution of 0.25 to 2 µm sized metastable grains and precipitation of calcite crystals up to 8 µm in size. Interpretation of the scanning electron micrographs indicates that aggrading neomorphism has not been an important process in the early evolution of the mud fabric.

Differential quantitation of surface and subsurface bacteria of normal skin by the combined use of the cotton swab and the scrub methods

By testing adjacent sites on the hypothenar eminence of the palm, enriched with bacteria by massaging the forehead, we found that the numbers of bacteria recovered from the skin surface by a wet cotton swab in 30 s were not significantly different from the numbers obtained by a brisk scrubbing with a blunted Teflon policeman for 120 s. This was true of aerobes (gram-positive cocci) and anaerobes (propionibacteria). If the same site on the palm was swabbed two times for 15 s each time, 67 to 94% of the total recovered bacteria were obtained on the first swab. Differential localization of bacteria into surface and subsurface populations was accomplished by first swabbing a test skin site to assay the surface flora and then scrubbing the same site to test for subsurface organisms. On the palm the swab yielded more aerobes and anaerobes than did the subsequent scrub. On the forehead the scrub yielded three to eight times as many anaerobes as the preceding swab. In some tests gram-positive cocci were distributed on the forehead like propionibacteria (large excess in scrub specimen); in other tests their numbers were similar in the swab and scrub specimens or there was a large excess in the swab specimen. These results indicate that there was no substantial subsurface flora on the palm. On the forehead propionibacteria were predominantly in deeper locations in all tests; gram-positive cocci were variable: in some test sites they were largely at the surface, whereas at other sites a predominance of cocci was in subsurface locations.

Direct Detection of Hydrocarbons: ABSTRACT

Because of the gas shortage in the United States, it is necessary to increase the nation's gas reserves. It is possible to utilize a very highly refined seismic technique for the direct detection of gaseous hydrocarbons in aquifers. This refinement is based on the increase in reflection coefficient caused by the addition or the replacement of the liquid in the pore space of an aquifer by the gas and an accompanying decrease in both the velocity and density of the aquifer. Refined data-acquisition techniques, including binary-gain amplifiers, accurately record the size of the reflections. Improved data-processing techniques with floating point processing, which preserves the amplitude of the reflections, make it possible to display a seismic section that the interpreter ca use to find subsurface locations where the reflection coefficient is increased in amplitude (hot spots). Because this technique depends on the uniformity of source and surface conditions, it is particularly suitable for offshore areas and should come into extensive use in future offshore-gas exploration in the United States. This technique probably was responsible in part for the very high prices paid for some of the blocks in the recent offshore Louisiana sale. Like almost all seismic techniques, it is not unambiguous and there are phenomena which can be confused with the increase in amplitude due to the presence of gas. This increase in amplitude can be caused by focusing, lithologic changes, phases of reflections caused by multiples, and nonuniformity of source and surface. It is important that the acquisition and processing be done carefully so that the interpreter is presented with a high-quality section for interpretation. This interpretation requires a more careful treatment than in the past. End_of_Article - Last_Page 774------------

Electronic states of interstitial ions in alkali halide crystals

The fundamental understanding and precise tuning of interatomic s,p-d orbital hybridization are critical to the design of interstitial alloy catalysts containing light constituent atoms. Here, we present a joint theoretical and experimental study that reveals the importance of distribution, concentration and ordering of interstitial boron atoms in Pd-B alloy’s near-surface electronic structure and catalytic performance. Our theoretical results demonstrate that the sub-surface location of interstitial boron atoms with a Pd:B atomic ratio of 2:1 is necessary to ensure an appropriate degree of interatomic s,p-d orbital hybridization, and thereby an optimal surface electronic structure for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). We experimentally achieve this with highly-crystalline intermetallic Pd2B. Due to its optimal electronic structure and ordered arrangement of interstitial boron atoms, the intermetallic Pd2B exhibits Pt-like catalytic activity for HER and has excellent catalytic stability for over seven days.

The Control of Ground–Water Occurrence by Lithofacies in the Guadalupian Reef Complex near Carlsbad, New Mexico

The occurrence and movement of water in the Guadalupian reef complex of southeastern New Mexico is controlled primarily by lithofacies. Major Guadalupian lithofacies which affect water occurrence are: (1) a basin facies of very low permeability which confines ground water, (2) a reef-zone facies of very high permeability, (3) a shelf-carbonate facies ranging from very high permeability near the reef zone to low permeability near the shelf-evaporite facies, and (4) a shelf-evaporite facies of moderate permeability. Major Johnson Springs and Indian Big Springs occur at the contact of the shelf-evaporite and shelf-carbonate facies because of a large decrease of permeability in the latter facies. The greatest amount of solution and highest permeabilities in the shelf-carbonate facies occur along joints in coarser-textured carbonates rather than in fine-grained carbonates, and in the calcareous rather than in the dolomitic subfacies. A zone of exceedingly high permeability, extending from the reef-zone facies into the calcareous subfacies of shelf-carbonates, forms the Limestone aquifer, and a zone of much lower permeability, occupying most of the shelf-carbonate and shelf-evaporite facies, forms the Shelf aquifers. The boundaries of the Limestone aquifer and Shelf aquifers extend across formational and time boundaries but conform to major lithologic facies. Water in the Shelf aquifers takes two divergent paths; in the San Andres Formation it moves northeastward into the Roswell basin, whereas in the stratigraphic interval from the Tansill Formation through the Grayburg Formation it moves eastward into the Limestone aquifer. The Limestone aquifer which parallels the Reef Escarpment is about 20 miles long and 5 to 6 miles wide. Downward movement of water in the aquifer is prevented by underlying massive sandstone of the Cherry Canyon Formation, and lateral movement eastward is prevented by impermeable anhydrite of the Castile Formation. The poorly permeable and impermeable barriers divert water to move in a northeasterly direction parallel to the Reef Escarpment and to the axis of the Capitan reef zone. The ultimate discharge area for most water in the Limestone aquifer is Carlsbad Springs, located north of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Knowledge of hydrology of the Guadalupian reef complex has aided geologic analyses in the subsurface location of lithofacies and in understanding the geomorphic history of the Guadalupe Fault Block. The presence of potable water west of the Pecos River in Guadalupian rocks and highly mineralized water east of the river in similar rocks suggests that the Guadalupe and Sacramento Fault Blocks were uplifted and trenched by the Pecos. The circulation of water through the Limestone aquifer has caused extensive solution and caverns, of which Carlsbad Caverns are a part. Shallow oil deposits occur in some anticlinal structures east of the Pecos River, but they do not occur in similar structures west of the river because circulating ground water from the west has flushed out the oil deposits and highly mineralized water.

Excello Shale, Northeastern Oklahoma: Clue to Locating Buried Reefs

Shales are believed to have facies just as distinctive as those of limestone and sandstone. Shale, however, requires careful detailed examination of both detrital and chemical components to delineate facies. To test this hypothesis a study was made of the Pennsylvanian Excello Shale Member of the Senora Formation, a seemingly uniform black shale unit in the Mid-Continent area. The Excello can be divided into a bituminous facies on the south and a carbonaceous facies on the north. The facies change occurs just south of a limestone reef in the underlying Breezy Hill Limestone Member of the Senora Formation. Hence, the subsurface location of the reef probably can be determined by a study of shale cuttings and by mapping the distribution of the two shale facies. The Excello Shale Member is a black, phosphate nodule-bearing shale unit, 4-8 ft thick, which crops out from northeastern Oklahoma northeastward across Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. At its exposures near Tulsa, Oklahoma, the average composition of the Excello is 17.9 percent organic matter, 2.5 percent iron oxides, 0.5 percent phosphate (as calci-fluor-apatite), 9.4 percent acid-soluble matter which was not identifiable, 24.2 percent quartz, and 42.5 percent illite. Kaolinite is present near formation boundaries and in nodules formed of carbonate-fluor-apatite, containing pyrite. Pyrite occurs only in the nodules and is generally absent from the shale. The environment of deposition of the Excello Shale is believed to have been a marine basin having an Eh between 0 and -0.1 and a nearly neutral pH. Where dead organisms settled out or where fecal pellets collected, the Eh and pH were lower and there phosphate was deposited as nodules. The shale is believed to be a sediment type deposited in a transgressive sequence offshore from a coal swamp, but partly separated from the swamp by a Breezy Hill reef at about the present Oklahoma-Kansas border. Seaward from the reef (south), the shale is bituminous; landward (north) the Excello facies is more micaceous and carbonaceous. In the subsurface west of Tulsa, at about R. 16 W., the Excello Shale and the Little Osage Shale Member of the overlying Fort Scott Formation merge. Both shales were deposited in the same sea as it transgressed and regressed across the Pennsylvanian surface.

Effect of Off-Pattern Wells on the Performance of A Five-Spot Water Flood

Abstract Well locations in water floods frequently do not coincide with the ideal well locations associated with the flood pattern which is used. A question of importance is. "How much oil is lost because of this?". This is the problem treated in this paper. It is assumed that each pattern in a five-spot flood has the proper number of production and injection wells but that the wells may be off-pattern. The distance by which a well is off- pattern is given in terms of the pattern spacing, defined as the length of one side of a five-spot. The influence of off-pattern wells on the performance of a five-spot flood has been investigated mathematically for unit mobility ratio. All production and injection rates are assumed to remain equal. The boss in recovery resulting from pattern irregularities has been calculated at a cumulative water injection corresponding to a 98 per cent water-cut in a regular five-spot. Displacing a single production or injection well by about one-third the pattern distance reduces the total field recovery by 4.4/N per cent of the recovery obtainable with regular spacing, where N is the number of five spots in the flood (assumed large). When off-pattern wells are separated by at least one regular five-spot and are displaced by less than one-third the pattern distance, the total loss in recovery in a large-scale flood is, at most, 1 per cent of the recovery obtainable from that field with a regular five-spot pattern. However, much higher losses may occur if the off-pattern wells are not separated by a regular five-spot, if the rates are imbalanced, or if the mobility of the injected water is higher than that of the crude. Although the loss in oil recovery due to pattern irregularity often may be low, the off-pattern case will always require injection of more water to reach the same final water-cut. The volume of water injected per unit volume of oil displaced has been calculated for each five-spot adjacent to a five-spot containing a single off-pattern well. The cumulative water injection at the time of 98 per cent water-cut may be increased by as much as 37 per cent when a production well is displaced one-third the pattern distance toward an injection well. Introduction The existence of differences between actual subsurface locations and the idealized well patterns used in secondary recovery operations is well recognized. However, the methods commonly used for predicting waterflood behavior ignore such differences, even when subsurface locations are known. The reason for this is simple. The idealized well patterns are highly symmetrical and, as such, the production history of the pattern (and even of the field) can be determined from that of a few production wells-usually from only one. Consideration of the many irregular well spacings found in a specific field would entail a large amount of work, and then the results would be applicable only to that specific field. In an attempt to provide an answer to the more general problem, this paper considers a water flood having an idealized well pattern, except for one well which is not at its regular location. When several off-pattern wells are present, their contributions are assumed to be additive unless the off-pattern wells are close to each other. Only four positions of the off-center well (at x y of Fig. 1) are considered in this paper. JPT P. 173^

The Oriskany in West Virginia

Commercial oil and gas possibilities from the Oriskany series of the Devonian in West Virginia were first demonstrated in 1918, but no commercial production was developed until 1930. In 1934-35 three fields, now having a proved area of 43,000 acres, were opened in Kanawha County. The Oriskany sandstone is a sheet deposit in West Virginia and underlies approximately three-fourths of the state from its outcrop along the eastern edge before it thins and disappears in the western part. The sand ranges in thickness from probably more than 200 feet in the northern part to an average of 40 feet in the producing fields. A very definite water table is present on the eastern margin of the gas belt. This is apparently trapped water, as rock pressures in the Kanawha County fields do not indicate hydrostatic control. The sand varies from coarse-grained (1. +millimeter) to fine-grained (0.1 millimeter) sand. Normally, the upper part of the sand is much coarser than the middle or lower section; however, alternate coarse- and fine-bedded sand is very common and is very sugges ive of cross-bedding. Calcium carbonate is the main cementing material in the sand, although near the western limits of deposition silica is the predominating cementing medium. Porosity in the proved fields ranges from 6.8 to 11 per cent. Open flows in the various fields range from 46,000 to 22 million cubic feet, with rock pressures varying from 1,100 to 1,940 pounds. Carbon dioxide and distillate are present in the gas in these fields. The carbon-dioxide content of the gas increases in wells high on the structure, while the distillate decreases. To date, 21 dry holes and 124 gas wells have been completed, and a daily open flow of 625,725,158 cubic feet developed. Anticlinal structure is of primary importance for production, but proper sand conditions are also necessary. Due to converge ce, anticlines, as expressed on the deeper horizons, are shifted from their surface or shallow subsurface location. The reflection seismograph has been a very valuable aid in checking the positions of these axes and will, no doubt, help materially in areas where water is thought to be present.