Numerical modeling of fracking fluid migration through fault zones and fractures in the North German Basin     

Helena Pfunt  Georg Houben  Thomas Himmelsbach 《Hydrogeology Journal》2016,24(6):1343-1358

Gas production from shale formations by hydraulic fracturing has raised concerns about the effects on the quality of fresh groundwater. The migration of injected fracking fluids towards the surface was investigated in the North German Basin, based on the known standard lithology. This included cases with natural preferential pathways such as permeable fault zones and fracture networks. Conservative assumptions were applied in the simulation of flow and mass transport triggered by a high pressure boundary of up to 50 MPa excess pressure. The results show no significant fluid migration for a case with undisturbed cap rocks and a maximum of 41 m vertical transport within a permeable fault zone during the pressurization. Open fractures, if present, strongly control the flow field and migration; here vertical transport of fracking fluids reaches up to 200 m during hydraulic fracturing simulation. Long-term transport of the injected water was simulated for 300 years. The fracking fluid rises vertically within the fault zone up to 485 m due to buoyancy. Progressively, it is transported horizontally into sandstone layers, following the natural groundwater flow direction. In the long-term, the injected fluids are diluted to minor concentrations. Despite the presence of permeable pathways, the injected fracking fluids in the reported model did not reach near-surface aquifers, either during the hydraulic fracturing or in the long term. Therefore, the probability of impacts on shallow groundwater by the rise of fracking fluids from a deep shale-gas formation through the geological underground to the surface is small.  相似文献   

Structural and Functional Composition of Benthic Nematode Assemblages During a Natural Recovery Process of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zostera noltii</Emphasis> Seagrass Beds     

Patrick Materatski  Anna-Maria Vafeiadou  Tom Moens  Helena Adão 《Estuaries and Coasts》2016,39(5):1478-1490

In 2008, the stable seagrass beds of the Mira estuary (SW Portugal) disappeared completely; however, during 2009, they have begun to present early symptoms of natural recovery, characterised by a strongly heterogeneous distribution. This study was designed to investigate the spatial and temporal variability patterns of species composition, densities and trophic composition of the benthic nematode assemblages in this early recovery process, at two sampling sites with three stations each and at five sampling occasions. Because of the erratic and highly patchy seagrass recovery and the high environmental similarity of the two sampling sites, we expected within-site variability in nematode assemblages to exceed between-site variability. However, contrary to that expectation, whilst nematode genus composition was broadly similar between sites, nematode densities differed significantly between sites, and this between-site variability exceeded within-site variability. This may be linked to differences in the Zostera recovery patterns between both sites. In addition, no clear temporal patterns of nematode density, trophic composition and diversity were evident. Nematode assemblages generally resembled those of other estuarine muddy intertidal areas, which have a high tolerance of stress conditions.  相似文献   

Ecotoxicological evaluation of dredged sediments from Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon (Rio de Janeiro State,Brazil) using bioassays with earthworms and collembolans     

Mariana Vezzone  Ricardo Cesar  Helena Polivanov  Aline Serrano  Danielle Siqueira  Leticia Abreu  Miriam Bianchi  Maria Elizabeth Correia  Zuleica Castilhos  Tácio de Campos 《Environmental Earth Sciences》2018,77(21):743

The toxicity and metal bioavailability were studied in dredged sediments from Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon (Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil) using acute and avoidance tests with Eisenia andrei, and reproduction tests with Folsomia candida. The sediment was mixed with an artificial soil, and two natural soils (ferralsol and chernosol—representative Brazilian tropical soils) to obtain the following doses: 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30%. Total metal concentrations were determined in the sediment to support the interpretation of ecotoxicological data. Metal concentrations in the mixtures were in agreement with the threshold limits established by Brazilian law. However, significant avoidance responses were found on doses ≥?3% and were the most sensitive endpoint. Earthworm mortality found in artificial soil mixtures (LC50?=?3.9) suggests higher toxicity levels than those obtained in ferralsol (LC50?=?7.6%) and chernosol (11.0%) treatments. Earthworm mortality, avoidance responses and collembolan reproduction levels found in ferralsol mixtures (LC50?=?9.2; avoidance EC50?=?2.3%; reproduction EC50?=?2.8%) were higher compared to chernosol treatments (LC50?=?11.0%; avoidance EC50?=?4.3%; reproduction EC50?=?4.9%). The reduction of toxicity levels in chernosol mixtures is probably due to the abundance of expansive clay minerals in chernosols with capacity of adsorbing metals and other xenobiotic substances from soil pore water, decreasing metal bioavailability. Finally, threshold limits defined by Brazilian legislation for soil quality and land disposal of dredged sediments are not sufficient to prevent noxious effects on soil fauna and should be complemented with a preliminary ecotoxicological evaluation.  相似文献   

Ba同位素揭示上地幔中广泛存在再循环的沉积物     

Sune G.Nielsen  Tristan J.Horner  Helena V.Pryer  Jerzy Blusztajn  Yunchao Shu  Mark D.Kurz  Veronique Le Roux 《矿物岩石地球化学通报》2018,(4)

正Ba同位素由于具有在低温环境中分馏的特性,相比放射性同位素与微量元素,可以更好地示踪地球深部动力学过程中的再循环物质。研究表明沉积物与蚀变洋壳具有明显不同的Ba同位素组成(沉积物富集来自重晶石的Ba),使得Ba同位素成为研究表层与地幔储库间物质交换的有力工具。最近美国伍兹霍尔海洋研究所报道了来自全球洋中脊的21个MORB样品的Ba、Sr、Nd同位素和微量元素组成以及两个钻井中沉积物和蚀变洋壳  相似文献   

Coastal erosion risk assessment to discuss mitigation strategies: Barra-Vagueira,Portugal     

Ferreira  A. M.  Coelho  C.  Narra  P. 《Natural Hazards》2021,105(1):1069-1107

Natural Hazards - Worldwide coastal zones present serious erosion problems that cause loss of territory. This phenomenon exposes people and goods to the threat, being necessary to carry out a...  相似文献   

Interpolation by regularized spline with tension: II. Application to terrain modeling and surface geometry analysis   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Helena Mitáová  Jaroslav Hofierka 《Mathematical Geology》1993,25(6):657-669

A general approach to the computation of basic topographic parameters independent of the spatial distribution of given elevation data is developed. The approach is based on an interpolation function with regular first and second order derivatives and on application of basic principles of differential geometry. General equations for computation of profile, plan, and tangential curvatures are derived. A new algorithm for construction of slope curves is developed using a combined grid and vector approach. Resulting slope curves better fulfill the condition of orthogonality to contours than standard grid algorithms. Presented methods are applied to topographic analysis of a watershed in central Illinois.  相似文献   

Big Earth data: disruptive changes in Earth observation data management and analysis?     

Martin Sudmanns  Dirk Tiede  Stefan Lang  Helena Bergstedt  Georg Trost  Hannah Augustin 《International Journal of Digital Earth》2020,13(7):832-850

ABSTRACT

Turning Earth observation (EO) data consistently and systematically into valuable global information layers is an ongoing challenge for the EO community. Recently, the term ‘big Earth data’ emerged to describe massive EO datasets that confronts analysts and their traditional workflows with a range of challenges. We argue that the altered circumstances must be actively intercepted by an evolution of EO to revolutionise their application in various domains. The disruptive element is that analysts and end-users increasingly rely on Web-based workflows. In this contribution we study selected systems and portals, put them in the context of challenges and opportunities and highlight selected shortcomings and possible future developments that we consider relevant for the imminent uptake of big Earth data.  相似文献   

Paleoenvironmental evolution of the Paratethys in the Slovenian Basin during the Late Paleogene     

Gerhard?SchmiedlEmail author  Maria?Scherbacher  Angela?A.?Bruch  Bogomir?Jelen  James?H.?Nebelsick  Christoph?Hemleben  Volker?Mosbrugger  Helena?Rifelj 《International Journal of Earth Sciences》2002,91(1):123-132

Several sections from the uppermost Eocene and Oligocene of northern Slovenia have been investigated with respect to sedimentary facies, foraminiferal assemblages, stable isotopes, carbonate microfacies, and palynology. The main objective was to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental history of the Paleogene Paratethys in this region of the eastern Alpine realm. The sediments exhibit a transgressive succession beginning with conglomerates, sandstones, and mudstones of fluvial and lacustrine origin followed by carbonates and muddy marls indicating marine conditions. The foraminiferal faunal changes from brackish to shallow marine to deeper marine assemblages and the distribution of the palynofloras corroborate the sedimentological results. Microfacies analysis of the limestones shows a wide variation of shallow water, generally mud-rich facies dominated by coralline algae, foraminifera, and corals. Microfaunas adapted to low-oxygen conditions indicate temporal sluggish bottom-water circulation which can be associated with high fresh-water fluxes. These results are discussed as reflecting both the global sea-level rise during the Early Oligocene and the regional tectonic and climatic evolution.  相似文献   

Contribution of SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronology to unravelling the evolution of Brazilian Neoproterozoic fold belts     

Miguel Angelo Stipp Basei  Benjamim Bley Brito Neves  Oswaldo Siga Junior  Marly Babinski  Marcio Martins Pimentel  Colombo Celso Gaeta Tassinari  Maria Helena Bezerra Hollanda  Allen Nutman  Umberto Giuseppe Cordani 《Precambrian Research》2010

The South-American continent is constituted of three major geologic–geotectonic entities: the homonym platform (consolidated at the end of the Cambrian), the Andean chain (essentially Meso-Cenozoic) and the Patagonian terrains, affected by tectonism and magmatism through almost all of the Phanerozoic. The platform is constituted by a series of cratonic nuclei (pre-Tonian, fragments of the Rodinia fission) surrounded by a complex fabric of Neoproterozoic structural provinces.  相似文献   

The Response of Estuarine Macrobenthic Communities to Natural- and Human-Induced Changes: Dynamics and Ecological Quality     

João Magalhães Neto  Heliana Teixeira  Joana Patrício  Alexandra Baeta  Helena Veríssimo  Rute Pinto  João Carlos Marques 《Estuaries and Coasts》2010,33(6):1327-1339

Anthropogenic activities are a disturbance factor of coastal systems and can be widely recognized as a major threat to the health of coastal systems. However, natural events cannot be disregarded from management issues because of their significant influence on the communities living in these areas. Based on long-term subtidal data from the Mondego Estuary (Portugal), the effects of natural events (e.g., floods and droughts) on macrobenthic communities were compared with the anthropogenic events. Sampling stations were grouped into characteristic zones (mouth, north arm, south arm) so the community dynamics of each of these estuarine areas could be followed over time. Environmental assessment was performed for stations using the Benthic Assessment Tool (BAT), and compared with the existing pressures. Human impacts persist over a number of years and gradually reduce ecosystem health, as discussed in the European Water Framework Directive. Paradoxically, natural events cause stronger impacts but are of a shorter duration, which allows for a faster recovery of macrobenthic communities. The study showed that caution should be taken when developing and implementing water policies so as not to disregard the importance of the different events (natural and human-caused) on the ecosystem health (e.g., community degradation and water quality and ecological quality status assessment).  相似文献