The petroleum generation potential and effective oil window of humic coals related to coal composition and age

A worldwide data set of more than 500 humic coals from the major coal-forming geological periods has been used to analyse the evolution in the remaining (Hydrogen Index, HI) and total (Quality Index, QI) generation potentials with increasing thermal maturity and the ‘effective oil window’ (‘oil expulsion window’). All samples describe HI and QI bands that are broad at low maturities and that gradually narrow with increasing maturity. The oil generation potential is completely exhausted at a vitrinite reflectance of 2.0–2.2%R_o or T_max of 500–510 °C. The initial large variation in the generation potential is related to the original depositional conditions, particularly the degree of marine influence and the formation of hydrogen-enriched vitrinite, as suggested by increased sulphur and hydrogen contents. During initial thermal maturation the HI increases to a maximum value, HI_max. Similarly, QI increases to a maximum value, QI_max. This increase in HI and QI is related to the formation of an additional generation potential in the coal structure. The decline in QI with further maturation is indicating onset of initial oil expulsion, which precedes efficient expulsion. Liquid petroleum generation from humic coals is thus a complex, three-phase process: (i) onset of petroleum generation, (ii) petroleum build-up in the coal, and (iii) initial oil expulsion followed by efficient oil expulsion (corresponding to the effective oil window). Efficient oil expulsion is indicated by a decline in the Bitumen Index (BI) when plotted against vitrinite reflectance or T_max. This means that in humic coals the vitrinite reflectance or T_max values at which onset of petroleum generation occurs cannot be used to establish the start of the effective oil window. The start of the effective oil window occurs within the vitrinite reflectance range 0.85–1.05%R_o or T_max range 440–455 °C and the oil window extends to 1.5–2.0%R_o or 470–510 °C. For general use, an effective oil window is proposed to occur from 0.85 to 1.7%R_o or from 440 to 490 °C. Specific ranges for HI_max and the effective oil window can be defined for Cenozoic, Jurassic, Permian, and Carboniferous coals. Cenozoic coals reach the highest HI_max values (220–370 mg HC/g TOC), and for the most oil-prone Cenozoic coals the effective oil window may possibly range from 0.65 to 2.0%R_o or 430 to 510 °C. In contrast, the most oil-prone Jurassic, Permian and Carboniferous coals reach the expulsion threshold at a vitrinite reflectance of 0.85–0.9%R_o or T_max of 440–445 °C.     

Risø 1978: Further investigations into the effects of local terrain irregularities on tower-measured wind profiles

Observations of flow over complex terrain taken at Risø during June–July 1978 and numerical studies confirm earlier findings that small variations in surface elevation have significant effects on mean wind profiles. Measured shear stresses in the nonequilibrium region of the flow are consistent with theory but quite different from those obtained assuming simple flux-profile relationships. These findings imply that flux-profile relationships can be quite complicated over other than simple homogeneous terrain.     

Grain boundary and volume diffusion experiments in yttrium aluminium garnet bicrystals at 1,723 K: a miniaturized study

Yb-Y inter-diffusion along a single grain boundary of a synthetic yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) bicrystal has been studied using analytical transmission electron microscopy (ATEM). To investigate the diffusion, a thin-film containing Yb as the diffusant was deposited perpendicular to the bicrystal grain boundary by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Structural properties and their change with time in both the diffusant source and the grain boundary are reported. The diffusion profiles are incorporated in a numerical diffusion model, which is applied to determine the grain boundary diffusion coefficient, D _gb , at 1.723 K it is equal to 3 × 10⁻¹⁵ m²/s. We find that grain boundary diffusion is 4.85 orders of magnitude faster than volume diffusion, which was determined from the same diffusion experiment. This result is discussed in the context of special versus general grain boundaries. Finally, we successfully tested the capability of synchrotron-based nano-X-ray fluorescence analysis to map micro-chemical patterns in two dimensions with sub-micrometre resolution.     

A seismological study of shallow weak micro-earthquakes in the urban area of Hamburg city,Germany, and its possible relation to salt dissolution

In the night from 8/9 April 2009, shortly after midnight on Maundy Thursday before Easter, several people in Gross Flottbek, Hamburg, felt unusual strong ground shocks so that some of them left their houses in fear of earthquake shaking. Police and fire brigade received phone calls of worried residents. A few days later, Internet pages were published where people reported their observations. On 21 April 2009 at about 8 p.m. local time, a second ground-shaking event was felt. Damage to buildings or infrastructure did not occur to our knowledge. The Institute of Geophysics, University of Hamburg, installed from 22 April to 17 May 2009 three temporal seismic stations in the epicentral area. Seismological data from two nearby stations at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron at 1 km and the Geophysical Institute at 7 km distance were collected and integrated to the temporal network. The events occurred above the roof of the shallow Othmarschen Langenfelde salt diapir, in an area known for active sinkhole formation and previous historic ground-shaking events. The analysis of the seismological data shows that three shallow micro-earthquakes occurred from 8 to 21 April at a depth of about 100 m, the largest one with a moment magnitude of about M _W 0.6. Depth location of such shallow events is difficult with standard methods and is here constrained by waveform modeling of surface waves. Earthquakes occurring in soft sediments within the uppermost 100 m are a rare phenomena and cannot be explained by standard models. Rupture process in soft sediments differs from those on faults in more competent rock. We discuss the rupture and source mechanism of the events in the context of previous historic shocks and existing sinkhole and deformation data. Although the event was weak, the rupture duration of 0.3 s was unusual long. Three possible models for the generation of repeated ground-shaking events in Gross Flottbek are developed and discussed, implying quit different hazards for subsidence, ground motion, and sinkhole formation. Our favored model postulates that roof failure occurs in an existing soil cavity beneath the epicenter at a depth of about 100 m. Other models bearing a smaller geo-hazard cannot be disproved with the data available, but future geophysical experiments may be planned to resolve this question.     

Multiple-Thread Model of a Prominence Observed by Sumer and eit on Soho

A quiescent polar crown prominence was observed at Meudon in Hα and Ca ii lines, and by EIT and SUMER on board SOHO in UV lines from 9 to 10 March 1996. SUMER observed the prominence continuously in a scanning mode between 21:40 UT on 9 March, and 18:13 UT on 10 March, in the nitrogen line N v (λ1238) with a 1 arc sec² resolution. Altogether 190 prominence images (121×108 pixels) were obtained. These are presented in a movie. The prominence is highly dynamic. Large-scale features, such as mixed loop systems and dark cavities are changing on time scales of a few hours. Filamentary structure is evident and is changing within a few frames of the movie. A lifetime of 20–25 min for the fine structure has been found by the autocorrelation method. We have statistically analysed the three moments of the N v line in the prominence: line intensity, Doppler shift and linewidth, in the context of a multiple-thread model. We find that the data are consistent with a model where the prominence is assumed to be an ensemble of small threads. In the brightest parts of the prominence it is possible that there are many unresolved threads (15–20) along the line of sight with diameters smaller than a few hundred kilometers. The filling factor is probably very small and in that case the structures occupy only a fraction of the volume. Supplementary material to this paper is available in electronic form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1005151015043