Abnormal fluid pressures caused by deposition and erosion of sedimentary basins
Gravitational loading or unloading due to deposition or erosion in sedimentary basins is one of the most common mechanisms responsible for abnormal fluid pressures in geologic formations. This paper examines the integrated response of fluid pressures to both deposition and erosion using vertical one-dimensional numerical models. The modeling results show that vertical loading and unloading of sedimentary basins containing thick interbeds of low permeability can give rise to abnormal fluid pressure-depth trends that closely resemble those observed in the field. On a geological time scale, an under-pressured formation may become normally pressured or over-pressured and vice versa because of transient flow induced by vertical geologic movements. A case study in the Guymon area of Texas County, Oklahoma, shows that there are two underpressured reservoirs in this area. The burial curve constructed from geologic information indicates that this area has undergone multiple subsidence and uplift events. Based on stratigraphic information, a vertical geologic section of this area is represented by a numerical model consisting of two reservoir formations and two shale (confining) units. The numerical model is able to reproduce the observed pressure abnormalities based on the drill-stem test (DST) data. The hydraulic conductivities of the two shale formations are estimated to be 4.2 × 10 and 5.1× 10 m s from model calibration.q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.
Assessing Alternative Scenarios for the Cause of Underpressures in the Ordovician Sediments along the Eastern Flank of the Michigan Basin
Geoscientific investigations for a proposed deep geologic repository at the Bruce Site, located on the eastern flank of the Michigan Basin, have identified unique and significant underpressured conditions. Along with the measurement of environmental tracer profiles (e.g., helium), this study aims to explore, through a series of numerical simulations, the nature of long-term phenomena responsible for the generation and preservation of formation underpressures. Three families of inverse numerical experiments for underpressure formation were examined by means of one-dimensional hydromechanically coupled models through the vertical hydrostratigraphic column: (i) uncertainty in glaciation scenarios; (ii) uncertainty in initial heads prior to glaciation; and (iii) uncertainty in the degree of hydraulic connectivity between the more permeable Guelph Formation at the Bruce Site and the applied glacial loading, for a total of 20 scenarios, assuming fully saturated conditions. Underpressured initial heads for the paleohydrogeologic simulations lead to lower calibrated vertical hydraulic conductivities. The robustness and resilience of the groundwater system to external perturbations are greater for the state where underpressured conditions predate the onset of glaciation and are better able to preserve the present day helium tracer profile in 260 Ma exhumation analyses.
The Inca Occupation of the South Coast of Peru
like the others, however; it forks into several nearly parallel ravines of which the largest are Huayuri, Rio Grande-Palpa, Ingenio (called Collao in ancient times), Nasca proper (the ancient Caxamarca), Taruga, and Poroma. Due to peculiarities of the local topography, the irrigated areas in Ica and the ravines of Nasca are located inland, at the foot of the mountains, rather than at the mouths of the rivers as is more usual in Peruvian coastal valleys. No sharp natural or cultural boundary separates the valley of Chincha from the valleys of Cafiete (ancient Huarco and Runahuana), Asia, and Mala, the next valleys going up the coast to the northwest. At the other end of the area we are considering, however, there is a sharp break; beyond Yauca the Andean foothills reach out to the sea, natural conditions are quite different, and there are important differences in the archaeological picture as well. The historical sources which mention the south coast are not particularly helpful, except in so far as they provide us with a few dates. To begin with, no chronicler gives an explicit account of the political organization of the south coast at the time it came into contact with the Incas. It can, perhaps, be inferred from Cabello Balboa's statements about common policy toward the Inca invaders that there was some sort of political connection between the valleys of Mala, Cafiete, and Chincha, but the connection need have been no more than a temporary military alliance. Cabello makes no mention at all of Pisco. The valleys of Ica, Nasca, and 125