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Conduit System (conduit + system)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Earth and Environmental Science	71%

Selected Abstracts

Hydrogeological Characteristics of a Karst Mountainous Catchment in the Northwest of Vietnam

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 3 2001
V. T. TAM
Abstract This paper presents a preliminary assessment of the hydrogeological characteristics of a karst mountainous catchment, the Suoi Muoi River catchment, in the northwest of Vietnam. The catchment is located at 600,700 m a.s.l. and covers an area of 284 km. Exposed limestone occupies 32% of the total catchment area. Various types of assessments have been carried out, including geological and hydrogeological field surveys, cave surveys, dye-tracer tests, meteorological and surface water monitoring. Geological studies and cave surveys have identified the most important active cave/conduit systems within the catchment. Although these data are essential, they are insufficient to make a comprehensive appraisal of the hydrologic nature of the catchment under interest. An attempt was made to calculate a global water balance of the catchment, based on short-term (15 months) meteorological and streamflow records. The results show that, despite the existence of a number of substantial cavern conduit systems, the groundwater system of the catchment is governed by the fracture/fissure matrix. The cavern conduit systems only collect groundwater from the adjacent fracture matrix and/or connect topographically isolated surface watercourses. The groundwater storage of the cavern conduit systems appears to be regionally insignificant in comparison with the governed fracture matrix groundwater system. [source]

Invasion of a karst aquifer by hydrothermal fluids: evidence from stable isotopic compositions of cave mineralization

GEOFLUIDS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2001
S. H. Bottrell
Abstract Mineral deposits in the Cupp-Coutunn/Promeszutochnaya cave system (Turkmenia, central Asia) record a phase of hydrothermal activity within a pre-existing karstic groundwater conduit system. Hydrothermal fluids entered the caves through fault zones and deposited sulphate, sulphide and carbonate minerals under phreatic conditions. Locally, intense alteration of limestone wall rocks also occurred at this stage. Elsewhere in the region, similar faults contain economic quantities of galena and elemental sulphur mineralization. Comparisons between the Pb and S isotope compositions of minerals found in cave and ore deposits confirm the link between economic mineralization and hydrothermal activity at Cupp-Coutunn. The predominance of sulphate mineralization in Cupp-Coutunn implies that the fluids were more oxidized in the higher permeability zone associated with the karst aquifer. A slight increase in the ,34S of sulphate minerals and a corresponding ,34S decrease in sulphides suggest that partial isotopic equilibration occurred during oxidation. Carbonate minerals indicate that the hydrothermal fluid was enriched in 18O (,18OSMOW , + 10,) relative to meteoric groundwater and seawater. Estimated values for ,13CDIC (,13CPDB , , 13,) are consistent with compositions expected for dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) derived from the products of thermal decomposition of organic matter and dissolution of marine carbonate. Values derived for ,13CDIC and ,18Owater indicate that the hydrothermal fluid was of basinal brine origin, generated by extensive water,rock interaction. Following the hydrothermal phase, speleothemic minerals were precipitated under vadose conditions. Speleothemic sulphates show a bimodal sulphur isotope distribution. One group has compositions similar to the hydrothermal sulphates, whilst the second group is characterized by higher ,34S values. This latter group may either record the effects of microbial sulphate reduction, or reflect the introduction of sulphate-rich groundwater generated by the dissolution of overlying evaporites. Oxygen isotope compositions show that calcite speleothems were precipitated from nonthermal groundwater of meteoric origin. Carbonate speleothems are relatively enriched in 13C compared to most cave deposits, but can be explained by normal speleothem-forming processes under thin, arid-zone soils dominated by C4 vegetation. However, the presence of sulphate speleothems, with isotopic compositions indicative of the oxidation of hydrothermal sulphide, implies that CO2 derived by reaction of limestone with sulphuric acid (,condensation corrosion') contributed to the formation of 13C-enriched speleothem deposits. [source]

Karst Spring Responses Examined by Process-Based Modeling

GROUND WATER, Issue 6 2006
Steffen Birk
Ground water in karst terrains is highly vulnerable to contamination due to the rapid transport of contaminants through the highly conductive conduit system. For contamination risk assessment purposes, information about hydraulic and geometric characteristics of the conduits and their hydraulic interaction with the fissured porous rock is an important prerequisite. The relationship between aquifer characteristics and short-term responses to recharge events of both spring discharge and physicochemical parameters of the discharged water was examined using a process-based flow and transport model. In the respective software, a pipe-network model, representing fast conduit flow, is coupled to MODFLOW, which simulates flow in the fissured porous rock. This hybrid flow model was extended to include modules simulating heat and reactive solute transport in conduits. The application of this modeling tool demonstrates that variations of physicochemical parameters, such as solute concentration and water temperature, depend to a large extent on the intensity and duration of recharge events and provide information about the structure and geometry of the conduit system as well as about the interaction between conduits and fissured porous rock. Moreover, the responses of solute concentration and temperature of spring discharge appear to reflect different processes, thus complementing each other in the aquifer characterization. [source]

Accumulation Mechanisms and Evolution History of the Giant Puguang Gas Field, Sichuan Basin, China

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 1 2009
Fang HAO
Abstract: Solid bitumens were found throughout the carbonate reservoirs in the Puguang gas field, the largest gas field so far found in marine carbonates in China, confirming that the Puguang gas field evolved from a paleo-oil reservoir. The fluid conduit system at the time of intensive oil accumulation in the field was reconstructed, and petroleum migration pathways were modeled using a 3-D model and traced by geochemical parameters. The forward modeling and inversion tracing coincided with each other and both indicated that oils accumulated in the Puguang-Dongyuezhai structure originated from a generative kitchen to the northwest of the Puguang gas field. The deposition of organic-rich Upper Permian source rocks dominated by sapropelic organic matter in the Northeast Sichuan Basin, the development of fluid conduit system that was vertically near-source rock and laterally near-generative kitchen, and the focusing of oils originated from a large area of the generative kitchen, were the three requirements for the formation of the giant paleo-oil reservoir from which the giant Puguang gas field evolved. The Puguang gas field had experienced a three-stage evolution. The post-accumulation processes, especially the organic-inorganic interaction in the hydrocarbon-water-rock system, had not only profoundly altered the composition and characteristics of the petroleum fluids, but also obviously changed the physicochemical conditions in the reservoir and resulted in complicated precipitation and solution of carbonate minerals. [source]

Dynamic Systems of Petroleum Accumulation in the Nanpu Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 5 2010
LIU Guangdi
Abstract: It is significant to distinguish the dynamic systems of petroleum accumulation (DSPA) for the understanding of petroleum accumulation and distribution. According to the formation pressure framework, genetic types of petroleum and characteristics of conduit systems, three dynamic systems of petroleum accumulation were identified in the vertical profile in the Nanpu depression, Bohai Bay basin. The deeper DSPA (including formations Es3 to Es2) is a sealed system with high-overpressure and high-mature self-sourced oil. Most of the crude oil in the system accumulated in the periods of late Oligocene (23.5 Ma) and late Pliocene (2.4 Ma). The middle DSPA (including formations Es1 to Ed1) is an overpressured half-sealed system with mature or lower-mature self-sourced oil. The accumulation of oil in the system also occurred in the late Oligocene (23.5 Ma) and late Pliocene (2.4 Ma). The shallower DSPA (including formations Ed2 to Q) is a hydrostatic system with lower-mature alien-sourced oil from the middle system. Oil within this system accumulated only in the late Pliocene period. The oil in the shallower system migrated vertically along the faults from the formerly accumulated oil in the middle system by lateral migration along the sandbodies, whereas petroleum accumulation in the deeper system was mainly derived from the system itself by lateral migration along the sandbodies and rarely migrated out of the system. In this case, it seems that the deeper system is a more potential exploration prospect in addition to the other two proved favorable systems. [source]