Outokumpu Deep Drill Hole: Window to the Precambrian bedrock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heinonen, Suvi; Kietäväinen, Riikka; Ahonen, Lasse; Kukkonen, Ilmo

2017-04-01

Outokumpu Deep Drill Hole is located in eastern Finland, at latitude 62°43'4'' N and longitude 29°3'43'' E. This 2516 m long and fully cored deep hole has been utilized as a geolaboratory open for researchers worldwide since it was drilled in 2004-2005. The 220 mm diameter drill hole is open without a casing (excluding the uppermost 40 m) and thus provides a direct access to in situ conditions to 2.5 km depth. There is a wide range of wire-line logs carried out by the drilling contractor and later by ICDP (International Continental Scientific Drilling Program) in several logging sessions for geothermal, hydrogeological and deep biosphere studies. Lithology, metamorphism, fluid inclusions, density, magnetic properties, seismic velocities and thermal properties of the drill core have been studied by several international groups. The hole has kept open since the end of drilling enabling future studies to be conducted in it. The drill hole is situated in the southwestern part of the Outokumpu historical mining district famous for its Cu-Co-Zn sulfide deposits. These sulfide deposits are hosted by 1.96 Ga old ophiolitic rock types, known as the Outokumpu assemblage, also penetrated by the deep drill hole at 1314-1515 m depth. Laboratory and in situ petrophysical measurements have provided valuable information about physical properties of the typical rocks of the area that can be utilized in the mineral exploration efforts. The drill site of Outokumpu was chosen based on strong reflectivity observed in the high resolution seismic profiles acquired earlier in the area. Outokumpu Deep Drill Hole revealed that these reflections originate from the acoustic impedance variations caused by the ore hosting Outokumpu assemblage. In 2006, surface seismic reflection and vertical seismic profiling (VSP) data were measured in the drill site, and these data show that not only is Outokumpu assemblage rocks reflective but also water bearing fracture at 965 m depth is observed as a strong reflector. This fracture, as well as other fractures penetrated by the drill hole, contains saline water and gases, mainly methane, nitrogen, hydrogen and helium. Salinity of water in the deeper part (>1000 m) of the drill hole has continuously increased since the drilling. Gas-rich water slowly seeps upward and bubble out at the water table. In total, five different water types have been discerned along the drill hole by geochemical and isotopic methods and residence times up to 58 Ma indicated by the accumulation of noble gases. Microbiological studies in the Outokumpu Deep Drill Hole show that not only do different fracture zones act as places for shift in groundwater chemistry but also in the microbial communities. After a decade of research, Outokumpu drill hole site is geologically well known and thus provides a good environment to test new tools developed for exploration, microbiological or hydrogeological purposes, for example. Geological Survey of Finland is open for new research collaboration projects related to the drill site.

30 CFR 203.30 - Which leases are eligible for royalty relief as a result of drilling a phase 2 or phase 3 ultra...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... a result of drilling a phase 2 or phase 3 ultra-deep well? 203.30 Section 203.30 Mineral Resources... REVENUE MANAGEMENT RELIEF OR REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Ultra-Deep Wells on Leases Not Subject to Deep Water Royalty Relief § 203.30 Which leases...

An Industry/DOE Program to Develop and Benchmark Advanced Diamond Product Drill Bits and HP/HT Drilling Fluids to Significantly Improve Rates of Penetration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

TerraTek

2007-06-30

A deep drilling research program titled 'An Industry/DOE Program to Develop and Benchmark Advanced Diamond Product Drill Bits and HP/HT Drilling Fluids to Significantly Improve Rates of Penetration' was conducted at TerraTek's Drilling and Completions Laboratory. Drilling tests were run to simulate deep drilling by using high bore pressures and high confining and overburden stresses. The purpose of this testing was to gain insight into practices that would improve rates of penetration and mechanical specific energy while drilling under high pressure conditions. Thirty-seven test series were run utilizing a variety of drilling parameters which allowed analysis of the performance ofmore » drill bits and drilling fluids. Five different drill bit types or styles were tested: four-bladed polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC), 7-bladed PDC in regular and long profile, roller-cone, and impregnated. There were three different rock types used to simulate deep formations: Mancos shale, Carthage marble, and Crab Orchard sandstone. The testing also analyzed various drilling fluids and the extent to which they improved drilling. The PDC drill bits provided the best performance overall. The impregnated and tungsten carbide insert roller-cone drill bits performed poorly under the conditions chosen. The cesium formate drilling fluid outperformed all other drilling muds when drilling in the Carthage marble and Mancos shale with PDC drill bits. The oil base drilling fluid with manganese tetroxide weighting material provided the best performance when drilling the Crab Orchard sandstone.« less

30 CFR 203.45 - If I drill a certified unsuccessful well, what royalty relief will my lease earn?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Deep Gas Wells on Leases Not Subject to Deep Water Royalty Relief § 203.45 If I drill a certified unsuccessful well, what... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false If I drill a certified unsuccessful well, what...

New Era of Scientific Ocean Drilling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eguchi, N.; Toczko, S.; Sanada, Y.; Igarashi, C.; Kubo, Y.; Maeda, L.; Sawada, I.; Takase, K.; Kyo, N.

2014-12-01

The D/V Chikyu, committed to scientific ocean drilling since 2007, has completed thirteen IODP expeditions, and Chikyu's enhanced drilling technology gives us the means to reach deep targets, enhanced well logging, deep water riserless drilling, and state of the art laboratory. Chikyu recovered core samples from 2466 meters below sea floor (mbsf) in IODP Exp. 337, and drilled to 3058.5 mbsf in IODP Exp. 348, but these are still not the limit of Chikyu's capability. As deep as these depths are, they are just halfway to the 5200 mbsf plate boundary target for the NanTroSEIZE deep riser borehole. There are several active IODP proposals in the pipeline. Each has scientific targets requiring several thousand meters of penetration below the sea floor. Riser technology is the only way to collect samples and data from that depth. Well logging has been enhanced with the adoption of riser drilling, especially for logging-while-drilling (LWD). LWD has several advantages over wireline logging, and provides more opportunities for continuous measurements even in unstable boreholes. Because of the larger diameter of riser pipes and enhanced borehole stability, Chikyu can use several state-of-the-art downhole tools, e.g. fracture tester, fluid sampling tool, wider borehole imaging, and the latest sonic tools. These new technologies and tools can potentially expand the envelope of scientific ocean drilling. Chikyu gives us access to ultra-deep water riserless drilling. IODP Exp. 343/343T investigating the March 2011 Tohoku Oki Earthquake, explored the toe of the landward slope of the Japan Trench. This expedition reached the plate boundary fault target at more than 800 mbsf in water depths over 6900 m for logging-while-drilling, coring, and observatory installation. This deep-water drilling capability also expands the scientific ocean drilling envelope and provides access to previously unreachable targets. On top of these operational capabilities, Chikyu's onboard laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art instruments to analyze all science samples. X-ray CT creates non-destructive 3D images of core samples providing high resolution structural detail. The microbiology laboratory offers clean and contamination-free work environments required for microbiological samples.

30 CFR 203.30 - Which leases are eligible for royalty relief as a result of drilling a phase 2 or phase 3 ultra...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... a result of drilling a phase 2 or phase 3 ultra-deep well? 203.30 Section 203.30 Mineral Resources... for royalty relief as a result of drilling a phase 2 or phase 3 ultra-deep well? Your lease may... longitude in water depths entirely less than 400 meters deep. (b) The lease has not produced gas or oil from...

30 CFR 203.30 - Which leases are eligible for royalty relief as a result of drilling a phase 2 or phase 3 ultra...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... a result of drilling a phase 2 or phase 3 ultra-deep well? 203.30 Section 203.30 Mineral Resources... for royalty relief as a result of drilling a phase 2 or phase 3 ultra-deep well? Your lease may... longitude in water depths entirely less than 400 meters deep. (b) The lease has not produced gas or oil from...

30 CFR 203.30 - Which leases are eligible for royalty relief as a result of drilling a phase 2 or phase 3 ultra...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... a result of drilling a phase 2 or phase 3 ultra-deep well? 203.30 Section 203.30 Mineral Resources... for royalty relief as a result of drilling a phase 2 or phase 3 ultra-deep well? Your lease may... longitude in water depths entirely less than 400 meters deep. (b) The lease has not produced gas or oil from...

30 CFR 203.43 - To which production do I apply the RSV earned from qualified deep wells or qualified phase 1...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... INTERIOR MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT RELIEF OR REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Deep Gas Wells on Leases Not Subject to Deep Water Royalty Relief § 203.43 To... less than 200 meters deep, you began drilling an original deep well with a perforated interval the top...

30 CFR 203.44 - What administrative steps must I take to use the royalty suspension volume?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Deep Gas Wells on... in writing of your intent to begin drilling operations on all deep wells and phase 1 ultra-deep wells...

OPTIMIZATION OF DEEP DRILLING PERFORMANCE--DEVELOPMENT AND BENCHMARK TESTING OF ADVANCED DIAMOND PRODUCT DRILL BITS & HP/HT FLUIDS TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE RATES OF PENETRATION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alan Black; Arnis Judzis

2004-10-01

The industry cost shared program aims to benchmark drilling rates of penetration in selected simulated deep formations and to significantly improve ROP through a team development of aggressive diamond product drill bit--fluid system technologies. Overall the objectives are as follows: Phase 1--Benchmark ''best in class'' diamond and other product drilling bits and fluids and develop concepts for a next level of deep drilling performance; Phase 2--Develop advanced smart bit-fluid prototypes and test at large scale; and Phase 3--Field trial smart bit-fluid concepts, modify as necessary and commercialize products. As of report date, TerraTek has concluded all major preparations for themore » high pressure drilling campaign. Baker Hughes encountered difficulties in providing additional pumping capacity before TerraTek's scheduled relocation to another facility, thus the program was delayed further to accommodate the full testing program.« less

30 CFR 203.42 - What conditions and limitations apply to royalty relief for deep wells and phase 1 ultra-deep wells?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... or deeper, your lease cannot earn an RSV under § 203.41 as a result of drilling any subsequent deep wells or phase 1 ultra-deep wells. (b) You determine RSV under § 203.41 for the first qualified deep... wells, that determination establishes the total RSV available for that drilling depth interval on your...

30 CFR 203.42 - What conditions and limitations apply to royalty relief for deep wells and phase 1 ultra-deep wells?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... or deeper, your lease cannot earn an RSV under § 203.41 as a result of drilling any subsequent deep wells or phase 1 ultra-deep wells. (b) You determine RSV under § 203.41 for the first qualified deep... wells, that determination establishes the total RSV available for that drilling depth interval on your...

30 CFR 203.42 - What conditions and limitations apply to royalty relief for deep wells and phase 1 ultra-deep wells?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... or deeper, your lease cannot earn an RSV under § 203.41 as a result of drilling any subsequent deep wells or phase 1 ultra-deep wells. (b) You determine RSV under § 203.41 for the first qualified deep... wells, that determination establishes the total RSV available for that drilling depth interval on your...

30 CFR 203.42 - What conditions and limitations apply to royalty relief for deep wells and phase 1 ultra-deep wells?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Deep Gas Wells on Leases Not... royalty relief under § 203.41. If . . . Then . . . (a) Your lease has produced gas or oil from a well with... RSV under § 203.41 as a result of drilling any subsequent deep wells or phase 1 ultra-deep wells. (b...

IODP Expedition 337: Deep Coalbed Biosphere off Shimokita - Microbial processes and hydrocarbon system associated with deeply buried coalbed in the ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inagaki, Fumio; Hinrichs, Kai-Uwe; Kubo, Yusuke; IODP Expedition 337 Scientists

2016-06-01

The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 337 was the first expedition dedicated to subseafloor microbiology that used riser-drilling technology with the drilling vessel Chikyu. The drilling Site C0020 is located in a forearc basin formed by the subduction of the Pacific Plate off the Shimokita Peninsula, Japan, at a water depth of 1180 m. Primary scientific objectives during Expedition 337 were to study the relationship between the deep microbial biosphere and a series of ˜ 2 km deep subseafloor coalbeds and to explore the limits of life in the deepest horizons ever probed by scientific ocean drilling. To address these scientific objectives, we penetrated a 2.466 km deep sedimentary sequence with a series of lignite layers buried around 2 km below the seafloor. The cored sediments, as well as cuttings and logging data, showed a record of dynamically changing depositional environments in the former forearc basin off the Shimokita Peninsula during the late Oligocene and Miocene, ranging from warm-temperate coastal backswamps to a cool water continental shelf. The occurrence of small microbial populations and their methanogenic activity were confirmed down to the bottom of the hole by microbiological and biogeochemical analyses. The factors controlling the size and viability of ultra-deep microbial communities in those warm sedimentary habitats could be the increase in demand of energy and water expended on the enzymatic repair of biomolecules as a function of the burial depth. Expedition 337 provided a test ground for the use of riser-drilling technology to address geobiological and biogeochemical objectives and was therefore a crucial step toward the next phase of deep scientific ocean drilling.

Method of deep drilling

DOEpatents

Colgate, Stirling A.

1984-01-01

Deep drilling is facilitated by the following steps practiced separately or in any combination: (1) Periodically and sequentially fracturing zones adjacent the bottom of the bore hole with a thixotropic fastsetting fluid that is accepted into the fracture to overstress the zone, such fracturing and injection being periodic as a function of the progression of the drill. (2) Casing the bore hole with ductile, pre-annealed casing sections, each of which is run down through the previously set casing and swaged in situ to a diameter large enough to allow the next section to run down through it. (3) Drilling the bore hole using a drill string of a low density alloy and a high density drilling mud so that the drill string is partially floated.

30 CFR 203.36 - Do I keep royalty relief if prices rise significantly?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Ultra-Deep Wells on Leases Not Subject to... drills and begins producing from a qualified phase 2 ultra-deep well in 2008 on a lease issued in 2004 in... which was exceeded. Example 2: Assume that a lessee: (1) Drills and produces from well no.1, a qualified...

Experimental Study on the Axis Line Deflection of Ti6A14V Titanium Alloy in Gun-Drilling Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Liang; Xue, Hu; Wu, Peng

2018-01-01

Titanium alloy is widely used in aerospace industry, but it is also a typical difficult-to-cut material. During Deep hole drilling of the shaft parts of a certain large aircraft, there are problems of bad surface roughness, chip control and axis deviation, so experiments on gun-drilling of Ti6A14V titanium alloy were carried out to measure the axis line deflection, diameter error and surface integrity, and the reasons of these errors were analyzed. Then, the optimized process parameter was obtained during gun-drilling of Ti6A14V titanium alloy with deep hole diameter of 17mm. Finally, we finished the deep hole drilling of 860mm while the comprehensive error is smaller than 0.2mm and the surface roughness is less than 1.6μm.

Design of a water-powered DTH hammer for deep drilling application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Min Jae; Kim, Donguk; Oh, Joo Young; Yook, Se-Jin; Kim, Young Won

2017-11-01

A DTH (Down-the-hole) hammer powered by highly pressurized fluid is a drilling tool using the motion of percussion of a drill bit. In retrospect, a DTH by using compressed air as a power source has been widely used in drilling industries such as applications of mining, geothermal etc. On the other hand, another type of a DTH that uses pressurized water, called a water hammer, has recently seen deep drilling applications, while it has been rarely investigated. In this study, we designed a water-powered DTH hammer which mainly consists of several components such as a piston, a poppet valve, a cap and a bit for deep drilling applications. We optimized the components of the hammer on the basis of the results of 1D analysis using commercial software of AMESIM. An experimental study has been also conducted to investigate a performance of the designed water hammer. We measured a pressure distribution inside the hammer system as a function of time, and it thus estimates a frequency of impaction of the bit, which has been also analyzed in frequency domain. In addition, some important parameters have been discussed in conjunction with a limitation of impaction frequency as input pressure. We believe that this study provides design rules of a water-based DTH for deep drilling applications. This work is supported by KITECH of Korean government.

Workshop Report on Deep Mars: Accessing the Subsurface of Mars on Near Term Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Langhoff, Stephanie R. (Editor)

2008-01-01

The workshop encompassed three major themes. The first theme was the scientific objectives of drilling, which center on the search for clues to the existence of past life and to the geological and climate history of Mars. Key questions are where and how deep to drill? Planetary protection issues were stressed as an important consideration in the design of any drilling mission. Secondly, architectures for drilling missions were discussed, including an overview of most of the current drills in operation that would be applicable to drilling on Mars. Considerable emphasis was placed on remote operation and drilling automation technologies. Finally, alternatives to conventional drilling were discussed. These included underground moles, penetrometers, horizontal drilling, impactors, and access to the subsurface from subsurface cavities. Considerable discussion centered on the possible Mars drilling missions that could be performed in both the near and longer term. The workshop participants concluded that useful science could be obtained today using low-cost impactors, with or without a sheperding spacecraft.

Exploring frontiers of the deep biosphere through scientific ocean drilling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inagaki, F.; D'Hondt, S.; Hinrichs, K. U.

2015-12-01

Since the first deep biosphere-dedicated Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 201 using the US drill ship JOIDES Resolution in 2002, scientific ocean drilling has offered unique opportunities to expand our knowledge of the nature and extent of the deep biosphere. The latest estimate of the global subseafloor microbial biomass is ~1029cells, accounting for 4 Gt of carbon and ~1% of the Earth's total living biomass. The subseafloor microbial communities are evolutionarily diverse and their metabolic rates are extraordinarily slow. Nevertheless, accumulating activity most likely plays a significant role in elemental cycles over geological time. In 2010, during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 329, the JOIDES Resolutionexplored the deep biosphere in the open-ocean South Pacific Gyre—the largest oligotrophic province on our planet. During Expedition 329, relatively high concentrations of dissolved oxygen and significantly low biomass of microbial populations were observed in the entire sediment column, indicating that (i) there is no limit to life in open-ocean sediment and (ii) a significant amount of oxygen reaches through the sediment to the upper oceanic crust. This "deep aerobic biosphere" inhabits the sediment throughout up to ~37 percent of the world's oceans. The remaining ~63 percent of the oceans is comprised of higher productivity areas that contain the "deep anaerobic biosphere". In 2012, during IODP Expedition 337, the Japanese drill ship Chikyu explored coal-bearing sediments down to 2,466 meters below the seafloor off the Shimokita Peninsula, Japan. Geochemical and microbiological analyses consistently showed the occurrence of methane-producing communities associated with the coal beds. Cell concentrations in deep sediments were notably lower than those expected from the global regression line, implying that the bottom of the deep biosphere is approached in these beds. Taxonomic composition of the deep coal-bearing communities profoundly differs from those in shallower marine sediments and instead resembles organotrophic communities in forest soils. These findings suggest that the terrigenous microbial ecosystem has been partly retained from the original depositional setting over 20 million years and contributed to deep carbon cycling ever since.

A Ship for Scientific Drilling.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, M. N. A.; MacTernan, F. C.

1982-01-01

Traces the history and development of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, focusing on the Glomar Challenger, drilling improvements, and international significance. Includes photographs, illustrations, and tables. (DC)

The Auto-Gopher: A Wireline Rotary-Percussive Deep Sampler

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Zacny, Kris; Badescu, Mircea; Lee, Hyeong Jae; Sherrit, Stewart; Bao, Xiaoqi; Paulsen, Gale L.; Beegle, Luther

2016-01-01

Accessing regions on planetary bodies that potentially preserved biosignatures or are presently habitable is vital to meeting NASA solar system "Search for Life" exploration objectives. To address these objectives, a wireline deep rotary-percussive corer called Auto-Gopher was developed. The percussive action provides effective material fracturing and the rotation provides effective cuttings removal. To increase the drill's penetration rate, the percussive and rotary motions are operated simultaneously. Initially, the corer was designed as a percussive mechanism for sampling ice and was demonstrated in 2005 in Antarctica reaching about 2 m deep. The lessons learned suggested the need to use a combination of rotation and hammering to maximize the penetration rate. This lesson was implemented into the Auto-Gopher-I deep drill which was demonstrated to reach 3-meter deep in gypsum. The average drilling power that was used has been in the range of 100-150 Watt, while the penetration rate was approximately 2.4 m/hr. Recently, a task has started with the goal to develop Auto-Gopher-II that is equipped to execute all the necessary functions in a single drilling unit. These functions also include core breaking, retention and ejection in addition drilling. In this manuscript, the Auto-Gopher-II, its predecessors and their capability are described and discussed.

Compilation of Reprints Number 63.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-03-01

Michel Be6, Stephen H1. Johnson, and E.F. Chiburis PRELIMINARY SEISMIC REFRACTION RESULTS USING A BOREHOLE SEISMOMETER IN DEEP SEA DRILLING PROJECT HOLE...refraction data with wells drilled on land and offshore reflection profiles permits tentative identification of geologic sequences on the basis of...PERIOD CO’VEAEO PRELIMINARY SEISMIC REFRACTION RESULTS USING A Rern BOREHOLE SEISMOMETER IN DEEP SEA DRILLING ~ rn PROJECT HOLE 395A 6.PERFORMING ORG

Geotechnical Properties of Periplatform Carbonate Sediments

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-07-01

and Atmospheric and geoacoustic parameters for similar sediments in Research Laboratory participated in Ocean Drilling other regions. Leg 101. During...this exercise sha’"w-water and midwater depth carbonate sediments from a few deep drill holes were studied extensively by Results and Recommendations...protected by the grains and are less Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 86. In: Heath, G. R., affected by consolidation than they are in matrix- Bruckle, L. H

76 FR 76689 - Cibola National Forest, Mount Taylor Ranger District, NM, Mount Taylor Combined Exploratory Drilling

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-08

... the drill pad would measure 4 by 20 feet and be approximately 5 feet deep. An estimated 1.45 acres of... the drill pad would measure 8 by 10 feet and be approximately 6 feet deep. An estimated 42.64 acres of... the proposal will be posted on the project Web site at http://www.fs.fed.us/nepa/nepa_project_exp.php...

The Newberry Deep Drilling Project (NDDP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonneville, A.; Cladouhos, T. T.; Petty, S.; Schultz, A.; Sorle, C.; Asanuma, H.; Friðleifsson, G. Ó.; Jaupart, C. P.; Moran, S. C.; de Natale, G.

2017-12-01

We present the arguments to drill a deep well to the ductile/brittle transition zone (T>400°C) at Newberry Volcano, central Oregon state, U.S.A. The main research goals are related to heat and mass transfer in the crust from the point of view of natural hazards and geothermal energy: enhanced geothermal system (EGS supercritical and beyond-brittle), volcanic hazards, mechanisms of magmatic intrusions, geomechanics close to a magmatic system, calibration of geophysical imaging techniques and drilling in a high temperature environment. Drilling at Newberry will bring additional information to a very promising field of research initiated by ICDP in the Deep Drilling project in Iceland with IDDP-1 on Krafla in 2009, followed by IDDP-2 on the Reykjanes ridge in 2016, and the future Japan Beyond-Brittle project and Krafla Magma Testbed. Newberry Volcano contains one of the largest geothermal heat reservoirs in the western United States, extensively studied for the last 40 years. All the knowledge and experience collected make this an excellent choice for drilling a well that will reach high temperatures at relatively shallow depths (< 5000 m). The large conductive thermal anomaly (320°C at 3000 m depth), has already been well-characterized by extensive drilling and geophysical surveys. This will extend current knowledge from the existing 3000 m deep boreholes at the sites into and through the brittle-ductile transition approaching regions of partial melt like lateral dykes. The important scientific questions that will form the basis of a full drilling proposal, have been addressed during an International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP) workshop held in Bend, Oregon in September 2017. They will be presented and discussed as well as the strategic plan to address them.

Advantages and limitations of remotely operated sea floor drill rigs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freudenthal, T.; Smith, D. J.; Wefer, G.

2009-04-01

A variety of research targets in marine sciences including the investigation of gas hydrates, slope stability, alteration of oceanic crust, ore formation and palaeoclimate can be addressed by shallow drilling. However, drill ships are mostly used for deep drillings, both because the effort of building up a drill string from a drill ship to the deep sea floor is tremendous and control on drill bit pressure from a movable platform and a vibrating drill string is poor especially in the upper hundred meters. During the last decade a variety of remotely operated drill rigs have been developed, that are deployed on the sea bed and operated from standard research vessels. These developments include the BMS (Bentic Multicoring System, developed by Williamson and Associates, operated by the Japanese Mining Agency), the PROD (Portable Remotely Operated Drill, developed and operated by Benthic Geotech), the Rockdrill 2 (developed and operated by the British geological Survey) and the MeBo (German abbreviation for sea floor drill rig, developed and operated by Marum, University of Bremen). These drill rigs reach drilling depths between 15 and 100 m. For shallow drillings remotely operated drill rigs are a cost effective alternative to the services of drill ships and have the major advantage that the drilling operations are performed from a stable platform independent of any ship movements due to waves, wind or currents. Sea floor drill rigs can be deployed both in shallow waters and the deep sea. A careful site survey is required before deploying the sea floor drill rig. Slope gradient, small scale topography and soil strength are important factors when planning the deployment. The choice of drill bits and core catcher depend on the expected geology. The required drill tools are stored on one or two magazines on the drill rig. The MeBo is the only remotely operated drill rig world wide that can use wire line coring technique. This method is much faster than conventional drilling. It has the advantage that the drill string stays in the drilled hole during the entire drilling process and prevents the drilled hole from collapsing while the inner core barrels comprising the drilled core sections are hooked up inside the drill string using a wire.

Contamination Tracer Testing With Seabed Rock Drills: IODP Expedition 357

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orcutt, B.; Bergenthal, M.; Freudenthal, T.; Smith, D. J.; Lilley, M. D.; Schneiders, L.; Fruh-Green, G. L.

2016-12-01

IODP Expedition 357 utilized seabed rock drills for the first time in the history of the ocean drilling program, with the aim of collecting intact core of shallow mantle sequences from the Atlantis Massif to examine serpentinization processes and the deep biosphere. This new drilling approach required the development of a new system for delivering synthetic tracers during drilling to assess for possible sample contamination. Here, we describe this new tracer delivery system, assess the performance of the system during the expedition, provide an overview of the quality of the core samples collected for deep biosphere investigations based on tracer concentrations, and make recommendations for future applications of the system.

Contamination tracer testing with seabed drills: IODP Expedition 357

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orcutt, Beth N.; Bergenthal, Markus; Freudenthal, Tim; Smith, David; Lilley, Marvin D.; Schnieders, Luzie; Green, Sophie; Früh-Green, Gretchen L.

2017-11-01

IODP Expedition 357 utilized seabed drills for the first time in the history of the ocean drilling program, with the aim of collecting intact sequences of shallow mantle core from the Atlantis Massif to examine serpentinization processes and the deep biosphere. This novel drilling approach required the development of a new remote seafloor system for delivering synthetic tracers during drilling to assess for possible sample contamination. Here, we describe this new tracer delivery system, assess the performance of the system during the expedition, provide an overview of the quality of the core samples collected for deep biosphere investigations based on tracer concentrations, and make recommendations for future applications of the system.

Analysis of the Laser Drilling Process for the Combination with a Single-Lip Deep Hole Drilling Process with Small Diameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biermann, Dirk; Heilmann, Markus

Due to the tendency of downsizing of components, also the industrial relevance of bore holes with small diameters and high length-to-diameter ratios rises with the growing requirements on parts. In these applications, the combination of laser pre-drilling and single-lip deep hole drilling can shorten the process chain in machining components with non-planar surfaces, or can reduce tool wear in machining case-hardened materials. In this research, the combination of these processes was realized and investigated for the very first time.

Drilling a deep geologic test well at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schultz, Arthur P.; Seefelt, Ellen L.

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), is drilling a deep geologic test well at Hilton Head Island, S.C. The test well is scheduled to run between mid-March and early May 2011. When completed, the well will be about 1,000 feet deep. The purpose of this test well is to gain knowledge about the regional-scale Floridan aquifer, an important source of groundwater in the Hilton Head area. Also, cores obtained during drilling will enable geologists to study the last 60 million years of Earth history in this area.

Probing reservoir-triggered earthquakes in Koyna, India, through scientific deep drilling

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gupta, H.; Nayak, Shailesh; Ellsworth, William L.; Rao, Y. J. B.; Rajan, S.; Bansal, B.K.; Purnachandra Rao, N.; Roy, S.; Arora, K.; Mohan, R.; Tiwari, V. M.; Satyanarayana, H. V. S.; Patro, P. K.; Shashidhar, D.; Mallika, K.

2014-01-01

We report here the salient features of the recently concluded International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) workshop in Koyna, India. This workshop was a sequel to the earlier held ICDP workshop in Hyderabad and Koyna in 2011. A total of 49 experts (37 from India and 12 from 8 other countries) spent 3 days reviewing the work carried out during the last 3 years based on the recommendations of the 2011 workshop and suggesting the future course of action, including detailed planning for a full deep drilling proposal in Koyna, India. It was unanimously concluded that Koyna is one of the best sites anywhere in the world to investigate genesis of triggered earthquakes from near-field observations. A broad framework of the activities for the next phase leading to deep drilling has been worked out.

A Simple and Inexpensive Technique for Assessing Microbial Contamination during Drilling Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friese, A.; Kallmeyer, J.; Wagner, D.; Kitte, J. A.

2016-12-01

Exploration of the Deep Biosphere relies on drilling, which inevitably causes infiltration of drilling fluids, containing non-indigenous microbes from the surface, into the core. Therefore it is absolutely necessary to trace contamination of the sediment core in order to identify uncontaminated samples for microbiological investigations in drill core samples. To do this, usually a tracer is mixed into the drilling fluid. In past drilling operations a variety of tracers have been used including dyes, salts, dissolved gasses, and microspheres. The latter are microbe-sized fluorescent particles that can be detected with very high sensitivity. Each tracer has its specific strengths and weaknesses, for microspheres the main problem was the high price, which limited the use to spot checks or drilling operations that require only small amounts of drilling fluid. Here, we present a modified microsphere tracer approach, using an aqueous fluorescent pigment dispersion that has a similar concentration of fluorescent particles as previously used microsphere tracers. However, compared to previous microsphere tracers, the cost of the new tracer is four orders of magnitude lower, allowing for a much more liberal use even in large-scale operations. Its suitability for large drilling campaigns was successfully tested at the ICDP Deep Drilling at Lake Towuti, Sulawesi, Indonesia and at the ICDP Deep Drilling at Lake Chalco, Mexico. Contamination can be detected by fluorescence microscopy or by flow cytometry at a sensitivity that is in the range of established techniques. Quantification of the tracer thus only requires a minimum of equipment and by using a small portable cytometer, high-resolution data can be obtained directly on-site within minutes and with minimal effort. Therefore this approach offers an inexpensive but powerful alternative technique for contamination assessment for future drilling campaigns.

30 CFR 203.35 - What administrative steps must I take to use the RSV earned by a qualified phase 2 or phase 3...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT RELIEF OR REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Ultra-Deep Wells on Leases Not Subject to Deep Water Royalty Relief § 203.35 What... Development in writing of your intent to begin drilling operations on all your ultra-deep wells. (b) Before...

Numerical analysis of wellbore instability in gas hydrate formation during deep-water drilling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Huaiwen; Cheng, Yuanfang; Li, Qingchao; Yan, Chuanliang; Han, Xiuting

2018-02-01

Gas hydrate formation may be encountered during deep-water drilling because of the large amount and wide distribution of gas hydrates under the shallow seabed of the South China Sea. Hydrates are extremely sensitive to temperature and pressure changes, and drilling through gas hydrate formation may cause dissociation of hydrates, accompanied by changes in wellbore temperatures, pore pressures, and stress states, thereby leading to wellbore plastic yield and wellbore instability. Considering the coupling effect of seepage of drilling fluid into gas hydrate formation, heat conduction between drilling fluid and formation, hydrate dissociation, and transformation of the formation framework, this study established a multi-field coupling mathematical model of the wellbore in the hydrate formation. Furthermore, the influences of drilling fluid temperatures, densities, and soaking time on the instability of hydrate formation were calculated and analyzed. Results show that the greater the temperature difference between the drilling fluid and hydrate formation is, the faster the hydrate dissociates, the wider the plastic dissociation range is, and the greater the failure width becomes. When the temperature difference is greater than 7°C, the maximum rate of plastic deformation around the wellbore is more than 10%, which is along the direction of the minimum horizontal in-situ stress and associated with instability and damage on the surrounding rock. The hydrate dissociation is insensitive to the variation of drilling fluid density, thereby implying that the change of the density of drilling fluids has a minimal effect on the hydrate dissociation. Drilling fluids that are absorbed into the hydrate formation result in fast dissociation at the initial stage. As time elapses, the hydrate dissociation slows down, but the risk of wellbore instability is aggravated due to the prolonged submersion in drilling fluids. For the sake of the stability of the wellbore in deep-water drilling through hydrate formation, the drilling fluid with low temperatures should be given priority. The drilling process should be kept under balanced pressures, and the drilling time should be shortened.

The Auto-Gopher Deep Drill

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Badescu, Mircea

2014-01-01

Subsurface penetration by coring, drilling or abrading is of great importance for a large number of space and earth applications. An Ultrasonic/Sonic Drill/Corer (USDC) has been in development at JPL's Nondestructive Evaluation and Advanced Actuators (NDEAA) lab as an adaptable tool for many of these applications. The USDC uses a novel drive mechanism to transform the high frequency ultrasonic or sonic vibrations of the tip of a horn into a lower frequency sonic hammering of a drill bit through an intermediate free-flying mass. The USDC device idea has been implemented at various scales from handheld drills to large diameter coring devices. A series of computer programs that model the function and performance of the USDC device were developed and were later integrated into an automated modeling package. The USDC has also evolved from a purely hammering drill to a rotary hammer drill as the design requirements increased form small diameter shallow drilling to large diameter deep coring. A synthesis of the Auto-Gopher development is presented in this paper.

30 CFR 203.46 - To which production do I apply the royalty suspension supplements from drilling one or two...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Deep Gas Wells on Leases Not Subject to Deep Water Royalty Relief § 203.46 To which production do I... (b): You have two shallow oil wells on your lease. Then you drill a certified unsuccessful well and...

30 CFR 203.32 - What other requirements or restrictions apply to royalty relief for a qualified phase 2 or phase...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Ultra-Deep Wells on... qualified ultra-deep well is a directional well (either an original well or a sidetrack) drilled across a...

Deep Sea Drilling Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaneps, Ansis

1977-01-01

Discusses the goals of the ocean drilling under the International Phase of Ocean Drilling, which include sampling of the ocean crust at great depths and sampling of the sedimentary sequence of active and passive continental margins. (MLH)

New scientific ocean drilling depth record extends study of subseafloor life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2012-09-01

The Japanese deep-sea drilling vessel Chikyu set a new depth record for scientific ocean drilling and core retrieval by reaching a depth of 2119.5 meters below the seafloor (mbsf) on 6 September. This is 8.5 meters deeper than the prior record, set 19 years ago. Three days later, on 9 September, Chikyu set another record by reaching a drilling depth of 2466 mbsf, the maximum depth that will be attempted during the current expedition. The 6 September record was set on day 44 of the Deep Coalbed Biosphere off Shimokita expedition, which is expedition 337 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). It occurred at drilling site C0020 in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, approximately 80 kilometers northeast from Hachinohe, Japan. The expedition is scheduled to conclude on 30 September.

SMALLER FOOTPRINT DRILLING SYSTEM FOR DEEP AND HARD ROCK ENVIRONMENTS; FEASIBILITY OF ULTRA-HIGH SPEED DIAMOND DRILLING

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alan Black; Arnis Judzis

2004-10-01

The two phase program addresses long-term developments in deep well and hard rock drilling. TerraTek believes that significant improvements in drilling deep hard rock will be obtained by applying ultra-high (greater than 10,000 rpm) rotational speeds. The work includes a feasibility of concept research effort aimed at development and test results that will ultimately result in the ability to reliably drill ''faster and deeper'' possibly with rigs having a smaller footprint to be more mobile. The principle focus is on demonstration testing of diamond bits rotating at speeds in excess of 10,000 rpm to achieve high rate of penetration rockmore » cutting with substantially lower inputs of energy and loads. The project draws on TerraTek results submitted to NASA's ''Drilling on Mars'' program. The objective of that program was to demonstrate miniaturization of a robust and mobile drilling system that expends small amounts of energy. TerraTek successfully tested ultrahigh speed ({approx}40,000 rpm) small kerf diamond coring. Adaptation to the oilfield will require innovative bit designs for full hole drilling or continuous coring and the eventual development of downhole ultra-high speed drives. For domestic operations involving hard rock and deep oil and gas plays, improvements in penetration rates is an opportunity to reduce well costs and make viable certain field developments. An estimate of North American hard rock drilling costs is in excess of $1,200 MM. Thus potential savings of $200 MM to $600 MM are possible if drilling rates are doubled [assuming bit life is reasonable]. The net result for operators is improved profit margin as well as an improved position on reserves. The significance of the ''ultra-high rotary speed drilling system'' is the ability to drill into rock at very low weights on bit and possibly lower energy levels. The drilling and coring industry today does not practice this technology. The highest rotary speed systems in oil field and mining drilling and coring today run less than 10,000 rpm--usually well below 5,000 rpm. This document details the progress to date on the program entitled ''SMALLER FOOTPRINT DRILLING SYSTEM FOR DEEP AND HARD ROCK ENVIRONMENTS; FEASIBILITY OF ULTRA-HIGH SPEED DIAMOND DRILLING'' for the period starting June 23, 2003 through September 30, 2004. TerraTek has reviewed applicable literature and documentation and has convened a project kick-off meeting with Industry Advisors in attendance. TerraTek has designed and planned Phase I bench scale experiments. Some difficulties in obtaining ultra-high speed motors for this feasibility work were encountered though they were sourced mid 2004. TerraTek is progressing through Task 3 ''Small-scale cutting performance tests''. Some improvements over early NASA experiments have been identified.« less

SMALLER FOOTPRINT DRILLING SYSTEM FOR DEEP AND HARD ROCK ENVIRONMENTS; FEASIBILITY OF ULTRA-HIGH SPEED DIAMOND DRILLING

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alan Black; Arnis Judzis

2004-10-01

The two phase program addresses long-term developments in deep well and hard rock drilling. TerraTek believes that significant improvements in drilling deep hard rock will be obtained by applying ultra-high (greater than 10,000 rpm) rotational speeds. The work includes a feasibility of concept research effort aimed at development and test results that will ultimately result in the ability to reliably drill ''faster and deeper'' possibly with rigs having a smaller footprint to be more mobile. The principle focus is on demonstration testing of diamond bits rotating at speeds in excess of 10,000 rpm to achieve high rate of penetration rockmore » cutting with substantially lower inputs of energy and loads. The project draws on TerraTek results submitted to NASA's ''Drilling on Mars'' program. The objective of that program was to demonstrate miniaturization of a robust and mobile drilling system that expends small amounts of energy. TerraTek successfully tested ultrahigh speed ({approx}40,000 rpm) small kerf diamond coring. Adaptation to the oilfield will require innovative bit designs for full hole drilling or continuous coring and the eventual development of downhole ultra-high speed drives. For domestic operations involving hard rock and deep oil and gas plays, improvements in penetration rates is an opportunity to reduce well costs and make viable certain field developments. An estimate of North American hard rock drilling costs is in excess of $1,200 MM. Thus potential savings of $200 MM to $600 MM are possible if drilling rates are doubled [assuming bit life is reasonable]. The net result for operators is improved profit margin as well as an improved position on reserves. The significance of the ''ultra-high rotary speed drilling system'' is the ability to drill into rock at very low weights on bit and possibly lower energy levels. The drilling and coring industry today does not practice this technology. The highest rotary speed systems in oil field and mining drilling and coring today run less than 10,000 rpm--usually well below 5,000 rpm. This document details the progress to date on the program entitled ''SMALLER FOOTPRINT DRILLING SYSTEM FOR DEEP AND HARD ROCK ENVIRONMENTS; FEASIBILITY OF ULTRA-HIGH SPEED DIAMOND DRILLING'' for the period starting June 23, 2003 through September 30, 2004. (1) TerraTek has reviewed applicable literature and documentation and has convened a project kick-off meeting with Industry Advisors in attendance. (2) TerraTek has designed and planned Phase I bench scale experiments. Some difficulties in obtaining ultra-high speed motors for this feasibility work were encountered though they were sourced mid 2004. (3) TerraTek is progressing through Task 3 ''Small-scale cutting performance tests''. Some improvements over early NASA experiments have been identified.« less

40 CFR 194.33 - Consideration of drilling events in performance assessments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Consideration of drilling events in performance assessments. 194.33 Section 194.33 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... assessments. (a) Performance assessments shall examine deep drilling and shallow drilling that may potentially...

A noniterative asymmetric triple excitation correction for the density-fitted coupled-cluster singles and doubles method: Preliminary applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bozkaya, Uğur, E-mail: ugrbzky@gmail.com

2016-04-14

An efficient implementation of the asymmetric triples correction for the coupled-cluster singles and doubles [ΛCCSD(T)] method [S. A. Kucharski and R. J. Bartlett, J. Chem. Phys. 108, 5243 (1998); T. D. Crawford and J. F. Stanton, Int. J. Quantum Chem. 70, 601 (1998)] with the density-fitting [DF-ΛCCSD(T)] approach is presented. The computational time for the DF-ΛCCSD(T) method is compared with that of ΛCCSD(T). Our results demonstrate that the DF-ΛCCSD(T) method provide substantially lower computational costs than ΛCCSD(T). Further application results show that the ΛCCSD(T) and DF-ΛCCSD(T) methods are very beneficial for the study of single bond breaking problems as wellmore » as noncovalent interactions and transition states. We conclude that ΛCCSD(T) and DF-ΛCCSD(T) are very promising for the study of challenging chemical systems, where the coupled-cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples method fails.« less

30 CFR 203.42 - What conditions and limitations apply to royalty relief for deep wells and phase 1 ultra-deep wells?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... MANAGEMENT RELIEF OR REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling... has produced gas or oil from a well with a perforated interval the top of which is 18,000 feet TVD SS or deeper, your lease cannot earn an RSV under § 203.41 as a result of drilling any subsequent deep...

Scanning the Horizon: Coast Guard Strategy in a Hot, Flat, Crowded World

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-12

Mexico. From 1992 to 2007, deepwater offshore rigs drilling in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico increased from three to 30, and deepwater oil production...discusses the Coast Guard’s Integrated Deepwater System program, which includes recapitalization of its deep-water vessels and aircraft.89 At the...water and ultra deep water drilling. Discussion of increased outer continental shelf activity in higher level strategic planning indicates that

Five Hundred and Seventy Three Holes in the Bottom of the Sea-Some Results From Seven Years of Deep-Sea Drilling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, T. A.

1976-01-01

Described are the background, operation, and findings of the work of the deep sea drilling vessel Glomar Challenger, which has taken 8,638 core samples from 573 holes at 392 sites on the floor of the Earth's oceans. (SL)

The Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP): (I) A New Era in Geothermal Development?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elders, W. A.; Fridleifsson, G. O.; Bird, D. K.; Reed, M. H.; Schiffman, P.; Zierenberg, R.

2007-12-01

The Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) announced in September 2007 that an international industrial consortium has signed a new contract to collaborate in exploratory deep drilling in Iceland. The main objective of the IDDP is to investigate whether it is economically feasible to produce energy from geothermal systems at supercritical conditions. This will require drilling to depths of 4 to 5 km in order to reach temperatures of 400 to 600°C. Today, geothermal wells in Iceland typically range up to 2.5 km in depth and produce steam at about 300°C, or less, at a rate sufficient to generate about 4 to 7 megawatts of electricity. It is estimated that producing steam from a well penetrating a reservoir with temperatures >450°C, and at a rate of 0.67 cubic meters a second, could generate 40 to 50 MWe. If IDDP's test of this concept proves successful, it could lead to major improvements in the development of high-temperature geothermal resources worldwide. The consortium collaborating to fund this investigation of supercritical geothermal energy consists of three leading Icelandic power companies, Hitaveita Sudurnesja Ltd., Landsvirkjun, Orkuveita Reykjavikur, together with Orkustofnun (the National Energy Authority) and Alcoa Inc. (an international aluminum company). The three power companies financed a feasibility study for the project that was completed in 2003. Each of the three power companies is committed to drill, at their own cost, a 3.5 to 4.0 km deep well in a geothermal field that they operate. The design of these wells will permit them to be deepened to 4.5 or 5.0 km by the IDDP, and funded by the consortium with additional funds from international scientific agencies. The first deep IDDP well will be drilled in the latter part of 2008 in the Krafla geothermal field near the northern end of the central rift zone of Iceland, within a volcanic caldera that has had recent volcanic activity. Two new wells, ~4 km deep, will then be drilled at the Hengill and the Reykjanes geothermal fields during 2009-2010, and subsequently deepened. In contrast to the fresh water systems at Krafla and Hengill, the Reykjanes geothermal system produces hydrothermally modified seawater on the Reykjanes peninsula, in southern Iceland, where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge comes on land in southern Iceland. Processes at depth at Reykjanes should be similar to those responsible for black smokers on ocean spreading centers. The IDDP has engendered considerable international scientific interest. The US National Science Foundation and the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program will jointly fund the coring and sampling for scientific studies. In preparation for studying the data and samples that will be recovered by deep drilling research is underway on samples from existing wells in the target geothermal fields, and on exposed "fossil" geothermal systems and active mid-ocean ridge systems that have conditions believed to be similar to those that will be encountered in deep drilling by the IDDP. Some of these initial scientific studies by US investigators are reported in the accompanying papers.

Numerical Simulations of Thermo-Mechanical Processes during Thermal Spallation Drilling for Geothermal Reservoirs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogler, D.; Walsh, S. D. C.; Rudolf von Rohr, P.; Saar, M. O.

2017-12-01

Drilling expenses constitute a significant share of the upfront capital costs and thereby the associated risks of geothermal energy production. This is especially true for deep boreholes, as drilling costs per meter increase significantly with depth. Thermal spallation drilling is a relatively new drilling technique, particularly suited to the hard crystalline (e.g., basement) rocks in which many deep geothermal resources are located. The method uses a hot jet-flame to rapidly heat the rock surface, which leads to large temperature gradients in the rock. These temperature gradients cause localized thermal stresses that, in combination with the in situ stress field, lead to the formation and ejection of spalls. These spalls are then transported out of the borehole with the drilling mud. Thermal spallation not only in principle enables much faster rates of penetration than traditional rotary drilling, but is also contact-less, which significantly reduces the long tripping times associated with conventional rotary head drilling. We present numerical simulations investigating the influence of rock heterogeneities on the thermal spallation process. Special emphasis is put on different mineral compositions, stress regimes, and heat sources.

The ethane + oxygen(,2) reaction mechanism: High-level ab initio characterizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rienstra-Kiracofe, Jonathan C.

The C2H˙5+O2 reaction, central to ethane oxidation and thus of fundamental importance to hydrocarbon combustion chemistry, has been examined in detail via highly sophisticated electronic structure methods. The geometries, energies, and harmonic vibrational frequencies of the reactants, transition states, intermediates, and products for the reaction of the ethyl radical (X~ 2A ') with O2 (X S-g3 , a 1Δg) have been investigated using the CCSD and CCSD(T) ab initio methods with basis sets ranging in quality from double-zeta plus polarization (DZP) to triple-zeta plus double polarization with f functions (TZ2Pf). Five mechanisms (M1-M5) involving the ground-state from the ethyl radical by O2 to give ethylene + HO˙2 with an overall 0 K activation energy, Ea(0 K) = +15.1 kcal mol-1 with CCSD(T)/TZ2Pf//CCSD(T)/TZ2P. (M2) Ethylperoxy β- hydrogen transfer with O-O bond rupture to yield oxirane + .OH Ea(0 K) = +5.3 kcal mol-1 with CCSD(T)/TZ2Pf//CCSD(T)/TZ2P. (M3) Ethylperoxy α- hydrogen transfer with O-O bond rupture to yield acetaldehyde + .OH Ea(0 K) = +11.5 kcal mol-1 with CCSD(T)/TZ2P//CCSD(T)/DZP. (M4) Ethylperoxy β- hydrogen transfer with C-O bond rupture to yield ethylene + HO˙2 ; Ea(0 K) = +5.3 kcal mol-1 with CCSD(T)/TZ2Pf//CCSD(T)/TZ2P, the C-O bond rupture barrier lying 1.2 kcal mol-1 above the O-O bond rupture barrier of M2 at the CCSD(T)/TZ2P//CCSD(T)/DZP level. (M5) Concerted elimination of HO˙2 from the ethylperoxy radical to give ethylene + HO˙2 ; Ea(0 K) = -0.9 kcal mol -1 with CCSD(T)/TZPf//CCSD(T)/TZ2P. We show that M5 is energetically preferred and is also the only mechanism consistent with experimental observations of a negative temperature coefficient. The reverse reaction (C2H 4 + HO˙2 --> .C2H4OOH) has a zero-point corrected barrier of 14.4 kcal mol-1 with CCSD(T)/TZ2P//CCSD(T)/DZP.

Post-Drilling Changes in Seabed Landscape and Megabenthos in a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal System, the Iheya North Field, Okinawa Trough

PubMed Central

Nakajima, Ryota; Yamamoto, Hiroyuki; Kawagucci, Shinsuke; Takaya, Yutaro; Nozaki, Tatsuo; Chen, Chong; Fujikura, Katsunori; Miwa, Tetsuya; Takai, Ken

2015-01-01

There has been an increasing interest in seafloor exploitation such as mineral mining in deep-sea hydrothermal fields, but the environmental impact of anthropogenic disturbance to the seafloor is poorly known. In this study, the effect of such anthropogenic disturbance by scientific drilling operations (IODP Expedition 331) on seabed landscape and megafaunal habitation was surveyed for over 3 years using remotely operated vehicle video observation in a deep-sea hydrothermal field, the Iheya North field, in the Okinawa Trough. We focused on observations from a particular drilling site (Site C0014) where the most dynamic change of landscape and megafaunal habitation was observed among the drilling sites of IODP Exp. 331. No visible hydrothermal fluid discharge had been observed at the sedimentary seafloor at Site C0014, where Calyptogena clam colonies were known for more than 10 years, before the drilling event. After drilling commenced, the original Calyptogena colonies were completely buried by the drilling deposits. Several months after the drilling, diffusing high-temperature hydrothermal fluid began to discharge from the sedimentary subseafloor in the area of over 20 m from the drill holes, ‘artificially’ creating a new hydrothermal vent habitat. Widespread microbial mats developed on the seafloor with the diffusing hydrothermal fluids and the galatheid crab Shinkaia crosnieri endemic to vents dominated the new vent community. The previously soft, sedimentary seafloor was hardened probably due to barite/gypsum mineralization or silicification, becoming rough and undulated with many fissures after the drilling operation. Although the effects of the drilling operation on seabed landscape and megafaunal composition are probably confined to an area of maximally 30 m from the drill holes, the newly established hydrothermal vent ecosystem has already lasted 2 years and is like to continue to exist until the fluid discharge ceases and thus the ecosystem in the area has been altered for long-term. PMID:25902075

Post-drilling changes in seabed landscape and megabenthos in a deep-sea hydrothermal system, the Iheya North field, Okinawa Trough.

PubMed

Nakajima, Ryota; Yamamoto, Hiroyuki; Kawagucci, Shinsuke; Takaya, Yutaro; Nozaki, Tatsuo; Chen, Chong; Fujikura, Katsunori; Miwa, Tetsuya; Takai, Ken

2015-01-01

There has been an increasing interest in seafloor exploitation such as mineral mining in deep-sea hydrothermal fields, but the environmental impact of anthropogenic disturbance to the seafloor is poorly known. In this study, the effect of such anthropogenic disturbance by scientific drilling operations (IODP Expedition 331) on seabed landscape and megafaunal habitation was surveyed for over 3 years using remotely operated vehicle video observation in a deep-sea hydrothermal field, the Iheya North field, in the Okinawa Trough. We focused on observations from a particular drilling site (Site C0014) where the most dynamic change of landscape and megafaunal habitation was observed among the drilling sites of IODP Exp. 331. No visible hydrothermal fluid discharge had been observed at the sedimentary seafloor at Site C0014, where Calyptogena clam colonies were known for more than 10 years, before the drilling event. After drilling commenced, the original Calyptogena colonies were completely buried by the drilling deposits. Several months after the drilling, diffusing high-temperature hydrothermal fluid began to discharge from the sedimentary subseafloor in the area of over 20 m from the drill holes, 'artificially' creating a new hydrothermal vent habitat. Widespread microbial mats developed on the seafloor with the diffusing hydrothermal fluids and the galatheid crab Shinkaia crosnieri endemic to vents dominated the new vent community. The previously soft, sedimentary seafloor was hardened probably due to barite/gypsum mineralization or silicification, becoming rough and undulated with many fissures after the drilling operation. Although the effects of the drilling operation on seabed landscape and megafaunal composition are probably confined to an area of maximally 30 m from the drill holes, the newly established hydrothermal vent ecosystem has already lasted 2 years and is like to continue to exist until the fluid discharge ceases and thus the ecosystem in the area has been altered for long-term.

Preparatory Drilling Test on Martian Target Windjana

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-30

NASA Curiosity Mars rover completed a shallow mini drill test April 29, 2014, in preparation for full-depth drilling at a rock target called Windjana. The hole results from the test is 0.63 inch across and about 0.8 inch deep.

Defining the upper viscosity limit for mineral slurries used in drilled shaft construction : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-02-01

Many structures built on Floridas variable, sandy : soils require deep foundations, such as pilings. : Although pilings may be more familiar, drilled : shafts are also often used. Drilled shafts require : less expensive equipment and create less o...

Unique microbial community in drilling fluids from Chinese continental scientific drilling

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zhang, Gengxin; Dong, Hailiang; Jiang, Hongchen; Xu, Zhiqin; Eberl, Dennis D.

2006-01-01

Circulating drilling fluid is often regarded as a contamination source in investigations of subsurface microbiology. However, it also provides an opportunity to sample geological fluids at depth and to study contained microbial communities. During our study of deep subsurface microbiology of the Chinese Continental Scientific Deep drilling project, we collected 6 drilling fluid samples from a borehole from 2290 to 3350 m below the land surface. Microbial communities in these samples were characterized with cultivation-dependent and -independent techniques. Characterization of 16S rRNA genes indicated that the bacterial clone sequences related to Firmicutes became progressively dominant with increasing depth. Most sequences were related to anaerobic, thermophilic, halophilic or alkaliphilic bacteria. These habitats were consistent with the measured geochemical characteristics of the drilling fluids that have incorporated geological fluids and partly reflected the in-situ conditions. Several clone types were closely related to Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus, Caldicellulosiruptor lactoaceticus, and Anaerobranca gottschalkii, an anaerobic metal-reducer, an extreme thermophile, and an anaerobic chemoorganotroph, respectively, with an optimal growth temperature of 50–68°C. Seven anaerobic, thermophilic Fe(III)-reducing bacterial isolates were obtained and they were capable of reducing iron oxide and clay minerals to produce siderite, vivianite, and illite. The archaeal diversity was low. Most archaeal sequences were not related to any known cultivated species, but rather to environmental clone sequences recovered from subsurface environments. We infer that the detected microbes were derived from geological fluids at depth and their growth habitats reflected the deep subsurface conditions. These findings have important implications for microbial survival and their ecological functions in the deep subsurface.

Geothermal Exploration of Newberry Volcano, Oregon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Waibel, Albert F.; Frone, Zachary S.; Blackwell, David D.

Davenport Newberry (Davenport) has completed 8 years of exploration for geothermal energy on Newberry Volcano in central Oregon. Two deep exploration test wells were drilled by Davenport on the west flank of the volcano, one intersected a hydrothermal system; the other intersected isolated fractures with no hydrothermal interconnection. Both holes have bottom-hole temperatures near or above 315°C (600°F). Subsequent to deep test drilling an expanded exploration and evaluation program was initiated. These efforts have included reprocessing existing data, executing multiple geological, geophysical, geochemical programs, deep exploration test well drilling and shallow well drilling. The efforts over the last three yearsmore » have been made possible through a DOE Innovative Exploration Technology (IET) Grant 109, designed to facilitate innovative geothermal exploration techniques. The combined results of the last 8 years have led to a better understanding of the history and complexity of Newberry Volcano and improved the design and interpretation of geophysical exploration techniques with regard to blind geothermal resources in volcanic terrain.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Raymond, David W.; Blankenship, Douglas A.; Buerger, Stephen

The dynamic stability of deep drillstrings is challenged by an inability to impart controllability with ever-changing conditions introduced by geology, depth, structural dynamic properties and operating conditions. A multi-organizational LDRD project team at Sandia National Laboratories successfully demonstrated advanced technologies for mitigating drillstring vibrations to improve the reliability of drilling systems used for construction of deep, high-value wells. Using computational modeling and dynamic substructuring techniques, the benefit of controllable actuators at discrete locations in the drillstring is determined. Prototype downhole tools were developed and evaluated in laboratory test fixtures simulating the structural dynamic response of a deep drillstring. A laboratory-basedmore » drilling applicability demonstration was conducted to demonstrate the benefit available from deployment of an autonomous, downhole tool with self-actuation capabilities in response to the dynamic response of the host drillstring. A concept is presented for a prototype drilling tool based upon the technical advances. The technology described herein is the subject of U.S. Patent Application No. 62219481, entitled "DRILLING SYSTEM VIBRATION SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS AND METHODS", filed September 16, 2015.« less

Structure and binding energy of the H2S dimer at the CCSD(T) complete basis set limit.

PubMed

Lemke, Kono H

2017-06-21

This study presents results for the binding energy and geometry of the H 2 S dimer which have been computed using Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2, MP4) and coupled cluster (CCSD, CCSD(T)) calculations with basis sets up to aug-cc-pV5Z. Estimates of D e , E ZPE , D o , and dimer geometry have been obtained at each level of theory by taking advantage of the systematic convergence behavior toward the complete basis set (CBS) limit. The CBS limit binding energy values of D e are 1.91 (MP2), 1.75 (MP4), 1.41 (CCSD), and 1.69 kcal/mol (CCSD[T]). The most accurate values for the equilibrium S-S distance r SS (without counterpoise correction) are 4.080 (MP2/aug-cc-pV5Z), 4.131 (MP4/aug-cc-pVQZ), 4.225 (CCSD/aug-cc-pVQZ), and 4.146 Å (CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVQZ). This study also evaluates the effect of counterpoise correction on the H 2 S dimer geometry and binding energy. As regards the structure of (H 2 S) 2 , MPn, CCSD, and CCSD(T) level values of r SS , obtained by performing geometry optimizations on the counterpoise-corrected potential energy surface, converge systematically to CBS limit values of 4.099 (MP2), 4.146 (MP4), 4.233 (CCSD), and 4.167 Å (CCSD(T)). The corresponding CBS limit values of the equilibrium binding energy D e are 1.88 (MP2), 1.76 (MP4), 1.41 (CCSD), and 1.69 kcal/mol (CCSD(T)), the latter in excellent agreement with the measured binding energy value of 1.68 ± 0.02 kcal/mol reported by Ciaffoni et al. [Appl. Phys. B 92, 627 (2008)]. Combining CBS electronic binding energies D e with E ZPE predicted by CCSD(T) vibrational second-order perturbation theory calculations yields D o = 1.08 kcal/mol, which is around 0.6 kcal/mol smaller than the measured value of 1.7 ± 0.3 kcal/mol. Overall, the results presented here demonstrate that the application of high level calculations, in particular CCSD(T), in combination with augmented correlation consistent basis sets provides valuable insight into the structure and energetics of the hydrogen sulfide dimer.

Structure and binding energy of the H2S dimer at the CCSD(T) complete basis set limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemke, Kono H.

2017-06-01

This study presents results for the binding energy and geometry of the H2S dimer which have been computed using Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2, MP4) and coupled cluster (CCSD, CCSD(T)) calculations with basis sets up to aug-cc-pV5Z. Estimates of De, EZPE, Do, and dimer geometry have been obtained at each level of theory by taking advantage of the systematic convergence behavior toward the complete basis set (CBS) limit. The CBS limit binding energy values of De are 1.91 (MP2), 1.75 (MP4), 1.41 (CCSD), and 1.69 kcal/mol (CCSD[T]). The most accurate values for the equilibrium S-S distance rSS (without counterpoise correction) are 4.080 (MP2/aug-cc-pV5Z), 4.131 (MP4/aug-cc-pVQZ), 4.225 (CCSD/aug-cc-pVQZ), and 4.146 Å (CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVQZ). This study also evaluates the effect of counterpoise correction on the H2S dimer geometry and binding energy. As regards the structure of (H2S)2, MPn, CCSD, and CCSD(T) level values of rSS, obtained by performing geometry optimizations on the counterpoise-corrected potential energy surface, converge systematically to CBS limit values of 4.099 (MP2), 4.146 (MP4), 4.233 (CCSD), and 4.167 Å (CCSD(T)). The corresponding CBS limit values of the equilibrium binding energy De are 1.88 (MP2), 1.76 (MP4), 1.41 (CCSD), and 1.69 kcal/mol (CCSD(T)), the latter in excellent agreement with the measured binding energy value of 1.68 ± 0.02 kcal/mol reported by Ciaffoni et al. [Appl. Phys. B 92, 627 (2008)]. Combining CBS electronic binding energies De with EZPE predicted by CCSD(T) vibrational second-order perturbation theory calculations yields Do = 1.08 kcal/mol, which is around 0.6 kcal/mol smaller than the measured value of 1.7 ± 0.3 kcal/mol. Overall, the results presented here demonstrate that the application of high level calculations, in particular CCSD(T), in combination with augmented correlation consistent basis sets provides valuable insight into the structure and energetics of the hydrogen sulfide dimer.

Development of a Database for Drilled SHAft Foundation Testing (DSHAFT).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-06-01

Drilled shafts have been used in the US for more than 100 years in bridges and buildings as a deep foundation alternative. For many of these applications, the drilled shafts were designed using the Working Stress Design (WSD) approach. Even though WS...

Combining conventional and thermal drilling in order to increase speed and reduce costs of drilling operations to access deep geothermal resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossi, Edoardo; Kant, Michael A.; von Rohr, Philipp Rudolf; Saar, Martin O.

2017-04-01

The exploitation of deep geothermal resources for energy production relies on finding cost effective solutions to increase the drilling performance in hard rocks. Conventional rotary drilling techniques, based on mechanical rock exportation, result in high rates of drilling tool wearing, causing significant costs. Additionally, rotary drilling results in low drilling speeds in the typically hard crystalline basement rocks targeted for enhanced geothermal energy utilization technologies. Furthermore, even lower overall drilling rates result, when considering tripping times required to exchange worn drill tools. Therefore, alternative drilling techniques, such as hammering, thermal drilling, plasma drilling, and jetting processes are widely investigated in order to provide cost-effective alternatives to conventional drilling methods. A promising approach, that combines conventional rotary and thermal drilling techniques, is investigated in the present work. Here, the rock material is thermally weakened before being exported by conventional cutters. Heat is locally provided by a flame, which moves over the rock surface, heat-treating the material. Besides reducing the rock strength, an in-depth smoothening effect of the mechanical rock properties is observed due to the thermal treatment. This results in reduced rates of drill bit wearing and higher rates of penetration, which in turn decreases drilling costs significantly, particularly for deep-drilling projects. Due to the high heating rates, rock-hardening, commonly observed at moderate temperatures, can be avoided. The flame action can be modelled as a localized, high heat transfer coefficient flame treatment, which results in orders of magnitude higher heating rates than conventional oven treatments. Therefore, we analyse rock strength variations after different maximum temperatures, flame-based heating rates, and rock confinement pressures. The results show that flame treatments lead to a monotonous decrease of rock strength with temperature. This is different from oven treatments, where an initial increase of strength is typically observed, followed by a steep decrease upon further (slow) oven-heating. Thus, the weakening of sandstone and granite samples due to flame treatments indicates the feasibility of a combined mechanical-thermal drilling system. These results suggest that the new combined method enables improved rates of penetration in hard rocks while reducing the rate of drill tool wear. We also present possible implementations of this combined drilling system in the field. From field test results, advantages and limitations of the proposed new technology are presented, with an emphasis on accessing geothermal energy resources in crystalline basement rocks.

Contamination assessment in microbiological sampling of the Eyreville core, Chesapeake Bay impact structure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gronstal, A.L.; Voytek, M.A.; Kirshtein, J.D.; Von der, Heyde; Lowit, M.D.; Cockell, C.S.

2009-01-01

Knowledge of the deep subsurface biosphere is limited due to difficulties in recovering materials. Deep drilling projects provide access to the subsurface; however, contamination introduced during drilling poses a major obstacle in obtaining clean samples. To monitor contamination during the 2005 International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP)-U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deep drilling of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, four methods were utilized. Fluorescent microspheres were used to mimic the ability of contaminant cells to enter samples through fractures in the core material during retrieval. Drilling mud was infused with a chemical tracer (Halon 1211) in order to monitor penetration of mud into cores. Pore water from samples was examined using excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fl uorescence spectroscopy to characterize dissolved organic carbon (DOC) present at various depths. DOC signatures at depth were compared to signatures from drilling mud in order to identify potential contamination. Finally, microbial contaminants present in drilling mud were identified through 16S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA) clone libraries and compared to species cultured from core samples. Together, these methods allowed us to categorize the recovered core samples according to the likelihood of contamination. Twenty-two of the 47 subcores that were retrieved were free of contamination by all the methods used and were subsequently used for microbiological culture and culture-independent analysis. Our approach provides a comprehensive assessment of both particulate and dissolved contaminants that could be applied to any environment with low biomass. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Coccolith and silicoflagellate stratigraphy, northern mid-Atlantic Ridge and Reykjanes Ridge, Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 49

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bukry, David

1979-01-01

Leg 49 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project recovered 192 cores at eight drilling sites, 407 through 414 (Figure 1). Light-microscope techniques were used to study the cocoliths, silicoflagellates, and sponge spicules of 120 samples from these cores. The cocolith zonation of the samples follows Bukry (1975a), and is summarized in Figure 2. Silicoflagellate zonation, summarized in Figure 3, is explained in the text. Siliceous sponge spicules are common in many samples and are briefly discussed and illustrated. One new silicoflagellate, Distephanus sulcatus, from the Plicene of Site 407, is described.

Ground-water quality at the site of a proposed deep-well injection system for treated wastewater, West Palm Beach, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pitt, William A.; Meyer, Frederick W.

1976-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey collected scientific and technical information before, during, and after construction of a deep test well at the location of a future regional waste-water treatment plant to be built for the city of West Palm Beach, Florida. Data from the test well will be used by the city in the design of a proposed deep-well injection system for disposal of effluent from the treatment plant. Shallow wells in the vicinity of the drilling site were inventoried and sampled to provide a data base for detecting changes in ground water quality during construction and later operation of the deep wells. In addition, 16 small-diameter monitor wells, ranging in depth from 10 to 162 feet, were drilled at the test site. During the drilling of the deep test well, water samples were collected weekly from the 16 monitor wells for determination of chloride content and specific conductance. Evidence of small spills of salt water were found in monitor wells ranging in depth from 10 to 40 feet. Efforts to remove the salt water from the shallow unconfined aquifer by pumping were undertaken by the drilling contractor at the request of the city of West Palm Beach. The affected area is small and there has been a reduction of chloride concentration.

Initial results from the ICDP SCOPSCO drilling project, Lake Ohrid (Macedonia, Albania)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francke, A.; Wagner, B.; Krastel, S.; Lindhorst, K.; Wilke, T.; Zanchetta, G.; Sulpizio, R.; Grazhdani, A.; Reicherter, K. R.

2013-12-01

Lake Ohrid (Macedonia, Albania) is about 30 km long and 15 km wide and up to 290 m deep. Formed within a tectonic graben, Lake Ohrid is considered to be the oldest lake in Europe, providing a high-resolution, continuous archive of environmental change and tectonic and tephrostratigraphic history in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The deep drilling campaign at Lake Ohrid in spring 2013 within the scope of the ICDP project SCOPSCO (Scientific Collaboration of Past Speciation Conditions in Lake Ohrid) aimed (a) to obtain more precise information about the age and origin of the lake, (b) to unravel the seismotectonic history of the lake area including effects of major earthquakes and associated mass wasting events, (c) to obtain a continuous record containing information on volcanic activities and climate changes in the central northern Mediterranean region, and (d) to better understand the impact of major geological/environmental events on general evolutionary patterns and shaping an extraordinary degree of endemic biodiversity as a matter of global significance. Drilling was carried out by DOSECC (Salt Lake City, USA) using the DLDS (Deep Lake Drilling System) with a hydraulic piston corer for surface sediments and rotation drilling for harder, deeper sediments. Overall, about 2,100 m of sediment were recovered from 4 drill sites. At the 'DEEP' site in the center of the lake, seismic data implied a maximum sediment fill of ca. 700 m, of which the uppermost 568 m sediment were recovered. Coarse-grained gravel and pebbles underlying clay and shallow water facies sediments hampered deeper penetration. 6 boreholes at the 'DEEP' site resulted in a total of 1526 m of sediment cores and a composite field recovery of 544 m (95%). Initial geochemical and magnetic susceptibility data imply that the sediments from 'DEEP' site are highly sensitive to climate and environmental variations in the Balkan area probably over the last 1.5 Mio years. Long-term climate oscillations on a glacial/interglacial timescale and also short-term events such as Dansgaard-Oescher cycles during the last glacial period can be inferred from the initial data. Although a high amount of greigite complicates the paleomagnetic dating of the recovered sediments, a robust age model can likely be inferred from numerous tephras and cryptotephras, which are indicated by spikes in the magnetic susceptibility data. Three additional sites at lateral parts of Lake Ohrid were drilled to un-ravel lake level fluctuations, catchment dynamics, biodiversity and evolution processes ('Cerava', deepest drilled depth: 90 m), active tectonics and spring dynamics ('Gradiste', deepest drilled depth: 123 m), and the early development of the Ohrid Basin ('Pestani', deepest drilled depth: 194 m). The composite field recovery is >90% at each site. The initial results obtained from the field campaign indicate that Lake Ohrid provides an extraordinary record of environmental change in the northern Mediterranean and will become a key site for a better understanding of speciation triggers.

Development of a Database for Drilled SHAft Foundation Testing (DSHAFT) : tech transfer summary.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-06-01

Drilled shafts have been used in the US for more than 100 years in bridges and buildings as a deep foundation alternative. For many of these applications, the drilled shafts were designed using the Working Stress Design (WSD) approach. Even though WS...

The Comparison Study of gas source between two hydrate expeditions in ShenHu area, SCS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cong, X. R.

2016-12-01

Two gas hydrate expeditions (GMGS 01&03) were conducted in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, SCS, which were organized by Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey in 2007 and 2015, respectively. Compared with the drilling results of "mixed bio-thermogenic gas and generally dominated by biogenic gas" in 2007, hydrocarbon component measurements revealed a higher content of ethane and propane in 2015 drilling, providing direct evidence that deep thermogenic gas was the source for shallow hydrate formation. According to the geochemical analyses of the results obtained from the industrial boreholes in Baiyun sag, the deep hydrocarbon gas obviously leaked from the reservoir as escape caused by Dongsha movement in the late Miocene, as a result thermogenic gas from Wenchang, Enping and Zhuhai hydrocarbon source rocks migrated to late Miocene shallow strata through faults, diapirs and gas chimney vertically migration. In this paper we report the differences in fluid migration channel types and discuss their effect in fluid vertical migration efficiency in the two Shenhu hydrate drilling areas. For the drilling area in 2007,when the limited deep thermogenic gas experienced long distance migration process from bottom to up along inefficient energy channel, the gas composition might have changed and the carbon isotope fractionation might have happened, which were reflected in the results of higher C1/C2 ratios and lighter carbon isotope in gas hydrate bearing sediments. As a result the gas is with more "biogenic gas" features. It means thermogenic gases in the deep to contributed the formation of shallow gas hydrate indirectly in 2007 Shenhu drill area. On another hand, the gases were transported to the shallow sediment layers efficiently, where gas hydrate formed, through faults and fractures from deep hydrocarbon reservoirs, and as the result they experienced less changes in both components and isotopes in 2015 drilling site.

Smaller Footprint Drilling System for Deep and Hard Rock Environments; Feasibility of Ultra-High-Speed Diamond Drilling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arnis Judzis; Alan Black; Homer Robertson

2006-03-01

The two phase program addresses long-term developments in deep well and hard rock drilling. TerraTek believes that significant improvements in drilling deep hard rock will be obtained by applying ultra-high rotational speeds (greater than 10,000 rpm). The work includes a feasibility of concept research effort aimed at development that will ultimately result in the ability to reliably drill ''faster and deeper'' possibly with smaller, more mobile rigs. The principle focus is on demonstration testing of diamond bits rotating at speeds in excess of 10,000 rpm to achieve high rate of penetration (ROP) rock cutting with substantially lower inputs of energymore » and loads. The significance of the ultra-high rotary speed drilling system is the ability to drill into rock at very low weights on bit and possibly lower energy levels. The drilling and coring industry today does not practice this technology. The highest rotary speed systems in oil field and mining drilling and coring today run less than 10,000 rpm--usually well below 5,000 rpm. This document details the progress to date on the program entitled ''Smaller Footprint Drilling System for Deep and Hard Rock Environments: Feasibility of Ultra-High-Speed Diamond Drilling'' for the period starting 1 October 2004 through 30 September 2005. Additionally, research activity from 1 October 2005 through 28 February 2006 is included in this report: (1) TerraTek reviewed applicable literature and documentation and convened a project kick-off meeting with Industry Advisors in attendance. (2) TerraTek designed and planned Phase I bench scale experiments. Some difficulties continue in obtaining ultra-high speed motors. Improvements have been made to the loading mechanism and the rotational speed monitoring instrumentation. New drill bit designs have been provided to vendors for production. A more consistent product is required to minimize the differences in bit performance. A test matrix for the final core bit testing program has been completed. (3) TerraTek is progressing through Task 3 ''Small-scale cutting performance tests''. (4) Significant testing has been performed on nine different rocks. (5) Bit balling has been observed on some rock and seems to be more pronounces at higher rotational speeds. (6) Preliminary analysis of data has been completed and indicates that decreased specific energy is required as the rotational speed increases (Task 4). This data analysis has been used to direct the efforts of the final testing for Phase I (Task 5). (7) Technology transfer (Task 6) has begun with technical presentations to the industry (see Judzis).« less

30 CFR 203.32 - What other requirements or restrictions apply to royalty relief for a qualified phase 2 or phase...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT RELIEF OR REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Ultra-Deep Wells on Leases Not Subject to Deep Water Royalty Relief § 203.32 What... (either an original well or a sidetrack) drilled across a lease line, then either: (1) The lease with the...

The remarkable chemical uniformity of Apollo 16 layered deep drill core section 60002

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nava, D. F.; Philpotts, J. A.; Lindstrom, M. M.; Schuhmann, P. J.; Lindstrom, D. J.

1976-01-01

Atomic absorption and colorimetric spectrophotometers were used to determine major- and minor-element abundances in 12 samples from layered section 60002 of the Apollo 16 deep drill core. It is suggested that gardening of a relatively thick local unit produced the layering in this section in such a manner that the proportions of materials of different compositions remained virtually unchanged.

30 CFR 203.47 - What administrative steps do I take to obtain and use the royalty suspension supplement?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... test, seismic, and economic data, if your well does meet the producibility requirements of 30 CFR part... Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Deep Gas Wells on Leases Not Subject to Deep... suspension supplement? (a) Before you start drilling a well on your lease targeted to a reservoir at least 18...

A local framework for calculating coupled cluster singles and doubles excitation energies (LoFEx-CCSD)

DOE PAGES

Baudin, Pablo; Bykov, Dmytro; Liakh, Dmitry I.; ...

2017-02-22

Here, the recently developed Local Framework for calculating Excitation energies (LoFEx) is extended to the coupled cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) model. In the new scheme, a standard CCSD excitation energy calculation is carried out within a reduced excitation orbital space (XOS), which is composed of localised molecular orbitals and natural transition orbitals determined from time-dependent Hartree–Fock theory. The presented algorithm uses a series of reduced second-order approximate coupled cluster singles and doubles (CC2) calculations to optimise the XOS in a black-box manner. This ensures that the requested CCSD excitation energies have been determined to a predefined accuracy compared tomore » a conventional CCSD calculation. We present numerical LoFEx-CCSD results for a set of medium-sized organic molecules, which illustrate the black-box nature of the approach and the computational savings obtained for transitions that are local compared to the size of the molecule. In fact, for such local transitions, the LoFEx-CCSD scheme can be applied to molecular systems where a conventional CCSD implementation is intractable.« less

DAME: planetary-prototype drilling automation.

PubMed

Glass, B; Cannon, H; Branson, M; Hanagud, S; Paulsen, G

2008-06-01

We describe results from the Drilling Automation for Mars Exploration (DAME) project, including those of the summer 2006 tests from an Arctic analog site. The drill hardware is a hardened, evolved version of the Advanced Deep Drill by Honeybee Robotics. DAME has developed diagnostic and executive software for hands-off surface operations of the evolved version of this drill. The DAME drill automation tested from 2004 through 2006 included adaptively controlled drilling operations and the downhole diagnosis of drilling faults. It also included dynamic recovery capabilities when unexpected failures or drilling conditions were discovered. DAME has developed and tested drill automation software and hardware under stressful operating conditions during its Arctic field testing campaigns at a Mars analog site.

DAME: Planetary-Prototype Drilling Automation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glass, B.; Cannon, H.; Branson, M.; Hanagud, S.; Paulsen, G.

2008-06-01

We describe results from the Drilling Automation for Mars Exploration (DAME) project, including those of the summer 2006 tests from an Arctic analog site. The drill hardware is a hardened, evolved version of the Advanced Deep Drill by Honeybee Robotics. DAME has developed diagnostic and executive software for hands-off surface operations of the evolved version of this drill. The DAME drill automation tested from 2004 through 2006 included adaptively controlled drilling operations and the downhole diagnosis of drilling faults. It also included dynamic recovery capabilities when unexpected failures or drilling conditions were discovered. DAME has developed and tested drill automation software and hardware under stressful operating conditions during its Arctic field testing campaigns at a Mars analog site.

Formation of ore minerals in metamorphic rocks of the German continental deep drilling site (KTB)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kontny, A.; Friedrich, G.; Behr, H. J.; de Wall, H.; Horn, E. E.; Möller, P.; Zulauf, G.

1997-08-01

The German Continental Deep Drilling Program (KTB) drilled a 9.1 km deep profile through amphibolite facies metamorphic rocks and reached in situ temperatures of 265°C. Each lithologic unit is characterized by typical ore mineral assemblages related to the regional metamorphic conditions. Paragneisses contain pyrrhotite + rutile + ilmenite ± graphite, metabasic units bear ilmenite + rutile + pyrrhotite ± pyrite, and additionally, the so-called variegated units yield pyrrhotite + titanite assemblages. In the latter unit, magnetite + ilmenite + rutile + titanite assemblages related to the lower amphibolite facies breakdown of ilmenite-hematite solid solution also occur locally. Retrograde hydrothermal mineralization which commenced during Upper Carboniferous times is characterized by the following geochemical conditions: (1) low saline Na-K-Mg-Cl fluids with sulfur and oxygen fugacities at the pyrite-pyrrhotite buffer and temperatures of 400-500°C, (2) fluids with CO2, CH4±N2, andpH, Eh, sulfur, and oxygen fugacity in the stability field of graphite + pyrite at temperatures of 280-350° and (3) moderate to high saline Ca-Na-Cl fluids with CH4+ N2; sulfur and oxygen fugacity are in the stability field of pyrrhotite at temperatures <300°C. The latter environment is confirmed by in situ conditions found at the bottom of the deep drilling. Monoclinic, ferrimagnetic pyrrhotite is the main carrier of magnetization which disappears below about 8.6 km, corresponding to in situ temperatures of about 250°C. Below this depth, hexagonal antiferromagnetic pyrrhotite with a Curie temperature of 260°C is the stable phase. Temperature-dependent transformation of pyrrhotite and the reaching of its Curie isotherm within the Earth crust are one of the striking results of the KTB deep drilling project.

Precise Electrochemical Drilling of Repeated Deep Holes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kincheloe, J. P.

1985-01-01

Tooling enables maintenance of close tolerances. Tooling includes guide that holds electrochemical drilling electrodes in proper relative alinement and guide-positioning fixture clamps directly on reference surfaces of strut. High precision achieved by positioning tooling anew on each strut before drilling: Tolerances of (0.008 mm) maintained in some details.

Lateral capacity of rock sockets in limestone under cyclic and repeated loading : technical summary.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-08-01

Drilled shafts are a type of deep foundation that is capable of supporting very large vertical and lateral loads. Drilled shafts are constructed by drilling a hole from the ground surface to the target depth or formation and filling the hole with rei...

Selective phylogenetic analysis targeting 16S rRNA genes of hyperthermophilic archaea in the deep-subsurface hot biosphere.

PubMed

Kimura, Hiroyuki; Ishibashi, Jun-Ichiro; Masuda, Harue; Kato, Kenji; Hanada, Satoshi

2007-04-01

International drilling projects for the study of microbial communities in the deep-subsurface hot biosphere have been expanded. Core samples obtained by deep drilling are commonly contaminated with mesophilic microorganisms in the drilling fluid, making it difficult to examine the microbial community by 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis. To eliminate mesophilic organism contamination, we previously developed a new method (selective phylogenetic analysis [SePA]) based on the strong correlation between the guanine-plus-cytosine (G+C) contents of the 16S rRNA genes and the optimal growth temperatures of prokaryotes, and we verified the method's effectiveness (H. Kimura, M. Sugihara, K. Kato, and S. Hanada, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72:21-27, 2006). In the present study we ascertained SePA's ability to eliminate contamination by archaeal rRNA genes, using deep-sea hydrothermal fluid (117 degrees C) and surface seawater (29.9 degrees C) as substitutes for deep-subsurface geothermal samples and drilling fluid, respectively. Archaeal 16S rRNA gene fragments, PCR amplified from the surface seawater, were denatured at 82 degrees C and completely digested with exonuclease I (Exo I), while gene fragments from the deep-sea hydrothermal fluid remained intact after denaturation at 84 degrees C because of their high G+C contents. An examination using mixtures of DNAs from the two environmental samples showed that denaturation at 84 degrees C and digestion with Exo I completely eliminated archaeal 16S rRNA genes from the surface seawater. Our method was quite useful for culture-independent community analysis of hyperthermophilic archaea in core samples recovered from deep-subsurface geothermal environments.

Deep-Sea Drilling.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Stan M.

1979-01-01

Drilling during 1978 focused on three major geologic problems: the nature and origin of the oceanic crust, the nature and geologic history of the active continental margins, and the oceanic paleoenvironment. (Author/BB)

An inexpensive and portable drill rig for bedrock groundwater studies in headwater catchments

Treesearch

C. Gabrielli; J.J. McDonnell

2011-01-01

Bedrock groundwater dynamics in headwater catchments are poorly understood and poorly characterized. Here, we present an inexpensive and portable bedrock drilling system designed for use in remote locations. Our system is capable of drilling bedrock wells up to 11 m deep and 38 mm in diameter in a wide range of bedrock types. The drill consists of a lawn mower engine...

The research of breaking rock with liquid-solid two-phase jet flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, X. Z.; Ren, F. S.; Fang, T. C.

2018-03-01

Abstracts. Particle impact drilling is an efficient way of breaking rock, which is mainly used in deep drilling and ultra-deep drilling. The differential equation was established based on the theory of Hertz and Newton’s second law, through the analysis of particle impact rock, the depth of particles into the rock was obtained. The mathematical model was established based on the effect of water impact crack. The research results show when water jet speed is more than 40 m/s, rock stability coefficient is more than 1.0, the rock fracture appear. Through the experimental research of particle impact drilling facilities, analysis of cuttings and the crack size which was analyzed through Scanning electron microscope consistent with the theoretical calculation, the validity of the model was verified.

Ultrasonic drilling apparatus

DOEpatents

Duran, Edward L.; Lundin, Ralph L.

1989-01-01

Apparatus attachable to an ultrasonic drilling machine for drilling deep holes in very hard materials, such as boron carbide, is provided. The apparatus utilizes a hollow spindle attached to the output horn of the ultrasonic drilling machine. The spindle has a hollow drill bit attached at the opposite end. A housing surrounds the spindle, forming a cavity for holding slurry. In operation, slurry is provided into the housing, and into the spindle through inlets while the spindle is rotating and ultrasonically reciprocating. Slurry flows through the spindle and through the hollow drill bit to cleanse the cutting edge of the bit during a drilling operation.

Ultrasonic drilling apparatus

DOEpatents

Duran, E.L.; Lundin, R.L.

1988-06-20

Apparatus attachable to an ultrasonic drilling machine for drilling deep holes in very hard materials, such as boron carbide, is provided. The apparatus utilizes a hollow spindle attached to the output horn of the ultrasonic drilling machine. The spindle has a hollow drill bit attached at the opposite end. A housing surrounds the spindle, forming a cavity for holding slurry. In operation, slurry is provided into the housing, and into the spindle through inlets while the spindle is rotating and ultrasonically reciprocating. Slurry flows through the spindle and through the hollow drill bit to cleanse the cutting edge of the bit during a drilling operation. 3 figs.

Oceanic Basement Probed

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cann, J. R.; Moore, David G.

1978-01-01

Summarizes findings of the deep sea drilling project at Scripps Institute of Oceanology. Results of Atlantic and Pacific Ocean drillings in terms of the composition and properties of the sea floor are discussed. (CP)

ICDP drilling in the Scandinavian Caledonides: the SDDP-COSC project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorenz, Henning; Juhlin, Christopher; Gee, David; Pascal, Christophe; Tsang, Chin-Fu; Pedersen, Karsten; Rosberg, Jan-Erik

2013-04-01

The Swedish Deep Drilling Program (SDDP) Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides (COSC) project is a multidisciplinary investigation of the Scandian mountain belt. Cenozoic uplift of the Scandes has exposed a lower- to middle-crustal level section through this Himalaya-type orogen, providing unique opportunities to better understand not only the Caledonides, but also on-going orogeny and the earthquake-prone environments of modern mountains belts. COSC will also contribute to our knowledge of mountain belt hydrology, provide the first information about deep thermal gradients for paleoclimate modeling and potential geothermal energy resources, contribute new information about the deep biosphere, and improve our understanding of the Cenozoic uplift history of the Scandes. The drilling program targets the far-traveled (> 400 km) allochthons of the Scandinavian Caledonides and their emplacement across the Baltoscandian foreland basin onto the platform of continent Baltica. Two 2.5 km deep holes are planned. COSC-1, to be drilled in the summer of 2013, will target the high-grade metamorphic complex of the Seve Nappes (SNC) and its contact to underlying allochthons. COSC-2 will start in the lower thrust sheets, pass through the basal décollement and investigate the character of the deformation in the underlying basement. An international science team, including expertise on Himalaya-Tibet and other young orogens, is running the science program. New high-resolution reflection seismic data provide excellent images of the upper crust. Alternative interpretations of the reflectors' origin, particularly those in the basement, will be tested. The site of COSC-1 is based on a 3D geological model, constructed from surface geology, recent and vintage regional reflection seismic profiles, regional and local gravity data, and high-resolution aeromagnetics, acquired recently by the Geological Survey of Sweden. The drilling will be carried out utilising the new Swedish scientific drilling infrastructure, located at Lund University, an Atlas Copco CT20 diamond core-drilling rig, with versatile drilling equipment (see EGU2012-7379), providing the ideal platform for core-drilling to 2.5 km depths. Existing drilling, sampling and testing techniques (e.g. triple-tube core drilling for best core quality) will need to be adapted to highly variable lithologies and new techniques will be developed, as necessary. COSC-1 drilling operations and the directly related on-site investigations are financed by ICDP and the Swedish Research Council. All drill cores will be transferred to the core repository of the Geological Survey of Sweden, and a sampling party will be announced later this year. Researchers who want to participate in COSC and contribute their expertise are encouraged to inform us of their interests.

30 CFR 203.33 - To which production do I apply the RSV earned by qualified phase 2 and phase 3 ultra-deep wells...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... RELIEF OR REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Ultra... after May 18, 2007, reported on the Oil and Gas Operations Report, Part A (OGOR-A) for your lease under... the unitized portion of lease A (drilled after the ultra-deep well on the non-unitized portion of that...

Chesapeake Bay impact structure: A blast from the past

USGS Publications Warehouse

Powars, David S.; Edwards, Lucy E.; Gohn, Gregory S.; Horton, J. Wright

2015-10-28

Since its discovery in the early 1990s, scientists have conducted deep drilling and geophysical surveys of the impact structure to find out more about its size, composition, structure, age, and biological effects and to understand its lingering influences on the regional groundwater system. These efforts culminated in the drilling of a 1-mile-deep, continuously sampled corehole in 2005 by an international group of scientists and agencies.

The 6-31B(d) basis set and the BMC-QCISD and BMC-CCSD multicoefficient correlation methods.

PubMed

Lynch, Benjamin J; Zhao, Yan; Truhlar, Donald G

2005-03-03

Three new multicoefficient correlation methods (MCCMs) called BMC-QCISD, BMC-CCSD, and BMC-CCSD-C are optimized against 274 data that include atomization energies, electron affinities, ionization potentials, and reaction barrier heights. A new basis set called 6-31B(d) is developed and used as part of the new methods. BMC-QCISD has mean unsigned errors in calculating atomization energies per bond and barrier heights of 0.49 and 0.80 kcal/mol, respectively. BMC-CCSD has mean unsigned errors of 0.42 and 0.71 kcal/mol for the same two quantities. BMC-CCSD-C is an equally effective variant of BMC-CCSD that employs Cartesian rather than spherical harmonic basis sets. The mean unsigned error of BMC-CCSD or BMC-CCSD-C for atomization energies, barrier heights, ionization potentials, and electron affinities is 22% lower than G3SX(MP2) at an order of magnitude less cost for gradients for molecules with 9-13 atoms, and it scales better (N6 vs N,7 where N is the number of atoms) when the size of the molecule is increased.

Comparative evaluation of the indigenous microbial diversity vs. drilling fluid contaminants in the NEEM Greenland ice core.

PubMed

Miteva, Vanya; Burlingame, Caroline; Sowers, Todd; Brenchley, Jean

2014-08-01

Demonstrating that the detected microbial diversity in nonaseptically drilled deep ice cores is truly indigenous is challenging because of potential contamination with exogenous microbial cells. The NEEM Greenland ice core project provided a first-time opportunity to determine the origin and extent of contamination throughout drilling. We performed multiple parallel cultivation and culture-independent analyses of five decontaminated ice core samples from different depths (100-2051 m), the drilling fluid and its components Estisol and Coasol, and the drilling chips collected during drilling. We created a collection of diverse bacterial and fungal isolates (84 from the drilling fluid and its components, 45 from decontaminated ice, and 66 from drilling chips). Their categorization as contaminants or intrinsic glacial ice microorganisms was based on several criteria, including phylogenetic analyses, genomic fingerprinting, phenotypic characteristics, and presence in drilling fluid, chips, and/or ice. Firmicutes and fungi comprised the dominant group of contaminants among isolates and cloned rRNA genes. Conversely, most Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria originating from the ice were identified as intrinsic. This study provides a database of potential contaminants useful for future studies of NEEM cores and can contribute toward developing standardized protocols for contamination detection and ensuring the authenticity of the microbial diversity in deep glacial ice. © 2014 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of non-aqueous fluids cuttings discharge from exploratory drilling activities on the deep-sea macrobenthic communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, M. F. L.; Lana, P. C.; Silva, J.; Fachel, J. G.; Pulgati, F. H.

2009-01-01

This paper assesses the effects of non-aqueous fluids (NAFs-type III) cuttings discharge from exploratory drilling activities on deep-sea macrobenthic communities in the Campos Basin, off the southeastern Brazilian coast, Rio de Janeiro State. One hundred and fifty nine sediment samples were taken with a 0.25 m 2 box corer at a depth of 902 m on three monitoring cruises: first cruise—before drilling (April 2001), second cruise—after drilling (July 2001), and third cruise—one year after drilling (July 2002). The results indicated no significant changes in values of density, number of families and functional groups related to drilling activities in the reference area (2500 m distance), and biological variations may be result from the natural variability of the fauna. Evidence indicates that drilling activities led to measurable effects on the community structure related to NAF cuttings discharge but were limited to a 500 m radius from the drilling well. Such effects were much more evident at isolated sites in the impact area (WBF and WBF+NAF areas) and are characterized as localized impacts. One year after drilling, a recolonization was observed, with the probable recovery of the macrobenthic community in most of the study area; only at part of the WBF+NAF area (stations 05, 24 and 36) was the community still undergoing recovery.

Deep Bore Storage of Nuclear Waste Using MMW (Millimeter Wave) Technology. Full Project Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oglesby, Kenneth D.; Woskov, Paul; Einstein, Herbert

This DOE Nuclear STTR project DE-SC001238 investigated the use of MMW directed energy to form rock melt and steel plugs in deep wellbores to further isolate highly radioactive nuclear waste in ultra-deep basement rocks for long term storage. This current project builds upon a prior DOE project, DE-EE0005504, which developed the basic low power, low 28 GHz frequency waveguide setup, process and instruments. This research adds to our understanding of using MMW power to melt and vaporize rocks and steel/ metals and laid plans for future higher power field prototype testing. This technology also has potential for deep well drillingmore » for nuclear storage, geothermal and oil and gas industries. It also has the potential for simultaneously sealing and securing the wellbore with a thick rock melt liner as the wellbore is drilled, called 'mono-bore drilling'. This allows for higher levels of safety and protection of the environment during deep drilling operations while providing vast cost savings. The larger purpose of this project was to find answers to key questions in developing MMW technology for its many subsurface applications.« less

Greenland deep boreholes inform on sliding and deformation of the basal ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahl-Jensen, D.

2017-12-01

Repeated measurements of the deformation of the deep boreholes on the Greenland ice sheet informs on the basal sliding, near basal deformation and in general on the horizontal velocity through the ice. Results of the logging of the boreholes at Dye3, GRIP, NGRIP, NEEM and Camp Century through the last 40 years by the Danish Ice and Climate group will be presented and discussed. The results on the flow will be compared with the information on ice properties, impurity load and bedrock entrained material from the deep ice cores and the radio echo sounding images near the drill sites.The results show that the basal movement often happens in an impurity rich zone above the bedrock while pure basal sliding is limited even in the presence of basal water and significant basal melt.Most of the deep ice core sites are located close to ice divides where the surface velocity is limited so significant basal sliding is not expected. Exceptions are the surface velocities at Camp Century and Dye 3, both being 13 m/yr.Finally, the ongoing deep drilling at EGRIP will shortly be presented where we are drilling in the center of the North East Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS).

Communication: An improved linear scaling perturbative triples correction for the domain based local pair-natural orbital based singles and doubles coupled cluster method [DLPNO-CCSD(T)].

PubMed

Guo, Yang; Riplinger, Christoph; Becker, Ute; Liakos, Dimitrios G; Minenkov, Yury; Cavallo, Luigi; Neese, Frank

2018-01-07

In this communication, an improved perturbative triples correction (T) algorithm for domain based local pair-natural orbital singles and doubles coupled cluster (DLPNO-CCSD) theory is reported. In our previous implementation, the semi-canonical approximation was used and linear scaling was achieved for both the DLPNO-CCSD and (T) parts of the calculation. In this work, we refer to this previous method as DLPNO-CCSD(T 0 ) to emphasize the semi-canonical approximation. It is well-established that the DLPNO-CCSD method can predict very accurate absolute and relative energies with respect to the parent canonical CCSD method. However, the (T 0 ) approximation may introduce significant errors in absolute energies as the triples correction grows up in magnitude. In the majority of cases, the relative energies from (T 0 ) are as accurate as the canonical (T) results of themselves. Unfortunately, in rare cases and in particular for small gap systems, the (T 0 ) approximation breaks down and relative energies show large deviations from the parent canonical CCSD(T) results. To address this problem, an iterative (T) algorithm based on the previous DLPNO-CCSD(T 0 ) algorithm has been implemented [abbreviated here as DLPNO-CCSD(T)]. Using triples natural orbitals to represent the virtual spaces for triples amplitudes, storage bottlenecks are avoided. Various carefully designed approximations ease the computational burden such that overall, the increase in the DLPNO-(T) calculation time over DLPNO-(T 0 ) only amounts to a factor of about two (depending on the basis set). Benchmark calculations for the GMTKN30 database show that compared to DLPNO-CCSD(T 0 ), the errors in absolute energies are greatly reduced and relative energies are moderately improved. The particularly problematic case of cumulene chains of increasing lengths is also successfully addressed by DLPNO-CCSD(T).

Communication: An improved linear scaling perturbative triples correction for the domain based local pair-natural orbital based singles and doubles coupled cluster method [DLPNO-CCSD(T)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Yang; Riplinger, Christoph; Becker, Ute; Liakos, Dimitrios G.; Minenkov, Yury; Cavallo, Luigi; Neese, Frank

2018-01-01

In this communication, an improved perturbative triples correction (T) algorithm for domain based local pair-natural orbital singles and doubles coupled cluster (DLPNO-CCSD) theory is reported. In our previous implementation, the semi-canonical approximation was used and linear scaling was achieved for both the DLPNO-CCSD and (T) parts of the calculation. In this work, we refer to this previous method as DLPNO-CCSD(T0) to emphasize the semi-canonical approximation. It is well-established that the DLPNO-CCSD method can predict very accurate absolute and relative energies with respect to the parent canonical CCSD method. However, the (T0) approximation may introduce significant errors in absolute energies as the triples correction grows up in magnitude. In the majority of cases, the relative energies from (T0) are as accurate as the canonical (T) results of themselves. Unfortunately, in rare cases and in particular for small gap systems, the (T0) approximation breaks down and relative energies show large deviations from the parent canonical CCSD(T) results. To address this problem, an iterative (T) algorithm based on the previous DLPNO-CCSD(T0) algorithm has been implemented [abbreviated here as DLPNO-CCSD(T)]. Using triples natural orbitals to represent the virtual spaces for triples amplitudes, storage bottlenecks are avoided. Various carefully designed approximations ease the computational burden such that overall, the increase in the DLPNO-(T) calculation time over DLPNO-(T0) only amounts to a factor of about two (depending on the basis set). Benchmark calculations for the GMTKN30 database show that compared to DLPNO-CCSD(T0), the errors in absolute energies are greatly reduced and relative energies are moderately improved. The particularly problematic case of cumulene chains of increasing lengths is also successfully addressed by DLPNO-CCSD(T).

Deep Drilling Results in the Atlantic Ocean: Continental Margins and Paleoenvironment

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-01-01

nannoplankton, a sparse to rich DITIBTO OF HORIZO C I foraminiferal fauna (simple arenaceous foramin - 5S SSftB / ifera, lagenids, epistominids, and primitive...Deep Sea Pessagno, E.A., Jr., Mesozoic Planctonic Foramin - DrillingP , 11, Washington (U.S. Govern- vera and Radiolaria, in Ewing, M., Worzel, L.J. ment...Strati- B.,er, W.H., Foramin ooze: solution at graphic Micropaleontology of Atlantic Basins depths, Science, 156, 383-385, 1967. and Borderlands

Depositional history of the Apollo 16 deep drill core

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gose, W. A.; Morris, R. V.

1977-01-01

Ferromagnetic resonance and magnetic hysteresis loop measurements were performed on 212 samples from the Apollo 16 deep drill core. The total iron content is generally uniform with a mean value of 5.7 plus or minus 0.9 wt%. The soils range in maturity from immature to mature. Two major contacts were observed. The contact at 13 cm depth represents a fossil surface whereas the contact at 190 cm depth has no time-stratigraphic significance. The data suggest that the core section below 13 cm depth was deposited in a single impact event and subjected to meteoritic gardening for about 450 m.y. However, our data do not preclude deposition by a series of closely spaced events. About 50 m.y. ago, the top 13 cm were added. Comparison with the Apollo 16 double drive tube 60009/60010 does not yield any evidence for a stratigraphic correlation with the deep drill core.

VSAT: opening new horizons to oil and gas explorations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Dhamen, Muhammad I.

2002-08-01

Whether exploring in the Empty Quarter, drilling offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, or monitoring gas pipelines or oil wells in the deserts, communications is a key element to the success of oil and gas operations. Secure, efficient communications is required between remote, isolated locations and head offices to report on work status, dispatch supplies and repairs, report on-site emergencies, transfer geophysical surveys and real-time drilling data. Drilling and exploration firms have traditionally used land-based terrestrial networks that rely on radio transmissions for voice and data communications to offshore platforms and remote deep desert drilling rigs. But these systems are inefficient and have proven inflexible with today's drilling and exploration communications demands, which include high-speed data access, telephone and video conferencing. In response, numerous oil and gas exploration entities working in deep waters and remote deep deserts have all tapped into what is an ideal solution for these needs: Very Small Aperture Terminal Systems (VSAT) for broadband access services. This led to the use of Satellite Communication Systems for a wide range of applications that were difficult to achieve in the past, such as real-time applications transmission of drilling data and seismic information. This paper provides a thorough analysis of opportunities for satellite technology solutions in support of oil and gas operations. Technologies, architecture, service, networking and application developments are discussed based upon real field experience. More specifically, the report addresses: VSAT Opportunities for the Oil and Gas Operations, Corporate Satellite Business Model Findings, Satellite Market Forecasts

Influence of drilling operations on drilling mud gas monitoring during IODP Exp. 338 and 348

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammerschmidt, Sebastian; Toczko, Sean; Kubo, Yusuke; Wiersberg, Thomas; Fuchida, Shigeshi; Kopf, Achim; Hirose, Takehiro; Saffer, Demian; Tobin, Harold; Expedition 348 Scientists, the

2014-05-01

The history of scientific ocean drilling has developed some new techniques and technologies for drilling science, dynamic positioning being one of the most famous. However, while industry has developed newer tools and techniques, only some of these have been used in scientific ocean drilling. The introduction of riser-drilling, which recirculates the drilling mud and returns to the platform solids and gases from the formation, to the International Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) through the launch of the Japan Agency of Marine Earth-Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) riser-drilling vessel D/V Chikyu, has made some of these techniques available to science. IODP Expedition 319 (NanTroSEIZE Stage 2: riser/riserless observatory) was the first such attempt, and among the tools and techniques used was drilling mud gas analysis. While industry regularly conducts drilling mud gas logging for safety concerns and reservoir evaluation, science is more interested in other components (e.g He, 222Rn) that are beyond the scope of typical mud logging services. Drilling mud gas logging simply examines the gases released into the drilling mud as part of the drilling process; the bit breaks and grinds the formation, releasing any trapped gases. These then circulate within the "closed circuit" mud-flow back to the drilling rig, where a degasser extracts these gases and passes them on to a dedicated mud gas logging unit. The unit contains gas chromatographs, mass spectrometers, spectral analyzers, radon gas analyzers, and a methane carbon isotope analyzer. Data are collected and stored in a database, together with several drilling parameters (rate of penetration, mud density, etc.). This initial attempt was further refined during IODP Expeditions 337 (Deep Coalbed Biosphere off Shimokita), 338 (NanTroSEIZE Stage 3: NanTroSEIZE Plate Boundary Deep Riser 2) and finally 348 (NanTroSEIZE Stage 3: NanTroSEIZE Plate Boundary Deep Riser 3). Although still in its development stage for scientific application, this technique can provide a valuable suite of measurements to complement more traditional IODP shipboard measurements. Here we present unpublished data from IODP Expeditions 338 and 348, penetrating the Nankai Accretionary wedge to 3058.5 meters below seafloor. Increasing mud density decreased degasser efficiency, especially for higher hydrocarbons. Blurring of the relative variations in total gas by depth was observed, and confirmed with comparison to headspace gas concentrations from the cored interval. Theoretically, overpressured zones in the formation can be identified through C2/C3 ratios, but these ratios are highly affected by changing drilling parameters. Proper mud gas evaluations will need to carefully consider the effects of variable drilling parameters when designing experiments and interpreting the data.

Drilling the centre of the Thuringian Basin, Germany, to decipher potential interrelation between shallow and deep fluid systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kukowski, Nina; Totsche, Kai Uwe; Abratis, Michael; Habisreuther, Annett; Ward, Timothy; Influins Drilling-Team

2014-05-01

To shed light on the coupled dynamics of near surface and deep fluids in a sedimentary basin on various scales, ranging from the pore scale to the extent of an entire basin, is of paramount importance to understand the functioning of sedimentary basins fluid systems and therefore e.g. drinking water supply. It is also the fundamental goal of INFLUINS (INtegrated FLuid dynamics IN Sedimentary basins), a research initiative of several groups from Friedrich-Schiller University of Jena and their partners. This research association is focusing on the nearby Thuringian basin, a well confined, small intra-continental sedimentary basin in Germany, as a natural geo laboratory. In a multidisciplinary approach, embracing different fields of geophysics like seismic reflection profiling or airborne geomagnetics, structural geology, sedimentology, hydrogeology, hydrochemistry and hydrology, remote sensing, microbiology and mineralogy, among others, and including both, field-based, laboratory-based and computer-based research, an integral INFLUINS topic is the potential interaction of aquifers within the basin and at its rims. The Thuringian basin, which is composed of sedimentary rocks from the latest Paleozoic and mainly Triassic, is particularly suited to undertake such research as it is of relative small size, about 50 to 100 km, easily accessible, and quite well known from previous studies, and therefore also a perfect candidate for deep drilling. After the acquisition of 76 km seismic reflection data in spring 2011, to get as much relevant data as possible from a deep drilling at the cross point between two seismic profiles with a limited financial budget, an optimated core sampling and measuring strategy including partial coring, borehole geophysics and pump tests as well as a drill hole design, which enables for later continuation of drilling down to the basement, had been developed. Drilling Triassic rocks from Keuper to lower Buntsandstein was successfully realised down to a final depth of 1179 m from late June to mid-September 2013. Here, we give an introduction into the layout of INFLUINS deep drilling together with a summary of preliminary results, e.g. on the nature of the boundaries between Muschelkalk and Buntsandstein, and between upper and middle Buntsandstein, a complete core recovery of upper Buntsandstein saliniferous formations as well as unexpectedly low porosity and permeability of potential aquifers.

30 CFR 250.415 - What must my casing and cementing programs include?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS AND SULPHUR OPERATIONS IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF Oil and Gas Drilling Operations Applying for A Permit to Drill § 250.415 What must my casing and... in Deep Water Wells (incorporated by reference as specified in § 250.198), if you drill a well in...

Dredging: An Annotated Bibliography on Operations, Equipment, and Processes. Revision.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-03-01

establishing producing centers, enterprises, financial planning, and technical specifications for plant and equipment. Drilling and laboratory results are...summarised, and resource, market, technological and environmental bases described. Prospect drilling of calcareous sandstone (kurkar and calcarenite...Automation; Pumps and impellers; Cavitation; Cost and econ- omy of dredging; Drilling and blasting; Spoil disposal; Deep sea dredg- ing; River dredging

Perturbative triples correction for local pair natural orbital based explicitly correlated CCSD(F12*) using Laplace transformation techniques.

PubMed

Schmitz, Gunnar; Hättig, Christof

2016-12-21

We present an implementation of pair natural orbital coupled cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples, PNO-CCSD(T), which avoids the quasi-canonical triples approximation (T0) where couplings due to off-diagonal Fock matrix elements are neglected. A numerical Laplace transformation of the canonical expression for the perturbative (T) triples correction is used to avoid an I/O and storage bottleneck for the triples amplitudes. Results for a test set of reaction energies show that only very few Laplace grid points are needed to obtain converged energy differences and that PNO-CCSD(T) is a more robust approximation than PNO-CCSD(T0) with a reduced mean absolute deviation from canonical CCSD(T) results. We combine the PNO-based (T) triples correction with the explicitly correlated PNO-CCSD(F12*) method and investigate the use of specialized F12-PNOs in the conventional triples correction. We find that no significant additional errors are introduced and that PNO-CCSD(F12*)(T) can be applied in a black box manner.

Thread-Level Parallelization and Optimization of NWChem for the Intel MIC Architecture

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shan, Hongzhang; Williams, Samuel; Jong, Wibe de

In the multicore era it was possible to exploit the increase in on-chip parallelism by simply running multiple MPI processes per chip. Unfortunately, manycore processors' greatly increased thread- and data-level parallelism coupled with a reduced memory capacity demand an altogether different approach. In this paper we explore augmenting two NWChem modules, triples correction of the CCSD(T) and Fock matrix construction, with OpenMP in order that they might run efficiently on future manycore architectures. As the next NERSC machine will be a self-hosted Intel MIC (Xeon Phi) based supercomputer, we leverage an existing MIC testbed at NERSC to evaluate our experiments.more » In order to proxy the fact that future MIC machines will not have a host processor, we run all of our experiments in tt native mode. We found that while straightforward application of OpenMP to the deep loop nests associated with the tensor contractions of CCSD(T) was sufficient in attaining high performance, significant effort was required to safely and efficiently thread the TEXAS integral package when constructing the Fock matrix. Ultimately, our new MPI OpenMP hybrid implementations attain up to 65x better performance for the triples part of the CCSD(T) due in large part to the fact that the limited on-card memory limits the existing MPI implementation to a single process per card. Additionally, we obtain up to 1.6x better performance on Fock matrix constructions when compared with the best MPI implementations running multiple processes per card.« less

Thread-level parallelization and optimization of NWChem for the Intel MIC architecture

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shan, Hongzhang; Williams, Samuel; de Jong, Wibe

In the multicore era it was possible to exploit the increase in on-chip parallelism by simply running multiple MPI processes per chip. Unfortunately, manycore processors' greatly increased thread- and data-level parallelism coupled with a reduced memory capacity demand an altogether different approach. In this paper we explore augmenting two NWChem modules, triples correction of the CCSD(T) and Fock matrix construction, with OpenMP in order that they might run efficiently on future manycore architectures. As the next NERSC machine will be a self-hosted Intel MIC (Xeon Phi) based supercomputer, we leverage an existing MIC testbed at NERSC to evaluate our experiments.more » In order to proxy the fact that future MIC machines will not have a host processor, we run all of our experiments in native mode. We found that while straightforward application of OpenMP to the deep loop nests associated with the tensor contractions of CCSD(T) was sufficient in attaining high performance, significant e ort was required to safely and efeciently thread the TEXAS integral package when constructing the Fock matrix. Ultimately, our new MPI+OpenMP hybrid implementations attain up to 65× better performance for the triples part of the CCSD(T) due in large part to the fact that the limited on-card memory limits the existing MPI implementation to a single process per card. Additionally, we obtain up to 1.6× better performance on Fock matrix constructions when compared with the best MPI implementations running multiple processes per card.« less

Ultrasonic/Sonic Mechanisms for Drilling and Coring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Sherrit, Stewart; Dolgin, Benjamin; Askin, Steve; Peterson, Thomas M.; Bell, Bill; Kroh, Jason; Pal, Dharmendra; Krahe, Ron; Du, Shu

2003-01-01

Two apparatuses now under development are intended to perform a variety of deep-drilling, coring, and sensing functions for subsurface exploration of rock and soil. These are modified versions of the apparatuses described in Ultrasonic/Sonic Drill/Corers With Integrated Sensors (NPO-20856), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 25, No. 1 (January 2001), page 38. In comparison with the drilling equipment traditionally used in such exploration, these apparatuses weigh less and consume less power. Moreover, unlike traditional drills and corers, these apparatuses function without need for large externally applied axial forces.

Curiosity Successfully Drills "Duluth"

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-23

A close-up image of a 2-inch-deep hole produced using a new drilling technique for NASA's Curiosity rover. The hole is about 0.6 inches (1.6 centimeters) in diameter. This image was taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Sol 2057. It has been white balanced and contrast-enhanced. Curiosity drilled this hole in a target called "Duluth" on May 20, 2018. It was the first rock sample captured by the drill since October 2016. A mechanical issue took the drill offline in December 2016. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22326

Drilling, Coring and Sampling Using Piezoelectric Actuated Mechanisms: From the USDC to a Piezo-Rotary-Hammer Drill

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Sherrit, Stewart; Badescu, Mircea; Bao, Xiaoqi

2012-01-01

NASA exploration missions are increasingly including sampling tasks but with the growth in engineering experience (particularly, Phoenix Scout and MSL) it is now very much recognized that planetary drilling poses many challenges. The difficulties grow significantly with the hardness of sampled material, the depth of drilling and the harshness of the environmental conditions. To address the requirements for samplers that could be operated at the conditions of the various bodies in the solar system, a number of piezoelectric actuated drills and corers were developed by the Advanced Technologies Group of JPL. The basic configuration that was conceived in 1998 is known as the Ultrasonic/Sonic Driller/Corer (USDC), and it operates as a percussive mechanism. This drill requires as low preload as 10N (important for operation at low gravity) allowing to operate with as low-mass device as 400g, use an average power as low as 2- 3W and drill rocks as hard as basalt. A key feature of this drilling mechanism is the use of a free-mass to convert the ultrasonic vibrations generated by piezoelectric stack to sonic impacts on the bit. Using the versatile capabilities f the USDC led to the development of many configurations and device sizes. Significant improvement of the penetration rate was achieved by augmenting the hammering action by rotation and use of a fluted bit to remove cuttings. To reach meters deep in ice a wireline drill was developed called the Ultrasonic/Sonic Gopher and it was demonstrated in 2005 to penetrate about 2-m deep at Antarctica. Jointly with Honeybee Robotics, this mechanism is currently being modified to incorporate rotation and inchworm operation forming Auto-Gopher to reach meters deep in rocks. To take advantage of the ability of piezoelectric actuators to operate over a wide temperatures range, piezoelectric actuated drills were developed and demonstrated to operate at as cold as -200oC and as hot as 500oC. In this paper, the developed mechanisms will be reviewed and discussed including the configurations, capabilities, and challenges.

The Future of Deep-Ocean Drilling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heirtzler, J. R.; Maxwell, A. E.

1978-01-01

Describes the scientific accomplishments of the International Program of Ocean Drilling (IPOD) during its first decade. Notable are the scientific contributions to understanding the sea floor. Critical decisions for the second decade include economic and social implications. (MA)

The development of and experiments on electromagnetic measurement while a drilling system is used for deep exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Chunhua; Jiang, Guosheng; Wang, Ziqi; Wang, Jiahao; Wang, Chenli

2016-10-01

An electromagnetic measurement while drilling system (EM-MWD) can transfer well track state parameters to the ground in real time, which makes it an indispensable technology for deep-hole drilling. This paper introduces the development of and experiments on an EM-MWD system used for deep exploration in the People’s Republic of China. The designed EM-MWD system is composed of a downhole instrument and a ground instrument, and we elaborate on the structural design of the downhole instrument, the design of the transmission and control circuits and the signal modulation. This work also covers the software and hardware design of the ground instrument and signal demodulation technologies. Finally, some indoor signal decoding experiments and some in-hole signal transmission experiments are performed. This study indicates that the designed EM-MWD system can measure information for downhole drilling parameters and send it to the ground effectively, while the ground receiver can decode the signal accurately and reliably, and the desired signal can be obtained. Furthermore, the strength of the received signal is not affected by the polar distance within a certain polar distance.

Physical-Property Measurements on Core samples from Drill-Holes DB-1 and DB-2, Blue Mountain Geothermal Prospect, North-Central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ponce, David A.; Watt, Janet T.; Casteel, John; Logsdon, Grant

2009-01-01

From May to June 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected and measured physical properties on 36 core samples from drill-hole Deep Blue No. 1 (DB-1) and 46 samples from drill-hole Deep Blue No. 2 (DB-2) along the west side of Blue Mountain about 40 km west of Winnemucca, Nev. These data were collected as part of an effort to determine the geophysical setting of the Blue Mountain geothermal prospect as an aid to understanding the geologic framework of geothermal systems throughout the Great Basin. The physical properties of these rocks and other rock types in the area create a distinguishable pattern of gravity and magnetic anomalies that can be used to infer their subsurface geologic structure. Drill-holes DB-1 and DB-2 were spudded in alluvium on the western flank of Blue Mountain in 2002 and 2004, respectively, and are about 1 km apart. Drill-hole DB-1 is at a ground elevation of 1,325 m and was drilled to a depth of 672 m and drill-hole DB-2 is at a ground elevation of 1,392 m and was drilled to a depth of 1522 m. Diameter of the core samples is 6.4 cm. These drill holes penetrate Jurassic and Triassic metasedimentary rocks predominantly consisting of argillite, mudstone, and sandstone; Tertiary diorite and gabbro; and younger Tertiary felsic dikes.

Drilling into the deep interior of the Nankai accretionary prism: Preliminary results of IODP NanTroSEIZE Expedition 348

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobin, H. J.; Hirose, T.; Saffer, D. M.; Toczko, S.; Maeda, L.

2014-12-01

International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 348, the latest advance of the NanTroSEIZE project, started on 13 September 2013 and was completed on 29 January 2014. During Expedition 348, the drilling vessel Chikyu advanced the ultra-deep riser hole at Site C0002, located 80 km offshore of the Kii Peninsula, from a depth of 860 meters below sea floor (mbsf) to 3058.5 mbsf, the world record for the deepest scientific ocean drilling, and cased it for future deepening. The drilling operation successfully obtained data on formation physical properties from logging while drilling (LWD) tools, as well as from lithological analyses of cuttings and core from the interior of the active accretionary prism at the Nankai Trough. IODP Site C0002 is the currently only borehole to access the deep interior of an active convergent margin. Preliminary scientific results of Expedition 348 are as follows: (1) Fine-grained turbiditic mudstones with coarser silty and sandy interbeds, exhibiting steep dips (between ~60 and 90 degrees) are predominant in the prism down to ~3000 mbsf. The biostratigraphic age of the sediments in the lowermost part of the hole is thought to be 9-11 Ma, with an assumed age of accretion of 3-5 Ma. (2) Slickenlined surfaces, deformation bands and mineral veins are present throughout the drilled interval, while well-developed scaly clay fabrics are increasingly observed below ~2200 mbsf. A substantial fault zone with well-developed foliation was successfully cored from the deep interior of the prism at ~2205 mbsf. (3) Porosity generally decreases from ~60% to ~20% from the seafloor to 3000 mbsf. However, physical properties including grain density, electrical conductivity and P-wave velocity suggest fairly homogeneous properties in the interior of the prism between ~2000 and 3000 mbsf. (4) Mud gas analysis during the riser drilling indicates that a source of methane gas shifts from microbial origin to thermogenic at around 2325 mbsf. (5) The maximum horizontal principal stress at ~2200 mbsf is in the NE-SW direction. The inner wedge at ~ 2000 mbsf is currently in a strike-slip stress regime.

30 CFR 250.415 - What must my casing and cementing programs include?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS AND SULPHUR OPERATIONS IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF Oil and Gas Drilling Operations Applying for A Permit to Drill § 250.415 What must my casing and cementing... in Deep Water Wells (as incorporated by reference in § 250.198), if you drill a well in water depths...

30 CFR 250.415 - What must my casing and cementing programs include?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS AND SULPHUR OPERATIONS IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF Oil and Gas Drilling Operations Applying for A Permit to Drill § 250.415 What must my casing and cementing... in Deep Water Wells (as incorporated by reference in § 250.198), if you drill a well in water depths...

30 CFR 203.47 - What administrative steps do I take to obtain and use the royalty suspension supplement?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... RELIEF OR REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Deep... take to obtain and use the royalty suspension supplement? (a) Before you start drilling a well on your... Supervisor for Production and Development of your intent to begin drilling operations and the depth of the...

30 CFR 250.415 - What must my casing and cementing programs include?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS AND SULPHUR OPERATIONS IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF Oil and Gas Drilling Operations Applying for A Permit to Drill § 250.415 What must my casing and cementing... in Deep Water Wells (as incorporated by reference in § 250.198), if you drill a well in water depths...

A 3 Kilometer Deep Window on the Interior of the Modern Nankai Accretionary Wedge: First Results from IODP Expedition 348

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobin, Harold; Hirose, Takehiro; Demian, Saffer

2014-05-01

IODP Site C0002 at the Nankai Trough is now the deepest hole ever drilled in scientific ocean drilling, at 3058 meters below sea floor so far, and the first hole anywhere to access the deep interior of an active convergent margin. Site C0002 is part of the NanTroSEIZE transect off the Kii-Kumano region of Japan, imaged with 3D seismic reflection and drilled on a series of Chikyu expeditions to shed light on the processes around the up-dip edge of seismogenic locking and slip. At Site C0002, riser drilling has passed through the approximately 900 m thick Kumano forearc basin and pierced the underlying Miocene age accretionary wedge. Limited coring, extensive LWD logging, and continuous observations on drill cuttings reveal the materials and processes in the deep interior of the inner wedge. Predominantly fine-grained mudstones with common turbiditic sands were encountered, complexly deformed and exhibiting well-developed scaly clay fabrics, variable bedding dip with very steep dips prevailing, and veins that become more abundant with depth. The biostratigraphic age of the sediments in the lowermost part of the hole is thought to be ~ 9 - 11 Ma, with an assumed age of accretion of 3-5 Ma. Physical properties suggest that the inner wedge from 1600 - 3000 mbsf has quite homogeneous properties. Evidence from borehole logging, drilling parameters, and samples for the state of stress and pore pressure in this never-before accessed tectonic environment will be presented.

Marine Seismic System Deployment (MSS). Phase 2. Investigation of Techniques and Deployment Scenarios for Installation of Triaxial Seismometer in a Borehole in the Deep Ocean

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-01-09

CHALLENGER for an estimated period of six days. The design for the test Borehole Instrumentation Package (BIP) reentry-sub and associated handling...equipment has been completed ard hmi been submitted for vendor bid. Details of the specialized support equipment for installation on the GLOMAR CHALLENGER ...developed under the direction of the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) by the dynamically positioned drilling vessel GLOMAR CHALLENGER . Deployment of the

Performance based design of laterally loaded drilled shafts.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-12-01

Reliability-based design of deep foundations such as drilled shafts has been increasingly important due to the : heightened awareness of the importance of risk management. The load and resistance factor design has been : implemented by FHWA since 200...

Determination of In-situ Rock Thermal Properties from Geophysical Log Data of SK-2 East Borehole, Continental Scientific Drilling Project of Songliao Basin, NE China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, C.; Zhao, J.; Zhang, X.; Peng, C.; Zhang, S.

2017-12-01

Continental Scientific Drilling Project of Songliao Basin is a drilling project under the framework of ICDP. It aims at detecting Cretaceous environmental/climate changes and exploring potential resources near or beneath the base of the basin. The main hole, SK-2 East Borehole, has been drilled to penetrate through the Cretaceous formation. A variety of geophysical log data were collected from the borehole, which provide a great opportunity to analyze thermal properties of in-situ rock surrounding the borehole.The geothermal gradients were derived directly from temperature logs recorded 41 days after shut-in. The matrix and bulk thermal conductivity of rock were calculated with the geometric-mean model, in which mineral/rock contents and porosity were required as inputs (Fuchs et. al., 2014). Accurate mineral contents were available from the elemental capture spectroscopy logs and porosity data were derived from conventional logs (density, neutron and sonic). The heat production data were calculated by means of the concentrations of uranium, thorium and potassium determined from natural gamma-ray spectroscopy logs. Then, the heat flow was determined by using the values of geothermal gradients and thermal conductivity.The thermal parameters of in-situ rock over the depth interval of 0 4500m in the borehole were derived from geophysical logs. Statistically, the numerical ranges of thermal parameters are in good agreement with the measured values from both laboratory and field in this area. The results show that high geothermal gradient and heat flow exist over the whole Cretaceous formation, with anomalously high values in the Qingshankou formation (1372.0 1671.7m) and the Quantou formation (1671.7 2533.5m). It is meaningful for characterization of geothermal regime and exploration of geothermal resources in the basin. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by the "China Continental Scientific Drilling Program of Cretaceous Songliao Basin (CCSD-SK)" of China Geological Survey Projects (NO. 12120113017600).

Smaller Footprint Drilling System for Deep and Hard Rock Environments; Feasibility of Ultra-High-Speed Diamond Drilling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arnis Judzis; Homer Robertson; Alan Black

2006-06-22

The two phase program addresses long-term developments in deep well and hard rock drilling. TerraTek believes that significant improvements in drilling deep hard rock will be obtained by applying ultra-high rotational speeds (greater than 10,000 rpm). The work includes a feasibility of concept research effort aimed at development that will ultimately result in the ability to reliably drill ''faster and deeper'' possibly with smaller, more mobile rigs. The principle focus is on demonstration testing of diamond bits rotating at speeds in excess of 10,000 rpm to achieve high rate of penetration (ROP) rock cutting with substantially lower inputs of energymore » and loads. The significance of the ''ultra-high rotary speed drilling system'' is the ability to drill into rock at very low weights on bit and possibly lower energy levels. The drilling and coring industry today does not practice this technology. The highest rotary speed systems in oil field and mining drilling and coring today run less than 10,000 rpm-usually well below 5,000 rpm. This document details the progress at the end of Phase 1 on the program entitled ''Smaller Footprint Drilling System for Deep and Hard Rock Environments: Feasibility of Ultra-High-Speed Diamond Drilling'' for the period starting 1 March 2006 and concluding 30 June 2006. (Note: Results from 1 September 2005 through 28 February 2006 were included in the previous report (see Judzis, Black, and Robertson)). Summarizing the accomplished during Phase 1: {lg_bullet} TerraTek reviewed applicable literature and documentation and convened a project kickoff meeting with Industry Advisors in attendance (see Black and Judzis). {lg_bullet} TerraTek designed and planned Phase I bench scale experiments (See Black and Judzis). Some difficulties continued in obtaining ultra-high speed motors. Improvements were made to the loading mechanism and the rotational speed monitoring instrumentation. New drill bit designs were developed to provided a more consistent product with consistent performance. A test matrix for the final core bit testing program was completed. {lg_bullet} TerraTek concluded Task 3 ''Small-scale cutting performance tests.'' {sm_bullet} Significant testing was performed on nine different rocks. {sm_bullet} Five rocks were used for the final testing. The final tests were based on statistical design of experiments. {sm_bullet} Two full-faced bits, a small diameter and a large diameter, were run in Berea sandstone. {lg_bullet} Analysis of data was completed and indicates that there is decreased specific energy as the rotational speed increases (Task 4). Data analysis from early trials was used to direct the efforts of the final testing for Phase I (Task 5). {lg_bullet} Technology transfer (Task 6) was accomplished with technical presentations to the industry (see Judzis, Boucher, McCammon, and Black).« less

Antarctic climate, Southern Ocean circulation patterns, and deep water formation during the Eocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huck, Claire E.; van de Flierdt, Tina; Bohaty, Steven M.; Hammond, Samantha J.

2017-07-01

We assess early-to-middle Eocene seawater neodymium (Nd) isotope records from seven Southern Ocean deep-sea drill sites to evaluate the role of Southern Ocean circulation in long-term Cenozoic climate change. Our study sites are strategically located on either side of the Tasman Gateway and are positioned at a range of shallow (<500 m) to intermediate/deep ( 1000-2500 m) paleowater depths. Unradiogenic seawater Nd isotopic compositions, reconstructed from fish teeth at intermediate/deep Indian Ocean pelagic sites (Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 738 and 757 and Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Site 264), indicate a dominant Southern Ocean-sourced contribution to regional deep waters (ɛNd(t) = -9.3 ± 1.5). IODP Site U1356 off the coast of Adélie Land, a locus of modern-day Antarctic Bottom Water production, is identified as a site of persistent deep water formation from the early Eocene to the Oligocene. East of the Tasman Gateway an additional local source of intermediate/deep water formation is inferred at ODP Site 277 in the SW Pacific Ocean (ɛNd(t) = -8.7 ± 1.5). Antarctic-proximal shelf sites (ODP Site 1171 and Site U1356) reveal a pronounced erosional event between 49 and 48 Ma, manifested by 2 ɛNd unit negative excursions in seawater chemistry toward the composition of bulk sediments at these sites. This erosional event coincides with the termination of peak global warmth following the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum and is associated with documented cooling across the study region and increased export of Antarctic deep waters, highlighting the complexity and importance of Southern Ocean circulation in the greenhouse climate of the Eocene.

A CCSD (T) investigation of carbonyl oxide and dioxirane. Equilibrium geometries, dipole moments, infrared spectra, heats of formation and isomerization energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cremer, Dieter; Gauss, Jürgen; Kraka, Elfi; Stanton, John F.; Bartlett, Rodney J.

1993-07-01

A CCSD and CCSD (T) investigation of carbonyl oxide ( 1) and its cyclic isomer dioxirane ( 2) has been carried out employing DZ + P and TZ + 2P basis sets. Calculated geometries, charge distributions, and dipole moments suggest that 1 possesses more zwitterionic character (CCSD (T) dipole moment 4 D) than has been predicted. 1 can be distinguished from 2 by its infrared spectrum as indicated by CCSD (T) frequencies, intensities, and isotopic shifts. The heats of formation Δ H0f (298) for 1 and 2 are 30.2 and 6.0 kcal/mol, respectively; the CCSD (T) barrier to isomerization from 1 to 2 is 19.2 kcal/mol. Decomposition of 1 and 2 can lead to CO, CO 2, H 2O, H 2 but not to free CH 2, O 2 or O. Both isomers should be powerful epoxidation agents in the presence of alkenes, but they should differ in their ability to form cyclopropanes with alkenes.

Proof of principal for staircase auger chip removal theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barron, Jeffrey B.; Brewer, Steve; Kerns, Kenneth; Moody, Kyle; Rossi, Richard A.

1987-01-01

A proof of principal design of the staircase auger theory is provided for lunar drilling. The drill is designed to drill holes 30 meters deep and 0.1 meters in diameter. The action of the auger is 0.01 meter strokes at a varying number of strokes per second. A detailed analysis of the interaction of the auger and particle was done to optimize the parameters of the auger. This optimum design will allow for proper heat removal and reasonable drilling time. The drill bit is designed to scoop the particles into the auger while efficiently cutting through the moon's surface.

Agglutinates as recorders of regolith evolution - Application to the Apollo 17 drill core

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laul, J. C.; Smith, M. R.; Papike, J. J.; Simon, S. B.

1984-01-01

Chemical data are reported for agglutinates from 26 depth intervals of the Apollo 17 deep drill core, and the compositions of the agglutinates are compared with those of the soils in which they occur. The agglutinate sequence suggests a scenario in which several closely-spaced depositional events were involved in the formation of the drill core, rather than a continuous accumulation process.

Agglutinates as recorders of regolith evolution - Application to the Apollo 17 drill core

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Laul, J.C.; Smith, M.R.

1984-11-15

Chemical data are reported for agglutinates from 26 depth intervals of the Apollo 17 deep drill core, and the compositions of the agglutinates are compared with those of the soils in which they occur. The agglutinate sequence suggests a scenario in which several closely-spaced depositional events were involved in the formation of the drill core, rather than a continuous accumulation process.

Technology Development and Field Trials of EGS Drilling Systems at Chocolate Mountain

DOE Data Explorer

Steven Knudsen

2012-01-01

Polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bits are routinely used in the oil and gas industry for drilling medium to hard rock but have not been adopted for geothermal drilling, largely due to past reliability issues and higher purchase costs. The Sandia Geothermal Research Department has recently completed a field demonstration of the applicability of advanced synthetic diamond drill bits for production geothermal drilling. Two commercially-available PDC bits were tested in a geothermal drilling program in the Chocolate Mountains in Southern California. These bits drilled the granitic formations with significantly better Rate of Penetration (ROP) and bit life than the roller cone bit they are compared with. Drilling records and bit performance data along with associated drilling cost savings are presented herein. The drilling trials have demonstrated PDC bit drilling technology has matured for applicability and improvements to geothermal drilling. This will be especially beneficial for development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems whereby resources can be accessed anywhere within the continental US by drilling to deep, hot resources in hard, basement rock formations.

Smaller Footprint Drilling System for Deep and Hard Rock Environments; Feasibility of Ultra-High-Speed Diamond Drilling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

TerraTek, A Schlumberger Company

2008-12-31

The two phase program addresses long-term developments in deep well and hard rock drilling. TerraTek believes that significant improvements in drilling deep hard rock will be obtained by applying ultra-high rotational speeds (greater than 10,000 rpm). The work includes a feasibility of concept research effort aimed at development that will ultimately result in the ability to reliably drill 'faster and deeper' possibly with smaller, more mobile rigs. The principle focus is on demonstration testing of diamond bits rotating at speeds in excess of 10,000 rpm to achieve high rate of penetration (ROP) rock cutting with substantially lower inputs of energymore » and loads. The significance of the 'ultra-high rotary speed drilling system' is the ability to drill into rock at very low weights on bit and possibly lower energy levels. The drilling and coring industry today does not practice this technology. The highest rotary speed systems in oil field and mining drilling and coring today run less than 10,000 rpm - usually well below 5,000 rpm. This document provides the progress through two phases of the program entitled 'Smaller Footprint Drilling System for Deep and Hard Rock Environments: Feasibility of Ultra-High-Speed Diamond Drilling' for the period starting 30 June 2003 and concluding 31 March 2009. The accomplishments of Phases 1 and 2 are summarized as follows: (1) TerraTek reviewed applicable literature and documentation and convened a project kick-off meeting with Industry Advisors in attendance (see Black and Judzis); (2) TerraTek designed and planned Phase I bench scale experiments (See Black and Judzis). Improvements were made to the loading mechanism and the rotational speed monitoring instrumentation. New drill bit designs were developed to provided a more consistent product with consistent performance. A test matrix for the final core bit testing program was completed; (3) TerraTek concluded small-scale cutting performance tests; (4) Analysis of Phase 1 data indicated that there is decreased specific energy as the rotational speed increases; (5) Technology transfer, as part of Phase 1, was accomplished with technical presentations to the industry (see Judzis, Boucher, McCammon, and Black); (6) TerraTek prepared a design concept for the high speed drilling test stand, which was planned around the proposed high speed mud motor concept. Alternative drives for the test stand were explored; a high speed hydraulic motor concept was finally used; (7) The high speed system was modified to accommodate larger drill bits than originally planned; (8) Prototype mud turbine motors and the high speed test stand were used to drive the drill bits at high speed; (9) Three different rock types were used during the testing: Sierra White granite, Crab Orchard sandstone, and Colton sandstone. The drill bits used included diamond impregnated bits, a polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bit, a thermally stable PDC (TSP) bit, and a hybrid TSP and natural diamond bit; and (10) The drill bits were run at rotary speeds up to 5500 rpm and weight on bit (WOB) to 8000 lbf. During Phase 2, the ROP as measured in depth of cut per bit revolution generally increased with increased WOB. The performance was mixed with increased rotary speed, with the depth cut with the impregnated drill bit generally increasing and the TSP and hybrid TSP drill bits generally decreasing. The ROP in ft/hr generally increased with all bits with increased WOB and rotary speed. The mechanical specific energy generally improved (decreased) with increased WOB and was mixed with increased rotary speed.« less

Deep drilling in the Chesapeake Bay impact structure - An overview

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gohn, G.S.; Koeberl, C.; Miller, K.G.; Reimold, W.U.

2009-01-01

The late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure lies buried at moderate depths below Chesapeake Bay and surrounding landmasses in southeastern Virginia, USA. Numerous characteristics made this impact structure an inviting target for scientific drilling, including the location of the impact on the Eocene continental shelf, its threelayer target structure, its large size (??85 km diameter), its status as the source of the North American tektite strewn field, its temporal association with other late Eocene terrestrial impacts, its documented effects on the regional groundwater system, and its previously unstudied effects on the deep microbial biosphere. The Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure Deep Drilling Project was designed to drill a deep, continuously cored test hole into the central part of the structure. A project workshop, funding proposals, and the acceptance of those proposals occurred during 2003-2005. Initial drilling funds were provided by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Supplementary funds were provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate, ICDP, and USGS. Field operations were conducted at Eyreville Farm, Northampton County, Virginia, by Drilling, Observation, and Sampling of the Earth's Continental Crust (DOSECC) and the project staff during September-December 2005, resulting in two continuously cored, deep holes. The USGS and Rutgers University cored a shallow hole to 140 m in April-May 2006 to complete the recovered section from land surface to 1766 m depth. The recovered section consists of 1322 m of crater materials and 444 m of overlying postimpact Eocene to Pleistocene sediments. The crater section consists of, from base to top: basement-derived blocks of crystalline rocks (215 m); a section of suevite, impact melt rock, lithic impact breccia, and cataclasites (154 m); a thin interval of quartz sand and lithic blocks (26 m); a granite megablock (275 m); and sediment blocks and boulders, polymict, sediment-clast-dominated sedimentary breccias, and a thin upper section of stratified sediments (652 m). The cored postimpact sediments provide insight into the effects of a large continental-margin impact on subsequent coastal-plain sedimentation. This volume contains the first results of multidisciplinary studies of the Eyreville cores and related topics. The volume is divided into these sections: geologic column; borehole geophysical studies; regional geophysical studies; crystalline rocks, impactites, and impact models; sedimentary breccias; postimpact sediments; hydrologic and geothermal studies; and microbiologic studies. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

The Iceland Deep Drilling Project 4.5 km deep well, IDDP-2, in the seawater-recharged Reykjanes geothermal field in SW Iceland has successfully reached its supercritical target

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friðleifsson, Guðmundur Ó.; Elders, Wilfred A.; Zierenberg, Robert A.; Stefánsson, Ari; Fowler, Andrew P. G.; Weisenberger, Tobias B.; Harðarson, Björn S.; Mesfin, Kiflom G.

2017-11-01

The Iceland Deep Drilling Project research well RN-15/IDDP-2 at Reykjanes, Iceland, reached its target of supercritical conditions at a depth of 4.5 km in January 2017. After only 6 days of heating, the measured bottom hole temperature was 426 °C, and the fluid pressure was 34 MPa. The southern tip of the Reykjanes peninsula is the landward extension of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in Iceland. Reykjanes is unique among Icelandic geothermal systems in that it is recharged by seawater, which has a critical point of 406 °C at 29.8 MPa. The geologic setting and fluid characteristics at Reykjanes provide a geochemical analog that allows us to investigate the roots of a mid-ocean ridge submarine black smoker hydrothermal system. Drilling began with deepening an existing 2.5 km deep vertical production well (RN-15) to 3 km depth, followed by inclined drilling directed towards the main upflow zone of the system, for a total slant depth of 4659 m ( ˜ 4.5 km vertical depth). Total circulation losses of drilling fluid were encountered below 2.5 km, which could not be cured using lost circulation blocking materials or multiple cement jobs. Accordingly, drilling continued to the total depth without return of drill cuttings. Thirteen spot coring attempts were made below 3 km depth. Rocks in the cores are basalts and dolerites with alteration ranging from upper greenschist facies to amphibolite facies, suggesting that formation temperatures at depth exceed 450 °C. High-permeability circulation-fluid loss zones (feed points or feed zones) were detected at multiple depth levels below 3 km depth to bottom. The largest circulation losses (most permeable zones) occurred between the bottom of the casing and 3.4 km depth. Permeable zones encountered below 3.4 km accepted less than 5 % of the injected water. Currently, the project is attempting soft stimulation to increase deep permeability. While it is too early to speculate on the energy potential of this well and its economics, the IDDP-2 is a milestone in the development of geothermal resources and the study of hydrothermal systems. It is the first well that successfully encountered supercritical hydrothermal conditions, with potential high-power output, and in which on-going hydrothermal metamorphism at amphibolite facies conditions can be observed. The next step will be to carry out flow testing and fluid sampling to determine the chemical and thermodynamic properties of the formation fluids.

30 CFR 203.43 - To which production do I apply the RSV earned from qualified deep wells or qualified phase 1...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... in water between 200 and 400 meters deep, you begin drilling an original deep well with a perforated... 200 meters deep; (ii) May 18, 2007, for an RSV earned by a qualified deep well on a lease that is located entirely in water more than 200 meters deep; or (iii) The date that the first qualified well that...

Computational Prediction of Kinetic Rate Constants

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-09

24 Reactant: P(CH3)F2O (Difluor) Energetics: RHF DZP Frozen Core CCSD: -655.069925 Hartree CCSD(T): -655.090871 Hartree ZPE : 30.59 kcal...655.069925 Hartree CCSD(T): -655.090871 Hartree ZPE : 30.59 kcal/mol Geometry: RHF CCSD(T) Geom. Opt. PC Bond (Å): 1.79575 OP Bond (Å): 1.47117 FP Bond (Å... ZPE : 18.67 kcal/mol Intensity (km/mol)Frequency (cm -1)Symmetry 11.03833324.0968A1 11.03833324.0968A1 0.00003133.6602A1 2.38681429.9058A1

Auto-Gopher-II: an autonomous wireline rotary-hammer ultrasonic drill

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badescu, Mircea; Lee, Hyeong Jae; Sherrit, Stewart; Bao, Xiaoqi; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Jackson, Shannon; Chesin, Jacob; Zacny, Kris; Paulsen, Gale L.; Mellerowicz, Bolek; Kim, Daniel

2017-04-01

Developing technologies that would enable future NASA exploration missions to penetrate deeper into the subsurface of planetary bodies for sample collection is of great importance. Performing these tasks while using minimal mass/volume systems and with low energy consumption is another set of requirements imposed on such technologies. A deep drill, called Auto-Gopher II, is currently being developed as a joint effort between JPL's NDEAA laboratory and Honeybee Robotics Corp. The Auto-Gopher II is a wireline rotary-hammer drill that combines formation breaking by hammering using an ultrasonic actuator and cuttings removal by rotating a fluted auger bit. The hammering mechanism is based on the Ultrasonic/Sonic Drill/Corer (USDC) mechanism that has been developed as an adaptable tool for many drilling and coring applications. The USDC uses an intermediate free-flying mass to transform high frequency vibrations of a piezoelectric transducer horn tip into sonic hammering of the drill bit. The USDC concept was used in a previous task to develop an Ultrasonic/Sonic Ice Gopher and then integrated into a rotary hammer device to develop the Auto-Gopher-I. The lessons learned from these developments are being integrated into the development of the Auto- Gopher-II, an autonomous deep wireline drill with integrated cuttings and sample management and drive electronics. Subsystems of the wireline drill are being developed in parallel at JPL and Honeybee Robotics Ltd. This paper presents the development efforts of the piezoelectric actuator, cuttings removal and retention flutes and drive electronics.

Computational studies of metal-metal and metal-ligand interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, Leslie A.

1992-01-01

The geometric structure of Cr(CO)6 is optimized at the modified coupled-pair functional (MCPF), single and double excitation coupled-cluster (CCSD) and CCSD(T) levels of theory (including a perturbational estimate for connected triple excitations), and the force constants for the totally symmetric representation are determined. The geometry of Cr(CO)5 is partially optimized at the MCPF, CCSD and CCSD(T) levels of theory. Comparison with experimental data shows that the CCSD(T) method gives the best results for the structures and force constants, and that remaining errors are probably due to deficiencies in the one-particle basis sets used for CO. A detailed comparison of the properties of free CO is therefore given, at both the MCPF and CCSD/CCSD(T) levels of treatment, using a variety of basis sets. With very large one-particle basis sets, the SSCD(T) method gives excellent results for the bond distance, dipole moment and harmonic frequency of free CO. The total binding energies of Cr(CO)6 and Cr(CO)5 are also determined at the MCPF, CCSD and CCSD(T) levels of theory. The CCSD(T) method gives a much larger total binding energy than either the MCPF or CCSD methods. An analysis of the basis set superposition error (BSSE) at the MCPF level of treatment points out limitations in the one-particle basis used here and in a previous study. Calculations using larger basis sets reduced the BSSE, but the total binding energy of Cr(CO)6 is still significantly smaller than the experimental value, although the first CO bond dissociation energy of Cr(CO)6 is well described. An investigation of 3s3p correlation reveals only a small effect. The remaining discrepancy between the experimental and theoretical total binding energy of Cr(CO)6 is probably due to limitations in the one-particle basis, rather than limitations in the correlation treatment. In particular an additional d function and an f function on each C and O are needed to obtain quantitative results. This is underscored by the fact that even using a very large primitive se (1042 primitive functions contracted to 300 basis functions), the superposition error for the total binding energy of Cr(CO)6 is 22 kcal/mol at the MCPF level of treatment.

Drilling Polar Oceans with the European Research Icebreaker AURORA BOREALIS: the IODP Context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lembke-Jene, Lester; Wolff-Boenisch, Bonnie; Azzolini, Roberto; Thiede, Joern; Biebow, Nicole; Eldholm, Olav; Egerton, Paul

2010-05-01

Polar oceans are characterized by extreme environmental conditions for humans and materials, and have remained the least accessible regions to scientists of the IODP. DSDP and ODP have for long faced specific technical and logistical problems when attempting to drill in ice-covered polar deep-sea basins. The Arctic Ocean and large areas of the high-latitude Southern Ocean remained largely un-sampled by ODP and remain one of the major scientific and technological challenges for IODP. Drilling in these regions has been discussed and anticipated for decades and the scientific rationales are reflected in the science plans of the international Nansen Arctic Drilling Program (NAD) or the Arctic Program Planning Group (APPG) of ODP/IODP, amongst others. More recently, the rationale to investigate the polar oceans in a holistic approach has been outlined by workshops, leading to strategic assessments of the scientific potential and new drilling proposals. The European Polar Board took the initiative to develop a plan for a novel and dedicated research icebreaker with technical capabilities hitherto unrealised. This research icebreaker will enable autonomous operations in the central Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean, even during the severest ice conditions in the deep winter, serving all marine disciplines of polar research including scientific drilling: The European Research Icebreaker and Deep-Sea Drilling Vessel AURORA BOREALIS. AURORA BOREALIS is presently planned as a multi-purpose vessel. The ship can be deployed as a research icebreaker in all polar waters during any season of the year, as it shall meet the specifications of the highest ice-class attainable (IACS Polar Code 1) for icebreakers. During the times when it is not employed for drilling, it will operate as the most technically advanced multi-disciplinary research vessel in the Arctic or polar Southern Ocean. AURORA BOREALIS will be a "European scientific flagship facility" (fully open to non-European partners), a multidisciplinary platform for studies ranging from the sub-seafloor into the atmosphere. AURORA BOREALIS was planned for her role in deep-sea drilling in consultation with engineers and technical experts familiar with the program and the operation of these vessels. All techniques currently deployed on IODP expeditions can be implemented onboard the vessel under polar weather and ice conditions, including the full range of re-entry, casing and cementing, and instrumentation options and the entire suite of downhole logging tools. Due to sufficient laboratory space, a full analytical workflow can be easily established comparable to existing permanent platforms, including clean rooms, diverse scanning and logging or incubation facilities. While the vessel is equipped with a dedicated deep-sea drilling rig, other coring and drilling techniques can be employed if needed (e.g. Rockdrill, MEBO, large diameter Kasten cores). AURORA BOREALIS is fitted to operate a CALYPSO Piston Coring System in polar waters. Future mud-return systems under consideration and testing for IODP to provide controlled borehole conditions in difficult facies are compatible with the layout of AURORA BOREALIS. The berthing capacity of 120 personnel total (scientists, technical support and crew) allows to accommodate a sufficient number of science party members offshore. The present scientific implementation documents plan for about one polar scientific drilling expedition per year in a to-be-determined configuration. As the vessel is a multi-dsiciplinary platform, operations for the entire year are not dependant on drilling operations alone. While principal access to the vessel will be based on a competitive proposal review and evaluation system, the allocation of timeslots specifically for drilling would preferably be given over to IODP handling and planning systems in a cooperative mode using the strengths and capacitites of the future program. Depending on interests and needs of the scientific communities a preferential focus in non-drilling expedition planning could be established e.g. for dedicated geophysical pre-site survey works in areas inaccessible by other vessels to secure critical data needed for later drilling expeditions. Based on ongoing expert consultations, it is safe to assume that the average costs for an Arctic or polar drilling expedition will be considerably lower than with an otherwise necessary multi-ship setup based on modelled expedition scenarios and annual operational cost calculations. Still, AURORA BOREALIS shall provide substantially enhanced scientific, operational, personnel and technical capacities offshore.

Proposed Drill Sites

DOE Data Explorer

Lane, Michael

2013-06-28

Proposed drill sites for intermediate depth temperature gradient holes and/or deep resource confirmation wells. Temperature gradient contours based on shallow TG program and faults interpreted from seismic reflection survey are shown, as are two faults interpreted by seismic contractor Optim but not by Oski Energy, LLC.

A Proposed Borehole Scientific Laboratory in Quay County, New Mexico, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nielson, Dennis; Eckels, Marc; Mast, Peter; Zellman, Mark; Creed, Robert

2017-04-01

Our team has received funding from the US Department of Energy to initiate a Deep Borehole Field Test that will develop a subsurface test site to evaluate the drilling and scientific aspects of deep borehole disposal of nuclear waste in crystalline rock. Phase 1 of the project will focus on Public Outreach and land acquisition whereas Phase 2 will generate a drilling and testing plan and secure regulatory approvals. Phase 3 will complete the Drilling and Testing Plan and Phase 4 will include the drilling and testing. Phase 5 will be devoted to borehole science and experiments with emplacement technology. Although we are specifically considering issues associated with the disposal of waste, this project is a proof of concept, and no waste will be emplaced at our site. In brief, the concept envisions an 8-1/2 inch open-hole completion at a depth of 5000 m in crystalline rock. There will be an extensive program of sample collection (including core) and analysis as well as geophysical logging and borehole testing. Critical issues will be low permeability in the crystalline rock as well as the ability to manage borehole quality. Our team has proposed a site in Quay County, New Mexico that has an 850 meter thick Paleozoic section overlying homogeneous Precambrian granite. A subsequent phase of the project may drill a second hole with a 17-1/2 inch completion located about 200 m from the first. Our long-term plan is that this site will be managed as a deep scientific observatory that also provides a facility for scientific experiments and testing of borehole infrastructure and drilling equipment.

Initial geochemistry data of the Lake Ohrid (Macedonia, Albania) "DEEP" site sediment record: The ICDP SCOPSCO drilling project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francke, Alexander; Wagner, Bernd; Krastel, Sebastian; Lindhorst, Katja; Mantke, Nicole; Klinghardt, Dorothea

2014-05-01

Lake Ohrid, located at the border of Macedonia and Albania is about 30 km long, 15 km wide and up to 290 m deep. Formed within a tectonic graben, Lake Ohrid is considered to be the oldest lake in Europe. The ICDP SCOPSCO (Scientific Collaboration of Past Speciation Conditions in Lake Ohrid) deep drilling campaign at Lake Ohrid in spring 2013 aimed (a) to obtain more precise information about the age and origin of the lake, (b) to unravel the seismotectonic history of the lake area including effects of major earthquakes and associated mass wasting events, (c) to obtain a continuous record containing information on volcanic activities and climate changes in the central northern Mediterranean region, and (d) to better understand the impact of major geological/environmental events on general evolutionary patterns and shaping an extraordinary degree of endemic biodiversity as a matter of global significance. Drilling was carried out by DOSECC (Salt Lake City, USA) using the DLDS (Deep Lake Drilling System) with a hydraulic piston corer for surface sediments and rotation drilling for harder, deeper sediments. Overall, about 2,100 m of sediment were recovered from 4 drill sites. At the "DEEP" site in the center of the lake, seismic data indicated a maximum sediment fill of ca. 700 m, of which the uppermost 568 m sediment were recovered. Initial data from core catcher samples and on-site susceptibility measurements indicate that the sediment sequence covers more than 1.2 million years and provides a continuous archive of environmental and climatological variability in the area. Currently, core opening, core description, XRF and MSCL -scanning, core correlation, and sub-sampling of the sediment cores from the "DEEP" site is conducted at the University of Cologne. High-resolution geochemical data obtained from XRF-scanning imply that the sediments from the "DEEP" site are highly sensitive to climate and environmental variations in the Balkan area over the last few glacial-interglacial cycles. Interglacial periods are characterized by high Ca counts, likely associated with a high content of calcite in the sediments. Previous studies have shown that the calcite contents in sediments from Lake Ohrid are predominantly triggered by precipitation of endogenic calcite resulting from enhanced photosynthesis and higher temperatures. Moreover, high Ca counts mostly correspond to low K counts indicating reduced clastic input and a denser vegetation cover in the catchment. In contrast, high K and low Ca counts characterize glacial periods, indicating reduced precipitation of endognic calcite and enhanced deposition of clastic material. The variations in Ca and K counts mainly represent climatic variations on a glacial-interglacial timescale. Inorganic geochemistry data shall also be used to improve the age control of the "DEEP" site sequence. First findings of macroscopic tephra horizons allow a preliminary age control on the sediment succession, and peaks in K, Sr, Zr, and magnetic susceptibility might indicate the occurrence of cryptotephralayers in the sediment sequence.

The structure and energetics of Cr(CO)6 and Cr(CO)5

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, Leslie A.; Liu, Bowen; Lindh, Roland

1992-01-01

The geometric structure of Cr(CO)6 is optimized at the modified coupled pair functional (MCPF), single and double excitation coupled-cluster (CCSD) and CCSD(T) levels of theory (including a perturbational estimate for connected triple excitations), and the force constants for the totally symmetric representation are determined. The geometry of Cr(CO)5 is partially optimized at the MCPF, CCSD, and CCSD(T) levels of theory. Comparison with experimental data shows that the CCSD(T) method gives the best results for the structures and force constants, and that remaining errors are probably due to deficiencies in the one-particle basis sets used for CO. The total binding energies of Cr(CO)6 and Cr(CO)5 are also determined at the MCPF, CCSD, and CCSD(T) levels of theory. The CCSD(T) method gives a much larger total binding energy than either the MCPF or CCSD methods. An analysis of the basis set superposition error (BSSE) at the MCPF level of treatment points out limitations in the one-particle basis used. Calculations using larger basis sets reduce the BSSE, but the total binding energy of Cr(CO)6 is still significantly smaller than the experimental value, although the first CO bond dissociation energy of Cr(CO)6 is well described. An investigation of 3s3p correlation reveals only a small effect. In the largest basis set, the total CO binding energy of Cr(CO)6 is estimated to be 140 kcal/mol at the CCSD(T) level of theory, or about 86 percent of the experimental value. The remaining discrepancy between the experimental and theoretical value is probably due to limitations in the one-particle basis, rather than limitations in the correlation treatment. In particular an additional d function and an f function on each C and O are needed to obtain quantitative results. This is underscored by the fact that even using a very large primitive set (1042 primitive functions contracted to 300 basis functions), the superposition error for the total binding energy of Cr(CO)6 is 22 kcal/mol at the MCPF level of treatment.

Initial report on drilling into seismogenic zones of M2.0 - M5.5 earthquakes from deep South African gold mines (DSeis)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogasawara, Hiroshi; Durrheim, Raymond; Yabe, Yasuo; Ito, Takatoshi; van Aswegen, Gerrie; Grobbelaar, Michelle; Funato, Akio; Ishida, Akimasa; Ogasawara, Hiroyuki; Mngadi, Siyanda; Manzi, Musa; Ziegler, Martin; Ward, Tony; Moyer, Pamela; Boettcher, Margaret; Ellsworth, Bill; Liebenberg, Bennie; Wechsler, Neta; Onstott, Tullis; Berset, Nicolas

2017-04-01

The International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) approved our proposal (Ogasawara et al., EGU 2016) to drill into and around seismogenic zones where critically stressed faults initiated ruptures at depth. The drilling targets include four ruptures equivalent to M2.0, 2.8, 3.5, and 5.5 that dynamically and quasi-statically evolved in 2.9 Ga hard rock in the Witwatersrand basin, South Africa. Major advantages of our drilling locations are the large quantity and high-quality of existing data from dense seismic arrays both on surface and near-field underground in three deep South African gold mines. Additionally, the great depths (1.0 to 3.3 km from surface) to collar holes reduce drilling costs significantly and enable a larger number of holes to be drilled. Flexibility in drilling direction will also allow us to minimize damage in borehole or drilled cores. With the ICDP funds, we will conduct full-core drilling of 16 holes with drilling ranges from 50 to 750 m to recover both materials and fractures in and around the seismogenic zones, followed by core and borehole logging. Additional in-hole monitoring at close proximity will be supported by co-mingled funds and will follow the ICDP drilling. Expected magnitudes of maximum shear stress are several tens of MPa. We have established an overcoring procedure to measure 3D-stress state for adverse underground working conditions so as not to interfere with mining operations. This procedure was optimized based on the Compact Conic-ended Borehole Overcoring (CCBO) technique (ISRM suggested; Sugawara and Obara, 1999). Funato and Ito (2016 IJRMMS) developed a diametrical core deformation analysis (DCDA) method to measure differential stress using only drilled core by assuming diametrical change with roll angles caused by elastic in-axisymmetrical expansion during drilling. A gold mine has already drilled a hole to intersect the hypocenter of a 2016 M3.5 earthquake and carried out the CCBO stress measurement in other holes at the M3.5 seismogenic zone. As we successfully conducted DCDA with the above-mentioned drilled core, we look forward to shedding light on spatial variations of stress in the seismogenic zones following our ICDP DSeis drilling. A M5.5 earthquake which took place near Orkney, South Africa on 5 August 2014, offers a special opportunity to compare seismically inverted spatio-temporal evolution of both the main rupture and the aftershock activity with the information directly probed by the ICDP DSeis project. Moyer et al. (2016 Seismol. Res. Lett. submitted) calls for comparing seismic source models as part of a workshop proposed to the Southern California Earthquake Center for Fall 2017. In addition, the upper edge of the M5.5 rupture is located hundreds of meters below the mining horizon, sufficiently away from anthropogenic activity. This allows geomicrobiologists to investigate deep microbiological activity fueled by H2 from seismic rupture to address questions about Earth's early life. Drilling machines are being rigged underground soon to kick off our ICDP DSeis drilling in early 2017.

Engineering for Deep Sea Drilling for Scientific Purposes

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-01-01

Clyde Consultants JOSEPH E. BEALL, Triton Engineering Services Company DOUWE DE VRIES, N L Industries, Incorporated TERRY N. GARDNER, Exxon...estimate: $1 million additional cost for each site drilled and 25 to 35 wells to be drilled over the period. __ U 20 inclusion in a request for proposal...26 of a positively buoyant system would allow a nearly conventional rise tensioning system. However, the latter approach would require de - .aping a

Geologic and operational summary, COST No. G-2 well, Georges Bank area, North Atlantic OCS

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amato, Roger V.; Simonis, Edvardas K.

1980-01-01

The Continental Offshore Stratigraphic Test (COST) No. G-2 well is the second deep well to be drilled in the Georges Bank Basin and the third in a series of COST wells on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The G-2 was drilled by Ocean Production Company, acting as the operator for 19 participating companies between January 6 and August 30, 1977. The semisubmersible rig Ocean Victory was used to drill the well to a depth of 21,874 feet at a location 132 statute miles east-southeast of Nantucket Island in 272 feet of water. An earlier deep Stratigraphic test, the COST No. G-l well, was drilled 42 statute miles west of the G-2 well, to a depth of 16,071 feet in 1976 (fig. 1). Geological and engineering data obtained from the well were used by companies and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for evaluating the petroleum potential and possible drilling problems in the U.S. North Atlantic OCS area in preparation for lease sale 42 held on December 18, 1979. The Stratigraphic test was intentionally drilled away from any potential petroleum-bearing feature, but in a block bordering several tracts that were included in the sale area.

Preliminary geologic framework developed for a proposed environmental monitoring study of a deep, unconventional Marcellus Shale drill site, Washington County, Pennsylvania

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stamm, Robert G.

2018-06-08

BackgroundIn the fall of 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was afforded an opportunity to participate in an environmental monitoring study of the potential impacts of a deep, unconventional Marcellus Shale hydraulic fracturing site. The drill site of the prospective case study is the “Range Resources MCC Partners L.P. Units 1-5H” location (also referred to as the “RR–MCC” drill site), located in Washington County, southwestern Pennsylvania. Specifically, the USGS was approached to provide a geologic framework that would (1) provide geologic parameters for the proposed area of a localized groundwater circulation model, and (2) provide potential information for the siting of both shallow and deep groundwater monitoring wells located near the drill pad and the deviated drill legs.The lead organization of the prospective case study of the RR–MCC drill site was the Groundwater and Ecosystems Restoration Division (GWERD) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Aside from the USGS, additional partners/participants were to include the Department of Energy, the Pennsylvania Geological Survey, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the developer Range Resources LLC. During the initial cooperative phase, GWERD, with input from the participating agencies, drafted a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) that proposed much of the objectives, tasks, sampling and analytical procedures, and documentation of results.Later in 2012, the proposed cooperative agreement between the aforementioned partners and the associated land owners for a monitoring program at the drill site was not executed. Therefore, the prospective case study of the RR–MCC site was terminated and no installation of groundwater monitoring wells nor the collection of nearby soil, stream sediment, and surface-water samples were made.Prior to the completion of the QAPP and termination of the perspective case study the geologic framework was rapidly conducted and nearly completed. This was done for three principal reasons. First, there was an immediate need to know the distribution of the relatively undisturbed surface to near-surface bedrock geology and unconsolidated materials for the collection of baseline surface data prior to drill site development (drill pad access road, drill pad leveling) and later during monitoring associated with well drilling, well development, and well production. Second, it was necessary to know the bedrock geology to support the siting of: (1) multiple shallow groundwater monitoring wells (possibly as many as four) surrounding and located immediately adjacent to the drill pad, and (2) deep groundwater monitoring wells (possibly two) located at distance from the drill pad with one possibly being sited along one of the deviated production drill legs. Lastly, the framework geology would provide the lateral extent, thickness, lithology, and expected discontinuities of geologic units (to be parsed or grouped as hydrostratigraphic units) and regional structure trends as inputs into the groundwater model.This report provides the methodology of geologic data accumulation and aggregation, and its integration into a geographic information system (GIS) based program. The GIS program will allow multiple data to be exported in various formats (shapefiles [.shp], database files [.dbf], and Keyhole Markup Language files [.KML]) for use in surface and subsurface geologic site characterization, for sampling strategies, and for inputs for groundwater modeling.

Fishing tool retrieves MWD nuclear source from deep well

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

A new wire line tool has successfully retrieved the nuclear sources and formation data from a measurement-while-drilling (MWD) tool stuck in a deep, highly deviated well in the Gulf of Mexico. On Nov. 8, 1993, Schlumberger Wireline and Testing and Anadrill ran a logging-while-drilling inductive coupling (LINC) tool on conventional wire line to fish the gamma ray and neutron sources from a compensated density neutron (CDN) tool stuck in a well at 19,855 ft with an inclination greater than 80[degree]. The paper briefly describes the operation and equipment.

Regolith irradiation stratigraphy at the Apollo 16 and 17 landing sites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crozaz, G.

1978-01-01

Additional fossil track measurements in the Apollo 17 deep drill stem, as well as detailed track studies in section 3 of the Apollo 16 deep drill core are reported. Although the upper part of the Apollo 17 core seems to have accreted rapidly, no evidence for a rapid accretion of the lower part, as postulated by some authors, is found. Despite the apparent inhomogeneity of section 60003, its track record is unexpectedly homogeneous; all levels are heavily irradiated and emplacement of big slabs of material is not favored.

An efficient and near linear scaling pair natural orbital based local coupled cluster method.

PubMed

Riplinger, Christoph; Neese, Frank

2013-01-21

In previous publications, it was shown that an efficient local coupled cluster method with single- and double excitations can be based on the concept of pair natural orbitals (PNOs) [F. Neese, A. Hansen, and D. G. Liakos, J. Chem. Phys. 131, 064103 (2009)]. The resulting local pair natural orbital-coupled-cluster single double (LPNO-CCSD) method has since been proven to be highly reliable and efficient. For large molecules, the number of amplitudes to be determined is reduced by a factor of 10(5)-10(6) relative to a canonical CCSD calculation on the same system with the same basis set. In the original method, the PNOs were expanded in the set of canonical virtual orbitals and single excitations were not truncated. This led to a number of fifth order scaling steps that eventually rendered the method computationally expensive for large molecules (e.g., >100 atoms). In the present work, these limitations are overcome by a complete redesign of the LPNO-CCSD method. The new method is based on the combination of the concepts of PNOs and projected atomic orbitals (PAOs). Thus, each PNO is expanded in a set of PAOs that in turn belong to a given electron pair specific domain. In this way, it is possible to fully exploit locality while maintaining the extremely high compactness of the original LPNO-CCSD wavefunction. No terms are dropped from the CCSD equations and domains are chosen conservatively. The correlation energy loss due to the domains remains below <0.05%, which implies typically 15-20 but occasionally up to 30 atoms per domain on average. The new method has been given the acronym DLPNO-CCSD ("domain based LPNO-CCSD"). The method is nearly linear scaling with respect to system size. The original LPNO-CCSD method had three adjustable truncation thresholds that were chosen conservatively and do not need to be changed for actual applications. In the present treatment, no additional truncation parameters have been introduced. Any additional truncation is performed on the basis of the three original thresholds. There are no real-space cutoffs. Single excitations are truncated using singles-specific natural orbitals. Pairs are prescreened according to a multipole expansion of a pair correlation energy estimate based on local orbital specific virtual orbitals (LOSVs). Like its LPNO-CCSD predecessor, the method is completely of black box character and does not require any user adjustments. It is shown here that DLPNO-CCSD is as accurate as LPNO-CCSD while leading to computational savings exceeding one order of magnitude for larger systems. The largest calculations reported here featured >8800 basis functions and >450 atoms. In all larger test calculations done so far, the LPNO-CCSD step took less time than the preceding Hartree-Fock calculation, provided no approximations have been introduced in the latter. Thus, based on the present development reliable CCSD calculations on large molecules with unprecedented efficiency and accuracy are realized.

Toward a W4-F12 approach: Can explicitly correlated and orbital-based ab initio CCSD(T) limits be reconciled?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sylvetsky, Nitai, E-mail: gershom@weizmann.ac.il; Martin, Jan M. L., E-mail: gershom@weizmann.ac.il; Peterson, Kirk A., E-mail: kipeters@wsu.edu

2016-06-07

In the context of high-accuracy computational thermochemistry, the valence coupled cluster with all singles and doubles (CCSD) correlation component of molecular atomization energies presents the most severe basis set convergence problem, followed by the (T) component. In the present paper, we make a detailed comparison, for an expanded version of the W4-11 thermochemistry benchmark, between, on the one hand, orbital-based CCSD/AV{5,6}Z + d and CCSD/ACV{5,6}Z extrapolation, and on the other hand CCSD-F12b calculations with cc-pVQZ-F12 and cc-pV5Z-F12 basis sets. This latter basis set, now available for H–He, B–Ne, and Al–Ar, is shown to be very close to the basis setmore » limit. Apparent differences (which can reach 0.35 kcal/mol for systems like CCl{sub 4}) between orbital-based and CCSD-F12b basis set limits disappear if basis sets with additional radial flexibility, such as ACV{5,6}Z, are used for the orbital calculation. Counterpoise calculations reveal that, while total atomization energies with V5Z-F12 basis sets are nearly free of BSSE, orbital calculations have significant BSSE even with AV(6 + d)Z basis sets, leading to non-negligible differences between raw and counterpoise-corrected extrapolated limits. This latter problem is greatly reduced by switching to ACV{5,6}Z core-valence basis sets, or simply adding an additional zeta to just the valence orbitals. Previous reports that all-electron approaches like HEAT (high-accuracy extrapolated ab-initio thermochemistry) lead to different CCSD(T) limits than “valence limit + CV correction” approaches like Feller-Peterson-Dixon and Weizmann-4 (W4) theory can be rationalized in terms of the greater radial flexibility of core-valence basis sets. For (T) corrections, conventional CCSD(T)/AV{Q,5}Z + d calculations are found to be superior to scaled or extrapolated CCSD(T)-F12b calculations of similar cost. For a W4-F12 protocol, we recommend obtaining the Hartree-Fock and valence CCSD components from CCSD-F12b/cc-pV{Q,5}Z-F12 calculations, but the (T) component from conventional CCSD(T)/aug’-cc-pV{Q,5}Z + d calculations using Schwenke’s extrapolation; post-CCSD(T), core-valence, and relativistic corrections are to be obtained as in the original W4 theory. W4-F12 is found to agree slightly better than W4 with ATcT (active thermochemical tables) data, at a substantial saving in computation time and especially I/O overhead. A W4-F12 calculation on benzene is presented as a proof of concept.« less

Answers from deep inside the Earth; Continental Scientific Drilling at Cajon Pass, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Russ, D.P.

1989-01-01

Drilling of a 12,000-foot-deep scientific well has been completed at Cajon Pass in southern California to measure crustal properties, to determine crustal structure, and to better understanding the generation of earthquakes along the San Andreas fault. A joint effort of the National Science Foundation (NFS) and the U.S Geological Survey (USGS), the well was begun in November 1986, and is one of the first projects to be undertaken in the new national Continental Scientific Drilling Program. This program aims to enchance our knowledge of the compostiion, sturcture, dynamics, and evolution of the continental crust and of how these factors affect the origin and distribution of mineral and energy resources and natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. 

Calibration of resistance factors for drilled shafts for the new FHWA design method.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-01-01

The Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) calibration of deep foundation in Louisiana was first completed for driven piles (LTRC Final Report 449) in May 2009 and then for drilled shafts using 1999 FHWA design method (ONeill and Reese method) (...

Accurate prediction of bond dissociation energies of large n-alkanes using ONIOM-CCSD(T)/CBS methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Junjun; Ning, Hongbo; Ma, Liuhao; Ren, Wei

2018-05-01

Accurate determination of the bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of large alkanes is desirable but practically impossible due to the expensive cost of high-level ab initio methods. We developed a two-layer ONIOM-CCSD(T)/CBS method which treats the high layer with CCSD(T) method and the low layer with DFT method, respectively. The accuracy of this method was validated by comparing the calculated BDEs of n-hexane with that obtained at the CCSD(T)-F12b/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. On this basis, the C-C BDEs of C6-C20 n-alkanes were calculated systematically using the ONIOM [CCSD(T)/CBS(D-T):M06-2x/6-311++G(d,p)] method, showing a good agreement with the data available in the literature.

Low cost estimation of the contribution of post-CCSD excitations to the total atomization energy using density functional theory calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sánchez, H. R.; Pis Diez, R.

2016-04-01

Based on the Aλ diagnostic for multireference effects recently proposed [U.R. Fogueri, S. Kozuch, A. Karton, J.M. Martin, Theor. Chem. Acc. 132 (2013) 1], a simple method for improving total atomization energies and reaction energies calculated at the CCSD level of theory is proposed. The method requires a CCSD calculation and two additional density functional theory calculations for the molecule. Two sets containing 139 and 51 molecules are used as training and validation sets, respectively, for total atomization energies. An appreciable decrease in the mean absolute error from 7-10 kcal mol-1 for CCSD to about 2 kcal mol-1 for the present method is observed. The present method provides atomization energies and reaction energies that compare favorably with relatively recent scaled CCSD methods.

Ab initio calculations, structure, NBO and NCI analyses of Xsbnd H⋯π interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Qiyang; Su, He; Wang, Hongyan; Wang, Hui

2018-02-01

The performance of ab initio methods (MP2, DFT/B3LYP, random-phase approximation (RPA), CCSD(T) and QCISD(T)) in predicting interaction energy of Xsbnd H⋯π (Xsbnd H = HCCH, HCl, HF; π = C2H2, C2H4, C6H6) hydrogen complexes are assessed systematically. The CCSD(T)/CBS benchmarks of interaction energy are reported. It is found that RPA agrees well with CCSD(T)/CBS benchmarks and experimental results. CCSD(T) and QCISD(T) perform the best only when compared with CCSD(T)/CBS benchmarks, MP2 performs well only for experimental data. B3LYP provides the worst accuracy. Additionally, the equilibrium structure, interaction type of Xsbnd H⋯π hydrogen complexes are investigated by the natural bond orbital (NBO) and the non-covalent interaction index (NCI).

Anionic water pentamer and hexamer clusters: An extensive study of structures and energetics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ünal, Aslı; Bozkaya, Uǧur

2018-03-01

An extensive study of structures and energetics for anionic pentamer and hexamer clusters is performed employing high level ab initio quantum chemical methods, such as the density-fitted orbital-optimized linearized coupled-cluster doubles (DF-OLCCD), coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD), and coupled-cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples [CCSD(T)] methods. In this study, sixteen anionic pentamer clusters and eighteen anionic hexamer clusters are reported. Relative, binding, and vertical detachment energies (VDE) are presented at the complete basis set limit (CBS), extrapolating energies of aug4-cc-pVTZ and aug4-cc-pVQZ custom basis sets. The largest VDE values obtained at the CCSD(T)/CBS level are 9.9 and 11.2 kcal mol-1 for pentamers and hexamers, respectively, which are in very good agreement with the experimental values of 9.5 and 11.1 kcal mol-1. Our binding energy results, at the CCSD(T)/CBS level, indicate strong bindings in anionic clusters due to hydrogen bond interactions. The average binding energy per water molecules is -5.0 and -5.3 kcal mol-1 for pentamers and hexamers, respectively. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that the DF-OLCCD method approaches to the CCSD(T) quality for anionic clusters. The inexpensive analytic gradients of DF-OLCCD compared to CCSD or CCSD(T) make it very attractive for high-accuracy studies.

Anionic water pentamer and hexamer clusters: An extensive study of structures and energetics.

PubMed

Ünal, Aslı; Bozkaya, Uğur

2018-03-28

An extensive study of structures and energetics for anionic pentamer and hexamer clusters is performed employing high level ab initio quantum chemical methods, such as the density-fitted orbital-optimized linearized coupled-cluster doubles (DF-OLCCD), coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD), and coupled-cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples [CCSD(T)] methods. In this study, sixteen anionic pentamer clusters and eighteen anionic hexamer clusters are reported. Relative, binding, and vertical detachment energies (VDE) are presented at the complete basis set limit (CBS), extrapolating energies of aug4-cc-pVTZ and aug4-cc-pVQZ custom basis sets. The largest VDE values obtained at the CCSD(T)/CBS level are 9.9 and 11.2 kcal mol -1 for pentamers and hexamers, respectively, which are in very good agreement with the experimental values of 9.5 and 11.1 kcal mol -1 . Our binding energy results, at the CCSD(T)/CBS level, indicate strong bindings in anionic clusters due to hydrogen bond interactions. The average binding energy per water molecules is -5.0 and -5.3 kcal mol -1 for pentamers and hexamers, respectively. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that the DF-OLCCD method approaches to the CCSD(T) quality for anionic clusters. The inexpensive analytic gradients of DF-OLCCD compared to CCSD or CCSD(T) make it very attractive for high-accuracy studies.

30 CFR 203.41 - If I have a qualified deep well or a qualified phase 1 ultra-deep well, what royalty relief would...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT RELIEF OR REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Deep Gas Wells on Leases Not Subject to Deep Water Royalty Relief § 203.41 If I have... not . . . And if it later . . . Then your lease . . . (1) produced gas or oil from any deep well or...

A new near-linear scaling, efficient and accurate, open-shell domain-based local pair natural orbital coupled cluster singles and doubles theory.

PubMed

Saitow, Masaaki; Becker, Ute; Riplinger, Christoph; Valeev, Edward F; Neese, Frank

2017-04-28

The Coupled-Cluster expansion, truncated after single and double excitations (CCSD), provides accurate and reliable molecular electronic wave functions and energies for many molecular systems around their equilibrium geometries. However, the high computational cost, which is well-known to scale as O(N 6 ) with system size N, has limited its practical application to small systems consisting of not more than approximately 20-30 atoms. To overcome these limitations, low-order scaling approximations to CCSD have been intensively investigated over the past few years. In our previous work, we have shown that by combining the pair natural orbital (PNO) approach and the concept of orbital domains it is possible to achieve fully linear scaling CC implementations (DLPNO-CCSD and DLPNO-CCSD(T)) that recover around 99.9% of the total correlation energy [C. Riplinger et al., J. Chem. Phys. 144, 024109 (2016)]. The production level implementations of the DLPNO-CCSD and DLPNO-CCSD(T) methods were shown to be applicable to realistic systems composed of a few hundred atoms in a routine, black-box fashion on relatively modest hardware. In 2011, a reduced-scaling CCSD approach for high-spin open-shell unrestricted Hartree-Fock reference wave functions was proposed (UHF-LPNO-CCSD) [A. Hansen et al., J. Chem. Phys. 135, 214102 (2011)]. After a few years of experience with this method, a few shortcomings of UHF-LPNO-CCSD were noticed that required a redesign of the method, which is the subject of this paper. To this end, we employ the high-spin open-shell variant of the N-electron valence perturbation theory formalism to define the initial guess wave function, and consequently also the open-shell PNOs. The new PNO ansatz properly converges to the closed-shell limit since all truncations and approximations have been made in strict analogy to the closed-shell case. Furthermore, given the fact that the formalism uses a single set of orbitals, only a single PNO integral transformation is necessary, which offers large computational savings. We show that, with the default PNO truncation parameters, approximately 99.9% of the total CCSD correlation energy is recovered for open-shell species, which is comparable to the performance of the method for closed-shells. UHF-DLPNO-CCSD shows a linear scaling behavior for closed-shell systems, while linear to quadratic scaling is obtained for open-shell systems. The largest systems we have considered contain more than 500 atoms and feature more than 10 000 basis functions with a triple-ζ quality basis set.

A new near-linear scaling, efficient and accurate, open-shell domain-based local pair natural orbital coupled cluster singles and doubles theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saitow, Masaaki; Becker, Ute; Riplinger, Christoph; Valeev, Edward F.; Neese, Frank

2017-04-01

The Coupled-Cluster expansion, truncated after single and double excitations (CCSD), provides accurate and reliable molecular electronic wave functions and energies for many molecular systems around their equilibrium geometries. However, the high computational cost, which is well-known to scale as O(N6) with system size N, has limited its practical application to small systems consisting of not more than approximately 20-30 atoms. To overcome these limitations, low-order scaling approximations to CCSD have been intensively investigated over the past few years. In our previous work, we have shown that by combining the pair natural orbital (PNO) approach and the concept of orbital domains it is possible to achieve fully linear scaling CC implementations (DLPNO-CCSD and DLPNO-CCSD(T)) that recover around 99.9% of the total correlation energy [C. Riplinger et al., J. Chem. Phys. 144, 024109 (2016)]. The production level implementations of the DLPNO-CCSD and DLPNO-CCSD(T) methods were shown to be applicable to realistic systems composed of a few hundred atoms in a routine, black-box fashion on relatively modest hardware. In 2011, a reduced-scaling CCSD approach for high-spin open-shell unrestricted Hartree-Fock reference wave functions was proposed (UHF-LPNO-CCSD) [A. Hansen et al., J. Chem. Phys. 135, 214102 (2011)]. After a few years of experience with this method, a few shortcomings of UHF-LPNO-CCSD were noticed that required a redesign of the method, which is the subject of this paper. To this end, we employ the high-spin open-shell variant of the N-electron valence perturbation theory formalism to define the initial guess wave function, and consequently also the open-shell PNOs. The new PNO ansatz properly converges to the closed-shell limit since all truncations and approximations have been made in strict analogy to the closed-shell case. Furthermore, given the fact that the formalism uses a single set of orbitals, only a single PNO integral transformation is necessary, which offers large computational savings. We show that, with the default PNO truncation parameters, approximately 99.9% of the total CCSD correlation energy is recovered for open-shell species, which is comparable to the performance of the method for closed-shells. UHF-DLPNO-CCSD shows a linear scaling behavior for closed-shell systems, while linear to quadratic scaling is obtained for open-shell systems. The largest systems we have considered contain more than 500 atoms and feature more than 10 000 basis functions with a triple-ζ quality basis set.

A view on coupled cluster perturbation theory using a bivariational Lagrangian formulation.

PubMed

Kristensen, Kasper; Eriksen, Janus J; Matthews, Devin A; Olsen, Jeppe; Jørgensen, Poul

2016-02-14

We consider two distinct coupled cluster (CC) perturbation series that both expand the difference between the energies of the CCSD (CC with single and double excitations) and CCSDT (CC with single, double, and triple excitations) models in orders of the Møller-Plesset fluctuation potential. We initially introduce the E-CCSD(T-n) series, in which the CCSD amplitude equations are satisfied at the expansion point, and compare it to the recently developed CCSD(T-n) series [J. J. Eriksen et al., J. Chem. Phys. 140, 064108 (2014)], in which not only the CCSD amplitude, but also the CCSD multiplier equations are satisfied at the expansion point. The computational scaling is similar for the two series, and both are term-wise size extensive with a formal convergence towards the CCSDT target energy. However, the two series are different, and the CCSD(T-n) series is found to exhibit a more rapid convergence up through the series, which we trace back to the fact that more information at the expansion point is utilized than for the E-CCSD(T-n) series. The present analysis can be generalized to any perturbation expansion representing the difference between a parent CC model and a higher-level target CC model. In general, we demonstrate that, whenever the parent parameters depend upon the perturbation operator, a perturbation expansion of the CC energy (where only parent amplitudes are used) differs from a perturbation expansion of the CC Lagrangian (where both parent amplitudes and parent multipliers are used). For the latter case, the bivariational Lagrangian formulation becomes more than a convenient mathematical tool, since it facilitates a different and faster convergent perturbation series than the simpler energy-based expansion.

Evaluation of static resistance of deep foundation [project summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-06-01

Various types of deep foundations were investigated including steel H-piles, pre-stressed concrete piles, open cylindrical steel and concrete piles with diameters greater than 36 inches, and drilled shafts with partial length permanent casing. : The ...

Experience in sealing water bearing strata during deep shaft sinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kipko, E. Ja.; Polozov, Ju. A.; Lagunov, V. A.; Lushnikova, O. Ju.

1984-12-01

The paper deals with major concepts of grouting through holes drilled from the surface. The results of grouting through a single borehole at the location of two 1090 m deep shafts in Donbass are presented.

30 CFR 203.31 - If I have a qualified phase 2 or qualified phase 3 ultra-deep well, what royalty relief would...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... water less than 400 meters deep (see § 203.30(a)), has no existing deep or ultra-deep wells and that the... depths partly or entirely less than 200 meters and has not previously produced from a deep well (§ 203.30... which is 16,000 feet TVD SS and your lease is located in water 100 meters deep. Then in 2008, you drill...

First Drilled Sample on Mars Since 2016

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-23

NASA's Curiosity rover successfully drilled a hole 2 inches (5.1 centimeters) deep in a target called "Duluth" on May 20, 2018. The hole is about .6 inches (1.6 centimeters) across. It was the first rock sample captured by the drill since October 2016. A mechanical issue took the drill offline in December 2016. Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, had to innovate a new way for the rover to drill in order to restore this ability. The new technique, called Feed Extended Drilling (FED) keeps the drill's bit extended out past two stabilizer posts that were originally used to steady the drill against Martian rocks. It lets Curiosity drill using the force of its robotic arm, a little more like a human would while drilling into a wall at home. This image was taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Sol 2057. It has been white balanced and contrast-enhanced. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22325

Footprint, weathering, and persistence of synthetic-base drilling mud olefins in deep-sea sediments following the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

PubMed

Stout, Scott A; Payne, James R

2017-05-15

Olefin-based synthetic-based drilling mud (SBM) was released into the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster in 2010. We studied the composition of neat SBM and, using conventional GC-FID, the extent, concentration, and chemical character of SBM-derived olefins in >3600 seafloor sediments collected in 2010/2011 and 2014. SBM-derived (C 14 -C 20 ) olefins occurred (up to 10cm deep) within a 6.5km 2 "footprint" around the well. The olefin concentration in most sediments decreased an order of magnitude between 2010/2011 and 2014, at least in part due to biodegradation, evidenced by the preferential loss C 16 and C 18 linear (α- and internal) versus branched olefins. Based on their persistence for 4-years in sediments around the Macondo well, and 13-years near a former unrelated drill site (~62km away), weathered SBM-derived olefins released during the DWH disaster are anticipated to persist in deep-sea sediment for (at least) a comparable duration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Femtosecond ablation applied to deep-drilling of hard metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruneau, Sebastien; Hermann, Joerg; Dumitru, Gabriel; Sentis, Marc L.

2004-09-01

Mechanisms responsible for the limitation of the aspect ratio obtained by deep drilling of hard metals are investigated in the present work. Cemented carbide targets have been irradiated with laser pulses of 100 fs duration and 100 μJ maximum energy delivered by a Ti:sapphire laser system. The experiments are carried out in different gas environments (vacuum, air, helium up to atmospheric pressure) with incident laser fluences ranging from 1 to 20 Jcm-2. During deep drilling, the laser-induced ablation plume is characterized by means of in-situ plasma diagnostics. Fast imaging is used to observe the expansion behavior of the plasma plume whereas time- and space-resolved emission spectroscopy is employed to analyze the plasma composition. After irradiation, the laser-produced craters were examined by optical microscopy. A correlation between the ablation plume characteristics and the morphological changes of the mciro-holes is established. The results indicate that nanoclusters, that present a significant part of the ablated material, are responsbile for the alteration of the crater shape in the high laser fluence regime.

Recent scientific and operational achievements of D/V Chikyu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taira, Asahiko; Toczko, Sean; Eguchi, Nobu; Kuramoto, Shin'ichi; Kubo, Yusuke; Azuma, Wataru

2014-12-01

The D/V Chikyu, a scientific drilling vessel, is equipped with industry-standard riser capabilities. Riser drilling technology enables remarkable drilling and downhole logging capabilities and provides unprecedented hole-stability, enabling the shipboard team to retrieve high-quality wire-line logging data as well as well-preserved core samples. The 11 March 2011 Tohoku Oki mega-earthquake and tsunami cost over 18,000 casualties in NE Japan. Chikyu, docked in the Port of Hachinohe, was damaged by the tsunami. By April 2012, the ship was back in operation; drilling the toe of the Japan Trench fault zone where topographic surveys suggested there was up to 50 m eastward motion, the largest earthquake rupture ever recorded. During Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expeditions 343 and 343 T, Chikyu drilled 850 m below sea floor (mbsf) in 6,900+ m water depth and recovered core samples of a highly brecciated shear zone composed of pelagic claystone. A subseafloor observatory looking for temperature signatures caused by the fault friction during the earthquake, was installed and later successfully recovered. The recovered temperature loggers recorded data from which the level of friction during the mega-earthquake slip could be determined. Following Exp. 343, Chikyu began IODP Exp. 337, a riser drilling expedition into the Shimokita coal beds off Hachinohe, to study the deep subsurface biosphere in sedimentary units including Paleogene-Neogene coal beds. New records in scientific ocean drilling were achieved in deepest penetration (drilling reached 2,466 mbsf) and sample recovery. Currently Chikyu is conducting deep riser drilling at the Nankai Trough in the final stage of the NanTroSEIZE campaign. During the years 2011 to 2013, including drilling in the Okinawa Hydrothermal System, Chikyu's operational and scientific achievements have demonstrated that the ship's capabilities are vital for opening new frontiers in earth and biological sciences.

International Ocean Discovery Program U.S. Implementing Organization

Science.gov Websites

coordinates seagoing expeditions to study the history of the Earth recorded in sediments and rocks beneath the Internship :: Minorities in Scientific Ocean Drilling Fellowship Education Deep Earth Academy logo :: joidesresolution.org :: For students :: For teachers :: For scientists :: View drill sites in Google Earth Export

Pile/shaft designs using artificial neural networks (i.e., genetic programming) with spatial variability considerations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

The work focused on the improvement of FB-DEEPs prediction of skin and tip resistance of concrete : piles and drilled shafts in Florida. For the work, data from 19 concrete pile sites and 18 drilled shaft sites were : collected. This included 458 ...

Field testing of jet-grouted piles and drilled shafts.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-01-01

A field study of deep foundations supporting high mast lighting and signage was undertaken in typical Florida : soils. Three drilled shafts (48 in x12 ft and two 48 in x18 ft) and two jet-grouted piles (28 in x18 ft) were : constructed in Keystone He...

Dead Sea deep cores: A window into past climate and seismicity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stein, Mordechai; Ben-Avraham, Zvi; Goldstein, Steven L.

2011-12-01

The area surrounding the Dead Sea was the locus of humankind's migration out of Africa and thus has been the home of peoples since the Stone Age. For this reason, understanding the climate and tectonic history of the region provides valuable insight into archaeology and studies of human history and helps to gain a better picture of future climate and tectonic scenarios. The deposits at the bottom of the Dead Sea are a geological archive of the environmental conditions (e.g., rains, floods, dust storms, droughts) during ice ages and warm ages, as well as of seismic activity in this key region. An International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) deep drilling project was performed in the Dead Sea between November 2010 and March 2011. The project was funded by the ICDP and agencies in Israel, Germany, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States. Drilling was conducted using the new Large Lake Drilling Facility (Figure 1), a barge with a drilling rig run by DOSECC, Inc. (Drilling, Observation and Sampling of the Earth's Continental Crust), a nonprofit corporation dedicated to advancing scientific drilling worldwide. The main purpose of the project was to recover a long, continuous core to provide a high resolution record of the paleoclimate, paleoenvironment, paleoseismicity, and paleomagnetism of the Dead Sea Basin. With this, scientists are beginning to piece together a record of the climate and seismic history of the Middle East during the past several hundred thousand years in millennial to decadal to annual time resolution.

Geminal-spanning orbitals make explicitly correlated reduced-scaling coupled-cluster methods robust, yet simple

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavošević, Fabijan; Neese, Frank; Valeev, Edward F.

2014-08-01

We present a production implementation of reduced-scaling explicitly correlated (F12) coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) method based on pair-natural orbitals (PNOs). A key feature is the reformulation of the explicitly correlated terms using geminal-spanning orbitals that greatly reduce the truncation errors of the F12 contribution. For the standard S66 benchmark of weak intermolecular interactions, the cc-pVDZ-F12 PNO CCSD F12 interaction energies reproduce the complete basis set CCSD limit with mean absolute error <0.1 kcal/mol, and at a greatly reduced cost compared to the conventional CCSD F12.

Foraminiferal, lithic, and isotopic changes across four major unconformities at Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 548, Goban Spur: Chapter 14 in Initial reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Poag, C. Wylie; Reynolds, Leslie A.; Mazzullo, James M.; Keigwin, Loyd D.

1985-01-01

Sediment samples taken at close intervals across four major unconformities (middle Miocene/upper Miocene, lower Oligocene/upper Oligocene, lower Eocene/upper Eocene, lower Paleocene/upper Paleocene) at DSDP-IPOD Site 548, Goban Spur, reveal that coeval biostratigraphic gaps, sediment discontinuities, and seismic unconformities coincide with postulated low stands of sea level. Foraminiferal, lithic, and isotopic analyses demonstrate that environments began to shift prior to periods of marine erosion, and that sedimentation resumed in the form of turbidites derived from nearby upper-slope sources. The unconformities appear to have developed where a water-mass boundary intersected the continental slope, rhythmically crossing the drill site in concert with sea-level rise and fall.

Chemistry and petrology of size fractions of Apollo 17 deep drill core 70009-70006

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laul, J. C.; Vaniman, D. T.; Papike, J. J.; Simon, S.

1978-01-01

Instrumental neutron activation analysis was used to examine 34 major, minor and trace elements in 48 bulk soils and size fractions (90-1000 microns, 20-90 microns and less than 20 microns) of the Apollo 17 deep drill core sections 70009-70006 (upper 130 cm). Modal data were also obtained for the less than 20 micron size fraction. Preliminary results indicate that (1) the chemistry of the greater than 90 micron and 20-90 micron coarse fractions is identical but quite different from the less than 20 micron fine fraction; (2) the upper 50 cm of the drill core is highly enriched in mare material; (3) the dominant source of highland material is KREEPy instead of anorthositic; and (4) indigenous volatiles such as Zn are quite high in all size fractions.

Exploring Arctic history through scientific drilling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

ODP Leg 151 Shipboard Scientific Party

During the brief Arctic summer of 1993, the Ocean Drilling Program's research vessel JOIDES Resolution recovered the first scientific drill cores from the eastern Arctic Ocean. Dodging rafts of pack ice shed from the Arctic ice cap, the science party sampled sediments north of 80°N latitude from the Yermak Plateau, as well as from sites in Fram Strait, the northeastern Greenland margin, and the Iceland Plateau (Figure 1).The sediments collected reveal the earliest history of the connection between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans through the Nordic Seas. The region between Greenland and Norway first formed a series of isolated basins, sometimes with restricted deep circulation, that eventually joined and allowed deep and surface Arctic Ocean water to invade the region. A record was also retrieved that shows major glaciation in the region began about 2.5 m.y.a.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eriksen, Janus J., E-mail: janusje@chem.au.dk; Jørgensen, Poul; Matthews, Devin A.

The accuracy at which total energies of open-shell atoms and organic radicals may be calculated is assessed for selected coupled cluster perturbative triples expansions, all of which augment the coupled cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) energy by a non-iterative correction for the effect of triple excitations. Namely, the second- through sixth-order models of the recently proposed CCSD(T–n) triples series [J. J. Eriksen et al., J. Chem. Phys. 140, 064108 (2014)] are compared to the acclaimed CCSD(T) model for both unrestricted as well as restricted open-shell Hartree-Fock (UHF/ROHF) reference determinants. By comparing UHF- and ROHF-based statistical results for a test setmore » of 18 modest-sized open-shell species with comparable RHF-based results, no behavioral differences are observed for the higher-order models of the CCSD(T–n) series in their correlated descriptions of closed- and open-shell species. In particular, we find that the convergence rate throughout the series towards the coupled cluster singles, doubles, and triples (CCSDT) solution is identical for the two cases. For the CCSD(T) model, on the other hand, not only its numerical consistency, but also its established, yet fortuitous cancellation of errors breaks down in the transition from closed- to open-shell systems. The higher-order CCSD(T–n) models (orders n > 3) thus offer a consistent and significant improvement in accuracy relative to CCSDT over the CCSD(T) model, equally for RHF, UHF, and ROHF reference determinants, albeit at an increased computational cost.« less

Analytic energy gradients for the coupled-cluster singles and doubles method with the density-fitting approximation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bozkaya, Uğur, E-mail: ugur.bozkaya@hacettepe.edu.tr; Department of Chemistry, Atatürk University, Erzurum 25240; Sherrill, C. David

2016-05-07

An efficient implementation is presented for analytic gradients of the coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) method with the density-fitting approximation, denoted DF-CCSD. Frozen core terms are also included. When applied to a set of alkanes, the DF-CCSD analytic gradients are significantly accelerated compared to conventional CCSD for larger molecules. The efficiency of our DF-CCSD algorithm arises from the acceleration of several different terms, which are designated as the “gradient terms”: computation of particle density matrices (PDMs), generalized Fock-matrix (GFM), solution of the Z-vector equation, formation of the relaxed PDMs and GFM, back-transformation of PDMs and GFM to the atomic orbitalmore » (AO) basis, and evaluation of gradients in the AO basis. For the largest member of the alkane set (C{sub 10}H{sub 22}), the computational times for the gradient terms (with the cc-pVTZ basis set) are 2582.6 (CCSD) and 310.7 (DF-CCSD) min, respectively, a speed up of more than 8-folds. For gradient related terms, the DF approach avoids the usage of four-index electron repulsion integrals. Based on our previous study [U. Bozkaya, J. Chem. Phys. 141, 124108 (2014)], our formalism completely avoids construction or storage of the 4-index two-particle density matrix (TPDM), using instead 2- and 3-index TPDMs. The DF approach introduces negligible errors for equilibrium bond lengths and harmonic vibrational frequencies.« less

Initial investigation of reinforced concrete filled tubes for use in bridge foundations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-06-01

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) frequently employs deep pile or caisson bridge : foundations for its bridge structures. Deep pile and drilled shaft foundations are increasingly important for seismic : design in Washington st...

WINDIGO-THIELSEN ROADLESS AREA, OREGON.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sherrod, David R.; Benham, John R.

1984-01-01

The results of a mineral survey indicate that the Windigo-Thielsen Roadless Area, in Oregon has little promise for the occurrence of metallic mineral or fossil fuel resources. Abundant cinder deposits occur in the area, but numerous other large volume deposits are available in the region, closer to markets. The geothermal potential of the High Cascades province cannot be realistically evaluated without data on the subsurface thermal and hydrologic regime that can only be provided by deep drill holes. Several deep holes could be drilled outside the roadless areas of the High Cascades from which extrapolations of the geothermal potential of the province could be made.

MOUNT WASHINGTON WILDERNESS, OREGON.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Taylor, Edward M.; Causey, J. Douglas

1984-01-01

On the basis of a mineral survey, Mount Washington Wilderness, Oregon has little promise for the occurrence of metallic mineral or fossil fuel resources. Abundant cinder resources occur in the wilderness, but other large volume cinder deposits are available outside the wilderness and closer to markets. Analysis of the geothermal potential of the High Cascades province cannot be made without data on the subsurface thermal and hydrologic regimes which can only be provided by deep drill holes. Several deep holes could be drilled in areas outside the wildernesses of the High Cascades, from which extrapolations of the geothermal potential of the wildernesses could be made.

Deep Drilling and Sampling via the Wireline Auto-Gopher Driven by Piezoelectric Percussive Actuator and EM Rotary Motor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Badescu, Mircea; Sherrit, Stewart; Zacny, Kris; Paulsen, Gale L; Beegle, Luther; Bao, Xiaoqi

2012-01-01

The ability to penetrate subsurfaces and perform sample acquisition at depths of meters is critical for future NASA in-situ exploration missions to bodies in the solar system, including Mars and Europa. A corer/sampler was developed with the goal of acquiring pristine samples by reaching depths on Mars beyond the oxidized and sterilized zone. To developed rotary-hammering coring drill, called Auto-Gopher, employs a piezoelectric actuated percussive mechanism for breaking formations and an electric motor rotates the bit to remove the powdered cuttings. This sampler is a wireline mechanism that is incorporated with an inchworm mechanism allowing thru cyclic coring and core removal to reach great depths. The penetration rate is being optimized by simultaneously activating the percussive and rotary motions of the Auto-Gopher. The percussive mechanism is based on the Ultrasonic/Sonic Drill/Corer (USDC) mechanism that is driven by piezoelectric stack and that was demonstrated to require low axial preload. The Auto-Gopher has been produced taking into account the a lessons learned from the development of the Ultrasonic/Sonic Gopher that was designed as a percussive ice drill and was demonstrated in Antarctica in 2005 to reach about 2 meters deep. A field demonstration of the Auto-Gopher is currently being planned with objective of reaching as deep as 3 to 5 meters in tufa subsurface.

30 CFR 580.21 - What must I do in conducting G&G prospecting or scientific research?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE PROSPECTING FOR MINERALS OTHER THAN OIL, GAS, AND SULPHUR ON THE OUTER... threaten life and property; or (3) Adversely affect the environment, aquatic life, archaeological resources.... (c) If you conduct shallow test drilling or deep stratigraphic test drilling activities, you must use...

30 CFR 580.21 - What must I do in conducting G&G prospecting or scientific research?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE PROSPECTING FOR MINERALS OTHER THAN OIL, GAS, AND SULPHUR ON THE OUTER... threaten life and property; or (3) Adversely affect the environment, aquatic life, archaeological resources.... (c) If you conduct shallow test drilling or deep stratigraphic test drilling activities, you must use...

30 CFR 580.21 - What must I do in conducting G&G prospecting or scientific research?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE PROSPECTING FOR MINERALS OTHER THAN OIL, GAS, AND SULPHUR ON THE OUTER... threaten life and property; or (3) Adversely affect the environment, aquatic life, archaeological resources.... (c) If you conduct shallow test drilling or deep stratigraphic test drilling activities, you must use...

30 CFR 203.31 - If I have a qualified phase 2 or qualified phase 3 ultra-deep well, what royalty relief would...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... INTERIOR MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT RELIEF OR REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Ultra-Deep Wells on Leases Not Subject to Deep Water Royalty Relief § 203.31... applies if your lease: (i) Has produced gas or oil from a deep well with a perforated interval the top of...

Two-component relativistic coupled-cluster methods using mean-field spin-orbit integrals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Junzi; Shen, Yue; Asthana, Ayush; Cheng, Lan

2018-01-01

A novel implementation of the two-component spin-orbit (SO) coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) method and the CCSD augmented with the perturbative inclusion of triple excitations [CCSD(T)] method using mean-field SO integrals is reported. The new formulation of SO-CCSD(T) features an atomic-orbital-based algorithm for the particle-particle ladder term in the CCSD equation, which not only removes the computational bottleneck associated with the large molecular-orbital integral file but also accelerates the evaluation of the particle-particle ladder term by around a factor of 4 by taking advantage of the spin-free nature of the instantaneous electron-electron Coulomb interaction. Benchmark calculations of the SO splittings for the thallium atom and a set of diatomic 2Π radicals as well as of the bond lengths and harmonic frequencies for a set of closed-shell diatomic molecules are presented. The basis-set and core-correlation effects in the calculations of these properties have been carefully analyzed.

Application program of CRUST-1 10km continental scientific drilling rig in SK-2 scientific drilling well

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Youhong; Gao, Ke; Yu, Ping; Liu, Baochang; Guo, Wei; Ma, Yinlong; Yang, Yang

2014-05-01

SK-2 Well is located in DaQing city,where is site of the largest oil field in China,Heilongjiang province, north-east of China.The objective of SK-2 well is to obtain full cores of cretaceous formation in Song Liao basin,and to build the time tunnel of Cretaceous greenhouse climate change,and to clarify the causes,processes and results of the formations of DaQing oil field. This will ensure to achieve our ultimate goals,to test the CRUST-1 drilling rig and improve China's deep scientific drilling technology,to form the scientific drilling technology,method and system with independent intellectual property rights,and to provide technical knowledge and information for China's ten kilometers super-deep scientific drilling technical resources.SK-2 Well is at 6400 meter depth, where the drilling inclination is 90 degree and the continuous coring length is 3535 meter that from 2865 to 6400 meter,the recovery rate of the core is greater or equal to 95 percent with 100 millimeters core diameter and 3.9 degree per 100 meter geothermal gradient.The CRUST-1 rig is designated with special drilling equipment for continental scientific drilling combined to the oil drilling equipment ability with advanced geological drilling technology which is highly automatic and intelligent. CRUST-1 drilling ability is 10000 meter with the maximum hook load 700 tons, the total power is 4610 Kilowatt.CRUST-1 will be integrated with a complete set of automation equipment,including big torque hydraulic top drive,high accuracy automatic drilling rod feeding system, suspended automatic drill string discharge device,hydraulic intelligent iron roughneck,and hydraulic automatic catwalk to fully meet the drilling process requirements of SK-2.Designed with advanced drilling technique for 260 degree in the bottom of SK-2 well and hard rock,including the drilling tools of high temperature hydraulic hammer,high temperature resistance and high strength aluminum drill pipe,high temperature preparation of mud treatment and high temperature resistant cementing materials, and bionic bits,that is coupling bionic PDC tooth bit and diamond-impregnated bit for hard rock.All parts of CRUST-1 were successfully assembled along with the derrick and base lift and transported about 3456 kilometers from manufacture,GuangHan city in southwest China's Sichuan province,to the well site of SK-2 in end of 2013.SK-2 will be finished during next 4 years.

South China Sea Tectonics and Magnetics: Constraints from IODP Expedition 349 and Deep-tow Magnetic Surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, J.; Li, C. F.; Kulhanek, D. K.; Zhao, X.; Liu, Q.; Xu, X.; Sun, Z.; Zhu, J.

2014-12-01

The South China Sea (SCS) is the largest low-latitude marginal sea in the world. Its formation and evolution are linked to the complex continental-oceanic tectonic interaction of the Eurasian, Pacific, and Indo-Australian plates. Despite its relatively small size and short history, the SCS has undergone nearly a complete Wilson cycle from continental break-up to seafloor spreading to subduction. In January-March 2014, Expedition 349 of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) drilled five sites in the deep basin of the SCS. Three sites (U1431, U1433, and U1434) cored into oceanic basement near the fossil spreading center on the East and Southwest Subbasins, whereas Sites U1432 and U1435 are located near the northern continent/ocean boundary of the East Subbasin. Shipboard biostratigraphy based on microfossils preserved in sediment directly above or within basement suggests that the preliminary cessation age of spreading in both the East and Southwest Subbasins is around early Miocene (16-20 Ma); however, post-cruise radiometric dating is being conducted to directly date the basement basalt in these subbasins. Prior to the IODP drilling, high-resolution near-seafloor magnetic surveys were conducted in 2012 and 2013 in the SCS with survey lines passing near the five IODP drilling sites. The deep-tow surveys revealed detailed patterns of the SCS magnetic anomalies with amplitude and spatial resolutions several times better than that of traditional sea surface measurements. Preliminary results reveal several episodes of magnetic reversal events that were not recognized by sea surface measurements. Together the IODP drilling and deep-tow magnetic surveys provide critical constraints for investigating the processes of seafloor spreading in the SCS and evolution of a mid-ocean ridge from active spreading to termination.

A simple and inexpensive technique for assessing microbial contamination during drilling operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friese, André; Vuillemin, Aurèle; Kallmeyer, Jens; Wagner, Dirk

2016-04-01

Exploration of the Deep Biosphere relies on drilling, which inevitably causes infiltration of drilling fluids, containing allochthonous microbes from the surface, into the core. Therefore it is absolutely necessary to trace contamination of the sediment core in order to identify uncontaminated samples for microbiological investigations. Several techniques have been used in the past, including fluorescent dyes, perfluorocarbon tracers and fluorescent microspheres. Fluorescent dyes are inexpensive and easy to analyze on-site but are sensitive to light, pH and water chemistry. Furthermore, significant sorption to clays can decrease the fluorescence signal. Perfluorocarbon tracers are chemically inert hydrophobic compounds that can be detected with high sensitivity via gas chromatography, which might be a problem for on-site analysis. Samples have to be taken immediately after core retrieval as otherwise the volatile tracer will have diffused out of the core. Microsphere tracers are small (0.2 - 0.5 μm diameter) fluorescent plastic particles that are mixed into the drilling fluid. For analysis, these particles can be extracted from the sediment sample, transferred onto a filter and quantified via fluorescence microscopy. However, they are very expensive and therefore unsuitable for deep drilling operations that need large amounts of drilling fluids. Here, we present an inexpensive contamination control approach using fluorescent pigments initially used for coloring plastics. The price of this tracer is nearly three orders of magnitude lower than conventional microsphere tracers. Its suitability for large drilling campaigns was tested at the ICDP Deep Drilling at Lake Towuti, Sulawesi, Indonesia. The tracer was diluted 1:1000 in lake water, which was used as the drilling fluid. Additionally, a plastic bag filled with 20 mL of undiluted tracer was attached to the core catcher to increase the amount of particles in the liner fluid right at the core. After core retrieval, the core was cut and the liner fluid collected. From each whole round core (WRC) that was taken for microbiological and biogeochemical analyses, small samples of 1 cc were retrieved with sterile cutoff syringes from the rim, the center and an intermediate position. After dilution and homogenization in 9 mL MilliQ water, 10 μL of the sediment slurry was transferred onto a filter membrane and particles counted via fluorescence microscopy. Additionally, particles in the liner fluid were also quantified. This allows the quantification of the amount of drilling fluid that has entered the sediment sample during drilling. The minimum detectable volume of drilling fluid was in the order of single nanoliters per cc of sediment, which is in the range of established techniques. The presented method requires only a minimum of equipment and allows rapid determination of contamination in the sediment core and an easy to handle on-site analysis at low costs. The sensitivity is in the same range as perfluorocarbon and microsphere tracer applications. Thus, it offers an inexpensive but powerful technique for contamination assessment for future drilling campaigns.

Towards a distributed infrastructure for research drilling in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mevel, C.; Gatliff, R.; Ludden, J.; Camoin, G.; Horsfield, B.; Kopf, A.

2012-04-01

The EC-funded project "Deep Sea and Sub-Seafloor Frontier" (DS3F) aims at developing seafloor and sub seafloor sampling strategies for enhanced understanding of deep-sea and sub seafloor processes by connecting marine research in life and geosciences, climate and environmental change, with socio-economic issues and policy building. DS3F has identified access to sub seafloor sampling and instrumentation as a key element of this approach. There is a strong expertise in Europe concerning direct access to the sub seafloor. Within the international program IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program), ECORD (European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling) has successfully developed the concept of mission specific platforms (MSPs), contracted on a project basis to drill in ice covered and shallow water areas. The ECORD Science Operator, lead by the British Geological Survey (BGS) has build a internationally recognized expertise in scientific ocean drilling, from coring in challenging environment, through down hole measurements and laboratory analysis to core curation and data management. MARUM, at the Bremen University in Germany, is one of the three IODP core repositories. Europe is also at the forefront of scientific seabed drills, with the MeBo developed by MARUM as well as the BGS seabed rocks drills. Europe also plays a important role in continental scientific drilling and the European component of ICDP (International Continental Scientific Drilling Program) is strengthening, with the recent addition of France and foreseen addition of UK. Oceanic and continental drilling have very similar scientific objectives. Moreover, they share not only common technologies, but also common data handling systems. To develop an integrated approach to technology development and usage, a move towards a a distributed infrastructure for research drilling in Europe has been initiated by these different groups. Built on existing research & operational groups across Europe, it will facilitate the sharing of technological and scientific expertise for the benefit of the science community. It will link with other relevant infrastructure initiatives such as EMSO (European Marine Seafloor Observatories). It will raise the profile of scientific drilling in Europe and hopefully lead to better funding opportunities.

Different equation-of-motion coupled cluster methods with different reference functions: The formyl radical

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuś, Tomasz; Bartlett, Rodney J.

2008-09-01

The doublet and quartet excited states of the formyl radical have been studied by the equation-of-motion (EOM) coupled cluster (CC) method. The Sz spin-conserving singles and doubles (EOM-EE-CCSD) and singles, doubles, and triples (EOM-EE-CCSDT) approaches, as well as the spin-flipped singles and doubles (EOM-SF-CCSD) method have been applied, subject to unrestricted Hartree-Fock (HF), restricted open-shell HF, and quasirestricted HF references. The structural parameters, vertical and adiabatic excitation energies, and harmonic vibrational frequencies have been calculated. The issue of the reference function choice for the spin-flipped (SF) method and its impact on the results has been discussed using the experimental data and theoretical results available. The results show that if the appropriate reference function is chosen so that target states differ from the reference by only single excitations, then EOM-EE-CCSD and EOM-SF-CCSD methods give a very good description of the excited states. For the states that have a non-negligible contribution of the doubly excited configurations one is able to use the SF method with such a reference function, that in most cases the performance of the EOM-SF-CCSD method is better than that of the EOM-EE-CCSD approach.

Subsurface Sample Acquisition and Transfer Systems (SSATS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rafeek, S.; Gorevan, S. P.; Kong, K. Y.

2001-01-01

In the exploration of planets and small bodies, scientists will need the services of a deep drilling and material handling system to not only obtain the samples necessary for analyses but also to precisely transfer and deposit those samples in in-situ instruments on board a landed craft or rover. The technology for such a deep sampling system as the SSATS is currently been developed by Honeybee Robotics through a PIDDP effort. The SSATS has its foundation in a one-meter prototype (SATM) drill that was developed under the New Millenium Program for ST4/Champollion. Additionally the SSATS includes relevant coring technology form a coring drill (Athena Mini-Corer) developed for the Mars Sample Return Mission. These highly developed technologies along with the current PIDDP effort, is combined to produce a sampling system that can acquire and transfer samples from various depths. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Reporting from the Iceland Deep Drilling Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urban, Karl

2017-04-01

Geoscience-related topics are in many cases difficult to communicate to the public: Often they include dead soil which not easily tells lively stories. And it is hard to sell those topics to editors of public media. In addition the topics might also be politically supercharged if they are resource-related with a visible environmental impact. Therefore any researcher involved might be overcautious while talking to journalists. With a grant from the EGU Science Journalist Fellowship I travelled to Iceland in autumn 2016 to report about the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP). The project which started just weeks prior to my arrival aimed to drill the deepest borehole in a volcanically active region. During earlier trials the borehole collapsed or the drill string unintentionally hit magma. If successful the IDDP promises a much higher level of geothermal energy harvested. The IDDP was therefore ideally suited to be sold to public media outlets since Iceland's volcanic legacy easily tells a lively story. But the drilling's potential environmental impact makes it a political topic in Iceland - even though geothermal energy has a positive public perception. Therefore the IDDP included some pitfalls I observed several times before while reporting about geoscience research. Those could be circumvented if researchers and journalists knew better about their expectations before any interview takes place.

Initial Geochemistry Data of the Lake Ohrid (Macedonia, Albania) DEEP -Site Sediment Record: The ICDP Scopsco Drilling Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francke, A.; Wagner, B.; Sulpizio, R.; Zanchetta, G.; Leicher, N.; Gromig, R.; Krastel, S.; Lindhorst, K.; Wilke, T.

2014-12-01

Ancient lakes, with sediment records spanning >1 million years, are very rare. The UNESCO World Heritage site of Lake Ohrid on the Balkans is thought to be the oldest lake in Europe. With 212 endemic species described to date, it is also a hotspot of evolution. In order to unravel the geological and evolutionary history of the lake, an international group of scientists, conducted a deep drilling campaign in spring 2013 under the umbrella of the ICDP SCOPSCO project (Scientific Collaboration on Past Speciation Conditions in Lake Ohrid). Overall, about 2,100 m of sediments were recovered from four drill sites. At the main drill site (DEEP-site) in central parts of the lake where seismic data indicated a maximum sediment fill of ca. 700 m, a total of more than 1,500 m of sediments were recovered until a penetration depth of 569 m. Currently, core opening, core description, XRF and MSCL scanning, sub-sampling (16 cm resolution), and inorganic and organic geochemical as well as sedimentological analyses of the sediment cores from the DEEP site are in progress at the University of Cologne. Previous studies at Lake Ohrid have shown that interglacial periods are characterized by high TIC and TOC contents, likely associated with high contents of calcite and organic matter in the sediments. In contrast, during glacial periods negligible TIC and low TOC contents correspond to high K counts indicating enhanced supply of clastic material. Similar patterns can be observed in the biogeochemical analyses of the subsamples and in the XRF data of the DEEP site record. Following these variations on a glacial-interglacial time scale, TIC and TOC data obtained from the subsamples and from core catcher samples indicate that the DEEP site sequence provides a 1.2 million year old continuous record of environmental and climatological variability in the Balkan Region. The age control can be further improved by first findings of macroscopic tephra horizons. Peaks in K, Sr, Zr, and magnetic susceptibility might indicate the occurrence of additional cryptotephra layers in the sediment sequence.

Treating Subvalence Correlation Effects in Domain Based Pair Natural Orbital Coupled Cluster Calculations: An Out-of-the-Box Approach.

PubMed

Bistoni, Giovanni; Riplinger, Christoph; Minenkov, Yury; Cavallo, Luigi; Auer, Alexander A; Neese, Frank

2017-07-11

The validity of the main approximations used in canonical and domain based pair natural orbital coupled cluster methods (CCSD(T) and DLPNO-CCSD(T), respectively) in standard chemical applications is discussed. In particular, we investigate the dependence of the results on the number of electrons included in the correlation treatment in frozen-core (FC) calculations and on the main threshold governing the accuracy of DLPNO all-electron (AE) calculations. Initially, scalar relativistic orbital energies for the ground state of the atoms from Li to Rn in the periodic table are calculated. An energy criterion is used for determining the orbitals that can be excluded from the correlation treatment in FC coupled cluster calculations without significant loss of accuracy. The heterolytic dissociation energy (HDE) of a series of metal compounds (LiF, NaF, AlF 3 , CaF 2 , CuF, GaF 3 , YF 3 , AgF, InF 3 , HfF 4 , and AuF) is calculated at the canonical CCSD(T) level, and the dependence of the results on the number of correlated electrons is investigated. Although for many of the studied reactions subvalence correlation effects contribute significantly to the HDE, the use of an energy criterion permits a conservative definition of the size of the core, allowing FC calculations to be performed in a black-box fashion while retaining chemical accuracy. A comparison of the CCSD and the DLPNO-CCSD methods in describing the core-core, core-valence, and valence-valence components of the correlation energy is given. It is found that more conservative thresholds must be used for electron pairs containing at least one core electron in order to achieve high accuracy in AE DLPNO-CCSD calculations relative to FC calculations. With the new settings, the DLPNO-CCSD method reproduces canonical CCSD results in both AE and FC calculations with the same accuracy.

Analytic energy gradients for the orbital-optimized third-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bozkaya, Uǧur

2013-09-01

Analytic energy gradients for the orbital-optimized third-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (OMP3) [U. Bozkaya, J. Chem. Phys. 135, 224103 (2011)], 10.1063/1.3665134 are presented. The OMP3 method is applied to problematic chemical systems with challenging electronic structures. The performance of the OMP3 method is compared with those of canonical second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2), third-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP3), coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD), and coupled-cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples [CCSD(T)] for investigating equilibrium geometries, vibrational frequencies, and open-shell reaction energies. For bond lengths, the performance of OMP3 is in between those of MP3 and CCSD. For harmonic vibrational frequencies, the OMP3 method significantly eliminates the singularities arising from the abnormal response contributions observed for MP3 in case of symmetry-breaking problems, and provides noticeably improved vibrational frequencies for open-shell molecules. For open-shell reaction energies, OMP3 exhibits a better performance than MP3 and CCSD as in case of barrier heights and radical stabilization energies. As discussed in previous studies, the OMP3 method is several times faster than CCSD in energy computations. Further, in analytic gradient computations for the CCSD method one needs to solve λ-amplitude equations, however for OMP3 one does not since λ _{ab}^{ij(1)} = t_{ij}^{ab(1)} and λ _{ab}^{ij(2)} = t_{ij}^{ab(2)}. Additionally, one needs to solve orbital Z-vector equations for CCSD, but for OMP3 orbital response contributions are zero owing to the stationary property of OMP3. Overall, for analytic gradient computations the OMP3 method is several times less expensive than CCSD (roughly ˜4-6 times). Considering the balance of computational cost and accuracy we conclude that the OMP3 method emerges as a very useful tool for the study of electronically challenging chemical systems.

Analytic energy gradients for the orbital-optimized third-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory.

PubMed

Bozkaya, Uğur

2013-09-14

Analytic energy gradients for the orbital-optimized third-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (OMP3) [U. Bozkaya, J. Chem. Phys. 135, 224103 (2011)] are presented. The OMP3 method is applied to problematic chemical systems with challenging electronic structures. The performance of the OMP3 method is compared with those of canonical second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2), third-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP3), coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD), and coupled-cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples [CCSD(T)] for investigating equilibrium geometries, vibrational frequencies, and open-shell reaction energies. For bond lengths, the performance of OMP3 is in between those of MP3 and CCSD. For harmonic vibrational frequencies, the OMP3 method significantly eliminates the singularities arising from the abnormal response contributions observed for MP3 in case of symmetry-breaking problems, and provides noticeably improved vibrational frequencies for open-shell molecules. For open-shell reaction energies, OMP3 exhibits a better performance than MP3 and CCSD as in case of barrier heights and radical stabilization energies. As discussed in previous studies, the OMP3 method is several times faster than CCSD in energy computations. Further, in analytic gradient computations for the CCSD method one needs to solve λ-amplitude equations, however for OMP3 one does not since λ(ab)(ij(1))=t(ij)(ab(1)) and λ(ab)(ij(2))=t(ij)(ab(2)). Additionally, one needs to solve orbital Z-vector equations for CCSD, but for OMP3 orbital response contributions are zero owing to the stationary property of OMP3. Overall, for analytic gradient computations the OMP3 method is several times less expensive than CCSD (roughly ~4-6 times). Considering the balance of computational cost and accuracy we conclude that the OMP3 method emerges as a very useful tool for the study of electronically challenging chemical systems.

Recent Multidisciplinary Research Initiatives and IODP Drilling in the South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, J.; Li, C. F.; Wang, P.; Kulhanek, D. K.

2016-12-01

The South China Sea (SCS) is the largest low-latitude marginal sea in the world. Its formation and evolution are linked to the complex continental-oceanic tectonic interaction of the Eurasian, Pacific, and Indo-Australian plates. Despite its relatively small size and short history, the SCS has undergone nearly a complete Wilson cycle from continental break-up to seafloor spreading to subduction, serving as a natural laboratory for studying the linkages between tectonic, volcanic, and oceanic processes. The last several years have witnessed significant progress in investigation of the SCS through comprehensive research programs using multidisciplinary approaches and enhanced international collaboration. The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 349 drilled and cored five sites in the SCS in 2014. The expedition successfully obtained the first basaltic rock samples of the SCS relict spreading center, discovered large and frequent deep-sea turbidity events, and sampled multiple seamount volcaniclastic layers. In addition, high-resolution near-seafloor magnetic surveys were conducted in the SCS with survey lines passing near some of the IODP drilling sites. Together the IODP drilling and deep-tow magnetic survey results confirmed, for the first time, that the entire SCS basin might have stopped seafloor spreading at similar ages in early Miocene, providing important constraints on marginal sea geodynamic models. In 2007, IODP Expeditions 367 and 368 will drill the northern margin of the SCS to investigate the mechanisms of rifting to spreading processes. Meanwhile, major progress in studying the SCS processes has also been made through comprehensive multidisciplinary programs, for example, the eight-year-long "South China Sea Deep" initiative, which also supports and encourages strong international collaboration. This presentation will highlight the recent multidisciplinary research initiatives in investigation of the SCS and the important role of international collaboration.

AURORA BOREALIS - European Research Icebreaker With Drilling Capability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biebow, N.; Lembke-Jene, L.; Kunz-Pirrung, M.; Thiede, J.

2008-12-01

The polar oceans are the least known areas of the globe, in although they hold the key to many of our climate´s secrets. How does the sea ice coverage and the sea water properties change? How do plants and animals survive under the most extreme conditions of the earth? Which information of past climate change can be read from the sediments at the sea-floor and how can the future changing climate be predicted? In order to answer such and further questions, for the moment a hypermodern research vessel, the AURORA BOREALIS, is planned, which can handle the cool summers and freezing winters of the polar oceans and which can drill deep into the sea floor. AURORA BOREALIS will be the most advanced Research Icebreaker in the world with a multi-functional role of drilling in deep ocean basins and supporting climate/environmental research and decision support for stakeholder governments for the next 35-40 years. It will have a high icebreaking capacity to penetrate autonomously (single ship operation) into the central Arctic Ocean with more than 2.5 meters of ice cover, during all seasons of the year. The new technological features will include dynamic positioning in closed sea- ice cover, satellite navigation and ice-management support and the deployment and operation of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) from the twin moon-pools. A unique feature of the vessel is the deep-sea drilling rig, which will enable sampling of the ocean floor and sub-sea up to 5000 m water and 1000 m penetration at the most inhospitable places on earth. The drilling capability will be deployed in both Polar Regions on the long run and AURORA BOREALIS will be the only vessel worldwide that could undertake this type of scientific investigation.

A warm Spitzer survey of the LSST/DES 'Deep drilling' fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lacy, Mark; Farrah, Duncan; Brandt, Niel; Sako, Masao; Richards, Gordon; Norris, Ray; Ridgway, Susan; Afonso, Jose; Brunner, Robert; Clements, Dave; Cooray, Asantha; Covone, Giovanni; D'Andrea, Chris; Dickinson, Mark; Ferguson, Harry; Frieman, Joshua; Gupta, Ravi; Hatziminaoglou, Evanthia; Jarvis, Matt; Kimball, Amy; Lubin, Lori; Mao, Minnie; Marchetti, Lucia; Mauduit, Jean-Christophe; Mei, Simona; Newman, Jeffrey; Nichol, Robert; Oliver, Seb; Perez-Fournon, Ismael; Pierre, Marguerite; Rottgering, Huub; Seymour, Nick; Smail, Ian; Surace, Jason; Thorman, Paul; Vaccari, Mattia; Verma, Aprajita; Wilson, Gillian; Wood-Vasey, Michael; Cane, Rachel; Wechsler, Risa; Martini, Paul; Evrard, August; McMahon, Richard; Borne, Kirk; Capozzi, Diego; Huang, Jiashang; Lagos, Claudia; Lidman, Chris; Maraston, Claudia; Pforr, Janine; Sajina, Anna; Somerville, Rachel; Strauss, Michael; Jones, Kristen; Barkhouse, Wayne; Cooper, Michael; Ballantyne, David; Jagannathan, Preshanth; Murphy, Eric; Pradoni, Isabella; Suntzeff, Nicholas; Covarrubias, Ricardo; Spitler, Lee

2014-12-01

We propose a warm Spitzer survey to microJy depth of the four predefined Deep Drilling Fields (DDFs) for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) (three of which are also deep drilling fields for the Dark Energy Survey (DES)). Imaging these fields with warm Spitzer is a key component of the overall success of these projects, that address the 'Physics of the Universe' theme of the Astro2010 decadal survey. With deep, accurate, near-infrared photometry from Spitzer in the DDFs, we will generate photometric redshift distributions to apply to the surveys as a whole. The DDFs are also the areas where the supernova searches of DES and LSST are concentrated, and deep Spitzer data is essential to obtain photometric redshifts, stellar masses and constraints on ages and metallicities for the >10000 supernova host galaxies these surveys will find. This 'DEEPDRILL' survey will also address the 'Cosmic Dawn' goal of Astro2010 through being deep enough to find all the >10^11 solar mass galaxies within the survey area out to z~6. DEEPDRILL will complete the final 24.4 square degrees of imaging in the DDFs, which, when added to the 14 square degrees already imaged to this depth, will map a volume of 1-Gpc^3 at z>2. It will find ~100 > 10^11 solar mass galaxies at z~5 and ~40 protoclusters at z>2, providing targets for JWST that can be found in no other way. The Spitzer data, in conjunction with the multiwavelength surveys in these fields, ranging from X-ray through far-infrared and cm-radio, will comprise a unique legacy dataset for studies of galaxy evolution.

The Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP): (I) Drilling for Supercritical Hydrothermal Fluids is Underway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elders, W. A.; Fridleifsson, G. O.; Bird, D. K.; Reed, M. H.; Schiffman, P.; Zierenberg, R.

2008-12-01

The IDDP is being carried out by an international industry-government consortium in Iceland (consisting of three leading Icelandic power companies, together with the National Energy Authority), Alcoa Inc. and StatoilHydro) with the objective of investigating the economic feasibility of producing electricity from supercritical geothermal fluids. This will require drilling to temperatures of 400-600°C and depths of 4 to 5 km. Modeling suggests that supercritical water could yield an order of magnitude greater power output than that produced by conventional geothermal wells. The consortium plans to test this concept in three different geothermal fields in Iceland. If successful, major improvements in the development of high-temperature geothermal resources could result worldwide. In June 2008 preparation of the first deep IDDP well commenced in the Krafla volcanic caldera in the active rift zone of NE Iceland. Selection of the first drill site for this well was based on geological, geophysical and geochemical data, and on the results of extensive geothermal drilling since 1971. During 1975-1984, a rifting episode occurred in the caldera, involving 9 volcanic eruptions. In parts of the geothermal field acid volcanic gases made steam from some of the existing wells unsuitable for power generation for the following decade. A large magma chamber at 3-7 km depth was detected by S-wave attenuation beneath the center of the caldera, believed to be the heat source of the geothermal system. A recent MT-survey has confirmed the existence of low resistivity bodies at shallow depths within the volcano. The IDDP well will be drilled and cased to 800m depth in September, before the winter snows, and in spring 2009 it will be drilled and cased to 3.5km depth and then deepened to 4.5 km in July. Several spot cores for scientific studies will be collected between 2400m and the total depth. After the well heats, it will be flow tested and, if successful, a pilot plant for power production should follow in 2010. During 2009-19 two new wells, ~4 km deep, will be drilled at the Hengill and the Reykjanes geothermal fields in southern Iceland, and subsequently deepened into the supercritical zone. In contrast to the fresh water systems at Krafla and Hengill, the Reykjanes geothermal system produces hydrothermally modified seawater on the Reykjanes peninsula, where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge comes on land. Processes at depth at Reykjanes should be more similar to those responsible for black smokers on oceanic rift systems. Because of the considerable international scientific opportunities afforded by the IDDP, the US National Science Foundation and the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program will jointly fund the coring and sampling for scientific studies. Research is underway on samples from existing wells in the targeted geothermal fields, and on active mid-ocean ridge systems that have conditions believed to be similar to those that will be encountered in deep drilling by the IDDP. Some of these initial scientific studies by US investigators are reported in the accompanying papers.

Metastable Autoionizing States of Molecules and Radicals in Highly Energetic Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-22

electronic states. The specific aims are to develop and calibrate complex-scaled equation-of-motion coupled cluster (cs-EOM- CC ) and CAP (complex...absorbing potential) augmented EOM- CC methods. We have implemented and benchmarked cs-EOM-CCSD and CAP- augmented EOM-CCSD methods for excitation energies...motion coupled cluster (cs-EOM- CC ) and CAP (complex absorbing potential) augmented EOM- CC methods. We have implemented and benchmarked cs-EOM-CCSD and

Superhot Drilling in Iceland, the Experience of the Iceland Deep Drilling Project.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elders, W. A.; Friðleifsson, G. Ó.; Zierenberg, R. A.; Fowler, A. P.

2017-12-01

The Iceland Deep Drilling Project aims to improve geothermal economics by producing supercritical fluids (www.iddp.is). Supercritical wells could yield an order of magnitude more usable energy than that from conventional geothermal wells because of higher enthalpy and enhanced flow properties. In 2009, the IDDP-1 well failed to reach supercritical conditions in the Krafla caldera in NE Iceland, after encountering rhyolite magma at only 2.1 km depth. The completed geothermal well became the world's hottest and produced superheated steam with a wellhead temperature of 452°C and flow sufficient to generate 35 MWe. The IDDP next moved SW to the Reykjanes Peninsula, the landward extension of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where it is possible to study an analog of the roots of a black smoker. Reykjanes is unique among Icelandic geothermal systems in being recharged by seawater, which has a critical point of 406°C at 298 bars. Drilling began by deepening an existing 2.5 km deep production well to 3 km depth, and then angling it towards the main upflow zone of the system, for a total slant depth of 4,659 m. Total circulation losses were encountered below 3 km that could not be cured by lost circulation materials or by multiple cement jobs. Accordingly, drilling continued to total depth without return of drill cuttings. We attempted 13 core runs below 3 km depth, only half of which recovered core. The cores are basalts and dolerites with alteration ranging from lower greenschist facies to lower amphibolite facies, suggesting formation temperatures >450°C. After the end of drilling in January 2017, following only six days of heating, supercritical conditions (426°C at 340 bars) were measured in the well at a depth of 4.5 km. The well has not yet been allowed to equilibrate to full in situ temperature. A perforated liner was inserted to 4,570 m, depth to facilitate temperature cycling to enhance permeability at depth through thermal cracking. In 2018 this will be followed by a flow test and eventual production of the well. The project is co-funded by the DEEPEGS project (EU H2020), HS Orka (the field operator), Statoil, the IDDP consortium, and the ICDP. Planning is underway to drill IDDP-3 at Hellisheidi.

30 CFR 203.2 - How can I obtain royalty relief?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 203.49). (g) Located in a designated GOM shallow water area Drill and produce gas from an ultra-deep...) Located in a designated GOM deep water area (i.e., 200 meters or greater) and acquired in a lease sale... 203.79). (c) Located in a designated GOM deep water area and acquired in a lease sale held before...

NETL Extreme Drilling Laboratory Studies High Pressure High Temperature Drilling Phenomena

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lyons, K.D.; Honeygan, S.; Moroz, T

2007-06-01

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) established an Extreme Drilling Lab to engineer effective and efficient drilling technologies viable at depths greater than 20,000 feet. This paper details the challenges of ultra-deep drilling, documents reports of decreased drilling rates as a result of increasing fluid pressure and temperature, and describes NETL’s Research and Development activities. NETL is invested in laboratory-scale physical simulation. Their physical simulator will have capability of circulating drilling fluids at 30,000 psi and 480 °F around a single drill cutter. This simulator will not yet be operational by the planned conference dates; therefore,more » the results will be limited to identification of leading hypotheses of drilling phenomena and NETL’s test plans to validate or refute such theories. Of particular interest to the Extreme Drilling Lab’s studies are the combinatorial effects of drilling fluid pressure, drilling fluid properties, rock properties, pore pressure, and drilling parameters, such as cutter rotational speed, weight on bit, and hydraulics associated with drilling fluid introduction to the rock-cutter interface. A detailed discussion of how each variable is controlled in a laboratory setting will be part of the conference paper and presentation.« less

Hawaii scientific drilling protect: Summary of preliminary results

USGS Publications Warehouse

DePaolo, D.; Stolper, E.; Thomas, D.; Albarede, F.; Chadwick, O.; Clague, D.; Feigenson, M.; Frey, F.; Garcia, M.; Hofmann, A.; Ingram, B.L.; Kennedy, B.M.; Kirschvink, J.; Kurz, M.; Laj, Carlo; Lockwood, J.; Ludwig, K.; McEvilly, T.; Moberly, R.; Moore, G.; Moore, J.; Morin, R.; Paillet, F.; Renne, P.; Rhodes, M.; Tatsumoto, M.; Taylor, H.; Walker, G.; Wilkins, R.

1996-01-01

Petrological, geochemical, geomagnetic, and volcanological characterization of the recovered core from a 1056-m-deep well into the flank of the Mauna Kea volcano in Hilo, Hawaii, and downhole logging and fluid sampling have provided a unique view of the evolution and internal structure of a major oceanic volcano unavailable from surface exposures. Core recovery was ~90%, yielding a time series of fresh, subaerial lavas extending back to ~400 ka. Results of this 1993 project provide a basis for a more ambitious project to core drill a well 4.5 km deep in a nearby location with the goal of recovering an extended, high-density stratigraphic sequence of lavas.

Sensors Increase Productivity in Harsh Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

California's San Juan Capistrano-based Endevco Corporation licensed three patents covering high-temperature, harsh-environment silicon carbide (Si-C) pressure sensors from Glenn Research Center. The company is exploring their use in government markets, as well as in commercial markets, including commercial jet testing, deep well drilling applications where pressure and temperature increase with drilling depth, and in automobile combustion chambers.

Stress magnitude and orientation in deep coalbed biosphere off Shimokita ~IODP Expedition337 drilling project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, H. Y.; Lin, W.; Yamada, Y.

2015-12-01

One of IODP expedition (Borehole C0020A) is located in the forearc basin formed by the subducting between Pacific plate and Eurasian plate off Shimokita Peninsula. This ~2.5km deep scientific drilling collected the high-resolution wire-line resistivity logging, caliper data, Dipole Sonic waveforms; geophysical properties measurements and core samples. The riser drilling operations produced one good conditions borehole even this drilling operation was applied right after 311 Tohoku earthquake. Based on the high-resolutions Formation Micro Imager (FMI) images, both breakout and tensile fractures along the borehole wall indicating the in-situ stress orientation are detected in the unwrapped resistivity images. In this research, a reasonable geomechanical model based on the breakout width and physical properties is constructed to estimate the stress magnitude profile in this borehole. Besides, the openhole leak-off test revealed the information of Shmin magnitude. In general, stress direction along the borehole is slight rotated to east with drilling to the bottom of the borehole. Geomechanical model constarined the principal stresses in Strike-slip stress regime to satisfy the occurrences of borehole enlargements and tensile fractures. Some blank zones with no borehole wall failure and vertical fractures indicated the stress anomaly might be controlled by local lithological facies. Comparing to the JFAST drilling, this site is out of Japan trench slip zone and shows almost parallel stress direcion to the trench (~90 degree apart of Shmin with Site C0019).

30 CFR 203.48 - Do I keep royalty relief if prices rise significantly?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Deep Gas Wells on Leases Not Subject to Deep... royalties on all gas and oil production for which an RSV or an RSS otherwise would be allowed under §§ 203...

Orbital-optimized MP2.5 and its analytic gradients: Approaching CCSD(T) quality for noncovalent interactions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bozkaya, Uğur, E-mail: ugur.bozkaya@atauni.edu.tr; Center for Computational Molecular Science and Technology, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and School of Computational Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332; Sherrill, C. David

2014-11-28

Orbital-optimized MP2.5 [or simply “optimized MP2.5,” OMP2.5, for short] and its analytic energy gradients are presented. The cost of the presented method is as much as that of coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) [O(N{sup 6}) scaling] for energy computations. However, for analytic gradient computations the OMP2.5 method is only half as expensive as CCSD because there is no need to solve λ{sub 2}-amplitude equations for OMP2.5. The performance of the OMP2.5 method is compared with that of the standard second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory (MP2), MP2.5, CCSD, and coupled-cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples (CCSD(T)) methods for equilibrium geometries, hydrogenmore » transfer reactions between radicals, and noncovalent interactions. For bond lengths of both closed and open-shell molecules, the OMP2.5 method improves upon MP2.5 and CCSD by 38%–43% and 31%–28%, respectively, with Dunning's cc-pCVQZ basis set. For complete basis set (CBS) predictions of hydrogen transfer reaction energies, the OMP2.5 method exhibits a substantially better performance than MP2.5, providing a mean absolute error of 1.1 kcal mol{sup −1}, which is more than 10 times lower than that of MP2.5 (11.8 kcal mol{sup −1}), and comparing to MP2 (14.6 kcal mol{sup −1}) there is a more than 12-fold reduction in errors. For noncovalent interaction energies (at CBS limits), the OMP2.5 method maintains the very good performance of MP2.5 for closed-shell systems, and for open-shell systems it significantly outperforms MP2.5 and CCSD, and approaches CCSD(T) quality. The MP2.5 errors decrease by a factor of 5 when the optimized orbitals are used for open-shell noncovalent interactions, and comparing to CCSD there is a more than 3-fold reduction in errors. Overall, the present application results indicate that the OMP2.5 method is very promising for open-shell noncovalent interactions and other chemical systems with difficult electronic structures.« less

Results of NanTroSEIZE Expeditions Stages 1 & 2: Deep-sea Coring Operations on-board the Deep-sea Drilling Vessel Chikyu and Development of Coring Equipment for Stage 3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shinmoto, Y.; Wada, K.; Miyazaki, E.; Sanada, Y.; Sawada, I.; Yamao, M.

2010-12-01

The Nankai-Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE) has carried out several drilling expeditions in the Kumano Basin off the Kii-Peninsula of Japan with the deep-sea scientific drilling vessel Chikyu. Core sampling runs were carried out during the expeditions using an advanced multiple wireline coring system which can continuously core into sections of undersea formations. The core recovery rate with the Rotary Core Barrel (RCB) system was rather low as compared with other methods such as the Hydraulic Piston Coring System (HPCS) and Extended Shoe Coring System (ESCS). Drilling conditions such as hole collapse and sea conditions such as high ship-heave motions need to be analyzed along with differences in lithology, formation hardness, water depth and coring depth in order to develop coring tools, such as the core barrel or core bit, that will yield the highest core recovery and quality. The core bit is especially important in good recovery of high quality cores, however, the PDC cutters were severely damaged during the NanTroSEIZE Stages 1 & 2 expeditions due to severe drilling conditions. In the Stage 1 (riserless coring) the average core recovery was rather low at 38 % with the RCB and many difficulties such as borehole collapse, stick-slip and stuck pipe occurred, causing the damage of several of the PDC cutters. In Stage 2, a new design for the core bit was deployed and core recovery was improved at 67 % for the riserless system and 85 % with the riser. However, due to harsh drilling conditions, the PDC core bit and all of the PDC cutters were completely worn down. Another original core bit was also deployed, however, core recovery performance was low even for plate boundary core samples. This study aims to identify the influence of the RCB system specifically on the recovery rates at each of the holes drilled in the NanTroSEIZE coring expeditions. The drilling parameters such as weight-on-bit, torque, rotary speed and flow rate, etc., were analyzed and conditions such as formation, tools, and sea conditions which directly affect core recovery have been categorized. Also discussed will be the further development of such coring equipment as the core bit and core barrel for the NanTroSEIZE Stage 3 expeditions, which aim to reach a depth of 7000 m-below the sea floor into harder formations under extreme drilling conditions.

A multi-level quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics study of SN2 reaction at nitrogen: NH2Cl + OH(-) in aqueous solution.

PubMed

Lv, Jing; Zhang, Jingxue; Wang, Dunyou

2016-02-17

We employed a multi-level quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics approach to study the reaction NH2Cl + OH(-) in aqueous solution. The multi-level quantum method (including the DFT method with both the B3LYP and M06-2X exchange-correlation functionals and the CCSD(T) method, and both methods with the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set) was used to treat the quantum reaction region in different stages of the calculation in order to obtain an accurate potential of mean force. The obtained free energy activation barriers at the DFT/MM level of theory yielded a big difference of 21.8 kcal mol(-1) with the B3LYP functional and 27.4 kcal mol(-1) with the M06-2X functional respectively. Nonetheless, the barrier heights become very close when shifted from DFT to CCSD(T): 22.4 kcal mol(-1) and 22.9 kcal mol(-1) at CCSD(T)(B3LYP)/MM and CCSD(T)(M06-2X)/MM levels of theory, respectively. The free reaction energy obtained using CCSD(T)(M06-2X)/MM shows an excellent agreement with the one calculated using the available gas-phase data. Aqueous solution plays a significant role in shaping the reaction profile. In total, the water solution contributes 13.3 kcal mol(-1) and 14.6 kcal mol(-1) to the free energy barrier heights at CCSD(T)(B3LYP)/MM and CCSD(T)(M06-2X)/MM respectively. The title reaction at nitrogen is a faster reaction than the corresponding reaction at carbon, CH3Cl + OH(-).

Non-iterative triple excitations in equation-of-motion coupled-cluster theory for electron attachment with applications to bound and temporary anions.

PubMed

Jagau, Thomas-C

2018-01-14

The impact of residual electron correlation beyond the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster singles and doubles (EOM-CCSD) approximation on positions and widths of electronic resonances is investigated. To establish a method that accomplishes this task in an economical manner, several approaches proposed for the approximate treatment of triple excitations are reviewed with respect to their performance in the electron attachment (EA) variant of EOM-CC theory. The recently introduced EOM-CCSD(T)(a)* method [D. A. Matthews and J. F. Stanton, J. Chem. Phys. 145, 124102 (2016)], which includes non-iterative corrections to the reference and the target states, reliably reproduces vertical attachment energies from EOM-EA-CC calculations with single, double, and full triple excitations in contrast to schemes in which non-iterative corrections are applied only to the target states. Applications of EOM-EA-CCSD(T)(a)* augmented by a complex absorbing potential (CAP) to several temporary anions illustrate that shape resonances are well described by EOM-EA-CCSD, but that residual electron correlation often makes a non-negligible impact on their positions and widths. The positions of Feshbach resonances, on the other hand, are significantly improved when going from CAP-EOM-EA-CCSD to CAP-EOM-EA-CCSD(T)(a)*, but the correct energetic order of the relevant electronic states is still not achieved.

Non-iterative triple excitations in equation-of-motion coupled-cluster theory for electron attachment with applications to bound and temporary anions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jagau, Thomas-C.

2018-01-01

The impact of residual electron correlation beyond the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster singles and doubles (EOM-CCSD) approximation on positions and widths of electronic resonances is investigated. To establish a method that accomplishes this task in an economical manner, several approaches proposed for the approximate treatment of triple excitations are reviewed with respect to their performance in the electron attachment (EA) variant of EOM-CC theory. The recently introduced EOM-CCSD(T)(a)* method [D. A. Matthews and J. F. Stanton, J. Chem. Phys. 145, 124102 (2016)], which includes non-iterative corrections to the reference and the target states, reliably reproduces vertical attachment energies from EOM-EA-CC calculations with single, double, and full triple excitations in contrast to schemes in which non-iterative corrections are applied only to the target states. Applications of EOM-EA-CCSD(T)(a)* augmented by a complex absorbing potential (CAP) to several temporary anions illustrate that shape resonances are well described by EOM-EA-CCSD, but that residual electron correlation often makes a non-negligible impact on their positions and widths. The positions of Feshbach resonances, on the other hand, are significantly improved when going from CAP-EOM-EA-CCSD to CAP-EOM-EA-CCSD(T)(a)*, but the correct energetic order of the relevant electronic states is still not achieved.

Self-propelled instrumented deep drilling system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myrick, Thomas M. (Inventor); Gorevan, Stephen (Inventor)

2006-01-01

An autonomous subsurface drilling device has spaced-apart forward and rearward feet sections coupled to an axial thruster mechanism between them to operate using an inchworm method of mobility. In one embodiment, forward and rearward drill sections are carried on forward and rearward feet sections for drilling into material in the borehole in both forward and rearward directions, to allow the device to maneuver in any direction underground. In another embodiment, a front drill section has a drill head for cutting into the borehole and conveying cuttings through a center spine tube to an on-board depository for the cuttings. The feet sections of the device employ a foot scroll drive unit to provide radial thrust and synchronous motion to the feet for gripping the borehole wall. The axial thrust mechanism has a tandem set of thrusters in which the second thruster is used to provide the thrust needed for drilling, but not walking. A steering mechanism composed of concentric inner and outer eccentric rings provided with the rearward feet section allow small corrections in both direction and magnitude to the drilling direction as drilling commences.

High-quality heat flow determination from the crystalline basement of the south-east margin of North China Craton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Guangzheng; Tang, Xiaoyin; Rao, Song; Gao, Peng; Zhang, Linyou; Zhao, Ping; Hu, Shengbiao

2016-03-01

Very few of heat flow data have come from the crystalline basement in the North China Craton but rather from boreholes in the sedimentary cover of oil-gas basins. Explorations for hot dry rock (HDR) geothermal resources and porphyry gold deposits in eastern China offer now valuable opportunities to study the terrestrial heat flow in the crystalline basement. In this study, we obtained continuous temperature logs from two boreholes (the LZ borehole with a depth of 3471 m and the DR borehole with a depth of 2179 m) located in the south-east margin of the North China Craton. The boreholes have experienced long shut-in times (442 days and 261 days for the LZ borehole and DR borehole, respectively); thus, it can be expected that the temperature conditions have re-equilibrated after drilling and drill-mud circulation. Rock thermal conductivity and radiogenic heat production were measured for 68 crystalline rock samples from these two boreholes. The measured heat-flow density was determined to be 71.8 ± 2.3 mW m-2 (for the LZ borehole) and 91.5 ± 1.2 mW m-2 (for the DR borehole). The heat flow for the LZ borehole is close to the value of 75 mW m-2 determined in the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling main hole (CCSD MH), both being in the Sulu-Dabie orogenic belt and thus able to verify each other. The value for the DR borehole is higher than the above two values, which supports former high heat-flow values determined in the Bohai Bay Basin.

FHWA Deep Foundation Load Test Database Version 2.0 User Manual

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-09-01

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) began the development of the first version of the Deep Foundation Load Test Database (DFLTD) in the 1980s. Over 1,500 load tests were collected and stored for various types of piles and drilled shafts in diff...

Drilling systems for extraterrestrial subsurface exploration.

PubMed

Zacny, K; Bar-Cohen, Y; Brennan, M; Briggs, G; Cooper, G; Davis, K; Dolgin, B; Glaser, D; Glass, B; Gorevan, S; Guerrero, J; McKay, C; Paulsen, G; Stanley, S; Stoker, C

2008-06-01

Drilling consists of 2 processes: breaking the formation with a bit and removing the drilled cuttings. In rotary drilling, rotational speed and weight on bit are used to control drilling, and the optimization of these parameters can markedly improve drilling performance. Although fluids are used for cuttings removal in terrestrial drilling, most planetary drilling systems conduct dry drilling with an auger. Chip removal via water-ice sublimation (when excavating water-ice-bound formations at pressure below the triple point of water) and pneumatic systems are also possible. Pneumatic systems use the gas or vaporization products of a high-density liquid brought from Earth, gas provided by an in situ compressor, or combustion products of a monopropellant. Drill bits can be divided into coring bits, which excavate an annular shaped hole, and full-faced bits. While cylindrical cores are generally superior as scientific samples, and coring drills have better performance characteristics, full-faced bits are simpler systems because the handling of a core requires a very complex robotic mechanism. The greatest constraints to extraterrestrial drilling are (1) the extreme environmental conditions, such as temperature, dust, and pressure; (2) the light-time communications delay, which necessitates highly autonomous systems; and (3) the mission and science constraints, such as mass and power budgets and the types of drilled samples needed for scientific analysis. A classification scheme based on drilling depth is proposed. Each of the 4 depth categories (surface drills, 1-meter class drills, 10-meter class drills, and deep drills) has distinct technological profiles and scientific ramifications.

Research on high speed drilling technology and economic integration evaluation in Oilfield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Kun; Ni, Hongjian; Cheng, Na; Song, Jingbo

2018-01-01

The carbonate reservoir in the oilfield mainly formed in Ordovician System and Carboniferous System. The geology here is very complicated, with high heterogeneity. It gets much more difficult to control the well deflection in Permian system so that high accident ratio could be expected. The buried depth of the reservoir is large, normally 4600-6600m deep. The temperature of the layer is higher than 132 and the pressure is greater than 62MPa. The reservoir is with a high fluid properties, mainly including thin oil, heavy oil, condensate oil, gas and so on; the ground is very hard to drill, so we can foresee low drilling speed, long drilling period and high drilling cost, which will surely restrict the employing progress of the reservoir.

30 CFR 203.49 - May I substitute the deep gas drilling provisions in this part for the deep gas royalty relief...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... terms? (a) You may exercise an option to replace the applicable lease terms for royalty relief related... west of 87 degrees, 30 minutes West longitude in the GOM entirely or partly in water less than 200 meters deep. (b) To exercise the option under paragraph (a) of this section, you must notify, in writing...

30 CFR 203.49 - May I substitute the deep gas drilling provisions in this part for the deep gas royalty relief...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... terms? (a) You may exercise an option to replace the applicable lease terms for royalty relief related... west of 87 degrees, 30 minutes West longitude in the GOM entirely or partly in water less than 200 meters deep. (b) To exercise the option under paragraph (a) of this section, you must notify, in writing...

30 CFR 203.49 - May I substitute the deep gas drilling provisions in this part for the deep gas royalty relief...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... terms? (a) You may exercise an option to replace the applicable lease terms for royalty relief related... west of 87 degrees, 30 minutes West longitude in the GOM entirely or partly in water less than 200 meters deep. (b) To exercise the option under paragraph (a) of this section, you must notify, in writing...

Western USA groundwater drilling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jasechko, S.; Perrone, D.

2016-12-01

Groundwater in the western US supplies 40% of the water used for irrigated agriculture, and provides drinking water to individuals living in rural regions distal to perennial rivers. Unfortunately, current groundwater use is not sustainable in a number of key food producing regions. While substantial attention has been devoted to mapping groundwater depletion rates across the western US, the response of groundwater users via well drilling to changing land uses, water demands, pump and drilling technologies, pollution vulnerabilities, and economic conditions remains unknown. Here we analyze millions of recorded groundwater drilling events in the western US that span years 1850 to 2015. We show that groundwater wells are being drilled deeper in some, but not all, regions where groundwater levels are declining. Groundwater wells are generally deeper in arid and mountainous regions characterized by deep water tables (e.g., unconfined alluvial and fractured bedrock aquifers), and in regions that have productive aquifers with high water quality deep under the ground (e.g., confined sedimentary aquifers). Further, we relate water quality and groundwater drilling depths in 40 major aquifer systems across the western US. We show that there is substantial room for improvement to the existing 2-D continental-scale assessments of domestic well water vulnerability to pollution if one considers the depth that the domestic well is screened in addition to pollutant loading, surficial geology, and vertical groundwater flow rates. These new continental-scale maps can be used to (i) better assess economic, water quality, and water balance limitations to groundwater usage, (ii) steer domestic well drilling into productive strata bearing clean and protected groundwater resources, and (iii) assess groundwater management schemes across the western US.

Revision of the experimental electron affinity of BO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rienstra, Jonathan C.; Schaefer, Henry F., III

1997-05-01

The experimental electron affinity of BO has proven questionable. We obtained the electron affinity of BO using the large aug-cc-pVQZ basis with SCF, CISD, CISD+Q, CCSD, and CCSD(T) methods and predict a value of 2.57 eV, or 0.55 eV smaller than the latest experimental value. The 2∑+ to 2Π excitation energy of BO has also been obtained with the CCSD(T) method and found to be 2.82 eV.

Joint Inversion of Geochemical Data and Geophysical Logs for Lithology Identification in CCSD Main Hole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Chengxiang; Pan, Heping; Luo, Miao

2017-12-01

The Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling (CCSD) main hole is located in the Sulu ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic (UHPM) belt, providing significant opportunities for studying the metamorphic strata structure, kinetics process and tectonic evolution. Lithology identification is the primary and crucial stage for above geoscientific researches. To release the burden of log analyst and improve the efficiency of lithology interpretation, many algorithms have been developed to automate the process of lithology prediction. While traditional statistical techniques, such as discriminant analysis and K-nearest neighbors classifier, are incompetent in extracting nonlinear features of metamorphic rocks from complex geophysical log data; artificial intelligence algorithms are capable of solving nonlinear problems, but most of the algorithms suffer from tuning parameters to be global optimum to establish model rather than local optimum, and also encounter challenges in making the balance between training accuracy and generalization ability. Optimization methods have been applied extensively in the inversion of reservoir parameters of sedimentary formations using well logs. However, it is difficult to obtain accurate solution from the logging response equations of optimization method because of the strong overlapping of nonstationary log signals when applied in metamorphic formations. As oxide contents of each kinds of metamorphic rocks are relatively less overlapping, this study explores an approach, set in a metamorphic formation model and using the Broyden Fletcher Goldfarb Shanno (BFGS) optimization algorithm to identify lithology from oxide data. We first incorporate 11 geophysical logs and lab-collected geochemical data of 47 core samples to construct oxide profile of CCSD main hole by using backwards stepwise multiple regression method, which eliminates irrelevant input logs step by step for higher statistical significance and accuracy. Then we establish oxide response equations in accordance with the metamorphic formation model and employ BFGS algorithm to minimize the objective function. Finally, we identify lithology according to the composition content which accounts for the largest proportion. The results show that lithology identified by the method of this paper is consistent with core description. Moreover, this method demonstrates the benefits of using oxide content as an adhesive to connect logging data with lithology, can make the metamorphic formation model more understandable and accurate, and avoid selecting complex formation model and building nonlinear logging response equations.

Rapid ice drilling with continual air transport of cuttings and cores: General concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Rusheng; An, Liu; Cao, Pinlu; Chen, Baoyi; Sysoev, Mikhail; Fan, Dayou; Talalay, Pavel G.

2017-12-01

This article describes the investigation of the feasibility of rapid drilling in ice sheets and glaciers to depths of up to 600 m, with cuttings and cores continually transported by air reverse circulation. The method employs dual wall drill rods. The inner tubes provide a continuous pathway for the chips and cores from the drill bit face to the surface. To modify air reverse circulation drilling technology according to the conditions of a specific glacier, original cutter drill bits and air processing devices (air-cooled aftercoolers, air receivers, coalescing filters, desiccant dryers) should be used. The airflow velocity for conveying a 60-mm diameter and 200-mm long ice core should not be lower than 22.5 m/s, and the minimal airflow rate for continual chip and cores transport is 6.8 m3/min at 2.3-2.6 MPa. Drilling of a 600-m deep hole can be accomplished within 1.5 days in the case of 24 h drilling operations. However, to avoid sticking while drilling through ice, the drilling depth should to be limited to 540 m at a temperature of -20 °C and to 418 m at a temperature of -10 °C.

Evaluation on the Presence of Nano Silver Particle in Improving a Conventional Water-based Drilling Fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Husin, H.; Ahmad, N.; Jamil, N.; Chyuan, O. H.; Roslan, A.

2018-05-01

Worldwide demand in oil and gas energy consumption has been driving many of oil and gas companies to explore new oil and gas resource field in an ultra-deep water environment. As deeper well is drilled, more problems and challenges are expected. The successful of drilling operation is highly dependent on properties of drilling fluids. As a way to operate drilling in challenging and extreme surroundings, nanotechnology with their unique properties is employed. Due to unique physicochemical, electrical, thermal, hydrodynamic properties and exceptional interaction potential of nanomaterials, nanoparticles are considered to be the most promising material of choice for smart fluid design for oil and gas field application. Throughout this paper, the effect of nano silver particle in improving a conventional water based drilling fluid was evaluated. Results showed that nano silver gave a significant improvement to the conventional water based drilling fluid in terms of its rheological properties and filtration test performance.

30 CFR 203.45 - If I drill a certified unsuccessful well, what royalty relief will my lease earn?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... than 200 meters but less than 400 meters deep; or (ii) On or after May 3, 2004, if your lease is located in water partly or entirely less than 200 meters deep. (2) Production to which an RSV applies...

Seismic anisotropy of the crystalline crust: What does it tell us?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rabbel, Wolfgang; Mooney, Walter D.

1996-01-01

The study of the directional dependence of seismic velocities (seismic anisotropy) promises more refined insight into mineral composition and physical properties of the crystalline crust than conventional deep seismic refraction or reflection profiles providing average values of P-and S-wave velocities. The alignment of specific minerals by ductile rock deformation, for instance, causes specific types of seismic anisotropy which can be identified by appropriate field measurements.Vice versa, the determination of anisotropy can help to discriminate between different rock candidates in the deep crust. Seismic field measurements at the Continental Deep Drilling Site (KTB, S Germany) are shown as an example that anisotropy has to be considered in crustal studies. At the KTB, the dependence of seismic velocity on the direction of wave propagation in situ was found to be compatible with the texture, composition and fracture density of drilled crustal rocks.

A Green's function approach for assessing the thermal disturbance caused by drilling deep boreholes in rock or ice

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clow, Gary D.

2015-01-01

A knowledge of subsurface temperatures in sedimentary basins, fault zones, volcanic environments and polar ice sheets is of interest for a wide variety of geophysical applications. However, the process of drilling deep boreholes in these environments to provide access for temperature and other measurements invariably disturbs the temperature field around a newly created borehole. Although this disturbance dissipates over time, most temperature measurements are made while the temperature field is still disturbed. Thus, the measurements must be ‘corrected’ for the drilling-disturbance effect if the undisturbed temperature field is to be determined. This paper provides compact analytical solutions for the thermal drilling disturbance based on 1-D (radial) and 2-D (radial and depth) Green's functions (GFs) in cylindrical coordinates. Solutions are developed for three types of boundary conditions (BCs) at the borehole wall: (1) prescribed temperature, (2) prescribed heat flux and (3) a prescribed convective condition. The BC at the borehole wall is allowed to vary both with depth and time. Inclusion of the depth dimension in the 2-D solution allows vertical heat-transfer effects to be quantified in situations where they are potentially important, that is, near the earth's surface, at the bottom of a well and when considering finite-drilling rates. The 2-D solution also includes a radial- and time-dependent BC at the earth's surface to assess the impact of drilling-related infrastructure (drilling pads, mud pits, permanent shelters) on the subsurface temperature field. Latent-heat effects due to the melting and subsequent refreezing of interstitial ice while drilling a borehole through ice-rich permafrost can be included in the GF solution as a moving-plane heat source (or sink) located at the solid–liquid interface. Synthetic examples are provided illustrating the 1-D and 2-D GF solutions. The flexibility of the approach allows the investigation of thermal drilling effects in rock or ice for a wide variety of drilling technologies. Numerical values for the required radial GFs GR are available through the Advanced Cooperative Arctic Data and Information Service at doi:10.5065/D64F1NS6.

Structure and energetics of Cr(CO)6 and Cr(CO)5

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, Leslie A.; Liu, Bowen; Lindh, Roland

1993-01-01

The geometric structures and energetics of Cr(CO)6 and Cr(CO)5 are determined at the modified coupled-pair functional, single and double excitation coupled-cluster (CCSD), and CCSD(T) levels of theory. For Cr(CO)6, the structure and force constants for the totally symmetric representation are in good agreement with experimental data once basis set constants are taken into account. In the largest basis set at the CCSD(T) level of theory, the total binding energy of CR(CO)6 is estimated at around 140 kcal/mol, or about 86 percent of the experimental value. In contrast, the first bond energy of Cr(CO)6 is very well described at the CCSD(T) level of theory, with the best estimated value of 38 kcal/mol being within the experimental uncertainty.

CCSDT calculations of molecular equilibrium geometries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halkier, Asger; Jørgensen, Poul; Gauss, Jürgen; Helgaker, Trygve

1997-08-01

CCSDT equilibrium geometries of CO, CH 2, F 2, HF, H 2O and N 2 have been calculated using the correlation-consistent cc-pVXZ basis sets. Similar calculations have been performed for SCF, CCSD and CCSD(T). In general, bond lengths decrease when improving the basis set and increase when improving the N-electron treatment. CCSD(T) provides an excellent approximation to CCSDT for bond lengths as the largest difference between CCSDT and CCSD(T) is 0.06 pm. At the CCSDT/cc-pVQZ level, basis set deficiencies, neglect of higher-order excitations, and incomplete treatment of core-correlation all give rise to errors of a few tenths of a pm, but to a large extent, these errors cancel. The CCSDT/cc-pVQZ bond lengths deviate on average only by 0.11 pm from experiment.

Mud Gas Logging In A Deep Borehole: IODP Site C0002, Nankai Trough Accretionary Prism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toczko, S.; Hammerschmidt, S.; Maeda, L.

2014-12-01

Mud logging, a tool in riser drilling, makes use of the essentially "closed-circuit" drilling mud flow between the drilling platform downhole to the bit and then back to the platform for analyses of gas from the formation in the drilling mud, cuttings from downhole, and a range of safety and operational parameters to monitor downhole drilling conditions. Scientific riser drilling, with coincident control over drilling mud, downhole pressure, and returning drilling mud analyses, has now been in use aboard the scientific riser drilling vessel Chikyu since 2009. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 348, as part of the goal of reaching the plate boundary fault system near ~5000 mbsf, has now extended the deep riser hole (Hole C0002 N & P) to 3058.5 mbsf. The mud gas data discussed here are from two approximately parallel boreholes, one a kick-off from the other; 860-2329 mbsf (Hole C0002N) and 2163-3058 mbsf (Hole C0002P). An approximate overlap of 166 m between the holes allows for some slight depth comparison between the two holes. An additional 55 m overlap at the top of Hole C0002P exists where a 10-5/8-inch hole was cored, and then opened to 12-1/4-inch with logging while drilling (LWD) tools (Fig. 1). There are several fault zones revealed by LWD data, confirmed in one instance by coring. One of the defining formation characteristics of Holes C0002 N/P are the strongly dipping bedding planes, typically exceeding 60º. These fault zones and bedding planes can influence the methane/ethane concentrations found in the returning drilling mud. A focused comparison of free gas in drilling mud between one interval in Hole C0002 P, drilled first with a 10 5/8-inch coring bit and again with an 12 ¼-inch logging while drilling (LWD) bit is shown. Hole C0002N above this was cased all the way from the sea floor to the kick-off section. A fault interval (in pink) was identified from the recovered core section and from LWD resistivity and gamma. The plot of methane and ethane free gas (C1 and C2; ppmv) shows that the yield of free gas (primarily methane) was greater when the LWD bit returned to open the cored hole to a greater diameter. One possible explanation for this is the time delay between coring and LWD operations; approximately 3 days passed between the end of coring and the beginning of LWD (25-28 December 2013).

30 CFR 203.34 - To which production may an RSV earned by qualified phase 2 and phase 3 ultra-deep wells on my...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT RELIEF OR REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Ultra-Deep Wells on Leases Not Subject to Deep Water Royalty Relief § 203.34 To which... lease, except as provided in paragraph (c) of § 203.33; (c) To any liquid hydrocarbon (oil and...

30 CFR 203.33 - To which production do I apply the RSV earned by qualified phase 2 and phase 3 ultra-deep wells...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... INTERIOR MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT RELIEF OR REDUCTION IN ROYALTY RATES OCS Oil, Gas, and Sulfur General Royalty Relief for Drilling Ultra-Deep Wells on Leases Not Subject to Deep Water Royalty Relief § 203.33... from qualified wells on or after May 18, 2007, reported on the Oil and Gas Operations Report, Part A...

Cultivation of methanogenic community from 2-km deep subseafloor coalbeds using a continuous-flow bioreactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imachi, H.; Tasumi, E.; Morono, Y.; Ito, M.; Takai, K.; Inagaki, F.

2013-12-01

Deep subseafloor environments associated with hydrocarbon reservoirs have been least explored by previous scientific drilling and hence the nature of deep subseafloor life and its ecological roles in the carbon cycle remain largely unknown. In this study, we performed cultivation of subseafloor methanogenic communities using a continuous-flow bioreactor with polyurethane sponges, called down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor. The sample used for the reactor cultivation was obtained from 2 km-deep coalbeds off the Shimokita Peninsula of Japan, the northwestern Pacific, during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 337 using a riser drilling technology of the drilling vessel Chikyu. The coalbed samples were incubated anaerobically in the DHS reactor at the in-situ temperature of 40°C. Synthetic seawater supplemented with a tiny amount of yeast extract, acetate, propionate and butyrate was provided into the DHS reactor. After 34 days of the bioreactor operation, a small production of methane was observed. The methane concentration was gradually increased and the stable carbon isotopic composition of methane was consistency 13C-depleted during the bioreactor operation, indicating the occurrence of microbial methanogenesis. Microscopic observation showed that the enrichment culture contained a variety of microorganisms, including methanogen-like rod-shaped cells with F420 auto-fluorescence. Interestingly, many spore-like particles were observed in the bioreactor enrichment. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA genes showed the growth of phylogenetically diverse bacteria and archaea in the DHS reactor. Predominant archaeal components were closely related to hydrogenotrophic methanogens within the genus Methanobacterium. Some predominant bacteria were related to the spore-formers within the class Clostridia, which are overall in good agreement with microscopic observations. By analyzing ion images using a nano-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS), 13C-bicarbonate incorporation of rod-shaped methanogens, as well as 13C-acetate incorporation of other cells, was observed. These microbiological data obtained from the DHS reactor generally support a geochemical indication that microbial processes contribute to the biogeochemical carbon cycle associated with 2 km-coalbeds in the deep subseafloor biosphere.

Recent Developments and Adaptations in Diamond Wireline Core Drilling Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, D. M.; Nielson, D. L.; Howell, B. B.; Pardey, M.

2001-05-01

Scientific drilling using diamond wireline technology is presently undergoing a significant expansion and extension of activities that has allowed us to recover geologic samples that have heretofore been technically or financially unattainable. Under the direction and management of DOSECC, a high-capacity hybrid core drilling system was designed and fabricated for the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project (HSDP) in 1998. This system, the DOSECC Hybrid Coring System (DHCS), has the capacity to recover H-sized core from depths of more than 6 km. In 1999, the DHCS completed the first phase of the HSDP to a depth of 3100 m at a substantially lower cost per foot than any previous scientific borehole to comparable depths and, in the process, established a new depth record for recovery of H-sized wireline core. This system has been offered for use in the Unzen Scientific Drilling Project, the Chicxulub (impact crater) Scientific Drilling Project, and the Geysers Deep Geothermal Reservoir Project. More recently, DOSECC has developed a smaller barge-mounted wireline core drilling system, the GLAD800, that is capable of recovering P-sized sediment core to depths of up to 800 m. The GLAD800 has been successfully deployed on Great Salt Lake and Bear Lake in Utah and is presently being mobilized to Lake Titicaca in South America for an extensive core recovery effort there. The coring capabilities of the GLAD800 system will be available to the global lakes drilling community for acquisition of sediment cores from many of the world's deep lakes for use in calibrating and refining global climate models. Presently under development by DOSECC is a heave-compensation system that will allow us to expand the capabilities of the moderate depth coring system to allow us to collect sediment and bottom core from the shallow marine environment. The design and capabilities of these coring systems will be presented along with a discussion of their potential applications for addressing a range of earth sciences questions.

New mud gas monitoring system aboard D/V Chikyu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubo, Yusuke; Inagaki, Fumio; Eguchi, Nobuhisa; Igarashi, Chiaki

2013-04-01

Mud gas logging has been commonly used in oil industry and continental scientific drilling to detect mainly hydrocarbon gases from the reservoir formation. Quick analysis of the gas provides almost real-time information which is critical to evaluate the formation and, in particular, safety of drilling operation. Furthermore, mud gas monitoring complements the lack of core or fluid samples particularly in a deep hole, and strengthen interpretations of geophysical logs. In scientific ocean drilling, on the other hand, mud gas monitoring was unavailable in riserless drilling through the history of DSDP and ODP, until riser drilling was first carried out in 2009 by D/V Chikyu. In IODP Exp 319, GFZ installed the same system with that used in continental drilling aboard Chikyu. High methane concentrations are clearly correlated with increased wood content in the cuttings. The system installation was, however, temporary and gas separator was moved during the expedition for a technical reason. In 2011, new mud gas monitoring system was installed aboard Chikyu and was used for the first time in Exp 337. The gas separator was placed on a newly branched bypass mud flow line, and the gas sample was sent to analysis unit equipped with methane carbon isotope analyzer in addition to mass spectrometer and gas chromatograph. The data from the analytical instruments is converted to depth profiles by calculating the lag effects due to mud circulation. Exp 337 was carried out from July 26 to Sep 30, 2011, at offshore Shimokita peninsula, northeast Japan, targeting deep sub-seafloor biosphere in and around coal bed. Data from the hole C0020A, which was drilled to 2466 mbsf with riser drilling, provided insights into bio-geochemical process through the depth of the hole. In this presentation, we show the design of Chikyu's new mud gas monitoring system, with preliminary data from Exp 337.

The determination of accurate dipole polarizabilities alpha and gamma for the noble gases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rice, Julia E.; Taylor, Peter R.; Lee, Timothy J.; Almloef, Jan

1989-01-01

The static dipole polarizabilities alpha and gamma for the noble gases helium through xenon were determined using large flexible one-particle basis sets in conjunction with high-level treatments of electron correlation. The electron correlation methods include single and double excitation coupled-cluster theory (CCSD), an extension of CCSD that includes a perturbational estimate of connected triple excitations, CCSD(T), and second order perturbation theory (MP2). The computed alpha and gamma values are estimated to be accurate to within a few percent. Agreement with experimental data for the static hyperpolarizability gamma is good for neon and xenon, but for argon and krypton the differences are larger than the combined theoretical and experimental uncertainties. Based on our calculations, we suggest that the experimental value of gamma for argon is too low; adjusting this value would bring the experimental value of gamma for krypton into better agreement with our computed result. The MP2 values for the polarizabilities of neon, argon, krypton and zenon are in reasonabe agreement with the CCSD and CCSD(T) values, suggesting that this less expensive method may be useful in studies of polarizabilities for larger systems.

Age depth model construction of the upper section of ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project based on the high-resolution 14C dating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitagawa, H.; Nakamura, T.; Neugebauer, I.; Schwab, M. J.; Brauer, A.; Goldstein, S. L.; Stein, M.

2014-12-01

To reconstruct environmental, climatic and tectonic histories of the Levant, a deep drilling has been accomplished in the northern basin of the Dead Sea during the fall winter of 2010-2011 by the Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project (DSDDP) in the framework of the ICDP program. The sediment cores from site 5017-1 (water depth of ~300 m) recorded the paleoenvironmental and paleohydrological changes in the Dead Sea and the Levant during the last two glacial-interglacial cycles (Neugebauer et al., QSR in press). To provide precise timing of sedimentological - limnological events in the lake and its watershed, and more critically the relative timing of these events, radiocarbon dating of >70 well-preserved terrestrial plants and some carbonate deposits from the upper 150 m long section of the sediment core were performed. Based on the high-resolution radiocarbon dating, a statistical age-depth model was constructed with assumptions on the deposition condition and the radiocarbon age offset of carbonate samples. We discuss the practicality and the limitation of the age-depth model toward interpreting the high-resolution records of environmental, climatic and tectonic events recorded in the long sediment cores from site 5017-1.

Sub-Ocean Drilling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

The National Science Foundation (NSF) initialized a new phase of exploration last year, a 10 year effort jointly funded by NSF and several major oil companies, known as the Ocean Margin Drilling Program (OMDP). The OMDP requires a ship with capabilities beyond existing drill ships; it must drill in 13,000 feet of water to a depth 20,000 feet below the ocean floor. To meet requirements, NSF is considering the conversion of the government-owned mining ship Glomar Explorer to a deep ocean drilling and coring vessel. Feasibility study performed by Donhaiser Marine, Inc. analyzed the ship's characteristics for suitability and evaluated conversion requirement. DMI utilized COSMIC's Ship Motion and Sea Load Computer program to perform analysis which could not be accomplished by other means. If approved for conversion, Glomar Explorer is expected to begin operations as a drillship in 1984.

A New Method of Stress Measurement Based upon Elastic Deformation of Core Sample with Stress Relief by Drilling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ito, T.; Funato, A.; Tamagawa, T.; Tezuka, K.; Yabe, Y.; Abe, S.; Ishida, A.; Ogasawara, H.

2017-12-01

When rock is cored at depth by drilling, anisotropic expansion occurs with the relief of anisotropic rock stresses, resulting in a sinusoidal variation of core diameter with a period of 180 deg. in the core roll angle. The circumferential variation of core diameter is given theoretically as a function of rock stresses. These new findings can lead various ideas to estimate the rock stress from circumferential variation of core diameter measured after the core retrieving. In the simplest case when a single core sample is only available, the difference between the maximum and minimum components of rock stress in a plane perpendicular to the drilled hole can be estimated from the maximum and minimum core diameters (see the detail in, Funato and Ito, IJRMMS, 2017). The advantages of this method include, (i) much easier measurement operation than those in other in-situ or in-lab estimation methods, and (ii) applicability in high stress environment where stress measurements need pressure for packers or pumping system for the hydro-fracturing methods higher than their tolerance levels. We have successfully tested the method at deep seismogenic zones in South African gold mines, and we are going to apply it to boreholes collared at 3 km depth and intersecting a M5.5 rupture plane several hundred meters below the mine workings in the ICDP project of "Drilling into Seismogenic zones of M2.0 - M5.5 earthquakes in deep South African gold mines" (DSeis) (e.g., http://www.icdp-online.org/projects/world/africa/orkney-s-africa/details/). If several core samples with different orientation are available, all of three principal components of 3D rock stress can be estimated. To realize this, we should have several boreholes drilled in different directions in a rock mass where the stress field is considered to be uniform. It is commonly carried out to dill boreholes in different directions from a mine gallery. Even in a deep borehole drilled vertically from the ground surface, the downhole tool of rotary sidewall coring allows us to take core samples with different orientations at depths of interest from the sidewall of the vertically-drilled borehole. The theoretical relationship between the core expansion and rock stress has been verified through the examination of core samples prepared in laboratory experiments and retrieved field cores.

Investigations of Very High Enthalpy Geothermal Resources in Iceland.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elders, W. A.; Fridleifsson, G. O.

2012-12-01

The Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) is investigating the economic feasibility of producing electricity from supercritical geothermal reservoirs. Earlier modeling indicates that the power output of a geothermal well producing from a supercritical reservoir could potentially be an order of magnitude greater than that from a conventional hot geothermal reservoir, at the same volumetric flow rate. However, even in areas with an unusually high geothermal gradient, for normal hydrostatic pressure gradients reaching supercritical temperatures and pressures will require drilling to depths >4 km. In 2009 the IDDP attempted to drill the first deep supercritical well, IDDP-01, in the caldera of the Krafla volcano, in NE Iceland. However drilling had to be terminated at only 2.1 km depth when ~900°C rhyolite magma flowed into the well. Our studies indicate that this magma formed by partial melting of hydrothermally altered basalts within the Krafla caldera. Although this well was too shallow to reach supercritical pressures, it is highly productive, and is estimated to be capable of generating up to 36 MWe from the high-pressure, superheated steam produced from the upper contact zone of the intrusion. With a well-head temperature of ~440°C, it is at present apparently the hottest producing geothermal well in the world. A pilot plant is investigating the optimal utilization of this magmatically heated resource. A special issue of the journal Geothermics with 16 papers reporting on the IDDP-01 is in preparation. However, in order to continue the search for supercritical geothermal resources, planning is underway to drill a 4.5 km deep well at Reykjanes in SW Iceland in 2013-14. Although drilling deeper towards the heat source of this already developed high-temperature geothermal field will be more expensive, if a supercritical resource is found, this cost increase should be offset by the considerable increase in the power output and lifetime of the Reykjanes geothermal reservoir, without increasing its environmental foot print. If these efforts are successful, in future such very high enthalpy geothermal systems worldwide could become significant energy resources, where ever suitable young volcanic rocks occur, such as in the western USA, Hawaii, and Alaska.

Deep Borehole Field Test Research Activities at LBNL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dobson, Patrick; Tsang, Chin-Fu; Kneafsey, Timothy

The goal of the U.S. Department of Energy Used Fuel Disposition’s (UFD) Deep Borehole Field Test is to drill two 5 km large-diameter boreholes: a characterization borehole with a bottom-hole diameter of 8.5 inches and a field test borehole with a bottom-hole diameter of 17 inches. These boreholes will be used to demonstrate the ability to drill such holes in crystalline rocks, effectively characterize the bedrock repository system using geophysical, geochemical, and hydrological techniques, and emplace and retrieve test waste packages. These studies will be used to test the deep borehole disposal concept, which requires a hydrologically isolated environment characterizedmore » by low permeability, stable fluid density, reducing fluid chemistry conditions, and an effective borehole seal. During FY16, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists conducted a number of research studies to support the UFD Deep Borehole Field Test effort. This work included providing supporting data for the Los Alamos National Laboratory geologic framework model for the proposed deep borehole site, conducting an analog study using an extensive suite of geoscience data and samples from a deep (2.5 km) research borehole in Sweden, conducting laboratory experiments and coupled process modeling related to borehole seals, and developing a suite of potential techniques that could be applied to the characterization and monitoring of the deep borehole environment. The results of these studies are presented in this report.« less

Lunar deep drill apparatus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harvey, Jill (Editor)

1989-01-01

A self contained, mobile drilling and coring system was designed to operate on the Lunar surface and be controlled remotely from earth. The system uses SKITTER (Spatial Kinematic Inertial Translatory Tripod Extremity Robot) as its foundation and produces Lunar core samples two meters long and fifty millimeters in diameter. The drill bit used for this is composed of 30 per carat diamonds in a sintered tungsten carbide matrix. To drill up to 50 m depths, the bit assembly will be attached to a drill string made from 2 m rods which will be carried in racks on SKITTER. Rotary power for drilling will be supplied by a Curvo-Synchronous motor. SKITTER is to support this system through a hexagonal shaped structure which will contain the drill motor and the power supply. A micro-coring drill will be used to remove a preliminary sample 5 mm in diameter and 20 mm long from the side of the core. This whole system is to be controlled from earth. This is carried out by a continuously monitoring PLC onboard the drill rig. A touch screen control console allows the operator on earth to monitor the progress of the operation and intervene if necessary.

Pre-drill predictions versus post-drill results: use of sequence stratigraphic methods in reduction of exploration risk, Sarawak Deep-water Blocks, Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansor, Md Yazid; Snedden, J. W.; Sarg, J. F.; Smith, B. S.; Kolich, T.; Carter, M.

1999-04-01

Limited well control, great distances from age-equivalent producing fields, and a largely unknown stratigraphy necessitated use of sequence stratigraphic methods to assess exploration risk associated with reservoir, source and seal distribution in the Mobil-operated Deep-water Blocks of Sarawak, Malaysia. These methods allowed predictions to be made and reservoir risks to be halved in each of the locations drilled in 1995. Predictions regarding reservoir and stratigraphy proved correct, as the Mulu-1 and Bako-1 wells penetrated numerous high-quality, thick sandstone reservoirs in the Middle to Lower Miocene section. Shallow marine sandstones dominate the vertical succession in both wells, with characteristic aggradational, upward-coarsening log motifs. Cores display classic wave-generated stratification and hummocky cross-bedding. Evidence, such as marginal-marine to neritic microfauna in cuttings of both wells, supports these interpretations. Lack of hydrocarbon charge in the two wells may be due to their position relative to coaly hydrocarbon source beds. These prospects have high trap and seal integrity, being well defined on seismics as high relief horst blocks covered by a very thick shale-prone section. The Mulu-1 well, for example, is located at least 20-30 km down stratigraphic dip from mapped coeval lower coastal-plain deposits. Amplitude anomalies on the flank of the Mulu horst are probably derived from transported organics buried in deep Plio-Pleistocene kitchens in the northwest portion of the Mobil blocks. Remaining potential of mapped prospects is high and efforts continue at characterizing the petroleum system of the Deep-water Blocks. Seismic attribute and interval velocity analyses provide new clues to the location of probable coaly source rocks, especially when viewed in their regional and sequence stratigraphic context. Future work is planned and will serve to reduce risk to acceptable levels and support further drilling in this prospective hydrocarbon province.

Investigations related to scientific deep drilling to study reservoir-triggered earthquakes at Koyna, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Harsh; Purnachandra Rao, N.; Roy, Sukanta; Arora, Kusumita; Tiwari, V. M.; Patro, Prasanta K.; Satyanarayana, H. V. S.; Shashidhar, D.; Mallika, K.; Akkiraju, Vyasulu V.; Goswami, Deepjyoti; Vyas, Digant; Ravi, G.; Srinivas, K. N. S. S. S.; Srihari, M.; Mishra, S.; Dubey, C. P.; Raju, D. Ch. V.; Borah, Ujjal; Chinna Reddy, K.; Babu, Narendra; Rohilla, Sunil; Dhar, Upasana; Sen, Mrinal; Bhaskar Rao, Y. J.; Bansal, B. K.; Nayak, Shailesh

2015-09-01

Artificial water reservoir-triggered earthquakes have continued at Koyna in the Deccan Traps province, India, since the impoundment of the Shivaji Sagar reservoir in 1962. Existing models, to comprehend the genesis of triggered earthquakes, suffer from lack of observations in the near field. To investigate further, scientific deep drilling and setting up a fault zone observatory at depth of 5-7 km is planned in the Koyna area. Prior to undertaking deep drilling, an exploratory phase of investigations has been launched to constrain subsurface geology, structure and heat flow regime in the area that provide critical inputs for the design of the deep borehole observatory. Two core boreholes drilled to depths of 1,522 and 1,196 m have penetrated the Deccan Traps and sampled the granitic basement in the region for the first time. Studies on cores provide new and direct information regarding the thickness of the Deccan Traps, the absence of infra-Trappean sediments and the nature of the underlying basement rocks. Temperatures estimated at a depth of 6 km in the area, made on the basis of heat flow and thermal properties data sets, do not exceed 150 °C. Low-elevation airborne gravity gradient and magnetic data sets covering 5,012 line km, together with high-quality magnetotelluric data at 100 stations, provide both regional information about the thickness of the Deccan Traps and the occurrence of localized density heterogeneities and anomalous conductive zones in the vicinity of the hypocentral zone. Acquisition of airborne LiDAR data to obtain a high-resolution topographic model of the region has been completed over an area of 1,064 km2 centred on the Koyna seismic zone. Seismometers have been deployed in the granitic basement inside two boreholes and are planned in another set of six boreholes to obtain accurate hypocentral locations and constrain the disposition of fault zones.

Drilling a crater at the Equator-insides from ICDP DeepCHALLA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, Inka; Van Daele, Maarten; Tanghe, Niels; Eloy, Jonas; Verschuren, Dirk; De Batist, Marc

2017-04-01

Long and continuous sediment records from equatorial Africa are rare, resulting in a so far fragmentary understanding of the effects of a warming atmosphere on the tropical hydrological cycle at the regional scale. Serve and recurrent droughts is the principle weather-related hazard throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and the quality of long-term weather prediction a principle bottleneck hampering drought mitigation and adaptation. The impact of 21st-century anthropogenic climate change on the African rainfall is highly uncertain, implying unforeseeable effects on freshwater resources. During the "CHALLACEA" project (2005-2008) detailed investigations of Lake Challa, a relatively small and deep crater lake on the border between Kenya and Tanzania, revealed the lake is a key site for reconstructing the climate and environmental history of equatorial East Africa. Various biological, bio-geochemical and sedimentological investigations of the 22 long CHALLACEA-core helped to understand the systematics of Lake Challa under present-day conditions as well as to reconstruct environmental changes over the past 25,000 years. Due to the good quality of the Lake Challa sediment and the high scientific outcome of the record, a new International Continental Scientific Drilling Programme (ICDP) project "DeepCHALLA" was established to drill a longer sediment record, going further back in time. During the drilling campaign in November 2016 a 215 m long sediment sequence was obtained which will provide unique information about environmental changes in low-latitudes over a complete glacial - interglacial cycle. Therefore, the record opens new opportunities to study East African environmental changes and paleo-hydrological conditions much further back in time, encompassing the entire known existence of modern humans (Homo sapiens) in East Africa. Here we present a compilation of the environmental reconstructions based on the CHALLACEA sediment sequence and will give an outline of future work on the DeepCHALLA record.

Deep Borehole Disposal Remediation Costs for Off-Normal Outcomes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Finger, John T.; Cochran, John R.; Hardin, Ernest

2015-08-17

This memo describes rough-order-of-magnitude (ROM) cost estimates for a set of off-normal (accident) scenarios, as defined for two waste package emplacement method options for deep borehole disposal: drill-string and wireline. It summarizes the different scenarios and the assumptions made for each, with respect to fishing, decontamination, remediation, etc.

> Exploring the Scandinavian Mountain Belt by Deep Drilling (COSC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juhlin, C.; Gee, D. G.; Lorenz, H.; Pascal, C.; Pedersen, K.; Tsang, C.-F.

2012-04-01

The Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides (COSC) project proposes to drill two fully cored scientific boreholes, both to c. 2.5 km depth, in the Swedish Caledonides, one near the town of Åre (COSC 1) and the other further east (COSC 2). Together they will provide a c. 5 km deep high-resolution mid-crustal section through this major mid-Palaeozoic orogen. Main project objectives include (i) improved understanding of mountain building processes (orogeny), (ii) investigation of the geothermal gradient and its response to palaeoclimatic influences, (iii) the hydrogeological-hydrochemical state of the mountain belt, (iv) the deep biosphere in the metamorphic rocks and crystalline basement, and (v) calibration of surface geophysics and geology. The Caledonide Orogen is comparable in size and many other respects to today's Himalayan mountain belt. Silurian collision with underthrusting of the paleo-continent Baltica below Laurentia resulted in widespread formation of eclogite. Major allochthons were transported many hundreds of kilometers onto the Baltoscandian Platform, including high-grade metamorphic rocks and migmatites which were generated during continental margin subduction and emplaced ductilely at mid-crustal levels. COSC will provide detailed insight into mid-Palaeozoic mountain building processes and further our understanding of past, present and future orogen dynamics. Located in a key-area for Caledonian geology, it is close to a major geophysical transect across the mountain belt which has been complemented recently with high-resolution reflection seismics and aerogeophysics for site-selection. The COSC research program is being developed by five working groups, geology, geophysics, geothermics, hydrogeology and microbiology. It has direct relevance for society by improving our understanding of mountain building processes, hydrological-hydrochemical regimes in mountain areas and Precambrian shields, deep subsurface conditions for underground engineering, ore genesis and assessment of geothermal potential. After a general scientific workshop supported by ICDP in 2010, the hydrogeological aspects of deep drilling were the topic of a separate workshop last year; orogen dynamics will provide a focus at EGU; and geothermics research will be addressed at a workshop in Autumn 2012. The geothermics workshop will be announced on the ICDP homepage. Partial funding for the drilling has been achieved through national sources and ICDP. Additional funding (c. 500000€) is being sought to allow drilling to commence in 2013. Scientific and financial partners, both from academia and industry, are welcome to the project. The presentation will review the current status of the COSC project and the research leading up to the site selection for COSC 1.

CT Scans of Cores Metadata, Barrow, Alaska 2015

DOE Data Explorer

Katie McKnight; Tim Kneafsey; Craig Ulrich

2015-03-11

Individual ice cores were collected from Barrow Environmental Observatory in Barrow, Alaska, throughout 2013 and 2014. Cores were drilled along different transects to sample polygonal features (i.e. the trough, center and rim of high, transitional and low center polygons). Most cores were drilled around 1 meter in depth and a few deep cores were drilled around 3 meters in depth. Three-dimensional images of the frozen cores were constructed using a medical X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner. TIFF files can be uploaded to ImageJ (an open-source imaging software) to examine soil structure and densities within each core.

Neogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gohn, Gregory S.; Brewster-Wingard, G. Lynn; Cronin, Thomas M.; Edwards, Lucy E.; Gibson, Thomas G.; Rubin, Meyer; Willard, Debra A.

1996-01-01

During April and May, 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) drilled a 510-ft-deep, continuously cored, stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound, as part of a field study of the Neogene and Quaternary geology of the Mississippi coastal area. The USGS drilled two new holes at the Horn Island site. The first hole was continuously cored to a depth of 510 ft; coring stopped at this depth due to mechanical problems. To facilitate geophysical logging, an unsampled second hole was drilled to a depth of 519 ft at the same location.

Partially linearized external models to active-space coupled-cluster through connected hextuple excitations.

PubMed

Xu, Enhua; Ten-No, Seiichiro L

2018-06-05

Partially linearized external models to active-space coupled-cluster through hextuple excitations, for example, CC{SDtqph} L , CCSD{tqph} L , and CCSD{tqph} hyb, are implemented and compared with the full active-space CCSDtqph. The computational scaling of CCSDtqph coincides with that for the standard coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD), yet with a much large prefactor. The approximate schemes to linearize the external excitations higher than doubles are significantly cheaper than the full CCSDtqph model. These models are applied to investigate the bond dissociation energies of diatomic molecules (HF, F 2 , CuH, and CuF), and the potential energy surfaces of the bond dissociation processes of HF, CuH, H 2 O, and C 2 H 4 . Among the approximate models, CCSD{tqph} hyb provides very accurate descriptions compared with CCSDtqph for all of the tested systems. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Robotic and Human-Tended Collaborative Drilling Automation for Subsurface Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glass, Brian; Cannon, Howard; Stoker, Carol; Davis, Kiel

2005-01-01

Future in-situ lunar/martian resource utilization and characterization, as well as the scientific search for life on Mars, will require access to the subsurface and hence drilling. Drilling on Earth is hard - an art form more than an engineering discipline. Human operators listen and feel drill string vibrations coming from kilometers underground. Abundant mass and energy make it possible for terrestrial drilling to employ brute-force approaches to failure recovery and system performance issues. Space drilling will require intelligent and autonomous systems for robotic exploration and to support human exploration. Eventual in-situ resource utilization will require deep drilling with probable human-tended operation of large-bore drills, but initial lunar subsurface exploration and near-term ISRU will be accomplished with lightweight, rover-deployable or standalone drills capable of penetrating a few tens of meters in depth. These lightweight exploration drills have a direct counterpart in terrestrial prospecting and ore-body location, and will be designed to operate either human-tended or automated. NASA and industry now are acquiring experience in developing and building low-mass automated planetary prototype drills to design and build a pre-flight lunar prototype targeted for 2011-12 flight opportunities. A successful system will include development of drilling hardware, and automated control software to operate it safely and effectively. This includes control of the drilling hardware, state estimation of both the hardware and the lithography being drilled and state of the hole, and potentially planning and scheduling software suitable for uncertain situations such as drilling. Given that Humans on the Moon or Mars are unlikely to be able to spend protracted EVA periods at a drill site, both human-tended and robotic access to planetary subsurfaces will require some degree of standalone, autonomous drilling capability. Human-robotic coordination will be important, either between a robotic drill and humans on Earth, or a human-tended drill and its visiting crew. The Mars Analog Rio Tinto Experiment (MARTE) is a current project that studies and simulates the remote science operations between an automated drill in Spain and a distant, distributed human science team. The Drilling Automation for Mars Exploration (DAME) project, by contrast: is developing and testing standalone automation at a lunar/martian impact crater analog site in Arctic Canada. The drill hardware in both projects is a hardened, evolved version of the Advanced Deep Drill (ADD) developed by Honeybee Robotics for the Mars Subsurface Program. The current ADD is capable of 20m, and the DAME project is developing diagnostic and executive software for hands-off surface operations of the evolved version of this drill. The current drill automation architecture being developed by NASA and tested in 2004-06 at analog sites in the Arctic and Spain will add downhole diagnosis of different strata, bit wear detection, and dynamic replanning capabilities when unexpected failures or drilling conditions are discovered in conjunction with simulated mission operations and remote science planning. The most important determinant of future 1unar and martian drilling automation and staffing requirements will be the actual performance of automated prototype drilling hardware systems in field trials in simulated mission operations. It is difficult to accurately predict the level of automation and human interaction that will be needed for a lunar-deployed drill without first having extensive experience with the robotic control of prototype drill systems under realistic analog field conditions. Drill-specific failure modes and software design flaws will become most apparent at this stage. DAME will develop and test drill automation software and hardware under stressful operating conditions during several planned field campaigns. Initial results from summer 2004 tests show seven identifi distinct failure modes of the drill: cuttings-removal issues with low-power drilling into permafrost, and successful steps at executive control and initial automation.

30 CFR 203.40 - Which leases are eligible for royalty relief as a result of drilling a deep well or a phase 1...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... longitude in water depths entirely less than 400 meters deep. (b) The lease has not produced gas or oil from... than 200 meters and entirely less than 400 meters deep. (c) In the case of a lease located partly or... less than 400 meters of water, it must either: (1) Have been issued before November 28, 1995, and not...

Method and apparatus for delivering high power laser energy over long distances

DOEpatents

Zediker, Mark S; Rinzler, Charles C; Faircloth, Brian O; Koblick, Yeshaya; Moxley, Joel F

2015-04-07

Systems, devices and methods for the transmission and delivery of high power laser energy deep into the earth and for the suppression of associated nonlinear phenomena. Systems, devices and methods for the laser drilling of a borehole in the earth. These systems can deliver high power laser energy down a deep borehole, while maintaining the high power to advance such boreholes deep into the earth and at highly efficient advancement rates.

The keto-enol equilibrium in substituted acetaldehydes: focal-point analysis and ab initio limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balabin, Roman M.

2011-10-01

High-level ab initio electronic structure calculations up to the CCSD(T) theory level, including extrapolations to the complete basis set (CBS) limit, resulted in high precision energetics of the tautomeric equilibrium in 2-substituted acetaldehydes (XH2C-CHO). The CCSD(T)/CBS relative energies of the tautomers were estimated using CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ, MP3/aug-cc-pVQZ, and MP2/aug-cc-pV5Z calculations with MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ geometries. The relative enol (XHC = CHOH) stabilities (ΔE e,CCSD(T)/CBS) were found to be 5.98 ± 0.17, -1.67 ± 0.82, 7.64 ± 0.21, 8.39 ± 0.31, 2.82 ± 0.52, 10.27 ± 0.39, 9.12 ± 0.18, 5.47 ± 0.53, 7.50 ± 0.43, 10.12 ± 0.51, 8.49 ± 0.33, and 6.19 ± 0.18 kcal mol-1 for X = BeH, BH2, CH3, Cl, CN, F, H, NC, NH2, OCH3, OH, and SH, respectively. Inconsistencies between the results of complex/composite energy computations methods Gn/CBS (G2, G3, CBS-4M, and CBS-QB3) and high-level ab initio methods (CCSD(T)/CBS and MP2/CBS) were found. DFT/aug-cc-pVTZ results with B3LYP, PBE0 (PBE1PBE), TPSS, and BMK density functionals were close to the CCSD(T)/CBS levels (MAD = 1.04 kcal mol-1).

Esmeralda Energy Company, Final Scientific Technical Report, January 2008. Emigrant Slimhole Drilling Project, DOE GRED III

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deymonaz, John; Hulen, Jeffrey B.; Nash, Gregory D.

2008-01-22

The Emigrant Slimhole Drilling Project (ESDP) was a highly successful, phased resource evaluation program designed to evaluate the commercial geothermal potential of the eastern margin of the northern Fish Lake Valley pull-apart basin in west-central Nevada. The program involved three phases: (1) Resource evaluation; (2) Drilling and resource characterization; and (3) Resource testing and assessment. Efforts included detailed geologic mapping; 3-D modeling; compilation of a GIS database; and production of a conceptual geologic model followed by the successful drilling of the 2,938 foot deep 17-31 slimhole (core hole), which encountered commercial geothermal temperatures (327⁰ F) and exhibits an increasing, conductive,more » temperature gradient to total depth; completion of a short injection test; and compilation of a detailed geologic core log and revised geologic cross-sections. Results of the project greatly increased the understanding of the geologic model controlling the Emigrant geothermal resource. Information gained from the 17-31 core hole revealed the existence of commercial temperatures beneath the area in the Silver Peak Core Complex which is composed of formations that exhibit excellent reservoir characteristics. Knowledge gained from the ESDP may lead to the development of a new commercial geothermal field in Nevada. Completion of the 17-31 core hole also demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of deep core drilling as an exploration tool and the unequaled value of core in understanding the geology, mineralogy, evolutional history and structural aspects of a geothermal resource.« less

JPRS Report, Science & Technology, USSR: Science & Technology Policy.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-07-10

gas exploration are being increased by 1.7-fold, while the amount of deep drilling is being increased by 1.5-fold. Such imposing tasks require new...territory based on geotraverses, ultradeep drilling , and space geological research has been introduced, a number of geodynamic models, including...cooperation of the ministry with the academy. The gauge of success of our cooperation is the implementation of these programs with the attainment of specific

Communication: Acceleration of coupled cluster singles and doubles via orbital-weighted least-squares tensor hypercontraction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parrish, Robert M.; Sherrill, C. David, E-mail: sherrill@gatech.edu; Hohenstein, Edward G.

2014-05-14

We apply orbital-weighted least-squares tensor hypercontraction decomposition of the electron repulsion integrals to accelerate the coupled cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) method. Using accurate and flexible low-rank factorizations of the electron repulsion integral tensor, we are able to reduce the scaling of the most vexing particle-particle ladder term in CCSD from O(N{sup 6}) to O(N{sup 5}), with remarkably low error. Combined with a T{sub 1}-transformed Hamiltonian, this leads to substantial practical accelerations against an optimized density-fitted CCSD implementation.

New algorithm for tensor contractions on multi-core CPUs, GPUs, and accelerators enables CCSD and EOM-CCSD calculations with over 1000 basis functions on a single compute node.

PubMed

Kaliman, Ilya A; Krylov, Anna I

2017-04-30

A new hardware-agnostic contraction algorithm for tensors of arbitrary symmetry and sparsity is presented. The algorithm is implemented as a stand-alone open-source code libxm. This code is also integrated with general tensor library libtensor and with the Q-Chem quantum-chemistry package. An overview of the algorithm, its implementation, and benchmarks are presented. Similarly to other tensor software, the algorithm exploits efficient matrix multiplication libraries and assumes that tensors are stored in a block-tensor form. The distinguishing features of the algorithm are: (i) efficient repackaging of the individual blocks into large matrices and back, which affords efficient graphics processing unit (GPU)-enabled calculations without modifications of higher-level codes; (ii) fully asynchronous data transfer between disk storage and fast memory. The algorithm enables canonical all-electron coupled-cluster and equation-of-motion coupled-cluster calculations with single and double substitutions (CCSD and EOM-CCSD) with over 1000 basis functions on a single quad-GPU machine. We show that the algorithm exhibits predicted theoretical scaling for canonical CCSD calculations, O(N 6 ), irrespective of the data size on disk. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Selective Phylogenetic Analysis Targeted at 16S rRNA Genes of Thermophiles and Hyperthermophiles in Deep-Subsurface Geothermal Environments

PubMed Central

Kimura, Hiroyuki; Sugihara, Maki; Kato, Kenji; Hanada, Satoshi

2006-01-01

Deep-subsurface samples obtained by deep drilling are likely to be contaminated with mesophilic microorganisms in the drilling fluid, and this could affect determination of the community structure of the geothermal microflora using 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis. To eliminate possible contamination by PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes from mesophiles, a combined thermal denaturation and enzyme digestion method, based on a strong correlation between the G+C content of the 16S rRNA gene and the optimum growth temperatures of most known prokaryotic cultures, was used prior to clone library construction. To validate this technique, hot spring fluid (76°C) and river water (14°C) were used to mimic a deep-subsurface sample contaminated with drilling fluid. After DNA extraction and PCR amplification of the 16S rRNA genes from individual samples separately, the amplified products from river water were observed to be denatured at 82°C and completely digested by exonuclease I (Exo I), while the amplified products from hot spring fluid remained intact after denaturation at 84°C and enzyme digestion with Exo I. DNAs extracted from the two samples were mixed and used as a template for amplification of the 16S rRNA genes. The amplified rRNA genes were denatured at 84°C and digested with Exo I before clone library construction. The results indicated that the 16S rRNA gene sequences from the river water were almost completely eliminated, whereas those from the hot spring fluid remained. PMID:16391020

Numerical Simulation of Rock Mass Damage Evolution During Deep-Buried Tunnel Excavation by Drill and Blast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jianhua; Lu, Wenbo; Hu, Yingguo; Chen, Ming; Yan, Peng

2015-09-01

Presence of an excavation damage zone (EDZ) around a tunnel perimeter is of significant concern with regard to safety, stability, costs and overall performance of the tunnel. For deep-buried tunnel excavation by drill and blast, it is generally accepted that a combination of effects of stress redistribution and blasting is mainly responsible for development of the EDZ. However, few open literatures can be found to use numerical methods to investigate the behavior of rock damage induced by the combined effects, and it is still far from full understanding how, when and to what degree the blasting affects the behavior of the EDZ during excavation. By implementing a statistical damage evolution law based on stress criterion into the commercial software LS-DYNA through its user-subroutines, this paper presents a 3D numerical simulation of the rock damage evolution of a deep-buried tunnel excavation, with a special emphasis on the combined effects of the stress redistribution of surrounding rock masses and the blasting-induced damage. Influence of repeated blast loadings on the damage extension for practical millisecond delay blasting is investigated in the present analysis. Accompanying explosive detonation and secession of rock fragments from their initial locations, in situ stress in the immediate vicinity of the excavation face is suddenly released. The transient characteristics of the in situ stress release and induced dynamic responses in the surrounding rock masses are also highlighted. From the simulation results, some instructive conclusions are drawn with respect to the rock damage mechanism and evolution during deep-buried tunnel excavation by drill and blast.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rigali, Mark J.; Pye, Steven; Hardin, Ernest

This study considers the feasibility of large diameter deep boreholes for waste disposal. The conceptual approach considers examples of deep large diameter boreholes that have been successfully drilled, and also other deep borehole designs proposed in the literature. The objective for large diameter boreholes would be disposal of waste packages with diameters of 22 to 29 inches, which could enable disposal of waste forms such as existing vitrified high level waste. A large-diameter deep borehole design option would also be amenable to other waste forms including calcine waste, treated Na-bonded and Na-bearing waste, and Cs and Sr capsules.

30 CFR 203.40 - Which leases are eligible for royalty relief as a result of drilling a deep well or a phase 1...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... may receive an RSV under §§ 203.41 through 203.44, and may receive an RSS under §§ 203.45 through 203... 1, 2004, and, in cases where the original lease terms provided for an RSV for deep gas production...

30 CFR 203.40 - Which leases are eligible for royalty relief as a result of drilling a deep well or a phase 1...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... may receive an RSV under §§ 203.41 through 203.44, and may receive an RSS under §§ 203.45 through 203... 1, 2004, and, in cases where the original lease terms provided for an RSV for deep gas production...

30 CFR 203.40 - Which leases are eligible for royalty relief as a result of drilling a deep well or a phase 1...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... may receive an RSV under §§ 203.41 through 203.44, and may receive an RSS under §§ 203.45 through 203... 1, 2004, and, in cases where the original lease terms provided for an RSV for deep gas production...

Deep drilling; Probing beneath the earth's surface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rosen, J.250

1991-06-01

This paper reports on boreholes from 4.5 to greater than 10 kilometers deep that are pushing back the boundaries of earth science as they yield information that is used to refine seismic surveys, chart the evolution of sedimentary basins and shield volcanos, and uncover important clues on the origin and migration of mantle-derived water and gas.

Messinian Salinity Crisis - DREAM (Deep-sea Record of Mediterranean Messinian events) drilling projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lofi, Johanna; Camerlenghi, Angelo

2014-05-01

About 6 My ago the Mediterranean Sea was transformed into a giant saline basin. This event, commonly referred to as the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC), changed the chemistry of the global ocean and had a permanent impact on both the terrestrial and marine ecosystems of a huge area surrounding the Mediterranean area. The first fascinating MSC scenario was proposed following DSDP Leg XIII in 1970 and envisaged an almost desiccated deep Mediterranean basin with a dramatic ~1,500 m drop of sea level, the incision of deep canyons by rivers on the continental margins, and a final catastrophic flooding event when the connections between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic were re-established ~5.33 My ago. In spite of 40 years of multi-disciplinary research conducted on the MSC, modalities, timing, causes, chronology and consequence at local and planetary scale are still not yet fully understood, and the MSC event remains one of the longest-living controversies in Earth Science. Key factor for the controversy is the lack of a complete record of the MSC preserved in the deepest Mediterranean basins. Anywhere else, the MSC mostly generated a sedimentary/time lag corresponding to a widespread erosion surface. Correlations with the offshore depositional units are thus complex, preventing the construction of a coherent scenario linking the outcropping MSC evaporites, the erosion on the margins, and the deposition of clastics and evaporites in the abyssal plains. Recent activity by various research groups in order to identify locations for multiple-site drilling (including riser-drilling) in the Mediterranean Sea that would contribute to solve the open questions still existing about the MSC has culminated in two DREAM Magellan+ Workshops held in 2013 and 2014. A strategy and work plan have been established in order to submit an IODP Multi-phase Drilling Project("Uncovering A Salt Giant")including several site-specific drilling proposals addressing different scientific objectives related to the MSC. Among these proposals, one will be fully dedicated to the MSC event. Improved quality of seismic data has allowed important advances in the recognition and understanding of MSC seismic markers (surfaces and depositional units) and lithological and stratigraphical calibrations are now critical. Therefore, the drilling strategy must include multiple sites covering representative locations of both Western and Eastern Mediterranean basins. A series of critical drilling targets were thus identified as follows: - A first set of drilling targets, dedicated to shallow water (< 2500 m water depth) MSC markers, includes the Messinian clastic wedges, the erosion surfaces and the MSC deposits (including thin salt bodies) trapped in small topographic lows observed at various water depths between the shoreline and the abyssal plain. Up to 10 sites, presented in this work, could be drilled with the riserless R/V Joides Resolution, provided the safety conditions are met; - Another critical drilling target is the full recovering of undeformed MSC sequence (including the Tortonian-Messinian and the Messinian-Zanclean boundaries) in the deep water (>2500m) of both the eastern and western Mediterranean basins. This will be possible thanks to R/V Chikyu riser drilling vessel and will be the scope of a second MSC IODP proposal. DREAM Team: A. Giovanni galod@locean-ipsl.upmc.fr, H. Christian huebscher@zmaw.de, G. deLangeGert gdelange@geo.uu.nl, R. Flecker r.flecker@bristol.ac.uk, D. Garcia-Castellanos danielgc@ictja.csic.es, C. Gorini gorini@upmc.fr, Z. Gvirtzman zohar@gsi.gov.il, W. Krijgsman krijgsma@geo.uu.nl, S. Lugli lugli@unimore.it, I. Makowsky yizhaq@univ.haifa.ac.il, M. Vinicio vinicio.manzi@unipr.it, T. McGenity tjmcgen@essex.ac.uk, G. Panieri giuliana.panieri@uit.no, M. Rabineau rabineau@univ-brest.fr, M. Roveri marco.roveri@unipr.it, F.J. Sierro sierro@usal.es, N. Waldman nwaldmann@univ.haifa.ac.il

Scientific investigation in deep wells for nuclear waste disposal studies at the Meuse/Haute Marne underground research laboratory, Northeastern France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delay, Jacques; Rebours, Hervé; Vinsot, Agnès; Robin, Pierre

Andra, the French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency, is constructing an underground test facility to study the feasibility of a radioactive waste disposal in the Jurassic-age Callovo-Oxfordian argillites. This paper describes the processes, the methods and results of a scientific characterization program carried out from the surface via deep boreholes with the aim to build a research facility for radioactive waste disposal. In particular this paper shows the evolution of the drilling programs and the borehole set up due to the refinement of the scientific objectives from 1994 to 2004. The pre-investigation phase on the Meuse/Haute-Marne site started in 1994. It consisted in drilling seven scientific boreholes. This phase, completed in 1996, led to the first regional geological cross-section showing the main geometrical characteristics of the host rock. Investigations on the laboratory site prior to the sinking of two shafts started in November 1999. The sinking of the shafts started in September 2000 with the auxiliary shaft completed in October 2004. The experimental gallery, at a depth of 445 m in the main shaft, was in operation by end 2004. During the construction of the laboratory, two major scientific programs were initiated to improve the existing knowledge of the regional hydrogeological characteristics and to accelerate the process of data acquisition on the shales. The aim of the 2003 hydrogeological drilling program was to determine, at regional scale, the properties of groundwater transport and to sample the water in the Oxfordian and Dogger limestones. The 2003-2004 programs consisted in drilling nine deep boreholes, four of which were slanted, to achieve an accurate definition of the structural features.

The Deep-Sea and Sub-Seafloor Frontier initiative - a key to link EC research and international scientific ocean drilling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopf, A.

2009-04-01

The Deep-Sea and Sub-Seafloor Frontiers project, DS3F, represents the continuation of the DSF roadmap towards the sustainable management of oceanic resources on a European scale. It will develop strategies for sub-seafloor sampling to contribute to a better understanding of deep-sea and sub-seafloor processes by connecting marine research in life and geosciences, climate and environmental change, as well as socio-economic issues and policy building. We propose to establish a long-lived research approach that considers (i) the need for a sustainable management of the ocean, and particularly the deep sea with enhanced activity (fishery, hydrocarbon exploration), (ii) the necessity to unravel deep-seated geological processes that drive seafloor ecosystems, and (iii) the value of seabed archives for the reconstruction of paleo-environmental conditions and the improved prediction of future climate change. Sub-seafloor drilling and sampling can provide two key components in understanding how deep-sea ecosystems function at present, and how they will respond to global change: (a) an inventory of present subsurface processes and biospheres, and their links to surface ecosystems, including seafloor observation and baseline studies, and (b) a high resolution archive of past variations in environmental conditions and biodiversity. For both components, an international effort is needed to share knowledge, methods and technologies, including mission-specific platforms to increase the efficiency, coverage and accuracy of sub-seafloor sampling and exploration. The deep biosphere has been discovered only within the past two decades and comprises the last major frontier for biological exploration. We lack fundamental knowledge of composition, diversity, distribution and metabolism in sub-seafloor biological communities at Earth's extremes, and their repercussions on seafloor ecosystems and life in the deep sea. There is equally an emerging need to shed light on geodynamic processes fuelling biological activity, and how such processes tie into the emission of geofuels and the formation of hydrocarbons and other resources. In addition, geodynamic processes may be cause natural hazards such as earthquake slip, submarine landslides, or tsunamis with a profound effect for humans and ecosystems. Their governing principles and potential triggers are poorly understood and often related to the sub-seafloor environment. In summary, the three main research areas in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP; see Initial Science Plan www.iodp.org/isp/), i.e. geodynamics, climate and deep biosphere, as well as the goals of DS3F show a strong overlap and suggest an emerging need to join forces. This will result in the most efficient use of sub-seafloor sampling techniques and existing marine infrastructure to study the geosystem and its effects on biosphere and marine ecosystems. The DS3F initiative aims at providing a comprehensive "white paper" for a sustainable use of the oceans, an European Maritime Policy, and a strong link between European mission-specific drilling projects including IODP, IMAGES, ESF-EuroMARC and EC campaigns.

Lithology of the long sediment record recovered by the ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project (DSDDP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neugebauer, Ina; Brauer, Achim; Schwab, Markus J.; Waldmann, Nicolas D.; Enzel, Yehouda; Kitagawa, Hiroyuki; Torfstein, Adi; Frank, Ute; Dulski, Peter; Agnon, Amotz; Ariztegui, Daniel; Ben-Avraham, Zvi; Goldstein, Steven L.; Stein, Mordechai

2014-10-01

The sedimentary sections that were deposited from the Holocene Dead Sea and its Pleistocene precursors are excellent archives of the climatic, environmental and seismic history of the Levant region. Yet, most of the previous work has been carried out on sequences of lacustrine sediments exposed at the margins of the present-day Dead Sea, which were deposited only when the lake surface level rose above these terraces (e.g. during the Last Glacial period) and typically are discontinuous due to major lake level variations in the past. Continuous sedimentation can only be expected in the deepest part of the basin and, therefore, a deep drilling has been accomplished in the northern basin of the Dead Sea during winter of 2010-2011 within the Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project (DSDDP) in the framework of the ICDP program. Approximately 720 m of sediment cores have been retrieved from two deep and several short boreholes. The longest profile (5017-1), revealed at a water depth of ˜300 m, reaches 455 m below the lake floor (blf, i.e. to ˜1175 m below global mean sea level) and comprises approximately the last 220-240 ka. The record covers the upper part of the Amora (penultimate glacial), the Last Interglacial Samra, the Last Glacial Lisan and the Holocene Ze'elim Formations and, therewith, two entire glacial-interglacial cycles. Thereby, for the first time, consecutive sediments deposited during the MIS 6/5, 5/4 and 2/1 transitions were recovered from the Dead Sea basin, which are not represented in sediments outcropping on the present-day lake shores. In this paper, we present essential lithological data including continuous magnetic susceptibility and geochemical scanning data and the basic stratigraphy including first chronological data of the long profile (5017-1) from the deep basin. The results presented here (a) focus on the correlation of the deep basin deposits with main on-shore stratigraphic units, thus providing a unique comprehensive stratigraphic framework for regional paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and (b) highlight the outstanding potential of the Dead Sea deep sedimentary archive to record hydrological changes during interglacial, glacial and transitional intervals.

30 CFR 203.30 - Which leases are eligible for royalty relief as a result of drilling a phase 2 or phase 3 ultra...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 400 meters deep. (b) The lease has not produced gas or oil from a deep well or an ultra-deep well, except as provided in § 203.31(b). (c) If the lease is located entirely in more than 200 meters and entirely less than 400 meters of water, it must either: (1) Have been issued before November 28, 1995, and...

Method and apparatus for delivering high power laser energy over long distances

DOEpatents

Zediker, Mark S; Rinzler, Charles C; Faircloth, Brian O; Koblick, Yeshaya; Moxley, Joel F

2013-08-20

Systems, devices and methods for the transmission of 1 kW or more of laser energy deep into the earth and for the suppression of associated nonlinear phenomena. Systems, devices and methods for the laser drilling of a borehole in the earth. These systems can deliver high power laser energy down a deep borehole, while maintaining the high power to advance such boreholes deep into the earth and at highly efficient advancement rates.

Drilling the Thuringian Syncline, Germany: core processing during the INFLUINS scientific deep drilling campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abratis, Michael; Methe, Pascal; Aehnelt, Michaela; Kunkel, Cindy; Beyer, Daniel; Kukowski, Nina; Totsche, Kai Uwe

2014-05-01

Deep drilling of the central Thuringian Syncline was carried out in order to gather substantial knowledge of subsurface fluid dynamics and fluid rock interaction within a sedimentary basin. The final depth of the borehole was successfully reached at 1179 m, just a few meters above the Buntsandstein - Zechstein boundary. One of the aspects of the scientific drilling was obtaining sample material from different stratigraphic units for insights in genesis, rock properties and fluid-rock interactions. Parts of the section were cored whereas cuttings provide record of the remaining units. Coring was conducted in aquifers and their surrounding aquitards, i.e. parts of the Upper Muschelkalk (Trochitenkalk), the Middle Muschelkalk, the Upper Buntsandstein (Pelitrot and Salinarrot) and the Middle Buntsandstein. In advance and in cooperation with the GFZ Potsdam team "Scientific Drilling" core handling was discussed and a workflow was developed to ensure efficient and appropriate processing of the valuable core material and related data. Core curation including cleaning, fitting, marking, measuring, cutting, boxing, photographing and unrolled scanning using a DMT core scanner was carried out on the drilling site in Erfurt. Due care was exercised on samples for microbiological analyses. These delicate samples were immediately cut when leaving the core tube and stored within a cooling box at -78°C. Special software for data input was used developed by smartcube GmbH. Advantages of this drilling information system (DIS) are the compatibility with formats of international drilling projects from the IODP and ICDP drilling programs and thus options for exchanges with the international data bases. In a following step, the drill cores were brought to the national core repository of the BGR in Berlin Spandau where the cores were logged for their physical rock properties using a GeoTek multi sensor core logger (MSCL). After splitting the cores into a working and archive half, the cores were scanned for compositional variations using an XRF core scanner at the BGR lab and scan images of the slabbed surfaces were performed. The average core recovery rate was very high at nearly 100%. Altogether, we gained 533 m of excellent core material including sandstones, siltstones and claystones, carbonates, sulfates and chlorides. This provides valuable insight into the stratigraphic column of the Thuringian Syncline.

Real Time Mud Gas Logging During Drilling of DFDP-2B

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mathewson, L. A.; Toy, V.; Menzies, C. D.; Zimmer, M.; Erzinger, J.; Niedermann, S.; Cox, S.

2015-12-01

The Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP) aims to improve our understanding of the Alpine Fault Zone, a tectonically active mature fault system in New Zealand known to rupture in large events, by deep scientific drilling. The borehole DFDP-2B approached the Alpine Fault at depth, reaching a final depth of 892 m (820 m true vertical depth). Online gas analysis (OLGA) while drilling tracked changes in the composition of gases extracted from the circulating drill mud. The composition of fluids from fault zones can provide information about their origins, flow rates and -paths, fluid-rock interactions along these paths, and the permeability structure of the faulted rock mass. Apart from an atmospheric input, the gases in drilling mud derive from the pore space of rock, crushed at the drill bit, and from permeable layers intersected by the borehole. The rapid formation of mud wall cake seals the borehole from further fluid inflow, hence formation-derived gases enter mostly at the depth of the drill bit. OLGA analyses N2, O2, Ar, CO2, CH4, He, and H2 on a mass spectrometer, hydrocarbons CH4, C2H6, C3H8, i-C4H10, and n-C4H10 on a gas chromatograph, and Rn using a lucas-cell detector. Gas was sampled for offline analyses on noble gas and stable isotopes to complement the OLGA dataset. The principle formation-derived gases found in drilling mud during drilling of DFDP-2 were CO2 and CH4, with smaller component of H2 and He2. High radon activity is interpreted to reflect intervals of active fluid flow through highly fractured and faulted rock. 3He/4He values in many samples were extremely air-contaminated, i.e. there was almost no excess of non-atmospheric He. The 3He/4He values measured at 236 m and 610 m, which are the only analyses with uncertainties <100%, are very similar to those measured in hot springs along the Alpine Fault, e.g. Fox River (0.64 Ra), Copland (0.42 Ra), Lower Wanganui (0.81 Ra). We will compare these data to those gathered using OLGA and discuss the implications.

Study of the organic matter in the DSDP /JOIDES/ cores, legs 10-15. [Deep Sea Drilling Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simoneit, B. R. T.; Burlingame, A. L.

1974-01-01

The composition of the organic matter collected on legs 10 to 15 of the DSDP (Deep Sea Drilling Project) is described. Distributions of various alkanes, carboxylic acids, steroids and terpenoids, isoprenoid ketones and olefins, and aromatic polycyclic compounds are given. Samples analyzed had terrigenous clay components, with variable organic carbon contents and thus diverse solvent soluble matter. The distribution patterns for the various compound series monitored were of marine derivation, with the terrigenous components superimposed. Diagenesis of steroids appeared to proceed via both stanones and stanols to their respective steranes. Degradative processes were observed to be operative: oxidative products, mainly ketones derived from steroids and phytol, were identified, probably due to microbial alteration prior to or during sedimentation. Loss of alkane and fatty acid C preferences and presence of polycyclic aromatics evinced maturation. Results indicate that the accumulation, degradation, diagenesis and maturation of organic matter occurs in various steps in the deep sea environment.

Fine structure of the late Eocene Ir anomaly in marine sediments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asaro, F.

1991-01-01

The Late Eocene Ir abundance profile in deep sea cores from Ocean Drilling Program Leg 113 Hole 689B on the Maude Rise off of Antarctica was studied with 410 samples continuously in 10 cm increments and measured with the Iridium Coincidence (ICS). The ICS was subsequently modified to measure 13 other elements simultaneously with the Ir. The abundance profiles of these elements were then determined in the Late Eocene Massignano section in central Italy with 250 samples (encompassing roughly 2 million years of accumulation) which were collected about every 5 cm in about 2 cm increments. These studies augmented a previous one (which included many elements) of deep sea cores from Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 592 on the Lord Howe Rise in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. In the latter study, 50 samples (encompassing roughly 0.7 million years of accumulation) were collected continuously in 10 cm increments. The results from these studies are discussed.

Scientific drilling projects in ancient lakes: Integrating geological and biological histories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilke, Thomas; Wagner, Bernd; Van Bocxlaer, Bert; Albrecht, Christian; Ariztegui, Daniel; Delicado, Diana; Francke, Alexander; Harzhauser, Mathias; Hauffe, Torsten; Holtvoeth, Jens; Just, Janna; Leng, Melanie J.; Levkov, Zlatko; Penkman, Kirsty; Sadori, Laura; Skinner, Alister; Stelbrink, Björn; Vogel, Hendrik; Wesselingh, Frank; Wonik, Thomas

2016-08-01

Sedimentary sequences in ancient or long-lived lakes can reach several thousands of meters in thickness and often provide an unrivalled perspective of the lake's regional climatic, environmental, and biological history. Over the last few years, deep-drilling projects in ancient lakes became increasingly multi- and interdisciplinary, as, among others, seismological, sedimentological, biogeochemical, climatic, environmental, paleontological, and evolutionary information can be obtained from sediment cores. However, these multi- and interdisciplinary projects pose several challenges. The scientists involved typically approach problems from different scientific perspectives and backgrounds, and setting up the program requires clear communication and the alignment of interests. One of the most challenging tasks, besides the actual drilling operation, is to link diverse datasets with varying resolution, data quality, and age uncertainties to answer interdisciplinary questions synthetically and coherently. These problems are especially relevant when secondary data, i.e., datasets obtained independently of the drilling operation, are incorporated in analyses. Nonetheless, the inclusion of secondary information, such as isotopic data from fossils found in outcrops or genetic data from extant species, may help to achieve synthetic answers. Recent technological and methodological advances in paleolimnology are likely to increase the possibilities of integrating secondary information. Some of the new approaches have started to revolutionize scientific drilling in ancient lakes, but at the same time, they also add a new layer of complexity to the generation and analysis of sediment-core data. The enhanced opportunities presented by new scientific approaches to study the paleolimnological history of these lakes, therefore, come at the expense of higher logistic, communication, and analytical efforts. Here we review types of data that can be obtained in ancient lake drilling projects and the analytical approaches that can be applied to empirically and statistically link diverse datasets to create an integrative perspective on geological and biological data. In doing so, we highlight strengths and potential weaknesses of new methods and analyses, and provide recommendations for future interdisciplinary deep-drilling projects.

Rapid Access Ice Drill: A New Tool for Exploration of the Deep Antarctic Ice Sheets and Subglacial Geology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodge, J. W.; Severinghaus, J. P.

2014-12-01

The Rapid Access Ice Drill (RAID) will penetrate the Antarctic ice sheets in order to core through deep ice, the glacial bed, and into bedrock below. This new technology will provide a critical first look at the interface between major ice caps and their subglacial geology. Currently in construction, RAID is a mobile drilling system capable of making several long boreholes in a single field season in Antarctica. RAID is interdisciplinary and will allow access to polar paleoclimate records in ice >1 Ma, direct observation at the base of the ice sheets, and recovery of rock cores from the ice-covered East Antarctic craton. RAID uses a diamond rock-coring system as in mineral exploration. Threaded drill-pipe with hardened metal bits will cut through ice using reverse circulation of Estisol for pressure-compensation, maintenance of temperature, and removal of ice cuttings. Near the bottom of the ice sheet, a wireline bottom-hole assembly will enable diamond coring of ice, the glacial bed, and bedrock below. Once complete, boreholes will be kept open with fluid, capped, and made available for future down-hole measurement of thermal gradient, heat flow, ice chronology, and ice deformation. RAID will also sample for extremophile microorganisms. RAID is designed to penetrate up to 3,300 meters of ice and take sample cores in less than 200 hours. This rapid performance will allow completion of a borehole in about 10 days before moving to the next drilling site. RAID is unique because it can provide fast borehole access through thick ice; take short ice cores for paleoclimate study; sample the glacial bed to determine ice-flow conditions; take cores of subglacial bedrock for age dating and crustal history; and create boreholes for use as an observatory in the ice sheets. Together, the rapid drilling capability and mobility of the drilling system, along with ice-penetrating imaging methods, will provide a unique 3D picture of the interior Antarctic ice sheets.

How to Access and Sample the Deep Subsurface of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Briggs, G.; Blacic, J.; Dreesen, D.; Mockler, T.

2000-01-01

We are developing a technology roadmap to support a series of Mars lander missions aimed at successively deeper and more comprehensive explorations of the Martian subsurface. The proposed mission sequence is outlined. Key to this approach is development of a drilling and sampling technology robust and flexible enough to successfully penetrate the presently unknown subsurface geology and structure. Martian environmental conditions, mission constraints of power and mass and a requirement for a high degree of automation all limit applicability of many proven terrestrial drilling technologies. Planetary protection and bioscience objectives further complicate selection of candidate systems. Nevertheless, recent advances in drilling technologies for the oil & gas, mining, underground utility and other specialty drilling industries convinces us that it will be possible to meet science and operational objectives of Mars subsurface exploration.

Intraterrestrial life in igneous ocean crust: advances, technologies, and the future (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, K. J.; Wheat, C. G.

2010-12-01

The “next frontier” of scientific investigation in the deep sub-seafloor microbial biosphere lies in a realm that has been a completely unexplored until just the past decade: the igneous oceanic crust. Problems that have hampered exploration of the “hard rock” marine deep biosphere have revolved around sample access (hard rock drilling is technologically complex), contamination (a major hurdle), momentum (why take on this challenge when the relatively “easier” marine muds also have been a frontier) and suspicion that microbes in more readily accessed using (simpler) non-drilling technologies - like vents - are truly are endemic of subsurface clades/activities. Since the late 1990’s, however, technologies and resultant studies on microbes in the igneous ocean crust deep biosphere have risen sharply, and offer a new and distinct view on this biome. Moreover, microbiologists are now taking leading roles in technological developments that are critically required to address this biosphere - interfacing and collaborating closely with engineers, genomic biologists, geologists, seismologists, and geochemists to accomplish logistically complex and long-term studies that bring observatory research to this deep realm. The future of this field for the least decade is rich - opportunities abound for microbiologists to play new roles in how we study microbiology in the deep subsurface in an oceanographic and Earth system science perspective.

Problematic p-benzyne: Orbital instabilities, biradical character, and broken symmetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crawford, T. Daniel; Kraka, Elfi; Stanton, John F.; Cremer, Dieter

2001-06-01

The equilibrium geometry, harmonic vibrational frequencies, and infrared transition intensities of p-benzyne were calculated at the MBPT(2), SDQ-MBPT(4), CCSD, and CCSD(T) levels of theory using different reference wave functions obtained from restricted and unrestricted Hartree-Fock (RHF and UHF), restricted Brueckner (RB) orbital, and Generalized Valence Bond (GVB) theory. RHF erroneously describes p-benzyne as a closed-shell singlet rather than a singlet biradical, which leads to orbital near-instabilities in connection with the mixing of orbital pairs b1u-ag (HOMO-LUMO), b2g-ag (HOMO-1-LUMO), and b1g-ag (HOMO-2-LUMO). Vibrational modes of the corresponding symmetries cause method-dependent anomalous increases (unreasonable force constants and infrared intensities) or decreases in the energy (breaking of the D2h symmetry of the molecular framework of p-benzyne). This basic failure of the RHF starting function is reduced by adding dynamic electron correlation. However RHF-MBPT(2), RHF-SDQ-MBPT(4), RHF-CCSD, RB-CCD, and RHF-CCSD(T) descriptions of p-benzyne are still unreliable as best documented by the properties of the b1u-, b2g-, and b1g-symmetrical vibrational modes. The first reliable spin-restricted description is provided when using Brueckner orbitals at the RB-CCD(T) level. GVB leads to exaggerated biradical character that is reduced at the GVB-MP2 level of theory. The best results are obtained with a UHF reference wave function, provided a sufficient account of dynamic electron correlation is included. At the UHF-CCSD level, the triplet contaminant is completely annihilated. UHF-CCSD(T) gives a reliable account of the infrared spectrum apart from a CCH bending vibrational mode, which is still in disagreement with experiment.

Accounting for the exact degeneracy and quasidegeneracy in the automerization of cyclobutadiene via multireference coupled-cluster methods.

PubMed

Li, Xiangzhu; Paldus, Josef

2009-09-21

The automerization of cyclobutadiene (CBD) is employed to test the performance of the reduced multireference (RMR) coupled-cluster (CC) method with singles and doubles (RMR CCSD) that employs a modest-size MR CISD wave function as an external source for the most important (primary) triples and quadruples in order to account for the nondynamic correlation effects in the presence of quasidegeneracy, as well as of its perturbatively corrected version accounting for the remaining (secondary) triples [RMR CCSD(T)]. The experimental results are compared with those obtained by the standard CCSD and CCSD(T) methods, by the state universal (SU) MR CCSD and its state selective or state specific (SS) version as formulated by Mukherjee et al. (SS MRCC or MkMRCC) and, wherever available, by the Brillouin-Wigner MRCC [MR BWCCSD(T)] method. Both restricted Hartree-Fock (RHF) and multiconfigurational self-consistent field (MCSCF) molecular orbitals are employed. For a smaller STO-3G basis set we also make a comparison with the exact full configuration interaction (FCI) results. Both fundamental vibrational energies-as obtained via the integral averaging method (IAM) that can handle anomalous potentials and automatically accounts for anharmonicity- and the CBD automerization barrier for the interconversion of the two rectangular structures are considered. It is shown that the RMR CCSD(T) potential has the smallest nonparallelism error relative to the FCI potential and the corresponding fundamental vibrational frequencies compare reasonably well with the experimental ones and are very close to those recently obtained by other authors. The effect of anharmonicity is assessed using the second-order perturbation theory (MP2). Finally, the invariance of the RMR CC methods with respect to orbital rotations is also examined.

Explicitly correlated coupled-cluster theory using cusp conditions. II. Treatment of connected triple excitations.

PubMed

Köhn, Andreas

2010-11-07

The coupled-cluster singles and doubles method augmented with single Slater-type correlation factors (CCSD-F12) determined by the cusp conditions (also denoted as SP ansatz) yields results close to the basis set limit with only small overhead compared to conventional CCSD. Quantitative calculations on many-electron systems, however, require to include the effect of connected triple excitations at least. In this contribution, the recently proposed [A. Köhn, J. Chem. Phys. 130, 131101 (2009)] extended SP ansatz and its application to the noniterative triples correction CCSD(T) is reviewed. The approach allows to include explicit correlation into connected triple excitations without introducing additional unknown parameters. The explicit expressions are presented and analyzed, and possible simplifications to arrive at a computationally efficient scheme are suggested. Numerical tests based on an implementation obtained by an automated approach are presented. Using a partial wave expansion for the neon atom, we can show that the proposed ansatz indeed leads to the expected (L(max)+1)(-7) convergence of the noniterative triples correction, where L(max) is the maximum angular momentum in the orbital expansion. Further results are reported for a test set of 29 molecules, employing Peterson's F12-optimized basis sets. We find that the customary approach of using the conventional noniterative triples correction on top of a CCSD-F12 calculation leads to significant basis set errors. This, however, is not always directly visible for total CCSD(T) energies due to fortuitous error compensation. The new approach offers a thoroughly explicitly correlated CCSD(T)-F12 method with improved basis set convergence of the triples contributions to both total and relative energies.

Hess Deep Interactive Lab: Exploring the Structure and Formation of the Oceanic Crust through Hands-On Models and Online Tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurtz, N.; Marks, N.; Cooper, S. K.

2014-12-01

Scientific ocean drilling through the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) has contributed extensively to our knowledge of Earth systems science. However, many of its methods and discoveries can seem abstract and complicated for students. Collaborations between scientists and educators/artists to create accurate yet engaging demonstrations and activities have been crucial to increasing understanding and stimulating interest in fascinating geological topics. One such collaboration, which came out of Expedition 345 to the Hess Deep Rift, resulted in an interactive lab to explore sampling rocks from the usually inacessible lower oceanic crust, offering an insight into the geological processes that form the structure of the Earth's crust. This Hess Deep Interactive Lab aims to explain several significant discoveries made by oceanic drilling utilizing images of actual thin sections and core samples recovered from IODP expeditions. . Participants can interact with a physical model to learn about the coring and drilling processes, and gain an understanding of seafloor structures. The collaboration of this lab developed as a need to explain fundamental notions of the ocean crust formed at fast-spreading ridges. A complementary interactive online lab can be accessed at www.joidesresolution.org for students to engage further with these concepts. This project explores the relationship between physical and on-line models to further understanding, including what we can learn from the pros and cons of each.

Plasmid incidence in bacteria from deep subsurface sediments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fredrickson, J.K.; Hicks, R.J.; Li, S.W.

Bacteria were isolated from deep terrestrial subsurface sediments underlying the coastal plain of South Carolina. A total of 163 isolates from deep sediments, surface soil, and return drill muds were examined for plasmid DNA content and resistance to the antibiotics penicillin, ampicillin, carbenicillin, streptomycin, kanamycin, and tetracycline. MICs of Cu{sup 2+}, Cr{sup 3+}, and Hg{sup 2+} for each isolate were also determined. The overall frequency of plasmid occurrence in the subsurface bacteria was 33%. Resistance was most frequent to penicillin (70% of all isolates), ampicillin (49%), and carbenicillin (32%) and was concluded to be related to the concentrations of themore » individual antibiotics in the disks used for assaying resistance and to the production of low levels of {beta}-lactamase. The frequencies of resistance to penicillin and ampicillin were significantly greater for isolates bearing plasmids than for plasmidless isolates; however, resistance was not transferable to penicillin-sensitive Escherichia coli. Hybridization of subsurface bacterial plasmids and chromosomal DNA with a whole-TOL-plasmid (pWWO) probe revealed some homology of subsurface bacterial plasmid and chromosomal DNAs, indicating a potential for those bacterial to harbor catabolic genes on plasmids or chromosomes. The incidences of antibiotic resistance and MICs of metals for subsurface bacteria were significantly different from those drill mud bacteria, ruling out the possibility that bacteria from sediments were derived from drill muds.« less

Environmental risk management and preparations for the first deep water well in Nigeria

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berger, F.

Statoil is among the leaders in protecting health, environment and safety in all aspects of the business. The evaluations of business opportunities and development of blocks opened by authorities for petroleum exploration, are assessed in accordance with the goals for environmental protection. Progressive improvement of environmental performance is secured through proper environmental risk management. In 1995, Statoil, the technical operator on Block 210 off the Nigerian coast, was the first company to drill in deep waters in this area. An exploration well was drilled in a water depth of about 320 meters. The drilling preparations included environmental assessment, drillers Hazop,more » oil spill drift calculations, oil spill response plans and environmental risk analysis. In the environmental preparations for the well, Statoil adhered to local and national government legislation, as well as to international guidelines and company standards. Special attention was paid to the environmental sensitivity of potentially affected areas. Statoil co-operated with experienced local companies, with the authorities and other international and national oil companies. This being the first deep water well offshore Nigeria, it was a challenge to co-operate with other operators in the area. The preparations that were carried out, will set the standard for future environmental work in the area. Co-operation difficulties in the beginning were turned positively into a attitude to the environmental challenge.« less

Gorilla jackup offers drilling advantages

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tanner, R.

1983-12-01

The Rowan Gorilla I, recently completed for Rowan Cos. Inc. at Vicksburg, Mississippi, is a 32-million-lb jackup drilling rig - the largest ever built. The rig is designed for use in hostile environments, where it can endure for long periods without resupply. The Gorilla's hull is 297 ft. long, 292 ft. wide and 30 ft. deep. It is designed to survive 90 ft. waves and 82-knots winds in up to 328 ft. of ice-free water.

PIA22224

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-02-28

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used a new drill method to produce a hole on Feb. 26, 2018, in a target named Lake Orcadie. The hole marks the first operation of the rover's drill since a motor problem began acting up more than a year ago. An early test produced a hole about a half-inch (1-centimeter) deep at Lake Orcadie --- not enough for a full scientific sample, but enough to validate that the new method works mechanically. This was just the first in what will be a series of tests to determine how well the new drill method can collect samples. A video is available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22224

Mineral Dilution and Shallow Groundwater Dynamics as Motor to Drive Fluid Migration in the Deep Crystalline Crust - Interpretation of Hydraulic Investigations From the 9,101 m Super Deep German Continental Drillhole -

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kessels, W.; Graesle, W.

2002-12-01

The results of 16 years of research at the scientific drilling test site KTB Oberpfalz show that fluid flow and open hydraulic fractures exist down to 9,101m (Kessels, 1991; Huenges et. al., 1997). This means that in this seismically low active area, crustal dynamics produces stress accumulation and related fracturing (Zoback et. al. 1993). Two major fractured fault zones cross the KTB main hole at about 4,000 m and 7,100m depth. Hydraulic communication between the KTB main hole and the 4,000 m deep pilot hole shows that the upper 400 m thick fracture zone has a good transmissivity and a very low fracture porosity (Kessels and KÂ\\x81ck, 1995). The distance between both holes was 200m. The isotopic components of the fluid recovered from this zone indicate a west - east fluid flow from a topographic lower sedimentary area to the higher hilly area of the KTB site (M”ller et. al. 1997). To explain this phenomenon, the existence of a permanent, density driven dilution motor pushing such a flow is suggested. With such a system it is possible to explain fluid flow in the deep crust against the higher potential of the groundwater surface. By means of a simple convection model it can be shown that the density driven dilution motor can create a more effective hydraulic potential than a motor driven by precipitation and the related hydraulic head of the groundwater surface. Furthermore, with common geothermal gradients, the geothermal convection motor is weak compared with the fluid density effects discussed here. References: KESSELS, W. (1991): Objectives and execution of hydraulic experiments in the KTB-Oberpfalz borehole within the long-term measurement and test programme, Scientific Drilling 2, S. 287-298. ZOBACK, D., APEL, R., BAUMGÂŽRTNER, J., BRUDY, M., EMMERMANN, R, ENGESER, B., FUCHS, K., KESSELS, W., RISCHMšLLER, H., RUMMEL, F., VERNIK, L. (1993): Upper-crustal strength inferred from stress measurements to 6 km depth in the KTB borehole, Nature, 365, S. 633-635. KESSELS, W. and KšCK, J (1995): Hydraulic Communication in the Crystalline Rock Between the two Boreholes of the Continental Deep Drilling Programme in Germany, Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. & Geomech. Abstr., 32, S. 37-47. M™LLER, P., WEISE, S., ALTHAUS, E., BACH, W., BEHR, H. J., BORCHARDT, R, BRŽUER, K., DRESCHER, J., ERZINGER, J., FABER, E., HORN, E., HUENGES, E., KŽMPF, W., KESSELS, W., KIRSTEN, T., LANDWEHR, D., LODEMANN, M., MACHON, L., PEKDEGER, A., PIELOW, H.-U., REUTEL, C., SIMON, K., WALTER, J., WEINLICH, F. H., ZIMMER, M. (1997): Paleo- and Recent Fluids in the Upper Continental Crust - Results from the German Continental Deep Drilling Projekt (KTB), Journal of Geophysical Resarch, 102, B8, S 18223 - 18254. HUENGES, E., ENGESER, B., ERZINGER, J., KESSELS, W., KšCK, J. (1997): The Permeable Crust: Geohydraulic Properties Down to 9000 m Depth - Results from the German Continental Deep Drilling Project (KTB), Journal of Geophysical Resarch, 102, B8, S 18 255 -18 265.

The structure and energetics of the HCN → HNC transition state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Timothy J.; Rendell, Alistair P.

1991-03-01

The optimum geometries and quadratic force constants of HCN, HNC and the transition state connecting them have been determined at the single and double excitation coupled-cluster (CCSD) and CCSD(T) levels of theory. Energy differences were evaluated using the CCSD and CCSD(T) methods in conjunction with large atomic natural orbital basis sets containing g-type basis functions on the heavy atoms and f-type functions on hydrogen. The most reliable structure obtained for the transition state has bond distances of 1.194, 1.188 and 1.389 Å for rCN, rCH and rNH, respectively. Including a correction for zero-point vibrational energies, the transition state is predicted to be 44.6 ± 1.0 kcal/mol above the HCN isomer, while HNC is predicted to be 14.4 ± 1.0 kcal/mol above HCN. The latter value is in excellent agreement with the most recent experimental determination (14.8 ± 2.0 kcal/mol).

A critical review of existing innovative science and drilling proposals within IODP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behrmann, J. H.

2009-04-01

In the present phase of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) activities are guided by the Initial Science Plan that identified three major themes: The Deep Biosphere and the Subseafloor Ocean; Environmental Change, Processes and Effects; and Solid Earth Cycles and Geodynamics. New initiatives and complex drilling proposals were developed that required major advances in drilling platforms and technologies, and expansion of the drilling community into new areas of specialization. The guiding themes in the Initial Science Plan are instrumental for the proposal development and evaluation, and will continue to represent the goals of IODP until 2013. A number of innovative and highly ranked individual proposals and coordinated sets of proposals ready to be drilled has been forwarded by the Science Planning Committee (SPC) to the IODP Operations Task Force (OTF) for scoping, planning and scheduling. For the Deep Biosphere theme these include proposals to drill targets in the Central Atlantic, the Okinawa Trough, and the Southern Pacific. The Environmental Change, Processes and Effects theme is proposed to - among others - be studied by a coordinated approach regarding the Southeast Asian Monsoon, but also by proposals addressing sdimentation, facies evolution and the paleoclimate record in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The Solid Earth Cycles and Geodynamics theme is represented by several proposals addressing subduction processes, seismogenesis, and oceanic crust formation mainly in the Pacific. Some of these have shaped drilling programs that are already in the process of being carried out, such as drilling in the Nankai Trough off Japan (the NantroSEIZE project), or drilling in oceanic crust created in a superfast spreading environment in the Eastern Pacific. There are many remaining issues to be addressed, and drilling programs to be completed before the end of the present phase of IODP in 2013. Planning of expeditions needs to be done in such a way that a balance between risk, cost, and scientific impact is achieved. At least part of the dilling also is required to be a necessary precursor for future investigations in coming phases of Ocean Drilling. Presently IODP faces the challenges of tight budgetary constraints, increasing operating costs of their platforms, and the need to develop drilling schedules that allow off-contract work of the R/V Chikyu and R/V Joides Resolution drilling vessels. Chikyu will operate within IODP for an average of 7 months per year over a 5-year period with the goals of achieving major milestones in NantroSEIZE, maximizing the use of the vessel for riser drilling, and start a new IODP project that requires riser drilling. Joides Resolution will also operate an average of 7 months per year with the goal of optimizing operating days within the restrictions imposed by the prioritized science. Mission Specific Platform expeditions will be carried out once every two years on average, with the goal of pioneering drilling in new, challenging environments. For the first time in IODP history, operations of Chikyu, Joides Resolution and Mission Specific Platform expeditions will be conducted simultaneously in 2009. This new phase of operations provides an unprecedented chance of progress in scientific ocean drilling.

Selective-placement burial of drilling fluids: 2. Effects on buffalograss and fourwing saltbrush. [Atriplex canescens; Buchloe dactyloides

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McFarland, M.L.; Hartmann, S.; Ueckert, D.N.

Surface disposal of spent drilling fluids used in petroleum and natural gas exploration causes surface soil contamination that severely inhibits secondary plant succession and artificial revegetation efforts. Selective-placement burial was evaluated at two locations in western Texas for on-site disposal of drilling fluids in arid and semiarid regions. Establishment, yield, and chemical composition of fourwing saltbrush (Atriplex canescens (Pursh Nutt.)) and buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.) transplants on undisturbed soils and on plots with spent drilling fluids and cuttings buried 30, 90 (with and without a 30-cm coarse limestone capillary barrier) and 150 cm were compared. Survival of both speciesmore » was 97 to 100% 17 months after planting on plots with buried drilling wastes. Canopy cover and aboveground biomass of fourwing saltbrush were greater over buried drilling wastes than on untreated plots, whereas canopy cover and aboveground biomass of buffalograss were not affected by the treatments. Significant increases in Na, M, and Mg concentrations in buffalograss after 17 months on plots with drilling fluids buried 30 cm deep at one location indicated plant uptake of some drilling fluid constituents. Elevated Zn concentrations in fourwing saltbush indicated that a portion of the Zn in the drilling fluids was available for plant uptake, while no evidence of plant accumulation of Ba, Cr, Cu, or Ni from drilling fluids was detected.« less

Theoretical spectroscopic characterization at low temperatures of detectable sulfur-organic compounds: Ethyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulfide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senent, M. L.; Puzzarini, C.; Domínguez-Gómez, R.; Carvajal, M.; Hochlaf, M.

2014-03-01

Highly correlated ab initio methods are used for the spectroscopic characterization of ethyl mercaptan (CH3CH232SH, ETSH) and dimethyl sulfide (CH332SCH3, DMS), considering them on the vibrational ground and excited torsional states. Since both molecules show non-rigid properties, torsional energy barriers and splittings are provided. Equilibrium geometries and the corresponding rotational constants are calculated by means of a composite scheme based on CCSD(T) calculations that accounts for the extrapolation to the complete basis set limit and core-correlation effects. The ground and excited states rotational constants are then determined using vibrational corrections obtained from CCSD/cc-pVTZ force-field calculations, which are also employed to determine anharmonic frequencies for all vibrational modes. CCSD(T) and CCSD force fields are employed to predict quartic and sextic centrifugal-distortion constants, respectively. Equilibrium rotational constants are also calculated using CCSD(T)-F12. The full-dimensional anharmonic analysis does not predict displacements of the lowest torsional excited states due to Fermi resonances with the remaining vibrational modes. Thus, very accurate torsional transitions are calculated by solving variationally two-dimensional Hamiltonians depending on the CH3 and SH torsional coordinates of ethyl mercaptan or on the two methyl groups torsions of dimethyl-sulfide. For this purpose, vibrationally corrected potential energy surfaces are computed at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. For ethyl mercaptan, calculations show large differences between the gauche (g) and trans (t) conformer spectral features. Interactions between rotating groups are responsible for the displacements of the g-bands with respect to the t-bands that cannot therefore be described with one-dimensional models. For DMS, the CCSD(T) potential energy surface has been semi-empirically adjusted to reproduce experimental data. New assignments are suggested for the methyl torsion bands of ETSH and a reassignment is proposed for the infrared bands of DMS (0 3 → 0 4 and 1 0 → 1 1). Our accurate spectroscopic data should be useful for the analysis of the microwave and far infrared spectra of ETSH and DMS recorded, at low temperatures, either in laboratory or in the interstellar medium.

Assessment of Orbital-Optimized Third-Order Møller-Plesset Perturbation Theory and Its Spin-Component and Spin-Opposite Scaled Variants for Thermochemistry and Kinetics.

PubMed

Soydaş, Emine; Bozkaya, Uğur

2013-03-12

An assessment of the OMP3 method and its spin-component and spin-scaled variants for thermochemistry and kinetics is presented. For reaction energies of closed-shell systems, the CCSD, SCS-MP3, and SCS-OMP3 methods show better performances than other considered methods, and no significant improvement is observed due to orbital optimization. For barrier heights, OMP3 and SCS-OMP3 provide the lowest mean absolute deviations. The MP3 method yields considerably higher errors, and the spin scaling approaches do not help to improve upon MP3, but worsen it. For radical stabilization energies, the CCSD, OMP3, and SCS-OMP3 methods exhibit noticeably better performances than MP3 and its variants. Our results demonstrate that if the reference wave function suffers from a spin-contamination, then the MP3 methods dramatically fail. On the other hand, the OMP3 method and its variants can tolerate the spin-contamination in the reference wave function. For overall evaluation, we conclude that OMP3 is quite helpful, especially in electronically challenged systems, such as free radicals or transition states where spin contamination dramatically deteriorates the quality of the canonical MP3 and SCS-MP3 methods. Both OMP3 and CCSD methods scale as n(6), where n is the number of basis functions. However, the OMP3 method generally converges in much fewer iterations than CCSD. In practice, OMP3 is several times faster than CCSD in energy computations. Further, the stationary properties of OMP3 make it much more favorable than CCSD in the evaluation of analytic derivatives. For OMP3, the analytic gradient computations are much less expensive than CCSD. For the frequency computation, both methods require the evaluation of the perturbed amplitudes and orbitals. However, in the OMP3 case there is still a significant computational time savings due to simplifications in the analytic Hessian expression owing to the stationary property of OMP3. Hence, the OMP3 method emerges as a very useful tool for computational quantum chemistry.

Deep drilling into the Chesapeake Bay impact structure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gohn, G.S.; Koeberl, C.; Miller, K.G.; Reimold, W.U.; Browning, J.V.; Cockell, C.S.; Horton, J. Wright; Kenkmann, T.; Kulpecz, A.A.; Powars, D.S.; Sanford, W.E.; Voytek, M.A.

2008-01-01

Samples from a 1.76-kilometer-deep corehole drilled near the center of the late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure (Virginia, USA) reveal its geologic, hydrologic, and biologic history. We conducted stratigraphic and petrologic analyses of the cores to elucidate the timing and results of impact-melt creation and distribution, transient-cavity collapse, and ocean-water resurge. Comparison of post-impact sedimentary sequences inside and outside the structure indicates that compaction of the crater fill influenced long-term sedimentation patterns in the mid-Atlantic region. Salty connate water of the target remains in the crater fill today, where it poses a potential threat to the regional groundwater resource. Observed depth variations in microbial abundance indicate a complex history of impact-related thermal sterilization and habitat modification, and subsequent post-impact repopulation.

Petrology and geochemistry of lithic fragments separated from the Apollo 15 deep-drill core

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindstrom, M. M.; Nielsen, R. L.; Drake, M. J.

1977-01-01

Petrological and geochemical analysis of lithic fragments separated from the Apollo 15 deep-drill core showed these fragments to fall into the essentially the same range of rock types as observed in surface soil samples and large rock samples. Three particles are singled out as being of special interest. One sample is a mare basalt containing extremely evolved phases. The particle may represent small-scale imperfect crystal/liquid separation in a lava flow. A green glass particle is not the ultramafic emerald green glass described from the Apollo 15 site, but rather an ANT-like light green color, and has a quite different chemical composition from the ultramafic variety. One mare basalt displays a positive Eu anomaly and is enriched in plagioclase relative to olivine plus pyroxene.

Deep drilling into the Chesapeake Bay impact structure.

PubMed

Gohn, G S; Koeberl, C; Miller, K G; Reimold, W U; Browning, J V; Cockell, C S; Horton, J W; Kenkmann, T; Kulpecz, A A; Powars, D S; Sanford, W E; Voytek, M A

2008-06-27

Samples from a 1.76-kilometer-deep corehole drilled near the center of the late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure (Virginia, USA) reveal its geologic, hydrologic, and biologic history. We conducted stratigraphic and petrologic analyses of the cores to elucidate the timing and results of impact-melt creation and distribution, transient-cavity collapse, and ocean-water resurge. Comparison of post-impact sedimentary sequences inside and outside the structure indicates that compaction of the crater fill influenced long-term sedimentation patterns in the mid-Atlantic region. Salty connate water of the target remains in the crater fill today, where it poses a potential threat to the regional groundwater resource. Observed depth variations in microbial abundance indicate a complex history of impact-related thermal sterilization and habitat modification, and subsequent post-impact repopulation.

Irradiation stratigraphy in the Apollo 16 deep drill section 60002

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blanford, G. E.; Wood, G. C.

1978-01-01

Particle track density frequency distributions, abundance of track rich grains and minimum track densities are reported for the upper 20 cm of the 60002 section of the Apollo 16 deep drill core. The principal stratigraphic feature is a boundary approximately 7 cm from the top of the section. Experimental evidence does not conclusively determine whether this contact is an ancient regolith surface or is simply a depositional boundary. If it is an ancient surface, it has a model exposure age of 3 to 7 million years and a reworking depth of about 0.5 cm. However, because track density frequency distributions indicate the mixing of soils of different maturities, we favor interpreting this contact as a depositional boundary. There may be a second depositional boundary approximately 19 cm below the top of 60002.

Comparison of heat generation during implant drilling using stainless steel and ceramic drills.

PubMed

Sumer, Mahmut; Misir, A Ferhat; Telcioglu, N Tuba; Guler, Ahmet U; Yenisey, Murat

2011-05-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the heat generated from implant drilling using stainless steel and ceramic drills. A total of 40 fresh bovine femoral cortical bone samples were used in this study. A constant drill load of 2.0 kg was applied throughout the drilling procedures via a drilling rig at a speed of 1,500 rpm. Two different implant drill types (stainless steel and ceramic) were evaluated. Heat was measured with type K thermocouple from 3 different depths. Data were subjected to the independent-sample t test and Pearson correlation analysis. The α level was set a priori at 0.05. The mean maximum temperatures at the depths of 3 mm, 6 mm, and 9 mm with the stainless steel drill were 32.15°C, 35.94°C, and 37.05°C, respectively, and those with the ceramic drill were 34.49°C, 36.73°C, and 36.52°C, respectively. A statistically significant difference was found at the depth of 3 mm (P = .014) whereas there was no significant difference at the depths of 6 and 9 mm (P > .05) between stainless steel and ceramic drills. Within the limitations of the study, although more heat was generated in the superficial part of the drilling cavity with the ceramic drill, heat modifications seemed not to be correlated with the drill type, whether stainless steel or ceramic, in the deep aspect of the cavity. Further clinical studies are required to determine the effect of drill type on heat generation. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Magma-Hydrothermal Transition: Basalt Alteration at Supercritical Conditions in Drill Core from Reykjanes, Iceland, Iceland Deep Drilling Project.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zierenberg, R. A.; Fowler, A. P.; Schiffman, P.; Fridleifsson, G. Ó.; Elders, W. A.

2017-12-01

The Iceland Deep Drilling Project well IDDP-2, drilled to 4,659 m in the Reykjanes geothermal system, the on-land extension of the Mid Atlantic Ridge, SW Iceland. Drill core was recovered, for the first time, from a seawater-recharged, basalt-hosted hydrothermal system at supercritical conditions. The well has not yet been allowed to heat to in situ conditions, but temperature and pressure of 426º C and 340 bar was measured at 4500 m depth prior to the final coring runs. Spot drill cores were recovered between drilling depths of 3648.00 m and 4657.58 m. Analysis of the core is on-going, but we present the following initial observations. The cored material comes from a basaltic sheeted dike complex in the brittle-ductile transition zone. Felsic (plagiogranite) segregation veins are present in minor amounts in dikes recovered below 4300 m. Most core is pervasively altered to hornblende + plagioclase, but shows only minor changes in major and minor element composition. The deepest samples record the transition from the magmatic regime to the presently active hydrothermal system. Diabase near dike margins has been locally recrystallized to granoblastic-textured orthopyroxene-clinopyroxe-plagioclase hornfels. High temperature hydrothermal alteration includes calcic plagioclase (up to An100) and aluminous hornblende (up to 11 Wt. % Al2O3) locally intergrown with hydrothermal biotite, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and/or olivine. Hydrothermal olivine is iron-rich (Mg # 59-64) compared to expected values for igneous olivine. Biotite phenocrysts in felsic segregation veins have higher Cl and Fe compared to hydrothermal biotites. Orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene pairs in partially altered quench dike margins give temperature of 955° to 1067° C. Orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene pairs from hornfels and hydrothermal veins and replacements give temperature ranging from 774° to 888° C. Downhole fluid sampling is planned following thermal equilibration of the drill hole. Previous work has suggested that the Reykjanes geothermal system has been active since the last glaciation, 10ka. No shallow melt bodies have been detected on the Reykjanes Peninsula suggesting that hydrothermal circulation typical of black smoker systems can be sustained with out a magmatic heat source.

Geophysical investigations in deep horizontal holes drilled ahead of tunnelling

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carroll, R.D.; Cunningham, M.J.

1980-01-01

Deep horizontal drill holes have been used since 1967 by the Defense Nuclear Agency as a primary exploration tool for siting nuclear events in tunnels at the Nevada Test Site. The U.S. Geological Survey had developed geophysical logging techniques for obtaining resistivity and velocity in these holes, and to date 33 horizontal drill holes in excess of 300 m in depth have been successfully logged. The deepest hole was drilled to a horizontal depth of 1125 m. The purposes of the logging measurements are to define clay zones, because of the unstable ground conditions such zones can present to tunnelling, and to define zones of partially saturated rock, because of the attenuating effects such zones have on the shock wave generated by the nuclear detonation. Excessive attenuation is undesirable because the shock wave is used as a tunnel closure mechanism to contain debris and other undesirable explosion products. Measurements are made by pumping resistivity, sonic and geophone probes down the drill string and out of the bit into the open hole. Clay zones are defined by the electrical resistivity technique based on empirical data relating the magnitude of the resistivity measurement to qualitative clay content. Rock exhibiting resistivity of less than 20 ??-m is considered potentially unstable, and resistivities less than 10 ??-m indicate appreciable amounts of clay are present in the rock. Partially saturated rock zones are defined by the measurement of the rock sound speed. Zones in the rock which exhibit velocities less than 2450 m/sec are considered of potential concern. ?? 1980.

Scientific networking to address the causes, timing, emplacement mechanisms, and consequences of the Messinian Salinity Crisis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Camerlenghi, Angelo; Lofi, Johanna; Aloisi, Vanni; Flecker, Rachel

2017-04-01

The origin of the Mediterranean salt giant is linked to an extraordinary event in the geological history of the Mediterranean region, commonly referred to as the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC). After 45 years of intense yet disunited research efforts, the international scientific community at large faces a unique opportunity to access the deep and marginal basins Messinian depositional successions in the Mediterranean through scientific drilling, namely through the Integrated Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and the International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP). Scientific activity to promote scientific drilling offshore and onshore is in progress under the broad umbrella of the Uncovering a Salt Giant' IODP Multi-Platform Drilling proposal, that has generated the Deep-Sea Records of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (DREAM) site-specific pre-proposal for riserless drilling on Messinian marginal basins and the related ICDP-IODP amphibious initiative Investigating Miocene Mediterranean- Atlantic gateway exchange (IMMAGE). Scientific networking has begun to establish a broad cross-disciplinary research community embracing geology, geophysics, geochemistry, microbiology, and paleoclimatology. Formal networking activities represent an opportunity for the scientific community to share objectives, data, expertise and tools with industry since there is considerable interest in oil and gas exploration, and consequent hazards, targeting the Mediterranean's deep salt deposits. With the acronym MEDSALT, we have established two networks working in close cooperation: (1) COST Action CA15103 Uncovering the Mediterranean salt giant (MEDSALT) (https://medsalt.eu/) is a 4-year long network established in May 2016 comprising scientific institutions from 28 states. This COST Action will provide an opportunity to develop further our knowledge of salt rock formation addressing four overarching scientific questions: a) What are the causes, timing and emplacement mechanisms of the Mediterranean salt giant? b) What are the factors responsible for and the socio-economic consequences of early salt deformation and fluid flow across and out of the halite layer? c) Do salt giants promote the development of a phylogenetically diverse and exceptionally active deep biosphere? d) What are the mechanisms underlying the spectacular vertical motions inside basins and their margins? (2) ANR Project 'Uncovering the Mediterranean Salt Giant' (MEDSALT) aims at establishing networking action to prepare an Integrated Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) full proposal to drill the Mediterranean Salt Giant with the R/V JOIDES Resolution. This 18-month long network consists of a core group of 22 scientists from 10 countries working in close cooperation with the brother COST Action MEDSALT. These inter-sectorial and multinational cooperation networks comprise a critical mass of both experienced and early-career researchers from Europe and beyond. The goal will be achieved through capacity building, researchers' mobility, skills development, knowledge exchange and scientific networking.

Optimization of the linear-scaling local natural orbital CCSD(T) method: Redundancy-free triples correction using Laplace transform.

PubMed

Nagy, Péter R; Kállay, Mihály

2017-06-07

An improved algorithm is presented for the evaluation of the (T) correction as a part of our local natural orbital (LNO) coupled-cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples [LNO-CCSD(T)] scheme [Z. Rolik et al., J. Chem. Phys. 139, 094105 (2013)]. The new algorithm is an order of magnitude faster than our previous one and removes the bottleneck related to the calculation of the (T) contribution. First, a numerical Laplace transformed expression for the (T) fragment energy is introduced, which requires on average 3 to 4 times fewer floating point operations with negligible compromise in accuracy eliminating the redundancy among the evaluated triples amplitudes. Second, an additional speedup factor of 3 is achieved by the optimization of our canonical (T) algorithm, which is also executed in the local case. These developments can also be integrated into canonical as well as alternative fragmentation-based local CCSD(T) approaches with minor modifications. As it is demonstrated by our benchmark calculations, the evaluation of the new Laplace transformed (T) correction can always be performed if the preceding CCSD iterations are feasible, and the new scheme enables the computation of LNO-CCSD(T) correlation energies with at least triple-zeta quality basis sets for realistic three-dimensional molecules with more than 600 atoms and 12 000 basis functions in a matter of days on a single processor.

Benchmark CCSD(T) and DFT study of binding energies in Be7 - 12: in search of reliable DFT functional for beryllium clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Labanc, Daniel; Šulka, Martin; Pitoňák, Michal; Černušák, Ivan; Urban, Miroslav; Neogrády, Pavel

2018-05-01

We present a computational study of the stability of small homonuclear beryllium clusters Be7 - 12 in singlet electronic states. Our predictions are based on highly correlated CCSD(T) coupled cluster calculations. Basis set convergence towards the complete basis set limit as well as the role of the 1s core electron correlation are carefully examined. Our CCSD(T) data for binding energies of Be7 - 12 clusters serve as a benchmark for performance assessment of several density functional theory (DFT) methods frequently used in beryllium cluster chemistry. We observe that, from Be10 clusters on, the deviation from CCSD(T) benchmarks is stable with respect to size, and fluctuating within 0.02 eV error bar for most examined functionals. This opens up the possibility of scaling the DFT binding energies for large Be clusters using CCSD(T) benchmark values for smaller clusters. We also tried to find analogies between the performance of DFT functionals for Be clusters and for the valence-isoelectronic Mg clusters investigated recently in Truhlar's group. We conclude that it is difficult to find DFT functionals that perform reasonably well for both beryllium and magnesium clusters. Out of 12 functionals examined, only the M06-2X functional gives reasonably accurate and balanced binding energies for both Be and Mg clusters.

Optimization of the linear-scaling local natural orbital CCSD(T) method: Redundancy-free triples correction using Laplace transform

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

An improved algorithm is presented for the evaluation of the (T) correction as a part of our local natural orbital (LNO) coupled-cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples [LNO-CCSD(T)] scheme [Z. Rolik et al., J. Chem. Phys. 139, 094105 (2013)]. The new algorithm is an order of magnitude faster than our previous one and removes the bottleneck related to the calculation of the (T) contribution. First, a numerical Laplace transformed expression for the (T) fragment energy is introduced, which requires on average 3 to 4 times fewer floating point operations with negligible compromise in accuracy eliminating the redundancy among the evaluated triples amplitudes. Second, an additional speedup factor of 3 is achieved by the optimization of our canonical (T) algorithm, which is also executed in the local case. These developments can also be integrated into canonical as well as alternative fragmentation-based local CCSD(T) approaches with minor modifications. As it is demonstrated by our benchmark calculations, the evaluation of the new Laplace transformed (T) correction can always be performed if the preceding CCSD iterations are feasible, and the new scheme enables the computation of LNO-CCSD(T) correlation energies with at least triple-zeta quality basis sets for realistic three-dimensional molecules with more than 600 atoms and 12 000 basis functions in a matter of days on a single processor. PMID:28576082

Probing phenylalanine/adenine pi-stacking interactions in protein complexes with explicitly correlated and CCSD(T) computations.

PubMed

Copeland, Kari L; Anderson, Julie A; Farley, Adam R; Cox, James R; Tschumper, Gregory S

2008-11-13

To examine the effects of pi-stacking interactions between aromatic amino acid side chains and adenine bearing ligands in crystalline protein structures, 26 toluene/(N9-methyl)adenine model configurations have been constructed from protein/ligand crystal structures. Full geometry optimizations with the MP2 method cause the 26 crystal structures to collapse to six unique structures. The complete basis set (CBS) limit of the CCSD(T) interaction energies has been determined for all 32 structures by combining explicitly correlated MP2-R12 computations with a correction for higher-order correlation effects from CCSD(T) calculations. The CCSD(T) CBS limit interaction energies of the 26 crystal structures range from -3.19 to -6.77 kcal mol (-1) and average -5.01 kcal mol (-1). The CCSD(T) CBS limit interaction energies of the optimized complexes increase by roughly 1.5 kcal mol (-1) on average to -6.54 kcal mol (-1) (ranging from -5.93 to -7.05 kcal mol (-1)). Corrections for higher-order correlation effects are extremely important for both sets of structures and are responsible for the modest increase in the interaction energy after optimization. The MP2 method overbinds the crystal structures by 2.31 kcal mol (-1) on average compared to 4.50 kcal mol (-1) for the optimized structures.

Concurrent Sessions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Australian Science Teachers Journal, 1976

1976-01-01

Presents synopses of five papers presented at a conference of the Science Teachers of Australia. Topics include the technology of wine making, integrated science, individualized science instruction, formal operational thinking, and deep ocean drilling. (MLH)

Characterization of shallow unconsolidated aquifers in West Africa using different hydrogeological data sources as a contribution to the promotion of manual drilling and low cost techniques for groundwater exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fussi, Fabio; Fumagalli, Letizia; Bonomi, Tullia; Kane, Cheikh H.; Fava, Francesco; Di Mauro, Biagio; Hamidou, Barry; Niang, Magatte; Wade, Souleye; Colombo, Roberto

2016-04-01

Manual drilling refers to several drilling methods that rely on human energy to construct a borehole and complete a water supply (Danert, 2015). It can be an effective strategy to increase access to groundwater in low income countries , but manual drilling can be applied only where shallow geological layers are relatively soft and water table is not too deep. It is important therefore to identify those zones where shallow hydrogeological conditions are suitable, investigating the characteristics of shallow porous aquifers. Existing hydrogeological studies are generally focused in the characterization of deep fractures aquifers, more productive and able to ensure water supply for large settlements. Information concerning shallow porous aquifers are limited. This research has been carried out in two different study areas in West Africa (North-Western Senegal and Eastern Guinea). Aim of the research is the characterization of shallow aquifer using different methods and the identification of hydrogeological condition suitable for manual drilling implementation. Three different methods to estimate geometry and hydraulic properties of shallow unconsolidated aquifers have been used: The first method is based on the analysis of stratigraphic data obtained from borehole logs of the national water point database in both countries. The following steps have been implemented on the original information using the software TANGAFRIC, specifically designed for this study: a) identification of most frequent terms used for hydrogeological description in Senegal and Guinea database; b) definition of standard categories and manual codification of data; c) automatic extraction of average distribution of textural classes at different depth intervals in the unconsolidated aquifer; d) estimation of hydraulic parameters using conversion tables between texture and hydraulic conductivity available in the literature. . The second method is based on the interpretation of pump and recovery test in large diameter wells. K values obtained from these tests provide direct information on hydraulic parameters of shallow porous aquifers (while pump tests data obtained from deep mechanized boreholes, exploiting fractured aquifers, cannot be considered representative for the target shallow aquifer of manual drilling). The third method is based on the interpretation of stratigraphic logs and simplified pump test from manual drilled wells carried out since 2012 in Guinea. In this country a standard and systematic procedure to collect hydrogeological data from these wells (therefore indicating properties of shallow aquifer) has been put in place in 2011; it is considered one of the best example worldwide about technical data collection and systematization from manual drilling activities, but its development has been stopped because of the outbreak of Ebola in this country. The integration of these 3 methods allow to estimate geometry and hydraulic behavior of shallow unconsolidated aquifer, identifying those areas where manual drilling is feasible and estimating potential yield that can be extracted. In the mean time this research provides relevant indications concerning the use of data obtained from low cost open hand dug or manually drilled wells (rarely used in hydrogeological research) for groundwater exploration of shallow aquifers.

Problems of deep drilling in abnormally pressured zones of the Kara Sea continental shelf

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Simonov, V.I.

1996-12-31

There are discussed results of drilling operations in shelf hydrocarbon areas of the Far North of Tyumen Region (Kharassavieskaya, Bovanenkovskaya and Krusenshternskaya ones) and on the Bely Island. The author describes equipment and technologies used, problems arising in the process of operations and possible ways of solving them. Application of the results discussed in the report seems rather attractive in connection with possible realization of joint projects on development of the mentioned areas. Thus, Amoco Eurasia plans to participate in development of Bovanenkovskoye and Novoportovskoye fields. Well planning for Amoco has been done of specialists of ZapSibBurNIPI. Experience of Russianmore » drilling companies in the Yamal area (Far North of Tyumen Region) has proved that well planning for shelf areas requires special attention as drilling-in both overpressured zones (Bovanenkovskoye field) and underpressured ones (Novoportovskoye field) is done actually in balance. Investigated are reasons for such drilling problems as kicks and lost circulation. Taking them into consideration will help to decrease considerably the cost of well drilling in shelf areas.« less

Feasibility of Optimizing Recovery and Reserves from a Mature and Geological Complex Multiple Turbidite Offshore Calif. Reservoir through the Drilling and Completion of a Trilateral Horizontal Well, Class III

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pacific Operators Offshore, Inc.

The intent of this project was to increase production and extend the economic life of this mature field through the application of advanced reservoir characterization and drilling technology, demonstrating the efficacy of these technologies to other small operators of aging fields. Two study periods were proposed; the first to include data assimilation and reservoir characterization and the second to drill the demonstration well. The initial study period showed that a single tri-lateral well would not be economically efficient in redevelopment of Carpinteria's multiple deep water turbidite sand reservoirs, and the study was amended to include the drilling of a seriesmore » of horizontal redrills from existing surplus well bores on Pacific Operators' Platform Hogan.« less

The Search for Sustainable Subsurface Habitats on Mars, and the Sampling of Impact Ejecta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivarsson, Magnus; Lindgren, Paula

2010-07-01

On Earth, the deep subsurface biosphere of both the oceanic and the continental crust is well known for surviving harsh conditions and environments characterized by high temperatures, high pressures, extreme pHs, and the absence of sunlight. The microorganisms of the terrestrial deep biosphere have an excellent capacity for adapting to changing geochemistry, as the alteration of the crust proceeds and the conditions of their habitats slowly change. Despite an almost complete isolation from surface conditions and the surface biosphere, the deep biosphere of the crustal rocks has endured over geologic time. This indicates that the deep biosphere is a self-sufficient system, independent of the global events that occur at the surface, such as impacts, glaciations, sea level fluctuations, and climate changes. With our sustainable terrestrial subsurface biosphere in mind, the subsurface on Mars has often been suggested as the most plausible place to search for fossil Martian life, or even present Martian life. Since the Martian surface is more or less sterile, subsurface settings are the only place on Mars where life could have been sustained over geologic time. To detect a deep biosphere in the Martian basement, drilling is a requirement. However, near future Mars sample return missions are limited by the mission's payload, which excludes heavy drilling equipment and restrict the missions to only dig the topmost meter of the Martian soil. Therefore, the sampling and analysis of Martian impact ejecta has been suggested as a way of accessing the deeper Martian subsurface without using heavy drilling equipment. Impact cratering is a natural geological process capable of excavating and exposing large amounts of rock material from great depths up to the surface. Several studies of terrestrial impact deposits show the preservation of pre-impact biosignatures, such as fossilized organisms and chemical biological markers. Therefore, if the Martian subsurface contains a record of life, it is reasonable to assume that biosignatures derived from the Martian subsurface could also be preserved in the Martian impact ejecta.

Rowan Gorilla I rigged up, heads for eastern Canada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1984-03-01

Designed to operate in very hostile offshore environments, the first of the Rowan Gorilla class of self-elevating drilling rigs has been towed to its drilling assignment offshore Nova Scotia. About 40% larger than other jackups, these rigs can operate in 300 ft of water, drilling holes as deep as 30,000 ft. They also feature unique high-pressure and solids control systems that are expected to improve drilling procedures and efficiencies. A quantitative formation pressure evaluation program for the Hewlett-Packard HP-41 handheld calculator computes formation pressures by three independent methods - the corrected d exponent, Bourgoyne and Young, and normalized penetration ratemore » techniques for abnormal pressure detection and computation. Based on empirically derived drilling rate equations, each of the methods can be calculated separately, without being dependent on or influenced by the results or stored data from the other two subprograms. The quantitative interpretation procedure involves establishing a normal drilling rate trend and calculating the pore pressure from the magnitude of the drilling rate trend or plotting parameter increases above the trend line. Mobil's quick, accurate program could aid drilling operators in selecting the casing point, minimizing differential sticking, maintaining the proper mud weights to avoid kicks and lost circulation, and maximizing penetration rates.« less

Constraining Crustal Anisotropy by Receiver Functions at the Deep Continental Drilling Site KTB in Southern Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bianchi, Irene; Qorbani, Ehsan; Bokelmann, Götz

2016-04-01

As one of the rare observational tools for studying deformation and stress within the Earth, seismic anisotropy has been one of the focuses of geophysical studies over the last decade. In order to unravel the anisotropic properties of the crust, the teleseismic receiver functions (RF) methodology has started to be widely applied recently. Such effects of anisotropy on RF were illustrated in theoretical studies, showing the strong backazimuthal dependence of RF on the 3D characteristics of the media sampled by the waves. The use of teleseismic RF has the advantage of not being affected by a heterogeneous depth distribution of local earthquakes, since teleseismic rays sample the entire crust beneath the stations. The application of this technique however, needs to be critically assessed using a suitable field test. To test the technique, we need a crustal block where the underground structure is reasonably well-known, e.g., where there is extensive knowledge from local seismic experiments and drilling. A field experiment has thus been carried out around the KTB (Kontinental Tiefbohrung) site in the Oberpfalz area in Southeastern Germany, in order to compare with previous results from deep drilling, and high-frequency seismic experiments around the drill site. The investigated region has been studied extensively by local geophysical experiments, and geological studies. The deep borehole was placed into gneiss rocks of the Zone Erbendorf-Vohenstrauss. The drilling activity lasted from 1987 to 1994, and descended down to a depth of 9101 meters, sampling an alternating sequence of paragneiss and amphibolite, with metamorphism of upper amphibolite facies conditions, and ductile deformation produced a strong foliation of the rocks. The application of the RFs reveals strong seismic anisotropy in the upper crust related to the so-called Erbendorf body. The SKS shear-wave splitting method has been applied as well, revealing coherent results for the whole region with exception of the southernmost station, for which the seismic waves show larger delays. We use the RF observations to test the effect of crustal anisotropy on the SKS records, which sample entire crust and upper mantle.

Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sass, J.H.

1988-01-01

The Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Program (SSSDP) was the first large-scale drilling project undertaken by the U.S Continental Scientific Drilling Program. The objectives of the SSSDP were (1) to drill a deep well into the Salton Sea Geothermal Field in the Imperial Valley of California, (2) to retrieve a high percentage of core and cuttings along the entire depth of the well, (3) to obtain a comprehensive suite of geophysical logs, (4) to conduct flow tests at two depths  (and to take fluid samples therefrom), and (5) to carry out several downhole experiments. These activites enabled the U.S Geological Survey and cooperating agencies to study the physical and chemical processes involved in an active hydrothermal system driven by a molten-rock heat source. This program, orginally conceived by Wilfred A. Elders, professor of geology at the University of California at Riverside, was coordinated under an inter-agency accord among the Geological Survey, the U.S Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation. 

Deep Borehole Disposal Concept: Development of Universal Canister Concept of Operations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rigali, Mark J.; Price, Laura L.

This report documents key elements of the conceptual design for deep borehole disposal of radioactive waste to support the development of a universal canister concept of operations. A universal canister is a canister that is designed to be able to store, transport, and dispose of radioactive waste without the canister having to be reopened to treat or repackage the waste. This report focuses on the conceptual design for disposal of radioactive waste contained in a universal canister in a deep borehole. The general deep borehole disposal concept consists of drilling a borehole into crystalline basement rock to a depth ofmore » about 5 km, emplacing WPs in the lower 2 km of the borehole, and sealing and plugging the upper 3 km. Research and development programs for deep borehole disposal have been ongoing for several years in the United States and the United Kingdom; these studies have shown that deep borehole disposal of radioactive waste could be safe, cost effective, and technically feasible. The design concepts described in this report are workable solutions based on expert judgment, and are intended to guide follow-on design activities. Both preclosure and postclosure safety were considered in the development of the reference design concept. The requirements and assumptions that form the basis for the deep borehole disposal concept include WP performance requirements, radiological protection requirements, surface handling and transport requirements, and emplacement requirements. The key features of the reference disposal concept include borehole drilling and construction concepts, WP designs, and waste handling and emplacement concepts. These features are supported by engineering analyses.« less

Exploration of Ulumbu Geothermal field, Flores-East Nusa Tenggara Indonesia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sulasdi, D.

1996-12-31

This paper describes the progress made in developing geothermal resources at Ulurnbu Flores, Indonesia for utilization mini geothermal power generation. Two deep exploratory wells drilling drilled by PLN confirmed the existence of the resources. The well measurement carried out during drilling and after completion of the well indicated that the major permeable zone at around 680 m depth and that this zone is a steam cap zone, which is likely to produce high enthalpy steam. The above information indicates that well ULB-01 will produce a mass flow at least 40 tonnes per hour, which will ensure a 3 MW (E)more » Ulumbu mini geothermal power plant.« less

Exploration of Ulumbu geothermal field, Flores-east nusa tenggara, Indonesia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sulasdi, Didi

1996-01-26

This paper describes the progress made in developing geothermal resources at Ulumbu Flores, Indonesia for utilization mini geothermal power generation. Two deep exploratory wells drilling drilled by PLN confirmed the existence of the resources. The well measurement carried out during drilling and after completion of the well indicated that the major permeable zone at around 680 m depth and that this zone is a steam cap zone, which is likely to produce high enthalpy steam. The above information indicates that well ULB-01 will produce a mass flow at least 40 tonnes per hour, which will ensure a 3 MW (E)more » Ulumbu mini geothermal power plant.« less

Image registration based on subpixel localization and Cauchy-Schwarz divergence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ge, Yongxin; Yang, Dan; Zhang, Xiaohong; Lu, Jiwen

2010-07-01

We define a new matching metric-corner Cauchy-Schwarz divergence (CCSD) and present a new approach based on the proposed CCSD and subpixel localization for image registration. First, we detect the corners in an image by a multiscale Harris operator and take them as initial interest points. And then, a subpixel localization technique is applied to determine the locations of the corners and eliminate the false and unstable corners. After that, CCSD is defined to obtain the initial matching corners. Finally, we use random sample consensus to robustly estimate the parameters based on the initial matching. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has a good performance in terms of both accuracy and efficiency.

Deep-Time drilling in the Australian Archean: the Agouron Institute geobiological drilling project. (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buick, R.

2010-12-01

The Agouron Institute has sponsored deep-time drilling across the South African Archean-Proterozoic boundary, investigating the rise of oxygen over an onshore-offshore environmental transect. It is now supporting a drilling program in the Australian Archean of the Pilbara Craton, addressing a similar theme but with the added goal of resolving controversy over the age and origin of hydrocarbon biomarker molecules in ancient kerogenous shales. As these have been claimed to provide evidence for the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis long before the rise of atmospheric oxygen to persistently high levels during the ~2.3 Ga “Great Oxidation Event”, their syngenesis with their host shales is thus of critical importance for the interpretation of Earth’s early oxygenation history. During the first drilling season, 3 holes were drilled using techniques and equipment to minimize organic geochemical contamination (new drill-string components cleaned before drilling potentially biomarker-bearing rocks, pre-contamination of drilling fluid with a synthetic organic compound of similar geochemical characteristics to biomarkers, sterile cutting and storage of samples immediately upon retrieval from the core-barrel). The initial hole was a blank control for organic geochemistry, drilled into rocks too metamorphosed to retain biomarker molecules. These rocks, cherts, carbonates and pelites of the 3.52 Ga Coucal Formation, Coonterunah Group, have been metamorphosed to upper greenschist facies at temperatures near 500°C and so should have had any ancient soluble hydrocarbons destroyed. However, because they contain both carbonate and organic carbon, these rocks can instead provide isotopic information about the earliest evolution of biological metabolism as they possess residues of both the reactant and product sides of the carbon-fixation reaction. The second hole sampled an on-shore section of carbonates and kerogenous shales in the ~2.65 Ga Carawine Dolomite and Lewin Shale of the Hamersley Group near Yilgalong Creek. This location had been previously drilled by a mining company in the 1980’s and the core provided the highest biomarker yields of any Archean rocks thus far sampled. As it has been suggested that these biomarkers are non-indigenous contaminants, one possibility is that they were introduced into the drill-core at some time between drilling and sampling, so this hole tests that hypothesis. If biomarker concentrations and ratios differ significantly between the two adjacent holes with differing exposures to post-drilling contaminants, then clearly contamination has affected one or other of the cores. The third hole sampled an off-shore equivalent, through banded irons and kerogenous shales of the ~2.65 Ga Marra Mamba and Jeerinah Formations of the Hamersley Group near Cowcumba Creek. Another opportunity for contamination may arise during post-depositional but pre-drilling hydrocarbon migration, when biomarkers can potentially be introduced into previously barren rocks by younger oils, so this hole tests that possibility. As it was drilled through the same stratigraphic interval and structural domain as the second hole but in a different environment, biomarker ratios should be similar if contaminated but different if indigenous.

Microbiome composition and geochemical characteristics of deep subsurface high-pressure environment, Pyhäsalmi mine Finland

PubMed Central

Miettinen, Hanna; Kietäväinen, Riikka; Sohlberg, Elina; Numminen, Mikko; Ahonen, Lasse; Itävaara, Merja

2015-01-01

Pyhäsalmi mine in central Finland provides an excellent opportunity to study microbial and geochemical processes in a deep subsurface crystalline rock environment through near-vertical drill holes that reach to a depth of more than two kilometers below the surface. However, microbial sampling was challenging in this high-pressure environment. Nucleic acid yields obtained were extremely low when compared to the cell counts detected (1.4 × 104 cells mL−1) in water. The water for nucleic acid analysis went through high decompression (60–130 bar) during sampling, whereas water samples for detection of cell counts by microscopy could be collected with slow decompression. No clear cells could be identified in water that went through high decompression. The high-pressure decompression may have damaged part of the cells and the nucleic acids escaped through the filter. The microbial diversity was analyzed from two drill holes by pyrosequencing amplicons of the bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA genes and from the fungal ITS regions from both DNA and RNA fractions. The identified prokaryotic diversity was low, dominated by Firmicute, Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria species that are common in deep subsurface environments. The archaeal diversity consisted mainly of Methanobacteriales. Ascomycota dominated the fungal diversity and fungi were discovered to be active and to produce ribosomes in the deep oligotrophic biosphere. The deep fluids from the Pyhäsalmi mine shared several features with other deep Precambrian continental subsurface environments including saline, Ca-dominated water and stable isotope compositions positioning left from the meteoric water line. The dissolved gas phase was dominated by nitrogen but the gas composition clearly differed from that of atmospheric air. Despite carbon-poor conditions indicated by the lack of carbon-rich fracture fillings and only minor amounts of dissolved carbon detected in formation waters, some methane was found in the drill holes. No dramatic differences in gas compositions were observed between different gas sampling methods tested. For simple characterization of gas composition the most convenient way to collect samples is from free flowing fluid. However, compared to a pressurized method a relative decrease in the least soluble gases may appear. PMID:26579109

Reaching 1 m deep on Mars: the Icebreaker drill.

PubMed

Zacny, K; Paulsen, G; McKay, C P; Glass, B; Davé, A; Davila, A F; Marinova, M; Mellerowicz, B; Heldmann, J; Stoker, C; Cabrol, N; Hedlund, M; Craft, J

2013-12-01

The future exploration of Mars will require access to the subsurface, along with acquisition of samples for scientific analysis and ground-truthing of water ice and mineral reserves for in situ resource utilization. The Icebreaker drill is an integral part of the Icebreaker mission concept to search for life in ice-rich regions on Mars. Since the mission targets Mars Special Regions as defined by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), the drill has to meet the appropriate cleanliness standards as requested by NASA's Planetary Protection Office. In addition, the Icebreaker mission carries life-detection instruments; and in turn, the drill and sample delivery system have to meet stringent contamination requirements to prevent false positives. This paper reports on the development and testing of the Icebreaker drill, a 1 m class rotary-percussive drill and triple redundant sample delivery system. The drill acquires subsurface samples in short, approximately 10 cm bites, which makes the sampling system robust and prevents thawing and phase changes in the target materials. Autonomous drilling, sample acquisition, and sample transfer have been successfully demonstrated in Mars analog environments in the Arctic and the Antarctic Dry Valleys, as well as in a Mars environmental chamber. In all environments, the drill has been shown to perform at the "1-1-100-100" level; that is, it drilled to 1 m depth in approximately 1 hour with less than 100 N weight on bit and approximately 100 W of power. The drilled substrate varied and included pure ice, ice-rich regolith with and without rocks and with and without 2% perchlorate, and whole rocks. The drill is currently at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 5. The next-generation Icebreaker drill weighs 10 kg, which is representative of the flightlike model at TRL 5/6.

A molecular chaperone activity of CCS restores the maturation of SOD1 fALS mutants.

PubMed

Luchinat, Enrico; Barbieri, Letizia; Banci, Lucia

2017-12-12

Superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) is an important metalloprotein for cellular oxidative stress defence, that is mutated in familiar variants of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (fALS). Some mutations destabilize the apo protein, leading to the formation of misfolded, toxic species. The Copper Chaperone for SOD1 (CCS) transiently interacts with SOD1 and promotes its correct maturation by transferring copper and catalyzing disulfide bond formation. By in vitro and in-cell NMR, we investigated the role of the SOD-like domain of CCS (CCS-D2). We showed that CCS-D2 forms a stable complex with zinc-bound SOD1 in human cells, that has a twofold stabilizing effect: it both prevents the accumulation of unstructured mutant SOD1 and promotes zinc binding. We further showed that CCS-D2 interacts with apo-SOD1 in vitro, suggesting that in cells CCS stabilizes mutant apo-SOD1 prior to zinc binding. Such molecular chaperone function of CCS-D2 is novel and its implications in SOD-linked fALS deserve further investigation.

Carbon chemistry of the Apollo 15 and 16 deep drill cores

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wszolek, P. C.; Burlingame, A. L.

1973-01-01

The carbon chemistry of the Apollo 15 and 16 deep drill cores is a function of the surface exposure plus the chemical and mineralogical composition of the individual samples. The depth profiles of carbide and methane yields in the Apollo 15 core show a general decline with depth and correlate with the solar wind noble gas content, percentage agglutinates, track densities, and metallic iron. All horizons examined were exposed for a considerable time on the lunar surface. The Apollo 16 core samples show that chemical and mineralogical composition plays an important role in determining the nature of carbide-like material present in the fines. The higher aluminum and calcium contents and lower iron contents of highlands material result in carbide-like material yielding less CD4 and more C2D2 (deuteroacetylene) upon DF acid dissolution.

Temperature distribution in the Cerro Prieto geothermal field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Castillo B, F.; Bermejo M, F.J.; Domiguez A, B.

1981-01-01

A series of temperature and pressure logs and flow rate measurements was compiled for each of the geothermal wells drilled to different reservoir depths between October 1979 and December 1980. Based on the valuable information obtained, a series of graphs showing the thermal characteristics of the reservoir were prepared. These graphs clearly show the temperature distribution resulting from the movement of fluids from the deep regions toward the higher zones of the reservoir, thus establishing more reliable parameters for locating new wells with better production zones. Updated information based on data from new deep wells drilled in the geothermal fieldmore » is presented here. This new information does not differ much from earlier estimates and theories. However, the influence of faulting and fracturing on the hydrothermal recharge of the geothermal reservoir is seen more clearly.« less

Horizontal well drilled into deep, hot Austin chalk

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pearce, D.; Johnson, M.; Godfrey, B.

1995-04-03

Bent-housing steerable downhole motors helped maintain course for a deep, hot, horizontal well in the Austin chalk. The Navasota Unit No. 1 was planned as a B zone, single downdip lateral, Austin chalk horizontal well with a maximum departure from vertical of 3,767 ft and a planned total depth (TD) of 17,342 ft measured depth (MD)/14,172 ft TVD. The Austin chalk was found significantly deeper in this well than planned, which resulted in an actual TD of 17,899 ft MD/14,993 ft TVD, the deepest (TVD) horizontal well in the Austin chalk to date. The well was spudded on August 6,more » 1994, and took 52 days to reach TD. The static bottom hole temperature was almost 350 F. The paper describes the well plan, drilling results, and the lateral section.« less

Improved Tubulars for Better Economics in Deep Gas Well Drilling Using Microwave Technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dinesh Agrawal

2006-09-30

The main objective of the entire research program has been to improve the rate-of-penetration in deep hostile environments by improving the life cycle and performance of coiled-tubing, an important component of a deep well drilling system for oil and gas exploration, by utilizing the latest developments in the microwave materials technology. Based on the results of the Phase I and insurmountable difficulties faced in the extrusion and de-waxing processes, the approach of achieving the goals of the program was slightly changed in the Phase II in which an approach of microwave sintering combined with Cold Isostatic Press (CIP) and joiningmore » (by induction or microwave) has been adopted. This process can be developed into a semicontinuous sintering process if the CIP can produce parts fast enough to match the microwave sintering rates. The main objective of the Phase II research program is to demonstrate the potential to economically manufacture microwave processed coiled tubing with improved performance for extended useful life under hostile coiled tubing drilling conditions. After the completion of the Phase II, it is concluded that scale up and sintering of a thin wall common O.D. size tubing that is widely used in the market is still to be proved and further experimentation and refinement of the sintering process is needed in Phase III. Actual manufacturing capability of microwave sintered, industrial quality, full length tubing will most likely require several million dollars of investment.« less

Improved Tubulars for Better Economics in Deep Gas Well Drilling using Microwave Technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dinesh Agrawal; Paul Gigl; Mark Hunt

2007-07-31

The main objective of the entire research program has been to improve the rate-of-penetration in deep hostile environments by improving the life cycle and performance of coiled-tubing, an important component of a deep well drilling system for oil and gas exploration, by utilizing the latest developments in the microwave materials technology. Based on the results of the Phase I and insurmountable difficulties faced in the extrusion and de-waxing processes, the approach of achieving the goals of the program was slightly changed in the Phase II in which an approach of microwave sintering combined with Cold Isostatic Press (CIP) and joiningmore » (by induction or microwave) has been adopted. This process can be developed into a semicontinuous sintering process if the CIP can produce parts fast enough to match the microwave sintering rates. The main objective of the Phase II research program is to demonstrate the potential to economically manufacture microwave processed coiled tubing with improved performance for extended useful life under hostile coiled tubing drilling conditions. After the completion of the Phase II, it is concluded that scale up and sintering of a thin wall common O.D. size tubing that is widely used in the market is still to be proved and further experimentation and refinement of the sintering process is needed in Phase III. Actual manufacturing capability of microwave sintered, industrial quality, full length tubing will most likely require several million dollars of investment.« less

Characterization and depositional and evolutionary history of the Apollo 17 deep drill core

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, R. V.; Lauer, H. V., Jr.; Gose, W. A.

1979-01-01

With a depth resolution of about 0.5 cm, the stratigraphy of the approximately 3 m Apollo 17 deep drill core by measurement of the total FeO concentration is characterized along with the FMR surface exposure (maturity) index Is/FeO, the metallic iron concentration Fe-vsm, and the FMR linewidth delta-H. For stratigraphic characterization, the first two parameters are the most important. Most of the core is characterized by a FeO concentration of approximately 15.5 wt. %; there is a more mafic zone in the upper approximately 75 cm where the maximum FeO concentration is approximately 18.5 wt. %, and a more felsic zone between approximately 225 and 260 cm where the minimum FeO concentration is approximately 14.0%. As indicated by Is/FeO, most of the soil in the core is submature to mature; the only immature zone is located between approximately 20 and 60 cm and is one of the most distinctive features in the core. A two stage model for the depositional and evolutionary history of the Apollo 17 deep drill core is proposed: (1) deposition by one event approximately 110 m.y. ago or deposition by a sequence of closely spaced events initating a maximum of approximately 200 m.y. ago and terminating approximately 110 m.y. ago, (2) in situ reworking (gardening) to a depth of approximately 26 cm in the period between approximately 110 m.y. ago and the present day.

Estimating the CCSD basis-set limit energy from small basis sets: basis-set extrapolations vs additivity schemes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spackman, Peter R.; Karton, Amir, E-mail: amir.karton@uwa.edu.au

Coupled cluster calculations with all single and double excitations (CCSD) converge exceedingly slowly with the size of the one-particle basis set. We assess the performance of a number of approaches for obtaining CCSD correlation energies close to the complete basis-set limit in conjunction with relatively small DZ and TZ basis sets. These include global and system-dependent extrapolations based on the A + B/L{sup α} two-point extrapolation formula, and the well-known additivity approach that uses an MP2-based basis-set-correction term. We show that the basis set convergence rate can change dramatically between different systems(e.g.it is slower for molecules with polar bonds and/ormore » second-row elements). The system-dependent basis-set extrapolation scheme, in which unique basis-set extrapolation exponents for each system are obtained from lower-cost MP2 calculations, significantly accelerates the basis-set convergence relative to the global extrapolations. Nevertheless, we find that the simple MP2-based basis-set additivity scheme outperforms the extrapolation approaches. For example, the following root-mean-squared deviations are obtained for the 140 basis-set limit CCSD atomization energies in the W4-11 database: 9.1 (global extrapolation), 3.7 (system-dependent extrapolation), and 2.4 (additivity scheme) kJ mol{sup –1}. The CCSD energy in these approximations is obtained from basis sets of up to TZ quality and the latter two approaches require additional MP2 calculations with basis sets of up to QZ quality. We also assess the performance of the basis-set extrapolations and additivity schemes for a set of 20 basis-set limit CCSD atomization energies of larger molecules including amino acids, DNA/RNA bases, aromatic compounds, and platonic hydrocarbon cages. We obtain the following RMSDs for the above methods: 10.2 (global extrapolation), 5.7 (system-dependent extrapolation), and 2.9 (additivity scheme) kJ mol{sup –1}.« less

Estimating the CCSD basis-set limit energy from small basis sets: basis-set extrapolations vs additivity schemes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spackman, Peter R.; Karton, Amir

2015-05-01

Coupled cluster calculations with all single and double excitations (CCSD) converge exceedingly slowly with the size of the one-particle basis set. We assess the performance of a number of approaches for obtaining CCSD correlation energies close to the complete basis-set limit in conjunction with relatively small DZ and TZ basis sets. These include global and system-dependent extrapolations based on the A + B/Lα two-point extrapolation formula, and the well-known additivity approach that uses an MP2-based basis-set-correction term. We show that the basis set convergence rate can change dramatically between different systems(e.g.it is slower for molecules with polar bonds and/or second-row elements). The system-dependent basis-set extrapolation scheme, in which unique basis-set extrapolation exponents for each system are obtained from lower-cost MP2 calculations, significantly accelerates the basis-set convergence relative to the global extrapolations. Nevertheless, we find that the simple MP2-based basis-set additivity scheme outperforms the extrapolation approaches. For example, the following root-mean-squared deviations are obtained for the 140 basis-set limit CCSD atomization energies in the W4-11 database: 9.1 (global extrapolation), 3.7 (system-dependent extrapolation), and 2.4 (additivity scheme) kJ mol-1. The CCSD energy in these approximations is obtained from basis sets of up to TZ quality and the latter two approaches require additional MP2 calculations with basis sets of up to QZ quality. We also assess the performance of the basis-set extrapolations and additivity schemes for a set of 20 basis-set limit CCSD atomization energies of larger molecules including amino acids, DNA/RNA bases, aromatic compounds, and platonic hydrocarbon cages. We obtain the following RMSDs for the above methods: 10.2 (global extrapolation), 5.7 (system-dependent extrapolation), and 2.9 (additivity scheme) kJ mol-1.

Application of Effective Fragment Potential Methos to the Redox Potential of Green Fluorescent Protein

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Debashree; Krylov, Anna I.

2011-06-01

Green fluorescent proteins (GFP) can be considered as a model for flurogenic dyes and are of importance in photovoltaic materials. It exhibits bright green fluorescence when exposed to blue light and has been an extremely powerful tool as non-invasive marker in living cells and extensibly used in molecular and cell biology. The understanding of the underlying electronic structure of these proteins and its chromophore is therefore crucial to the understanding of the mechanism for its optical properties. The chromophore of the GFP is p-hydroxybenzylidene-imidazolinone (HBDI) and is embedded in the center of the β barrel of the GFP. Calculating redox potential of this chromophore is a challenging problem, especially in diverse solvents and protein environment. It is possible to carry out high-level accurate ab-initio calculation of ionization potential or electron affinity of the microsolvated chromophore or the bare chromophore. But, it is not possible to extend these calculations to bulk solvents due to the high computational cost. Effective fragment potential (EFP)[1,2] method gives us a convenient tool to understand such systems. In our work, we have benchmarked the ionization energy and electron affinity of the microsolvated GFP chromophore calculated by combined EOM-IP-CCSD/EFP and EOM-EA-CCSD/EFP with the EOM-IP-CCSD and EOM-EA-CCSD calculations of the oxidized and reduced forms. We have carried out similar EFP-EOM-IP-CCSD and EFP-EOM-EA-CCSD calculations of ionization potential and electron affinity of GFP choromophore in bulk solvent generated by ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations. [1] M. S. Gordon, L. Slipchenko, H. Li, J. H. Jensen, Annual Reports in Computational Chemistry, Volume 3, 177 (2007). [2] D. Ghosh, D. Kosenkov, V. Vanovschi, C.F. Williams, J.M. Herbert, M.S. Gordon, M.W. Schmidt, L.V. Slipchenko, and A.I. Krylov, J. Phys. Chem. A 114, 12739 (2010).

On the accuracy of explicitly correlated methods to generate potential energy surfaces for scattering calculations and clustering: application to the HCl-He complex.

PubMed

Ajili, Yosra; Hammami, Kamel; Jaidane, Nejm Eddine; Lanza, Mathieu; Kalugina, Yulia N; Lique, François; Hochlaf, Majdi

2013-07-07

We closely compare the accuracy of multidimensional potential energy surfaces (PESs) generated by the recently developed explicitly correlated coupled cluster (CCSD(T)-F12) methods in connection with the cc-pVXZ-F12 (X = D, T) and aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets and those deduced using the well-established orbital-based coupled cluster techniques employing correlation consistent atomic basis sets (aug-cc-pVXZ, X = T, Q, 5) and extrapolated to the complete basis set (CBS) limit. This work is performed on the benchmark rare gas-hydrogen halide interaction (HCl-He) system. These PESs are then incorporated into quantum close-coupling scattering dynamical calculations in order to check the impact of the accuracy of the PES on the scattering calculations. For this system, we deduced inelastic collisional data including (de-)excitation collisional and pressure broadening cross sections. Our work shows that the CCSD(T)-F12/aug-cc-pVTZ PES describes correctly the repulsive wall, the van der Waals minimum and long range internuclear distances whereas cc-pVXZ-F12 (X = D,T) basis sets are not diffuse enough for that purposes. Interestingly, the collision cross sections deduced from the CCSD(T)-F12/aug-cc-pVTZ PES are in excellent agreement with those obtained with CCSD(T)/CBS methodology. The position of the resonances and the general shape of these cross sections almost coincide. Since the cost of the electronic structure computations is reduced by several orders of magnitude when using CCSD(T)-F12/aug-cc-pVTZ compared to CCSD(T)/CBS methodology, this approach can be recommended as an alternative for generation of PESs of molecular clusters and for the interpretation of accurate scattering experiments as well as for a wide production of collisional data to be included in astrophysical and atmospherical models.

Flexible roof drill for low coal. Volume 2. Phase III and Phase IV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shoup, N.H.

1977-09-01

Design specifications were developed for a flexible drilling and bolting system. The system configuration is based on the use of the Galis dual-boom roof drill as a vehicle for the drilling/bolting system. The WSU Flex-drill drivehead is mounted on the Galis drill boom and the Galis parts are modified to accommodate the revised system. The flexible drillhead supports a bolt bender/inserter designed by Bendix Corporation and is integrated into the system operation. A supplemental bolt thruster was designed to complete insertion of the roof bolt following operation and removal of the Bendix bender from the bolt shank. The complete cyclemore » of drilling a 1-3/8-in. diameter bolt hole, bending a roof bolt into the hole, thrusting the bolt head and washer to the roof surface, and final torquing of the bolt is manually controlled by the operator located in the new position behind the bolting line. The new operating position is beneath newly bolted roof in a safer location in back of the stab jack ad roof jacks positioning the drill boom and drivehead. The Flex-drill/bolting system prototype was constructed from both purchased components and parts specially fabricated in the shops for this design. This unit was assembled and test-operated with appropriate support equipment in a laboratory test stand. Numerous test holes were drilled in blocks of concrete at feed rates of 5 ft/min with drill rotation speeds of 360 rpm. The drill feeds uniformly and cuts smoothly with no difficulty in collection of dust or clogging of the drill bit. The holes drilled were straight, as evidence by passage of a 1-1/4-in. diameter bar full depth into the hole with no binding or evidence of curvature. The flexible drill is capable of drilling 8-ft-deep roof bolt holes in low coal 36 in. in height.« less

Massively parallel implementations of coupled-cluster methods for electron spin resonance spectra. I. Isotropic hyperfine coupling tensors in large radicals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Verma, Prakash; Morales, Jorge A., E-mail: jorge.morales@ttu.edu; Perera, Ajith

2013-11-07

Coupled cluster (CC) methods provide highly accurate predictions of molecular properties, but their high computational cost has precluded their routine application to large systems. Fortunately, recent computational developments in the ACES III program by the Bartlett group [the OED/ERD atomic integral package, the super instruction processor, and the super instruction architecture language] permit overcoming that limitation by providing a framework for massively parallel CC implementations. In that scheme, we are further extending those parallel CC efforts to systematically predict the three main electron spin resonance (ESR) tensors (A-, g-, and D-tensors) to be reported in a series of papers. Inmore » this paper inaugurating that series, we report our new ACES III parallel capabilities that calculate isotropic hyperfine coupling constants in 38 neutral, cationic, and anionic radicals that include the {sup 11}B, {sup 17}O, {sup 9}Be, {sup 19}F, {sup 1}H, {sup 13}C, {sup 35}Cl, {sup 33}S,{sup 14}N, {sup 31}P, and {sup 67}Zn nuclei. Present parallel calculations are conducted at the Hartree-Fock (HF), second-order many-body perturbation theory [MBPT(2)], CC singles and doubles (CCSD), and CCSD with perturbative triples [CCSD(T)] levels using Roos augmented double- and triple-zeta atomic natural orbitals basis sets. HF results consistently overestimate isotropic hyperfine coupling constants. However, inclusion of electron correlation effects in the simplest way via MBPT(2) provides significant improvements in the predictions, but not without occasional failures. In contrast, CCSD results are consistently in very good agreement with experimental results. Inclusion of perturbative triples to CCSD via CCSD(T) leads to small improvements in the predictions, which might not compensate for the extra computational effort at a non-iterative N{sup 7}-scaling in CCSD(T). The importance of these accurate computations of isotropic hyperfine coupling constants to elucidate experimental ESR spectra, to interpret spin-density distributions, and to characterize and identify radical species is illustrated with our results from large organic radicals. Those include species relevant for organic chemistry, petroleum industry, and biochemistry, such as the cyclo-hexyl, 1-adamatyl, and Zn-porphycene anion radicals, inter alia.« less

Combining the spin-separated exact two-component relativistic Hamiltonian with the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method for the treatment of spin-orbit splittings of light and heavy elements.

PubMed

Cao, Zhanli; Li, Zhendong; Wang, Fan; Liu, Wenjian

2017-02-01

The spin-separated exact two-component (X2C) relativistic Hamiltonian [sf-X2C+so-DKHn, J. Chem. Phys., 2012, 137, 154114] is combined with the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method with singles and doubles (EOM-CCSD) for the treatment of spin-orbit splittings of open-shell molecular systems. Scalar relativistic effects are treated to infinite order from the outset via the spin-free part of the X2C Hamiltonian (sf-X2C), whereas the spin-orbit couplings (SOC) are handled at the CC level via the first-order Douglas-Kroll-Hess (DKH) type of spin-orbit operator (so-DKH1). Since the exponential of single excitations, i.e., exp(T 1 ), introduces sufficient spin orbital relaxations, the inclusion of SOC at the CC level is essentially the same in accuracy as the inclusion of SOC from the outset in terms of the two-component spinors determined variationally by the sf-X2C+so-DKH1 Hamiltonian, but is computationally more efficient. Therefore, such an approach (denoted as sf-X2C-EOM-CCSD(SOC)) can achieve uniform accuracy for the spin-orbit splittings of both light and heavy elements. For light elements, the treatment of SOC can even be postponed until the EOM step (denoted as sf-X2C-EOM(SOC)-CCSD), so as to further reduce the computational cost. To reveal the efficacy of sf-X2C-EOM-CCSD(SOC) and sf-X2C-EOM(SOC)-CCSD, the spin-orbit splittings of the 2 Π states of monohydrides up to the sixth row of the periodic table are investigated. The results show that sf-X2C-EOM-CCSD(SOC) predicts very accurate results (within 5%) for elements up to the fifth row, whereas sf-X2C-EOM(SOC)-CCSD is useful only for light elements (up to the third row but with some exceptions). For comparison, the sf-X2C-S-TD-DFT-SOC approach [spin-adapted open-shell time-dependent density functional theory, Mol. Phys., 2013, 111, 3741] is applied to the same systems. The overall accuracy (1-10%) is satisfactory.

Deep geothermal resources in the Yangbajing Field, Tibet

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao Ping; Jin Jian; Duo Ji

1997-12-31

Since the first well was bored in July 1997 in the Yangbajing geothermal field, more than 80 wells have been drilled. The total of installed capacity is 25.18MWe for geothermal power plant that has generated about 1.0 x 10{sup 9} kWh electricity in all. Temperatures inside shallow reservoir are in the range from 150{degrees}C to 165{degrees}C. No high-temperature field if found below the shallow reservoir in the southern part. In order to enlarge the installed capacity and solve pressure decline in current productive wells, an exploration project of deep geothermal resources has been carried out in the northern part. Themore » highest temperature of 329{degrees}C was detected in well ZK4002 at 1850m depth in 1994. Well ZK4001 drilled in 1996 flows out high-enthalpy thermal fluid at the wellhead, in which the average temperature is 248{degrees}C in the feeding zones. There is a great potential for power generation in the northern part. The exploitation of deep geothermal resources would effect the production of existing wells.« less

Extrapolating MP2 and CCSD explicitly correlated correlation energies to the complete basis set limit with first and second row correlation consistent basis sets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, J. Grant; Peterson, Kirk A.; Knizia, Gerald; Werner, Hans-Joachim

2009-11-01

Accurate extrapolation to the complete basis set (CBS) limit of valence correlation energies calculated with explicitly correlated MP2-F12 and CCSD(T)-F12b methods have been investigated using a Schwenke-style approach for molecules containing both first and second row atoms. Extrapolation coefficients that are optimal for molecular systems containing first row elements differ from those optimized for second row analogs, hence values optimized for a combined set of first and second row systems are also presented. The new coefficients are shown to produce excellent results in both Schwenke-style and equivalent power-law-based two-point CBS extrapolations, with the MP2-F12/cc-pV(D,T)Z-F12 extrapolations producing an average error of just 0.17 mEh with a maximum error of 0.49 for a collection of 23 small molecules. The use of larger basis sets, i.e., cc-pV(T,Q)Z-F12 and aug-cc-pV(Q,5)Z, in extrapolations of the MP2-F12 correlation energy leads to average errors that are smaller than the degree of confidence in the reference data (˜0.1 mEh). The latter were obtained through use of very large basis sets in MP2-F12 calculations on small molecules containing both first and second row elements. CBS limits obtained from optimized coefficients for conventional MP2 are only comparable to the accuracy of the MP2-F12/cc-pV(D,T)Z-F12 extrapolation when the aug-cc-pV(5+d)Z and aug-cc-pV(6+d)Z basis sets are used. The CCSD(T)-F12b correlation energy is extrapolated as two distinct parts: CCSD-F12b and (T). While the CCSD-F12b extrapolations with smaller basis sets are statistically less accurate than those of the MP2-F12 correlation energies, this is presumably due to the slower basis set convergence of the CCSD-F12b method compared to MP2-F12. The use of larger basis sets in the CCSD-F12b extrapolations produces correlation energies with accuracies exceeding the confidence in the reference data (also obtained in large basis set F12 calculations). It is demonstrated that the use of the 3C(D) Ansatz is preferred for MP2-F12 CBS extrapolations. Optimal values of the geminal Slater exponent are presented for the diagonal, fixed amplitude Ansatz in MP2-F12 calculations, and these are also recommended for CCSD-F12b calculations.

High-level ab initio predictions for the ionization energies and heats of formation of five-membered-ring molecules: thiophene, furan, pyrrole, 1,3-cyclopentadiene, and borole, C4H4X/C4H4X+ (X = S, O, NH, CH2, and BH).

PubMed

Lo, Po-Kam; Lau, Kai-Chung

2011-02-10

The ionization energies (IEs) and heats of formation (ΔH°(f0)/ΔH°(f298)) for thiophene (C(4)H(4)S), furan (C(4)H(4)O), pyrrole (C(4)H(4)NH), 1,3-cyclopentadiene (C(4)H(4)CH(2)), and borole (C(4)H(4)BH) have been calculated by the wave function-based ab initio CCSD(T)/CBS approach, which involves the approximation to the complete basis set (CBS) limit at the coupled-cluster level with single and double excitations plus a quasi-perturbative triple excitation [CCSD(T)]. Where appropriate, the zero-point vibrational energy correction (ZPVE), the core-valence electronic correction (CV), and the scalar relativistic effect (SR) are included in these calculations. The respective CCSD(T)/CBS predictions for C(4)H(4)S, C(4)H(4)O, C(4)H(4)NH, and C(4)H(4)CH(2), being 8.888, 8.897, 8.222, and 8.582 eV, are in excellent agreement with the experimental values obtained from previous photoelectron and photoion measurements. The ΔH°(f0)/ΔH°(f298) values for the aforementioned molecules and their corresponding cations have also been predicted by the CCSD(T)/CBS method, and the results are compared with the available experimental data. The comparisons between the CCSD(T)/CBS predictions and the experimental values for C(4)H(4)S, C(4)H(4)O, C(4)H(4)NH, and C(4)H(4)CH(2) suggest that the CCSD(T)/CBS procedure is capable of predicting reliable IE values for five-membered-ring molecules with an uncertainty of ±13 meV. In view of the excellent agreements between the CCSD(T)/CBS predictions and the experimental values for C(4)H(4)S, C(4)H(4)O, C(4)H(4)NH, and C(4)H(4)CH(2), the similar CCSD(T)/CBS IE and ΔH°(f0)/ΔH°(f298) predictions for C(4)H(4)BH, whose thermochemical data are not readily available due to its reactive nature, should constitute a reliable data set. The CCSD(T)/CBS IE(C(4)H(4)BH) value is 8.868 eV, and ΔH°(f0)/ΔH°(f298) values for C(4)H(4)BH and C(4)H(4)BH(+) are 269.5/258.6 and 1125.1/1114.6 kJ/mol, respectively. The highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMO) of C(4)H(4)S, C(4)H(4)O, C(4)H(4)NH, C(4)H(4)CH(2), and C(4)H(4)BH have also been studied by the natural bond orbital (NBO) method, and the extent of π-electron delocalization in these five-membered rings are discussed in correlation with their molecular structures and orbitals.

The geological and petrological studies of the subduction boundaries and suggestion for the geological future work in Japan　- How to avoid ultra-mega-earthquakes -

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishii, T.

2015-12-01

The Pacific plate is surrounded by circum-Pacific active margin, along which volcanic and seismic activities are very high. Ultra-Mega-Earthquakes (=UMEs, M>9.0) are occasionally observed along the margin, where sedimentary rocks of subducting slaves contact with the accreted sedimentary rocks of subducted slaves. But, those UME have never been occured along western Pacific islandarc-trench system including Izu-Ogasawara (=Bonin)-Mariana-Yap-Palau-Philippine-Tonga-Kermadec Trenches. I assume that the geological and petrological characteristics of the subduction boundaries are very important to understand those different seismic activities. Along the above mentioned trench inner wall, especially in the southern Mariana, mantle peridotites are widely distributed. Subducting slave contacts directly with the olivine dominant mantle peridotites of subducted slave, serpentinite layer can be deposited easily under hydrous oceanic sub-bottom environment and very slippery subduction boundaries are left along the subduction zone.On the other hand, those geological evidences give us some ideas on how to avoid UMEs in the Japanese Islands along Japan Trench and Nankai Trough in future. We will be able to change artificially from normal subduction boundaries with asperity zone into slippery subduction boundaries with serpentine layer, by means of serpentine mud injection toward the subduction boundaries interior by combining the following improved drilling technologies A and B. (A) Deep Sea Drilling Vessel CHIKYU has a drilling ability to reach subduction boundary with asperity zone in the Nankai Trough. (B) Advanced drilling technology in the shale gas industry is tremendous, that is, after one vertical deep drilling, horizontal drilling towards several direction are performed, then shale gas is collected by hydraulic fracturing method. I hope that, after several generations, our posterity will be able to avoid UMEs by continuous serpentine mud injection.

Petrology of deep drill hole, Kilauea Volcano

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grose, L.T.; Keller, G.V.

1976-12-01

The first deep drill hole (1262 m TD) at the summit of an active volcano (1102 m elev) was drilled in 1973 at Kilauea volcano, Hawaii with support from NSF and USGS. The hole is located within southern margin of Kilauea caldera in northern part of a 15 km/sup 2/ triangular block bounded by east rift zone, Koae fault zone, and southwest rift zone-a summit area relatively free of faults, rifts, and extrusions. Nearest eruptions are from fissures 1.2 km away which are active in 1974 and which do not trend toward the drill hole. Core recovery totals 47 mmore » from 29 core runs at rather evenly spaced intervals to total depth. Megascopic, thin-section, and X-ray examination reveals: (1) Recovered core is essentially vesicular, intergranular, nonporphyritic to porphyritic olivine basalt with minor olivine diabase, picrite diabase, and basalt, (2) Hyaloclastite and pillow basalt are absent, (3) Below water table (614 m elev) with increasing depth, vesicularity decreases, and density, crystallinity, competence, vesicle fill, and alteration irregularly increase, (4) Alteration first occurs at water table where calcite and silica partially fill vesticles and olivine is partially serpentinized, (5) At about 570 m elev massive serpentinization of olivine and deposition of montmorillonite-nontronite occur; at about 210 m elev truscottite and tobermorite occur in vesicles; at about 35 m elev mordenite occurs in vesicles, (6) Bottom-hole cores have complete filling of vesicles with silica, minor silica replacement, and complete alteration of olivine, and (7) Plagioclase is unaltered. Chemical analyses of bottom-hole cores are similar to those of modern summit lavas. Alteration and low porosity in bottom-hole cores plus abrupt temperature increase suggest the drill hole penetrated a self-sealed ''cap rock'' to a hydrothermal convection cell and possibly a magma body.« less

Geomechanical Engineering Concepts Applied to Deep Borehole Disposal Wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrick, C. G.; Haimson, B. C.; Lee, M.

2015-12-01

Deep borehole disposal (DBD) of certain defense-generated radioactive waste forms is being considered by the US Department of Energy (DOE) as an alternative to mined repositories. The 17 inch diameter vertical boreholes are planned to be drilled in crystalline basement rock. As part of an initial field test program, the DOE will drill a demonstration borehole, to be used to test equipment for handling and emplacing prototype nonradioactive waste containers, and a second smaller diameter borehole, to be used for site characterization. Both boreholes will be drilled to a depth of 5 km. Construction of such boreholes is expected to be complex because of their overall length, large diameter, and anticipated downhole conditions of high temperatures, pore pressures, and stress regimes. It is believed that successful development of DBD boreholes can only be accomplished if geologic and tectonic conditions are characterized and drill activities are designed based on that understanding. Our study focuses primarily on using the in situ state of stress to mitigate borehole wall failure, whether tensile or compressive. The measured stresses, or their constrained estimates, will include pore pressure, the vertical stress, the horizontal stresses and orientations, and thermally induced stresses. Pore pressure will be measured directly or indirectly. Horizontal stresses will be estimated from hydraulic fracturing tests, leak off tests, and breakout characteristics. Understanding the site stress condition along with the rock's strength characteristics will aid in the optimization of mud weight and casing design required to control borehole wall failure and other drilling problems.Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. SAND2015-6552A

Data file: the 1976 Atlantic Margin Coring (AMCOR) Project of the U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Publications Warehouse

Poppe, Lawrence J.; Poppe, Lawrence J.

1981-01-01

In 1976, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted the Atlantic Margin Coring Project (AMCOR) to obtain information on stratigraphy, hydrology and water chemistry, mineral resources other than petroleum hydrocarbons, and geotechnical engineering properties at sites widely distributed along the Continental Shelf and Slope of the Eastern United States (Hathaway and others, 1976, 1979). This program's primary purpose was to investigate a broad variety of sediment properties, many of which had not been previously studied in this region. Previous studies of sediments recovered by core drilling in this region were usually limited to one or two aspects of the sediment properties (Hathaway and others, 1979, table 2). The AMCOR program was limited by two factors: water depth and penetration depth. Because the ship selected for the program, the Glomar Conception, lacked dynamic positioning capability, its anchoring capacity determined the maximum water depth in which drilling could take place. Although it was equipped to anchor in water 450 m deep and did so successfully at one site, we attmepted no drilling in water depths greater than 300 m. Strong Gulf Stream currents at the one attempted deep (443 m) site frustrated attempts to "spud in" to begin the hole.

A Study on Micro-Machining Technology for the Machining of NiTi: Five-Axis Micro-Milling and Micro Deep-Hole Drilling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biermann, D.; Kahleyss, F.; Krebs, E.; Upmeier, T.

2011-07-01

Micro-sized applications are gaining more and more relevance for NiTi-based shape memory alloys (SMA). Different types of micro-machining offer unique possibilities for the manufacturing of NiTi components. The advantage of machining is the low thermal influence on the workpiece. This is important, because the phase transformation temperatures of NiTi SMAs can be changed and the components may need extensive post manufacturing. The article offers a simulation-based approach to optimize five-axis micro-milling processes with respect to the special material properties of NiTi SMA. Especially, the influence of the various tool inclination angles is considered for introducing an intelligent tool inclination optimization algorithm. Furthermore, aspects of micro deep-hole drilling of SMAs are discussed. Tools with diameters as small as 0.5 mm are used. The possible length-to-diameter ratio reaches up to 50. This process offers new possibilities in the manufacturing of microstents. The study concentrates on the influence of the cutting speed, the feed and the tool design on the tool wear and the quality of the drilled holes.

A study for high accuracy measurement of residual stress by deep hole drilling technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitano, Houichi; Okano, Shigetaka; Mochizuki, Masahito

2012-08-01

The deep hole drilling technique (DHD) received much attention in recent years as a method for measuring through-thickness residual stresses. However, some accuracy problems occur when residual stress evaluation is performed by the DHD technique. One of the reasons is that the traditional DHD evaluation formula applies to the plane stress condition. The second is that the effects of the plastic deformation produced in the drilling process and the deformation produced in the trepanning process are ignored. In this study, a modified evaluation formula, which is applied to the plane strain condition, is proposed. In addition, a new procedure is proposed which can consider the effects of the deformation produced in the DHD process by investigating the effects in detail by finite element (FE) analysis. Then, the evaluation results obtained by the new procedure are compared with that obtained by traditional DHD procedure by FE analysis. As a result, the new procedure evaluates the residual stress fields better than the traditional DHD procedure when the measuring object is thick enough that the stress condition can be assumed as the plane strain condition as in the model used in this study.

High precision and high aspect ratio laser drilling: challenges and solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uchtmann, Hermann; He, Chao; Gillner, Arnold

2016-03-01

Laser drilling is a very versatile tool to produce high accuracy bores in small and large geometries using different technologies. In large and deep hole drilling laser drilling can be found in drilling cooling holes into turbomachinery components such as turbine blades. In micro drilling, the technology is used for the generation of nozzles and filters. However, especially in macro drilling, the process often causes microstructure changes and induces defects such as recast layers and cracks. The defects are caused by the melt dominated drilling process by using pulse durations in the range of some 100 μm up to a few ms. A solution of this problem is the use of ultrashort pulsed laser radiation with pulse durations in the range of some 100 fs up to a few ps, however with the disadvantage of long drilling times. Thus, the aim of this work is to combine the productive process by using ms pulsed fiber laser radiation with subsequent ablation of existing recast layers at the hole wall by using ultrashort pulsed laser radiation. By using fast scanning techniques the recast layer can be avoided almost completely. With a similar technology also very small hole can be produced. Using a rotating dove prism a circular oscillation of the laser spots is performed and holes are drilled at intervals in 1 mm thick stainless steel (1.4301) by ultra-short laser pulses of 7 ps at 515 nm. The formation of hole and the behavior of energy deposition differ from other drilling strategies due to the helical revolution. The temporal evolution of the hole shape is analyzed by means of SEM techniques from which three drilling phases can be distinguished.

Evaluation of a Dust Control for a Small Slab-Riding Dowel Drill for Concrete Pavement

PubMed Central

Echt, Alan; Mead, Kenneth

2016-01-01

Purpose To assess the effectiveness of local exhaust ventilation to control respirable crystalline silica exposures to acceptable levels during concrete dowel drilling. Approach Personal breathing zone samples for respirable dust and crystalline silica were collected while laborers drilled holes 3.5 cm diameter by 36 cm deep in a concrete slab using a single-drill slab-riding dowel drill equipped with local exhaust ventilation. Data were collected on air flow, weather, and productivity. Results All respirable dust samples were below the 90 µg detection limit which, when combined with the largest sample volume, resulted in a minimum detectable concentration of 0.31 mg m−3. This occurred in a 32-min sample collected when 27 holes were drilled. Quartz was only detected in one air sample; 0.09 mg m−3 of quartz was found on an 8-min sample collected during a drill maintenance task. The minimum detectable concentration for quartz in personal air samples collected while drilling was performed was 0.02 mg m−3. The average number of holes drilled during each drilling sample was 23. Over the course of the 2-day study, air flow measured at the dust collector decreased from 2.2 to 1.7 m3 s−1. Conclusions The dust control performed well under the conditions of this test. The initial duct velocity with a clean filter was sufficient to prevent settling, but gradually fell below the recommended value to prevent dust from settling in the duct. The practice of raising the drill between each hole may have prevented the dust from settling in the duct. A slightly higher flow rate and an improved duct design would prevent settling without regard to the position of the drill. PMID:26826033

A Parametric Study for the Design of an Optimized Ultrasonic Percussive Planetary Drill Tool.

PubMed

Li, Xuan; Harkness, Patrick; Worrall, Kevin; Timoney, Ryan; Lucas, Margaret

2017-03-01

Traditional rotary drilling for planetary rock sampling, in situ analysis, and sample return are challenging because the axial force and holding torque requirements are not necessarily compatible with lightweight spacecraft architectures in low-gravity environments. This paper seeks to optimize an ultrasonic percussive drill tool to achieve rock penetration with lower reacted force requirements, with a strategic view toward building an ultrasonic planetary core drill (UPCD) device. The UPCD is a descendant of the ultrasonic/sonic driller/corer technique. In these concepts, a transducer and horn (typically resonant at around 20 kHz) are used to excite a toroidal free mass that oscillates chaotically between the horn tip and drill base at lower frequencies (generally between 10 Hz and 1 kHz). This creates a series of stress pulses that is transferred through the drill bit to the rock surface, and while the stress at the drill-bit tip/rock interface exceeds the compressive strength of the rock, it causes fractures that result in fragmentation of the rock. This facilitates augering and downward progress. In order to ensure that the drill-bit tip delivers the greatest effective impulse (the time integral of the drill-bit tip/rock pressure curve exceeding the strength of the rock), parameters such as the spring rates and the mass of the free mass, the drill bit and transducer have been varied and compared in both computer simulation and practical experiment. The most interesting findings and those of particular relevance to deep drilling indicate that increasing the mass of the drill bit has a limited (or even positive) influence on the rate of effective impulse delivered.

Evaluation of a Dust Control for a Small Slab-Riding Dowel Drill for Concrete Pavement.

PubMed

Echt, Alan; Mead, Kenneth

2016-05-01

To assess the effectiveness of local exhaust ventilation to control respirable crystalline silica exposures to acceptable levels during concrete dowel drilling. Personal breathing zone samples for respirable dust and crystalline silica were collected while laborers drilled holes 3.5 cm diameter by 36 cm deep in a concrete slab using a single-drill slab-riding dowel drill equipped with local exhaust ventilation. Data were collected on air flow, weather, and productivity. All respirable dust samples were below the 90 µg detection limit which, when combined with the largest sample volume, resulted in a minimum detectable concentration of 0.31 mg m(-3). This occurred in a 32-min sample collected when 27 holes were drilled. Quartz was only detected in one air sample; 0.09 mg m(-3) of quartz was found on an 8-min sample collected during a drill maintenance task. The minimum detectable concentration for quartz in personal air samples collected while drilling was performed was 0.02 mg m(-3). The average number of holes drilled during each drilling sample was 23. Over the course of the 2-day study, air flow measured at the dust collector decreased from 2.2 to 1.7 m(3) s(-1). The dust control performed well under the conditions of this test. The initial duct velocity with a clean filter was sufficient to prevent settling, but gradually fell below the recommended value to prevent dust from settling in the duct. The practice of raising the drill between each hole may have prevented the dust from settling in the duct. A slightly higher flow rate and an improved duct design would prevent settling without regard to the position of the drill. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society 2016.

High-Level ab initio electronic structure calculations of Water Clusters (H2O)16 and (H2O)17: a new global minimum for (H2O)16

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yoo, Soohaeng; Apra, Edoardo; Zeng, Xiao Cheng

The lowest-energy structures of water clusters (H2O)16 and (H2O)17 were revisited at the MP2 and CCSD(T) levels of theory. A new global minimum structure for (H2O)16 was found at the MP2 and CCSD(T) levels of theory and the effect of zero-point energy corrections on the relative stability of the low-lying minimum energy structures was assessed. For (H2O)17 the CCSD(T) calculations confirm the previously found at the MP2 level of theory "interior" arrangement (fully coordinated water molecule inside a spherical cluster) as the global minimum.

High-Level ab-initio Electronic Structure Calculations of Water Clusters (H2O)16 and (H2O)17 : a New Global Minimum for (H2O)16

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yoo, Soohaeng; Apra, Edoardo; Zeng, X.C.

The lowest-energy structures of water clusters (H2O)16 and (H2O)17 were revisited at the MP2 and CCSD(T) levels of theory. A new global minimum structure for (H2O)16 was found at both the MP2 and CCSD(T) levels of theory, and the effect of zero-point energy corrections on the relative stability of the low-lying minimum energy structures was assessed. For (H2O)17, the CCSD(T) calculations confirm the previously found at the MP2 level of theory interior arrangement (fully coordinated water molecule inside a spherical cluster) as the global minimum

The protonation of N2O reexamined - A case study on the reliability of various electron correlation methods for minima and transition states

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, J. M. L.; Lee, Timothy J.

1993-01-01

The protonation of N2O and the intramolecular proton transfer in N2OH(+) are studied using various basis sets and a variety of methods, including second-order many-body perturbation theory (MP2), singles and doubles coupled cluster (CCSD), the augmented coupled cluster (CCSD/T/), and complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) methods. For geometries, MP2 leads to serious errors even for HNNO(+); for the transition state, only CCSD/T/ produces a reliable geometry due to serious nondynamical correlation effects. The proton affinity at 298.15 K is estimated at 137.6 kcal/mol, in close agreement with recent experimental determinations of 137.3 +/- 1 kcal/mol.

Drilling the Mediterranean Messinian Evaporites to Answer Key Questions Related to Massive Microbial Dolomite Formation under Hypersaline Alkaline Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKenzie, Judith A.; Bontognali, Tomaso R. R.; Vasconcelos, Crisogono

2014-05-01

Deep-sea drilling in the Mediterranean during DSSP Leg 13 in 1970 revealed the basin-wide occurrence of a Messinian evaporite formation. This spectacular discovery was pursued further during a subsequent drilling program, DSDP Leg 42A, in 1975, which was designed, in part, to obtain continuous cores to study the evolution of the salinity crisis itself (Hsü, Montadert, et al., 1978). Specifically, drilling at a water depth of 4,088 m in the Ionian Sea, DSDP Site 374: Messina Abyssal Plain, penetrated about 80 m into the uppermost part of the Messinian upper evaporite formation. The sedimentary sequence comprises dolomitic mudstone overlying dolomitic mudstone/gypsum cycles, which in turn overlie anhydrite and halite. The non-fossiliferous dolomitic mudstone is generally rich in organic carbon, with TOC values ranging from 0.9% to 5.3%, of possible marine origin with a good source rock potential. Commonly laminated dolomitic mudstones contain preserved filamentous cyanobacterial remains suggesting that conditions were conducive for microbial mat growth. The Ca-dolomite, composed of fine-grained anhedral crystals in the size range of 2-4 μm, is probably a primary precipitate. The unusual interstitial brines of the dolomitic mudstone units have very high alkalinities with a low pH of 5 to 6. The Mg concentration (2250 mmoles/l) is extremely elevated, whereas the Ca concentration is nearly zero. Finally, the drilled evaporite sedimentary sequence was interpreted as being deposited in an alkaline lake/sea ("Lago Mare"), which covered the area during the latest Messinian. Projecting forward 40 years since the DSDP Leg 42A drilling campaign, research into the factors controlling dolomite precipitation under Earth surface conditions has led to the development of new models involving the metabolism of microorganisms and associated biofilms to overcome the kinetic inhibitions associated with primary dolomite precipitation. Together with laboratory experiments, microbial dolomite precipitation has been studied extensively in rare modern environments, such as the arid coastal sabkhas of Abu Dhabi, UAE and the hypersaline coastal lagoons in Brazil. However, extrapolation of these studies of relatively limited aerial extent to interpret larger-scale, ancient dolomite formation of putative evaporitic origin remains elusive. Such ancient micritic dolomite formations with associated micro-porosity represent extremely valuable hydrocarbon reservoirs. Therefore, a comprehensive investigation of a relatively recent micritic dolomite deposit that has not experienced extensive burial depths and diagenesis is essential to extend our understanding of these important reservoir systems. Based on the limited data obtained during drilling at DSDP Site 374: Messina Abyssal Plain, the dolomitic mudstones of the uppermost Messinian evaporite complex represent an ideal candidate for such an extensive study in a "natural laboratory". Thus, to increase our understanding of the biogeochemical processes associated with ancient massive dolomite formation, we propose to document the scientific objectives to support a major new drilling campaign to study the sub-seafloor Messinian evaporite complex in the deep Mediterranean basins, using greatly enhanced drilling technology that is currently available within the new International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). Hsü, K., Montadert, L. et al., 1978. Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, Volume 42, Part 1: Washington (U.S. Government Printing Office).

Notched K-wire for low thermal damage bone drilling.

PubMed

Liu, Yao; Belmont, Barry; Wang, Yiwen; Tai, Bruce; Holmes, James; Shih, Albert

2017-07-01

The Kirschner wire (K-wire) is a common bone drilling tool in orthopedic surgery to affix fractured bone. Significant heat is produced due to both the cutting and the friction between the K-wire and the bone debris during drilling. Such heat can result in high temperatures, leading to osteonecrosis and other secondary injuries. To reduce thermal injury and other high-temperature associated complications, a new K-wire design with three notches along the three-plane trocar tip fabricated using a thin micro-saw tool is studied. These notches evacuate bone debris and reduce the clogging and heat generation during bone drilling. A set of four K-wires, one without notches and three notched, with depths of 0.5, 0.75, and 1mm, are evaluated. Bone drilling experiments conducted on bovine cortical bone show that notched K-wires could effectively decrease the temperature, thrust force, and torque during bone drilling. K-wires with notches 1mm deep reduced the thrust force and torque by approximately 30%, reduced peak temperatures by 43%, and eliminated blackened burn marks in bone. This study demonstrates that a simple modification of the tip of K-wires can effectively reduce bone temperatures during drilling. Copyright © 2017 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Leak-off mechanism and pressure prediction for shallow sediments in deepwater drilling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Qiang; Deng, Jingen; Sun, Jin; Liu, Wei; Yu, Baohua

2018-02-01

Deepwater sediments are prone to loss circulation in drilling due to a low overburden gradient. How to predict the magnitude of leak-off pressure more accurately is an important issue in the protection of drilling safety and the reduction of drilling cost in deep water. Starting from the mechanical properties of a shallow formation and based on the basic theory of rock-soil mechanics, the stress distribution around a borehole was analyzed. It was found that the rock or soil on a borehole is in the plastic yield state before the effective tensile stress is generated, and the effective tangential and vertical stresses increase as the drilling fluid density increases; thus, tensile failure will not occur on the borehole wall. Based on the results of stress calculation, two mechanisms and leak-off pressure prediction models for shallow sediments in deepwater drilling were put forward, and the calculated values of these models were compared with the measured value of shallow leak-off pressure in actual drilling. The results show that the MHPS (minimum horizontal principle stress) model and the FIF (fracturing in formation) model can predict the lower and upper limits of leak-off pressure. The PLC (permeable lost circulation) model can comprehensively analyze the factors influencing permeable leakage and provide a theoretical basis for leak-off prevention and plugging in deepwater drilling.

Probing the deep critical zone beneath the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buss, Heather; Brantley, S. L.; Scatena, Fred

2013-01-01

Recent work has suggested that weathering processes occurring in the subsurface produce the majority of silicate weathering products discharged to the world s oceans, thereby exerting a primary control on global temperature via the well-known positive feedback between silicate weathering and CO2. In addition, chemical and physical weathering processes deep within the critical zone create aquifers and control groundwater chemistry, watershed geometry and regolith formation rates. Despite this, most weathering studies are restricted to the shallow critical zone (e.g., soils, outcrops). Here we investigate the chemical weathering, fracturing and geomorphology of the deep critical zone in the Bisley watershed inmore » the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory, Puerto Rico, from two boreholes drilled to 37.2 and 27.0 m depth, from which continuous core samples were taken. Corestones exposed aboveground were also sampled. Weathered rinds developed on exposed corestones and along fracture surfaces on subsurface rocks slough off of exposed corestones once rinds attain a thickness up to ~1 cm, preventing the corestones from rounding due to diffusion limitation. Such corestones at the land surface are assumed to be what remains after exhumation of similar, fractured bedrock pieces that were observed in the drilled cores between thick layers of regolith. Some of these subsurface corestones are massive and others are highly fractured, whereas aboveground corestones are generally massive with little to no apparent fracturing. Subsurface corestones are larger and less fractured in the borehole drilled on a road where it crosses a ridge compared to the borehole drilled where the road crosses the stream channel. Both borehole profiles indicate that the weathering zone extends to well below the stream channel in this upland catchment; hence weathering depth is not controlled by the stream level within the catchment and not all of the water in the watershed is discharged to the stream.« less

The effect of diagenesis and fluid migration on rare earth element distribution in pore fluids of the northern Cascadia accretionary margin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kim, Ji-Hoon; Torres, Marta E.; Haley, Brian A.; Kastner, Miriam; Pohlman, John W.; Riedel, Michael; Lee, Young-Joo

2012-01-01

Analytical challenges in obtaining high quality measurements of rare earth elements (REEs) from small pore fluid volumes have limited the application of REEs as deep fluid geochemical tracers. Using a recently developed analytical technique, we analyzed REEs from pore fluids collected from Sites U1325 and U1329, drilled on the northern Cascadia margin during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 311, to investigate the REE behavior during diagenesis and their utility as tracers of deep fluid migration. These sites were selected because they represent contrasting settings on an accretionary margin: a ponded basin at the toe of the margin, and the landward Tofino Basin near the shelf's edge. REE concentrations of pore fluid in the methanogenic zone at Sites U1325 and U1329 correlate positively with concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and alkalinity. Fractionations across the REE series are driven by preferential complexation of the heavy REEs. Simultaneous enrichment of diagenetic indicators (DOC and alkalinity) and of REEs (in particular the heavy elements Ho to Lu), suggests that the heavy REEs are released during particulate organic carbon (POC) degradation and are subsequently chelated by DOC. REE concentrations are greater at Site U1325, a site where shorter residence times of POC in sulfate-bearing redox zones may enhance REE burial efficiency within sulfidic and methanogenic sediment zones where REE release ensues. Cross-plots of La concentrations versus Cl, Li and Sr delineate a distinct field for the deep fluids (z > 75 mbsf) at Site U1329, and indicate the presence of a fluid not observed at the other sites drilled on the Cascadia margin. Changes in REE patterns, the presence of a positive Eu anomaly, and other available geochemical data for this site suggest a complex hydrology and possible interaction with the igneous Crescent Terrane, located east of the drilled transect.

Probing the deep critical zone beneath the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buss, Heather L.; Brantley, Susan L.; Scatena, Fred; Bazilevskaya, Katya; Blum, Alex E.; Schulz, Marjorie S.; Jiménez, Rafael; White, Arthur F.; Rother, G.; Cole, D.

2013-01-01

Recent work has suggested that weathering processes occurring in the subsurface produce the majority of silicate weathering products discharged to the world's oceans, thereby exerting a primary control on global temperature via the well-known positive feedback between silicate weathering and CO2. In addition, chemical and physical weathering processes deep within the critical zone create aquifers and control groundwater chemistry, watershed geometry and regolith formation rates. Despite this, most weathering studies are restricted to the shallow critical zone (e.g. soils, outcrops). Here we investigate the chemical weathering, fracturing and geomorphology of the deep critical zone in the Bisley watershed in the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory, Puerto Rico, from two boreholes drilled to 37.2 and 27.0 m depth, from which continuous core samples were taken. Corestones exposed aboveground were also sampled. Weathered rinds developed on exposed corestones and along fracture surfaces on subsurface rocks slough off of exposed corestones once rinds attain a thickness up to ~1 cm, preventing the corestones from rounding due to diffusion limitation. Such corestones at the land surface are assumed to be what remains after exhumation of similar, fractured bedrock pieces that were observed in the drilled cores between thick layers of regolith. Some of these subsurface corestones are massive and others are highly fractured, whereas aboveground corestones are generally massive with little to no apparent fracturing. Subsurface corestones are larger and less fractured in the borehole drilled on a road where it crosses a ridge compared with the borehole drilled where the road crosses the stream channel. Both borehole profiles indicate that the weathering zone extends to well below the stream channel in this upland catchment; hence weathering depth is not controlled by the stream level within the catchment and not all of the water in the watershed is discharged to the stream

Synchronizing early Eocene deep-sea and continental records - cyclostratigraphic age models for the Bighorn Basin Coring Project drill cores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westerhold, Thomas; Röhl, Ursula; Wilkens, Roy H.; Gingerich, Philip D.; Clyde, William C.; Wing, Scott L.; Bowen, Gabriel J.; Kraus, Mary J.

2018-03-01

A consistent chronostratigraphic framework is required to understand the effect of major paleoclimate perturbations on both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Transient global warming events in the early Eocene, at 56-54 Ma, show the impact of large-scale carbon input into the ocean-atmosphere system. Here we provide the first timescale synchronization of continental and marine deposits spanning the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and the interval just prior to the Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM-2). Cyclic variations in geochemical data come from continental drill cores of the Bighorn Basin Coring Project (BBCP, Wyoming, USA) and from marine deep-sea drilling deposits retrieved by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). Both are dominated by eccentricity-modulated precession cycles used to construct a common cyclostratigraphic framework. Integration of age models results in a revised astrochronology for the PETM in deep-sea records that is now generally consistent with independent 3He age models. The duration of the PETM is estimated at ˜ 200 kyr for the carbon isotope excursion and ˜ 120 kyr for the associated pelagic clay layer. A common terrestrial and marine age model shows a concurrent major change in marine and terrestrial biota ˜ 200 kyr before ETM-2. In the Bighorn Basin, the change is referred to as Biohorizon B and represents a period of significant mammalian turnover and immigration, separating the upper Haplomylus-Ectocion Range Zone from the Bunophorus Interval Zone and approximating the Wa-4-Wa-5 land mammal zone boundary. In sediments from ODP Site 1262 (Walvis Ridge), major changes in the biota at this time are documented by the radiation of a second generation of apical spine-bearing sphenolith species (e.g., S. radians and S. editus), the emergence of T. orthostylus, and the marked decline of D. multiradiatus.

Field-scale permeability and temperature of volcanic crust from borehole data: Campi Flegrei, southern Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carlino, Stefano; Piochi, Monica; Tramelli, Anna; Mormone, Angela; Montanaro, Cristian; Scheu, Bettina; Klaus, Mayer

2018-05-01

We report combined measurements of petrophysical and geophysical parameters for a 501-m deep borehole located on the eastern side of the active Campi Flegrei caldera (Southern Italy), namely (i) in situ permeability by pumping tests, (ii) laboratory-determined permeability of the drill core, and (iii) thermal gradients by distributed fiber optic and thermocouple sensors. The borehole was drilled during the Campi Flegrei Deep Drilling Project (in the framework of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program) and gives information on the least explored caldera sector down to pre-caldera deposits. The results allow comparative assessment of permeability obtained from both borehole (at depth between 422 a 501 m) and laboratory tests (on a core sampled at the same depth) for permeability values of 10-13 m2 (borehole test) and 10-15 m2 (laboratory test) confirm the scale-dependency of permeability at this site. Additional geochemical and petrophysical determinations (porosity, density, chemistry, mineralogy and texture), together with gas flow measurements, corroborate the hypothesis that discrepancies in the permeability values are likely related to in-situ fracturing. The continuous distributed temperature profile points to a thermal gradient of about 200 °C km-1. Our findings (i) indicate that scale-dependency of permeability has to be carefully considered in modelling of the hydrothermal system at Campi Flegrei, and (ii) improve the understanding of caldera dynamics for monitoring and mitigation of this very high volcanic risk area.

The Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project: inferring the environmental context of human evolution from eastern African rift lake deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, A.; Campisano, C.; Arrowsmith, R.; Asrat, A.; Behrensmeyer, A. K.; Deino, A.; Feibel, C.; Hill, A.; Johnson, R.; Kingston, J.; Lamb, H.; Lowenstein, T.; Noren, A.; Olago, D.; Owen, R. B.; Potts, R.; Reed, K.; Renaut, R.; Schäbitz, F.; Tiercelin, J.-J.; Trauth, M. H.; Wynn, J.; Ivory, S.; Brady, K.; O'Grady, R.; Rodysill, J.; Githiri, J.; Russell, J.; Foerster, V.; Dommain, R.; Rucina, S.; Deocampo, D.; Russell, J.; Billingsley, A.; Beck, C.; Dorenbeck, G.; Dullo, L.; Feary, D.; Garello, D.; Gromig, R.; Johnson, T.; Junginger, A.; Karanja, M.; Kimburi, E.; Mbuthia, A.; McCartney, T.; McNulty, E.; Muiruri, V.; Nambiro, E.; Negash, E. W.; Njagi, D.; Wilson, J. N.; Rabideaux, N.; Raub, T.; Sier, M. J.; Smith, P.; Urban, J.; Warren, M.; Yadeta, M.; Yost, C.; Zinaye, B.

2016-02-01

The role that climate and environmental history may have played in influencing human evolution has been the focus of considerable interest and controversy among paleoanthropologists for decades. Prior attempts to understand the environmental history side of this equation have centered around the study of outcrop sediments and fossils adjacent to where fossil hominins (ancestors or close relatives of modern humans) are found, or from the study of deep sea drill cores. However, outcrop sediments are often highly weathered and thus are unsuitable for some types of paleoclimatic records, and deep sea core records come from long distances away from the actual fossil and stone tool remains. The Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project (HSPDP) was developed to address these issues. The project has focused its efforts on the eastern African Rift Valley, where much of the evidence for early hominins has been recovered. We have collected about 2 km of sediment drill core from six basins in Kenya and Ethiopia, in lake deposits immediately adjacent to important fossil hominin and archaeological sites. Collectively these cores cover in time many of the key transitions and critical intervals in human evolutionary history over the last 4 Ma, such as the earliest stone tools, the origin of our own genus Homo, and the earliest anatomically modern Homo sapiens. Here we document the initial field, physical property, and core description results of the 2012-2014 HSPDP coring campaign.

S-Wave Velocity Structure of the Taiwan Chelungpu Fault Drilling Project (TCDP) Site Using Microtremor Array Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Cheng-Feng; Huang, Huey-Chu

2015-10-01

The Taiwan Chelungpu Fault Drilling Project (TCDP) drilled a 2-km-deep hole 2.4 km east of the surface rupture of the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake ( M w 7.6), near the town of Dakeng. Geophysical well logs at the TCDP site were run over depths ranging from 500 to 1,900 m to obtain the physical properties of the fault zones and adjacent damage zones. These data provide good reference material for examining the validity of velocity structures using microtremor array measurement; therefore, we conduct array measurements for a total of four arrays at two sites near the TCDP drilling sites. The phase velocities at frequencies of 0.2-5 Hz are calculated using the frequency-wavenumber ( f- k) spectrum method. Then the S-wave velocity structures are estimated by employing surface wave inversion techniques. The S-wave velocity from the differential inversion technique gradually increases from 1.52 to 2.22 km/s at depths between 585 and 1,710 m. This result is similar to those from the velocity logs, which range from 1.4 km/s at a depth of 597 m to 2.98 km/s at a depth of 1,705 m. The stochastic inversion results are similar to those from the seismic reflection methods and the lithostratigraphy of TCDP-A borehole, comparatively. These results show that microtremor array measurement provides a good tool for estimating deep S-wave velocity structure.

Drilling the Messinian Salinity Crisis as a Model Analogue for Dolomite Deposition at the End of Massive Salt Deposition Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKenzie, Judith A.; Aloisi, Giovanni; Anjos, Sylvia; Latgé, Ricardo; Matsuda, Nilo; Bontognali, Tomaso; Vasconcelos, Crisogono

2015-04-01

Sedimentologic and stratigraphic studies of the Lower Cretaceous sequence, deposited in the economically important Campos Basin, southeast Brazil, document the occurrence of ~20-m-thick dolomite intervals overlying the "massive salt" megasequences of the Lagoa Feia Formation. This stratigaphic succession marks the Aptian/Albian transition from extreme evaporitic conditions of the Lagoa Feia Formation to shallow marine conditions of the Macaé Formation, related to the early opening of the South Atlantic. The facies change from evaporites to dolomite is interpreted as a product of dolomitization resulting from the refuxing of hypersaline fluids from shallow embayments with intense evaporation (Latgé, 2001). Although the reflux model provides a mechanism to produce fluids with geochemical composition favorable for dolomite precipitation, it cannot account for all of the factors required to promote dolomite precipitation. In this study, we propose a different model to explain the post-evaporite deposition of massive dolomite based on the study of sequences deposited at the end Messinian Salinity Crisis, which were recovered from the deep basins of the Mediterranean Sea during DSDP/ODP drilling campaigns. At most of these deep-water sites, the cored interval contained unusual dolomite deposits overlying the uppermost evaporite sections. For example, the upper Messinian sedimentary sequence at DSDP Site 374 comprises non-fossiliferous dolomitic mudstone overlying dolomitic mudstone/gypsum cycles, which in turn overlie anhydrite and halite (Hsü, Montadert et al., 1978). We postulate that the end Messinian dolomite is a product of microbial activity under extreme hypersaline conditions. In the last 20 years, research into the factors controlling dolomite precipitation under Earth surface conditions has led to the development of new models involving the metabolism of microorganisms and associated biofilms to overcome the kinetic inhibitions associated with primary dolomite precipitation. Furthermore, based on the limited pore-water geochemical data obtained during drilling at DSDP Site 374: Messina Abyssal Plain, the dolomitic mudstones of the uppermost Messinian evaporite complex represent an ideal candidate for such an extensive study in a "natural laboratory". In fact, the data suggest that microbial diagenesis and perhaps dolomite precipitation may still be occurring. Thus, to increase our understanding of the biogeochemical processes associated with ancient massive dolomite formation, a major new drilling campaign to study the sub-seafloor Messinian evaporite complex in the deep Mediterranean basins, using greatly enhanced drilling technology currently available within the new International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), would be timely. Hsü, K., Montadert, L. et al., 1978. Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, Volume 42, Part 1: Washington (U.S. Government Printing Office). Latgé, M. A. R., 2001. O Albiano no Atlântico Sul: estratigrafia, Paleoceanografia e Relações Globais. PhD thesis, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, pp. 257.

A proposal to investigate higher enthalpy geothermal systems in the USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elders, W. A.

2013-12-01

After more than 50 years of development only ~3,400 MWe of electric power is currently being produced from geothermal resources in the USA. That is only about 0.33% of the country's total installed electrical capacity. In spite of the large demonstrated potential of geothermal resources, only ~2,500 MWe of new geothermal electrical capacity are under development, and the growth rate of this environmentally benign energy resource is overshadowed by the rapid increase in the installed capacity of wind and solar energy. Most of the new geothermal developments in the USA involve relatively small, moderate-temperature, geothermal systems. In contrast, development of higher enthalpy geothermal systems for power production has obvious advantages; specifically higher temperatures yield higher power outputs per well so that fewer wells are needed, leading to smaller environmental footprints for a given size of power plant. Disadvantages include that the fact that locations of suitable geothermal systems are restricted to young volcanic terrains, production of very high enthalpy fluids usually requires drilling deeper wells and may require enhanced geothermal (EGS) technology, and drilling deep into hot hostile environments is technologically challenging. However the potential for very favorable economic returns suggests that the USA should begin developing such a program. One approach to mitigating the cost issue is to form a consortium of industry, government and academia to share the costs and broaden the scope an investigation. An excellent example of such a collaboration is the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) which is investigating the economic feasibility of producing electricity from supercritical geothermal reservoirs. This industry-government consortium planned to drill a deep well in the volcanic caldera of Krafla in NE Iceland. However drilling had to be terminated at 2.1 km depth when 900°C rhyolite magma flowed into the well. The resultant well was highly productive capable of generating >35 MWe from superheated steam at a well-head temperature of ~450°C. Plans for deep drilling to explore for deeper, much higher enthalpy, geothermal resources are already underway in the Taupo Volcanic Zone of New Zealand (Project HADES), and in northeast Japan the 'Beyond Brittle Project' (Project JBBP) is an ambitious program attempting to create an EGS reservoir in ~500oC rocks. However in the USA there is no comparable national program to develop such resources. There is a significant undeveloped potential for developing high-enthalpy geothermal systems in the western USA, Hawaii and Alaska. The purpose of this paper is to encourage the formation of a consortium to systematically explore, assess, and eventually develop such higher-enthalpy geothermal resources. Not only would this help develop large new sources of energy but it would permit scientific studies of pressure-temperature regimes not otherwise available for direct investigation, such as the coupling of magmatic and hydrothermal systems.

Ouachitas need more exploratory drilling

USGS Publications Warehouse

Suneson, Neil H.; Campbell, Jock A.

1990-01-01

The Ouachita Mountains in southeastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas are part of a mostly buried late Paleozoic fold and thrust belt that extends from Alabama to northern Mexico. The principal hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Ouachita tectonic province can be subdivided into those that produce natural gas from shallow-water units and those that produce oil and/or natural gas from deep-water units. They can also be divided into those that are fractured and those that produce from primary pore spaces or vugs. The first successful oil well in the Ouachita Mountains was drilled in 1913 or 1914. Since the discovery of the Redden field, over 800 oil and gas wells have been drilled in the Ouachita tectonic province in Oklahoma. Yet, most of the region remains little explored.

Application of geochemical logging for palaeoenvironmental research in the Late Cretaceous Qingshankou Formation from the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project-SK-2e, Songliao Basin, NE China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Cheng; Zou, Changchun; Pan, Li; Niu, Yixiong

2017-08-01

The Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project of the Cretaceous Songliao Basin (CCSD-SK) provides an excellent opportunity to understand the response of terrestrial environments to greenhouse climate change in the Cretaceous. We conducted a palaeoenvironmental study of the Late Cretaceous Qingshankou Formation (K2qn) based on geochemical log data from the SK-2 east borehole. According to the characteristic of Ti mainly from terrigenous minerals, the content of authigenic elements was calculated. Correlation space was proposed to study the variation of the correlation between two log curves along the depth. Palaeoenvironmental proxies were selected from log data to study the evolution of the climate and lake, productivity of the paleolake, and organic matter deposition. The results demonstrate that the productivity of the paleolake was driven by chemical weathering in K2qn, in which the first section of the Qingshankou Formation (K2qn1) has higher productivity than the second and third sections of the Qingshankou Formation (K2qn2+3). The high content of pyrite in several thin layers reveals lake water of high sulfate concentration. This may have been caused by acid rain related to large volcanic activity. In K2qn2+3, several periods of high productivity without the formation of source rocks and high organic matter content were identified. This may show that organic matter deposition was limited by low accommodation space or oxidation environment. Therefore, the preservation condition is suggested as the main controlling factor of organic matter deposition in K2qn.

Deep bore hole instrumentation along San Francisco Bay Bridges

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bakun, W.; Bowman, J.; Clymer, R.

1998-10-01

The Bay Bridges down hole network consists of sensors in bore holes that are drilled 100 ft. into bedrock around and in the San Francisco Bay. Between 2 and 8 instruments have been spaced along the Dumbarton, San Mateo, Bay, and San Rafael bridges. The instruments will provide multiple use data that is important to geotechnical, structural engineering, and seismological studies. The holes are between 100 and 1000 ft deep and were drilled by Caltrans. There are twenty- one sensor packages at fifteen sites. Extensive financial support is being contributed by Caltrans, UCB, LBL, LLNL-LDRD, U.C. Campus/Laboratory Collaboration (CLC) program,more » and USGS. The down hole instrument package contains a three component HS-1 seismometer and three orthogonal Wilcox 73 1 accelerometers, and is capable of recording a micro g from local M = 1.0 earthquakes to 0.5 g strong ground motion form large Bay Area earthquakes.« less

Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 612 bolide event: New evidence of a late Eocene impact-wave deposit and a possible impact site, US east coast

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wei, W.; Poag, C. Wylie; Poppe, Lawrence J.; Folger, David W.; Powars, David S.; Mixon, Robert B.; Edwards, Lucy E.; Bruce, Scott

1992-01-01

A remarkable >60-m-thick, upward-fining, polymictic, marine boulder bed is distributed over >15 000 km2 beneath Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain and inner continental shelf. The wide varieties of clast lithologies and microfossil assemblages were derived from at least seven known Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Eocene stratigraphic units. The supporting pebbly matrix contains variably mixed assemblages of microfossils along with trace quantities of impact ejecta. The youngest microfossils in the boulder bed are of early-late Eocene age. On the basis of its unusual characteristics and its stratigraphic equivalent to a layer of impact ejecta at Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Site 612. It is postulated that this boulder bed was formed by a powerful bolide-generated wave train that scoured the ancient inner shelf and coastal plain of southeastern Virginia. 

Issues and Concerns in Robotic Drilling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glass, Brian

2003-01-01

Exploration of the Martian subsurface will be essential in the search for life and water, given the desiccated and highly oxidized conditions on the surface. Discovery of these, at least in non-fossil form, is unlikely without drilling or other physical access to the subsurface. Hence subsurface access will be critical for both future in-situ science and Mars sample return. Drilling applications present many new challenges for diagnosis and control technology. Traditionally, diagnosis has concentrated on determining the internal state of a system, and detecting failures of system components. In the case of drilling applications, an additional challenge is to diagnose the interactions between the drill and its environment. This is necessary because particular observations of the drilling operation may be consistent with a number of possible problems, including faults in the equipment, but also changes in the material being drilled (for example, from rock to ice). The diagnosis of a particular observation may also depend on knowledge of geological formations previously encountered during drilling, and different remedial actions may be required for each diagnosis. Current 2009 Mars mission scenarios call for no more than 33 sols to be spent drilling. Yet they also call for a baseline of two 2m-deep holes in each of three target areas, for a total of six drilling operations. Using current levels of automation, it is estimated that 15-16 sols would be required to drill each hole. As a result of this, either the drilling part of the mission plan will need to be severely downscoped to no more than two holes total, or on-board automation and robotics must be increased in order to reduce the number of sols required per hole by removing ground control from the drilling control loop. This lecture will discuss salient issues and concerns of robotic drilling automation compares with other applications, and implementation constraints.

Investigation of the CH3Cl + CN(-) reaction in water: Multilevel quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics study.

PubMed

Xu, Yulong; Zhang, Jingxue; Wang, Dunyou

2015-06-28

The CH3Cl + CN(-) reaction in water was studied using a multilevel quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (MM) method with the multilevels, electrostatic potential, density functional theory (DFT) and coupled-cluster single double triple (CCSD(T)), for the solute region. The detailed, back-side attack SN2 reaction mechanism was mapped along the reaction pathway. The potentials of mean force were calculated under both the DFT and CCSD(T) levels for the reaction region. The CCSD(T)/MM level of theory presents a free energy activation barrier height at 20.3 kcal/mol, which agrees very well with the experiment value at 21.6 kcal/mol. The results show that the aqueous solution has a dominant role in shaping the potential of mean force. The solvation effect and the polarization effect together increase the activation barrier height by ∼11.4 kcal/mol: the solvation effect plays a major role by providing about 75% of the contribution, while polarization effect only contributes 25% to the activation barrier height. Our calculated potential of mean force under the CCSD(T)/MM also has a good agreement with the one estimated using data from previous gas-phase studies.

Investigation of the CH3Cl + CN- reaction in water: Multilevel quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yulong; Zhang, Jingxue; Wang, Dunyou

2015-06-01

The CH3Cl + CN- reaction in water was studied using a multilevel quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (MM) method with the multilevels, electrostatic potential, density functional theory (DFT) and coupled-cluster single double triple (CCSD(T)), for the solute region. The detailed, back-side attack SN2 reaction mechanism was mapped along the reaction pathway. The potentials of mean force were calculated under both the DFT and CCSD(T) levels for the reaction region. The CCSD(T)/MM level of theory presents a free energy activation barrier height at 20.3 kcal/mol, which agrees very well with the experiment value at 21.6 kcal/mol. The results show that the aqueous solution has a dominant role in shaping the potential of mean force. The solvation effect and the polarization effect together increase the activation barrier height by ˜11.4 kcal/mol: the solvation effect plays a major role by providing about 75% of the contribution, while polarization effect only contributes 25% to the activation barrier height. Our calculated potential of mean force under the CCSD(T)/MM also has a good agreement with the one estimated using data from previous gas-phase studies.

Disposal of saltwater during well construction--Problems and solutions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pitt, William A.; Meyer, Frederick W.; Hull, John E.

1977-01-01

The recent interest in the disposal of treated sewage effluent by deep-well injection into salt-water-filled aquifers has increased the need for proper disposal of salt water as more wells are drilled and tested each year.The effects on an unconfined aquifer of the improper disposal of salt water associated with the construction of three wells in southeastern Florida emphasize this need. In two of the wells provisions to prevent and detect salt-water contamination of the unconfined aquifer were practically nonexistent, and in one well extensive provisions were made. Of the three drilling sites the one with proper provision for detection presented no serious problem, as the ground water contaminated by the salt water was easily located and removed. The provisions consisted of drilling a brine-injection well to dispose of salt water discharged in drilling and testing operations, using a closed drilling circulation system to reduce spillage, installing shallow observation wells to map the extent and depth of any salt-water contamination of the shallow aquifer, and installing a dewatering system to remove contaminated ground water.

Hole 504B reclaimed for future drilling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leg 137 Scientific Drilling Party

Hole 504B, perhaps the most important in situ reference section for the structure and composition of the oceanic crust, has been reopened for future drilling and downhole measurements after remedial operations during Leg 137 of the Ocean Drilling Program. By far the deepest penetration into oceanic crust, Hole 504B had been feared lost when a large diamond bit and assorted hardware (“junk”) broke off in the bottom of the hole at the end of ODP Leg 111 in 1986. Since then ODP's drill ship, JOIDES Resolution, has circumnavigated the globe, with no opportunity to redress this situation. But the objective of deep penetration into the oceanic crust and the hole itself are considered so important by marine Earth scientists that remedial measures in Hole 504B were undertaken as soon as the drill ship returned to the eastern Pacific. These measures succeeded better than had been hoped. Hole 504B was reopened after less than a week of cleaning operations, which included grappling for the lost junk with tools to pull it from the hole (called “fishing”) and grinding or milling the junk away.

Permeability in fractured rocks from deep geothermal boreholes in the Upper Rhine Graben

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidal, Jeanne; Whitechurch, Hubert; Genter, Albert; Schmittbuhl, Jean; Baujard, Clément

2015-04-01

Permeability in fractured rocks from deep geothermal boreholes in the Upper Rhine Graben Vidal J.1, Whitechurch H.1, Genter A.2, Schmittbuhl J.1, Baujard C.2 1 EOST, Université de Strasbourg 2 ES-Géothermie, Strasbourg The thermal regime of the Upper Rhine Graben (URG) is characterized by a series of geothermal anomalies on its French part near Soultz-sous-Forêts, Rittershoffen and in the surrounding area of Strasbourg. Sedimentary formations of these areas host oil field widely exploited in the past which exhibit exceptionally high temperature gradients. Thus, geothermal anomalies are superimposed to the oil fields which are interpreted as natural brine advection occurring inside a nearly vertical multi-scale fracture system cross-cutting both deep-seated Triassic sediments and Paleozoic crystalline basement. The sediments-basement interface is therefore very challenging for geothermal industry because most of the geothermal resource is trapped there within natural fractures. Several deep geothermal projects exploit local geothermal energy to use the heat or produce electricity and thus target permeable fractured rocks at this interface. In 1980, a geothermal exploration well was drilled close to Strasbourg down to the Permian sediments at 3220 m depth. Bottom hole temperature was estimated to 148°C but the natural flow rate was too low for an economic profitability (<7 L/s). Petrophysics and reservoir investigations based on core analysis revealed a low matrix porosity with fracture zones spatially isolated and sealed in the sandstone formations. Any stimulation operation was planned and the project was abandoned. The Soultz-sous-Forêts project, initiated in 1986, explored during more than 30 years the experimental geothermal site by drilling five boreholes, three of which extend to 5 km depth. They identified a temperature of 200° C at 5 km depth in the granitic basement but with a variable flow rate. Hydraulic and chemical stimulation operations were applied in order to increase the initial low permeability by reactivating and dissolving sealed fractures in basement. The productivity was considerably improved and allows geothermal exploitation at 165° C and 20 L/s. Recent studies revealed the occurrences of permeable fractures in the limestones of Muschelkalk and the sandstones of Buntsandstein also. For the ongoing project at Rittershoffen, two deep boreholes, drilled down to 2.7 km depth target a reservoir in the sandstones of Buntsandstein and in the granitic basement interface. The thermal, hydraulic and chemical stimulations of the first well lead the project to an economic profitability with a temperature of 170° C and an industrial flow rate of 70 L/s. The deep sedimentary cover and the top of the granitic basement are the main target of the geothermal project in the URG. Permeability of fractured rocks after drilling operations or stimulation operations demonstrates the viability of French industrial deep geothermal projects in the URG was also confirmed by several geothermal projects in Germany that target the similar sediments-basement interface (Landau and Insheim) or the deep Triassic sediments (Bruchsal and Brühl). In France, future geothermal projects are planned in particular in Strasbourg suburb to exploit the permeability of deep-seated fractured sediment-basement interface.

Giddings Austin chalk enters deep lean-gas phase

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moritis, G.

1995-12-25

Deep lean gas is the latest phase in the growth of the Giddings field Austin chalk play. The first phase involved drilling vertical oil and gas wells. Next came the horizontal well boom in the shallower Austin chalk area, which is still continuing. And now this third phase places horizontal laterals in the Austen chalk at about 14,000--15,000 ft to produce lean gas. The article describes the producing wells and gas gathering.

Evidence for thermal convection in the deep carbonate aquifer of the eastern sector of the Po Plain, Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasquale, V.; Chiozzi, P.; Verdoya, M.

2013-05-01

Temperatures recorded in wells as deep as 6 km drilled for hydrocarbon prospecting were used together with geological information to depict the thermal regime of the sedimentary sequence of the eastern sector of the Po Plain. After correction for drilling disturbance, temperature data were analyzed through an inversion technique based on a laterally constant thermal gradient model. The obtained thermal gradient is quite low within the deep carbonate unit (14 mK m- 1), while it is larger (53 mK m- 1) in the overlying impermeable formations. In the uppermost sedimentary layers, the thermal gradient is close to the regional average (21 mK m- 1). We argue that such a vertical change cannot be ascribed to thermal conductivity variation within the sedimentary sequence, but to deep groundwater flow. Since the hydrogeological characteristics (including litho-stratigraphic sequence and structural setting) hardly permit forced convection, we suggest that thermal convection might occur within the deep carbonate aquifer. The potential of this mechanism was evaluated by means of the Rayleigh number analysis. It turned out that permeability required for convection to occur must be larger than 3 10- 15 m2. The average over-heat ratio is 0.45. The lateral variation of hydrothermal regime was tested by using temperature data representing the aquifer thermal conditions. We found that thermal convection might be more developed and variable at the Ferrara High and its surroundings, where widespread fracturing may have increased permeability.

Special Issue on Earth Science: The View From '76

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geotimes, 1976

1976-01-01

Presents the latest developments concerning the following topics: astrogeology, coal, deep sea drilling project, engineering geology; environmental geology, exploration geophysics, geochemistry, geodynamics project, hydrology, industrial minerals, international geology, mapping, mathematical geology, metals, mineralogy, oil and gas, invertebrate…

Theoretical prediction of the ionization energies of the C4H7 radicals: 1-methylallyl, 2-methylallyl, cyclopropylmethyl, and cyclobutyl radicals.

PubMed

Lau, Kai-Chung; Zheng, Wenxu; Wong, Ning-Bew; Li, Wai-Kee

2007-10-21

The ionization energies (IEs) for the 1-methylallyl, 2-methylallyl, cyclopropylmethyl, and cyclobutyl radicals have been calculated by the wave function based ab initio CCSD(T)/CBS approach, which involves the approximation to the complete basis set (CBS) limit at the coupled cluster level with single and double excitations plus quasiperturbative triple excitation [CCSD(T)]. The zero-point vibrational energy correction, the core-valence electronic correction, and the scalar relativistic effect correction are included in these calculations. The present CCSD(T)/CBS results are then compared with the IEs determined in the photoelectron experiment by Schultz et al. [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 106, 7336 (1984)] The predicted IE value (7.881 eV) of 2-methylallyl radical is found to compare very favorably with the experimental value of 7.90+/-0.02 eV. Two ionization transitions for cis-1-methylallyl and trans-1-methylallyl radicals have been considered here. The comparison between the predicted IE values and the previous measurements shows that the photoelectron peak observed by Schultz et al. likely corresponds to the adiabatic ionization transition for the trans-1-methylallyl radical to form trans-1-methylallyl cation. Although a precise IE value for the cyclopropylmethyl radical has not been directly determined, the experimental value deduced indirectly using other known energetic data is found to be in good accord with the present CCSD(T)/CBS prediction. We expect that the Franck-Condon factor for ionization transition of c-C4H7-->bicyclobutonium is much less favorable than that for ionization transition of c-C4H7-->planar-C4H7+, and the observed IE in the previous photoelectron experiment is likely due to the ionization transition for c-C4H7-->planar-C4H7+. Based on our CCSD(T)/CBS prediction, the ionization transition of c-C4H7-->bicyclobutonium with an IE value around 6.92 eV should be taken as the adiabatic ionization transition for the cyclobutyl radical. The present study provides support for the conclusion that the CCSD(T)/CBS approach with high-level energetic corrections can be used to provide reliable IE predictions for C4 hydrocarbon radicals with an uncertainty of +/-22 meV. The CCSD(T)/CBS predictions to the heats of formation for the aforementioned radicals and cations are also presented.

Approximations to complete basis set-extrapolated, highly correlated non-covalent interaction energies.

PubMed

Mackie, Iain D; DiLabio, Gino A

2011-10-07

The first-principles calculation of non-covalent (particularly dispersion) interactions between molecules is a considerable challenge. In this work we studied the binding energies for ten small non-covalently bonded dimers with several combinations of correlation methods (MP2, coupled-cluster single double, coupled-cluster single double (triple) (CCSD(T))), correlation-consistent basis sets (aug-cc-pVXZ, X = D, T, Q), two-point complete basis set energy extrapolations, and counterpoise corrections. For this work, complete basis set results were estimated from averaged counterpoise and non-counterpoise-corrected CCSD(T) binding energies obtained from extrapolations with aug-cc-pVQZ and aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets. It is demonstrated that, in almost all cases, binding energies converge more rapidly to the basis set limit by averaging the counterpoise and non-counterpoise corrected values than by using either counterpoise or non-counterpoise methods alone. Examination of the effect of basis set size and electron correlation shows that the triples contribution to the CCSD(T) binding energies is fairly constant with the basis set size, with a slight underestimation with CCSD(T)∕aug-cc-pVDZ compared to the value at the (estimated) complete basis set limit, and that contributions to the binding energies obtained by MP2 generally overestimate the analogous CCSD(T) contributions. Taking these factors together, we conclude that the binding energies for non-covalently bonded systems can be accurately determined using a composite method that combines CCSD(T)∕aug-cc-pVDZ with energy corrections obtained using basis set extrapolated MP2 (utilizing aug-cc-pVQZ and aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets), if all of the components are obtained by averaging the counterpoise and non-counterpoise energies. With such an approach, binding energies for the set of ten dimers are predicted with a mean absolute deviation of 0.02 kcal/mol, a maximum absolute deviation of 0.05 kcal/mol, and a mean percent absolute deviation of only 1.7%, relative to the (estimated) complete basis set CCSD(T) results. Use of this composite approach to an additional set of eight dimers gave binding energies to within 1% of previously published high-level data. It is also shown that binding within parallel and parallel-crossed conformations of naphthalene dimer is predicted by the composite approach to be 9% greater than that previously reported in the literature. The ability of some recently developed dispersion-corrected density-functional theory methods to predict the binding energies of the set of ten small dimers was also examined. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Project DAFNE - Drilling Active Faults in Northern Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kukkonen, I. T.; Ask, M. S. V.; Olesen, O.

2012-04-01

We are currently developing a new ICDP project 'Drillling Active Faults in Northern Europe' (DAFNE) which aims at investigating, via scientific drilling, the tectonic and structural characteristics of postglacial (PG) faults in northern Fennoscandia, including their hydrogeology and associated deep biosphere [1, 2]. During the last stages of the Weichselian glaciation (ca. 9,000 - 15,000 years B.P.), reduced ice load and glacially affected stress field resulted in active faulting in Fennoscandia with fault scarps up to 160 km long and 30 m high. These postglacial (PG) faults are usually SE dipping, SW-NE oriented thrusts, and represent reactivated, pre-existing crustal discontinuities. Postglacial faulting indicates that the glacio-isostatic compensation is not only a gradual viscoelastic phenomenon, but includes also unexpected violent earthquakes, suggestively larger than other known earthquakes in stable continental regions. The research is anticipated to advance science in neotectonics, hydrogeology and deep biosphere studies, and provide important information for nuclear waste and CO2 disposal, petroleum exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf and studies of mineral resources in PG fault areas. We expect that multidisciplinary research applying shallow and deep drilling of postglacial faults would provide significant scientific results through generating new data and models, namely: (1) Understanding PG fault genesis and controls of their locations; (2) Deep structure and depth extent of PG faults; (3) Textural, mineralogical and physical alteration of rocks in the PG faults; (4) State of stress and estimates of paleostress of PG faults; (5) Hydrogeology, hydrochemistry and hydraulic properties of PG faults; (6) Dating of tectonic reactivation(s) and temporal evolution of tectonic systems hosting PG faults; (7) Existence/non-existence of deep biosphere in PG faults; (8) Data useful for planning radioactive waste disposal in crystalline bedrock; (9) Data on rock stress changes in the periphery of the inland ice; (10) Stress pattern along the Norwegian continental margin in relation to the bending spreading ridge and Plio-Pleistocene erosion, uplift and sedimentation with implications for fluid migration and sealing properties of petroleum reservoirs. (11) Data useful in predicting future seismic activity in areas of current deglaciation due to ongoing climatic warming.

Geology and stratigraphy of the San Lorenzo Tezonco deep well and its correlation to surrounding ranges, Mexico Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arce, J. L.; Layer, P. W.; Morales-Casique, E.; Benowitz, J.

2014-12-01

The San Lorenzo Tezonco deep well stratigraphy records intense episodic volcanic activity in the Mexico Basin and surroundings during the past 20 Ma. The 2008-m deep lithological column is dominated by volcanic material, either as lava flows or pyroclastic deposits (97%), and only the upper most 70 m are composed of lacustrine deposits (3%). Based on geochronology and geochemistry, the lower part of the drill core is represented by rocks correlating to the Tepoztlán Formation (876-2008 m deep) that vary in composition from basaltic-andesite to rhyolite, and ages ranging from 13 to 21.2 Ma. On the surface this formation outcrops near the towns of Malinalco and Tepoztlán, ~43 km south of the deep well. Between depths of 581 and 875 m, volcanic rocks were recovered and are interpreted as lavas from the Sierra de las Cruces that vary in composition from andesite to dacite and range in age from 0.9 Ma to 5 Ma. Additionally, we documented rocks belonging to the Xochitepec Formation, outcropping around Xochimilco, in the Mexico City, with ages ranging from 1.2 and 1.7 Ma, in contrast with the Oligocene age proposed in previous works for these rocks. These new ages plus the chemical composition data, allow us to correlate the Xochitepec rocks with Sierra de las Cruces. Upward in the drill core (510-580 m) there are andesitic rocks that correlate with the 0.25 Ma Cerro de la Estrella volcanic center. The last volcanic package found in the well is correlated to the Santa Catarina basaltic andesites (70-120 m) that are younger than 0.25 Ma, and probably Holocene. Lacustrine deposits crown the stratigraphic column of the drill core with ages probably younger than 34 ka. The San Lorenzo Tezonco well is in a graben-like structure that was filled with more than 1900 m of volcanic products, suggesting that volcanism were intense in the Miocene to the Recent, and the south drainage of the Mexico Basin was closed probably in the early Pleistocene.

Keeping Research Data from the Continental Deep Drilling Programme (KTB) Accessible and Taking First Steps Towards Digital Preservation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klump, J. F.; Ulbricht, D.; Conze, R.

2014-12-01

The Continental Deep Drilling Programme (KTB) was a scientific drilling project from 1987 to 1995 near Windischeschenbach, Bavaria. The main super-deep borehole reached a depth of 9,101 meters into the Earth's continental crust. The project used the most current equipment for data capture and processing. After the end of the project key data were disseminated through the web portal of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP). The scientific reports were published as printed volumes. As similar projects have also experienced, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain a data portal over a long time. Changes in software and underlying hardware make a migration of the entire system inevitable. Around 2009 the data presented on the ICDP web portal were migrated to the Scientific Drilling Database (SDDB) and published through DataCite using Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) as persistent identifiers. The SDDB portal used a relational database with a complex data model to store data and metadata. A PHP-based Content Management System with custom modifications made it possible to navigate and browse datasets using the metadata and then download datasets. The data repository software eSciDoc allows storing self-contained packages consistent with the OAIS reference model. Each package consists of binary data files and XML-metadata. Using a REST-API the packages can be stored in the eSciDoc repository and can be searched using the XML-metadata. During the last maintenance cycle of the SDDB the data and metadata were migrated into the eSciDoc repository. Discovery metadata was generated following the GCMD-DIF, ISO19115 and DataCite schemas. The eSciDoc repository allows to store an arbitrary number of XML-metadata records with each data object. In addition to descriptive metadata each data object may contain pointers to related materials, such as IGSN-metadata to link datasets to physical specimens, or identifiers of literature interpreting the data. Datasets are presented by XSLT-stylesheet transformation using the stored metadata. The presentation shows several migration cycles of data and metadata, which were driven by aging software systems. Currently the datasets reside as self-contained entities in a repository system that is ready for digital preservation.

Ocean Drilling Program Contributions to the Understanding of the Deep Subsurface Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fisk, M. R.

2003-12-01

Tantalizing evidence for microbes in oceanic basalts has been reported for a few decades, but it was from rocks cored on Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 148 in 1993 that the first clear-cut evidence of microbial invasion of ocean basalts was obtained. (Work on ODP legs, starting with Leg 112 in 1986, had already revealed the presence of significant microbial biomass in sediments.) In 1997 ODP created the Deep Biosphere Program Planning Group to promote the investigation of the microbiology of the ocean crust. In 1999 ODP built a microbiology lab on the JOIDES Resolution, and used the lab that year (Legs 185 and 187) to test the amount of microbial contamination introduced into rocks during drilling and to establish cultures from cored basalts. These experiments have been repeated on several legs since then. The development of CORKs has permitted long-term sampling of subseafloor fluids, and microorganisms have been recovered from CORKed holes. Thus, ODP made it possible for the scientific community to address major questions about the biology of the igneous crust, such as, (1) What microbes are present? (2) How abundant are they? (3) How are they distributed? DNA from basalts and subseafloor fluids reveal what types of organisms are present. Cell abundance and biomass have been estimated based on cell counts and on organic content of basalts. Surveys of basalts in DSDP/ODP repositories indicate that microorganisms are ubiquitous in the igneous crust. Microorganisms are found in rocks that are close to 100° C. They are found as deep as 1500 m below the sea floor, and in rocks as young as a few years and as old as 170 million years. Because of the vast size of the habitat, microorganism, even if present in small numbers, could be a significant fraction of the Earth's biomass. In a short time ODP contributed to advances in our understanding of the oceanic subsurface biosphere. Answers to other significant questions such as: (1) How do the microorganisms live?, (2) What impact do subsurface microorganisms have on the surface biosphere? (3) And, what roles do the subsurface biosphere play in element cycling? will be answered by future drilling. The International Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) is in the enviable position of providing support to address these key questions about the Earth's subsurface biosphere.

Methods for Using Ab Initio Potential Energy Surfaces in Studies of Gas-Phase Reactions of Energetic Molecules

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-20

including zero-point energy ( ZPE ) corrections, 43.21 kcal/mol and 50.46 kcal/mol, respectively. The decomposition initiated by trans-HONO elimination can...CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ level with ZPE corrections) of 47.00 kcal/mol and 48.27 kcal/mol, respectively. Thus, at the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ level, the ordering of

Simulation of circularly polarized luminescence spectra using coupled cluster theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McAlexander, Harley R.; Crawford, T. Daniel

2015-04-01

We report the first computations of circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) rotatory strengths at the equation-of-motion coupled cluster singles and doubles (EOM-CCSD) level of theory. Using a test set of eight chiral ketones, we compare both dipole and rotatory strengths for absorption (electronic circular dichroism) and emission to the results from time-dependent density-functional theory (TD-DFT) and available experimental data for both valence and Rydberg transitions. For two of the compounds, we obtained optimized geometries of the lowest several excited states using both EOM-CCSD and TD-DFT and determined that structures and EOM-CCSD transition properties obtained with each structure were sufficiently similar that TD-DFT optimizations were acceptable for the remaining test cases. Agreement between EOM-CCSD and the Becke three-parameter exchange function and Lee-Yang-Parr correlation functional (B3LYP) corrected using the Coulomb attenuating method (CAM-B3LYP) is typically good for most of the transitions, though agreement with the uncorrected B3LYP functional is significantly worse for all reported properties. The choice of length vs. velocity representation of the electric dipole operator has little impact on the EOM-CCSD transition strengths for nearly all of the states we examined. For a pair of closely related β, γ-enones, (1R)-7-methylenebicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-one and (1S)-2-methylenebicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-7-one, we find that EOM-CCSD and CAM-B3LYP agree with the energetic ordering of the two possible excited-state conformations, resulting in good agreement with experimental rotatory strengths in both absorption and emission, whereas B3LYP yields a qualitatively incorrect result for the CPL signal of (1S)-2-methylenebicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-7-one. Finally, we predict that one of the compounds considered here, trans-bicyclo[3.3.0]octane-3,7-dione, is unique in that it exhibits an achiral ground state and a chiral first excited state, leading to a strong CPL signal but a weak circular dichroism signal.

Simulation of circularly polarized luminescence spectra using coupled cluster theory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McAlexander, Harley R.; Crawford, T. Daniel, E-mail: crawdad@vt.edu

2015-04-21

We report the first computations of circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) rotatory strengths at the equation-of-motion coupled cluster singles and doubles (EOM-CCSD) level of theory. Using a test set of eight chiral ketones, we compare both dipole and rotatory strengths for absorption (electronic circular dichroism) and emission to the results from time-dependent density-functional theory (TD-DFT) and available experimental data for both valence and Rydberg transitions. For two of the compounds, we obtained optimized geometries of the lowest several excited states using both EOM-CCSD and TD-DFT and determined that structures and EOM-CCSD transition properties obtained with each structure were sufficiently similar thatmore » TD-DFT optimizations were acceptable for the remaining test cases. Agreement between EOM-CCSD and the Becke three-parameter exchange function and Lee-Yang-Parr correlation functional (B3LYP) corrected using the Coulomb attenuating method (CAM-B3LYP) is typically good for most of the transitions, though agreement with the uncorrected B3LYP functional is significantly worse for all reported properties. The choice of length vs. velocity representation of the electric dipole operator has little impact on the EOM-CCSD transition strengths for nearly all of the states we examined. For a pair of closely related β, γ-enones, (1R)-7-methylenebicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-one and (1S)-2-methylenebicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-7-one, we find that EOM-CCSD and CAM-B3LYP agree with the energetic ordering of the two possible excited-state conformations, resulting in good agreement with experimental rotatory strengths in both absorption and emission, whereas B3LYP yields a qualitatively incorrect result for the CPL signal of (1S)-2-methylenebicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-7-one. Finally, we predict that one of the compounds considered here, trans-bicyclo[3.3.0]octane-3,7-dione, is unique in that it exhibits an achiral ground state and a chiral first excited state, leading to a strong CPL signal but a weak circular dichroism signal.« less

Conventional and Explicitly Correlated ab Initio Benchmark Study on Water Clusters: Revision of the BEGDB and WATER27 Data Sets.

PubMed

Manna, Debashree; Kesharwani, Manoj K; Sylvetsky, Nitai; Martin, Jan M L

2017-07-11

Benchmark ab initio energies for BEGDB and WATER27 data sets have been re-examined at the MP2 and CCSD(T) levels with both conventional and explicitly correlated (F12) approaches. The basis set convergence of both conventional and explicitly correlated methods has been investigated in detail, both with and without counterpoise corrections. For the MP2 and CCSD-MP2 contributions, rapid basis set convergence observed with explicitly correlated methods is compared to conventional methods. However, conventional, orbital-based calculations are preferred for the calculation of the (T) term, since it does not benefit from F12. CCSD(F12*) converges somewhat faster with the basis set than CCSD-F12b for the CCSD-MP2 term. The performance of various DFT methods is also evaluated for the BEGDB data set, and results show that Head-Gordon's ωB97X-V and ωB97M-V functionals outperform all other DFT functionals. Counterpoise-corrected DSD-PBEP86 and raw DSD-PBEPBE-NL also perform well and are close to MP2 results. In the WATER27 data set, the anionic (deprotonated) water clusters exhibit unacceptably slow basis set convergence with the regular cc-pVnZ-F12 basis sets, which have only diffuse s and p functions. To overcome this, we have constructed modified basis sets, denoted aug-cc-pVnZ-F12 or aVnZ-F12, which have been augmented with diffuse functions on the higher angular momenta. The calculated final dissociation energies of BEGDB and WATER27 data sets are available in the Supporting Information. Our best calculated dissociation energies can be reproduced through n-body expansion, provided one pushes to the basis set and electron correlation limit for the two-body term; for the three-body term, post-MP2 contributions (particularly CCSD-MP2) are important for capturing the three-body dispersion effects. Terms beyond four-body can be adequately captured at the MP2-F12 level.

Assessment of Orbital-Optimized MP2.5 for Thermochemistry and Kinetics: Dramatic Failures of Standard Perturbation Theory Approaches for Aromatic Bond Dissociation Energies and Barrier Heights of Radical Reactions.

PubMed

Soydaş, Emine; Bozkaya, Uğur

2015-04-14

An assessment of orbital-optimized MP2.5 (OMP2.5) [ Bozkaya, U.; Sherrill, C. D. J. Chem. Phys. 2014, 141, 204105 ] for thermochemistry and kinetics is presented. The OMP2.5 method is applied to closed- and open-shell reaction energies, barrier heights, and aromatic bond dissociation energies. The performance of OMP2.5 is compared with that of the MP2, OMP2, MP2.5, MP3, OMP3, CCSD, and CCSD(T) methods. For most of the test sets, the OMP2.5 method performs better than MP2.5 and CCSD, and provides accurate results. For barrier heights of radical reactions and aromatic bond dissociation energies OMP2.5-MP2.5, OMP2-MP2, and OMP3-MP3 differences become obvious. Especially, for aromatic bond dissociation energies, standard perturbation theory (MP) approaches dramatically fail, providing mean absolute errors (MAEs) of 22.5 (MP2), 17.7 (MP2.5), and 12.8 (MP3) kcal mol(-1), while the MAE values of the orbital-optimized counterparts are 2.7, 2.4, and 2.4 kcal mol(-1), respectively. Hence, there are 5-8-folds reductions in errors when optimized orbitals are employed. Our results demonstrate that standard MP approaches dramatically fail when the reference wave function suffers from the spin-contamination problem. On the other hand, the OMP2.5 method can reduce spin-contamination in the unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF) initial guess orbitals. For overall evaluation, we conclude that the OMP2.5 method is very helpful not only for challenging open-shell systems and transition-states but also for closed-shell molecules. Hence, one may prefer OMP2.5 over MP2.5 and CCSD as an O(N(6)) method, where N is the number of basis functions, for thermochemistry and kinetics. The cost of the OMP2.5 method is comparable with that of CCSD for energy computations. However, for analytic gradient computations, the OMP2.5 method is only half as expensive as CCSD.

Seismic Monitoring Prior to and During DFDP-2 Drilling, Alpine Fault, New Zealand: Matched-Filter Detection Testing and the Real-Time Monitoring System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boese, C. M.; Chamberlain, C. J.; Townend, J.

2015-12-01

In preparation for the second stage of the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP) and as part of related research projects, borehole and surface seismic stations were installed near the intended DFDP-2 drill-site in the Whataroa Valley from late 2008. The final four borehole stations were installed within 1.2 km of the drill-site in early 2013 to provide near-field observations of any seismicity that occurred during drilling and thus provide input into operational decision-making processes if required. The basis for making operational decisions in response to any detected seismicity had been established as part of a safety review conducted in early 2014 and was implemented using a "traffic light" system, a communications plan, and other operational documents. Continuous real-time earthquake monitoring took place throughout the drilling period, between September and late December 2014, and involved a team of up to 15 seismologists working in shifts near the drill-site and overseas. Prior to drilling, records from 55 local earthquakes and 14 quarry blasts were used as master templates in a matched-filter detection algorithm to test the capabilities of the seismic network for detecting seismicity near the drill site. The newly detected microseismicity was clustered near the DFDP-1 drill site at Gaunt Creek, 7.4 km southwest of DFDP-2. Relocations of these detected events provide more information about the fault geometry in this area. Although no detectable seismicity occurred within 5 km of the drill site during the drilling period, the region is capable of generating earthquakes that would have required an operational response had they occurred while drilling was underway (including a M2.9 event northwest of Gaunt Creek on 15 August 2014). The largest event to occur while drilling was underway was of M4.5 and occurred approximately 40 km east of the DFDP-2 drill site. In this presentation, we summarize the setup and operations of the seismic network and discuss key aspects of seismicity recorded prior to and during drilling operations.

The first microbiological contamination assessment by deep-sea drilling and coring by the D/V Chikyu at the Iheya North hydrothermal field in the Mid-Okinawa Trough (IODP Expedition 331)

PubMed Central

Yanagawa, Katsunori; Nunoura, Takuro; McAllister, Sean M.; Hirai, Miho; Breuker, Anja; Brandt, Leah; House, Christopher H.; Moyer, Craig L.; Birrien, Jean-Louis; Aoike, Kan; Sunamura, Michinari; Urabe, Tetsuro; Mottl, Michael J.; Takai, Ken

2013-01-01

During the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 331 at the Iheya North hydrothermal system in the Mid-Okinawa Trough by the D/V Chikyu, we conducted microbiological contamination tests of the drilling and coring operations. The contamination from the drilling mud fluids was assessed using both perfluorocarbon tracers (PFT) and fluorescent microsphere beads. PFT infiltration was detected from the periphery of almost all whole round cores (WRCs). By contrast, fluorescent microspheres were not detected in hydrothermally active core samples, possibly due to thermal decomposition of the microspheres under high-temperature conditions. Microbial contamination from drilling mud fluids to the core interior subsamples was further characterized by molecular-based evaluation. The microbial 16S rRNA gene phylotype compositions in the drilling mud fluids were mainly composed of sequences of Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes and not archaeal sequences. The phylotypes that displayed more than 97% similarity to the sequences obtained from the drilling mud fluids were defined as possible contaminants in this study and were detected as minor components of the bacterial phylotype compositions in 13 of 37 core samples. The degree of microbiological contamination was consistent with that determined by the PFT and/or microsphere assessments. This study suggests a constructive approach for evaluation and eliminating microbial contamination during riser-less drilling and coring operations by the D/V Chikyu. PMID:24265628

The first microbiological contamination assessment by deep-sea drilling and coring by the D/V Chikyu at the Iheya North hydrothermal field in the Mid-Okinawa Trough (IODP Expedition 331).

PubMed

Yanagawa, Katsunori; Nunoura, Takuro; McAllister, Sean M; Hirai, Miho; Breuker, Anja; Brandt, Leah; House, Christopher H; Moyer, Craig L; Birrien, Jean-Louis; Aoike, Kan; Sunamura, Michinari; Urabe, Tetsuro; Mottl, Michael J; Takai, Ken

2013-01-01

During the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 331 at the Iheya North hydrothermal system in the Mid-Okinawa Trough by the D/V Chikyu, we conducted microbiological contamination tests of the drilling and coring operations. The contamination from the drilling mud fluids was assessed using both perfluorocarbon tracers (PFT) and fluorescent microsphere beads. PFT infiltration was detected from the periphery of almost all whole round cores (WRCs). By contrast, fluorescent microspheres were not detected in hydrothermally active core samples, possibly due to thermal decomposition of the microspheres under high-temperature conditions. Microbial contamination from drilling mud fluids to the core interior subsamples was further characterized by molecular-based evaluation. The microbial 16S rRNA gene phylotype compositions in the drilling mud fluids were mainly composed of sequences of Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes and not archaeal sequences. The phylotypes that displayed more than 97% similarity to the sequences obtained from the drilling mud fluids were defined as possible contaminants in this study and were detected as minor components of the bacterial phylotype compositions in 13 of 37 core samples. The degree of microbiological contamination was consistent with that determined by the PFT and/or microsphere assessments. This study suggests a constructive approach for evaluation and eliminating microbial contamination during riser-less drilling and coring operations by the D/V Chikyu.

Summary: High Temperature Downhole Motor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Raymond, David W.

2017-10-01

Directional drilling can be used to enable multi-lateral completions from a single well pad to improve well productivity and decrease environmental impact. Downhole rotation is typically developed with a motor in the Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA) that develops drilling power (speed and torque) necessary to drive rock reduction mechanisms (i.e., the bit) apart from the rotation developed by the surface rig. Historically, wellbore deviation has been introduced by a “bent-sub,” located in the BHA, that introduces a small angular deviation, typically less than 3 degrees, to allow the bit to drill off-axis with orientation of the BHA controlled at themore » surface. The development of a high temperature downhole motor would allow reliable use of bent subs for geothermal directional drilling. Sandia National Laboratories is pursuing the development of a high temperature motor that will operate on either drilling fluid (water-based mud) or compressed air to enable drilling high temperature, high strength, fractured rock. The project consists of designing a power section based upon geothermal drilling requirements; modeling and analysis of potential solutions; and design, development and testing of prototype hardware to validate the concept. Drilling costs contribute substantially to geothermal electricity production costs. The present development will result in more reliable access to deep, hot geothermal resources and allow preferential wellbore trajectories to be achieved. This will enable development of geothermal wells with multi-lateral completions resulting in improved geothermal resource recovery, decreased environmental impact and enhanced well construction economics.« less

The Atlantis Bank Gabbro Massif, SW Indian Ridge: the Largest Know Exposure of the Lower Crust in the Oceans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dick, H. J.; Kvassnes, A. J.; Kinoshita, H.; MacLeod, C. J.; Robinson, P. T.

2017-12-01

Until the discovery of oceanic core complexes little was known and much inferred about the lower ocean crust at slow-spreading ridges. Their study shows the ocean crust isn't simply a uniform layer-cake of pillow lavas, sheeted dikes and gabbros, but is highly variable in thickness, composition and architecture, and even absent over large regions. The 660 km2 Atlantis Bank Gabbro Massif in the rift-mountains of the SW Indian Ridge flanking the Atlantis II Transform is the magmatic end member for ocean core complexes, and best approximates `average' slow-spread crust. Thus it has been a focus for drilling since its discovery in 1986, leading to the current attempt to drill to Moho there (Project SloMo). There are 3 ODP and IODP drill holes on its crest: 1508-m deep Hole 735B, 158-m deep Hole 1105A, and 809.4-m deep Hole U1473. These provide a 200 Kyr view of lower crustal accretion at a slow-spread ocean ridge. Here we extend this view to 2.7 Myr. Mapping and sampling shows the gabbro massif extends nearly the length of a single 2nd order magmatic ridge segment. With numerous inliers of the dike-gabbro transition at numerous locations, and a crust-mantle boundary, traced for 30-km along the transform wall, it would appear to represent a full section of the lower crust. As Moho is at 5.5 ± 1 km mbsf near Hole 735B, and 4.5 km beneath the transform, it is likely a serpentinization front. The crust-mantle boundary was crossed by dives at 4 locations. In each case gabbros at the base of the crust crystallized from melt that had previously fractionated 50% or more from a likely parent. Thus the gabbro massif must be laterally zoned, and the parental mantle melts had to have been emplaced at the center of the paleo-ridge segment, before intruding laterally to the distal end of the complex. Gabbros on a lithospheric flow line down the center of the massif closely resemble those from the drill holes. This shows that while lateral variations in crustal composition and thickness exist at Atlantis Bank, we can extend the conclusions derived from drilling at Hole U1473 that there is a continuum of accretionary magmatic and tectonic processes for 2.7 Myr, and a centrally located deep hole through the lower crust and mantle there will likely be representative of the 660-km2 Atlantis Bank gabbro massif as a whole.

Extreme Dead Sea drying event during the last interglacial from the ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drill Core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldstein, S.; Stein, M.; Ben-Avraham, Z.; Agnon, A.; Ariztegui, D.; Brauer, A.; Haug, G.; Ito, E.; Kitagawa, H.; Torfstein, A.; Yasuda, Y.

2012-04-01

The ICDP funded Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project (DSDDP) recovered the longest and most complete paleo-environmental record in the Middle East, drilling holes in a deep and a shallow site extending to ~450 meters. The Dead Sea expands during the glacials and contracts during interglacials, and the sediments are an archive of the evolving climatic conditions. During glacials the sediments comprise intervals of marl (aragonite, gypsum and detritus) and during interglacials they are salts and marls. We estimate that the deep site core spans ~200 kyr (to early MIS 7). A dramatic discovery is a ~40 cm interval of rounded pebbles at ~235 m below the lake floor, the only clean pebbly unit in the entire core. It appears to be a beach layer, near the deepest part of the Dead Sea, lying above ~35 meters of mainly salt. If it is a beach layer, it implies an almost complete dry-down of the paleo-Dead Sea. The pebble layer lies within the last interglacial interval. Our initial attempt to estimate the age of the possible dry down shows an intriguing correlation between the salt-mud stratigraphy of the Dead Sea core and the oxygen isotope record of Soreq Cave, whereby excursions to light oxygen in the speleothems correspond to periods of salt deposition. Through this comparison, we estimate that the dry down occurred during MIS 5e. The occurrence of ~35 meters of mainly salt along with the pebble layer demonstrates a severe dry interval during MIS 5. This observation has implications for the Middle East today, where the Dead Sea level is dropping as all the countries in the area use the runoff. GCM models indicate a more arid future in the region. The core shows that the runoff nearly stopped during a past warm period without human intervention.

Artificial Water Reservoir Triggered Earthquakes at Koyna, India: Completion of the 3 km deep Pilot Borehole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, H. K.; Tiwari, V. M.; Satyanarayana, H.; Roy, S.; Arora, K.; Patro, P. K.; Shashidhar, D.; Mallika, K.; Akkiraju, V.; Misra, S.; Goswami, D.; Podugu, N.; Mishra, S.

2017-12-01

Koyna, near the west coast of India is the most prominent site of artificial water reservoir triggered seismicity (RTS). Soon after the impoundment of the Koyna Dam in 1962, RTS was observed. It has continued till now. It includes the largest RTS earthquake M 6.3 on December 10, 1967; 22 M≥5.0, and thousands of smaller earthquakes. The entire earthquake activity is limited to an area of about 30 km x 20 km, with most focal depths being within 6 km. There is no other earthquake source within 50 km of the Koyna Dam. An ICDP Workshop held in March 2011 found Koyna to be the most suitable site to investigate reservoir- triggered seismicity (RTS) through deep drilling. Studies carried out in the preparatory phase since 2011 include airborne magnetic and gravity-gradient surveys, MT surveys, drilling of 9 boreholes going to depths of 1500 m and logging, heat flow measurements, seismological investigations including the deployment of six borehole seismometers, and LiDAR. The Second ICDP Workshop held during 16- 18 May 2014, reviewed the progress made and detailed planning of putting the borehole observatory was discussed. The site of a 3 km deep pilot borehole was debated and among the 5 possible location. Based on the seismic activity and logistics the location of the first Pilot Borehole has been finalized and the drilling started on the 21st December 2016. The 3000 m deep borehole was completed on 11th June 2017. The basement was touched at 1247 m depth and there were no sediments below basalt. Several zones with immense fluid losses were encountered. Geophysical Logging has been completed. Cores were recovered from 1269, 1892 and 2091 depths. The cores are 9 m long and with 4 inches diameter. The core recovery is almost 100%. In-situ stress measurements have been conducted at depths of 1600 m onwards.

Large scale magmatic event, magnetic anomalies and ore exploration in northern Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pastore, Z.; Church, N. S.; ter Maat, G. W.; Michels, A.; McEnroe, S. A.; Fichler, C.; Larsen, R. B.

2016-12-01

More than 17000 km3of igneous melts intruded into the deep crust at ca. 560-580 Ma and formed the Seiland Igneous Province (SIP), the largest complex of mafic and ultramafic intrusions in northern Fennoscandia. The original emplacement of the SIP is matter of current discussion. The SIP is now located within the Kalak Nappe Complex (KNC), a part of the Middle Allochthon of the North Norwegian Caledonides. The province is believed to represent a cross section of the deep plumbing system of a large igneous province and it is known for its layered intrusions sharing geological features with large ore-forming exploration provinces. In this study we investigate one of the four major ultramafic complexes of the province, the Reinfjord Complex. This was emplaced during three magmatic events in a time span of 4 Ma, and consists in a cylindrically zoned complex with a slightly younger dunite core (Central Series) surrounded by wehrlite and lherzolite dominated series (Upper and Lower Layered Series). Sulphides are present throughout the complex, and an electromagnetic survey identified a Ni-Cu-and a PGE reef deposit within the dunite, 100 meters below the surface. This discovery increased the ore potential of the complex and subsequently 4 deep drill cores were made. High-resolution magnetic helicopter survey was later followed up with ground magnetic and gravity surveys. Extensive sampling of surface rocks and drill cores were made to measure the rock-magnetic and physical properties of the samples and to explore the subsurface structure of the complex. Here, we developed a magnetic model for the Reinfjord complex integrating petrophysical data from both oriented surface samples and from the deep drill cores, with the new ground magnetic, and helicopter data (SkyTEM survey). A 3D model of the geometry of the ultramafic intrusion is presented and a refinement of the geological interpretation of the Reinfjord ultramafic intrusion.

Michrohole Arrays Drilled with Advanced Abrasive Slurry Jet Technology to Efficiently Exploit Enhanced Geothermal Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oglesby, Kenneth; Finsterle, Stefan; Zhang, Yingqi

2014-03-12

This project had two major areas of research for Engineered/ Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) development - 1) study the potential benefits from using microholes (i.e., bores with diameters less than 10.16 centimeters/ 4 inches) and 2) study FLASH ASJ to drill/ install those microbores between a well and a fracture system. This included the methods and benefits of drilling vertical microholes for exploring the EGS reservoir and for installing multiple (forming an array of) laterals/ directional microholes for creating the in-reservoir heat exchange flow paths. Significant benefit was found in utilizing small microbore sized connecting bores for EGS efficiency andmore » project life. FLASH ASJ was deemed too complicated to optimally work in such deep reservoirs at this time.« less

Exploration Criteria for Low Permeability Geothermal Resources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Norton, D

1977-03-01

The decision to drill deep holes in a prospective geothermal system implies that geothermal energy resources exist at depth. The drill hole location and budget result from hypothesis regarding the location and depth of the resource within the overall system. Although operational decisions normally dictate the practicality of drilling, the characteristics, we must first understand how unique various surface or shallow subsurface data are in assessing the nature of the resource. The following progress report summarizes the results of numerical simulations of heat and mass transport around igneous plutons and the synthesis of geologic data. To date, the results ofmore » the study describe the transient nature of thermal resources and the ambiguities which must be accounted for in using current technology to assess the nation's geothermal resources. [DJE-2005]« less

Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides (COSC): Scientific objectives for the planned 2.5 km deep COSC-2 borehole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juhlin, Christopher; Anderson, Mark; Dopson, Mark; Lorenz, Henning; Pascal, Christophe; Piazolo, Sandra; Roberts, Nick; Rosberg, Jan-Erik; Tsang, Chin-Fu

2016-04-01

The Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides (COSC) scientific drilling project employs two fully cored boreholes for investigating mountain building processes at mid-crustal levels in a deeply eroded Paleozoic collisional orogen of Alpine-Himalayan size. The two COSC boreholes will provide a unique c. 5 km deep composite section from a hot allochthon through the underlying 'colder' nappes, the main décollement and into the basement of the collisional underriding plate. COSC's unprecedented wealth of geophysical field and borehole data combined with the petrology, geochronology and rock physics information obtained from the drill cores will develop into an integrated model for a major collisional mountain belt. This can be utilized as an analogue to better understand similar modern tectonic settings (Himalaya, Izu-Bonin-Mariana, amongst others) and, thus, advance our understanding of such complex systems and how they affect the (human) environment. COSC investigations and drilling activities are focused in the Åre-Mörsil area (Sweden) of central Scandinavia. The first drill hole, COSC-1, was completed in late August 2014 with near 100% core recovery down to 2.5 km. It targeted the high-grade metamorphic Seve Nappe Complex (SNC) and its contact with the underlying allochthon, investigating how this metasedimentary unit, that was initially deeply subducted during orogeny, was exhumed and then, still hot, emplaced as an allochthon onto the foreland of the underriding plate. COSC-2 will investigate the main Caledonian décollement, which is the major detachment that separates the Caledonian allochthons from the autochthonous basement of the Fennoscandian Shield, and the character of the deformation in the basement. Combined seismic, magnetotelluric (MT) and magnetic data provide control on the basement structure and the depth to the main décollement, believed to be hosted in the carbon-rich highly conductive Alum Shale. Key targets are to understand the geometry, stress distribution and rheology of the main décollement and associated fault systems in the foreland of one of the Earth's largest orogens, and to determine the relationship between the basement deformation and the thrust tectonics in the nappes above. COSC-2 will provide insights into the evolution of Baltica near the Ordovician-Silurian boundary by providing a new, distal section from the Early Paleozoic sedimentary basin. High-quality, high-resolution temperature profiles will allow the reconstruction of the ground surface temperature history and its variations for up to 100000 years and gather new knowledge about the Weichselian glaciation and climate evolution in northern Europe during the Holocene, including industrial age trends. Furthermore, research will address the hydrogeological and geothermic characteristics of the mountain belt and investigate the geological energy sources utilized by the deep biosphere. The drilling program and on-site science will build on the experience from drilling COSC-1. Applications for drilling related costs have been made to ICDP and the Swedish Research Council and if funded, drilling can be performed in 2017 at the earliest. Researchers interested in any aspect of the COSC project are invited to join and provide parallel funding for drilling, on-site science, and studies on core and downhole geophysics.

Characteristics of the Arcing Plasma Formation Effect in Spark-Assisted Chemical Engraving of Glass, Based on Machine Vision

PubMed Central

Wu, Dung-Sheng

2018-01-01

Spark-assisted chemical engraving (SACE) is a non-traditional machining technology that is used to machine electrically non-conducting materials including glass, ceramics, and quartz. The processing accuracy, machining efficiency, and reproducibility are the key factors in the SACE process. In the present study, a machine vision method is applied to monitor and estimate the status of a SACE-drilled hole in quartz glass. During the machining of quartz glass, the spring-fed tool electrode was pre-pressured on the quartz glass surface to feed the electrode that was in contact with the machining surface of the quartz glass. In situ image acquisition and analysis of the SACE drilling processes were used to analyze the captured image of the state of the spark discharge at the tip and sidewall of the electrode. The results indicated an association between the accumulative size of the SACE-induced spark area and deepness of the hole. The results indicated that the evaluated depths of the SACE-machined holes were a proportional function of the accumulative spark size with a high degree of correlation. The study proposes an innovative computer vision-based method to estimate the deepness and status of SACE-drilled holes in real time. PMID:29565303

Characteristics of the Arcing Plasma Formation Effect in Spark-Assisted Chemical Engraving of Glass, Based on Machine Vision.

PubMed

Ho, Chao-Ching; Wu, Dung-Sheng

2018-03-22

Spark-assisted chemical engraving (SACE) is a non-traditional machining technology that is used to machine electrically non-conducting materials including glass, ceramics, and quartz. The processing accuracy, machining efficiency, and reproducibility are the key factors in the SACE process. In the present study, a machine vision method is applied to monitor and estimate the status of a SACE-drilled hole in quartz glass. During the machining of quartz glass, the spring-fed tool electrode was pre-pressured on the quartz glass surface to feed the electrode that was in contact with the machining surface of the quartz glass. In situ image acquisition and analysis of the SACE drilling processes were used to analyze the captured image of the state of the spark discharge at the tip and sidewall of the electrode. The results indicated an association between the accumulative size of the SACE-induced spark area and deepness of the hole. The results indicated that the evaluated depths of the SACE-machined holes were a proportional function of the accumulative spark size with a high degree of correlation. The study proposes an innovative computer vision-based method to estimate the deepness and status of SACE-drilled holes in real time.

Characterizing structures on borehole images and logging data of the Nankai trough accretionary prism: new insights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jurado, Maria Jose

2016-04-01

IODP has extensively used the D/V Chikyu to drill the Kumano portion of the Nankai Trough, including two well sites within the Kumano Basin. IODP Expeditions 338 and 348 drilled deep into the inner accretionary prism south of the Kii Peninsula collecting a suite of LWD data, including natural gamma ray, electrical resistivity logs and borehole images, suitable to characterize structures (fractures and faults) inside the accretionary prism. Structural interpretation and analysis of logging-while-drilling data in the deep inner prism revealed intense deformation of a generally homogenous lithology characterized by bedding that dips steeply (60-90°) to the NW, intersected by faults and fractures. Multiple phases of deformation are characterized. IODP Expedition borehole images and LWD data acquired in the last decade in previous and results of NantroSEIZE IODP Expeditions (314, 319) were also analyzed to investigate the internal geometries and structures of the Nankai Trough accretionary prism. This study focused mainly on the characterization of the different types of structures and their specific position within the accretionary prism structures. New structural constraints and methodologies as well as a new approach to the characterization of study of active structures inside the prism will be presented.

Drilling through the Messinian evaporites: the beginning of a new adventure?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bassetti, M. A.; Lofi, J.

2009-04-01

The sensitivity of past environments tell us a lot about the nature of changes, either of climatic or geodynamic origin. In this respect, the Mediterranean basin represents the ideal natural laboratory for studying the interaction between deep processes, tectonics, sedimentary fluxes and sea-level oscillation that are at the origin of the sedimentary records. A spectacular example of reactivity of this system have been experienced less than 6 Myrs ago, when the pan-Mediterranean realm underwent rapid and abrupt changes of paleo-environmental parameters that led to the well known Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC, Hsü et al., 1973). This short-term event at the geological scale (~5.96-5.32 Ma) results from the progressive closure of the two-way connection between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The most important characteristics of this event are: (1) a reduction of the Atlantic water supply having as a consequence, an increased salinity and in the precipitation of thick evaporites within shallow water marginal basins (presently disconnected from the deep basins); (2) a subsequent major sea-level fall exceeding 2000 m and resulting in the massive erosion of the margins and the development of deep subaerial canyons; (3) the accumulation of the product of the erosion in the downslope domain of the margins; (4) the deposition of thick evaporites (up to 3000 m thick) above the deep Mediterranean abyssal plains and (5) and a very rapid refilling of the Mediterranean basin during the Latest Miocene/Lower Pliocene, following the re-connection between Atlantic and Mediterranean through the Gibraltar straight. Timing, causes and chronology of the MSC are not yet fully understood, but different scenarii have been proposed to explain in details the modalities of this catastrophic event. Certainly, the ongoing discussion about not fully conclusive interpretations are mainly linked to the fact that so far, only the deepest and buried Mediterranean basins might offer the most complete sequence from the Messinian to the Quaternary. Anywhere else, the MSC mostly generated a sedimentary/time lag corresponding to a widespread erosion surface extending from onshore down to the lower slopes of the margins. Onland, Messinian outcrops (e.g. Morocco, Cyprus, Spain, Italy…) are all incomplete and pre-date the drawdown phase and/or are tectonically/geometrically disconnected from the deep basin sequence. Correlations with the offshore depositional units are thus complex, preventing the construction of a coherent scenario of the MSC linking the outcropping evaporites, the erosion of the margins, and the deposition of clastics and deep evaporites in the abyssal plains. The discovery of the Messinian evaporites in the Mediterranenan is probably one of the major achievements of the DSDP program. Unfortunately, the Joides Resolution never drilled through evaporites because of technical impossibility (non-riser drilling vessel). Only the upper few meters of the pinch out of the deep basin sequence has been recovered. Thus, all hypothesis are based on onland outcropping evaporites and offshore seismic data interpretations. Improved quality of seismic data allowed some important advances in the recognition and understanding of Messinian markers (erosion surfaces, depositional units and bounding surfaces) but without the recovery of the full succession, all interpretations lack lithological and stratigraphical calibrations. At present, several basic questions are still open: - What are the true nature of the deep basin depositional units? What are their ages and chronologies? - What was the water depth before, during and after halite deposition in the deep basin? Did the basin(s) completely dried out? What are the associated amplitude and dynamics of the base-level changes? - Did the desiccation impact the regional climate and river run-off? What about climatic variability during the drawdown phase? - What was the balance between erosion and sedimentation during the crisis? What are the vertical movements (tectonic/isostatic responses) associated to margin unloading and basin loading? - What are the present-day fluid dynamics related to the salt layer? Their impact on the deep biosphere? The response to all of these questions would only come from drilling through the complete Messinian succession. It would represent an outstanding opportunity to unravel the history of extreme environmental changes during the Messinian and a unique chance to constrain the age, nature and paleo-environment of deposition of the deep-basin Messinian sequence. For that reason, in the framework of the IODP drilling program, we propose to sample and log two different sites in the western and eastern Mediterranean basins, with the new scientific riser drillship Chikyu perfectly adapted to overcome all safety problems. In order to promote a continuous sedimentary record of the MSC since the pre-crisis paleo-environmental changes, the sites should be drilled in areas where the Messinian salt is tabular and exempted of significant tectonic influence. A complete set of integrated studies (sedimentology, geochemistry, micropaleontology, bio-and cyclostratigraphy) should be carried out. This project opens the perspective of a new intellectual and scientific adventure that we expect to be as rich and exciting as the discovery of this unusual event was.

Three- and four-body nonadditivities in nucleic acid tetramers: a CCSD(T) study.

PubMed

Pitonák, M; Neogrády, P; Hobza, P

2010-02-14

Three- and four-body nonadditivities in the uracil tetramer (in DNA-like geometry) and the GC step (in crystal geometry) were investigated at various levels of the wave-function theory: HF, MP2, MP3, L-CCD, CCSD and CCSD(T). All of the calculations were performed using the 6-31G**(0.25,0.15) basis set, whereas the HF, MP2 and the MP3 nonadditivities were, for the sake of comparison, also determined with the much larger aug-cc-pVDZ basis set. The HF and MP2 levels do not provide reliable values for many-body terms, making it necessary to go beyond the MP2 level. The benchmark CCSD(T) three- and four-body nonadditivities are reasonably well reproduced at the MP3 level, and almost quantitative agreement is obtained (fortuitously) either on the L-CCD level or as an average of the MP3 and the CCSD results. Reliable values of many-body terms (especially their higher-order correlation contributions) are obtained already when the rather small 6-31G**(0.25,0.15) basis set is used. The four-body term is much smaller when compared to the three-body terms, but it is definitely not negligible, e.g. in the case of the GC step it represents about 16% of all of the three- and four-body terms. While investigating the geometry dependence of many-body terms for the GG step at the MP3/6-31G**(0.25,0.15) level, we found that it is necessary to include at least three-body terms in the determination of optimal geometry parameters.

Providing theoretical data for detection of four formamidic acid isomers in astrophysical media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vichietti, R. M.; da Silva, A. B. F.; Haiduke, R. L. A.

2018-03-01

We present a theoretical study, so that molecular data (geometrical parameters, vibrational frequencies, infrared intensities, electronic energies, enthalpies, and Gibbs energies) of four formamidic acid (FA) isomers (labeled here as FA1, FA2, FA3, and FA4) and formamide (HCONH2) are obtained from CCSD/cc-pVTZ, CCSD/aug-cc-pVTZ, CCSD/cc-pVQZ, and CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ calculations. Furthermore, on the basis of insufficient or even lacking theoretical and experimental results in the literature, we employed the aforementioned theory levels to determine benchmark values of dipole moments and rotational constants for these four FA isomers in order to contribute for their detection in astrophysical environments. Besides, we provide for the first time data about forward and reverse rate constants (200-4000 K) and Arrhenius' parameters for each interconversion reaction between pairs of FA isomers as well as for the tautomeric process involving FA4 and formamide, which were calculated from a Complete Basis Set (CBS) extrapolation equation obtained at CCSD/cc-pVTZ optimized geometries. Our kinetic analysis indicated a faster interconversion between the FA structures in comparison with the FA4 ↔ HCONH2 process, suggesting that these isomers could co-exist in astrophysical media. Finally, we estimated that these isomers may be detected with relative abundances, [FAx]/[HCONH2] (x = 1, 2, 3, and 4), between ∼0.01 and ∼0.1% in astrophysical sources at chemical equilibrium conditions and temperatures around 1000 K. However, these ratios can become as high as ∼1, ∼3, and ∼5%, respectively, in hotter regions with temperatures around 2000, 3000, and 4000 K (expected, for example, in massive star-forming regions).

An expanded calibration study of the explicitly correlated CCSD(T)-F12b method using large basis set standard CCSD(T) atomization energies.

PubMed

Feller, David; Peterson, Kirk A

2013-08-28

The effectiveness of the recently developed, explicitly correlated coupled cluster method CCSD(T)-F12b is examined in terms of its ability to reproduce atomization energies derived from complete basis set extrapolations of standard CCSD(T). Most of the standard method findings were obtained with aug-cc-pV7Z or aug-cc-pV8Z basis sets. For a few homonuclear diatomic molecules it was possible to push the basis set to the aug-cc-pV9Z level. F12b calculations were performed with the cc-pVnZ-F12 (n = D, T, Q) basis set sequence and were also extrapolated to the basis set limit using a Schwenke-style, parameterized formula. A systematic bias was observed in the F12b method with the (VTZ-F12/VQZ-F12) basis set combination. This bias resulted in the underestimation of reference values associated with small molecules (valence correlation energies <0.5 E(h)) and an even larger overestimation of atomization energies for bigger systems. Consequently, caution should be exercised in the use of F12b for high accuracy studies. Root mean square and mean absolute deviation error metrics for this basis set combination were comparable to complete basis set values obtained with standard CCSD(T) and the aug-cc-pVDZ through aug-cc-pVQZ basis set sequence. However, the mean signed deviation was an order of magnitude larger. Problems partially due to basis set superposition error were identified with second row compounds which resulted in a weak performance for the smaller VDZ-F12/VTZ-F12 combination of basis sets.

Application of the CC(P;Q) Hierarchy of Coupled-Cluster Methods to the Beryllium Dimer.

PubMed

Magoulas, Ilias; Bauman, Nicholas P; Shen, Jun; Piecuch, Piotr

2018-02-08

The performance of coupled-cluster approaches with higher-than-doubly excited clusters, including the CCSD(T), CCSD(2) T , CR-CC(2,3), CCSD(TQ), and CR-CC(2,4) corrections to CCSD, the active-space CCSDt, CCSDtq, and CCSDTq methods, and the CC(t;3), CC(t,q;3), CC(t,q;3,4), and CC(q;4) corrections to CCSDt, CCSDtq, and CCSDTq resulting from the CC(P;Q) formalism, in reproducing the CCSDT and CCSDTQ potential energy curves and vibrational term values characterizing Be 2 in its electronic ground state is assessed. The correlation-consistent aug-cc-pVnZ and aug-cc-pCVnZ (n = T and Q) basis sets are employed. Among the CCSD-based corrections, the completely renormalized CR-CC(2,3) and CR-CC(2,4) approaches perform the best. The CC(t;3), CC(t,q;3), CC(t,q;3,4), and CC(q;4) methods, especially CC(t;3) and CC(q;4), outperform other employed approaches in reproducing the CCSDT and CCSDTQ data. Composite schemes combining the all-electron CCSDT calculations extrapolated to the complete basis set limit with the frozen-core CC(q;4) and CCSDTQ computations using the aug-cc-pVTZ basis to account for connected quadruple excitations reproduce the latest experimental vibrational spectrum of Be 2 to within 4-5 cm -1 , when the vibrational spacings are examined, with typical errors being below 1-2 cm -1 . The resulting binding energies and equilibrium bond lengths agree with their experimentally derived counterparts to within ∼10 cm -1 and 0.01 Å.

Correlation of In Situ Test Data with Shear Strength for Deep Foundation Design.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-06-16

The project addresses drilled shaft foundation design for Nevada, especially for the population center of Las Vegas Valley. Specifically, we address overconservatism due to challenges in characterizing deformability and strength of dense, hard-to-sam...

ARTICLES: Thermohydrodynamic models of the interaction of pulse-periodic radiation with matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arutyunyan, R. V.; Baranov, V. Yu; Bol'shov, Leonid A.; Malyuta, D. D.; Mezhevov, V. S.; Pis'mennyĭ, V. D.

1987-02-01

Experimental and theoretical investigations were made of the processes of drilling and deep melting of metals by pulsed and pulse-periodic laser radiation. Direct photography of the surface revealed molten metal splashing due to interaction with single CO2 laser pulses. A proposed thermohydrodynamic model was used to account for the experimental results and to calculate the optimal parameters of pulse-periodic radiation needed for deep melting. The melt splashing processes were simulated numerically.

An Ultrasonic Sampler and Sensor Platform for In-Situ Astrobiological Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoaz E.; Bao, X.; Chang, Z.; Sherrit, S.

2003-01-01

The search for existing or past life in the Universe is one of the most important objectives of NASA's mission. In support of this objective, ultrasonic based mechanisms are currently being developed at JPL to allow probing and sampling rocks as well as perform as a sensor platform for in-situ astrobiological analysis. The technology is based on the novel Ultrasonic/Sonic Driller/Corer (USDC), which requires low axial force, thereby overcoming one of the major limitations of planetary sampling in low gravity using conventional drills. The USDC was demonstrated to: 1) drill ice and various rocks including granite, diorite, basalt and limestone, 2) not require bit sharpening, and 3) operate at high and low temperatures. The capabilities that are being investigated including probing the ground to select sampling sites, collecting various forms of samples, and hosting sensors for measuring chemical/physical properties. A series of modifications of the USDC basic configuration were implemented leading an ultrasonic abrasion tool (URAT), Ultrasonic Gopher for deep Drilling, and the lab-on-a-drill.

San Andreas drilling sites selected

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellsworth, Bill; Zoback, Mark

A new initiative for drilling and coring directly into the San Andreas fault at depths up to 10 km is being proposed by an international team of scientists led by Mark Zoback, Stanford University; Steve Hickman and Bill Ellsworth, U.S. Geological Survey; and Lee Younker, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. In addition to exhuming samples of fault rock and fluids from seismogenic depths, the hole will be used to make a wide range of geophysical measurements within the fault zone and to monitor the fault zone over time. Four areas along the San Andreas have been selected as candidates for deep drilling: the Mojave segment of the San Andreas between Leona Valley and Big Pine, the Carrizo Plain, the San Francisco Peninsula between Los Altos and Daly City, and the Northern Gabilan Range between the Cienga winery and Melendy Ranch. These sites were chosen from an initial list compiled at the International Fault Zone Drilling Workshop held in Asilomar, Calif., in December 1992 and at meetings held this winter and spring in Menlo Park, Calif.

Gravity-Independent Mobility and Drilling on Natural Rock using Microspines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parness, Aaron; Frost, Matthew; Thatte, Nitish; King, Jonathan P.

2012-01-01

To grip rocks on the surfaces of asteroids and comets, and to grip the cliff faces and lava tubes of Mars, a 250 mm diameter omni-directional anchor is presented that utilizes a hierarchical array of claws with suspension flexures, called microspines, to create fast, strong attachment. Prototypes have been demonstrated on vesicular basalt and a'a lava rock supporting forces in all directions away from the rock. Each anchor can support >160 N tangent, >150 N at 45?, and >180 N normal to the surface of the rock. A two-actuator selectively- compliant ankle interfaces these anchors to the Lemur IIB robot for climbing trials. A rotary percussive drill was also integrated into the anchor, demonstrating self-contained rock coring regardless of gravitational orientation. As a harder- than-zero-g proof of concept, 20mm diameter boreholes were drilled 83 mm deep in vesicular basalt samples, retaining a 12 mm diameter rock core in 3-6 pieces while in an inverted configuration, literally drilling into the ceiling.

Review of potential subsurface permeable barrier emplacement and monitoring technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Riggsbee, W.H.; Treat, R.L.; Stansfield, H.J.

1994-02-01

This report focuses on subsurface permeable barrier technologies potentially applicable to existing waste disposal sites. This report describes candidate subsurface permeable barriers, methods for emplacing these barriers, and methods used to monitor the barrier performance. Two types of subsurface barrier systems are described: those that apply to contamination.in the unsaturated zone, and those that apply to groundwater and to mobile contamination near the groundwater table. These barriers may be emplaced either horizontally or vertically depending on waste and site characteristics. Materials for creating permeable subsurface barriers are emplaced using one of three basic methods: injection, in situ mechanical mixing, ormore » excavation-insertion. Injection is the emplacement of dissolved reagents or colloidal suspensions into the soil at elevated pressures. In situ mechanical mixing is the physical blending of the soil and the barrier material underground. Excavation-insertion is the removal of a soil volume and adding barrier materials to the space created. Major vertical barrier emplacement technologies include trenching-backfilling; slurry trenching; and vertical drilling and injection, including boring (earth augering), cable tool drilling, rotary drilling, sonic drilling, jetting methods, injection-mixing in drilled holes, and deep soil mixing. Major horizontal barrier emplacement technologies include horizontal drilling, microtunneling, compaction boring, horizontal emplacement, longwall mining, hydraulic fracturing, and jetting methods.« less

Molecular analysis of bacterial diversity in kerosene-based drilling fluid from the deep ice borehole at Vostok, East Antarctica.

PubMed

Alekhina, Irina A; Marie, Dominique; Petit, Jean Robert; Lukin, Valery V; Zubkov, Vladimir M; Bulat, Sergey A

2007-02-01

Decontamination of ice cores is a critical issue in phylogenetic studies of glacial ice and subglacial lakes. At the Vostok drill site, a total of 3650 m of ice core have now been obtained from the East Antarctic ice sheet. The ice core surface is coated with a hard-to-remove film of impure drilling fluid comprising a mixture of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons and foranes. In the present study we used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to analyze the bacterial content of the Vostok drilling fluid sampled from four depths in the borehole. Six phylotypes were identified in three of four samples studied. The two dominant phylotypes recovered from the deepest (3400 and 3600 m) and comparatively warm (-10 degrees C and -6 degrees C, respectively) borehole horizons were from within the genus Sphingomonas, a well-known degrader of polyaromatic hydrocarbons. The remaining phylotypes encountered in all samples proved to be human- or soil-associated bacteria and were presumed to be drilling fluid contaminants of rare occurrence. The results obtained indicate the persistence of bacteria in extremely cold, hydrocarbon-rich environments. They show the potential for contamination of ice and subglacial water samples during lake exploration, and the need to develop a microbiological database of drilling fluid findings.

Analysis and design of trial well mooring in deepwater of the South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Yongfeng; Ji, Shaojun; Tang, Changquan; Li, Jiansong; Zhong, Huiquan; Ian, Ong Chin Yam

2012-06-01

Mooring systems play an important role for semi-submersible rigs that drill in deepwater. A detailed analysis was carried out on the mooring of a semi-submersible rig that conducted a trial well drilling at a deepwater location in the South China Sea in 2009. The rig was 30 years old and had a shallow platform with a designed maximum operating water depth of 457 m. Following the mooring analysis, a mooring design was given that requires upgrading of the rig's original mooring system. The upgrade included several innovations, such as installing eight larger anchors, i.e. replacing the original anchors and inserting an additional 600 m of steel wires with the existing chains. All this was done to enhance the mooring capability of the rig in order for the rig to be held in position to conduct drilling at a water depth of 476 m. The overall duration of the drilling was 50 days and the upgraded mooring system proved to be efficient in achieving the goal of keeping the rig stationary while it was drilling the trial well in the South China Sea. This successful campaign demonstrates that an older semi-submersible rig can take on drilling in deep water after careful design and proper upgrading and modification to the original mooring system.

Recovery of Benthic Megafauna from Anthropogenic Disturbance at a Hydrocarbon Drilling Well (380 m Depth in the Norwegian Sea)

PubMed Central

Gates, Andrew R.; Jones, Daniel O. B.

2012-01-01

Recovery from disturbance in deep water is poorly understood, but as anthropogenic impacts increase in deeper water it is important to quantify the process. Exploratory hydrocarbon drilling causes physical disturbance, smothering the seabed near the well. Video transects obtained by remotely operated vehicles were used to assess the change in invertebrate megafaunal density and diversity caused by drilling a well at 380 m depth in the Norwegian Sea in 2006. Transects were carried out one day before drilling commenced and 27 days, 76 days, and three years later. A background survey, further from the well, was also carried out in 2009. Porifera (45% of observations) and Cnidaria (40%) dominated the megafauna. Porifera accounted for 94% of hard-substratum organisms and cnidarians (Pennatulacea) dominated on the soft sediment (78%). Twenty seven and 76 days after drilling commenced, drill cuttings were visible, extending over 100 m from the well. In this area there were low invertebrate megafaunal densities (0.08 and 0.10 individuals m−2) in comparison to pre-drill conditions (0.21 individuals m−2). Three years later the visible extent of the cuttings had reduced, reaching 60 m from the well. Within this area the megafaunal density (0.05 individuals m−2) was lower than pre-drill and reference transects (0.23 individuals m−2). There was a significant increase in total megafaunal invertebrate densities with both distance from drilling and time since drilling although no significant interaction. Beyond the visible disturbance there were similar megafaunal densities (0.14 individuals m−2) to pre-drilling and background surveys. Species richness, Shannon-Weiner diversity and multivariate techniques showed similar patterns to density. At this site the effects of exploratory drilling on megafaunal invertebrate density and diversity seem confined to the extent of the visible cuttings pile. However, elevated Barium concentration and reduced sediment grain size suggest persistence of disturbance for three years, with unclear consequences for other components of the benthic fauna. PMID:23056177

Investigation of the CH{sub 3}Cl + CN{sup −} reaction in water: Multilevel quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Yulong; College of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014; Zhang, Jingxue

2015-06-28

The CH{sub 3}Cl + CN{sup −} reaction in water was studied using a multilevel quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (MM) method with the multilevels, electrostatic potential, density functional theory (DFT) and coupled-cluster single double triple (CCSD(T)), for the solute region. The detailed, back-side attack S{sub N}2 reaction mechanism was mapped along the reaction pathway. The potentials of mean force were calculated under both the DFT and CCSD(T) levels for the reaction region. The CCSD(T)/MM level of theory presents a free energy activation barrier height at 20.3 kcal/mol, which agrees very well with the experiment value at 21.6 kcal/mol. The results show thatmore » the aqueous solution has a dominant role in shaping the potential of mean force. The solvation effect and the polarization effect together increase the activation barrier height by ∼11.4 kcal/mol: the solvation effect plays a major role by providing about 75% of the contribution, while polarization effect only contributes 25% to the activation barrier height. Our calculated potential of mean force under the CCSD(T)/MM also has a good agreement with the one estimated using data from previous gas-phase studies.« less

Thermal decomposition of 1,3,3-trinitroazetidine (TNAZ): A density functional theory and ab initio study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veals, Jeffrey D.; Thompson, Donald L.

2014-04-01

Density functional theory and ab initio methods are employed to investigate decomposition pathways of 1,3,3-trinitroazetidine initiated by unimolecular loss of NO2 or HONO. Geometry optimizations are performed using M06/cc-pVTZ and coupled-cluster (CC) theory with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations, CCSD(T), is used to calculate accurate single-point energies for those geometries. The CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ energies for NO2 elimination by N-N and C-N bond fission are, including zero-point energy (ZPE) corrections, 43.21 kcal/mol and 50.46 kcal/mol, respectively. The decomposition initiated by trans-HONO elimination can occur by a concerted H-atom and nitramine NO2 group elimination or by a concerted H-atom and nitroalkyl NO2 group elimination via barriers (at the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ level with ZPE corrections) of 47.00 kcal/mol and 48.27 kcal/mol, respectively. Thus, at the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ level, the ordering of these four decomposition steps from energetically most favored to least favored is: NO2 elimination by N-N bond fission, HONO elimination involving the nitramine NO2 group, HONO elimination involving a nitroalkyl NO2 group, and finally NO2 elimination by C-N bond fission.

Third-Order Incremental Dual-Basis Set Zero-Buffer Approach: An Accurate and Efficient Way To Obtain CCSD and CCSD(T) Energies.

PubMed

Zhang, Jun; Dolg, Michael

2013-07-09

An efficient way to obtain accurate CCSD and CCSD(T) energies for large systems, i.e., the third-order incremental dual-basis set zero-buffer approach (inc3-db-B0), has been developed and tested. This approach combines the powerful incremental scheme with the dual-basis set method, and along with the new proposed K-means clustering (KM) method and zero-buffer (B0) approximation, can obtain very accurate absolute and relative energies efficiently. We tested the approach for 10 systems of different chemical nature, i.e., intermolecular interactions including hydrogen bonding, dispersion interaction, and halogen bonding; an intramolecular rearrangement reaction; aliphatic and conjugated hydrocarbon chains; three compact covalent molecules; and a water cluster. The results show that the errors for relative energies are <1.94 kJ/mol (or 0.46 kcal/mol), for absolute energies of <0.0026 hartree. By parallelization, our approach can be applied to molecules of more than 30 atoms and more than 100 correlated electrons with high-quality basis set such as cc-pVDZ or cc-pVTZ, saving computational cost by a factor of more than 10-20, compared to traditional implementation. The physical reasons of the success of the inc3-db-B0 approach are also analyzed.

Characterization of interactions between sub-surface compartments and a deep sub-vertical aquifer in crystalline basement (St-Brice en Coglès, French Brittany)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roques, C.; Bour, O.; Aquilina, L.; Longuevergne, L.; Dewandel, B.; Hochreutener, R.; Schroetter, J.; Labasque, T.; Lavenant, N.

2012-12-01

Hard-rock aquifers constitute in general a limited groundwater resource whose upper part is particularly sensitive to anthropogenic activities. Locally, some high production aquifers can be encountered, typically near regional tectonic discontinuities which may constitute preferential flow paths. However, this kind of aquifer, in particular their interactions with sub-surface, is often very difficult to characterize. We investigated the hydrogeological functioning of a deep vertical conductive fractured zone, focusing on the interactions between hydrologic compartments, thanks to a multidisciplinary approach and a variety of field experiments. A specific field site located in north east of French Brittany, in crystalline bedrock, was selected because of high measured yields during drilling (100 m3/h), essentially related to permeable fractures at 120 m depth and deeper. Three deep boreholes 80 to 250 deep were drilled at relatively short distances (typically 30 meters); one of them has been cored for detailed geological information. Shallower boreholes were also drilled (7 to 20 m deep) to characterize the upper weathered compartment and the hydraulic connections with the deep compartment. The system was characterized both in natural conditions and during a 9-week large scale pumping test carried out at a pumping rate of 45 m3/h. To describe the hydraulic properties and the functioning of the deep hydraulic structure, we used a multidisciplinary approach: (a) well head variations and traditional pumping test interpretations, (b) high-resolution flow loggings to identify fracture connectivity, (c) tracer tests to estimate transfer times and groundwater fluxes between main compartments and (d) multi-parameters fluid logging, geochemistry and groundwater dating to identify water origin and mixing processes between different reservoirs. The geometry of the main permeable structure has been identified combining geological information and hydraulic interpretations. It shows a clear compartmentalization of the aquifer with a strong spatial heterogeneity in permeability. Although using a packer to force the pumping to be deeper than 80 meters, a very fast reaction of the upper aquifer during pumping with clear leaky effects was observed. Heat-Pulse Flowmeter logs also show the interconnections between compartments. During the pumping, we also monitored a high decrease of groundwater ages of the water pumped. Combination of all these methods allowed the flow connections between compartments to be identified and the fluxes between the different compartments to be quantified. We show in particular how the deep groundwater resource is strongly dependent of shallower compartments. Identifying flow properties and origin of water in a deep aquifer is an important issue to optimize the management of such groundwater resources. In particular the estimation of the groundwater capacity, and also to predict groundwater quality changes are essential. This study allows quantifying fluxes between compartments both in natural and pumping conditions. Such a characterization is crucial to assess the sustainability of deep hard-rock aquifers for groundwater supply.

Stability of GNSS Monumentation: Analysis of Co-Located Monuments in the UNAVCO Plate Boundary Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blume, F.; Herring, T.; Mattioli, G. S.; Feaux, K.; Walls, C. P.; Austin, K. E.; Dittmann, S. T.

2017-12-01

Geodetic-quality permanent GNSS stations have used a number of different monument styles for the purpose of ensuring that the motions of the GNSS antenna reflect those of the Earth's crust while minimizing non-tectonic motions near the surface. Monuments range from simple masts mounted on buildings or drilled into bedrock, costing a few hundred dollars to machine-drilled-braced monuments in soil costing tens of thousands. The stability of an individual monument will depend on its design, the construction techniques used to install it, and the local surface geology where it is installed. Previous studies have separately investigated pairs of identical monuments at a single site, monument type performance using global statistical analysis, and multiple monument styles at a single site, yet the stability of different monument types in similar geologic conditions has not been adequately determined. To better characterize the stability of various monument styles in diverse geologic conditions UNAVCO constructed two additional monuments at five existing PBO stations in 2013. Deep drilled-braced, short drilled-braced, and single mast type monuments were installed at sites with bedrock at the surface; deep drilled-braced, short driven-braced and pillar type monuments were installed at sites with alluvium or soil at the surface. The sites include a variety of geographic, hydrologic, and geologic conditions. Data collected from the PBO Multi-Monument Experiment have been analyzed using a variety of methods. Each site is characterized using quality-control parameters such as multipath, signal-to-noise and previously determined seasonal variations. High-precision processing by PBO Analysis Centers with GAMIT and GIPSY use regional and global schemes and yield time-series with millimeter-level that determine noise content, overall site stability relative to other PBO sites and differential motions between the individual monuments. Sub-millimeter results from single-frequency short-baseline processing efforts show further details of monument performance. Results show that while local site characteristics may dominate time-series stability, braced monuments outperform pillars in sediments, and an inexpensive mast installed in bedrock can be as stable as an expensive drilled-braced monument.

Present-day stress state in the Outokumpu deep drill hole, Finland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierdominici, Simona; Ask, Maria; Kukkonen, Ilmo; Kueck, Jochem

2017-04-01

This study aims to investigate the present-day stress field in the Outokumpu area, eastern Finland, using interpretation of borehole failure on acoustic image logs in a 2516 m deep hole. Two main objectives of this study are: i. to constrain the orientation of maximum horizontal stress by mapping the occurrence of stress-induced deformation features using two sets of borehole televiewer data, which were collected in 2006 and 2011; and ii. to investigate whether any time dependent deformation of the borehole wall has occurred (creep). The Outokumpu deep hole was drilled during 2004-2005 to study deep structures and seismic reflectors within the Outokumpu formation and conducted within the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP). The hole was continuously core-drilled into Paleoproterozoic formation of metasediments, ophiolite-derived altered ultrabasic rocks and pegmatitic granite. In 2006 and 2011 two downhole logging campaigns were performed by the Operational Support Group of ICDP to acquire a set of geophysical data. Here we focus on a specific downhole logging measurement, the acoustic borehole televiewer (BHTV), to determine the present-day stress field in the Outokumpu area. We constrain the orientation and magnitude of in situ stress tensor based on borehole wall failures detected along a 2516 m deep hole. Horizontal stress orientation was determined by interpreting borehole breakouts (BBs) and drilling-induced tensile fractures (DIFs) from BHTV logs. BBs are stress-induced enlargements of the borehole cross section and occur in two opposite zones at angles around the borehole where the wellbore stress concentration (hoop stress) exceeds the value required to cause compressive failure of intact rock. DIFs are caused by tensile failure of the borehole wall and form at two opposite spots on the borehole where the stress concentration is lower than the tensile strength of the rock. This occurs at angles 90° apart from the center of the breakout zone. Acoustic imaging logs provide a high-resolution oriented picture of the borehole wall that allows for the direct observation of BBs, which appear as two almost vertical swaths on the borehole image separated by 180°. BBs show poor sonic reflectivity and long travel times due to the many small brittle fractures and the resulting spalling. DIFs appear as two narrow stripes of low reflectivity separated by 180° and typically sub-parallel or slightly inclined to the borehole axis. The analysis of these images shows a distinct compressive failure area consistent with major geological and tectonic lineaments of the area. Deviations from this trend reflect local structural perturbations. Additionally, the 2006 and 2011 dataset are used to compare the changes of breakout geometry and to quantify the growth of the breakouts in this time span from differences in width, length and depth to estimate the magnitude of the horizontal stress tensors. Our study contributes to understand the structure of the shallow crust in the Outokumpu area by defining the current stress field. Furthermore, a detailed understanding of the regional stress field is a fundamental contribution in several research areas such as exploration and exploitation of underground resources, and geothermal reservoir studies.

Honey Lake Geothermal Project, Lassen County, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1984-11-01

The drilling, completion, and testing of deep well WEN-2 for a hybrid electric power project which will use the area's moderate temperature geothermal fluids and locally procured wood fuel is reported. The project is located within the Wendel-Amedee Known Geothermal Resource Area.

Deep Geothermal Drilling Using Millimeter Wave Technology. Final Technical Research Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oglesby, Kenneth; Woskov, Paul; Einstein, Herbert

2014-12-30

Conventional drilling methods are very mature, but still have difficulty drilling through very deep,very hard and hot rocks for geothermal, nuclear waste entombment and oil and gas applications.This project demonstrated the capabilities of utilizing only high energy beams to drill such rocks,commonly called ‘Direct Energy Drilling’, which has been the dream of industry since the invention of the laser in the 1960s. A new region of the electromagnetic spectrum, millimeter wave (MMW) wavelengths at 30-300 giga-hertz (GHz) frequency was used to accomplish this feat. To demonstrate MMW beam drilling capabilities a lab bench waveguide delivery, monitoring and instrument system wasmore » designed, built and tested around an existing (but non-optimal) 28 GHz frequency, 10 kilowatt (kW) gyrotron. Low waveguide efficiency, plasma generation and reflected power challenges were overcome. Real-time monitoring of the drilling process was also demonstrated. Then the technical capability of using only high power intense millimeter waves to melt (with some vaporization) four different rock types (granite, basalt, sandstone, limestone) was demonstrated through 36 bench tests. Full bore drilling up to 2” diameter (size limited by the available MMW power) was demonstrated through granite and basalt samples. The project also demonstrated that MMW beam transmission losses through high temperature (260°C, 500oF), high pressure (34.5 MPa, 5000 psi) nitrogen gas was below the error range of the meter long path length test equipment and instruments utilized. To refine those transmission losses closer, to allow extrapolation to very great distances, will require a new test cell design and higher sensitivity instruments. All rock samples subjected to high peak temperature by MMW beams developed fractures due to thermal stresses, although the peak temperature was thermodynamically limited by radiative losses. Therefore, this limited drill rate and rock strength data were not able to be determined experimentally. New methods to encapsulate larger rock specimens must be developed and higher power intensities are needed to overcome these limitations. It was demonstrated that rock properties are affected (weakening then strengthened) by exposure to high temperatures. Since only MMW beams can economically reach rock temperatures of over 1650°C, even exceeding 3000°C, that can cause low viscosity melts or vaporization of rocks. Future encapsulated rock specimens must provide sufficiently large sizes of thermally impacted material to provide for the necessary rock strength, permeability and other analyzes required. Multiple MMW field systems, tools and methods for drilling and lining were identified. It was concluded that forcing a managed over-pressure drilling operation would overcome water influx and hot rock particulates handling problems, while simultaneously forming the conditions necessary to create a strong, sealing rock melt liner. Materials that contact hot rock surfaces were identified for further study. High power windows and gases for beam transmission under high pressures are critical paths for some of the MMW drilling systems. Straightness/ alignment can be a great benefit or a problem, especially if a MMW beam is transmitted through an existing, conventionally drilled bore.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miliordos, Evangelos; Aprà, Edoardo; Xantheas, Sotiris S.

We establish a new estimate for the binding energy between two benzene molecules in the parallel-displaced (PD) conformation by systematically converging (i) the intra- and intermolecular geometry at the minimum, (ii) the expansion of the orbital basis set, and (iii) the level of electron correlation. The calculations were performed at the second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation (MP2) and the coupled cluster including singles, doubles, and a perturbative estimate of triples replacement [CCSD(T)] levels of electronic structure theory. At both levels of theory, by including results corrected for basis set superposition error (BSSE), we have estimated the complete basis set (CBS) limit bymore » employing the family of Dunning’s correlation-consistent polarized valence basis sets. The largest MP2 calculation was performed with the cc-pV6Z basis set (2772 basis functions), whereas the largest CCSD(T) calculation was with the cc-pV5Z basis set (1752 basis functions). The cluster geometries were optimized with basis sets up to quadruple-ζ quality, observing that both its intra- and intermolecular parts have practically converged with the triple-ζ quality sets. The use of converged geometries was found to play an important role for obtaining accurate estimates for the CBS limits. Our results demonstrate that the binding energies with the families of the plain (cc-pVnZ) and augmented (aug-cc-pVnZ) sets converge [within <0.01 kcal/mol for MP2 and <0.15 kcal/mol for CCSD(T)] to the same CBS limit. In addition, the average of the uncorrected and BSSE-corrected binding energies was found to converge to the same CBS limit much faster than either of the two constituents (uncorrected or BSSE-corrected binding energies). Due to the fact that the family of augmented basis sets (especially for the larger sets) causes serious linear dependency problems, the plain basis sets (for which no linear dependencies were found) are deemed as a more efficient and straightforward path for obtaining an accurate CBS limit. We considered extrapolations of the uncorrected (ΔE) and BSSE-corrected (ΔE cp) binding energies, their average value (ΔE ave), as well as the average of the latter over the plain and augmented sets (Δ~E ave) with the cardinal number of the basis set n. Our best estimate of the CCSD(T)/CBS limit for the π–π binding energy in the PD benzene dimer is D e = -2.65 ± 0.02 kcal/mol. The best CCSD(T)/cc-pV5Z calculated value is -2.62 kcal/mol, just 0.03 kcal/mol away from the CBS limit. For comparison, the MP2/CBS limit estimate is -5.00 ± 0.01 kcal/mol, demonstrating a 90% overbinding with respect to CCSD(T). Finally, the spin-component-scaled (SCS) MP2 variant was found to closely reproduce the CCSD(T) results for each basis set, while scaled opposite spin (SOS) MP2 yielded results that are too low when compared to CCSD(T).« less

Site Report for USGS Test Holes Drilled at Cape Charles, Northampton County, Virginia, in 2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gohn, Gregory S.; Sanford, Ward E.; Powars, David S.; Horton, J. Wright; Edwards, Lucy E.; Morin, Roger H.; Self-Trail, Jean M.

2007-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey drilled two test holes near Cape Charles, Virginia, during May and June 2004, as part of an investigation of the buried, late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure. The first hole is designated as the USGS-Sustainable Technology Park test hole #1 (USGS-STP1). This test hole was abandoned at a depth of 300 ft; cuttings samples were collected, but no cores or geophysical logs were acquired. The second hole is designated as the USGS-Sustainable Technology Park test hole #2 (USGS-STP2). This test hole was drilled to a depth of 2,699 ft. Cores were collected between depths of 1,401.7 ft and 1,420.7 ft and between 2,440.0 ft and 2,699.0 ft. Cuttings samples were collected from the uncored intervals below 280-ft depth. Interim sets of geophysical logs were acquired during the drilling operation, and one final set was acquired at the end of drilling. Two wells were installed in the USGS-STP2 test hole. The deep well (designated 62G-24) was screened between 2,260 ft and 2,280 ft, and the shallow well (designated 62G-25) was screened between 1,360 ft and 1,380 ft. Ground-water salinities stabilized at 40 parts per thousand for the deep well and 20 parts per thousand for the shallow well. The geologic section encountered in the test holes consists of three main units: (1) Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene sands and clays are present between land surface and a depth of 1,163 ft; (2) sediment-clast breccias of the impact structure are present between depths of 1,163 ft and 2,150 ft; and (3) crystalline-clast breccias and cataclastic gneiss of the impact structure are present between depths of 2,150 ft and 2,699 ft.

Impact of particulate sediment, bentonite and barite (oil-drilling waste) on net fluxes of oxygen and nitrogen in Arctic-boreal sponges.

PubMed

Fang, James K H; Rooks, Christine A; Krogness, Cathinka M; Kutti, Tina; Hoffmann, Friederike; Bannister, Raymond J

2018-07-01

To meet the increasing global energy demand, expanding exploration for oil and gas reserves as well as associated drilling activities are expected in the Arctic-boreal region where sponge aggregations contribute to up to 90% of benthic biomass. These deep-water sponges along with their microbial endobionts play key roles in the nitrogen cycling in Arctic-boreal ecosystems. This study aimed to investigate the effects of drilling discharges and associated sediment resuspension events on net fluxes of oxygen, ammonium, nitrate and nitrite in three common deep-water sponge species in the form of explants. Sponges were exposed to suspended bentonite and barite, the primary particulate compounds in drilling waste, as well as suspended natural sediment particles for a period of 33 days (on average 10 mg L -1 for 12 h day -1 ). The exposure period was followed by a pollution abatement period for a further 33 days. No sponge mortality was observed during the experiment. However, exposure to these particles, especially to barite, led to reduced oxygen consumption by up to 33% that was linearly correlated with reduced nitrite/nitrate release by the sponges. The changes in net fluxes were accompanied by decreased tissue oxygenation by up to 54% within the sponges. These findings reveal the effects of fine particles on sponge metabolic processes by reducing aerobic respiration and microbial nitrification, and possibly by favouring anaerobic processes such as microbial denitrification. Most of the sponge responses recovered to their control levels upon the pollution abatement period, but the effects caused by barite may not be reversible. Our findings provide the first insight into the ecological consequences of oil and gas drilling activities on sponge-mediated nitrogen cycling in the Arctic-boreal region. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Deep-sea observations at hydrocarbon drilling locations: Contributions from the SERPENT Project after 120 field visits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gates, Andrew R.; Benfield, Mark C.; Booth, David J.; Fowler, Ashley M.; Skropeta, Danielle; Jones, Daniel O. B.

2017-03-01

The SERPENT Project has been running for over ten years. In this time scientists from universities and research institutions have made more than 120 visits to oil rigs, drill ships and survey vessels operated by 16 oil companies, in order to work with the industry's Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV). Visits have taken place in Europe, North and South America, Africa and Australasia at water depths from 100 m to nearly 3000 m. The project has directly produced >40 peer reviewed publications and data from the project's >2600 entry online image and video archive have been used in many others. The aim of this paper is to highlight examples of how valuable data can be obtained through collaboration with hydrocarbon exploration and production companies to use existing industry infrastructure to increase scientific discovery in unexplored areas and augment environmental monitoring of industrial activity. The large number of industry ROVs operating globally increases chance encounters with large, enigmatic marine organisms. SERPENT video observations include the deepest known records of species previously considered epipelagic such as scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) and southern sunfish (Mola ramsayi) and the first in situ observations of pelagic species such as oarfish (Regalecus glesne). Such observations enable improvements to distribution records and description of behaviour of poorly understood species. Specimen collection has been used for taxonomic descriptions, functional studies and natural products chemistry research. Anthropogenic effects been assessed at the local scale using in situ observations and sample collection at the time of drilling operations and subsequent visits have enabled study of recovery from drilling. Future challenges to be addressed using the SERPENT approach include ensuring unique faunal observations by industry ROV operators are reported, further study of recovery from deep-water drilling activity and to carry out in situ studies to improve the understanding of potential future decommissioning of obsolete hydrocarbon infrastructure.

Biomarker evidence for Archean oxygen fluxes (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallmann, C.; Waldbauer, J.; Sherman, L. S.; Summons, R. E.

2010-12-01

Knowledge of deep-time organismic diversity may be gained from the study of preserved sedimentary lipids with taxonomic specificity, i.e. biomarker hydrocarbons (e.g. Brocks and Summons, 2003; Waldbauer et al., 2009). As a consequence of long residence times and high thermal maturities however, biomarker concentrations are extremely low in most ancient (Precambrian) sediment samples, making them exceptionally prone to contamination during drilling, sampling and laboratory workup (e.g. Brocks et al., 2008). Outcrop samples most always carry a modern overprint and deep-time biogeochemistry thus relies on drilling operations to retrieve ‘clean’ sediment cores. One such effort was initiated by NASA’s Astrobiology Institute (NAI): the Archean biosphere drilling project (ABDP). We here report on the lipids retrieved from sediment samples in drill hole ABDP-9. Strong heterogeneities of extractable organic matter - both on a spatial scale and in free- vs. mineral-occluded bitumen - provide us with an opportunity to distinguish indigenous lipids from contaminants introduced during drilling. Stratigraphic trends in biomarker data for mineral-occluded bitumens are complementary to previously reported data (e.g. S- and N-isotopes, molybdenum enrichments) from ABDP-9 sediments (Anbar et al., 2007; Kaufman et al., 2007; Garvin et al., 2009) and suggest periodic fluxes of oxygen before the great oxidation event. Anbar et al. A whiff of oxygen before the great oxidation event. Science 317 (2007), 1903-1906. Brocks & Summons. Sedimentary hydrocarbons, biomarkers for early life. In: Schlesinger (Ed.) Treatise on Geochemistry, Vol. 8 (2003), 63-115. Brocks et al. Assessing biomarker syngeneity using branched alkanes with quaternary carbon (BAQCs) and other plastic contaminants. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 72 (2008), 871-888. Garvin et al. Isotopic evidence for a aerobic nitrogen cycle in the latest Archean. Science 323 (2009), 1045-1048. Kaufman et al. Late Archean biospheric oxygenation and atmospheric evolution. Science 317 (2007), 1900-1903. Waldbauer et al. Late Archean molecular fossils from the Transvaal Supergroup record the antiquity of microbial diversity and aerobiosis. Precambrian Research 169 (2008), 28-47.

A Time Series Study of Lophelia pertusa and Reef Megafauna Responses to Drill Cuttings Exposure on the Norwegian Margin

PubMed Central

Purser, Autun

2015-01-01

As hotspots of local biodiversity in the deep sea, preservation of cold-water coral reef communities is of great importance. In European waters the most extensive reefs are found at depths of 300 – 500 m on the continental margin. In Norwegian waters many of these reefs are located in areas of interest for oil and gas exploration and production. In this study drilling was carried out in the Morvin drill field in proximity to a number of small Lophelia pertusa coral reefs (closest reefs 100 m upstream and 350 m downstream of point of waste drill material release). In a novel monitoring study, ROV video surveys of 9 reefs were conducted prior, during, immediately after and >1 year after drilling operations. Behavior of coral polyps inhabiting reefs exposed to differing concentrations of drill cuttings and drilling fluids (waste drilling material) were compared. Levels of expected exposure to these waste materials were determined for each reef by modelling drill cutting transport following release, using accurate in-situ hydrodynamic data collected during the drilling period and drill cutting discharge data as parameters of a dispersal model. The presence / absence of associate reef species (Acesta excavata, Paragorgia arborea and Primnoa resedaeformis) were also determined from each survey video. There were no significant differences in Lophelia pertusa polyp behavior in corals modelled to have been exposed to pulses of >25 ppm drill cutting material and those modelled to be exposed to negligible concentrations of material. From the video data collected, there were no observed degradations of reef structure over time, nor reductions of associate fauna abundance, regardless of modelled exposure concentration at any of the surveyed reefs. This study focused exclusively on adult fauna, and did not assess the potential hazard posed by waste drilling material to coral or other larvae. Video data was collected by various ROV’s, using different camera and lighting setups throughout the survey campaign, making comparison of observations prior, during and post drilling problematic. A standardization of video monitoring in future monitoring campaigns is recommended. PMID:26218658

Sample Acqusition Drilling System for the the Resource Prospector Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zacny, K.; Paulsen, G.; Quinn, J.; Smith, J.; Kleinhenz, J.

2015-12-01

The goal of the Lunar Resource Prospector Mission (RPM) is to capture and identify volatiles species within the top meter of the lunar regolith. The RPM drill has been designed to 1. Generate cuttings and place them on the surface for analysis by the the Near InfraRed Volatiles Spectrometer Subsystem (NIRVSS), and 2. Capture cuttings and transfer them to the Oxygen and Volatile Extraction Node (OVEN) coupled with the Lunar Advanced Volatiles Analysis (LAVA) subsystem. The RPM drill is based on the Mars Icebreaker drill developed for capturing samples of ice and ice cemented ground on Mars. The drill weighs approximately 10 kg and is rated at ~300 Watt. It is a rotary-percussive, fully autonomous system designed to capture cuttings for analysis. The drill consists of: 1. Rotary-Percussive Drill Head, 2. Sampling Auger, 3. Brushing station, 4. Z-stage, 5. Deployment stage. To reduce sample handling complexity, the drill auger is designed to capture cuttings as opposed to cores. High sampling efficiency is possible through a dual design of the auger. The lower section has deep and low pitch flutes for retaining of cuttings. The upper section has been designed to efficiently move the cuttings out of the hole. The drill uses a "bite" sampling approach where samples are captured in ~10 cm intervals. The first generation drill was tested in Mars chamber as well as in Antarctica and the Arctic. It demonstrated drilling at 1-1-100-100 level (1 meter in 1 hour with 100 Watt and 100 N Weight on Bit) in ice, ice cemented ground, soil, and rocks. The second generation drill was deployed on a Carnegie Mellon University rover, called Zoe, and tested in Atacama in 2012. The tests demonstrated fully autonomous sample acquisition and delivery to a carousel. The third generation drill was tested in NASA GRC's vacuum chamber, VF13, at 10-5 torr and approximately 200 K. It demonstrated successful capture and transfer of icy samples to a crucible. The drill has been modified and integrated onto the NASA JSC RPM rover. It has been undergoing testing in a lab and in the field during the Summer of 2015.

Deep Borehole Field Test Laboratory and Borehole Testing Strategy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuhlman, Kristopher L.; Brady, Patrick V.; MacKinnon, Robert J.

2016-09-19

Deep Borehole Disposal (DBD) of high-level radioactive wastes has been considered an option for geological isolation for many years (Hess et al. 1957). Recent advances in drilling technology have decreased costs and increased reliability for large-diameter (i.e., ≥50 cm [19.7”]) boreholes to depths of several kilometers (Beswick 2008; Beswick et al. 2014). These advances have therefore also increased the feasibility of the DBD concept (Brady et al. 2009; Cornwall 2015), and the current field test design will demonstrate the DBD concept and these advances. The US Department of Energy (DOE) Strategy for the Management and Disposal of Used Nuclear Fuelmore » and High-Level Radioactive Waste (DOE 2013) specifically recommended developing a research and development plan for DBD. DOE sought input or expression of interest from States, local communities, individuals, private groups, academia, or any other stakeholders willing to host a Deep Borehole Field Test (DBFT). The DBFT includes drilling two boreholes nominally 200m [656’] apart to approximately 5 km [16,400’] total depth, in a region where crystalline basement is expected to begin at less than 2 km depth [6,560’]. The characterization borehole (CB) is the smaller-diameter borehole (i.e., 21.6 cm [8.5”] diameter at total depth), and will be drilled first. The geologic, hydrogeologic, geochemical, geomechanical and thermal testing will take place in the CB. The field test borehole (FTB) is the larger-diameter borehole (i.e., 43.2 cm [17”] diameter at total depth). Surface handling and borehole emplacement of test package will be demonstrated using the FTB to evaluate engineering feasibility and safety of disposal operations (SNL 2016).« less

Evaluation of geophysical logs, phase I, for Crossley Farms Superfund Site, Berks County, Pennsylvania

USGS Publications Warehouse

Conger, Randall W.

1998-01-01

Twenty-one wells were drilled at Crossley Farms Superfund Site between December 15, 1987, and May 1, 1988, to define and monitor the horizontal and vertical distribution of ground-water contamination emanating from a suspected contaminant source area (Blackhead Hill). Eight well clusters were drilled on or near the Crossley Site and three well clusters were drilled at locations hydrologically down gradient from the site. Depths of wells range from 21 to 299 feet below land surface. These wells were installed in saprolite in shallow, intermediate, and deep water-producing zones of the fractured bedrock aquifer. Borehole-geophysical and video logging were conducted between April 24, 1997, and May 8, 1997, to determine the water-producing zones, water-receiving zones, zones of vertical flow, borehole depth, and casing integrity in each well. This data and interpretation will be used to determine the location of the well intake for the existing open-hole wells, which will be retrofitted to isolate and monitor water-producing zones and prevent further cross-contamination within each open borehole, and identify wells that may need rehabilitation or replacement. Caliper and video logs were used to locate fractures, inflections on fluid-temperature and fluidresistivity logs indicated possible fluid-bearing fractures, and flowmeter measurements verified these locations. Single-point-resistance and natural-gamma logs provided information on stratigraphy. After interpretation of geophysical logs, video logs, and driller?s notes, all wells will be constructed so that water-level fluctuations can be monitored and discrete water samples collected from shallow, intermediate, and deep water-bearing zones in each well. Geophysical logs were run on seven bedrock and two deep bedrock wells. Gamma logs were run on 10 bedrock wells. Twenty-two wells were inspected visually with the borehole video camera for casing integrity.

Geologic and operational summary, COST No. 1 well, Georges Bank area, North Atlantic OCS

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amato, Roger V.; Bebout, John W.

1980-01-01

The first Continental Offshore Stratigraphic Test (COST) well on the U.S. North Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) was drilled by Ocean Production Company between April 6 and July 26, 1976, and designated the COST No. G-l. Geological and engineering data obtained from this deep well in the Georges Bank Basin were used by the 31 participating companies and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for evaluating the petroleum potential and possible drilling problems in the U.S. North Atlantic OCS area in preparation for Lease Sale 42 held on December 18, 1979.

Uncertainty analysis of depth predictions from seismic reflection data using Bayesian statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michelioudakis, Dimitrios G.; Hobbs, Richard W.; Caiado, Camila C. S.

2018-06-01

Estimating the depths of target horizons from seismic reflection data is an important task in exploration geophysics. To constrain these depths we need a reliable and accurate velocity model. Here, we build an optimum 2-D seismic reflection data processing flow focused on pre-stack deghosting filters and velocity model building and apply Bayesian methods, including Gaussian process emulation and Bayesian History Matching, to estimate the uncertainties of the depths of key horizons near the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) borehole 258 (DSDP-258) located in the Mentelle Basin, southwest of Australia, and compare the results with the drilled core from that well. Following this strategy, the tie between the modelled and observed depths from DSDP-258 core was in accordance with the ±2σ posterior credibility intervals and predictions for depths to key horizons were made for the two new drill sites, adjacent to the existing borehole of the area. The probabilistic analysis allowed us to generate multiple realizations of pre-stack depth migrated images, these can be directly used to better constrain interpretation and identify potential risk at drill sites. The method will be applied to constrain the drilling targets for the upcoming International Ocean Discovery Program, leg 369.

Looking into a volcanic area: An overview on the 350 m scientific drilling at Colli Albani (Rome, Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mariucci, M. Teresa; Pierdominici, Simona; Pizzino, Luca; Marra, Fabrizio; Montone, Paola

2008-09-01

A 350 m deep borehole was drilled in the Colli Albani volcanic district (Central Italy) in order to: understand the shallow crust structure beneath the volcanic complex; characterize the rock physical properties especially through in-situ measurements and, afterward, laboratory experiments; assess the local present-day stress field; install a broad-band seismometer at depth. The borehole is located adjacent to the western rim of the Tuscolano-Artemisio caldera, where several phenomena of unrest recently occurred. In 1989-90 a seismic swarm affected this area and a related uplift was recognized. In addition, high gas concentrations (mainly CO 2 and H 2S), in aquifers and soils, caused illnesses and casualties among inhabitants and animals in the past. We describe the investigations carried out at the drill site and the results achieved from data analysis. Wire-line drilling produced a complete stratigraphic record of the Quaternary volcanic units down to the Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary sequence and geophysical logs allowed a characterization of the rock physical properties. From a tectonic point of view, data provided by Dipmeter and Borehole Televiewer were used for investigations on the recent and present-day stress field and the results are compared to those available in the literature. In the volcanic units we recognized two main fracture systems, SW and NW dipping. Several faults intersecting the borehole show planes with oblique striae, indicating a prevalent strike-slip component of the movement. Finally, borehole breakout analysis defined an active stress field with a ˜ E-W oriented minimum horizontal component. At the end of the drilling, a blow-out occurred, due to pressurized fluids trapped into the sandy unit drilled in the last few meters of the hole. Sampling these fluids gave an additional value to the borehole, providing information about the deep volcanic circulation and its possible connection to a deep-seated magma chamber. The main results show water with a Na-HCO 3 chemistry and the highest salinity ever recognised in the area (Electrical Conductivity = 10.12 mS/cm). Stable O and H isotopes reveal a meteoric origin of water and the absence of tritium points out a long residence time in the aquifer. Emitted gas is CO 2-dominated, with N 2 as second most important component. Helium isotopic composition of the gas allows us to estimate a magmatic component ranging in the interval 40-50%, one of the highest in the Colli Albani. Carbon isotopes of CO 2 (- 0.53‰ vs. PDB) suggest that it could derive partly from a magmatic source and partly by the thermal decarbonation of the carbonatic basement.

Observations of Seafloor Ambient Noise with an Ocean Bottom Seismometer Array

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-12-01

April and May of 1987. The array was situated near Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Hole 469 at a depth of 3.8 km (Figure 2.1). The area is a 400 m...any array processing method can be gauged by its resolution, bias 34 and stability. These quantities are sensitive to errors such as uncertain...Spectral Ocean Wave Model, Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc, 67,498-512,1986. Cox, C. S., T. Deaton, and S. C. Webb, A deep-sea differential pressure gauge

Method and system for advancement of a borehole using a high power laser

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moxley, Joel F.; Land, Mark S.; Rinzler, Charles C.

2014-09-09

There is provided a system, apparatus and methods for the laser drilling of a borehole in the earth. There is further provided with in the systems a means for delivering high power laser energy down a deep borehole, while maintaining the high power to advance such boreholes deep into the earth and at highly efficient advancement rates, a laser bottom hole assembly, and fluid directing techniques and assemblies for removing the displaced material from the borehole.

Wireline Deep Drill for the Exploration of Icy Bodies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paulsen, G.; Zacny, K.; Mellerowicz, B.; Craft, J.; Bar-Cohen, Y.; Beegle, L.; Sherrit, S.; Badescu, M.; Corsetti, F.; Ibarra, Y.

2013-01-01

One of the most pressing current questions in space science is whether life has ever arisen anywhere else in the universe. Water is a critical prerequisite for all life-as-we-know-it, thus the possible exploration targets for extraterrestrial life are bodies that have or had copious liquid: Mars, Europa, and Enceladus. Due to the oxidizing nature of Mars' surface, as well as subsurface liquid water reservoirs present on Europa and Enceladus, the search for evidence of existing life must likely focus on subsurface locations, at depths sufficient to support liquid water or retain biologic signatures. To address these questions, an Auto-Gopher sampler has been developed that is a wireline type drill. This drill is suspended on a tether and its motors and mechanisms are built into a tube that ends with a coring bit. The tether provides the mechanical connection to a rover/lander on a surface as well as power and data communication. Upon penetrating to a target depth, the drill is retracted from the borehole, the core is deposited into a sample transfer system, and the drill is lowered back into the hole. Wireline operation sidesteps one of the major drawbacks of traditional continuous drill string systems by obviating the need for multiple drill sections, which add significantly to the mass and the complexity of the system (i.e. penetration rate was 40 cm per hour). Drilling to 2 meter depth and recovering of cores every 10 cm took a total time of 15 hours (a single step of drilling 10 cm and retrieving the core was 45 minutes). Total energy to reach the 2 m depth was 500 Whr. The Weight on Bit was limited to less than 70 Newton. The core recovery was 100%.

Quantum cluster theory for the polarizable continuum model. I. The CCSD level with analytical first and second derivatives.

PubMed

Cammi, R

2009-10-28

We present a general formulation of the coupled-cluster (CC) theory for a molecular solute described within the framework of the polarizable continuum model (PCM). The PCM-CC theory is derived in its complete form, called PTDE scheme, in which the correlated electronic density is used to have a self-consistent reaction field, and in an approximate form, called PTE scheme, in which the PCM-CC equations are solved assuming the fixed Hartree-Fock solvent reaction field. Explicit forms for the PCM-CC-PTDE equations are derived at the single and double (CCSD) excitation level of the cluster operator. At the same level, explicit equations for the analytical first derivatives of the PCM basic energy functional are presented, and analytical second derivatives are also discussed. The corresponding PCM-CCSD-PTE equations are given as a special case of the full theory.

Detailed study of the water trimer potential energy surface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fowler, J.E.; Schaefer, H.F. III

The potential energy surface of the water trimer has been studied through the use of ab initio quantum mechanical methods. Five stationary points were located, including one minimum and two transition states. All geometries were optimized at levels up to the double-[Zeta] plus polarization plus diffuse (DZP + diff) single and double excitation coupled cluster (CCSD) level of theory. CCSD single energy points were obtained for the minimum, two transition states, and the water monomer using the triple-[Zeta] plus double polarization plus diffuse (TZ2P + diff) basis at the geometries predicted by the DZP + diff CCSD method. Reported aremore » the following: geometrical parameters, total and relative energies, harmonic vibrational frequencies and infrared intensities for the minimum, and zero point vibrational energies for the minimum, two transition states, and three separated water molecules. 27 refs., 5 figs., 10 tabs.« less

Exploring conformational preferences of alanine tetrapeptide by CCSD(T), MP2, and dispersion-corrected DFT methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Young Kee; Park, Hae Sook

2018-06-01

The 129 local minima of the alanine tetrapeptide with relative energy < 10 kcal/mol were identified at the ωB97X-D/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory from initial structures generated by combining nine local minima of each residue. The CCSD(T), MP2, and dispersion-corrected DFT levels of theory with various basis sets were assessed for relative energies of the 24 representative conformations. The best performance was obtained at the double-hybrid DSD-PBEP86-D3BJ/def2-QZVP level of theory with RMSD = 0.12 kcal/mol against the CCSD(T)/CBS-limit energies. The ωB97X-D/def2-QZVP and CAM-B3LYP-D3BJ/def2-QZVP levels of theory can be an alternative level of theory with marginal deviations for conformational study of peptides.

Ab initio study of the molecular structure and vibrational spectrum of nitric acid and its protonated forms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Timothy J.; Rice, Julia E.

1992-01-01

The equilibrium structures, harmonic vibrational frequencies, IR intensities, and relative energetics of HNO3 and its protonated form H2NO3+ were investigated using double-zeta plus polarization and triple-zeta plus polarization basis sets in conjunction with high-level ab initio methods. The latter include second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation theory, the single and double excitation coupled cluster (CCSD) methods, a perturbational estimate of the effects of connected triple excitations (CCSD(T)), and the self-consistent field. To determine accurate energy differences CCSD(T) energies were computed using large atomic natural orbital basis sets. Four different isomers of H2NO3+ were considered. The lowest energy form of protonated nitric acid was found to correspond to a complex between H2O and NO2+, which is consistent with earlier theoretical and experimental studies.

Fast coupled-cluster singles and doubles for extended systems: Application to the anharmonic vibrational frequencies of polyethylene in the Γ approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keçeli, Murat; Hirata, So

2010-09-01

The mod- n scheme is introduced to the coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) and third-order Møller-Plesset perturbation (MP3) methods for extended systems of one-dimensional periodicity. By downsampling uniformly the wave vectors in Brillouin-zone integrations, this scheme accelerates these accurate but expensive correlation-energy calculations by two to three orders of magnitude while incurring negligible errors in their total and relative energies. To maintain this accuracy, the number of the nearest-neighbor unit cells included in the lattice sums must also be reduced by the same downsampling rate (n) . The mod- n CCSD and MP3 methods are applied to the potential-energy surface of polyethylene in anharmonic frequency calculations of its infrared- and Raman-active vibrations. The calculated frequencies are found to be within 46cm-1 (CCSD) and 78cm-1 (MP3) of the observed.

Characterizing the Weeks Island Salt Dome drilling of and seismic measurements from boreholes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sattler, A.R.; Harding, R.S.; Jacobson, R.D.

1996-10-01

A sinkhole 36 ft across, 30 ft deep was first observed in the alluvium over the Weeks Island Salt Dome (salt mine converted for oil storage by US Strategic Petroleum Reserve) May 1992. Four vertical, two slanted boreholes were drilled for diagnostics. Crosswell seismic data were generated; the velocity images suggest that the sinkhole collapse is complicated, not a simple vertical structure. The coring operation was moderately difficult; limited core was obtained through the alluvium, and the quality of the salt core from the first two vertical wells was poor. Core quality improved with better bit selection, mud, and drillingmore » method. The drilling fluid program provided fairly stable holes allowing open hole logs to be run. All holes were cemented successfully (although it took 3 attempts in one case).« less

Demonstrations of Gravity-Independent Mobility and Drilling on Natural Rock using Microspines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parness, Aaron; Frost, Matthew; King, Jonathan P.; Thatte, Nitish

2012-01-01

The video presents microspine-based anchors be ing developed for gripping rocks on the surfaces of comets and asteroids, or for use on cliff faces and lava tubes on Mars. Two types of anchor prototypes are shown on supporting forces in all directions away from the rock; >160 N tangent, >150 N at 45?, and >180 N normal to the surface of the rock. A compliant robotic ankle with two active degrees of freedom interfaces these anchors to the Lemur IIB robot for future climbing trials. Finally, a rotary percussive drill is shown coring into rock regardless of gravitational orientation. As a harder- than-zero-g proof of concept, inverted drilling was performed creating 20mm diameter boreholes 83 mm deep in vesicular basalt samples while retaining 12 mm diameter rock cores in 3-6 pieces.

Deep Drilling Into the Chicxulub Impact Crater: Pemex Oil Exploration Boreholes Revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fucugauchi, J. U.; Perez-Cruz, L.

2007-05-01

The Chicxulub structure was recognized in the 1940´s from gravity anomalies in oil exploration surveys by Pemex. Geophysical anomalies occur over the carbonate platform in NW Yucatan, where density and magnetic susceptibility contrasts with the carbonates suggested a buried igneous complex or basement uplift. The exploration program developed afterwards included several boreholes, starting with the Chicxulub-1 in 1952 and eventually comprising eight deep boreholes completed through the 1970s. The investigations showing Chicxulub as a large impact crater formed at the K/T boundary have relayed on the Pemex decades-long exploration program. Despite frequent reference to Pemex information, original data have not been openly available for detailed evaluation and incorporation with results from recent efforts. Logging data and core samples remain to be analyzed, reevaluated and integrated in the context of recent marine, aerial and terrestrial geophysical surveys and the drilling/coring projects of UNAM and ICDP. In this presentation we discuss the paleontological data, stratigraphic columns and geophysical logs for the Chicxulub-1 (1582m), Sacapuc-1 (1530m), Yucatan-6 (1631m) and Ticul-1 (3575m) boreholes. These boreholes remain the deepest ones drilled in Chicxulub and the only ones providing samples of the melt-rich breccias and melt sheet. Other boreholes include the Y1 (3221m), Y2 (3474m), Y4 (2398m) and Y5A (3003m), which give information on pre-impact stratigraphy and crystalline basement. We concentrate on log and microfossil data, stratigraphic columns, lateral correlation, integration with UNAM and ICDP borehole data, and analyses of sections of melt, impact breccias and basal Paleocene carbonates. Current plans for deep drilling in Chicxulub crater focus in the peak ring zone and central sector, with proposed marine and on-land boreholes to the IODP and ICDP programs. Future ICDP borehole will be located close to Chicxulub-1 and Sacapuc-1, which intersected the impact breccias at about 1 km and the melt and melt- rich breccias at some 1.3-1.4 km.

Characterizing the Inner Accretionary Prism of the Nankai Trough with 3D Seismic and Logging While Drilling at IODP Site C0002

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boston, B.; Moore, G. F.; Jurado, M. J.; Sone, H.; Tobin, H. J.; Saffer, D. M.; Hirose, T.; Toczko, S.; Maeda, L.

2014-12-01

The deeper, inner parts of active accretionary prisms have been poorly studied due the lack of drilling data, low seismic image quality and typically thick overlying sediments. Our project focuses on the interior of the Nankai Trough inner accretionary prism using deep scientific drilling and a 3D seismic cube. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 348 extended the existing riser hole to more than 3000 meters below seafloor (mbsf) at Site C0002. Logging while drilling (LWD) data included gamma ray, resistivity, resistivity image, and sonic logs. LWD analysis of the lower section revealed on the borehole images intense deformation characterized by steep bedding, faults and fractures. Bedding plane orientations were measured throughout, with minor gaps at heavily deformed zones disrupting the quality of the resistivity images. Bedding trends are predominantly steeply dipping (60-90°) to the NW. Interpretation of fractures and faults in the image log revealed the existence of different sets of fractures and faults and variable fracture density, remarkably high at fault zones. Gamma ray, resistivity and sonic logs indicated generally homogenous lithology interpretation along this section, consistent with the "silty-claystone" predominant lithologies described on cutting samples. Drops in sonic velocity were observed at the fault zones defined on borehole images. Seismic reflection interpretation of the deep faults in the inner prism is exceedingly difficult due to a strong seafloor multiple, high-angle bedding dips, and low frequency of the data. Structural reconstructions were employed to test whether folding of seismic horizons in the overlying forearc basin could be from an interpreted paleothrust within the inner prism. We used a trishear-based restoration to estimate fault slip on folded horizons landward of C0002. We estimate ~500 m of slip from a steeply dipping deep thrust within the last ~0.9 Ma. Folding is not found in the Kumano sediments near C0002, where normal faults and tilting dominate the modern basin deformation. Both logging and seismic are consistent in characterizing a heavily deformed inner prism. Most of this deformation must have occurred during or before formation of the overlying modern Kumano forearc basin sediments.

AURORA BOREALIS - Development of a New Research Icebreaker with Drilling Capability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiede, J.; Biebow, N.; Egerton, P.; Kunz-Pirrung, M.; Lembke-Jene, L.

2007-12-01

Polar research both on land and in the sea cannot achieve the needed progress without novel and state of the art technologies and infrastructure. In addition, we have the obligation to equip the upcoming young and courageous generation of polar researchers with the most modern and safest research platforms the 21st century can provide. This effort will require major investments, both in terms of generating new tools, as well as maintaining and renovating existing infrastructure. There are many different novel tools under development for polar research, we will concentrate on the presently largest one, the planning for a new type of research icebreaker, the AURORA BOREALIS with an all-season capability of operations in permanently ice-covered waters and with the possibility to carry out deep-sea drilling in ice-covered deep-sea basins. AURORA BOREALIS will be the most advanced Polar Research Vessel in the world with a multi-functional role of drilling in deep ocean basins and supporting climate and environmental research and decision support for stakeholder governments for the next 35 to 40 years. The vessel is planned as a large research icebreaker with 44,000 tons displacement and a length of up to 196 m, with about 50 Megawatt propulsion power. Advanced technological features will include azimuth propulsion systems, extensive instrumental and airborne ice- management support, and the routine operation of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) from two moon-pools. An unique feature of this icebreaker will be the drilling rig that will enable sampling of the ocean floor and sub-sea down to 5000 m water depth and 1000 m penetration at the most inhospitable places on earth. The possibility to flexibly equip the ship with laboratory and supply containers, and the variable arrangement of other modular infrastructure (in particular, winches, cranes, etc.), free deck- space, and separate protected deck areas, will allow the planned research vessel to cover the needs of most disciplines in marine research. aurora-borealis.eu/en/about_aurora_borealis/

Scientific Drilling of Impact Craters - Well Logging and Core Analyses Using Magnetic Methods (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fucugauchi, J. U.; Perez-Cruz, L. L.; Velasco-Villarreal, M.

2013-12-01

Drilling projects of impact structures provide data on the structure and stratigraphy of target, impact and post-impact lithologies, providing insight on the impact dynamics and cratering. Studies have successfully included magnetic well logging and analyses in core and cuttings, directed to characterize the subsurface stratigraphy and structure at depth. There are 170-180 impact craters documented in the terrestrial record, which is a small proportion compared to expectations derived from what is observed on the Moon, Mars and other bodies of the solar system. Knowledge of the internal 3-D deep structure of craters, critical for understanding impacts and crater formation, can best be studied by geophysics and drilling. On Earth, few craters have yet been investigated by drilling. Craters have been drilled as part of industry surveys and/or academic projects, including notably Chicxulub, Sudbury, Ries, Vredefort, Manson and many other craters. As part of the Continental ICDP program, drilling projects have been conducted on the Chicxulub, Bosumtwi, Chesapeake, Ries and El gygytgyn craters. Inclusion of continuous core recovery expanded the range of paleomagnetic and rock magnetic applications, with direct core laboratory measurements, which are part of the tools available in the ocean and continental drilling programs. Drilling studies are here briefly reviewed, with emphasis on the Chicxulub crater formed by an asteroid impact 66 Ma ago at the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary. Chicxulub crater has no surface expression, covered by a kilometer of Cenozoic sediments, thus making drilling an essential tool. As part of our studies we have drilled eleven wells with continuous core recovery. Magnetic susceptibility logging, magnetostratigraphic, rock magnetic and fabric studies have been carried out and results used for lateral correlation, dating, formation evaluation, azimuthal core orientation and physical property contrasts. Contributions of magnetic studies on impact age, cratering, target-impactite stratigraphy, ejecta, impact dynamics, hydrothermal alterations and post-impact processes are presented. The challenges and perspectives of drilling studies of impact craters are discussed.

The Effects of Bit Wear on Respirable Silica Dust, Noise and Productivity: A Hammer Drill Bench Study.

PubMed

Carty, Paul; Cooper, Michael R; Barr, Alan; Neitzel, Richard L; Balmes, John; Rempel, David

2017-07-01

Hammer drills are used extensively in commercial construction for drilling into concrete for tasks including rebar installation for structural upgrades and anchor bolt installation. This drilling task can expose workers to respirable silica dust and noise. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the effects of bit wear on respirable silica dust, noise, and drilling productivity. Test bits were worn to three states by drilling consecutive holes to different cumulative drilling depths: 0, 780, and 1560 cm. Each state of bit wear was evaluated by three trials (nine trials total). For each trial, an automated laboratory test bench system drilled 41 holes 1.3 cm diameter, and 10 cm deep into concrete block at a rate of one hole per minute using a commercially available hammer drill and masonry bits. During each trial, dust was continuously captured by two respirable and one inhalable sampling trains and noise was sampled with a noise dosimeter. The room was thoroughly cleaned between trials. When comparing results for the sharp (0 cm) versus dull bit (1560 cm), the mean respirable silica increased from 0.41 to 0.74 mg m-3 in sampler 1 (P = 0.012) and from 0.41 to 0.89 mg m-3 in sampler 2 (P = 0.024); levels above the NIOSH recommended exposure limit of 0.05 mg m-3. Likewise, mean noise levels increased from 112.8 to 114.4 dBA (P < 0.00001). Drilling productivity declined with increasing wear from 10.16 to 7.76 mm s-1 (P < 0.00001). Increasing bit wear was associated with increasing respirable silica dust and noise and reduced drilling productivity. The levels of dust and noise produced by these experimental conditions would require dust capture, hearing protection, and possibly respiratory protection. The findings support the adoption of a bit replacement program by construction contractors. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.

Using DSDP/ODP/IODP core photographs and digital images in the classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira, Hélder; Berenguer, Jean-Luc

2017-04-01

Since the late 1960's, several scientific ocean drilling programmes have been uncovering the history of the Earth hidden beneath the seafloor. The adventure began in 1968 with the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) and its special drill ship, the Glomar Challenger. The next stage was the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) launched in 1985 with a new drill ship, the JOIDES Resolution. The exploration of the ocean seafloor continued, between 2003 and 2013, through the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). During that time, in addition to the JOIDES Resolution, operated by the US, the scientists had at their service the Chikyu, operated by Japan, and Mission-Specific-Platforms, funded and implemented by the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling. Currently, scientific ocean drilling continues through the collaboration of scientists from 25 nations within the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). Over the last 50 years, the scientific ocean drilling expeditions conducted by these programmes have drilled and cored more than 3500 holes. The numerous sediment and rock samples recovered from the ocean floor have provided important insight on the active biological, chemical, and geological processes that have shaped the Earth over millions of years. During an expedition, once the 9.5-meter long cores arrive from the seafloor, the technicians label and cut them into 1.5-meter sections. Next, the shipboard scientists perform several analysis using non-destructive methods. Afterward, the technicians split the cores into two halves, the "working half", which scientists sample and use aboard the drilling platform, and the "archive half", which is kept in untouched condition after being visually described and photographed with a digital imaging system. The shipboard photographer also takes several close-up pictures of the archive-half core sections. This work presents some examples of how teachers can use DSDP/ODP/IODP core photographs and digital images, available through the Janus and LIMS online databases, to develop inquiry-based learning activities for secondary level students.

Examination of the relationship between project management critical success factors and project success of oil and gas drilling projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alagba, Tonye J.

Oil and gas drilling projects are the primary means by which oil companies recover large volumes of commercially available hydrocarbons from deep reservoirs. These types of projects are complex in nature, involving management of multiple stakeholder interfaces, multidisciplinary personnel, complex contractor relationships, and turbulent environmental and market conditions, necessitating the application of proven project management best practices and critical success factors (CSFs) to achieve success. Although there is some practitioner oriented literature on project management CSFs for drilling projects, none of these is based on empirical evidence, from research. In addition, the literature has reported alarming rates of oil and gas drilling project failure, which is attributable not to technical factors, but to failure of project management. The aim of this quantitative correlational study therefore, was to discover an empirically verified list of project management CSFs, which consistent application leads to successful implementation of oil and gas drilling projects. The study collected survey data online, from a random sample of 127 oil and gas drilling personnel who were members of LinkedIn's online community "Drilling Supervisors, Managers, and Engineers". The results of the study indicated that 10 project management factors are individually related to project success of oil and gas drilling projects. These 10 CSFs are namely; Project mission, Top management support, Project schedule/plan, Client consultation, Personnel, Technical tasks, Client acceptance, Monitoring and feedback, Communication, and Troubleshooting. In addition, the study found that the relationships between the 10 CSFs and drilling project success is unaffected by participant and project demographics---role of project personnel, and project location. The significance of these findings are both practical, and theoretical. Practically, application of an empirically verified CSFs list to oil and gas drilling projects could help oil companies improve the performance of future drilling projects. Theoretically, the study's findings may help to bridge a gap in the project management CSFs literature, and add to the general project management body of knowledge.

Investigation and development of an effective, economical and efficient concrete pile splice.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-06-01

Structures such as bridges or tall buildings often require deep foundations in order to reach soil or rock strata capable of resisting the associated high loads. In Florida, concrete elements such as driven piles, drilled shafts or other cast-in-plac...

Ocean Drilling Program: Related Sites

Science.gov Websites

) 306-0390 Web site: www.nsf.gov Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES) US Members: Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Florida State University Oregon State University, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Pennsylvania State University, College of Earth and

Calibration of Resistance Factors Needed in the LRFD Design of Drilled Shafts

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-09-01

The first report on Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) calibration of driven piles in Louisiana (LTRC Final Report 449) was : completed in May 2009. As a continuing effort to implement the LRFD design methodology for deep foundations in Louisia...

Calibration of resistance factors needed in the LRFD design of drilled shafts.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-09-01

The first report on Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) calibration of driven piles in Louisiana (LTRC Final Report 449) was completed in May 2009. As a continuing effort to implement the LRFD design methodology for deep foundations in Louisiana...

Calibration of resistance factors needed in the LRFD design of drilled shafts.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-09-01

The first report on Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) calibration of driven piles in Louisiana (LTRC Final Report 449) was : completed in May 2009. As a continuing effort to implement the LRFD design methodology for deep foundations in Louisia...

Pile/shaft designs using artificial neural networks (i.e., genetic programming) with spatial variability considerations : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

In this project, University of Florida researchers : sought to improve the unit skin friction and tip : resistance correlations embedded in the FB-Deep : software algorithm for estimating driven pile and : drilled shaft resistance. They utilized an a...

Deep Borehole Emplacement Mode Hazard Analysis Revision 0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sevougian, S. David

This letter report outlines a methodology and provides resource information for the Deep Borehole Emplacement Mode Hazard Analysis (DBEMHA). The main purpose is identify the accident hazards and accident event sequences associated with the two emplacement mode options (wireline or drillstring), to outline a methodology for computing accident probabilities and frequencies, and to point to available databases on the nature and frequency of accidents typically associated with standard borehole drilling and nuclear handling operations. Risk mitigation and prevention measures, which have been incorporated into the two emplacement designs (see Cochran and Hardin 2015), are also discussed. A key intent ofmore » this report is to provide background information to brief subject matter experts involved in the Emplacement Mode Design Study. [Note: Revision 0 of this report is concentrated more on the wireline emplacement mode. It is expected that Revision 1 will contain further development of the preliminary fault and event trees for the drill string emplacement mode.]« less

Long- and short-term effects of smothering and burial by drill cuttings on calcareous algae in a static-renewal test.

PubMed

Reynier, Márcia V; Tâmega, Frederico T S; Daflon, Sarah D A; Santos, Maurício A B; Coutinho, Ricardo; Figueiredo, Marcia A O

2015-07-01

Discharge of drill cuttings into the ocean during drilling of offshore oil wells can impact benthic communities through an increase in the concentrations of suspended particles in the water column and sedimentation of particles on the seafloor around the drilling installation. The present study assessed effects of water-based drill cuttings, barite, bentonite, and natural sediments on shallow- and deep-water calcareous algae in short-term (30 d) and long-term (90 d) experiments, using 2 species from Peregrino's oil field at Campos Basin, Brazil: Mesophyllum engelhartii and Lithothamnion sp. The results were compared with the shallow-water species Lithothamnion crispatum. Smothering and burial exposures were simulated. Oxygen production and fluorescence readings were recorded. Although less productive, M. engelhartii was as sensitive to stress as Lithothamnion sp. Mesophyllum engelhartii was sensitive to smothering by drill cuttings, barite, and bentonite after 60 d of exposure and was similarly affected by natural sediments after 90 d. These results indicate that smothering by sediments caused physical effects that might be attributable to partial light attenuation and partial restriction on gas exchange but did not kill the calcareous algae in the long term. However, 1-mo burial by either natural sediments or drill cuttings was sufficient after 60 d for both species to reduce oxygen production, and the algae were completely dead under both sources of sediments. © 2015 SETAC.

Modeling σ-Bond Activations by Nickel(0) Beyond Common Approximations: How Accurately Can We Describe Closed-Shell Oxidative Addition Reactions Mediated by Low-Valent Late 3d Transition Metal?

PubMed

Hu, Lianrui; Chen, Kejuan; Chen, Hui

2017-10-10

Accurate modelings of reactions involving 3d transition metals (TMs) are very challenging to both ab initio and DFT approaches. To gain more knowledge in this field, we herein explored typical σ-bond activations of H-H, C-H, C-Cl, and C-C bonds promoted by nickel(0), a low-valent late 3d TM. For the key parameters of activation energy (ΔE ‡ ) and reaction energy (ΔE R ) for these reactions, various issues related to the computational accuracy were systematically investigated. From the scrutiny of convergence issue with one-electron basis set, augmented (A) basis functions are found to be important, and the CCSD(T)/CBS level with complete basis set (CBS) limit extrapolation based on augmented double-ζ and triple-ζ basis pair (ADZ and ATZ), which produces deviations below 1 kcal/mol from the reference, is recommended for larger systems. As an alternative, the explicitly correlated F12 method can accelerate the basis set convergence further, especially after its CBS extrapolations. Thus, the CCSD(T)-F12/CBS(ADZ-ATZ) level with computational cost comparable to the conventional CCSD(T)/CBS(ADZ-ATZ) level, is found to reach the accuracy of the conventional CCSD(T)/A5Z level, which produces deviations below 0.5 kcal/mol from the reference, and is also highly recommendable. Scalar relativistic effects and 3s3p core-valence correlation are non-negligible for achieving chemical accuracy of around 1 kcal/mol. From the scrutiny of convergence issue with the N-electron basis set, in comparison with the reference CCSDTQ result, CCSD(T) is found to be able to calculate ΔE ‡ quite accurately, which is not true for the ΔE R calculations. Using highest-level CCSD(T) results of ΔE ‡ in this work as references, we tested 18 DFT methods and found that PBE0 and CAM-B3LYP are among the three best performing functionals, irrespective of DFT empirical dispersion correction. With empirical dispersion correction included, ωB97XD is also recommendable due to its improved performance.

A new scientific drilling infrastructure in Sweden

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosberg, J.-E.; Lorenz, H.

2012-04-01

A new scientific drilling infrastructure is currently under commissioning at Lund University in southern Sweden and is intended primarily for Swedish scientific drilling projects. However, it will be available to the scientific community and even industry when not occupied. The drill rig, a crawler mounted Atlas Copco CT20, was funded by the Swedish Research Council (VR) after an application by the Swedish scientific drilling community under the lead of Prof. Leif Bjelm, Lund University. As a national resource it is, together with support of the Swedish Deep Drilling Program (SDDP) and the Swedish membership in ICDP, part of VR's commitment to scientific drilling. The Atlas Copco CT20 is a top modern, versatile diamond wireline core-drilling rig which can handle P, H and N sizes. It can operate on very small drill sites (500-800 m2) and, thus, leaves a minimal environmental footprint. The crawler makes the rig ideal for operations in remote locations. A total of only 3-4 truckloads is necessary for mobilization of the basic drilling equipment. Main technical specifications are: Depth capacity coring, based on vertical water filled hole: P-size to around 1050 m, hole size 123 mm and core size 85 mm. H-size to around 1600 m, hole size 96 mm and core size 63 mm. N-size to around 2500 m, hole size 76 mm and core size 48 mm. Weight: Complete rig including crawler, wet - 23500 kg Dimensions in (length, width, height) transport position: 11560 x 2500 x 3750 mm. Available in-hole equipment: Complete core retrieval system for PQ, HQ and NQ-sizes, including PHD, HRQ (V-Wall) and NRQ (V-Wall) drill rods covering the maximum drilling depth for each size (see rig depth capacity above). Both dual and triple tube for HQ and NQ-sizes. Casing advancers (PW, HW, NW and BW). Casing PWT, HWT, NW and BW. Bits and reamers. Additional equipment: Mud cleaning and mixing system. MWD-system (Measurements While Drilling). Cementing equipment. Fishing tools (Bowen Spear). Blow Out Preventer (BOP). Deviation tools. Wireline packers. And more.

Optimal experimental design for placement of boreholes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Padalkina, Kateryna; Bücker, H. Martin; Seidler, Ralf; Rath, Volker; Marquart, Gabriele; Niederau, Jan; Herty, Michael

2014-05-01

Drilling for deep resources is an expensive endeavor. Among the many problems finding the optimal drilling location for boreholes is one of the challenging questions. We contribute to this discussion by using a simulation based assessment of possible future borehole locations. We study the problem of finding a new borehole location in a given geothermal reservoir in terms of a numerical optimization problem. In a geothermal reservoir the temporal and spatial distribution of temperature and hydraulic pressure may be simulated using the coupled differential equations for heat transport and mass and momentum conservation for Darcy flow. Within this model the permeability and thermal conductivity are dependent on the geological layers present in the subsurface model of the reservoir. In general, those values involve some uncertainty making it difficult to predict actual heat source in the ground. Within optimal experimental the question is which location and to which depth to drill the borehole in order to estimate conductivity and permeability with minimal uncertainty. We introduce a measure for computing the uncertainty based on simulations of the coupled differential equations. The measure is based on the Fisher information matrix of temperature data obtained through the simulations. We assume that the temperature data is available within the full borehole. A minimization of the measure representing the uncertainty in the unknown permeability and conductivity parameters is performed to determine the optimal borehole location. We present the theoretical framework as well as numerical results for several 2d subsurface models including up to six geological layers. Also, the effect of unknown layers on the introduced measure is studied. Finally, to obtain a more realistic estimate of optimal borehole locations, we couple the optimization to a cost model for deep drilling problems.

Investigating ultra high-enthalpy geothermal systems: a collaborative initiative to promote scientific opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elders, W. A.; Nielson, D.; Schiffman, P.; Schriener, A., Jr.

2014-12-01

Scientists, engineers, and policy makers gathered at a workshop in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California in October 2013 to discuss the science and technology involved in developing high-enthalpy geothermal fields. A typical high-enthalpy geothermal well between 2000 and 3000 m deep produces a mixture of hot water and steam at 200-300 °C that can be used to generate about 5-10 MWe of electric power. The theme of the workshop was to explore the feasibility and economic potential of increasing the power output of geothermal wells by an order of magnitude by drilling deeper to reach much higher pressures and temperatures. Development of higher enthalpy geothermal systems for power production has obvious advantages; specifically higher temperatures yield higher power outputs per well so that fewer wells are needed, leading to smaller environmental footprints for a given size of power plant. Plans for resource assessment and drilling in such higher enthalpy areas are already underway in Iceland, New Zealand, and Japan. There is considerable potential for similar developments in other countries that already have a large production of electricity from geothermal steam, such as Mexico, the Philippines, Indonesia, Italy, and the USA. However drilling deeper involves technical and economic challenges. One approach to mitigating the cost issue is to form a consortium of industry, government and academia to share the costs and broaden the scope of investigation. An excellent example of such collaboration is the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP), which is investigating the economic feasibility of producing electricity from supercritical geothermal reservoirs, and this approach could serve as model for future developments elsewhere. A planning committee was formed to explore creating a similar initiative in the USA.

Multi-level Quantum Mechanics and Molecular Mechanics Study of Ring Opening Process of Guanine Damage by Hydroxyl Radical in Aqueous Solution.

PubMed

Liu, Peng; Wang, Qiong; Niu, Meixing; Wang, Dunyou

2017-08-10

Combining multi-level quantum mechanics theories and molecular mechanics with an explicit water model, we investigated the ring opening process of guanine damage by hydroxyl radical in aqueous solution. The detailed, atomic-level ring-opening mechanism along the reaction pathway was revealed in aqueous solution at the CCSD(T)/MM levels of theory. The potentials of mean force in aqueous solution were calculated at both the DFT/MM and CCSD(T)/MM levels of the theory. Our study found that the aqueous solution has a significant effect on this reaction in solution. In particular, by comparing the geometries of the stationary points between in gas phase and in aqueous solution, we found that the aqueous solution has a tremendous impact on the torsion angles much more than on the bond lengths and bending angles. Our calculated free-energy barrier height 31.6 kcal/mol at the CCSD(T)/MM level of theory agrees well with the one obtained based on gas-phase reaction profile and free energies of solvation. In addition, the reaction path in gas phase was also mapped using multi-level quantum mechanics theories, which shows a reaction barrier at 19.2 kcal/mol at the CCSD(T) level of theory, agreeing very well with a recent ab initio calculation result at 20.8 kcal/mol.

Accurate determination of the binding energy of the formic acid dimer: The importance of geometry relaxation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalescky, Robert; Kraka, Elfi; Cremer, Dieter

2014-02-01

The formic acid dimer in its C2h-symmetrical cyclic form is stabilized by two equivalent H-bonds. The currently accepted interaction energy is 18.75 kcal/mol whereas the experimental binding energy D0 value is only 14.22 ±0.12 kcal/mol [F. Kollipost, R. W. Larsen, A. V. Domanskaya, M. Nörenberg, and M. A. Suhm, J. Chem. Phys. 136, 151101 (2012)]. Calculation of the binding energies De and D0 at the CCSD(T) (Coupled Cluster with Single and Double excitations and perturbative Triple excitations)/CBS (Complete Basis Set) level of theory, utilizing CCSD(T)/CBS geometries and the frequencies of the dimer and monomer, reveals that there is a 3.2 kcal/mol difference between interaction energy and binding energy De, which results from (i) not relaxing the geometry of the monomers upon dissociation of the dimer and (ii) approximating CCSD(T) correlation effects with MP2. The most accurate CCSD(T)/CBS values obtained in this work are De = 15.55 and D0 = 14.32 kcal/mol where the latter binding energy differs from the experimental value by 0.1 kcal/mol. The necessity of employing augmented VQZ and VPZ calculations and relaxing monomer geometries of H-bonded complexes upon dissociation to obtain reliable binding energies is emphasized.

Investigation and development of an effective, economical and efficient concrete pile splice : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-08-01

Large structures like bridges or tall buildings are often built on deep foundations either precast concrete piles or cast-in-place drilled shafts. The pile or shaft must be long enough to reach : a rock layer or to provide sufficient resistance t...

U.S. National Committee for Geochemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geotimes, 1974

1974-01-01

Reports highlights of the April, 1973 meeting of the U.S. National Committee for Geochemistry. Some of the topics reported on were: The Geophysics Research Board, deep drilling, exchange of geochemists with China and the activities of the Subcommittee on Geochemical Environment in Relation to Health and Disease. (BR)

Subsurface sediment contamination during borehole drilling with an air-actuated down-hole hammer.

PubMed

Malard, Florian; Datry, Thibault; Gibert, Janine

2005-10-01

Drilling methods can severely alter physical, chemical, and biological properties of aquifers, thereby influencing the reliability of water samples collected from groundwater monitoring wells. Because of their fast drilling rate, air-actuated hammers are increasingly used for the installation of groundwater monitoring wells in unconsolidated sediments. However, oil entrained in the air stream to lubricate the hammer-actuating device can contaminate subsurface sediments. Concentrations of total hydrocarbons, heavy metals (Cu, Ni, Cr, Zn, Pb, and Cd), and nutrients (particulate organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus) were measured in continuous sediment cores recovered during the completion of a 26-m deep borehole drilled with a down-hole hammer in glaciofluvial deposits. Total hydrocarbons, Cu, Ni, Cr and particulate organic carbon (POC) were all measured at concentrations far exceeding background levels in most sediment cores. Hydrocarbon concentration averaged 124 +/- 118 mg kg(-1) dry sediment (n = 78 samples) with peaks at depths of 8, 14, and 20 m below the soil surface (maximum concentration: 606 mg kg(-1)). The concentrations of hydrocarbons, Cu, Ni, Cr, and POC were positively correlated and exhibited a highly irregular vertical pattern, that probably reflected variations in air loss within glaciofluvial deposits during drilling. Because the penetration of contaminated air into the formation is unpreventable, the representativeness of groundwater samples collected may be questioned. It is concluded that air percussion drilling has strong limitations for well installation in groundwater quality monitoring surveys.

Early Paleogene variations in the calcite compensation depth: new constraints using old borehole sediments from across Ninetyeast Ridge, central Indian Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slotnick, B. S.; Lauretano, V.; Backman, J.; Dickens, G. R.; Sluijs, A.; Lourens, L.

2015-03-01

Major variations in global carbon cycling occurred between 62 and 48 Ma, and these very likely related to changes in the total carbon inventory of the ocean-atmosphere system. Based on carbon cycle theory, variations in the mass of the ocean carbon should be reflected in contemporaneous global ocean carbonate accumulation on the seafloor and, thereby, the depth of the calcite compensation depth (CCD). To better constrain the cause and magnitude of these changes, the community needs early Paleogene carbon isotope and carbonate accumulation records from widely separated deep-sea sediment sections, especially including the Indian Ocean. Several CCD reconstructions for this time interval have been generated using scientific drill sites in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans; however, corresponding information from the Indian Ocean has been extremely limited. To assess the depth of the CCD and the potential for renewed scientific drilling of Paleogene sequences in the Indian Ocean, we examine lithologic, nannofossil, carbon isotope, and carbonate content records for late Paleocene - early Eocene sediments recovered at three sites spanning Ninetyeast Ridge: Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Sites 213 (deep, east), 214 (shallow, central), and 215 (deep, west). The disturbed, discontinuous sediment sections are not ideal, because they were recovered in single holes using rotary coring methods, but remain the best Paleogene sediments available from the central Indian Ocean. The δ13C records at Sites 213 and 215 are similar to those generated at several locations in the Atlantic and Pacific, including the prominent high in δ13C across the Paleocene carbon isotope maximum (PCIM) at Site 215, and the prominent low in δ13C across the early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) at both Site 213 and Site 215. The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) and the K/X event are found at Site 213 but not at Site 215, presumably because of coring gaps. Carbonate content at both Sites 213 and 215 drops to <5% shortly after the first occurrence of Discoaster lodoensis and the early Eocene rise in δ13C (~52 Ma). This reflects a rapid shoaling of the CCD, and likely a major decrease in the net flux of 13C-depleted carbon to the ocean. Our results support ideas that major changes in net fluxes of organic carbon to and from the exogenic carbon cycle occurred during the early Paleogene. Moreover, we conclude that excellent early Paleogene carbonate accumulation records might be recovered from the central Indian Ocean with future scientific drilling.

A comparison/validation of a fractional derivative model with an empirical model of non-linear shock waves in swelling shales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Droghei, Riccardo; Salusti, Ettore

2013-04-01

Control of drilling parameters, as fluid pressure, mud weight, salt concentration is essential to avoid instabilities when drilling through shale sections. To investigate shale deformation, fundamental for deep oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing for gas extraction ("fracking"), a non-linear model of mechanic and chemo-poroelastic interactions among fluid, solute and the solid matrix is here discussed. The two equations of this model describe the isothermal evolution of fluid pressure and solute density in a fluid saturated porous rock. Their solutions are quick non-linear Burger's solitary waves, potentially destructive for deep operations. In such analysis the effect of diffusion, that can play a particular role in fracking, is investigated. Then, following Civan (1998), both diffusive and shock waves are applied to fine particles filtration due to such quick transients , their effect on the adjacent rocks and the resulting time-delayed evolution. Notice how time delays in simple porous media dynamics have recently been analyzed using a fractional derivative approach. To make a tentative comparison of these two deeply different methods,in our model we insert fractional time derivatives, i.e. a kind of time-average of the fluid-rocks interactions. Then the delaying effects of fine particles filtration is compared with fractional model time delays. All this can be seen as an empirical check of these fractional models.

Source to sink evaluation of sediment routing in the Gulf of Alaska and Southeast Alaska: A thermochronometric perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunn, Catherine A.; Enkelmann, Eva; Ridgway, Kenneth D.; Allen, Wai K.

2017-03-01

In this study, we present a source to sink evaluation of sediment routing at the glaciated convergent margin in Southeast Alaska. We investigate the efficacy of thermochronology to record spatial and temporal exhumation patterns in synorogenic sediment using Neogene strata drilled by Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 341 in the Gulf of Alaska. We present 1641 and 529 new detrital zircon and apatite fission track ages, respectively, from strata deposited on the continental shelf, slope, and deep-sea fans. These data are compared to results from the proposed source terrains, including the St. Elias Mountains and new data from the Alsek River. We find that the offshore Bagley-Bering sediment contains grains recording cooling ages much older (80-35 Ma) than those reported from the St. Elias syntaxis (3-2 Ma), indicating that extreme rapid exhumation does not extend west of the Seward-Bagley divide. Data from the sediment on the continental shelf, slope, and proximal deep sea all yield similar results, suggesting the same general source region since 1.2 Ma and limited sediment mixing along this glaciated margin. Data from sediment in the distal deep sea show that extreme, rapid, and deep-seated exhumation was ongoing at 11-8 Ma. Overall, this study demonstrates the strengths and limitations of using detrital fission track thermochronology to understand sediment routing on a glaciated convergent margin and to record changes in exhumation rates over geologic time scales.

Industry shows faith in deep Anadarko

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wroblewski, E.F.

1973-10-08

The shallow shelf of the Anadarko Basin furnished much gas from the Pennsylvanian and Mississippian reservoirs during the 1950s and 1960s. The search for gas reserves on the shelf will continue to go on for many years, because of the relatively low drilling cost even though the reserves per well on the shelf tend to be limited to about 1 to 3 billion cu ft/well. The much greater reserves of up to 50 billion cu ft/well found in the deeper part of the Anadarko Basin have made the deep Anadarko Basin an enticing area to look for major gas reserves.more » A regional Hunton map of the deep Anadarko Basin is presented showing fields that are producing from the Hunton and Simpson at depths of more than 15,000 ft. The fields shown on this map represent about 5 trillion cu ft of gas reserve. A generalized section showing only the major features and gross stratigraphic intervals also is presented. A seismic interpretation of the N. Carter structure on which the Lone Star l Baden is drilled is shown, one the seismic Springer structure and the other the seismic Hunton structure. The latter shows the faulting that exists below the Springer level.« less

Deep installations of monitoring instrumentation in unsaturated welded tuff

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tyler, S.

1985-12-31

The major goal of this research is to develop low cost techniques to measure matric potential, moisture content, and to sample liquid and vapor for chemical analysis in the deep unsaturated zones of the arid areas of Nevada. This work has been prompted by the high level waste repository proposed in the unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain. The work presented focuses on two deep (250 meter) boreholes planned for completion at the southern end of Yucca Mountain in fractured tuff. One borehole will be drilled without water and cased to slightly below the zone of saturation in order to measuremore » the depth to saturation and to collect water samples for analysis. This hole will also be used for routine quarterly neutron logging. Between loggings, vapor liquid water samplers will be suspended in the borehole and packed off at selective screened intervals to collect water vapor for isotopic analysis. The second borehole will be drilled to slightly above the water table and serve as a multiple interval psychrometer installation. Thermocouple psychrometers will be placed in isolated screened intervals within the casing. These boreholes will be used for instrument testing, interference and permeability testing, and to monitor short term fluctuations of soil and rock moisture due to precipitation and recharge.« less

Extreme drying event in the Dead Sea basin during MIS5 from the ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drill Core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldstein, S. L.; Stein, M.; Ben-Avraham, Z.; Agnon, A.; Ariztegui, D.; Brauer, A.; Haug, G. H.; Ito, E.; Kitagawa, H.; Torfstein, A.; Yasuda, Y.; The Icdp-Dsddp Scientific Party

2011-12-01

The ICDP funded Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project (DSDDP) recovered the longest and most complete paleo-environmental record in the Middle East, drilling holes of ~450 and ~350 meters in length in deep (~300 m below the lake level) and shallow sites (~3 mbll) respectively. The Dead Sea expands during the glacials and contracts during interglacials, and the sediments comprise a geological archive of the evolving environmental conditions (e.g. rains, floods, dust-storms, droughts). Dead Sea sediments include inorganic aragonite, allowing for dating by U-series (e.g. Haase-Schramm et al. GCA 2004). The deep site cores were opened and described in June 2011. The cores are composed mainly of alternating intervals of marl (aragonite, gypsum and detritus) during glacials, and salts and marls during interglacials. From this stratigraphy we estimate that the deep site core spans ~200 kyr (to the boundary of MIS 6 and 7). A dramatic discovery is a ~40 cm thick interval of partly rounded pebbles at ~235 m below the lake floor. This is the only clean pebbly unit in the entire core. It appears to be a beach layer, near the deepest part of the Dead Sea, lying above ~35 meters of mainly salt. If it is a beach layer, it implies an almost complete dry-down of the paleo-Dead Sea. The pebble layer lies within the last interglacial interval. Our initial attempt to more precisely estimate the age of the possible dry down shows an intriguing correlation between the salt-mud stratigraphy of the Dead Sea core and the oxygen isotope record of Soreq Cave, whereby excursions to light oxygen in the speleothems correspond to periods of salt deposition. Through this comparison, we estimate that the possible dry down occurred during MIS 5e. The occurrence of ~35 meters of mainly salt along with the pebble layer demonstrates a severe dry interval during MIS 5. This observation has implications for the Middle East today, where the Dead Sea level is dropping as all the countries in the area use the runoff. GCM models indicate a more arid future in the region. The core shows that the runoff nearly stopped during a past warm period without human intervention.

Improving our understanding of the evolution of mountain belts via the Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides (COSC) project: Results from seismic investigations and plans for the 2.5 km deep COSC-2 borehole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juhlin, C.; Almqvist, B. S. G.; Buske, S.; Giese, R.; Hedin, P.; Lorenz, H.

2017-12-01

Mountain belts (orogens) have influenced, and do influence, geological processes and climatic conditions considerably, perhaps more than any other natural phenomenon. The Alpine-Himalayan mountain belt is the prime example of a collisional orogen today. However, research in an active orogen is mostly constrained to observe and interpret the expression of processes at the surface, while the driving processes act at depth, often at mid-crustal levels (20 km) and deeper. About 440 million years ago, an orogen comparable in dimension and tectonic setting to today's Alpine-Himalayan orogen was developing in what is western Scandinavia today. Since then, erosion has removed much of the overburden and exposed the deep interior of the orogen, facilitating direct observation of rocks that are deep in the crust in modern orogens. In the COSC project we study how large rock volumes (allochthons) were transported during the collision of two continents and the associated deformation. The emplacement of high-grade metamorphic allochthons during orogeny has been the focus of COSC-1 research, centered on a 2.5 km deep fully cored borehole drilled in the summer of 2014 through the lower part of the high-grade Seve Nappe Complex near the town of Åre in western Sweden. The planned COSC-2 borehole (also fully cored to 2.5 km) will complement the COSC-1 borehole and allow a 5 km deep tectonostratigraphic column of the Caledonides to be constructed. The rock volume in the proximity of the COSC-2 borehole will be imaged with a combination of very-high and high-resolution geophysical experiments, such as a combination of high frequency seismics; zero offset and walk-away vertical seismic profiling (VSP); and a sparse 3D coverage around the drill site combined with 2D seismic profiles of several kilometers length in different directions. Downhole geophysical logging will provide additional information on the in-situ rock physical properties. Data from surface surveys will be calibrated against and integrated with the borehole data and the geological interpretation of the drill core. The COSC-1 and COSC-2 boreholes will provide a field laboratory for investigating mountain building processes, how plates and rock units deform, what structures and units are formed and their physical properties.

Benchmark calculations with correlated molecular wavefunctions. XIII. Potential energy curves for He2, Ne2 and Ar2 using correlation consistent basis sets through augmented sextuple zeta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Mourik, Tanja

1999-02-01

The potential energy curves of the rare gas dimers He2, Ne2, and Ar2 have been computed using correlation consistent basis sets ranging from singly augmented aug-cc-pVDZ sets through triply augmented t-aug-cc-pV6Z sets, with the augmented sextuple basis sets being reported herein. Several methods for including electron correlation were investigated, namely Moller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2, MP3 and MP4) and coupled cluster theory [CCSD and CCSD(T)]. For He2CCSD(T)/d-aug-cc-pV6Z calculations yield a well depth of 7.35cm-1 (10.58K), with an estimated complete basis set (CBS) limit of 7.40cm-1 (10.65K). The latter is smaller than the 'exact' well depth (Aziz, R. A., Janzen, A. R., and Moldover, M. R., 1995, Phys. Rev. Lett., 74, 1586) by about 0.2cm-1 (0.35K). The Ne well depth, computed with the CCSD(T)/d-aug-cc-pV6Z method, is 28.31cm-1 and the estimated CBS limit is 28.4cm-1, approximately 1cm-1 smaller than the empirical potential of Aziz, R. A., and Slaman, M., J., 1989, Chem. Phys., 130, 187. Inclusion of core and core-valence correlation effects has a negligible effect on the Ne well depth, decreasing it by only 0.04cm-1. For Ar2, CCSD(T)/ d-aug-cc-pV6Z calculations yield a well depth of 96.2cm-1. The corresponding HFDID potential of Aziz, R. A., 1993, J. chem. Phys., 99, 4518 predicts of D of 99.7cm-1. Inclusion of core and core-valence effects in Ar increases the well depth and decreases the discrepancy by approximately 1cm-1.

Pair natural orbital and canonical coupled cluster reaction enthalpies involving light to heavy alkali and alkaline earth metals: the importance of sub-valence correlation.

PubMed

Minenkov, Yury; Bistoni, Giovanni; Riplinger, Christoph; Auer, Alexander A; Neese, Frank; Cavallo, Luigi

2017-04-05

In this work, we tested canonical and domain based pair natural orbital coupled cluster methods (CCSD(T) and DLPNO-CCSD(T), respectively) for a set of 32 ligand exchange and association/dissociation reaction enthalpies involving ionic complexes of Li, Be, Na, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba and Pb(ii). Two strategies were investigated: in the former, only valence electrons were included in the correlation treatment, giving rise to the computationally very efficient FC (frozen core) approach; in the latter, all non-ECP electrons were included in the correlation treatment, giving rise to the AE (all electron) approach. Apart from reactions involving Li and Be, the FC approach resulted in non-homogeneous performance. The FC approach leads to very small errors (<2 kcal mol -1 ) for some reactions of Na, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba and Pb, while for a few reactions of Ca and Ba deviations up to 40 kcal mol -1 have been obtained. Large errors are both due to artificial mixing of the core (sub-valence) orbitals of metals and the valence orbitals of oxygen and halogens in the molecular orbitals treated as core, and due to neglecting core-core and core-valence correlation effects. These large errors are reduced to a few kcal mol -1 if the AE approach is used or the sub-valence orbitals of metals are included in the correlation treatment. On the technical side, the CCSD(T) and DLPNO-CCSD(T) results differ by a fraction of kcal mol -1 , indicating the latter method as the perfect choice when the CPU efficiency is essential. For completely black-box applications, as requested in catalysis or thermochemical calculations, we recommend the DLPNO-CCSD(T) method with all electrons that are not covered by effective core potentials included in the correlation treatment and correlation-consistent polarized core valence basis sets of cc-pwCVQZ(-PP) quality.

Comparison and combination of "direct" and fragment based local correlation methods: Cluster in molecules and domain based local pair natural orbital perturbation and coupled cluster theories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Yang; Becker, Ute; Neese, Frank

2018-03-01

Local correlation theories have been developed in two main flavors: (1) "direct" local correlation methods apply local approximation to the canonical equations and (2) fragment based methods reconstruct the correlation energy from a series of smaller calculations on subsystems. The present work serves two purposes. First, we investigate the relative efficiencies of the two approaches using the domain-based local pair natural orbital (DLPNO) approach as the "direct" method and the cluster in molecule (CIM) approach as the fragment based approach. Both approaches are applied in conjunction with second-order many-body perturbation theory (MP2) as well as coupled-cluster theory with single-, double- and perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)]. Second, we have investigated the possible merits of combining the two approaches by performing CIM calculations with DLPNO methods serving as the method of choice for performing the subsystem calculations. Our cluster-in-molecule approach is closely related to but slightly deviates from approaches in the literature since we have avoided real space cutoffs. Moreover, the neglected distant pair correlations in the previous CIM approach are considered approximately. Six very large molecules (503-2380 atoms) were studied. At both MP2 and CCSD(T) levels of theory, the CIM and DLPNO methods show similar efficiency. However, DLPNO methods are more accurate for 3-dimensional systems. While we have found only little incentive for the combination of CIM with DLPNO-MP2, the situation is different for CIM-DLPNO-CCSD(T). This combination is attractive because (1) the better parallelization opportunities offered by CIM; (2) the methodology is less memory intensive than the genuine DLPNO-CCSD(T) method and, hence, allows for large calculations on more modest hardware; and (3) the methodology is applicable and efficient in the frequently met cases, where the largest subsystem calculation is too large for the canonical CCSD(T) method.