PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. This proposal addresses the geometry and flow dynamics of three large ice caps in the Canadian arctic islands, with implications for glacier mass balance and the rate of sea-level change in a warming world. The work involves a combination of airborne 60 MHz radar to measure ice thickness, which is at present poorly known for these ice caps, and satellite remote sensing of ice velocities. Thickness and velocity data allow calculation of mass loss by iceberg production from the major outlet glaciers of these ice caps. Iceberg production is widely acknowledged as the least well known element in the mass balance of arctic glaciers, and indeed, ice masses worldwide. Internal radar-reflecting horizons and bed power-reflection coefficients also indicate glacier thermal structure. The data will be used as boundary conditions in three-dimensional numerical modelling studies of the response of these ice masses to climate change through time

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. We propose to develop innovative seismic techniques for establishing links between hydraulic or fluid flow properties (porosity, permeability, connectivity) and seismic properties (impedance, velocity, attenuation), and for improving the remote determination of the hydraulic properties from surface seismic and borehole data. A significant part of this project will involve the development of theoretical models of seismic wave propagation in rocks with realistic distributions of fractures and faults, with fluid-rock interaction included in the seismic wave propagation theory. The project will combine analytical studies and numerical modelling tools for simulating wave propagation in fractured porous rock. The research will be guided by, and benefit from, application to field data supplied by the industrial collaborators. The proposed research will improve both seismic wavefield theory and modelling of fluid flow in fractured rock and will have direct application in recovering the critical fluid-flow parameters. The work will fill the gap existing in characterising fluid-rock interaction using seismic methods, and it is expected to provide a strong theoretical basis for time-lapse seismic monitoring of spatial and temporal changes in underground reservoirs. The output will be of direct relevance to the detection of oil/gas migration in reservoirs and groundwater flow in aquifers using field seismic measurements.

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. Biomarkers are organic molecules found in the natural environment whose stable carbon skeletons have been well preserved. They are often regarded, therefore as "chemical fossils" and can provide valuable information about the biological origins and subsequent transformations undergone by organic matter in the natural environment and geosphere. Although biological sources have been identified for many lipids in environmental samples, the gaps in our knowledge are large. We propose to utilise the unique capabilities of hydropyrolysis (pyrolysis assisted by high hydrogen pressures) to generate representative biomarker hydrocarbon profiles (both free and bound) from a broad range of microorganism species. This will facilitate more accurate chemotaxonomny to be performed in earth and aquatic applications. The findings of this project will be of great interest to all disciplines which employ biomarker lipids as diagnostic molecular tools.

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. The freshest available Archaean (3.5 and 2.7 ga) and young komatiites, including very fresh Belingwe olivine with melt inclusions and newly collected Barberton rock with fresh olivine, will be used to investigate melt water content, temperature of eruption, and oxygen isotope systematics. The results will be used to model the tectonic setting of the komatiites and secular evolution of the mantle

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. To determine the seasonality and inter-annual variability of rainfall from the variations in annual luminescence laminations for multiple samples of recently deposited stalagmites from two monitored cave systems. a) extend this for the last 2000 years of climate change for multiple sites in the UK and continental Europe to establish regional palaeoprecipitation records. Measurement of variations in the structure of laminae luminescence using UV microscope and laser techniques for samples from England and France with parallel monitoring of seasonal variations of luminescence. UV techniques as above with additional samples to extend the project spatially (to Belgium, Scotland, England & France) and temporally (last 2000 years)

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. This proposal is to test the hypothesis that secondary (crack) porosity can be treated as a scaling problem in both fracture and fluid percolation theory. This will be achieved by measurements of elastic, transport and mechanical properties on rock samples with known and controlled crack densities (crack porosities) that span the percolation threshold under a wide range of stress conditions. The measured data will be used to calibrate and validate generic models for fluid and fracture percolation that can then be upscaled to predict permeability at the reservoir scale from wireline logs.

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. The long term mobility of different sized pebbles under different hydraulic conditions will be investigated by re-mapping 1220 magnetically tagged pebbles which have been dispersing since 1991 from 6 points in a Scottish river. Travel distances and burial depths of recovered tracers will be analysed in relation to pebble size, local bed grain size, and local mean shear stress. The travel distance results will show whether shorter term relationships (including one from a 1991-3 study of these tracers) apply over the longer term or are distorted by deep burial and bar storage. The data will also give insight into long term mixing depths (about which assumptions must be made in numerical models), shape sorting, and abrasion rates.

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. The aim of the proposed project is to study evolution in the spatial characteristic of coupled flow and porosity development in heterogeneous porous media. We will develop a modelling engine and methodologies to generate porosity templates for use in flow and transport models of fractured aquifers. Although the primary motivation for this study is to enhance our ability to predict flow and contaminant transport in vulnerable fractured aquifers, such as the chalk, the approach is generic and we foresee a wide range of scenarios where the model may be applied. The work has three specific objectives: 1) to produce a generic model of porosity development, 2) to investigate percolation, scaling and self-organisation phenomena in porosity development due to flow, and 3) to model pore structure and flow histories for a range of natural and anthropogenic problems.

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. Sandstones in hydrocarbon basins are usually cemented by quartz: this frequently infills porosity by 50%, and so dramatically reduces reservoir quality. Predictive models for spatial patterns of cementation require to know the sources of silica, and the hydrogeology of cement-forming fluids. The ion microprobe has recently proved capable of in-situ micro analysis (0.02mm), to decipher the record of palaeo-fluids. To date 18O/16O has provided an effective tracer of fluid source, but sources of silica remain obscure. We will use the ion microprobe to investigate new geochemical tracers - B, Li, Al, 11B/10B (sigma11B), 30Si/28Si (sigma30Si) - to simultaneously discriminate silica sources, fluid sources, and fluid migration. This is a key step to more comprehensive predictive cementation models. Tracers will be tested in known hydrogeological settings, and by laboratory experiments.

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. This project is designed to integrate geological structural characterisation of fault zones with numerical modelling of flow behaviour at different scales. We will develop a 3D flow simulator which can model the impact of geological heterogeneities (clustered fault / fracture arrays) under different stress conditions on fluid flow. The project is collaboration between a structural geology research group (the rock deformation research group), an applied mathematics group (the centre for computational fluid dynamics) and a series of industrial partners (Arco, BP, Shell and Midland Valley).