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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Deep Learning Accelerated History Matching and Forecasting in Geologic CO 2 Sequestration [Slides]

We have successfully developed a predictive workflow for the Geologic CO 2 Sequestration using a deep learning model based on the Fourier Neural Operator. The workflow has high accuracy for predicting pressure & saturation during the injection and post-injection periods and has decent accuracy for predicting water and CO 2 production rates during injection period. It is necessary to train exclusive DNN models for pressure prediction in long term GCS, but for saturation prediction, we can use a single model to predict it.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Enhancing predictive understanding and accuracy in geological carbon dioxide storage monitoring: Simulation and history matching of tracer transport dynamics

Co-injection of conservative tracers with carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is a viable tool for monitoring subsurface processes during geological CO 2 storage (GCS). This research investigates the simulation and history-matching of a gas tracer (sulfur hexafluoride, SF 6 ) during CO 2 flooding, employing a core flooding result in Berea sandstone. Four extensively used saturation functions are assessed for their efficacy in history matching of CO 2 /SF 6 injection at the core scale. The history-matching process incorporates particle swarm optimization (PSO) to fine-tune constitutive relationships parameters. Next, employing transport models at the aquifer scale, we interrogate the impact on tracer transport and mixing of saturation function uncertainties, arising from the non-uniqueness of constitutive relationships parameters and saturation function types. To assess the effects of geological heterogeneity on behavior of tracer breakthrough curves (BTCs), we employ two normalized parameters assessing the degree of mixing and SF 6 breakthrough time. The aquifer-scale investigation encompasses both homogeneous and heterogeneous systems with and without capillary heterogeneity effects. Our findings underscore the critical importance of addressing saturation function uncertainties, emphasizing the significance of auxiliary experiments and innovative methodologies to enhance predictive accuracy. The findings highlight significant disparities in arrival times, BTC peaks, tails, and mixing levels, even under optimal conditions. Heterogeneity, with or without capillary heterogeneity, plays a crucial role in shaping BTC variations, resulting in accelerated SF 6 breakthrough times and reduced BTC peaks. Evaluation of monitoring points distant from the injector reveals a dampening effect on the SF6 BTC peak, particularly in heterogeneous systems with capillary heterogeneity, where the peak is halved. These insights underscore the challenges associated with tracer monitoring and the necessity for enhanced methodologies to improve predictive accuracy in subsurface processes during GCS.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Survey and Modeling of Windblown Ejecta Deposits on Venus

Venus' thick atmosphere rotates in the same direction as the solid body, but ∼60 times faster. This atmospheric superrotation has produced dozens of windblown ejecta deposits (“parabolas”) on the surface of Venus. The formation and modification of parabolas is an interplay between impacts, aeolian modification, and atmospheric dynamics. We conducted a survey to explore the nature of these sedimentary surface features. First, we observe trends in parabolas' morphology that shed light on how they are deposited and gradated. Changes in the size and radar albedo of parabolas are likely linked to the height and density (respectively) of ejecta plumes at time of formation. Next, we discovered that parabolas show orientations inconsistent with present atmospheric dynamics. This discrepancy may record a change in these dynamics or geologically recent true polar wander at a rate of ∼1° Myr −1 , which is similar to that observed on Earth over the past century. These results highlight how overlapping observations at different radar wavelengths provide important insights into the history and character of geologic processes on Venus. Overall, atmospheric superrotation has probably persisted for at least the age of Venus' surface.

Venus↗
DOE OSTI2021

Precambrian Crystalline Basement Properties From Pressure History Matching and Implications for Induced Seismicity in the US Midcontinent

Injection-induced seismicity across the US midcontinent has almost exclusively occurred in the crystalline basement that underlies the Arbuckle Group aquifer and its equivalents, the primary wastewater disposal zone in this region. However, the properties of the basement are not well known. Newly compiled data, from Class I wells in Kansas, provide a unique record of pressures in the Arbuckle and an opportunity to constrain the reservoir-scale properties of the basement such as permeability, diffusivity, and specific storage. Constraints on these parameters are critical for modeling fluid flow and pressures across the entire Arbuckle-basement system, and are necessary for accurate evaluation and prediction of injection-induced earthquakes. Here, we present a detailed, three-dimensional geological and pressure history-matched numerical model for the Arbuckle and basement, based on data from >400 wells covering a large region in south-central Kansas, where injection-induced seismicity has been concentrated since 2014. Simulations of dynamic data from 319 wells indicate that Arbuckle pressures have increased by 1.1 MPa in high injection rate areas and an overpressure of <0.1 MPa may be the cause of seismicity in the basement. Pressure-history matching also yields the likely range in porosity (0.3%–7%), permeability (0.1–0.7 mD), and diffusivity (0.004–0.07 m2 /s) for the basement. The resulting estimates suggest reservoir-scale properties of the basement are enhanced by faults and fractures. Importantly, the diffusivities determined in this study are lower than estimates derived from Kansas earthquake triggering fronts, and suggest that such seismicity-based techniques may have limitations, particularly where spacetime patterns between injection and seismicity are complex.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Internal structure of the San Jacinto fault zone at the Ramona Reservation, north of Anza, California, from dense array seismic data

SUMMARY We image the internal structure of the San Jacinto fault zone (SJFZ) near Anza, California, with seismic data recorded by two dense arrays (RA and RR) from ∼42 000 local and ∼180 teleseismic events occurring between 2012 and 2017. The RA linear array has short aperture (∼470 m long with 12 strong motion sensors) and recorded for the entire analysed time window, whereas the RR is a large three-component nodal array (97 geophones across a ∼2.4 km × 1.4 km area) that operated for about a month in September–October 2016. The SJFZ at the site contains three near-parallel surface traces F1, F2 and F3 from SW to NE that have accommodated several Mw > 6 earthquakes in the past 15 000 yr. Waveform changes in the fault normal direction indicate structural discontinuities that are consistent with the three fault surface traces. Relative slowness from local events and delay time analysis of teleseismic arrivals in the fault normal direction suggest a slower SW side than the NE with a core damage zone between F1 and F2. This core damage zone causes ∼0.05 s delay at stations RR26–31 in the teleseismic P arrivals compared with the SW-most station, and generates both P- and S-type fault zone trapped waves. Inversion of S trapped waves indicates the core damaged structure is ∼100 m wide, ∼4 km deep with a Q value of ∼20 and 40 per cent S-wave velocity reduction compared with bounding rocks. Fault zone head waves observed at stations SW of F3 indicate a local bimaterial interface that separates the locally faster NE block from the broad damage zone in the SW at shallow depth and merges with a deep interface that separates the regionally faster NE block from rocks to the SW with slower velocities at greater depth. The multiscale structural components observed at the site are related to the geological and earthquake rupture history at the site, and provide important information on the preferred NW propagation of earthquake ruptures on the San Jacinto fault.

Geochemistry & Geophysics↗
DOE OSTI2023

Carbon isotope fractionation by an ancestral rubisco suggests that biological proxies for CO 2 through geologic time should be reevaluated

The history of Earth’s carbon cycle reflects trends in atmospheric composition convolved with the evolution of photosynthesis. Fortunately, key parts of the carbon cycle have been recorded in the carbon isotope ratios of sedimentary rocks. The dominant model used to interpret this record as a proxy for ancient atmospheric CO 2 is based on carbon isotope fractionations of modern photoautotrophs, and longstanding questions remain about how their evolution might have impacted the record. Therefore, we measured both biomass (ε p ) and enzymatic (ε Rubisco ) carbon isotope fractionations of a cyanobacterial strain ( Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942) solely expressing a putative ancestral Form 1B rubisco dating to ≫1 Ga. This strain, nicknamed ANC, grows in ambient pCO 2 and displays larger ε p values than WT, despite having a much smaller ε Rubisco (17.23 ± 0.61‰ vs. 25.18 ± 0.31‰, respectively). Surprisingly, ANC ε p exceeded ANC ε Rubisco in all conditions tested, contradicting prevailing models of cyanobacterial carbon isotope fractionation. Such models can be rectified by introducing additional isotopic fractionation associated with powered inorganic carbon uptake mechanisms present in Cyanobacteria, but this amendment hinders the ability to accurately estimate historical pCO 2 from geological data. Understanding the evolution of rubisco and the CO 2 concentrating mechanism is therefore critical for interpreting the carbon isotope record, and fluctuations in the record may reflect the evolving efficiency of carbon fixing metabolisms in addition to changes in atmospheric CO 2 .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Occurrences of REE and CM in volcanic ash beds associated with coals in SW Wyoming & NW Colorado

Rare earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals (CMs) are vital components in the nation’s economy, national security, and the further strengthening of our renewable energy capabilities and infrastructure. Recent work has revealed more insight into previously unknown modes of occurrence for REEs, particularly in coal seams and adjacent noncoal sediments, but many data gaps persist. Temporal relationships between coal beds and adjacent tonstiens, ash beds, or other partings are widely recognized but not fully understood. Variations in REE concentration and their direct or indirect association with coal beds are not predictable. This study presents findings from examining lateral and potentially stratigraphic variation of REE and CM occurrences in coals of late Cretaceous and Paleocene age. In this study we collected and examined samples of differing ages both core and coal mine exposures for qualitative x-ray fluorescence (XRF), and multi-element geochemistry. Preliminary XRF data indicates variable levels of light REEs in a core from the Yampa coalfield of Moffat County in northwest Colorado. An absence of similar enrichments in slightly older coals in the Adaville Formation of the Fold and Thrust belt in southwest Wyoming is described from XRF and ICP-MS evaluation. Previous work has shown an association with the Yampa Bed and REE enrichment in coals of the Upper Cretaceous Williams Fork Formation. While not common and widespread, this association suggests that leaching or reworking of the ash bed could lead to elevated REEs in the adjacent coal. We investigate differences between the two data occurringas geologic compositions and post-depositional histories. In-depth petrography and precise geochemistry should reveal data that at the very least will help improve some aspects of the geologic models of coal basins and the effect of an influx of non-coal sediments.

REE, CM, ash, volcanic ash, coal↗
DOE OSTI2021

Geochemical advances in Arctic Alaska oil typing – North Slope oil correlation and charge history

The Arctic Alaska petroleum province is geologically and geochemically complex. Mixed hydrocarbon charge from multiple source rocks and/or levels of thermal maturity is common within an individual oil pool. Biomarker and chemometric statistical analyses were used to correlate twenty-nine oils to five oil families derived from: (1) Triassic Shublik Formation (calcareous organofacies), (2) Triassic Shublik Formation (shaly organofacies), (3) Jurassic Kingak Shale, (4) Cretaceous shale (pebble shale unit and Hue Shale), and (5) Paleogene shale (Canning Formation). Age-diagnostic and source-related oil biomarker parameters establish clear genetic relationships between the normal oil-window components and their putative source designations. However, application of diamondoid analyses reveals mixed-oil accumulations with postmature charge contributions (diamondoid-rich and biomarker-poor) in many oils. Most sampled reservoirs contain a predominant charge derived from a single oil-window source plus a minor contribution from one or more higher maturity source(s). Variations in source organofacies also are recognized in the Shublik, Kingak, and Cretaceous oil families. In some cases, oils from multiple pools within a single field display relatively homogeneous geochemical profiles, suggesting a common source and migration pathway. For example, oil from the significant Pikka discovery is inferred to originate mainly from the calcareous Shublik Formation. In other cases, variability among oils from multiple pools within a single field (e.g., Milne Point, Colville River, and Northstar) likely indicates a more complex source, migration, and charge history. The results of this study may be useful for anticipating the composition of oil charge in stratigraphic traps with low-permeability sandstone reservoirs, where oil gravity and other chemical parameters may influence economic viability.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Effects of Livestock Exclusion on Stream Habitat and Aquatic Biota: A Review and Recommendations for Implementation and Monitoring

Abstract To inform riparian restoration, research, and monitoring and to provide management recommendations, we reviewed published studies evaluating the physical and biological effectiveness of livestock exclusion and grazing reduction on various metrics in riparian and aquatic areas. We identified 95 North American studies that reported the effects of livestock grazing reduction on physical habitat (channel morphology, mesohabitats, substrate, and bank stability), biological assemblages (riparian vegetation, macroinvertebrates, fish, and birds), and water quality metrics (temperature, nitrates, phosphorus, and turbidity). Most studies reported that methods to reduce or exclude livestock decreased channel width, width-to-depth ratio, bank erosion, soil bulk density, bare ground, water temperature, nitrogen, and phosphorus and increased riparian vegetation (cover, height, productivity, biomass, and abundance), riparian bird abundance, and young-of-the-year fishes. Results for channel depth, instream substrate, mesohabitats, water depth, juvenile and adult fishes, and macroinvertebrates showed no consistent response to exclusion. Project success was influenced by the time since exclusion; whether there was complete exclusion or continued grazing; and local climate, geology, and soils. Apart from bank erosion and stability, most of the physical and biological metrics took more than a decade to respond to livestock exclusion. However, coupling exclusion with planting and other restoration measures decreased the recovery time. Complete exclusion of livestock produced more consistent improvements in riparian condition and other metrics than rest–rotation or other grazing management strategies. Understanding how physical and biological metrics respond to livestock exclusion will require (1) focused, long-term studies using before–after or before–after, control–impact designs; and (2) monitoring of metrics that most consistently respond to exclusion. Ultimately, the design of exclusions should be driven by local climate, geology, biophysical conditions, and management history. Our results highlight the need for watershed-scale approaches to excluding livestock from broad areas and the need for implementation monitoring to ensure that fencing and other exclusion measures continue to exclude livestock and produce the desired responses.

Krall, Michelle↗
DOE OSTI2025

Understanding neutron capture processes in uranium deposits using combined U-Sm-Nd isotopic compositions

Valuable insights into the history and evolution of a geologic deposit can be found by investigating neutron capture reactions. Thermal neutron capture reactions occur within both the samarium (Sm) and the uranium (U) systems, where 149 Sm and 235 U can capture neutrons to become 150 Sm and 236 U, respectively. Although largely unexplored, paired measurements of 150 Sm and 236 U could be important for understanding neutron capture effects within uranium ore bodies, and such measurements are potentially useful in nuclear forensics for assessing a material's provenance or mineral exploration. In this work, we refined measurement procedures of Sm isotope compositions utilizing MC-ICPMS. While geologic reference materials were found to have indistinguishable Sm isotope compositions, we found significant isotope variations consistent with nuclear field shift among synthetic Sm standards. Here, this observation highlights that future high-precision Sm isotope investigations need to carefully evaluate synthetic standard(s) against geologic reference materials until an unfractionated and agreed-upon standard is identified. Here, we applied this method to a set of nine uranium ores from the South Australian Beverley North uranium deposits. Although 236 U excesses had been previously reported for these U ores, we found no measurable isotopic shifts in 149 Sm- 150 Sm at the current level of precision (±5 parts per million). One possible explanation for this disparity in the observed neutron capture signatures between U and Sm is that the source(s) of the U and Sm in these ores may be decoupled. This is consistent with the finding that these ores have variable 143 Nd/ 144 Nd, thus demonstrating that diverse sources were involved in the formation of the Beverley North deposits. Alternatively, this deposit may be too young (<50Ma) to have accumulated measurable neutron capture effects in Sm to be detected with the methods employed here.

Mineral exploration↗
DOE OSTI2025

Stochastic Ensemble Generation for Improved Characterization of Representing Geologic Variability in a Reservoir: IBDP Case Study for SMART Initiative

This document is a poster covering the findings from activities on training data generation, specifically geologic ensemble generation. The generated geologic realizations captured the range of possible permeability distributions of the subsurface at the Illinois Basin - Decatur Project (IBDP) site, based on available well log variabilities. The percentages of reservoirs and baffles in the injection zone and a truncation of baffle permeability led to more variance in the simulations. This will be used to build forward modeling, history matching, and optimization workflows. The geologic realizations were also ranked according to dynamic measures of hydraulic diffusivity, and simulations confirm a greater contrast between the reservoir and the baffles during injection.

stochastic ensemble generation↗
DOE OSTI2023

International Offshore Geologic Carbon Storage Story Map

The International Offshore Geologic Carbon Storage Story Map provides an overview of offshore geologic carbon storage (GCS) project maturity on a global scale. This story map reviews the history of CO2 storage in offshore sedimentary basins, basic geologic requirements, project timelines and lessons learned through defined project stage progression, areas previously studied for potential future domestic offshore GCS development, and regulatory considerations within different global regions. This resource is a distillation of information collected and recorded in the Offshore Geologic Carbon Storage Inventory Version 1.0 (https://edx.netl.doe.gov/dataset/offshore-gcs-data-inventory).

Assessment↗
DOE OSTI2025

Assessing the fidelity of shallow-water carbonates as records of the Ni isotope composition of surface seawater

Nickel is a bioessential metal that is used in enzymes important to the C, N, and O cycles, and changes in its marine abundance and bioavailability may have affected the evolutionary trajectory of early life. Changes over time in the Ni isotope composition (δ 60 Ni) of surface seawater, which reflects biological demand for Ni, could allow for the reconstruction of the dynamics of Ni demand over Earth’s history, but this approach would require geologic records of surface seawater. Here, we investigate the fidelity of shallow-water carbonates as a record of the Ni isotope composition of surface seawater by determining how Ni is first partitioned into natural carbonates and then how post-depositional processes influence the Ni signal. Our samples come from the Great Bahama Bank, which is a well-studied, modern carbonate platform often used to study ancient platforms. We found that Ni is fractionated from seawater upon incorporation into carbonates capturing shallow (<18 cm), recent deposition (0.1 ‰–0.4 ‰ lighter than seawater). Variation among these [Ni] and δ 60 Ni values may be controlled by variation in mineral proportions. Meteoric diagenesis shifts δ 60 Ni to lower values, which we attribute to isotopically light meteoric fluids. In contrast, carbonates that experienced sediment-buffered marine diagenesis with respect to Ca isotopes and Sr/Ca ratios do not appear to differ in δ 60 Ni values from sediments generally representative of their initial deposition. The sensitivity of δ 60 Ni to diagenetic reset in these samples appears comparable to the sensitivities of Ca isotopes and Sr/Ca ratios, to first order. Thus, in general, carbonates that experienced sediment-buffered marine diagenesis with respect to these elements may hold the most promise as a record of the δ 60 Ni of coeval surface seawater. Additionally, we use our results to infer that the fraction of Ni removed from seawater into carbonates is less than 10 % of the total Ni output from the global oceans and incorporation of this Ni sink into global biogeochemical models will only have a minor impact on the modeled modern Ni budget.

Great Bahama Bank carbonates↗
DOE OSTI2020

Late Holocene history of Tokotan Lake (Kuril Archipelago, Russian Far East): The use of lacustrine records for paleoclimatic reconstructions from geologically dynamic settings

A high-resolution, multiproxy analysis of a core from Tokotan Lake, Urup Island, illustrates the complex paleoenvironmental signals that can be preserved in sedimentary deposits from geologically active areas, such as the Kuril Archipelago. Diatom and geochemical analyses of the Tokotan core suggest a shallowing and lessening of the lake area over the last ~3450 cal BP. Without other proxies, the record could be interpreted as showing a general decrease in precipitation over the Late Holocene. However, palynological data indicate no change in vegetation, thereby implying no significant climatic variation. Neither of these paleoclimatic interpretations agrees with Late Holocene reconstructions from the Kuril Archipelago or the Russian mainland. Paleomagnetic data imply variable sediment sources during the lake's history, indicating alterations within the Tokotan catchment (e.g., shifts in gradients or sediment loads in the inflowing streams). Such changes would be particularly important in the Shabalina River, which today has formed a partial dam across the lake's outlet. Here, the results of the Tokotan study indicate that other factors (e.g., volcanism, seismic activity, sea-level changes) rather than climate were more probable determinants of the Late Holocene lake record. Given the geologic dynamism of the region, it is perhaps not surprising that paleo-records from the Kuril Islands display an inconsistency in the numbers and/or duration of proposed Holocene climatic oscillations, underscoring the importance of multiproxy investigations in areas that are or have been geologically dynamic.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Optimizing DOE Opportunities to Research Land–Atmosphere Interactions in the U.S. Southeast (Workshop Report)

The southeastern United States (Southeast), with its complex and varied environments, is an area of tremendous economic, ecological, and societal importance to the country. The region is characterized by heterogeneous landscapes (i.e., geology and soil type) and a long history of human land use coupled with a warm temperature regime and high precipitation. As a result, soil erosion and deposition are pronounced, vegetation recovery is rapid, and human modification is extensive across the region. To better understand land–atmosphere interactions in this important and complex region, research communities supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program identified the Southeast as a priority region of interest. In fall 2024, the third Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Mobile Facility (AMF3), one of three mobile monitoring facilities designed to collect atmospheric and climate data from undersampled regions around the world, will begin operations in northwestern Alabama’s Bankhead National Forest (BNF). The AMF3-BNF 5-year deployment, from 2024–2029, will monitor the effects of feedbacks among aerosols, clouds, and precipitation on plant physiology and canopy-scale fluxes. It will also focus on scale aggregation to resolve the role of local forcing on larger-scale processes. To enable broader AMF3 involvement by the science community, the BER Environmental System Science (ESS) program organized the Southeast Land– Atmosphere Research Opportunities (SELARO) workshop in August 2023. The purpose was to identify gaps in scientific understanding of terrestrial processes in the Southeast (defined as states bounded by the Gulf of Mexico to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to east, the Mississippi River to the west, and extending through Tennessee and North Carolina to the north) and explore opportunities to use the AMF3-BNF deployment to coordinate and leverage research efforts across the region. Many parts of the Southeast have experienced repeated anthropogenic forcings. Farming, hunting, burning, and settlement of the region by Indigenous Peoples first shaped the distribution of plant communities, which in turn influenced European colonization patterns. Timber harvesting was common during the expansion of European settlements, and production forestry continues today. Agricultural production was extensive and then waned through the 20th century, creating a period of afforestation following agricultural abandonment. Today, many formerly agricultural landscapes are undergoing rapid urbanization and suburbanization. Overlying these patterns of anthropogenic land use are frequent disturbances from hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, drought, flooding, ice storms, and the occasional blizzard. An additional characteristic of the Southeast is its overall landscape complexity. Unlike the western United States, where broad expanses may share similar characteristics, Southeast topography, drainage patterns, vegetation, and development patterns vary widely across relatively small spatial scales (<1 km). This is due to the region’s underlying geology and soil development, species biodiversity patterns, and land ownership and use coupled with strong forces of erosion, weathering, and rapid plant growth in the warm, wet climate.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗