the mid cretaceous earth paleogeography ocean circulation and temperature atmospheric circulation a reconstruction of the global paleogeography of the mid cretaceous 100 m y ago including adjustment of continental outlines to account for microplate movements cmstal shortening and accretion in mid cretaceous and later orogenic regions is described and a map presented on the modified continents coastlines and significant mountain ranges are added this paleogeography is used as a framework for a reconstruction of ocean surface circulation and temperature distribution then the main features of the atmospheric circulation are deduced using the paleogeography and ocean temperatures as boundary conditions relative to the present these features are a much weaker westerly wind belt and greater seasonality of wind patterns leading to more extreme surface climates over the continents slightly equatorward positions of the subtropical anticyclones and monsoonal regimes over the continental margins bordering tethys and the central atlantic a comparison of the results with climatic evidence from t

linear coupling of carbon and strontium isotopes in rotliegend sandstone north sea evidence for cross formational fluid flow isotopic analyses of carbon and strontium in diagenetic dolomite and ankerite present in the eolian lower permian rotliegend sandstone southern north sea show an excellent linear correlation between delta sup 13 c and sup 87 sr sup 86 sr r 0 93 suggesting that the sources of these elements were interlinked the isotopic data indicate that late permian zechstein seas flooded the basin and displaced the interstitial meteoric rotliegent pore fluids producing early dolomite with predominantly marine bicarbonate delta sup 13 c minus 15 per thousand and strontium sup 87 sr sup 86 sr 0 7076 isotopic signatures the isotopic values of this dolomite form a trend to merge with the diagenetically later ankerite which has lower sup 13 c sup 12 c delta sup 13 c minus 4 per thousand and more radiogenic strontium sup 87 sr sup 86 sr 0 7112 the obvious source of low delta sup 13 c carbon was thermal decarboxylation of organic matter in the underlying upper carboniferous mudstones the authors also suggest that the increasing quantities of radiogenic strontium sup 87 sr sup 86 sr 0 720 were released when organic acids dissolved silicates feldspar in the same underlying mudstones the upward movement of fluid or diffusion of ions across formation boundaries therefore progressively became the dominant control on carbonate precipitation in the rotliegend sandstone

mass transfer and problems of secondary porosity creation in deeply buried hydrocarbon reservoirs abstract secondary porosity created by the post depositional leaching of detrital grains and cements can be of great economic importance the term secondary porosity is only descriptive and does not give any information on whether the porosity of the rock has been enhanced in reality there are two end member volumetric outcomes to the leaching process firstly the mineral can be completely dissolved and its components transported out of the system in such an instance the porosity of the rock will be enhanced secondly it is possible that a mineral will decompose and by product minerals will be precipitated which will occupy approximately the same volume as the original mineral the latter case is more likely where the pore waters are close to equilibrium with the majority of the minerals of the rock this will occur at elevated temperatures and or where the pore waters have been in contact with the rock for a long time these conditions are commonly met during intermediate to deep burial many metastable minerals such as high temperature feldspars probably decompose in this way a consequence of the decomposition of such metastable minerals is that primary porosity will be swapped for secondary and that older and more deeply buried rocks will contain a higher proportion of secondary porosity the mass transport equation may be used to examine the physico chemical environment where enhanced porosities most likely occur during leaching by using a simple non equilibrium mass transport model based on the silica system it is possible to demonstrate the relative importance of flow rate reaction rates specific surfaces and temperature in controlling the areal extent of leaching wide leaching zones are related to high flow rates which in turn promote a high throughput of undersaturated fluid and dispersion leaching over a wide area is also favoured by low reaction rates which will occur at low temperatures although it is true to say that less of a given silicate mineral can be dissolved by an undersaturated pore water at low temperature than at high temperature it is probable that pore fluids from deeply buried sediments are more likely to be close to equilibrium with a given mineral than for instance meteoric water thus the most likely environment for the production of widespread enhanced porosity is in the shallow subsurface the lower flow rates and higher temperatures that are encountered during deep burial diagenesis will result in far narrower more intense leaching zones as a result providing sufficient reactive mineral is present any undersaturated pore water will approach equilibrium in a short distance in order to transport undersaturated pore waters appreciable distances in the deep subsurface it is necessary to minimize their interaction with the host rock this could occur if the pore fluid were to move through a fracture system where it would interact with a far smaller surface area of reactive mineral than if it moved through the pore network

empirical estimation of peak pressure level from sound exposure level part ii offshore impact pile driving noise numerical models of underwater sound propagation predict the energy of impulsive signals and its decay with range with a better accuracy than the peak pressure a semi empirical formula is suggested to predict the peak pressure of man made impulsive signals based on numerical predictions of their energy the approach discussed by galindo romero lippert and gavrilov j acoust soc am 138 in press 2015 for airgun signals is modified to predict the peak pressure from offshore pile driving which accounts for impact and pile parameters it is shown that using the modified empirical formula provides more accurate predictions of the peak pressure than direct numerical simulations of the signal waveform

distribution chemistry isotopic composition and origin of diagenetic carbonates magnus sandstone north sea abstract diagenetic ferroan carbonates grew in the upper jurassic reservoir sandstones of the magnus oilfield in porewaters which differed in composition across the field these porewaters remained compositionally different and stratified for at least 35 m y variations in carbonate chemistry across the field are attributable to these porewater variations which resulted from displacement of marine depositional water from the crest of the field by meteoric water during late cimmerian subaerial exposure original depositional facies and detrital mineralogy strongly influenced diagenetic carbonate distribution rare diagenetic calcite occurs as discrete rhombic crystals diagenetically late magnesian siderites have developed throughout the reservoir sandstone and are commonly intimately associated with altered detrital biotite grains poikilotopic ankerite cement postdates calcite and siderite and occurs only adjacent to mudstones and in thin sandstones within mudstones three compositional growth zones in siderite crystals are observed across the field from crest to flank in all three wells studied a similar trend of compositional evolution through time is observed in both two and three zoned rhombs first formed siderite is relatively magnesian intermediate zones are more ferroan and outer zones are at least as magnesian as the first stage these individual grain variations overprint a fieldwide variation where siderite is more ferroan in the crestal samples up to 87 mol fe mn and more magnesian downdip up to 58 mol mg this reflects the greater influence of relatively fe rich meteoric derived water in the crest and the greater influence of marine derived mg rich porewater downdip ankerite shows a similar variation in fe and mg abunda ces across the field crest and flank maximum 25 and 17 mol fe mn respectively 27 and 43 tool mg and developed due to release of mg fe ca and hco3 ions from mudstones into adjacent sandstones following dissolution of detrital minerals and organic decarboxylation reactions both siderite and ankerite have lower 18o at the crest of the oilfield than downdip respectively siderite 16 0 and 17 6 smow ankerite 17 7 and 21 4 these differences in 18o reflect the retention during burial diagenesis of a larger component of meteoric water in the crest of the field below the unconformity whereas downdip porefluid contained a larger marine derived component strong organic influence on 13c 8 0 to 14 6 pdb for magnesian siderite 7 7 to 13 6 for ankerite closed system 34s values up to 15 7 for late cubic pyrite and stratified 18o from crest to flank of the field argue against large scale porewater movements diagenetic porewater stratification is strongly supported by the parallel but distinct geochemical fingerprints of siderite and ankerite cements from the crest to the flank of the field

diagenetic heterogeneity and reservoir quality fluvial deltaic and turbiditic sandstone reservoirs potiguar and reconcavo rift basins brazil fluvial and lacustrine deltaic and turbiditic sandstones are major hydrocarbon reservoirs in the onshore lower cretaceous potiguar and reconcavo rift basins in northeastern brazil diagenetic elements including mechanically infiltrated mi clay calcite dolomite and chlorite show distinct distribution patterns at interwell and field wide reservoir scales such distributions and thereby diagenetic heterogeneity have been modeled based on thin section core well log and petrophysical data at the interwell scale relationships between sandstone body geometry and the distribution of diagenetic elements are a critical aspect of reservoir heterogeneity at this level 1 mi clay concentrations occur in fluvial reservoirs following the orientation of paleochannels generating strong compartmentalization of the reservoirs 2 calcite cement appears either concentrated near sand shale contacts peripheral distribution or dispersed in the interior of the sandstone layers scattered distribution 3 dolomite cement may appear concentrated along laminations in cross stratified sandstones causing a decrease of one order of magnitude in the effective horizontal permeability and 4 authigenic chlorite is observed to reduce more significantly the permeability in fine grained sandstones than in coarse grained sandstones an effect that may cause important modifications in the permeability structure of the reservoirs at the field wide scale diagenetic heterogeneity includes 1 stratigraphic zonation of diagenetic properties in fluvial reservoirs 2 increasing carbonate cementation toward the border of the hydrocarbon accumulations in deltaic reservoirs and 3 distinct patterns of carbonate cementation observed in channel fills and lobes in turbiditic reservoirs incorporating the distribution and effects of diagenetic elements into the interwell and field wide geological modeling is essential to achieve a realistic reservoir representation such incorporation is performed by the integration of diagenetic properties with other geological attributes including nature and distribution of depositional facies structural elements and stratigraphic framework this procedure improves reservoir quality evaluation and leads to more precise prediction of reservoir performance

authigenesis of amphibole and its relationship to the diagenetic evolution of lower cretaceous sandstones of the potiguar rift basin northeastern brazil abstract authigenic amphibole occurs in the fan delta front arkoses and lithic sandstones of the neocomian pendencia formation in the potiguar rift basin northeastern brazil as overgrowths fracture healing and replacement of detrital amphibole the amphibole which is closely associated with diagenetic albite chlorite and sphene has precipitated from k na cl brines enriched in ti fe mg at temperatures 100 c these ions were derived from the diagenetic alteration of detrital amphibole and pyroxene chloritization of volcaniclastic sediments at the base of the formation and from brines that ascended along faults from the underlying basement

mass transfer between mudstone sandstone interbeds during diagenesis as revealed from the type and distribution of carbonate cements in the eocene beach bar sandstones bohai bay basin abstract the characteristics heterogeneous distribution and origins of carbonate cements within beach bar sandstones in the boxing sag and implications on the mass transfer from mudstone to sandstone during diagenetic process was investigated systematically by an integrated analysis invoking petrography carbon and oxygen stable isotopes and porosity permeability with specific references to the contrasts among the sharp s change lithology s mudstone s sandstone interbeds the gradual g change lithology g mudstone g sandstone interbeds and the center of sandstones there are distinct differences in the occurrence content distribution carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions and precipitation temperatures of the carbonate cements among the s sandstone g sandstone and center of sandstone material sources of carbonate cements in the s sandstones are mainly derived from the diagenetic alterations of the nearby s mudstones through mass transfer with the participation of organic co2 while in the g sandstones the material sources are mainly internal and originated from the calcareous matrix dissolution of feldspars and conversion of clay minerals provided the main materials for the precipitation of carbonate cements in the center of sandstones mass transfer of carbonate cements mainly occurred between the s mudstones and the s sandstones with limited transmission distance which controlled the distribution of carbonate cements in the s mudstones there was almost no mass transfer between the g mudstones and g sandstones because of the small concentration gradient instead the depositional components and recrystallization controlled the carbonate distribution of the g sandstones

infiltrated clays in fluvial jurassic sandstones of reconcavo basin northeastern brazil abstract fluvial sandstones and conglomerates of the sergi formation a jurassic unit of reconcavo basin northeastern brazil contain significant amounts of interstitial detrital clays which are interpreted as the product of early mechanical infiltration developed in an arid semi arid environment within such an environment the lowered water table allowed muddy waters of episodic runoff to infiltrate through the coarse alluvium concentrating the clays in the upper phreatic zone near the sources of influent seepage petrographic textures considered to be typical of mechanically infiltrated mi clays are herein presented using examples from the sergi formation these textures include 1 ridges and bridges 2 geopetal fabrics 3 loose aggregates 4 anisopachous coatings of tangentially accreted lamellae cutans 5 massive aggregates and 6 shrinkage patterns developed during diagenesis in addition their detrital aspect as revealed by sem observations and the presence of impurities in the interior of the clay aggregates were also used as evidence for the interpreted origin of the clays in most hydrocarbon reservoirs in the sergi formation the clays described in this paper are among the main controls on porosity and permeability distribution commonly zones with maximum clay concentration are the main internal permeability barriers within the sergi formation reservoirs

meteoric burial diagenesis of pennsylvanian arkosic sandstones southwestern anadarko basin texas pennsylvanian arkosic sandstones at mobeetie field were deposited in fan deltas that prograded onto a shallow shelf in the southern anadarko basin the detrital minerals of the sandstones reflect the composition of the precambrian granites and granodiorites that were exposed in the nearby amarillo uplift distal margins of some fan delta lobes were reworked by marine processes and carbonate fossil fragments and oolites were mixed with terrigenous clastics the diagenetic history and hence reservoir quality of the distal marine reworked sandstones differ from those of the more proximal nonreworked sandstones the earliest diagenetic events formation of chlorite ooids and precipitation of fibrous submarine mg calcite cement took place in the depositional environment of the marine reworked sandstones on the basis of isotopic data the remainder of the diagenesis evidently occurred in fluids of meteoric origin shallow early meteoric diagenesis induced precipitation of iron poor calcite spar in reworked sandstones nonreworked sandstones lack calcite spar but contain early pore lining chlorite cement dissolution of aragonite by fresh meteoric ground water created moldic porosity within reworked sandstones as burial increased porosity in both the reworked and nonreworked fan delta sandstones was reduced by precipitation of authigenic quartz feldspar kaolinite fe calcite and ankerite oxygen isotope data suggest that these cements also precipitated from fluids of meteoric origin that became increasingly hot but remained relatively constant in isotopic composition the last diagenetic events were influenced by the overlying permian evaporites sodium rich fluids caused partial albitization of detrital plagioclase and sulfate derived from the evaporites precipitated as anhydrite and celestite

influence of mica surfaces on pore water ph abstract the close spatial association of detrital biotite with diagenetic carbonate prehnite or laumontite is attributed to attraction of h to the mica surface resulting in an increase in pore water ph and stabilization of carbonate or calcium aluminosilicates in the adjacent pore space experimental results at 25 c with biotite and muscovite show that in the ph range of 10 4 biotite adsorbs h whereas muscovite does not adsorb h until ph is less than 6 5 for 0 01 m nacl solutions or less than 5 8 for 0 5 m nacl solutions increasing salinity reduces the h affinity of the micas at seawater type salinities 0 5 m nacl biotite is still capable of adsorbing from 1 10 5 mol h g ph 7 to 2 10 5 mol h g ph 6 during late stage diagenetic compaction if iotite pore fluid ratios are high this effect can substantially raise pore fluid ph biotite may also have an inherited net negative charge in the framework or develop such a charge by incongruent loss of k from cleavage surfaces the theoretical cation distribution adjacent to such a charged surface has been evaluated by the guoy chapman double layer theory calculations show that within 10 a of the biotite surface ph can be several orders of magnitude lower than in the bulk fluid and na ca 2 ratios may be more than three times higher than the bulk fluid

the influence of calcite dissolution on reservoir porosity in miocene sandstones picaroon field offshore texas gulf coast abstract middle miocene sandstones occur in picaroon field corsair trend offshore texas gulf coast at depths of approximately 4 9 to 5 2 km 16 17 000 ft these deltaic sandstones contain evidence of the following sequence of diagenetic events 1 formation of chlorite coatings on detrital grains 2 partial dissolution of detrital feldspar 3 quartz cementation 4 calcite cementation 5 dissolution of calcite cement and grains 6 ankerite cementation the reservoir quality of the sandstones is largely a function of porosity enhancement by calcite dissolution calcite cement was emplaced at depths of approximately 1 8 to 2 6 kin the calcite has 87 86sr values of 0 7083 0 7086 eliminating coeval 15 myr seawater and marine carbonate 0 70873 0 70885 as the primary source of strontium the 87 86sr composition of calcite cement implies that mass transfer of calcite from older marine sources to younger sediments has occurred fluid inclusion measurements indicate that ankerite cement formed at minimum temperatures of 120 188 c 3 0 5 1 km oxygen isotope modeling predicts that at these depths shales would expel waters with 18osmow of 5 to 9 during smectite illite conversion ankerite 18opdb 7 8 would be in isotopic equilibrium with these waters at temperatures similar to those derived from fluid inclusions ankerite cements have relatively radiogenic 87 86sr ratios 0 7097 which are consistent with their formation from shale derived fluids calcite dissolution occurs between the precipitation of calcite and ankerite it is therefore concluded that calcite cement dissolution occurred at burial depths of 2 6 to 3 0 km 107 120 c

albitization of detrital plagioclase in triassic reservoir sandstones from the snorre field norwegian north sea abstract detrital plagioclase an12 an28 in triassic reservoir sandstones of the lunde formation in the snorre field offshore norway has been partially to completely albitized during burial diagenesis depths of about 2 500 3 000 m 75 100 c present temperature calcite caco3 99 mole and kaolinite were formed as by products of plagioclase albitization sodium rich detrital plagioclase an2 an11 are usually unalbitized detrital k feldspar is fresh or rarely partly albitized differences in albitization behavior of detrital plagioclase and k feldspar are shown to be related to the chemistry of formation waters reactivity of kaolinite and temperature the diagenetically formed albite pseudomorphs are very pure ab 9 well ordered low albite dark luminescent vacuolized mostly untwinned and comprised of numerous euhedral albite crystals some of the microporosity within the albite pseudomorphs is caused by volume reduction during albitization of the detrital plagioclase the amount of albite formed in the pseudomorphs is related to the molar proportion of albite component in the detrital unstable ca rich plagioclase the microporosity formed during albitization is proportional to the anorthite component which is believed to have dissolved and resulted primarily in the formation of calcite and kaolinite the albitization of detrital plagioclase in the studied sandstones can thus be explained without assuming the consumption of significant amounts of na from pore solutions

diagenesis of titaniferous minerals in jurassic sandstones from the norwegian sea abstract ti oxides anatase and in some cases rutile that attain various textures and modes of occurrence are minor yet very common authigenic minerals in the jurassic sandstones of the haltenbanken oil field offshore central norway these ti oxides pyrite commonly occur as pseudomorphs after detrital fe ti oxides usually ilmenite titanomagnetite and titanohematite pseudomorphs comprised of ti oxides as well as quartz and or calcite are believed to result upon alteration of detrital sphene ti oxides have also resulted upon kaolinization of detrital biotite and less significantly muscovite authigenic sphene occurs in very small amounts in some of the jurassic sandstones at burial depths 2000 m it displays three major crystallization habits 1 as almond shaped crystals that have most commonly crystallized on authigenic calcite 2 as discrete rhombic crystals that have crystallized adjacent to altered fe ti oxides and biotite and 3 as aggregates of euhedral and subhedral crystals these crystallization habits suggest that sphene has been formed by reaction of si and ti ions with calcite crystallization from pore fluids and replacement of fe ti oxides respectively microprobe analyses of authigenic sphene revealed that al and fe 3 substitute ti in appreciable amounts average 0 08 and 0 04 moles per 5 oxygen atoms respectively whereas substitutions of ca by mn k and na and of ti by mg are negligible

pre requisites processes and prediction of chlorite grain coatings in petroleum reservoirs a review of subsurface examples abstract deeply buried reservoirs containing chlorite coated quartz sand grains commonly have higher than expected porosity and permeability although prediction of such positive anomalies still remains elusive a total of 54 published examples based on information and data from 62 scientific papers was collated quantification of some of the most common parameters including depositional environment age and latitude of sand deposition effect on reservoir quality and chemical composition of chlorite is presented the dataset indicates that chlorite coats are found in sandstones deposited in a range of depositional environments but most commonly occur in delta related environments 44 with fluvial environments the second most common 19 age relationships indicate that there is an overall exploration bias in published examples with chlorite coats becoming increasingly common through time the latitude at the time of deposition of sands with chlorite coats is wide 60 n 60 s and indicates that temperate and tropical climates are important for the generation of this clay mineral chlorite can have a variable effect on reservoir quality but is typically positive iron rich chlorites occur overwhelmingly in coastal environments while mixed iron and magnesium rich chlorites are principally found in marine and terrestrial sandstones analysis of these factors suggests that hinterland geology basinal soil development and geochemical weathering and proximity to river systems are essential to the formation of chlorite precursor phases these characteristics have been combined to define situations where chlorite coats were more likely or more unlikely to form these parameters will provide insights into the formation of chlorite and to further refine predictive models for the presence or absence of chlorite coated sandstones

compositional variations in deep sea gravity flow deposits a case study from the voirons flysch voirons wagital complex chablais prealps france abstract grain size control is frequently invoked to explain the compositional variation of detrital sediments in fluvial sediments a similar possibility is here investigated in the fossil deep sea gravity flow deposits from the voirons flysch voirons wagital complex chablais prealps about 270 samples of diverse depositional settings were analysed using the framework composition including cement and porosity mutti facies and grain size measurements six lithofacies have been identified from cluster analysis they correspond to channel l1 to l3 and lobe l4 and l5 depositional settings and to reworked turbidites l6 our results emphasize the close relationship between petrography and grain size which alters the detrital signal from extrabasinal sources the abundant polycrystalline component of proximal deposits is progressively removed while skeletal grains and additional intrabasinal grains become more abundant in distal deposits alongside porosity is reduced by the simultaneous increase of cement which constrains subsequent diagenetic modifications hence proximal depositional settings keep most of the inherited signal from extrabasinal sources whereas distal deposits will be homogenised when plotted in provenance analysis diagrams the successive depositional settings show distinct fields possibly corresponding to different tectonic settings of the dickinson model this compositional variation thus creates a bias in provenance interpretation resulting from both grain size control and flow mechanisms finally our results emphasize that petrographic data must be handled with care in provenance analyses especially when comparing various deep sea gravity flow systems with different grain size ranges

water rock interaction in tertiary sandstones san joaquin basin california u s a diagenetic controls on water composition three water types are recognized among petroleum associated waters of the southern san joaquin basin 1 meteoric water 2 diagenetically modified connate water and 3 mixed meteoric modified connate water the diagenetically modified connate marine water can be further subdivided into three types 1 fully mg depleted mg 1 mole of the sum of na k ca and mg 2 partially mg depleted and 3 ca enriched enrichment in ca which is the sharpest chemical divide found for the diagenetically modified connate water is the result of feldspar albitization the ca enriched waters are also rich in total dissolved al up to 6 mg l 1 and exhibit lighter 18o values than other diagenetically modified connate waters the total dissolved al abundance in these waters may be due to the presence of organic complexing agents simple and aromatic organic acids and phenolics the lighter 18o values are probably due to both albitization and the lack of substantial clay diagenesis illitization of smectite

sedimentary controls on modern sand grain coat formation abstract coated sand grains can influence reservoir quality evolution during sandstone diagenesis porosity can be reduced and fluid flow restricted where grain coats encroach into pore space conversely pore lining grain coats can restrict the growth of pore filling quartz cement in deeply buried sandstones and thus can result in unusually high porosity in deeply buried sandstones being able to predict the distribution of coated sand grains within petroleum reservoirs is thus important to help find good reservoir quality here we report a modern analogue study of 12 sediment cores from the anllons estuary galicia nw spain collected from a range of sub environments to help develop an understanding of the occurrence and distribution of coated grains the cores were described for grain size bioturbation and sedimentary structures and then sub sampled for electron and light microscopy laser granulometry and x ray diffraction analysis the anllons estuary is sand dominated with intertidal sand flats and saltmarsh environments at the margins there is a shallowing fining upwards trend in the estuary fill succession grain coats are present in nearly every sample analysed they are between 1 m and 100 m thick and typically lack internal organisation the extent of grain coat coverage can exceed 25 in some samples with coverage highest in the top 20 cm of cores samples from muddy intertidal flat and the muddy saltmarsh environments close to the margins of the estuary have the highest coat coverage mean coat coverage of 20 2 and 21 3 respectively the lowest mean coat coverage occurs in the sandy saltmarsh 10 4 beyond the upper tidal limit and sandy intertidal flat environments 8 4 close to the main estuary channel mean coat coverage correlates with the concentration of clay fraction the primary controls on the distribution of fine grained sediment and therefore grain coat distribution are primary sediment transport and deposition processes that concentrate the clay fraction in the sediment towards the margins of the estuary bioturbation and clay illuviation mechanical infiltration are secondary processes that may redistribute fine grained sediment and produce grain coats here we have shown that detrital grain coats are more likely in marginal environments of ancient estuary fills which are typically found in the fining upward part of progradational successions

hologene activity and tectonic setting of the maacama fault zone mendocino county california abstract the maacama fault zone is a north northwest trending right lateral zone of structural weakness in eastern sonoma and mendocino counties california and fault related landforms along its trace suggest that it may well have been active during holocene time urbanization and dam construction in the vicinity of the zone have made it especially desirable to determine the extent and history of such geologically recent movements in order to better understand the seismic capability of faults within the zone the maacama fault zone is a segment of one of two north northwest trending zones of right lateral faulting that diverge as major branches from the easterly side of the san andreas fault zone north of hollister these branches extend at least as far north as eureka and may mark the eastern boundaries of slivers of a separate tectonic plate this investigation was conducted to evaluate holocene activity along the part of the maacama fault zone in mendocino county the investigation shows that this zone comprises discontinuous subparallel fault strands which extend from points south of the sonoma mendocino county line to points north of laytonville some fault segments are expressed by alignments of topographic features clearly caused by holocene strike slip movements other topographic features are less distinct and may well represent fault segments with pre holocene activity the maacama fault zone creeps at a current rate of possibly as high as 2 mm yr the total amounts of holocene offset are unknown evidence obtained from exploratory trenches indicates that at least two surface rupture events have occurred within the past 16 200 years that at least one has occurred within the past 8 310 years and that there probably has been no surface rupturing within the past 1 140 years i conclude that surface offsets have occurred along major portions of the maacama fault zone during holocene time and that this fault zone should be regarded as capable of producing a moderate to strong future earthquake with accompanying surface rupture in mendocino county

the origin of authigenic ankerite from the ninian field uk north sea the carbonate minerals ankerite and ferroan dolomite are widely reported in studies of concretions1 2 and of sandstone hydrocarbon reservoirs3 8 these minerals are often thought to have formed relatively late in the sandstones diagenetic history and in the gulf coast their occurrence has been linked to clay mineral diagenesis in the surrounding shales9 i describe here authigenic ankerite from the ninian field10 ankerite formation was probably synchronous with hydrocarbon emplacement and is related to clay mineral diagenesis in the hydrocarbon source rocks of the viking graben it occurs throughout the reservoir sandstones but is particularly abundant below the oil water contact this distribution reflects hydrocarbon emplacement arresting diagenesis at progressively deeper levels of the reservoir the resulting preferential cementation may adversely affect transmissibility between the aquifer and the oil column and consequently could reduce hydrocarbon recovery

depositional and diagenetic controls on the reservoir quality of lower cretaceous pendencia sandstones potiguar rift basin brazil the quality of the reservoirs of the lower cretaceous pendencia formation of the potiguar basin northeastern brazil is directly controlled by depositional facies related carbonate cementation and compaction the study of the interplay of these processes in the reservoirs offers an opportunity to unravel the diagenetic patterns of clastic sequences in interior rifts and in particular the role of carbonate cementation in poorly understood continental systems the pendencia formation is a thick sequence of fan deltaic fluvial deltaic turbiditic and lacustrine sandstones conglomerates and shales deposited during the rift stage of the basin the sandstones are predominantly arkoses average q49f40l11 with subordinate plutonic and volcaniclastic feldspathic litharenites compaction and cementation had similar importance in the destruction of porosity with a dominance of cementation in the turbidites and of compaction in the fluvial deposits carbonate cementation in pendencia reservoirs increases progressively with depth and is facies controlled eodiagenetic nonferroan calcite i d18opdb 10 7 to 4 0 d13cpdb 17 5 to 8 5 mesodiagenetic rhombohedral ferroan dolomite ankerite d18opdb 9 3 to 3 9 d13cpdb 1 7 to 1 1 and ferroan calcite ii d18opdb 17 2 to 6 8 d13cpdb 13 6 to 2 3 were precipitated at three distinct temperature intervals calculated from the d18o values 21 to 58 c 70 to 79 c and 85 to 150 c respectively according to the d13c values dissolved carbonate for calcite i was derived from oxidation and methanogenic fermentation of organic matter and from methane oxidation ferroan mesogenetic cements were derived from thermal decarboxylation of organic matter the shales were a major source of dissolved begin page 1720 carbonate as indicated by the isotopic similarity between their calcite d13cpdb 0 2 to 1 8 87sr 86sr 0 719 and most cements in the sandstones and by the peripheral cementation along the contacts of interbedded sandstones as a result of this cementation pattern thin turbiditic and deltaic sandstone beds are pervasively cemented the best reservoir quality potential is encountered in the partially cemented fluvial sandstones at moderate depths deltaic and turbiditic sandstones are more pervasively cemented by carbonate derived from the interbedded shales alluvial fan conglomerates and sandstones were flushed by telogenetic meteoric waters close to the borders of the basin and to the proximity to the postrift unconformity however porosity enhancement was very limited due to the precipitation of kaolinite and the intense compaction related to the compositionally immature detrital framework