Earth Sciences Commons^™

Diagnosis, Prevention, And Control Of Liquid Accumulation In Horizontal Wellbores For Deep Coalbed Methane: A Case Study Of The Daning-Jixian Block Along The Eastern Margin Of The Ordos Basin, Zeng Wenting, Wang Zhiming, Zhang Lei, Tian Zhida, Zhen Huaibin, Dai Anna, Zeng Quanshu, Sui Tianyang

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective The Daning-Jixian block on the eastern margin of the Ordos Basin has achieved large-scale production of deep coalbed methane (CBM), with nearly 150 horizontal wells having been put into production. However, with a gradual decrease in formation energy during CBM production, gas wells exhibit declining liquid-carrying capacity. Consequently, liquid accumulation in wellbores has become a major factor affecting deep CBM production. Recovery of deep CBM shows the coexistence of free and desorbed gases, accompanied by significantly varying gas/liquid ratios. Moreover, gas production channels and techniques vary in different production stages. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop a …

A New Genesis Method-Based Methodology For Helium Resource Evaluation: Application To The Jinzhong Basin And Its Geological Implications, Zhang Qiao, Zhou Junlin, Ma Shangwei, Guo Wang, Li Yuhong, Zhang Yunpeng, Zhang Yuxuan, Xu Haihong, Wang Jiawei

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background Helium, a strategic resource in short supply, primarily occurs in natural gas. In China, helium resource assessment remains in its nascent stage, and limited helium exploration and exploitation have been conducted in general. Most especially, for regions experiencing no natural gas exploration and basins where helium reserves remain unproven, it is essential to develop reliable methods for helium resource evaluation. Among various approaches, genesis methods, based on models of helium generation, migration, and enrichment processes, offer advantages including simple models, accessible parameters, and rapid assessment. However, existing genesis methods focus primarily on the estimation of the total amount of …

Sedimentary Environments And Microscopic Water Control Patterns In The Luohe Formation, Gaojiapu Coal Mine, Binchang Mining Area, Li Xiaolong

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective and Method The exploration of the Luohe Formation, located on the roof of the Huanglong Jurassic coalfield, faces challenges such as a lack of consensus on the sedimentary environments of sandstone aquifers and unclear lithologies with water yield properties in the aquifers. To address these challenges, this study investigated sandstones in the Luohe Formation in the Gaojiapu Coal Mine, Shaanxi Province. Specifically, a comprehensive analysis of core samples with different lithologies was conducted, including colors, lithologies, lithologic assemblages, the surface morphology of quartz grains, mineral components, and sedimentary structures and textures. Based on analytical results, as well as the …

Geothermal Resource Assessment Of The Eastern Da’An Area Based On 3d Geothermal Geological Modeling, Chen Wenwen, Rao Song, Meng Boyan, Guo Menghao, Luo Yang, Cai Jiahao, Li Wenjing, Zhang Qiaoran, Tang Yucong

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective The Da’an area in Jilin Province, located in the southwestern Central Depression of the Songliao Basin, exhibits significant geothermal anomalies, which suggest substantial potential for geothermal exploitation. However, there remains a lack of detailed geothermal resource assessment of this area. Among conventional assessment methodologies, the volumetric method fails to accurately characterize irregular stratigraphic geometries and the spatial heterogeneity of parameters, while the Monte Carlo method suffers from limitations such as heavy dependence on the probability distribution models of geothermal reservoir parameters. Methods To overcome the limitations of the conventional methods, this study established a 3D geothermal geological model by …

A Collocation Point Sampling Method For Solving The Helmholtz Equation Using Physics-Informed Neural Networks, Shan Lianpu, Yu Caixia, Wang Yanfei

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background In the field of seismic wavefield simulation, physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) have emerged as a new method for efficiently solving the Helmholtz equation due to their characteristic of grid-free computation. However, for the forward modeling of complex medium models using the Helmholtz equation, traditional uniform grid-based methods for collocation point sampling are insufficient to efficiently provide gradient information, leading to prolonged training time and high resource consumption. Objective and Method To improve the forward modeling efficiency and accuracy based on PINNs and overcome the anomalous concentration of collocation points in the seismic source during dynamic sampling, this study proposed …

Anomalous Responses Of Coal Seam Mining Face Floor Derived Based On Stress-Induced Failure Modeling And 3d Direct Current Electric Method, Gao Weifu, Zou Xu, Niu Chao, Xiao Lele, Zi Jianxiao

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective In recent years, floor water inrushes have frequently occurred in North China-type coalfields. To address this challenge, determining the anomalous responses of water inrushes from stope floors has emerged as a focus of research on water disaster prevention and control. Methods This study established a stress model of the stope floor based on the mine pressure theory. Using this model, it analyzed the stress distribution and failure characteristics of the stope floor. The floor failure characteristics revealed that the coal seam floor can be divided into three zones: the compression, expansion, and recovery zones. Through stress-resistivity tests, this study …

Technologies And Equipment For Efficient Drilling Rescue, Yao Ningping, Zou Zujie, Zhang Zhonghai, Zhao Jiyun, Hao Shijun, Fan Dong, Dou Bin

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective In China, mining operations are progressively extending to greater depths, with annual tunneling of mine roadways and tunnels nationwide reaching nearly 20000 km. In this context, mine (tunnel) accidents occur frequently, threatening the safety of state property and people’s lives. To meet the great demand for emergency rescue in mine (tunnel) accidents, drilling rescue, emerging as a hot topic, has been employed as an effective approach. Methods Techniques and equipment for efficient and safe drilling of surface and underground (tunnel) rescue boreholes were investigated by centering on two main roadmaps: (1) surface rescue equipment – forming techniques for search …

High-Precision Reconstruction Of Seismic Data Based On Improved U-Net++, Wang Minling, Zhou Fei, Wang Honghua, He Xiang, Hou Zhiyang

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective Conventional reconstruction methods are insufficient for the reconstruction of seismic data with missing consecutive traces, producing a negative impact on subsequent processing accuracy. Hence, this study proposed CU-Net++, a deep learning network based on the U-Net++ architecture combined with the convolutional block attention module (CBAM). Methods During the reconstruction of missing data, the independent decoder for each sub-U-Net in the nested U-Net++ architecture enables the utilization of information from different depths. The long and short skip connections can effectively enhance the network's capability to extract multi-scale features from data. The core innovation of CU-Net++ is the introduction of CBAM, …

Application Of Geophysical Logging To Selection Of Optimum Target Horizons For Salt Cavern Storage: A Case Study Of Borehole Zk01 In Qingjiang Salt Mine, Jiangxi Province, China, Liu Dongming, Lin Zhenzhou, Liu Dongyan, Qiu Changyi, Liang Mingxing, Zhai Jinghong, Zhang Jie, Jiang Zhengzhong

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background Under the guidance of the strategies to achieve the goals of peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality, salt cavern storage facilities, serving as key infrastructure for clean energy strategic reserves, have emerged as a core approach to promoting the transformation and upgrade of the salt industry and to building a low-carbon energy system in China. Jiangxi Province, located in the middle part of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, is endowed with abundant salt rock resources, making it a national priority zone for developing resources for salt cavern storage. However, traditional methods for the siting of the facilities rely …

Dental Microwear And Diets Of Late Miocene Primates From Rudabánya, Hungary, Peter S. Ungar, Anna K. Wilcox, David R. Begun

School of Dentistry Faculty Publications

Objectives: This study focuses on a dental microwear texture analysis of European pliopithecids and dryopithecins from the Miocene primate site of Rudabánya, Hungary. The goal is to determine whether these taxa, found in part together in the same deposits, differed in their food preferences, or at least consumed, on a daily basis, in a manner that might have facilitated sympatry. Materials and Methods: Here we report on a molar surface texture analysis of all available fossil primates from Rudabánya that preserve antemortem microwear. This includes both Anapithecus hernyaki (n = 14) and Rudapithecus hungaricus (n = 5, including one from …

Correlation Of Radon Gas Concentrations And Associated Radiological Risks In Soil Using Ssntds With Gis And Spss At Najaf Governorate, Iraq, Rafal Mohamed Abdulsada, Lubna A. Alasadi

Al-Bahir

All human beings are affected by soil directly or indirectly. This study focuses on the effect of radon gas and related radiological risks using SSNTDs, specifically CR-39 detectors, in eighty secondary schools in Najaf and Kufa cities, Najaf Governorate, Iraq. As we recognize the importance of soil and its strong connection to humans, the study focused on areas where public and private schools were built, where students are present, and the potential for radiation risks to affect students' health. The results show that the average concentrations of C, C_Rn were 64.329±59.149 Bq / m³ and 3150.699±2897.036 Bq / …

Effect Of Clays On The Spontaneous Imbibition Behavior Of Surfactant Solutions In Shale Oil Reservoirs, Ning Xu, Yanling Wang, Baojun Bai, Chuanbao Zhang, Shizhang Cui, Yu Zhang, Di Li, Wenjing Shi, Wenhui Ding

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Surfactant-enhanced spontaneous imbibition is a proven method of enhancing oil recovery from shale reservoirs. However, a significant knowledge gap concerning the impact of clay minerals on surfactant-enhanced imbibition in shale reservoirs remains. Therefore, this study first analyzed the mineral composition and pore structure of the shale reservoirs. Subsequently, three surfactants were selected for spontaneous imbibition experiments. The influence of various clay minerals on the surfactant imbibition was assessed by considering various properties of the imbibition system. The results showed that the shale pores primarily consisted of macropores (44.03%) and mesopores (43.94%). Surfactants enhance the imbibition recovery by altering the wettability …

Nomina Ignota: Dinosaurios, Dinosauroides Y Otros Animales Del Pasado Que Nunca Existieron, Charlie Charmer, Iván Narváez

Alambique. Revista académica de ciencia ficción y fantasía / Jornal acadêmico de ficção científica e fantasía

Aunque desaparecieron hace 66 millones de años, los dinosaurios no avianos y otros grandes reptiles con los que convivieron son un reclamo habitual en las historias de ficción del cómic, cine, literatura u otros medios de expresión artística y/o entretenimiento. A menudo, sirven también de inspiración para introducir criaturas inexistentes cuya imagen y denominación parten de referentes conocidos. En el presente trabajo se analizan los diferentes métodos utilizados para bautizar a estas criaturas, así como las características y funciones que sus nombres pueden tener en los mundos de ficción, acuñando una nueva categoría para la nomenclatura científica, aplicable exclusivamente en …

Stream Temperature Responses To Summer Urban Rain Events Along The Savannah River, Joseph E. Wermter, Vivian L. Turner, Max K. Appelbaum, James M. Shepherd, Jacob Z. Lott

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

The hydrological urban heat island (HUHI) is a recent facet of the urban heat island (UHI), describing thermal enhancement of bodies of water in response to urbanization. Although the forefront of this work has been studied for large Metropolitan areas, this effect on developing cities is currently unknown. To locally measure and quantify HUHI effects in a developing city, we utilized Multi-Radar Multi Sensor (MRMS) radar-derived rainfall data to estimate rainfall in the Augusta Metropolitan Area (AMA) and the Savannah Metropolitan Area (SMA), two developing communities adjacent to the Savannah River. We analyzed mean temperature trends of two stream gauges …

Warming Induces Unexpectedly High Soil Respiration In A Wet Tropical Forest, Tana E. Wood, Colin Tucker, Aura M. Alonso-Rodríguez, M. Isabel Loza, Iana F. Grullón-Penkova, Molly A. Cavaleri, Christine S. O'Connell, Sasha C. Reed

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Tropical forests are a dominant regulator of the global carbon cycle, exchanging more carbon dioxide with the atmosphere than any other terrestrial biome. Climate models predict unprecedented climatic warming in tropical regions in the coming decades; however, in situ field warming studies are severely lacking in tropical forests. Here we present results from an in situ warming experiment in Puerto Rico, where soil respiration responses to ⁺4 ^oC warming were assessed half-hourly for a year. Soil respiration rates were 42-204% higher in warmed relative to ambient plots, representing some of the highest soil respiration rates reported for any …

Health On The Rocks: Geohealth In Kentucky, Rachel L. Washburn

Special Publication--KGS

Geohealth bridges the earth and life sciences, revealing how Kentucky’s unique geology directly shapes public health risks, clinical outcomes, and opportunities for innovation. This factsheet highlights the critical intersections between geologic processes and human health across the Commonwealth—from landslides, floods, and tornadoes to radon, mine drainage, and microbial contamination. It outlines how natural and anthropogenic forces influence respiratory illness, cancer, trauma, and infectious disease, and how bedrock and weather extremes define local exposure pathways. Beyond risk, it also showcases Kentucky’s leadership in developing geoscience-informed health solutions: bioremediation, microbial drug discovery, and geologic-health monitoring networks that strengthen preparedness and resilience. Understanding …

Mcl1 And Hexokinase 2 Form A Glucose Metabolic Regulatory Axis, Robert Lee

All ETDs from UAB

Hexokinase 2 (HK2) initiates glucose metabolism by catalyzing the conversion of glucose to glucose-6-phosphate providing the starting substrate for a vast array of metabolic pathways such as glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), amino acid biosynthesis and others. While HK2’s metabolic role in normal physiologic function (such as in cardiomyocytes) and cancers (through driving the Warburg Effect) are well established, there is emerging evidence that supports HK2 is also a critical mediator of protein-protein interactions that regulate cell survival. Through comprehensive review, we explore how HK2 contributes to cell survival through metabolic and protein scaffolding roles. We also investigate a novel …

Analysis Of Colorado River Basin Storage Suggests Need For Immediate Action, Jack Schmidt, Anne Castle, John Fleck, Eric Kuhn, Kathryn Sorensen, Katherine Tara

The Traveling Wilburys of the Colorado River

Consumptive water use in the Colorado River Basin continues to outpace natural flow. The dwindling reserve stored in reservoirs that has long sustained this shortfall might soon be exhausted. Immediate steps should be taken to reduce current consumptive uses in the Upper and Lower Basins.

Paleoseismic Evidence Of Directivity For The 1976 Mw 7.5 Motagua Earthquake, Guatemala, Jonathan Obrist-Farner, Jeremy Maurer, Derek Gibson, Trenton Mcenaney, Andreas Eckert, William F. Kenney, Jeffrey Beeson, Nigel Wattrus, Quin Stangeland, Fatima Reyes

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

On 4 February 1976, a Mw 7.5 earthquake along the Motagua fault, Guatemala, ruptured ∼230 km of the North American and Caribbean plate boundary. Today, the plate boundary remains poorly monitored, and the 1976 earthquake is still not fully understood. Here, we present seismic reflection profiles and radiometrically dated sediment core data from six lakes around the Motagua fault, together with reports of destruction and a quasi-dynamic rupture model, which show that the 1976 earthquake experienced strong directivity that impacted the distribution of shaking. The earthquake left behind a detailed record of event deposits (EDs) in five of the six …

Impact Of Black Shale Weathering On Stream Water And Sediment Quality In Eastern Kentucky, Brett Hopt

Dissertations and Theses

Black shales contain high concentrations of trace elements in addition to their elevated organic carbon content. Once exposed at the surface, weathering processes release these elements into the environment, including many (e.g., As, Cu, Cd, Cr, U, Zn) that could pose threats to human and environmental health. Previous studies have focused on how these metals are incorporated into the soil column and their effects on crop nutrition. However, few studies have focused on the impact of natural weathering of black shales on local stream water chemistry and the transport and subsequent partitioning of these geogenic contaminants into stream environments.

This …

Major, Trace And Rare Earth Element Concentrations In Nist Standard Reference Material® 1646a Analyzed By Als Global Using Method Me-Ms61r, Jane L. Alexander

Publications and Research

This technical note compares analytical results obtained from ALS Global Method ME-MS61r with the certified and previously published results for NIST Standard Reference Material® 1646a, Estuarine Sediment. The results are grouped into major, trace and rare earth elements, and focus on elements used by sedimentary geochemists, for example in studies of sediment provenance. The results from ALS Global Method ME-MS61r are internally consistent and generally robust when compared with published analyses. However, acid digestion may not completely dissolve resistant minerals, leading to under-reporting of some elements such as Ti, Cr, Zr, heavy REE and Y.

Lead Exposure In The 21st Century: Modeling A Path From Crisis To Prevention, Danlin Yu

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Miscanthus × Giganteus Increases Soil Maximum Water Holding Capacity Compared To Maize, Jessica T. Nelson, Maoz Dor, Andy D. Vanloocke, Jacob E. Studt, Perla K. Schrock, Marshall D. Mcdaniel

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Soil ecosystem services, like the ability to store water, have been depleted after a century of conventional, annual cropping, and perennial crops offer a solution to this and other agricultural environmental issues. We assessed the impact of Miscanthus × giganteus (miscanthus), a perennial biomass crop, on soil water holding capacity and structure compared to continuous maize (Zea mays L.) at two sites in Iowa. After three growing seasons, we measured the following: (1) maximum water holding capacity (MWHC) with and without soil structure, and (2) total porosity and pore size distribution (PSD) via micro-computed tomography (microCT). Miscanthus increased MWHC …

Comparative Analysis Of Different Magnetic Anomaly Datasets Using Navigation Performance With Flight Test Data, Aaron P. Nielsen, Brandon M. Blakely, Patrick Duff

Faculty Publications

Magnetic Anomaly Navigation (MagNav) is a map-based method of navigation which relies on accurately obtaining the anomaly field to a high level of precision to achieve good navigation results. This requires utilizing high quality sensors, accurately modeling disturbance fields from the aircraft & other sources, and creating high-fidelity maps. Aeromagnetic survey data or marine track survey data must be processed into a product that can be used as a reference for a magnetic navigator and a variety of techniques can be utilized for this processing. The data collection for different survey types reflects choices typically made to study the underlying …

Maize Yield Stability Under Organic And Conventional Farming Systems In Sub-Humid Agro-Ecozones Of Central Kenya, Milka Kiboi, David Bautze, Felix Matheri, Amritbir Riar, Andreas Fliessbach

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Maize (Zea mays L.) is the main staple crop and is important to the food security and livelihoods of people globally. We evaluated the effects of organic and conventional farming systems on maize grain yield and temporal yield stability under different external input levels in a long-term experiment (2007–2022) at two sites in Kenya. We implemented four farming systems: organic high (Org-High), conventional high (Conv-High), organic low (Org-Low), and conventional low (Conv-Low) in a randomized complete block design. Growth indicators for maize, height, stem diameter, and grain yield were higher in high input systems, but grain yield stability was not. …

Effect Of Seasonal Variability In Methane Emissions And Iron Redox Chemistry At Terrestrial-Aquatic Interfaces, Hermes C. Ruiz

Master's Theses

Methane (CH₄) emissions at terrestrial–aquatic interfaces (TAIs) are significant contributors to the global carbon budget, yet the mechanisms driving methanogenesis remain poorly understood. Limited data exist on how seasonal variations and redox processes influence CH₄ fluxes in these dynamic ecosystems. This study addressed two questions: (1) How are CH₄ fluxes in riverine floodplains and adjacent hillslopes impacted by seasonal variations? (2) What roles do metal redox processes (e.g., iron (Fe)) play in regulating methanogenesis?

In-situ CH₄ flux and solid-phase Fe speciation were quantified in East River, CO, under flooded and drained conditions. Groundwater chemistry, gas flux, and soil physical properties …

Compound-Specific Isotope Records Of Dust Provenance And Hydroclimate In The North Pacific And Marginal Seas Of East Asia: Integrating N-Alkane Δ13c And Δd With Standardized Analytical Frameworks, Julian W. Traphagan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents advancements in compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) through methodological innovation and paleoclimate reconstruction in Central and East Asia. Utilizing plant wax n-alkanes from International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) sediment cores, this research reconstructs atmospheric circulation shifts responding to tectonic evolution and climate transitions since the Late Miocene.

Chapter 1 investigates hydrogen isotope compositions (δD_wax) from IODP U1430 (Sea of Japan), ODP 886, and ODP 1208 (North Pacific) to trace dust provenance and hydroclimate changes since ~13 Ma. Results reveal persistently segmented source-to-sink systems: the Sea of Japan dominated by westerly …

Geol 64: Planetary Geology - Syllabus, Dara Laczniak

Open Educational Resources

This Open Educational Resources (OER) syllabus is for an introductory planetary geology course that utilizes results from space missions to expose students to the surface features, composition, geological activity, and probable history of the planets, moons, asteroids, and comets of the solar system. It also places space exploration into the context of larger societal issues such as global warming and natural resource availability and addresses topics such as the ethics of space exploration and hazards of space travel. This OER syllabus aims to foster student-centered learning, critical thinking, data analysis and communication skills, and creativity. Assigned readings are compiled into …

Mantle Flow And Fault Zone Related Seismic Anisotropy Revealed By A Dense Linear Broadband Array In Southeast Tibet, Jing Wu, Yinshuang Ai, Stephen S. Gao, Peixi Huang, Fansheng Kong, Deke Xu, Jianguo Song, Xinyu Gao, Mengyi Wei, Long Li, Jien Zhang, Yanbin Zhang, Yingying Zhang

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Southeast Tibet, a key region for the southeastward extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau, remains debated in terms of its tectonic deformation in response to the ongoing collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates. In this study, we applied shear-wave splitting analysis of core-refracted phases recorded by a newly deployed dense seismic array and six permanent stations to delineate crustal and mantle deformation processes. The observed fast polarization directions are predominantly aligned NNW–SSE, while the splitting delay times vary across four sub-blocks. The anisotropy pattern suggests a dominantly asthenospheric origin, consistent with southeastward-directed mantle flow associated with the extrusion of the …

Morphology And Distribution Of Lakes Under The Laurentide Ice Sheet: Implications For Ice Flow Dynamics, Sarah M. Principato, Carissa Mobley

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

This study examines the distribution and morphology of lakes under the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) to investigate relationships with ice flow velocity, bedrock and basal thermal regime. Palaeo-ice streams and lobes were important components of the LIS, and properties of lakes in those regions are quantified at high resolution. Lake polygon shapefiles obtained from the HydroLAKES database contain data including water depth, volume and elevation. ArcGIS Pro is used to measure lake area, length, width, elongation, orientation, parallel conformity, density and packing. Approximately 982 282 natural lakes were identified in the region of North America covered by the maximum extent …