Deformation bands in the gravel layers of the Eisenstadt-Sopron Basin form as a result of heterogeneous displacement in the surrounding sediment. This is caused by gradients in the deformation intensity, which occur both parallel and perpendicular to a fault. These findings from a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) will help scientists to reach a better understanding of both basic geological processes and the formation and structure of oil and water reservoirs.
As impressively demonstrated by the Himalayas and Pacific oceanic trenches, tectonic forces can really get things moving. However, even these dramatic geological manifestations move just a few millimetres or centimetres per year. Other phenomena associated with geological forces, known as deformation bands, are also subject to movement on a similar scale. These bands arise in soft porous rocks, such as sandstone. They occur where coarse-grained rocks are displaced by the shear forces of the overlying or underlying rock horizons, or undergo a change in volume. In contrast to what is known as a fault, in which the layer of rock ruptures, in the deformation bands, sediment grains are merely fractured or reorganised. The porosity of the rock and, therefore, its permeability to fluids, changes as a result of this process. Deformation bands thus contribute to the formation and structure of oil or water reservoirs. Attaining a better understanding of their effect on the surrounding rock is the aim of a project being carried out at the Department for Geodynamics and Sedimentology at the University of Vienna.IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GRAIN!
In the deformation bands examined as part of this project, the ratio between the displacement of the layers of rock pushing against each other and the length of the deformation bands is striking. These ratios, which range from 1:100 to 1:10, are unusually large. According to Dr. Exner, this could facilitate the generation of reverse drag.
Despite the fact that the processes studied by Dr. Exner unfold below the surface of the earth, her work is of direct and practical relevance to everyday life above ground: deformation bands mainly form in porous rock which, due to the presence of numerous pores, also acts as a reservoir for oil or water. Deformation bands alter porosity and can therefore influence the extraction of oil or water. Moreover, the relevance of this FWF project also extends to heavenly heights: the calcareous sandstone, also referred to as Leithakalk (Miocene limestone found in Central Europe), from which St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna is built, originates from the Eisenstadt-Sopron Basin. Its porosity - and thus also its response to environmental impacts and protective measures - is also influenced by deformation bands.
Data were presented at the "European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2010", 2.-7. May in Vienna, Austria.
Marta Korinkova | PR&D
Algorithm provides early warning system for tracking groundwater contamination
14.08.2018 | DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Artificial Glaciers in Response to Climate Change?
10.08.2018 | Universität Heidelberg
Scientists develop first tool to use machine learning methods to compute flow around interactively designable 3D objects. Tool will be presented at this year’s prestigious SIGGRAPH conference.
When engineers or designers want to test the aerodynamic properties of the newly designed shape of a car, airplane, or other object, they would normally model...
Researchers from TU Graz and their industry partners have unveiled a world first: the prototype of a robot-controlled, high-speed combined charging system (CCS) for electric vehicles that enables series charging of cars in various parking positions.
Global demand for electric vehicles is forecast to rise sharply: by 2025, the number of new vehicle registrations is expected to reach 25 million per year....
Proteins must be folded correctly to fulfill their molecular functions in cells. Molecular assistants called chaperones help proteins exploit their inbuilt folding potential and reach the correct three-dimensional structure. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB) have demonstrated that actin, the most abundant protein in higher developed cells, does not have the inbuilt potential to fold and instead requires special assistance to fold into its active state. The chaperone TRiC uses a previously undescribed mechanism to perform actin folding. The study was recently published in the journal Cell.
Actin is the most abundant protein in highly developed cells and has diverse functions in processes like cell stabilization, cell division and muscle...
Scientists have discovered that the electrical resistance of a copper-oxide compound depends on the magnetic field in a very unusual way -- a finding that could help direct the search for materials that can perfectly conduct electricity at room temperatur
What happens when really powerful magnets--capable of producing magnetic fields nearly two million times stronger than Earth's--are applied to materials that...
The quality of materials often depends on the manufacturing process. In casting and welding, for example, the rate at which melts solidify and the resulting microstructure of the alloy is important. With metallic foams as well, it depends on exactly how the foaming process takes place. To understand these processes fully requires fast sensing capability. The fastest 3D tomographic images to date have now been achieved at the BESSY II X-ray source operated by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin.
Dr. Francisco Garcia-Moreno and his team have designed a turntable that rotates ultra-stably about its axis at a constant rotational speed. This really depends...
08.08.2018 | Event News
27.07.2018 | Event News
25.07.2018 | Event News
14.08.2018 | Information Technology
14.08.2018 | Life Sciences
14.08.2018 | Life Sciences