Quantifying solute spreading and mixing in reservoir rocks using 3-D PET imaging

We report results of an experimental investigation into the effects of small-scale (mm-cm) heterogeneities on solute spreading and mixing in a Berea sandstone core. Pulse-tracer tests have been carried out in the Péclet number regime Pe = 6-40 and are supplemented by a unique combination of two imaging techniques. X-ray computed tomography (CT) is used to quantify subcore-scale heterogeneities in terms of permeability contrasts at a spatial resolution of approximately 10 mm3, while [11C] positron emission tomography (PET) is applied to image the spatial and temporal evolution of the full tracer plume non-invasively. To account for both advective spreading and local (Fickian) mixing as driving mechanisms for solute transport, a streamtube model is applied that is based on the one-dimensional advection-dispersion equation. We refer to our modelling approach as semideterministic, because the spatial arrangement of the streamtubes and the corresponding solute travel times are known from the measured rock's permeability map, which required only small adjustments to match the measured tracer breakthrough curve. The model reproduces the three-dimensional PET measurements accurately by capturing the larger-scale tracer plume deformation as well as subcore-scale mixing, while confirming negligible transverse dispersion over the scale of the experiment. We suggest that the obtained longitudinal dispersivity (0.10±0.02 cm) is rock rather than sample specific, because of the ability of the model to decouple subcore-scale permeability heterogeneity effects from those of local dispersion. As such, the approach presented here proves to be very valuable, if not necessary, in the context of reservoir core analyses, because rock samples can rarely be regarded as 'uniformly heterogeneous'

The dependence of HII region properties on global and local surface brightness within galaxy discs

Using B, R, and H-alpha images of roughly equal-sized samples of low surface brightness (LSB) and high surface brightness (HSB) galaxies (~40 galaxies apiece), we have explored the dependence of HII region properties on local and global disc surface brightness. We have done this by constructing co-added HII region luminosity functions (LFs) according to local and central disc surface brightness and fitting Schechter functions to these LFs. The results show that the shape of the HII region LF within LSB galaxies does not change noticeably as different limiting (i.e., mu>mu_lim) local surface brightness values are used. However, the LFs for HSB galaxies have larger values of L_* and are less steep at the faint-end than those of LSB galaxies for limiting B-band local surface brightness values as faint as mu_B,lim~23-24. Both the LFs and the data for individual HII regions show that luminous (log L>39 ergs/s) HII regions are much more common within HSB discs than within LSB discs, implying that the newly formed star clusters are also larger. Taking this into account along with the results of Monte Carlo simulations, the shapes of the LFs imply that the regions within LSB discs and those within the LSB areas of HSB discs are relatively old (~5 Myr) while the regions within HSB discs for mu_B<24 are significantly younger (<1 Myr). Since the majority of the LSB galaxies do not have noticeable spiral arms and the majority of the HSB galaxies do, this may indicate a transition within HSB discs from spiral arm-driven star formation to a more locally driven, possibly sporadic form of star formation at mu_B~24, a transition that does not appear to occur within LSB discs.Comment: Accepted to MNRA

Degenerate mixing of plasma waves on cold, magnetized single-species plasmas

In the cold-fluid dispersion relation ω = ω_p/[1+(k_⊥/k_z)^(2]1/2) for Trivelpiece-Gould waves on an infinitely long magnetized plasma cylinder, the transverse and axial wavenumbers appear only in the combination k_⊥/k_z. As a result, for any frequency ω<ω_p, there are infinitely many degenerate waves, all having the same value of k_⊥/k_z. On a cold finite-length plasma column, these degenerate waves reflect into one another at the ends; thus, each standing-wave normal mode of the bounded plasma is a mixture of many degenerate waves, not a single standing wave as is often assumed. A striking feature of the many-wave modes is that the short-wavelength waves often add constructively along resonance cones given by dz/dr = ±(ω_p^2/ω^2-1)^(1/2). Also, the presence of short wavelengths in the admixture for a predominantly long-wavelength mode enhances the viscous damping beyond what the single-wave approximation would predict. Here, numerical solutions are obtained for modes of a cylindrical plasma column with rounded ends. Exploiting the fact that the modes of a spheroidal plasma are known analytically (the Dubin modes), a perturbation analysis is used to investigate the mixing of low-order, nearly degenerate Dubin modes caused by small deformations of a plasma spheroid

A method for oxygen isotope analysis of milligram quantities of water and some of its applications

A method has been developed by which bromine pentafluoride and small amounts of water are reacted in a nickel vessel at 80°C to liberate oxygen in 100% yield. The oxygen is converted to CO_2, which is analyzed on an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The oxidation reaction takes place instantaneously, and the conversion of the liberated O to CO_2 requires approximately 15 minutes. There are no measurable memory effects in the method and the reproducibility is ±0.1‰. A value of 1.0407 was determined for the CO_2-H_2O fractionation factor at 25°C, a number necessary for relating standards in use by various workers. This value is in exact agreement with that obtained by Compston and Epstein in the same laboratory using a reduction technique but is in serious disagreement with values determined by other workers. An application of this technique has been made to the study of a meteorological problem

Consumer-Preferred Attributes of a Fresh Ground Beef and Turkey Product: A Conjoint Analysis

A random sample of 3,400 Louisiana households was surveyed by mail to determine their ratings for a number of product profiles involving a combined fresh ground beef and turkey product. The attributes and levels of the new product included form (fresh, frozen), identity of the packager (retailer, processor), percentage of beef in product (50,70,90), and price of the combined product as a percentage of ground beef (80,90,100). Based on 2,781 observations, the order of importance of the attributes were, in order of declining importance, content, form, price, and packager. Consumer utility was highly sensitive to the content of beef, with a higher content being preferred.Consumer/Household Economics,

Temporal and spatial plasma wave echoes

It is shown that, if a longitudinal wave is excited in a collision-free plasma and Landau-damps away, and later a second wave is excited and also damps away, then a third wave will spontaneously appear in the plasma. This wave appears long after the first two waves have damped away at a time proportional to the interval between the first two waves, and is in that sense an echo. It is also shown that, if a wave is continuously excited at one point in a plasma and a second wave is continuously excited many Landau damping lengths from the first point, then a third wave will spontaneously appear many Landau damping lengths from the second point. Fundamentally, plasma wave echoes are possible because of the reversible nature of Landau damping. However, small-angle Coulomb collisions are very effective in destroying the echo

Oxygen isotope equilibrium between muscovite and water

Oxygen isotopes have been equilibrated between muscovite and aqueous alkali chloride solution and between paragonite and alkali chloride solution in the temperature range of 400°–650°C at 1 and 1.5 kb fluid pressure. Isotopic equilibrium was inferred from the fact that compatible fractionation factors were obtained using 3 different chemical reactions to produce the mica: (1) muscovite or paragonite was prepared by reacting natural kaolinite with 2–3 molal KCl or NaCl solutions; (2) muscovite was crystallized in pure water from a gel; and (3) synthetic paragonite was reacted with 2–3 molal KCl solution, producing muscovite by an alkali ion exchange reaction. The 1 M modification of the mica was made in every experiment. In several cases the extent of oxygen exchange was traced by running companion equilibrations in solutions of unusually low O^(18)/O^(16) ratio. No isotopic fractionation was discernible between muscovite and paragonite in the temperature range studied. Per mille fractionations between muscovite and water are given by the expression 10^3 In α = 2.38(10^6T^(−2)) − 3.89. These data can be combined with the results of other laboratory equilibration studies to establish a set of calibrated oxygen isotope geothermometers. Analogous to the alkali feldspar systems previously reported, the direct relationship between cation and oxygen isotope exchange suggests that some type of solution-redeposition mechanism operated during muscovite-paragonite transformations in aqueous solutions. Also, the extensive oxygen isotope exchange (with the solution) that accompanies the formation of muscovite from kaolinite implies a breakdown of the kaolinite structure. This notion does not concur with hypotheses based on rate studies and X-ray measurements that the unaltered kaolinite structure is partially inherited by the mica