Reservoir characterisation of the Jurassic Springbok Sandstone, Surat Basin, Queensland

Front matter only available electronically. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University of Adelaide Library.The Late Jurassic Springbok Sandstone unconformably overlies the mid-Jurassic Walloon Subgroup in the northeastern region of the Surat Basin, Queensland. The Walloon Subgroup contains significant economic coal seam gas (CSG) reserves which are currently under significant development. Development of CSG for production requires the extraction of significant volumes of water from the coal seams to enable the gas to flow. The dewatering process has the potential to affect the Springbok Sandstone as it may be in hydraulic connection with the coal seams. The aim of this study is to characterise the reservoir quality, stratigraphic architecture and primary geologic controls on the Springbok Sandstone in order to gain an understanding of the potential for hydraulic interaction with the underlying coal measures. The depositional characteristics of the Springbok Sandstone were evaluated by analysing wireline line logs and the cored intervals of wells, and the petrology and reservoir quality of the lower section of the Springbok Sandstone was conducted through statistical analysis of thin sections, XRD data and RCA data. The Springbok Sandstone has been previously interpreted as a thick sequence of channel sands interbedded with relatively minor quantities of heterolithic sandstone, siltstone, mudstone and coal lithologies deposited in a vast intracratonic alluvial plain in warm temperate conditions. Core and wireline log analyses indicate that the Springbok Sandstone typically consists of a thin, low-permeability blocky basal sandstone and two major fining-upwards sequences, each consisting of channel sands at the base that fine-up into overbank and mire environments. An erosional unconformity exists at the base of the Springbok Sandstone and between each intraformational unit. The basal sandstone has been heavily eroded in the west of the study area by the later succession of channel sands. This lower section of the Springbok Sandstone appears to have been deposited in a high-energy braided stream environment, while the upper section of the Springbok Sandstone was deposited in a lower energy meandering stream environment. lsopach maps suggest that paleoflow was towards the centre of the basin and that there may have been syndepositional deformation of the basin during the Late Jurassic. The geologic controls on the detrital composition and diagenesis of the Springbok Sandstone are complex. Analysis of thin sections indicates that the sediment in the lower Springbok Sandstone section is generally medium grained, well sorted and mineralogically immature volcanogenic feldspathic litharenite to litharenite. The formation contains abundant well preserved lithic clasts, feldspars and biotite. The small sample size and mixed sediment composition of volcanic, plutonic and metamorphic fragments and post-depositional alteration precluded conclusive petrographic provenance analysis. High clay contents are present in the volcanic-rich sediments, predominantly including kaolin and highly smectitic mixed-layer illite interlayers, indicating that the formation may be freshwater sensitive. The reservoir quality of the lower section of the Springbok Sandstone is principally controlled by depositional environments, detrital mineralogy, clay alteration and cementation, and ranges from poor to excellent. These controls are highlighted by the relationship between lithofacies, grain size, grain composition and diagenetic alteration. The highly heterogeneous cyclic nature of the Springbok Sandstone has made correlation and prediction of reservoir properties difficult. Reseruoir quality tends to increase as grain size increases and is best developed in medium to coarse sandstones while lower energy depositional facies have substantially lower permeabilities. The basal calcite cemented sandstones potentially represent a sealing lithology however the unit is not laterally extensive across the study area. The areas with the highest risk of reseruoir connectivity between the Springbok Sandstone and Walloons Subgroup were identified where porous sands directly overlie the Walloon Subgroup, particulary in the west of the study region. Autocyclic processes were the primary driver for much of the local scale composition variation, which was largely a function of hydrodynamic softing. Tectonic and climatic influence is also evident in the stacking pattern of the Springbok Sandstone succession. Mechanical compaction reduced the porosity and permeabilty of sandstones containing high labile grain content. Cementation involved early stage glaucony, pyrite, chlorite and siderite mineralisation, followed by later stage dissolution and kaolinisation of labile grains, illitisation of clays, fracture formation and poikilotopic calcite mineralisation. Diagenetic processes have diminished the reseruoir quality of the deeper sandstone samples. Reservoir quality tends to reduce with increased burial, although moderate to high porosity and permeability are still observed at depth. The results of this study highlight the heterogeneous nature of the Springbok Sandstone. The formation comprises a series of heterogeneous sandstone and mudstone units with variable reservoir quality. The stratigraphic and depositional trends identified in the stratigraphy, sandstone composition and reservoir quality of the Springbok Sandstone can be used in future predictive reservoir modelling.Thesis (B.Sc.(Hons.)) -- University of Adelaide, Australian School of Petroleum, 2012

Community Preparatory School: 2013-2014 Public Relations Plan

Community Prep sends out seasonal newsletters during fall, winter, spring, and summer of each year that promote recent activities in school, discuss recent events, profile important donors, and give updates on alumni’s successes. These newsletters are sent out in the mail, and are also accessible on Community Prep’s website. Each newsletter comes in one color, with black and white photographs, and has a readable and attractive layout. Email updates have similar information, but sometimes have embedded videos, and provide links to a site where donations can be made or tickets can be bought for future events

A Visual Guide for Communities Working with Academics on Participatory Research Projects

This illustrated guide is for communities interested in participatory research and engagement with academics as part of participatory projects. It has been written by community members, activists and academics who have been involved in research of this kind. It is intended to provide communities with basic explanations of the background to, and motivations for, participatory research, as well as overviews of the processes of research, the implications that communities should consider when deciding whether or not to participate in projects and the key steps participants can take to minimize risks and maximize benefits. What follows should be regarded only as an introduction to the topic and should be read in combination with more detailed work on specific elements of participatory research outlined in the references list below. While there are many other forms of engagement between communities and academics, such as practice placements, site visits and teaching contributions, this guide deals only with participatory research – a process which can stem from, or provide the basis for, other instances of collaboration. It is freely available online on the website of ‘A Cross-Cultural Working Group on “Good Culture” and Precariousness’ (http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/good-culture/a-guide-for-communities-working-withacademics-on-participatory-research-projects/), a participatory project involving community members from Ashington, Northumberland, and Aboriginal groups around Brisbane, Australia. It was during the development of this broader project that the need for an introductory guide emerged. It is hoped that drawing on those experiences, among others, will help community members and academics to find mutually beneficial means of advancing research capable of improving the lives of those participating in it

Dust emissions from a tunnel-ventilated broiler poultry shed with fresh and partially reused litter

Dust emissions from large-scale, tunnel-ventilated poultry sheds could have negative health and environmental impacts. Despite this fact, the literature concerning dust emissions from tunnel-ventilated poultry sheds in Australia and overseas is relatively scarce. Dust measurements were conducted during two consecutive production cycles at a single broiler shed on a poultry farm near Ipswich, Queensland. Fresh litter was employed during the first cycle and partially reused litter was employed during the second cycle. This provided an opportunity to study the effect that partial litter reuse has on dust emissions. Dust levels were characterised by the number concentration of suspended particles having a diameter between 0.5 and 20 μm and by the mass concentration of dust particles of less than 10 μm diameter (PM10) and 2.5 μm diameter (PM2.5). In addition, we measured the number size distributions of dust particles. The average concentration and emission rate of dust was higher when partially reused litter was used in the shed than when fresh litter was used. In addition, we found that dust particles emitted from the shed with partially reused litter were finer than the particles emitted with fresh litter. Although the change in litter properties is certainly contributing to this observed variability, other factors such as ventilation rate and litter moisture content are also likely to be involved

“Provide care for everyone please”: Engaging Community Leaders as Sexual and Reproductive Health Advocates in North and South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo

Background: Inadequate infrastructure, security threats from ongoing armed conflict, and conservative socio-cultural and gender norms that favour large families and patriarchal power structures contribute to poor sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes in North and South Kivu provinces, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In order to expand contraceptive and post-abortion care (PAC) access in North and South Kivu, CARE, the International Rescue Committee and Save the Children provided technical support to the Ministry of Health and health facilities in these regions. Partners acknowledged that community leaders, given their power to influence local customs, could play a critical role as agents of change in addressing inequitable gender norms, stigma surrounding SRH service utilization, and topics traditionally considered taboo within Congolese society. As such, partners actively engaged with community leaders through a variety of activities such as community mapping exercises, values clarification and transformation (VCAT) activities, situational analyses, and education. Methods: This manuscript presents findings from 12 key informant interviews (KIIs) with male political and non-political community leaders conducted in six rural health zones of North and South Kivu, DRC. Transcripts were analysed thematically to explore community leaders’ perceptions of their role in addressing the issue of unintended pregnancy in their communities. Results: While community leaders in this study expressed overall positive impressions of contraception and strong support for ensuring access to PAC services following spontaneous and induced abortions, the vast majority held negative beliefs concerning women who had induced abortion. Contrasting with their professed opposition to induced abortion, leaders’ commitment to mediating interpersonal conflict arising between community members and women who had abortions was overwhelming. Conclusion: Results from this study suggest that when thoughtfully engaged by health interventions, community leaders can be empowered to become advocates for SRH. While study participants were strong supporters of contraception and PAC, they expressed negative perceptions of induced abortion. Given the hypothesized link between the presence of induced abortion stigma and care-avoidance behavior, further engagement and values clarification exercises with leaders must be integrated into community mobilization and engagement activities in order to increase PAC utilization

Imaging current-induced switching of antiferromagnetic domains in CuMnAs

The magnetic order in antiferromagnetic materials is hard to control with external magnetic fields. Using X-ray Magnetic Linear Dichroism microscopy, we show that staggered effective fields generated by electrical current can induce modification of the antiferromagnetic domain structure in microdevices fabricated from a tetragonal CuMnAs thin film. A clear correlation between the average domain orientation and the anisotropy of the electrical resistance is demonstrated, with both showing reproducible switching in response to orthogonally applied current pulses. However, the behavior is inhomogeneous at the submicron level, highlighting the complex nature of the switching process in multi-domain antiferromagnetic films

Acute surgical wound-dressing procedure: Description of the steps involved in the development and validation of an observational metric

The aim of this study was to develop an observational metric that could be used to assess the performance of a practitioner in completing an acute surgical wound-dressing procedure using aseptic non-touch technique (ANTT). A team of clinicians, academics, and researchers came together to develop an observational metric using an iterative six-stage process, culminating in a Delphi panel meeting. A scoping review of the literature provided a background empirical perspective relating to wound-dressing procedure performance. Video recordings of acute surgical wound-dressing procedures performed by nurses in clinical (n = 11) and simulated (n = 3) settings were viewed repeatedly and were iteratively deconstructed by the metric development group. This facilitated the identification of the discrete component steps, potential errors, and sentinel (serious) errors, which characterise a wound dressing procedure and formed part of the observational metric. The ANTT wound-dressing observational metric was stress tested for clarity, the ability to be scored, and interrater reliability, calculated during a further phase of video analysis. The metric was then subjected to a process of cyclical evaluation by a Delphi panel (n = 21) to obtain face and content validity of the metric. The Delphi panel deliberation verified the face and content validity of the metric. The final metric has three phases, 31 individual steps, 18 errors, and 27 sentinel errors. The metric is a tool that identifies the standard to be attained in the performance of acute surgical wound dressings. It can be used as both an adjunct to an educational programme and as a tool to assess a practitioner's performance of a wound-dressing procedure in both simulated and clinical practice contexts