Geological modelling of the Triassic Stuttgart Formation at the Ketzin CO2 storage site, Germany

AbstractAt Ketzin, about 25km west of Berlin (Germany), the saline aquifer of the Triassic Stuttgart Formation is used for a carbon dioxide storage research project. The formation is lithologically very heterogeneous, reflecting a complex fluviatile facies distribution pattern. We focused on the development of a primary geological reservoir model as commonly employed for dynamic modelling during the planning and early injection stages of a storage project. Due to the need to capture the complex geometrical structure of the Stuttgart Formation, despite limited availability of exploration data, stochastic modelling techniques were employed. Firstly, we modelled the facies architecture of the reservoir and, secondly, assigned porosity and permeability values to the facies types included in the model. Petrophysical parameters for each facies type were quantified using site-specific porosity histograms and related permeability functions. The comparison of dynamic flow simulation results and well-test interpretations, and furthermore with the first observed monitoring data, helped to focus the modelling work and to adjust monitoring plans. Modelling is understood as an iterative process, both with respect to data arrival and progressively improving the understanding of the reservoir, but also with respect to the problem which the model is being designed to address

The CO2 SINK Boreholes for Geological Storage Testing

Europe’s first onshore scientific carbon dioxide storage testing project CO2SINK (CO2 Storage by Injection into a Natural saline aquifer at Ketzin) is performed in a saline aquifer in NE Germany. The major objectives of CO2SINK are the advancement of the science and practical processes for underground storage of carbon dioxide, and the provision of operational field results to aid in the development of standards for CO2 geological storage. Three boreholes (one injection well and two observation wells) have been drilled in2007, each to a depth of about 800 m. The wells are completed as “smart” wells containing a variety of permanent downhole sensing equipment, which has proven its functionality during its baseline surveys. The injection of CO2 is scheduled for spring 2008 and is intended to last up to two years to allow for monitoring of migration and fate of the injected gas through a combination of downhole monitoring with surface geophysical surveys. This report summarizeswell design, drilling, coring, and completion operations

Wavelet transform‐based seismic facies classification and modelling: application to a geothermal target horizon in the NE German Basin

At the geothermal test site near Groß Schönebeck (NE German Basin), a new 3D seismic reflection survey was conducted to study geothermal target layers at around 4 km depth and 150°C. We present a workflow for seismic facies classification and modelling which is applied to a prospective sandstone horizon within the Rotliegend formation. Signal attributes are calculated along the horizon using the continuous Morlet wavelet transform. We use a short mother wavelet to allow for the temporal resolution of the relatively short reflection signals to be analysed. Time‐frequency domain data patterns form the input of a neural network clustering using self‐organizing maps. Neural model patterns are adopted during iterative learning to simulate the information inherent in the input data. After training we determine a gradient function across the self‐organizing maps and apply an image processing technique called watershed segmentation. The result is a pattern clustering based on similarities in wavelet transform characteristics. Three different types of wavelet transform patterns were found for the sandstone horizon. We apply seismic waveform modelling to improve the understanding of the classification results. The modelling tests indicate that thickness variations have a much stronger influence on the wavelet transform response of the sandstone horizon compared with reasonable variations of seismic attenuation. In our interpretation, the assumed thickness variations could be a result of variable paleo‐topography during deposition of predominantly fluvial sediments. A distinct seismic facies distribution is interpreted as a system of thicker paleo‐channels deposited within a deepened landscape. The results provide constraints for the ongoing development of the geothermal test site.BMWi, 0324065 TIB, Rissdominierte Erschließung eines tiefen geothermischen Reservoirs zur Stromerzeugung im Norddeutschen Becken - seismische Erkundung, Konzeption und bohrtechnische Planung am Standort Groß Schönebec

Inter- and intrafraction dose variations in robotic stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for perihilar cholangiocarcinoma in the prospective phase I STRONG trial

Using fiducial-marker-based robotic respiratory tumor tracking, we treated perihilar cholangiocarcinoma patients in the STRONG trial with 15 daily fractions of 4 Gy. For each of the included patients, in-room diagnostic-quality repeat CTs (rCT) were acquired pre- and post-dose delivery in 6 treatment fractions to analyze inter- and intrafraction dose variations. Planning CTs (pCTs) and rCTs were acquired in expiration breath-hold. Analogous to treatment, spine and fiducials were used to register rCTs with pCTs. In each rCT, all OARs were contoured, and the target was rigidly copied from the pCT based on grey values. The rCTs acquired were used to calculate the doses to be delivered through the treatment-unit settings. On average, target doses in rCTs and pCTs were similar. However, due to target displacements relative to the fiducials in rCTs, 10% of the rCTs showed PTV coverage losses of >10%. Although target coverages had been planned below desired values in order to protect OARs, many pre-rCTs contained OAR constraint violations: 44.4% for the 6 major constraints. Most OAR dose differences between pre- and post-rCTs were not statistically significant. The dose deviations observed in repeat CTs represent opportunities for more advanced adaptive approaches to enhancing SBRT treatment quality.</p

Conditional deletion of WT1 in the septum transversum mesenchyme causes congenital diaphragmatic hernia in mice

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a severe birth defect. Wt1-null mouse embryos develop CDH but the mechanisms regulated by WT1 are unknown. We have generated a murine model with conditional deletion of WT1 in the lateral plate mesoderm, using the G2 enhancer of the Gata4 gene as a driver. 80% of G2-Gata4Cre;Wt1fl/fl embryos developed typical Bochdalek-type CDH. We show that the posthepatic mesenchymal plate coelomic epithelium gives rise to a mesenchyme that populates the pleuroperitoneal folds isolating the pleural cavities before the migration of the somitic myoblasts. This process fails when Wt1 is deleted from this area. Mutant embryos show Raldh2 downregulation in the lateral mesoderm, but not in the intermediate mesoderm. The mutant phenotype was partially rescued by retinoic acid treatment of the pregnant females. Replacement of intermediate by lateral mesoderm recapitulates the evolutionary origin of the diaphragm in mammals. CDH might thus be viewed as an evolutionary atavismEspaña, Ministerio de Economía BFU2014- 52299-PJunta de Andalucía P11-CTS-0756

A new database structure for the IHFC Global Heat Flow Database

Periodic revisions of the Global Heat Flow Database (GHFD) take place under the auspices of the International Heat Flow Commission (IHFC) of the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI). A growing number of heat-flow values, advances in scientific methods, digitization, and improvements in database technologies all warrant a revision of the structure of the GHFD that was last amended in 1976. We present a new structure for the GHFD, which will provide a basis for a reassessment and revision of the existing global heat-flow data set. The database fields within the new structure are described in detail to ensure a common understanding of the respective database entries. The new structure of the database takes advantage of today's possibilities for data management. It supports FAIR and open data principles, including interoperability with external data services, and links to DOI and IGSN numbers and other data resources (e.g., world geological map, world stratigraphic system, and International Ocean Drilling Program data). Aligned with this publication, a restructured version of the existing database is published, which provides a starting point for the upcoming collaborative process of data screening, quality control and revision. In parallel, the IHFC will work on criteria for a new quality scheme that will allow future users of the database to evaluate the quality of the collated heat-flow data based on specific criteria

The Global Heat Flow Database: Release 2021

This data publication contains the compilation of global heat-flow data by the International Heat Flow Commission (IHFC; http://www.ihfc-iugg.org/) of the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI). The presented data release 2021 contains data generated between 1939 and 2021 and constitutes an updated and extended version of the 2012 IHFC database release (IHFC 2012; later re-published as PANGAEA release: Global Heat Flow Compilation Group, 2013). The 2021 release contains 74,548 heat-flow data from 1,403 publications. 55% of the reported heat-flow values are from the continental domain (n ~ 40,870), while the remaining 45% are located in the oceanic domain (n ~ 33,678). The data are provided in csv and Excel formats. Compared to earlier compilations, which followed the structure defined by Jessop et al. (1976), the new data release was transformed to the recently redefined structure for reporting and storing heat-flow data in the Global Heat Flow Database (Fuchs et al., 2021). Therefore, the notation and structure of the database was adopted, transforming the database field entries defined after Jessop et al. (1976) to the new field structure. Old code notations are not continued and the dataset was cleaned for entries without reporting any heat-flow value. Although successfully transformed, this release marks an intermediate step as the majority of the newly defined database fields have not been filled yet. Filling these fields, checking the existing entries and assessing the quality of each entry are the aim of the upcoming Global Heat Flow Data Assessment Project, for which this data set provides the basis. Consequently, we kindly ask the user to take notice that the current release still suffers similar problems as previously published compilations in terms of data heterogeneity, documentation and quality

Impaired neural development in a zebrafish model for Lowe syndrome

Lowe syndrome, which is characterized by defects in the central nervous system, eyes and kidneys, is caused by mutation of the phosphoinositide 5-phosphatase OCRL1. The mechanisms by which loss of OCRL1 leads to the phenotypic manifestations of Lowe syndrome are currently unclear, in part, owing to the lack of an animal model that recapitulates the disease phenotype. Here, we describe a zebrafish model for Lowe syndrome using stable and transient suppression of OCRL1 expression. Deficiency of OCRL1, which is enriched in the brain, leads to neurological defects similar to those reported in Lowe syndrome patients, namely increased susceptibility to heat-induced seizures and cystic brain lesions. In OCRL1-deficient embryos, Akt signalling is reduced and there is both increased apoptosis and reduced proliferation, most strikingly in the neural tissue. Rescue experiments indicate that catalytic activity and binding to the vesicle coat protein clathrin are essential for OCRL1 function in these processes. Our results indicate a novel role for OCRL1 in neural development, and support a model whereby dysregulation of phosphoinositide metabolism and clathrin-mediated membrane traffic leads to the neurological symptoms of Lowe syndrome