Prediction of geotemperatures in coal-bearing strata and implications for coal bed methane accumulation in the Bide-Santang basin,western Guizhou,China

The geothermal fields of coal-bearing strata have become a key topic in geological research into coal and coal bed methane(CBM).Based on temperature data from 135 boreholes that penetrate the Upper Permian coal-bearing strata in the Bide-Santang basin,western Guizhou,the precisions of geothermal predictions made using a geothermal gradient model and a gray sequence GM(1,1)model are analyzed and compared.The results indicate that the gray sequence GM(1,1)model is more appropriate for the prediction of geothermal fields.The GM(1,1)model is used to predict the geothermal field at three levels with depths of 500,1000,and 1500 m,as well as within the No.6,No.16,and No.27 coal seams.The results indicate that the geotemperatures of the 500 m depth level are between 21.0 and 30.0°C,indicating no heat damage;the geotemperatures of the 1000 m depth level are between 29.4 and 44.7°C,indicating the first level of heat damage;and the geotemperatures of the 1500 m depth level are between35.6 and 63.4°C,indicating the second level of heat damage.The CBM contents are positively correlated with the geotemperatures of the coal seams.The target area for CBM development is identified.

Stres-disipative heat geotemperature precursor mechanism of earthquakes

It is a common phenomenon that there exists shallow geotemperature rise precursor around an earthquake region before the event occurs. The existing models on geotemperature precursor mechanism such as the deep thermal ascent model and the model of hothouse effect, all encounter some contradictions although there is a certain evidence supporting them. From the angle of dissipative heat in the present paper, we set forth a new interpretation model named the stress-dissipative heat model with the main points of view as: the dissipative heat transformed from the work of crustal stress to non-elastic deformation of rock and soil, is one important reason for preseismic geotemperature rise. The medium-term regional and tendency geotemperature rise before an earthquake closely relates to the intensification of regional crustal stress field; the short-term and prequake geotemperature bursting rise around an earthquake region closely relates to rapid change of the source stress field. Plastic deformation and dissipative heat is much easier created in soil than rock. Therefore, the pre-earthquake geotemperature precursors mainly appear in soil covered area and mostly concentrate in shallow soil layers.

Present geotemperature and its suggestion to natural gas generation in Xujiaweizi fault-depression of the northern Songliao Basin

According to stastistic of present geotemperatures at the depths of 1000,2000,3000 and 4000 m,respectively in the Xujiaweizi fault-depression of the north Songliao Basin,the result indicates that Xujiaweizi fault-depression falls in the high geotemperature area,with the higher geothermal gradient in the depression layer than that in the fault-depression layer.The geothermal gradient decreases with the increasing of the depth.The thermal conductivity of rock greatly controls the geothermal gradient.The main factors constraining the current geotemperature include thermal configuration of the earth's crust, deep faults,distribution and abundance of radioelements.The high geotemperature is in favour of generation of deep gas.

Thermoelectric Currents of Earth’s Core Generate the Earth’s Magnetic Field

The geotemperature gradient is considered as taking main part in generating the Earth’s magnetic field. It is shown that geotemperature gradient functions as a generator of both nuclear and mantle thermoelectrical currents thanks to the great temperature difference between the core and the mantle. The movement of those currents is close to the radial direction towards the Earth’s crust. However, the nuclear thermocurrents movement tends to cyclically change into opposite one. If the mantle and core thermocurrents move oppositely, the Earth’s crust cools down globally and ice age comes, but if they move unidirectionally then global warming comes. The calculation show that the Earth’s surface can warm up to not more than 10°C. The latter, considering how human factor affects the warming of Earth, is incomparably great. There are calculations that show power of the Earth’s thermocurrents being enough to generate and maintain the Earth’s magnetic field, its modern dynamics and the poles inversion.

Amplitude Ratio of Regional Seismic Phases: An Efficient Indicator of Thermal State of the Lithosphere

By analyzing seismograms of short period records at the Beijing SeismoJogicaJ Observatory, the present paper investigates the amplitude ratio of seismic phases. The results indicate that the amplitude ratio of Sn/Lg is correlated with the lithosphere structure, the thermal state, and strong earthquake occurrence in the region the seismic rays pass through. The significance of such a correlation in the study on the genesis and prediction of strong earthquakes is discussed.

Relation Between Seismicity and Geothermal Structure of the Lithosphere in Yunnan Province,China

The isoline map of the heat flow has been drawn by using the measured and estimated values of the heat flow in Yunnan Province and its adjacent region. The contrast studies of the heat flow and epicenters of the strong earthquakes (886 ～ 1998), the distribution of the geotemperature and high accurate data of focal depth (1983 ～ 1997 ) show that the strong earthquakes take place along the geothermal gradient zone in which the thermal stress is concentrated, and that the foci are generally located between 100°and 600° isogeotherms corresponding to the depths of 3～ 25km and densely distribute between 200° and 450° isogeotherms, i.e. the depths of 5 ～20km. The distribution range of the focal depths is probably related to the crustal brittle to ductile transition which mainly results from the geotemperatures.

Lithospheric Geothermal Structure in Yunnan, China

In this paper,the characteristics of the lateral variations of the deep heat flow and Hthospheric geotemperature distribution in Yunnan have been studied,and the lithospheric geothermal structure has been divided into three types,i.e.the geothermal structure in the typical modern tectonically active region,transitional geological region and stable geological region.Finally,the relationship between the geotherm and seismicitv has been discussed.

Distribution feature of terrestrial heat flow densities in the Bohai Basin,East China

Temperature logging curves at 8 boreholes and well-testing temperature data at 142 boreholes are used to determine geotemperature gradients in the Bohai Basin. The thermal conductivities of 86 rock samples are measured at laboratory and the effects of porosity and temperature are corrected to obtain conductivities in situ. Terrestrial heat flow densities at 76 wells are determined based on these data. The distribution of the heat flow indicates that the terrestrial heat flow in the Bohai Basin is relatively high with an average value of 65.8 mW/m2. This characteristic is caused by the tectonic evolution of the basin. During Cenozoic, the litho-sphere stretched intermittently and the crust thinned so that heat conducted from the mantle increased and formed thermal abnormity at depth beneath the basin.

Research advances in the formation poredynamics of sedimentary basins

In the 21st century,the geodynamics is developing towards quantitative researches.However,due to the irreversible geological processes,it was very difficult to recover the geological process.In particular,the restoration of geological parameter evolution process at the microscopic scale has become a major scientific problem in geology presently.Thereby,a concept of the formation poredynamics is revised and proposed,and the formation poredynamics is a fundamental discipline which focus on the mechanical characteristic of porous media,the pore evolution law,the dynamic genesis and the seepage property of pore fluid during the burial process of clastic rocks.Moreover,it is a new interdiscipline of underground diagenetic dynamics and pore fluid dynamics,and also is as an important part of sedimentary basin dynamics.Research advances were made in both basic theory and applied research.The advances in the basic theory include:(1)the static equilibrium principle of the formation pore,(2)the porosity evolution mechanism and quantitative model of sandstone during the burial diagenetic process,(3)the compaction characteristic and the porosity evolution quantitative model of mudstone,(4)the theoretical relationship between the underground pore fluid temperature and the pore fluid pressure,(5)the influence of the tectonism-induced additional geostress on the pore fluid pressure,and(6)the relationship between the mudstone compaction and the vitrinite reflectance(R_(o))of organic matter.The advances in the applied research include:(1)the geotemperature-geopressure system division of the sedimentary basin and the interpretation of the hydrocarbon distribution dynamic,(2)the modification of the strata pressure prediction model,(3)the construction of the reservoir critical properties and the reservoir dynamics evaluation system,(4)the simulation of the evolution process of the formation fluid pressure,(5)the numerical simulation and physical experimental simulation on the sandstone hydrocarbon charging dynamics,and(6)the dynamic process analysis of the hydrocarbon accumulation in tight sandstone.Through the integration between the pore genesis evolution and the pore fluid dynamic evolution,the formation poredynamics is one of the representative discipline branches that the geological dynamics research had developed toward the underground microscopic scale in recently 20 years,and it also is an inevitable result from the quantitative development of the formation and distribution mechanisms of sedimentary mineral deposits.Based on the formation poredynamics research,eight important research achievements are summarized,and the geological researches are extended from the macroscopic scale to the microscopic scale,to find out the pore parameter evolution law under control of the formation pore evolution during the burial process,and update and improve exploration and production application technologies.