A demonstration of the tectonic evolution of the inner Bristol Channel UK: application of structural geological analogues to interpretation of legacy and new seismic data.

Author(s):  
Marios N. Miliorizos ◽  
Nicholas Reiss ◽  
Nikolaos S. Melis

<p>Advances in seismic imaging technology can discourage the integration of outcrop data into modern interpretation workflows. Yet, instigation of hydrocarbon exploration still requires the use of legacy seismic data, especially within mature petroleum provinces. Typical exploration workflows include expensive pre-stack seismic reprocessing, to better resolve exploration targets. This is a resourceful but timely process that can be enhanced by using structural geological analogues. The inner Bristol Channel has extensive outcrop: to the east the Severn Estuary, to the north the South Wales Coalfield and Vale of Glamorgan and to the south along the Somerset, Devon and Cornish coastlines. These sources of prolific data, combined with legacy exploration refraction, reflection and earthquake seismology, make the inner Bristol Channel an ideal natural laboratory to integrate analogues with seismic information and to produce realistic interpretations and explanations of complex structural heterogeneities especially in places concealed by Mesozoic and Quaternary cover, marine waters and estuarine sediments typical of the inlet. Successful structural analysis is always reliant on well-processed pre-stack seismic data. It is demonstrated however that numerous known structural inversion events also necessitate the best choice of analogues to resolve the geometry and kinematics of any major faults offshore accurately enough to reach a reliable understanding of the petroleum system. Here, in response to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) 2016 data release and the 31st licensing round, we use case studies from the inner Bristol Channel to demonstrate the value of structural geological analogues by integrating them into 1985 2D legacy seismic data at an early stage in the seismic interpretation process. With suitably chosen analogues, structural dissection and reconstruction are carried out to generate geometric and kinematic models. The wider waters of the Bristol Channel are situated in quad 105; in which investigation was instigated in the 1970’s by major exploration companies. Currently, an interest in reliable structural analogues is made more relevant by the fourteen exploration licenses held onshore in south west England and South Wales. Thence our study augments the extensive field work carried out over at least three decades of academic research by generations of scholars. The targeted investigations conducted along the southern coast of Wales and the north coast of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall lead to revised syntheses, to better extrapolate, predict and model the structural architecture beneath the inner Bristol Channel. Exemplary Welsh field analogues are accounted in detail, measured, restored and integrated into an interpretation of the 2D 1985 Western-Geco dataset (WG85 2D 2001). The analogues include Trwyn-yr-Wrach, the Cold Knap, St Mary’s Well and Sully Island, among many others. In conclusion, the practical methodology exemplifies the geometric WNW-ESE lateral changes in structure and the effects of numerous kinematic phases and recent seismicity upon the architecture of the inner Bristol Channel basin as well as its relic-fabric. This demonstration of analogues improves immensely the geological understanding of seismic reflection projects whether legacy data, reflection, refraction or seismology and should remain relevant for many more crucial and modern acquisitions.</p>

Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3575 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. LOWRY

The sand-hopper Bellorchestia mariae sp. nov. is described from Honeymoon Bay on the north coast of Jervis Bay, NewSouth Wales, Australia. It is the sister species of B. richardsoni Serejo & Lowry, 2008 and appears to have a limited dis-tribution from about Narrawallee in the south to northern Jervis Bay. The distribution of B. richardsoni Serejo & Lowry,2008 is extended from Point Ricardo, Victoria, northwards to Ulladulla on the New South Wales coast. A new synonymyis proposed for the sand-hopper Notorchestia quadrimana (Dana, 1852) which includes N. novaehollandiae (1899) andN. lobata Serejo & Lowry, 2008. It is considered to be a wide-ranging species from Shark Bay in Western Australia aroundthe south coast to at least Maitland Bay in central New South Wales. The beach-hopper Orchestia dispar Dana, 1852 isdescribed from Valla Beach in northern New South Wales and moved to the new genus Vallorchestia. This is the first re-cord of V. dispar since its original description 160 years ago. The beach-hopper Platorchestia smithi sp. nov. is describedfrom Brooms Head, New South Wales, Australia. It is common on ocean beaches from Bendalong in the south to Ballina in northern New South Wales. South of Bendalong beach-hoppers on ocean beaches appear to be absent.


2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-76
Author(s):  
Olwyn Pritchard

The King’s Quoit dolmen perches precariously halfway up a headland in south Wales. Its location has been an enigma since Victorian times. The monument builders chose not the spectacular sea views of the south-facing slope, but the apparently more mundane inland vista of the north side, with a near horizon comprising a low ridge on the far side of a small valley, now a beach. Previous research by the author into the astronomical possibilities at this site have revealed horizon indicators for cardinal north, in the form of earth mounds which appear to have marked the lower culminations of Deneb and Vega, as they dipped down to the horizon and rose again during the third and fourth millennium BCE. This has led to another discovery, namely, that a still traceable route way of roads and footpaths leads north from this monument across Pembrokeshire, passing close by several Neolithic monuments and settlements as it does so, before reaching a sheltered bay and another, south facing, dolmen on the north coast. The southern end of this possible ancient trackway is located on Carmarthen Bay, and the northern end, on Cardigan Bay. Both bays encompass a lengthy stretch of relatively sheltered coastal and estuarine water.


1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 299 ◽  
Author(s):  
TS Andrews ◽  
RDB Whalley ◽  
CE Jones

Inputs and losses from Giant Parramatta grass [GPG, Sporobolus indicus (L.) R. Br. var. major (Buse) Baaijens] soil seed banks were quantified on the North Coast of New South Wales. Monthly potential seed production and actual seed fall was estimated at Valla during 1991-92. Total potential production was >668 000 seeds/m2 for the season, while seed fall was >146000 seeds/m2. Seed fall >10000 seeds/m2.month was recorded from January until May, with further seed falls recorded in June and July. The impact of seed production on seed banks was assessed by estimating seed banks in the seed production quadrats before and after seed fall. Seed banks in 4 of the 6 sites decreased in year 2, although seed numbers at 1 damp site increased markedly. Defoliation from mid-December until February, April or June prevented seed production, reducing seed banks by 34% over 7 months. Seed banks in undefoliated plots increased by 3300 seeds/m2, although seed fall was estimated at >114 000 seeds/m2. Emergence of GPG seedlings from artificially established and naturally occurring, persistent seed banks was recorded for 3 years from bare and vegetated treatment plots. Sown seeds showed high levels of innate dormancy and only 4% of seeds emerged when sown immediately after collection. Longer storage of seeds after collection resulted in more seedlings emerging. Estimates of persistent seed banks ranged from 1650 to about 21260 seeds/m2. Most seedlings emerged in spring or autumn and this was correlated with rainfall but not with ambient temperatures. Rates of seed bank decline in both bare and vegetated treatment plots was estimated by fitting exponential decay curves to seed bank estimates. Assuming no further seed inputs, it was estimated that it would take about 3 and 5 years, respectively, for seed banks to decline to 150 seeds/m2 in bare and vegetated treatments.


Oceania ◽  
1957 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 190-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm J. C. Calley

1963 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 99-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Wainwright

The distribution of Mesolithic sites in Wales is controlled to a great extent by the terrain, for physiographically, Wales is a highland block defined on three sides by the sea and for the greater part of the fourth side by a sharp break of slope. Geologically the Principality is composed almost entirely of Palaeozoic rocks, of which the 600-foot contour encloses more than three quarters of the total area. There are extensive regions above 1,500 feet and 2,000 feet and in the north the peaks of Snowdonia and Cader Idris rise to 3,560 feet and 2,929 feet respectively. Indeed North Wales consists of an inhospitable highland massif, skirted by a lowland plateau and cut deeply by river valleys, providing only limited areas for settlement. The hills and mountains of Snowdonia with their extension at lower altitudes into the Lleyn Peninsula, and the ranges of Moelwyn, Manod Mawr, Arenig Fach and Cader Idris, are discouraging obstacles to penetration, save for a short distance along the river valleys. To the east of these peaks are extensive tracts of upland plateau dissected by rivers, bounded on the west by the vale of the river Conway and cleft by the Vale of Clwyd. To the east of this valley lies the Clwydian Range and further again to the east these uplands descend with milder contours to the Cheshire and Shropshire plains.To the south the district merges into the uplands of Central Wales, which are continuous until they are replaced by the lowland belt of South Wales.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. SO17-SO29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaneng Luo ◽  
Handong Huang ◽  
Yadi Yang ◽  
Qixin Li ◽  
Sheng Zhang ◽  
...  

In recent years, many important discoveries have been made in the marine deepwater hydrocarbon exploration in the South China Sea, which indicates the huge exploration potential of this area. However, the seismic prediction of deepwater reservoirs is very challenging because of the complex sedimentation, the ghost problem, and the low exploration level with sparse wells in deepwater areas. Conventional impedance inversion methods interpolate the low frequencies from well-log data with the constraints of interpreted horizons to fill in the frequency gap between the seismic velocity and seismic data and thereby recover the absolute impedance values that may be inaccurate and cause biased inversion results if wells are sparse and geology is complex. The variable-depth streamer seismic data contain the missing low frequencies and provide a new opportunity to remove the need to estimate the low-frequency components from well-log data. Therefore, we first developed a broadband seismic-driven impedance inversion approach using the seismic velocity as initial low-frequency model based on the Bayesian framework. The synthetic data example demonstrates that our broadband impedance inversion approach is of high resolution and it can automatically balance between the inversion resolution and stability. Then, we perform seismic sedimentology stratal slices on the broadband seismic data to analyze the depositional evolution history of the deepwater reservoirs. Finally, we combine the broadband amplitude stratal slices with the impedance inversion results to comprehensively predict the distribution of deepwater reservoirs. Real data application results in the South China Sea verify the feasibility and effectiveness of our method, which can provide a guidance for the future deepwater hydrocarbon exploration in this area.


2004 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Gibson ◽  
Daniel Robinson

Much recent academic and public discourse has centred on the fate of non-metropolitan Australia under successive federal neoliberal reform agendas. This paper discusses creative networks in non-metropolitan areas in light of this, with a focus on issues of youth unemployment and out-migration. First, it draws on research on creative industry development on the New South Wales Far North Coast to assess the efficacy of creative networks as a source of new job growth in rural areas. Second, and more broadly, the paper discusses the North Coast Entertainment Industry Association (NCEIA), a nascent creative network in the region. Several observations are drawn from its experiences. Creative networks in non-metropolitan areas face problems of informal and itinerant membership, and anti-socialisation attitudes, Yet they appear to have a substantial role in improving the conditions of viability for vulnerable cultural producers. When conceived as part of interventionist strategies to promote youth employment and to stem the youth exodus from rural areas, they may also have sociodemographic implications beyond the scope of their original intent.


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