In the western Sirt Basin, sedimentation during the Late Paleocene was characterized broadly by shallow-marine carbonates, local build-ups and deeper-water shales and marls on the Dahra Platform and in the Dor al Abid/Zallah Troughs. Seven lithofacies and eleven associated microfacies have been recognised within the Selandian/Thanetian carbonate succession in the study area, and these range from mud-supported carbonates to grain-dominated facies. The Dahra Formation on the Dahra Platform was deposited on a homoclinal carbonate ramp with inner, mid and probably outer ramp facies, each with distinctive sub-facies and microfacies. The similarity of facies and associated microfacies throughout the Dahra Formation suggest deposition under similar conditions throughout the east and west Dahra Fields on the Dahra Platform, and these persisted during deposition of the Zelten and Harash Formations. The Mabruk Member, which consists mainly of shallow-water carbonates bounded above and below by deeper-marine shale and marl, accumulated in lagoonal and reefal environments, probably in a rimmed-shelf setting. Different types of diagenetic alteration occurred at various stages in the Paleocene sedimentʼs history including dissolution, cementation and compaction. Primary and secondary types of porosity were developed within the studied rocks, particularly in the Dahra Formation, where the depositional facies, diagenesis and the pattern of carbonate cycles played an important role in porosity creation and preservation. The Selandian/Thanetian succession is dominated by a regressive trend, especially on the Dahra Platform, which resulted in the development of shallowing-up cycles. Numerous key surfaces have been documented with characteristic funnel-shaped and bell-shaped log patterns, based on which a number of depositional sequences have been recognized. These sequences comprise both transgressive systems tract and highstand systems tract and are commonly defined by transgressive surfaces, particularly on the Dahra Platform. The possible lack of reef-building organisms along with tectonic subsidence and/or significant sea-level rise resulted in the development of a drowning unconformity on the top of the Mabruk Member. The thickness of the entire Paleocene succession is generally thicker in the trough areas and thinner over the platform. The latter is dominated by uniform and monotonous strata with a significant thickness of shallow-marine carbonates, suggesting relative stability in tectonics, sea-level and climate. The high temperature recorded from the aqueous inclusions in the Thanetian section is possibly due to the passage of hydrothermal fluids from deeper parts of the area; the high thermal conductivity of carbonates, along with the Mid-Late Tertiary uplift and erosion may also have been involved. The overall similarity of the Paleocene palaeotopography suggests that differential subsidence and sea-level fluctuation were the dominant process that controlled the spatial and temporal variation of the Paleocene facies.

Evaluation of the variability of theoretical and effective CO2 storage capacity estimation within depleted gas reservoirs is dependent on the integrated analysis of reservoir structure, aquifer performance and thermodynamic behaviour. Four published theoretical CO2 storage capacity methods and one effective method have been used to estimate the capacity and variability of two Triassic depletion drive reservoirs and two Triassic water drive reservoirs located within the UK Southern North Sea and East Irish Sea Basin. Input parameters to the storage capacity equations have shown a degree of natural variability whereas others are more accurately constrained. As such, attempts have been made to more accurately constrain the most variable input parameters. The geometric, petrophysical and production characteristics of the reservoirs are analysed. Material balance methods are used to assess the reservoir drive mechanism of the reservoirs. If reservoirs are found to experience a water drive, the aquifer strength is estimated. The gas compressibility factor, gas formation volume factor and CO2 density is estimated under initial reservoir temperature conditions using six equations of state for comparison of results. These results are then input to storage capacity equations producing a range of estimates. The most susceptible parameter to variability was the cumulative volume of water influx to a reservoir, We. Variability was also found to be the result of error in estimation of the original gas in place. As such, the water drive reservoirs made further use of aquifer modelling to achieve more precise estimates of OGIP and We. The effective capacity coefficients for the various reservoirs have been estimated to assess the proportion of pore space available for CO2 storage. The effective CO2 storage capacity constitutes a fraction of the theoretical CO2 storage capacity which ranges between 0 (no storage possible) and 1 (all theoretically accessible pore volume is occupied by CO2). Overall, it was found that depletion drive reservoirs have the potential to store greater volumes of CO2 than water drive reservoirs whose aquifer waters occupy the newly liberated pore space.

Worldwide deposits of oil shales are thought to represent ~3 trillion barrels of oil. Jordanian oil shale deposits are extensive and high quality, and could represent 100 billion barrels of oil, leading to much interest in the development of deposits. The exploitation of oil shales has raised a number of environmental concerns including: land use, water consumption, gaseous emissions and spent oil shale disposal. To understand the environmental impact of spent oil shale, a study was conducted in Lothian, Scotland, providing a unique opportunity to examine the weathering process on aged deposits. Sequential extraction studies were conducted to determine the partitioning of trace elements within spent oil shale, soil and vegetation, with results demonstrating the stability of spent oil shale deposits. The sequestration of CO2 within spent oil shale has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions associated with the retorting of oil shale. Jordanian spent oil shale was found to sequester up to 5 wt % CO2, on reacting under supercritical conditions, which is 68 % of the theoretical carbonation. Results show that the duration of reaction; gas temperature; CO2 pressure; and the interactions between these factors significantly affect the extent of carbonation. The magnitude of the CO2 sequestration achieved was sufficient that it could lower CO2 emissions by up to 29 kg CO2/bbl, thereby bringing the emissions from oil shale processing in line with those from conventional oil extraction methods. Modification of the processing conditions was also considered: to reduce CO2 emissions, maximise oil recovery, and produce valuable by-products. Pyrolysis at 500 °C, combustion at 750 °C, and accelerated carbonation methods, may offer the greatest benefits for the processing of Jordanian oil shale.

For the first time in the history of mangroves, the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in particular, this doctoral research aims to quantify forest change with an unprecedented period spanning from 1906 to 2014. The world’s largest mangroves – the Sundarbans of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta accounts for 4.5% of the world’s mangrove forests, has been used as the test site. The research quantified the forest change into two distinct strands: (a) an assessment of vegetation dynamics over 106-years (1906-2012) in the Bangladesh Sundarbans and (b) a 42-years long (1973-2014) satellite imagery-based assessment of spatial change patterns of the Sundarbans. To address those objectives, this study used three different datasets: (1) a three month long extensive ground survey in 2011-12; (2) synthesis of six epochs of vegetation estimates: 1906-10, 1923-26, 1957-59, 1982-84, 1996-97 and 2011-12; and (3) mapping forest and forest types from six epochs of Landsat time-series: 1973 (MSS1), 1979 (MSS3), 1989 (ETM+ 7), 2010 (TM5), and 2014 (OLI8) using ground-based training samples and high (5m-RapidEye) to very high (<5m-GeoEye, IKONOS, QuickBird, OrbView) spatial resolution optical imagery spanning from 1967 to 2014. Ground survey of 164 sample plots, 400 m2 per plot, has recorded 21 tree species from 33 recorded plant species having median values of stem diameter and total height estimated to 3 cm and 5.4 m, respectively. Out of 47,293 stems, gewa was found dominating (42%) which together with sundri constitute about 80% of the stems. Sundri stems were found to be taller than gewa but opposite in the case of stem median diameter and are significant in both cases. Stocking has declined to 50 stems.ha-1 from 650 stems.ha-1 from ≥20 cm to ≥10 cm diameter. Tree richness, diameter and total height has found declining with increasing salinity. The southeast region of the Bangladesh Sundarbans has recorded the highest diameter and taller stems. Overall, total height of stems has declined while tree mortality from top-dying has increased 4.5 times. Over the last 106-years (1906-2012), a 58% decline of ≥15 cm diameter sundri has been estimated. From 1923-2012, the sundri-dominated forest has declined by 34% while gewa and other-dominated forests have increased by 11% and 24% respectively. Decline in larger diameter stems (≥ 5cm) has provided space for younger stems to grow and dominate which showed an overall increase in stocking of sundri, gewa and other-dominated forest types. These long-term forest change estimates will benefit in understanding ecology and carbon dynamics of mangroves that eventually contribute in UN-led reduced emission from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) programmes for mangroves of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta.

Cities often experience a distinct climate compared to the surrounding area characterized by differences in air temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and amount of precipitation. Thus far, research on the urban heat island (UHI) effect has focused on cool temperate, Mediterranean and tropical climatic regions, whereas less attention has been given to the study of arid regions where the daytime surface temperature can be extremely high. This study concerns the Al Ahsa oasis, Saudi Arabia, which is a rapidly developing urban centre in an arid region. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of land cover on the urban and sub-urban environment using ground data and multi-scale and multi-temporal satellite thermal imagery. Land surface temperatures derived from satellite thermal imagery are compared with observations from ground-based fixed and mobile temperature and relative humidity logging stations for periods in February and July. Thermal radiometers from different sensors, Landsat 7 ETM+ and MODIS, were used to measure the outgoing radiation budget at specific locations within the urban landscape. Fieldwork was undertaken contemporary with satellite overpasses to measure the diurnal air temperatures and relative humidity across different land cover types including agriculture, urban, water, exposed rock surfaces, sabkha and sand dunes. These data provide the most complete experiment so far conducted to test and refine models of the thermal radiation budget of the arid zone at the sub-city scale. The findings of this study have emphasized the effectiveness of combining the two methods, ground and satellite data, to investigate the relationship between land cover and UHI intensity. Results reveal a significant relationship between UHI spatial distribution and land cover using the two methods: mobile traverses and remote sensing. The UHI intensity is higher during the summer than the winter and at night-time than in the day. The highest UHI intensity, (10.5 °C), is located over the two major cities in the oasis (Al Hufuf and Al Mubarraz) while the lowest temperatures (- 6.4 °C below UHI), are recorded in the small villages and vegetated areas during summer at night. The outcome of this thesis will help future urban development and planning projects and provide a framework for implementing rules and regulations by local government agencies for a sustainable urban development approach.

The structural style within the deepest parts of the Ajdabiya Trough is defined by a system of Early-Late Cretaceous syn-depositional fault blocks bound by normal faults and basement highs devoid of syn-rift sediments, which are buried under a thick succession of Cenozoic post-rift deposits. The range of fault orientations likely reflects the conflicting influences of the ~NE-SW regional extension direction and the dominant ~N-S trending basement fabric. Mainly NW-trending normal faults dissecting Cretaceous and older rocks have been inferred from 2D seismic reflection and potential field data. Other faults trend NE-SW and E-W, and mainly cut Miocene and older strata. Some of these faults have both sinistral and dextral strike slip components and are possibly linked to on-going seismicity in the Sirt Basin and the Cyrenaica Platform. Vertical displacements on these faults are several hundred meters and are defined by large throws on Cretaceous and underlying horizons. Structural mapping confirms the presence of relay ramps associated with overlapping faults developed in the hangingwalls adjacent to west downthrowing normal faults along the eastern margin of the Ajdabiya Trough. The seismic stratigraphic framework is organised into six mega-sequences that correlate to variations in relative sea-level and/or sediment supply during Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic times. The stratigraphic architecture of the trough is largely influenced by relative sea level changes and minimal tectonic effects during the Cenozoic; observed progradation of the Paleocene, Early and Middle Eocene sequences along the trough margin is attributed to relatively rapid sedimentation rates and relatively slow rates of increase in accommodation space. Depositional environments are interpreted using the resultant facies analysis and the characterisation of the seismic reflections indicated that the geological units were deposited in marginal marine, shallow shelf and moderately deep marine environments. Special consideration is given to the principle of seismic sequence stratigraphy analysis of carbonate depositional systems where the facies group took initially place on a homoclinal ramp which later developed into a rimmed platform. This analysis additionally reveals that similar depositional architectures can be divided into systems tracts. The earliest systems tract of the Lower Eocene sequence is interpreted as lowstand prograding wedge distinguished on the basis of the component facies that indicate the dominant depositional regime. Localized debris flow or mass transport complex formed during early highstand systems tract deposition began during the Middle Eocene. The tectono‐stratigraphic analysis of the Ajdabiya Trough reveals that two major extensional pulses controlled the architecture of the trough during continental rifting with crustal stretching (β) factor ranging from 1.3 to 1.5 consistent with subsidence in the Ajdabiya Trough having been controlled by thermal cooling and isostatic adjustments of the crust beneath the trough. Growth strata within grabens and half-grabens denote persistent tectonic subsidence and demonstrate the progressive depocenter locus migration towards the north. In such a context, the current geometry of the Ajdabiya Trough is interpreted to have resulted mainly from rifting cycles and possible renewed continental extension. The investigations of the tectono‐stratigraphic controls reveal that after a period of relative tectonic quiescence, post‐rift tectonic reactivation affected the Ajdabiya Trough almost continuously since the latest Cretaceous to the Miocene. Burial history curves correlated with one-dimensional back-stripping assuming Airy isostasy shows that Cenozoic subsidence in the Ajdabiya Trough can be divided into three episodes of post-rift subsidence characterized by short and long-lived subsidence pulses and rapid sedimentation rates that may lead to development of overpressure by disequilibrium compaction.

Canada is a country often painted as a unifying power and an honest broker in world affairs. She has a respected history within the United Nations and a tradition of championing international norms, especially to curtail dangerous actions amongst the community of nations. From NAFTA to peacekeeping missions, she has carved a respected niche in global politics, perhaps fairer than her domestic situation warrants. Recent economic and environmental problems challenge this legacy of international cooperation and the rule of law with poor implementation of key international treaties. Environmental problems, in particular, have not translated into robust environmental policies even though Canadian identity is intrinsically woven with the concepts of nature and stewardship. The issue of climate change is a case in point: Canada was one of the earliest and most vocal supporters of the international climate change regime, and simultaneously, one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters per capita. The government signed the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with a commitment to lower emissions by 6% of 1990 levels; yet emissions rose by 19% by the end of the commitment period. The country appears to suffer from a Jekyll and Hyde syndrome: defending international norms and the rule of law whilst at the same time ignoring the very treaties she fought to create. This thesis explores how the federal Canadian government shifted from being an international leader to a laggard in the Kyoto Protocol; and in doing so it will explain the socio-economic and political forces that shaped Canada’s Kyoto strategy. A grounded theory research design was used, combining key informant interviews, policy document analysis, and participant observation. The case study raises important questions for a country such as Canada with lessons for climate politics both within the country and other federalist countries.

No description available.

The field described in this thesis lies within a mineralogical province of South-east Turkey where copper, zinc and chromium deposits are known and is situated approximately 30 km to the south-east of Palu-Elazig. An area of about 150 km2 was geologically mapped and the Upper Cretaceous-Palaeocene Series, which covers almost the whole area, was separated into smaller strati graphical units. The results of detailed structural investigations proved the presence of two different fold systems, two cleavages and two sets of thrusts which were produced by the Laramidian and Alpine Orogenies. Stream sediment samples were collected from the whole area and this reconnaissance work preceded follow-up soil, soil and rock sample surveys ;jhich v;ere carried out over a much smaller area. All these samples were analysed by colorimetric and spectrometric methods and statistical univariate and multivariate techniques were employed in their interpretation with the aid of a computer. The induced polarization mothod was applied over an area of known mineralization and the results for resistivity, percentage frequency effect a.id metal factor were interpreted by contouring them on vertical sections as well as on horizontal planes at four relative depths. As a result the presence of another possible sulphide deposit was discovered to the north of the first orebody. At the place where geophysical methods were applied an adit was reopened and development of pine the primary ere. Trenches were day ever anomalous sites and primary ore was sampled in both trenches and edit. The geological and ore micrcscopical evidence definitely suggests the intimate association of sulphide mineralization with the volcanic rocks. The Kedek Mineralization is a typical example of exhalative sedimentary origin, while the Ropin Mineralization represents precipitation of sulphide minerals from ascending mineralizing fluids along the feeding channels, before reaching the sea bed to form the exhalative deposits.

No description available.