To continue increasing the energy supply to meet global demand in the coming decades, the energy industry needs creative thinking that leads to the development of new energy sources. Unconventional gas resources, especially those in frontier basins, will play an important role in fulfilling future world energy needs. We must identify and quantify potential unconventional gas resources in basins around the world to plan for their development. Basin analog assessment is one technique that can be used to identify and quantify unconventional gas resources that is less expensive and less time consuming. We have developed a basin analog methodology that is useful for rapidly and consistently evaluating the unconventional hydrocarbon resource potential in exploratory basins. We developed software, Basin Analog System (BAS), to perform and accelerate the process of identifying analog basins. Also, we built a database that includes geologic and petroleum systems information of intensely studied North America basins that contain well characterized conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon resources. We have selected 25 basins in North America that have a history of producing unconventional gas resources. These are “reference” basins that are used to predict resources in frontier or exploratory basins. The software assists us in ranking reference basins that are most analogous to the target basin for the primary purpose of evaluating the potential unconventional resources in the target basin. The methodology allows us to numerically rank all the reference basins relative to the target basin. The accuracy of the results depends on the descriptions of geologic and petroleum systems. We validated the software to make sure it is functioning correctly and to test the validity of the process and the database. Finding a reference basin that is analogous to a frontier basin can provide insights into potential unconventional gas resources of the frontier basin. Our method will help industry predict the unconventional hydrocarbon resource potential of frontier basins, guide exploration strategy, infer reservoir characteristics, and make preliminary decisions concerning the best engineering practices as wells are drilled, completed, stimulated and produced.

Carbon dioxide emissions are considered a major source of increased atmospheric CO2 levels leading towards global warming. CO2 sequestration in coal bed reservoirs is one technique that can reduce the concentration of CO2 in the air. In addition, due to the chemical and physical properties of carbon dioxide, CO2 sequestration is a potential option for substantially enhancing coal bed methane recovery (ECBM). The San Juan Fruitland coal has the most prolific coal seams in the United States. This basin was studied to investigate the potential of CO2 sequestration and ECBM. Primary recovery of methane is controversial ranging between 20-60% based on reservoir properties in coal bed reservoirs15. Using CO2 sequestration as a secondary recovery technique can enhance coal bed methane recovery up to 30%. Within the San Juan Basin, permeability ranges from 1 md to 100 md. The Fairway region is characterized with higher ranges of permeability and lower pressures. On the western outskirts of the basin, there is a transition zone characterized with lower ranges of permeability and higher pressures. Since the permeability is lower in the transition zone, it is uncertain whether this area is suitable for CO2 sequestration and if it can deliver enhanced coal bed methane recovery. The purpose of this research is to determine the economic feasibility of sequestering CO2 to enhance coal bed methane production in the transition zone of the San Juan Basin Fruitland coal seams. The goal of this research is two- fold. First, to determine whether there is a potential to enhance coal bed methane recovery by using CO2 injection in the transition zone of the San Juan Basin. The second goal is to identify the optimal design strategy and utilize a sensitivity analysis to determine whether CO2 sequestration/ECBM is economically feasible. Based on the results of my research, I found an optimal design strategy for four 160- acre spacing wells. With a high rate injection of CO2 for 10 years, the percentage of recovery can increase by 30% for methane production and it stores 10.5 BCF of CO2. The economic value of this project is $17.56 M and $19.07 M if carbon credits were granted at a price of $5.00/ton. If CO2 was not injected, the project would only give $15.55 M.

The origin of the Amerasia Basin, in the Arctic region, is nowadays a highly controversial topic due to the paucity of geophysical data available and the difficulties in interpreting possible seafloor spreading magnetic anomalies. The Chukchi Borderland, that extends into the Amerasia Basin north of the Chukchi Sea, has proven to be one of the more difficult features of the arctic to understand in any model for the tectonic evolution of the Amerasian Basin. In the summer of 2005, USCG Icebreaker Healy crossed the Arctic Ocean from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to Troms�, Norway, to collect geophysical data and take shallow cores in an effort to gain greater insight into the paleo-oceanographic, depositional and tectonic history of the Arctic basins. 780 km of new seismic lines from the Chukchi Borderland are presented along with a preliminary interpretation of the tectonic evolution of the Amerasia Basin in light of the new observations. The data provide high quality images of the region down to the basement and, in areas, images below the basement. The pelagic sediment cover varies along the profiles with thicknesses ranging from less than 0.1 s to a maximum of 1.5 s TWT. Significant extensional normal faults, striking approximately north-south, are observed throughout the dataset with strong evidence of growth faults below a major unconformity. Along the reflection images oriented E-W, young sediments and possibly the seafloor show small offsets. While this may be due to differential compaction or fluid expulsion, the presence of low amplitude folds above the footwalls suggests a recent fault-propagation folding process. This may indicate recent reactivation and rotation of the crustal blocks, although the total amount of displacement and strain are very small. We do not observe compressional or inversion structures anywhere in the dataset. The orientation of the structures imaged is similar to those observed along the Mendeleev Ridge to the west, which may support recent models that propose the Chukchi Borderlands and Mendeleev Ridge comprise a single extensional province that rifted from the Siberian margin.

<p>The Volta Basin covers most of the major food producingdistricts of Ghana. Thus said, it is considered as the foodbasket of Ghana. This perception underscores the need toprotect the basins bio-physical environment and resource base.This concern has been mirrored by several initiatives both interms of policy and planning that aim at improving themanagement of the basin’s resource base to enable itspeople depend on it in meeting their livelihoods. Like mostcommunities that lie in the lower reaches of the Volta, thepeople of the South Tongu District have been brought under theimpact of the dam. Even though no extensive study has yet beenconducted to establish the extent of the dam’s impact inthe district, it is widely believed by the locals thatlivelihoods have been impacted by environmental changes. Keycomplaints include, amongst others, tree cover depletion,decline in soil fertility, poor agricultural productivity, lowrainfall and bush fires. At the district level some steps havebeen taken in the form of projects and programmes to addresspoverty and resource management issues, while others areunderway. This study seeks to contribute to the on-goinggeneral discussion concerning poverty and environmentalmanagement in the basin by presenting some perspectives fromfour villages, namely, Torsukpo, Agbogbla, Akato and Alesikpein the South Tongu District. From two perspectives, thesecommunities are considered as homogenous: (i) they are allpredominantly<i>ewes</i>with respect to ethnic composition, and (ii)subsistence farming features as a key occupation in all thecommunities. Among the range of issues identified in thedistrict, the study discusses mainly conservation (with respectto tree planting), bush fires and co-operative management. Ittreats these issues with focuses on key socio-cultural factors.In the examination of these issues institutional matters suchas tenure are seen as central players in resource managementand are thus given attention. While information gathered hereincontributes generally to deepening knowledge on the prevailingproblems, some recommendations are also offered as possiblesteps to improving resource management and livelihoods in theDistrict.</p><p><b>Key words:</b>environment; natural resources; lower volta;local people; livelihood</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009. / Prepared for: Dept. of Public Policy and Administration. Title from title-page of electronic thesis. Bibliography: leaves 230-254.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Anthropology, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

The dissertation examines the interaction between basement tectonics, salt tectonics and sedimentation during the Late Cretaceous basement reactivation in the center of the Santos Basin. The study area is a seismic volume 60 x 30 km² in area, augmented by 2D regional seismic lines. The results of seismic interpretation and structural restorations revealed important inversions in the Late Cretaceous, including inversion of an NNE-oriented aborted rift segment known as Merluza Graben. The following tectono-stratigraphic evolution was inferred. During the Albian, basin subsidence and differential loading by the overburden caused salt to flow basinwards. In the Late Turonian, intraplate compression resulted in uplift of the onshore and proximal areas of the Santos Basin and in a newly recognized basement inversion in deep water. ENE and NNE oriented structures were reactivated. The uplift exposed the Turonian shelf and a new shelf began to prograde. The first shelves were narrow (~25 km wide) but enlarged to 60 km in the Santonian. Salt influenced the position of the shelf break and the progradation pattern of the shelf margin. Because of the continuous accommodation space provided by salt withdrawal underneath the sedimentary wedge, the shelf margin aggraded until underlying salt welded, after which the shelf prograded to a position around 50 km to the east of the present-day shelf break. Deformation peaked in the Late Santonian when the shelf was widest, the rate of progradation of the shelf margin was anomalously high, and transtension along the borders of the Merluza Graben allowed Late Santonian magma to intrude. Salt acted as a partial seal, causing a large part of the magma to spread beneath it. Some magma formed sills inside the evaporitic layer, intruding zones of dilation in the salt. Magma also followed the top of the evaporitic layer and intruded salt-related faults as dikes. These dikes supplied sills in the overburden and extrusive flows emerged on the Late Santonian seafloor from ENE-striking transtensional zones. Right-lateral reactivation of the Merluza Graben borders slightly compressed the graben, which favored sill injection in Coniacian/Santonian strata. Tectonic activity diminished towards the end of the Cretaceous. / text

The detailed morphologies, evolution and termination of Neogene tropical carbonate platforms in the Northern Carnarvon Basin (NCB) on the passive margin of the Northwest Shelf of Australia reveal information on the history of local oceanographic processes and changing climate. Cool-water carbonate deposition, dominant during the early-middle Miocene, was superseded by a siliciclastic influx, which prograded across the shelf beginning in the late-middle Miocene during a period of long-term global sea-level fall. The resulting prograding clinoform sets, interpreted as delta lobes, created relict topographic highs following Pliocene termination of the siliciclastic influx (Sanchez et al., 2012a; 2012b). These highs created a favorable shallow-water environment for subsequent photozoan carbonate production. A composite, commercial 3D seismic volume allows investigation of the temporal and spatial evolution of the resulting Pliocene-Pleistocene carbonate platforms. Initiation of carbonate development, in addition to being a response to cessation of siliciclastic influx and the existence of suitable shallow-water substrate, was also influenced by the development of the warm-water Leeuwin Current (LC), flowing southwestward along the margin. Four flat-topped platforms are mapped; each platform top is a sequence boundary defined by onlap above and truncation below the boundary. Successive platforms migrated southwestward, along-strike. Internally, platforms have progradational seismic geometries. The mapped platform tops are large (≥ 10 km wide). Evidence of karst (e.g., v-shaped troughs up to 50m deep and ~1 km wide and broader karst basins up to 20 km2 coverage area) on platform tops suggests episodic subaerial exposure that contributed to the demise of individual platforms. The most recent platform, platform 4, is unique in having interpreted reefs superimposed on the progradational platform base. The base of these reefs now lies at ~153 m and the reefs may therefore have developed post-LGM (~21 Ka). The reefs subsequently drowned, with drowning possibly aided by turbidity associated with formation of adjacent sediment drifts and weakening and strengthening LC during the late Pleistocene. The progressive drowning and termination of platforms from northeast to southwest along strike may result from differential compaction of the deltaic substrate or differential tectonic subsidence caused by the collision at the Banda Arc between the Australian and Pacific plates / text

Holocene hydrological changes in regions influenced by the mid-latitude westerly and the tropical/subtropical Asian monsoon differ from each other. The arid/semi-arid northeastern Tibetan Plateau, lying in between, is very sensitive to climatic changes. It thus becomes a climatologically important region to disentangle the interactions between the two circulations. Yet, limited high-quality Holocene paleoclimatic reconstructions are available in this region. This thesis presents multi-biomarker proxy records from lakes in the Qaidam Basin on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau to investigate the nature of Holocene climate variability. Firstly, late-Holocene paired alkenone-based temperature (U_37^K' ) and moisture (%C37:4) records from Lake Gahai and Lake Sugan were reconstructed. Paired temperature and moisture records confirm the warm-dry (e.g. Medieval Warm Period) and cold-wet (e.g. Little Ice Age) periods on the arid northeastern Tibetan Plateau over the late Holocene, opposite to the warm-wet and cold-dry association in Asian monsoonal regions. The records also suggest substantially warmer and drier conditions during the Medieval Warm Period than the current warm period. Further, a possible link between solar forcing and natural climate variability (both temperature and moisture) during the late Holocene is found on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. This thesis also studied the late-Holocene grain size-based dust storm history from Lake Gahai to encode possible mechanism of dust storm interacting with hydrological parameters. Intensified dust storm events were identified in periods of 500 BC to 250 BC, 50 BC to AD 250 and AD 1100 to present. In multi-centennial to millennial scales, dust storm events might be caused by the intensified wind induced by strong westerlies or/and Asian winter monsoon. In multi-decadal to centennial scales, moisture and vegetation coverage might have impacted on the dust storm intensity and frequency. Further, Holocene lake level history of Lake Gahai was reconstructed by multiple n-alkane and alkenone proxies. Combined biomarker results provide unambiguous evidence of relatively low lake level at 7-2 ka, probably lowest at ~6 ka. Considering the chronological uncertainty, Holocene lake level changes in this marginal region thus display a different pattern from either of the core regions dominated by the westerlies (anti-phase) and the Asian summer monsoon (out-of-phase). The temperature-induced evaporation in the arid marginal region could significantly affect regional hydrological balance, resulting in the discrepancy with the long-term decreasing trend in precipitation in Asian monsoon-dominated regions. Lastly, n-fatty acid δD variation from Lake Hurleg over the past 10.5 ka was investigated. The C26 δD and C16 δD values can indicate water δD changes in terrestrial and aquatic sources, respectively. The heavier C26 δD values during cold and wet conditions suggest that terrestrial water δD changes might be caused by factors other than temperature and moisture, such as glacial melted water input and vegetation type change. The difference between C16 δD and C26 δD was used as an indicator of evaporation at the lake surface. At millennial timescale, less evaporation occurred during cold-wet periods in this region. / published_or_final_version / Earth Sciences / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This thesis explores adverb distribution in Iquito, a Zaparoan language spoken byapproximately 25 people in the northern Amazon Basin of Peru. The syntactic distributions of Iquito adverbs correspond to four semantic classes: time, manner,epistemic, and an intensifier. Time adverbs have the broadest distribution, occurring before the topic of a topicalized sentence, between topic and subject, after the verb, and after the object of a transitive sentence. Manner adverbs have a similar distribution, but are not found before topic. Epistemic adverbs have an even narrower distribution, never occurring sentence-initially (whether the sentence is topicalized or not) and rarely occurring between topic and subject. The intensifier adverb has the most restricted distribution, as it only occurs before adjectives or other adverbs. These distributions can be used to classify "atypical" adverbs, namely infinitival verbs that are used adverbially. Furthermore, these distributions shed light on the phrase structure of Iquito. Adverbs are analyzed in the literature as adjuncts, and the allowable positions are explained either as the result of adjunction to different constituents (Ernst 2002; Iatridou 1990) or movement between adjoined positions (Cinque 1999). The pre-verbal positions of Iquito adverbs, particularly in irrealis and negated constructions, raise questions for these analyses. The data demonstrate that adverbs can occupy non-adjoined positions, namely the object position in an irrealis (SOV) construction and possibly negation, forcing a reevaluation of the current treatment of adverbs. The research also expands the existing documentation on Iquito. / text