Quantitative approach to coupled structural and thermal restoration of salt-bearing sedimentary basins: Application to the Pricaspian salt basin (south-eastern East European platform): Phase II
Final Report Abstract
The research activity on the QUADRIGA II project addresses understanding the thermal and structural evolutions of salt-bearing sedimentary basins (SBSB). The following research problems have been studied during the reported period (15.06.2007-15.09.2008): (i) methodology development for three-dimensional thermo-mechanical basin restoration; and (ii) restoration modelling for the Astrakhan Arch of the south-western Pricaspian basin. The major results of the research are summarised as follows. (1) Three-dimensional numerical approach based on a quasi-reversibility method has been developed to model the evolution of thermal structures forward and backward in time. (2) The variational data assimilation method was applied to restore diffused thermal structures to their prominent states. (3) Geological and geophysical data relevant to geothermal and structural analysis were organized into the database, including temperature measurements, gamma and neutron-gamma loggings in 34 deep boreholes drilled in the Astrakhan Arch (ASAR); stratigraphic and lithological data for the basin; structural and geological maps etc. (4) A three-dimensional geothermal model for the ASC is developed, which gives an insight into the origin of the variation of the regional geothermal gradient. (5) A two-dimensional numerical model of thermal evolution of the ASC along the geological profile is developed on the basis of the structural paleo-reconstruction of the profile and geothermal analysis. (6) The study of the impact of thermal diffusion on the performance of data assimilation algorithm show that the residuals between the temperature predicted by the forward model and that reconstructed by the backward modelling become larger as the Rayleigh number decreases. The project results are of importance for petroleum industry, because they provide a basis for time-temperature-pressure analysis of hydrocarbon generation in complicated (by salt deformation) environment of sedimentary basins.
Publications
- Three-dimensional forward and backward numerical modeling of plume evolution: Effects of thermal diffusion. J. Geophys. Res., 111, B06401, 2006
Ismail-Zadeh, A., Schubert, G., Tsepelev, I., and Korotkii, A.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JB003782) - Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union. San Francisco, USA, December 10-14, 2007
A. Ismail-Zadeh
- Geothermal evolution of the Astrakhan arch region of the Pricaspian Basin. Int. J. Earth Sci. (Geol Rundsch), 2007
Ismail-Zadeh, A., Wilhelm, H., and Volozh, Yu
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-007-0258-z) - Quasi-reversibility method for data assimilation in models of mantle dynamics. Geophys. J. Int., 170, 1381-1398, 2007
Ismail-Zadeh, A., Korotkii, A., Schubert, G., and Tsepelev, I.
- XXIV IUGG General Assembly. Perugia, Italy, 2-13 July 2007
A. Ismail- Zadeh
- 27th IUGG Conference on Mathematical Geophysics. Spitsbergen, Norway, 16-20 June 2008
A. Ismail-Zadeh
- International Workshop on Advanced Numerical Modeling of Mantle Convection and Lithospheric Dynamics. University of California, Davis, 10 July 2008
A. Ismail-Zadeh
