Earth Sciences

660 Pages·2012·110.354 MB·English

by  I. Dar

EARTH SCIENCES

Edited by Imran Ahmad Dar
Earth Sciences
Edited by Imran Ahmad Dar

Published by InTech
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Copyright © 2012 InTech
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Publishing Process Manager Danijela Duric
Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic
Cover Designer InTech Design Team

First published January, 2012
Printed in Croatia

A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com
Additional hard copies can be obtained from [email protected]

Earth Sciences, Edited by Imran Ahmad Dar
p. cm.
ISBN 978-953-307-861-8

Contents

Preface IX
Part 1 Geology 1
Chapter 1 The Expanding International Coal Market 3
Jude Clemente
Chapter 2 Weathering Indices for Assessment of Weathering
Effect and Classification of Weathered Rocks:
A Case Study from NE Turkey 19
Sener Ceryan
Chapter 3 The Effectiveness of Petrified Wood as
a Geobiological Portal to Increase Public Understanding
of Geologic Time, Fossilization, and Evolution 45
Renee M. Clary and James H. Wandersee
Chapter 4 Debris Flow Phenomena: A Short Overview? 71
Chiara Calligaris and Luca Zini
Chapter 5 Heat-Transfer-Model Analysis of
the Thermal Effect of Intrusive Sills
on Organic-Rich Host Rocks in Sedimentary Basins 91
Dayong Wang, Minglong Zhao and Tian Qi
Chapter 6 Submarine Mass Movements: Sedimentary
Characterization and Controlling Factors 99
Gemma Ercilla and David Casas
Part 2 Geochemistry 129
Chapter 7 Self-Organization of the Khibiny Alkaline
Massif (Kola Peninsula, Russia) 131
Gregory Ivanyuk, Victor Yakovenchuk,
Yakov Pakhomovsky, Natalya Konoplyova, Andrei Kalashnikov,
Julia Mikhailova and Pavel Goryainov
VI Contents

Part 3 Seismology 157
Chapter 8 Seismic Imaging of Microblocks and Weak Zones in the Crust
Beneath the Southeastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau 159
Haijiang Zhang, Steve Roecker,
Clifford H. Thurber and Weijun Wang
Part 4 Petroleum Geology 203
Chapter 9 Advances and Challenges of Reservoir Characterization:
A Review of the Current State-of-the-Art 205
Ailin Jia, Dongbo He and Chengye Jia
Chapter 10 Mechanisms and Effective Prevention of Damage for
Formations with Low-Porosity and Low-Permeability 225
Jienian Yan and Jiaojiao Geng
Part 5 Hydrology 243
Chapter 11 Application of Hagedoorn’s Plus-Minus
Method to Hydrology Study 245
Jiandang Ge
Chapter 12 Responses of River Deltas to Sea-Level
and Supply Forcing: Autostratigraphic View 255
T. Muto, A.L. Petter, R.J. Steel,
J.B. Swenson, A. Tomer and G. Parker
Part 6 Hydrogeology 271
Chapter 13 Numerical Geodynamic Modeling
of Continental Convergent Margins 273
Zhonghai Li, Zhiqin Xu and Taras Gerya
Chapter 14 The Thermogeographic Model in Paleogeography:
Application of an Abiotic Model
to a Plate Tectonic World 297
Lee-Ann C. Hayek and Walter H. Adey
Part 7 Minerology 311
Chapter 15 Mesothermal Lode Gold Deposit
Central Belt Peninsular Malaysia 313
Kamar Shah Ariffin
Part 8 Mining 343
Chapter 16 Computer Aided Ore Body Modelling
and Mine Valuation 345
Kaan Erarslan
Contents VII

Part 9 Volcanology 373
Chapter 17 Mud Volcano and Its Evolution 375
Bambang P. Istadi, Handoko T. Wibowo, Edy Sunardi,
Soffian Hadi and Nurrochmat Sawolo
Chapter 18 Xujiaweizi Rift Lower Cretaceous Yingcheng Group
Volcanic Sequence Stratigraphic Features 435
Zhang Yuangao, Chen Shumin, Feng Zhiqiang, Jiang
Chuanjin Zhang Erhua, Xin Zhaokun and Dai Shili
Part 10 Remote Sensing 455
Chapter 19 Laser Altimetry: What Can Be Learned About Geology
and Surface Processes from Detailed Topography 457
Tim Webster
Chapter 20 Remote Predictive Mapping: An Approach
for the Geological Mapping of Canada’s Arctic 495
J. R. Harris, E. Schetselaar and P. Behnia
Part 11 Environmental Sciences 525
Chapter 21 Monitoring of Heavy Metal Concentration
in Groundwater of Mamundiyar Basin, India 527
Imran Ahmad Dar, K. Sankar,
Dimitris Alexakis and Mithas Ahmad Dar
Chapter 22 Age Dating of Middle-Distillate Fuels Released
to the Subsurface Environment 541
Gil Oudijk
Chapter 23 Geology and Geomorphology in Landscape Ecological
Analysis for Forest Conservation and Hazard and Risk
Assessment, Illustrated with Mexican Case Histories 583
María Concepción García-Aguirre,
Román Álvarez and Fernando Aceves
Chapter 24 Radiolarian Age Constraints
of Mid-Cretaceous Black Shales in Northern Tunisia 599
Ben Fadhel Moez, Soua Mohamed, Zouaghi Taher,
Layeb, Mohsen, Amri Ahlem and Ben Youssef Mohamed
Chapter 25 Miogypsinid Foraminiferal Biostratigraphy
from the Oligocene to Miocene Sedimentary
Rocks in the Tethys Region 619
Kuniteru Matsumaru

Preface

The studies of Earth's history, and of the physical and chemical properties of the
substances that make up our planet, are of great significance to our understanding
both of its past and its future. The geological and other environmental processes on
Earth and the composition of the planet are of vital importance in locating and
harnessing its resources.
Earth Sciences deploy an interdisciplinary mix of physics, chemistry, biology, math,
and natural science to understand the mysteries of nature. They focus on the solid
Earth (rocks, minerals, mountain belts, volcanoes, earthquakes, sedimentary basins, oil
and gas deposits, etc.) as well as on the history of life (paleontology) and its impact on
the Earth. In recent decades, geologists have become increasingly concerned with the
history of the Earth's climate, how the physical and chemical behavior of the oceans
has changed over time, and how drifting continents and evolving life have interacted
to control the composition of the atmosphere and oceans and hence to control global
climate. Environmentalists also examine how human activities affect our environment,
including the quality of air, water, and soil.
This book is primarily written for research scholars, geologists, civil engineers, mining
engineers, and environmentalists. Hopefully the text will be used by students, and it
will continue to be of value to them throughout their subsequent professional careers.
This does not mean to infer that the book was written solely or mainly with the
student in mind. Indeed from the point of view of the student in environmental
science it could be argued that this text contains more detail than he will require in his
initial studies.
This book offers one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date treatments of topics
from fundamental geologic principles, to the specifics of environmental and geologic
hazards, all from a truly environmental perspective. It fully discusses both processes
and environmental issues and details, where appropriate, of the quantification of
geologic processes. The book has been divided into 11 sections; geology, geochemistry,
seismology, petroleum geology, hydrology, hydrogeology, mineralogy, mining,
volcanology, remote sensing, and environmental sciences.
X Preface

A great many people have contributed to the development of this book. The editor is
very thankful to all the authors. Portions of the manuscript of the Book Earth Sciences
were contributed by Mr. Clemente Jude, Prof. Ceryan Sener, Dr Clary Renee, Dr Wang
Dayong, Dr Ercilla Gemma, Dr Ivanyuk Gregory, Dr Zhang Haijiang, Prof. Jia Ailin,
Dr Ge Jiandang, Prof. Muto Tetsuji, Dr Li Zhonghai, Dr Adey Walter, Prof. Ariffin
Kamar Shah, Prof. Erarslan Kaan, Mr. Istadi Bambang, MSc Yuangao Zhang, Dr Tim
Webster, Dr Jeff Harris, Mr. Oudijk Gil, Dr Garcia-Aguirre, Dr Calligaris, Dr Imran
Ahmad Dar, Dr Matsumaru Kuniteru, Dr Ben Fadhel Moez and Dr Jiaojiao Geng. The
Editor wishes to offer his thanks to all those involved. The Editor is also very thankful
to InTech President, Aleksandar Lazinica. In particular, the Editor would like to record
his grateful appreciation to Ana Pantar, editorial consultant at InTech for inviting him
to edit this prestigious book. Lastly, but by no means least, one must thank Ms.
Danijela Duric, publishing process manager, for her timely and kind communication
with the Editor during the entire process.

Imran Ahmad Dar
Department of Industries and Earth Sciences, The Tamil University, Ocean and
Atmospheric Sciences & Technology Cell,
India