This research project aims to evaluate how salt deformation has influenced (a) the formation the Late Pleistocene Mississippi canyon and (b) the distribution of Plio-Pleistocene submarine channel-levee systems in time and space which cross, or are deflected, by active salt diapirs. We will develop improved models for channel and salt structure interaction to serve as analogues for the more economically significant deeper subsurface areas, where similar processes occur, but may be more poorly imaged due to lower resolution seismic data or location beneath extensive salt canopies. The aims will be achieved by mapping salt bodies, structures and sedimentary depositional environments on an extensive merged 3-dimensional seismic dataset from the NE Gulf of Mexico. The evolution of the salt structures and sedimentary deposits will be reconstructed through space and time with 3D structural reconstructions and construction of palinspastically restored sedimentary facies maps. The project directly addresses the important scientific problem of understanding how sedimentary systems interact with tectonic processes, which to date has been little studied in deforming slope/deepwater passive margin environments affected by salt tectonics. We think that there are a number of advantages to investigating this general problem within a slope and deepwater sedimentary environment, using subsurface data. Firstly the 3-dimensional nature of the high quality seismic datasets offers a 3D spatial resolution of structural and stratigraphic geometries that is complementary to outcrop studies. Secondly low amplitude eustatic sea-level fluctuations have less direct control on the sedimentary response to structural growth at a local scale in slope/deepwater settings. This contrasts with the added complexity of sea-level induced base-level changes when examining terrestrial and shallow marine systems. The project has economic importance as deepwater exploration off the continental margins continues to be the main focus for the major oil companies and the results will have direct applicability within the hydrocarbon industry and thus contribute to wealth creation of UK industry. More specifically the results will be useful to hydrocarbon activity in the UK sector of the North Sea where the oil companies seek to exploit remaining reserves in the North Sea salt basins.

Basins on the Brazilian and Angolan margins formed during the rifting of Brazil and Africa and eventual opening of the South Atlantic from the late Jurassic to Cretaceous (Fig. 1). Key components include the Campos Basin, by far the most important hydrocarbon province in the Brazilian margin, accounting for more than 80% of Brazil's total hydrocarbon production. The Santos Basin, to the south, is less well explored, but early studies suggest it may have similar reserves and, in light of recent discoveries in pre-salt/ syn-rift packages. Angola is one of the world's largest centres for oil and gas exploration and production. The Kwanza Basin is conjugate to the Campos Basin and shows many features that suggest the influence of pre-existing basement structures at depth. In both margins, brittle faults / some of them basin-bounding structures, are exposed onshore, providing a unique opportunity to analyse directly the influence of pre-existing basement structures on the geometry of intra-basin and basin-bounding faults. Structural complexity in rifted passive margins is linked to along-strike variations in the obliquity of pre-existing structures relative to the regional extension vector. Much of the complexity can be related to the influence and reactivation of pre-existing basement structures. The mechanisms of this inheritance and how they determine fault system location, geometry & evolution are little understood. The student will use a combination of regional- to outcrop-scale studies onshore and sub-surface seismic interpretations offshore to improve our understanding of the role of basement geology in the development of the Brazilian and Angolan conjugate margins. Diagnostic structures include: non-Andersonian, polymodal fault patterns; partitioned domains of wrench- and extension-dominated transtensional deformation; local strike-slip inversion events and segmentation of rift basins. Ultimately, the results of this project will lead to the first fully integrated onshore/surface to offshore/sub-surface study of the South Atlantic conjugate margins in South America and Africa. A clear understanding of the role played by basement structures will provide critical geological constraints on uncertainty associated with identification and evaluation of syn-rift/ post-rift plays that lie beneath salt and/or deeper water. The student will join the Petroleum Geoscience PhD Scholarship Programme, where he or she will get additional monthly courses from petroleum industry professionals, career advice and encouragement. This scheme has a full time coordinator in Durham, is supported by 7 companies (as well as the DTI) and is unique in Europe. The student will receive a thorough training in modern methods of marine geophysics, including experience in the use of state-of-the-art software on modern workstations. He/she would be exposed to several industry oftware packages (e.g. GeoFrame, Landmark, TrapTester, 2DMove & Inside Reality). The student will present at Departmental seminars, and national and international conferences, and prepare journal papers. The University and Department provide an extensive skills training course for postgraduate students, including computing, bibliographic work, scientific writing, entrepreneurial skills and scientific ethics. The student will join a vibrant research community with enormous scope for cross-disciplinary interaction with colleagues working on related generic and regional geological issues.

It is possible to capture emissions of CO2 from coal fired power plants and storing them in deep subsurface reservoirs such as mature oil reservoirs. This Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology has demonstrated the potential to reduce mankind's greenhouse gas emissions while meeting the world's energy needs. Furthermore, if CCS allows the development of the next generation of clean coal power plants, it will be worth an estimated £6.5billion to the U.K. economy, creating 100 000 jobs. However, to guarantee security of storage, monitoring methods must be in place that can track the movements of CO2 through the subsurface, and image the effects of CO2 injection on the subsurface rocks. When CO2 is injected into reservoirs, the pressure changes can lead to the emission of seismic energy from reactivated fracture networks. By detecting these microseismic emissions, it is possible to determine how the subsurface is responding to CO2 injection. We propose a study of microseismic events induced by geomechanical deformation at the In Salah pilot CCS project, Algeria. This project presents an excellent opportunity to study the utility of using microseismic monitoring to image geomechanical deformation induced by CO2 injection. By locating the hypocenters of microseismic emissions, it will be possible to identify regions where deformation is occurring, and, if events cluster onto discrete surfaces, to identify actively deforming faults in the subsurface. The identification of active faults is crucial for understanding the geomechanical deformation above the reservoir. Geomechanical deformation at In Salah is inferred from the uplift of the ground surface above the reservoir. Geomechanical models based on surface deformation data at In Salah have been used to estimate the deformation occurring in the reservoir. Microseismic observations will provide a much more direct image of deformation of the reservoir. We will use event locations to calibrate and benchmark geomechanical models, distinguishing between models that do a good job of predicting microseismicity and those that do not. By calibrating our geomechanical models in this manner we can determine those that are likely to give good predictions going forward, and thereby assess the risks of leakage due to deformation. The ability to link geophysical data, geodetic data (surface deformation), and geological information to build geomechanical models is crucial for determining the risks of leakage due to deformation, and forms a key goal of this project. Thus far one CCS site (Weyburn) has deployed microseismic monitoring. The Bristol Seismology Group were able to use the microseismic data to greatly improve our understanding of the ongoing geomechanical processes in the reservoir. The EU intends to initiate at least 12 CCS sites by 2015, many of which may deploy microseismic monitoring. This project is therefore very timely in that it is necessary to assess the feasibility of this (and other) monitoring techniques before large-scale CCS operations begin. Our experience with microseismicity at Weyburn means that Bristol University is ideally placed to conduct this research, as we will be able to draw on previously acquired knowledge to compare and contrast microseismicity at the two different CCS sites, and thereby come to more general conclusions regarding the deployment of microseismic techniques to monitor CCS.

This project is to undertake a feasibility study using AC and pulsed electromagnetic fields to induce voltages for measuring the continuous phase velocity profile in multiphase flows where the continuous phase is an electrical conductor and the dispersed phase(s) has relatively low electrical conductivity. It is envisioned that such a device could ultimately be used, for example, in conjunction with a dual-plane Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) system to enable velocity profile measurements of both (all) phases to be made in two (or three) phase flows. Recent numerical simulation work at Huddersfield has demonstrated that induced voltage electromagnetic flow meters can be used for velocity profile measurement of the conducting continuous phase and that the influence of the mixture conductivity is relatively small. An 18-month research associate will be required for a theoretical and experimental study of electromagnetic flow measurement using an electrode sensor array. The proposal seeks to achieve the generation of a new type of electromagnetic multiphase flowmeter with the novel capability of a high performance dynamic response on velocity profile measurement, together with a proof-of-concept prototype.

Development of geological models of the sub-surface relies on the interpretation of largely remotely sensed data. We propose a program of knowledge exchange that shares existing information and trials new methods for determining the impact of human biases, anchoring and confidence, on the interpretation of data used to build geological models. From this knowledge exchange and creation we will create and promote optimal workflows for interpretation that minimize risk in the oil and gas industry from interpretational uncertainty. The geological exploration and production of hydrocarbons and the storage of CO2 in geological reservoirs requires a 3D picture to be built of the sub-surface. This picture is made up of remotely sensed information like seismic reflection data with poor resolution, and 1D point sources such as well bores which sample a relatively small amount of the sub-surface volume of interest. Work on improving interpretation of these datasets has mainly focused on technological improvements to refine the imaging and processing of the remotely sensed data to better illuminate the sub-surface architecture. But even with improved techniques interpretations of the data, and the subsequent models created are uncertain. This uncertainty equates to exploration and production risk. The risk results from the lack of constraint from the data to create a 'certain' predictive model, and is amplified by known biases that are applied during interpretation of limited datasets. This knowledge exchange proposal aims to: quantify the effect of known biases on interpretation of seismic reflection datasets and to build a workflow that minimizes biases in interpretation that industry can deploy. We will work with industry, and on industry datasets, to exchange knowledge of industry workflows and the effects of human bias between the academics and partner companies involved, as well as with MSc and PhD students. Building on this exchange we will create new knowledge through a series of experiments to investigate and quantify the influence of anchoring on interpretation. By building into the experiment release of additional data we will test how individual's deal with new information that either confirms, or is contrary, to their original interpretation; and for how long individuals remain anchored to an original prediction in the face of contradictory evidence. We will compare cohorts of individuals with staged access to different data against those with all the data at the outset. Throughout the process we will gauge an individual's perception of confidence in their interpretation through an expert elicitation process. Using this new knowledge we will quantify the impact of human biases on interpretational uncertainty and determine an optimal workflow for seismic interpretation. From our combined existing and co-generated knowledge we will create a series of products to promote this workflow, and the associated knowledge, as well as the NERC science on which they are based. These will include an online resource of digital video footage deployed through the existing Virtual Seismic Atlas, accessed by 8,000-10,000 users monthly, and a series of training packages for industry and early career scientists undertaking PhDs as part of the NERC Oil and Gas Centre for Doctoral Training.