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Characteristics of bleaching around major structures in a reservoir-cap rock system, SE Utah, USA

  • CAJG 2018: Topic 10
  • Published:
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Abstract

Bleached rocks are commonly formed from CO2-saturated water leakage to the surface. This provides an opportunity to understand the controlling factors of fluid flow in the subsurface. This study examined the relationships between bleaching patterns and geologic features or elements. We analyzed bleaching characteristics of multiple-layered sedimentary rocks around two major faults (Moab and Salt Wash faults) and fold axes (Green river anticline system) based on field observations and quantitative measurements (scanline survey and permeability) in the exhumed reservoir-cap rock systems in SE Utah, USA. The results showed that strongly bleached layers of sedimentary rock have a higher density of deformation bands compared with unbleached layers. This is consistent with the general property of deformation bands that frequently develop in layers with higher porosity and permeability. Although almost all fault zones act as conduits for fluid flow, some fault zones filled with clay-rich gouges could impede fluid flow. In addition, the internal sealing characteristics of the layer boundaries such as bedding planes could be important factors as they can act either as a pathway or a barrier for lateral fluid flow depending on the existence of filling materials such as calcite or kerogen. Our research may be useful for assessing fluid leakage in oil reservoirs or CO2 sequestration sites located in a reservoir-cap rock system of sedimentary basins.

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Funding

This study was supported by the projects “Geological survey in the Korean Peninsula and publication of the geological maps (GP2020-003)” and funded by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning(KETEP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy(MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea (20171510101960).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, 124, Gwahang-no, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34132, Republic of Korea

    Kyoungtae Ko & Jin-Hyuck Choi

  2. Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Pukyong National University, 45, Yongso-ro, Nam-gu, Busan, 48513, Republic of Korea

    Young-Seog Kim

  3. Department of Geoenvironmental Sciences, Kongju National University, 56, Gongjudaehak-ro, Gongju-si, Chungnam, 32588, Republic of Korea

    Junehee Han

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  1. Kyoungtae Ko
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  2. Jin-Hyuck Choi
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Correspondence to Young-Seog Kim.

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Responsible Editor: Abdullah M. Al-Amri

This paper was selected from the 1st Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences (CAJG), Tunisia 2018

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Ko, K., Choi, JH., Kim, YS. et al. Characteristics of bleaching around major structures in a reservoir-cap rock system, SE Utah, USA. Arab J Geosci 13, 113 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-5117-2

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