Postgraduate Course: Geology for Earth Resources (PGGE11173)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | The course is designed for non-geoscientists who require a basic knowledge of geology associated with petroleum exploration, carbon storage or groundwater. The focus is on sedimentary rocks, in which almost all petroleum is located, and in which almost all CO2 storage will occur. We start with fundamentals: the 3 rock groups, the geological timescale, geological maps, the basic petroleum system as an analogue for CO2 storage. We then focus on the origin and physical properties of clastic and carbonate sedimentary rocks which form the majority of reservoirs and aquifers. We examine how earth movements make the traps that hold petroleum / CO2, and briefly look at the geological evolution of the North Sea. There will also be an introduction to the geophysics of CO2 detection in the subsurface, and to the seismic method which is used to image the subsurface. The course includes a single day field excursion with an assessed map exercise which will contribute to the assessment of which the remainder will be by examination. |
| Course description |
Wk1: Fundamentals and intro to maps
L1: Introduction to Geology
Rock types: Igneous, sediments, metamorphic
Sediments: beds, basins, Walther¿s Law
Basic petroleum system as analogue for trapping
The Geological Timescale, dating of rocks
Unconformities and sequence stratigraphy
Geological Maps
L2: Intro to Maps
Practical: simple map exercises. Uniformly dipping beds
Wk 2: Clastics
L1: Geology of Sands
Origin (weathering and erosion, provenance)
Depositional models
Reservoir heterogeneity
L1: Geology of Sands (II)
Physical description (porosity, packing, permeability, bedding)
Porosity decline with depth;
Petrology and classification;
Diagenesis and secondary porosity
Practical ¿ basic rock types
Wk 3: Seals and others
L1: Structural Geology
Plate tectonic models, basins
Faults
Folds
Geological History of UK / North Sea
L2: Shales
physical description (porosity, permeability, capillary seals)
depositional models
petrology and classification
Evaporites
Depositional models, poro-perm, dissolution, diapirism
Coal
Practical ¿ More practise maps, with folds and faults; sandstones and carbonates
Wk 4: Carbonates and Introduction to the Fieldtrip
L1: Carbonates
L2: Intro to Berwick FE: ¿ note taking, aims, assessment, introduction to local geology
Wk 5: Geophysics
L1: Reconnaissance exploration techniques
Seismic surveying
Magnetic surveying
Gravity surveying
L2: Wireline logging
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
1. You will gain knowledge of geology required for CCS projects.
2. You will learn to communicate with geoscientists involved in collaborative projects, e.g. CCS schemes.
3.You will develop an understand of the importance of geology in determining reservoir quality for CCS or hydrocarbon prospecting.
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Reading List
Basic Geology:
Understanding the Earth:
Chapter 15, Sedimentary Basins
Chapter 16, Clastic Sediments
Earth's Dynamic Systems 9th Edition:
Chapter 5, Sedimentary Rocks
Chapter 10, Weathering
Sedimentology & Sedimentary Basins, from Turbulence to Tectonics (M. Leeder)
Part 6: Continental sediments
Part 7: Marine sediments
Elements of Petroleum Geology, Selley, R.C., 2nd Edition, 1998, Chapter 6: The Reservoir.
Fieldwork:
Geological field Techniques by Angela Coe (the sedimentary section only).
Sedimentary Rocks in the Field (Geological Field Guide) by Maurice E. Tucker,
The Field Description of Sedimentary Rocks (Geological Society of London Handbook Series) by Maurice E. Tucker (same book but older?)
For the practise maps:
An Introduction to Geological Structures and Maps, Bennison, Olver and Moseley, Eighth Edition, 2011 (or older version, isn't important), Hodder Education
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | petroleum exploration carbon storage CO2 storage |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Mark Wilkinson
Tel: (0131 6)50 5943
Email: Mark.Wilkinson@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Alice Heatley
Tel: (0131 6)50 4866
Email: alice.heatley@ed.ac.uk |
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