Authors / CoAuthors
Tan, K.P. | Abraham, J. | Lawrie, K. | Brodie, R.S. | Clarke, J.
Abstract
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) tools have been used for decades by the oil industry to study lithological properties in consolidated sedimentary materials. Recently, slimline NMR borehole logging systems have been developed specifically for the study of near-surface (<100m) groundwater systems. In this study of unconsolidated fluvial sediments in the Darling River floodplain, data were acquired downhole every 0.5 m using a Javelin NMR tool. A total of 26 sonic cored bores were logged to a depth of ~70 m. Hydraulic conductivity (KNMR) can be estimated from the NMR measurements using the Schlumberger-Doll Research Equation: KNMR = C x -2 x T2ML2, where is the NMR porosity, T2ML is the logarithmic mean of the T2 distributions, and C is a formation factor related to tortuosity. To this end, the NMR data were classified into five hydraulic classes ranging from clay to gravely-coarse sand using the core, geophysical, mineralogical, and hyperspectral logs. Borehole slug tests were conducted to provide constraints on the K and T of the aquifers. Least-squares inversion was used to solve for the optimum C values versus the slug test derived T for the aquifer material (medium to gravely sand). Laboratory permeameter measurements helped constrain the C values of fine textured sediment. Comparisons between the geophysics derived KNMR and slug test KSlug indicated correspondence within two orders of magnitude. Investigations were also carried out to compare measurements of water content between laboratory determinations (oven drying of wet sediment at 105 oC) and that derived from NMR bore log data. A systematic decrease in ratio between the NMR total water and gravimetric water with fining of texture is observed. This is in part due to the inter-echo spacing of the NMR instrument (2.5 ms), which may be too large to detect hydroscopic moisture. Differences observed between NMR free water and gravimetric water within the sands requires further investigation, including the potential influence of iron phase coating of grains on fast relaxation responses. Overall, the borehole NMR method provides logging of near-continuous variations in K through a saturated sedimentary sequence, providing useful K estimates at increments not achievable using traditional aquifer testing, as well as K estimates for aquitard material.
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nonGeographicDataset
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75762
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- External PublicationAbstract
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
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- Geology
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2013-01-01T00:00:00
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Abstract prepared for submission to the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH).
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