Computer Applications in the Earth Sciences - Böcker

This volume 'Use ofMicrocomputers in Geology' is the sixth in the series Computer Applications in the Earth Sciences published by Plenum Press in New York. The series was started in 1969 to publish proceedings of important meetings on geomathematics and computer applications. The first two volumes recorded proceedings ofthe Colloquia (1969,1970) sponsored by the Kansas Geological Survey at The University ofKansas in Lawrence. The third volume was proceedings ofthe 8th International Sedimentological Congress (1971) held in Heidelberg, West Germany; the fourth was preceedings ofthe 8th Geochautauqua (1979) at Syracuse Universityin Syracuse, New York; and the fifth was selected papers from the 27th International Geological Congress (1989) held in Washington, D.C. All meetings were cosponsored by the International Association for Mathematical Geology. These special publications are important in the development of quantitative geology. Papers by a wide range of authors on a wide range of topics gives the reader a flavor for recent advances in the subject -in this volume, those advances in the use ofmicrocomputers. The 24 authors ofthe 15 papers come from nine countries -Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, UK, and USA. My coeditor, Hans Kürzl, has given pertinent information on the included papers in the Introduction.

This volume focuses on the study of sedimentary basins, stressing essential parts of problems in which geothermics are involved. Subject matter includes the measuring of temperature logs and capturing of industrial temperature data and their interpretation to delineate subsurface conditions and processes. The importance of porosity and pore filling for modelling thermal fields is also explored, as is the thermal insulation of shales; geothermal anomalies associated with mud diapirs and basin hydrodynamic regimes and temperatures related to magmatic underplating and plate tectonics.

Modeling and simulation were introduced to the earth sciences about four decades ago. Modeling has proven its worth and now it is an accepted procedure for analyzing and solving geological problems. The papers in this collection are focused on modeling sediment deposition and sedimentary sequences and have a decidedly practical flavor. Some of the leading simulation packages, such as CORRELATOR, SEDFLUX, SEDpak, SEDSIM, STRATA, and STRATSIM are applied to problems in hydrocarbon exploration, oil production, groundwater development, coal-bed appraisal, geothermics, and environmental diagnosis. All of these subjects fall under the broad heading of sedimentary basin analysis. The fifteen papers in this volume are written by internationally recognized experts from academia and industry. The contributions represent the status of geologic modeling and simulation at the start of the 21st century, and will give the reader an insight into current research problems and their possible solutions.

Modeling and simulation were introduced to the earth sciences about four decades ago. Modeling has proven its worth and now it is an accepted procedure for analyzing and solving geological problems. The papers in this collection are focused on modeling sediment deposition and sedimentary sequences and have a decidedly practical flavor. Some of the leading simulation packages, such as CORRELATOR, SEDFLUX, SEDpak, SEDSIM, STRATA, and STRATSIM are applied to problems in hydrocarbon exploration, oil production, groundwater development, coal-bed appraisal, geothermics, and environmental diagnosis. All of these subjects fall under the broad heading of sedimentary basin analysis. The fifteen papers in this volume are written by internationally recognized experts from academia and industry. The contributions represent the status of geologic modeling and simulation at the start of the 21st century, and will give the reader an insight into current research problems and their possible solutions.

This symposium on 'Computerized Basin Analysis for Prognosis of Energy - and Mineral Resources' was organized by Dr. Jan Harff, chairman ofthe Scientific Committee for the meeting, in Giistrowin what was then East Germany. Sponsors ofthis meeting were the International Union of Geological Sciences' Commission on Storage, Automatic Pro­ cessing and Retrieval of Geologic Data (COGEODATA), Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), National Oil and Gas Trustofthe GDR, and the International Association for Mathematical Geology (IAMG). Main topics of the symposium, held from 19-22 June 1990, were application of computer methods to the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas, coal, and other energy and mineral resources. There were computer demonstrations as well as a one-day field trip to the geothermic heating plant in Waren. The Regional Group for Eastern Europe of COG EO DATA also met during the conference. Fifty-one papers were presented including eight poster sessions by authors from 14 countries. As was to be expected, there was a large percentage of papers from the East Bloc of European countries, especially the GDR, USSR, and the CSSR with a fair representation from the FRG and USA and a smattering from the nine others. Most of the papers were application oriented and related to the mineral industries. There was ample time for exchange of ideas and dissemination of material.

Geothermics in Basin Analysis focuses on the study of sedimentary basins, stressing essential parts of problems in which geothermics is involved. Subject matter includes the measuring of temperature logs and capturing of industrial temperature data and their interpretation to delineate subsurface conditions and processes, the importance of porosity and pore filling for modeling thermal fields, the thermal insulation of shales, geothermal anomalies associated with mud diapirs and basin hydrodynamic regimes, temperatures related to magmatic underplating and plate tectonics.

This volume is a compendium of papers on the subject, as noted in the book title, of modeling and mapping. They were presented at the 25th Anniversary meeting of the International Association for Mathematical Geology (IAMG) at Praha (Prague), Czech Republic in October of 1993. The Association, founded at the International Geological Congress (IGC) in Prague in 1968, returned to its origins for its Silver Anniversary celebration. All in all 146 papers by 276 authors were offered for the 165 attendees at the 3-day meeting convened in the Hotel Krystal. It was a time for remembrance and for future prognostication. The selected papers in Geologic Modeling and Mapping comprise a broad range of powerful techniques used nowadays in the earth sciences. Modeling stands for reconstruction of geological features, such as subsurface structure, in space and time, as well as for simulation of geological processes both providing scenarios of geologic events and how these events might have occurred. Mapping stands for spatial analysis of data, a topic that always has been an extremely important part of the earth sciences. Because both modeling and mapping are used widely in conjunction, the book title should reflect the close relation of the subjects rather than a division. Here, we bring together a collection of papers that hopefully contribute to the growing amount of knowledge on these techniques.

Mental retardation has probably existed for as long as mankind has inhabited the earth. References to seemingly retarded persons appear in Greek and Roman literature. Examination of Egyptian mummies suggests that some may have suffered from diseases associated with mental retardation. Mohammed advocated feeding and housing those without reason. There is other evidence for favorable attitudes toward the retarded in early history, but attitudes var­ ied from age to age and from country to country. The concept of remediation did not emerge until the nineteenth century. Earlier, in 1798, ltard published an account of his attempt to train the "wild boy of Aveyron." A rash of efforts to habilitate retarded persons followed. Training schools were developed in Europe and the United States in the 1800s; however, these early schools did not fulfill their promise, and by the end of the nineteenth century large, inhumane warehouses for retarded persons existed. The notion of habilitation through training had largely been abandoned and was not to reappear until after World War II.

It has been evident for several years that a summary of where we came from, where we are, and where we are going with computer-oriented research was not only desir­ able but necessary. The application of computers by earth scientists is numerous and the methods have proved of val­ ue in problem solving as well as data processing. Many methods unknown or unavailable just a few years ago now are used routinely. An overall appraisal of the methods at this time is deemed more than appropriate. Preface to the program was stated as Computer applications in the earth sciences is the subject of this International Symposium held on campus at The University of Kansas at Lawrence on 16, 17, and 18 June 1969. The symposium, the sixth in a series, is sponsored by the Kansas Geological Survey, International As­ sociation for Mathematical Geology, and University Extension. Papers by leading experts in their field stress the "status-of-the-art." Speakers will discuss the use of computers in the earth sciences, past, present, and future. The meeting is planned for those not acquainted with the tremendous ad­ vancements made in quantitative methods in recent years and those who are interested in future pos­ sibilities.

This volume reports the results of a symposium held in Heidelberg during the International Sedimentological Congress in late August and early September, 1971. The symposium, co­ sponsored by the International Association for Mathematical Geology, entertained the subject, "Mathematical Models of Sedimentary Processes. " The subject is most appropriate because sedimentologists have long been concerned with processes and mechanisms of sedi­ ment dispersal. Much effort has gone into building physical models such as flumes, stream tables, wave tanks, wind tunnels, etc. , to help understand sedimentological processes. Quantita­ tive methods (especially statistics) have been utilized in summarizing these data. It is timely then with the recent developments of simulation and application of computer tech­ niques that a symposium be addressed to the use of "Mathematical Models of Sedimentary Processes" involving some of these new statistically oriented methods and available data bases. Experimentation in geology has been hampered by a scale factor. That is, it is difficult to find suitab. 1e materials for physical models; it is difficult to find a mechanical de­ vice which properly represents the forces involved; it is almost impossible to allow adequately for geologic time. Sta­ tistically valid models are difficult to obtain with physical models because of material replicate problems. Most problems including the time factor, however, can be eliminated with mathematical models. Mathematical models can be infinitely varied in any number of combinations easily and quickly with the computer.

Since founding at the 23rd International Geological Congress in Prague in 1968, the International Association for Mathematical Geology has organized sessions in conjunction with the Congress. The 27th IGC in Moscow was no exception and the IAMG again held sessions and assisted the Congress in organizing Section 20 -Mathematical Geology and Geological Information ( D. F. Merriam, D. A. Rodionov, and R. Sinding-Larsen, conveners). All together 128 abstracts were published in the technical proceedings. Several of the papers were published prior to the Congress, others were not available, and others deemed not appropriate for publication in this volume. This collection then contains those papers aVailable and representative of the sessions. The collection is truly international with contributions from Canada, China, France, Poland, the UK, USA, and USSR. They are representative of the state-of-the-art as of the early 1980s in a variety of fields. The application of geomathematics/geostatistics to geological problems has been hastened by the availability of computers. These papers reflect that orientation -most of the results would not have been possible without the use of computers. Most of the approaches utilize techniques readily aVailable and adapted to solving geological problems -simulation, image analysis, decision theory, fuzzy sets, etc. However, one area, that of geostatistiques which includes Kriging, has been designed especially for use by earth scientists of the French school to solve geological problems.

In looking back at the 1970's, the decade may prove to be a crucial one in the development of quantitative geology. After quantification had lain fallow and essen- tially undeveloped for 120 years, introduction of the computer in the 1950's revived interest and fostered ad- vances in the subject. Developments continued through the 1960's at a rapid pace and the state-of-the-art was reported on in the proceedings of an international sym- posium held at the University of Kansas in June 1969 (Merriam, 1969). The proceedings of the Kansas meeting, published as the first contribution in this series on "Computer Applications in the Earth Sciences" was one of 8 collo- quia sponsored by the Kansas Geological Survey and the International Association for Mathematical Geology in the late 1960's. In a sense those international sympo- sia were continued in the 1970's at Syracuse University as a series of Geochautauquas sponsored by the Depart- ment of Geology at Syracuse University and the Interna- tional Association for Mathematical Geology. These pro- ceedings report the results of the 8th Geochautauqua held in Syracuse on 26-27 October 1979.