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Rock properties are a crucial control of landform development. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the progress that was made in studying rock properties in general and then to discuss developments in the study of landforms in three main rock types: granite, limestone and sandstone. From the mid-1960s onwards, geomorphology witnessed an increasing concern with the quantification of rock properties and their relationship to landforms and landscape evolution. Japanese geomorphologists led in this endeavour. Studies crossed a range of scales from those of a large size that were susceptible to field measurements to those of small size that involved laboratory studies. Among the basic characteristics of rocks that have been studied are fracturing and jointing, rock mass strength, hardness as determined by the Schmidt Hammer, resistance as determined by laboratory simulations, slaking susceptibility, porosity, water absorption capacity, water content and permeability, and petrological thin-section analyses. The investigation of forms and processes in granite, limestone and sandstone areas has shown the value of combined geological and geographical approaches, and the increasing internationalization of studies.

This paper presents the results of the analysis of acoustic emission signals (AE) recorded during the propagation of sound waves in rock samples. The sources are excited by breaking a 3-mm-thick pencil lead (Hsu-Nielsen) on the surface of the rock samples at different AE source locations. Ten repetitions of pencil lead fracturing were performed at a given location. A VS150-M piezoelectric sensor with a frequency range of 100–450 kHz was attached to the upper surface of the rock samples. The results showed that the AE energy and the average frequency of the acoustic emission signals in the rock samples decreased with increasing distance from the AE source locations. These results can be used to establish a relationship between the characteristics of the acoustic emission signals and different rock types at different AE source locations.

Low salinity waterflooding has gained significant attention and importance in the last decade, as it is seen as an impactful method for recovery of additional oil from carbonate reservoirs. Existing literature does not do justice to the underlying mechanisms that aid in the recovery of additional oil from such rock types. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review of the research conducted on low salinity waterflooding in carbonates and further provide a detailed and critical analysis on the same. The intention of this paper is also to present a condensed research summary on the said topic, and to chart out a detailed roadmap for future work, thereby opening the possibilities of new avenues of research in the field.

Appropriate rock characterization is beneficial in providing a reliable judgment on rock properties which is crucial for the design process of rock engineering applications. However, it can be difficult to obtain consistent mechanical parameters due to substantial variations in rock properties. In this research, uniaxial compression tests on dolerite specimens collected from a gold mine in Western Australia showed substantial scatter in the results. Rock categorization based on the P-wave velocities is as accurate as the thin section analysis, which suggests that they can be used together to gain a more accurate initial understanding of the rock types before any laboratory testing. The quality of specimen preparation and rock–machine interaction greatly affect the test results. For instance, non-parallelness of loading platens can lead to considerable scatter of the testing results, which would be perceived as rock variability. It is suggested that the current testing standards should be modified towards a better control of the loading machine performance and equipment precision. Finally, the possibility of pre-existing microcracks in rock, neither detected by the thin section analysis nor by the ultrasonic measurement, must be examined by computed tomography (CT) scanning as they can affect the test results. This study will enhance our knowledge about the sources of variability in laboratory test results of rock which is essential for obtaining reliable data.

In their research, the authors of the comments have focused on the Late Paleoproterozoic rims of zircons, but ignored many important details of their own data. Their comments are based on a misconception that eclogite zircons have unique geochemical (REE, Th/U) and isotopic (Lu-Hf, δ18O) characteristics that do not depend on rock types and pressure rates (that were high or ultrahigh) during metamorphism. This idea leads to false unambiguous dating of the eclogite facies metamorphism based on single samples of the rocks.

In order to obtain the accurate mechanical parameters of deep-buried coal goaf rock mass, the limitation of geological strength index (GSI) in concealed rock mass is analyzed. Based on the test result and analysis of the current normative standards, the classification indexes of rock mass structural are optimized based on discontinuity distance d and rock mass integrity index K v . The ratio of rock mass saturated strength to dry strength, η, is introduced, quantization formula of structural surface conditions is proposed, and the influence of groundwater and rock types is included in structural surface condition classification. The GSI system is improved to better suit all types of deep-buried and water-rich rock masses. Furthermore, the rock mass disturbance factor D’s quantitative formula is listed according to the Hoek–Brown (HB) criterion. Taking the goaf roof under railway as an example, the parameters of deep-buried rock mass are obtained based on the improved quantitative GSI system and HB criterion. This research provides a scientific reference for achieving geological parameters and engineering designing in goaf areas.

Due to the complicated lithology in the ES3 Member of the Shahejie Formation in the Shulu sag, Jizhong depression, it is difficult to classify the rock types and characterize the reservoirs at the marl intervals. In this paper, a four-element classification method has been proposed, and seven rock types have been identified by analyzing the mineral composition. The primary rock types are medium-high organic carbonate rocks and medium-high organic shaly-siliceous carbonate rocks. With the methods of field emission scanning electron microscopy, high-pressure mercury intrusion, nitrogen adsorption, and nano-CT, four types of reservoir spaces have been identified, including intra-granular pores, intergranular pores (inter-crystalline pores), organic pores, and micro-fractures. By combining the method of high-pressure mercury intrusion with the method of the nitrogen adsorption, the porosity of the marl has been measured, ranging from 0.73% to 5.39%. The distribution of the pore sizes is bimodal, and the pore types are dominated by micron pores. Through this study, it has been concluded that the sag area to the east of Well ST1H is the favorable area for the development of self-sourced and self-reservoired shale oil. According to the results of geochemical and reservoir analysis, the III Oil Group may have sweet spot layers.

La saturación de agua inicial (Swi) a partir de registros está influenciada por el drenaje de fluidos de los pozos productores, generando subestimación del petróleo original en sitio (POES). Para restaurar las condiciones iniciales del yacimiento, es necesario utilizar pruebas de presión capilar (Pc) de drenaje, que determinan la distribución de Swi previa a cualquier producción de hidrocarburos. Esta investigación tuvo como objetivo determinar el modelo de Swi, basado en curvas de Pc por tipo de roca, para una mejor estimación del POES del yacimiento LUZ de la cuenca de Maracaibo. El procedimiento metodológico incluyó: recopilación de datos (registros y núcleos, con 15 muestras de Pc), descripción de tipos de roca, determinación del modelo de Swi, y estimación del POES. Entre los resultados, destacan: el modelo J-Leverett se ajustó mejor a las curvas de Pc del yacimiento para todos los tipos de roca; el POES estimado utilizando la saturación de agua (Sw) del modelo propuesto basado en presión capilar y la calculada usando registros, mostró un 19,8 % de discrepancia, evidenciando la importancia de un modelo robusto para incrementar la certidumbre en el cálculo de reservas.

The emanation of radionuclides has been highlighted as a known source of uncertainty in the estimation of radionuclide source signatures from underground nuclear tests and other nuclear activities, particularly in the case of activation products. A system was developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to quantify the emanation of argon from two powders and five rock types ranging in particle size from powder to small rocks. Samples were neutron irradiated and the percent emanation of 37Ar was measured to range between 0.3 and 25%. Measurements were also made of the 39Ar emanation for four of these materials and was found to be consistently lower than that of 37Ar.

The Mississippian-age Sooner Trend Anadarko Canadian Kingfisher (STACK) area of Oklahoma is one of the more important new resource plays in North America. It consists of multilevel drilling targets, including mudrock, siltstone, and carbonate reservoirs, some of which are self-sourced and all of which require hydraulic fracturing to produce commercial quantities of oil. The efficacy of the fracturing relies on whether the created fracture network drains from producible rock types. We have integrated data at core and seismic resolution scales to map the rock types’ spatially exhaustive lateral and vertical variation for this new play. We measured porosity, permeability, saturated compressional wave (P-wave) and shear wave (S-wave) velocity, and density in the laboratory at 2 ft intervals on the cores. We defined rock types corresponding to engineering flow units based on porosity and permeability measurements. We mapped these rock types against alternative elastic property crossplots, including P-impedance, S-impedance, Poisson’s ratio, lambda-rho, and mu-rho. P- and S- impedance are the only two independent elastic properties measured on the core samples, and other elastic properties are calculated from these. Hence, the rock types showed equal sensitivity to all of the elastic property pairs. We observe a 30% difference between the core and seismic elastic values, attributed to dispersion and effective media effects. We managed this discrepancy between the core and surface seismic elastic values by simple linear scaling. We found that the P-impedance and Poisson’s ratio core measurements were easier to scale linearly to the corresponding seismic frequency measurements. Once scaled, we used Bayesian classification to map the P-impedance and Poisson’s ratio rock type template defined by the core measurements to the same elastic parameters measured by prestack seismic inversion. As we move away from the six cored wells deeper into the basin and more distal from the shelf, we encounter P-impedance/Poisson’s ratio pairs not seen in the core, resulting in areas where the rock type is “unknown.” The seismically predicted rock types show an excellent correlation at the well locations and provided stratigraphically reasonable images away from the wells, suggesting that as more wells are cored, these unknown rock types can be classified.

In this study, efficient deep transfer learning models are proposed to classify six types of volcanic rocks, and this paper has a novelty in classifying volcanic rock types for the first time using thin section images. Convolutional neural network-based DenseNet121 and ResNet50 networks, which are transfer learning methods, are used to extract the features from thin section images of rocks, and the classification process is carried out with a single-layer fully connected neural network. The proposed models are trained and tested on 1200 thin section images using four different optimizers (Adadelta, ADAM, RMSprop, SGD). AUC, accuracy, precision, recall and f1-score are used as performance metrics. Proposed models are run 10 times for each optimizer. DenseNet121 classifies volcanic rock types using RMSprop with an average accuracy of 99.50% and a maximum of 100.00%, and ResNet50 classifies using ADAM with an average accuracy of 98.80% and a maximum of 99.72%. Thus, the applied deep transfer learning is promising in geosciences and can be used to identify rock types quickly and accurately.

Interactions between basaltic melt and orthopyroxenite (Opx) were investigated to gain a better understanding of the consequences of the residence and transport of ocean island basalts (OIBs) within the mantle. The experiments were conducted using a DS-3600 six-anvil apparatus at 3.0–4.5 ​GPa and 1300–1450 ​°C. The basaltic melt and Opx coexisted at local equilibrium at these pressures and temperatures; the initial melts dissolved Opx, which modified their chemical composition, and clinopyroxene (Cpx) precipitated with or without garnet (Grt). The trace-element contents of Grt, Cpx, and melt were measured and the mineral–melt distribution coefficients (D) of Cpx–melt and Grt–melt were calculated, which can be used to assess the distribution of trace elements between basalt and minerals in the mantle. Two types of reaction rim were found in the experimental products, Cpx, and Cpx ​+ ​Grt; this result indicates that residual rocks within the mantle should be pyroxenite or garnet pyroxenite. Both rock types are found in mantle xenoliths from Hawaii, and the rare-earth-element (REE) pattern of Cpx in these mantle pyroxenites matches those of Cpx in the experimental reaction rims. Furthermore, residual melts in the experimental products plot in similar positions to Hawaiian high-SiO2 OIBs on major-element Harker diagrams, and their trace-element patterns show the signature of residual Grt, particularly in runs at ≤1350 ​°C and 4.0–4.5 ​GPa. Trace-element concentrations of the experimental residual melts plot in similar positions to the Hawaiian OIBs on commonly used discrimination diagrams (Ti vs. Zr, Cr vs. Y, Cr vs. V, Zr/Y vs. Zr, and Ti/Y vs. Nb/Y). These results indicate that reaction between basaltic melt and pyroxenite might contribute to the generation of Hawaiian high-SiO2 OIBs and account for their chemical variability.

Constructing a reservoir simulation model requires an accurate definition of saturation functions, including capillary pressure and relative permeability data. Usually, these saturation functions are available only for a limited number of samples. Assigning saturation functions to the simulation model requires finding a clear relationship between them and a 3D predictable property of grid cells. Different indices are usually evaluated to describe such a relationship. It was recently shown that each petrophysical dynamic rock type should form similar True Effective Mobility (TEM) curves. In this study, TEM-function was used to evaluate the reliability and performance of different rock typing indices in defining dynamic rock types. FZI, FZIM, MFZI, and FZI∗ (FZI-star) indices were considered and tested on a collection of laboratory-derived core-flooding data from an Iranian carbonate reservoir. Results showed that FZI-star had a better performance than FZI, MFZI, and FZIM.

A new criterion has been developed for the strength of rocks in the condition of true triaxial stress. The criterion parameters are calculated based on the results of a complex determination of the ultimate strength, which includes uniaxial tensile, uniaxial compression and biaxial compression. The results of the complex determination of strength indicators are presented, as well as of the parameters of the proposed criterion for various rock types. The dependences of siltstone strength on the values of intermediate and minimum principal stresses have been formulated. The results of the comparative analysis are given on the theoretical and experimental data obtained by Karman, Becker and Mogi for various load patterns.

The seismic refraction method is one of the geophysical methods which is based on measuring the response of seismic waves in the soil that are fractured along the soil and rock layers. One of the applications of the seismic refraction method is to determine the layers and rock types below the surface. This study uses a geophone as a catcher for seismic waves that are emitted below the surface . The waves caught on the geophone are converted into seismic data which can be read in a seismograph. Seismic data read by seismographs are already in digital form and stored in the main unit PASI 16S24-P. The results of the data analysis concluded that below the land surface of the village of Medana, there were 3 rock layers with a thickness of the first layer 3-4 meters, the second layer 2-5 meters and the third layer 10-17 meters. The first and second layers are still in the form of soil (less compact), while the third layer is in the form of rock (compact). The level of hardness (density) will be more compact in linear to the depth, the more the depth will be the more compact the rock. The depth that is in the form of hard rock starts from 16 meters to 23 meters from the ground level of the village of Medana, Central Lombok. DOI: 10.29408/kpj.v4i2.2607

The methods of grouping reservoir rock types based on the physical properties of rocks that have been studied by previous researchers still have a relatively large value of uncertainty. This uncertainty arises in conditions where rock type grouping is carried out in wells that do not have core sample data. Where we know that in the oil and gas field, not all wells in the field are subjected to rock sampling, either routine core analysis or special core analysis. From these problems, the authors feel the need to carry out this study to create a method for classifying reservoir rock types based on the physical properties of rocks that can be used in wells that do not have core sample data. The rock types in the wells that do not have core samples will be grouped based on the critical porosity value of the rock obtained from the vp value in the acoustic log data owned by these wells. By making an approach model through the critical porosity of rocks from wells that have core sample data, wells that only have acoustic log data can be grouped by using the critical porosity approach which is generated from the vp value of the acoustic log.

Eocene to Oligocene–Miocene carbonates of Jahrum and Asmari formations form the reservoirs of the Khesht Field in the Fars Province, the Zagros Foreland basin. In this study, the reservoir characteristics of the upper parts Jahrum Formation in the Khesht Oil Field have been investigated based on the combination of facies analysis and diagenetic features of samples in the porosity-permeability framework. The Jahrum Formation in the Fars Province is mainly composed of limestones that formed on a laterally continuous carbonate ramp with significant variations in reservoir heterogeneity and quality. Petrographic studies led to the identification of five carbonate microfacies. Five petrophysical rock types (RT) in KH-02 well are recognized by considering primary and secondary controls on pore type and size distribution. From RT1 with no reservoir property toward RT5 reservoir quality is enhanced. Diagenetic features have significantly affected reservoir properties by both enhancing and destroying porosity and permeability. Bivariate plots of porosity and permeability, combined with thin-section petrography indicate that pervasive anhydrite cement and compaction had the greatest negative impact on reservoir quality, whereas, dolomitization, fracturing, and dissolution of Nummulites played the most positive role. Therefore, the general characteristics of the Jahrum reservoir in the Khesht Field are mainly shaped by diagenetic features. Using CycloLog software in the two studied wells led to the identification of two sedimentary cycles within the Jahrum Formation. The negative trend of the INPEFA log (sea-level fall) in the second sedimentary cycle includes the upper part of the Jahrum Formation which has medium to high reservoir quality. Keywords: Reservoir zonation, Rock types, Diagenesis, Cyclolog Software, Jahrum Formation. Introduction Carbonate reservoirs are difficult to describe and produce a realistic picture of reservoir properties due to the vertical and lateral heterogeneity in various categories including lateral distribution of facies (Alsharhan 2006; Dou et al. 2011) and complex diagenetic evolution of carbonates (Lucia 2007; Ahr 2008; Rong et al. 2012; Moore 2013). Carbonates of the Jahrum Formation in Fars province together with the Asmari Formation form the main part of reservoirs in SW Iran. So far, no study has been conducted to investigate the reservoir characteristics of the Jahrum Formation in the Khesht oil field. These carbonates are generally deposited in a shallow marine environment, and the estimated porosity from thin-section petrographic studies show that due to the abundance of lime mud and low textural maturity, their reservoir capacity was low in the time of deposition (Hassanvand 2016). Therefore, due to the low primary porosity in most parts of the Jahrum Formation, it seems that the reservoir quality of this formation largely depends on the development of secondary porosity as a result of the performance of various diagenetic processes such as dolomitization (Azomani et al. 2013), fracturing and dissolution. Due to the importance of reservoir studies and the investigation of the distribution of reservoir properties, the combination of facies analysis and diagenetic characteristics of the Jahrum Formation samples in the framework of porosity and permeability were used for reservoir zonation in Khesht-2 well and the studied rocks were divided into different rock types. Also, the identifying sedimentary cycles of the Jahrum carbonate succession and reservoir correlation in KH-02 and KH-03 wells were performed using Cyclolog software. Material and Methods Petrographic analysis of thin sections together with petrophysical wire logs, porperm data, and core descriptions were used for Jahrum reservoir zonation in the Khesht oil field. In this way, 40 m of cores and 80 thin sections from KH-02 well were used to investigate facies distribution and diagenetic processes in the studied interval. All thin sections stained for dolomite identification using Dickson (1965) method and limestone classification has been done according to Dunham's (1962) and Embry and Klovan (1971) schemes. Facies analysis and interpretation of the depositional environment was performed using the standard microfacies classification by Wilson (1975) and Flügel (2010). We followed Lucia (1995, 2007) for reservoir quality characterization and identification of rock types. Determination of sedimentary cycles and reservoir correlation between the studied wells has been done by using CycloLog software and gamma-ray log. Discussion of Results & Conclusion The Late Eocene Jahrum Formation in the Khesht oil field, SW Iran has mainly composed of limestones lithology. Petrographical studies led to identifying five carbonate microfacies in the Jahrum succession which have been deposited on a homoclinal carbonate ramp. These microfacies are consists of F1) Echinoid Orbitolites Nummulites wacke/pack/rudstone - inner ramp (restricted lagoon); F2) Nummulites Echinoid packstone to grainstone - inner ramp (shoal); F3) coral boundstone - inner to mid ramp; F4) Echinoid Nummulites wackestone - mid ramp (open marine); F5) Bioclast dolostone (shallow burial environment). The Jahrum carbonates have been subjected to a variety of diagenetic processes including micritization, dolomitization, cementation, dissolution, fracturing, and styloliteration in the three diagenetic realms including marine, meteoric, and shallow to deep burial. The wide range of porosity and permeability values in most facies of the Jahrum Formation shows that the sedimentary texture of the studied samples alone did not control the reservoir quality. The reservoir quality of the studied succession is mainly controlled by different diagenetic processes. Petrographic studies along with porosity and permeability cross plots for the studied samples show that the combination of the dolomitization, dissolution, and fracture processes played the greatest role in improving the reservoir quality of the studied formation, but calcite and anhydrite cementation; especially pervasive dolomitization type and compaction, have reduced the reservoir quality of the studied succession. The INPEFA stratigraphy approach has identified two sedimentary cycles within the Jahrum succession with good correlation in both KH-02 and KH-03 wells. Reservoir quality is significantly better during sea-level fall than when sea level was high in both sedimentary cycles. Overall, the Jahrum Formation is deposited in a regression cycle that begins with the deposition of open marine microfacies on the Pabdeh Formation and ends with the deposition of echinoid Orbitolites Nummulites wackestone/packstone (F1) at the end of the sequence in a lagoonal environment at the boundary of the Asmari Formation. Using CycloLog software and correlation between the reservoir zones of the Jahrum Formation in Khesht Oil Field and the identified timelines reveals that some reservoir zones show good compatibility. However, some of these zones do not correspond to the timelines. By considering other cyclo-stratigraphic factors along with lithology, porosity, and permeability data, revision in Jahrum reservoir zonation in the Khesht Oil Field is needed.

It is common practice in India to install rock anchors around test pile in order to obtain reaction for static load tests wherever competent rock is encountered at reasonable depths. Rock anchor design and installation require adequate attention as it is dependent on several parameters and checks. Authors have performed several static load tests across India with rock anchors up to test load of around 2000tons and also in various rock formations such as Basalt, Breccia, Tuff, Granite, Sandstone, etc. Competent rock levels also have been seen to be varied to great extent such as around 20 m from ground surface and such long free lengths offer several challenges including extension of strands equal to or more than ram stroke. Typically, for rock anchors in soft rocks, computed fixed length may be more than 10 m, and BS code 8081:1989 limits the fixed length to 10 m. In order to assess the rock anchor behavior for such condition where fixed length was more than 10 m, an effort was made to test the anchors to its full capacity and corresponding experience will also be summarized in the paper in the form of case history. This paper addresses rock anchor design philosophy including several checks required for appropriate rock anchor design, approaches for rock anchor design in soft rock, author’s experience of rock anchor design and installation with various rock types across India, along with case studies. Paper will also highlight benefits and limitations associated with installation of inclined anchors for crown girder assembly.

Rock outcrop is one type of geological data that often used in mining to determine rock types. Besides that rock outcrops can also be used to find out how strong a rock even though rock mechanics have not been tested. Rock strength depend on various factors, one of which is lithology. One of the physical parameters that describes rock strength is density. Each rock type has different density. The purpose of study is to determine lithology or rock type after extracting the minerals. The rock outcrop as object of the study is the rock wall after the extraction of the rock material which is located in Baubau City, Buton Island. The research method was carried out by observing rock physical properties and correlating the rock type with the rock density. The interpretation of rock outcrops is focused on observing the physical features and rock minerals. Based on the analysis, the rock outcrop is dominated by limestone. Based on rock type, the density of the rock outcrops ranges from 2.5 g.cm-3 to 2.9 g.cm-3. The variation in density values indicates that the rock outcrop is strong and stable.

In this work, a method for well log data classification is presented. The method relies on a coordinate transformation to restructure the data in an optimal way and a quasi-probabilistic interpolation technique capable of smoothing noisy data. The approach does not require case-specific design, is computationally efficient and provides a statistical characterization of the classification problem. Consequently, transition zones between facies can be modelled in a realistic fashion and intermediate rock types can be identified with ease. Apart from being capable of classifying unseen data with high accuracy, the technique can also be used as an informative quality and consistency assessment tool for manually classified data. The properties of the method are demonstrated on a realistic test case study.

Resource modeling plays a crucial role in raw material quality management for cement manufacturing. Research has shown that geological uncertainty in resource modeling is inevitable and results in risk to future extraction planning and operations of the cement plant. This study aims to assess the geological uncertainty and associated risk in modeling a cement raw material deposit in southern Vietnam. For this deposit, soil, clay, laterite, and limestone are the four primary rock types, controlling the occurrence and spatial distribution of chemical grades. In this study, hierarchical simulation method was used to evaluate the uncertainty. Rock types were first simulated, and the chemical grades conditioning to the rock types were then generated. The results demonstrated the capability of the hierarchical simulation approach to incorporate the uncertainty of rock types in resource modeling and to allow evaluating the risks in providing the desired raw material for the cement plant in the form of grade-tonnage curves.

Carbonate reservoir in “R” Oil Field is a reef limestone that has a very complex porosity and permeability characteristics caused by its diverse pore types (interparticle, stiff, and crack). This study aims to characterize the carbonate reservoir by estimating its interparticle porosity and permeability based on rock types distribution model. Modified Rock-Fabric Classification is used to determine the distribution of rock types in three reference wells (R2, R9, R20). Rock Types (RT) distribution model is generated by integrating Acoustic Impedance (AI) and Shear Impedance (SI) attributes from seismic simultaneous inversion with rock types distribution in reference wells using Naive-Bayes Classifier. Three-dimensional (3D) interparticle porosity and permeability are then estimated from the rock types distribution model. The result shows RT3 which is characterized by crack pores as the most dominant rock type in the reservoir followed by RT5, RT4, and RT6 which are characterized by interparticle pores. Relatively high interparticle porosity values ranges from 0.18 to 0.22 can be associated with RT6 of mud-dominated packstone or wackestone. Meanwhile, relatively high permeability values range from 70 to 80 millidarcy (mD) can be associated with RT4 of grainstone. Laterally, there are clusters of spots in the south of the three reference wells that showed relatively high permeability value.

Romania has many mineral water sources due to its geological features. In the present study, bottles of 26 Romanian mineral water brands were purchased from the market to make a characterization based on the pH, conductivity, and fixed residue content. Focusing on the total fixed residue, the distribution of low, medium, and highly mineralized water was 43.9%, 41.46%, and 14.63% respectively. The mean of fixed residue concentration was 763.3 mg/L, ranging from 40.37 mg/L to 2,603 mg/L. The pH values of the still mineral waters varied between 6.86 and 7.91, while the pH values of the sparkling mineral waters were the lowest (4.7). The conductivity was strongly related to the concentration of the ions, so the maximum measured conductivity for the still waters was 573 μS/cm, for the partially sparkling waters 2,133 μS/cm, and for the sparkling mineral waters 3,079 μS/cm. The chemical composition of the mineral waters was highly dependent on the rock types. Using the hierarchical cluster analysis, two different clusters were detected according to the main characteristics of mineral waters.

The major lithological rock types that compose the highest-carbon part of the lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation section in the Sichuan province of the People’s Republic of China have been identified and characterized. The analyzed distribution of rare and trace elements in graptolite shales has made it possible to propose the redox conditions for high-carbon sedimentation.

Special core analysis (SCAL) measurements play a noteworthy role in reservoir engineering. Due to the time-consuming and costly character of these measurements, routine core analysis (RCAL) data should be inspected thoroughly to select a representative subset of samples for SCAL. There are no comprehensive guidelines on how representative samples should be selected. In this study, a new framework is presented for selection of representative samples for SCAL. The foundation of this framework is using methods of PSRTI, FZI∗ (FZI-star) and TEM-function for the early estimation of petrophysical static, dynamic, and pseudo-static rock types at RCAL stage. The global hydraulic element (GHE) approach is benefitted and a FZI∗-based GHE method (i.e., GHE∗) is presented for partitioning data. The framework takes into consideration different laboratory, reservoir engineering, geological, petrophysical and statistical factors. A carbonate reservoir case is presented to support our methodology. We also show that the current forms of Lorenz and Stratigraphic Modified Lorenz Plots in reservoir engineering are not appropriate, and present new forms of them.

To investigate wear characteristics of tunnel boring machine (TBM) disc cutter rings interacting with types of rock, a range of wear tests were performed on a TBM cutter test rig, and laboratory-scale disc cutters were used in the experiments. The mass loss, vertical load, temperature field, wear mechanism and change rule of cutter tip for the disc cutter rings were obtained during the tests. The results indicate that the rock types and properties of rock exhibit great influences on the cutter wear. The variation of the weight loss testing with different types of rock is partially explained by the discrepancies of vertical load, cutting temperature, and the transition of wear mechanisms. In addition, the test results show that the wear characteristics of cutter rings are mainly affected by uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) rather than equivalent quartz content (EQC) for types of rock. This study will benefit the design of cutter rings with enhanced wear resistance.

Sandstone is different from pure brittle rocks such as marble and granite. Its brittleness weakens and then increases with increasing confining pressure. This paper establishes a calculation model of the “brittleness-ductility” energy drop coefficient that characterizes the whole process of sandstone failure from the perspective of energy. The obtained result was compared with the result of traditional calculation model. The results show that the established model is more consistent with the experimental phenomenon and can describe the whole process of sandstone failure more precisely at a macro level. Moreover, the model is more practical since it avoids the tedious integration calculation process. The model and tests have extended the applicable range and applied rock types of the energy drop coefficient and enriched the knowledge system of elastoplastic mechanics. At the same time, they carry important significance for environmental restoration and geological disaster prevention and control in sedimentary rock mining zones, which can promote the sustainable development of related industries in the mining zones.

The paper presents petrochemical, geochemical, and mineralogical data on rocks of the phoscorite–carbonatite complex in the Kovdor alkaline–ultramafic massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia. In contrast to what is usually thought, trace elements were determined to be concentrated not in the carbonatites themselves but in the related phoscorites. The paper presents data on the evolution of the compositions and zoning of minerals in successive generations of both rock types as a result of the fractional crystallization of their parental magmas, and data on general trends in the concentrations of trace elements. The Fe-rich phosphate–carbonate melt seems to have separated from the primitive alkaline–ultramafic silicate melt during its advanced differentiation. The Fe-rich phosphate–carbonate magma was parental for the phoscorite–carbonatite complex. The possibility of its splitting into immiscible Fe-rich phosphate and carbonatite melts is discussed.

Analysis of 976 lithic artifacts from twelve museum and private collections in the Lower Rio Grande Valley revealed a preference for seven rock types. Sixty nine percent of all tools were made from...

Asymmetric stress occurs in shallow buried highways and railway tunnels. Due to asymmetricalloading, the design process of the tunnel is different from a regular tunnel. Chinese code for designing railway tunnel contains empirical values for different grounding rock to facilitate engineering judgement of asymmetrical loading tunnels based on the slope angle of surface and the burial depth of the tunnel. However, when calculating the asymmetric stress, there seem to be no quantitative criteria for estimating the asymmetric stress. Thus, in this work we create a numerical model to better evaluate the asymmetric stress ratios in different rock types. Our results demonstrate for surrounding rocks of grade V with poor stability, an asymmetrical loading conditions should be considered specifically when the stress ratio at the spandrel is higher than unity. For surrounding rock with grade IV in which stability slightly increases we found that the tunnel is asymmetrical once the stress ratio at the spandrel reaches to above 2 − 3. For the grade IV with a higher stability, an asymmetrical loading should be considered in the design when the stress ratio reaches to 3 − 4. For rock with grade III with the maximum stability only when the stress ratio is higher than 7 − 8, the asymmetrical loading conditions should be considered. We found that for grades III, IV, and V, the stress ratio of sidewall is about unity under various slope angles and burial depth. Importantly, we show that the stress ratio at the sidewall cannot be used to make judgements on whether the shallow buried tunnels are asymmetrical loading conditions. Our results have practical implications in design, safety, and risk analyses of tunnels.

Dalam penelitian dibidang kebencanaan khususnya mengidentifikasi zona rawan longsor, pada wilayah penelitian yang luas dengan medan yang ekstrem, umumnya data sekunder tentang kedalaman dan tekstur tanah sangat jarang tersedia, dibandingkan dengan data topografi, jenis dan sebaran batuan maupun data curah hujan. Sebagai alternatif digunakan metode pengindraan jauh yang memanfaatkan citra Landsat 8 dengan metode band ratio Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI), band ratio NDMI mampu mengidentifikasi indeks kelembapan permukaan tanah sehingga dapat dilakukan diinterpretasi tekstur dan kedalaman tanah yang berhubungan dengan tingkat kerawanan longsor. Dengan metode overlay analysis menggunakan perangkat lunak sistem informasi geografi (SIG), dinilai mampu menganalisis tingkat kerawanan longsor terutama pada penelitian dengan skala regional, pada daerah terpencil yang sulit diakses dengan memanfaatkan ketersediaan data sekunder yang ada.Kata kunci : Landsat, NDMI, Longsor, SIG

Recent research has paid little attention to the shear damage of discontinuities with different joint wall material (DDJM). In this paper, we present an investigation on the evolution of the shear behaviour and the damage of three typical types of natural DDJM in a sliding-prone stratum of China. Experimental direct shear tests were performed on 14 pairs of natural DDJM specimens to examine the changes in the shear strengths and surface damages of the DDJM with increasing normal stresses and an increasing number of shear cycles by evaluating surface damages via damage zone distribution, damage area percentage, and variation of joint roughness coefficient (JRC). The results indicate that the differences in the shear damage between the two halves are closely related to the difference in strength of the two joint walls of the DDJM specimens with similar initial JRC values of the two joint surfaces. Simultaneously, parallel numerical direct shear tests were conducted in PFC3D. The performance of the numerical modeling was examined by comparing the parameters of shear strength, damage area and damage depth of DDJM specimens with those obtained in the experimental direct shear tests. Then the validated models were used to explore the evolution of the damage depth of DDJM specimens during the shearing process. The results demonstrate that the proposed numerical approach has the ability to reproduce the shear behavior and damage of DDJM reasonably and could be used to examine the internal damage of DDJM which are not easy to investigate via laboratory experiments.

The South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin, located between the South Pole and Aitken crater on the far side of the Moon, is the largest confirmed lunar impact structure. The pre-Nectarian SPA basin is a 2400 × 2050 km elliptical structure centered at 53°S, 191°E, which should have exposed lower crust and upper mantle due to the enormous excavation depth. Olivine, the dominant mineral in Earth’s mantle, has only been identified in small and localized exposures in the margins of the SPA basin, and the dominant mafic component is, instead, pyroxene. These mineralogical characteristics could be explained by the recent hypothesis that the lunar upper mantle is dominated by low-calcium pyroxene, not olivine. Here, we present observations from imaging and spectral data from China’s Chang’E-4 (CE-4) lunar mission in the first 4 synodic days, especially the first in situ visible/near-infrared spectrometer observations of an exposed boulder. We identified a variety of rock types, but not the recently reported olivine-rich materials in the landing region. The results are consistent with orbital observations. The obtained mineralogical information provides a better understanding of the nature and origin of SPA materials.

Characterising the size-dependent behaviour of rock has been a significant challenge in rock engineering particularly during the design of structures on or within a rock mass. Generally, the mechanical characterisation of rock starts at the laboratory scale where the intact rock is tested and then the resulting data is extrapolated to the field conditions using a suitable size effect model. Despite extensive research on the size effect of intact rock, very few have included the weak rocks with low uniaxial compressive strength (UCS). Thus, in this study, the size-dependent behaviour of two different weak rocks namely, Gambier limestone and artificial rock with uniaxial compressive strength of less than 10 MPa were investigated experimentally and analytically. The diameter of the cylindrical Gambier limestone samples varied from 26 to 285 mm while the diameter of artificial rock samples ranged between 26 and 139 mm. For Gambier limestone, the uniaxial compressive, Brazilian and point load experiments were carried out while for artificial rock, only the uniaxial compressive tests were conducted. In both rock types, the ascending and then descending size effect trend was a pronounced behaviour for UCS and Young’s modulus data while the size effect behaviour of Poisson’s ratio was inconclusive. Also, the tensile strength and point load index data obtained from Gambier limestone revealed only descending size effect trends. The unified size effect law and its improved version were fitted to the UCS and Young’s modulus data leading to a very good agreement between the data and the model predictions. It was confirmed that an improved version of unified size effect law can predict a more realistic strength value for a sample with an infinite size. Finally, the applicability of two descending size effect models to the tensile strength and point load data was assessed and concluded that the multifractal scaling law is a suitable model for the point load data while the size effect law can better predict the tensile strength data.

This research was aimed to determine the petrophysical properties (porosity, permeability and fluid saturation) of a reservoir. Petrophysical properties of the Shuiaba Formation at Y field are determined from the interpretation of open hole log data of six wells. Depending on these properties, it is possible to divide the Shuiaba Formation which has thickness of a proximately 180-195m, into three lithological units: A is upper unit (thickness about 8 to 15 m) involving of moderately dolomitized limestones; B is a middle unit (thickness about 52 to 56 m) which is composed of dolomitic limestone, and C is lower unit ( >110 m thick) which consists of shale-rich and dolomitic limestones. The results showed that the average formation water resistivity for the formation (Rw = 0.021), the average resistivity of the mud filtration (Rmf = 0.57), and the Archie parameters determined by the picket plot method, where m value equal to 1.94, n value equal to 2 and a value equal to 1. Porosity values and water saturation Sw were calculated along with the depth of the composition using IP V3.5 software. The interpretation of the computer process (CPI) showed that the better porous zone holds the highest amount of hydrocarbons in the second zone. From the flow zone indicator method, there are four rock types in the studied reservoir.

The present study evaluates the performance of PNN models for porosity prediction using seismic attributes. Four seismic datasets and more than 20 wells from different sedimentary basins located in Libya, Iraq, Egypt and USA are employed to characterize the effective attributes for porosity prediction. Verification and testing error analysis is adopted for evaluating the prediction performance. Results indicated that the porosity prediction models are primarily dependent to the propagation related attributes with frequency attributes as the most effective parameters in porosity prediction. In addition, the data quality and processing history strongly control the prediction model performance with relatively limited effects to dataset dimensionality (2D versus 3D) and the number of wells utilized in model construction. Such results are important to better understand and evaluate the performance of PNN porosity prediction models using various seismic attributes. Keywords: Porosity prediction, Seismic attributes, PNN, Al Ghani field, Sooner field, Kifl field, Baltim field

Purpose: Radon (222Rn) and its decay products clinging to airborne particles settle in the lungs when inhaled and can lead to lung cancer. The main source of 222Rn is rocks and soil in the Earth's crust and causes indoor radon exposure when local geological material is used as a building material. Accordingly, the primary objective of the study is to determine the radon activity concentrations (CRn) and exhalation rates (EA and EM) from different rock types taken from the Aliağa-İzmir region. The study also estimates the annual effective dose (AED) and the excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR).Material and Methods: For the measurement of the CRn, EA, and EM in different rock types, the can technique with LR-115 detector was utilized. The AED and the ELCR were estimated using the CRn in the samples.Results: It was found that the CRn, EA, EM, AED, and ELCR values for the examined rock samples were ranged between 66±4 and 1711±13 Bq m−3, 51±3 and 1309±10 mBq m-2 h-1, 2.68±0.18 and 64.02±0.47 mBq kg-1 h-1, 1.67 and 43.16 mSv y−1, and 0.006 and 0.151, respectively.Conclusion: The higher radiological risks in terms of radon exposure were related to the rocks of volcanic origin.

Purpose: Radon (222Rn) and its decay products clinging to airborne particles settle in the lungs when inhaled and can lead to lung cancer. The main source of 222Rn is rocks and soil in the Earth's crust and causes indoor radon exposure when local geological material is used as a building material. Accordingly, the primary aim of the study is to determine the radon activity concentrations (CRn) and exhalation rates (EA and EM) from different rock types taken from the Aliaga-Izmir region. The study also estimates the annual effective dose (AED) and the excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR).Material and Methods: For the measurement of the CRn, EA, and EM in different rock types, the Can technique with LR-115 detector was utilized. The AED and the ELCR were estimated using the CRn in the samples.Results: The results for the examined rock samples were ranged between 66 +/- 4 and 1711 +/- 13 Bq m-3 for CRn, between 51 +/- 3 and 1309 +/- 10 mBq m-2 h-1 for EA, between 2.68 +/- 0.18 and 64.02 +/- 0.47 mBq kg-1 h-1 for EM, between 1.67 and 43.16 mSv y-1 for AED, and between 0.006 and 0.151 for ELCR.Conclusion: The higher radiological risks in terms of radon exposure were related to the rocks of volcanic origin.

Magmatic rocks represent one of the most significant rocks due to their abundance, durability and appearance; they can be used as ornamental stones in the construction of dwellings. The current study is concerned with the detailed petrography and natural radioactivity of seven magmatic rocks. All are commercial granitic rocks and are identified as black Aswan, Nero Aswan, white Halayeb, Karnak, Verdi, red Hurghada and red Aswan. Their respective mineralogical compositions are classified as porpheritic granodiorite, granodiorite, tonalite, monzogranite, syenogranite, monzogranite and syenogranite. A total of nineteen samples were prepared from these seven rock types in order to assess their suitability as ornamental stones. Concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K radionuclides were measured using NaI (Tl) scintillation gamma-ray spectrometry. Among the studied magmatic rocks, white Halayeb had the lowest average values of 226Ra (15.7 Bq/kg), 232Th (4.71 Bq/kg) and 40K (~292 Bq/kg), all below the UNSCEAR reported average world values or recommended reference limits. In contrast, the other granitic rocks have higher values than the recommended limit. Except for the absorbed dose rate, other radiological hazard parameters including radium equivalent activity, annual effective dose equivalent, external, and internal hazard indices reflect that the White Halyeb rocks are favorable for use as ornamental stone in the construction of luxurious and high-demand residential buildings.

Bacterial weathering plays a significant role in rock weathering, yet only a limited number of studies was conducted on this topic. The recent rapid developments in geomicrobiology are expected to increase the pace of research in this area. The extent and duration of the biological weathering processes on mineral and rock samples and minerals preferred by bacteria are still not fully understood due to the wide variety of both bacterial species and rock types. Biological weathering of rock types found in Turkey has also not been studied before. Here, we investigated the effects of two species of bacteria actively contributing to rock weathering on three rock types commonly used as building stone materials in Turkey. Granite, andesite, and limestone samples could interact with Bacillus species (B. subtilis and B. pumilus) in closed system reactors. Samples obtained from these reactors were analysed via Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) monitoring to identify morphological features and chemical composition changes. Chemical elements consumed most by bacteria were identified. Changes in the colour index were determined via RGB measurements. The effects of experimental conditions on bacterial growth were monitored via daily optical density measurements. The effects of bacteria on the physical properties of rock samples were also evaluated. B. subtilis and B. pumilus were found to be more aggressive on limestone/andesite and granite, respectively.

[Abstract] The present work reviews studies with information on the effects of water by itself on stones of the built environment both to assess the impact of this substance and to discuss possible implications for conservation. The analysis concerns empirical results from previous publications dealing with the effects, on several rock types, of freeze–thaw, wetting, erosion by running water and substances resulting from the water–stone interaction. Laboratory studies have shown that water freezing can cause physical damage even in low porosity rocks. As far as we know, this is the first review that considers comparative laboratory studies of freeze–thaw and salt crystallization on the same rock specimens, and these point to lower erosive effects than salt weathering, as freeze–thaw can provoke catastrophic cracking. Wetting has shown strong damaging effects on some fine-grained clastic rocks. Erosive features have been reported for rain exposition and for some fountain settings albeit, in these field studies, it could be difficult to assess the contribution of pollutants transported by water (this assessment could have meaningful implications for stone conservation, especially in fountain settings). Water also interacts with stone constituents, namely sulfides and soluble salts, releasing substances that could impact those stones. Sulfides are a relatively frequent issue for slates and granites, and our observations suggest that for this last rock type, this issue is mostly associated with the presence of enclaves and, hence, avoiding the surface exposition of such enclaves could solve the problem. The Lab2PT-Landscapes, Heritage and Territory laboratory—UIDB/04509/2020 is supported by the Portuguese FCT—“Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia”. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the support of the CERENA (funded by a strategic project of the FCT-UIDB/04028/2020) and the LAMPIST of the DECivil, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal. The University Institute of Geology of the University of A Coruña (Spain) receives support from the Xunta de Galicia from the program “Consolidación y estructuración de unidades de investigación competitivas: Grupos de potencial de crecimiento” (ED431B 2018/47 and ED431B 2021/17). We also thank the IACOBUS Program from the European Strategic Group of Territorial Cooperation Galicia/North of Portugal for support for the last author in 2020 Portugal. Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia; UIDB/04509/2020 Portugal. Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia; UIDB/04028/2020 Xunta de Galicia; ED431B 2018/47 Xunta de Galicia; ED431B 2021/17

Pre-grouting is a technique for reducing water ingress into tunnels and caverns by grouting fractures and joints prior to excavation. This study investigates pre-grouted rock mass to evaluate grout penetration in fractures and transmissivity of water in the rock mass surrounding the built tunnel, with the use for core drilling, OTV, high-precision water injection tests and core logging. The study was performed in three tunnel localities, in tunnels excavated in connection with the Follo Line project in Norway, where pre-grouting was performed using cement-based grouts. It was found less cement than expected in fractures with small apertures, compared with results of grout penetrability in laboratory studies of similar grouts. Further, it was found that fractures in coarse-grained rock types had rougher fracture surfaces and higher hydraulic apertures, than fractures in fine-grained rock types. It was also found that fractures with smoother surfaces had smaller hydraulic apertures in general. Hydraulic jacking was evidenced during the pre-grouting in this area, which is likely to have contributed to unnecessary high grout consumption.

In Sandstone, the pore complexity in certain rock types is not only related to the mineral constituents, but also to other tectonic properties, including texture and porosity. In sandstones, texture is a primary factor contributing to pore geometry and structure. This condition causes a distributed relationship between P-wave velocity and porosity, although a clear trend exists. The purpose of this research, therefore, was to study the effects of pore complexity with the variation of P-wave velocity on saturated rocks and its impact in estimating critical porosity. In addition, the concept of rock type and convergent point was applied to establish the correlation between saturated P-wave velocity with pore geometry, and pore structure. Subsequently, the data was grouped into several rock types, with each having its own empirical bond and also tends to intersect with others at a converging point. In conclusion, a very good relationship between saturated P-wave velocity and porosity was obtained by categorizing the rocks based on pore geometry and pore structure. However, the individual rock group is known to demonstrate similar pore geometry and specific critical porosity values.

Deposits of Wadi gravel are available in many parts of the Gulf region, but not widely utilized as aggregate for concrete, mainly due to the possibility of internal sulfate attack, plus the perceived risk of alkali aggregate reactivity (AAR). This paper describes the investigations for AAR of the Wadi gravel in this case, as part of the wider study described in Part 1 of this paper. Wadi gravel from the Mekaines site in Qatar was subjected to petrographic analysis, plus the gel-pat and accelerated mortar-bar test methods. The AAR potential was found to be low to normal. The accelerated mortar-bar test exhibited ‘innocuous’ behaviour after 14 days of immersion in alkali solution. When separately testing the constituent rock types of the Wadi gravel, limestone and quartz returned innocuous results, while rhyolite, granite and quartzite returned potentially alkali silica reactive (ASR) results and some reaction was confirmed using post-expansion petrographic examination. Wadi gravel was classified as potentially reactive in the RILEM AAR-4.1 accelerated concrete prism test, but of ‘low reactivity’ in the BS 812-123 test over the longer period of 12 months. Overcoming the potential problems of gypsum content and AAR successfully provides a valuable local resource of Wadi gravel aggregate for concrete.

In hot desert regions, attention is turning to local sources of aggregate that were previously regarded as ‘too difficult9 to exploit. This paper describes an investigation of such a deposit in Qatar. The material, known as Wadi gravel, is a gravelly sand of Tertiary age cemented by gypsum. A field survey found the gravel content to be in the range of 10 to 20%. As-dug samples had excessively high sulfate content, which could not be removed with conventional aggregate operations. However, intensive treatment in a local sand-processing plant using multi-stage crushing, screening and washing reduced the sulfate to acceptable levels. Petrographic analysis was carried out to identify rock types potentially susceptible to Alkali Silica Reaction (ASR). Trial concrete mixes using the processed Wadi gravel were found to produce satisfactory C40 and C60 concrete. Full-scale building trials were constructed to demonstrate the practicality of using the gravel and assess in-service performance. The smooth surface and rounded particles of Wadi gravel improved the concrete workability and strength, and durability-related properties were similar to concrete made with imported gabbro. Strata similar to Wadi gravel occur widely in hot desert regions and could be useful sources of coarse and fine aggregate for concrete.

In this study, the efficacy of the linear regression modeling technique in the company of recharge rate-induced geophysical parameters was implemented through geographical information system to establish the essentiality of geology factor in recharge rate estimate and prediction. The study empirically assessed the in situ and the spatiotemporal variability in the recharge rate in response to the multi-faceted geologic settings in the Perak province, Malaysia. The used data sets were 2D resistivity data, climate data and the ancillary data (surface geologic rock types; [quaternary (QUA); Devonian (DEV); Silurian (SIL); igneous(ING)]. The acquired 2D data were interpreted for delineating vadose zone units having varying geoelectrical parameters consisting of resistivity (ρ) and its thickness (D) (depth to aquifer top). The combined GIS and linear regression techniques were applied to relate the vadose zone geoelectrical parameters with the spatially modeled rainfall–recharge estimate. The obtained results were processed in R statistical software environment to develop GIS linear regression (GLR)-based recharge models for the area underlain geologic rock types. The developed GIS linear regression (GLR)-based recharge models were validated using the models’ parameter significance evaluation and models’ forecasting accuracy assessment approaches. The results of the applied GLR-based recharge models at each 2D location were processed to produce groundwater recharge maps for the rock types. Applying the concept of GIS-based geoelectrical parameters recharge estimate and rainfall–recharge rate–subsurface media estimate approaches, the output of the GLR-based recharge models was quantitatively evaluated to give expected recharge estimates of 242 mm/yr, 248.mm/yr, 268 mm/yr and 224 mm/y and total recharge water values of 377.9 × 106 m3/year, 319 × 106 m3/year, 161.6 × 106 m3/year, 227.3 × 106 m3/year, for the area underlain rock types, namely QUA, DEV, SIL and ING, respectively. Based on these results, the impact of geologic rocks’ factor on the area recharge rate estimates is established. Thus, the consideration of the geology factor is very important in accurate estimation and prediction of the groundwater recharge rate. The developed GLR-based recharge models and the produced groundwater recharge maps are viable decision tools for efficient management of groundwater resources in the study area and any area of similar geologic settings.

In recent years, in some papers and manuscripts published in and submitted to the Journal of Palaeogeography (Chinese Edition and English Edition), the authors named the rocks or rock types as “microfacies” or “lithofacies”, named the microfeatures in thin-sections under microscope as “microfacies”, and named the macrofeatures of rocks as “macrofacies”. I wrote two short papers “Words of the Editor-in-Chief — Rocks are not microfacies” (Feng, Journal of Palaeogeography 19(5):II 2017) and “Words of the Editor-in-Chief — Rocks are not lithofacies” (Feng, Journal of Palaeogeography 20(3):452–452, 2018) which were in Chinese and published in the Journal of Palaeogeography (Chinese Edition). However, they did not attract much attention of readers in China and outside China. In addition, in 1980s, some Chinese sedimentologists proposed “subfacies” and “microfacies” based on the macrofeatures of rocks from outcrops and drilling cores. However, the definition of this “microfacies” is totally different from the “microfacies” proposed by foreign sedimentologists in 1940s based on the microfeatures in thin-sections under microscope.These problems appeared repeatedly and forced me, as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Palaeogeography (Chinese Edition and English Edition), to observe the policy of “A hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend” , to write new papers “A review on the definitions of terms of sedimentary facies” both in Chinese and in English, to clarify the definitions of the terms of sedimentary facies, i.e., “facies”, “lithofacies”, two “microfacies”, “macrofacies”, “subfacies”, etc. I hope that the new papers will attract attention of readers worldwide and they can write papers and participate in the discussion and contending of these problems, strive for getting some common understandings, and therefore promote the progress and development of sedimentology and palaeogeography.