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Bioturbation: Reworking Sediments for Better Or Worse

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Bioturbation: Reworking Sediments for Better Or Worse Bioturbation: Reworking Sediments for Better or Worse Murray K. Gingras Petroleum geologists are interested in bioturbation because it reveals clues S. George Pemberton University of Alberta about the depositional environment. Bioturbation can also destroy or enhance Edmonton, Alberta, Canada porosity and permeability, thereby affecting reservoir quality, reserves calculations Michael Smith and flow dynamics. Maturín, Venezuela Oilfield Review Winter 2014/2015: 26, no. 4. Copyright © 2015 Schlumberger. FMI is a mark of Schlumberger. Sediments undergo several modifications to Bioturbation is typically a small-scale but 1. Ali SA, Clark WJ, Moore WR and Dribus JR: “Diagenesis become the source rocks, reservoirs and seals potentially significant geologic process that may and Reservoir Quality,” Oilfield Review 22, no. 2 (Summer 2010): 14–27. that generate and contain petroleum reserves. occur wherever plants or animals live. It can take 2. Al-Hajeri MM, Al Saeed M, Derks J, Fuchs T, Hantschel T, The changes that occur between deposition and several forms, including displacement of soil by Kauerauf A, Neumaier M, Schenk O, Swientek O, Tessen N, Welte D, Wygrala B, Kornpihl D and lithification, collectively known as diagenesis, plant roots, tunnels created by burrowing ani- Peters K: “Basin and Petroleum System Modeling,” include the processes of compaction, cementa- mals and footprints left by dinosaurs (next page). Oilfield Review 21, no. 2 (Summer 2009): 14–29. tion, dissolution and recrystallization.1 But before Of most interest to the oil and gas industry any of these occur, another process can consider- are the changes brought about by organisms ably affect rock properties. As soon as they are that are active near the water/sediment inter- deposited, sediments can be altered by biotur- face in marine settings. Such activities are typi- bation: the disruption of sediment and soil by cally limited to a meter or so in depth but may living things. cover an area of tens to hundreds of square kilo- > Surface expressions of burrows under the surface. As the tide retreats at the Bay of Vallay, North Uist, Scotland, small wormlike animals burrow into the soft, silty sand searching for food. By the thousands, they create shallow tunnels but leave waste on the surface (left). In this example, the fecal piles cover an area of at least 5 km2 [2 mi2] (right). 46 Oilfield Review 72917schD7R1.indd 1 1/20/15 2:36 AM Oilfield Review AUTUMN 14 Bioturbation Fig. 2 ORAUT14-BIOT 2 > Bioturbation on the surface and in the subsurface. Bioturbation includes animal imprints and tunnels created by burrowing animals. The photographs of the crab burrow (left) and the ant nest (middle) are from the sandy backshore of beaches near Savannah, Georgia, USA. (Photographs courtesy of Murray K. Gingras.) The photograph of the dinosaur footprint (right) is from Dinosaur State Park, Connecticut, USA. meters. Understanding the behaviors of these Recently, however, geologists have expanded the This article describes ways in which animal animals helps geologists characterize the envi- application of bioturbation to address production activity can affect sedimentary deposits and ronmental conditions prevalent during a brief geology challenges. focuses on reservoir rocks. Examples from both interval of geologic time: after the sediments Animal activity in sediments disrupts layering, siliciclastic and carbonate formations show how were deposited, but while they were still soft creates flow pathways, enables exchange of min- geologists use this information to infer ancient enough to deform. erals and fluids between sedimentary layers, environmental conditions and characterize pres- For many years, bioturbation studies found changes pore fluid chemistry and adds or removes ent-day formation properties. application mainly in exploration geology—in organic matter. These changes can facilitate or estimating paleobathymetry, assessing deposi- impede mobility of diagenetic fluids, increase or Life Just Under the Surface tional environment and identifying key strati- decrease porosity and permeability and alter per- Animals that live near the water/sediment graphic surfaces. These are all important inputs meability homogeneityOilfield Reviewand isotropy. Recognizing interface often leave evidence of their life- to the geologic models used for determining these effects andAUTUMN including 14 them in reservoir styles. For example, surface expressions of sub- potential source rock and reservoir quality and simulation modelsBioturbation can improve Fig. 1production pre- surface bioturbation can be discerned in the ORAUT14-BIOT 1 for modeling basins and petroleum systems.2 dictions and enhanced oil recovery operations. intertidal zone of a beach (previous page). In Winter 2014/2015 47 72917schD7R1.indd 2 1/20/15 2:36 AM > Traces, shafts and tunnels. Marine animals that live at or near the sediment/water interface leave traces of various shapes, sizes and complexity. (Adapted from Gingras et al, reference 3.) Higher Energy Dynamic Habitats Escaping Dwelling Crawling (Fugichnia) (Domichnia) (Repichnia) Lower Energy Stable Habitats Feeding Farming Grazing (Fodichnia) (Agrichnia) (Pascichnia) Oilfield Review AUTUMN 14 Bioturbation Fig. 3 ORAUT14-BIOT 3 > Traces of animal behavior. Ichnologists interpret traces to indicate animal activities such as escaping, dwelling, crawling, feeding, farming and grazing, among others. Traces may be variations or combinations of these. The behaviors are loosely associated with depositional settings of higher energy (top) and lower energy (bottom) and may be considered a continuum. A variety of species might produce similar structures if their activities are similar. A single species can create several kinds of traces while performing different activities and the traces may vary if made in different substrates. (Adapted from Gingras et al, reference 3.) 48 Oilfield Review 72917schD7R1.indd 3 1/20/15 2:36 AM Oilfield Review AUTUMN 14 Bioturbation Fig. 5 ORAUT14-BIOT 5 this case, thousands of piles of sand-rich fecal Ichnofossils are interpreted to be related to By studying trace fossils, ichnologists have coils dot the floor of a shallow bay. These fecal animal survival strategies associated with sedi- identified several types of animal behavior, includ- strands are produced by burrowing, wormlike mentary and environmental conditions. They are ing feeding, dwelling, fleeing, resting, crawling, creatures that take in the bulk sediment, ingest different from body fossils in that they represent grazing and farming (previous page, bottom).3 nutrients and excrete the indigestible rock a behavior or activity, not a particular organism. Depending on the activity, the associated traces grains. Their subsurface burrows may be tens of Only infrequently, such as in the case of some may be found on the sediment surface—which centimeters deep, and an assemblage or com- dinosaur footprints, can ichnologists identify the eventually becomes the interface between two munity of these organisms can affect an area of animal species that created an ichnofossil. layers—or within a sediment layer. Ichnologists several square kilometers. Instead, they attempt to deduce what the animal use the evidence of these behaviors to character- Infauna, or animals that live in sedi- was doing when it created the trace. ize the paleoenvironment of a rock layer. ments—clams, tubeworms, crabs and shrimp, for example—can disrupt sediments in many ways (previous page, top). They may create tubelike tunnels and shafts of varying inclina- tion. These burrows may be simple, shallow unlined holes or may have compacted walls, be lined with contrasting material or have multi- ple openings. The burrows may remain open for a period of time, collapse or be filled imme- diately with similar or contrasting sediments (right). Tunnels in somewhat consolidated sediments have a better chance of staying open than those in softer sediments. Some infaunal activity can cause complete mixing of a volume of sediment but leave no detectable traces. For example, animals foraging in layered sediments may disrupt the substrate so completely that the layering is no longer visible, causing the sediment to appear to be one mas- sive, homogeneous interval. Aquatic animals that live on the sediment sur- face, epifauna, can also leave traces of their activity. Although these animals—mussels, sea stars, flounder and some crabs—may not burrow or modify the sediments to a great degree, they may leave evidence in the form of furrows and other tracks. In the rock record, bioturbation manifests itself mainly as fossilized traces of animal activity: fossilized imprints, tracks, excavations, dwellings or waste products. The study of these traces is the field of ichnology. This specialty focuses on using trace fossils, or ichnofossils, to decipher paleoeco- logical aspects of sedimentary environments. The types, number and variety of traces may help geologists determine aspects of the depositional environment such as whether sediments were deposited quickly or slowly or in shallow or deep 3 cm marine or nonmarine waters. > 3. Gingras MK, Bann KL, MacEachern JA and Pemberton SG: Contrasting fill. This burrow in fine-grained sediment is filled with “A Conceptual Framework for the Application of Trace coarse-grained material. This U-shaped trace is interpreted to be the Fossils,” in MacEachern JA, Bann KL, Gingras MK and dwelling burrow of an annelid or a crustacean in a low-energy shoreface or Pemberton SG (eds): Applied Ichnology.
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