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55-532: Located in the Uralsk Region of West Kazakhstan, it was discovered in 1979 by a well drilled to investigate a structural high detected during a reinterpretation of 2D seismic shot between 1970 and 1971. Production began in 1984 under the operatorship of Karachaganakgazprom. Limited quantities of gas and condensate were exported to Russia via pipelines and to the processing facilities at Orenburg . On 3 October 2006, Kazakhstan and Russia signed an agreement to create

110-609: A joint venture on the basis of Orenburg gas processing plant for processing gas from the Karachaganak field. The phase began with three wells penetrating into the Permian formations of the reservoir. Once produced to surface the gas and oil were separated before being piped to Orenburg where further processing was undertaken. This was partially due to the sour nature of the gas, with a hydrogen sulphide content of 3.5-5.0% and carbon dioxide content of 5%. Karachaganckgazprom also maintained

165-501: A mantle of silicates, surrounding a core of iron. In 1906 Richard Dixon Oldham identified the separate arrival of P waves , S waves and surface waves on seismograms and found the first clear evidence that the Earth has a central core. In 1909, Andrija Mohorovičić , one of the founders of modern seismology, discovered and defined the Mohorovičić discontinuity . Usually referred to as

220-399: A month after the event. The first observations of normal modes were made in the 1960s as the advent of higher fidelity instruments coincided with two of the largest earthquakes of the 20th century the 1960 Valdivia earthquake and the 1964 Alaska earthquake . Since then, the normal modes of the Earth have given us some of the strongest constraints on the deep structure of the Earth. One of

275-412: A near-surface explosion, and are much weaker for deep earthquake sources. Both body and surface waves are traveling waves; however, large earthquakes can also make the entire Earth "ring" like a resonant bell. This ringing is a mixture of normal modes with discrete frequencies and periods of approximately an hour or shorter. Normal mode motion caused by a very large earthquake can be observed for up to

330-449: A particular location within a particular time-span, and they are routinely used in earthquake engineering . Public controversy over earthquake prediction erupted after Italian authorities indicted six seismologists and one government official for manslaughter in connection with a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy on April 5, 2009 . A report in Nature stated that the indictment

385-412: A policy of full gas voidage replacement to maintain pressure of the reservoir above the dew point . By 1990, approximately 200 vertical wells had been drilled in Karachaganak reaching a peak production plateau of 425 million cubic feet (12.0 million cubic metres) per day of gas and 100,000 barrels per day (16,000 m/d) of oil, before beginning to decline in 1992. Beginning in 2000 under

440-518: A special meeting in L'Aquila the week before the earthquake occurred, scientists and officials were more interested in pacifying the population than providing adequate information about earthquake risk and preparedness. In locations where a historical record exists it may be used to estimate the timing, location and magnitude of future seismic events. There are several interpretative factors to consider. The epicentres or foci and magnitudes of historical earthquakes are subject to interpretation meaning it

495-569: A very short time frame in a seismic cycle . Engineering seismology is the study and application of seismology for engineering purposes. It generally applied to the branch of seismology that deals with the assessment of the seismic hazard of a site or region for the purposes of earthquake engineering. It is, therefore, a link between earth science and civil engineering . There are two principal components of engineering seismology. Firstly, studying earthquake history (e.g. historical and instrumental catalogs of seismicity) and tectonics to assess

550-574: Is paleoseismology . A recording of Earth motion as a function of time, created by a seismograph is called a seismogram . A seismologist is a scientist works in basic or applied seismology. Scholarly interest in earthquakes can be traced back to antiquity. Early speculations on the natural causes of earthquakes were included in the writings of Thales of Miletus ( c.  585 BCE ), Anaximenes of Miletus ( c.  550 BCE ), Aristotle ( c.  340 BCE ), and Zhang Heng (132 CE). In 132 CE, Zhang Heng of China's Han dynasty designed

605-523: Is an oil field located in the northwestern region of the Republic of Kazakhstan . It was discovered in the 1960 and have been in production since 1987. Zhanazhol crude oil has a high mercaptan and hydrogen sulfide content. 48°21′31″N 57°28′43″E  /  48.3586°N 57.4786°E  / 48.3586; 57.4786 This Kazakhstan -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an oil field

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660-538: Is called a seismograph . Networks of seismographs continuously record ground motions around the world to facilitate the monitoring and analysis of global earthquakes and other sources of seismic activity. Rapid location of earthquakes makes tsunami warnings possible because seismic waves travel considerably faster than tsunami waves. Seismometers also record signals from non-earthquake sources ranging from explosions (nuclear and chemical), to local noise from wind or anthropogenic activities, to incessant signals generated at

715-413: Is possible that 5–6 Mw earthquakes described in the historical record could be larger events occurring elsewhere that were felt moderately in the populated areas that produced written records. Documentation in the historic period may be sparse or incomplete, and not give a full picture of the geographic scope of an earthquake, or the historical record may only have earthquake records spanning a few centuries,

770-657: Is subdivided into numerous zones by large salt domes, and the primary salt layer, the Permian Kungurian salt , separates strata vertically into subsalt and suprasalt layers. The basin is bounded to the east by the Hercynian Ural Mountains and to the southeast and south by other orogenic belts . In the north, the basin lies on the flank of the Voronezh Massif in the west and the Volga-Ural Platform in

825-411: Is thought that the Karachaganak reservoir was filled over multiple stages, the first of which began during late Paleozoic time with the formation of oil pools. As the basin began to subside, gas was generated and migrated to the traps. The gassiness of the reservoirs is determined by their location in the basin. Northern reservoirs tend to be wet; the southwest part of the basin is more gas prone than are

880-451: The VAN method . Most seismologists do not believe that a system to provide timely warnings for individual earthquakes has yet been developed, and many believe that such a system would be unlikely to give useful warning of impending seismic events. However, more general forecasts routinely predict seismic hazard . Such forecasts estimate the probability of an earthquake of a particular size affecting

935-708: The World Bank Group , the International Finance Corporation (IFC), provided $ 150 million in loans to Lukoil for development of the Karachaganak Field. These loans were repaid by Lukoil in January 2009. From 2004 to 2008, three complaints were filed with the IFC's Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman 's office regarding the IFC's violations of its own environmental standards in financing the Karachaganak Field. One of

990-561: The "Moho discontinuity" or the " Moho ," it is the boundary between the Earth 's crust and the mantle . It is defined by the distinct change in velocity of seismological waves as they pass through changing densities of rock. In 1910, after studying the April 1906 San Francisco earthquake , Harry Fielding Reid put forward the " elastic rebound theory " which remains the foundation for modern tectonic studies. The development of this theory depended on

1045-516: The Caspian Pipeline Consortium via a 650-kilometre (400 mi) line to Atyrau . This phase was officially completed in 2004, allowing for the production handling of 700 million cubic feet (20 × 10 ^  m) per day of gas and 200,000 barrels per day (32,000 m/d) of oil. In January - June 2005, 6.4 billion cubic metres (230 billion cubic feet) of gas was recovered, and 5.7 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons

1100-615: The Pre-Caspian (or North Caspian) Basin, which extends from the southeastern margin of the Russian Platform down to the northern coast of the Caspian Sea , and includes the offshore Caspian Sea north of about 44° N. The North Caspian is a pericratonic depression of Late Proterozoic -Early Paleozoic age. Sediments in the 500,000-square-kilometre (190,000 sq mi) basin are up to 22 kilometres (14 mi) thick in places. The basin

1155-545: The US-based environmental justice organization Crude Accountability and the Kazakhstani Ecological Society Green Salvation, among others. Seismic Seismology ( / s aɪ z ˈ m ɒ l ə dʒ i , s aɪ s -/ ; from Ancient Greek σεισμός ( seismós ) meaning " earthquake " and -λογία ( -logía ) meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes ) and

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1210-421: The atmosphere in 2004, improper storage of toxic solid waste on the field, and dumping toxic effluent into the water table. The consortium was found to have dumped an excess of waste in 2008, resulting in a $ 21 million fine in early 2010. The villagers contend that they should have been relocated upon the start of field operations as Kazakhstani law stipulates a five-kilometer Sanitary Protection Zone (SPZ) around

1265-455: The basis of core sample analysis and seismic studies the following depositional settings have been identified: limestone , talus, normal marine, shallow marine, inner reef lagoon, reef core, relatively deep water, slope, and anhydrite . The variation of deposition is due to the long period over which the Karachaganak structure was formed. From the Late Devonian to the middle Carboniferous

1320-595: The behaviour and causation of earthquakes. The earliest responses include work by John Bevis (1757) and John Michell (1761). Michell determined that earthquakes originate within the Earth and were waves of movement caused by "shifting masses of rock miles below the surface". In response to a series of earthquakes near Comrie in Scotland in 1839, a committee was formed in the United Kingdom in order to produce better detection methods for earthquakes. The outcome of this

1375-562: The complaints results in a report by the Auditor, published in April 2008, which documented numerous instances of non-compliance with IFC standards at Karachaganak. One of the revelations was that no results for hydrogen sulfide monitoring had been reported between 2003 and 2006—years during which the Berezovka residents maintain they were suffering health problems due to hydrogen sulfide exposure. Zhasil Dala works in partnership on this campaign with

1430-482: The considerable progress of earlier independent streams of work on the behavior of elastic materials and in mathematics. An early scientific study of aftershocks from a destructive earthquake came after the January 1920 Xalapa earthquake . An 80 kg (180 lb) Wiechert seismograph was brought to the Mexican city of Xalapa by rail after the earthquake. The instrument was deployed to record its aftershocks. Data from

1485-512: The earth to a resolution of several hundred kilometers. This has enabled scientists to identify convection cells and other large-scale features such as the large low-shear-velocity provinces near the core–mantle boundary . Forecasting a probable timing, location, magnitude and other important features of a forthcoming seismic event is called earthquake prediction . Various attempts have been made by seismologists and others to create effective systems for precise earthquake predictions, including

1540-751: The earthquakes that could occur in a region and their characteristics and frequency of occurrence. Secondly, studying strong ground motions generated by earthquakes to assess the expected shaking from future earthquakes with similar characteristics. These strong ground motions could either be observations from accelerometers or seismometers or those simulated by computers using various techniques, which are then often used to develop ground motion prediction equations (or ground-motion models) [1] . Seismological instruments can generate large amounts of data. Systems for processing such data include: Zhanazhol Field Zhanazhol Field ( Kazakh : Жаңажол мұнай-газ конденсат кен орны , Jańajol munaı-gaz kondensat ken orny )

1595-471: The east and southeast. Since 2002, residents from the village located closest to the Karachaganak Field have been campaigning for relocation and compensation. The villagers, led by the local organization Zhasil Dala (Green Steppe), maintain that they are suffering a host of illnesses and environmental degradation due to exposure to toxic emissions from the Karachaganak Field, situated five kilometers away. Independent Bucket Brigade air monitoring conducted by

1650-471: The field was an atoll, over which in the Early Permian a system of reefs were built. At its greatest the reservoir is 1.5 km thick. This type of reservoir structure has been seen in analogous fields including Kenkiyak , Zhanazhol , Tengiz , and possibly Astrakhan fields. A west-east cross section through Karachaganak resembles the twin humps of a camel, indicating two separate reef highs. Likewise,

1705-448: The field. However, in 2003, the government reduced the SPZ to three kilometers, effectively barring the villagers from relocation. After three years of protest from the villagers, Kazakhstan's Public Prosecutor found the 2003 decision to reduce the SPZ to be illegal, and the five-kilometer SPZ was reinstated in 2006. However, the village has not been relocated. In 2002, the private sector arm of

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1760-456: The first attempts at the scientific study of earthquakes followed the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Other notable earthquakes that spurred major advancements in the science of seismology include the 1857 Basilicata earthquake , the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the 1964 Alaska earthquake , the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake , and the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake . Seismic waves produced by explosions or vibrating controlled sources are one of

1815-578: The first known seismoscope . In the 17th century, Athanasius Kircher argued that earthquakes were caused by the movement of fire within a system of channels inside the Earth. Martin Lister (1638–1712) and Nicolas Lemery (1645–1715) proposed that earthquakes were caused by chemical explosions within the Earth. The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 , coinciding with the general flowering of science in Europe , set in motion intensified scientific attempts to understand

1870-415: The first waves to appear on a seismogram as they are the fastest moving waves through solids. S waves are transverse waves that move perpendicular to the direction of propagation. S waves are slower than P waves. Therefore, they appear later than P waves on a seismogram. Fluids cannot support transverse elastic waves because of their low shear strength, so S waves only travel in solids. Surface waves are

1925-473: The foundation of modern instrumental seismology and carried out seismological experiments using explosives. He is also responsible for coining the word "seismology." In 1889 Ernst von Rebeur-Paschwitz recorded the first teleseismic earthquake signal (an earthquake in Japan recorded at Pottsdam Germany). In 1897, Emil Wiechert 's theoretical calculations led him to conclude that the Earth's interior consists of

1980-452: The generation and propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or other planetary bodies . It also includes studies of earthquake environmental effects such as tsunamis as well as diverse seismic sources such as volcanic, tectonic, glacial, fluvial , oceanic microseism , atmospheric, and artificial processes such as explosions and human activities . A related field that uses geology to infer information regarding past earthquakes

2035-432: The global seismographic monitoring has been for the detection and study of nuclear testing . Because seismic waves commonly propagate efficiently as they interact with the internal structure of the Earth, they provide high-resolution noninvasive methods for studying the planet's interior. One of the earliest important discoveries (suggested by Richard Dixon Oldham in 1906 and definitively shown by Harold Jeffreys in 1926)

2090-406: The interior of the materials; surface waves that travel along surfaces or interfaces between materials; and normal modes , a form of standing wave. There are two types of body waves, pressure waves or primary waves (P waves) and shear or secondary waves ( S waves ). P waves are longitudinal waves that involve compression and expansion in the direction that the wave is moving and are always

2145-487: The large variation of deposition has led to four different types of carbonate cores in the structure: biothermal , biomorphic detrital , organo-clastic , and biochemogenic . Of these biomorphic detrital are the most common followed by biothermal rock types. However, estimates of their volumes range from 30-90% for the former and 10-60% for the latter. As with other reservoirs in the North Caspian (Pricaspian) Basin, it

2200-407: The north. Numerous oil and gas fields have been discovered in this region in addition to Karachaganak, such as Astrakhan , Tengiz and Zhanazhol Fields. The field consists of a heterogeneous carbonate massif with strata from three geologic periods and numerous stages of deposition during these periods. The following have been identified: The depositional setting of the field is also varied. On

2255-481: The ocean floor and coasts induced by ocean waves (the global microseism ), to cryospheric events associated with large icebergs and glaciers. Above-ocean meteor strikes with energies as high as 4.2 × 10 J (equivalent to that released by an explosion of ten kilotons of TNT) have been recorded by seismographs, as have a number of industrial accidents and terrorist bombs and events (a field of study referred to as forensic seismology ). A major long-term motivation for

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2310-436: The ocean processes responsible for the global background seismic microseism . By the 1960s, Earth science had developed to the point where a comprehensive theory of the causation of seismic events and geodetic motions had come together in the now well-established theory of plate tectonics . Seismic waves are elastic waves that propagate in solid or fluid materials. They can be divided into body waves that travel through

2365-401: The operatorship of Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO), the field went under a redevelopment program. This involved an investment of over US$ 1 billion into the construction and enhancement of existing facilities, new gas and liquid processing and gas injection facilities, a workover program consisting of 100 existing wells, a 120 MW power station for the facilities, and connection to

2420-473: The primary methods of underground exploration in geophysics (in addition to many different electromagnetic methods such as induced polarization and magnetotellurics ). Controlled-source seismology has been used to map salt domes , anticlines and other geologic traps in petroleum -bearing rocks , faults , rock types, and long-buried giant meteor craters . For example, the Chicxulub Crater , which

2475-400: The reservoir until it can be exported profitably. It is estimated that the Karachaganak field contains 1.236 billion tonnes of liquids and 1.371 trillion cubic metres (48.4 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas in place (17.78 billion barrels (2.827 × 10 ^  m) of oil equivalent). The Karachaganak Field is one of the world's largest gas condensate fields. It is located in

2530-399: The result of P and S waves interacting with the surface of the Earth. These waves are dispersive , meaning that different frequencies have different velocities. The two main surface wave types are Rayleigh waves , which have both compressional and shear motions, and Love waves , which are purely shear. Rayleigh waves result from the interaction of P waves and vertically polarized S waves with

2585-416: The seismograph would eventually determine that the mainshock was produced along a shallow crustal fault. In 1926, Harold Jeffreys was the first to claim, based on his study of earthquake waves, that below the mantle, the core of the Earth is liquid. In 1937, Inge Lehmann determined that within Earth's liquid outer core there is a solid inner core . In 1950, Michael S. Longuet-Higgins elucidated

2640-476: The surface and can exist in any solid medium. Love waves are formed by horizontally polarized S waves interacting with the surface, and can only exist if there is a change in the elastic properties with depth in a solid medium, which is always the case in seismological applications. Surface waves travel more slowly than P waves and S waves because they are the result of these waves traveling along indirect paths to interact with Earth's surface. Because they travel along

2695-399: The surface of the Earth, their energy decays less rapidly than body waves (1/distance vs. 1/distance ), and thus the shaking caused by surface waves is generally stronger than that of body waves, and the primary surface waves are often thus the largest signals on earthquake seismograms . Surface waves are strongly excited when their source is close to the surface, as in a shallow earthquake or

2750-404: The villagers from September 2004 to August 2005 registered more than 25 toxic substances in the air, including hydrogen sulfide , methylene chloride , carbon disulfide , toluene , and acrylonitrile . In 2005, Karachaganak's regional environmental authority temporarily revoked the operating license of KPO B.V. due to environmental violations, including emitting 56 thousand tons of toxic waste in

2805-591: Was caused by an impact that has been implicated in the extinction of the dinosaurs , was localized to Central America by analyzing ejecta in the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary , and then physically proven to exist using seismic maps from oil exploration . Seismometers are sensors that detect and record the motion of the Earth arising from elastic waves. Seismometers may be deployed at the Earth's surface, in shallow vaults, in boreholes, or underwater . A complete instrument package that records seismic signals

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2860-424: Was produced. Overall, it is planned to recover about 300 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons and 800 billion cubic metres (28 trillion cubic feet) natural gas during the contract period. One current production issue facing the field is the increasing amount of gas of which a large amount is sour. As the export facilities of the project are not fully developed, most of this gas is being recycled back into

2915-409: Was that the outer core of the earth is liquid. Since S waves do not pass through liquids, the liquid core causes a "shadow" on the side of the planet opposite the earthquake where no direct S waves are observed. In addition, P waves travel much slower through the outer core than the mantle. Processing readings from many seismometers using seismic tomography , seismologists have mapped the mantle of

2970-415: Was the production of one of the first modern seismometers by James David Forbes , first presented in a report by David Milne-Home in 1842. This seismometer was an inverted pendulum, which recorded the measurements of seismic activity through the use of a pencil placed on paper above the pendulum. The designs provided did not prove effective, according to Milne's reports. From 1857, Robert Mallet laid

3025-711: Was widely seen in Italy and abroad as being for failing to predict the earthquake and drew condemnation from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Geophysical Union . However, the magazine also indicated that the population of Aquila do not consider the failure to predict the earthquake to be the reason for the indictment, but rather the alleged failure of the scientists to evaluate and communicate risk. The indictment claims that, at

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