Project Details
Program
Earth Science and Engineering
Field of Study
Geoscience
Division
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Faculty Lab Link
Center Affiliation
Ali I. Al-Naimi Petroleum Engineering Research Center
Project Description
Afro-Arabian desert belt export at least half of the world's dust. Dust provides essential minerals for life to thrive on Earth, both on land and in the sea. Dust provides iron to the ocean, which is one of the main limiting nutrients for photosynthetic algae. However, not much is known about how much dust is necessary to fertilize the ocean.
The aim of the project is to analyze dust particles within marine sediments from Al Wajh lagoon, NE Red Sea. A sedimentological, mineralogical, and spatial analysis will be performed.
About the Researcher
Volker Vahrenkamp
Professor, Energy Resources and Petroleum Engineering
Affiliations
Education Profile
- Ph.D. Marine Geology, RSMAS a- U. Miami, Miami, FL, USA
- MSc Geology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Vordiplom, Ludwigs UniversitA¤t, Freiburg, Germany
Research Interests
a€‹Professor Vahrenkamp's research aims at securing future energy supply with three main thrusts: Refine the understanding of modern and ancient carbonate depositional environments and associated diagenesis for improved perception of reservoir heterogeneities on multiple scales, Advance the quantification of the complex pore networks of Arabian carbonate reservoirs and its impact on reservoir performance, Explore and develop geothermal energy in Arabian countries with special focus on desalination and cooling applications and suitable drilling techniques.Selected Publications
- Late Jurassic to Cretaceous source rock prone intra-shelf basins of the eastern Arabian plate a- interplay between t... Vahrenkamp, V.C., P. Van Laer, B.J. Franco, M. A. Celentano, Carine Grelaud and P. Razin. SPE-IPTC-18470 , (2015)
- Micro rhombic calcite of a giant Barremian reservoir onshore Abu Dhabi - Clumped isotope analyses fix temperature, ... Vahrenkamp, V.C, J. Barata; P.J. Van Laer, P. Swart, S. Murray. SPE ADIPEC-172033 , (2014)
- Carbon-isotope signatures of Albian to Cenomanian (Cretaceous) shelf carbonates of the Natih Formation, Sultanate o... Vahrenkamp, V.C. GeoArabia, v. 18, no. 3, 65-82, (2013)
- Validation of fundamental carbonate reservoir core properties using Digital Rock Physics Lopez, O., A. Mock, P. A˜ren, H. Long, Z. Kalam, V. Vahrenkamp, M. Gibrata, S. Seraj, S. Ch. International Symposium of the Society of Core Analysts, SCA2012-19, 12 pages , (2012)
- Chemo stratigraphy of the Early Cretaceous Shu'aiba Formation. Vahrenkamp, V.C. GeoArabia Special Publication 4, V. 1, 107 137, (2010)
Desired Project Deliverables
-SEM, XRD and grain size analysis of dust in marine sediments.
-A scientific report showing the results and interpretation of the measurements performed.
Recommended Student Background
Sedimentology
Climate/Paleoclimate