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Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications (1996)

Chapter: Appendix A: Committee's Statement of Task

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee's Statement of Task." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
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Appendix A
Committee's Statement of Task

The principal objective of this study is to review, synthesize and integrate recent research concerning techniques and approaches to fracture characterization and fluid flow in rock fractures.

Subordinate objectives of the study are:

  1. to identify and review the status of current research in fracture characterization and fluid flow,

  2. to identify federal and other governmental activities and problem areas in the field,

  3. to explore mechanisms to advance the field, and

  4. to offer guidance on recent progress in the field to government agencies responsible for sponsoring or performing research, regulation and environmental restoration.

The committee will prepare a report that will cover research in fracture origin, morphology, geophysical imaging, and flow and transport analysis and modeling. The report will address applications such as toxic and nuclear waste transport in fractured rocks; fractured petroleum gas, geothermal, and water reservoirs; and construction of dams and tunnels (including the Superconducting Super Collider) in fractured rocks. The report will identify the tools and methods of locating and predicting fractures, describe the essential fundamentals behind the use and interpretation of the tools and methods, assess these methods and provide illustrative examples of their use. The report will identify areas of cross-fertilization between various disciplines and between applications.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee's Statement of Task." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee's Statement of Task." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
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Page 525
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee's Statement of Task." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
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Page 526
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Scientific understanding of fluid flow in rock fractures—a process underlying contemporary earth science problems from the search for petroleum to the controversy over nuclear waste storage—has grown significantly in the past 20 years. This volume presents a comprehensive report on the state of the field, with an interdisciplinary viewpoint, case studies of fracture sites, illustrations, conclusions, and research recommendations.

The book addresses these questions: How can fractures that are significant hydraulic conductors be identified, located, and characterized? How do flow and transport occur in fracture systems? How can changes in fracture systems be predicted and controlled?

Among other topics, the committee provides a geomechanical understanding of fracture formation, reviews methods for detecting subsurface fractures, and looks at the use of hydraulic and tracer tests to investigate fluid flow. The volume examines the state of conceptual and mathematical modeling, and it provides a useful framework for understanding the complexity of fracture changes that occur during fluid pumping and other engineering practices.

With a practical and multidisciplinary outlook, this volume will be welcomed by geologists, petroleum geologists, geoengineers, geophysicists, hydrologists, researchers, educators and students in these fields, and public officials involved in geological projects.

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