Tidal modulation of temperature oscillations monitored in borehole Yaxcopoil-1 (Yucatán, Mexico)

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Abstract

For better understanding of temperature state in the subsurface, temperature-depth logs can be suitably completed by high-resolution long-run temperature-time monitoring at selected depths. The results of temperature monitoring at three depth levels in borehole Yaxcopoil-1, Chicxulub impact structure, Mexico (April/May 2006) proved that even when a borehole is in “fully” stabilized conditions, temperature may exhibit certain unrest resembling irregular oscillations in the order of hundredths or (in the extreme case) even first tenths of degree. Two novel methods for detection of the weak fingerprints of stable periodic components in long noisy records, namely the RQI (Recurrence Quantification Interval) analysis and the HiCum (Histograms Cumulation) were used to isolate the constituents with tidal periodicities from temperature oscillations measured in borehole Yaxcopoil-1. Both analyses revealed that temperature series contain perceptible tidal component. The field data were correlated with the simulated synthetic tides. The comparison of staked HiCum records for the theoretical gravity tide and monitored temperature shows significant positive linear correlation between both variables. There is a small lag between two signals corresponding to ~ 25 min phase difference.

Introduction

Tiny oscillations of borehole temperature were detected during monitoring experiments in several boreholes. As shown by Cermak et al., 2008a, Cermak et al., 2008b the cause of these oscillations could be looked for in borehole fluid convection. On the other hand, boreholes and their surroundings are subject of the influence of many other effects, such as e.g. solar, atmospheric, hydrologic, seismic and tectonic activities. Each of these processes, in principle, produces its own effect on borehole temperature field. The tidal modulation is probably one of the most frequently observable factor affecting geophysical fields. It was found in numerous, often unexpected cases, such as e.g. thermometric signals recorded at Mt. Etna volcano, Italy (Panepinto et al., 2008) and geophysical parameters monitored in the Vorotilovo deep borehole drilled in the central part of the Russian platform (Rosaev and Esipko, 2003).

In the present work we have analyzed the results of temperature monitored at three depth levels in borehole Yaxcopoil-1 (Mexico). The general aim of this study is to investigate the tidal modulation of the observed oscillations of the intra-hole fluid temperatures. The field data were correlated with simulated synthetic tides and were treated by two novel techniques for signal detecting. Revealed tidal forcing of the measured temperature signal may provide a valuable input for better understanding of potential correlation between intra-hole temperature variations and other geophysical parameters.

Section snippets

Borehole and previous works

As a part of the International Continental Deep Drilling Programme (ICDP; http://chicxulub.icdp-online.org)), a deep borehole Yaxcopoil-1 (20.74°N, 89.72°W, 16 m a.s.l.) was drilled within the Chicxulub impact structure (Urrutia-Fucugauchi et al., 2004). The crater lies buried beneath a one kilometer-thick sequence of sediments near Puerto Chicxulub, on the northwest coastline of Yucatán peninsula (Mexico). The postulated crater diameter is ~ 180–195 km (Morgan et al., 2004) and the hole is

Data

For the temperature-time monitoring an 18 cm long and 16 mm in diameter commercially produced autonomous data loggers with reported relative accuracy of 0.001 K were used. The weight of the individual probe is 86 g and the measuring sensor is isolated and located in the extended tip of the probe. The response of the temperature reading to the ambient conditions is instantaneous and the possible impact of the thermal inertia of the probe on the results of the analysis of the high-frequency part

Recurrence quantification interval analysis

The recurrence plot (RP) is a two-dimensional image technique that represents hidden regularities in the scalar time series in a manner that is apparent visually. The recurrence plots were introduced by Eckmann et al. (1987) and further developed as a powerful tool for qualitative characterization of the non-linear signals (Marwan and Kurths, 2005, Marwan et al., 2007; and the references therein). To construct the RP a scalar time series {yi} with N terms should be delayed and embedded in

Measured data

The recently developed HiCum technique was proved to be effective for the detection of very weak periodic signals and/or constituents of a complex multi-periodic function in noisy natural time series (Van Ruymbeke et al., 2003, Van Ruymbeke et al., 2007). On the contrary to the spectral analysis that is applied when the frequency of the signal is unknown, the basic requirement of the HiCum technique is the exact knowledge of the period that should be detected. The method uses the stacking

Conclusions

Two novel detection methods of weak fingerprints of stable periodic components in long and noisy records, namely the RQI analysis and the HiCum were used to separate the constituents with tidal periodicities from temperature-time oscillations measured in borehole Yaxcopoil-1. Both analyses revealed that temperature series contain perceptible tidal components. In principle, such result is not surprising. Small amplitude temperature oscillations of tidal origin were detected in numerous borehole

Acknowledgement

The technical problems of temperature monitoring were consulted with several colleagues who all provided useful advice. The special thanks are due to Robert Kincler who assisted during the whole experiment by data collection. The financial support provided by the Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic under the project GAAV IAA300120603 and by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, project GACR 205/06/1181, was greatly appreciated.

For practical calculation we have found

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