Siliciclastics in Al Wajh carbonate lagoon

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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.

Program - Earth Science and Engineering

Division - Physical Sciences and Engineering

Faculty Lab Link - https://caress.kaust.edu.sa/modern-and-ancient-carbonates-group

Center Affiliation - Ali I. Al-Naimi Petroleum Engineering Research Center

Field of Study - Geoscience

About the
Researcher

Volker C. Vahrenkamp

Professor, Energy Resources and Petroleum Engineering

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.

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.