Effects of Coupled Chemo-Mechanical Processes on the Evolution of Pore-Size Distributions in Geological Media

Abstract

The pore space in rocks, sediments, and soils can change significantly as a result of weathering (see Navarre-Sitchler et al. 2015, this volume), diagenetic, metamorphic, tectonic, and even anthropogenic processes. As sediments undergo compaction during burial, grains are rearranged leading to an overall reduction in porosity and pore size (Athy 1930; Hedberg 1936; Neuzil 1994; Dewhurst et al. 1999; Anovitz et al. 2013). In addition, geochemical reactions can induce the precipitation and dissolution of minerals, which can either enhance or reduce pore space (e.g., Navarre-Sitchler et al. 2009; Emmanuel et al. 2010; Stack et al. 2014; Anovitz et al. 2015). During metamorphism too, mineral assemblages can change, altering rock fabrics and porosity (Manning and Bird 1995; Manning and Ingebritsen 1999; Neuhoff et al. 1999; Anovitz et al. 2009; Wang et al. 2013). As the pore space in geological media strongly affects permeability, evolving textures can influence the migration of water, contaminants, gases, and hydrocarbons in the subsurface. Although models—including the Kozeny–Carman equation (Kozeny 1927; Bear 1988)— exist to predict the relationship between porosity and permeability, they are often severely limited, in part because little is known about how pore size, pore geometry, and pore networks evolve in response to chemical and physical processes (Lukasiewicz and Reed 1988; Costa 2006; Xu and Yu 2008). In the case of geochemical reactions, calculating the change in total porosity due to the precipitation of a given mass of mineral is straightforward. However, predicting the way in which the precipitated minerals are distributed throughout the pores remains a non-trivial challenge (Fig. 1; Emmanuel and Ague 2009; Emmanuel et al. 2010, Hedges and Whitlam. 2013; Wang et al. 2013; Stack et al. 2014; Anovitz et …