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Leon Sinks Geological Area

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The Leon Sinks Geological Area is located on the Woodville Karst Plain in southern and southwestern Leon County, Florida , United States . It is a mature karstic area on the Upper Floridan Aquifer . It is one of the most extensive underwater cave systems in the world and connects to Wakulla Springs .

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40-485: This hydrological system is extremely vulnerable to pollution because of the very high permeability of the carbonate aquifer. Extensive mapping and exploration of these caves has been done by the Woodville Karst Plain Project to understand the complex dynamics of the area and to understand the proper ecological approach to keeping this system clean. The Leon Sinks are full of life, including

80-429: A 3 by 3 tensor. The tensor is realised using a 3 by 3 matrix being both symmetric and positive definite (SPD matrix): The permeability tensor is always diagonalizable (being both symmetric and positive definite). The eigenvectors will yield the principal directions of flow where flow is parallel to the pressure gradient, and the eigenvalues represent the principal permeabilities. These values do not depend on

120-414: A common thermoplastic material. Addition reactions apply to alkenes and alkynes. It is because they add reagents that they are called unsaturated. In this reaction a variety of reagents add "across" the pi-bond(s). Chlorine, hydrogen chloride, water , and hydrogen are illustrative reagents. Polymerization is a form of addition. Alkenes and some alkynes also undergo polymerization by opening of

160-426: A double bond between carbon atoms are sometimes referred to as 'olefins'. The predominant use of hydrocarbons is as a combustible fuel source. Methane is the predominant component of natural gas. C through C alkanes, alkenes, cycloalkanes, and aromatic hydrocarbons are the main components of gasoline , naphtha , jet fuel , and specialized industrial solvent mixtures. With the progressive addition of carbon units,

200-529: A single C–C bond it is alkane metathesis , for a double C–C bond it is alkene metathesis (olefin metathesis), and for a triple C–C bond it is alkyne metathesis . The vast majority of hydrocarbons found on Earth occur in crude oil , petroleum, coal , and natural gas. Since thousands of years they have been exploited and used for a vast range of purposes. Petroleum ( lit.   ' rock oil ' ) and coal are generally thought to be products of decomposition of organic matter. Coal, in contrast to petroleum,

240-468: A two neutral radical atoms ( homolytic fission ). all the way to CCl 4 ( carbon tetrachloride ) all the way to C 2 Cl 6 ( hexachloroethane ) Aromatic compounds, almost uniquely for hydrocarbons, undergo substitution reactions. The chemical process practiced on the largest scale is the reaction of benzene and ethene to give ethylbenzene : The resulting ethylbenzene is dehydrogenated to styrene and then polymerized to manufacture polystyrene ,

280-400: Is a measure of the ability of a porous material (often, a rock or an unconsolidated material) to allow fluids to pass through it. Permeability is a property of porous materials that is an indication of the ability for fluids (gas or liquid) to flow through them. Fluids can more easily flow through a material with high permeability than one with low permeability. The permeability of a medium

320-696: Is also potential to harvest hydrocarbons from plants like Euphorbia lathyris and E. tirucalli as an alternative and renewable energy source for vehicles that use diesel. Furthermore, endophytic bacteria from plants that naturally produce hydrocarbons have been used in hydrocarbon degradation in attempts to deplete hydrocarbon concentration in polluted soils. Saturated hydrocarbons are notable for their inertness. Unsaturated hydrocarbons (alkanes, alkenes and aromatic compounds) react more readily, by means of substitution, addition, polymerization. At higher temperatures they undergo dehydrogenation, oxidation and combustion. The cracking of saturated hydrocarbons

360-402: Is also sometimes used (1 cm = 10 m ≈ 10 d). The concept of permeability is of importance in determining the flow characteristics of hydrocarbons in oil and gas reservoirs, and of groundwater in aquifers . For a rock to be considered as an exploitable hydrocarbon reservoir without stimulation, its permeability must be greater than approximately 100 md (depending on the nature of

400-400: Is called autoxidation , begins with the formation of hydroperoxides (ROOH). Combustion of hydrocarbons is currently the main source of the world's energy for electric power generation , heating (such as home heating), and transportation. Often this energy is used directly as heat such as in home heaters, which use either petroleum or natural gas . The hydrocarbon is burnt and the heat

440-482: Is estimated at more than 58 million metric tons, which will increase to 60 million tons in 2022. Hydrocarbons are also prevalent in nature. Some eusocial arthropods, such as the Brazilian stingless bee, Schwarziana quadripunctata , use unique cuticular hydrocarbon "scents" in order to determine kin from non-kin. This hydrocarbon composition varies between age, sex, nest location, and hierarchal position. There

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480-415: Is important in petroleum engineering , when considering the optimal extraction of gas from unconventional sources such as shale gas , tight gas , or coalbed methane . To model permeability in anisotropic media, a permeability tensor is needed. Pressure can be applied in three directions, and for each direction, permeability can be measured (via Darcy's law in 3D) in three directions, thus leading to

520-417: Is related to the porosity , but also to the shapes of the pores in the medium and their level of connectedness. Fluid flows can also be influenced in different lithological settings by brittle deformation of rocks in fault zones ; the mechanisms by which this occurs are the subject of fault zone hydrogeology . Permeability is also affected by the pressure inside a material. The SI unit for permeability

560-463: Is richer in carbon and poorer in hydrogen. Natural gas is the product of methanogenesis . A seemingly limitless variety of compounds comprise petroleum, hence the necessity of refineries. These hydrocarbons consist of saturated hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, or combinations of the two. Missing in petroleum are alkenes and alkynes. Their production requires refineries. Petroleum-derived hydrocarbons are mainly consumed for fuel, but they are also

600-505: Is the square metre (m ). A practical unit for permeability is the darcy (d), or more commonly the millidarcy (md) (1 d ≈ 10 m ). The name honors the French Engineer Henry Darcy who first described the flow of water through sand filters for potable water supply. Permeability values for most materials commonly range typically from a fraction to several thousand millidarcys. The unit of square centimetre (cm )

640-616: Is the main industrial route to alkenes and alkyne . These reactions require heterogeneous catalysts and temperatures >500 °C. Widely practice conversions of hydrocarbons involves their reaction with oxygen. In the presence of excess oxygen, hydrocarbons combust. With, however, careful conditions, which have been optimized for many years, partial oxidation results. Useful compounds can obtained in this way: maleic acid from butane , terephthalic acid from xylenes , acetone together with phenol from cumene (isopropylbenzene), and cyclohexanone from cyclohexane]]. The process, which

680-757: Is the main source of the world's energy. Petroleum is the dominant raw-material source for organic commodity chemicals such as solvents and polymers. Most anthropogenic (human-generated) emissions of greenhouse gases are either carbon dioxide released by the burning of fossil fuels , or methane released from the handling of natural gas or from agriculture. As defined by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry 's nomenclature of organic chemistry , hydrocarbons are classified as follows: The term 'aliphatic' refers to non-aromatic hydrocarbons. Saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons are sometimes referred to as 'paraffins'. Aliphatic hydrocarbons containing

720-398: Is the paucity of enzymes that act on them. Nonetheless, the area has received regular attention. Bacteria in the gabbroic layer of the ocean's crust can degrade hydrocarbons; but the extreme environment makes research difficult. Other bacteria such as Lutibacterium anuloederans can also degrade hydrocarbons. Mycoremediation or breaking down of hydrocarbon by mycelium and mushrooms

760-577: Is the scalar hydraulic permeability, and 1 is the identity tensor . Permeability is typically determined in the lab by application of Darcy's law under steady state conditions or, more generally, by application of various solutions to the diffusion equation for unsteady flow conditions. Permeability needs to be measured, either directly (using Darcy's law), or through estimation using empirically derived formulas. However, for some simple models of porous media, permeability can be calculated (e.g., random close packing of identical spheres ). Based on

800-597: Is used to heat water, which is then circulated. A similar principle is used to create electrical energy in power plants . Both saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons undergo this process. Common properties of hydrocarbons are the facts that they produce steam, carbon dioxide and heat during combustion and that oxygen is required for combustion to take place. The simplest hydrocarbon, methane , burns as follows: In inadequate supply of air, carbon black and water vapour are formed: And finally, for any linear alkane of n carbon atoms, Partial oxidation characterizes

840-563: Is usually faint, and may be similar to that of gasoline or lighter fluid . They occur in a diverse range of molecular structures and phases: they can be gases (such as methane and propane ), liquids (such as hexane and benzene ), low melting solids (such as paraffin wax and naphthalene ) or polymers (such as polyethylene and polystyrene ). In the fossil fuel industries, hydrocarbon refers to naturally occurring petroleum , natural gas and coal , or their hydrocarbon derivatives and purified forms. Combustion of hydrocarbons

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880-466: The Hagen–Poiseuille equation for viscous flow in a pipe, permeability can be expressed as: where: Absolute permeability denotes the permeability in a porous medium that is 100% saturated with a single-phase fluid. This may also be called the intrinsic permeability or specific permeability. These terms refer to the quality that the permeability value in question is an intensive property of

920-541: The Solar System . Lakes of liquid methane and ethane have been found on Titan , Saturn 's largest moon, as confirmed by the Cassini–Huygens space probe. Hydrocarbons are also abundant in nebulae forming polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds. Burning hydrocarbons as fuel, which produces carbon dioxide and water , is a major contributor to anthropogenic global warming . Hydrocarbons are introduced into

960-636: The freshwater eel and rare crustaceans , including the Woodville Karst Plain crayfish and the swimming Florida cave isopod Remasellus parvus , that only exist in the Woodville Karst Plain . Wakulla cave consists of a dendritic network of conduits of which 12 miles (19 km) have been surveyed and mapped. The conduits are characterized as long tubes with diameter and depth being consistent (300 ft or 91 m depth); however, joining tubes can be divided by larger chambers of varying geometries. The largest conduit trends south from

1000-414: The effect of temperature on the viscosity of the fluid flowing though the porous medium and to address other fluids than pure water, e.g. , concentrated brines , petroleum , or organic solvents . Given the value of hydraulic conductivity for a studied system, the permeability can be calculated as follows: Tissue such as brain, liver, muscle, etc can be treated as a heterogeneous porous medium. Describing

1040-524: The environment through their extensive use as fuels and chemicals as well as through leaks or accidental spills during exploration, production, refining, or transport of fossil fuels. Anthropogenic hydrocarbon contamination of soil is a serious global issue due to contaminant persistence and the negative impact on human health. When soil is contaminated by hydrocarbons, it can have a significant impact on its microbiological, chemical, and physical properties. This can serve to prevent, slow down or even accelerate

1080-450: The flow of biofluids (blood, cerebrospinal fluid, etc.) within such a medium requires a full 3-dimensional anisotropic treatment of the tissue. In this case the scalar hydraulic permeability is replaced with the hydraulic permeability tensor so that Darcy's Law reads Connecting this expression to the isotropic case, κ = k 1 {\displaystyle {\boldsymbol {\kappa }}=k\mathbb {1} } , where k

1120-422: The flow of water through a porous medium is called the hydraulic conductivity ( K , unit: m/s). Permeability, or intrinsic permeability, ( k , unit: m ) is a part of this, and is a specific property characteristic of the solid skeleton and the microstructure of the porous medium itself, independently of the nature and properties of the fluid flowing through the pores of the medium. This allows to take into account

1160-436: The fluid properties; see the table derived from the same source for values of hydraulic conductivity , which are specific to the material through which the fluid is flowing. Hydrocarbons In organic chemistry , a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon . Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides . Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic ; their odor

1200-540: The ground conditions of a site are suitable for construction. Permeability is part of the proportionality constant in Darcy's law which relates discharge (flow rate) and fluid physical properties (e.g. dynamic viscosity ), to a pressure gradient applied to the porous media: Therefore: where: In naturally occurring materials, the permeability values range over many orders of magnitude (see table below for an example of this range). The global proportionality constant for

1240-495: The growth of vegetation depending on the exact changes that occur. Crude oil and natural gas are the two largest sources of hydrocarbon contamination of soil. Bioremediation of hydrocarbon from soil or water contaminated is a formidable challenge because of the chemical inertness that characterize hydrocarbons (hence they survived millions of years in the source rock). Nonetheless, many strategies have been devised, bioremediation being prominent. The basic problem with bioremediation

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1280-579: The hydrocarbon – gas reservoirs with lower permeabilities are still exploitable because of the lower viscosity of gas with respect to oil). Rocks with permeabilities significantly lower than 100 md can form efficient seals (see petroleum geology ). Unconsolidated sands may have permeabilities of over 5000 md. The concept also has many practical applications outside of geology, for example in chemical engineering (e.g., filtration ), as well as in Civil Engineering when determining whether

1320-453: The interface with the solid when the gas mean free path is comparable to the pore size (about 0.01 to 0.1 μm at standard temperature and pressure). See also Knudsen diffusion and constrictivity . For example, measurement of permeability through sandstones and shales yielded values from 9.0×10 m to 2.4×10  m for water and between 1.7×10  m to 2.6×10  m for nitrogen gas. Gas permeability of reservoir rock and source rock

1360-405: The medium, not a spatial average of a heterogeneous block of material equation 2.28 ; and that it is a function of the material structure only (and not of the fluid). They explicitly distinguish the value from that of relative permeability . Sometimes permeability to gases can be somewhat different than those for liquids in the same media. One difference is attributable to "slippage" of gas at

1400-509: The multiple bonds to produce polyethylene , polybutylene , and polystyrene . The alkyne acetylene polymerizes to produce polyacetylene . Oligomers (chains of a few monomers) may be produced, for example in the Shell higher olefin process , where α-olefins are extended to make longer α-olefins by adding ethylene repeatedly. Some hydrocarbons undergo metathesis , in which substituents attached by C–C bonds are exchanged between molecules. For

1440-401: The reactions of alkenes and oxygen. This process is the basis of rancidification and paint drying . Benzene burns with sooty flame when heated in air: Saturated hydrocarbons react with chlorine and fluorine . In the case of chlorination, one of the chlorine atoms replaces a hydrogen atom. The reactions proceed via free-radical pathways , in which the halogen first dissociates into

1480-737: The simple non-ring structured hydrocarbons have higher viscosities , lubricating indices, boiling points, and solidification temperatures. At the opposite extreme from methane lie the heavy tars that remain as the lowest fraction in a crude oil refining retort. They are collected and widely utilized as roofing compounds, pavement material ( bitumen ), wood preservatives (the creosote series) and as extremely high viscosity shear-resisting liquids. Some large-scale non-fuel applications of hydrocarbons begin with ethane and propane, which are obtained from petroleum and natural gas. These two gases are converted either to syngas or to ethylene and propylene respectively. Global consumption of benzene in 2021

1520-517: The source of virtually all synthetic organic compounds, including plastics and pharmaceuticals. Natural gas is consumed almost exclusively as fuel. Coal is used as a fuel and as a reducing agent in metallurgy . A small fraction of hydrocarbon found on earth, and all currently known hydrocarbon found on other planets and moons, is thought to be abiological . Hydrocarbons such as ethylene, isoprene, and monoterpenes are emitted by living vegetation. Some hydrocarbons also are widespread and abundant in

1560-558: The spring/cave entrance for over 3.8 miles (6.1 km). Four secondary conduits, including Leon Sinks, intersect the main conduit. Most of these secondary conduits have been fully explored. On Dec 15, 2007, the connection between the Wakulla cave system and Leon Sinks cave system was made by members of the Woodville Karst Plain Project to create the Wakulla-Leon Sinks Cave System. This connection established

1600-994: The system as the longest underwater cave in the United States and the sixth largest in the world at a total of 31.99 miles (51.48 km) of surveyed passages. Many of the sinkholes in the Leon Sinks Geological Area are linked through underwater caves. The area includes both wet and dry sinkholes. The Leon Sinks offer three hiking trails to the different sinkholes in the park including an observation platform at Big Dismal Sink. The trails feature over 20 species of trees and 75 different plants along with wildlife ranging from Carolina chickadees to gopher tortoises . Trails: 30°18′33″N 84°20′47″W  /  30.309273°N 84.34644°W  / 30.309273; -84.34644 Permeability (fluid) Permeability in fluid mechanics , materials science and Earth sciences (commonly symbolized as k )

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