This paper introduces an integrated Neogene microfossil biostratigraphic chart developed within post-merger BP for the Gulf of Mexico Basin and is the first published industrial framework “fully-tuned” to orbital periodicities. Astronomical-tuning was accomplished through a 15-year research program on the Ocean Drilling Program’s (ODP) Leg 154 sediments (offshore NE Brazil) with sampling resolution for calcareous nannofossils and planktonic foraminifera ∼20 k.y. and 40 k.y. (thousand year), respectively. This framework extends from the Late Oligocene (25.05 Ma) to Recent at an average Chart Horizon resolution for the Neogene of 144 k.y., approximately double that of published Gulf of Mexico biostratigraphic charts and a fivefold increase over the highest resolution global calcareous microfossil biozonation. Such resolution approximates that of fourth to fifth order parasequences and is a critical component in the verification of seismic correlations between mini-basins in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico. Its utility in global time-scale construction and correlation has been proven, in part, by application of the scheme in full to internal research for the Oligocene–Miocene boundary interval on the global boundary stratotype section and point (GSSP) in northern Italy and offshore wells in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. This step change in Neogene resolution, now at the level of cyclostratigraphy (the orbital periodicity of eccentricity) and the magnetostratigraphic chron, demonstrates the potential for calcareous microfossil biostratigraphy to more consistently reinforce correlations of these time scale parameters. The integration of microfossil disciplines, consistent taxonomies, and rigorous analytical methodologies are all critical to obtaining and reproducing this new level of biostratigraphic resolution.

The marine energy (ME) industry historically lacked a standardized data processing toolkit for common tasks such as data ingestion, quality control, and visualization. The marine and hydrokinetic toolkit (MHKiT) solved this issue by providing a public software deployment (open-source and free) toolkit for the ME industry to store and maintain commonly used functionality for wave, tidal, and river energy. This paper demonstrates an initial model verification study in MHKiT. Using Delft3D, a numerical model of the Tanana River Test Site (TRTS) at Nenana, Alaska was created. Field data from the site was collected using an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) at the proposed Current Energy Converter (CEC) locations. MHKiT is used to process model simulations from Delft3D and compare them to the transect data from the ADCP measurements at TRTS. The ability to use a single tool to process simulation and field data demonstrates the ease at which the ME industry can obtain results and collaborate across specialties, reducing errors and increasing efficiency.

We introduce a methodology for the spatial spectral energy characterization of river flows from near-coincident moving-vessel acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) transects. Using the Velocity Mapping Toolbox software developed by the United States Geological Survey, ADCP measurements were rotated first into the streamwise and transverse flow directions and then projected onto a straight line that constitutes a composite gridded transect. From this gridded data set, the energy density spectra and integral length scale were calculated. By quantifying the energy density of a flow and interpreting the integral length scale as the size of the largest turbulent eddies, this work provides a means to characterize turbulent flows from repeated moving-vessel ADCP transects. Using the Tanana River in Nenana, Alaska as a case study for validation, an ADCP dataset is processed through the algorithm and the results are presented and discussed in the context of river flow characterization and hydrokinetic river energy (RHK) site assessment. Concurrent measurements with a quasi-stationary AD2CP are used to compute energy spectra and the integral length scale, which are compared to output from the moving-vessel ADCP-derived spatial spectra. The comparison shows that this method provides a means to estimate the integral length scale, corresponding to the largest eddy size observed in the system. The analysis is useful for determining suitable locations for siting, not only for RHK technology but also for any other engineered river infrastructure that requires knowledge of velocity and turbulence.