The flow parameters of a natural fracture were estimated by modeling in situ pressure pulses. The pulses were generated in two horizontal boreholes spaced 1 m apart vertically and intersecting a near-vertical highly permeable fracture located within a shallow fractured carbonate reservoir. Fracture hydromechanical response was monitored using specialized fiber-optic borehole equipment that could simultaneously measure fluid pressure and fracture displacements. Measurements indicated a significant time lag between the pressure peak at the injection point and the one at the second measuring point, located 1 m away. The pressure pulse dilated and contracted the fracture. Field data were analyzed through hydraulic and coupled hydromechanical simulations using different governing flow laws. In matching the time lag between the pressure peaks at the two measuring points, our hydraulic models indicated that (1) flow was channeled in the fracture, (2) the hydraulic conductivity tensor was highly anisotropic, and (3) the radius of pulse influence was asymmetric, in that the pulse travelled faster vertically than horizontally. Moreover, our parametric study demonstrated that the fluid pressure diffusion through the fracture was quite sensitive to the spacing and orientation of channels, hydraulic aperture, storativity and hydraulic conductivity. Comparison between hydraulic and hydromechanical models showed that the …

Measurement of neutral pions and direct photons are closely connected experimentally, on the other hand they probe quite different aspects of relativistic heavy ion collisions. In this short review of the {pi}{sup 0} results from the PHENIX experiment at RHIC our focus is on the {phi}-integrated nuclear modification factor, its energy and system size dependence, and the impact of these results on parton energy loss models. We also discuss the current status of high p{sub T} and thermal direct photon measurements both in p+p and Au+Au collisions. Recognizing the advantages of measuring not only the 'signal', but also all the 'references' needed for proper interpretation in the same experiments (with same or similar systematics) we argue that RHIC should regularly include d+A and even d+d collisions into its system size and energy scan.