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Physical Sciences and Mathematics

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Series

2013

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Oil-Source Rock Correlation In The Late Paleozoic, Denver Basin, Nebraska -The Search For A Negative Δ¹³C Anomaly In Pennsylvanian-Permian Cyclothems, John P. Still Jun 2013

Oil-Source Rock Correlation In The Late Paleozoic, Denver Basin, Nebraska -The Search For A Negative Δ¹³C Anomaly In Pennsylvanian-Permian Cyclothems, John P. Still

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Late Paleozoic sedimentation in the Denver basin occurred in two environmentally distinct depocenters. The northern-most Alliance Basin has been interpreted to have a restricted character: anhydrite-bearing mudstones are present in cyclothems comprising wackestone, packstone and mudstone. The source of petroleum produced from these intervals is considered to be organic-rich units within these cyclothems. Oil recovered from late Paleozoic reservoirs has δ13C values that range from -30.8‰ to -28.8‰: values that are lower than those reported previously for prospective source rocks from this interval. Cores from seven wells that penetrate upper Pennsylvanian to lower Permian rocks have been chosen for analysis. …


Paleoecology Of Nebraska’S Ungulates During The Eocene-Oligocene Climate Transition, Grant S. Boardman Apr 2013

Paleoecology Of Nebraska’S Ungulates During The Eocene-Oligocene Climate Transition, Grant S. Boardman

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The White River Group (WRG) preserves the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition (EOCT), an interval of global cooling and drying during the onset of Antarctic glaciation. In the Great Plains, a shift from forested conditions to drier woodland-savanna biomes is hypothesized to have occurred at this time. I test this hypothesis through the analyses of several paleoenvironmental proxies on the teeth of 12 WRG ungulate species: stable carbon and oxygen isotopes from tooth enamel, and mesowear and microwear texture. The EOCT shift toward more open habitats and lower vegetation density under drying climates should have resulted in an increase in mean carbon …