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A New Chronostratigraphic Framework For The Silurian (Wenlockian) Niagara And Salina Units Of The Michigan Basin, Matthew Rine

Dissertations

Constraining the ages of sedimentary strata is challenging and is the principle source of stratigraphic uncertainty in sedimentary basins worldwide. The story is no different in the Michigan Basin, where our current understanding of the Silurian Niagara-Lower Salina stratigraphic record is based in large part on limited sedimentological and chronological data, resulting in a collection of models that disagree about the timing of deposition. This disagreement marks the starting point for the dissertation research presented here. The studies included in the dissertation integrate conventional and novel approaches to address the stratigraphic uncertainty that has plagued Silurian reef researchers for decades. …

Depositional Facies And Sequence Stratigraphy Of Niagaran-Lower Salina Reef Complex Reservoirs Of The Guelph Formation, Michigan Basin, Matthew J. Rine

Masters Theses

Hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Niagara-Lower Salina Reef Complex in the Michigan Basin have been extensively studied since the early 1960’s. These reservoirs host an immense hydrocarbon resource, existing as closely-spaced, highly-compartmentalized reservoirs that have produced >500 million barrels of oil and 2.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Previous studies depict these “pinnacle reefs” as tall, symmetrical towers with a random distribution of facies. This study utilizes abundant core data (32 cores, 20-acre spacing), thin-section petrography, and petrophysical wire-line logs to reconstruct the geometry, facies distributions, depositional history, and sequence stratigraphy of the Columbus III Reef Complex within the Southern …

Faunal Distribution And Relative Abundance In A Silurian (Wenlock) Pinnacle Reef Complex - Ray Reef, Macomb County, Michigan, Jennifer L. Trout

Masters Theses

Niagaran (Silurian) reefs are important sources of hydrocarbons in the Michigan Basin. In addition, some of these reservoirs have been used for gas storage and may be potential CO2 sequestration sites.

Despite extensive research on Niagaran reefs, most studies concerning faunal abundance and distribution have been qualitative studies conducted by paleontologists with an emphasis on taxonomy, paleoecology, and evolution.

This study is the first quantitative study of relative abundance and general distribution of fauna throughout a single Wenlock reef located in the southern trend of the Michigan Basin. This study will build on previous work done by WMU students and …