Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Impact Of Lithological Variation And Topology On The Connectivity And Intensity Of Fracture Networks In Carbonates, Fahad Qassim

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

Assessing fracture network connectivity in reservoirs remains a challenging task because of the complex nature of fracture networks at various length scales, which significantly impacts fluid flow behavior. Outcrop studies are essential for understanding subsurface fracture networks because intersecting fracture sheets' length, orientation, height distribution, and, therefore, network connectivity and intensity are difficult to measure from wellbores and are typically below seismic resolution. Nevertheless, fracture network connectivity is a crucial parameter and a critical factor in understanding, evaluating, and predicting fluid flow behavior in hydrocarbon reservoirs, aquifers, hazardous waste and CO₂ storage systems, and geothermal energy exploitation. Moreover, fracture …

Outcrop And Thin Section Scale Descriptions Of Silurian Carbonates Within The Hiawatha National Forest, Mackinac County, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, Usa, Erik B. Larson, Jonathan B. Sumrall

Faculty Research

Silurian carbonate outcrops within the southern part of the St. Ignace District of the Hiawatha National Forest (Mackinac County, Michigan) were examined to develop a local description of the exposed geology. The bedrock geology consists of the Manistique Group (dominantly the Cordell Formation) and the Engadine Group (Rockview Formation, Rapson Creek Formation, and Bush Bay Formation). Building on observations and diferentiation from previous investigations, outcrops were selected to describe the macroscopic characteristics of these formations in attempt to develop a local description that would be more useful compared to confusing regional descriptions for researchers and forest ofcials. In Mackinac County, …

Structural Control Of Mesic Vegetation Communities Within The Owl And Bear Creek Watersheds, Fort Hood Military Installation, Texas, Melinda S. Faulkner, Matthew Mcbroom, Kenneth W. Farrish, Kevin Stafford

Faculty Publications

The Fort Hood Military Installation is a karst landscape, dominated by Lower Cretaceous carbonates of the Trinity and Fredericksburg groups. The study area is the northeastern peninsula known as the Owl Mountain Province, utilized by the U.S. Army for troop maneuvers and training. The geomorphic evolution of the province has been controlled by the structural development of incised canyons in the Owl and Bear creek watersheds, following the deformational trend of the Balcones/Ouachita fault system and the transverse Belton High-Central Texas Reef Trend. These trends control cave development in the subsurface, karst manifestations at the surface, joints in outcrop, stream …

Fractures Of The Dammam Dome Carbonate Outcrops: Their Characterization, Development, And Implications For Subsurface Reservoirs, Mohammed M. Al-Fahmi

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The exposed Tertiary carbonates of the Dammam Dome present an opportunity to study fractures in outcrops within the oil-producing region of Eastern Saudi Arabia. The study focuses on: 1) the characterization of fractures, 2) interpretation of their fracturing mechanism, and 3) the implications for the deep carbonate reservoirs of the Dammam Dome. The characterization of the outcrop fractures is integrated with structural analysis of the near-surface horizons mapped from reflection seismic and well data. Fractures are observed within all exposed carbonate units, but predominantly within the widely exposed Middle Rus unit. The fractures are opening-mode, bed-bound joints that form orthogonal …

Spring Hydrology Of Colorado Bend State Park, Central Texas, Kevin W. Stafford, Melinda G. Shaw-Faulkner, Jessica L. Deleon

Faculty Publications

Karst development in Ellenburger carbonates near Colorado Bend State Park in central Texas exhibits complex polygenetic origins, with porosity development dominated by an early hypogene phase that has subsequently been overprinted to varying degrees by epigene processes. Quarterly physicochemical and continuous thermal monitoring analyses of eight springs in the study area indicate that modern groundwater flow paths are highly variable. Springs exhibit patterns that range from shallow, distributed recharge into diffuse-flow dominated systems, to focused recharge into well-connected conduit systems, to deep-circulation systems that equilibrate with bedrock. All springs, except Sulphur Spring, exhibit physicochemical characteristics indicative of proximal epigenic groundwater …

Thermal Characterization Of The Ellenberger Karst Springs, Colorado Bend State Park, Texas [Abstract], Sherri Dornak, Katie Mitchell, Jessica De Leon, Kevin W. Stafford

Faculty Presentations

No abstract provided.

A Sequence Stratigraphic And Isotopic Study Of Uppermost Pennsylvanian-Lower Permian Carbonate Strata, Orogrande Basin, New Mexico, Jesse Koch

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

Determining how the tropics respond to glaciation is important for improving our global understanding of icehouse worlds. The impetus behind this study is to identify the far-field impacts of Gondwanan glaciation during the Early Permian. Impacts including climate and sea-level change should be evident in sensitive carbonate systems, such as the upper Paleozoic paleotropical strata in the Orogrande Basin. A sequence stratigraphic and stable isotopic approach is used to examine the effects of late Paleozoic climate change in the Orogrande Basin during the acme and subsequent demise of the late Paleozoic ice age.

Sequence stratigraphic analysis suggests the occurrence of …

Pseudokarst Of East Texas: Geomorphic Features And Evolution [Abstract], Kevin W. Stafford, Melinda G. Shaw-Faulkner, Wesley A. Brown

Faculty Presentations

No abstract provided.

Geochemical Spatial Variability Of The Colorado River Associated With Karst Springs, Colorado Bend State Park, Central Texas [Abstract], Katie Mitchell, Sherri Dornak, Kevin W. Stafford

Faculty Presentations

No abstract provided.

Eogenetic Karst Of The Carbonate Islands Of The Northern Marianas [Abstract], Kevin W. Stafford, John W. Jenson, John E. Mylroie

Faculty Presentations

No abstract provided.

Undiscovered Karst Country: A New Paradigm For The Pecos Region Of Eastern New Mexico And West Texas As A Basin-Scale, Hypogene Speleogenetic Province [Abstract], Kevin W. Stafford, Lewis Land, Alexander Klimchouk

Faculty Presentations

No abstract provided.

A Seismic Analysis Of Black Creek And Wabumun Salt Collapse Features, Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, Neil Lennart Anderson, Robert James Sidford Brown

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

These salt remnants and their associated collapse features are often associated with structural or stratigraphic traps. As a result of the relationships between dissolution and hydrocarbon entrapment, the distribution (areal extent and thickness) of these salt remnants is of significant interest to the explorationist. Seismic information about the thickness and the extent of these salts should be used together with well log control to generate subsurface distribution maps. These maps will facilitate both the delineation of prospective structural and stratigraphic play fairways and the determination of the timing of salt dissolution. In addition, an appreciation of regional salt distribution will …