Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Geomorphologic Evolution Of A Rapidly Deteriorating Barrier Island System With Multiple Sediment Sources: Eastern Isles Dernieres, Louisiana, 1887 To 2006, Benjamin T. Kirkland

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Trinity, East, and Wine Islands make up the eastern half of the Isles Dernieres barrier arc in south-central Louisiana. Formed following the abandonment of the Lafourche delta complex, subsidence and storm erosion have led to rapid deterioration of the system. Since 1887, the land area of the islands has decreased seventy-seven percent, and the gulf shoreline has retreated landward more than a kilometer. Wave ravinement on the shoreface of the islands is responsible for the most sediment loss; liberated sediment travels longshore to tidal inlets. The dominant ebb tidal currents then transport the sediment to where it is deposited in …

Diagenesis And Reservoir Characterization Of The Pennsylvanian Middle Atoka Formation, Sebastian And Logan Counties, West-Central Arkansas, Elvis Chekwube Bello

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Middle Atoka Formation evolved from a stable passive margin during the early Pennsylvanian time to a rapidly subsiding basin, with the sedimentary fill thickening greatly southward during the middle Pennsylvanian time. The basin dips in north-south direction. An east-west anticlines and synclines were observed.

The purpose of this study is to establish the stratigraphic units, reservoir geometry and distribution, and infer the depositional environments and reservoir quality. Well correlation and petrographic studies are used to achieve the goals.

Sandstone Point Count method was used. The Point Counts was divided into five categories. They include the framework grains (quartz, feldspar, …

Detrital Carbonates In A Sequence Stratigraphic Framework: An Example From The Furongian Slope Environment In The Hot Creek Range Of Central Nevada, Leon Taufani

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An integrated sedimentological study of detrital carbonates of the late Cambrian (Furongian) Hales Limestone in central Nevada was conducted in order to model facies distribution and controlling mechanisms of carbonate gravity-flow deposits. Seven closely-spaced sections and numerous traceable short sections were measured to investigate temporal and spatial changes of detrital carbonates within a high-resolution stratigraphic framework supported by biostratigraphic and carbon isotope chemostratigraphic constraints and by key physical surfaces. Polished slabs and thin section petrographic analysis were used to identify micro- and macro-scale textures and diagenesis.

Ten lithofacies are identified from the Hales Limestone. Lateral tracing of these facies reveals …

Formation And Alteration Of Basaltic Soils On Mars, Ian Oliver Mcglynn

Doctoral Dissertations

The current surface of Mars is an arid inhospitable environment, dominated by aeolian processes, composed of largely volcanic rocks that have little apparent indication of pervasive aqueous chemical weathering, and blanketed by dust. Rocks are composed of basalts and the “soil” sediments appear to be largely basaltic-derived, and are chemically similar on a global scale. If the climate was once warmer and wetter during the Noachian period, with environmental conditions favorable to the development of life, physically weathered remnants, such as large quantities of phyllosilicate minerals, should remain. Basaltic soils provide a crucial constraint on chemical and physical weathering processes, …

Sequence Stratigraphy And Depositional Systems Of The Mansfield Sand, Upper Atoka Formation, Arkoma Basin, Arkansas, Scott Cherry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Mansfield sand is an informally named member of the Pennsylvanian Atoka Formation in Arkansas. Once a productive gas reservoir, the Mansfield is situated in a double plunging anticline in the southern portion of the Arkoma Basin. The formation is internally composed of sandstone units ranging in thickness from tens of feet to over a hundred feet interbedded with shale units ranging in thickness from several tens of feet to hundreds of feet. Previous studies have focused on the stratigraphy of the lower and middle Atoka. A detailed subsurface study of the stratigraphic framework of the Mansfield sand was conducted …

Outcrop Investigation Of The Reeds Spring (Boone, Mississippian) Of The Hindsville Quarry Using Terrestrial Lidar, Terryl Glenn Daniels

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas the Reeds Springs Formation (Boone, Mississippian) is a hydrocarbon exploration objective (Mazullo et al, 2011). The Hindsville quarry located in the northeastern portion of Washington County in Arkansas is the focus of this study. The objective of this study is to characterize the Reeds Spring at the Hindsville Quarry. The use of terrestrial light detecting and ranging(LiDAR) is used to assist in the characterization of the quarry.

The unit architecture within the Hindsville Quarry outlines varying transitional periods that give insight into the deposition of the Reeds Springs Formation. There are comparable formations within …

Reservoir Characterization And Outcrop Analog: The Osagean Reeds Spring Formation (Lower Boone), Western Osage And Eastern Kay County, Oklahoma, Taylor Friesenhahn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Reeds Spring Formation (Osagean) is a member of the Lower Mississippian carbonate series developed on the Cherokee Platform Province of northeastern Oklahoma. On the western flank of the Ozark Dome, these rocks dip in a west-southwest direction into the subsurface where they are oil and gas reservoirs. A series of road cuts and surface exposures are cropped out in the tri-state area of northwest Arkansas, northeastern Oklahoma, and southwestern Missouri. Outcrop characteristics, including an abundant amount of nodular, anastomosing chert, generally finer-grained carbonate texture, and stratigraphic relationships provide an analog for its subsurface counterpart. Based on core description and …

Reservoir Characterization And Enhanced Oil Recovery Potential In Middle Devonian Dundee Limestone Reservoirs, Michigan Basin, Usa, Abrahim Abduslam

Masters Theses

Middle Devonian Rogers City and subjacent Dundee Limestone formations have combined oil production in excess of 375 MMBO. In general, hydrocarbon production occurs in two distinct reservoir types: 1) bottom water drive, fractured dolomite reservoirs in the Rogers City and 2) gas expansion drive, depositional facies controlled limestone reservoirs of the Dundee.

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) potential in Dundee Limestone reservoirs on the basis of detailed geological reservoir characterization in several fields in the Michigan Basin. Seven main depositional facies were identified from core studies in six fields. Three of …

Sedimentology And Allostratigraphy Of The Cardium Formation (Turonian-Coniacian) In Southern Alberta, And Equivalent Strata In Northern Montana, Joel Shank

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Turonian-Coniacian Cardium Formation of southern Alberta consists of marine sandstone and mudstone, deposited in a foreland basin over ~2.3 m.y. The formation thins from 150 m in the western foredeep to 50 m 350 km to the east. Correlation of 10 regional flooding surfaces in >1200 well logs and 25 outcrops provides an allostratigraphic framework. Mapping of two previously-unrecognized erosion surfaces (E5.2 and E5.5) reveals additional complexity within sandstone of the Raven River Member.

Facies successions coarsen upwards from thinly-bedded and bioturbated mudstone, to heterolithic facies (either bioturbated or bedded), to clean sandstone. Where conglomerate unconformably overlies this succession, …

Transitional Facies And Sequence Stratigraphic Complexity Of Shallow-Marine Star Point Formation To Coastal-Plain Blackhawk Formation Along Depositional-Strike, Wasatch Plateau, Utah, Andrew M. Ranson

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Facies and stratigraphic architecture right at the transition from marine to non-marine environments is poorly documented. In the Cretaceous outcrops of Utah, Star Point and Blackhawk Formations are well studied. The nature of spatio-temporal transition of these two Formations, in the deposition-strike orientation, remains undocumented. This study characterizes facies and stratigraphic complexity at the transition of the two Formations that crop out in depositional-strike orientation in the Wasatch Plateau. Data from outcrop including photomosiacs and measured sections demonstrate this complexity at a range of scales. The Star Point constitutes a shoreface environment. The Blackhawk constitutes a coastal-fluvial environment.

In the …

Characterizing Phyllosilicate Distribution, Abundance, And Origin On Mars, Christina Elizabeth Viviano

Doctoral Dissertations

Secondary phyllosilicates are hydrated minerals formed in the presence of liquid water. On Earth, their formation is often indicative of a neutral, water-rich environment, capable of supporting and preserving organic matter. Different phyllosilicate species may be produced in different pH levels and water-to-rock ratios. The identification of mineralogically diverse phyllosilicates in small, localized exposures on Mars provides a complex record of their formation processes. While discrete outcrops of phyllosilicates have been previously identified in high-resolution visible/near-infrared images of Mars, regional coverage of these phyllosilicate-rich areas at better resolution is limited. Furthermore, spectra of minerals in this wavelength range do not …

Muddy Creek Formation: A Record Of Late Neogene Tectonics And Sedimentation In Southern Nevada, Thomas William Muntean

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Late Neogene Muddy Creek Formation (MCF), exposed in the vicinity of Lake Mead in southern Nevada, represents the youngest widespread Cenozoic sedimentary sequence in the region and is the focus of this study. Historically, the MCF has been largely ignored, with limited previous studies providing only regional-scale constraint on the age, stratigraphy, and mode of deposition for the formation; resulting in a data gap for our understanding of the Late Cenozoic tectonic and sedimentological evolution of southern Nevada.

The Fluvial Muddy Creek Formation Near Overton, Nevada, Carl Taylor Swenberg

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Muddy Creek Formation (MCF) may represent an ancestral Colorado River deposit. To test this hypothesis, I mapped exposures of the MCF within the Virgin River Depression (VRD), a rift basin in the central Basin and Range. This is the first study to analyze fluvial MCF facies and test their viability as ancestral Colorado River deposits.

Mapping, paleocurrent analysis, conglomerate provenance, and architectural elements analysis were used in order to characterize the fluvial MCF near Overton NV. Architectural elements analysis revealed that MCF fluvial facies are most closely associated with those of a high-energy sand-bed braided river system. These results …

Phosphate Availability During Sediment Resuspension Events In The Great Bay Estuary, Taylor Langkau

Honors Theses and Capstones

Phosphate is an important nutrient to marine ecosystems such as the Great Bay Estuary. However, its bioavailability is limited due to its tendency to adsorb to marine sediments, especially iron oxides. This paper investigates phosphate dynamics during a simulated storm compared to calm conditions and aims to quantify the mechanisms of phosphate adsorption.

Stratigraphy And Paleoenvironments Of The Soeginina Beds (Paadla Formation, Lower Ludlow, Upper Silurian) On Saaremaa Island, Estonia, Richa N. Ekka

Senior Independent Study Theses

The Soeginina Beds in the Paadla Formation on the island of Saaremaa, western Estonia, are a lower Ludlow (Upper Silurian) sequence of dolostones, marls, and stromatolites. They represent rocks just above the Wenlock/Ludlow boundary, which is distinguished by a major disconformity that can be correlated to a regional regression on the paleocontinent of Baltica. The depositional environments of the Soeginina Beds include a shelfal environment, restricted shallow marine setting, intertidal mudflat and finally a hypersaline supratidal setting. The evidence includes halite crystal molds, oscillation ripples, eurypterid fragments, stromatolites, ostracods, gastropods, Chondrites trace fossils, intraclasts and oncoids. Nautiloid conchs are common, …

Grain Size Distribution With Geomorphology On Gypsum Dunes In The White Sands Erg, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, Slade Jones

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In order to examine grain size distribution over dunes at the White Sands dune field, 1214 geolocated surficial samples were collected and analyzed by laser diffraction. Local variations in dunes such as neighboring interdune types and the presence of vegetation, deflation features, and granule ripples on the dunes were noted. This study indicates that recrystallization of gypsum and the generation of fresh sediments is occurring in significant quantities within interdunes, providing both high and low anomalies in grain size distribution through much of the central portion of the dune field. Other local variations as previously mentioned such as scour surfaces …

Modeling Erosion And Sediment Delivery On Mountain Roads In Upper Deep Creek, Rebecca Louise Franklin

Theses Digitization Project

Upper Deep Creek is a 250-square mile sub-watershed that is located in a mountainous, forested region of the San Bernardino National Forest in San Bernardino county in Southern California. It is widely acknowledged that in mountainous, forested watersheds, roads are a primary source of excess sediment that can enter stream networks and cause environmental degradation. The goal of this project was to screen the Upper Deep Creek road network using two erosion prediction models, the Washington Road Surface Erosion Model (WARSEM) and the Watershed Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP:Road), in order to identify road segments that are contributing significant amounts of …

Poverty Shelf, New Zealand From The Holocene To Present: Stratigraphic Development And Event Layer Preservation In Response To Sediment Supply, Tectonics And Climate, Lila Eve Rose Pierce

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The small, high sediment yield Waipaoa River is located on the tectonically active, mountainous Poverty Margin on the east coast of the North Island, New Zealand. In contrast to sedimentary sequences on passive margin shelves, active margins, such as the Poverty Margin, can preserve continuous records of changing geological and environmental conditions at the land-sea interface during rapid sea-level rise. Two subsiding mid-shelf basins on the Poverty Shelf contain thick transgressive sequences which provide a record of evolving river, climate, landscape, and oceanographic conditions since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This dissertation investigates the stratigraphic development of Poverty Shelf, including …

A New Phase Speciation Leaching Procedure For The Determination Of Metals In Oxic And Anoxic Sediments, Brandon R. Gipson

OES Theses and Dissertations

Toxic trace elements such as cadmium, lead, chromium, and arsenic released by human activities can accumulate in marine and estuarine sediments, where these metals are often sequestered until local environmental changes (e.g., redox, salinity, and/or pH) allow these elements to be reintroduced into the food web. In order to assess the extent of toxic trace element contamination in sediment, numerous leaching schemes have been developed that separate sediment-bound trace metals into operationally defined geochemical phases. These "phase speciation" leaching schemes are typically designed with the purpose of being used on either oxic or anoxic sediments. However, natural sediments often contain …