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Geology Newsletter- 1991, Department Of Geology

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

Vol.1, No. 16

• Core Research Lab
• Faculty News
• Service Staff News
• Alumni/ Friends/ Former Faculty Notes
• 1991 Speakers Program
• New Alumni
• Awards and Scholarships
• Geology Club

Structural, Depositional, And Diagenetic Controls On Reservoir Development: St. Peter Sandstone, Newaygo County, Michigan, Mark S. Caldwell

Masters Theses

Enhanced reservoir quality in the Middle Ordovician St. Peter Sandstone is observed in gas bearing zones in wells located on domal structures. Geometry and degree of this enhanced porosity development is the result of the interplay of structural, depositional, and diagenetic controls. An integrated subsurface study of the Woodville/Goodwell field area was performed in order to document controls on hydrocarbon accumulation.

Recurrent structural growth of domal features throughout the Paleozoic is well documented by isopach mapping. Burial and thermal history studies indicate that hydrocarbons were generated in Ordovician aged source rocks during late Devonian to early Mississippian time, and accumulated …

An Analysis Of Hydrogeologic Factors Affecting Aquifer Vulnerability In Southwestern Michigan, Steven E. Benton

Masters Theses

In southwestern Michigan aquifers are threatened by human activities. Parameter/factor weighting systems are used to rate aquifer vulnerability. Hydrogeologic factors affecting aquifer vulnerability were investigated in this study.

Well records, soil surveys, hydrogeologic reports, and partial chemical analyses were used to obtain data on the aquifers, soil types, glacial sediments, and types of contaminants. Data analysis included comparisons of means and medians, factor analysis, and Pearson and Spearman Correlation analysis.

The results indicate that the aquifers in Kalamazoo County are not protected. Depending on the type of glacial sediment, hydrogeologic factors that protect aquifers are clay thickness and the depth …

Fractures In The Jacobsville Sandstone And The Precambrian “W” Rocks In Eastern Marquette County, Michigan, Leonard Paul Belliveau

Masters Theses

The major fracture systems in the Jacobsville sandstone likely originated by reverse faulting on the Keweenaw fault and by glacially produced thrusting. Fracture orientations, apertures, and spacings are uniform in the Jacobsville sandstone and Lighthouse Point member of the Mona Schist, and are variable in the Lower member of the Mona schist and Compeau Creek gneiss. Fracture sets in the Compeau Creek gneiss exist in domains separated by metadiabase dikes. The metadiabase dikes relieved the strain produced by the Penokean orogeny by fracturing. Fractures present in inclusions, quartz veins, metadiabase and diabase dikes can be used to temporally evaluate the …

A Hydrogeochemical Characterization Of A Glacial-Drift Aquifer System In Southwest Michigan, Patrick G. Barrese

Masters Theses

A hydrogeochemical investigation of the Schoolcraft Aquifer, an unconfined, glacial-drift aquifer located in southwest Michigan, was undertaken to focus on three topics: (1) the geochemical definition of recharge and discharge zones both vertically and laterally along projected flow paths, (2) the description of the carbonate and redox chemical systems, and (3) groundwater degradation associated with excessive nitrate, ammonium, and chloride concentrations.

The results of the study were inconclusive in defining recharge and discharge zones; however, iron and alkalinity concentrations were identified as possible indices for recharge and discharge conditions. The carbonate analysis indicated that the aquifer is saturated with respect …

Basement Control On The Development Of Selected Michigan Basin Oil And Gas Fields As Constrained By Fabric Elements In Paleozoic Limestones, Robert Thomas Versical

Masters Theses

Hydrocarbon bearing structures in the Paleozoic section of the Michigan basin possess different structural styles and orientations. Quantification of the direction and magnitude of shortening strains by applying a calcite twin-strain analysis constrains the mechanisms by which these structures may have developed. The calcite twin-strain analysis and fracture orientations in Paleozoic rocks indicate that the mean direction of compression controlling structural development ranged from SE-NW to nearly E-W. This direction of compression nearly parallels the majority of structures in the basin, and provides insight into their origin.

The structural geometries of fields considered in this study can be explained by …

Facies Analysis And Diagenesis Of The Lower Engadine Group And The Manistique Group In Manistee, Mason And Oceana Counties, Michigan, Karen S. Mater

Masters Theses

Three lithofacies in the Lower Engadine Group, and four lithofacies in the Manistique Group were identified. Facies patterns suggest a transgression during deposition of the Manistique Group and Lower Engadine Group.

Environments of deposition were determined by analysis of facies found in the Lower Engadine and Manistique Groups using available cores, petrophysical logs, and well cuttings. The diagenetic sequence of events was identified using thin sections.

Diagenesis has greatly altered original fabric and porosity. Hydrocarbon accumulation in these units is dependent on facies distribution, diagenesis, and structural features.

Sedimentology Of The Bedford-Berea Sequence (Early Mississippian), Williams Field, Michigan, David Alan Balthazor

Masters Theses

The Berea Sandstone has produced in excess of 1.6 million barrels of oil in the Williams field since discovery in 1980. Seven lithofacies are identified from conventional core in the Bedford-Berea sequence. These facies are interpreted as deltaic deposits comprising prodelta (Bedford Shale), delta front, destructive marine shale, abandoned distributary channel-fill, interdistributary bay-fill, transgressive marine sandstone, and marine shale (Sunbury Shale) facies. Passive channel-fill facies truncate reservoir sandstone bodies and compartmentalize the field NW-SE across the trend of the northwestplunging anticline.

The two reservoir facies in the Williams field are the delta front and transgressive marine sandstones. The sandstone framework …

An Analysis Of Dissolved Organic Compounds And Their Contribution To Iron Complexation In The Shallow Leachate Plume Of The West Kl Landfill Kalamazoo, Michigan, Eric Fahle

Masters Theses

High concentrations of dissolved iron are present in downgradient groundwater samples adjacent to the western border of the West KL Landfill. Analysis by Rudder (1988) of groundwater samples indicates oversaturation of selected iron oxides, iron sulfides and siderite in monitoring wells TW-4 and M3.

Previous research suggests that pyrogallol, gallic acid, tannic acid and similar organic compounds may retard the oxidation of ferrous iron in the shallow leachate plume of the West KL landfill (Rudder, 1988). Present research utilizing solid phase extraction, reverse phase high performance chromatography, Fourier transform IR spectrophotometry, UV/Visible spectrophotometry, and gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy indicate that pyrogallol, …

A Regional Study Of Ground-Water Quality In Barry County, Michigan, Margene K. Brewer

Masters Theses

A regional study of ground-water quality in Barry County, Michigan was conducted using a computerized database from the Science for Citizens Center at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The database, initiated by the Michigan Groundwater Survey, consists of residential well logs and chemical analyses of samples collected from residential wells by the Barry County Health Department. Qualitative and statistical analyses of the data indicate that the glacial drift aquifer is recharging the bedrock aquifer throughout most of the county. Groundwater quality appears to be controlled mainly by the open-system dissolution of carbonate minerals. The water chemistry is also influenced …

The Effects Of Urbanization On A Portion Of The Portage Creek Watershed: A Case Study On Surface Water And Groundwater Quality, Susan E. Rezek

Masters Theses

The surface water and groundwater quality in the study area of the Portage Creek watershed was analyzed to determine the possible effects of urbanization. Dry weather and wet weather surface water and groundwater samples were collected from June 1986 to November 1986 at selected stations in the watershed.

Water samples were analyzed for 26 inorganic and organic parameters. Most concentrations were below analytic method detection limits. The analytical data indicate that sodium and chloride are the principal contaminants resulting from urbanization. The probable source of the contamination is deicing salt applied to the City of Portage, Michigan streets.

Overall, the …

Effects Of Capillarity On Dnapl Thickness In Wells And In Adjacent Sands, Timothy V. Adams

Masters Theses

Physical model experiments were used to investigate the behavior of dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) in various geologic media.

The objectives of the laboratory investigations were to (a) compare DNAPL thickness in wells to thickness in adjacent sands, (b) observe and interpret dyed DNAPL migration in unsaturated and saturated sands, and (c) study DNAPLs' effects on clay layers.

Two cylindrical glass columns fitted with various well screens were filled with sand, clay layers, water, and dyed DNAPLs in four experiments. Columns were packed with fine or coarse sand and clay layers. Coarse hydrophobic sand was also used.

At equilibrium, DNAPL …

Flotation Data Sampling Strategies In Archaeological Research: An Experiment At The Elam Site (20ae195), Allegan County, Michigan, Brian David Deroo

Masters Theses

Studies of prehistoric Native American subsistence patterns have benefited greatly from data recovered through the technique of flotation, which allows investigators to recover small scale organic remains which would otherwise be missed using standard excavation procedures. Using data recovered through flotation researchers have been able to more fairly evaluate the role of plant foods, both wild and cultivated, in the aboriginal diet.

A common method of obtaining a flotation sample is to define a column through the center of the cultural feature or midden and removing a specified volume of soil matrix (usually 10 liters) from this column. This thesis …

Sedimentological, Structural, And Organic Geochemical Controls On Natural Gas Occurrence In The Antrim Formation In Otsego County, Michigan, Timothy M. Dellapenna

Masters Theses

The prolific Antrim Formation natural gas reservoir in Otsego County, Michigan, has been examined using core descriptions, X-ray diffraction, petrographic, and geochemical analyses. New stratigraphy nomenclature is proposed for the Antrim and Ellsworth Shales. The Antrim Shale contains two distinctive lithofacies: (1) a fractured, non-bioturbated, silica-rich, organicrich black shale lithofacies; and (2) sparsely fractured, bioturbated, carbonaterich, organic-poor gray-green shale. Gas production comes from the Black shale facies.

Rock-Eval analysis demonstrates that the organic matter is a mixture of types I and II material. Low Tmax (435°C) and vitrinite reflectance (0.41-0.46%) values indicate a submature thermal maturation level. Del 13 carbon …

Diagenesis In The St. Peter Sandstone, Michigan Basin, Carl E. Lundgren

Masters Theses

The petrographic evolution of authigenic minerals in the St. Peter formation consists of: early marine cement, syndepositional dolomite, quartz overgrowth cement, pervasive dolomite replacement of precursor carbonate, dissolution of framework grains and carbonate cements, and late formation of authigenic chlorite and illite.

Variations in the diagenetic sequence were templated by variations in primary mineralogy related to depositional facies. Early intergranular carbonate cement, common in shelf facies, precluded early quartz cementation. Subsequent dissolution of dolomite and detrital grains may be temporally and chemically related to the precipitation of authigenic clay in dissolution pores. In peritidal facies, pervasive quartz cementation was locally …

The Paleoethnobotany Of Schwerdt (20ae127): An Early Fifteenth Century Encampment In The Lower Kalamazoo River Valley, Gregory R. Walz

Masters Theses

Carbonized macrobotanical remains from the Schwerdt Site, an Upper Mississippian sturgeon fishery in the Lower Kalamazoo River Valley are identified and analyzed in terms of their implications for localized subsistence-settlement systems operating during the Berrien Phase in southwestern Michigan. The exploitation of wild plant foods at this limited-activity, spring sturgeon fishery and the environmental composition of the site environs are reconstructed from their representation in flotation samples derived from excavated feature and midden contexts.

Botanical data indicate a strong wetland-aquatic orientation in plant procurement, with aquatic tubers being the primary plant resource exploited at the site. Data from several sites …