Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Stratigraphic And Paleontologic Studies Of Paleocene And Oligocene Carbonate Facies Of The Eastern Gulf Coastal Plain, Jonathan Russel Bryan

Doctoral Dissertations

Shallow marine Paleogene carbonates of the Eastern Gulf Coastal Plain contain a variety of unique and largely undocumented facies. The Late Paleocene Salt Mountain Limestone of southwestern Alabama is a coral-algal-sponge buildup composed of large foram-algal packstone, algal bindstone, and sponge-coral bafflestone. Abundant coralline algae and a low diversity coral fauna are characteristic of Paleocene reefs, but sponges are rare in earliest Tertiary sediments. Their abundance in the Salt Mountain could indicate an opportunistic response of sponges as reef constructors after the extinction of rudist-coral communities in the Late Cretaceous.

The Bridgeboro Limestone, a rhodolith and coral-bearing limestone in southwestern …

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 …

The Sloan Sag: A Mid-Miocene Volcanotectonic Depression, North-Central Mccullough Mountains, Southern Nevada, Hayden L. Bridwell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the Hidden Valley area of the north-central McCullough Mountains, southern Nevada, mid-Miocene andesite and dacite domes, flows and pyroclastic units (the Sloan volcanics) partially fill a sag in the underlying Hidden Valley volcanics. The 13.5 km diameter sag formed during and/or after the eruption of the Sloan volcanics. Sagging was accommodated by a combination of movement on the McCullough Wash fault system, and subsidence into evacuated chambers.

Major, trace and rare-earth element geochemistry suggests that the rocks of the Sloan volcanics belong to four groups, each of which were produced by partial melting of chemically distinct sources. With the …

The Geomorphology Of Alluvial Fan Deposits On The West Flank Of The Blue Ridge, Augusta County, Virginia, Debra Lynn Duffy

OES Theses and Dissertations

Large coalescing alluvial fans mantle the carbonate and shale formations west of the Blue Ridge mountains near Stuarts Draft, Virginia. Fan sediments are predominantly boulder and cobble gravels derived from the Antietam Quartzite, The fan complex consists of three alluvial units of significantly different ages. The surface of each fan unit was mapped using relative geomorphic position, soil color, clay content and thickness of Bt horizons, clast weathering, and degree of removal of depositional surfaces by stream incision. A five-category quartzite clast weathering scale developed for this study was very effective as a measure to distinguish map units. Stratigraphic data …

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 …

Idaho Earthquakes Of 1905, 1913, And 1916: Intensity, Location, And Magnitude Inferred From Newspaper Accounts, Lynda Koll Harpham

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project is to better understand the epicentral location, magnitude, and effects of three southern Idaho earthquakes which occurred in 1905, 1913, and 1916. The three earthquakes are of considerable interest to seismologists owing to their reported proximity to large power dams, multistory buildings, and the nuclear facilities at Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) in south-central Idaho. structures were built in previous years without assessment of the potential for earthquake damage. Therefore, an understanding of these three earthquakes is important for future development, and for the reevaluation of potential earthquake hazard and adequacy of building codes.

The …

Eruption Dynamics And Petrology Of The Most Recent Eruptions Of Nevado Del Ruiz Volcano, Colombia, South America, Richard Henry Young

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Field measurements and petrographic analyses of pumices from the most recent tephra deposits of Nevado del Ruiz volcano provide a context in which to view the disastrous eruption of 13 November, 1985 (R0). The pumices are all crystal-rich, two-pyroxene andesites to dacites with whole rock SiO₂ contents of 62 - 66 wt.%, and magma water contents estimated to be between 1 - 4 wt.%. The 1985 tephra has greater petrologic diversity than earlier deposits which may be related to an input of a hotter, more basic magma into the Ruiz system, as suggested by xenocrystic olivine which is most …

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.

Origins Of Low-Angle Normal Faults Along The West Side Of The Bear River Range In Northern Utah, Jon E. Brummer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper presents new interpretations of two normal-slip, low-angle faults near Smithfield and Richmond, Utah. The faults have previously been interpreted as landslides, gravity slides, slide blocks, and depositional contacts. Recent work in the Basin and Range province allows new interpretations concerning the origins of the low­-angle faults.

Working hypotheses used to interpret origins of the faults are classified as folded thrust fault, rotated high-angle normal fault, gravity slide, listric normal fault, and low-angle normal fault. Among these general categories are several subhypotheses. The evaluation of each hypothesis includes a description of the geologic requirements of the hypothesis, a comparison …

Two Lithotectonic Boundaries In Western North Carolina: Geologic Interpretation Of A Region Surrounding Sylva, Jackson County, Michael Joseph Quinn

Masters Theses

Understanding the geology of any region begins with the construction of high-quality geologic maps. As maps for a specific region are revised in greater detail, geologic understanding is improved. This study involved detailed geologic mapping (at the scale of 1 : 24,000) of a portion of the southern Appalachian Blue Ridge that was previously only mapped by reconnaissance. It is hoped that the research herein will add to the present understanding of the Blue Ridge province and of the entire Appalachian orogenic belt.

During the course of field mapping, three lithotectonic units were divided, each separated from the others by …

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 …

Slickenside Petrography: Slip-Sense Indicators And Classification, Young-Joon Lee

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Petrographic study has been carried out on slickenside thin sections, to find out reliable microstructures for determining the slip-sense of faults, and to classify slickensides morphologically. Thin sections are made cut parallel to the striation and perpendicular to the slip plane. Many useful slip-sense indicators are found in thin section even though such indicators may be absent in hand specimens. They are (1) off-set or bending of once-continuous bodies such as veins, layers, grains or twin lamellae, (2) crystal fibers growing nearly parallel to the slip direction, (3) extensional fractures aligned oblique to the slip plane, (4) S-C geometries in …

Mineral Paragenesis Of The Granulite Facies In The Lake George Area, New York, Boknam Ree

Geology Theses and Dissertations

The Lake George Area belongs to the southeastern part of the Adirondack Highlands. The rocks of this area show variations in mineral assemblages which are caused by differences in bulk chemical composition. This makes it unsuccessful to use a subdivision of the granulite facies which is suggested by de Waard (1965).
The CFM diagram (Abbott, 1982) is used to show the relationship between composition and paragenesis of the Lake George Area. In this study, a different result has been found in the order of partitioning of Fe between coexisting minerals, namely, garnet>hornblende>biotite>orthopyroxene>clinopyroxene. The hornblende granitic gneiss …

Evaluation Of Computational Methods Of Paleostress Analysis Using Fault-Striation Data, Steven Henry Schimmrich

Geology Theses and Dissertations

Over the past 12 years, many different computational methods or variations of existing methods have been proposed for determining paleostress tensors from fault populations and their slip directions. These methods are all based upon well-known relationships between stress and shear and use iterative, non-linear mathematical algorithms which seek to minimize the angles between the calculated maximum shear stress direction and the observed movement directions on each fault plane in a population. The solution returned is the best-fit paleostress tensor for the population.
By taking the Coulomb failure criterion into account, several paleostress analysis programs have been able to use linear, …

Interpretation Of The Thermal Behavior Of Groundwater In An Alluvial Terrace : Bonneville Dam, Columbia Gorge, Oregon, Richard Stephen Malin

Dissertations and Theses

Groundwater temperature data, collected at an alluvial terrace located on the Oregon shore of the Columbia River downstream from Bonneville Darn, was analyzed in order to characterize and formulate a conceptual model of the thermal data for the groundwater system in the terrace. There is concern that an unlined entrance channel for a new navigation lock, to be located down the middle of the terrace, will widen the range of temperatures in the fish hatchery-groundwater supply. The analysis of temperature behavior in the terrace supports the hydraulic observations derived from analysis of pump test data, but with greater definition of …

A Detailed Gravity Study Over A Known Devonian Carbonate Buildup: The Shell Golden Reef, Northwestern North Dakota, Stephen M. Braun

Theses and Dissertations

A detailed gravity study was conducted over the Shell Golden reef in the northwestern North Dakota portion of the Williston Basin. The Shell Golden reef has been previously interpreted to be reefal facies within the Winnipegosis Formation (Devonian) located at a depth of about 2400 meters. Based only on information from wireline logs and core from two boreholes, the Shell Golden well #34X-34 has been previously interpreted as a pinnacle reef with 70 meters of relief and undetermined diameter. The basin regime of the Elk Point shelf created an environment that allowed the growth and development of the Shell Golden …

Tectonic History Of Billings And Southern Mckenzie Counties, Southwestern North Dakota, John J. Crashell

Theses and Dissertations

Billings and southern McKenzie Counties contain about 40 active oil and gas fields. In the same area, two major structural highs and several minor ones can be recognized. The first of these, the Billings anticline, extends approximately 60 km (18 mi.) along a north-south line in central Billings County, and is composed of two parallel folds. A second major structure, here termed the Rough Rider anticline, lies west of the Billings anticline, and also extends about 60 km (18 mi.) along a north-south line from north-central Billings County into southern McKenzie County. Both of these structures are fault-bounded on their …

Fracture-Enhanced Porosity And Permeability Trends In The Bakken Formation, Williston Basin, Western North Dakota, Wayne B. Freisatz

Theses and Dissertations

Fractures play a critical role in oil production from the Bakken Formation (Devonian and Mississippian) in the North Dakota portion of the Williston Basin. The Bakken Formation in the study area is known for its low matrix porosity and permeability, high organic content, thermal maturity, and relative lateral homogeneity. Core analysis has shown the effective porosity and permeability development within the Bakken Formation to be primarily related to fracturing.

In theory, lineaments mapped on the surface reflect the geometry of basement blocks and the zones of fracturing propagated upward from them. Fracturing in the Williston Basin is thought to have …

Sediment Budget For The Grouse Creek Basin, Humboldt County, California, Mary A. Raines

WWU Graduate School Collection

A sediment budget constructed for the Grouse Creek basin in northern California provides information on the sources and timing of sediment production to aid land managers in understanding the effects of logging impacts in a sensitive watershed. The sediment budget yields a sediment production rate of 1,750 t/km²/yr for a 29-year period. This rate is among the highest for such disturbed forested basins in the Pacific Northwest. Approximately 40 percent of the Grouse Creek basin, which is bisected by regional structural features that have created zones of weak and altered rock, has been logged in the last 35 …