Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Continental Saline Environments Interpreted From Bedded Gypsum Of The Triassic Red Peak Formation (Chugwater Group), Northcentral Wyoming, Maya Yamei Bradford

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Bedded evaporites and associated red bed siliciclastics record saline lake and groundwater systems from Permo-Triassic Pangea. A major component of these red bed and evaporite systems is bedded gypsum. However, little attention has been paid to the textures of ancient gypsum. Observations of gypsum textures can refine interpretations of depositional environment and diagenetic history. This project describes textures of bedded gypsum from an outcrop of the Triassic Red Peak Formation (Chugwater Group) near Greybull, Wyoming.

This thesis uses fieldwork, petrography, and x-ray diffraction to describe an outcrop of the upper Red Peak Formation, with a focus on textures of bedded …

Reservoir Characteristics And Lateral Variability Of The Marcellus Formation At The Allegheny Mountain Front, Bruno J. Abersold

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The Marcellus Formation, a large shale gas reservoir located within in the Appalachian basin, produces the energy that fuels the economy across the United States. Well data and rock core for the Coastal 1H well, found in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, provides the basis to understand reservoir characteristics and depositional processes of the Marcellus Formation across the basin. The well is located near along the eastern edge of the productive fairway and adjacent to the Allegheny mountain front. We used characteristics, such as total organic carbon (TOC), geomechanical properties, and lithology, to integrate with ten other available wells across the basin. …

Application Of 3d Seismic Signal And Geomechanical Attributes For Subsurface Fracture Characterization: A Case Study In Clearfield County, Central Pennsylvania, Iman F. Zulkapeli

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Hydrocarbon exploration in unconventional reservoirs is highly risky due to the nature of the reservoirs and the variability in fractures and reservoir geomechanical properties in the subsurface. The reservoir needs to be fully characterized to avoid any complication such as frac hit, wellbore failure, blowout, or even a dry hole. The Clearfield reservoir produces an exceptionally low amount of gas, compared to the neighboring region in the proximity, which has been poorly understood. This raises the question as to what causes the reservoir to have low productivity.

This study focuses on the natural fracture characterization using high-quality 3D seismic signal …

Teaching With Digital 3d Models Of Minerals And Rocks, Graham Dm Andrews, Gabrielle Labishak, Sarah Brown, Shelby L. Isom, Holly Danielle Pettus, Trevor Byers

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The disruption to geoscience curricula due to the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the difficulty of making mineral and rock samples accessible to students online rather than through traditional lab classes. In spring 2020, our community had to adapt rapidly to remote instruction; this transition amplified existing disparities in access to geoscience education but can be a catalyst to increase accessibility and flexibility in instruction permanently. Fortunately, a rich collection of 3D mineral and rock samples is being generated by a community of digital modelers (e.g., Perkins et al., 2019).

X-Ray Fluorescence Applications In Mudrock Characterization: Investigations Into Middle Devonian Stratigraphy, Appalachian Basin, Usa, Keithan Garrett Martin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Mudrocks are characterized by nanometer-scale pore sizes and nano-darcy permeability, which plays a significant role in hydrocarbon flow during production. Resulting from these characteristics, mudrocks were exclusively considered a source rock, which charged overlying, more porous mediums. Hydraulic fracturing, a technology used to create artificial fractures to liberate hydrocarbons from the reservoir, enabled natural gas to be produced from mudrock reservoirs economically. Over the last fifteen years, this technology motivated research efforts to understand reservoir characteristics of mudrock. These investigations significantly improved our knowledge of mudrock systems, but have also highlighted key areas that are undeveloped and/or where conflicting hypotheses …

Beneath The Gypsum Dunes: Cenozoic History Of Wind And Water From A Core Drilled At White Sands, New Mexico, Jackson Bentley Jakeway

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

White Sands, New Mexico is the largest gypsum dune field on planet Earth, the result of reworking of gypsum deposits. The dunes have been well studied, but the Cenozoic history preceding the formation of the dune field has been poorly studied. A core drilled to a depth of 192 ft (58.5 m) beneath the modern dune field contains deposits from saline lakes, sandflats, perennial freshwater lakes, perennial brackish to saline lakes, and saline mudflats.

The core is composed of bottom-growth bedded gypsum, gypsum sandstone and siltstone, mixed siliciclastic-gypsum sandstones and siltstones, laminated siliciclastic mudstones, gypsum mudstones, and carbonate mudstones. Bottom-growth …

Adiabatic Cooling And Warming, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

In order to understand how deserts form one needs to understand two processes called adiabatic cooling and warming.

Deserts And Wind, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

About one third of Earth's land surface is either arid (< 10" ppt./yr or semi-arid (10" to 20" pt./yr). While most precipitation is in the form of rain, some may be provided by melting snow, mist, or fog. With limited availability of water, rocks are not subjected to chemical weathering but rather to physical weathering.

Earthquakes And Seismology, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

The great majority of earthquakes are caused by the movement of faults. Two terms are used to determine the location of an earthquake, focus and epicenter. The focus of an earthquake is the point along a fault where the rocks slipped and released the energy previously stored during the elastic phase of deformation. Because faults represent brittle deformation, the highest frequency of earthquakes occurs at Earth's surface and decreases with depth as rocks become less brittle and more plastic. The deepest earthquake foci occur at depths of about 640 km. ( 400 mi.) which is the deepest penetration of subducting …

Coal Geology: The Origin Of Coal, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

Coal forms from the tissues of plants with the major contributor being the woody tissues, cellulose and lignin, from trees growing in fresh-water wetlands. Land plants first evolved during the early Devonian and by the end of the period had adapted to most terrestrial environments. Beginning in early Pennsylvanian time, vast portions of the eastern portion of Laurentia were covered with coal-forming swamps and bogs, environments that were to be repeated throughout the remainder of the Paleozoic Era and again in the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary Periods. It was during these times that the combination of climatic conditions and wetland …

Igneous Rocks, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

No abstract provided.

Earthquakes, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

For centuries, earth scientists have known where the major earthquakes occurred. They also knew they occurred in the same locales as the most violent volcanoes, a fact that led to centuries of arguments as to which was the cause of the other. Now we know that they are not cause and effect; they are both associated with the convergent plate margins. During the mid-1900s, another major zone of both volcanic and earthquake activity was discovered, namely the divergent margins, the most important site being the oceanic ridges. Since then, we have also come to understand the occurrence of volcanic activity …

The Geology Of West Virginia, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

This is not meant to be a geology textbook but rather a discussion that will help you understand what you see around you every day or if you take a trip around the State. For example, you're on your way to work or to class or you are going shopping. Most likely, you're driving down a wide valley surrounded by hills. What do the hills look like? Why does the topography change as you go from one part of the State to another? In my opinion, of all the states that make up Appalachia, West Virginia is the most interesting …

Coal Genesis, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

Most textbooks classify coal as a sedimentary rock even though it does not fit the definition of a sedimentary rock. While a sedimentary rock is a "rock formed from the products of weathering and erosion", coal forms from the remains of land plants. In fact, coal doesn't even fit the definition of a rock. A rock is defined as "mixture of minerals" and minerals are defined as "natural occurring, solid, inorganic substances ..• " Coal is composed largely (􀀴90+%) of organic substances (macerals) which, by definition, are not minerals. If coal must be classified as a rock, because it forms …

Eons, Eras And Periods, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

A discussion of eons, era, periods and epochs of the geologic time scale.

Geologic Time, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

It is not surprising that humans have wondered how long Earth has existed. At one extreme, there were the Brahmans of India who believe that Earth never had a beginning and will never have an end. Others were of the opinion that Earth was old, but perhaps not eternally old. In 450 BC, for example, a Greek historian named Herodotus (484 - 425 BC) expressed the opinion that Earth was very old, basing his estimate on the results of his studies of the Nile Delta. He observed that the delta was growing layer by layer as a result of the …

A Geology Field Trip, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

oduction to Field Trip I had several objectives in mind when I prepared this field trip. I want to develop in you an interest, an understanding, and an appreciation of geology of the region. I want to show you differences between three of the basic physiographic provinces within Appalachia, the Low Plateau, the High Plateau, and the Appalachian Mountain Section of the Valley and Ridge Province. I also want to show you the role that the kinds and structures of the underlying rocks plays in the formation of the topography of a region in order to have you better understand …

Oceans And Shorelines, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

Until 1872 when H.M.S, Challenger, a British warship converted for research, made its historic voyage, relatively little was known about the oceans. The voyage, funded by the British government, was mandated to chart the depth of the ocean, measure the various ocean currents, amass data on the composition of the ocean's water and bottom sediments, and collect information on ocean life. At the time of the voyage, except for a few soundings, almost nothing was known about the ocean bottom. Most scientists of the day had considered the vast expanses of the deep ocean basins to be nothing more than …

The Ordovician Period, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

The Ordovician Period extends in time from 505 million years ago until 438 million years ago. You will remember from our discussions of the Cambrian that the Ordovician Period of time and the Ordovician System ofrocks was suggested by Professor Lapworth as a means of solving the dilemma presented by Murchison and Sedgewick as to the "ownership" of a section of rock that both claimed when Murchison wanted to include the upper portion of Sedgewick's Cambrian System as the lower portion of his Silurian System. Sedgewick, you will remember, responded by demanding that the lower portion of his Silurina System …

The Cambrian Period, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

The Cambrian Period extends from 570 million years ago to 505 million years ago. Notwithstanding the discovery of the Ediacara fauna, the Cambrian Period of the Paleozoic Era has historically been taken as the beginning of historical time based on the first appearance of abundant fossil remains. It is interesting to note, however, that where first described, the lower Cambrian was not very fossiliferous.

The Triassic Period And The Beginning Of The Mesozoic Era, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

The Triassic Period is the first period of the Mesozoic Era, a span of time from 245 million years ago to 66 million years ago. Although the Mesozoic era commonly known as the "Age of the Dinosaurs,', it should be pointed out that there were other important evolutionary developments taking place such as the appearance of the first mammal birds and flowering plans. The onset of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic Period, was also a time of profound tectonic activity affecting the entire North American craton. In the east, the primary event was the breakup of Pangea and the formation …

The Jurassic Period, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

During the Jurassic Period, Europe was covered by a shallow sea in which a rich fauna was encapsulated in sequences of limestones and shales. These Jurassic rocks were the training ground for many of the early geologists as they began to formulate some of the basic precepts of geology. Foremost amongst these was William Smith (1769-1839) who was the first to discover how to use fossils to correlate between separated outcrops. He gained his knowledge and understanding of fossils in his profession of a surveyor and in the building of canals throughout southern England where the canals were cut into …

The Mississippian Period, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

The first rocks to attract the attention of the early European were those containing the coals, primarily because of their importance in supplying the source of energy for the Industrial Revolution which began in the mid-1700s. As early as 1808, the coal-bearing rocks were referred to on the Continent as the "bituminous terraine' while the British geologists called them the "Coal Measures" The name Carboniferous was introduced in 1822 by Conybeare and Philips when they were attempting to make sense of the rocks of England and Wales. They proposed that all of the rocks from the Coal Measures down to …

The Pennsylvanian Period, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

In many respects, the mountain building of the Acadian Orogeny never really came to an end. Following the collision of Avalonia with the eastern margin of Laurasia with the subsequent creation of the Acadian Highlands, Gondwana and South America, now joined together into a single continent, were approaching from the east and south respectively. Even before the continent-continent collision that would occur at the close of Permian time, the highlands of Acadia along the eastern margin of Laurasia and Llanoria along the southern margin were being maintained as uplands in response to the compressional forces generated by the converging continents. …

The Cenozoic Era, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

It has been said that the modem world unfolded during the Cenozoic Era. It is true that every feature of the modem landscape was formed during the Cenozoic Era. The Alps and the Himalaya have literally risen from the ocean floor. The Rocky mountains have been formed, worn away and re-uplifted to their present heights. The Appalachian Mountains that had formed at the close of the Paleozoic and worn away by the end of the Triassic, were uplifted and sculpted into their present form during the Cenozoic. All the other mountains of the world were also elevated and sculpted to …

The Cretaceous Period, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

A global rise in sea level occurred during the Cretaceous; as a result, sea level stood as high during the Late Cretaceous than at any other time in the Phanerozoic history of Earth. Although Pangea had begun to breakup during the Early Mesozoic Era, the smaller continents remained tightly clustered at the beginning of Cretaceous time. The continued breakup of Pangea and the dispersion of the newly created continents were among the most important events that occurred during the global geography of the Cretaceous. Especially important was the breakup of Gondwana. Gondwana was still intact at the beginning of the …

The Permian Period, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

The Permian Period was a time of great crisis in Earth's history. The Permian saw the final closure of the Iapetus Ocean that had formed following the breakup of the super­ continent of Rodinia in the late pre-Cambrian; the closure resulting in the formation of another super-continent, Pangea. It was during the Permian that two of Earth's major mountain chains, the Appalachians and the Urals, were created. The period was one of climatic extremes. By the end of the Permian, Earth had not only experienced its most widespread glaciation but also the formation of deserts the likes of which had …

The Silurian Period, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

The Silurian Period is the shortest of all the periods of the Paleozoic Era, lasting only 30 million years from 438 million years ago until 408 million years ago. As the Silurian Period opens, the eastern margin ofLaurentia was dominated by the Taconic Highlands that had been created during the Taconic Orogeny at the close of the Ordovician. The rest of the craton was essentially flat-lying and covered by a shallow sea. Except for the northeastern margin which was involved in a major orogeny following the Taconic Orogeny, Laurentia was tectonically quiet throughout the Silurian. About 10 million years before …

Geologic History Of West Virginia, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

The exposed rocks and those that underlie the surface of West Virginia record approximately 300M years of Earth history. This may sound like a very long period of time, but in reality, it only represents about 7% of the total age of Eai1h. Before we undertake a discussion of the geologic history of West Virginia, there are some basic topics we should review in order to fully appreciate what will follow. To that end, the following topics will be discussed: 1) The Origin of Earth, 2) The Response of Rocks to Stress, 3) Some Basic Characteristics of Sedimentary Rocks, 4) …

Earth's Place In Space, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

I've always thought that a story should start at the beginning. Since this book is the story of Earth, we will start at the beginning. According to the astronomers, in the beginning, there was no need for geology because there were no minerals or rocks; there was no Earth; there was no Sun; there were no stars or planets. According to the astronomers, there was a time when even our present universe didn't exist. In the 1920s, the Belgian astronomer Georges Lemaitre hypothesized that everything presently contained within the entire Universe was once compressed into in a sphere he called …