Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Lithofacies And Geochemistry Of Interreef Carbonates, Middle Silurian, Michigan Basin, Eric N. Porcher

Masters Theses

The Niagara Group of the Michigan Basin is composed of reef, interreef, and basinal carbonates. The Niagara Group interreef has herein been divided into several litho facies: algal-laminated dolomicrite, bioturbated dolomicrite, intraclastic dolomicrite, wispy-laminated dolomicrite, crinoidal micrite, and nodular micrite. These interreef carbonates show a shallowing upward sequence.

The geochemistry of the Niagara Group interreef was examined in an attempt to delineate any geochemical gradients with respect to reefs. The geochemistry of the inter reef was determined by Particle Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) analysis. No significant geochemical gradients were found to be associated with reefs. Reasons for this may include: …

The Use Of Electrical Resistivity To Delineate A Brine Contamination Plume In The Walker Oilfield, Kent County, Michigan, Kent E. Meisel

Masters Theses

Contamination of groundwater with oil field brines was reported in the Walker Oil Field, Michigan. An electrical resistivity survey utilizing the Vertical Electrical Sounding method was conducted to test the method as an exploratory tool for delineating brine contamination in glacial deposits. The method was successful in defining the subsurface geology and delineating a shallow, confined aquifer, but the presence of extensive, conductive clays effectively masked the presence of brine contamination. The method was shown to be an effective exploratory tool for shallow investigations.

The Response Of The Kentucky River Drainage Basin To A Lowering Of Base Level Control, David B. Warwick

Masters Theses

The Kentucky River has responded to a lowering of base level control by: 1) deepening the course of its channel; 2) cutting off meanders as incision proceeded; 3) developing knickpoints on tributaries; 4) widening its valley; and 5) dissecting the upland surface.

Field work involved surveying streams to obtain profiles. Twenty streams covering 125 miles of river from Carrollton to Camp Nelson, Kentucky were surveyed. Knickpoints were defined from these profiles. Data from stream profiles showed knickpoint distances decreasing with increasing distance up river. Map work involved obtaining data for hypsometric curves. Hypsometric integrals were determined from these curves. Data …

A Gravity Investigation Of Mountain Flank Thrusting And Normal Faulting, Madison And Tobacco Root Ranges, Montana, Stephen Thomas Wigger

Masters Theses

Gravity modeling of west-dipping, Laramide mountain flank thrusts which involve Archean metamorphic rocks in the western Tobacco Root and northern Madison Ranges supports the idea that these thrusts are gently dipping.

The thrusts provided a favorable location for normal faulting during Neogene extension. The Neogene faults on the eastern portions of the Madison and Jefferson Basins are interpreted to be listric, and merge with the Laramide thrusts. Basin development occurred along a series of such faults, which dropped hanging wall blocks of the thrust sheets to progressively greater depths. The maximum depth of the Madison basin, near Ennis, was found …

Subsurface Stratigrapy And Sedimentologic Control On The Productive Middle Devonian Age Richfield Member Of The Lucas Formation In The Michigan Basin, Sukru Nail Apak

Masters Theses

The depositional system of the Middle Devonian Richfield Member of Lucas Formation in the Michigan Basin was delineated using well logs, cores, drillers' records, and the literature. The Richfield Member was deposited in Sabkha and lagoonal environments characterized by cycles of anhydrite, dolomite, and limestone. Seven significant productive dolomitic zones, interbedded with anhydrite and limestone can be correlated throughout the study area. These zones change laterally to anhydrite towards the west flank and to dense limestone towards the east flank of the basin. Post-depositional diagenetic history of the Richfield was established with the aid of scanning electron microscopy and electron …

A Seismic Study Of An Impact Feature In Cass County, Michigan, Mancheol Suh

Masters Theses

A geophysical investigation, including a seismic study, of the subsurface structure of the Calvin-28 oil field, Cass County, Michigan, indicates that the structure's origin may be related to an impact event. The structural closures in the time structure maps and drilling results both show a central uplift. The fault system in the Trempealeau Formation shows a structure similar to other proven astroblemes. Undisturbed layers just beneath the central uplift also provide evidence of an impact structure. The result of mathematical modeling of the central uplift under the assumption that the structure is an impact structure corresponds well with the drilling …

Fluvial, Tidal And Storm Sedimentation In The Chilhowee Group (Lower Cambrian), Northeastern Tennessee, Mary R. Cudzil

Masters Theses

The Lower Cambrian Chilhowee Group of northeastern Tennessee consists of the Unicoi, Hampton and Erwin Formations and is divided into four facies. Facies G occurs only within the lower 200 m of measured section (the Unicoi Formation) and consists of fine-grained to pebbly quartz wacke with rare thin beds of laminated siltstone. Subfacies Gh consist of low-angle to horizontally laminated, fine-grained sandstone with laminae and lenses of granules and pebbles. Subfacies Gh represents upper flow-regime, overbank deposition within a braided stream system that was proximal to a coastline. Subfacies Gmr consists of medium-scale, planar-tabular cross-stratified conglomerate in which megaripple bedforms …

Late-Quaternary Vegetational History At Jackson Pond Larue County, Kentucky, Gary R. Wilkins

Masters Theses

A 6.2 meter core of lacustrine sediment from Jackson Pond, Larue County, Kentucky represents the first continuous sequence from Kentucky permitting the vegetational reconstruction for the full-glacial through late-Holocene intervals. Jackson Pond is a spring-fed pond situated within a karst-collapse basin underlain by Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis limestone of Mississippian age. The site is located at 37°27'N, 85°30'W, 190 km south of the full-glacial limit of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Six sediment samples submitted for radiocarbon analysis provide an absolute chronology for the site for the last 20,460 years.

From 20,460 yr B.P. to 20,330 …

Carbonate Facies Of The Kimmswick Limestone (Trenton/Galena) In Southwestern Illinois : Their Relations As Oil Reservoirs And Traps, Gregory A. Crews

Masters Theses

"Four potentially productive oil horizons have been identified in the Kimmswick Limestone (Trenton/Galena), Ordovician of southwestern Illinois. Four non-porous caprock zones and four porous horizons were identified and informally named after corresponding members of the Dunleith Formation (Illinois State Geological Survey classification). The porous horizons generally consist of coarse-grained, fossiliferous limestone, which is overlain by finer grained, spar-cemented, impermeable limestone.

In order of production potential, the horizons are the upper Moredock, lower Moredock, Beecher-St. James (lowermost stratigraphic unit), and New London (uppermost stratigraphic unit). Porosity in the upper Moredock horizon is relatively consistent throughout the study area, as determined by …