Earth Sciences Commons^™

Geology, Hydrology And Hydrogeochemistry Of The West Brush Creek Development Area, Beulah Mine, Mercer County, North Dakota, Gary D. Winbourn

Theses and Dissertations

The West Brush Creek Development Area, a part of the Beulah Mine, occupies a rolling upland approximately 7 kilometres southwest of Beulah in west-central North Dakota. This study describes the geology, hydrology, and hydrogeochemistry of an 8 km2 area which is scheduled for strip mine development, and addresses the potential impacts of mining on the local hydrologic and hydrogeochemical regime.

Four previously recognized stratigraphic intervals in the Paleocene Sentinel Butte Formation were described and correlated. They are, from oldest to youngest, the Spaer, Beulah-Zap, Schoolhouse and Twin Buttes intervals, each named for the lignite bed which caps the interval. The …

Contaminant Migration Of Oil-And-Gas Drilling Fluids Within The Glaciated Sediments Of North-Central North Dakota, William A. Beal

Theses and Dissertations

A common practice during oil and gas well-site reclamation in North Dakota is to bury the drilling muds in shallow trenches near the borehole. These muds are saltwater based (between 100,000 and 300,000 mg/L of NaCl) and can contain high concentrations of chromium, lead, and other. toxic trace metals.

Two reclaimed oil and gas well sites were chosen for study in north-central North Dakota: the Winderl site in southeastern Renville County, and the Fossum site in west-central Bottineau County. The Winderl oil well was drilled in 1959, and the drilling fluids were disposed of in a shallow pit excavated in …

Origin And Stratigraphy Of Holocene Sediments, Souris And Des Lacs Glacial-Lake Spillways, North-Central North Dakota, William M. Boettger

Theses and Dissertations

In the past few years, a new interpretation of the formation of the Souris and Des Lacs glacial-lake spillways has been proposed. Now, based on geomorphological evidence, it is concluded that the Souris and Des Lacs Valleys were formed by massive glacial-lake outburst floods at the end of the late Wisconsinan deglaciation. Five phases of drainage have been recognized with the first forming the Des Lacs Valley and the other four associated with drainage in the Souris Valley from different proglacial lakes in Canada. The last of these floods down the Souris Valley was the most erosive.

This study is …

Petrology, Mineralogy, And Geochemistry Of The Goldlund Gold Deposit, Northwestern Ontario, Steven D. Giddings

Theses and Dissertations

The Goldlund Mine is located in the Wabigoon Sub province of the Canadian Shield. Although the mine has been open sporadically since the late 1930's, little is known about the geochemistry and petrography of the deposit. The purpose of this study was to use petro-graphic, geochemical, and physical data to document and better understand the host rock, alteration, and mineralization of the deposit, and to develop a generalized model of formation.

Results showed that the host rocks of the gold mineralization are albitized tonalite dikes. Gold, in native form and in gold-silver tellurides, occurs in quartz veins and in adjacent …

Middle And Late Wisconsinan (Pleistocene) Insect Assemblages From Illinois, Kristine D. Carter

Theses and Dissertations

Two highly organic sediment sequences from central and western Illinois (the Athens North Quarry and Biggsville sites, respectively) of Middle and Late Wisconsinan age were studied to gain knowledge about the environment and climate of this area during the time immediately prior to the maximum extent of the last glaciation. Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic inferences are based principally upon knowledge of the habitat preferences and geographic distributions of extant species of beetles that are represented as fossils. These data are supplemented by information from sedimentological and taphonomic studies and from previously published palynological and plant-macrofossil studies.

The Athens North Quarry site …

Palynology Of The Hagel Lignite Bed And Associated Strata, Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene), In Central North Dakota, Edward N. Steadman

Theses and Dissertations

The Hagel bed is an economically important lignite and is the lowest named lignite in the Sentinel Butte Formation, Fort Union Group. The Hagel bed extends throughout the Knife River Basin coal-mining area of central North Dakota. Stratigraphic sections of the Hagel bed, including intercalated clastic rocks, were measured in the highwalls of the Center mine, Glenharold mine, and Falkirk mine.

Samples from the stratigraphic sections were described and analyzed, using standard palynological techniques, for their palynomorph content. Palynomorphs proved to be well preserved and abundant. Maceration of Hagel bed samples yielded a diverse collection of palynomorphs. A total of …

Petrology Of The Beulah-Zap Lignite Bed, Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene), Mercer County, North Dakota, David R. Kleesattel

Theses and Dissertations

The Beulah-Zap lignite bed is one of several economically important lignites in the Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene). This lignite occurs as a subsurface unit in the Knife River Basin of Mercer and I Oliver counties of North Dakota. The Beulah-Zap lignite is a heterogeneous carbonaceous rock unit composed of megascopic and microscopic I components, which are lithotypes and macerals, respectively. Relationships between the maceral contents of the lithotypes follow patterns similar to those of bituminous coals. Coal petrology, the study of maceral and lithotype occurrence and I distribution, was applied to determine: 1) mode of coalification, and 2) depositional environment …

The Geology And Hydrocarbon Potential Of The Dawson Bay Formation Carbonate Unit (Middle Devonian), Williston Basin, North Dakota, Wayne R. Pound

Theses and Dissertations

The Middle Devonian Dawson Bay Formation carbonate unit is present in the subsurface of North Dakota except where truncated by post-depositional erosion. The carbonate unit thickens from the erosional limit to a maximum thickness of 47.5 m (156 ft.) in Renville County and reaches a maximum depth of 3798 m (12, 432 ft.) below the surface in McKenzie County. In North Dakota, a submarine hardground separates the carbonate unit from the underlying “Second Red Bed member” of the Dawson Bay Formation. The upper contact with the Souris River Formation is conformable except in those areas where the Dawson Bay Formation …

Petrology Of The Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene), North Dakota, Nels F. Forsman

Theses and Dissertations

Sedimentary materials of the Sentinel Butte Formation have been petrographically examined using optical and scanning electron micro scope/microprobe techniques. The formation consists of fine-grained materials which generally are classified mineralogically as volcanic litharenites or feldspathic litharenites. Most rock units in the formation are siltstones and mudstones. Multiple source rock types, including volcanic, metamorphic, and sedimentary, are represented by mineralogic constituents, but volcanic rock fragments are most abundant. Petrographic distinctions between basal and uppermost sandstone units suggest that a change in sediment supply took place near the end of Sentinel Butte time. Authigenic cement development appears concentrated in more porous and …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Shoreline Erosion Processes, Lake Sakakawea, North Dakota, Mark D. Millsop

Theses and Dissertations

Shoreline erosion is a problem at Lake Sakakawea and Lake Audubon, North Dakota. Land is lost, water quality is adversely affected, and reservoir storage capacity is decreased.

Instrumentation of the eastern shores of both lakes began in 1983 to quantify bank erosion by process (e.g., wave erosion, rainsplash and runoff, and frost-thaw failure). Other data gathered included: pool level fluctuations; wind velocity, direction, and duration; precipita tion; soil moisture; frost penetration; freeze-thaw cycles; and geology (e.g., texture, clay mineralogy and structure).

The magnitude of shoreline erosion is highly variable, especially within Lake Sakakawea. For the interval of May 1983 through …

Late Quaternary Environmental And Climatic History Of The Southern Chilean Lake Region Interpreted From Coleopteran (Beetle) Assemblages, John W. Hoganson

Theses and Dissertations

A diverse Coleoptera fauna of 462 species in 48 families was collected from 41 locations in the Parque Nacional de Puyehue and adjacent parts of the Lake Region of southern Chile. The sample locations ranged from rain forest habitats at sea-level to Andean tundra habitats at 1500 m msl. Cluster analysis of a Dice similarity coefficient matrix revealed a broad pattern of bioassociations within the large data base, Boundaries between the bioassociations correspond largely with those of the major vegetation zones implying that the distribution of the fauna is strongly influenced by the distribution of plants. Evidence from fossils indicates …

Depositional Environments And Diagenesis Of Carbonates And Associated Evaporites, Frobisher-Alida Interval, Madison Group (Mississippian), Williston Basin, Northwestern North Dakota, Thomas J. Obelenus

Theses and Dissertations

The Frobisher-Alida interval is a subsurface, marker-defined unit, one of several units designated for rocks of the Madison Group (Mississippian) in the Williston Basin of North Dakota. The Frobisher Alida conformably overlies the Tilston interval and is conformably overlain by the Ratcliffe interval. 1t attains a maximum thickness of a little over 400 feet (123 m) and thins to an erosional edge along the eastern margin of the Basin.

The Frobisher-Alida is composed of limestones, dolomitic limestones, and dolostones of the Mission Canyon Formation and anhydrites of the overlying Charles Formation which exist in a complex facies relationship within the …

Geochemistry And Petrology Of The Lake Vermilion Formation, Ely Greenstone Belt, Northeastern Minnesota, Scott E. Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Alteration in the Lake Vermilion Formation took place at low water/rock ratios. Calculations using the method of Grescens (1967) indicate that the amount of open-system elemental exchange was slight. During secondary alteration, Ca, Na, K, Rb, Sr, and Ba were very mobile; Mg and Fe were less mobile; Si, Al, Ti, Zr, Y, and Ni were slightly mobile. Chemically the rocks resemble modern spilites and keratophyres.

The dacites and basalts are depleted in Ti, Zr, and Y relative to Tertiary igneous rocks of similar composition. The Lake Vermilion Formation basalts display a volcanic arc basalt trend of constant Ti02 with …

Macrofossils And Biostratigraphy Of The Bakken Formation (Devonian And Mississippian) In Western North Dakota, Lawrence C. Thrasher

Theses and Dissertations

The Bakken Formation, up to 145 feet thick in North Dakota, is a subsurface formation in the Williston Basin that typically consists of two black shale members separated by a middle member of predominantly gray siltstone or silty limestone up to 85 feet thick.

Well over 500 macrofossils representing more than 50 taxa were collected from cores of 40 wells. Brachiopods, the most common fossil, represent 17 genera, 1 of which have not been previously reported from the Bakken. Nonbrachiopod fossils of this study, mostly not previously reported from the Bakken, are a hylothyrid, a conulariid, a syringoporid coral, several …

Metamorphism And Migmatization Of Metasediments In The Precambrian English River Subprovince, Western Ontario, Rodney M. Baumann

Theses and Dissertations

Metasediments of the Precambrian English River subprovince, a subdivision of the Superior province, are conspicuously migmatized by 'bands of light-colored, igneous-appearing material. The metasediments themselves consist of alternating layers of pelite and wacke lithologies, which represent original mudstones and graywackes respectively. Their deposition is thought to represent subaqueous turbidity flows.

For the metasediments of the study area, a 250 square kilometer portion of the English River subprovince, metamorphic grade increases southward from the English River subprovince's northern border. Two isograds have been mapped: the disappearance of muscovite and the disappearance of stable sillimanite. Geothermometry studies are consistent with the trend …

Metamorphism In The Eastern Lac Seul Region Of The English River Subprovince, Ontario, Steve J. Chipera

Theses and Dissertations

The English River subprovince of the Superior Province, Canada, is a linear, east-west trending high-grade metamorphic belt which extends from Lake Winnipeg in the west, to the James Bay lowlands in the east. It is composed of two prominent lithologic domains: a northern sedimentary gneiss-migmatite domain, and a southern plutonic domain. The northern domain consists primarily of alternating migmatized layers of garnet-biotite "wacke" and garnet-cordierite-biotite "pelitic" metasediments. The southern domain is composed mainly of intermediate granitic to trondhjemitic plutons. Bordering to the north and south are the lower grade Uchi and Wabigoon greenstone belts. Metamorphism and migmatization occurred during the …

Sedimentology Of The Bullion Creek And Sentinel Butte Formations (Paleocene) In A Part Of Southern Mckenzie County, North Dakota, Brian P. Wallick

Theses and Dissertations

The environment of deposition of the Bullion Creek and Sentinel Butte Formations (Paleocene) in western North Dakota has been variously ascribed to lacustrine, meandering fluvial, and deltaic settings. The purpose of this study was to interpret the depositional environments, depositional history, and provenance of the strata in T. 145 and 146 N., R. 102 W., McKenzie County, North Dakota.

A total of 24 stratigraphic sections were measured and described. In addition, paleocurrent data were gathered from primary sedimentary structures, positions of paleochannel outcrops were noted, and samples were collected. Laboratory work consisted of thin-section petrography, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray …

Bivalve Associations Of The Cannonball Formation (Paleocene, Danian) Of North Dakota, Rosanne M. Lindholm

Theses and Dissertations

The Cannonball Formation (Paleocene, Danian) is best exposed in southwest-central North Dakota. Here, two major lithotypes, mudstone and sandstone, occur. In this area, the Cannonball can be informally subdivided into four lithologic units: lower (primarily thinly-bedded sandstone and mudstone), lower-middle (sandstone), upper-middle (mudstone), and upper (sandstone). The Cannonball is also exposed in southwestern North Dakota where it occurs as two mudstone tongues (upper and lower).

During July and August, 1982, thirteen Cannonball outcrops were studied. Bivalves, along with other macrofossils, were collected quantitatively in an attempt to determine fossil species dominance. Rock samples were also collected and analyzed for textural …

Conodonts Of The Bakken Formation (Devonian And Mississippian), Williston Basin, North Dakota, Michael D. Hayes

Theses and Dissertations

The Bakken Formation is a thin (maximum 145 ft., 44 m), predominantly elastic unit in the subsurface of the Williston Basin in the United States and Canada. The formation consists of two, mostly non-calcareous, grayish-black to brownish-black shales separated by light to dark gray, calcareous and dolomitic siltstone and fine-grained sandstone. The carbonaceous, black shales of the Bakken produce a distinctive geophysical marker and are a major source rock for hydrocarbons in the Williston Basin.

Conodonts were selectively sampled from cores of the Bakken in North Dakota in an effort to determine the age and thermal maturity of the formation. …

Archean Metamorphism In Northwestern Ontario And Southeastern Manitoba, Kevin R. Henke

Theses and Dissertations

Four areas are considered in this study. In Ontario, north-south traverses were made along Highway 599 between Savant Lake and Central Patricia, along the Vermilion River road (40 kilometers northeast of Sioux Lookout) and along Highway 105 between Vermilion Bay and Ear Falls (Fig. 3). The fourth area is centered at Bird River, northeast of Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba. The study areas are located in the Uchi, English River and Wabigoon Subprovinces.

The traverse along Highway 599 between Savant Lake and Central Patricia crosses the three subprovinces (Fig. 3). Pelites in the eastern Lake St. Joseph area (Uchi Sub province) …

Tertiary Alkalic Igneous Activity, Potassic Fenitization, Carbonatitic Magmatism, And Hydrothermal Activity In The Central And Southeastern Bear Lodge Mountains, Crook County, Wyoming, Gordon A. Jenner

Theses and Dissertations

The Bear Lodge Mountains are located in Crook County in north eastern Wyoming. The core of the uplift consists of alkalic igneous rocks that range from Early to Late Eocene in age. A petrologic and geochemical study of surface and subsurface samples from the southeastern and central portions of the core reveals a complex history of multiple alkalic igneous events, potassic metasomatism, carbonatitic magmatism, and hydrothermal alteration.

An early episode of alkalic igneous activity is represented by latite and trachyte porphyries, phonolite and trachyte porphyries, and natrolite-garnet syenites and malignites. Throughout much of the complex, the composition of these older …

The Ashern Formation (Middle Devonian) In The Williston Basin, North Dakota, Frederick K. Lobdell

Theses and Dissertations

The Ashern Formation (Middle Devonian) is the basal unit of the Kaskaskia Sequence in North Dakota. It unconformably overlies the Interlake Formation (Silurian) and underlies, probably paraconformably, the Winnipegosis Formation (Middle Devonian). The Ashern is present in the northwestern one-half of the state, and attains a maximum thickness of 180 feet (55 meters) The Ashern Formation may be subdivided into a lower red member and an upper gray member. The latter directly overlies the Interlake Formation where the red member is absent. Both members are argillaceous, microcrystalline dolostones containing minor quartz silt. Anhydrite, present in both members, is much more …

Paleohydraulics Of Pleistocene Drainage Development Of The Souris, Des Lacs, And Moose Mountain Spillways, Saskatchewan And North Dakota, Mark L. Lord

Theses and Dissertations

Recent recognition of the rapid draining of numerous glacial lakes, including some in the Northern Plains, has revealed 'a need for further research concerning this process. Geomorphic interpretation of the Souris, Des Lacs, and Moose Mountain Valleys, and the gravel deposits in them, has resulted in the recognition of five phases in the development of the drainageways. Textural analyses and paleohydraulic methods were applied to the sediments associated with each phase to distinguish and characterize the discharges. Four of the five phases of development involved short-lived, high velocity (>4 m/s) discharges resulting from the rapid draining of glacial lakes; …

The Geochemical Evolution Of Saline Groundwater Within A Fresh Water Aquifer South Of Oakes, North Dakota, David L. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

An area of saline/brackish groundwater south of Oakes, North Dakota has been reported by the North Dakota State Water Commission. The concentrated water (over 12,000 mg/L of total dissolved solids) is in direct hydraulic connection with relatively fresh water and shows an abrupt change in concentration and water chemistry between these two end members. The saline/brackish water is beneath a shallow trough or depression which has an approximate area of 6 square miles (15.5 square kilometres). The trough is within the northern part of the Glacial Lake Dakota plain. Sediments in the lake plain, which is an unconfined aquifer, are …

Depositional Environments And History Of The Winnipeg Group (Ordovician), Williston Basin, North Dakota, Stephen C. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

The Winnipeg Group (Ordovician) in the Williston Basin, North Dakota, contains three formations. They are, in ascending order, the Black Island Formation, herein informally divided into lower and upper members, the Icebox Formation, and the Roughlock Formation. Strata of the Winnipeg Group (maximum thickness 400 ft., 122 m) represent the initial deposits of a Middle Ordovician craton-wide transgression. Throughout most of North Dakota, the Winnipeg is unconformably underlain by the Deadwood Formation (Upper Cambrian-Lower Ordovician) and conformably overlain by the Red River Formation (Upper Ordovician).

The strata of the lower member of the Black Island Formation consist of a red-bed …

Depositional Cycles And Coral Distribution, Mission Canyon And Charles Formations, Madison Group (Mississippian), Williston Basin, North Dakota, Douglas L. Waters

Theses and Dissertations

The distribution of corals, other fossils, and rock types of the Madison Group in the Williston Basin were studied in 29 cores (involving over 6,200 feet of core) from the Bottineau, Tilston, Frobisher-Alida, and Ratcliffe intervals in the western half of North Dakota. Occurrence of rock types, corals, and other fossils (brachiopods, bryozoans, red algae, and gastropods) of the Mission Canyon and lower Charles Formations were plotted in three cross-sections against the informal marker-defined intervals (Tilston, Frobisher-Alida, and Ratcliffe), as identified from well logs. Distribution and abundance of corals in nine of the more extensive cores were related to interpreted …

The Effects Of Seismic Blasting On Shallow Water Wells And Aquifers In Western North Dakota, Frank W. Beaver Jr. P. E.

Theses and Dissertations

Seismographic petroleum exploration throughout North Dakota has generated concern over the effects of blasting on groundwater supplies and wells. A preliminary investigation revealed complaints alleging declining productivity and decreased water quality in regions where coal aquifers are extensively used. Unplugged shotholes were frequently cited as a source of problems.

Experimental results indicate that changes due to blasting occur within long term physical the aquifers rather than in specific water wells. Pumping tests conducted in a sand and coal aquifer system showed no apparent physical effects when shots were detonated one quarter mile away from the pumping wells. Shots 500 feet …

Stratigraphy And Depositional Environments Of The Fox Hills Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Bowman County, North Dakota, Daniel J. Daly

Theses and Dissertations

The sedimentary structures, trace fossils, and lithology of the Upper Cretaceous Fox Hills Formation in Bowman County, North Dakota, were studied during the summer of 1979 and the spring of 1983. Twenty-three stratigraphic sections were measured and described and lithologic samples were collected for textural and mineralogical analysis, also, the major outcrops of the formation in the Dakotas and Montana were visited.

The formation in the study area was previously defined as a 27-mthick sandstone unit, containing three members--ascending, Trail City, Timber Lake, and Colgate--that was conformable with the underlying Pierre and overlying Hell Creek Formations. The Fox Hills, as …

Stratigraphy And Depositional Environments Of The Three Forks Formation (Upper Devonian), Williston Basin, North Dakota, Gayle M. Dumonceaux

Theses and Dissertations

The Three Forks Formation (Upper Devonian) is present in the subsurface in the western two-thirds of North Dakota and is generally conformable with the underlying Birdbear Formation and the overlying Bakken Formation.

The Three Forks attains a maximum thickness of 265 feet (81 meters) in the central basin, east and south of the Nesson Anticline, and thins to an erosional edge in eastern North Dakota. The Three Forks is composed of micrite and dolomicrite, which may be fcssiliferous and argillaceous. From the study of core samples and detailed petrographic analysis of thin sections, five lithofacies were recognized and their extent …

Heavy Minerals Of The Cretaceous Hell Creek And Paleocene Ludlow Formations Of Slope And Bowman Counties, North Dakota, Robert A. Farris

Theses and Dissertations

The Cretaceous Hell Creek and Paleocene Ludlow Formations of southwestern North Dakota are nonmarine sediments of alluvial origin. The heavy minerals of these formations were specifically studied to determine the source rock types and their provenance, and generally assess the diagenetic processes which affected the heavy minerals.

The heavy minerals include zircon, rutile, tourmaline, garnet, ilmenite, spinel, apatite, epidote, sphene, pyroxene, dolomite, biotite, andalusite, pyrite, monazite, and barite. Most of the heavy minerals have angular shapes, indicating one cycle of erosion and deposition.

The heavy mineral percentages of the concretions and surrounding sediments were compared within and between the Hell …