Earth Sciences Commons^™

Petrography And Inorganic Geochemistry Of The Rosebud Coal Seam At The Absaloka, Big Sky And Rosebud Mines, Powder River Basin, Montana, Lingbu Kong

Theses and Dissertations

Quantitative maceral and microlithotype analyses, huminite reflectance measurements and inorganic constituent analyses of the samples of the Rosebud subbituminous coal seam from the Absaloka, Big Sky and Rosebud Mines were used in the interpretation of the depositional environment of the seam and for prediction of ash formation during combustion. The mean huminite reflectance varies from 0.31% at the Rosebud Mine to 0.34% at the Absaloka Mine and 0.39% at the Big Sky Mine, indicating that the coal rank is transitional from lignite to subbituminous C. Despite the variation in huminite reflectance, samples from the three mines are similar in mean …

Metamorphic Petrology And Gravity Studies Of The Archean English River Subprovince, Western Superior Province, Manitoba And Ontario, Canada, Moira E. Campion

Theses and Dissertations

The tectonic development of the English River Subprovince (ERSP) of the Superior Province in Ontario and Manitoba, as with other Archean medium-high grade metasedimentary/gneiss terranes, is an area of active research. Geochemical and geophysical data were collected during this study to determine the metamorphic conditions of formation, and the relationship between surface and subsurface geology. The results of metamorphic studies by Henke (1984), Baumann (1985), Chipera (1985) and Roob (1987) were also integrated with those of this study. The temperatures and pressures of formation, as well as detailed gravity characteristics, constrain the postulated tectonic model for the ERSP.

Chemical data …

Hydrogeologic Characterization Of A Discharge Wetland In Northeastern Grand Forks County, North Dakota, Dean R. Goebel

Theses and Dissertations

Soil salinization associated with saline groundwater discharge results in decreased agricultural production in the central glacial Lake Agassiz plain of North Dakota. Saline discharge occurs in a belt of ephemeral wetlands in the lake plain. The physical and chemical hydrology of .the Lunby-stewart saline discharge wetland were investigated in order to provide information which could facilitate land management strategies applicable to this and other discharge wetlands.

Hydrologic data used to characterize the wetland were obtained from monitoring wells, staff gages, precipitation gages, borings, and earth electrical resistivity soundings. Temporal and spatial variations were observed in the water table, the vertical …

The Stratigraphy And Sedimentology Of The Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene) In South-Central Williams County, North Dakota, Wesley D. Peck

Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 163 meters (535 feet) of the Paleocene Sentinel Butte Formation crop out in southcentral Williams county, North Dakota. To determine their mode of deposition and stratigraphic position within the formation, twelve stratigraphic sections were measured. These strata were deposited in alternating fluvial and lacustrine environments as determined by sedimentary structures, lithology, lithologic sequences, and fossil occurrences. A fining upward trend in grain size of the tabular sandstones, and the identification of epsilon cross-stratification in the tabular sandstones support a fluvial origin for some of the strata. The strongest evidence for the interpretation of lacustrine deposition is the presence of …

Effect Of Sinkholes On Soil Moisture And Ground Water Recharge At An Abandoned Underground Coal Mine Near Wilton, North Dakota, Michael M. Sonderman

Theses and Dissertations

Subsidence at abandoned underground mines in south-central and southwest North Dakota has produced numerous sinkholes. Previous studies in the Northern Great Plains have suggested depression-focused recharge may be a significant ground water recharge mechanism in this region. Thus, sinkholes may increase soil moisture and ground water recharge. Current reclamation practices include filling sinkholes with non-topsoil fill material. However, the benefits of increases in soil moisture and ground water supplies may outweigh the benefits of expensive reclamation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether soil moisture and, hence, the potential for ground water recharge, was greater in sinkholes than …

Denitrification In The Elk Valley Aquifer, Northeastern North Dakota, Gale G. Mayer

Theses and Dissertations

Biological denitrification controls nitrate distribution in the Elk Valley aquifer, which underlies approximately 725 square kilometres of northeastern North Dakota and provides drinking water for farms and rural communities in the area. Increased irrigation has raised concerns over potential contamination from agricultural practices. The purpose of this study was to establish the role of biological denitrification in minimizing concentration and distribution of nitrate and to determine the effect irrigation practices have on groundwater flow and nitrate distribution in the saturated zone.

The aquifer is unconfined and consists of up to 20 metres of glacial outwash and deltaic shale-rich sand deposits. …

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 …

Erosion Of Fractured Banks, Lake Sakakawea, Western North Dakota, Mark C. Elliott

Theses and Dissertations

Shoreline erosion at Lake Sakakawea has exceeded originally predicted rates. This thesis is a continuation of a project, begun in 1983, to study erosion rates, causes, and prediction; the purpose has been to describe variations in fracture patterns in shoreline banks and assess their affects on erosion rates.

During the first phase of this project (1983-1986), average bank recession was rapid (l.Sm/yr) and factors related to wave action, including fetch, bank orientation, and beach composition, were most important. Since 1986, low lake levels have persisted and wave action has not been a factor; however banks continue to recede, but at …

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 …

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 …

The Broom Creek Formation (Permian), In Southwestern North Dakota: Depositional Environments And Nitrogen Occurrence, Marvin E. Rygh

Theses and Dissertations

In North Dakota, the Broom Creek Formation (Wolfcampian> exists in the subsurface as the upper unit of the Minnelusa Group. The Broom Creek Formation consists of pink quartzarenite with some intervening dolostone beds. The identification of lithofacies, areal distribution, and stratigraphic relationships were determined from oil well logs, mainly the dual laterolog suite and the FDC-CNL log suite, and macroscopic and microscopic core analysis. were examined from four wells.

The major lithofacies identified are, 1) eolian Cores sandstone, 2) nearshore marine sandstone, and 3) marine carbonate. From the sandstone-dolostone distribution, marine predominance existed in the eastern part of the study …

Neogastropods (Melongenidae, Fasciolariidae, Turridae) From The Cannonball Formation (Paleocene: Thanetian), North Dakota And South Dakota, Brian E. Silfer

Theses and Dissertations

The Cannonball Formation of Paleocene age is a shallow-marine, clastic sequence exposed primarily in southwest-central North Dakota and northwestern South Dakota. The formation is characterized by alternating, poorly consolidated, relatively thin sandstone and thick mudstone units. The Cannonball neogastropod families Melongenidae, Fasciolariidae, and Turridae contain 20 species assigned to 15 genera based on 334 individuals from 50 localities. Four genera, Alticollarum, Obtusicarina, Vitticoncha, and Ericksonia are new, whereas Serrifusus, Mesorhytis, Rhombopsis, and Deussenia are first reported occurrences from Tertiary strata. Marshallaria is newly reported from North America and likely from the Northern Hemisphere. Twelve species are additions to the Cannonball …

Depositional Environments, Ichnology And Diagenesis Of The Upper Frobisher-Alida Beds Of The Elkhorn Ranch And Roughrider Fields Of Western North Dakota, Jeffrey R. Valvik

Theses and Dissertations

The upper Frobisher-Alida interval of western North Dakota was studied in order to determine the depositional envirornnents, bioturbation features, and the diagenetic history of these carbonate and evaporite rocks.

Detailed examination resulted in the identification of six distinct lithotypes: 1) crinoid, coral packstone-wackestone (LT-1); 2) brachiopod, skeletal wackestone (LT-2); 3) skeletal, burrowed mudstone-wackestone; 4) intraclast, peloid packstone-grainstone; 5) peloid, intraclast, ostracode packstone-wackestone; 6) nodular and bedded anhydrite (LT-6). Lithofacies generally follow a depositional sequence of thick units of sublittoral carbonates, followed by a thin sequence of littoral carbonates, and culminating in a thick unit of sublittoral evaporites. Sublittoral rocks dominate …

Depositional Environments And Sandstone Diagenesis In The Tyler Formation (Pennsylvanian), Western North Dakota, Larry R. Quandt

Theses and Dissertations

Thirty-three oil well cores were examined and approximately 3,100 oil well logs were used to determine the depositional environments of the Tyler Formation (Pennsylvanian) in northwestern North Dakota. Ninety sandstone thin-sections were described and twenty-nine sandstone samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscope/X-ray microanalysis techniques to characterize sandstone diagenesis.

The Tyler Formation in northwestern North Dakota is correlative with the lower unit of the Tyler Formation in southwestern North Dakota. The upper unit of the Tyler Formation in southwestern North Dakota is not present in northwestern North Dakota, contrary to previous workers suggestions. The Tyler Formation in northwestern North Dakota …

The Hydrogeologic Effects Of Fly Ash Utilization In Concrete At Coal Creek Station, Underwood, North Dakota, Terry R. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Coal Creek Station is a two-unit 1100 megawatt electrical power plant located in southern McLean county, North Dakota. Annually, 5 million tons (4.5 million metric tons) of lignite are burned at the plant producing 550,000 tons (500,000 metric tons) of fly ash. Approximately 80,000 tons (72,624 metric tons) of ash are sold as a cement replacement, while the remainder is disposed of in lined evaporation ponds. The present study investigates the environmental consequences of ash utilization as an alternative to disposal, The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) provided funding for this investigation which involves the installation of 5,288 cu yds …

The Hydrogeology Of A Landfill Located In Fine-Grained Lacustrine Sediments In A Saline Discharge Area West Of Grand Forks, North Dakota, John T. B. Betcher

Theses and Dissertations

The Grand Forks Municipal Landfill, located in the Red River Valley of eastern North Dakota, accepts household refuse from the city of Grand Forks and from surrounding rural communities including several towns in northwestern Minnesota. The landfill occupies 160 acres (64.8 hectars) and another 160 acres (64.8 hectars) is available for expansion. The trench method of disposal is used at the landfill.

A geologic and hydrogeologic investigation was undertaken at the landfill to determine the characteristics of the shallow, saturated, fine-grained lacustrine sediments for solid waste disposal. Test holes were drilled to collect core samples for textural analysis, clay mineralogy …

Depositional Environments And Diagenesis Of The Lower Duperow Formation (Devonian), Billings Anticline, North Dakota, Randolph B. Burke

Theses and Dissertations

The Duperow Formation is an Upper Devonian (Frasnian) subsurface unit in the Williston Basin in the north-central United States and south-central Canada. Despite its economic importance for hydrocarbons, no detailed accounts have been published on the Duperow Formation that integrate depositional environments, lithology, diagenesis, and pore studies on either a regional or local scale. It was the purpose of this study to construct a model of the depositional environments and diagenesis of the lower Duperow Formation in the Billings Anticline of west-central North Dakota, based on detailed analysis of 17 cores (225 m, 739 ft) and associated wireline logs and …

Foraminiferida Of The Madison Group (Mississippian) Of The Williston Basin, North Dakota, Kurt E. Eylands

Theses and Dissertations

More than 1500 thin-sections from 73 wells in the North Dakota part of the Williston Basin were searched for their foraminiferal content. This thin-section survey of the Bottineau, Tilston, Frobisher-Alida, and Ratcliffe intervals yielded more than 700 identifiable foraminifers assigned to 26 species.

Most of the Madison foraminifers of the Williston Basin can be placed in one of two superfamilies, the Tournayellacia and the Endothyracea. The Bottineau and Tilston intervals yielded more specimens from the superfamily Tournayellacea while the Frobisher-Alida and Ratcliffe intervals yielded more specimens from the superfamily Endothyracea.

The foraminifers occurred in irregular stratigraphic zones The Bottineau and …

Sedimentary Depositional Cyclicity, Mission Canyon And Charles Formations (Mississippian), Williston Basin, North Dakota, Jean L. Hoff

Theses and Dissertations

Workers within the Williston Basin have repeatedly reported the presence of sedimentary cyclicity within the carbonate and evaporite succession of the Mississippian Madison Group. Descriptions of cyclicity are diverse and commonly conflict. Previous work has been exclusively qualitative. This study used a group of statistical techniques in a method designed specifically for the objective identification and evaluation of cyclicity in the lithofacies sequence of the Mission Canyon and lower Charles Formations in North Dakota.

Twelve cores were sampled at every visually distinguishable lithologic unit. Forty-six lithologic components were counted in each sample on a presence-absence basis. The phi association coefficient …

Hydrogeological And Hydrogeochemical Evaluation Of A Proposed Flue Gas Cleanup Dry Waste Disposal Pit Near Beulah, North Dakota, Nathan T. Hunke

Theses and Dissertations

The Coyote I electrical operating station of the Montana Dakota Utilities Company (MDU) is located near Beulah, North Dakota. Flue gas cleanup {FGC) dry waste is generated by the facility in the conversion of coal to electricity. MDU submitted a permit application to the North Dakota State Department of Health {NDSDH) to dispose of FGC dry waste in a strip-mined area 1.6 kilometres northeast of the plant.

Two disposal pits were proposed by MDU, a Phase I and Phase II pit. The objectives of the investigation were to determine the hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical suitability of the site for FGC waste …

Stratigraphy And Depositional History Of The Deadwood Formation (Upper Cambrian And Lower Ordovician), Williston Basin, North Dakota, Douglas B. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Based on gamma-ray characteristics, the Deadwood Formation is divided into six informal, attribute-defined units, members A through F. Members A and Bare Late Cambrian in age; members C through Fare Early Ordovician in age. The type section of the Deadwood, in the northern Black Hills, is dominated by Upper Cambrian strata. Much thicker Lower Ordovician rocks occur in the deeper portion of the Williston Basin.

The Deadwood comprises the Sauk sequence and represents the initial Paleozoic transgression or the seas on the North American craton. Eight smaller-scale transgressive-regressive events occurred on the craton during the Late Cambrian and the Early …

Pressure-Solution Features Of The Birdbear Formation (Devonian), Williston Basin, North Dakota, James C. Collier

Theses and Dissertations

Pressure-solution features of the Birdbear Formation (Devonian), Williston Basin, North Dakota were the subject of this study. In the area studied, the Birdbear Formation is primarily a limestone with mud-rich textures. The investigation contained three principal phases: 1) a study of the parameters influencing the size and shape of the pressure-solution response, 2) the process of reactate dolomite formation and its relation to calcite neomorphism, and 3) the relation of neomorphism to pressure solution.

The principal pressure-solution response types are stylolites and solution seams. Stylolites are pressure-solution seams with a tooth-and-socket, serrated shape. Pressure-solution seams are gently undulating to smooth …

Thermal History Model Of The Williston Basin, Yue-Chain Huang

Theses and Dissertations

The factors that affect the subsurface temperature of a sedimentary basin were investigated by empirical and analytical methods. A review of thermal-mechanical models suggests that the Williston Basin was formed by more than one mechanism. The Williston Basin may have been initiated by a thermal event followed by thermo-flexural or phase transition subsidence.

The heat that initiated the formation of the Basin was significant to the thermal history of the Basin at its very beginning stage. However, most of the anomalous heat would have dissipated before the deposition of Bakken Formation 363 Ma ago. The heat flow history of the …

Proterozoic Structures In North-Central North Dakota: A Gravity Study, Kathryn C. Luther

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the structure of the contact between the Superior Craton and the Trans-Hudson orogenic belt in north-central North Dakota between latitude 48 and 49 degrees north and longitude 100 and 102 degrees west, using gravity modeling. Major structural and geochronologic boundaries beneath the eastern flank of the Williston Basin in North Dakota and southern Canada appear as coherent patterns on a Bouguer gravity map.

The contribution of the Phanerozoic overburden (density assumed to be 2 . 48 g cm- 3 ) to the gravity signal, was removed, leaving residual gravity anomalies due to …

Hydrogeology Of The Hillsboro Landfill, Hillsboro, North Dakota, Jeffrey D. Maletzke

Theses and Dissertations

Landfills are the primary means for land disposal of solid wastes, and as such, they represent potential sources of groundwater contamination. This potential for contamination is exemplified by the Hillsboro landfill, which was emplaced above the Hillsboro aquifer, within permeable surface materials, and under shallow water-table conditions. Burial of refuse in trenches 15-feet (4.57 m) deep ensure that at least portions of the refuse are below the water table, which varied from 5.4 to 13.2 feet (1.7 to 4.0 m) below the surface. Concern over these factors led to the present study.

Subsurface conditions were investigated by electrical, earth-resistivity surveying. …

Deposition And Diagenesis Of A Portion Of The Frobisher-Alida Interval (Mississippian Madison Group), Wiley Field, North Dakota, Mark R. Luther

Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the Frobisher-Alida interval, in particular, the Glenburn bed or the Mississippian Mission canyon Formation. Wireline logs and cores from closely spaced wells in, and adjacent to, the Wiley Field, Williston Basin, North Dakota were examined. Information derived from the wireline logs was used to construct several maps which show that there was little or no topographic relief or slope in the study area during deposition or the Glenburn bed. In addition, the maps show that structural derormation occurred subsequent to deposition or the Frobisher-Alida interval.

Six distinct lithoracies were recognized in cores or the Glenburn bed …

Characterization And Utilization Of High- And Low-Sodium Lignite Of The Beulah-Zap Bed (Paleocene), Indian Head Mine, Southwestern North Dakota, Gale G. Mayer

Theses and Dissertations

A study of high- and low-sodium lignite of the Beulah-Zap bed sampled at the Indian Head Mine, Pit 11 and 12, respectively, in Mercer County, North Dakota and fly ash derived from utilization tests on the lignite, indicates the fly-ash composition and related utilization potential can be correlated to coal geochemistry.

Average lithotype abundances for each of the sampling sites were estimated to be vitrain 50%, attritus 45%, and fusain 5%. Attritus occurs more frequently in the upper part and vitrain in the middle and lower parts of the seam. Maceral groups, identified microscopically, were (in order of decreasing abundance): …

Major And Trace Element Characterization And Correlation Of The Sentinel Butte Ash/Bentonite (Paleocene), Mckenzie County, North Dakota, Richard A. Larsen

Theses and Dissertations

The Sentinel Butte ash/bentonite has been used for stratigraphic correlation in and around the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota primarily by tracing it along the escarpments of the Little Missouri River. The purpose of this study was to determine the geochemical fingerprint for the Sentinel Butte ash/bentonite, and use this fingerprint to assess the correlation value of this and other terrestrial bentonites. Mapping enlarged the known geographic distribution of this unit and provided an insight into its diagenetic history.

Samples from thirty randomly chosen sites and fifteen grab sites were used to evaluate the …

Macropaleontology Of The Gunn Member, Stony Mountain Formation (Upper Ordovician), Manitoba And North Dakota, Frederick K. Lobdell

Theses and Dissertations

The Gunn Member of the Stony Mountain Formation has long been known to contain an abundant and diverse fauna. This study was undertaken to identify and describe the macrofauna of the Gunn Member in the subsurface of North Dakota, previously neglected.

As a necessary first step, collections of fossils from outcrop were examined and identified. With the outcrop fauna serving as a reference collection, twenty cores from the North Dakota subsurface were examined, described, and their fossils sampled. Fossil and sediment samples were washed and sieved and the residues were picked for microscopic representatives of phyla usually considered to be …

Sedimentology And Stratigraphy Of Glacial Lake Souris, North Dakota: Effects Of A Glacial-Lake Outburst, Mark L. Lord

Theses and Dissertations

Glacial-lake outbursts commonly occurred along the southern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet as ice-marginal lakes suddenly drained. These outbursts released huge volumes of water with tremendous erosive potential, forming large trench-shape channels. Although glacial-lake spillways have been studied in detail, the effects of outbursts on downstream lakes have not. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effects of the Glacial Lake Regina outburst on the lake that received the flows, Glacial Lake Souris.

Glacial Lake Souris, located in what is now North Dakota, was inundated by about 74 km3 of water carrying 25 km3 of sediment from …