Earth Sciences Commons^™

Holocene Sedimentology And Stratigraphy Of Coastal Sediments In An Arid Climate, Al Qahmah, Southern Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Ibrahim Nabhan

Doctoral Dissertations

"Holocene sedimentary deposits in Al Qahmah coast, southern Red Sea, in Saudi Arabia have been accumulated on an arid siliciclastic coast in a rift tectonic setting. This study provides a detail interpretation and analysis of sedimentary facies, stratigraphy, depositional environment, and major geological processes. Two studies have been undertaken. First, petrological study of composition and texture of modern sediments and facies mapping delineate facies distribution and mechanisms of sediment transport and deposition. A unique suite of complex riverine, wave, tidal, wind, and chemical and biological processes affect the composition, texture, and distribution of the facies. Second, the depositional environments of …

The Geologic Implications Of The Factors That Affected Relative Sea-Level Positions In South Carolina During The Pleistocene And The Associated Preserved High-Stand Deposits, William Richardson Doar Iii

Theses and Dissertations

This work utilizes the current understanding of South Carolina geology to provide a stratigraphic review of the late-Pliocene and Pleistocene marine deposits. Almost two centuries of recorded geological study includes geomorphic and stratigraphic units that were described, proposed, revised, abandoned, and revived. Along with the history of the age assignments, changes in geological time scales, and the changes in the understanding of geological concepts, this review is necessary because two concurrent and conflicting stratigraphies exist for late-Pliocene and Pleistocene marine sediments that record multiple sea-level transgressions that were more often destructive than constructive. The result, when tested against existing geological …

Using Strat Columns To Interpret Sequence Stragraphy Of Glacial Driven Stream Deposits Of The Acient San Joaquin River, Kyle R. Scharton

STAR Program Research Presentations

The sedimentary deposits of the ancient San Joaquin River tell the story of river flow through three glacial periods. A strat column shows vertical changes in deposition throughout an outcrop. It can be used to extrapolate the energy level of the flow, and other features of the river at different depositional environments. By looking at trends through the column it is possible to determine how the river’s flow changed through time. Variances in the gravel size and whether it supports itself or is held together by the surrounding sand matrix give clues as to the rate of flow and how …

Sedimentological And Stratigraphic Study Of A Falling-Stage Delta Complex In The Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) Ferron Sandstone Member Of The Mancos Shale, South-Central Utah, Usa, Fares Alaboud

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The character and distribution of lithofacies in falling-stage deltas are incompletely documented. This paper presents a sedimentological and stratigraphic evaluation of a superbly-exposed interval of Cretaceous deltaic strata that are believed to be of falling stage origin. The studied interval forms part of the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) Ferron Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale in the southernmost Henry Mountains Basin of south-central Utah, USA. The interval of interest is exposed in three dimensions over a 20 km² area in a series of canyon walls. Observed facies include fine-grained mudrocks (offshore basin), mudrocks with thinly interlaminated sandstone (prodelta), thinly interbedded …

Subsurface Sequence Stratigraphy And Reservoir Characterization Of The Mississippian Limestone (Kinderhookian To Meramecian), South Central Kansas And North Central Oklahoma, Thomas Cahill

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Both conventional and unconventional Mississippian reservoirs in the mid-continent are largely comprised of chert-rich carbonates of Osagean and Meramecan age. The conventional reservoir target is the Mississippian "chat," a high porosity, chert residuum interval found immediately beneath the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian unconformity. The unconventional reservoir target occurs in the lower porosity, cherty, mud-rich intervals that occur in the lower portion of the Mississippian succession.

There has been considerable debate surrounding the sequence stratigraphic interpretations, depositional models, and formation names applied to the reservoir intervals within the subsurface. Another major issue with regard to the subsurface is the stratigraphic position and origin of …

Cretaceous-Paleogene Dinoflagellate Biostratigraphy And The Age Of The Clayton Formation, Southeastern Missouri, Usa, Natalie R. Dastas, John A. Chamberlain Jr., Matthew P. Garb

Publications and Research

Sedimentary deposits in Stoddard County, southeastern Missouri, reveal a K-Pg transition sequence represented by the uppermost Maastrichtian Owl Creek Formation and the Paleocene Clayton Formation. The Clayton Formation is characterized by a basal fossiliferous coquinite that contains reworked late Maastrichtian macrofossils. Dinoflagellate biostratigraphy is used to determine the age of the coquinite layer and specifically whether or not it is an end-K tsunamite deposit resulting from the Chicxulub impact event. Results indicate a mixed assemblage of late Maastrichtian and early Danian dinocysts within the basal coquinite of the Clayton Formation. Maastrichtian dinocyst taxa identified are Riculacysta amplexa, Pierceites pentagonus, Phelodinium …

Loess Records, Daniel R. Muhs, Stephen R. Cattle, Onn Crouvi, Denis-Didier Rousseau, Jimin Sun, Marcelo A. Zárate

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess is aeolian sediment, dominated by silt-sized particles, that is identifiable in the field as a distinct sedimentary body. It covers a significant portion of the land surface of the Earth and as such constitutes one of the most important archives of long-term dust deposition. Large tracts of loess cover Europe, Asia, South America, and North America, and smaller loess bodies are found covering parts of Africa, the Middle East, New Zealand, and Australia. Loess thickness, particle size, and carbonate content decrease downwind from sources, trends that are powerful tools for reconstructing paleowinds. Many loess sections consist of relatively thick …

Geologic Setting And Stratigraphy Of The Ziegler Reservoir Fossil Site, Snowmass Village, Colorado, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Ian M. Miller, Kirk R. Johnson, Jeffrey S. Honke, Paul E. Carrara, Daniel R. Muhs, Gary Skipp, Bruce Bryant

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The geologic setting of the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site is somewhat unusual—the sediments containing the Pleistocene fossils were deposited in a lake on top of a ridge. The lake basin was formed near Snowmass Village, Colorado (USA) when a glacier flowing down Snowmass Creek Valley became thick enough to overtop a low point in the eastern valley wall and entered the head of Brush Creek Valley. When the glacier retreated at about 155–130 ka, near the end of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 6, the Brush Creek Valley lobe left behind a moraine that impounded a small alpine lake. The lake …

Stratigraphic Controls On Diagenetic Pathways In The St. Peter Sandstone, Michigan Basin, Stephen A. Zdan

Masters Theses

The Middle Ordovician St. Peter Sandstone in the Michigan Basin is a target for hydrocarbon exploration/production, and carbon sequestration and geologic storage. The St. Peter is predominantly a marine sandstone with four dominant lithofacies. The uppermost facies contains zones of porosity and good reservoir quality. Because of the mostly uniform detrital composition, diagenesis must play a leading role in reservoir quality development. This study tests stratigraphic controls on diagenesis and reservoir quality development. The distribution of diagenetic regimes is believed to result from depositional setting and related geologic processes, including variations in sediment accumulation rate. Early carbonate cements preserve pre-compaction …

Late Mississippian (Chesterian) Through Early Pennsylvanian (Atokan) Strata, Michigan Basin, U.S.A., Shannon M. Towne

Masters Theses

Over 2,000 linear feet of core material was analyzed to evaluate the stratigraphy and basin evolution of Carboniferous strata in the Michigan basin. Rock units were evaluated on the basis of lithofacies type, contact relationships, and existing regional geologic interpretations. The recovery of three distinct pollen and spore assemblages from core confirms the timing of deposition during the Late Mississippian Chesterian and Early-Middle Pennsylvanian Morrowan and Atokan regional stages within the Michigan basin.

The deposition of a marine carbonate succession with significant interstratified quartz sandstone occurred during the Chesterian regional stage. The Bayport interval (Bayport Limestone) is composed of seven …

Analysis Of Depositional Facies And Geological Controls On Reservoir Quality In Lower-Middle Devonian Sylvania Sandstone, Midland County, Michigan, Katherine A. Pollard

Masters Theses

The early-Middle Devonian Sylvania “Sandstone” is considered a target for potential CO₂ geosequestration. In order to develop geostatic models for CO₂ injection simulations, controls on reservoir properties must be addressed. The three objectives of this study involve: 1) develop an overview of depositional lithofacies and their vertical stacking relationships, 2) determine fluid sources and controls of diagenesis (dolomitization and silicification), and 3) examine geological controls on the distribution and character of reservoir facies.

The grossly transgressive Sylvania-Bois Blanc interval is a complex lithologic assemblage. Sylvania “Sandstone” strata transition from high energy, subtidal to lower-intertidal mixed carbonate-siliciclastic facies to …

Integrating Depositional Facies And Sequence Stratigraphy In Characterizing Unconventional Reservoirs: Eagle Ford Shale, South Texas, Seth Jordan Workman

Masters Theses

The Mid-to-Late Cretaceous Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas is a mixed siliciclastic/carbonate, unconventional resource play with considerable oil and natural gas. Characterization of Eagle Ford reservoir quality and potential is made difficult by complex, small-scale heterogeneities.

The limited availability of subsurface data constrains previous subsurface Eagle Ford investigations. As a result, the internal variability of depositional facies and reservoir attributes remain poorly understood for these Eagle Ford rocks.

This investigation incorporates a representative group of four Eagle Ford cores, and core data, from within the current play area in order to: 1) determine facies successions, 2) establish a hierarchal …

Middle-Upper Miocene Paleogeography Of Southern Turkey: Insights From Stratigraphy And Calcareous Nannofossil Biochronology Of The Olukpınar And Başyayla Sections (Mut-Ermenek Basin), Paola Cipollari, Eva Halásová, Kemal Gürbüz, Domenico Cosentino

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The age of the marine succession capping the basement rocks of the central Taurides in the Mut-Ermenek Basin is constrained using calcareous nannofossil biochronology. The Olukpınar section, which correlates with the biozones between MNN5a and MNN6b (late Langhian-late Serravallian), represents a deeper marine environment developed lateral to the Ermenek platform. The long-term transgressive-regressive cycle of the Olukpınar section, which corresponds to the middle-upper part of the TB2 supercycle, can be subdivided into 2 large-scale (10^6 years) cycles (TB2.4 and TB2.5) based on the occurrence of 2 major debris flow deposits linked to sea-level drop. The younger late Tortonian Başyayla section …

Physical And Sequence Stratigraphy Of The Late Cretaceous Chispa Summit Formation, Jeff Davis County, Texas, Patrick Thomas Dietzel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Late Cretaceous Chispa Summit Formation of west Texas has historically been of interest to the petroleum industry; with new technologies, this old, uneconomical play could prove significant, if not for energy resources, for educational purposes, but little work has been conducted on the formation. The Eagle Ford Formation of southern Texas is time equivalent to the Chispa Summit Formation and is a highly prolific hydrocarbon resource.

Located in western Jeff Davis County, Texas, the Chispa Summit Formation consists of marine shales interbedded with limestone beds and sporadically located siliciclastic beds, measuring a total of 610 m at the type …

Chronology And Provenance Of Last-Glacial (Peoria) Loess In Western Iowa And Paleoclimatic Implications, Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis Iii, Helen M. Roberts, Stephen S. Harlan, James B. Paces, Richard L. Reynolds

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Geologic archives show that the Earth was dustier during the last glacial period. One model suggests that increased gustiness (stronger, more frequent winds) enhanced dustiness. We tested this at Loveland, Iowa, one of the thickest deposits of last-glacial-age (Peoria) loess in the world. Based on K/Rb and Ba/Rb, loess was derived not only from glaciogenic sources of the Missouri River, but also distal loess from non-glacial sources in Nebraska. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages provide the first detailed chronology of Peoria Loess at Loveland. Deposition began after ~27 ka and continued until ~17 ka. OSL ages also indicate that mass …

Detrital Carbonates In A Sequence Stratigraphic Framework: An Example From The Furongian Slope Environment In The Hot Creek Range Of Central Nevada, Leon Taufani

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An integrated sedimentological study of detrital carbonates of the late Cambrian (Furongian) Hales Limestone in central Nevada was conducted in order to model facies distribution and controlling mechanisms of carbonate gravity-flow deposits. Seven closely-spaced sections and numerous traceable short sections were measured to investigate temporal and spatial changes of detrital carbonates within a high-resolution stratigraphic framework supported by biostratigraphic and carbon isotope chemostratigraphic constraints and by key physical surfaces. Polished slabs and thin section petrographic analysis were used to identify micro- and macro-scale textures and diagenesis.

Ten lithofacies are identified from the Hales Limestone. Lateral tracing of these facies reveals …

Holocene Earthquakes And Late Pleistocene Slip-Rate Estimates On The Wassuk Range Fault Zone, Nevada, J. M. Bormann, Benjamin E. Surpless, M. W. Caffee, S. G. Wesnousky

Earth and Environmental Geosciences Faculty Research

The Wassuk Range fault zone is an 80‐km‐long, east‐dipping, high‐angle normal fault that flanks the eastern margin of the Wassuk Range in central Nevada. Observations from two alluvial fan systems truncated by the fault yield information on the vertical slip rate and Holocene earthquake history along the range front. At the apex of the Rose Creek alluvial fan, radiocarbon dating of offset stratigraphy exposed in two fault trenches shows that multiple earthquakes resulted in 7.0 m of vertical offset along the fault since ∼9400 cal B.P. These data yield a Holocene vertical slip rate of 0.7±0.1  mm/yr. The south trench …

Determining The Motion And Location Of The Frenchman Mountain Fault, Las Vegas, Nevada: A Paired Basin Analysis And Structural Analysis, Laura Margaret Eaton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Understanding the evolution of large-scale fault systems remains a challenge to geologists and is of critical importance in understanding the dynamics of larger plate tectonic interactions. I mapped the southwestern Frenchman Mountain Fault (FMF), conducted a basin analysis of units in the footwall of the fault, and measured kinematic indicators along the fault zone in order to constrain fault offset, magnitude, and timing in an attempt to further our understanding of these systems.

My findings include: 1) the presence of vertical and sub-vertical slickenlines on southwest dipping fault surfaces indicative of normal sense offset; 2) relatively little lateral variation in …

Sequence Stratigraphy And Depositional Systems Of The Mansfield Sand, Upper Atoka Formation, Arkoma Basin, Arkansas, Scott Cherry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Mansfield sand is an informally named member of the Pennsylvanian Atoka Formation in Arkansas. Once a productive gas reservoir, the Mansfield is situated in a double plunging anticline in the southern portion of the Arkoma Basin. The formation is internally composed of sandstone units ranging in thickness from tens of feet to over a hundred feet interbedded with shale units ranging in thickness from several tens of feet to hundreds of feet. Previous studies have focused on the stratigraphy of the lower and middle Atoka. A detailed subsurface study of the stratigraphic framework of the Mansfield sand was conducted …

New Shortwave Infrared Albedo Measurements For Snow Specific Surface Area Retrieval, B. Montpetit, A. Royer, A. Langlois, P. Cliche, A. Roy, N. Champollion, G. Picard, F. Domine, R. Obbard

Dartmouth Scholarship

Snow grain-size characterization, its vertical and temporal evolution is a key parameter for the improvement and validation of snow and radiative transfer models (optical and microwave) as well as for remote-sensing retrieval methods. We describe two optical methods, one active and one passive shortwave infrared, for field determination of the specific surface area (SSA) of snow grains. We present a new shortwave infrared (SWIR) camera approach. This new method is compared with a SWIR laser- based system measuring snow albedo with an integrating sphere (InfraRed Integrating Sphere (IRIS)). Good accuracy (10%) and reproducibility in SSA measurements are obtained using the …

Origin, Evolutionary Classification, And Biostratigraphic Significance Of The Late Cretaceous Planktic Foraminiferal Directional Lineage Bollitruncana O.A. Korchagin, 2001, Marius Dan Georgescu

Studia UBB Geologia

Taxonomic revision of the genus Bollitruncana O.A. Korchagin, 2001 shows that it accommodates a directional lineage, which consists of two species: B. carpathica (Scheibnerová, 1963) and B. posthelvetica (Hanzliková, 1963). Bollitruncana directional lineage is restricted to Turonian. A new planktic foraminiferal biozone is recognized in the Turonian, namely the Bollitruncana carpathica Biozone.

Stratigraphy And Provenance Of Shallow Sandstones Endountered In Wells In Townships 9 And 10 North, Ranges 6 And 7 West, White County, Arkansas, Lacie Knight

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Paleozoic formations in western Arkansas have been well-studied; however, they are not well-understood in the eastern part of the state. The study area encompasses Townships 9. N. and 10. N., Ranges 6. W. and 7. W. in north-central White County, Arkansas. This area is at the intersection of four physiographic provinces as defined by the Arkansas Geologic Survey- the Ozark Plateaus, the Arkansas River Valley, the Ouachita Mountains, and the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Interpretations of the surface unit in the area disagree. The Arkansas Geologic Map shows that the Morrowan Hale Formation crops out in the area; however, various petroleum …

Ichnology, Sedimentology, And Regional Sandstone Body Correlations Of The Peay Member (Frontier Formation), Northeast Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, U.S.A., Trevor J. Hurd

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A detailed outcrop and sub-surface analysis was completed on the Peay Member sandstone (Frontier Formation) in the northeast Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, building on previous work by Clark (2010) and Hutsky (2011). Regional correlations reveal the sandstone body to be digitate in planform geometry, elongate along depositional dip, and restricted across depositional strike. It is interpreted to be the product of south-southeastward progradation from a fluvially-dominated delta lobe into the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway (KWIS) Basin. This shore-parallel progradation direction suggests a southward-deflected delta lobe, facilitated by a counter-clockwise gyre circulation in the KWIS. Outcrop investigations concentrated on evaluating lateral variations …

A Study On The Geology Of The Ţaga Region (Cluj District), Ioan MâRza

Studia UBB Geologia

The geological formations from Ţaga area (Cluj District) are Sarmatian in age (in outcrops) and Badenian (under surface). Lithologically, they are represented mainly by sands and sometimes fine sediments (clays, marls), interbedded with volcanic tuffs a low fossil content. The Badenian is the host of gas accumulations, concentrated in dome structures.

A Revision Of The Rona Member, Vlad A. Codrea, Emanoil SăSăRan

Studia UBB Geologia

Lacustrine deposits occurring in the Jibou Formation (Late Maastrichtian – Lutetian) were mentioned in the Rona village area since the first half of the 19th century. Hungarian and Romanian geologists also carried out several researches in the last century, referring to the so-call “Rona Limestone” or “Rona Member”. In the last years, new outcrops resulted as a consequence of works made for the Botanical Garden at Jibou, adding details concerning mainly the base of the lacustrine succession. The new geological section from Jibou Botanical Garden should complete the old stratotype of the "Rona Limestone”, as a hypostratotype.

Stratigraphy And Some Structural Features Of The İstanbul Paleozoic, Necdet Özgül

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Palaeozoic rocks crop out across large areas in the İstanbul region. The Palaeozoic sequence starts with the Lower Ordovician fluviatile and lacustrine deposits (Kocatöngel and Kurtköy formations). The area was transgressed by the sea during the Late Ordovician-Early Silurian, represented by the feldspathic quartzwacke and quartz-arenites of the Kınalıada and Aydos formations. The basin became progressively deeper and more stable during the Silurian and Devonian. In this period, micaceous siltstones and sandstones of the Yayalar Formation (Upper Ordovician (?)-Lower Silurian), shelf-type carbonates of the Pelitli Formation (Lower Silurian-Lower Devonian), fossil-rich micaceous shales with rare limestone intercalations representing a low-energy open …

Tectonics Of The Strandja Massif, Nw Turkey: History Of A Long-Lived Arc At The Northern Margin Of Palaeo-Tethys, Boris Natalin, Gürsel Sunal, Muharrem Satir, Erkan Toraman

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Strandja Massif, Thrace Peninsula, NW Turkey, forms an important link between the Balkan Zone of Bulgaria, which is usually correlated with Variscan orogen in Central Europe, and the Pontides, where Cimmerian structures are the most prominent. The massif is composed of a Palaeozoic basement and a Triassic metasedimentary cover. The basement is made of various granite gneisses, paragneisses, and schists that are intruded by large plutons of monzonitic metagranites. Detrital zircon studies have revealed Ordovician (433 and 446 Ma) and Carboniferous (305 Ma) ages of the metasedimentary rocks. The isotopic age of the granite gneisses is 308-315 Ma (Carboniferous, …

Holocene Arroyo Cut And Fills Cycles, South-Central Washington, Matthew Ian Durkee

All Master's Theses

Ephemeral streams have cut deeply incised arroyos into alluvial and eolian sediments in many of the watersheds within the Yakima Training Center (YTC) military reservation, south-central Washington. The most recent channel incision episode along Selah Creek is primarily attributed to multiple failures of an irrigation reservoir dam during the winters of 1909 and 1910. The modern arroyo exposed evidence of at least one previous episode of arroyo incision to a depth of ~4 m that occurred just prior to 1530- 1340 cal yr BP. Filling of this paleo-arroyo with fine to coarse grained sand ceased between 650-103 cal yr BP. …

Three Geologic Cross Sections Across Portions Of Eastern Nebraska Showing Quaternary Lithologic Units And Stratigraphy Of Uppermost Bedrock, Jesse T. Korus, Dana Divine, P. R. Hanson, J. S. Dillon

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Melt Regimes, Stratigraphy, Flow Dynamics And Glaciochemistry Of Three Glaciers In The Alaska Range, Seth Campbell, Karl Kreutz, Erich Osterberg, Steven Arcone

Dartmouth Scholarship

We used ground-penetrating radar (GPR), GPS and glaciochemistry to evaluate melt regimes and ice depths, important variables for mass-balance and ice-volume studies, of Upper Yentna Glacier, Upper Kahiltna Glacier and the Mount Hunter ice divide, Alaska. We show the wet, percolation and dry snow zones located below 2700ma.s.l., at 2700 to 3900ma.s.l. and above 3900ma.s.l., respectively. We successfully imaged glacier ice depths upwards of 480m using 40–100MHz GPR frequencies. This depth is nearly double previous depth measurements reached using mid-frequency GPR systems on temperate glaciers. Few Holocene-length climate records are available in Alaska, hence we also assess stratigraphy and flow …