Geology Commons^™

Utilizing Geophysical Attributes To Investigate The Architecture Of A Pinnacle Reef Complex, Michigan Basin, Usa, Austin M. Johnson

Masters Theses

The Silurian Niagaran Pinnacle Reefs of the Michigan Basin retain their relevance after primary recovery of hydrocarbons and are excellent candidates for carbon dioxide sequestration, natural gas storage, and enhanced oil recovery. Due to the nature of carbonate rocks, these reef complexes are heterogeneous and lateral interpolation between observations in wells, is ambiguous. Ambiguity has led to large uncertainty and disagreement regarding reef architectures and their internal facies distributions. Previous models of these reef complexes have relied almost entirely on well logs and conventional core. This study focused on integrating 3D seismic reflection data to reduce uncertainty when delineating the …

Depositional Facies And Sequence Stratigraphic Model For The Silurian Reefs, Michigan Basin, Usa, Zaid N. Nadhim

Masters Theses

Depositional models for the Silurian reefs in the Michigan Basin suggest that internal facies are either (i) randomly distributed within a symmetrical reef structure, or (ii) highly asymmetrical and strongly controlled by paleo-wind direction. To further test the applicability of these models, internal facies distributions were mapped using high-resolution core and log data in two sets of Silurian reefs. The results suggest that the relationship between reef geometry, facies distribution and proposed paleo-wind direction is more inconsistent than recently proposed. More specifically, facies descriptions from the Silurian reefs suggest the following. First, overall reef geometry and facies distributions are not …

Thermal Maturation Modeling Of The Michigan Basin, Jack H. Hybza

Masters Theses

Given present day heat flow and burial depths in the Michigan Basin, hydrocarbons should be immature. However, oil and gas are abundant within the basin. Our hypothesis is that thermal maturation distributions in the Michigan Basin can be explained by variations in proximity to the Midcontinent Rift (MCR) system, thermal cooling, crustal convection, high temperature fluid advection, and eroded overburden.

For each of the seven wells in this study, a geohistory plot is coupled with a range of geodynamic models to calculate the thermal and maturation histories of each sediment unit within the well. Backstripping was used to generate basement …

Reprocessing And Comparison Of The 2 Hz And 10 Hz Vertical Component Seismic Data Of The Blackfoot 3c-2d Survey, Mete Sarikaya

Masters Theses

"The Blackfoot seismic 3C-2D data were obtained from the Consortium for Research in Elastic Wave Exploration Seismology (CREWES) Project in 1995. The seismic data acquisition was performed in the Blackfoot Field, which is around 15 km southeast of Strathmore, Alberta. The 4 Hz and 10 Hz vertical component data are reprocessed to increase the quality and resolution of the seismic images. The Glauconitic sand reservoir at approximately 1.1 s, and a strong reflection about at 1.5 s are the focuses of the study.

The processing procedure includes different parameters and methods to obtain the best seismic sections of 2 Hz …

U-Pb Detrital Zircon Geochronology Of Paleozoic Clastics Of The Ozark Plateau: Implication For Sea-Level Fluctuations And Far-Field Tectonics, Chen Zhao

Masters Theses

"The Ozark Plateau of south-central Missouri is underlain by Ordovician to Pennsylvanian carbonate and clastic strata. Enigmatic, presumably Pennsylvanian 'filled sink' structures are common on the Ozark Plateau and remain a source of controversy. We present results for U-Pb ages of detrital zircons for 13 samples from the OP. We use U-Pb ages from other Paleozoic clastics and 'filled sinks' on the OP, to suggest: 1) FSS record a period of Middle Ordovician erosion and sedimentation and 2) document significant shifts in sediment provenance that reflect regional tectonic events affecting the North American Craton.

The KDE plots of normalized detrital …

Archaeological Investigation Using Geophysical Methods To Locate Historic Byram's Ford Road, Marshall Seth Foster

Masters Theses

"Ground penetrating radar, a time domain electromagnetic metal detector and a frequency domain electromagnetic metal detector were used with the goal of locating a section of the Byram's Ford Road believed to be intersecting the historic Big Blue Battlefield in the Westport area of Kansas City, Missouri.

Ground penetrating data were acquired at three sites, Site A, Site B, and Site C. The time domain EM metal detector was used to acquire data at Site A, where subsequent ground truthing was conducted using the frequency domain EM metal detector and an excavation tool. Significant anomalies were visible on both the …

Exploration For Alteration Halos Around The Ag-W Deposits In Southeastern Missouri, Usa, Daniel Joseph Warbritton

Masters Theses

"The St. Francois Mountains in SE Missouri are an extensive terrane of granitic ring complexes and associated rhyolites. They were an important source of Ag, W, and Sn and mined intermittently from the 1800s until the 1950s. The Ag-W ores occur in the Silvermine Granite and rhyolite roof rocks. The deposits are classified as a xenothermal ore system with mineralization occurring in quartz veins and surrounding greisen (up to 2.5 m). Exploration for hydrothermal ore deposits often focuses on the identification of alteration halos in the surrounding host rocks. In the vast majority of xenothermal ore deposits, such as in …

Application Of Handheld Ed-Xrf For High-Resolution Chemostratigraphy In Texturally Homogeneous Carbonate Mudstones: Salina A-1 Carbonate (Silurian), Michigan Basin, Matthew A. Hemenway

Masters Theses

Handheld energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (ED-XRF) is routinely used to observe elemental variability in fine-grained siliciclastics but has been applied rarely in fine-grained carbonates. Here, ED-XRF chemostratigraphy is utilized in the texturally homogenous, mudstones of the Silurian A-1 Carbonate (A-1C), Michigan Basin. Previous studies on the A-1C focused on the stratigraphic relationship with the underlying Niagaran reefs, so little is known about the geological variability in the basin center. In this study, high-resolution elemental data from nine cores were integrated with petrographic and mineralogical observations to evaluate two hypotheses: (1) Texturally homogeneous, basin-center mudstones in the A-1C have spatially …

Geochemical And Petrological Investigation Of The Prospective Ni-Cu-Pge Mineralization At The Echo Lake Intrusion In The Upper Peninsula Of Michigan, Usa, Alexander J. Koerber

Masters Theses

The Echo Lake Intrusion is located in Houghton and Ontonagon counties in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan. The intrusion is approximately 200 m below the surface and covers approximately 18 km2 in lateral extent. It is associated with the magmatic activities of a 1.1 Ga geologic event called the Midcontinent Rift. The rift is responsible for the formation of Ni-Cu ± PGE deposits in the Lake Superior Region. Based on its association with the Midcontinent Rift and a Cu and PGE enriched layer, the Echo Lake intrusion is identified as a prospect for an economic magmatic sulfide deposit.

The …

Geologic Mapping Of The Bronson North And Bronson South 7.5-Minute Quadrangles, Branch County, Michigan, Karl John Backhaus

Masters Theses

This study contributes to a better understanding of the glacial history of southwest Michigan through detailed surficial geologic and bedrock topography mapping within the Bronson North and Bronson South Quadrangles in Branch County, Michigan. This project was supported during the summer of 2017 by the USGS EDMAP program in conjunction with the Michigan Geological Survey. Hand-auger borings, grain size analysis tests, passive seismic depth-to-bedrock measurements, and ground penetrating radar transects were collected for this study. There are 350 feet of bedrock relief from west to east across the quadrangles, including a bedrock cuesta of Mississippian Coldwater Shale. This cuesta underlies …

Mapping Bedrock Topography Of The Portage And Schoolcraft Nw 7.5’ Quadrangles, Kalamazoo Co. Mi, Using The Hvsr Passive Seismic Method, Benjamin B. Seiderman

Masters Theses

This study utilizes the Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) technique to map bedrock topography in the Portage and Schoolcraft NW quadrangles, Kalamazoo Co., MI, looking for buried bedrock valleys. Glacial sediment-landform assemblages dominate the study area, due to multiple advances of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). Tunnel valleys, which are one type of buried valley, are eroded by subglacial meltwater and commonly filled with the coarser varieties of glacial outwash, making them potential aquifers. The HVSR technique measures the ratio of horizontal to vertical ground motion, excited by ambient seismic noise, resulting in a peak at the resonance frequency. …

Reprocessing Of The 2 Hz P-P Data From The Blackfoot 3c-2d Survey With Special Reference To Multicomponent Seismic Processing, Onur Akturk

Masters Theses

"The 3C-2D multicomponent seismic survey was acquired in the Blackfoot Field, which is located 15 km southeast of Strathmore, Alberta. The 2 Hz vertical component data were reprocessed to better image the target reservoir, the Glauconitic sand formation at approximately 1150 ms. The zone of the major reflector at about 1550 ms was also taken into consideration to determine the better seismic section for further processing. The main characteristics of the converted wave processing, such as common conversion point (CCP), asymptotic binning, gamma ratios, receiver statics, rotation of the data, positive/negative offsets, and anisotropy, were also summarized in this study. …

3d Seismic Imaging Of Submarine Stratovolcanic And Salt Structures Beneath The Taranaki Basin, New Zealand And The Gulf Of Mexico, Ersin Erdem Unkaracalar

Masters Theses

"The relationship of submarine stratovolcanic and salt structures with overlying sediments creates a significant role in the petroleum system due to the emplacement and burial of volcano and salt. This study characterizes the spatial and temporal distribution of structural and stratigraphic features associated with submarine stratovolcano and salt body to provide insights for elements and processes of petroleum geology related to regional tectonics.

The stratovolcanic and salt structures are clearly identified on seismic sections. However, distortion of ray paths passing through the salt and turning seismic waves prevents accurate identification of steep flanks of salt. The seismic response to a …

Application Of Seismic Attributes For 3-D Seismic Visualization Contributed In Structural And Stratigraphic Interpretation Of The Tangahoe And Farewell Formations In The Kupe Field, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, Housam Hussein Grabeel

Masters Theses

"Taranaki Basin is a mainly offshore basin covering an area of approximately 100,000 km², elongated across the western margin of New Zealand's north island. However, the modern limit of the basin is extended toward the deep water to cover about 330,000 km². The basin is divided by tectonic activities into northern and southern grabens. The southern region has become the most extensively researched district in recent years as its prime lithology and structural trap distributions provide numerous hydrocarbon fields. One such field is the Kupe Field (256 km²), which lies on a northerly-plunging, reverse-faulted, …

Conical Folds -- An Artifact Of Using Simple Geometric Shapes To Describe A Complex Geologic Structure, Avery Joseph Welker

Masters Theses

"Accurate representation of the 3D shapes of natural folds is essential to characterization of the dynamic models for fold formation. Geometrical analysis of folds commonly relies upon analyzing patterns defined by the variation in the orientation of poles to planar surfaces deformed by a shortening event when plotted using graphical calculators (e.g., stereogram, polar tangent diagrams) to interpret the shape of folds. Stereograms for which orientation data define small circles are classified as non-cylindrical regular folds and are interpreted as "conical folds," where the shape of the fold is represented by a cone that terminates at a point. Utilizing similar …

Gravity And Passive Seismic Methods Used Jointly For Understanding The Subsurface In A Glaciated Terrain: Dowling And Maple Grove Quadrangles, Barry County, Michigan, Scott A. Feldpausch

Masters Theses

The Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) passive, single sensor seismic technique has been used together with gravimetry to study the topography hidden below the glacial drift of two 7.5’ quadrangles in Barry Co., MI. 265 stations were observed with both instruments along roads at nominal spacings of about 0.4 to 0.8 km. Occasional water wells and oil wells with documented penetrations of the base of glacial were used to calibrate the local power law regression calibration. This was also compared with the statewide calibration curve previously established. Results are presented as maps of Simple Bouguer Anomaly, Residual Bouguer Anomaly, …

Evaluation Of Non-Ionic Surfactants With And Without Hydrogen Peroxide For The In-Situ Remediation Of Napl Contaminants, Charles E. Holada

Masters Theses

Laboratory studies were conducted on Quillaja saponins and nine other surfactants commonly used to remove non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) from soils and aquifers. The NAPL contaminant tested was diesel fuel. Static batch reactors containing an aged diesel-contaminated soil was treated with saponins and nine other commercially available surfactants to determine how much diesel fuel could be removed with the pore fluids after 1 day and 10 days of contact time. Of all the surfactants tested, saponins achieved the greatest removal of diesel fuel after 1 day and 10 days. There was large disparity in the diesel fuel removed by the …

Hydrogeochemical Controls On Reactive And Nonreactive Solute Transport In Heterogenous Porous Media, Mahta Gholizadeh Ansari

Masters Theses

"This work examines how physical and chemical heterogeneity can affect reactive and non-reactive transport in porous media. The effect of heterogeneity of the porous media is investigated both on dissolution rate of magnesite and attenuation time of nonreactive contaminants in non-reactive media. Various spatial distribution were created using statistical parameters in PETREL.A total of 6793 transport modeling simulations were run using CrunchFlow. Lasso regression was used to select most significant features and those features are then used in linear regression and deep learning models.

The magnesite dissolution simulations were performed under different permeability ratios (magnesite /sand permeability) and inlet pH. …

Assessment Of Rockfall Rollout Risk Along Varying Slope Geometries Using The Rocfall And Crsp Software, Mariam S. Al E'Bayat

Masters Theses

"Most routes in mountainous areas suffer from rock falling, rolling and bouncing risk. There are many computer programs concerned with simulating the rockfall problem, and whereas they have the same purpose, they however differ in the input data that's needed to simulate the problem, and they also differ in the way of processing and kind of output.

This study used Rocfall® and the Colorado Rockfall Simulation Program (CRSP®) to simulate sixty-three models of varying slope geometry, where only the slope geometry is changed with the same material properties for both the slope and the rocks.

Both programs were fast and …

Deformation Processes At The Leading Edge Of The Sevier Fold And Thrust Belt, Southwest Utah, William Joseph Michael Chandonia

Masters Theses

"Deformation processes leading to formation and abandonment of 'triangle zones' along the leading edge of the Sevier fold and thrust belt are investigated near Kanarraville, Utah through construction of a detailed geologic map and cross-section along Spring Creek. Here the eastern limb of the Kanarra fold, a Sevier structure, is well exposed along the Hurricane Cliffs due to uplift and erosion of the footwall of the Hurricane Fault. The east-verging Kanarra fold changes from upright to overturned within Spring Creek. Within the fold limb, parasitic folds, minor thrust faults, and duplex structures result in local tectonic overthickening of units and …

Structural And U-Pb Detrital Zircon Geochronologic Constraints On The Origin Of The Condrey Mountain Schist, California - Oregon, Joseph Reid Coons

Masters Theses

"The Condrey Mountain Schist (CMS) of the Klamath Mountains (northern California and southern Oregon) represent low grade oceanic and terrigenous sediments thrust beneath higher grade ophiolitic rocks of the Rattlesnake Creek Terrane (RCT). This study presents new U-Pb detrital zircon dates from the CMS, and from the possibly correlative basin rocks of the Galice Formation and accretionary rocks of the South Fork Mountain Schist. The Galice Formation yields a maximum depositional age of ca. 152 Ma with prominent date distributions of ca. 150-200 Ma (39% of analyzed grains), 200-600 Ma (1%), 600 - 1000 Ma (2%), and 1000-3200 Ma (58%). …

Provenance And Depositional Environments Of Fluvial-Lacustrine Deposits In A Non-Marine Rift Basin, Lower-Triassic Jiucaiyuan And Shaofanggou Low-Order Cycles Bogda Shan, Nw China, Jaimeson Grigaitis Fredericks

Masters Theses

"The uppermost Carboniferous to Lower Triassic eolian-fluvial-lacustrine deposits of Turpan-Junggar Basin, NW China, record the non-marine sediment-filling processes in a continental rift basin in mid-latitude NE Pangea. This study focuses on the fluvial-lacustrine strata of the Lower Triassic Jiucaiyuan (JCY) and Shaofanggou (SFG) low-order cycles (LCs) in multiple half grabens at the southern and northern foothills of Bogda Shan. Outcrop, paleocurrent, and petrographic analyses indicate a southern provenance. Intermediate to felsic volcanic lithics and metamorphic lithics are interpreted as being derived from Tian Shan to the south while the sedimentary lithics originate from the local rift shoulders. The basaltic lithics …

Evaluation Of Swelling And Re-Swelling Of Preformed Particle Gels (Ppg) When Exposed To Co₂, Sujay Suresh

Masters Theses

"Long term water/gas flooding induces high permeability channels in reservoirs. Reservoir heterogeneity becomes the most prominent challenge faced in mature oil fields. Gel treatment has been a proven solution to counter the problem of reservoir heterogeneity, to provide in-depth treatment and improve the sweep efficiency for reservoirs. Preformed particle gels (PPGs) were developed as an alternative to in-situ gels as they preferentially penetrate and shutoff high permeability zones, leaving the low permeability zones undamaged. These gels have been predominantly used in water flooding projects, but have not been employed in carbon dioxide (CO₂) flooding projects. CO₂ Resistant …

Development Of A Variogram Approach To Spatial Outlier Detection Using A Supplemental Digital Elevation Model Dataset, Zane Daniel Helwig

Masters Theses

"When developing a ground water model, the quality of the dataset should first be evaluated. Spatial outliers can lead to predictions which are not representative of actual conditions. In order to isolate misrepresentative points, a method is presented which examines the experimental variogram of a ground water elevation dataset. To define a threshold variance between pairs of ground water elevation measures, ground elevation values from a digital elevation model (DEM) are used to determine a maximum reasonable variance expected to occur on the experimental variogram. To determine appropriate DEM parameters, a separate study was also done which observed characteristic behavior …

Mining Asteroids For Volatile Resources: An Experimental Demonstration Of Extraction And Recovery, Egboche Christopher Unobe

Masters Theses

"Gaseous compounds trapped within carbonaceous asteroids may prove to be important targets for prospective space miners in the near-term. Volatile release is from hydrated, hydroxylated and carbonated phases present, making such bodies attractive as feedstock for the production of H₂O, CO₂ and simple organic compounds. A source of these species in orbit provides an opportunity to locally produce space-craft propellant and other life-support gases through the application of In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU).

For this study, an experimental vacuum system was modified and used to test the technical validity of radiatively heating asteroid simulants to extract contained gaseous …

Crustal Thickness And Vp/Vs Ratio Of Yellowstone, Eastern Snake River Plain, Wyoming Province, And The Northern Basin And Range Province Through Receiver Function Analysis, Avikant Dayma

Masters Theses

"For decades, numerous studies have been conducted and contradictory results were achieved about the origin and evolution of the Yellowstone supervolcano and the Eastern Snake River Plain. Whether the 640 km long time-progressive chain of rhyolitic calderas was formed due to mantle-plume or a result of lithospheric extension allowing the emergence of melt on the surface is still a debate. Using receiver function analyses, this study determines the crustal thickness and the Vp/Vs ratio below the Yellowstone Plateau, Wyoming Province (WP), Idaho Batholith (IB), Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP), and the northern Basin and Range Province (BRP). The thickness is …

Stratigraphy Of The Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian Michigan Basin: Review And Revision With An Emphasis On The Ellsworth Petroleum System, Bryan J. Currie

Masters Theses

Compression associated with the formation of the Transcontinental Arch and the Acadian Mountains initiated subsidence in the Michigan Basin and lead to a depositional switch in the Michigan Basin from an oxic shallow-water carbonate platform (Traverse Group and Squaw Bay Limestone) to a deep anaerobic sea floor and the beginning of Upper Devonian Antrim Shale. The vertical distribution of the different Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian formations and members demonstrates large scale cycles of anaerobic-dysaerobic transitions attributed fluctuations in sea-level, different rates of subsidence and sediment influx triggered by different orogenic events to.

The regional understanding and the distribution of the different …

Pore Characterizations And Distributions Within Niagaran – Lower Salina Reef Complex Reservoirs In The Silurian Northern Niagaran Pinnacle Reef Trend, Michigan Basin, Agam Arief Suhaimi

Masters Theses

The Northern Niagaran Pinnacle Reef Trend (NNPRT) has generated significant oil and gas production in Michigan. The best reservoir rock in the Reef Trend reservoirs are from porous and permeable dolomite of the Guelph Dolomite. Low-to-non reservoir limestone occurs interstratified with reservoir dolomite in many locations. This study utilizes available cores data, thin section Petrographic Image Analysis (PIA), Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure (MICP) and a newly developed Niagaran Reef depositional model (Rine, 2015) to characterize the distribution of pore geometry within each dolomitized Niagaran Reef Complex (Brown Niagaran – Lower Salina Group) reservoir facies and lithofacies. This study shows that …

Characterizing Groundwater Recharge And Streamflow Using Stable Isotopes Of Oxygen And Hydrogen, Chanse M. Ford

Masters Theses

Potential changes to climate and precipitation patterns from anthropogenic influences like global climate change could have an impact on Michigan’s groundwater resources. Indirectly this could have an effect on Michigan’s surface waters as well, since groundwater and surface waters are intimately linked to form one system.

This investigation utilized stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen found in precipitation, groundwater and surface waters to better understand the contribution of different types of precipitation to recharge of a shallow aquifer in Manistee National Forest, MI. The study also examines the contribution of this shallow groundwater to streamflow in the nearby White River. …

Geochemical And Petrological Studies On The Origin Of Nickel-Copper Sulfide Mineralization At The Eagle Lntrusion In Marquette County, Michigan, Benjamin Davis Hinks

Masters Theses

The Eagle magmatic intrusion is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Marquette County. It hosts a high grade magmatic nickel-copper sulfide ore deposit. Country rocks surrounding the Eagle intrusion are metamorphosed slate and greywacke of the Proterozoic Michigamme Formation and Archean granite-gneiss. The aim of this thesis is to characterize the magmatic sulfide mineral deposit at Eagle and to establish its relationship to the surrounding host rocks of the Baraga Basin area.

The Eagle East intrusion is located 600 meters east of the Eagle intrusion. These two intrusions are similar in composition and sulfide mineralization. Sulfide textural domains …