Geology Commons^™

Amplitude Vs. Offset Effects On Gas Hydrates At Woolsey Mound, Gulf Of Mexico, Walter R. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the estimated massive quantities of natural methane hydrates, they represent one of the largest sources of future alternative energy on Earth. Methane hydrates have been found in the shallow sub-seafloor of the Northern Gulf of Mexico where the water depth is in excess of ~900 m. Mississippi Canyon Block 118 has been chosen by the Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Research Consortium to be the site of a multi-sensor, multi-discipline sea-floor observatory for gas hydrate research. First evidence for gas hydrates at MC 118 was observed at Woolsey Mound. Subsurface evidence for gas hydrates has subsequently been substantiated by …

Hydraulic Fracturing Design For Horizontal Wells In The Bakken Formation, Williston Basin, Hadi Jabbari

Theses and Dissertations

Unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs have proved to be challenging in terms of reservoir characterization, predicting production potential, estimating ultimate recovery, and optimizing hydraulic fracture stimulations. The methods by which these resources are extracted use progressive, or unconventional, technologies. Today, through the use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, extraordinary amounts of oil and natural gas from deep shale formations across the United States and around the world are being safely produced.

Performing a hydraulic fracture design requires modeling of fracture propagation and tracking the fluid front in the created fracture. In this dissertation, the roles of all effective parameters and properties …

Geophysical Investigation And Assessment Of The Rye Patch Known Geothermal Resource Area, Rye Patch, Nevada, Mark Richmond Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations

A gravity and ground-based magnetic survey was conducted at the Rye Patch Known Geothermal Resource Area located at Rye Patch, Nevada. The purpose of the study was to attempt to further delineate the geothermal reservoir and/or to identify potential drilling targets. The survey consisted of collecting data at 264 new stations to augment data from 203 stations collected in 2008. Information from previous seismic, aeromagnetic and geochemical investigations was also examined and incorporated. Filtering methods including removal of a polynomial trend surface and wavelength filtering were utilized on the gravity data to remove the strong regional overprint caused by the …

Lithological And Sequence Stratigraphic Examination Of The Madison Group Marker Beds, Eastern Williston Basin Margin, North Dakota, Troy Jd. Skitt

Theses and Dissertations

The Frobisher-Alida interval consists of eight log-defined subintervals or “beds” within the Mississippian upper Mission Canyon and lower Charles Formations of the Madison Group in the Williston Basin. The subintervals are composed of predominantly evaporite and carbonate lithologies, and include in descending order: 1) Midale, 2) Rival, 3) Bluell, 4) Sherwood, 5) Mohall, 6) Glenburn, 7) Wayne, and 8) Landa. The top of the lower six subintervals are separated by thin but areal extensive log-defined markers of contrasting lithologies and include in descending order: 1) State A, 2) Sherwood Argillaceous Marker (S.A.M.), 3) K-1, 4) K-2, 5) K-3, and 6) …

Subsurface Imaging And Petrophysical Analysis Of The South Georgia Rift Basin, South Carolina, Olusoga Martins Akintunde

Theses and Dissertations

The Triassic-Jurassic South Georgia Rift (SGR) basin, buried beneath Coastal Plain sediments of southern South Carolina, southeastern Georgia, western Florida, and southern Alabama, consists of an assemblage of continental rift deposits (popularly called red beds), and mafic igneous rocks (basalt flows and diabase sills). The red beds are capped by basalts and/or diabase sills, and constitute the target for supercritical CO2 storage as part of a Department of Energy funded project to study feasibility for safe and long-term sequestration. This study addresses key stratigraphic, structural and petrophysical issues critical to determine subsurface suitability for CO2 storage as well as improved …

Benthic Boundary Layer Processes: Bedform Evolution And Bottom Turbulence, Timothy Robert Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Bedform roughness, caused by ripples on the seabed, plays an important role in controlling sediment dynamics in the nearshore region. In this dissertation, the temporal and spatial evolution of ripples from two field sites located in the South Atlantic Bight, offshore Long Bay, SC and Georgia are used to relate wave-induced ripple geometry (wavelength and orientation) to near bed directional wave velocities. 2-D spectral analysis techniques were developed to automate detection of ripple wavelength, direction, and irregularity. This analysis showed that magnitude, direction, and duration of wave forcing controls ripple geometry and irregularity. During highly energetic events, ripple geometry changes …

Volcanic And Tectonic Processes Along Anomalous Mid-Ocean Ridges, Julia Kathryn Howell

Theses and Dissertations

The morphological and structural characteristics of the global spreading ridge system are systematically related to spreading rate and magma supply (e.g. Macdonald, 1982). Because intermediate spreading-rate ridges (ISRs) spreading between 60 and 80 mm/yr have characteristics of both fast and slow spreading ridges, they are ideal environments to study the differences controlling upper crustal accretion. We examine the distribution of seamounts along spreading ridges to understand the relationship between seamount volcanism and axial morphology along four ISRs: the Juan de Fuca Ridge (JdFR), the Galápagos Spreading Centers (GSC), the Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR), and the Eastern Lau Spreading Centers (ELSC). …

Geochemical Source Components In Seafloor Lavas In The Aleutian Back-Arc, Max Thomas Siegrist

Theses and Dissertations

Whole-rock compositions of seafloor lavas are used to constrain the processes and source characteristics contributing to the formation of geochemically distinctive, primitive magma types located in the Aleutian back-arc. Samples were dredged primarily from small volcanic cones on the seafloor, located between the emergent volcanoes and in the back-arc up to 60 km from the volcanic front. Compositions vary from basalt to dacite, with 48-70 % SiO₂ and 4-13 % MgO. Nearly 30% of the samples are primitive, with Mg/Mg+Fe >0.60. Most primitive samples are basalts, which fall into two groups, based on minor and trace element abundances. Low/med-K …

Insights Into The Early Transgressive History Of Lake Bonneville From Stratigraphic Investigation Of Pilot Valley Playa, Ut/Nv, Usa, Kevin A. Rey

Theses and Dissertations

Multiple shallow sediment cores were obtained from Pilot Valley playa, a sub-basin located in the northwestern Bonneville basin. Analysis of stratigraphy, ostracodes, mineralogy, chemistry, total inorganic carbon (TIC), total organic carbon (TOC), and stable isotopes were performed to better place these sediments into proper context with respect to the Lake Bonneville cycle. Results showed Pilot Valley playa contains a nearly full sequence of Lake Bonneville deep-water marl in addition to sediments deposited before and after the Lake Bonneville cycle. Within the marl is a sequence of organic rich algal laminated marl correlated with the Stansbury oscillation. Four 14C ages ranging …

The Role Of Case-Hardening In The Development And Preservation Of Narrow, Vertical-Walled Canyons In Adršpach-Teplice, Czech Republic, Shawn Austin Wiggins

Theses and Dissertations

The geomorphology at Adršpach-Teplice, Czech Republic is dominated by vertical-walled, fracture-controlled features including slot canyons, gorges and pillars. Surfaces of canyon walls in Adršpach are case-hardened and more resistant to erosion than the bulk of the sandstone, which appears to be fundamental to the formation and preservation of canyons. Core and whole rock samples from Adršpach-Teplice were analyzed in thin section, including SEM analysis with cathodo luminescence. XRF and XRD analyses indicated that silica case-hardened surfaces are chemically and mineralogically similar to the rock interior, while iron case-hardened surfaces have an increase in iron present at the surface as the …

Discriminant Analysis Of Xrf Data From Sandstones Of Like Facies And Appearance: A Method For Identifying A Regional Unconformity, Paleotopography,And Diagenetic Histories, Stephen Paul Phillips

Theses and Dissertations

The placement of an unconformable surface within a stratal succession affects the interpreted thickness of units and sequences in contact with that surface. Unit thickness influences the interpretation of basin subsidence, paleotopography, diagenesis, and depositional style. Accurate placement of an unconformity results in true formational thicknesses for formations associated with that unconformity. True thicknesses aid in producing more precise surface to subsurface correlations, isopach maps, and paleogeographic maps. An unconformity may be difficult to identify in the stratal succession due to similar rocks above and below the unconformity and the presence of multiple candidate surfaces. Using statistical discriminant analysis of …

Self-Organizing Fluid Flow Patterns In Crystalline Rock: Theoretical Approach To The Hydrothermal Systems In The Middle Fork Of The Boise River, Scott A. Himes

Theses and Dissertations

The thermal springs along the Middle Fork of the Boise River (MFBR) within the Atlanta lobe of the Idaho batholith discharge in discrete locations that appear to be part of self-organizing flow systems. Infiltrating water flows through Basin and Range fractures to depth where it is heated and ultimately discharged at the intersection of trans-Challis oriented faults along the MFBR. Isotopic compositions of the thermal waters have a linear trend with elevation suggesting that the recharge locations are near each thermal spring and the hydrothermal system is not one large interconnected system, but rather multiple individual hydrothermal systems. Water chemically …

Geologic Map Of The Deer Point Quadrangle, Garfield County, Utah, Nicholaus D. Driscoll

Theses and Dissertations

A new geologic map of the Deer Point 7.5' quadrangle located in the southern region of Capitol Reef National Park in south-central Utah provides stratigraphic and structural detail not previously available. The Deer Point quadrangle was mapped at a scale of 1:24,000 and is the fourth geologic map completed at this scale in Capitol Reef National Park. Twelve Quaternary units and eighteen bedrock formations and members are exposed in the Deer Point quadrangle. Bedrock formations range in age from Triassic to Cretaceous. The details not available on previous geologic maps include: four alluvial terrace units, two lacustrine units, two mass …

Mineral Chemistry Of Basalts Recovered From Hotspot Snake River Scientific Drilling Project, Idaho: Source And Crystallization Characteristics, Richard W. Bradshaw

Theses and Dissertations

Mineral chemistry and petrography of basalts from the Kimama drill core recovered by Hotspot: Snake River Scientific Drilling Project, Idaho establish crystallization conditions of these lavas. Twenty-three basalt samples, from 20 individual lava flows were sampled from the upper 1000 m (of the 1912 m drilled) core drilled on the axis of the Snake River Plain, and represent approximately 3 m.y. of volcanism (rocks at the bottom of the hole are ~6 Ma). Rock from the upper 1000 m are typically fresh, while those lower in the core are more altered and are less likely to preserve fresh phenocrysts to …

Temporal Trends In West Antarctic Accumulation Rates: Evidence From Observed And Simulated Records, Landon Kelly Burgener

Theses and Dissertations

Reconstructed snow accumulation rate observations from five new firn cores show a statistically significant negative trend in accumulation rates over the past four decades across the central West Antarctic ice sheet. A negative temporal trend in accumulation is unexpected in light of rising surface temperatures and simulations run by GCMs. Both the magnitude of the mean accumulation rates and the range of interannual variability observed in the new records compares favorably to older records, suggesting that the new accumulation rate records may serve as a regional proxy for recent temporal trends in West Antarctic accumulation rates. The observed negative trend …

Mafic Alkaline Magmatism In The East Tintic Mountains, West-Central Utah: Implications For A Late Oligocene Transition From Subduction To Extension, Tara Laine Allen

Theses and Dissertations

Voluminous Eocene to Oligocene intermediate to silicic volcanic rocks related to subduction erupted throughout the Great Basin and were supplanted by bimodal eruptions of basalt and rhyolite related to extension in the Miocene. Locally, in the northern East Tintic Mountains of central Utah, this important transition is marked by a distinctive package of mafic alkaline magmas that reveal important details about the nature of this fundamental change. A late Oligocene anorthoclase-bearing shoshonite lava in the Boulter Peak quadrangle contains megacrysts of anorthoclase, with phenocrysts of olivine, clinopyroxene, magnesiohastingsite, magnetite, and apatite. The anorthoclase grains occur as glomerocrysts with irregular, resorbed …

Three-Dimensional Seismic Study Of Pluton Emplacement, Offshore Northwestern New Zealand, Jason Allen Luke

Theses and Dissertations

Detailed 3D seismic images of a volcano-plutonic complex offshore northwestern New Zealand indicate the intrusive complex lies in a relay zone between NE-trending en echelon normal faults. A series of high angle normal faults fan out from the margin of the Southern Intrusive Complex and cut the folded strata along the margin. These faults terminate against the margins of the intrusion, extend as much as 1 pluton diameter away from the margin, and then merge with regional faults that are part of the Northern Taranaki Graben. Offset along these faults is on the order of 10s to over 100 meters. …

Systematics, Diversity, And Origins Of Upper Cretaceous Continental Molluscan Fauna In The Infra- And Intertrappean Strata Of The Deccan Plateau, Central India, Marron J. Bingle-Davis

Theses and Dissertations

The Deccan Plateau in western and central India has been a major area of interest for researchers since the 1800s. In 1840, James Sowerby described the molluscan collection sent to him by John Malcolmson. In 1860, Stephen Hislop identified new molluscan species and redescribed based on better preserved material. Although this seminal work was comprehensive, interpretations have changed since the mid 1800s. Species need to be reassigned to current and/or accurate taxa, as well as revalidated statistically. Seventeen character traits were measured on over 600 specimens from five eastern Deccan Plateau localities representing a stratigraphic and temporal sequence. Cluster analysis …

Study On Underground Coal Gasification Combined Cycle Coupled With On-Site Carbon Capture And Storage, Peng Pei

Theses and Dissertations

The North Dakota portion of the Williston basin holds huge, but economically unmineable lignite resources in the Fort Union formation. A technology coupling the underground coal gasification with carbon capture and storage (UCG-CCS) is proposed in this study to recover these lignite resources in North Dakota. The UCG-CCS system provides a cost-effective and environment-friendly approach to convert the lignite to electricity and beneficially utilize the by-product of CO2 at the same time. The target coal seam is the Harmon lignite in the Fort Union formation in western North Dakota. The main objectives of this study are to set up the …

Diagenesis Of The Middle Member Of The Bakken Formation, Williston Basin, North Dakota, Katharine L. Kimber

Theses and Dissertations

The shales of the Bakken Formation have been extensively studied since the discovery of oil, but little attention has been paid to the middle reservoir member. Successfully produced wells are concentrated in multiple fields throughout the Williston Basin, there has been no definitive way to determine a well’s potential productivity. This study used core samples, point counting, and petrography to determine the diagenetic traits common to the Middle Member of the Bakken Formation and their effect on oil production. Cores from forty-one wells were examined. Thin sections were made from sixteen cores, eight producing wells and eight dry wells. All …

Terrestrial Heat Flow And An Assessment Of Enhanced Geothermal System Resources In Minnesota, Robert Carl Lloyd Klenner

Theses and Dissertations

Low heat flow has been previously reported in Minnesota (406 mW m-2) and the Superior Province of the Canadian Shield (42 ± 8 mW m-2). Low heat flow in Minnesota is due to heat flow measurements made in the mafic rocks of the Mid-Continent Rift System (MCRS) and attributed to the lack of correction for post-glacial climate fluctuations. Radioactivity is a critical heat flow component, particularly in Minnesota where all published heat flow sites are located within the MCRS, creating a bias in the data. The rift is a massive mafic intrusive complex that extends from Moho to the surface, …

An Integrated Geophysical And Geologic Study Of The Paleogene-Age Volcanic Body And Possible Landslide Deposit On The South Slope Of The Traverse Mountains, Utah, John C. Hoopes

Theses and Dissertations

Development of homes, roads, and commercial buildings in northern Utah has grown significantly during the last several decades. Construction has expanded from the valley floor to higher elevations of benches, foothills, and other elevated regions of the Wasatch Mountain Front. Construction in the higher elevation areas are a concern due to potential for landslides, both new and reactivated. Landslides have been identified in this region and are dated as Pleistocene to historical in age. A possible landslide of about 0.5 km2 on the south slope of Traverse Mountain has been mapped by the Utah Geological Survey in 2005. Its surface …

Quantification Of Glacier Melt Volume In The Indus River Watershed, Maria Nicole Asay

Theses and Dissertations

Quantifying the contribution of glaciers to water resources is particularly important in locations where glaciers may provide a large percentage of total river discharge. In some remote locations, direct field measurements of melt rates are difficult to acquire, so alternate approaches are needed. Positive degree-day modeling (PDD) of glacier melt is a valuable tool to making first order approximations of the volume of melt coming from glaciers. In this study, a PDD-melt model is applied to glaciers in the Indus River watershed located in Afghanistan, China, India, and Pakistan. Here, millions of people rely on the water from the Indus …

Sequence Stratigraphy Of Basal Oquirrh Group Caronates (Bashkirian) Thorpe Hills, Lake Mountain, Wasatch Front, Utah, Andrew D. Derenthal

Theses and Dissertations

The Early Pennsylvanian (Bashkirian/Morrowan) Bridal Veil Limestone of north-central Utah was deposited in the eastern portion of the rapidly subsiding Oquirrh basin. The 420 meter-thick Bridal Veil Limestone displays distinct cyclicity formed by stacked, meter to decameter scale high-frequency sequences and their constituent parasequences. Though no one ideal cycle may be defined for the Bridal Veil Limestone, each high-frequency sequence and parasequence contains a general shallowing upward trend that ranges from anaerobic to dysaerobic mudstone at the base to skeletal wackestone to mud-dominated packstone, capped by heterozoan grain-rich carbonates or siliciclastic tidalites. Cycles bounded by exposure surfaces, indicated by micro-brecciation, …

Implications Of Dune Pattern Analysis For Titan's Surface History, Christopher Jon Savage

Theses and Dissertations

Analyzing dune parameters such as dune width and spacing can be useful in determining the reaction of dunes to changes in atmospheric and sedimentary conditions currently and in the recent geologic past. Dune parameters, dune width and spacing, were measured for linear dunes in regions across Saturn's moon Titan from images T21, 23, 28, 44 and 48 collected by Synthetic Aperture RADAR aboard the Cassini spacecraft in order to reconstruct the surface history of Titan. Dunes in the five study swaths are all linear in form, but lack superimposed or flanking dunes. They have a mean width of 1.3 km …

Geologic Mapping Of Exhumed, Mid-Cretaceous Paleochannel Complexes Near Castle Dale, Emery County, Utah: On The Correlative Relationship Between The Dakota Sandstone And The Mussentuchit Member Of The Cedar Mountain Formation, Amanda Elizabeth Mackay Sorensen

Theses and Dissertations

Numerous well-preserved, exhumed paleochannels in the Morrison, Cedar Mountain and Dakota Sandstone formations are exposed east of Castle Dale, Utah. These channels consist primarily of point bar complexes and scattered, low sinuosity channels. To determine the vertical and lateral relationships of these channels within the Cedar Mountain and Dakota Sandstone formations, a 1:24,000 scale geologic map covering ~140 km2 was created showing the fluvial sandstones. In the study area the Cedar Mountain Formation consists, from bottom to top, of 2.5-10 m of Buckhorn Conglomerate Member equivalent units, ~80 m of the Ruby Ranch Member, and ~30 m of the Mussentuchit …

Identifying Complex Fluvial Sandstone Reservoirs Using Core, Well Log, And 3d Seismic Data: Cretaceous Cedar Mountain And Dakota Formations, Southern Uinta Basin, Utah., William H. Hokanson

Theses and Dissertations

The Cedar Mountain and Dakota Formations are significant gas producers in the southern Uinta Basin of Utah. To date, however, predicting the stratigraphic distribution and lateral extent of potential gas-bearing channel sandstone reservoirs in these fluvial units has proven difficult due to their complex architecture, and the limited spacing of wells in the region. A new strategy to correlate the Cedar Mountain and Dakota Formations has been developed using core, well-log, and 3D seismic data. The detailed stratigraphy and sedimentology of the interval were interpreted using descriptions of a near continuous core of the Dakota Formation from the study area. …

Evolution And Emergence Of The Hinterland In The Active Banda Arc-Continent Collision: Insights From The Metamorphic Rocks And Coral Terraces Of Kisar, Indonesia, Jonathan R. Major

Theses and Dissertations

Coral terrace surveys and U-series ages of coral and mollusk shells yield a surface uplift rate of ~0.6 m/ka for Kisar Island. The small island is located NE of Timor in the active Banda Arc of Indonesia. Based on this rate, Kisar first emerged from the ocean as recently as ~450 ka. Terrace surveys show warping that follows a pattern of east-west striking folds, which are along strike of thrust-related folds of similar wavelength imaged by a seismic reflection profile just offshore. This deformation shows that the emergence of Kisar can be attributed to forearc closure along the south-dipping Kisar …

Facies Analysis And Reservoir Characterization Of Subtidal, Intertidal, And Supratidal Zones Of The Mudstone-Rich Entrada Sandstone, South-Central Utah, Tanner Charles Hicks

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding thickness variation and facies transitions in the mudstone-rich part of the Upper Middle Jurassic (Callovian) Entrada Sandstone depositional system is critical for constraining the paleogeography and evaluating the economic potential of Utah's Entrada Sandstone. Facies of the Entrada Sandstone in south-central Utah are dominated by mudstone-rich intertidal facies that were widespread within the Jurassic seaway. Intertidal deposits interfinger basinward with subtidal ooid-bearing shoals and bars, and landward supratidal sabkha, and erg-margin eolian deposits. Three sections were measured to improve understanding of the lateral and vertical facies transitions. Variations in thickness indicate the rate of developing accommodation space was high …

Stratigraphy And Petroleum Production Potential Of The Spearfish Formation In North Central North Dakota, Nnaemeka C. Anyanwu

Theses and Dissertations

The Spearfish oil play is unconventional requiring the use of horizontal wells that are fracture stimulated to deliver economic flow rates. However, fraccing into the underlying water has been a source of significant production problems for operators. The key to developing the area is to keep the individual fracs large enough to stimulate the tight Spearfish sands but not to let them propagate into the underlying water zone.

The Spearfish Formation of the Black Hills has been traced into the subsurface of the Williston Basin in western North Dakota from bore holes at the northern margin of the outcrop area …