Geology Commons^™

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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. …

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 …

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 …

Metamorphism In The Wabigoon Subprovince In The Vicinity Of Vermilion Bay And Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Christine K. Roob

Theses and Dissertations

The Wabigoon-English River subprovince boundary has been proposed by various workers to be either a fault, an unconformity, an intrusive contact or a gradational boundary. North of the Wabigoon Fault, in the Vermilion Bay-Dryden area, migmatization and partial melting of meta sediments have produced a variety of metatexitic and diatexitic migmatites. Because migmatites are not encountered in the Wabigoon subprovince proper and the area north of the Wabigoon fault is so different from the rest of the subprovince, it is thought that the area may constitute the southernmost part of the English River sub province.

The Wabigoon Subprovince is a …

Evaluation Of The Interaction Between Seepage From A Municipal Waste Stabilization Lagoon, Mcville, North Dakota, And A Shallow Unconfined Aquifer, Paul R. Bulger

Theses and Dissertations

The McVille, North Dakota, Municipal Waste Stabilization Lagoon is situated above the McVille Aquifer, an unconfined glaciofluvial aquifer capable of significant water yields. The site contains a 3-D network of 29 monitoring wells. Standing waste-water is maintained in the clay-lined, primary-operating cell. Operating practices at the site entail periodic discharges of waste-water from the lined cell to an unlined cell, a procedure which results in rapid infiltration.

The shape and extent of the groundwater contaminant plume caused by the waste-stabilization process is best delineated by the distribution of chloride. Background wells contain less than 10 mg/L chloride. The area up …

Diagenesis And Porosity Development Of The Mission Canyon And Charles Formations (Mississippian), Treetop And Whiskey Joe Fields, North Dakota, Rebecca L. Durall

Theses and Dissertations

Rocks of the upper Mission Canyon and lower Charles Formations (Mississippian) in central Billings County, North Dakota consist of interbedded limestones, dolostones, and anhydrites which were deposited in a shallow epeiric sea. This study was limited to the upper Mission Canyon and lower Charles Formations of Treetop and Whiskey Joe fields, located along the Billings anticline in central Billings County, North Dakota. Close examination of ap~roximately 260 metres (850 feet) of upper Mission Canyon and lower Charles Formations core in the study area resulted in the separation of rocks into six lithotypes: 1) echinoderm wackestone, 2) dolomudstone, 3) neomorphic wackestone, …

A Mineralogical Study Of The Harmon Lignite Bed, Bullion Creek Formation (Paleocene), Bowman County, North Dakota, Christopher J. Zygarlicke

Theses and Dissertations

Study of the Harmon lignite bed at the Gascoyne Mine in Bowman County, North Dakota showed that most of the minerals in the coal lithobodies were detrital in origin and that variable ash deposition during combustion may be caused by variations in types and quantities of mineral phases.

The Harmon bed is part of the Bullion Creek Formation (Paleocene). Objectives of this study included: to develop scanning electron microscope/microprobe techniques for the study of minerals in coal; to determine the origins of the mineral phases; to postulate a depositional environment for the Harmon lignite; and to ascertain whether variable ash …

Geohydrologic Evaluation Of A Proposed Coal-Ash Disposal Site Near Mandan, North Dakota, David M. Ronnei

Theses and Dissertations

Montana-Dakota Utilities Company (MDU) operates Heskett Station, a 100 megawatt coal-fired power plant, located near Mandan, North Dakota. In the process of generating electricity, MDU's Heskett Station produces approximately 62,000 tons of coal-ash annually. The ash has been disposed of by above-ground stockpiling on the plant site for the past 35 years. Limited storage space and new solid waste regulatory restrictions have necessitated the search for a new ash disposal site.

This investigation focused on selecting a disposal site that would be suitable for long-term disposal of coal-ash generated at Heskett Station. Specifically, the objective was to locate a site …

Depositional Environments And Diagenesis, Winnipegosis Formation (Middle Devonian), Williston Basin, North Dakota, Nancy A. Perrin

Theses and Dissertations

In the Williston Basin, the Winnipegosis Formation is the major carbonate unit of the initial transgressive-regressive pulse of the Kaskaskia sequence. Twenty-two lithofacies were identified by well-log, core, and thin-section studies of Winnipegosis rocks; these belong to seven environments of deposition which include deep basin, deep shelf, shallow shelf, reef, lagoon, tidal flat, and evaporite basin. The deposition of the Winnipegosis and Prairie Formations were inter-related and occurred during six episodes. Following a brief hiatus separating the underlying Ashern Formation from the Winnipegosis, a clear, quiet, shallow-marine environment became established in the North Dakota portion of the Elk Point Basin. …

Depositional Environments Of A Portion Of The Bullion Creek Formation (Paleocene), Western Billings County, North Dakota, Rodney K. Perkins

Theses and Dissertations

The Bullion Creek Formation (Paleocene) in North Dakota is part of an Upper Cretaceous to Eocene wedge of siliciclastic rocks formed during uplift associated with the Laramide Orogeny. The Bullion Creek Formation consists predominantly of mudrocks , with fine-grained sandstone, lignite, and rare limestone lenses . Previous workers have postulated combinations of fluvial and lacustrine depositional environments for the rocks.

The study area covers 15 square kilometres in the badlands of the Little Missouri River in western Billings County, North Dakota, where approximately the upper 75 metres of the Bullion Creek Formation ls exposed. Twenty nine stratigraphic sections were measured …

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

Theses and Dissertations

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

This study is …

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

Theses and Dissertations

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

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

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

Theses and Dissertations

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

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

Shoreline Recession: Past, Present, And Future, Lake Sakakawea, North Dakota, Brian S. Sandberg

Theses and Dissertations

Shoreline erosion is a major problem at Lake Sakakawea, North Dakota. Instrumentation along the eastern shore was initiated in 1983 to measure shoreline recession and determine the processes responsible, with the ultimate goal being the development of a relatively simple equation to predict the rate of recession which is better than the model currently used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

For the twenty stations, the present rate of recession ranges from 0.2 to 4.3 m/y. Approximately 78 percent of the yearly recession occurs during the warm months (May-October) due to wave erosion. Erosion over the cold months occurs …

Depositional History And Diagenesis Of The Upper Mission Canyon And Lower Charles Formations (Mississippian), Billings County, North Dakota, Randall A. Stephens

Theses and Dissertations

The upper Mission Canyon and lower Charles Formations of the Madison Group (Mississippian) in central Billings County, North Dakota respectively consist of interbedded limestones and dolostones, and anhydrite. Study of these rocks was limited to Big Stick and T.R. Fields, located on the Billings Anticline, central Williston Basin.

Detailed examinations of cores from a 166 ft (51 m) section within the upper Mission Canyon and lower Charles Formations resulted in the identification of seven lithotypes: echinoderm wackestone-packstone, dolomudstone, dolomitic echinoderm wackestone, grainstone, skeletalpeloidal carbonate, laminated carbonate, and anhydrite. The stratigraphic distribution of lithotypes is consistent throughout the study area.

Deposition …

Deflation Basin Stratigraphy: Southwestern North Dakota, Robert E. Seidel

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was the determination of a similar depositional sequence for sediments from a number of shallow basins in southwestern North Dakota and the comparison of this sequence with other work either in the area or in similar geographic environments.

Samples were obtained by augering, coring, and trenching selected basins. They were analyzed by means of: core description; detailed texture analyses on selected cores by sieve, pipette, and SediGraph techniques; and mineralogy by x-ray diffraction. Computer analyses were used to characterize grain-size distributions and to correlate texture and mineralogy by cross-association.

The results of the study verified …

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

Theses and Dissertations

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

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

Conodont Biostratigraphy Of The Bakken And Lower Lodgepole Formations (Devonian And Mississippian), Williston Basin, North Dakota, Timothy P. Huber

Theses and Dissertations

Fourteen cores were sampled and processed, and conodonts obtained were used in the biozonation of the Bakken and basal Lodgepole Formations in the Williston Basin in North Dakota. The Bakken Formation of Devonian and Mississippian age and the Lodgepole Formation, entirely of Mississippian age, are subsurface units in North Dakota. The Bakken Formation (44 metres thick) consists of, in ascending order: a lower, dark, organic shale; a middle calcareous siltstone that is divisible into three lithic units; and an upper, dark, indurated, organic shale. The Lodgepole Formation (160 to 260 metres thick) is an argillaceous, fossiliferous limestone near the Basin …

The Effects Of Fly Ash And Flue-Gas Desulfurization Wastes On Groundwater Quality In A Reclaimed Lignite Strip Mine Disposal Site, Frank W. Beaver

Theses and Dissertations

Coal conversion wastes were generated at a lignite-coal-fired, steam-electric power station near Center, North Dakota, and were buried in unsaturated and saturated settings within the nearby stripmine, typical of settings used by the industry. The study ran for 8 years beginning in 1978. Approximately 240 piezometers were used for collecting groundwater level and groundwater chemistry data in the saturated zone. Pressure-vacuum lysimeters were installed to sample the unsaturated zone. Interstitial water was extracted from Shelby tube and auger samples at otherwise uninstrumented points.

More than 15,000 water-level recordings allowed precise definition of groundwater flow and occurrence at the study site. …

Depositional History And Diagenesis Of The Sherwood And Bluell Beds (Mississippian) Southwestern Renville County, North Dakota, Christopher F. Quinn

Theses and Dissertations

The Sherwood "bed" and the overlying Bluell "bed" are two log-defined zones at the top of the Frobisher-Alida interval. The Frobisher-Alida interval, within either the Mission Canyon carbonates or the overlying Charles evaporites, is composed of a number (up to six) of log-defined zones. On the northeast flank of the Williston Basin the zones are separated by even, lithologically homogeneous argillaceous marker beds. Basinward, these marker beds terminate into less argillaceous carbonates.

The area studied covered four townships in southwest Renville·county, North Dakota. The section studied included the K-1 marker, the Sherwood bed (with the Sherwood argillaceous marker), and the …

Paleontology And Stratigraphy Of The Niobrara Formation (Upper Cretaceous) Of Eastern North Dakota With Emphasis On The Calcareous Nannoplankton, Jeremy Reiskind

Theses and Dissertations

The Upper Cretaceous Niobrara Formation in eastern North Dakota consists of calcareous shales, chalks, and shaly chalks. The formation was studied from surface exposures, cores, and well logs. The Niobrara is 62 feet (19m) to 272 feet (83 m) and is thickest to the northeast, in a central linear area, and to the southwest. In a northern area, it was divided into a lower, calcareous shale member, and an upper, chalky member. In a.southern area, five stratigraphic units were recognized, in ascending order: a lower shaly chalk, a shale, a middle shaly chalk, a chalk, and an upper shaly chalk. …

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

Theses and Dissertations

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

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

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

Theses and Dissertations

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

The Athens North Quarry site …

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

Theses and Dissertations

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