Geology Commons^™

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 …

Maximum Depositional Age Of The Neoproterozoic Jacobsville Sandstone, Michigan: Implications For The Evolution Of The Midcontinent Rift, David H. Malone, Carol A. Stein, John P. Craddock, Jonas Kley, Seth Stein, John E. Malone

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

A crucial constraint on the evolution of the ca. 1100 Ma Midcontinent Rift (MCR) in North America comes from the Jacobsville Sandstone, Bayfield Group, and other equivalent sedimentary rocks (JBE) that overlie the volcanics and sediments deposited in the MCR basin near Lake Superior. The MCR began extending ca. 1120 Ma and failed—ceased extending—at ca. 1096 Ma, although volcanism continued for ∼10 m.y. The JBE’s age is poorly constrained, with proposed ages ranging from ca. 1100 to ca. 542 Ma (i.e., youngest Precambrian). It has been proposed that the JBE were deposited shortly prior to or during the time when …

Determining The Viability Of Recent Storms As Modern Analogues For North-Central Gulf Of Mexico Paleotempestology Through Sedimentary Analysis And Storm Surge Reconstruction, Joshua Caleb Bregy

Master's Theses

The northern Gulf of Mexico has been devastated by recent intense storms. Camille (1969) and Katrina (2005) are two notable hurricanes that made landfall in virtually the same location in Mississippi. However, fully understanding the risks and processes associated with hurricane impacts is impeded by a short and fragmented instrumental record. Paleotempestology could potentially use modern analogues from intense storms in this region to extend the hurricane record back to pre-observational time. Existing empirically based models can back-calculate surge heights over coastal systems as a function of transport distance, particle settling velocity, and gravitational acceleration. We collected cores in a …

Implications For The North American Lower Crustal 7.Xx Km/S Layer From An Exhumed Crustal Root, Western Canadian Shield, Calvin Everette Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Studies of the Thorsby magnetic low, the southern extent of the 2,800 km-long Snowbird

Tectonic Zone (STZ) in Alberta, Canada, show pronounced lower crustal seismic reflectivity and preservation of a crustal root. These features may be correlative to the well-exposed central STZ, where two lower crustal tectonic events have been identified at 2.6-2.55 Ga and 1.92-1.89 Ga. High-resolution cross-sections of the central STZ reveal the late-stage interaction of Paleoproterozoic intracontinental thrust and strike-slip shear zones responsible for juxtaposing ca. >20,000 km2 of lower continental crust (0.9-1.5 GPa) with middle continental crust (0.5 GPa) (Mahan and Williams, 2005; Dumond et al., …

3d Seismic Interpretation Of Paleokarst Sinkholes, Boone Limestone, Lower Mississippian: Subsurface Eastern Arkoma Basin, Conway County, Arkansas, Daniel James Moser

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Unconventional natural gas discoveries in the Fayetteville Shale of the eastern Arkoma Basin have led to improved understanding of subsurface geology in central Arkansas. This study interprets 3D seismic data for evidence of paleokarst within the Mississippian formations in a portion of the subsurface of Conway County, Arkansas. Quantitative data interpretation suggests that sinkholes developed during the Mississippian portion of the eastern Arkoma Basin record.

In a nine square mile area, 3D seismic mapping of Mississippian formations show 14 closed depressions interpreted as karst sinkholes. Time and depth structure maps were created and utilized to estimate the timing of dissolution …

Early And Middle Atokan Lithostratigraphy And Reservoir Development, Northern Arkoma Basin, Northwestern Arkansas, Matthew Alan Blaylock

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Arkoma Basin is a peripheral foreland arc basin associated with the Ouachita orogenic belt. In Arkansas, the basin is bounded by the Ouachita belt to the south and the Ozark Dome to the north. Sedimentary rocks of early to middle Atokan age are present in the shallow subsurface at the northern margin of the Arkoma Basin in northwestern Arkansas. Sedimentary units of this time interval reflect basinal subsidence, and the transition of the Arkoma Basin from a passive margin shelf to a rapidly evolving foreland arc basin. Sediment sources from the north and east produced a thickened Lower and …

Petrographic And Geochemical Characteristics Of The Kiejo, Rungwe And Ngozi Volcanic Rocks, Southern Tanzania: Implication For Tectonic Activities And Magmatic Differentiation, Athanas S. Macheyeki

Tanzania Journal of Science

Rock samples were collected from the Kiejo, Rungwe and Ngozi volcanoes, southern Tanzania. Results show that, in the Ngozi and Rungwe volcanoes, magma cooled relatively fast. After large part of the magma had crystallized, nucleation of crystals at a relatively slow rate crystallized from interstitial fluids of the primary magma that had already crystallized fine grained minerals resulting into large grains of minerals. In the Kiejo volcano, both zoned and unzonned olivine crystals exist; unzoned crystals being primary and the zoned ones are secondary. Such observations also indicate that the magma responsible for these rocks had interstitial fluids that crystallized …

Cl In The Early Solar System, Jeffrey Williams

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The early solar nebula is thought to have been a turbulent disk of dust and gas. An unknown mechanism caused the disk to collapse, such as a nearby super nova. This collapse led to high temperatures and high particle densities at the mid-plane of the disk. An unknown mechanism caused the temperature in local area to become hot enough to cause some material to melt –creating the first igneous material of the solar system. These melt spherules, called chondrules, cooled and accreted together with dust and ice to form larger bodies called chondrites. Once the chondritic bodies were of sufficient …

Subsidence Monitoring In Hampton Roads Using Satellites, Ben Hamlington

July 29, 2016: The Latest in Sea Level Rise Science

No abstract provided.

Three-Dimensional Geologic Modeling And Groundwater Flow Modeling Above A Co2 Sequestration Test Site, Erin Carlock, Eric W. Peterson, David H. Malone

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

As temperatures rise and climate change becomes an increasingly important issue, geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration is a viable solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Subsurface 3-D modeling and groundwater flow modeling were completed as a component of a CO2 sequestration feasibility study in the city of Decatur, Illinois. The Decatur Archer Daniels Midland Company Ethanol Plant (ADM) serves as the injection site for a CO2 sequestration project within a deep saline reservoir. Petrel was successfully used to model the glacial deposits in the area. The 3-D geologic model shows the Peoria Silt, Wedron Formation, and Cahokia Formation at the …

Observational Evidence Confirms Modelling Of The Long-Term Integrity Of Co2-Reservoir Caprocks, N. Kampman, A. Busch, P. Bertier, J. Snippe, S. Hangx, V. Pipich, Z. Di, G. Rother, J. F. Harrington, James P. Evans, A. Maskell, H. J. Chapman, M. J. Bickle

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Storage of anthropogenic CO₂ in geological formations relies on a caprock as the primary seal preventing buoyant super-critical CO₂ escaping. Although natural CO₂ reservoirs demonstrate that CO₂ may be stored safely for millions of years, uncertainty remains in predicting how caprocks will react with CO2-bearing brines. This uncertainty poses a significant challenge to the risk assessment of geological carbon storage. Here we describe mineral reaction fronts in a CO₂ reservoir-caprock system exposed to CO₂ over a timescale comparable with that needed for geological carbon storage. The propagation of the reaction front is retarded by …

Three-Dimensional Architecture And Hydrostratigraphy Of Cross-Cutting Buried Valleys Using Airborne Electromagnetics, Glaciated Central Lowlands, Nebraska, Usa, Jesse T. Korus Dr., Robert Matthew Joeckel, Dana P. Divine, Jared D. Abraham

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Buried valleys are characteristic features of glaciated landscapes, and their deposits host important aquifers worldwide. Understanding the stratigraphic architecture of these deposits is essential for protecting groundwater and interpreting sedimentary processes in subglacial and ice-marginal environments. The relationships between depositional architecture, topography and hydrostratigraphy in dissected, pre-Illinoian till sheets is poorly understood. Boreholes alone are inadequate to characterize the complex geology of buried valleys, but airborne electromagnetic surveys have proven useful for this purpose. A key question is whether the sedimentary architecture of buried valleys can be interpreted from airborne electromagnetic profiles. This study employs airborne electromagnetic resistivity profiles to …

A Molluscan Record Of Monsoonal Precipitation Along The Western Shoreline Of The Late Maastrichtian Western Interior Seaway, Scott Allen Ishler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Global warming in response to increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 concentration (pCO₂) has generated concern over the effects of increasing surface temperature on the hydrologic cycle. Investigating precipitation dynamics during past ‘greenhouse’ intervals provide important insights necessary to better constrain potential future climate scenarios. The Late Cretaceous greenhouse is characterized by elevated pCO₂ and surface temperatures, with a prolonged cooling trend which initiated in the late Campanian and an associated 4^th-order sea-level regression recorded in the Western Interior Seaway (WIS), providing an opportunity to examine the hydrologic cycle under conditions of changing temperature and sea-level. …

Three-Dimensional Geological Model Of Quaternary Sediments In Walworth County, Wisconsin, Usa, Jodi Lau, Jason F. Thomason, David H. Malone, Eric W. Peterson

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

A three-dimensional (3D) geologic model was developed for Quaternary deposits in southern Walworth County, WI using Petrel, a software package primarily designed for use in the energy industry. The purpose of this research was to better delineate and characterize the shallow glacial deposits, which include multiple shallow sand and gravel aquifers. The 3D model of Walworth County was constructed using datasets such as the U.S. Geological Survey 30 m digital elevation model (DEM) of land surface, published maps of the regional surficial geology and bedrock topography, and a database of water-well records. Using 3D visualization and interpretation tools, more than …

Stratigraphy And Sedimentology Of The Cretaceous Mowry Shale In The Northern Bighorn Basin Of Wyoming: Implications For Unconventional Resource Exploration And Development, Jordan M. Bremer

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

The Mowry Shale (Albian-Cenomanian) is an extensive mudrock dominated unit historically believed to represent a single, long-term deep water sequence within the Western Cordilleran Foreland Basin of North America. While the Mowry Shale has received study for almost a century, detailed stratigraphic context is still lacking. Such an understanding will be required as the formation is increasingly explored as an unconventional resource play.

This study examines the stratigraphy of the interval between the Muddy sandstone and the Frontier Formation, focusing on the Mowry Shale both at outcrop and in the subsurface of the Bighorn Basin of northwestern Wyoming. Detailed measured …

Devonian Hydrocarbon Production In South Central Kentucky: A Gis Study, Andrew David Reeder

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Historically, Devonian Corniferous hydrocarbon production in south-central Kentucky has been a major contributor to the total hydrocarbon resources within Butler, Edmonson, and Warren counties. The Corniferous adds to the already large hydrocarbon totals produced from the Illinois Basin; however, this hydrocarbon contribution does not come without major pitfalls and inconsistencies. The south-central Kentucky Devonian Corniferous rocks comprise a diverse and complex hydrocarbon system made up of multiple migration pathways, trapping mechanisms, and seals. The multiple Corniferous units all derive production from the same source rock: the New Albany Shale.

A Geographic Information System (GIS) containing data on surface elevations, structure …

Linking In-Situ Data With Remote Sensing To Analyze Tropical Glacier Stability And Retreat In The Cordillera Blanca, Peru, Chandler H. Santos

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Glaciers are a major source of freshwater around the world, but they are melting at an increased rate due to atmospheric warming resulting from anthropogenic climate change. In addition to temperature increases, light-absorbing particulates on glaciers also are contributing to glacial melt. This research examines how black carbon, released into the air through partial combustion of biofuels, is affecting the surface albedo of glaciers. I also delineate possible sources of black carbon in the Cordillera Blanca region of Peru. Ground data were collected each year from 2011 to 2013 during the local dry season. Effective black carbon (eBC) values were …

Karst Landscape Influence On The Planetary Boundary Layer Atmosphere, Zachary S. Sullivan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Karst landscapes cover approximately 20% of the ice-free land area worldwide. The soluble nature of the bedrock within a karst landscape allows for the formation of caverns, joints, fissures, sinkholes, and underground streams, which affect the hydrological behavior of the region. Currently, the Noah Land-Surface Model (Noah- LSM), coupled with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, does not provide a representation of the physical behavior of a karst terrain. Previous research has attempted to model karst behavior through soil moisture and land cover/land use changes to determine the influence this unique landscape may have on atmospheric phenomenon. This highlights …

The Role Of Diagenesis In Reservoir Development Of The Big Clifty (Jackson) Sandstone In South-Central Kentucky, Kort H. Butler

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Big Clifty is a Chesterian-age Mississippian sandstone member of the Golconda Formation that extends from south-central Kentucky into adjacent Illinois and Indiana. Asphaltic deposits and conventional petroleum plays are distributed along the Pennyrile Fault System and Plateau in the southeastern portion of the Illinois basin. In south-central Kentucky anomalous oil-saturation geometries are observed in cored sections of the Big Clifty from wells in Warren and Butler counties along the margin of the Pennyrile Plateau. Petrographic study of the cores has revealed several diagenetic processes that have contributed to, or are directly responsible for, the anomalous oil saturation geometries and …

Evaluating The Influences Of Karst Hydrogeology On Freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms In Kentucky Lakes, Robert T. Schaefer

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A problem exists in Nolin River Lake and Rough River Lake in Kentucky, due to the increasing prevalence of cyanobacterial-based harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) and the threats they pose to local communities. These lakes were developed as artificial reservoirs from embankment. Further complicating the issue, the lakes are located within a heavily karstified region and there exists no plan or method currently for monitoring or managing CyanoHABs in a karst region with regard to groundwater inputs to the lake systems or their tributaries. A mixture of techniques and analysis methods was used to determine the best way to monitor and …

Pumping Tests, La Grange Region, Western Australia, Groundwater Consulting Services

Natural resources commissioned reports

Groundwater Consulting Services was contracted to collate and analyse pumping test information from four sites in the La Grange region, near Broome. Two of the pumping tests were conducted by Groundwater Consulting Services and two pumping tests were conducted by Kimberley Water Pty Ltd under instruction from the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia.

The major objective of the work was to provide aquifer hydraulic data to be used as input into a numerical model being developed by the Department of Agriculture and Food. A secondary objective was to provide irrigation water supply development advice for potential irrigation projects. …

2015 Gsa International Distinguished Lecturer Tours Key Locations In Central And South America, Lisa L. Ely

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

As the International Lecturer from North America, I visited 11 destinations in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The tour was designed to include locations where the topic of my presentation, “Following in the Footsteps of Darwin:
Combining Geological and Historical Evidence to Assess Earthquakes and Tsunami Hazards,” would have direct relevance.

Determining Groundwater Sources And Ages Via Isotope Geochemistry In Big Sky, Montana, Thomson Connie

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Big Sky ski resort area in southwestern Montana is experiencing exponential growth in both development and population. Concerns have arisen over the quantity of good-quality groundwater in the region, and whether there is a large enough reserve to support the growing demand. In light of already-documented water-level decreases, and domestic wells needing to be deepened or replaced, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) enlisted the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology's Ground Water Investigation Program to perform an assessment of groundwater availability and quality in the region, and define groundwater supply sources.

The geology in the …

Reexamination Of Ore-Forming Processes In The Emery Mining District, Powell Co., Montana, Jarred Zimmerman

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The present investigation was undertaken in collaboration with the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology to re-evaluate the Emery district using modern methods of ore deposit study including fluid inclusions, stable isotopes, and mineral geochemistry. Results from this thesis will be an aid in reassessing the potential of the Boulder Batholith and surrounding geologic units to host large, undiscovered precious and/or base metal deposits. The Emery (aka Zosell) district was mined from the late 1800s until the early 1950s. Mineralized quartz veins are hosted by basaltic andesite flows of the late Cretaceous Elkhorn Mountain Volcanics (EMV). Two sets of veins …

Dental Microwear Variation In Teleoceras Fossiger (Rhinocerotidae) From The Miocene (Hemphillian) Of Kansas, With Consideration Of Masticatory Processes And Enamel Microstructure, Kelsie Abrams

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Dental microwear analysis is the study of microscopic features on the surfaces of teeth, and is used to reconstruct and analyze diet in extinct and extant animals. Microwear analysis on ungulates is typically conducted on the paracone or protoconid of the second molar, as these cusps are usually the first point of contact between upper and lower teeth during the chewing stroke. However, the exact method of mastication varies in different groups of ungulates, and the influence of mastication on the location and production of microwear features has been studied very little. Additionally, the role of highly specialized enamel microstructure …

Reevaluating The Geologic Formations Of The Upper Coastal Plain In Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Bradley Aaron Fitzwater

OES Theses and Dissertations

Data from a new geological map of the Patrick, S.C. 7.5 minute quadrangle (1:24,000) and detailed descriptions of two cores collected nearby (Middendorf and Cheraw, S.C.) permit improved interpretation of the geology of this portion of the Carolina Sandhills. Geologic mapping incorporated analyses of outcrops with LiDAR data, soil survey maps, ground-penetrating radar transects, and hand auger borings. Micro- and macrofossil identification and optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating provided age control.

Four distinct mappable units occur throughout the Patrick quadrangle. Resting unconformably on schist of the Paleozoic Persimmons Fork Formation, the Cretaceous Middendorf Formation is more than 85.3 m thick and …

Behavior Of Rare Earth Elements And High-Field Strength Elements During Peridotite - Seawater Interaction, Carl Pasquale Frisby

Theses and Dissertations

Serpentinized abyssal peridotites are evidence for active communication between the Earth’s hydrosphere and the upper mantle, where exchange and retention of both major and trace elements occur. Rare earth elements (REE) and high-field strength elements (HFSE: Ti, Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta) are generally thought of as immobile during serpentinization. In partially serpentinized abyssal peridotites, clinopyroxenes typically retain radiogenic Nd and Hf isotopic signatures that have been used to infer the composition and high temperature processes in the upper mantle. However, bulk rock Nd isotopes in some serpentinized abyssal peridotites less radiogenic values that approach that of seawater, which has been …

From Near And Far: Utilization Of In-Situ And Remotely Sensed Satellite Data From Nasa And Noaa, Jessica Rochelle Price Sutton

Theses and Dissertations

Satellite remote sensing observations have been used for numerous studies to better understand physical and biological properties over varying spatial and temporal scales. Depending on the satellite and sensor, the satellite-derived observations can provide high spatial and temporal resolution for many important physical and biological variables. While there are many limitations in utilizing satellite remote sensing products, there are also many advantages. This dissertation investigates three different applications for satellite remote sensing products to address climatological and ecological concerns. This dissertation is motivated by two overall research questions: (1) How can satellite remote sensing products be used to address important …

Small Mud And Sand Filled Paleochannels Offshore Charleston, Sc, Erin Smoak

Theses and Dissertations

The spatial variations of Quaternary sediments on the continental shelf record the progression of depositional environments during the latest sea-level rise, and are fundamental controls on submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) flow. SGD on continental shelves is an important but poorly constrained process. Spatial variations of lithologies on continental shelves, such as sand-filled paleochannels, are assumed to play a fundamental role in controlling where SGD occurs but coincident seismic mapping and sedimentological data are rare. Here we combine seismic mapping of paleochannel locations with sediment cores to examine the sedimentary characteristics of paleochannel fill and interfluvial deposits. To establish paleochannel locations …

Platinum Decoupling From Pge In Peridotitic Sulfides From The St. Elena Ophiolite In Costa Rica, Jessica A. Holm

Theses and Dissertations

The platinum group elements (Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd) are important petrogenetic tracers of mantle processes and the Re-Os isotope system an important tool for tracing ancient depletion and refertilization processes in the mantle. A key characteristic of these elements is that they are siderophile and chalcophile, and their abundance in the Earth’s mantle is thought to be controlled by sulfides. Existing thermodynamic data suggests that at reducing conditions similar to those found at the early stages of serpentinization, PGE may exist as alloys in the mantle. While numerous studies report on the bulk peridotite PGE and sulfide PGE …