The Cenozoic Era,
2016
West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography
The Cenozoic Era, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
It has been said that the modem world unfolded during the Cenozoic Era. It is true that every feature of the modem landscape was formed during the Cenozoic Era. The Alps and the Himalaya have literally risen from the ocean floor. The Rocky mountains have been formed, worn away and re-uplifted to their present heights. The Appalachian Mountains that had formed at the close of the Paleozoic and worn away by the end of the Triassic, were uplifted and sculpted into their present form during the Cenozoic. All the other mountains of the world were also elevated and sculpted to …
The Devonian Period,
2016
West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography
The Devonian Period, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
Until the 19th century, the rocks exposed throughout the provinces of Devonshire and Cornwall in southwestern England had long been considered to be Carboniferous in age because of their content of fossil plants. Closer investigation by Murchison and Sedgwick in 1836, however, showed that only the uppermost portion of these rocks contained fossil plants. Because the lower portion of the rock sequence was devoid of plant fossils, was highly deformed, and resembled the rocks of northwest Wales which they had recently studied, Murchison and Sedgwick assigned the rocks to the Cambrian System. However, local fossil collectors had submitted fossil corals …
Geologic History Of West Virginia,
2016
West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography
Geologic History Of West Virginia, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
The exposed rocks and those that underlie the surface of West Virginia record approximately 300M years of Earth history. This may sound like a very long period of time, but in reality, it only represents about 7% of the total age of Eai1h. Before we undertake a discussion of the geologic history of West Virginia, there are some basic topics we should review in order to fully appreciate what will follow. To that end, the following topics will be discussed: 1) The Origin of Earth, 2) The Response of Rocks to Stress, 3) Some Basic Characteristics of Sedimentary Rocks, 4) …
Nonlinear Model And Qualitative Analysis For Coupled Axial/Torsional Vibrations Of Drill String,
2016
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Nonlinear Model And Qualitative Analysis For Coupled Axial/Torsional Vibrations Of Drill String, Fushen Ren, Baojin Wang, Suli Chen, Zhigang Yao, Baojun Bai
Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works
A nonlinear dynamics model and qualitative analysis are presented to study the key effective factors for coupled axial/torsional vibrations of a drill string, which is described as a simplified, equivalent, flexible shell under axial rotation. Here, after dimensionless processing, the mathematical models are obtained accounting for the coupling of axial and torsional vibrations using the nonlinear dynamics qualitative method, in which excitation loads and boundary conditions of the drill string are simplified to a rotating, flexible shell. The analysis of dynamics responses is performed by means of the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method, in which the rules that govern the changing of the …
Morphodynamic Modeling Of Fluvial Channel Fill And Avulsion Time Scales During Early Holocene Transgression, As Substantiated By The Incised Valley Stratigraphy Of The Trinity River, Texas,
2016
Rice University
Morphodynamic Modeling Of Fluvial Channel Fill And Avulsion Time Scales During Early Holocene Transgression, As Substantiated By The Incised Valley Stratigraphy Of The Trinity River, Texas, Kaitlin Moran, Jeffrey Nittrouer, Mauricio Perillo, Jorge Lorenzo Trueba, John Anderson
Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works
The Trinity River system provides a natural laboratory for linking fluvial morphodynamics to stratigraphy produced by sea-level rise, because the sediments occupying the Trinity incised valley are well constrained in terms of timing of deposition and facies distribution. Herein, the Trinity River is modeled for a range of base-level rise rates, avulsion thresholds, and water discharges to explore the effects of backwater-induced in-channel sedimentation on channel avulsion. The findings are compared to observed sediment facies to evaluate the capability of a morphodynamic model to reproduce sediment deposition patterns. Base-level rise produces mobile locations of in-channel sedimentation and deltaic channel avulsions. …
Heavy-Oil And Bitumen Resources Of The Big Clifty Sandstone, Northeastern Grayson County And Adjacent Hardin County, Kentucky,
2016
University of Kentucky
Heavy-Oil And Bitumen Resources Of The Big Clifty Sandstone, Northeastern Grayson County And Adjacent Hardin County, Kentucky, J. Richard Bowersox
Report of Investigations--KGS
Rock asphalt (bitumen-saturated sandstone) was produced from the Big Clifty Sandstone near Tar Hill and Big Clifty in northeastern Grayson County, and at Summit in adjacent Hardin County, from 1889 to 1940. Noncommercial amounts of oil were distilled from Big Clifty rock asphalt before 1930. Resource assessments conducted throughout the area during the mid-1920's described substantial rock-asphalt deposits. Later assessments in 1951, 1965, and the early 1980's, however, overlooked the northeastern Grayson County area. A new evaluation in 2015 estimated that the historically developed area between Clifty Creek and meeting Creek, and between the Summit Fault and Eveleigh Fault Zone, …
Aquifers Of Nebraska I: The Codell Aquifer In Northeastern Nebraska,
2016
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Aquifers Of Nebraska I: The Codell Aquifer In Northeastern Nebraska, Dana Divine, R. Matthew Joeckel, Sue Olafsen Lackey
Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications
No abstract provided.
Documentation Of Extensive Root Systems Of Thalassia Seagrass Along The Banks Of Pigeon Creek, San Salvador Island, Bahamas,
2016
Smith College
Documentation Of Extensive Root Systems Of Thalassia Seagrass Along The Banks Of Pigeon Creek, San Salvador Island, Bahamas, Bosiljka Glumac, H. Allen Curran
Geosciences: Faculty Publications
Reprinted from: Bosiljka Glumac & Michael Savarese (eds.), Proceedings of the 16th Symposium on the Geology of the Bahamas and Other Carbonate Regions: San Salvador, Gerace Research Center
Experimental Investigation Of Fracture Width Limitations Of Granular Lost Circulation Treatments,
2016
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Experimental Investigation Of Fracture Width Limitations Of Granular Lost Circulation Treatments, Mortadha Al-Saba, Runar Nygaard, Arild Saasen, Olav Magnar Nes
Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works
Drilling fluid losses into fractured shales is a major challenge. Lost circulation treatments are widely applied to mitigate the losses; however, the effectiveness of these treatments is affected by different physical properties of the used lost circulation materials (LCM). This paper presents an experimental investigation to study the effect of LCM type, concentration, particle size distribution, temperature, and LCM shape on the formed seal integrity, with respect to differential pressure, at different fracture widths. The overall objective of this study is to address the effectiveness of LCM treatments in sealing fractured shales, with specific application to the over consolidated Barents …
Coal Geology: The Origin Of Coal,
2016
West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography
Coal Geology: The Origin Of Coal, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
Coal forms from the tissues of plants with the major contributor being the woody tissues, cellulose and lignin, from trees growing in fresh-water wetlands. Land plants first evolved during the early Devonian and by the end of the period had adapted to most terrestrial environments. Beginning in early Pennsylvanian time, vast portions of the eastern portion of Laurentia were covered with coal-forming swamps and bogs, environments that were to be repeated throughout the remainder of the Paleozoic Era and again in the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary Periods. It was during these times that the combination of climatic conditions and wetland …
A Geology Field Trip,
2016
West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography
A Geology Field Trip, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
oduction to Field Trip I had several objectives in mind when I prepared this field trip. I want to develop in you an interest, an understanding, and an appreciation of geology of the region. I want to show you differences between three of the basic physiographic provinces within Appalachia, the Low Plateau, the High Plateau, and the Appalachian Mountain Section of the Valley and Ridge Province. I also want to show you the role that the kinds and structures of the underlying rocks plays in the formation of the topography of a region in order to have you better understand …
Adiabatic Cooling And Warming,
2016
West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography
Adiabatic Cooling And Warming, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
In order to understand how deserts form one needs to understand two processes called adiabatic cooling and warming.
Kinds Of Volcanoes,
2016
West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography
Kinds Of Volcanoes, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
By definition, a volcano is a conical structure that builds around a volcanic vent. A volcanic vent is an opening from which molten rock and gases erupt. According to the definition, there is no size requirement. There are volcanoes that you can span with your legs while on the other hand, there is Mt. Fiji.
The West Virginia's Valley And Ridge Physiographic Province: An Overly Simplistic Introduction,
2016
West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography
The West Virginia's Valley And Ridge Physiographic Province: An Overly Simplistic Introduction, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
Anyone who has driven across West Virginia has noticed major changes in the lay of the land. In the western portion of the State the landscape belongs to the Appalachian Plateaus Physiographic Province. But what constitutes a plateau? According to the Glossary of Geology, a plateau is a dissected (stream carved) upland underlain by horizontal strata. In the case of the Appalachian Plateau, it is a relatively flat to gently rolling surface with an average elevation of about 900 feet underlain by gently folded to flat-lying sedimentary rocks. But what is a physiographic province? Again, according to the Glossary of …
Earth's Place In Space,
2016
West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography
Earth's Place In Space, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
I've always thought that a story should start at the beginning. Since this book is the story of Earth, we will start at the beginning. According to the astronomers, in the beginning, there was no need for geology because there were no minerals or rocks; there was no Earth; there was no Sun; there were no stars or planets. According to the astronomers, there was a time when even our present universe didn't exist. In the 1920s, the Belgian astronomer Georges Lemaitre hypothesized that everything presently contained within the entire Universe was once compressed into in a sphere he called …
The Pennsylvanian Period,
2016
West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography
The Pennsylvanian Period, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
In many respects, the mountain building of the Acadian Orogeny never really came to an end. Following the collision of Avalonia with the eastern margin of Laurasia with the subsequent creation of the Acadian Highlands, Gondwana and South America, now joined together into a single continent, were approaching from the east and south respectively. Even before the continent-continent collision that would occur at the close of Permian time, the highlands of Acadia along the eastern margin of Laurasia and Llanoria along the southern margin were being maintained as uplands in response to the compressional forces generated by the converging continents. …
The Ordovician Period,
2016
West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography
The Ordovician Period, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
The Ordovician Period extends in time from 505 million years ago until 438 million years ago. You will remember from our discussions of the Cambrian that the Ordovician Period of time and the Ordovician System ofrocks was suggested by Professor Lapworth as a means of solving the dilemma presented by Murchison and Sedgewick as to the "ownership" of a section of rock that both claimed when Murchison wanted to include the upper portion of Sedgewick's Cambrian System as the lower portion of his Silurian System. Sedgewick, you will remember, responded by demanding that the lower portion of his Silurina System …
The Jurassic Period,
2016
West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography
The Jurassic Period, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
During the Jurassic Period, Europe was covered by a shallow sea in which a rich fauna was encapsulated in sequences of limestones and shales. These Jurassic rocks were the training ground for many of the early geologists as they began to formulate some of the basic precepts of geology. Foremost amongst these was William Smith (1769-1839) who was the first to discover how to use fossils to correlate between separated outcrops. He gained his knowledge and understanding of fossils in his profession of a surveyor and in the building of canals throughout southern England where the canals were cut into …
Oceans And Shorelines,
2016
West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography
Oceans And Shorelines, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine
Readings and Notes
Until 1872 when H.M.S, Challenger, a British warship converted for research, made its historic voyage, relatively little was known about the oceans. The voyage, funded by the British government, was mandated to chart the depth of the ocean, measure the various ocean currents, amass data on the composition of the ocean's water and bottom sediments, and collect information on ocean life. At the time of the voyage, except for a few soundings, almost nothing was known about the ocean bottom. Most scientists of the day had considered the vast expanses of the deep ocean basins to be nothing more than …
Comparison Of The Elemental Geochemistry Of The Arkansas Novaculite And The Boone Chert In Their Type Regions, Arkansas,
2016
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Comparison Of The Elemental Geochemistry Of The Arkansas Novaculite And The Boone Chert In Their Type Regions, Arkansas, J. Philbrick, E. Pollock, A. Potra
Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science
The name Arkansas Novaculite was proposed by A.H. Purdue, 1909 to replace the name Arkansas Stone assigned by L. S. Griswold, 1892, but deemed too generic, to an interval of Early Devonian-Early Mississippian, very fine-grained, even textured, siliceous sedimentary rock famous for use as whetstones. The interval is exposed along the margins of the Benton Uplift, south flank of the Ouachita Mountains, west-central Arkansas, where it reaches a maximum thickness of 243.8 m (800 ft). The Arkansas Novaculite comprises informal lower and upper members characterized by massive beds of nearly pure novaculite, separated by a shale-bearing middle member that spans …
