Sedimentology Commons^™

Sedimentation In The Upper Reaches Of Lake Ouachita, J. A. Patton

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Lake Ouachita in west-central Arkansas is the largest man-made reservoir in the state. The lake was created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in 1953 for the purposes of hydropower, flood control, and recreation. Although Lake Ouachita is widely known for its high water clarity near Blakely Dam, little is known about the volume and ultimate fate of sediments that enter the lake from two primary tributaries: the North and South Forks of the Ouachita River. This project utilized a dual-frequency echo sounding system in combination with geographic information system and statistical analysis to calculate an average post-impoundment …

A Trace Metal Content Database Of Cave Sediments Of Midcontinent U.S.A., Matthew Dale Smith

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The midcontinent of the United States has thousands of documented caves. These caves contain cave sediments, which are the accumulation of biological, geological, and anthropological debris. At this time there is no known database for trace metals of cave sediments of the midcontinent United States. Considering that caves host a wide variety of life, it is important to create a database to examine potential effects of trace metals on cave systems. In order to develop this baseline, 14 caves were sampled from across the midcontinent. Caves were selected based on geologic and hydrologic attributes. The sediments were analyzed for the …

Stratigraphic, Geochemical, And Well Log Analysis Of The Wolfcamp-D Unconventional Play In The Central Midland Basin, Texas, Patrick Thomas Ryan

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

This M.S. thesis utilizes diverse subsurface datasets from the central Midland Basin, a recently reinvigorated petroleum producing region, to better understand the depositional history of the prospective Wolfcamp-D interval. An integrated set of methods were applied to ~320 ft of drill core from Midland County (Texas). Elemental chemostratigraphy collected via x-ray fluorescence highlights the pervasive fine-scale variability in the stratigraphy of the core, and aided in the classification of three different mudrock facies types. Organic-rich, siliceous mudrocks are cyclically interbedded with aluminum-rich mudrocks and carbonates throughout the Wolfcamp-D. Trace metal correlations with total organic carbon indicate slow bottom-water recharge from …

Early Cementation Of The Short Creek Oolite Member, Boone Formation (Osagean, Lower Mississippian), Northern Arkansas, K. A. Jayne, A. K. Chandler, W. L. Manger

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Short Creek Oolite is the only formally named member of the Boone Formation in northern Arkansas. It lacks bedding features, and oolith concentrations that would suggest a shoal environment, and it occurs at variable stratigraphic horizons within the upper Boone Formation consistent with episodic deposition as grainflow slurries. As with modern oolite examples, such as Joulters Cays, Bahamas, the Short Creek preserves numerous intraclasts, and at least one large olistolith indicating an early cementation history.

Hazard Identification And Coastal Stratigraphy In Crescent Harbor, Northeast Whidbey Island, Washington, Brian Ostrom

All Master's Theses

Crescent Harbor marsh, on northeastern Whidbey Island, records evidence of co-seismic land-level change 1825 to 1925 cal. yrs. BP. The lithostratigraphy and diatom microfossil assemblages reveal a marsh peat abruptly overlain by intertidal mud, indicating rapid subsidence. Analysis of the modern-day position of depositional facies indicates subsidence from a high marsh to a tidal-flat environment representing an estimated 1.7 m elevation change. The timing of subsidence fits within the dates of a rupture found on the nearby Utsalady Point fault between 1,100 and 2,200 years BP (Johnson et al. 2004). Likely, the stratigraphy at Crescent Harbor records the same event …

Investigating Taphonomic Changes Of Deposits And Modeling Of The 2010 Earthquake And Tsunami In South-Central Chile, Alexandra Carranco Ruiz

All Master's Theses

South-central Chile has an extensive written catalog of historic earthquakes and tsunamis, but such records can be subject to inconsistencies. Dated tsunami deposits are more objective data that provide hard evidence of past tsunamis. The inland extent of deposits from past tsunamis (paleodeposits) can be used in tsunami modeling to reveal characteristics of the source earthquake, but these deposits may have undergone taphonomic processes since initial deposition. Therefore, to determine how tsunami deposits change during burial and preservation and the potential limitations of using paleodeposits in modeling, I investigated the modern 2010 M_w 8.8 Maule earthquake and tsunami as …

Late Glacial And Holocene History Of The Penobscot River In The Penobscot Lowland, Maine, Roger Leb. Hooke, Paul R. Hanson, Danile F. Belknap, Alice R. Kelley

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

When the Laurentide ice sheet retreated rapidly (~150 m/a) across the Penobscot Lowland between ~16 and ~15 ka, the area was isostatically depressed and became inundated by the sea. Silt and clay were deposited, but no significant moraines or deltas were formed. The Penobscot River was reborn at ~14 ka when ice retreated onto land in the upper reaches of the river’s East Branch. As isostatic rebound exceeded sea level rise from melting ice, the river extended itself southward. Between ~13.4 and 12.8 ka, it established a course across marine clay and underlying glacial till in the Lowland. Its gradient …

The Origin Of Anomalous Carbonate Units Outcropping At The Salt Sediment Interface Of The Southern End Of Gypsum Valley Salt Wall, Paradox Basin, Colorado, Allison M. Mast

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Understanding structural, stratigraphic, and petrographic complexities at the salt-sediment interface of diapirs has important implications in accurately assessing hydrocarbon reservoir quality and near-diapir trap geometries, and may aid in more accurate predictions for locating the true margin of salt in diapiric layered evaporites. The southwest margin of the exhumed Gypsum Valley Salt Wall, Paradox Basin, southwest Colorado, provides a rare view of this interface where onlapping and overlapping wedges of Late Permian and Jurassic halokinetic sequences overlie an angular unconformity truncating near-vertical, highly deformed carbonate beds formerly mapped as Pennsylvanian Honaker Trail Formation. This study investigates three possible alternative origins …

Salt Tectonic Controls On Facies And Sequence Stratigraphy Of The Triassic Chinle Formation, Gypsum Valley Salt Wall, Colorado, Elizabeth Heness

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study focuses on mapping the facies geometry and depositional sequences of the Chinle Formation adjacent to the Gypsum Valley Salt Wall (GVSW). Interactions between salt tectonics and fluvial systems can affect sediment distribution. The upper Triassic Chinle Formation was deposited across the western U.S. in an intra-cratonic, fluvial environment. Throughout the Paradox Basin in Utah and Colorado, deformation associated with rising salt anticlines and subsiding minibasins coincided with Chinle deposition. In most areas, only small and isolated remnant Chinle outcrops actually expose the contact between Chinle sediments and the salt diapir. In Gypsum Valley three study areas were mapped …

Reconstructing Late Pleistocene And Holocene Paleoenvironments Using Playa-Lunette System Sediments Within The Harney Basin Of Southeastern Oregon, Usa, Joe Collins

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Paleoenvironmental investigations of the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene in the Harney Basin of eastern Oregon have been limited to date. This Dissertation investigates and links the stratigraphy of Rimrock Draw Rockshelter (35HA3855) (RDR) and two surrounding playas, Rimrock Lake and Hay Lake, located on the western margin of the Harney Basin, in order to identify paleoenvironmental shifts during the last ~20 kyr. An emphasis also is given to demonstrating the potential for playas in the Harney Basin to record changes in paleoclimate, as well as the application of multivariate statistics to interpret paleoenvironments from sedimentary grain size data. Stratigraphy …

New Hampshire Beaches: Sediment Characterization, Larry G. Ward, Kaitlyn A. Mcpherran, Zachary S. Mcavoy, Maxlimer Coromoto Vallee-Anziani

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

The grain size of the natural sediment composing the major New Hampshire beaches under summer equilibrium conditions was determined as a first step in assessing the optimal sediment size that would be needed for beach nourishment. In summer, 2015, seven major beaches including Wallis Sands, Foss Beach, Jenness Beach, North Hampton Beach, North Beach, Hampton Beach, and Seabrook Beach were sampled along three to five transects extending from the dunes or engineering structures (e.g., seawalls) to the low water line. In addition, the beach cross-section was profiled using a rover GPS system or the Emery method (profile rods and the …

Carbon Cycling In Santa Barbara Basin Sediments: A Modeling Study, David J. Burdige, Tomoko Komada, Cédric Magen, Jeffrey P. Chanton

OES Faculty Publications

The primary input of organic matter to almost all marine sediments comes from deposition at the sediment surface. However, in many continental margin settings, reduced carbon can also be added to sediments from below—for example, from “deep” geologic hydrocarbon reservoirs derived from ancient source rocks or from the decomposition of deeply buried gas hydrate deposits. To examine the impact of these two differing reduced carbon inputs on sediment biogeochemistry, a modified reaction-transport model for anoxic marine sediments is described here and applied to data from sediment cores in Santa Barbara Basin to a depth of 4.6 m. Excellent model fits …

Nebraska's Public Access Hunting Program: Hunter Preferences And Usage Final Report, Lisa Pennisi, Mark E. Burbach, Namyun Kil, Muhammed Imran Kahn, Andrew J. Tyre

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Deep Fluid Inputs Into The Continental-Scale Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System Constrained By Hydrochemical, Stable Isotope, And Noble Gas Data, Abdel Mawgoud Mohammed

Dissertations

The Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) of northeastern Africa is one of the largest confined fossil-water aquifer systems in the world, with several nations relying on it (Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Chad). This groundwater is the biggest and in some cases the only future source of water to meet the development goals of each NSAS country. This study provides new geochemical data from the main oases of the Western Desert of Egypt and a compilation of published hydrochemical data from the regional aquifer. Interpretation of results suggests heterogeneous fluid mixing within the aquifer, the potential for hydrochemical sub-basins, and a …

Reservoir Characterization And Depositional System Of The Atokan Grant Sand, Fort Worth Basin, Texas, Victoria Wood

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Atokan Grant Sands are a tight gas sand play that would add new reserves to the Fort Worth Basin. The Fort Worth Basin is located in north-central Texas just west of Dallas, Texas. Within the basin, the study area consists of Denton, Wise, Tarrant, and Parker Counties in Texas. The basin is bounded to the north by the Red River Arch, to the west by the Bend Arch, to the south by the Llano uplift, to the east by the Ouachita structural front, and to the northeast by the Muenster Arch. The Grant Sands are approximately 1,500 ft stratigraphically …

Sequence Stratigraphic Framework Of Carbonate Diagenesis Within Neogene Glaciomarine Sandstones Of The Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica: Insights Into Reservoir Quality In Polar Settings, Daniel P. Dunham

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

The controls on reservoir quality of most clastic sedimentary deposits are well-documented and understood. However, comparatively little is known about the reservoir potential of glaciogenic and glaciomarine deposits. This study investigates the Neogene strata of the AND-2A core recovered by the ANDRILL-Southern McMurdo Sound Project in the Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica, as an analog for assessing controls on reservoir quality in glaciomarine deposits. A petrographic analysis was conducted on 60 sandstone samples from various depths throughout the core, and carbonate diagenetic phases and morphologies were documented. Four sequences were examined in detail. Point counting on all samples was done to …

Depositional Facies And Sequence Stratigraphy Of Niagaran-Lower Salina Reef Complex Reservoirs Of The Guelph Formation, Michigan Basin, Matthew J. Rine

Masters Theses

Hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Niagara-Lower Salina Reef Complex in the Michigan Basin have been extensively studied since the early 1960’s. These reservoirs host an immense hydrocarbon resource, existing as closely-spaced, highly-compartmentalized reservoirs that have produced >500 million barrels of oil and 2.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Previous studies depict these “pinnacle reefs” as tall, symmetrical towers with a random distribution of facies. This study utilizes abundant core data (32 cores, 20-acre spacing), thin-section petrography, and petrophysical wire-line logs to reconstruct the geometry, facies distributions, depositional history, and sequence stratigraphy of the Columbus III Reef Complex within the Southern …

High-Resolution Correlation Of A Time-Bounded Unit Of The Pisco Formation, Peru, Daniel J. O'Hare

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Correlation of beds in the Pisco Basin across significant distances is problematic and has not yet been effectively achieved. I chose to examine an interval bounded by two time markers, an 40Ar/39Ar-dated white tuff at the base and an 40Ar/39Ar-dated tuff couplet at the top. This interval was chosen because of the continuity and excellent exposure of the tuff beds at six distinct locations in a linear transect 30 km long. Correlation of units was achieved through 40Ar/39Ar dating, lithology, sedimentary structures, and magnetic susceptibility. The vertical and lateral variability in lithology, fossil assemblages, structures, and sequences was examined in …

Soft-Sediment Deformation And Dune Collapse In The Navajo Sandstone, Colby Ford

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The Canyon Overlook Trail of Zion National Park follows an outcrop of Navajo Sandstone, which displays a uniquely well-exposed assemblage of features associated with failure of the lee face of a large eolian dune, and run-out over an expanse of interdune sediments downwind of that bedform. Exposed features include dramatic folds in the interdune succession and a stacked series of thrust sheets incorporating both interdune and overlying dune deposits. Thrust surfaces display consistent strikes, parallel to those of undeformed foresets, and incorporate zones of brittle failure and fluid deformation, including folds overturned in the direction of foreset dip. These features …

Ediacaran Ocean Redox Evolution, Swapan Kumar Sahoo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The relative role that environmental versus intrinsic biological factors played in

shaping the history of life on Earth is a fundamental but unanswered question in the

natural sciences. Most famously, it has been heavily debated if the emergence and

diversification of early animals during the Ediacaran Period (ca. 635–541 Ma) was tied to

a rise in atmospheric-oceanic oxygen levels. Temporally discontinuous geochemical data and patchy fossil record in literature are inadequate to chart the Ediacaran redox history and its causal relationship with the biotic evolution. My PhD study aims for a multiproxy geochemical record within a well-established stratigraphic framework of …