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2011–2012 AAPG Distinguished Lecturers

Domestic Program Abstracts

CHOPRA, SATINDER, Arcis Corporation, Calgary, AAPG/SEG Joint Lecturer

Seismic detection of faults and fractures

Characterization of natural faults and fractures in the sub-surface is essential to the design of effective drilling pro-grams and exploitation of tight reservoirs as well as theimproved performance of conventional reservoirs. The pres-ence of naturally occurring fracture networks can lead tounpredictable heterogeneity leading to sweet spots andbypassed pay within many reservoirs. If they can be mapped,fractures may provide high permeability pathways that canbe exploited to extract reserves stored in a low permeabilityrock matrix. The need to detect and characterize fractureshas motivated the development of new and rejuvenation ofolder geophysical technologies concerned with or related tofractures. Some of the commonly used methods are theazimuthal AVO method, the use of coherence and curvatureseismic attributes, wide azimuth data, multicomponent dataand passive seismic techniques. Azimuthal AVO has beenused in the industry and has proved to be a promising toolwhen the assumptions for its application are met. Seismicattributes such as coherence and curvature can be used forboth qualitative and quantitative interpretation of fractures.Both these methods will be discussed in the talk. One usefulfeature, which is not practiced routinely in our industry, is tomake use of these two methods together in that unified dis-plays of attributes from these methods should be used forinterpretation of fractures.

In general, curvature is an excellent measure of paleo defor-mation. With an appropriate tectonic deformation model,structural geologists can predict where the fractures wereformed. However, since their formation, such fractures mayhave been cemented, filled with overlying sediments or dia-genetically altered. Furthermore, the present-day directionof minimum horizontal stress may have rotated from thedirection at the time of deformation, such that previouslyopen fractures are now closed, while previously closed frac-tures may now be open. For this reason, prediction of openfractures requires not only images of faults and flexures pro-vided by coherence and curvature coupled with an appro-priate model of deformation, but also measures of presentday stress provided by breakouts seen in image logs and seis-mic anisotropy measures.

To reach this stage, the input seismic data used for thegeneration of coherence and curvature attributes should berelatively noise free and should have optimum frequencycontent for meeting the desired goals. Certain types of noisecan be addressed by the interpreter through careful structure-

oriented filtering or post migration footprint suppression.Other problems such as multiple contamination or poorimaging due to inaccurate velocities or irregular geometriesrequire that the data go back to the processing team forremediation. Another common problem with seismic data istheir relatively low bandwidth. For detection of fractures,the seismic data should have an optimum frequency band-width and for this reason frequency enhancement of theinput seismic data should be undertaken. I will emphasizethe application of a couple of the newer methods for frac-ture detection. These will include the spectral decomposition-based inversion for seismic reflectivity, a process that removesthe time-variant wavelet from the seismic data and extractsthe reflectivity to image thicknesses below conventionalexpectations of seismic resolution. In addition to enhancedimages of thin reservoirs, these frequency-enhanced inverseimages have proven very useful in mapping subtle onlaps andofflaps, thereby facilitating the mapping of parasequencesand the direction of sediment transport.

Finally, I will illustrate some of the latest curvature meas-ures such as Euler curvature for observing fracture linea-ments, and structural curvature versus amplitude curvature.Applications of additional recent newer volumetric attrib-utes such as reflector convergence and reflector rotation aboutthe normal to the reflector dip have shown promise and willbe touched upon. While the former attribute is useful in theinterpretation of angular unconformities, the latter attributedetermines the rotation of the fault blocks across disconti-nuities such as wrench faults. Such attributes can facilitateand quantify the use of seismic for stratigraphic workflowsand for large 3D seismic volumes.

GRAHAM, RODNEY, Research Associate, Cambridge

Exploration in fold and thrust belts - a personal perspective

Twenty-odd years ago we saw fold and thrust belts as part ofa “new geography”, sitting alongside the then unexploreddeep water continental margins, the Arctic and the liberaliz-ing Soviet Union as likely areas to deliver significant newhydrocarbon resources. Since then we have seen politicaland practical difficulties in many of the countries of theFSSU, and much of the Arctic is only just beginning to getinto gear. The deep-water passive margins - or at least theinboard, extension dominated parts of them - have deliveredabundantly, dwarfing the contribution from the onshore foldand thrust belts. Now, though, these margins are themselvesbecoming mature, or difficult or expensive to access, and wemay need to look again at fold and thrust belts.

Most of us find them exiting. The structures can be largeand have the capacity to deliver large volumes of hydrocar-bons, but there are also major exploration challenges, whichI will try to discuss in this talk.

A S S O C I AT I O N RO U N D TA B L E

AAPG BULLETIN, V. 96, NO. 1 (JANUARY 2012), PP. 178–204 178

Association Roundtable 179

Fold and thrust belts are geometrically complex, but gen-erally have to be worked with seismic data which are expen-sive to acquire and often not of the best quality. Even whenthe pre-requisites of source, reservoir and seal are working inone’s favour, the relationship between hydrocarbon matura-tion, migration and charge with the developing structures iscommon uncertain. Essentially this is because fold andonshore thrust belts elevate rocks, which were once moredeeply buried, with consequent damage to the elements oftheir hydrocarbon systems. It takes a special combination ofcircumstances to keep a thrust-related structure at maxi-mum burial depth or ensure that structures are developed intime to receive matured and migrated hydrocarbons. Suchthings happen spectacularly well in the Zagros where over200 bboe has been discovered – almost equal to the rest ofthe world’s discovered fold and thrust belt resource, but formany other areas, problems can outweigh advantages. Burial,age and structural simplicity are important issues which weneed to work in our favour, and often don’t.

Petroleum system uncertainties can be addressed by mod-elling, of course and I will cite an example of a how an inte-grated dynamic model helped an exploration decision to bemade on the fold and thrust belt which forms the easternmargin of the Middle Magdalena Valley of Colombia.

Some of the problems associated with onshore fold andthrust belts are minimised in the toe folds of gravitation sys-tems on the continental margins. They are commonly atmaximum burial depth, and the high quality of (relativelycheap) modern marine 3-D seismic data potentially over-comes the imaging problems associated with the onshore,bringing proper structural understanding within reach.Despite this “imaging advantage”, exploration success in toe-fold systems has been modest by comparison to that in themore proximal areas of the same deep water plays. Why? Iwill argue that it is not entirely a technological issue.Exploration of the world’s toe-fold zones exposes us to a dif-ferent set of geological risks from their onshore counterparts,but they are still significant risks. Two or three prospectiveand potentially prospective gravitational systems are describedin order to illustrate this point.

The French Alps - classic geology re-interpreted in the lightof passive margin geology and allocthonous salt tectonics

Just as an understanding of structural geometry in the fieldis essential in the interpretation of seismic data, so some-times seismic data and the new ideas that stem from itenable us to see classic field geology in a completely newlight, even though the data may come from a completely dif-ferent geological setting or a totally different part of theworld. This lecture describes how, a few years ago, ourunderstanding of the geological evolution of one of theworld’s classic mountain belts was transformed by referenceto data obtained from the Atlantic passive margin, and howat the present time, our increased understanding of salt tec-tonics might be bringing about a similar shift in thinking.

The understanding of salt tectonics has been transformedin recent years by the seismic imagery in places like Braziland the Gulf of Mexico, augmented by inspirational physicalmodeling. I will try to apply this new knowledge to geology

‘on the ground’ in the sub-Alpine chains of Haut Provencein the southwestern Alps. In this part of the world, a verywell exposed Mesozoic sequence showing rapid thicknessand facies changes associated with Jurassic and Cretaceousextension on the margin of the Ligurian Tethys, has beendeformed by a series of “Alpine” compressional events whichoccurred from the Late Cretaceous to the Pliocene.Although the geology has been very well known for decades,aspects of the structure remained enigmatic and could notbe explained by either Mesozoic extension or Alpine short-ening alone. This talk will make the case that they resultedfrom salt tectonics which occurred not in the developingAlpine mountain chain, but on the sea bed of a LateJurassic continental slope, analogous, perhaps, to the Gulfof Mexico today.

A completely overturned, highly condensed Jurassic sec-tion is interpreted as the elevated roof of a salt body in a deepmarine setting which overturned as a ‘flap’ in the MiddleJurassic as allochthonous salt broke out at the sea floor Later,Alpine compression exploited the weakness of the salt sheetas a major thrust but though the “flap” is in the footwall ofthe thrust, evidence of soft-sediment deformation and otheranomalous structures within the flap suggest that it cannothave originated as an overturned footwall syncline.

The ideas are prompted by seismic, the conclusions relyheavily on conventional field evidence. We geologists shouldnever lose sight of our field-based roots.

LAUBACH, STEPHEN E., Bureau of Economic Geology,The University of Texas at Austin

Structural diagenesis, resource plays, the Highlands ofScotland, and curriculum development

Structural diagenesis is the study of the relationships betweendeformation or deformational structures and chemical changesto sediments. In shale resource plays, in tight gas sandstones,and in many other rocks the cross disciplinary structural diage-netic approach to fracturing, fault growth, compaction andother mechanical processes is a key to unlocking scientificknowledge about a part of the Earth’s interior that is of greatintrinsic and practical interest and a perspective that is increas-ingly important in the geoscience curriculum.

Using examples from core-based studies of shales and tightgas sandstones from Texas, Colorado, and Argentina, and out-crop examples from NW Scotland, this talk shows how thisapproach leads to new insights into fracture growth rates,how natural fractures evolve, how they may impact produc-tion, and how the surprisingly heterogeneous attributes offractures can be better predicted and efficiently diagnosed.Some important remaining challenges are outlined that haveimplications for industry practice and for student training.

LECKIE, DALE A., Nexen Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Anatomy of an unconformity and its earliest overlying fill – thebasinwide sub-Cretaceous unconformity of Western Canada

The morphology and drainage network of the sub-Cretaceousunconformity in Western Canada is reconstructed utilizing

180 Association Roundtable

over 240,000 hydrocarbon exploration wells. GIS softwarewas used to determine the fluvial drainage on the resultingtopography. The unconformity, covering over 1,000,000 km2,(386,000 miles2) occurred after deposition of Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian sediment of the first foreland basin clasticwedge. The unconformity is associated with an episode oftectonic and magmatic quiescence in the CanadianCordillera from 140 to 125 Ma. Tectonic compression asso-ciated with the Colombian Orogeny may have decreased orchanged direction.

The resulting drainage systems on the unconformity wereextremely complex with multiple drainage divides. In SSaskatchewan, the rivers flowed south into the USA. In NEAlberta and NW Sask, rivers flowed north and east into alarge embayment lapping onto the Canadian Shield. In W-central Alberta, rivers drained Paleozoic carbonate uplands,flowing south and west towards the old foredeep and theFox Creek Escarpment. In NW Alberta, rivers flowed north-west and west also towards the Fox Creek Escarpment.Paleocurrents from the Rocky Mountains indicate that west-ernmost rivers flowed north-northwest in SW Alberta andnortheast in easternmost British Colombia.

The earliest fill (Aptian) above the unconformity is highlyvariably with large areas of non-deposition and pedogenesis.In the W and SW, basal sediment of the Cadomin andDalhousie fms were deposited as low-accommodation braidedrivers flowing NNW, parallel to the basin axis. In centralSaskatchewan, gold-bearing tidally-influenced rivers drainedthe Canadian Shield flowing to the SSW. In NE Alberta, theMcMurray Fm, host of the second largest hydrocarbon accu-mulation on earth, was deposited in a tidally-influenced,meandering fluvial and tidal bar system within an embay-ment open to the northeast, with sediment derived from theCanadian Shield. Much of S Saskatchewan was a dissectedupland surface, exposed for 10-15 million years, formingthick palesols.

A multidisciplinary approach to understanding the geologyof the Athabasca oil sands – 2nd largest hydrocarbonresource on Earth

The oil sands of northern Alberta contain 1.8 trillion barrelsof bitumen, making it the second largest hydrocarbonresource on earth. Only recently has technology developed,allowing for efficient recovery of the bitumen in the subsur-face. Nexen Inc and its partner, Opti Canada Ltd, have con-structed the largest SAGD (Steam Assisted GravityDrainage) operation in the world to recover a portion of thenearly 4 billion barrels of bitumen in place on the Long Lakelease, northeastern Alberta. The sole purpose of this infra-structure is to recover and upgrade bitumen trapped withinsands of the Aptian-age McMurray Formation. With the bil-lions of dollars required to acquire land, delineate deposits,drill SAGD well pairs, build steam generation facilities andan upgrader, it is critical that the geological and geochemicalcomplexity of the reservoir be fully understood.

Early, regional stratigraphic studies across the Athabascabasin showed the McMurray Formation to be comprised ofthree or more episodes of incision, valley creation and subse-quent infill with fluvio-estuarine sediments. Fluvio-estuarinedeposits are, by their nature, heterogeneous. This, combined

with the multiple incision and fill events, resulted in a complex amalgam of reservoir and non-reservoir facies locallycreating stratigraphic compartments across the basin.

Since the inception of this project, the industry has beencommitted to developing a thorough understanding thedeposits of the McMurray Formation through the integra-tion of detailed geological, geophysical and geochemical datasets. Subsequent to routine delineation of McMurray oilsand deposits through core hole drilling, core analysis,petrophysical logging, and acquiring 2-D and 3-D seismicsurveys, major efforts have been put into a broad range ofgeoscience studies. At Nexen, these include sedimentology,stratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy, palynostratigraphy, ich-nology, chemostratigraphy, geochemistry, seismic attributeanalysis, and modern analogs. The integration of these datasets has allowed the mapping of individual valley fills onregional and lease scales. On a more detailed reservoir devel-opment scale, mapping of depositional elements and fluidcharacterization allows planning and production optimiza-tion of existing and future SAGD well pairs. The resulting 3-D object-based models and baseline bitumen characteriza-tion studies (physical properties and molecular composition)reduce reservoir uncertainty, improve reservoir visualization,and are used for reservoir simulation, history matching andmonitoring steam chamber growth.

MACQUAKER, JOE H.S., Department of Earth Sciences,Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada

Are shales really that dull? Shining light into dark placesand the effects of opening Pandora’s Box

Fine-grained sedimentary rocks are currently the subjects ofgreat deal of research. In spite being very common they arepoorly known, relative to other sedimentary rock types.Most geologists consider them to be the product of deposi-tion in low energy environments, and if they are sourcerocks, below anoxic bottom waters. Recent petrographic stud-ies of marine mudstones have shown that they are typicallyorganized into very thin, sharp based beds and commonlycontain a wide variety of micro-sedimentary structuresincluding: gutter casts, compacted ripples, triplet fabrics,organo-minerallic aggregates, aggregate grains and diminu-tive burrows. The presence of these fabrics forces a radicalreappraisal of the conditions under which they weredeposited and the processes responsible for organic carbonenrichment of the sediment.

Using micro textural data derived from classic fine-grained successions e.g. Kimmeridge Clay Formation,Mancos Shale, Whitby Mudstone Formation and MarcellusShale, the sedimentological processes responsible for mud-stone deposition in these units will be reviewed. The pres-ence of a wide diversity of micofabrics suggest that prior tobeing sedimented the components of the mudstones were(1) delivered to the seafloor as organo-minerallic aggregatesand (2) then dispersed both in bedload and as fluid mud byprocesses such as wave enhanced sediment gravity flows andgeostrophic flows, prior to (3) being burrowed by diminu-tive organisms that were living close to the sediment waterinterface. These data suggest that mudstones, and source


rocks in particular, were deposited in much more dynamicconditions than most researchers have assumed, and that thedeep water, predominantly low energy, anoxic model that istypically the default setting for interpreting their originneeds to be revisited. They also demonstrate that these rockscontain a great deal of useful, but largely unrecognizedstratigraphic information, and that they reward careful study.

REISE, W. C. “RUSTY”, AAPG Ethics Lecturer, Houston,Texas

Oil Spills, Ethics, and Society: How they intersect and wherethe responsibilities reside

Increasing global demand for energy has forced societies theworld over to look for and use ever more diverse and expen-sive forms of energy to fuel their economies. Oil is a key partof this energy supply, particularly in the arena of transporta-tion fuels. The corporations that supply energy have beenpressed into increasingly challenging environments to meetpublic and governmental demands for inexpensive energy.Unfortunately, as we are reminded by the Gulf of MexicoDeepwater Horizon incident, accidents can happen, theenvironment can be damaged, and people can lose their liveswhen we operate at the leading edges of technology.

When accidents occur, our responses typically tend toblame individuals, corporations, or regulators, rather thanthe public whose demand for cheap, readily available energyforces exploration in new, more challenging frontiers. Publicopinions on this subject are shaped by a combination of self-education, fulminating politicians, and aggressive, sensation-alist journalists.

Exploring more than societal interests at a national levelputs our pursuit of inexpensive energy into context. This con-text pits the competing interests of developing countries,which demand ever increasing shares of the world’s resources,against broader, trans-national interests groups which are wor-ried that continued dependence on energy-dense fossil fuelsmay cause runaway global warming and climate changes thatmay in turn destroy the earth’s ecosystems.

Ultimate responsibilities for oil spills lie within this mix ofcompeting demands and expectations – a mix far more com-plicated than most people are aware of or are willing to con-sider. All of us who consume energy have an ethical obligationto educate ourselves, and those around us, on the consequencesof our demands for energy and for the environment.

RUSSELL, JOELLEN L., Department of Geosciences,University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

The once and future battles of Thor and the MidgardSerpent: the Antarctic circumpolar current and glacial/interglacial climate

The vast Southern Ocean region surrounding the Antarcticcontinent is the only place in the global ocean where waterupwells from more than two kilometers to the surfacebefore sinking again. The deep of the Southern Ocean holdsthe key to the rate of warming of our atmosphere, because

enormous amounts of heat and carbon can be stored in thisocean reservoir. In paleoclimate model simulations, windposition and the overturning of deep water in the SouthernOcean explain some of the more puzzling features of glacial-interglacial carbon dioxide cycles, including the tight corre-lation between atmospheric carbon dioxide and Antarctictemperatures, the lead of Antarctic temperatures over car-bon dioxide at terminations and the shift of the ocean’s δ13C minimum from the North Pacific to the SouthernOcean. Cold glacial climates seem to have equatorward-shifted westerlies which allow more respired carbon to accu-mulate in the deep ocean. Warm climates like the presenthave poleward-shifted westerlies that flush respired carbondioxide out of the deep ocean.

In global warming simulations of future climate, poleward-intensified westerlies maintain a robust deep water overturnaround Antarctica even as rising atmospheric greenhouse gaslevels induce warming that reduces the density of surfacewaters in the Southern Ocean. These results imply that thepoleward-intensification of the Southern HemisphereWesterlies may prop open the Southern Ocean door to thedeep ocean, allowing the ocean to remove relatively moreheat and anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmos-phere, slowing the rate of warming of the atmosphere.

Orographic uplift as global thermostat: orography, windsand the water vapor feedback in climate models

One of the grand challenges in geosciences is the interactionand feedbacks between climate and tectonics: growingmountains change the local climate and that climate thenaffects erosion, a significant factor in the creation and devel-opment of mountains. Coupled climate models with similaratmospheric forcing but differing orographies are ideal toexamine the interplay between the orography, monsoonallydriven variability and the simulation of precipitation andaridity. Topography wrings out moisture from the atmos-phere affecting the local precipitation, specific humidity andthe surface specific humidity gradient. The models repro-duce this orographically focused precipitation; the patternsof aridity in the models, specifically the existence of “dry-lines”, are highly correlated with the topographic details(mountain volume and area of higher elevation). Given thatwater vapor is the most powerful greenhouse gas in theatmosphere, a drier atmosphere produces a colder planet.Regional precipitation maxima created by orography mayleave the atmosphere drier globally. The global effects oforography on aridity and temperature through the water vaporfeedback necessitate a mountain-water vapor feedback toreconstruct past global climate. Coincidental climate-changeduring the uplift of major orographic features provides sup-port for this analysis.

TELFER, MATTHEW, Border to Border Exploration, LLC,Austin, Texas

Energy Trends of the Future

Energy needs of the United States are huge – 100 QuadrillionBTUs per year. The Energy Information Administration


predicts that for the next 25 years over 60% percent of theUS energy supply will come from oil and natural gas. Duringthat period, the oil and gas industry is expected to providethe largest increase in the amount of energy supply.

When compared to other sources of energy, the productsthat petroleum geologists produce –both oil and natural gas– are unlike any other substances. Oil is vital, and incrediblyvaluable, because of the tremendous amount of energystored in an easily transportable form. Because of this, 99%of all transportation is powered on oil. Natural gas – energyin a vapor – is important because it is efficiently convertedto heat and electricity. Earning the label, “a clean-burningfuel”, 900 out of the next 1,000 electrical generation plantswill burn natural gas.

The energy industry has entered a new era with the “block-buster” combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulicfracturing. This has led towards the economic recovery ofsignificant amounts of natural gas and now - oil. In this lec-ture we will “drill down” into the EIA supply and demanddata. Then, we’ll “explore” the fundamental geology of oiland natural gas: hydrocarbon states at reservoir conditions,rock reservoirs, exploration techniques and extraction meth-ods. By examining the geology, the difficulties and opportu-nities of hydrocarbon recoverability will become clear.Finally, we will “dig into” the challenges faced in developing oiland gas. Will we go to the ends of the earth for this resource?

WARD, PETER, Dept. of Biology, Department of Earth andSpace Sciences, Department of Astronomy, The Universityof Washington, Seattle, Washington

The history of life is punctuated by five “major” mass extinc-tions. In recent years it has seemed that at least three, andperhaps all five were caused by extraterrestrial causes - fromasteroid impacts to gamma ray bursts. New research, how-ever, suggests that the Earth may have been a far worseenemy to its life than outer space has been. While the tem-poral coincidence of large body igneous provinces and massextinction or mass depletion of life has long been noted, onlyrecently have actual “kill” mechanisms become believable. Inthis talk the new understanding of mass extinctions will bepresented – as will the question of whether or not the mostprobable cause – lowered oceanic oxygen levels as a conse-quence of reduced pole to equator temperature differentials -is of relevance to our own world.

WRIGHT, PAUL, BG Group, UK

Burial corrosion as a major porosity forming process in carbonates

The view that carbonate porosity is lost with progressivedepth is being questioned as more examples are found ofreservoirs exhibiting the effects of late stage dissolutionalprocesses having operated even at depths of several kilome-tres. A range of processes is typically invoked including cor-rosion caused by acids released during source rock maturation,acidity related to TSR (thermochemical sulphate reduction),mixing corrosion and retrograde solubility. Such effects can

create seismic scale collapse zones as well as being a majorcause of microporosity in limestones. This presentation willillustrate the range of features associated with burial corro-sion, including the subtle controls of primary textures andfractures on later corrosion, as well as discussing the prob-lems in identifying the mechanisms for dissolution.

Paleokarstic reservoirs: Misconceptions and paradoxes

One-size-fits-all certainly does not apply to paleokarsticreservoirs, and a variety of models and strategies are neededto develop them as hydrocarbon reservoirs. This presenta-tion will review the different settings in which they candevelop and their resulting reservoir types, and examine theparadox of why some commonly developed forms found inmodern carbonate systems are rarely found in the strati-graphic record.

How do shallow water limestones really accumulate?

Using skeletal lagerstatten this presentation will demon-strate that the sedimentary and fossil records of carbonatedeposition have been misunderstood. For many limestoneswhat we see has little resemblance to the sediment originallyburied, distorting or negating any attempts to interpret theecology or depositional dynamics of such environments.Quantitative estimates of just how little preservable materialactually enters into the stratigraphic record will be providedand the fate of the lost carbonate will be reviewed.

Editor’s Note: The International Program Abstracts were notavailable for inclusion in this issue of the Bulletin. They will beposted on the AAPG website at http://www.aapg.org/education/dist_lect/international.cfm when they become available.

AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid Recipients for 2011

The AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid program was estab-lished in 1956 to foster research in the geosciences by pro-viding support to graduate students in the earth scienceswhose research has application to the search for and devel-opment of petroleum and energy-minerals resources, and torelated environmental geology issues. A comprehensive andrigorous application and review process identifies the mostdeserving applicants who are eligible. The program is one ofthe most competitive and prestigious funding programs inthe earth sciences. The 2011 application class completes the55th year of the AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid program,and we are proud to present the abstracts from this year’sgrant recipients.

Abstracts

AGBALI, AISHA EJURA, Florida State University,Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences,Tallahassee, Florida, [email protected]


An integrated study of the calcareous nannofossil responseto short-term paleoceanographic changes recorded in theUpper Jurassic Haynesville Formation of East Texas andNorth Louisiana, USA

The stratigraphic distributions of Upper Jurassic calcareousnannofossils are being investigated in 76 core samples raisedfrom three wells drilled into the Haynesville Formation inNorth Texas and East Louisiana, USA. The formation con-sists predominantly of dark shales and mudstones depositedin a shallow low-energy restricted basin. Deposition of thesesediments was influenced by relatively gentle tectonic subsi-dence of an extensional nature punctuated by sea-level vari-ations as continental plates separated during the Jurassic.Nannofossils are calcium carbonate remains of all unicellu-lar photosynthesizing nannoplankton smaller than 30microns. Nannoplankton are almost exclusively marine andlive in the photic zone of the ocean because of their need forsunlight and nutrient. Hence, they are sensitive to andrecord photic zone conditions such as temperature, salinity,sea-water pH, water-mass distribution and productivity, andnutrient concentration. This unique characteristic, theirextremely small size and the broad distribution of many oftheir taxa, have made them very important index fossils forsolving a wide range of stratigraphic problems (For example;sediment dating and correlation, paleoceanographic and pale-oclimate studies).

Changes in relative abundance among Upper Jurassicnannofossil assemblage species reflect different climatic,ecological and oceanographic conditions. The goals of thisstudy are to provide a detailed nannofossil biostratigraphyfor the sections, understand the nature of variability amongspecies of the Mesozoic coccolith Family Ellipsagelos-phaeraceae, determine if this variability is controlled bypalaeoecologic factors, and along with lithofacies and bulkcarbonate oxygen and carbon isotope data, attempt a palaeo-ceanographic reconstruction for the Haynesville deposition.

ANGIEL, PIOTR JAN, The University of Western Ontario,Department of Earth Sciences, London, Ontario, Canada,[email protected]

Sedimentology and high-resolution stratigraphy of theShaftesbury Formation (Late Albian), NE British Columbia

The project is integrating outcrop sections with wireline logdata from ~500 wells to build a sequence stratigraphic correla-tion grid over an area of about 50,000 km2. This proxychronostratigraphy provides a basis for facies and paleogeo-graphic mapping. Resulting isopach maps will allow the subsi-dence history to be reconstructed in three dimensions on smalltime-steps. This 3-D approach will provide a means of differ-entiating eustatic and tectonic controls on accommodation.

The abundance of mudstone in the ShaftesburyFormation makes it an ideal natural laboratory in which tostudy patterns and mechanisms of mud dispersal on anancient marine shelf - a topic of intense current interest anddebate. In particular, the relative importance of fluid mudtransport by storm-driven versus gravity-driven flows will be

investigated. The Shaftesbury rocks are strongly cyclical, andcontain numerous, widely-traceable erosion surfaces thatallow sequences to be defined and mapped. Isopach patternswill provide a proxy record of the shifting loci of contem-poraneous thrust activity in the Cordillera. Ultimately, it ishoped that nearshore clastic sequences can be correlated withcoeval pelagic successions to investigate the possibility of orbitalforcing on sea-level changes as well as oceanic productivity.

AUCHTER, NEAL C., The University of MontanaDepartment of Geosciences Missoula, Montana,[email protected]

Reservoir architectures of incised valley fill deposits in theUpper Cretaceous Eagle Formation, south-central Montana

The Santonian-Campanian Eagle Formation in south-centralMontana is composed of a series of regressive-transgressivecycles that were deposited on the western margin of theCretaceous Interior Seaway. This study focuses on the gene-sis and architecture of a regional correlative basal incisionsurface and the subsequent fill history of the informal mid-dle member of the Eagle Formation.

Maximum basinward advance is marked by a pronouncedincision surface that erosionally cuts into the underlyingmarine sands of the informal middle member of the EagleFormation. The basal incision surface has an undulating pro-file ranging from 3 m to over 20 m of incision and is laterallymappable for over 30 km. Based on its profile variability andregional extent this surface is interpreted as the basal inci-sion of one or more incised valley(s) formed in response tolimited or decreasing accommodation.

Valley fill architectures associated with areas of significantincision are characterized by complexly stacked multistorychannels adjacent to single story channels. Channel fill faciesoverlying the erosional surface are coarser grained fluvialsands. Other channel fill facies include inclined heterolithicstrata, rhythmically bedded mud drapes, and mud filledabandoned channels. Areas of little to no incision lack any ofthe above facies changes and are marked by nearly conform-able successions of marine strata above and below the ero-sional surface and are interpreted as valley interfluves. Afinal increase in accommodation is marked by a thin, laterallyextensive coal and a transgressive bioturbated marine sandcapping the valley fill deposits.

AWAIS, MUHAMMAD, College of Earth and EnvironmentalSciences, Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan,[email protected]

Facies prediction and depositional environment of EarlyCambrian, Khewra Sandstone exposed in the vicinity ofKhewra, Eastern Salt Range, Jhelum, Pakistan.

Early Cambrian, Khewra Sandstone is well exposed with itslower and upper contact with Precambrian Salt rangeFormation and Early Cambrian Kussak Formation respec-tively. Four Lithofacies (a. Flaggy shale facies, b. Lower finesand stone facies, c.Aeolian sandstone facies, d. Upper friable


sand stone facies) are eminent and defined on the basis ofdistinct lithological features including composition, Grainsize, bedding characteristics and sedimentary structures. Thebottom part of the formation is composed of maroon col-ored shales depicting underwater depositional effects innear shore or marginal marine environment. Over this shalysequence, the formation is composed of fine-grained sand-stone which represents deltaic deposition evidenced by dif-ferent sedimentary structures i.e. (cross bedding, ripplemarks). The middle part of Khewra sandstone showsAeolian deposition verified by wedge planar cross bedding.The topmost part of the Khewra sandstone is mediumgrained, highly porous and jointed sandstone which qualifiesfor a good quality reservoir, proven in adjacent wells. Thisfacie is also inferred to be the result of wind deposition. Topof Khewra Sandstone is a 60 cm thick conglomerate bedwhich marks the regressive phase; also evidenced bycoarsening up sequence and shallow water facies. Thenature, age and type of this unconformity are still question-able and require more research work.

BACON, CODY, Oklahoma State University, Boone PickensSchool of Geology, Stillwater, Oklahoma, [email protected]

Sequence stratigraphy, reservoir distribution, and diagene-sis, Cleveland Sandstone, western Oklahoma

The Cleveland Sandstone in western Oklahoma has notbeen intensely studied or interpreted in a sequence-strati-graphic framework. It is an important oil- and gas-producingreservoir in the Anadarko Basin. However, the spatial distri-bution of Cleveland sandstone bodies is not well understoodand in Oklahoma the sandstone has not been interpretedusing sequence stratigraphy. These sandstones have relative-ly low porosity and permeability and have potential to beeconomical oil and gas reservoirs. The characteristics thatthis sandstone exhibits make most vertical wells marginallyeconomic. However, horizontal drilling is proving that theCleveland Sandstone can be produced economically.Interpreting the Cleveland Sandstone within a sequencestratigraphic framework will help improve the placing of lat-erals and enhance exploration success; making what wasbecoming a less sought after reserve, due to low return oninvestment, a much more reliable resource.

BAGLEY, M. EVAN, Oklahoma State University, BoonePickens School of Geology Stillwater, Oklahoma, [email protected]

Lithofacies and reservoir assessment for the Thirteen FingerLimestone, Hugoton Embayment, Kansas

The Atokan Thirteen Finger Limestone is a widely distrib-uted and mappable subsurface unit with a distinct wirelinelog signature. In the Anadarko basin and HugotonEmbayment of western Oklahoma and Kansas, the ThirteenFinger Limestone is interpreted using log characteristics and

bit cuttings as a package of thin interbedded carbonates andradioactive shales that is in sharp contact with the underly-ing Morrowan shale. The contact between the ThirteenFinger Limestone and overlying Desmoinesian CherokeeGroup is more difficult to determine. Fortunately, the com-plete section of the Thirteen Finger Limestone was cored inthe Amoco Rebecca Bounds well drilled in Greeley County,KS.This core, which resides at the Kansas Geological Survey,was examined and sampled to establish stratigraphic bound-aries and assess reservoir potential. The base of the ThirteenFinger Limestone was placed at a prominent exposure sur-face at 5019 feet. Immediately above this surface is a thincoal followed by marine shale and limestone. The top of theThirteen Finger Limestone was placed at an exposure sur-face at 4936 feet. The 83 feet of Atokan strata contains lime-stones separated by fossiliferous dark gray shale or blackshales with few macroinvertebrates. Seven prominent flood-ing surfaces and two hardgrounds help define Atokan high-frequency cycles that consist of dark shale (initial flooding)that transitions upward shallower-water limestone. The darkuranium-rich shales are likely source rocks. Adjacent lime-stones are dominantly dense wackestones and packstoneswith average matrix porosity and permeability values of0.8% and 0.1 md, respectively. However, these limestonescontain numerous open- and healed-vertical fractures thatmay provide the pore network necessary to produce oil and gas.

BANIAK, GREG M., University of Alberta, Department ofEarth and Atmospheric Science, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,[email protected]

Characterization of burrow associated dolomite in theWabamun Formation, West-Central Alberta, Canada

The Wabamun Formation in western Canada is a Devonian-aged carbonate platform succession. Dominated by thicklybedded, burrow-mottled limestones and dolomites, theWabamun Formation is host to significant reserves of hydro-carbons. This study examines the influence trace fossils haveon reservoir quality and dolomite precipitation within theWabamun Formation.

Integration of ichnologic and sedimentologic data revealsa carbonate succession comprised of mudstones, intraclastwackestones, and peloidal grainstone facies. These facies arehighly bioturbated and are deposited within a shallow marine,epeiric carbonate platform. Preferential dolomitizationoccurs predominately within and adjacent to the burrowfabrics, thereby suggesting potential ichnological controls onreservoir quality. Spot permeametry has been used to char-acterize the permeability within the limestone matrix anddolomitic burrows. Initial observations show the burrowshaving preferentially higher permeabilities than the matrix.This suggests that fluid flow is initially concentrated throughthe burrow fabric. To augment the study of dolomite and itscontribution to permeability enhancement, scanning elec-tron microscopy and ion-microprobe are going to be used tocollect carbon and oxygen isotopes from the samples.Utilization of the ion-probe will permit comparison of isotopes


for the dolomitic crystals within the burrows to thoseobtained from the host limestone matrix. Comparison ofstable isotopic variation within the samples to valuesobtained previously for Late Devonian examples in westernCanada will also occur. This will allow for a greater under-standing of the controls influencing dolomitization withinthe biogenic structures. It will also help us understand thecontrols helping enhance permeability within the Wabamunreservoir intervals.

BECK, CATHERINE, Rutgers University, Department ofEarth and Planetary Science, New Brunswick, New Jersey,[email protected]

Ephemeral stream deltas of the Turkana Basin, Kenya:Examples from the Ileret and Tulu Bor Rivers

Lake Turkana is a closed-basin lake located in northernKenya and composed of two distinct basins. Differentprocesses dominate sedimentation in the basins, with theNorth Basin being detrital controlled and the South Basin,the more widely studied of the two, being chemical domi-nated. This study aims to shed new light on modern sedi-mentation in the North Basin by investigating a series offlashy-discharge, ephemeral rivers along Lake Turkana’snortheastern margin. A series of four short cores collectedfrom the delta mouths of the Ileret (IL) and Tulu Bor (TB)Rivers were analyzed to better characterize sediment inputsfrom these rivers.

Morphologically, the IL sampling site was more exposedto wave action within Lake Turkana. Grain size and miner-alogical analysis of samples reflected this morphologicaldifference as sediments deposited off the IL delta show evi-dence of more, postdepositional reworking than those fromTB. Evidence behind this assertion is two-fold. (1) Theupper 2 cm of both IL cores are comprised of black sandbeds, indicative of a concentration of heavy minerals bywave winnowing. This feature was not seen in the TB cores.(2) Grain size distributions from the TB cores exhibit astronger negative skewing and therefore greater grain sizepopulation diversity than IL cores. Post-depositional rework-ing has implications for the properties of sediments and sub-sequent rocks as reservoirs for hydrocarbons and the spatialdistributions of these features need to be further explored atLake Turkana as this basin is a powerful modern analogue forrift basin sedimentation.

BULEN, CASEY, Kansas State University Department ofGeology, Manhattan, Kansas, [email protected]

The role of basaltic magmatism in the evolution of theCambrian Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen: Geochemicaland isotopic constraints on the mafic rocks in the ArbuckleMountains, OK

The presence of surficial mafic igneous rocks in theArbuckle Mountains of southern Oklahoma are limited toCambrian-aged diabase dikes, that most likely resulted from

the initial stages of continental rifting related to the forma-tion of the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen. A 1982 drill testin the region penetrated thick packages of basaltic lava flowsinterlayered with silicic intrusive bodies and volcanics. Thesebasaltic lava flows became the first described subsurfacemafic rocks in the Arbuckle Mountain region. Mafic lavaflows have since been discovered in other wells throughoutthe Arbuckle Mountain region. This project will use geo-chemical and thin section analyses on four wells in theregion (Hamilton Brothers #1-18A Turner Falls, Pan-AmWilliams D-2, Pan-Am Jarman 1-19, Pan-Am Newberry 1)to provide first-order petrogenetic constraints on basalticvolcanism in southern Oklahoma, to better understand theirtectonic significance, and provide stratigraphic constraintsfor petroleum exploration.

CUI, TAO, JIANWEN YANG, AND IAIN M. SAMSONDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Universityof Windsor,Windsor, Ontario, Canada, [email protected]

Fluid flow across basement-cover interfaces during mineral-ization of unconformity-related uranium deposits

Oxygen and hydrogen isotopic and fluid inclusion studieshave shown that basinal brines have interacted with base-ment rocks and basement-derived fluids in Proterozoicbasins hosting unconformity-related uranium deposits.Numerical modeling was conducted to investigate thepotential mechanisms driving fluid flow across a basement-cover unconformity. The results show that thermohalineconvection may penetrate into the basement for up to1-2km below the unconformity, given typical hydrologicalparameters. Fluid flow velocities in the sandstone are fourorders of magnitude larger than those in the basement. If auranium source is assumed to be located in the center of thebasin below the unconformity, uranium gradually spreadsinto the sandstone aquifer. If the uranium source is initiallylocated at the centre of the aquifer, a uranium plume devel-ops and percolates down to 2 km below the unconformityafter 5 m.y.. The location of the uranium source also affectssolute transport efficiency. A uranium source located aroundthe sloping basal unconformity close to the basin margin,leads to a wider uranium plume than if it is located near thecenter of the basin. Therefore, buoyancy-driven convectioncould have caused widespread interactions of basinal brineswith basement rocks or basement-derived fluids in theProterozoic basins, and that enough uranium could have beenextracted from the basement to form giant uranium deposits.

CHORN, BENJAMIN, University of Minnesota Duluth,Department of Geological Sciences and Large LakesObservatory, Duluth, Minnesota, [email protected]

Geochemical characterization of some Lake Malawi tephralayers in sediment cores

Initial volcanic activity in the Rungwe Volcanic Province(RVP) in the East African Rift (EAR) began between 19 and


17 Ma with the main phase of volcanism occurring over thepast 9 Ma. Lake Malawi is located at the southern end of theEAR and its northern tip is about 40 km to the southeast ofthe southernmost volcano of the RVP (Keijo Volcano). LakeMalawi is estimated to have formed more than 7 Ma and hasrecorded some of the regional volcanic activity through itsmany volcanic ash layers preserved in sediments, at leastover the past ~100,000 years. In 2005 the Lake MalawiDrilling Project recovered sediment cores from two sites:one in the northern basin (site MAL05-2 at 9°58�56.60�S,34°11�9.17�E) and one in the central basin (site MAL05-1at 11°17�39.60�S, 34°26�9.00�E). Ten tephra layers from siteMAL05-2A were analyzed using single grain glass analysisfor the abundance of major and trace elements. In addition,more than three tephra layers from nearby site MAL05-2Band one tephra layer from site MAL05-1C (central basin)were analyzed and correlated with tephra layers found insite MAL05-2A. Samples were analyzed for chemical com-position using both wavelength-dispersive spectrometry onan electron microprobe (WDS-EMP) and energy-dispersivespectrometry on a scanning electron microscope (EDS-SEM).The geochemical data are used to determine whether theseindividual layers can be distinguished based on chemicalcomposition. Geochemical characteristics allow these layersto be correlated between cores creating isochronous strati-graphic markers, improving the age precision of LakeMalawi cores.

COTTON,JENNIFER M.,University of Michigan Departmentof Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ann Arbor, Michigan,[email protected]

Refining CO2-Temperature Sensitivity During the Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum for Application to Future ClimateChange

Anthropogenic climate change is one of the most pressingconcerns facing humanity. One way to predict future cli-mate change is to study warming events in the geologic past.The main control of the Earth’s temperature over geologictime is the concentration of atmospheric CO2; however, theprecise relationship between CO2 and temperature is notfully understood. Therefore, it is essential to be able to quan-tify atmospheric CO2 in the past at times analogous to cur-rent atmospheric changes. The Paleocene/Eocene ThermalMaximum (PETM) is the most rapid release of carbon andsubsequent global warming event in recent geologic history,and thus is a good analog for future climate change.Currently, there are few CO2 estimates for this time period,none in as high a resolution as necessary for the reconstruc-tion of CO2 changes on the short time scale of the PETM.The goal of this research is to precisely reconstruct CO2-temperature sensitivity during a time of rapid warming toconstrain future climate change predictions. I will produce ahigh-resolution atmospheric CO2 reconstruction of thePETM using the pedogenic carbonate paleobarometer andrefined soil respired CO2 estimates using a continuoussequence of carbonate-bearing nodules from the NorthHorn Formation in central Utah. These atmospheric CO2

estimates will be coupled with temperature and precipita-tion estimates from geochemical reconstruction methods, toreconstruct CO2-temperature sensitivity to improve predic-tions of future climate and environmental changes.

DIXON, JOSHUA, The University of Texas at Austin,Jackson School of Geosciences, Austin, Texas, [email protected]

Variability within a river-dominated shelf-edge delta andassociated delivery of sand to the deep water

Shelf-edge deltas record the sediment delivery from theshallow water shelf into the deep water slope and basinfloor, and, in cases without incision, represent a major way inwhich shelf-margins grow into the basin. The three-dimen-sional (3-D) complexity of shelf-edge deltaic systems, along-strike variability at the shelf-edge and its relationship todeeper-water deposits in particular, remains understudied.The Permian-Triassic Kookfontein Formation of the TanquaKaroo Basin, South Africa offers extensive 3-D exposure(>100km2) and therefore a unique opportunity to evaluateshelf-edge deposits.

To gain further insight into shelf-edge systems, thisresearch will utilize a four-phase approach, this includes: (1)physical correlation of sand bodies in the lower KookfonteinFormation by ‘walking out’ surfaces between high-qualityoutcrops; (2) measuring detailed sedimentological and strati-graphic sections through the regionally correlated strata; (3)identification and interpretation of deep-water sand ‘entrypoints’ at the shelf edge; and (4) synthesis of the sedimento-logical variability from both shelf to slope and along theshelf margin its self. These data will ultimately be used toassess along strike shelf-edge variability and how the style ofshelf-edge strata can be used to predict transport of sand tothe deep-water slope and basin floor. These results will allowus to both reduce risk in exploration of shelf-edge settingsand to improve accuracy in the predictions of the presence,volume and character of deep-water sand accumulations.

DUVERNAY, KEVIN, Colorado School of Mines, Geologyand Geological Engineering Golden, Colorado, [email protected]

Architecture of an upper slope transient fan system in theEocene Juncal Formation, Ventura County, California

The Pine Mountain Fault Block of the Transverse Rangesnear Ojai, California, contains exceptionally well exposedand relatively undeformed ancient continental slopedeposits in an area otherwise plagued with complex faulting,folding, and vertical axis rotation. Recent work in this fieldarea demonstrated that three distinctly different but coevalslope systems are present; a coarse-grained canyon and chan-nel system, a sandy intraslope fan system, and a finer-grainedcanyon and overbank system. This study focuses on thesandy intraslope fan system, which is interpreted as a multi-storied transient-type fan system. Three fan bodies in the


field area have been mapped, logged, and described in detailto construct high resolution architectural and depositionalmodels. The fan bodies range from 3-5 kilometers wide and10-20 meters thick, and are stratigraphically separated by nomore than 30 meters of thin-bedded shale. Fan bodies arecharacterized by a relatively low relief incision (1-3 meters)at the axis into underlying strata, filled with thin-bedded,sheet-like, fine-grain sediment. Unconfined amalgamatedcoarse-grained sand overlies the basal channel fill and com-prises the majority of the fan bodies. Bypass indicators arecommon in both the fan bodies and the intervening thin-bedded intervals. Large bypass dominated channels are com-monly incised into the tops of the fan bodies, sometimesincised through the entire thickness of the fan and into theunderlying shale.These observations lead to the interpretationof a system comprised of small weakly-confined elongateslope fans with a strong component of bypass, architecturallycontrolled by preexisting sea floor topography.

ELLEN, RACHAEL, University of Glasgow, School ofGeographical and Earth Sciences, Glasgow, U.K, Now atUniversity of Strathclyde, Department of Civil Engineering,Glasgow, U.K., [email protected]

Predicting the internal structure of faults in basaltic rocksand its effect on along- and across- fault fluid flow

It is well known that faults have the potential to alter fluidflow pathways within hydrocarbon reservoirs, and as aresult, a wealth of research has been carried out on thenature of faults and their effect on fluid flow within sedi-mentary-hosted reservoirs. Recent increases in hydrocarbonproduction from volcanic-hosted reservoirs have generatedinterest in the flow properties of faults within volcanic rocks.To predict the effect of faulted volcanic rocks on fluid flow,the controls on the fault zone internal structure must be understood.

This project focuses on faults cutting basalt sequencesexposed in the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Scotland. At eachsite I have made detailed (1:2 scale) maps of fault rock dis-tribution (i.e. breccias, gouge etc.) and sites of previous fluidflow (i.e. mineral veins and areas of alteration) from faultswith a range of displacements. Comparing the detailed faultarchitectures from these sites has allowed me to develop aconceptual model for fault rock generation in volcanic rocks,as a function of displacement and host rock type. Ultimately,understanding the controls on fault architecture will allowus to place constraints on how fluid flow is affected at agiven host rock type and displacement value.

FADIPE, OLUWASEUN, Petroleum Geosciences Group,Department of Earth Sciences, University of the WesternCape, Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa, [email protected] [email protected]

Reservoir quality, fluid evolution and their controls on reser-voir performance in block 9, F-O gas field, BredasdorpBasin offshore South Africa.

The F-O tract is located in the eastern part of Block 9 on thenorth-eastern flank of the Bredasdorp Basin, a sub-basin ofthe Outeniqua Basin on the southern continental shelf, off-shore South Africa.The research aims to improve our under-standing of spatial distribution, internal characteristics ofsediment bodies that constitute reservoir units in the F-Ogas field Bredasdorp basin.

Core description, petrographic and geochemical studieswhich includes thin section, x-ray diffractometry and scan-ning electron microscopy, x-ray fluorescence, and pore watergeochemistry were also used to understand the complexitiesof the mineralogical characteristics of the reservoir intervalsobtained from the interpretation of the wireline logs.

Wireline logs images reveal that the reservoir zone ismore gas prone based on quick evaluation of the gamma, SP,resistivity and neutron porosity logs which were used todelineate the reservoir zone. Eight facies were recognizedfrom the six studied wells and they were interpreted as shal-low marine tidal dune field with one-way sand transport.Petrography results reveals the presence of quartz as thedominant mineral with fair to low matrix, plagioclasefeldspar, calcite cement, albite, chlorite, minute illite andhematite while the occurrence of muscovite generally withlustrous property and occurring as pore liner in most sam-ples. Scanning electron microscopy reveals the presence ofkaolinite, chlorite smectite and quartz overgrowth withinthe Valanginian sandstone. Interstitial pore water resultreveals that the synthesized interstitial water falls within thealkaline medium which supports the predominant kaoliniticclay known to form normally under alkaline condition.

FARZANEH, SARAH, University of Oklahoma,ConocoPhillips School of Geology and Geophysics,Norman, Oklahoma, [email protected]

Diagenesis of the Mississippian Limestones

Mississippian Limestones are a major target for hydrocarbonexploration in northern Oklahoma. The MississippianLimestones are widespread and continuous in northernOklahoma, but the target zones such as the “chat” are notcontinuous. The heterogeneity and compartmentalization ofthe unit are partially related to depositional control but dia-genetic alteration can also have an effect on the reservoirproperties. For example, diagenetic processes can increase ordecrease porosity and permeability. In this integrated diage-netic and paleomagnetic study, the nature and timing of thediagenesis will be investigated to better understand the vari-ations within the Mississppian Limestones. Cores fromnorthern Oklahoma will be used in this study. Core descrip-tions, petrographic and SEM analysis, and geochemicalanalysis (Sr isotopes to determine if the rocks were alteredby externally derived fluids) will be used to develop a para-genetic sequence. Paleomagnetic analysis will be used todetermine the timing of the diagenetic events.

With this study, a better understanding of theMississippian Limestone characteristics will be investigatedand could help with the exploration and production ofMississippian Limestone wells in northern Oklahoma.


FERNANDES, ANJALI, The University of Texas at Austin,The Jackson School of Geosciences, Austin, Texas,[email protected]

Stratigraphy and paleo-hydraulics of upper-slope submarinechannel deposits of the Brushy Canyon Formation, WestTexas

The Brushy Canyon Formation, a predominantly fine-grained siliciclastic system, was deposited on the slope andbasin floor of the late Paleozoic Delaware Basin. This projectfocuses on resolving intra-channel sediment sorting withinupper-slope channel deposits, in comparison to channel fillson the proximal basin floor.

Grain-size analyses show that particles in the 200-400µmrange are common in the channel-filling deposits of upper-slope channels, but are poorly represented in the upper-slope bank-attached bars and channel fills on the proximalbasin floor. The bank-attached bars and basin-floor channelfills primarily consist of particles finer than 200µm, which Iinterpret as the size fraction that was fully suspended on theupper slope. The bank-attached bar deposits are interpretedto have accumulated in bank-attached zones of separatedflow. They are enriched in particle sizes finer than 200µmbecause only fully suspended particles can be advected intothe bank-attached zones of flow separation in significant vol-umes. Particle sizes coarser than 200µm are interpreted tohave been extracted from transport on the slope and aretherefore absent in channel filling deposits on the basinfloor. I will synthesize depositional styles and grain-size datain order to: (1) construct a comprehensive facies model forthick bank-attached bar deposits, built by sediment sourcedfrom suspension in separation zones associated with plan-form irregularity in submarine channels, (2) estimate flowvelocities and current thicknesses, and (3) assess sedimentsorting and storage between channels on the upper slope andproximal basin floor.

FEUTZ, PETER, Western Michigan University, MichiganGeological Repository for Research and Education,Department of Geosciences, Kalamazoo, Michigan,[email protected]

Evaluating the effects of lithofacies and thin shales on thelateral distribution of hydrothermal dolomite reservoirs,Albion-Scipio and Stoney Point Fields, Michigan Basin

Albion-Scipio and Stoney Point Fields are hydrothermaldolomite hydrocarbon reservoirs in the southern MichiganBasin. Both Albion-Scipio Field and Stoney Point Fieldencompass narrow zones of faulting and fracturing whichhave been altered from a tight host limestone into a moreporous and permeable dolomite by upward-movinghydrothermal fluids. The development of reservoir rock lat-erally away from the faults may be the result of the prefer-ential migration of hydrothermal fluids through certain primary depositional facies. Additionally, thin beds of shales(millimeter to centimeter thick) within these Ordovician-aged Trenton and Black River reservoirs may have acted as

baffles or barriers to the vertical flow of the hydrothermalfluids, thus dolomitizing the limestone beneath the shalesand again creating more predictable porous and permeablezones for hydrocarbon storage. Detailed core analysis andpetrographic research in the Albion-Scipio-Stoney Pointregion has supported these hypotheses and yielded examplesof thin shale baffles within a variety of assorted facies. Earlyinterpretations suggest both factors may play a dual role incontrolling dolomite distribution.

The overall goal of this project is to observe the lateralspread of the hydrothermal dolomite away from the verticalto sub-vertical faults and note any relationship with the pri-mary depositional facies and thin shales, and help predicthow far laterally the reservoir-producing dolomitization isspread. This will ultimately lead drillers to more accuratelypinpoint producing zones of hydrocarbons and avoid theclose, step-out dry holes that are commonly encounteredalong the perimeter of these elongate trends.

FORTSON, LAUREN, University at Buffalo, Department ofGeology, Buffalo, New York, [email protected]

A spatial investigation of metal and mineral associations inthe Marcellus Shale

In this study, Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion MassSpectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was used to map the elementalcompositions of core and outcrop samples of the MarcellusShale collected from western NY and PA. 2-D image mapsproduced from ToF-SIMS analysis were analyzed by ImageJ,a computer-based program that integrates hardware andsoftware for managing, analyzing and displaying data. Sixshale samples were analyzed and total organic content(TOC) varied between 3.13 wt% and 8.55 wt%. Uraniumconcentrations ranged from 8.7 ppm to 53.4 ppm.Chromium concentrations ranged from 53 ppm to 120ppm. Preliminary results indicate that chromium (Cr+) isnegatively correlated to the hydrocarbons present within thesamples with correlation coefficients ranging from -0.06 to -0.25. Uranium was analyzed as UH+, U+ and UO-. UH+and U+ both show a negative or minimal correlation withthe hydrocarbons present within the sample. Positive corre-lation coefficents ranged from 0 to 0.22 and negative corre-lation coefficients ranged from -0.01 to -0.1. UO- also showsminimal correlation with the hydrocarbons present withinthe sample. Positive correlation coefficients ranged from0.02 to 0.23.

FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN S. G., Durham UniversityDepartment of Earth Sciences Durham, United Kingdom,[email protected]

Characterizing fracture systems on the Isle of Lewis: Anonshore analogue for the Clair Field

The Clair oil field lies offshore from western Shetland and isestimated to contain over 4 billion bbl. Reservoir perform-ance indicates that fractured basement rocks play a significant


role in the resource development of the Clair Field, hence itis important to characterize and understand the basementfracture networks. This project aims to characterize fracturesof the Outer Hebrides as an analogue for the Clair Field.

The Outer Hebrides lie along structural trend from theClair Field and share a similar tectonic history, beingupfaulted in the Mesozoic. Basement rocks of the OuterHebrides are part of the Lewisian Gneiss Complex that alsounderlies the Clair Field. Lineament analysis of the StornowayFormation cover sequence and Lewisian Complex basementhas revealed major fracture orientations and other charac-teristics such as length and spacings attributes. Fieldwork hasconfirmed findings of the lineament analyses and provided adetailed insight into other fracture set characteristics such asrelative age, fracture infill and kinematics. Microscope workcompliments this study.

Ongoing analysis of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TeLSR)data will allow analysis of 3-D fracture distribution and net-work connectivity that can be directly integrated into reser-voir fluid-flow models.

GOUIN, JULIE, Kent State University, Department ofGeology, Kent, Ohio USA, [email protected]

Geophysical characterization of the porosity distributionwithin the Clinton Formation, Ashtabula County, Ohio

A combination of cores and geophysical logs were used tocorrelate the Clinton Formation in Ashtabula County and tohelp with an environmental analysis and porosity distribu-tion as a means of evaluating its suitability as a target forOhio Division of Natural Resources (ODNR) andDepartment of Energy (DOE) for enhanced oil/gas recoveryand/or carbon sequestration.

Reflectance data was measured on one set of cores corre-sponding to well 408, producing mineral composition anddepositional patterns. Thirty-nine geophysical well logs werecorrelated using Geographix, with help from SPSS 17.0 fac-tor reduction analytical tool. Plugs were measured for poros-ity and permeability. Thin sections were created to furtheranalyze porosity, permeability and composition.

The Clinton Formation in Ashtabula County, Ohio deep-ens towards the southeast (towards the Appalachian Basin),and also thickens towards the southeast. This is consistentwith previous findings on the Clinton Formation in Ohio.The Clinton Formation in Ashtabula County is fine-grainedsandstone, consisting mainly of quartz grains. Shale is foundin different locations throughout the formation, consistingof glauconite, with red staining present on different sectionsof the Clinton Formation. The red staining is goethite.Calcite grains are located sparingly throughout the sand-stone, with some calcium carbonate cement, as noted in thethin sections.

GREFF, KEVIN, The University of Western Ontario,Department of Earth Sciences, London, Ontario, Canada,[email protected]

Blackstone Formation petroleum system of west-centralAlberta, Canada

The Cretaceous (Cenomanian to Turonian) BlackstoneFormation of the Colorado Group in west-central Albertarepresents a self-sourced petroleum system with provedlight oil production. Although a high-resolution allostrati-graphic framework for the Upper and Lower ColoradoGroup of the foredeep of the Western Canada SedimentaryBasin is documented, the understanding of the Blackstonecarbonaceous mudstones in the context of a self-sourcedpetroleum system remains rudimentary.

The project will characterize the burial history and reser-voir properties of this organic-rich mudstone reservoir inorder to develop a process-based petroleum system model.The resulting model is intended to provide guidance forexploration and development of a large conventional oilresource play hosted in “hybrid” carbonaceous silty mud-stone reservoirs.

Rock Eval analyses of core samples representing potentialsource and reservoir intervals and a dense grid of allostrati-graphic cross-sections will be the primary inputs for burialhistory analysis to evaluate timing and extent of the petroleumsystem. In addition, the intrinsic microporosity in the dis-seminated organic matter and clay fabrics will be comparedto log-derived porosity estimates. This data will then beintegrated into a geocellular petroleum system model toprovide insights into the evolution of an unconventionalpetroleum system.

GRIFI, MERIEM, The University of Western Ontario,Department of Earth Sciences London, Ontario, Canada,[email protected]

Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Muskiki andMarshybank formations, southern Alberta and northernMontana

The early part of the Cretaceous Niobrara Cycle is repre-sented in southern Alberta by the broadly transgressivemudstones of the Muskiki Formation (Middle Coniacian)and broadly regressive sandy siltstones of the MarshybankFormation (Upper Coniacian), spanning ~1.6 My. Due tolow conventional petroleum prospects in these rocks, thispart of the basin has received virtually no attention. Both theMuskiki and Marshybank Formations become increasinglymuddy in southern Alberta and northern Montana, and amajor part of the project is to develop a stratigraphic frame-work that will tie the southern portion of the basin toestablished stratigraphy in northern Alberta and B.C. Highresolution sub-surface correlations will be integrated withoutcrop and core data, as well as biostratigraphy, for betterstratigraphic control.

The Muskiki and Marshybank Formations are in part, ageequivalent shales to the Niobrara formation in southernManitoba and the western interior of the United States. TheNiobrara shale has recently been added to the list of hotshales, as the industry is more and more looking into devel-oping new shale gas techniques. Understanding the key


processes behind the sedimentation patterns of such mud-stone units is needed in order to explain why some localitiesoffer shale gas plays and others do not. Recent studies onmudstones also reveal that their depositional history is muchmore complicated than previously thought, and this projectaims to provide a high resolution stratigraphic scheme thatwill better advance the understanding of mud deposition.

GUNDERSON, KELLEN, Lehigh University, Department ofEarth and Environmental Sciences, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,[email protected]

Unsteady slip history of disconnected thrust faults,Northern Apennines, Italy

This project documents high-resolution slip histories of twodisconnected blind thrust faults in the northern Apennines,Italy to determine (1) if the faults exhibit in-phase unsteadyslip behavior and (2) what external factors (if any) influenceunsteady slip.The processes responsible for causing unsteadyslip behavior on faults are not well understood. One idea isthat surface processes modulate unsteady slip on faults. Thisproject is investigating the potential coupling between sur-face processes and fault slip by documenting fault slip on104-105 yr time scales, the same scale that surface processeswere proved to be unsteady in the region.

Previous work has documented unsteady folding of theSalsomaggiore anticline using exposures in the Stirone river.The current project is documenting fold growth and faultslip using growth strata exposed at the Panaro river andcomparing that history of fault slip with the slip history ofthe Salsomaggiore thrust during the same time period.

This project uses synorogenic growth strata deposited onthe limb of the fold to serve as markers of deformation thatare used to document fold growth and fault slip on 20 kyrtime scales using rock-magnetic cyclostratigraphy. Industryprovided seismic profiles are utilized to correlate measuredsections into the subsurface and aid slip rate calculations.

GUPTA, NABANITA, University of Oklahoma,ConocoPhillips School of Geology & Geophysics, Norman,Oklahoma, [email protected]

Integrated characterization of a gas-shale

Gas-shales are characterized by centimeter-scale verticalheterogeneity making it difficult to correlate any field meas-urements to the actual rock petrophysical properties.Geological description based sampling of cores facilitatedthe analyses of heterogeneity and then to distinguish thecritical petrophysical parameters. Tracking total organic car-bon content (TOC)-rich zones is particularly important inidentifying hydrocarbon-rich intervals in gas-shales; however,TOC cannot be measured directly from field measurements.Laboratory measured petrophysical properties such as (1)mineralogy, (2) porosity, (3) bulk density, (4) grain density,(5) high pressure mercury injection, (6) total organic carboncontent (TOC) and maturity, and (7) one compressional and

two shear velocities were analyzed along with the observa-tions made at microscopic and SEM-scale to evaluate therelationships between TOC and other petrophysical proper-ties. Analyses of a silica-rich gas-shale reveal positive-linearcorrelations between TOC and quartz and porosity.Microstructural analyses indicate the presence of most pore-spaces within organic matter. Bulk density and compressionalvelocity exhibited inverse correlations with TOC. Transferringsuch detailed correlations derived from both core and welllog data to elastic parameters then helped me to illuminateTOC-rich (potential high productive zones) zones as lowimpedance areas on the 3D surface seismic data.Young’s mod-ulus (E) and Poisson’s ratio (v) extracted from the pre-stackseismic inversion volumes, helped to track comparativelybrittle layers at a regional-scale. Combination of volumetricseismic attributes illuminating geomorphology and naturalfractures, TOC-rich (low impedance) and comparativelybrittle layers (high E, and low v) helped to fine-tune thepotential exploration targets.

HAN, YUANJIA, Department of Petroleum Geology andEngineering, Faculty of Earth Resources, China University ofGeoscience, Wuhan Hubei P.R. China, [email protected]

The carbonate mineralization in sandstone reservoirs nearthe top overpressure surface in Dongying Depression

The top overpressure surface with burial depth from2200~2800m is significant influenced by the episodic migra-tion of overpressure fluid in Dongying Depression, whichhave conduced the carbonate mineralization in sandstonereservoirs closed to the top pressure seal, frequently rangingfrom 15~40% for carbonate minerals. Statistical analysiswith electron probe data indicates that the carbonate min-erals can be subdivided into three groups (calcite, dolomiteand ankerite). By integrating analysis with X-ray diffraction,Cathodoluminescence and other means, we determined itsdiagenetic sequence: penecontemporaneous dolomite → cal-cite → ankerite. Based on the data of primary inclusionswithin carbonate cement, we found that the carbonate pre-cipitation is intimately related to overpressure fluid, withpaleopressure coefficient 1.29~1.62, and the precipitation issignificant influenced by thermal fluid invasion. Therefore,we proposed that the precipitation of calcite cement andankerite cement maybe related with movements of over-pressure fluid at the terminal Dongying stage and from theearly Minhuazhen stage to present respectively. Then, thishypothesis has been checked by oxygen isotope data, whichdemonstrated that the oxygen isotope composition fluctuatesfrom -16.86‰ to -12.29‰ PDB for calcite and from -12.20‰to -10.20‰ PDB for ankerite. Integrated investigations basi-cally indicated that the calcite precipitation temperaturesranging from 90~120ºC, with δ18OSMOW=0.00‰ of homo-overpressure fluid; and the ankerite precipitation tempera-tures ranging from 110~135ºC, with δ18OSMOW =0.25‰ ofhomo-overpressure fluid.

HARPER, BRANDON B., Rice University, Department ofEarth Science, Houston, Texas, [email protected]


Deglacial/transgressive fining/deepening upward sequenceson the Papua New Guinea shelf edge and upper slope of theGreat Barrier Reef: a comparison between two similarmixed siliciclastic carbonate sedimentary systems

A series of uppermost Pleistocene Last Glacial Maximumlowstand and early deglacial/transgressive drowned coralgalreefs along the southeast Papua New Guinea shelf edge wereseismically imaged and determined to be up to 80 m thickand partially buried beneath a wedge of Holocene siliciclas-tic mud. A 14 m core MD-45 recovered (at 93 m of waterdepth) a sequence of mostly siliciclastic Holocene mudoverlying the cored upper portion of these Pleistocene reefs.Retrieved at the base of the core (107 m below present sea-level) was a surprisingly large coral colony in living positionthat was dated at 19 ka.

The coralgal reefs established themselves on an unconfor-mity along a regressive/lowstand shelf edge prograding delta.The reefs grew as sea-level rose during the late glacial andthe early deglaciation/transgression. At some point the reefsdrowned due to rapid sea-level rise or increased turbidityfrom siliciclastic input. Subsequently, siliciclastic mud accu-mulated over the reefs during the Holocene deglaciation fol-lowing the cooling interval (modest sea-level fall) of theYounger Dryas. The sediments recovered in MD-45 exhibita classic fining upward sequence triggered by the deepeningwater column during the 120 m sea level transgression sinceLGM (~ 23-20 ka).

Coral and bioclast fragments from MD-45 will be identi-fied and radiocarbon dated. Foraminifera in the fine sedi-ments will be used to produce an oxygen isotope record togive paleoclimate and sea-level context to the mud accumu-lation and allow for better comparison with the upper por-tion of core 58A recovered during IODP Expedition 325.

HEADD, BRENDAN, Louisiana State University,Department of Geology and Geophysics, Baton Rouge,Louisiana, [email protected]

Quantifying the efficiency of sulfide-oxidizing metabolismsfor the remediation of sour reservoirs

The production of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) by microorgan-isms within oil and gas reservoirs is serious problem for thepetroleum industry. One solution to this problem could bebioengineering microbes to metabolize H2S to harmlessbyproducts. However, a better understanding of how sulfide-oxidizing metabolisms operate in nature is still needed. Thesulfide oxidation pathway (sox) consists of seven genes(soxA, B, C, D, X, Y, and Z) that encode four enzymes thatmetabolize H2S to sulfate, possibly through intermediatecompounds. The integrated approach that this study pro-poses will quantify the amount of H2S that is metabolizedwhen the genes for these enzymes are expressed in the labby taking advantage of new metagenomics and proteomicstechniques. My hypothesis is that natural variations in theDNA sequence of sulfide oxidizing genes result in changesin the enzyme structure that permit the enzymes to functionoptimally under different geochemical conditions. The mostmetabolically efficient enzyme will dominate in one set of

geochemical conditions, while another enzyme will domi-nate under a different set of geochemical conditions. Byidentifying the most metabolically efficient sulfide oxidizingenzymes as they exist in nature and understanding thegeochemical conditions at which they function most effi-ciently it will be possible to bioengineer robust, non-pathogenic,and metabolically versatile microbes so that they willexpress sulfide oxidation genes optimally, in whatever geo-chemical conditions are presented to them.

HEYDWEILLER, ERICH C., Department of Geology andGeological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden,Colorado, [email protected]

Structural evolution of the eastern Colorado Front Range

Current conceptual models for the structural evolution ofthe Colorado Front Range generally consist of (1) a snapshotof the current, deformed, state of the rocks, and (2) a“restored” picture of a presumed simple initial condition.These models generated tremendous progress in under-standing the overall structural picture, but do little to unraveldetails about temporal and spatial variations in fault timing,the nature of fault linkages, and the impact of structural evo-lution on synorogenic sedimentation. This project’s goal is touse structural restorations and numerical forward models,constrained by synorogenic growth strata, to provide thesedetails.

The goal of this study is the production of 2D structuralrestorations and numerical forward models across threeareas on the eastern side of the Front Range. The selectedareas are locations of well-exposed synorogenic growth strata,and cover three of the four major fault systems along theeastern side of the Front Range, allowing comparison ofstructural style and timing between different fault systems.

Advances in structural understanding will provide severalbenefits: (1) clues to lingering controversies about the evo-lution of the Front Range, (2) regional context for analysis ofthe Niobrara petroleum system in the Denver Basin, and (3)insights into the dynamics of basement-involved forelandbasins and their synorogenic sediments, which are petroleumreservoirs and groundwater aquifers in many RockyMountain basins.

HLAVA, KIMBERLY, University of Colorado at Boulder,Department of Geological Sciences, Boulder, Colorado,[email protected]

Sequence-stratigraphic controls on reservoir-scale architec-ture of the middle Mesaverde Group, Douglas Creek Arch,Colorado

The middle Mesaverde Group of the Douglas Creek Arch,northwestern Colorado, is represented by a complex succes-sion of fluvial to marine strata that serve as outcrop analogsto laterally equivalent natural gas reservoirs in the Piceanceand Uinta basins. The interval includes ~380 ft (~115.9 m)of mudrock, coal, and sandstone within the lower (Kmvl) to


main coal-bearing (Kmvc) intervals of the MesaverdeGroup (equivalent to the upper Iles and lower WilliamsFork formations).

Based on 2,488 ft (758.5 m) of measured section, faciesassociations include: (1) coastal plain; (2) estuarine; (3)lagoon; and (4) shallow marine. Nine architectural elementsare identified and include: (1) channel bodies; (2) crevassesplays; (3) discrete flood bodies; (4) a bayhead delta; (5) anestuarine assemblage; (6) foreshores; (7) tidal barforms; (8)middle shorefaces; and (9) washover fans. The study intervalrecords an overall transgression from coastal-plain to shallow-marine facies associations to regression from shallow-marineto coastal-plain facies associations.

Based on 38 sandstone-body measurements, channel bod-ies have an apparent width (W) of 287.7 ft (87.7 m), andthickness (T) of 4.9 ft (1.5 m) and are larger than crevassesplays (W=90.5 ft [28.0 m]; T=1.8 ft [0.5 m]) and discreteflood bodies (W=61.5 ft [18.8 m]; T=1.6 ft [0.5 m]). Net-to-gross ratios (N:G) create packages in the study intervaland show direct ties to the sequence-stratigraphic frame-work. High N:G packages lie above sequence boundariesand fine upward into low N:G packages. Moderate N:Gpackages occur in late transgressive to early regressive strata.

HOLGATE, NICHOLAS EDWARD, Department of EarthScience and Engineering, Imperial College London, London,United Kingdom, [email protected]

Constraining the seismic expression of shallow marine cli-noforms using outcrop analogues to calibrate interpreta-tions of the Krossfjord and Fensfjord formations, NorwegianNorth Sea

The Middle-to-Upper Jurassic Krossfjord and Fensfjord for-mations are shallow marine sandstones situated on the east-ern margin of the Viking Graben, Norwegian North Sea, andform a prospective reservoir interval in the area around theexisting Troll, Brage and Gjøa fields. They are poorly under-stood as they have not been the focus of previous work.Results from core and wireline-log analysis indicate theKrossfjord and Fensfjord formations represent two prograd-ing sandstone packages punctuated by transgressive marineshales of the Heather Formation. The facies associationsidentified represent wave- and tide-dominated deltaic,shoreline and shelf depositional environments.

Future work will focus on seismic interpretation.However, the limited distribution of core and well-log datarestricts the detail and confidence with which seismicallyimaged architectures can be interpreted. It is thereforeintended that these seismic interpretations will be calibratedby numerical modelling of the seismic expression of strati-graphic architectures observed in outcrop analogues.Forward seismic modelling of a range of outcrop analoguesto the various shallow-marine depositional environmentsidentified in core would allow the sensitivity of modelledseismic response to different lithology distributions andstratigraphic architectures to be evaluated. A wide range ofshallow-marine sandbodies containing clinoforms areexposed in outcrops of the US Cretaceous Western Interior

in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. Field work on a range ofoutcrop analogues will quantify the geometry, distributionand lithological character of clinoform-bearing units in orderto create a range of detailed Earth models from which for-ward seismic modelling can be implemented.

HUFF, BREANNA, University of Kansas, Department ofGeology, Lawrence, Kansas, [email protected]

Microbial and geochemical characterization of Wellingtonoil field wells and potential applications to microbialenhanced oil recovery

Physical and chemical conditions in oil reservoirs constrainmicrobial activity and diversity, however hydrocarbon avail-ability, combined with brine chemistry and host rock compo-sition, present unique niches that may be exploited by variousgroups of anaerobes. Yet microbial activity in the deep subsur-face has proven difficult to document even though it is criticalin assessing the potential of microbial metabolic products toenhance oil recovery in situ through the modification of hydro-carbon properties. The most commonly applied metabolite inlab and field experiments is biosurfactant. These compoundsare attractive due to their specific activity, low toxicity, andhigh biodegradability compared to chemically synthesized sur-factants. Previous investigations have documented that biosur-factants reduce surface and interfacial tensions betweenoil/water and oil/rock interfaces, increasing the solubility,mobility, and subsequent recovery of hydrocarbons.

The proposed research will focus on characterizing the geo-chemistry, microbial ecology, and biosurfactant-producing abil-ity of cultured microbes from several oil wells in theWellingtonField, KS. Enrichment cultures will be initiated to gain furtherinsight into metabolic diversity. DNA methods will identify themicrobial communities present within the wells. Total lipidphosphate calculations will be performed to investigate therelationship between oil well biomass concentration and oilproduction. Biosurfactant-producing ability of the culturedmicrobes will be determined experimentally through surfacetension measurements. Targeted microbes and biosurfactantswill be implemented in laboratory experiments to characterizethe controls on biosurfactant production and efficacy.

JOHNSON II, HAROLD E., Texas A&M University,Department of Geology and Geophysics College Station,Texas, [email protected]

Balanced cross sections for the 3-dimensional structuralanalysis of the Ouachita orogen, Arkansas

The date for the formation of the Benton Uplift, Ouachitaorogeny, is bracketed by Carboniferous synorogenic sedimentsdeposited to the north and Late Pennsylvanian to earlyPermian isotopic dates from the weakly metamorphosed rockswithin the uplift. I address the largely unknown structural his-tory between these two constraints by presenting an improved3-dimensional kinematic model using four better-constrainedretrodeformable sections. The new crustal-scale retrode-


formable cross sections are based on all surface and subsurfacedata, 12 new zircon fission track dates and thermal maturationdata including 15 new “crystallinity” determinations to con-strain the maximum burial depth. These sections show thatmotion on a moderate number of faults can explain all surfaceand subsurface constraints. Zircon fission track ages range from307 ± 18.8 Ma to 333.4 ± 38.9 Ma. Regionally, illite and chlo-rite crystallinity increases toward the central axis of the BentonUplift reaching an interpreted temperature of ~300°C. Thisincrease in crystallinity toward the core of the Benton Uplift isexplained by original depth of burial. There is no need to callon structural stacking or a regional fluid flow event.

JONES,KYLE1,Charles E.Mitchell1,Langhorne “Taury”Smith3,Gerald Smith2, Robert D. Jacobi2

(1)Department of Geology, University at Buffalo, SUNY,Department of Geology, 411 Cooke Hall, Buffalo, New York,[email protected] (2)Norse Energy Corp, USA, 3556 Lake Shore Road, Buffalo,NY 14219.(3)New York State Museum, Room 3140 CEC, Albany, NY12230

Testing depositional models and basin geometry for theUtica Shale, Mohawk Valley, New York State

The Ordovician Utica Shale is a natural gas producing blackshale that crops out in the Mohawk Valley of eastern New YorkState. The environment of deposition has traditionally beeninterpreted to be deep water anoxia in the tectonically enclosedTaconic foreland basin where accommodation space growth isthought to have initially greatly exceeded sediment supply.Smith et al. recently suggested an alternative model, however,in which the Utica was deposited on the western limb of theTaconic foreland in relatively shallow water (perhaps less than50 m), where it on-laps the Trenton Group above what theyinterpret to be subaerial unconformities. The regional basingeometry was affected by a series of syndepositional northeast-southwest trending normal faults that delimit grabens and cor-respondingly thickened Utica Group deposits. Distinguishingthe alternative depositional models using local geological datatherefore, will require careful analysis to distinguish regionaland local effects on lithology and accommodation space.

Our intent is to test these alternative models based on datafrom field mapping as well as subsurface data.We are employingthese data to construct cross sections of the post-Knox,Taconicforeland succession in the Mohawk Valley.These cross sectionswill allow us to reconstruct the basin geometry and compare thisgeometry with that of modern basins.The goal of this project isto predict zones of highTOC and to understand effects of basinevolution on deposition and preservation of black shales, ulti-mately resulting in greater natural gas production.

JONES, PAGE, Texas A&M University, Department ofGeology and Geophysics College Station, Texas, [email protected]

Coal ball minerology and geochemistry from the KaloFormation of Iowa

Coal balls are carbonate concretions formed in peat duringthe Pennsylvanian and early Permian time period.Microprobe and microscope analysis have revealed high-Mgcalcite with an unusual crystal habit is the earliest calciumcarbonate to form in the Williamson No. 3 coal balls fromthe Kalo formation in Iowa. This high-Mg calcite has earlydiagenetic rims of non-ferroan, low-Mg calcite suggestingdiagenesis in meteoric water. The combination of high-Mgcalcite formation followed by early diagenetic alteration tolow-Mg calcite suggests the earliest coal ball carbonateformed in a hydrologically dynamic environment where saltwater influx was followed by fresh water conditions.Subsequent generations of carbonate are low-Mg, ferroancarbonate and appear to result from burial diagenesis of theoriginal high-Mg calcite fabric with low-Mg calcite rims.These high-Mg calcite crystals are the first to be reportedfrom the mid-Pennsylvanian. Our research results suggestcoal balls may be a good source of Pennsylvanian high-Mgcalcite. Williamson No. 3 coal balls that formed in matrixrich, low porosity peats consist primarily of anhedral calcite.Coal balls that formed in surficial leaf rich peats commonlyhave abundant radiating arrays of calcite crystals. It may bethat original pore volume controls the crystal habit of car-bonate in coal balls. Subsequent studies will investigate therelationship between pore volume and crystal habit.

KASPRAK, ALEX H., Brown University, Department ofGeological Sciences, Providence, Rhode Island,[email protected]

Environmental and ecological change through the end-Triassic mass extinction: A new biomarker record from theKennecott Point Formation (British Columbia, Canada)

This project seeks to develop a new record of environmen-tal, microbial, and chemical changes recorded in the marinerealm through the end-Triassic mass extinction by isolatingand quantifying molecular fossils (i.e. biomarkers) from theKennecott Point Formation in Haida Gwaii (formerly theQueen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia.

This record will document 1) changes in marine redoxconditions, 2) changes in planktonic microbial ecosystemstructure, and 3) environmental change on land as recordedby increased terrigenous supply of higher plant material andcompounds indicative of increased wildfire. Targeted com-pounds are bacterial hopanes, algal steranes, tricyclic diter-panes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The Kennecott Point Formation preserves a thicksequence of calcareous shales and siltstones deposited in avolcanic arc setting in the middle of the Pathlalassic ocean,and is one of few geologic sections that offers the potentialto reconstruct environmental changes in the marine realmwith global significance. This section has already receivedsignificant attention in the form of a well-resolved bios-tratigraphy, lithostratigraphy, and organic carbon and sulfurisotope chemostratigraphy, all of which point to significantperturbation through the Triassic-Jurassic transition. Thisproject will add to that base of knowledge by providing amore in-depth understanding of the nature and mechanism


of that perturbation through one of the most catastrophicevents known to the geologic record.

KELLY, MICHAEL, Department of Earth Sciences &Geography, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, UnitedKingdom, [email protected]

Lateral variations within the Moine Thrust Zone, NWScotland and Somiedo-Correcillas Unit, Cantabria, northernSpain: Comparisons with Appalachian transverse structures

Fold-and-thrust belts are intensely studied features of moun-tain belts around the world, with numerous authors reportingon geometry, kinematics, mechanics and hydrocarbon poten-tial. Whilst many of these works have dealt with palinspasticreconstructions and transport-direction-parallel balancedcross-sections, far fewer have focussed on three-dimensionalarchitecture of fold-and-thrust belts, or examined how lateralvariations in thrust architecture in different segments of thrustbelts are linked via so-called ‘transverse zones’.

Causative structures for lateral changes are often con-cealed and not fully studied. However, systematic alignmentsof these lateral structures have been suggested to include sub-décollement basement faults, pre-thrusting cover stratadeformation above basement faults, development of duplexstructures and antiformal stacks, and/or along-strike varia-tions in mechanical stratigraphy. Three-dimensional modelsof complex thrust belts are rare, and generally have not beenrestored to analyse thrust system kinematics.

In this work, detailed three-dimensional topologies, geome-tries and kinematics of selected thrust systems are studied inorder to fully analyse the evolution and cause/effects of lat-eral changes in thrust belts, in each case integrating the fieldand three-dimensional model interpretations. Full, sequen-tial restorations of three-dimensional thrust models usingnew digital mapping methodologies characterise the pre-thrusting template and assess that template’s capacity tocontrol subsequent lateral thrust geometries.

Project methodologies incorporate new studies of twowell-understood and comprehensively mapped thrust belts;the Achnashellach Culmination/Loch Maree region, MoineThrust Zone, NW Scotland and the Somiedo-CorrecillasUnit, Cantabrian Arc, northern Spain. These are comparedwith structures situated within the Anniston, Bessemer andHarpersville transverse zones, Appalachian Thrust Belt.

KENNEDY, JR., MICHAEL S., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Department of Geosciences, Milwaukee,Wisconsin, [email protected]

Marine transgression as the likeliest mechanism forenvironmental change at the k-Pg boundary (Montana, USA)

The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) Boundary of the UpperGreat Plains of North America is generally accompanied bya unique change in sedimentary facies, which characterizes

the Hell Creek – Fort Union formation contact.Environmentally, these deposits represent a distinct shiftfrom low gradient meandering streams to an abruptly floodedlandscape. This study sought to determine the mechanismbehind the environmental change by examining K-Pgdeposits in Makoshika State Park, near Glendive, Montana.Of particular interest was the sudden appearance of “varie-gated” siltstones, which are common in the Fort Union butabsent in the Hell Creek.Two hypotheses were examined: 1)the flooded landscape was sparked by instantaneous asteroidimpact, which devastated vegetation, thereby destabilizingriver banks and clogging channels with sediment; and 2) theflooded landscape was caused by gradual base level changes,particularly the transgression of the Cannonball Seaway.

Fieldwork was conducted at five localities in MakoshikaState Park. Sedimentological analysis indicated that theearliest Fort Union environments were anastomosing rivervalleys, lakes, and mires. Sequence stratigraphy was thenapplied to these deposits, and periods of base level highstandand lowstand were identified. The variegated faciesappeared genetically linked to periods of base level high-stand. Furthermore, their reappearance above an incised val-ley, and therefore after one base level cycle, indicates thattheir deposition occurred long-term, and was not temporallyrestricted to the time of the asteroid impact. The applicationof sequence stratigraphy to these continental strata thereforeindicates that marine transgression is the likeliest mecha-nism for K-Pg environmental change.

KENROY, PHILIP, Northern Illinois University, Departmentof Geology and Environmental Geosciences, DeKalb,Illinois, [email protected]

Compartmentalization of fluids around salt diapirs,Northern Spain

Faults exert a significant influence on the movement of flu-ids in the subsurface of the Earth. Faults may serve as con-duits along which fluids migrate, or as barriers to fluid flow.Mesoscale faulting around salt structures often causes com-partmentalization of fluids. When this occurs, fluids of differ-ent types become segregated by stratigraphic and structuralboundaries.This affects how we explore for and exploit min-eral deposits and hydrocarbon reservoirs in the vicinity ofsalt structures. This project aims to determine and rank thestratigraphic and structural variables that control the com-partmentalization of fluids in the vicinity of salt diapirs. Toachieve this goal this project will document the paleohydro-logic system around the Bakio and Bermeo salt diapirs inBasque-Cantabrian basin of northern Spain. These diapirs arewell-exposed, have associated mesoscopic faulting, and areespecially valuable research targets because they are situatedin deepwater turbidite settings that are highly prospectiveand often physically inaccessible.

This project will use field mapping, mesostructural analy-sis of faults and fractures, and laboratory analysis of veinsand host rocks to test the hypothesis that mesoscopic fault-ing compartmentalized paleofluids in the vicinity of the thesesalt diapirs. Petrographic work will define the paragenesis


of the vein minerals and host rock cements and guide theselection of samples for geochemical analysis. Anticipatedanalyses include, SEM, CL, and stable isotope and fluidinclusion microthermometry, which will constrain thesources, temperatures and compositions of paleofluids aroundthe diapirs.

Compartmentalization will be interpreted by mappingthe spatial distribution of this geochemical data.

KNOPP, STEFAN T., University of Calgary, Department ofGeoscience, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, [email protected]

Proxies for arid to semiarid paleoclimatic conditions indeeply buried sedimentary successions

This study aims to establish petrographic criteria to recog-nize arid/semiarid climate proxies in sandstone reservoirsaltered by burial diagenesis. Paleoclimatic conditions in ter-restrial successions buried within sedimentary basins areparticularly difficult to deduce. Traditional approaches basedon lithofacies and stable isotope analyses often fail. Lithofaciesanalysis is limited by well spacing and hindered by diageneticeffects following burial. Stable isotope analysis suffers fromobliteration of climatic signals by changes during mesogene-sis. Soils provide reliable paleoenvironmental information,although they are not immune to diagenetic changes.

In east-central Utah, USA, sediments of the uppermostMorrison formation record fluvial systems affected by soiland shallow groundwater processes. Resulting silcrete soilsprovide a comprehensive inventory of textural characteris-tics of sediment-atmosphere interaction in arid/semiarid cli-mates. Time-equivalent quartzose sandstones in the WCSB,Canada, have been buried between 2 and 4 kilometer. Theyshare petrographic characteristics with the Morrison sil-cretes but provide additional insight into the various trans-formations induced with burial.

The study is based on comparing and contrasting estab-lished features of shallow-buried arid/semiarid paleosols inoutcroppings with similar units subjected to progressivelyadvanced diagenetic stages. My approach involves the iden-tification of near-surface diagenetic features in core utiliz-ing thin section microscopy, powder XRD, WDS and CLanalyses. Stable isotope and fluid inclusion analyses will addto delineate diagenetic events. Petrographic characteriza-tion focuses on correlative units along a shallow to deepAlberta Basin transect. By specifying the transformation ofpaleosol characteristics with depth I will be able to intro-duce practical criteria to identify arid/semi-arid climateproxies in deep basins.

LEARY, RYAN, University of Arizona, Department ofGeosciences, Tucson, Arizona, [email protected]

Provenance and paleogeography of the Liuqu Conglomerate,Southern Tibet

This study seeks to accurately date the collision of India andAsia. Although the history of this event is of first order

importance to understanding the India-Asia tectonic systemand intercontinental collision in general, the timing of colli-sion remains a topic of heated debate, and estimates greatlydiffer. I will specifically target Cenozoic sedimentary basinfills along the India-Asia Collision Zone in southern Tibet.The timing of collision will be constrained through geochronol-ogy, provenance analysis, and paleogeographic reconstruction.

During the summer 2011 field season, I studied the LiuquConglomerate, a thick sequence of sediments shed primarilyfrom the north edge of India and currently exposed in smalloblique slip basins along the suture zone. Accurate determi-nation of this unit’s age and provenance will provide a max-imum age of collision. Approximately 1.1 km of section wasmeasured, and samples were collected for detrital geochronol-ogy, detrital thermochronology, paleoaltimetry, and sand-stone petrography. Analysis of these samples is in progress.Measurement of clast imbrications at nine locations estab-lishes paleodrainage patterns. Clast counts at eight locationswill establish the provenance. One more field season will berequired to study Liuqu Conglomerate that crops out 40 kmwest of the previously examined section. Results from thesetwo sections will be presented in 2012.

LECHTENBERG, KAREN, The University of Kansas,Department of Geology, Lawrence, Kansas, [email protected]

Evaluating the origin of build-and-fill geometries exposed inthe Goosenecks, Paradox Basin, Utah, USA

Canyon walls of the Goosenecks of Utah expose 19Pennsylvanian cyclothems (sequences) with well-preservedgeometries that appear to follow a build-and-fill geomet-ric model. Build-and-fill describes carbonate or mixedsequences with relief-building and relief-filling phases.This study analyzes Goosenecks outcrops for indicatorsof sea-level change associated with build-and-fill and non-build-and-fill geometries. Markers of sea-level rise,such as flooding surfaces and faunal changes, should befound within the building geometries and markers of sea-level fall, such as subaerial exposure indicators (mud-cracks, paleosols, pendant cements etc.), should be foundwithin filling structures. The research will evaluate ifbuilding phases are associated with relative sea level riseand filling phases are associated with sea level fall. It willdetermine if there is a fundamental biotic or sedimento-logic difference between build-and-fill and non build-and-fill sequences. Detailed stratigraphic sections, polishedrock slabs, and thin sections will be utilized during this study.

LOPEZ, KAREM, Rice University, Department of EarthSciences, Houston, Texas, [email protected]

Late Quaternary high-resolution stratigraphy of a deep watercarbonate sand drift (Northern Inner Sea of the Maldives)


The analyses and interpretation of recently acquired data-cores, multi-beam bathymetry, and high-resolution seismic,allow, among many other opportunities, to connect theQuaternary evolution of the atolls and their deep surround-ings, including the evolution of the deep water latePleistocene 200 m-thick carbonate sand drift. Biostratigraphicanalyses will assign the carbonate system age of initiation,isotope stages, and the most important fossil markers, basedon foraminifers and nannofossils. Lithologic interpretationwill provide the depositional environments. Seismic strati-graphic interpretation allow a better understanding of thegeneral evolution of the carbonate system, and the integra-tion of a high-resolution elemental analyses (XRF) to theseismic lines of the sand drift.

Globally, the last phase of growth of modern barriers reefsin the mid to late Brunhes ages (~ last 0.5 Ma) correspondsto a series of five to six stacked interglacial highstanddeposits separated by distinct exposure horizons. Based onpreliminary interpretation of seismic grids and biostrati-graphic markers, a large section of the carbonate sand driftare down-lapping (5-6 distinct wedges) on a major uncon-formity and with the analyses of the cores located on its toeof slope, these wedges down-lapping onto the unconformitymay correspond to the five glacial/interglacial intervalsaforementioned. Therefore, this carbonate sand drift couldbe interpreted also as a large sedimentary body deposited ina very short period of time.

LUETKEMEYER, BENJAMIN, Saint Louis UniversityDepartment of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, St. Louis,Missouri, [email protected]

Geochemical characterization of CO2-bearing siliciclasticreservoirs, SE Utah

The increase of anthropogenic carbon in Earth’s atmospheredue to rapid global industrialization has led to concernsabout the impact human activity is having on the environ-ment. Structural trapping of CO2 in coal seams, depleted oiland gas fields, deep saline aquifers, and capillary traps arecurrently being investigated as potential subsurface targetsfor CO2 sequestration. The ability to predict capture poten-tial of a given reservoir requires knowledge of how CO2-bearing fluids affect the sealing potential of faults.

The Colorado Plateau region of the western United Stateshosts a number of CO2 reservoirs. The Little Grand Washfault (LGWF) located within the Paradox basin, SE Utah,cuts the Green River anticline forming a number of stackedthree-way anticlinal closures. Ancient travertine mounds linethe Little Grand Wash fault in this area and document a longhistory of active CO2 discharge. However, it is apparent thatcertain strands of the fault have remained sealed while oth-ers have not. A number of Permian through Triassic lime-stone and sandstone units may serve as reservoirs for CO2from the Farnham and Woodside Domes to the Little GrandWash fault zone.

XRF, XRD, and stable isotope data have been obtainedfrom samples at the Utah Core Repository along theassumed flow path from source to discharge point have been

obtained. This data can be used to create geochemical mod-els of analogous systems not accessible for direct observa-tion. These models can then be used to assess the feasibilityof the long-term underground storage of CO2.

LUKER, AUSTIN, University of Houston, Department ofEarth and Atmospheric Sciences, Houston, Texas, [email protected]

A comparison of sequence stratigraphy and mineralogicalvariations associated with total organic carbon in theMarcellus Shale: Washington County, Pennsylvania

Recent interest has arisen concerning the organic-richDevonian black shales of the Appalachian Basin and theirpotential to produce natural gas. Production of natural gasfrom these black shales is widespread; with high versus lowproduction rates controlled by both the gas content of theshale and the susceptibility of the shale to fracture. It ishypothesized that the propensity for shales to fracture maybe controlled by the amount of silica and/or calcite in therock, and that the variability in the occurrence of those min-erals may be predicted by sequence stratigraphy.

A regional correlation of well logs drilled in Pennsylvaniawill be completed for sequence stratigraphic analysis of theMarcellus Shale and will enable the development of asequence stratigraphic model that will be used to test if min-eralogy can be predicted by sequence stratigraphy and ifthere is a relationship between mineralogy and total organiccarbon content of the rock. To determine if a relationshipexists between mineralogy and total organic carbon, a min-eralogical analysis will be performed on 15 sidewall corestaken from a vertical Marcellus well located in WashingtonCounty, Pennsylvania using x-ray diffraction to determinethe mineralogy in each sidewall core which will then becompared to calculated total organic carbon percentagestaken from the same sample suite. If a relationship exists, itis hypothesized there may be specific zones that can beidentified in a predicable manner within certain sequencestratigraphic intervals within the Marcellus Shale that arelikely more productive than others.

LYNN, HELEN B., Montana State University, Departmentof Earth Sciences, Bozeman, Montana, [email protected]; [email protected]

Structural controls on fluid migration through thrust faultsof the Stewart Peak Culmination

The Stewart Peak Culmination is a duplex structure of theAbsaroka Thrust in western Wyoming. The culmination hasbeen uplifted by Cenozoic normal faulting and breached,allowing for outcrop investigation of reservoir rocks, frac-tures and fluid migration pathways within the structure. Itlies east and up dip from subsurface CO2 traps in Idaho andwest of the Moxa Arch, another natural CO2 trap and apotential target for CO2 sequestration. The culminationexposes reservoir rocks under consideration for sequestration


in the Moxa Arch including the Bighorn and MadisonFormations; both have significant fracture porosity that hasenhanced reservoir quality. Analysis of fractures measured inoutcrop indicates that most fractures are genetically associ-ated with Sevier deformation. Fractures facilitated episodicfluid migration and localized late diagenetic alteration, dis-solution and mineralization. Hydrocarbon residue commonlylines fractures. Saddle dolomite selectively replaced hostrocks and precipitated along fracture walls. Saddle dolomiteand coeval sulfide mineralization are associated withhydrothermal fluid migration. Later dissolution enhancedfracture porosity. Late-stage breccia pipes are found as dis-crete bodies that sometimes cut through faults indicatingthat they postdate faulting. Pipes display evidence for dila-tional brecciation, rapid cementation, and precipitation ofplaty calcite and sulfides associated with boiling of CO2-richhydrothermal fluids. Active travertine springs located alongfaults indicate that the culmination is still a CO2 fluid sys-tem. Fluid migration in the culmination was episodic, andvaried temporally and spatially. The protracted history ofdeformation maintained fracture and fault zone permeabilitynetworks, facilitating fluid migration through structuresrelated to Sevier deformation.

MADANI KIVI, MEHRDAD, Goethe Frankfurt University,Department of Geology, D-60438, Frankfurt am Main,Germany, [email protected]

Structural and kinematic analysis in the NW part of the Farsdomain (Zagros fold-thrust belt) with respect to hydrocar-bon basins

The Zagros fold-thrust belt is situated on the northern mar-gin of the Arabian plate that is one of the youngest conti-nental collision belts. The main objectives of this projectconsist in the determination of the varying geometry of theShahneshin anticline in the NW part of the Fars domain.This anticline has been selected because: In the north ofKazerun city in area of the Shahneshin anticline, there aredramatic difference in depth between the northern synclineof the Shahneshin anticline and its southern syncline. We tryto peruse geometry and kinematic of the Shahneshin anti-cline based on field geology and another data (contain availablewell data, remote sensing from satellite data, aeromagneticand high resolution gravimetric data, and reflection seismicdata) to ascertain that this is the consequence of upliftingbasement along major reverse faults in trend of Northwest-Southeast or duplication caused by thrust imbrications inthe sedimentary cover. In field geology, we traverse severalsections from four main anticlines including Shahneshin,Dashtak, Dasht-e-Gul and Sarbalesh anticline. 3D analoguemodeling is used to systematically investigate the kinemati-cal geometry of Shahneshin anticline in relation with mech-anisms of reactivated or inactivated basement faults.

MADDEN, ROBERT H.C., Department of AppliedGeology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia,[email protected]

Diagenesis of Cenozoic isolated carbonates with minorclastic influx: Kutai Basin, Kalimantan

Extensive Cenozoic carbonate platforms developed onstructural highs away from areas of clastic input on thenorthern margins of the Kutai Basin in eastern Borneo.The Kedango Limestone was deposited across a broad areaduring the Late Eocene to Early Miocene. The Kedangolimestone developed in a semi-enclosed basin, as shallowwater platform and deeper water slope deposits, largelyunder low energy conditions at the platform margin and theplatform interior. Key diagenetic features of basin and slopecarbonate deposits are commonly extensive compaction andlittle cementation. The diagenesis of the Kedango limestoneis characterized by early marine processes of grain micritiza-tion, marine cementation and minor grain fracturing. Laterstage features include neomorphic replacement of aragoniticcomponents and the precipitation of equant spars withindissolved molds. Fracturing, and chemical compaction fea-tures are burial related. An evaluation of how depositionaland diagenetic conditions unique to the equatorial tropics,and common in Southeast Asia, influence regional reservoirdevelopment are needed. Petrographic analysis of theKedango Limestone allows for investigation of diagenesisand the impacts of the paleohydrologic regime, on reservoirquality for a carbonate platform formed away from silici-clastic input from basin margin to platform interior deposits.Comparisons of Southeast Asian Cenozoic examples withbetter studied non-tropical and arid systems contribute tothe understanding of global variability of carbonates formedin a range of settings.

MILLARD, CRAIG and ELIZABETH HAJEK (Advisor),Pennsylvania State University, Department of Geosciences,University Park, Pennsylvania, [email protected]

Comparison of floodplain and avulsion-associated depositsin ancient fluvial successions: Implications for crevasse-splay deposition and avulsion style

Extensive heterolithic avulsion deposits accumulate duringprogradational avulsions. In contrast, incisional avulsionserode directly into floodplains and lack avulsion deposits.The nature of floodplain and avulsion deposits may be used toinfer paleo-avulsion style. However, differentiating avulsion-associated and floodplain sediments in ancient successions isdifficult because both may contain coarse overbank deposits.In order to discriminate between floodplain and avulsiondeposits, we investigated overbank material below and lateralto channel-belt deposits in three ancient formations. Grain-size, paleosol development, and stratigraphy were character-ized in the Ferris (Cretaceous/Paleocene; Hanna Basin),Fort Union (Paleocene; Bighorn Basin), and Willwood(Paleocene/Eocene; Bighorn Basin) formations in Wyoming.

Ferris floodplain deposits are dominantly carbonaceousclaystones containing rare sandy lenses and little evidence ofpaleosol development. Where present, crevasse-splay


deposits adjacent to channels pinch out in tens of meters. Noevidence of heterolithic deposits was found below channels.

Fort Union and Willwood floodplain deposits containextensively mottled paleosol horizons and extend laterallyfor kilometers. Channel-margin deposits are commonly tandecimeter-to-meter scale horizons with weak paleosol devel-opment. Heterolithic deposits comprising meter-scalecoarsening-upward successions showing no or little paleosoldevelopment commonly underlie channels in these formations.

These observations indicate that Fort Union and Willwoodfloodplains contain significant avulsion-associated accumu-lations, while Ferris floodplains contain virtually none. Thissuggests that Ferris channels may have avulsed by incision,and/or that coarse-overbank deposition was suppressed inFerris systems. By comparing field data to modern systems andmodeling results, we consider how floodplain drainage, chan-nel scale and sediment load may have affected sedimentation.

MOODY, JEREMIAH D., Colorado School of Mines,Department of Geology and Geological Engineering,Golden, Colorado, [email protected]

The relationship between shoreline trajectory and fluvialchannel architecture, net-sand content, clustering, and con-nectivity in the Eocene Lower Escanilla Formation, AinsaBasin, Spain

Fluvial systems are important hydrocarbon reservoirs foundaround the world. One of the problems facing the develop-ment of fluvial reservoir models is our current understand-ing of how shoreline trajectory relates to spatial changes inthe distribution of sedimentation and clustering and con-nectivity of fluvial channels. This study uses outcrop datafrom the Escanilla and Sobrarbe Formations in the AinsaBasin to document changes in the architecture of fluvialchannels, net-sand content, clustering, and connectivity inrelation to changes in shoreline trajectory within a singleprogradational-retrogradational cycle.

Data from stratigraphic columns, interpreted photopan-els, and geologic maps of depositional facies and sand bodylocations are used to document spatially varying characteris-tics in strike and dip, grain size, sedimentary structures, litho-facies, architectural elements, net-sand-content, stratalboundaries, and clustering and connectivity of channel bod-ies. These data are used to construct a longitudinal cross sec-tion that documents the location of the paleoshoreline,regressive and transgressive intervals, and distribution offloodplain deposits and channel bodies, changes in net-sand-content, and the location of clustered channels. The regres-sive interval contains a river-dominated, shelf-margin deltacomplex that correlates to low aspect-ratio fluvial channelbelts, splays and multicolored overbank deposits. The deltalongitudinally correlates to deepwater channels and lobes.Fluvial channels have a high cluster coefficient and are wellconnected. In contrast, the transgressive interval is a mixedriver-wave-tide-influenced shelf-delta complex that corre-lates to high aspect-ratio fluvial channel belts, splays, andmulticolored mudstone sheets. There are no deepwater

deposits located in this interval. Fluvial channels are notclustered or connected.

OLINDE, LINDSAY, The University of Texas at Austin,Jackson School of Geosciences, Austin, Texas, [email protected]

The co-evolution of grain size distribution, bed topography,and bedload transport in alluvial channels, ReynoldsCreek, Idaho

Feedbacks between bedload transport and bed topographyare not well understood due in part to a lack of sufficientquantitative datasets. This study will deliver a high resolu-tion temporal and spatial characterization of formativemechanisms involved in channel stability and depositionalchannel architecture. This project examines channel evolu-tion by taking advantage of a planned stream modificationthat, using construction equipment, will smooth and steepenan approximately 100m reach of Reynolds Creek, Idaho.Direct field measurements of bed topography, bedload trans-port, and channel morphology will document how the chan-nel evolves from this perturbed state. Comparisons betweenrepeat total station surveys and ground based LiDAR scansof the channel bed will be used to quantify changes in bedtopography over centimeter to tens of meters scales for com-parison amongst and between fluvial systems. Scour chainscustomized with accelerometers installed vertically into thebed will also record the timing of bed adjustments. The highresolution topographic data, time lapse cameras, and grainsize distribution data will also provide insight into how thecaliber and fraction of coarsest grains in bed substrate andbedload affect channel evolution and stability. RadioFrequency Identification tagged and accelerometer embed-ded particles will record bedload transport conditions. Theultimate goal of my research project is to improve sedimenttransport and grain size distribution predictions in alluvialsystems by quantifying feedbacks between bed topography,sediment supply, grain size distribution, and discharge in anatural channel.

OSTROWICKI, KATRINA, University of Georgia,Department of Geology, Athens, Georgia, [email protected]

Petrophysical core analysis using mineralogical and petro-physical information from the Fort Pulaski Core Site,Savannah, GA and its relation to resistivity of carbonates inthe Floridan aquifer system

The purpose of this project is to establish the relationshipbetween petrophysical and mineralogical properties of car-bonate rocks from the Floridan aquifer system (FAS) andresistivity of the saturated rock. Changes in clay mineralsand pore geometry will affect resistivity and the migration offluid and this will be characterized for a core hole inSavannah, GA. In nearby coastal areas of Georgia, salt waterintrusion has occurred and limitations on groundwater


withdrawal have been imposed. It is therefore critical tounderstand the salinity variations in both the Upper andLower Floridan Aquifer. Borehole geophysical resistivity logscan be used to map salinity boundaries in the FAS if thepetrophysical characteristics of the formations are known.

Thin sections of carbonate core plugs will be analyzedunder a light microscope to determine pore geometric fac-tors and correlated with laboratory resistivity measurements.Mineralogical information will be acquired using X-ray dif-fraction, and permeability measurements will be conductedusing a mini-permeameter. Relations between formationproperties and cementation exponents will be determinedand characterized according to changes in carbonate facies.These cementation exponents can be applied to similar car-bonate rocks in other wells in the region to map salinity vari-ations utilizing borehole geophysical logs.

PARKE, ERICA, University of Miami/RSMAS, Departmentof Marine Geology and Geophysics, Miami, Florida,[email protected]

Mapping, deposition and early diagenesis of stromatolites:A modern analog from Hamelin Pool, Western Australia

The objectives of this project include: producing detailedfacies maps, digital elevation and underwater terrain modelsof Hamelin Pool by combining satellite imagery, aerial pho-tography, seafloor sampling, and ground truth traverses; con-ducting geospatial analysis of microbialites and associatedsand bodies; examining petrographic thin sections to definedepositional and early diagenetic microstructures, and con-ducting petrophysical analyses to understand pore-scalerock-fluid interactions. This research project will deliver acomprehensive dataset capturing the lateral heterogeneity ofthe system, providing baseline data for improved facies mod-eling and reservoir prediction in a microbialite system.

Hamelin Pool is a shallow hypersaline embayment, largelybarred from the rest of Shark Bay, in Western Australia, by acarbonate sand and seagrass bank. The shoreline of HamelinPool is 135 km and lined with stromatolites and microbialmats. The stromatolites form reefal buildups and extendfrom the supratidal zone to depths of 3-5 m. The extent ofstromatolites in the intertidal and supratidal zones are wellknown but have not been mapped in detail. Recent aerialphotographs show a large abundance of stromatolites in thesubtidal zone and almost nothing is known about thesestructures. The most extensive display of modern marinestromatolites exists in Hamelin Pool, the study of which willaid in understanding microbial systems of the past.

PEYRAVI1, MARYAM, MOHAMMD REZA KAMALI2,HOSSAIN RAHIMPOUR-BONAB3, AND FADI HENRINADER4; 1Department of Geology, Science and ResearchBranch Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran; 2ResearchInstitute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), West Blvd., AzadiSports Complex, PO Box 14665-1998, Tehran, Iran;3Department of Geology, College of Science, University ofTehran, Iran; 4Department of Sedimentology-Stratigraphy,

IFP Energies nouvelles, Rueil-Malmaison, France [email protected]

Sequence stratigraphy of the Lower Triassic KanganFormation, northern part of the Persian Gulf: implicationson reservoir characterization

The Lower Triassic Kangan Formation includes the mainreservoirs for natural gas in SW Iran and the northernPersian Gulf, and is equivalent to the Upper KhuffFormation. This formation was investigated in three gasfields, indicating that it is composed of limestone,dolomite, anhydrite, shale. It comprises 14 facies whichwere deposited in tidal flat, lagoon and oolitic barrier set-tings in the inner part of a homoclinal carbonate ramp orplatform. Vertical variations of microfacies and gamma-raylog profiles show that the formation consists of three depo-sitional sequences (KG1-3), each consisting of transgres-sive and highstand systems tracts and each bounded aboveby a type two unconformity. These depositional sequencesare also well constrained by carbon and oxygen isotopicprofiles from a well-dated section, exhibiting negative andpositive peaks matching with sequence boundaries andmaximum flooding surfaces, Respectively. Results of stron-tium isotopic analyses provided means to date estimate theage of the Kangan Formatin between 254Ma and 250Ma.

Reservoir quality of the Kangan Formation in the studiedareas was recognized based on facies analysis, lithology, dia-genetic processes, type of porosity, size of dolomites, andgeometry of dolomites with attention to the gamma ray,neutron and sonic logs. This investigation shows that theKangan Formation is a heterogeneous reservoir which con-sists of two flow units (P1 and P2) and two barrier units (D1and D2). This zonation is confirmed by other studies on theupper part of Khuff Formation in the Persian Gulf Basin.

PICKELL, MICHAEL, Texas A & M University, College ofGeosciences, Department of Geology and Geophysics,College Station, Texas, [email protected]

Stratigraphy and provenance of super-mature MiddleOrdovician quartz arenites of the Simpson Group and St.Peter Formation (Ancell Group), Oklahoma and Arkansas

Super-mature quartz arenites of the Middle OrdovicianSimpson Group and St. Peter Formation (Ancell Group) ofthe US midcontinent are often described as massively bed-ded, with high-order sequence boundaries absent or unrec-ognizable. Sedimentary structures indicative of relative sealevel and depositional environment are visible in outcrop.Correlation will be attempted between measured section inoutcrop, and core and wire-line logs to determine 3rd and4th order sequence boundaries in Simpson Group sand-stones in Oklahoma, and St. Peter Formation sandstones inArkansas. Similar sequence stratigraphic studies of super-mature Cambro-Ordovician quartz arenites in NorthAmerica and Australia, resulted in an enhanced understand-ing of the stratigraphy of shallow, siliciclastic-dominatedepeiric seas.


U-Pb dating of detrital zircons contained within the sand-stones will be used to constrain the age of the sands anddetermine provenance. Possible sediment sources includethe Transcontinental Arch, Canadian Shield, and OzarkDome. The Ozark Dome is proximial to the area of deposi-tion in the Southern US Midcontinent epeiric sea, anddetrital zircons matching the age of the granitic basementare expected if the basement rock of the Ozark Dome was indeed uplifted and subaerially exposed prior to theMiddle Ordovician.

PIETSCH, CARLIE, University of Southern California,Department of Earth Sciences Los Angeles, California,[email protected]

The control of shelf topography on the distribution of EarlyTriassic anoxic upwelling

The Early Triassic was a time of extensive deep ocean anoxia.Benthic marine life is thought to have survived this time ofenvironmental stress within a hypothesized “habitable zone”where wave activity mixed in atmospheric oxygen mitigat-ing shelf anoxia and protecting the benthic fauna. This hab-itable zone is found from the lower shoreface to the offshoretransition. My research compares benthic marine inverte-brate diversity between two shoreface environments withinthe Moenkopi Formation of the Early Triassic. The SmithianSinbad Member of Utah has a laterally extensive shelf depositedmostly within the hypothesized habitable zone while theSpathian Virgin Limestone of Nevada is laterally limitedwith only some environments falling within the habitablezone. Depositional environments were interpreted in aparasequence framework based on sedimentary structuresobserved in the field and thin section analysis. Areas of higherbenthic diversity are used to infer the environmental distri-bution of the well oxygenated habitable zone within eachparasequence and locality. I hypothesize that the Smithianshoreface will show higher diversity due to a wider distribu-tion of oxygenated, habitable environments. Understandingthe dynamics of these shoreface systems will lead to betterhypotheses that can locate shelf regions with increasedorganic deposition as a result of increased anoxia.

PRYKHODCHENKO, OLENA, Ukrainian State GeologicalResearch Institute, Kyiv, Ukraine, [email protected]

Sedimentology, paleogeography, and reservoir characteriza-tion of the Early Paleocene - Middle Eocene carbonate plat-form, the Marginal terrace, NW Black Sea

The area under consideration is located in the extreme west-ern part of the Ukrainian waters of the Black Sea north-western shelf. The Marginal (Krayova) terrace is spatiallycoincided with the conjugation zone positioned betweendeepwater West Black Sea sub-basin with quazi-oceaniccrust and the Scythian platform mobile shelf characterizedby heterogeneous and heterochronous basement. Repeated

tectonic restructuring epochs, erosional events and incisionof submarine canyons taken place during Meso-Cenozoichistory of the region and caused facies diversity and differ-ent completeness of the sedimentary column especially for carbonate rocks. This study is focused on structural geol-ogy and petroleum potential issues for the carbonateCretaceous-Eocene reservoir rocks of the Marginal terrace.The results of this study allow us to draw conclusions on car-bonate reservoir rocks local development and new prospectsfor oil and gas exploration within the studied area.

Open source data as well as some industrial reports andre-interpretation of available CDP seismic data have provideda possibility to present a new model for combined typehydrocarbon entrapment in the Maastrichtian-Campanian,Lower Paleocene and Middle Eocene carbonate reservoirsrocks of the Marginal terrace, NW Black Sea shelf. The studyis aimed to solve some problems related to exploration tar-geting carbonate reservoirs of the Marginal terrace of theNW Black Sea shelf.

RUSH, NATALIE K., The University of Tulsa, Departmentof Geosciences, Tulsa, Oklahoma, [email protected]

Late Albian sequence stratigraphy and geochemical eventsin the Chihuahua Basin, southeast New Mexico

This research project has two objectives: (1) test the promi-nent Upper Albian sequence boundary between theEdwards Formation and the Washita Group for subaerialexposure, and (2) test for evidence of the latest Albianoceanic anoxic event. The sequence boundary at the top ofthe Edwards Formation and Fredericksburg Group is a wide-spread contact in the subsurface and outcrops in the area ofthe United States and Mexico Gulf Coast.

Multiple oceanic anoxic events occurred during theCretaceous Period and while all of these events have beenidentified in other parts of the world, not all have beenidentified in the Gulf Coast of North America. Thisresearch will test the Mesilla Valley Formation, a blackshale exposed on the northeast flank of Cerro de CristoRey in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, for the location ofOceanic Anoxic Event 1d. Testing will be accomplishedthrough geochemical analyses, including: isotopes, tracemetals, and iron. Chronostratigraphic and chemostrati-graphic changes will be tracked throughout the shale andgeochemical data will be integrated with existing bios-tratigraphic data to correlate with standard zonal schemes.It is expected that a positive δ13C shift will be identifiedin the Mesilla Valley shale that will correlate globally withOceanic Anoxic Event 1d.

Testing for evidence of subaerial exposure at the top ofthe Finlay limestone, for regional correlation of the sequenceboundary, will be accomplished through isotope and petro-graphic analyses. Thin sections of the Finlay limestone havebeen prepared and geochemical data is being processed.

RUZO, ANDRÉS, Southern Methodist University,Geothermal Laboratory, Dallas, Texas, [email protected]


Geothermal map of Peru

Heat flow maps represent an important geophysical tool forunderstanding the earth’s thermal regimes. For any given loca-tion, the surface heat flow (mW/m2) is calculated by multi-plying the geothermal gradient (°C/km) by the thermalconductivity (W/m/K) at that location.Though heat flow itselfcannot be directly measured, geothermal gradients are meas-ured in boreholes using a wire-line high-precision thermome-ter. Thermal conductivities are measured from rock samplesusing a divided-bar thermal-conductivity measuring device.

The “Geothermal Map of Peru” project aims to create a heatflow map of Peru using data and rock samples from oil, gas,water-well, and mining boreholes.The map will not only quan-tify Peru’s geothermal energy potential, it will also serve as animportant exploration tool for the oil, gas, and mining sectors,as it will aid in the determination of kerogen maturation andthe potential identification of new mineral belts for each indus-try, respectively.

Furthermore, the thermal regimes illustrated by this com-pleted work will significantly advance the understanding ofthe mechanisms behind volcanic gaps and their formation.

Volcanic gaps are areas on active subduction zones thatdo not exhibit arc-volcanism.

The Peruvian Volcanic Gap is the world’s largest volcanicgap, spanning ~1,500 km.

Although theories exist that seek to explain the mechanismsbehind the Peruvian Volcanic Gap, the “Geothermal Map ofPeru” will provide the necessary information to quantitativelyaddress the problem.

SPAETH, LYNSEY J., University of Wyoming, Departmentof Geology & Geophysics Laramie, Wyoming, [email protected]

Triassic confining units for carbon dioxide sequestration in Wyoming

Carbon capture and geologic storage is being investigatedthroughout Wyoming in preparation for possible carbon emis-sion regulations. At potential storage sites, researchers mustidentify confining units capable of ensuring that stored carbondioxide remains in place at depth. A confining system consistsof one or more stratigraphic units that prevent the passage offluid through rock. Using hydrocarbon systems as an analogue,good confining layers are composed of thick, laterally contin-uous, ductile rocks. The majority of good sealing layers arefine-grained clastic rocks, evaporites, or organic rich units. TheTriassic Dinwoody and Permo-Triassic Goose Egg formationsare two potential confining layers in Wyoming. TheDinwoody, located in western Wyoming, is a gray or greenish-gray very fine grained sandy and micaceous siltstone. TheDinwoody varies greatly in thickness, ranging from approxi-mately 15 meters thick near Lander, Wyoming to approxi-mately 330 meters thick just south of the Wyoming/Coloradoborder in Irish Canyon, Colorado. Thin layers of gypsum arepresent near the top of the section in outcrops, although cross-cutting relationships suggest these layers may have both

primary and secondary depositional origins. The Goose Egg,located in central and eastern Wyoming, is red or purplish-redsiltstone with minor limestone. It is approximately 100 metersthick near Seminoe and Alcova,Wyoming. It contains up to 30meters of gypsum near the top of the section, although thetrue thickness may have changed due to structural deforma-tion. The lithologies, lateral extent, and thicknesses of theseformations indicate good potential to geologically sequestercarbon dioxide.

STAMMER, JANE, Colorado School of Mines, Departmentof Geology and Geological Engineering, Golden, Colorado,[email protected]

Hydrodynamic fractionation of minerals and textures in submarine fans: implications for the prediction of reser-voir quality

No studies document how mineralogy and texture changelaterally and longitudinally in submarine fans. Minerals havevarying shapes and densities, both of which affect settlingvelocity in turbulent flow. Because submarine fans are per-vasive features in ocean basins, understanding textural andmineralogical variability and the causes of this variability iscritical in determining flow behaviors of turbidity currents.This study uses exceptionally well-exposed outcrops of lobestrata in the Point Loma Formation, San Diego, California totest how turbidity currents hydrodynamically fractionatemineral grains of different size, shape, and density.

Lobe strata within the Point Loma Formation are wellexposed, have exceptional lateral continuity (5+ km), andhave undergone only minor Cenozoic deformation.Additionally, the outcrop is nearly perpendicular to pale-ocurrent direction, and lobe strata are exposed from proxi-mal, medial, and distal locations. This outcrop, therefore,provides a unique analog for global submarine fan systems.

A single bed within a larger lobe element is studied over2.5 km from axis to margin. Macro- and micro-scale param-eters are documented along the profile and include bedthickness, primary and secondary sedimentary structures,mineral composition, sorting, grain size, and grain shape.Quantitative QEMSCAN analysis documents discrete,monotonic and non-linear changes in mineralogy. The per-centages of K-feldspar, plagioclase, biotite, and organic mate-rial relative to quartz increase toward the lateral margin. Incontrast, the percentage of hornblende relative to quartzdecreases toward the lateral margin. This spatial variability isinterpreted to reflect hydrodynamic fractionation of grainsbased on size, mineral density and grain shape.

STEVANOVIC, IVANA. M., South Dakota School of Minesand Technology, Department of Geology and GeologicalEngineering, Rapid City, South Dakota, [email protected]

Geochemistry and computer modeling for oil explorationand production in the Three Forks Formation, WillistonBasin, northwestern South Dakota


The Three Forks Formation (Devonian) is a significantresource in North Dakota and has been recently establishedin South Dakota through geophysical logs, hence it is ofgreat importance to examine the possibilities of oil explo-ration in this formation. The geological setting in SouthDakota is similar to that in Manitoba, Canada; both are sit-uated at the edge of the Williston Basin, which provides anexcellent marginal region where mature hydrocarbons usu-ally migrate due to the depth and temperatures of the deeperportions of the basin.

The proposed study will use samples from the core andcuttings repository at the South Dakota Geological Survey.Samples will be examined for geochemical composition, pri-marily total organic content, biomarkers (n-alkane), atomicratios of hydrogen/carbon and oxygen/carbon and maturityusing gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. The rare earthelements will be examined using Inductively Coupled MassSpectrometer for trace elements to strengthen the strati-graphic correlation. Thin sections of the samples will also bemade to examine the microsedimentary structures. All datawill be plotted in ArcGIS for correlation. Finally, the datafrom the geochemical analyses and geophysical logs will beused to model potential drilling sites using reservoir simula-tion software Schlumberger’s ECLIPSE®, which enables theprediction of dynamic reservoir behavior, calculation ofuncertainty and optimization, carbon-storage simulations,and chemical enhanced oil recovery. When completed, thiswork will identify high-priority target areas for the ThreeForks Formation in South Dakota and will promote explo-ration and production from this potentially significanthydrocarbon reservoir.

TIPPLE, SCOTT RYAN, Louisiana State University,Department of Geology and Geophysics, Baton Rouge,Louisiana, Paul Danheim Nelson Memorial Grant, [email protected]

A 2-D, dual-density, numerical model of carbonate subsur-face fluid flow through the Edward’s Aquifer, NewBraunfels, TX: Mechanisms that inhibit flow across thefreshwater/saline-water interface

The Edward’s Aquifer, composed of faulted carbonatebedrock, contains freshwater and saline water. In aquifersthat contain fresh and saline waters, saline water intrusioncan result in degradation of water quality. Yet, in the NewBraunfels section of the Edward’s Aquifer, limited salinewater intrusion has occurred. The focus of this research is todetermine why there is less saline water intrusion thanexpected and if there is a trigger that will result in moreextensive saline water intrusion across the freshwater/saline-water interface. Three hypotheses are being tested: (1) afault that could be acting as a barrier between the freshwa-ter and saline water zones, preventing movement of thesaline water into the freshwater zone, (2) an extremely lowpermeability of the bedrock in the saline water zone, limit-ing movement of the saline water, and (3) an extremely highsaline water density near the interface that prevents mixing.2-D, dual-density, numerical models of groundwater flow

are currently being produced for each proposed hypothesesusing Basin2 and data from five wells along a transect thatcrosses the freshwater/saline-water interface. Geophysicalwell logs, aquifer pump tests, and geochemical data are beingused to calculate the properties of the aquifer, so that com-parisons can be made against the models. To date, the thirdhypothesis has been disregarded as results indicate that thedensity of saline water that is needed to prevent flow acrossthe interface is much higher than any of the measured salinewater densities near the interface.

UTOM, AHAMEFULA U., Department of GeologicalSciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, P.M.B 5025 Awka,Nigeria, [email protected]

Geoelectrical resistivity delineation of groundwater contam-ination risks caused by acid mine drainage: A case history ofOkpara coal mine, Enugu, southeastern Nigeria

The project is integrating geophysical and hydrogeochemicalapproach in aquifer contamination studies over an area ofabout 85.6 km2. A geoelectrical resistivity survey conductedin the area around Okpara coal mine, Enugu, southeasternNigeria will evaluate groundwater contamination risks asso-ciated with the acid mine drainage. Hydrogeochemicalparameters in the mine vicinity have shown elevated con-centrations of Fe, Total Dissolved Solids and SO4 at low pHvalues with majority of analysed water samples constitutingacid low metal content. Schlumberger Vertical ElectricalSoundings were undertaken at nineteen stations to deter-mine, in more detail the dimension of the contaminantplume as well as the local stratigraphy. Azimuthal ResistivitySoundings at two locations were conducted to predict thedirection of the contaminant migration as encountered geo-logic formations are highly fractured. Borehole informationconfirmed by generated geophysical models shows four dis-tinct lithologies: sandstone: shale, sandy shale and coal seam.Controlled by the local topography, the depth to water tableis between 5 – 10 m. The vulnerability of the aquifer wasclosely related to the resistivity values of the leachateplumes using empirical models that correlate geoelectrically-important hydrochemical parameters. The resistivity data,vertical cross sections and contour maps generated fromthese data will help map the contaminant plume, which willbe delineated as an area of low interpreted resistivities.

VAN DER KOLK, DOLORES, The University of Austin atTexas, Jackson School of Geosciences, Austin, [email protected]

High-latitude shoreface to coastal-plain transitions: TheSchrader Bluff and Prince Creek Formations at ShivugakBluff, North Slope, Alaska

Studies of shelf to coastal-plain-transitions are common inlower latitude settings; however, few studies address thenature of high-latitude systems. On the east margin ofAlaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, Shivugak Bluff contains


Upper Cretaceous strata of the shallow-marine SchraderBluff Formation (Fm) and the continental Prince Creek Fmdeposited at a high paleolatitude (> 70° N). A multiyearstudy to record facies, contacts, architecture, and ichnofacieswas initiated at Shivugak Bluff, where two successions, 54and 124 m thick, were measured through the interfingeringSchrader Bluff and Prince Creek Fms. Lithologies includevery fine- to coarse-grained sandstone, siltstone, mudstone,claystone, carbonaceous shale, coal, and bentonite.

Common sedimentary structures in the Schrader BluffFm include hummocky cross-stratification (HCS; up to 4 mwide), symmetric and asymmetric ripples, bidirectional (her-ringbone) cross-stratification, planar lamination, scour andfill structures, as well as flaser, wavy, and lenticular bedding.Very fine- to fine-grained sandstone with HCS and minorinterbeds of symmetrical (wave) ripples are interpreted asproximal lower shoreface deposits. Medium-grained sand-stone containing conglomeratic layers and symmetrical rip-ples associated with bidirectional cross beds are interpretedas upper shoreface deposits. Very fine- to medium-grainedsandstone with low-angle planar cross lamination, symmet-rical ripples, and rare asymmetrical ripples are interpreted asbeach foreshore deposits. Intervals of interbedded very fine-to fine-grained sandstone, siltstone and mudstone with flaser,wavy, and lenticular bedding are tentatively interpreted asestuary, back bay, and or interdistributary bay deposits(pending micropaleontology results).

In contrast, the Prince Creek Fm primarily containstrough cross-stratified and current-rippled sandstones con-taining indicators of both downstream and lateral accretion.Fine-grained facies include thin (< 1m thick) sheet sand-stone, carbonaceous siltstone, organic mudstone, carbona-ceous shale, and coal (up to 1.5 m thick). Multistory fine- tocoarse-grained channelized sandbodies (6 to 9 m thick)exhibiting primarily downstream accretion are interpretedas braided fluvial deposits. Sandbodies (6+ m thick) con-taining primarily lateral accretion are interpreted as mean-dering stream deposits. Finer grained facies record depositionon levees and splays and in floodplain, lakes and swamps.

Field observations indicate at least four shoaling upwardcycles at Shivugak Bluff based on the interfingering ofshoreface successions with facies containing rhizoliths inpaleosols, dinosaur tracks, and fluvial channels. These world-class outcrops are analogs for North Slope, shallow, viscous-to-heavy oil reservoirs (West Sak and Ugnu sands) and canserve as a model for a high-latitude shoreface to coastal-plain transition during the Cretaceous greenhouse.

WELLS, RACHEL K., Texas A&M University, Departmentof Geology and Geophysics, College Station, Texas,[email protected]

Low temperature calcite and dolomite deformation in a carbonate-shale thrust fault and the effect on porosity

Large displacements of thrust sheets along narrow shearzones have commonly been attributed to a weak shale layeralong the base of these thrusts. Structures within an exposure

of the Copper Creek (CC) thrust fault suggest, however, thatcalcite, introduced as veins adjacent to the fault zone, wasweaker than the host shale. Deformation of the calcite fur-ther resulted in increased porosity. Thus, fracturing of shaleand precipitation of calcite played a critical role in the rhe-ology of this fault zone and the resultant microstructuresand porosity of the fault rocks. This study will investigatespatial and temporal variations in fluid flow along strike dur-ing the deformation of the CC thrust fault, and how alongstrike changes in lithologies (e.g., addition of dolomite) and deformation processes influence fluid flow during andafter deformation.

The CC fault is located in the foreland fold-and-thrustbelt of the southern Appalachians, Tennessee. The CC faultzone is ~2-10 cm thick and accommodated ~15 km dis-placement. Information gathered from this fault can beapplied to other thrust systems that formed under similarconditions (e.g., McConnell fault, Canadian Rockies). Atseveral locations along the strike, I will map lithologies,veins, faults and their cross-cutting relationships across thefault zone, and collect samples for laboratory studies. Opticaland scanning electron microscopy will be used to analyzemicroscale fracture and vein distributions, deformationmicrostructures, grain size distributions, mineralogy andporosity. This study will contribute to our understanding ofthe role of faulting in fluid migration in fold-and-thrust faults.

WOOLF, KURTUS, The University of Texas at Austin,Jackson School of Geosciences Austin, Texas, [email protected]

Regional distribution and occurrence of chlorite in theTuscaloosa Sandstone, eastern to central Gulf of Mexico;insight into the controls of chlorite occurrence and implica-tions to reservoir quality

The Tuscaloosa Sandstone is a fluvial/deltaic to nearshoremarine formation in the U.S. Gulf Coast region that hasbeen a prolific hydrocarbon bearing unit. Chlorite in thisformation is thought to preserve primary porosity whichleads to anomalously high porosities and good reservoirquality at great depths. However, the exact source, regionaldistribution, and mechanisms of formation of chlorite in theTuscaloosa remain problematic. The presence of chlorite inthe Tuscaloosa has been proposed by others to be controlledby provenance and may also be controlled by depositionalenvironment. An understanding on the controls and distri-bution of chlorite in the Tuscaloosa across the region willgreatly aid in the understanding and prediction of produc-tive locations of hydrocarbons in this formation in bothonshore and offshore locations.

This study will determine the nature and occurrence ofchlorite in the onshore Tuscaloosa trend, what controls thepresence of chlorite in that formation, and what implicationsthe presence or absence of chlorite has for the reservoirquality of the Tuscaloosa Formation in frontier areas includ-ing offshore deposits.


Core of the lower Tuscaloosa formation across Alabama,Mississippi, and Louisiana will be described in detail.Petrography from each core at different intervals anddepositional systems will be used to determine a diageneticsequence and to quantify the amount of chlorite in eachsample. Trends in chlorite abundance compared to deposi-tional environment and provenance will be analyzed to better determine how either of these factors controls chlorite deposition.

YENUGU, MALLESWAR, University of Oklahoma, Schoolof Geology and Geophysics, Norman, Oklahoma, [email protected]

Relation between seismic curvatures and fractures identi-fied from image logs - application to the Mississippian reser-voirs of Oklahoma, USA

Tensile fractures are often associated with structural hetero-geneities such as geological anticlines and domes, which caninfluence the charge, seal and production rates of hydrocar-bon reservoirs. The main goal of the project is to correlatehigh dense fractured zones measured from image logs withcurvature attributes generated from post-stack seismic data.Surface seismic data can aid in the prediction of fracture ori-entation and intensity. The main targets of the study area arethe Mississippian limestone and tripolitic chert reservoirs.The success of the wells depends on the number and orien-tation of open fractures that are encountered by the hori-zontal wells.

I generated the volumetric curvature volumes from seismicdata to identify and delineate the minor faults/fractures.Fracture density is measured from the FMI logs of one of thehorizontal wells.Then the fracture density is plotted along thehorizontal well path and found a good correlation of fracturedensity from FMI with the highly deformed areas identifiedfrom curvature attributes. High fracture density is observed onthe dome structures identified from curvature attributes.