Published ETD Collection
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Item 2-D Deformable-layer Tomostatics in Sichuan, China(2015-08) Wo, Yukai 1991-; Zhou, Hua-Wei; Hall, Stuart A.; Lau, AugustStatic correction for near-surface effects is a critical issue for onshore seismic data processing due to its significant impact on imaging the subsurface structure, especially for area with severe topographic and near-surface velocity variations. The key idea to determine static correction is to build an accurate near-surface velocity model, which leads to several methods such as refraction statics, uphole surveys and tomostatics. Among these methods, tomostatics, which builds the near-surface velocity models using tomography, is a promising method. However, in complex near-surface areas, traditional grid tomography is often unable to determine the static correction. This is mainly because the conflict between the need of smaller cell to describe the severe velocity variation and the increasing number of inversion unknowns which leads to solution's uncertainty. The deformable-layer tomography (DLT) determines the complex near-surface velocity models by inverting for depth-varying velocity interfaces. Both synthetic and field data offer many cases illustrating DLT's effectiveness. The main advantage of DLT over grid tomography is that DLT builds a geologically reasonable model with less inversion unknowns, and can resolve the velocity model better with some constrains such as the result of uphole surveys, which is available in my study. Also, a reversed-velocity interface, which is common in mountainous area and has severe effect on near-surface imaging, may be better solved by DLT. The survey area of my thesis is in the western Sichuan, China, which is mountainous and has a complex near-surface situation. Thus, I have been motivated to find whether the DLT can be a good solution to this problem. I use the DLT to build the near-surface velocity model and determine the static correction for the area. The final velocity model produced by DLT holds close velocity-depth information compared to uphole survey, and static correction calculated from such model shows improvement, such as an increasing level of reflection coherency on stack section.Item 3-D SEISMIC SURVEY DESIGN VIA MODELING AND REVERSE TIME MIGRATION: PIERCE JUNCTION SALT DOME, TEXAS(2014-05) Coskun, Suleyman 1984-; Stewart, Robert R.; Khan, Shuhab D.; Baysal, EdipSeismic forward modeling studies are required for adequately imaging complex geological structures, such as folds, faults, and domes. Many U.S. Gulf Coast salt domes are used for oil and gas exploration, brine production, and underground hydrocarbon storage. For this reason, it is crucial to image the flank of the salt domes and surrounding sediments. Allied Geophysical Laboratories (AGL) carried out a 2-D seismic study in the Texas Brine Company facility to image the Pierce Junction salt dome. However, we were not able to image the salt flanks because of improper survey design. This led to the current study which proposes a 2-D and a 3-D seismic survey design using modeling and Reverse Time Migration (RTM) imaging. We gathered original 2-D seismic, topography, and gravity data to build 2-D and 3-D velocity models of the Pierce Junction salt dome area. We processed the original 2-D data and extracted the velocities of the cap rock and near surface sediments for use in velocity models. We modelled gravity data collected in a north-south direction and performed analyses on the synthetic seismic data to determine new 2-D conventional seismic survey parameters that could be achieved with the limited acquisition equipment of AGL. We modeled synthetic shot gathers by a finite difference method using the full (two-way) acoustic wave equation, and generated seismic images using the Reverse Time Migration (RTM) method. We determined the optimum parameters of the new 2-D seismic survey by reviewing the quality of the results. These parameters were able to adequately image the salt dome and its surrounding sediments. We then modified the 2-D parameters for a new 3-D survey, and obtained synthetic RTM images based on the 3-D velocity model. Optimal 2-D and 3-D seismic survey designs for the Pierce Junction salt dome area were achieved using seismic modeling and RTM imaging. We found RTM imaging to be a novel and powerful method for determining seismic survey parameters for complex geological structures.Item 3D Allostratigraphic Mapping and Facies Heterogeneity of a Compound Tributary Incised Valley System, Turonian Ferron Sandstone, Notom Delta, South-Central Utah(2013-05) Hilton, Benjamin David 1985-; Bhattacharya, Janok P.; Khan, Shuhab D.; Cleveland, David M.Incised valley systems are important for sequence stratigraphic and exploration purposes. The tributary component of these systems may inherit complicated, self-similar, plan-view morphologies from the drainage networks that form them. Incised valley depositional models often exclusively focus on fill facies within trunk valleys and either ignore or poorly document facies within tributary valleys. The Notom Fluvio-Deltaic complex, a component of the Turonian (Late Cretaceous) Ferron Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale Formation, outcrops along Neilson Wash, Utah, and provides the opportunity to study in 3D, facies heterogeneity of compound incised valley fills, including both trunk and tributary components. Using traditional field methodologies (56 measured sections) and remote sensing (aerial LiDAR survey), several objectives have been completed: 1) previous 2D outcrop work / interpretations have been updated and described in 3D space using allostratigraphic principles; 2) Isopach maps and paleogeographic reconstructions show north-east oriented channel belts with both braided and meandering plan view patterns within their respective valley fills; 3) younger cut and fill sequences (unaccounted for in previous studies) are documented; and 4) Interpretation of remnant terraces / interfluves suggest high diachroneity associated with the higher and lower order erosion surfaces that form the composite sequence boundary. Valley allomembers V2B and V2A are shown to be tributary in nature compared with larger or trunk valley allomembers based on stratigraphic valley width to thickness ratio’s, grain size differences, scale of sedimentary structures, preserved thickness of channel elements and abundance of facies types. Confined valleys appear more sand dominated while less confined to unconfined valleys preserve significant floodplain facies, as predicted by traditional incised valley models. Tributary fills appear linked to valley-specific hydrologic conditions, distance to estuarine/tidal processes, river style (braided or meandering), and sediment supply. This outcrop-based study gives a less common 3-dimensional insight to the evolution of a compound incised valley system, which may prove useful for subsurface exploration and for the advancement of oversimplified incised valley facies models.Item 3D Crustal Modeling of the Barreirinhas and Ceara Basins of Northeastern Brazil(2019-05) Lunn, Eric M. 1993-; Wu, Jonny; Bird, Dale E.; Mann, Paul; Krueger, AnaThe Barreirinhas and Ceara Basins, offshore northeastern Brazil, cover a combined area of approximately 105,000 km^2 and formed north and south of the Romanche Fracture Zone (RFZ) respectively. The RFZ is a 4,500 km-long, 10-40 km-wide oceanic fracture zone that extends from offshore northeastern Brazil to offshore Ghana-Togo/Benin. During Aptian times, northeastern Brazil rifted from the continental margin of West Africa. Questions remain regarding northeastern Brazil’s crustal structure, its reconstructed fit with NW Africa, and its exploration potential. To address these questions, a 3D model was created by integrating industry quality 2D seismic reflection and well log data with open-file gravity, sediment thickness, topography, and seismic refraction data (including wide-angle lines and individual stations). Additionally, a sediment thickness grid was produced by interpreting 13,171 km of modern 2D seismic profiles to constrain the inversion. The Barreirinhas and Ceara basins 3D model was constructed with five horizons, which separated six layers: air, water, sedimentary rocks, upper crystalline crust, lower crystalline crust, and upper mantle. A 3D gravity structural inversion on the Moho horizon was performed, the total thickness of the crystalline crust based on the new Moho horizon was calculated, and a continent-ocean transition zone (COTZ) based on the new crustal thickness was defined. The width of the transition zone in the Barreirinhas basin ranged from 5 to 25 km and in the Ceara from 5 to 100 km. Landward of the COTZ, the continental crust thickness ranged from 14 km near the COTZ to 40 km, whereas seaward of the COTZ, the oceanic crust thickness ranged from 5 to 10 km. These thicknesses support the idea that the equatorial South Atlantic Ocean opened as a series of right-lateral, pull-apart basins with varying degrees of obliquity to the South Atlantic opening direction. The Romanche Fracture Zone does not extend as far west as previously thought, but appears to have formed in-line with intracontinental pre-existing zones of weakness. The new sediment thickness map better defines the major depocenters offshore equatorial Brazil while the model-derived crustal thickness map and COTZ, may provide insights for source rock maturity within the Barreirinhas and Ceara basins.Item 3D GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR (GPR) INVESTIGATIONS: BURIED CULVERTS, HISTORICAL GRAVES, A SANDSTONE RESERVOIR ANALOG, AND AN IMPACT CRATER(2016-05) Aziz, Azie Sophia 1979-; Stewart, Robert R.; Khan, Shuhab D.; Wiley, Robert; Borgerson, JacobGround-penetrating radar (GPR) is used to characterize a variety of subsurface targets such as buried culverts, historical graves, reservoir analogs, and impact craters. In the first case of “buried culverts” I evaluated the GPR performance across five antenna frequencies to determine which would best image buried culverts. Laboratory measurements of soil were made to provide independent measurements to compare measurements and estimates from the field experiments and other sources. Estimates of radar velocities for the set of GPR antenna frequencies were made by a variety of GPR processing techniques together with survey measurements. These velocities were then used in the imaging and time-to-depth conversion of the GPR data. The best velocity used for the various migrations showed a frequency dependence. In the second case of “historical graves” Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) was used before GPR to provide an elevation map of the survey area. This map was analyzed to find anomalous mounds and depressions which provided leads to the location of undocumented graves that could be surveyed in depth with GPR for verification. In the third case of “reservoir analogs” I used 3D GPR to visualize the internal structure of terminal distributary mouth bars in the Cretaceous Ferron Sandstone in southeastern Utah. Three radar facies were observed including a terminal distributary channel of 1.25 m thickness filled with distributary mouth bars, a progradational mouth bar with a dip angle of approximately 20o, and a laterally continuous basal planar bed. GPR images revealed the geometry of architectural elements such as small-scale bedding (0.6 m) and the extent (9 m) of major bounding surfaces. In the fourth case of “craters” I used 3D GPR to image ejecta elements and to map the alluvium thickness at the Barringer (Meteor) Crater in Arizona. Some software was developed to assist the processing. Workflows were developed for TLS data and 3D GPR data. The results for all four cases were interpreted successfully and recommendations for future acquisition, processing, and interpretation were compiled. The wide range of imaging cases shows the usefulness of GPR in the imaging of buried culverts, historical graves, reservoir analogs, and impact craters.Item 3D SEISMIC GEOMORPHOLOGY AND SEISMIC STRATIGRAPHY OF LATE QUATERNARY SHELF AND SHELF -MARGIN DEPOSITIONAL SYSTEMS, NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO(2015-08) Lozano, Felipe A. 1973-; Wellner, Julia S.; Bhattacharya, Janok P.; Silva-Tamayo, Juan C.; Sager, William W.Optimal exploitation of deltaic reservoirs needs detailed facies and architectural element analysis as a base for a comprehensive geological model. To date, very few studies have evaluated regional shelf-margin deltaic systems using 3D seismic data and 3D seismic geomorphologic and seismic stratigraphic analysis. High-resolution 3D seismic data, covering an area of 8,000 km2 offshore Louisiana at the modern shelf edge of the central northern Gulf of Mexico, was used to reconstruct the distribution and evolution of the paleo-Mississippi shelf-margin deltaic system during the last full cycle of fall and rise in sea level, which spans the last 125,000 years. Three-dimensional seismic geomorphological analysis was complemented with computed seismic attributes, including coherence, curvature, spectral components, sweetness, and amplitude gradient, with the objective of identifying shelf-margin geological features not typically observed in seismic profiles. The results show that salt tectonism in the Gulf of Mexico controlled the morphology of the shelf and the slope, forcing the paleo-Mississippi deltaic system to split, and concentrate its progradation and deposition in four separate along-strike salt-withdrawal minibasins. Each minibasin shows different deltaic constructional patterns. Progradation and aggradation patterns vary from minibasin to minibasin due to the response of the sediment supplied by the paleo-Mississippi delta, variations on sea level, the morphology of the seafloor, the arrival angle when the delta reaches the upper slope minibasin, and the shape of the minibasin. The 3D reconstruction of the system shows lateral variation of the deltaic processes from wave- to fluvial-dominated; wave-dominated deltaic strandplains were identified in the western minibasins and fluvial distributary channels were recognized in the eastern minibasins. This research highlights the importance of lowstand wave-dominated deltaic strandplains as important elements for the transport of sediment from the shelf to the slope in a salt-controlled setting like the Gulf of Mexico. The fluvial dominated shelf-margin delta is also related to direct transfer of sediment from the shelf to the slopeItem 3D Seismic Survey Design: Coil Shooting, Multi-Component (3C) Receivers with Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Case Histories(2015-05) Kocel, Eray; Stewart, Robert R.; Mann, Paul; Sager, William W.; Baysal, EdipThe effectiveness of seismic imaging depends on numerous factors, beginning with how the data are acquired. The analyses presented in this theses show the importance of survey design, as individual parameters exert a strong influence over the resulting subsurface illumination. Survey design studies discussed here with different geological settings and geographical locations include: 1) Marine surveys with circular shooting for a subsalt target in the Gulf of Mexico, 2) Multicomponent land seismic survey designs for an unconventional resource, and 3) Integrated geophysical data analyses and survey design for a blind fault imaging at the 2010 Haiti earthquake epicentral area. In the case of marine surveys, the dual-coil design provides full-azimuthal coverage, whereas the Wide-azimuth surveys (WAZ) contain some acquisition footprints due to their straight-line geometry with limited-azimuthal coverage. Survey design optimization quantified the WAZ survey as having 20 % less illumination intensity than the dual-coil survey. For the multicomponent survey design, we analyzed the effects of VP/VS values (2, 4, and 6), target depth (800, 1,600, and 3,200 m) and orthogonal or slanted shot geometries. The updip shifting of the illumination area due to target layer inclination (5˚, 15˚, and 30˚) required longer offsets to fully capture the seismic data. Staggered (periodically shifted) receiver lines achieved smaller bin sizes (6.25 m vs 25 m) with a very little additional acquisition effort. We also consider a case history from Léogâne fan-delta in Haiti, where some of the worst shaking was located by the 2010 Haiti earthquake. This intense shaking of the fan-delta area was attributed to either activation of a blind thrust fault, ~4 km beneath the surface, or to a strike-slip motion along a shallow, ground-breaking fault. We acquired seismic, gravity, and GPS data which were integrated with remote sensing studies. Our integrated results indicated disruptions of the near-surface material in the Léogâne region. Survey design studies suggested that multiple 2D seismic lines with 6 km offsets and optional marine surveys may be required to image the proposed blind fault. This thesis suggests novel seismic survey designs for a variety of subsurface geologies.Item 40Ar/39Ar Dating of Detrital Muscovites from Sun-Koshi-Arun River Basin and Effect of Tectonics and Climate in the Eastern Himalayas(2017-05) Baral, Sameer 1984-; Copeland, Peter; Murphy, Michael A.; Gasparini, Nicole M.40Ar/39Ar ages of detrital muscovites from two adjacent river catchments in eastern Nepal were collected to study the implication of tectonics and climate in the region. The Sun-Koshi and Arun Rivers combine to form one of the largest river systems in Nepal with the combined catchment area of ~51,645 km2. Combining the new data with previously published bedrock ages leads to additional insight on the tectonic effect of landscape evolution in the eastern Himalayas. Muscovite cooling age of both samples from Arun and Sun-Koshi rivers are similar with a mean age of 11.6 Ma. The majority of ages are less than 14 Ma in both catchments. The lack of correspondence of rainfall with bedrock and detrital ages, channel-steepness index, and topography suggests that tectonics is the primary driver of erosion in the eastern Himalayas. The ages of muscovites from both catchments suggest erosional history, which increased in magnitude since 10 Ma due to the initiation of midcrustal duplex system, out-of-sequence thrusting, or the activation of trans-Himalayan normal fault from South Tibetan Detachment system. The detrital ages in Sun-Koshi-Arun catchments, when compared with the bedrock ages (low- and high-temperature thermochronology) show similar ages with central Nepal. The detrital data from both eastern and central Nepal are similar and the ages of late Miocene suggest that a similar average exhumation rates have operated in these regions since about 11 Ma.Item A Better Tropospheric Aerosol Analysis and Forecast Using Data Assimilation and Coupled Modeling(2021-12) Jung, Jia; Choi, Yunsoo; Jiang, Xun; Wang, Yuxuan; Wong, David C.Chemical transport models are useful to predict air pollutant concentrations and provide advice to people to minimize adverse impacts of high levels of tropospheric aerosols and ozone. This dissertation incorporated a coupled model between meteorology and air quality, as well as data assimilation techniques to get more complexity and reliability of chemical transport models. In the first chapter, we assimilated the GOCI AOD into the WRF-CMAQ two-way coupled model over East Asia during the KORUS-AQ period. Improvement of modeling performance on aerosol simulations enabled us to accurately quantify the impact of direct effects of aerosols. Stabilized atmospheric conditions increased most of the gaseous and aerosol pollutants at the surface by 7.87 – 34%. In the second chapter, we showed that the direct effects of aerosols enhanced the strength of the radiation sea fog over the Yellow Sea due to lower temperatures. We found dominant changes in inorganic aerosols at an altitude of 150 m through the aqueous-phase chemistry (~12.36% and ~3.08% increases for sulfate and ammonium) and loss via the wet deposition process (~-3.79% decrease for nitrate). In the third chapter, to estimate top-down NOx emissions over East Asia, we applied an inverse modeling technique with tropospheric NO2 column from TROPOMI in the spring of 2019. We found a substantial contribution of the transported air pollutants on local NOx (22.96 – 35.24%) and O3 (24.23 – 42.26%) budgets. The enhanced chemical loss of NOx compensated for increases by transport, as well as the increased vertical gradient of MDA8 O3 amplified vertical transport and dry deposition processes. In the last chapter, to examine changes in the O3 chemical production regime over the CONUS in the summers of 2011, 2014, and 2017, top-down emissions of NOx and NMVOCs were estimated by using tropospheric NO2 and total HCHO columns from OMI. The inversion suggested 2.33 – 2.84 times higher NOx over the CONUS and 0.28 – 0.81 times fewer NMVOC emissions over the southeastern U.S. We found major metropolitan areas shifted toward NOx-limited conditions. However, meteorological changes caused a significant reduction in the HCHO column over the southeastern U.S, thus the region becoming sensitive to VOC emissions.Item A COMPARISON OF SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY AND MINERALOGICAL VARIATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH TOTAL ORGANIC CARBON IN THE MARCELLUS FORMATION: WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA(2012-12) Luker, Austin 1985-; Wellner, Julia S.; Bhattacharya, Janok P.; Stewart, Robert R.; Rice, DerekA recent surge of interest has arisen concerning the Devonian organic-rich black shales native to the Appalachian Basin of the east coast of the United States and their potential as gas producers The Marcellus Shale Formation is part of the middle Devonian Hamilton Group (380 Ma) and is one of ten extensive black shale units in the Appalachian Basin deposited as part of a cyclic repetitive progression of three distinct rock types consisting of organic-rich shales, coarser clastics (silty shales, siltstones, and sandstones), and carbonates (Roen, 1984; Lash and Engelder, 2009). Gas production from these shales is widespread; with high versus low production rates not only controlled by the gas content in the shale, but also largely by the mineral content of the rock that makes the rock more conducive to fractures remaining open. It is hypothesized that the ability of shale to fracture is controlled by the amount of silica and/or calcite in the rock, and that the variability in the occurrence of those minerals can be predicted by sequence stratigraphy. The construction of a sequence stratigraphic model on a basinwide scale over the state of Pennsylvania began with a correlation of 821 wireline well logs. Then, to tie the working sequence stratigraphic model to mineralogy within individual zones of rock, analysis of 24 rotary sidewall cores was conducted using qualitative x-ray diffraction to determine the mineralogy of each sample. This study determined that the mineralogy of the organic-rich shales within the Marcellus Formation can be predicted by sequence stratigraphy, and also found there to be a relationship between mineralogy and total organic carbon (TOC). Now that a relationship is found between mineralogy, TOC, and its location within a sequence stratigraphic framework specific zones may be identified in a predicable manner within certain sequences that are likely more productive than others.Item A Computational Library for Determining the Mechanical Properties of Crystals and Polycrystalline Aggregates(2018-12) Torlucci, Anthony 1983-; Castagna, John P.; Chesnokov, Evgeni M.; Smith, TadComputer modeling of the basic equations of solid mechanics is simplified with a well designed computational library. The weighted arithmetic average and weighted harmonic average are abstract forms of the more concrete upper and lower bounds for the effective elastic moduli of fluid mixtures and solid composites. More rigorous upper and lower bounds for the effective isotropic elastic coefficients of an anisotropic crystal are calculated from the two linear fourth rank tensor invariants. Rock physics transform functions for isotropic homogeneous materials can be used to calculate the compressional wave velocity and shear wave velocity from the mean value of the upper and lower bounds yielding a spherical surface in the three dimensional phase velocity space. The behavior of the velocity surface for a given anisotropic tensor, however, is not easily recognized in the analytical form of the Green-Christoffel equation. The phase-velocity surface for a single crystal deviates from the isotropic velocity due to the inherent nature of the crystal being anisotropic. The amount of deviation and curvature of the surface depends on the symmetry and the values of the stiffness tensor. A generic library of data structures and algorithms makes visualizing and interpreting these results simpler.Item A Geophysical Study of Active Faulting in Fort Bend County, Texas(2013-05) Schmidt, Kevin W. 1987-; Khan, Shuhab D.; Stewart, Robert R.; Engelkemeir, RichardSeveral active faults are reported from southeast Texas. These faults have been studied in great detail in Harris County, but little work has been done in Fort Bend County where there are at least four known fault systems. These are the Long Point, Needville, Arcola, and the Addicks fault systems. This study focuses on the Needville and Arcola fault systems in an effort to determine the continuity and displacement along these two fault systems. The purpose of this study is to build on the previous work with the use of the latest tools to identify and understand the faulting mechanisms in the Fort Bend County. This study used Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), aerial photographs, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), 2D Seismic, Global Positioning System (GPS), gravity, and well logs which proved to be complementary, and work very efficiently together. The LiDAR produced a comprehensive surface model that revealed four faults never reported before, and extended previously recognized faults. The GPR data show disturbance in the fault zone, and provided a link of LiDAR to 2D Seismic data. The 2D Seismic stacked profile displayed a comprehensive vertical section that allowed the Needville Fault to be interpreted to approximately 800 meters. The Well logs provided a source of information to produce a subsurface model that helped identification of the fault locations. The gravity data confirmed that there is a low gravity anomaly in the Needville Fault Zone. GPS suggested movement of 9 cm over 4 years for the Arcola Fault. All these complementary datasets helped create a comprehensive 3D model that demonstrates complex geology in this passive margin of the Gulf Coast.Item A Method for High Precision Determination of up to 57 Trace and Ultra-Trace Elements in Crude Oils Using Triple Quad-Icp-Ms with Applications in Exploration, Production Allocation, and Refining(2019-05) Yang, Weihang 1988-; Casey, John F.; Gao, Yongjun; Brandon, Alan D.; Curiale, Joseph A.An effective method to accurately and precisely analyze multiple elements in crude oils using high temperature and pressure digestions in a single reaction chamber (SRC) microwave, the ICP-OES and QQQ-ICP-MS analytical instruments was developed. The best of the SRC microwave-assisted acid digestions was shown to be acceptable for 19 analytes using a certified organometallic standard, with average recoveries of 93%-113%. The method developed was used to test a natural crude oil reference material (NIST 8505) for quantifying 57 elements. Our result for vanadium (the only element recommended for NIST 8505) concentration, 390±0.4 µg/g, agrees well with the published value 390±10 µg/g. The number of quantified analytes for NIST 8505 was extended to 52 elements (RSDs≤15.6%) with most RSDs<5%. The analytical method was also used to develop a geochemical technique of production allocation by analyzing the concentrations of specific elements in five end-member crude oils and a manually mixed crude oil of the end members in precisely controlled proportions. The obtained concentrations of the commingled and end-member oils were input into a program developed called “ALLO-TRACE” to calculate the contributing fractions of the end-member oils to the commingled oil using multiple analyte-based linear equations. Accuracies and uncertainties in terms of RSDs of most calculations are within 4% and 3%, respectively. The method was also used for geochemical fingerprinting of 20 crude oil samples thought to be derived from the Monterey Formation source rock/reservoir in the Santa Maria Basin. Three distinct fingerprints were derived from three wells where the oils were sampled. We also conducted whole-oil GC analyses on a subset for these crudes. The results indicate that the crude oils may be similar to subzones from within the Monterey Formation similar to extractable organic matter (EOM) from an onshore core of the Monterey Formation previously studied. The Monterey Formation was deposited under disoxic to reducing deep marine basinal conditions in the Miocene Period (16-6 Ma). These basins were associated with basins formed during pull-apart or transtensional wrench-faulted tectonic activity. It was bathyal depths (ocean environment 200-4000 m) of this basin during accumulation. Transitional-marine organic matter accumulated during the transtensional basin formation.Item A model comparison of basic and surface energy variables in the development of the PBL in a southeast Texas coastal region(2013-12) Wilmot, Cari-Sue M. 1983-; Rappenglueck, Bernhard; Lefer, Barry L.; Jiang, Xun; Ngan, FongAir quality forecasting requires atmospheric weather models to generate reliable and accurate meteorological conditions. Some variables are well-simulated, but others, like the planetary boundary layer (PBL) height, are not as accurately reproduced. This study compares rarely observed energy balance and turbulence variables to modeled results, and seeks to determine if and to what extent these variables contribute to the development of the PBL. Similarly configured MM5 and WRF model outputs were compared to observations of temperature, wind fields, radiation, heat fluxes, and PBL heights during an intensive field campaign on the Gulf Coast in the summer of 2006. The r2 and bias values were calculated as a measure of model performance. The results showed that in general, WRF performed comparably or better than MM5 for all variables except wind speed and directions, sensible heat flux, ground flux, and PBL height. Nighttime simulations for both models are not well-parameterized except for water vapor mixing ratio. PBL height timing was good for both models, but the morning development was not well-simulated. A frontal passage occurred during the study period that led to two mostly cloud-free days; on these days the relationship between incoming solar radiation and the energy variables suggests that there may be an energy sink in the models that could lead to underestimations of PBL height. The dry bias or disparate land-surface initialization datasets might contribute to deviations of the models from the observations and may explain the models' PBL height performance. Further examination of the energy budget and turbulent dataset under extended cloud-free days could provide a better understanding of these variables to PBL height development and lead to better air quality predictions.Item A PETROLEUM SYSTEM STUDY OF THE CRATONIC WILLISTON BASIN IN NORTH DAKOTA, U.S.A.: THE ROLE OF THE LARAMIDE OROGENY(2013-08) Herrera, Henry 1985-; Van Wijk, Jolante W.; Wang, Guoquan; Sandu, ConstantinThe Williston Basin is a Phanerozoic intracratonic basin located in the northern USA (North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana) and southern Canada (Manitoba and Saskatchewan). The basin is known as a major hydrocarbon-producing basin in North America, with a petroleum system characterized by multiple source rocks and reservoirs. The aim of this study is to increase our understanding of the Williston Basin’s petroleum system in the North Dakota region. A detailed analysis of the source rocks in the basin will increase our knowledge about their generation potential and maturity, which could allow the identification of new prospective reservoirs. The source rocks have an average of total organic carbon content between 0.59 and 17.63%, and are type II kerogen, except for the Tyler Formation which is type III kerogen. This gives these formations a good quality status as a source rock, and potentially oil-and-gas prone source. Geochemical data (vitrinite reflectance %Ro, in this case) were used for model calibration. Results show a heat flow range between 41.91-65.14 mW/m2, with higher values toward the center of the basin in North Dakota where the sediment package thickens, and lower values toward the edges. My models predict that the end of the Upper Cretaceous is a critical period in the basin, when peak maturation and hydrocarbon generation are found for every source rock. In this same geologic time an increase in temperature is observed in the North Dakota area, as well as the maximum burial period. Subsidence curves show a slow and long tectonic subsidence period across the basin, with rapid subsidence stages during the Carboniferous in the center of the basin in North Dakota.Item A Petroleum Systems Analysis of the Southern Espanola Basin of the Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico(2013-05) Record, Colby Patrick 1987-; Van Wijk, Jolante W.; Van Nieuwenhuise, Donald S.; Bird, DaleThe Española Basin of north-central New Mexico is an asymmetric half graben of the Rio Grande Rift. The Rio Grande Rift is Cenozoic in age with initial extension beginning at approximately 27 Ma. This extension immediately followed the compressional Laramide Orogeny and the rift is still active today, although it has become nearly dormant. The Española Basin is one of several NS-oriented narrow basins located in the central Rio Grande Rift, bordered by the San Luis Basin to the north and the Santo Domingo and Albuquerque Basins to the south. The Española Basin is dipping westward, bounded by the Pajarito master fault, with a maximum sediment thickness of approximately 3 km. The basin has undergone a small amount of petroleum exploration over the past century but this has been sporadic and sparse. A petroleum system in this basin has been detected by oil and/or gas shows in exploratory wells and sampling of a Pennsylvanian source rock. In this study, numerous one-dimensional models were created to model basin characteristics as well as petroleum system elements at individual well locations throughout the basin. This process was used to model different reservoir/seal pairs as well other characteristics such as deeper burial depth of the source horizon not seen in all well bores. Two-dimensional models were also created for complete basin modeling of the southern Española Basin and to fully analyze the petroleum system present. Through basin modeling techniques it can be shown that this portion of the Española Basin has all of the necessary elements of a petroleum system including source, reservoirs, seals and migration pathways. The modeling also shows that despite the basin being relatively shallow high heat flow and other factors allowed for the source rock to mature and petroleum generation to occur.Item A Relation Between Adiabatic and Isothermal Moduli(2014-05) Myziuk, Nicholas Karl 1986-; Chesnokov, Evgeni M.; Kouri, Donald J.; Hall, Stuart A.Exploration in shale formations has experienced substantial popularity growth in recent history. With this, the importance of understanding the elastic properties of the sub-surface in exploration areas has also grown. Dynamic elastic properties can be extracted from seismic or well log velocity information; however for geomechanical modeling purposes, it is often desirable to obtain static measurements directly from core samples. Accurate static measurements are of significant importance to many applications, namely hydraulic fracturing and reservoir engineering, and are often used to determine reservoir behavior in completions engineering. Widely unavailable or not properly preserved core data has resulted in the development of correlation functions to relate dynamic and static measurements for estimation of static rock properties in exploration regions where static data are not available. The relationship between static and dynamic measurements of both Poisson’s Ratio and Young’s Modulus has attracted some interest with regard to exploration, and has even been proposed as a product indicator for shales. This work is targeted at investigation of this relationship from the perspective of thermodynamics. Results here provide a schematic for relating adiabatic and isothermal measurements of elastic properties in shales and various aggregates, and the effect due to anisotropy. This method uses elastic velocity data to extract the adiabatic material properties, coupled with compositional information and thermal characteristics for estimation of the isothermal material properties. Variation due to anisotropy is examined by manipulating the tensor of thermal expansion for the isothermal calculations. Analysis was conducted for several core samples found throughout the referenced literature for Barnett, Haynesville, and Bossier shales. Results of this work conclude only a qualitative understanding of the extent to which static properties can be estimated via the adiabatic-isothermal relationship. As such, the developed formulae described here do not accurately depict the differences between static and dynamic deformation, and consequently cannot be used for estimation of static properties from dynamic measurements as originally hypothesized. Further developments in this area may provide an alternative mechanism for estimation of these properties.Item A SEISMIC FRAMEWORK FOR ESTIMATING HYDROCARBON RESERVOIR VOLUMES AND THEIR LIKELIHOOD(2012-05) Fraquelli, Henrique; Stewart, Robert R.; Hilterman, Fred J.; Holley, Thomas K.This thesis develops a framework to estimate the likelihood in fluid volumes in a hydrocarbon reservoir. It uses 3C-3D seismic data and well logs from the Blackfoot oilfield (Alberta-Canada). Results from cross validation techniques applied to distribution maps generated using the geostatistic method (thickness and percentage of sand) and the neural network method (porosity) are used to estimate the uncertainty related with the predicted distributions in the case of the Blackfoot oilfield (AB-Canada). These distribution maps as well as the estimated uncertainty associated with them are used as inputs in two different approaches for the application of uncertainty analysis in the estimation of hydrocarbon volumes (a Taylor expansion approach and a Monte Carlo approach). The results obtained using these two approaches give compatible hydrocarbon volume estimates for the Blackfoot pool, with P10~ 12 MMbbl, P50~ 8 MMbbl, and P90~ 5 MMbbl. Investigation about sources of uncertainty in seismic data revealed that the time picking error could explain, in the case of the Blackfoot reservoir, the uncertainty in the thickness parameter. In the second part of this project, well log data from the Gulf of Mexico are used together with fluid substitution method and uncertainty analysis to evaluate how the observed variability in rock properties of the Gulf of Mexico for each specific depth value affects the response of the attributes that respond to fluid discrimination. A larger concern for deeper reservoirs was identified in the predicted results. Nevertheless, the fluid substitution results were considered robust in most conditions investigated in this project, allowing discrimination of gas, fizz gas, and water saturated reservoirs in some of the attributes that respond to the fluid content. This last result could allow the estimate of the missing parameter in the HCPV estimation: the hydrocarbon saturation distribution map.Item A study of frequency dependent analyses on Stratton Oil Field, South Texas.(2012-05) Ahmed, Hazem; Castagna, John P.; Goloshubin, Gennady M.; Schneider, Robert; Chesnokov, Evgeni M.Frequency dependent analysis has been utilized recently by the industry. It allows the seismic interpreter to see features that could not be clearly seen when dealing with the whole frequency band. This could be related to bed thickness, lithology, or physical properties of the reservoir. Stratton Oil Field was discovered in 1937, and it is well known to be a highly productive area. At the level of Oligocene Frio Formation, the Stratton field is defined by multiple NW-SW trending structures like most of the reservoirs along the Gulf of Mexico. The Frio formation is divided into upper, middle, and lower segments. Our study zone lies in the middle and lower segments. Conventional analysis processes were applied, such as; AVO, inversion, and LMR transform. The investigated zone showed different behavior at each stage of the investigation. Thus, we suggested utilizing a frequency dependent technique to investigate the dataset. Frequency dependent amplitude analysis was utilized, where anomalous behaviors were indicated at the reservoir zone. Further frequency dependent analyses showed the same anomalous behavior at the reservoir zone. The low frequencies could map the reservoir zone much more obviously, where the anomalies on every stage of the analysis had the same behavior that corresponds to the same zone. Frequency dependent analysis can help the seismic interpreter to better understand the reservoir characteristics, and can help to map the reservoir anomalies in a better way.Item A Three-dimensional Structural, Thermal, and Dynamical Study of the Arcuate Himalaya(2021-12) Fan, Suoya; Murphy, Michael A.; Suppe, John; Copeland, Peter; Taylor, Michael H.; Saylor, Joel E.; Whipp, David M., Jr.My research investigates the three-dimensional (3-D) evolution of the Himalayan megathrust and its role in controlling mid-lower crustal deformation and plateau growth during intercontinental collision. Integrating surface geologic data, I construct a 3-D structural model of major shear zones for central-western Himalaya that reveals significant along-strike variations in strain accumulated in the mid-lower crust of the orogenic wedge. Comparing the model with geology, coupling along the megathrust, channel steepness, micro-seismicity, thermochronologic data, and topography, I reconcile the coeval development of orogen-parallel extensional features (supra-extensional basin and metamorphic core complex on the orogenic plateau), orogen-normal shortening features (thrust faults and duplexes formed at depth), and along-strike tectonic segmentation in central-western Himalaya (expressed as an embayment in plateau landscape, coupling pattern of the megathrust, and concentrated microseismicity zone). The proposed conceptual model invokes the effects of oblique convergence in an arcuate orogen and rheologic variability in both dip and strike directions of the megathrust. To test its mechanical feasibility, I develop a 3-D visco-plastic creeping mechanical model that simulates the formation of the first-order regional features and investigated the effects of mechanical properties of different parts of an orogenic wedge. The results show that a model with a proper combination of mechanical properties can produce a complex strain distribution pattern required by the formation of the first-order above-mentioned geological features. Different parts of the model are comparable with other representative orogenic areas including the Alps, the Cascade, and the Zagros. Because my conceptual model posits that the along-strike variability in rheology is primarily controlled by the 3-D megathrust geometry, especially the mid-lower crustal ramps, in central-western Nepal, I investigate the 3-D geometry of the megathrust by conducting low-temperature thermochronology analysis coupled with inversions of 3-D thermokinematic modeling. The results confirm the along-strike variation in the megathrust geometry in central-western Nepal and suggest that the models that can produce observation-fit cooling ages require crustal accretion on a mid-lower crustal ramp. By synthesizing other geological data, I further propose an evolution model of the plateau landscape and regional drainage systems, highlighting the determining role of crustal accretion at depth.