Publications
Listed below are publication products directly associated with the Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center:
Filter Total Items: 1153
Spatial distribution of API gravity and gas/oil ratios for petroleum accumulations in Upper Cretaceous strata of the San Miguel, Olmos, and Escondido Formations of the south Texas Maverick Basin—Implications for petroleum migration and charge history
The Maverick Basin of south Texas is currently undergoing active exploration and production of gas and oil from tight sandstone reservoirs. The most productive tight sandstones in the basin are in the Upper Cretaceous San Miguel, Olmos, and Escondido Formations. These units are second only to the Eagle Ford Shale in terms of cumulative production volumes. The structural history of the Maverick Bas
Authors
Colin A. Doolan, William H. Craddock, Marc L. Buursink, Javin J. Hatcherian, Steven M. Cahan
Novel insights about petroleum systems from source and reservoir rock characterization, Cretaceous Deposits, Babouri-Figuil Basin, Northern Cameroon
The Babouri-Figuil Basin (BFB) is a frontier basin for petroleum in Cameroon. It belongs to the series of Cretaceous rift basins of the West and Central Rift System (WCARS), the origin of which is related to the opening of the South Atlantic. Within the same rift system, commercial hydrocarbon accumulations have been discovered in Chad, Sudan, Niger and, more recently, in Nigeria (Gongola Basin).
Authors
Manga Gaspard, Javin J. Hatcherian, Paul C. Hackley, Moise Bessong, Carole Bapowa, Henry Pougue, Arsene Meying
Cathodoluminescence differentiates sedimentary organic matter types
High-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) visualization of sedimentary organic matter is widely utilized in the geosciences for evaluating microscale rock properties relevant to depositional environment, diagenesis, and the processes of fluid generation, transport, and storage. However, despite thousands of studies which have incorporated SEM methods, the inability of SEM to differentiate
Authors
Paul C. Hackley, Ryan J. McAleer, Aaron M. Jubb, Brett J. Valentine, Justin E. Birdwell
Sulphide petrology and ore genesis of the stratabound Sheep Creek sediment-hosted Zn–Pb–Ag–Sn prospect, and U–Pb zircon constraints on the timing of magmatism in the northern Alaska Range
The Sheep Creek prospect is a stratabound Zn–Pb–Ag–Sn massive sulfide occurrence in the Bonnifield mining district, northern Alaska Range. The prospect is within a quartz–sericite–graphite–chlorite schist unit associated with Devonian carbonaceous and siliceous metasedimentary rocks. Volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits in the district are hosted in felsic metavolcanic rocks (362 ± 2 Ma) as
Authors
Cynthia Dusel-Bacon, John N. Aleinikoff, Suzanne Paradise, John F. Slack
Non-mercury methylating microbial taxa are integral to understanding links between mercury methylation and elemental cycles in marine and freshwater sediments
The goal of this study was to explore the role of non-mercury (Hg) methylating taxa in mercury methylation and to identify potential links between elemental cycles and Hg methylation. Statistical approaches were utilized to investigate the microbial community and biochemical functions in relation to methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in marine and freshwater sediments. Sediments were collected fr
Authors
Yong-Li Wang, Kaoru Ikuma, Scott C. Brooks, Matthew S. Varonka, Amrika Deonarine
Defining the hafnium isotopic signature of the Appalachian orogen through analysis of detrital zircons from modern fluvial sediments
Fluvial sediments are the product of erosion, weathering, and transport of bedrock within a well-defined catchment area, and their constituent grains may therefore record valuable information about the lithological and geochemical properties of geologic units within the upstream drainage. Analysis of U-Pb ages and Lu/Hf isotopic values in detrital zircon grains from major rivers in the eastern USA
Authors
John W. Counts, William H. Craddock, Jared T. Gooley
Deformation-induced graphitization and muscovite recrystallization in a ductile fault zone
A suite of slate samples collected along a 2 km transect crossing the Lishan fault in central Taiwan were evaluated to assess the role of ductile deformation in natural graphitization at lower greenschist facies metamorphic conditions. The process of natural aromatization, or graphitization, of an organic precursor is well established as a thermally driven process; however, experimental studies ha
Authors
Martha (Rebecca) Stokes, Aaron M. Jubb, Ryan J. McAleer, David Bish, Robert Wintsch
Uranium redox and deposition transitions embedded in deep-time geochemical models and mineral chemistry networks
Uranium (U) is an important global energy resource and a redox sensitive trace element that reflects changing environmental conditions and geochemical cycling. The redox evolution of U mineral chemistry can be interrogated to understand the formation and distribution of U deposits and the redox processes involved in U geochemistry throughout Earth history. In this study, geochemical modeling using
Authors
Elisha Kelly Moore, J. Li, Ao Zhang, Jihua Hao, Shaunna M. Morrison, Daniel Hummer, Nathan Yee
Using stochastic point pattern analysis to track regional orientations of magmatism during the transition to cenozoic extension and Rio Grande rifting, Southern Rocky Mountains
The southern Rocky Mountains in Colorado and northern New Mexico hosted intracontinental magmatism that developed during a tectonic transition from shortening (Laramide orogeny, ca. 75 to 40 Ma) through extension and rifting. We present a novel approach that uses stochastic weighted bootstrap simulations of a large set of new and historical geochronology data to better understand how regional anis
Authors
Joshua Mark Rosera, Sean P. Gaynor, Alexey Ulianov, Urs Schaltegger
Chemical composition of leachates from hydraulic fracturing proppants from surficial releases in southeastern New Mexico
Resin-coated proppants (RCPs) are used in hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells to improve well performance; however, these proppants could be a cause for environmental concern if they are disposed of improperly. In this study, we investigate the water-leachable organic and inorganic constituents from proppants collected from surficial releases of RCPs in southeastern New Mexico. Significant c
Authors
Matthew S. Varonka, Terry G. Gregston, Michael Villalobos, Jacqueline Benefield, William H. Orem
Illegal dumping of oil and gas wastewater alters arid soil microbial communities
The Permian Basin, underlying southeast New Mexico and west Texas, is one of the most productive oil and gas (OG) provinces in the United States. Oil and gas production yields large volumes of wastewater with complex chemistries, and the environmental health risks posed by these OG wastewaters on sensitive desert ecosystems are poorly understood. Starting in November 2017, 39 illegal dumps, as def
Authors
Mitra Kashani, Mark A Engle, Douglas B. Kent, Terry G. Gregston, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Adam Mumford, Matthew S. Varonka, Cassandra Rashan Harris, Denise M. Akob
The addition of 144Nd atomic mass to routine ICP-MS analysis as a Quick Screening Tool for Approximating Rare Earth Elements (Q-STAR) in natural waters
Rare earth elements (REEs) are a class of critical minerals, all of which can have supply chain vulnerability that impacts economic security. These elements are widely measured in environmental matrices via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS); however, successful quantification can require time-consuming, sample-specific optimization. While a sample-by-sample approach is appropri
Authors
Elizabeth J. Tomaszewski, Zhouming Sun, Anthony J. Bednar