Publications

In May 2017, The University of Texas Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition Gulf of Mexico 2-1 (UT-GOM2-1) drilled two adjacent holes in Green Canyon Block 955 in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico as part of The University of Texas at Austin and US Department of Energy Deepwater Methane Hydrate Characterization and Scientific Assessment. Expedition operations included testing two configurations...

The Norwegian Geochemical Standard North Sea Oil-1 was analyzed by gas chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-QQQ-MS) on two instruments using independently developed analytical methods. Biomarker ratios determined by GC-QQQ-MS were compared to each other and to previously reported values determined by gas chromatography single quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-Q-MS) or...

Intramolecular isotope distributions, including isotope clumping and position specific fractionation, can provide proxies for the formation temperature and formation and destruction pathways of molecules. In this study, we explore the position-specific hydrogen isotope distribution in propane. We analyzed propane samples from 10 different petroleum systems with high-resolution molecular...

The Geomagnetism Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitors geomagnetic field variation through operation of a network of observatories across the United States and its territories, and it pursues scientific research needed to estimate and assess geomagnetic and geoelectric hazards. Over the next five years (2020–2024 inclusive) and in support of national and agency priorities

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 512 billion cubic feet of gas in the Upper Jurassic–Neogene Total Petroleum System of the Sacramento Basin Province in California.

Petroleum in shale reservoirs is hosted in organic matter and mineral pores as well as in natural fractures and voids. For thermally mature plays, e.g., the Marcellus Shale, methane and other light alkane gases are thought to be primarily contained in organic matter pores with radii ≦50 nm. Thus, in order to understand natural gas occurrence, transport, storage, and recoverability within

Sequencing microbial DNA from deep subsurface environments is complicated by a number of issues ranging from contamination to non-reproducible results. Many samples obtained from these environments - which are of great interest due to the potential to stimulate microbial methane generation - contain low biomass. Therefore, samples from these environments are difficult to study as...

Global research on the potential commercial viability of gas extraction from gas hydrates is continuing, predominantly in Asia and in the United States, where recent efforts have focused on the exploration and characterization of gas hydrate petroleum systems and conducting controlled production tests of gas hydrate deposits hosted in mostly sand-rich reservoir systems. In 2017, gas...

The Cambrian explosion (CE) and the great Ordovician biodiversification event (GOBE) are the two most important radiations in Paleozoic oceans. We quantify the role of bioturbation and bioerosion in ecospace utilization and ecosystem engineering using information from 1367 stratigraphic units. An increase in all diversity metrics is demonstrated for the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition...

In 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey published an assessment of technically recoverable continuous oil and gas resources of the Eagle Ford Group and associated Cenomanian–Turonian strata in the U.S. Gulf Coast of Texas. Estimated ultimate recoveries (EURs) were calculated with production data from IHS MarkitTM using DeclinePlus software in the Harmony interface. These EURs were a major...

No abstract available.

This study presents new optical petrography and electron microscopy data, interpreted in the context of previously published petrophysical, geochemical, and mineralogical data, to further characterize the Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) as an unconventional reservoir in southwestern Mississippi. The basal high resistivity zone has a higher proportion of Type II sedimentary organic matter...