Geology topics
Publications and source records attributed to Robert D. Crangle.
This chapter is a re-release of U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-2200, of the same title, by Ryder (1992; online version 1.0 revised and digitized by Robert D. Crangle, Jr., 2002). Version 1.0 is a digital verson of the original and also includes the gamma-ray well log traces.
This chapter is a re-release of U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1839-K, of the same title, by Ryder and others (1992; online version 2.0 revised and digitized by Robert D. Crangle, Jr., 2003). It consists of one file of the report text as it appeared in USGS Bulletin 1839-K and a second file containing the cross section, figures 1 and 2, and tables 1 and 2 on one oversized sheet; the second file was digitized in 2003 as version 2.0 and also includes the gamma-ray well log traces.
This chapter is a re-release of U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-2264, of the same title, by Ryder (1991; online version 1.0 revised and digitized by Robert D. Crangle, Jr., 2003). Version 1.0 is a digital version of the original and also includes the gamma-ray well log traces.
This chapter is a re-release of U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 2994, of the same title, by Ryder and others (2008).
This chapter is a re-release of U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3067, of the same title, by Ryder and others (2009). For this chapter, two appendixes have been added that do not appear with the original version. Appendix A provides Log ASCII Standard (LAS) files for each drill hole along cross-section D-D' ; they are text files which encode gamma-ray, neutron, density, and other logs that can be used by most well-logging software. Appendix B provides graphic well-log traces and lithologic descriptions with formation tops from each drill hole.
This chapter is a re-release of U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 2985, of the same title, by Ryder and others (2008). For this chapter, two appendixes have been added that do not appear with the original version. Appendix A provides Log ASCII Standard (LAS) files for each drill hole along cross-section E–E' ; they are text files which encode gamma-ray, neutron, density, and other logs that can be used by most well-logging software. Appendix B provides graphic well-log traces from each drill hole.
The Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory funded drilling of a borehole (39.64378°N., 80.04376°W.) to evaluate the potential for coalbed-methane and carbon-dioxide sequestration at Mylan Park, a public park in Monongalia County, W. Va. The total depth of the borehole was 2,525 feet (ft) and contained 1,483.41 ft of Pennsylvanian coal-bearing strata, 739.67 ft of Mississippian strata, and 301.93 ft of Devonian strata. The drill site was located directly over abandoned mines in the Pittsburgh and Sewickley coal beds. Coal cores from remaining Pittsburgh and Sewickley coal-bed-mine pillars were cut and retrieved for desorption from both mines. In addition, coals were cored and desorbed from the Redstone, Pittsburgh roof coal interval, Little Pittsburgh, Elk Lick, Brush Creek, Upper Kittanning, Middle Kittanning, Clarion, Upper Mercer, Lower Mercer, and Quakertown coal beds and coal zones. All coals are Pennsylvanian in age and are high-volatile A bituminous in rank. A total of 34.75 ft of coal was desorbed over a maximum period of 662 days, although most of the coal was desorbed for about 275 days. Measured raw-total-gas contents ranged from 0.43 standard cubic feet per ton (SCF/ton, an industry abbreviation) for the mined Sewickley coal bed to 130.98 SCF/ton for the Upper Kittanning coal bed. Volumes of residual gas were not measured; therefore, the gas volumes reported here should be regarded as minimum volumes. The amount of oxygen in the gas samples collected from the desorption canisters ranged from 2.55 to 20.13 percent. Methane contents ranged from 0 percent for one single canister from the Pittsburgh (WV–02–B3–4) and Little Pittsburgh (WV–02–CB3–2) coal beds to almost 81 percent for two canisters from the Clarion coal zone (WV–02–B3–16 and WV–02–B3–17), which suggests that all of the gas samples were contaminated to some degree by air. Therefore, all gas compositions reported have been normalized to remove the air. With a single exception (the Quakertown coal zone), the coals from the Mylan Park study area are thermogenic in origin with the isotopic composition of carbon (carbon 13, 13 C) in methane (expressed as δ 13 C in units of parts per thousand (per mil) relative to the Vienna Peedee belemnite (VPDB) standard) ranging from -32.39 to -50.66 per mil and ratios of methane to hydrocarbons of higher molecular weight ranging from 10 to 53. The Quakertown coal zone has a C 1 /C 2+ ratio of 913, suggesting that it contains some microbial gas. High-pressure carbon-dioxide adsorption isotherms were measured on composite coal samples of the Upper Kittanning coal bed and the Middle Kittanning and Clarion coal zones. Assuming that the reservoir pressure in the Mylan Park coals is equivalent to the normal hydrostatic pressure, the estimated maximum carbon-dioxide adsorption pressures range from a low of about 300 pounds per square inch (lb/in 2 ) in coals from the Clarion coal zone to 500 lb/in 2 for coals from the Upper Kittanning coal bed. The estimated maximum methane adsorption isotherms show that the coals from the Upper Kittanning coal bed and the Middle Kittanning coal zone are undersaturated in methane, but coals from the Clarion coal zone are close to saturation.
Geologic cross section C-C' is the third in a series of cross sections constructed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to document and improve understanding of the geologic framework and petroleum systems of the Appalachian basin. Cross section C-C' provides a regional view of the structural and stratigraphic framework of the Appalachian basin from north-central Ohio to the Valley and Ridge province in south-central Pennsylvania, a distance of approximately 260 miles (mi). This cross section is a companion to cross sections E-E' and D-D' that are located about 50 to 125 mi and 25 to 50 mi, respectively, to the southwest. Cross section C-C' contains much information that is useful for evaluating energy resources in the Appalachian basin. Although specific petroleum systems are not identified on the cross section, many of their key elements (such as source rocks, reservoir rocks, seals, and traps) can be inferred from lithologic units, unconformities, and geologic structures shown on the cross section. Other aspects of petroleum systems (such as the timing of petroleum generation and preferred migration pathways) may be evaluated by burial history, thermal history, and fluid flow models based on what is shown on the cross section. Cross section C-C' also provides a general framework (stratigraphic units and general rock types) for the coal-bearing section, although the cross section lacks the detail to illustrate key elements of coal systems (such as paleoclimate, coal quality, and coal rank). In addition, cross section C-C' may be used as a reconnaissance tool to identify plausible geologic structures and strata for the subsurface storage of liquid waste or for the sequestration of carbon dioxide.
The article offers information on the mineral, boron. Boron compounds, particularly borates, have more commercial applications than its elemental relative which is a metalloid. Making up the 90% of the borates that are used worldwide are colemanite, kernite, tincal, and ulexite. The main borate deposits are located in the Mojave Desert of the U.S., the Tethyan belt in southern Asia, and the Andean belt of South America. Underground and surface mining are being used in gathering boron compounds. INSETS: Fun facts;Boron production and consumption.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) regional geologic cross section C-C' (Ryder and others, 2008) displays key stratigraphic intervals in the central Appalachian basin. For this cross section, strata were correlated by using descriptions of well cuttings and gamma ray well log traces. This report summarizes the procedures used to convert gamma ray curves on paper well logs to the digital Log ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) Standard (LAS) format using the third-party software application Neuralog. The procedures could be used with other geophysical wireline logs also. The creation of digital LAS files from paper well logs by using Neuralog is very helpful, especially when dealing with older logs with limited or nonexistent digital data. The LAS files from the gamma ray logs of 11 wells used to construct cross section C-C' are included in this report. They may be downloaded from the index page as a single ZIP file.
Geologic cross section D-D' is the second in a series of cross sections constructed by the U.S. Geological Survey to document and improve understanding of the geologic framework and petroleum systems of the Appalachian basin. Cross section D-D' provides a regional view of the structural and stratigraphic framework of the Appalachian basin from the Findlay arch in northwestern Ohio to the Valley and Ridge province in eastern West Virginia, a distance of approximately 290 miles. The information shown on the cross section is based on geological and geophysical data from 13 deep drill holes, several of which penetrate the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the basin and bottom in Mesoproterozoic (Grenville-age) crystalline basement rocks. This cross section is a companion to cross section E-E' (Ryder and others, 2008) that is located about 25 to 50 mi to the southwest. Although specific petroleum systems in the Appalachian basin are not identified on the cross section, many of their key elements (such as source rocks, reservoir rocks, seals, and traps) can be inferred from lithologic units, unconformities, and geologic structures shown on the cross section. Other aspects of petroleum systems (such as the timing of petroleum generation and preferred migration pathways) may be evaluated by burial history, thermal history, and fluid flow models based on information shown on the cross section. Cross section D-D' lacks the detail to illustrate key elements of coal systems (such as paleoclimate, coal quality, and coal rank), but it does provide a general geologic framework (stratigraphic units and general rock types) for the coal-bearing section. Also, cross section D-D' may be used as a reconnaissance tool to identify plausible geologic structures and strata for the subsurface storage of liquid waste or for the sequestration of carbon dioxide.
Geologic cross section E-E' is the first in a series of cross sections planned by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to document and improve understanding of the geologic framework and petroleum systems of the Appalachian basin. Cross section E-E' provides a regional view of the structural and stratigraphic framework of the basin from the Findlay arch in northwestern Ohio to the Valley and Ridge province in eastern West Virginia, a distance of approximately 380 miles (mi) (fig. 1, on sheet 1). Cross section E-E' updates earlier geologic cross sections through the central Appalachian basin by Renfro and Feray (1970), Bennison (1978), and Bally and Snelson (1980) and a stratigraphic cross section by Colton (1970). Although other published cross sections through parts of the basin show more structural detail (for example, Shumaker, 1985; Kulander and Dean, 1986) and stratigraphic detail (for example, Ryder, 1992; de Witt and others, 1993; Hettinger, 2001), these other cross sections are of more limited extent geographically and stratigraphically. Although specific petroleum systems in the Appalachian basin are not identified on the cross section, many of their key elements (such as source rocks, reservoir rocks, seals, and traps) can be inferred from lithologic units, unconformities, and geologic structures shown on the cross section. Other aspects of petroleum systems (such as the timing of petroleum generation and preferred migration pathways) may be evaluated by burial history, thermal history, and fluid flow models based on information shown on the cross section. Cross section E-E' lacks the detail to illustrate key elements of coal systems (such as paleoclimate, coal quality, and coal rank), but it does provide a general framework (stratigraphic units and general rock types) for the coal-bearing section. Also, cross section E-E' may be used as a reconnaissance tool to identify plausible geologic structures and strata for the subsurface storage of liquid waste (for example, Colton, 1961; Lloyd and Reid, 1990) or for the sequestration of carbon dioxide (for example, Smith and others, 2002; Lucier and others, 2006).
Cross section H-H' is the seventh in a series of restored cross sections constructed by the lead author to show the stratigraphic framework of Cambrian and Ordovician rocks in the Appalachian basin from Pennsylvania to Tennessee. The sections show complexly intertongued carbonate and siliciclastic lithofacies, marked thickness variations, key marker horizons, unconformities, stratigraphic nomenclature of the Cambrian and Ordovician sequence, and major faults that offset Proterozoic basement and overlying lower Paleozoic rocks. Several of the drill holes along the cross section have yielded a variety of whole and (or) fragmented conodont elements. The identifiable conodonts are used to differentiate strata of Late Cambrian, Early Ordovician, and Middle Ordovician age, and their conodont color alteration index (CAI) values are used to establish the thermal maturity of the sequence. Previous cross sections in this series are G-G', F-F', E-E', D-D', C-C', and B-B'. Many of these cross sections (B-B', C-C', D-D', and G-G') have been improved with the addition of gamma-ray log traces, converted to digital images, and made accessible on the Web.
Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses geophysical wireline well logs for a variety of purposes, including stratigraphic correlation (Hettinger, 2001, Ryder, 2002), petroleum reservoir analyses (Nelson and Bird, 2005), aquifer studies (Balch, 1988), and synthetic seismic profiles (Kulander and Ryder, 2005). Commonly, well logs are easier to visualize, manipulate, and interpret when available in a digital format. In recent geologic cross sections E-E' and D-D', constructed through the central Appalachian basin (Ryder, Swezey, and others, in press; Ryder, Crangle, and others, in press), gamma ray well log traces and lithologic logs were used to correlate key stratigraphic intervals (Fig. 1). The stratigraphy and structure of the cross sections are illustrated through the use of graphical software applications (e.g., Adobe Illustrator). The gamma ray traces were digitized in Neuralog (proprietary software) from paper well logs and converted to a Log ASCII Standard (LAS) format. Once converted, the LAS files were transformed to images through an LAS-reader application (e.g., GeoGraphix Prizm) and then overlain in positions adjacent to well locations, used for stratigraphic control, on each cross section. This report summarizes the procedures used to convert paper logs to a digital LAS format using a third-party software application, Neuralog. Included in this report are LAS files for sixteen wells used in geologic cross section E-E' (Table 1) and thirteen wells used in geologic cross section D-D' (Table 2).