Paleogeomorphology of the Sub-Pennsylvanian Unconformity of the Arbuckle Group (Cambrian-Lower Ordovician)

Kansas Geological Survey Open-file Report 2001-55

Conclusions

• The southern part of the Central Kansas uplift has not been significantly altered by Middle Pennsylvanian or younger deformation.
• Major karst landforms (dolines, cockpits) were identified and were found to form a polygonal network.
• The orientation and spatial distribution of these karst features has a relatively consistent pattern, which is in response to some degree of structural control.
• Karst processes were enhanced by ground-water sapping processes. Slumping of Arbuckle carbonates, induced by sapping processes, produced scallop-shaped escarpments on down-dip sides of local highs. Primary bed-dip controls the direction of ground-water flow, which in turn controls the siteswhere ground-water sapping processes are initiated and the direction of headward valley migration.
• Rare cave sequences were recognized in the Arbuckle Group of Kansas, however cave formation does not appear to be as widespread as in age-equivalent strata elsewhere in the Midcontinent.
• Basement structure is variously reflected on the Sub-Pennsylvanian Arbuckle surface. However, it is possible to gain an understanding of local dip direction and structural trends within the Arbuckle by the geometry and expression of karst and sapped landforms on the erosion surface.
• Variations in reservoir performance can be recognized between the two typesof geomorphic terrains. Understanding the nature of the erosional surface canhelp guide future hyrdocarbon exploration and development of the Arbuckle Group in central Kansas.

References

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Kansas Geological Survey for providing funding for this project as a part of my Masters research. I would also like to specifically thank the following people in the Petroleum Research section for offering advice and insight: Paul Gerlach, Evan Franseen, Dave Newell, Alan Byrnes, Lynn Watney, Bill Guy, and Nate Wilke.

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