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Core studies in Kansas

Sedimentology and diagenesis of economically important rock strata in Kansas

compiled by W. L. Watney1, A. W. Walton2, and J. H. Doveton1

1Kansas Geological Survey
2University of Kansas

edited by Marla D. Adkins-Heljeson, Kansas Geological Survey

Proceedings of a core workshop held at the 1983 Midcontinent American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) meeting in Wichita, Kansas. Workshop sponsored and supported by the Kansas Geological Society, Kansas Geological Survey, and the Department of Geology at Wichita State University.

small image of the cover of the book; closeup of core and scale all printed in blue.

[Originally published in 1985 as Kansas Geological Survey Subsurface Geology Series 6. This is, in general, the original text as published. The information has not been updated.]

Contents

Lithofacies and depositional environments of the Simpson Group of central Kansas
Wendy Autio
Core studies of the Viola Limestone in Barber and Pratt counties, south-central Kansas
P. N. St. Clair
Wireline-log zones and core description of the upper part of the Middle Ordovician Viola Limestone, McClain and McClain SW fields, Nemaha County, Kansas
Craig D. Caldwell and Roger Boeken
Representative lithology of the Brandt-Sensenbaugh field, Butler County, Kansas
Bill Coffey
"Pennsylvanian basal conglomerate," Ness County, Kansas
D. E. Nodine-Zeller
Distribution of petrophysical properties in a lower Morrow sandstone (Keyes), southwest Kansas
R. H. Franz
Diagenesis of the Pennsylvanian Morrowan sandstone, Clark County, Kansas
T. J. Robinson, S. Chaudhuri, and L. M. Jones
Stratigraphy of the Cherokee Group, southeastern Kansas
J. W. Harris
Depositional environment and reservoir geometry of the Bronson-Xenia field, Allen County, Kansas
D. H. Rofheart
Kansas-type cyclothems and porosity development in the Middle Pennsylvanian Marmaton Group, Dirks field, Logan County, Kansas
C. D. Caldwell
Swope Limestone (K-Zone) in central and southwestern Kansas--the role of core in understanding reservoir development and mechanisms responsible for cyclic sedimentation
W. L. Watney
Application of cores in development of an exploration strategy for the Lansing-Kansas City "E" Zone, Hitchcock County, Nebraska
M. K. Dubois
Depositional facies and diagenetic fabrics of the D-Zone cyclothem, Lansing-Kansas City Groups, Hitchcock County, Nebraska
B. E. Prather
Deltaic deposition in the Tonganoxie or "Stalnaker" Sandstone (Stranger Formation, Virgilian), TXO Robinson C-1, Harper County, Kansas
A. W. Walton and Gary Griffith
Depositional facies in the Funston Cycle (Lower Permian) of southwestern Kansas
T. Y. Abdullah

Preface

As geologists have become more sophisticated in the interpretation of the rock record, studies of cores have progressed beyond their traditional level of determining porosity, permeability, and fluid saturations. These investigations have a variety of industrial and academic objectives. Oil in Kansas is found in traps that result from a combination of structural and stratigraphic components. Since the more obvious structures have been tested, industry interest is focused increasingly on traps in which the stratigraphic component is the dominant control. Exploration for such traps requires an understanding of the distribution of porous, permeable rock in the subsurface. Furthermore, secondary and tertiary oil recovery projects can be optimized where the distribution of reservoir rocks is well understood. Although subsurface studies may employ well logs and geophysical techniques, core studies of lithofacies and comparison with modern analogs are fundamental to any detailed geological interpretation.

Several features of rock bodies beside basic lithofacies affect reservoir quality. Cores provide a unique opportunity to examine directly sedimentary structures, directional permeability, reservoir discontinuities, and diagenetic minerals. These results guide not only recovery efforts, but also provide a basis for understanding diagenetic and burial histories of sedimentary basins from which the cores were taken.

Fourteen authors representing industry, government, and academia presented results of their studies of stratigraphy, facies analysis, and diagenesis at the Kansas Core Workshop held at the Department of Geology at Wichita State University on October 16, 1983. One hundred and forty-six geologists registered to examine the cores and discuss the results. The papers in this volume are edited and revised versions of the manuscripts that were available at the workshop. Several of the articles have been expanded and one has been added.

Most of the cores described during the workshop were donated to the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) by various companies and are available for inspection at the KGS Core Repository in Lawrence.

Papers in this volume were critically reviewed by A. W. Walton, Paul Enos, J. W. Ebanks, Jr., and W. L. Watney.

Daniel Merriam, chairman of the Department of Geology at Wichita State University, arranged for use of the facilities for the workshop. The 1983 AAPG Midcontinent Meeting Committee of the Kansas Geological Society, chaired by Larry Richardson, provided supplemental financial assistance for the workshop. The Kansas Geological Survey provided staff time and financial support for the workshop itself as well as underwriting publication of the original notes and this revised version. David Killen and Talat Abdullah of the KGS and Gu Xiaozhong of the People's Republic of China, Visiting Scientist at the KGS, assisted with the workshop. Marla Adkins-Heljeson edited this publication and Patricia Acker provided graphic support. The convenors wish to thank all of these individuals and agencies.

W. Lynn Watney, Kansas Geological Survey
Anthony W. Walton, Department of Geology, The University of Kansas
John Doveton, Kansas Geological Survey

Location map and stratigraphic section showing areas and lithologic units covered by the papers of this volume:

  1. Autio
  2. St. Clair
  3. Caldwell and Boeken
  4. Coffey
  5. Nodine-Zeller
  6. Franz
  7. Robinson, Chaudhuri, and Jones
  8. Harris
  9. Rofheart,
  10. Caldwell
  11. Watney
  12. Dubois
  13. Prather
  14. Walton and Griffith
  15. Abdullah.

Map of Kansas showing sites studied by papers in this volume, and simple stratigraphic chart showing units studied.


Kansas Geological Survey
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Web version updated April 19, 2010. Original publication date 1985.
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