Karst Features

Polygonal Features
Arbuckle Reservoir, Kansas

Seismic Example

Arbuckle time structure map with extracted most positive curvature superimposed. Color bar at left indicates time structure in seconds two-way travel time. Red areas are structurally high; blue areas are structurally low. Maximum positive curvature is scaled so that dark areas indicate high curvature. Maximum curvature extracted along the Arbuckle horizon, scaled to show only negative maximum curvatures (valleys or bowls). Darker blue indicates tighter curvature. Interpreted lineaments from the most positive curvature map are shown in red.

A network of polygonal features with average diameters of approximately 750 ft, smaller than most features seen on the Arbuckle time structure map, is visible on the extracted curvature map. These polygonal features are geomorphically reminiscent of and have similar horizontal scale to modern polygonal (or cockpit) karst, as described by Williams (1972). Larger-scale polygonal karst has been identified on the Arbuckle erosional surface at other locations in Kansas using well data (Cansler, 2000).

 

This suggests that lineaments interpreted from the most positive curvature extration may represent paleotopographic divides bounding subtle polygonal karst depressions.

 

Seismic Example | Modern Example | Paleokarst Example | Reservoir Implications

 


http://www.kgs.ku.edu/SEISKARST/cat-poly1.html

Last Modified November 2005