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~tennialof The University of Texas at Austin, 1883-1983

ANNUAL REPORT

11 Bureau of Economic Geology
W. L. Fisher, Director

The University of Texas at Austin

Austin, Texas 78712

The Bureau of Economic Geology, established in 1909 as the successor to the Texas Geological Survey and
the Texas Mineral Survey, i s a research entity of The University of Texas at Austin. It also functions as the State
Geological Survey, a quasi-State agency, and the Bureau Director represents Texas in the Association ofAmerican State Geologists.
Extensive advisory, technical, and informational services relating to the resources and geology of Texas areprovided by the Bureau. In addition, the Bureau conducts basic and applied research projects in energy
resources, mineral resources and statistics, coastal and environmental studies, land resources, geologic
mapping, and a variety of other research programs in areas such as hydrogeology, basin analysis, andgeochemistry. Some projects are conducted jointly with other units of the University as well as with State,Federal, and local agencies. The Texas Mining and Mineral Resources Research Institute i s an administrative
unit of the Bureau.
The Bureau provides ongoing services to governmental agencies including reviews of (1)environmental
impact statements that are submitted to the Office of the Governor of Texas and (2) permit applications that are
submitted to the Surface Mining and Reclamation Division of the Railroad Commission of Texas and to theEnvironmental and Consumer Health Protection Division of the Texas Department of Health.
Major reports of the Bureau are published in The University of Texas Publication series; its own series
include Reports of Investigations, Geologic Quadrangle Maps, Geologic Atlas Sheets, EnvironmentalGeologic
Atlases, Guidebooks, Handbooks, Geological Circulars, Mineral Resource Circulars, and Special Publications.
Publicationsare sold for a nominal price to recover printing costs. Acomplete list of publications isavailableon.
.
request.
The Annual Report of the Bureau of Economic Gec"
projects, publications, personnel activities, and servir
available to governmental agencies, industry, and th

ADVISORY.
TECHNICAL, ANC
INFORMATIONAL SER\GEOLOGIC MAPPING-

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Bureau of Economic Geology

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ANNUAL REPORT 1983

1983

AND PUBLISERVICE IN TIRESOURCESLAND RESOURCESINVESTIGATIONS

COASTAL STUDIES,ENVIRONMENTALINVESTIGATIONS

Iss!.IEIII!

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On the cover: Santa Rita No. 1, which blew in a t Big Lake field on May 28,1923,
Texas land. In observance of the University's Centennial, 1883-1983, the Bureai

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MINING AND MINERAL RESRESEARCH INSTITUl
MINERAL STUDIES LABORWELL SAMPLE AND CORE

of its Special Publications series.

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RESEARCH AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES
Geology Building, Main Campus
University Station, Box X
Austin, Texas 78712(512) 471-1534
Lavaca Offices
1300 Lavaca
University Station, Box X
Austin, Texas 78712(512) 471-7721

Tri-Towers Offices
803 W. 24th Street
University Station, Box X
Austin, Texas 78712(512) 471-1534

SPECIAL SERVICES LABORATORIES
Balcones Research Center
10100 Burnet Road
Austin, Texas 78758(512) 8353040 (MSL)(512) 8353042 (WSL)

ANNUAL REPORT
1983

Bureau of Economic Geology
W. L. Fisher, Director

The University of Texas a t Austin

Austin, Texas 78712

RESEARCH.

Energy resources investigations ...........................................................
Land and environmental resources investigations ...........................................
Mineral resources investigations ..........................................................
Basin studies ............................................................................
Coastal studies ..........................................................................
Geologic mapping .......................................................................
Other research ..........................................................................
Contracts and grant support ..............................................................
Contract and grant reports ...............................................................

PUBLICATIONS

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Special Publications ......................................................................
Geologic Atlas of Texas ..................................................................
Reports of Investigations .................................................................
Geological Circulars .....................................................................
Mineral Resource Circulars ...............................................................
Others .................................................................................

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SERVICES
Computing .............................................................................
Public Information ......................................................................
Reading Room and Open Files ...........................................................
Mineral Studies Laboratory ...............................................................
Well Sample and Core Library ............................................................

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
Atlas of Major Texas Oil Reservoirs ....................................................... 27
Construction of new Bureau quarters underway ........................................... 28
Roselle Girard retires .................................................................... 28
Dillon appointed Chief Cartographer ..................................................... 29
New research staff members ............................................................. 29
Galloway and Ewing receive best-paper awards ............................................ 29
SEM and electron microprobe add to analytical capabilities ................................. 30
Texas Mining and Mineral Resources Research Institute .................................... 30

RESEARCH STAFF ACTIVITIES AND PUBLICATIONSPapers and abstracts in outside (non-Bureau) publications ..................................
Lectures and public addresses ............................................................
Congressional. legislative. and special testimony ...........................................
Committee services. offices. and other professional responsibilities ..........................
University teaching/continuing education .................................................

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SUPPORT STAFF
Administrative/secretarial ................................................................ 39
Cartography ............................................................................ 39
Publications production .................................................................. 39

In 1984, the Bureau of Economic Geology begins its 75th year of geological research in Texas. Since it wasestablished, the Bureau has carried out projects designed to answer basic questions about the geology of thestate and its myriad mineral, energy, and land resources. Bureau scientists have emphasized basic surface andsubsurface research and its potential application for prudent and economical use of the state's mineral andenergy resources. Programs have been started far ahead of application to determine the appropriate geologicalfacts required for proper utilization. Such a research program has naturally developed an extensive knowledge
not only of the resources and geology of Texas, but alsoof geological concepts havingwidespread applications.
Today, Bureau research continues to address specific needs in the geologically diverse State of Texas. At thesame time, it strives to develop broader, more fundamental geological concepts that may affect the long-range
resource and environmental future of Texas, as well as the science of geology.
Research scientists address a variety of problems, ranging from energy and mineral resources to high-level
nuclear waste isolation. Other areas include geopressured geothermal studies in the Gulf Basin, coastal
geology, mineral resources of Trans-Pecos Texas, basic geologic mapping,and maintenance of a statewide database of mineral statistics. Geological studies directed toward these areas of research focus on basin analysis,
geochemistry, geohydrology, and geomorphology. About 75 professional staff scientists, including geologists,
engineers, biologists, and chemists, work in a variety of team research programs to focus maximum expertise
toward answering basic questions about the future of Texas' energy and natural resources.
During 1983, a major activity of the Bureau was the writing,drafting,editing,typesetting,and printing of the
Atlas of Major Texas Oil Reservoirs. This report resulted from reservoir characterization studies done in 1982
and supported in part by the Texas Energy Development Fund. More detailed analysis of selected carbonate
and clastic reservoirs continued during 1983.
Major multidisciplinary research in 1983 continued to evaluate the feasibility of Permian salt in the Texas
Panhandle for safe isolation of high-level nuclear waste. Ongoing since mid-1977, this program sponsored by
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has required integrated research by a variety of specialists to evaluatehydrological and tectonic security, as well as to characterize repository stratigraphy, potential resources, andsurface processes. Much of the 1983 effort was directed at analysis of cores and hydrological data derived fromextensive drilling activities in 1982 and early 1983. Of critical national, State, and local concern, these studies
require exceedingly sophisticated science and quality control.
Coring and hydrological testing of deep-basin Eocene lignite seams and associated complex sandstone
aquifers in the East Texas Basin was a principal thrust in 1983. Funded in part by the Texas Energy Development
Fund, the field testing program has permitted detailed chemical and petrographic characterization of Texas
lignite, analysis of the geohydrology of Eocene fluvial and deltaic aquifers, and development of geophysicallogging techniques needed to evaluate the feasibility for future in situ gasification programs. A critical resource
for the 21st century, deep-basin lignite must be thoroughly researched before extensivedeep-basinutilization
can be successfully undertaken.
Other major ongoing research efforts include a study of low-permeability ("tight") gas resources in theLower Cretaceous Travis Peak Formation in East Texas and adjacent Louisiana.The tight gas program, funded by
the Gas Research Institute (GRI), addresses depositional systems, reservoir characteristics, and transferable
procedures for optimum development. In 1983, onshore and offshore Miocene correlations, depositional
systems,and initial play analysis prbgressed toward an integrated picture of these coastal and potential StateandFederal shelf trends. Studies are designed to evaluate the potential for further development of onshore
Miocene production and to assess similar development and further exploration in State and Federal waters.
Researchers continue to analyze the potential for further production of free gas and solution gas fromgeopressured and associated hydropressured Tertiary reservoirs in the Gulf Coast Basin. Growing out of longterm geopressured geothermal studies sponsored by DOE, these more specific analyses continue with DOE andGRI funding. Structure, engineering, and reservoir continuity are aspects under investigation. Statewide
computerized mineral producers data were updated in 1983 and an abridged list of mineral producers was
published. An annotated bibliography (and maps) of mineral deposits in Trans-Pecos Texas was also compiled.
Research was completed and the first of seven area atlases of the Texas submerged lands was published in
1983. The atlas, titled Submerged Lands of Texas, Corpus Christi Area: Sediments, Geochemistry, Benthic
Macroinvertebrates, and Associated Wetlands, established the format for the seven-volume series. Field work
began in 1974 and laboratory analysis of almost 7,000 samples was completed in 1983. Atlases will be released
during 1984 and 1985 as they are completed. Mapping was completed on the 20-year Geologic Atlas of Texas.
Field checking of the Wichita Falls - Lawton sheet was finished and reached cartography in late 1983. This final
atlas map will be incorporated into a 1:500,000-scale Texas geologic map that was in cartographic preparation
during 1983. Statewide gravity and magnetic atlases at 1:250,00Oscale went into cartographic processing in 1983.
Compilation of a 1:750,000-scale tectonic map of Texas was completed and reviewed by regional geologicalsocieties during the year. Further details about these and other research highlights of 1983 are listed in thefollowing summaries of Bureau research programs.

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ENERGY RESOURCES I N V E S T I G A T I O N SEVALUATING THE GEOLOGY A N D
GROUND-WATER HYDROLOGY O F DEEP-BASIN LIGNITE
IN THE WlLCOX G R O U P O F EAST TEXAS
W. R. Kaiser, project director
This study, begun in September 1981 and funded by the
Texas Energy and Natural Resources Advisory Council(TENRAC) and by legislative appropriation, is a continuing
effort to evaluate deep-basin lignite in Texas. Work has
been concentrated in the Sabine Uplift area and east-central
Texas.

Geology
W. B. Ayers, Jr., Amy H. Lewis, Gary F. Collins, W. R. Kaiser,Colin M, Jones, Mary L. W. Jackson, D'Nese Y. Fly, andMary L. Ambrose; assisted by Frank H. Bissett, Curtis W.
Black, and Thomas R. Laughery
The Eocene Wilcox is the principal lignite host in Texas
and a major fresh-water aquifer. Deep-surface mining andunderground gasification pose questions about technology
to maximize lignite recovery and to minimize environmental impacts. Thus, the regional hydrogeologicalframework for site selection, planning, and permitting of
future deep surface mines and underground gasifiers is
being developed by mapping lignite occurrence, sandbody (aquifer) geometry, and circulation and chemical
evolution of ground water. TENRAC drilling, coordinatedby the Bureau, tested lignite and evaluated aspects of thehydrology in the deep basin. Recovered lignite has
undergone extensive chemical analysis.
In the Sabine Uplift area, a detailed subsurface study of
the Trawick gas field, north-central Nacogdoches County,
was completed during 1983. Sand-body geometry anddepositional facies confirmed the regional trends andsuccession from deltaic to fluvial sedimentation. The mostcontinuous lignites occur at the top of the deltaic lower
Wilcox, whereas seams at the top of the upper Wilcox arelaterally limited by channel sands. Lower Wilcox lignites
probably evolved from interdistributary to blanket peats.
Upper Wilcox lignites are assigned a backswamp origin.
In east-central Texas, major- and maximum-sand maps
based on 1,470 geophysical logs confirmed Wilcox
deposition by ancient fluvial-deltaic systems sourced
primarily to the northwest. A 75-mi-wide (120-km-wide)
fluvial-deltaic complex entered the Eocene coastal plain inwhat is now Coryell County. Mapping of ligniteoccurrence
and major sands in the Calvert Bluff Formation guided thelocation of 14 holes that were drilled to depths between
480 and 1,900 ft (146 and 579 m). Drilling, lignite-occurrence
maps, and stratigraphic analysis define thick lignites in thelower Calvert Bluff southwest o f the Navasota River and i n
the upper Calvert Bluff northeast of the Brazos River.
Lignites at exploitable depths of less than 1,000 ft (305 m )occur in dip-elongate areas between channel sand belts.
Major-sand maps were used to successfully predict regional
trends in thickness but were less successful in predicting
actual values.
Stratigraphic studies show that the Carrizo Sand, a major
aquifer, and the upper Wilcox are distinct depositional
systems separated by a regional marine transgressive unit.
Deep-surface mining or underground gasification of upper
Calvert Bluff lignitescould bedifficult in the presenceof the
Carrizo, especially where Carrizo and Wilcox sands are in
direct stratigraphic and hydrologic contact.

Hydrogeology and Geochemistry
Graham E. Fogg, Mary L. Ambrose, W. R. Kaiser, W. B. Ayers,lr.,and Colin M . Jones; assisted by Paul E. Blanchard, Peter B.
McMahon, and David A. Prouty

A limited hydrogeological drilling and testing programin the Sabine Upliftarea has helpedclarify Wilcox hydrology
and identify constraints on underground coal gasification.
Vertical hydraulic gradient and pressure data collected in
Shelby, Panola, and Cherokee Counties show that small
streams in the Wilcox outcrop d o not necessarily induce
upward ground-water flow and that deep flow i s notnecessarily downward beneath local topographic highs.
Pressure gradients obtained in the field verify new verticalhydraulic gradient maps based on more deep data andmoving averages. In northern Cherokee County, horizontal
hydraulic gradients decrease with depth and actually
reverse direction just below the transition from lower
Wilcox to upper Wilcox strata. Consequently, optimal
depths for underground gasifiers could be chosen tominimize ground-water contamination because of very
slow flow rates. Lignites tested at depths of 400 and 690 ft(122 and 210 m) yielded values of hydraulic conductivity(0.27 and 0.059 ft/d [0.08 and 0.02 m/d]) suitable forunderground gasification using wells linked by reverse
combustion. However, the shallower lignite i s hydraulically

W. 6 . Ayers, /r., prepares the map used to select deep-basin lignite
drill sites.

connected to an underlying platform sand (crevasse splay)of the type that commonly underlies many Wilcox lignites.
Hydrochemical, resistivity, and hydraulic gradientmapping continues as part of the overall effort to elucidate
patterns and rates of ground-water circulation and to placein perspective potential impacts of mine dewatering anddepressurization on ground-water resources. Additionalhydrochemical mapping has shown that trends in watercomposition can be mapped using either log activity or log
molality indices. In the Sabine Uplift area, maps of log
activity and log molality for Na+, Na+/Ca2+,and HCOg are
similar to earlier maps, which had been made using log
activity indices derived from reactions keyed to thechemical evolution of ground water, and show positive
correlation with head mapping. The log ratio is moresensitive than are single ions. Water samples producedfrom
the hydrological test wells confirm the trends predictedfrom hydrochemical mapping. In addition to indicating
ground-water circulation patterns, the maps will provide
regional water-quality data for assessing pre-mining
conditions in the Wilcox.
Maps of resistivity and resistivity products indicate
pathways of preferred ground-water movement. Belts oflarge resistivity product and ribbons of high resistivity
extend deep into the subsurface (tens of miles) and coincidewith the axes of major channel sands, illustrating the
focusing of ground-water flow by thick framework sands.
These maps should prove useful in the exploration forground-water resources by identifying areas of good water

quality (high resistivity) and high relative transmissivity(large resistivity products, or values of resistivity times
thickness) in the shallow subsurface. In some cases, abrupt
lowering of the base of fresh water coincides with major
channel sand belts.
Chemical Characterization
Susan 1. Tewalt, Clara 1. Ho, Cynthia A. Mahan, Charlotte 5.
Holland, Steven W. Tweedy, and Daniel H. OrtuYto; assisted
by 1. Nile Barnes
To recover lignite for characterization, 7 boreholes wereoffset and cored; lignite was recovered from 18 different
seams and 5 stratigraphic horizons. A total of 85 deep-basin
samples were analyzed chemically and mineralogically.
Chemical analyses included proximate, ultimate, heating
value,forms of sulfur,and ash oxides. On a whole-coal basis,
major, minor, and trace elements were analyzed. On a dry,ash-free basis, the carbon content of the sampled seams
indicates a coal rank borderline between lignite andsubbituminous. Samples from the Sabine Uplift area areslightly richer in carbon (74.3 percent) than those of eastcentral Texas (71.3 percent) and of better quality (lower
sulfur and ash and higher Btu). Overall, total sulfur content
ranges from 1.3 to 1.5 percent (organic sulfur 75 percent),
nitrogen 1.1 to 1.3 percent, and chlorine 96 to 104 ppm.
Deep-basin, high-temperature ashes are markedly lower in
Si02 and higher in Na20, S03,and CaOthan are ashes fromnear-surface lignites. The most striking difference is in
N a 2 0content, which increases with depth and iscorrelatedwith Na+ content in the ground water. Shelby and Panola
County lignites are particularly rich in NazO, commonly
exceeding 10 percent in deeper seams. Sodium is the major
cause of fouling in pulverized-coal-fired boilers. In lowtemperature ash, dominant minerals are kaolinite andquartz, with some pyrite and marcasite, minor illite,
smectite, and chlorite, and trace amounts of several otherminerals. Trace elements of greatest concern in coal are As,
Pb, Se, B, Hg, Cd,and Mo. Among those in the SabineUpliftarea, only the mean of Se (10.2 ppm) exceeds that of theaverage for U.S. lignite (5.3 ppm), whereas As i s lower(3.4 versus 6 ppm). Uranium averaged less than 1 ppm (0.8),
compared with 2.5 ppm nationally. In east-central Texas, themeans for Se, As, and U are 6.8, 9.0, and 1.4 ppm,
respectively. Thus, Se is slightly lower and As and U slightly
higher than in the Sabine Uplift samples. In both areas, themeans for Pb, B, Hg, Cd, and M o are similar to the averages
for U.S. lignite.
A final report, a collection of 15 short papers
summarizing results of the project's first 2 years, will be
published in 1984 as a Bureau Geological Circular.

COMPUTERIZED CALCULATION OF
LIGNITE RESOURCES I N TEXAS
W. R. Kaiser, project director; Susan 1. Tewalt; assisted by
Clayton H. Wilson and Curtis W. Black

Bureau researchers monitor lignite-coringoperation near Marquez
in Leon County.

Remaining near-surface lignite resources are being
calculated for the State of Texas i n this project funded by the
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The National Coal
Resources Data System (NCRDS)i s being used to calculate
resources according to criteria of USGS Circular 891. Seam
depth, thickness, and location are coded from geophysicallogs and entered into a computerized data base. The
NCRDS uses an interactive graphics package to calculate
resources and draw resource maps. Access to the system i sthrough a Tektronix 4054 terminal at the Bureau. Resource
estimates are reported by stratigraphic unit and by

geographic region. Point sources of proprietary data are
kept confidential.
Remaining near-surface resources for the Wilcox Groupi n two geographic regions have been calculated. Tonnages
have been reported for five seam-thickness categories.
Three are standard USGS categories (2.5 to 5 ft, 5to 10 ft,and
greater than 10 ft [0.76 to 1.5 m, 1.5 to 3.0 m, and greaterthan 3.0 m]), and two are thickness categories used inprevious resource estimates made by the Bureau. These two
additional thickness categories, 2 to 3 ft and greater than 3ft(0.61 to 0.91 m and greater than 0.91 m), are relevant tocurrent surface-mining practices in Texas.
NCRDS resource estimates for the Wilcox Group in eastcentral Texas (between the Colorado and Trinity Rivers)
total 8,764 million short tons (7,967 million t ) in the three
USGS categories of thickness and degree of certainty. The
total NCRDS resource figure in the two Texas thickness
categories is 10,370 million short tons (9,427 million t); this18-percent increase resulted from includingseams between
2 and 2.5 ft (0.61 and 0.76 m) thick. The estimate calculated in
Bureau Report of Investigations No. 104for all seams greaterthan 2 ft (0.61 m) thick was 8,641 million short tons
(8,505 million t), smaller than both of the NCRDS estimates.
This probably resulted because Report of lnvestigations
No. 104 took a more conservative approach and also
indirectly calculated resources in seams 2 t o 3 ft (0.61 to
0.91 m) thick. Demonstrated resources calculated by NCRDS
for the USGS and Texas thickness categories are 4,174 million short tons (3,795 million t) and 4,987 million short tons
(4,534 million t), respectively.
The total estimate for the Wilcox Group in northeast
Texas (north of the Trinity River to Texarkana) is
8,487 million short tons (8,353 million t). The NCRDS
estimate of remaining resources for the Texas thickness
categories is 11,519 million short tons (10,472 million t). The
estimate reported in Report of lnvestigations No. 104 forseams greater than 2 ft (0.61 m) thick was 8,359 million shorttons (7,599 million t). This is about 27 percent lower than the
NCRDS estimate for the same seam thicknesses. The
substantial difference in tonnages between the two NCRDS
estimates for this region (8,487 and 11,519 million short tons
[8,353 and 10,472 million t]) arises from the large number ofseams between 2 and 2.5 ft (0.61 and 0.76 m) thick.
A progress report summarizing the regional resource
maps and calculations was submitted to the USGS in 1983.
Calculations for the Wilcox Group in the Sabine Uplift area
are nearly completed. Data entry is underway for the Yegua
Formation and Jackson Group in East Texas. Evaluation of
the final region, the Wilcox and Jacksonin South Texas, willcomplete the goals of the project.

engineering characteristics, might yield significant increases
in recoverable reserves.
The first phase of the study culminated in 1983 with the
publication of the Atlas of Major Texas O i l Reservoirs. This
atlas groups nearly 450 of the state's most importantreservoirs into genetically related plays. The petroleum
geology and engineering characteristics of each play aredescribed in a brief text and illustrated by more than
400 representative maps, cross sections, logs, and interpretative diagrams. A series of tables summarizes quantitative
data for each reservoir included in the plays.
Following up on the overview of Texas reservoirs, twomajor plays were selected for site-specific reservoir studies.
The San Andres Formation of the Central Basin Platform andNorthern Shelf of the Midland Basin is the single largest oilproducing stratigraphic unit i n the state. However, less than
30 percent of its oil in place is expected to be recovered.
Subregional facies analysis of the San Andres has led to ageologically based grouping of San Andres reservoirs andidentification of the specific productive facies. As a part ofthis effort, a set of regional cross sections for the Central
Basin Platform has been produced and will be published in
1984. In addition, cores from 11 fields have been examinedas part of the subregional analysis. Calibration of log
response to specific productive facies and delineation ofporosity and permeability distribution within representative
fields are adding detail to the stratigraphic analysis.
The Frio Formation of the Gulf Coast is a second highly
prolific producing unit. Two major fields representative of
the Frio barrier/strandplain oil play of the Middle Coastal
Plain, West Ranch fieldand Markham North - Bay City North
field, have been subjects of integrated analysis of reservoir
facies, engineering, and production history. Productive

GEOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION O FTEXAS O I L RESERVOIRSWilliam E. Galloway and Don G. Bebout, project directors;
Noel Tyler, C. M . Garrett, ]r., and Eric S. Cheng; assisted byWilliam A. Ambrose and Karen 1. Meador
Approximately 153 billion barrels of in-place oil havebeen discovered i n Texas reservoirs; an estimated 92 billion
barrels of this oil will remain unrecovered, according tocurrent extrapolations of recoverable reserves. The Bureau,with partial funding from the Texas Energy and Natural
Resources Advisory Council, in 1982 began geologicalcharacterization of the major oil-producing reservoirs.
Objectives of the 2-year program were t o (1) define thegeological and engineering parameters of the plays thathost major oil reserves and (2) examine in detail classes ofreservoirs that, with integrated analysis of genetic facies and

Don C. Bebout works on detailed cross section of Dune field,
Crane County.

attributes, comparative recovery efficiency, and petrophysical properties of individual reservoirs have been
related to the complex facies mosaics of washover-fan, tidalinlet, barrier-core, shoreface, strandplain, cuspate-delta,
and chenier sand bodies. Publications reviewingthis facet ofthe reservoir characterization program are in preparation.

oil fields. However, some new plays were established
for the abandoned fields. Of the fields that had n o oil production in 1982, 134 were in Tertiary reservoirs of the Gulf
Coast and 12 were in Mesozoic reservoirs in East Texas or
south-central Texas. The remaining 73 abandoned fields had
produced from Paleozoic reservoirs in West and NorthCentral Texas and the Panhandle. A Bureau Geological
Circular characterizing abandoned reservoirs in Gulf Coastand East Texas fields is being prepared.

GEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION O F LOW-PERMEABILITYGAS SANDSTONE RESERVOIRS
Robert 1. Finley, project director; A. Eugene Saucier,Zsay-Shing Lin, Steven 1. Seni,]ong H. Han, C. M . Garrett, Ir.,and Noel Tyler; assisted b y Gay Nell Gutierrez, Mark I .
Berlinger, lanet L. Bader, Robert C. Murray, and William A.
AmbroseWilliam E. Galloway, director of reservoir characterization projects.

GEOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION O FABANDONED TEXAS O I L RESERVOIRSWilliam E. Galloway, project director; Shirley P. Dutton and
C. M. Garrett, lr.
One target of nonconventional recovery in Texas is theoil that remains in abandoned fields. This target includes oilthat has not been tapped by conventional field development because of reservoir heterogeneity and oil inreservoirs that have not been subjected to any secondary or
tertiary recovery efforts. In 1980, the U.S. Department ofEnergy compiled a list of abandoned Texas oil fields(defined as having no oil production in 1977) that had
individual cumulative production of more than
250,000 barrels. As part of the effort to characterize Texas
oil reservoirs, the Bureau initiated a study in 1983 of the
312 abandoned fields having individual cumulative production greater than 500,000 barrels. Funding was provided by
the Texas Energy and Natural Resources Advisory Council.
The fields were characterized by the same geological,
engineering, and production parameters that were used in
the Atlas of Major Texas O i l Reservoirs. Information on
the fields comes largely from the files of the Railroad
Commission of Texas. The 312 fields that were studied
represent 46 percent of the total number of abandoned
fields having cumulative production greater than
250,000 barrels. However, total production from these
312 fields is more than 75 percent of the total for all
676 fields listed. Some of the 312 fields produced oil in 1982,
some had been reclassified and produced gas in 1982, andsome had produced more than 10 million barrels andso were included in the earlier study of major Texasoil fields.
Most of the remaining 219 fields fall into the same
genetically related plays that characterize the largest Texas

Recovery of natural gas from low-permeability sandstones is highly dependent o n economic and technologicalfactors. The objective of this project, funded by the Gas
Research Institute, is to improve the geological understanding of blanket-geometry tight gas sandstones, thereby
encouraging resource recovery using integrated and highly
effective geological and engineering practices. Following anational review of more than 30 tight gas sandstones, theTravis Peak Formation in East Texas and North Louisiana andthe Corcoran-Cozzette Sandstones i n northwestern
Colorado were selected for detailed study. The Travis Peak
was chosen for its high potential resource, and theCorcoran-Cozzette because of expected transferability of
research results to geologically similar units.
The Lower Cretaceous Travis Peak Formation is 500 to
2,500 ft (150 t o 750 m) thick, and preliminary estimates ofmaximum recoverable gas in place in Texas alone range
from 14 to 23 Tcf. The formation is sand-rich and contains nomajor laterally continuous markers; interpretation of thelog facies of the Travis Peak has therefore been the primarymeans of defining f rarnework sandstone packages. These
include a progradational deltaic sequence in the lower
Travis Peak, a fluvial facies interpreted toconsist dominantlyof braided alluvial facies in the middle Travis Peak, and asequence of marginal marine sandstones, including atransition from clastic deposits to the carbonates of theoverlying Pettet Limestone, in the upper Travis Peak. Mostof the present Travis Peak production is from upper
recessional facies, where permeabifi ties are of ten better
than in the remaining parts of the formation, but the middle
and lower subdivisions tend to be more sand-rich. Six newgas fields were discovered in the Travis Peak in East Texas
during the first half of 1983, making it the unit having thesecond highest rate of exploration success in East Texas.
The Upper Cretaceous Corcoran and Cozzette
Sandstones of the Piceance Creek Basin are typical oftransgressive marginal marine sandstones deposited in the
Cretaceous Seaway from New Mexico t o Wyoming.
Although the maximum recoverable gas in place in theseunits i s estimated to be 4 Tcf, the technology used to exploit
this resource will be applicable over a much larger area
containing similar facies. These facies include shoreface,barrier foreshore, and a complex of facies in the upper partof each unit that includes bay-lagoon mudstones, thedistributary-mouth-bar and distributary-channel sandstones of small deltas, and, locally, highly lenticular coals.
Interpretive description and mapping of thedepositional systems and their component facies were
begun in 1983 for both the Travis Peak and the CorcoranCozzette. The maximum concentration of net-sandstonebeds more than 50 ft (15 m) thick occurs in the middle
braided facies of the Travis Peak, where thin intervening
shales may present only weak barriers to containment ofhydraulic fractures. In the Corcoran-Cozzette, the lower
part of each unit shows an upward-coarsening shoreface
sequence having a northeast trend that,sharply defines the
paleoshoreline. Sandstone geometry of tight gas reservoirs
will affect the design and success of hydraulic fracture
treatments, and the original detrital content of thesandstones partly affects the petrophysical properties of thereservoir. Clay content of tight gas reservoirs may, forexample, be lower in certain high-energy environments,
such as distributary mouth bar or barrier foreshore.
However, the balance between authigenic and detrital clayin blanket sandstones remains to be evaluated, and thepotential for greater cementation in originally more
permeable sediments must be considered. Detailed
analyses of depositional systems will continue in 1984, anddiagenetic studies will be fully integrated into theseanalyses.

GEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK A N D ENERGY RESOURCESTUDIES, TEXAS CONTINENTAL SHELF
R. A. Morton, project director; Lee A. lirik and Nancy I .
Banta;. assisted by Emil Bramson and Loren F. Phillips
The first phase of this multi-year project culminated in
the construction of regional structural cross sections
depicting the geology of offshore Texas. The nine dip crosssections tie with the onshore regional sections of the
Tertiary formations and extend offshore to the present-day
shelf edge. Two strike sections complete the set-Thestudy ispartly funded by and being conducted in cooperation with
the U.S. Geological Survey and the Minerals Management
Service.
During 1983, preliminary correlation of more than
1,000 electric logs (some with paleontology picks) allowed
the stratigraphic subdivision of late Oligocene (Frio,Anahuac), Miocene, and Pliocene-Pleistocene sediments.
An inventory of hydrocarbon production was also
completed, and initial assignments were made to specificstratigraphic units. Future work will include preparation ofregional structure and isopach maps of major stratigraphic
units and analysis of hydrocarbon plays. Acquisition ofrecent seismic profiles for use in structural interpretation is
anticipated by early 1984.

SALINITY O F DEEP FORMATION WATERS,TEXAS GULF COAST
R. A. Morton and W. R. Kaiser, project directors; assistedby
lames F. O'Connell
The chemical compositions and concentrations of brines
produced from sandstone reservoirs beneath the Texas
Coastal Plain vary greatly with depth and from one area toanother. These hydrochemical variations reflect differencesin deep-basin hydrology and in chemical evolution of thepore waters. Thisstudy, which i s part of the U.S. Departmentof Energy's geopressured geothermal research program, i sproviding information on the geographic and stratigraphic
variations in water primarily from the Frio and Vicksburg
Formations. Preliminary interpretation of the chemical datashows two hydrochemical subregions in which hot brines
originating deep in the basin have migrated upward andmixed with shallow connate waters. In other areas, relatively
low salinity waters appear to be the product of shale
dewatering and of clay-mineral transformations.
In 1983, regional maps and individual field plots wereprepared of weight ratios (mg/L), mole ratios,and single ion

concentrations, along with plots of total dissolved solids
versus depth, temperature gradient, pressure gradient, andsandstone percent. In addition, Piper diagrams were used toshow the lateral and vertical mixing of CaCl and NaCl waters
in Hidalgo County, Texas.
A related study has been designed tocompare sandstone
and water composition with reservoir quality. Plots ofactivity indices, mole ratios, chloride concentration, andionic strength versus depth are being evaluted for Alta
Loma, Cedar Point, Donna, Portland, Red Fish Reef, and
TCB fields and for four Louisiana wells of opportunity.
Degrees of completeness vary among a total of 103 water
analyses of samples taken from depths mainly between
3,000 and 13,000 ft (1 and 4 km). Most analyses includevalues
for total Fe, Mg2+, Nat, Ca2+,and pH; only 19 include
SiOe values. Sixteen plots of activity indices (derived
from diagenetic reaction pairs), 11 mole ratios, chloride
concentration, and ionic strength versus depth have been
completed. These plots are being compared with similarplots of the Frio regionaldata and with individual field plots.
Analyses having SiOe values will be added to a suite ofactivity diagrams made from regional data and related toreservoir quality. Because the Louisiana well-ofopportunity samples come from areas of excellent reservoir
quality and low geothermal gradients, comparison of their.
activity indices with those of Texas upper and lower coastwaters i s of particular interest; the upper coast waters comefrom areas of good reservoir quality, and the lower coastwaters from areas of poor quality. Plotting of activity indicesversus temperature and pressure gradients will help toelucidate the geochemical evolution of Frio brines.

RESOURCE ASSESSMENT A N D SEISMIC STUDIESGEOPRESSURED GEOTHERMAL ENERGY,TEXAS GULF COAST
T. E. Ewing, project director; assisted by Olufemi 0.
Babalola
This project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, i sa continuing effort to assess the distribution of producible
geopressured geothermal energy on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The current phase of this project focuses on the structural
evolution of the successive Tertiary shelf margins that were
responsible for creating geopressured reservoirs.
Understanding the nature of shale-tectonic and salttectonic structures will lead to a definition of those areas
where structures allow large geopressured reservoirs to be
developed.
In 1983, three areas (Katy, Fostoria,and Zapata)along the
Wilcox growth-fault trend were studied using subsurface
geological techniques and seismic interpretation. Study ofthese three areas, along with study of the Cuero and Live
Oak areas reported elsewhere, permits a comprehensive
description of the nature of Wilcox structural activity. Other
work will concentrate on the quantification of parameterssuch as fault-block size and geometry.
INTEGRATION O F GEOLOGICAL A N D FLUID DATA IN
M E GEOPRESSURED GULF COAST BASIN
T. E. Ewing, project director; Noel Tyler, Malcolm P. R. Light,
and A. R. Gregory; assisted by Victor H. Lombeida
Studies conducted by the Bureau related t ogeopressuredgeothermal resources on the Texas Gulf Coast
have created a large amount of regional and subregional
information on structural style, depositional systems,
sandstone petrology and diagenesis, and fluid properties
such as salinity, pressure, and temperature. In addition, thedrilling of the Pleasant Bayou No. 2 test well led to a wide

variety of studies by many researchers on shale mineralogy,
organic geochemistry, vitrinite reflectance, and reservoir
continuity and diagenesis.
This project, begun in mid-1983 and funded by the U.S.
Department of Energy, attempts to draw together all of theinformation available for the area surrounding the Pleasant
Bayou test well, to analyze its limitations, and to integrate it
into a comprehensive geological history. Particularattention i s being paid to the history of fluid flow, to use ofpresent fluid properties as indicators of fluid migration,andto the relationship between fluid properties, thermal
history, and diagenetic modification in the development of
the geopressured reservoirs.
P R O D U C T I O N O F LIQUID HYDROCARBONSIN ASSOCIATION W I T H THERMAL WATERS A N D
SOLUTION GAS
R. A. Morton, project director; Robert J. Finley andA. Eugene Saucier

Production of hot brines at high flow rates fromoverpressured aquifers i s an integral part of the U.S.
Department of Energy's Gulf Coast geopressured
geothermal program. Several of the test wells have yieldedminor quantities of liquid hydrocarbons in addition togeothermal water and dissolved methane. This study
examines the preliminary test results to evaluate possible
sources of the hydrocarbons, including (I)coning of nearby
free hydrocarbons, ( 2 ) retrograde condensation within thereservoirs, (3) molecular dissolution of aromatichydrocarbons at high temperatures and pressures,(4) residual accumulation of free hydrocarbons trappedby reservoir heterogeneities after primary migration, and( 5 ) thermal maturation of organic matter in shales surrounding geopressured reservoirs.
In 1983, production of liquid hydrocarbons at two
geopressured geothermal design wells and one well ofopportunity was examined and compared with reservoir
conditions and solubility of the recovered hydrocarbon
species. The G. M . Koelemay No. 1 well (JeffersonCounty,
Texas) apparently coned a free hydrocarbon phase into thewell bore; recovery of natural gas liquids was up to
5.7 gal/Mcf during production testing. The brine reservoir
was most likely in close contact with a gas-condensate
accumulation. At the Pleasant Bayou No. 2 well (Brazoria
County, Texas) and the Sweezy No. 1well (Vermilion Parish,
Louisiana), aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, andxylene) were the major components of liquid hydrocarbon
samples analyzed. These components have relatively highsolubility in brine at reservoir conditions and, therefore, areprobably common in geopressured geothermal fluids.
Some samples recovered using surface separationequipment were characterized as oil or condensate.
Production of these liquids is being investigated in relation
to reservoir conditions, to possible local stratigraphic
trapping, and to possible timing of the generation andmigration of hydrocarbons.
GEOTHERMAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENT FOR
THE STATE O F TEXASCharles M. Woodruff, Jr., project director; Christine R.
Cever and C. L. Macpherson; assisted by David R. Wuerch

The final phase of this research on low-temperaturegeothermal resources in Texas, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Energy, involved four tasks: completing anontechnical map of statewide geothermal resources,continuing water-temperature collection and compilation,
producing a new statewide map showing geothermal
gradients, and refining lithic and hydrological datathat were collected on the Balcones/Ouachita trend inCentral Texas.
The public-oriented user map was published at ascaleof
1:1,000,000 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and is available free of charge from the
Bureau. The map shows the generalized extent ofgeothermal aquifers that have been recognized to date in
Texas. The map also includes locations and tabular data for
selected wells having temperatures and water-quality
attributes that are representative of the various aquifers.
The program of collecting water temperatures fromexisting shallow wells was also completed. A magnetic tapecontaining selected data was transferred to the U.S.
Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, for incorporation into the USGS GEOTHERM file.
The new statewide depiction of geothermal gradients is arefinement of previous efforts to show areal changes inearth temperature with depth. Earlier maps showing
geothermal gradients did not distinguish areas of abruptchanges in lhermal conduaivity owing to different rocktypes. Because thermal conductivity isan inverse function ofgeothermal gradient, this may have resulted in misleadinginterpretations. We have attempted to correct this bychoosing a few rock units of consistent lirhic properties(whenever possible, limestones) and mapping geothermal
grad~ents only for welts that have a bottom-holetemperature in these specific horizons. This was done for
the Ellenburger Croup west of the Balcones/Ouachita trend
and for the Sligo/Pettet and Edwards Formations eaw of thistrend.
Geological and hydrological assessments along the
Balcones/Ouachita trend in Central Texas continued
because this region has the highest potential for economic
use of low-temperature geothermal waters. Research
indicates that four Cretaceous aquifers contain thermal
waters along this trend. A geothermal well and a heatexchange system are now operating at the TorbettHutchings-Smith Memorial Hospital at Marlin, where thebasal Cretaceous Hosston Sandstone produces thermal
water.
IN SlTU U R A N I U M LEACHING: GEOLOGICAL ASPECTS
Jonathan C. Price, project director; Patricia Bobeck, The
University of Texas at Austin, Department of Geological
Sciences; Long-Cheng LiangMineralogical, geochemical, and sedimentologicalhydrological aspects of in situ leachingof uranium are being
investigated as part of this project with the Department ofPetroleum Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin.
Succesrful pilot studies of new leaching technologies wereconducted In the Miocene Oakville Formation of Live Oak
County, Texas. In these studies, electron microscopy andmicroprobe analyses indicated that the main uranium phasein primary, reduced ore is a uranium-calcium silicatephosphate. In an orebody in theEocene Whitsett Formationof Karnes County, Texas, where recovery by in situ feachinghas been generally low, two uranium-bearing phases weredetected in primary ore: a uranium-calcium silicatephosphate and uranium dispersed in or adsorbed by detritalorganic matter. Bench-scale leaching experiments suggestthat the uranium associated with organic matter iskinetically slower to extract than that from the other phase.

RESOURCE EVALUATION O F THE MIOCENE M A J O RSTRATIGRAPHIC UNIT, TEXAS GULF COAST BASIN
lules R. DuBar, project director; assisted by E. M. AndrewsGoodman, Katherine C. Hubby, and David C. Noe
Work on the onshore Miocene project, funded in partby the U.S. Geological Survey, i s near completion.
Objectives of the research are to compile a geological database necessary for resource assessment of the productive
Miocene operational units; to integrate the geologicalframework analysis, historical indices of finding rate,
and reservoir/source facies volumetrics as a basis fordefining and quantitatively evaluating resources of
exploration-production plays; and to assess the potential
undiscovered hydrocarbons of the Miocene major stratigraphic unit (MSU).
During 1983, data gathering and geological synthesis
were essentially completed and preparation of the final
report was begun. Maps of sand percent, sand isolith,isopach, structure, depositional systems, facies, and sandand shale units were completed for the two operational unit

subdivisions of the Miocene MSU. Also completed were a
Miocene production map depicting major oil and gas fields,
an exploration-play map, a map of Miocene vertebrate
distribution trends, a source-rock maturity map, and astructural subbasin map. Six strategically locatedstratigraphic dip sections depict relations between
operational units, encasing units, facies distribution,
structural character, and producing intervals.
Evaluation of ultimate hydrocarbon potential for
Railroad Commission of Texas Districts 2, 3, and 4 werecompleted and similar evaluations for the 10 delineatedexploration plays are in progress.
Miocene correlation studies have produced charts
showing position of the Miocene MSU within the stratigraphic framework of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. The
correlations relate operational units to the standard North
American mammalian zones, to northwestern Gulf benthic
foraminifer zones, to interhemispherical planktonic
foraminifer zones, to a standard chronometric scheme, and,in part, to worldwide eustatic cycles and magnetostratigraphic intervals.

LAND A N D ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCESI N V E S T I G A T I O N S
SOUTHWEST TEXAS RIVER BASINS REGIONAL STUDY
E. G.Wermundand Thomas C. Gustavson, project directors;
Richard L. Dillon and David M. Ridner, cartographersThis long-term project is a comprehensive
environmental geologic analysis of 30,558 mi2 (79,145 km2) of
the Nueces, San Antonio, Guadalupe, and Lavaca Riverbasins of South Texas. The project was initiated in June1972
under a contract with the Texas Water Development Board(now Texas Department of Water Resources). That contract
continued through August 1975; thereafter, the Bureau has
supported completion of all remaining work.
Results of this program include a series of maps that were
hand-colored on scribed plastic base maps. The bases are
reproductions of the standard Army Map Service
topographic maps (scale 1:250,000). The hand-colored
series includes maps of (1) environmental geology,(2) physical properties, (3) active processes, (4) biologic
assemblages, and (5) land use. Environmental geologic maps
are compiled at a scale of 1:125,000; all other map types arepresented at a scale of 1:250,000.
Maps of environmental geology and land use represent
original mapping. For the biologic assemblage map, theassemblages were identified in the field, and theirboundaries were located in general conformity toenvironmental geologic boundaries. Maps of active
processes and physical properties were derived directlyfrom the environmental geologic map.
Environmental geologic units were mapped initially on
standard topographic sheets (scale 1:24,000) or on blackand-white, controlled aerial photomosaics. Land use wasinterpreted from 1973 color-infrared aerial photographs(scale 1:120,000).
All the hand-colored maps, topographic maps (scale
1:24,000), and controlled photomosaics showing originalcompilation that were prepared during the project are on
file at the Bureau and are available for study.
Over the next several years, the maps will be publishedin combinations of two or more colors. Maps of the Seguin
West and San Antonio East l o quadrangles are nearlycompleted. A text that explains the regional setting andmethodology is in preparation.

EVALUATION O F THE BASIN A N D RANGE PROVINCEFOR THE SUITABILITY O F GEOLOGICAL A N D
HYDROLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTS FOR ISOLATION O F
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
Christopher D. Henry, project director; lonathan G. Price;assisted by Rebecca C. Smyth
This study of the Basin and Range Province is being donein conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) andstates of the Basin and Range. The purpose is regional
screening of the province for potential high-level waste
isolation sites. The project has focused on characterizationof geology and hydrology in the Trans-Pecos region.
Reports and maps from the project are being published by
USGS, and subjects include (1) mineral resource areas,(2) distribution of potential host rocks, including intrusive
rocks, tuffs, and basalts, (3) ground-water flow systems andregional hydrology, and (4) tectonic conditions. A series ofregional cross sections in the Trans-Pecos area (scale
1:250,000) will be placed on open file at the Bureau. A
summary report, to be published as a USGS Professional
Paper, is in press; it will discuss the overall geological andhydrological characteristics of the Basin and Range in TransPecos Texas as they bear on waste isolation.

MINERAL RESOURCES INVEST1CNONPETROLEUM MINERAL PRODUCERS LIST
Mary W. McBride, project director; assisted by Audie L.
Dobbs, Charles lohnson, and lane Tingley
The revision of the list of Texas nonpetroleum mineralproducers was completed during 1983, and the information
is now available in two forms: a computer-generated
printout and Mineral Resource Circular 74. The project,funded in part by the Texas Mining and Mineral Resources
Research Institute and in part by the Minerals Information
Location System of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, revised andupdated data collected in the late 1970's. The entire database, which will be updated from time totime, isavailablein
computer printout form. Data indexed in Mineral Resource
Circular 74 include names and addresses of active producers, commodities produced, and counties having active
production.

MINERALIZATION IN TRANS-PECOS TEXAS:
ORE DEPOSITS IN CLASTIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
lonathan G. Price, project director; Christopher D. Henry,
Arthur G. Goldstein, Allan R. Standen, and )an S. Posey,
geologists; Clara L. Ho, Steven W. Tweedy, Dorothy L.
Cower, and Paul N. Williams, chemists
Continuation of this study on theorigin of silver-copperlead deposits in red-bed sequences of the Trans-Pecos
region is being funded by the Texas Mining and Mineral
Resources Research Institute. The deposits, many of which

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are veins having east-northeast or northeast trends,occur influvial sandstones, coarse siltstones, and conglomerates ofPrecambrian, Permian, and Cretaceous ages. Historical
production from the largest vein in the Precambrian Hazel
Formation was about 4 million troy ounces of silver.
Geographic positions, structural settings, vein and wall-rockmineralogy, and geochemistry indicate no direct links
between these ores and Oligocene igneous activity in theregion. The deposits probably formed during Miocene or
younger Basin and Range extension.
Examination of fluid inclusions in barite, calcite,
sphalerite, and rare quartz indicated that the ores wereprecipitated from saline aqueous fluids at temperatures
between 120" and 170" C. Variation in salinity from 9 to
19 weight percent equivalent sodium chloride suggests thatthe chemical composition of the fluids changed rather
drastically during ore formation, perhaps because ofdilution of upward-moving saline fluids by shallow groundwater.

MINERALIZATION IN TRANS-PECOS TEXAS:
BASE A N D PRECIOUS METALS IN VOLCANIC CENTERS
Christopher D. Henry, project director; lonathan G. Price;assistedby Gail L. Fisher, Allan R. Standen, and Emil Bramson
This project funded by the Texas Mining and Mineral
Resources Research Institute is examining the relations
between Tertiary igneous activity, hydrothermal alteration,and ore deposition. Recent Bureau publications include
Report of Investigations No. 135, which contains a coloredgeologic map of the Chinati Mountains caldera (the site ofseveral major ore deposits), and Mineral Resource Circular 73, an annotated bibliography of all mines and prospects
in Trans-Pecos Texas. Reports on calderas of Trans-Pecos andstress orientations during Tertiary volcanism have been
accepted for publication in various journals. In addition,
several abstracts on volcanism and ore deposits and a reporton the existence of the Rio Grande Rift in Texas have been
published.
Work continues in several areas, including the origin ofsilver-lead-zinc veins in the Eagle Mountains; the origin ofepithermal veins in the Ojo Bonito stock; the origin,mineralization, and petrogenesis of the related Marble
Canyon and Cave Peak stocks, which contain molybdenum
mineralization; and the structural and tectonic development of the Trans-Pecos area through time.

MINERAL RESOURCE EVALUATION,
LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY
L. F. Brown, ]r., project director; Gary F. Collins andMary L. W. lacksonThis short-term project funded by the Lower Colorado
River Authority identified natural resources along certain
segments of the Colorado River and evaluated theireconomic potential. Lignite, uranium, sand, gravel, andpetroleum were included in this 4-month evaluation. The
program was completed at the end of 1983.

THE BARITE INDUSTRY A N D RESOURCES O F TEXASThe University of Texas at Austin,
Department of Geological Sciences, principal investigator
Barite is used predominantly as a weighing agent indrilling fluids and also for the preparation of many industrial). Richard Kyle,
Jonathan G. Price examines a silica-filled tension fracture at thesouth end of the Van Horn Mountains caldera, Trans-Pecos Texas.

barium chemicals. The United States is the world's largest
producer and consumer of barite; deep well drilling
programs in the Gulf Coast and elsewhere inTexasconsume
a substantial part of domestic and imported ores. This
project, funded by the Texas Mining and Mineral Resources
Research Institute, i s examining the barite-processing
industry and the geological setting and resource potential of
barite in Texas. Texas has a strong barite-processing
industry, but in-state primary production has been
insignificant. The geological setting of several barite
occurrences in Texas indicates the potential for substantial
barite-rich ores. The major occurrences are in sedimentaryterranes and include the late Paleozoic strata of theMarathon region, the Permian strata of the Delaware Basin,
and the Gulf Coast salt-dome province. These Texas
deposits appear to have originated from barium-richformation waters in evolving sedimentary basins. Sulfur
isotopic investigations of some deposits indicate thepresence of isotopically heavy barites; this suggests acomplex fractionation history involving selective
partitioning of 32S into reduced sulfur species, leaving theresidual sulfate enriched in 34S. Known barite deposits in
Texas are too small and low grade to be commercial. The
project will be completed in early 1984.

BASIN STUDIESGEOLOGICAL A N D GEOHYDROLOGICALINVESTIGATIONS IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE
E. C.Wermund, project director; Thomas C. Custavsonand
Charles W. Kreitler, principal investigators
Since 1977, the Bureau has been conducting extensive
geological and hydrological research in the Texas Panhandle, chiefly in the Palo Duro Basin. These projects arebeing conducted under University of Texas contract with
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as a part of DOE'S
nationwide investigation of potential nuclear waste
repositories. Bureau research has been coordinated with
the Texas Energy and Natural Resources Advisory Council,
and results are made available to the public through Bureau
publications.
The early program evolved through three phases:(1) 6 months of preliminary data collection and initiation ofbasic research tasks (late FY77); (2) 1 year of intensive
research to produce a basic stratigraphic/structural/facies
framework for the basin and to begin ongoing studies of
surficial and near-surface processes that affect erosion,
denudation, and salt solution rates (FY78); and (3) 1 year of
research aimed at initial analysis of deep cores and basin
resources, calibration of subsurface logs (using cores),discrimination of general depth/salt/thickness fairways,
initiation of deep-basin hydrological studies, andcontinuation of surface and near-surface analyses of
erosion, denudation, and salt-solution rates (FY79).
Studies begun in FY80 included more specific discrimination and determination of salt character, natural
resources potential, hydrological integrity, host-rockproperties, and rates of surface and near-surface processes.
The program in FY80 also more intensely evaluated priority
items recognized during the earlier framework studies. The
FY81 program was designed to continue toaddress dynamic
aspects of salt dissolution, deep-basin fluid circulation andmovement, and shallow-aquifer hydrodynamicsand hydrochemistry, as well as to integrate these factors within
the three-dimensional facies framework and resource
potential of the basin. In addition, analyses of structuraldeformation, tectonic environment, and regional gravity
anomalies were begun.
The fifth year of investigation (FY82)focused on analyses
of faults, fault history, joint distribution, structural
influences of Permian sedimentation, core, deep-basinhydrology, terrace stratigraphy, lineaments, and springdischarge. Reviews of natural resource production and
Quaternary paleoclimatology were also completed.

The completion and testing by DOE of five stratigraphic
test wells and two deep hydrological test wells in
1982-83 guided much FY83 research, which also included
Quaternary and other surficial studies. Well tests were
supplemented by 145 line mi (233 km) of DOE-contracted
seismic reflection data and 580 line mi (933 km) of purchased
proprietary seismic data originally collected for oil andgas exploration. Seismic surveys are critical to interpretation of tectonism and structural geology. Summaries ofaccomplishments from FY83 research follow.
Structural Geology and Tectonics
Roy T. Budnik, E. W. Collins, and Douglas A. McCookey;
assisted by Stephen E. Lovell, Melissa A. Sandstrom, andThomas M. Simmons
Cenozoic structural deformation in the Texas Panhandle
appears extensive and apparently resulted both fromtectonic movements and from subsidence induced bydissolution of Permian bedded salt.
Cenozoic epeirogenic uplift greater than 3,000 ft(1,000 m) has occurred over parts of the Palo Duro Basin
during both the Laramide orogeny and Basin and Range
deformation. This uplift has induced fault reactivation andaffected salt dissolution, as well as pre-Ogallala erosion,
Ogallala deposition,and post-Ogallala erosion. Anomalous
thickening of the Ogallala Formation (Neogene) in the
Carson County basin appears to be related to Basin andRange extension to the west. Late Paleozoic, Mesozoic,andNeogene sediments thicken into the basin. The Carson
County basin probably formed as a result of renewed strikeslip motion along preexisting faults.
Comparison of surface and basement structures ineastern Randall County, Texas, indicates that joint andfracture trends coincide with the dominant northwest- andnortheast-trending basement faults. Clastic dikes cut strata
throughout the Texas Panhandle, western Oklahoma
Panhandle, and eastern New Mexico. The dikes tend toparallel regional joint trends and appear to have been
formed by the filling of fractures or fissures from above.
Subsidence caused by evaporite dissolution appears themost likely mechanism by which horizontal strain andextension opened the fractures or fissures. Folding ofPermian strata above a salt-dissolution zone was identified
in Caprock Canyons State Park, Texas Panhandle. Synclinal
depressions were mapped in that area, and the association
between the structural basins, joints,and veins suggests thatsystematic regional joints predating dissolution collapse
have influenced salt dissolution. Fractures may have acted as
preferred paths for fluid movement.

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Although the Quartermaster and Dewey Lake Formationsin the Permian Basin have generally been considered
Late Permian in age, the possibility of an Early to Middle
Triassic age has also been raised. Radiometric dating of
volcanic ash beds discovered in these formations i n the
Palo Duro Basin confirmed their age as Late Permian.
Core Analyses
Susan D. Hovorka, Allan Kolker, H. Seay Nance, andSterling F. Thomas; assisted by Edward C. Cazier, Laura A.
Elliott, Barbara A. Luneau, David C. Noe, David N. Purgason,and Clayton H. Wilson

Roy T . Budnik interprets a seisrnicsecfion from the Palo Duro Basin,
Texas Panhandle.

Stratigraphy

A. Fracasso, R. D. con ti^
Stephen Ruppel~c avid A. lohns, ~ h o m a sC. Greimel, and Margaret I. Herren;
assisted by Therese M. lemmer, Loren F. Phillips, andRichard I. Stancliffe
Stratigraphic analyses have confirmed ages, depositional
environments, and structural influences on deposition ofvarious units. Conodont faunas were recovered from four
wells in the Palo Duro Basin area. Correlation of thesefaunas with well-established zonations elsewhere in the
midcontinent region suggests that (1) Early Mississippian(Osage) deposition was restricted to the area of theAnadarko Basin axis and (2) subsequent deposition (during
the Meramecian) spread throughout the area as seas transgressed northward in response to the downwarping of theOuachita geosyn,cline to the south.
Both unconformable and apparently conformable
relations exist at the Pennsylvanian-Permian contact within
the Palo Duro Basin. This is reasonable considering thenature of the Pennsylvanian-Permian contact i nsurrounding areas and the tectonic events of the region.
Systematic variations in the completeness of sedimentary cycles and in the vertical distribution of thinsheet siltstones in the San Andres Formation allow a
subdivision into informal lower, middle, and upper genetic
units. The fundamental mode of cyclicity i s the same
throughout, but the tempo differs among the three units.
These differences may reflect changes in either structuralcontrol or frequency of eustatic sea-level change, or both.
Structural activity and orientation of structural trends
have influenced deposition of lower San Andresstrata in the
Palo Duro Basin. Depositional facies, percent lithofacies,
and lithofacies thickness of cycles 2, 3, and 4 have been
affected.

Analyses of core from salt-bearing sections in the Palo
Duro Basin have resulted in interpretations of depositional
environments and insoluble residues resulting from
dissolution.
Cores from two new wells, the DOE - Stone and Webster
No. 1 Harman and the DOE - Stone and Webster No. 1
Zeeck, have allowed further examination of the stratigraphic column in Swisher County, Texas, including thebase of the dissolution zone, the top of the salt, and the
San Andres Formation. The No. 1 Zeeck core also contains
parts of the Wichita and Wolfcampian shallow-watercarbonates and Pennsylvanian starved-basin deposits.
Detailed logging of cores from three DOE stratigraphic
test wells in Deaf Smith County, Texas, allowed correlationof zones of mudstone beds, clean halite, and anhydritic
halite within the halite rock of units 4 and 5 of the San
Andres Formation.
Cores from seven of the test wells drilled by DOE i n thenorthern Palo Duro Basin were examined. All of the corescontain evidence that halite was once present above thecurrent uppermost halite. Dissolution beneath theSouthern High Plains appears to have been a noncatastrophic process in which rapid collapses did not occur.
Two stages of diagenesis, probably accompanying two
episodes of halite dissolution, were identified.
A classification of halite based on crvstal size, crystal
shape, amount and composition of impurities, distributionof fluid inclusions,and characteristic sedimentary structures
was developed during examination of Palo Duro cores. The
eight classes include a range of fabrics, from thoseoriginating as primary brine-pool precipitates to those
C

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f

4

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-5

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Patricia M. Hester logs core as part of the DOE-sponsored Texas
Panhandle project.

formed during diagenesis. Partial and complete regressive
sequences composed of a basal black mudstone, limestone,
dolomite, nodular anhydrite, bedded anhydrite, and halite
occur throughout most of the San Andres Formation. Even
subtle fluctuations in sediment character can be traced overlarge distances within the Palo Duro Basin. The continuity ofunits reflects the extremely flat topography of the area
during deposition and implies that similar sediments were
forming at the same time in the area studied.
Thick bedded halite units of the San Andres Formation
precipitated in shallow but regionally extensive brine pools,
which were frequently and episodically flooded andsubaerially exposed. Previously unrecognized subcycles 1to
6 ft (0.3 to 1.8 m) thick within salt units are characterized byprimary textures and bromide contents of about 70 ppm atthe base, altered textures and variable bromide
concentrations near the top, and a thin mudstone cap
containing halite veins having high bromide contents (asmuch as 342 ppm).
Middle to Upper Permian clastic sediments in the Palo
Duro Basin were primarily deposited in eolian dune, eolian
flat, intermittent stream channel, wind-tidal(?)flat, shallow
normal marine to hypersaline shelf, h,alite-influenced flat,and low-salinity pond environments. Source areas were
probably granitic and medium-grade metamorphic terrainsto the west and northwest of the Palo Duro Basin.
Clay minerals in clastic rocks, dolomite, anhydrite, andhalite in the Palo Duro Basin consist of detrital illite,chlorite,
diagenetic mixed-layered chlorite-vermiculite, chloritesmectite, chlorite, swelling chlorite, and saponite. lllite
dominates the detritai suite; the occurrence of mixedlayered clays is sensitive to geochemical conditions in thediagenetic environment.
Oil and Gas Potential
Shirley P. Dutton
Exploration for hydrocarbons in the Palo Duro Basin has
been successful only along the northern and southern
margins. However, recent analyses indicate that bothbasinal shales and carbonates have sufficient organic
content and thermal maturity to have been hydrocarbon
source rocks.
Analysis of organic matter content and thermal
maturation of Mississippian and Lower Ordovician
carbonates in the Palo Duro and Dalhart Basins indicatesthat these rocks may have acted as petroleum source rocks.
Their source-rock potential i s far less, however, than that ofequivalent rocks in the oil-producing Hardeman Basin to
the east.
Vitrinite reflectance of samples from Swisher andOldham Counties, Texas, indicates that shales in the Palo
Duro Basin below depths of about 7,000 ft (2,100 m) aremature source rocks. Pyrolysis data support the interpretation that Pennsylvanian basinal shales reached theoil-generation zone.
Pennsylvanian granite wash and carbonates areimportant oil reservoirs in the northwestern Palo DuroBasin. Fields are primarily controlled by structure, and traps
are simple or faulted anticlines.
Geohydrology
Charles W. Kreitler, Alan R. Dutton, Prakob Wirojanagud,
Elizabeth D. Orr, William W. Simpkins, and D. Anderson
Smith; assisted by M. Saleem Akhter, lenny B. Chapman,
Patricia M. Moseley, Bernd C. Richter, and Krishnamurthy
Subramanian
Basin hydrology studies included determinations ofporosity from crossplots of geophysical logs, testing ofWilliam W. Sirnpkins uses a microcomputer to assist in hydrologicalresearch.

deep-basin aquifer and dissolution zones, mapping of
distributions of hydraulic head, analyses of pressure-depth
relationships, and hydrological modeling.
Study of Wolfcampian deep-basin aquifers has shownthat neutron-density crossplotting is superior to neutronsonic methods for quantitatively determining carbonate
lithology and porosity. This i s because the former method
has proved more accurate at detecting secondary porosityand at determining lithology.
Quantitative estimates of porosity distributions in
Wolfcampian strata of the Palo Duro Basin improved theresolution of porous zones, which can be applied to(1)constructingground-water models, (2) delineating porous
fairways for hydrocarbon exploration, and (3) determiningchanges in porosity along hydrological flow paths or within
units that are locally or regionally correlatable.
Hydrogeological properties of the San Andres
Formation within the Palo Duro Basin were measured forverification of a regional ground-water flow model. Sixdrillstem tests and one pumping test provided estimates ofhydraulic head and permeability in Deaf Smith, Randall,andSwisher Counties. A formation-water sample will becollected after cleanup of drilling contamination andanalyzed to determine the flow path of ground water in the
San Andres in the Palo Duro Basin.
Test wells were constructed in the Palo Duro Basin toprovide data on the hydrogeology of the salt-dissolution
zone. The bases of the test zones are within 7 to 49 ft(2 to 15 m) of the upper surface of bedded salt. The test zones
in three of the four wells were drilled with an air-mist foam
to reduce contamination of the strata to be tested.
Hydrological and chemical analyses of water sampleswill bedone to determine the source of ground water that dissolves
the salt and the rate and timing of salt-dissolutionprocesses.
The potentiometric surface of the Wolfcampian aquifer
was updated using head data from the DOE - Stone andWebst~rNo. 1 1. Friemel test well and using refined kriging
parameters in the Palo Duro Basin area. An objective
geostatistical method was employed to map thedistributionof hydraulic heads measured in Upper Pennsylvanian rocks
in the Palo Duro Basin and surrounding areas. Data variation
was described using geostatisticalanalysis. Kriging was thenused to estimate head values based on the available data
having minimum estimate variance. The resulting estimateswere then contoured using CPS-1. Pressure-depth datafrom drill-stem tests indicate that the Deep-Basin Brine
aquifer is underpressured. Potential exists for downward
flow from shallow aquifers through the salt section and into
the sub-salt brine aquifer. Within the Deep-Basin Brine
aquifer, potential for vertical flow varies across the Palo
Duro Basin. These variations may affect the lengths ofpotential flow paths to the biosphere.
Several factors determine the reliability of pressuredepth plots for hydrological interpretation in confined
regional aquifers: the quality, quantity, and distribution ofavailable data and variability in the components of thehydrogeological setting-namely,
the potentiometricsurface, the aquifer structure, and the surface topography.
Failure to recognize the effects of these factors can result in
misinterpretation of pressure-depth plots and inaccurate
conclusions about the potential for vertical flow within theconfined aquifer.
Ground waters in the Wolfcampian aquifer flow to thenortheast toward the semi-impermeable granite Amarillo
Uplift. The Wolfcampian potentiometric surface can bereasonably simulated only for areas where permeability of
the granite wash that flanks the uplift is about 260 md. The
best simulation results indicate a travel timeacrossthe basinof 1.2 to 2.0 million years. Total discharge through theWolfcampian aquifer is about 550 acre-ft/yr (680,000 m-'/yr).
A cross-sectional ground-water flow model was used tosimulate stream lines in addition to the hydraulic heads in
the Palo Duro Basin. The model indicates that the spatial
distribution of relatively permeable granite wash largely
controls the ground-water flow pattern in the Deep-Basin
Brine aquifer. Stream lines generally show downward flow
into the basin in the center of the cross section. East of thebasin, stratigraphically higher granite wash causes thestream lines to deflect upward and then run parallel to thepredominantly horizontal formations. Potential dischargeof deep basinal brines is indicated by upward-trending
stream lines in the eastern Rolling Plains.
Extensive research on borehole sealing was done in
response to the initial problems with the proposed nuclear
waste repository site at Lyons, Kansas. Laboratory
development and testing of grout plugs was emphasized.
The Bell Canyon Test at the Waste Isolation Pilot Project(WIPP) site near Carlsbad, New Mexico, is the only major
in situ test to date. Information from that test indicates thatthe steeper hydraulic gradient in the Palo Duro Basin will
result in greater flow rates in boreholes there than at the
WIPP site.
Geochemistry
R. Stephen Fisher, Clara L. Ho, Long-Cheng Liang, andSteven W. Tweedy; assisted by Rene' V. Curtis and Cay Nell
Cutierrez
Ground waters in the Texas Panhandlewere analyzed forsalinity and composition of deep-basin brines and forchemical and isotopic composition of shallow aquifers;
water content of salt was also determined.
A standardized procedure of Soxhlet extraction in
anhydrous methanol and Karl Fischer titration wasestablished for the analysis of water content in salt. Values
determined for more than 100 salt samples from the Palo
Duro Basin range from less than 0.2to greater than 15 weightpercent. Clay-rich salts typically contain an order ofmagnitude more water than do samples having dolomite,anhydrite, or no impurities.
Highly saline sodium-chloride brines from aquifers
below the San Andres Formation at three sites in the Texas
Panhandle are capable of dissolving both halite andanhydrite. Although data are not yet sufficient for detailed
evaluation of the chemical evolution of fluids along flow
paths within specific units, results of analyses suggest thatcross-formational mixing of brines may be significant.
The hydrogen (6D) and oxygen ( 6 ' 8 0 ) isotopic
composition of shallow ground waters indicates thepresence of typical meteoric water in the Palo Duro Basinarea. The 6 D and 6 ' 8 0 values range from -82 O/ooto-41 O/OO
and -11.46 O/OO to -5.36 O/oo, respectively, showing ageneral increase toward the east. This increase reflects thegeneral decrease in altitude and the heavier isotopic
composition of precipitation in the Gulf Coast area. The
isotopic composttion of ground water from the Dockum
Formation in Swisher County suggests an origin farther tothe west at higher elevations and the absence of significant
mixing with isotopically heavier Ogallala water.
Chemical constituents and isotopic compositionsof saltspring and shallow subsurface brines in the Rolling Plainsshow characteristics typical of halitedissolution by meteoric
ground warer as well as discharge of deep-basin brine. The
geographic distribution of different brine types correlates
well with numerical modeling of ground-water flow.
Surficial and Geomorphic Studies
Thomas C. Gustavson, Robert W. Baumgardner, )r.,
5. Christopher Caran, and Marcie D. Machenberg; assisted
by Patricia L. Brock, Patricia M. Hester, RonaldC. McMurry,and R. Matthew Myers
Surface and Quaternary studies investigated the relationof structure to dissolution, Quaternary sedimentation andsurface physiography, rates of erosion and deposition, andthe late Quaternary - Holocene paleoclimate.
The vertical juxtapos~tionof structure, Irthofacies, anddissolution and physiographicfeatures, ranging in age from
Paleozoic to Pliocene-Pleistocene, suggests control by thesame structural elements in the central western part of
the Texas Panhandle.
Quaternary alluvium as thick as 250 ft (76.2 m) covers an
area of more than 3,000 mi2 (7,800 kmz) on the western
Rolling Plains, Neither the continuous extent nor thecomplex stratigraphy of these deposits had beenrecognized before the present nudy. Late Quaternary
paleocttmatic and paleoenvironmental changes arereflected in this alluv~alsequence. Deposition appears tohave been structurally controlled in part, and the deposits
themselves are faulted and downwarped locally. This new
evidence of structural activity and effects on geomorphic
processes during the late Pleistocene and Holocene Epochs
may have implications for disposal of nuclear waste on theHigh Plains.
Downwarping and faulting of terrigenous sedimentcontemporaneous with deposition of late Quaternary beds
are well exposed in southeastern Briscoe County, Texas.
Deformation probably was caused by subsidence of thePermian subcrop owing to dissolution of bedded salt at
depth. Fluvial sands and gravels and lacustrine clays filled
the subsidence basin, producing a locally thickened
Quaternary section. A well-developed paleosol above rhelacustrine deposits was tilted and larerally truncated before
modem eolian deposition at the site.
Hypsometric analysis of representative drainage basinsindicates that when effects of salt dissolution are removed
from long-term estimates of denudation, present rates ofdenudation are considerably greater than previously
estimated rates for periods longer than 100,000 years.
Statistical analysis of erosion-pin measurements
indicates significant differences and variability both within
and between monitoring stations. The data are normallydistributed about a mean value of -0.135 cm. Field
investigators confirmed the existence of differing levels of
pin activity, consistent with the magnitude and frequency
measurements implied by the normal distribution. Analyses
also suggest that increasing the length of the data record or
measurement interval will affect neither the frequency
distribution of the data nor its validity.
A statistical srudy of amounts and rates of erosion anddeposit~onfrom 1978 through 1982 indicates that althoughmean net erosion has increased aver a 3-year period, themean rate at which it proceeds has decreased. A
probabilistic approach to rate projection provides analternative to linear extrapolations of rates into the future.
Geomorphic thresholds should be considered in any rate
calculation.
Eolian processes have substantially modified thelandscape on the Southern High Plains within historicaltime. The maximum inferred rate of deflation was
0.74 inch/yr (18.9 rnrn/vr) at a site in Bailey County,
Texas, a region of loose, sandy sails and frequent seasonal
dust storms. At least locally, agricultural practices haveaccelerated natural rates of erosion and deposrtion bywinds. Eolian processes could adversely affect the surface
facilities of a nuclear repository.
Preliminary data derived from six dust traps installed on
the Southern High Plains show that dust deposition varics
locally and seasonally in response to natural and maninduced factors. Monthly rates of dustfall at individual
Ib/ft2 (0.658 g/m2) at
stations ranged from 1.3 x
Muleshoe to 2.8 x 10-3 Ib/ft2 (13.441 g/m2) at Palo Duro
Canyon. Dust deposition contributes greatly to the renewalof the High Plains surface.
Field studies, including drilling and seismic surveying,
will be minimal during FY84. Activities will focus on
integrating the large amounts of accumulated data into aholistic geology of the Palo Duro Basin.
GEOLOGICAL AND GEOHYDROLOGICALINVESTIGATIONS I N THE EAST TEXAS BASIN
M. P. A. Jackson, project director; Steven 1. Seni andCharles W. Kreitler

This research program, funded by the U.S. Departmentof Energy (DOE), investigated geological and geohydrological features critical to DOE'S evaluation of thesuitability of underground salt domes in the Gulf Coast
Basin as possible sites for long-term isolation of nuclear
waste. Major considerations in this evaluation were thehydrologic and tectonic stabilities of the domes. To develop
information related to these concerns, a Bureau researchteam in 1978 began geological, structural, stratigraphic,
petrological, and geochemical investigationsof selected salt
domes and also of the entire region. This research hasprovided approaches and solutions to questions concerning
the suitability of any salt diapir being considered for longterm storage of chemical and nuclear wastes.
All Bureau geological and hydrological research in thebasin from January 1978 through March 1983 wassummarized in a contract report, which will be published asa Geological Circular. The report includes a comprehensive
evaluation of Oakwood Dome as a potential repository;
although it disqualifies Oakwood Dome for this purpose, it
concludes that there is no characteristic of salt domes ingeneral that precludes their use as repositories for nuclear
waste.
Three papers on the geological aspects of salt flow in thebasin were published in international journals andintegrated as Report of Investigations No. 139 (in press). In

addition, an atlas of all 15 shallow domes in the basin will be
published by the Bureau and by the East Texas GeologicalSociety.
Geology
M. P. A. lackson and Steven J. Seni
Basin analysis during 1983 sought to determine theabsolute and relative salt loss during basin evolution. Using
five different geometric methods, the original mean
thicknesses of Louann Sa It were estimated as 1.610 ft (490 m)
in the peripheral wedge province, 2,230 ft (680 rn) in thepillow province, and 5,840 ft (1,780 m) in the central d~apirprovince. Salt loss was calculated by comparing original
thickness with present thickness. The diapir province has
lost 540 mil (2,250 km'),or about 70 percent, of its originalsalt. Consideration of cap-rock volumes indicates that about
10 percent of this loss was due to subsurface dissolution,
and about 90 percent was lost by surface extrusion andweathering. Only about 5 percent of the lost salt is still insolution; the balance has left the basin, presumably to theGulf Coast Basin and Gulf of Mexico.
The results of the structural investigation of a salt care of
the Oakwood Dome were submitted a5 a contract report.
Current research an internal salt-dome structure i s genericand designed to provide a reliable conceptual framework
for researchers in other areas to apply to other salt bodies
being considered as potential repositories. The dynamics ofsalt flow are being investigated by (1)comparative study ofthe internal structureof minedsaltdomesand salt structures
exposed at surface, (2) a survey of all published experiments
on model diapirs in Texas, Canada, Sweden, and West
Germany, and (3) the development of a halokinetic theory
that accommodates the rheologic and mechanicalproperties of rock salt and accords with field studies ofnatural salt structures.
Preliminary results of these studies suggest that several
generations ( F n ) of recumbent, tonguelike sheath folds
form spontaneously in the horizontal source layer either
where materials of slightly different viscosity are flowing
laterally or where irregular roofs or floors bound the salt
layer, as in salt glaciers (namakiers).In thestem of thediapir,
these folds are refolded by F n t ~vertical folds; cross sections
through these interference structures are crescent ormushroom shaped. If the diapir forms an overhanging cap,a l l older folds are refolded by an Fritz generation of folds
whose attitude varies from recumbenr to upright. The F e + 2
folds are either buckles highly flattened by transverse flowor shear folds formed by flow parallel to their axial surfaces.
By deducing internal flow patterns, it i s hoped that the
distribution of in situ stresses can be at least partly inferred.
The conditions under which deep folds of country rock
penetrate the overhang region of a diapir are also being
studied. If present, such indentations could threaten thehydrologic integrity of a hypothetical nuclear waste
repository in a salt dome.
Geohydrology
Charles W. Kreitler
Hydrological investigations during 1983 were directed at
the shallow meteoric aquifers around the domes andregional flow in the deeper saline parts of the basin. Thesestudies addressed the role of aquifer geochemistry inretarding potential nuclide migration away from a
repository, the effect of permeability distribution on
ground-water flow around domes, and the potential for
upward leakage of saline waters from deeper aquifers. Studyof the hydrology of the deep saline aquifers in the East Texas
Basin was completed and can be summarized as follows:Ground waters in the deep aquifers (Nacatoch to Travis
Peak) range in salinity from 20,000 to more than 200,000 mg/L.
Their hydrogen and oxygen isotope compositions
indicate that they were originally recharged as continental
meteoric waters and probably were recharged during
Cretaceous time. The waters therefore are very old. Both thewater chemistry and the hydraulic pressures for the aquifers
suggest that the basin can be subdivided into two major
aquifer systems: (1) the Upper Cretaceous aquifers(Woodbine and shallower), which are hydrostatic tosubhydrostatic, and (2) the Lower Cretaceous and deeper
formations (Glen Rose, Travis Peak, and older units), which
are slightly overpressured.
Major chemical reactions in the saline aquifersaredome
dissolution, albitization, and dolomite dissolution. Saltdome dissolution is considered to be the source of sodium
and chloride in the saline waters. Albitization and dolomite
dissolution occur only in the deeper formations. The highsodium concentration results in the alteration of plagioclase
to albite and the release of calcium into solution. The
increase in calcium should result in dolomite dissolution.

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UPPER PENNSYLVANIAN LOWER PERMIANDEPOSITIONAL SYSTEMS, EASTERN SHELF,
WEST TEXAS BASIN
I . F. Brown, lr., project director; David A. johns andMargaret I. Herron
Drafting is complete and final proofing is underway o n
24 regional dip and strike stratigraphic cross sections of theVirgilian and Wolfcampian Series in 25 counties of NorthCentral Texas. The cross sections provide a stratigraphic
framework developed during the 1970's to support preparation of regional sandstone isolith and paleogeographic
maps. It is anticipated that the cross sections and abrief text will be published late in 1984.
Cartographic preparation of regional sandstone isolithand paleogeographic maps of 16 lithostratigraphic
sequences (Virgilian and Wolfcampian Series) covering
25,000 mi2 (64,750 kmj) was advanced in early 1984. These
maps and a text should be completed during 1984.

GULF COAST STRATIGRAPHIC NOMENCLATURE
T. E. Ewing, project director
The goal of this project is to compile a user-oriented
packet of charts and supplementary text tosummarize Texas
Gulf Coast stratigraphy. This packet will include Cenozoic
and Mesozoic time scales, correlation charts, and a lexiconof stratigraphic terms and suggested usage.
Stratigraphic nomenclature of the Gulf Coast area has
been confused and inconsistent. Major difficulties havearisen both because of mixing of biostratigraphic,
chronostratigraphic, and lithostratigraphic usages andbecause of poor correlations of surface and subsurface data.
Recent genetic stratigraphic studies by the Bureau andother researchers have often used informal nomenclature.
This project attempts to clarify formal nomenclature forgenetic stratigraphic units within the guidelines of theNorth American Code of Stratigraphic Nomenclature.

COASTAL STUDIESSTATE SUBMERGED LANDS O F TEXAS-SEDIMENTS,
GEOCHEMISTRY, BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES,A N D ASSOCIATED WETLANDS
William A, White,
E , G, Wermund, projectprincipal investigator; Thomas R, Calnan, chief b;o/og;a;R. A. Morton, Russell 5. Kimble, Thomas C. Littleton, and
H. Seay Nance; assisted b y lames A. DiCiulio; Clara L. Ho,Charlotte S. Holland, Steven W. Tweedy, and Paul N.
Williams, chemists; Barbara M . Hartmann, Mark T. Bentley,Richard L. Dillon, David M. Ridner, and Dan F. Scranton,
cartographers
Work continued through 1983 on this long-term
comprehensive inventory of Texas coastal submerged lands
and associated wetlands. The project has been funded inpart with grants under the Coastal Zone Management Act of1972, as amended, which was administered by the Office of
Coastal Zone Management, Coastal Energy Impact Programof the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
through the Governor's Budget and Planning Office of theState of Texas, and with a recent grant from the Minerals
Management Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
This multiphase project is based on a completed
sediment-sampling program of State-owned submergedlands during which more than 6,700 grab samples werecollected for analyses of sediment types, associatedgeochemistry, and benthic macroinvertebrates. Grab
samples were collected on I - m i (1.6-km) centers from
(1) the inner continental shelf extending from the Texas
Gulf shoreline seaward for 10.36 statute mi (3 marine

leagues) and from (2) the bay-estuary-lagoon system of thecoastal zone from the Rio Grande to Sabine Lake. Anotherphase of the project uses color-infrared photographs to
map the regional distribution of coastal wetlands, whichof submerged lands.
amonitoring program was begun i n 1982 i n Espiritu Santoand
Lavaca Rays. MuItiple benthic grabs of sediments were
fro,.,,
selected bay stations fortakenwill complement

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Thomas R . Calnan and Thomas C Littleton examine sediments
collected with a grab sampler from Espiritu Santo Bay.

macroinvertebrate and textural analyses. This short-term
study was completed in 1983.
Results of the State submerged lands project will be
published in a series of seven atlases of theTexas coast. Map
areas are similar to those used in the Bureau's
Environmental Geologic Atlas of the Texas Coastal Zone
series. Atlases will consist of a series of 17 maps, withaccompanying text, depicting sediment distribution,
concentrations and distribution of selected trace and major
elements, and distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates
and wetlands. The first submerged lands atlas-covering the
Corpus Christi area-was published late in 1983. The next
atlas to be published will be of theGalveston-Houston area.
During 1983, sediment analyses, conducted by the
Bureau's Sedimentology Laboratory, were completed forthe samples collected monthly in Espiritu Santo and Lavaca
Bays. Also,textural analyses of about 100samplespreviously
collected from the inner continental shelf were begun tosupplement previous analyses.
Geochemical analyses of more than 100 sediment
samples from the bay-estuary-lagoon environments in the
Port Lavaca and Bay City - Freeport areas were completed by
the Mineral Studies Laboratory of the Bureau. Thesesamples were selected to provide a better understanding of
sediment and geochemical relations in these areas.
Sedimentological and geochemical data are being enteredinto computer files for regression analyses; analyses werecompleted for the Brownsville-Harlingen map area.
Biological analyses are complete for all areas of the Texas
coast, Data were processed by computer for cluster analyses
and species diversity, and the results will be presented on
hand-colored maps of each area. In addition, analyses of allbenthic samples collected in Espiritu Santo and Lavaca Bays
have been completed. Among the eventual products of thebiological analyses will be full-color maps (scale 1:125,000)
showing the distribution of macroinvertebrate assemblages
and species diversity.
Delineation of wetlands continued in 1983. The
bbjecrive i s to produce full-color updated regional maps ofwetlands distribution. Preliminary photographic
interpretation and delineation of wetlands were begun for
the Bay Ciry - Freeport and Port Lavaca map areas.
Cartographically scribed black-line prints depicting
wetland unit boundarieswerecompleted for the GalvestonHouston area and much of the Brownsville-Harlingen area.
Scribing of wetland boundaries in the Beaumont - Port
Arthur area was in progress. The initial hand-coloredwetlands map of the Galveston-Houston area wascompleted.
HISTORICAL M O N I T O R I N G O F TEXAS BAY SHORELINES
R. A. Morton, project director; leffrey G. Paine andWilliam A. White; assisted by lames A. DiCiulio and Diane E.
RobinsonThis project documents historical shoreline changes insome of the major Texas bays using techniques modified
from those developed in the 1970's to monitor Gulf
shoreline changes. The Texas Energy and Natural Resources
Advisory Council partly funded a pilot project in the Corpus
Christi Bay area in 7982 and the present studies of theGalveston and San Antonio Bay systems. Shorelinechanges
between the late 1800's and 1982 have been determined bycomparing current shorelines with those shown on vintage
topographic maps and aerial photographsdatingfrom 1929.
Sequential mapping has established shorelines as accreting,stable, or eroding and allowed the determination of ratesof
accretion or erosion.

In the Galveston Bay system (including Galveston,
Trinity, East, and West Bays), most of the 1982 shoreline waslandward of its position in the 1850's. The most widespread
erosion occurred in Galveston Bay, where nearly 86percentof the shoreline experienced erosion of 25 ft (8 m) or more.
Erosion in the other bays was also extensive: 81 percent inWest Bay, 78 percent in East Bay, and 67 percent in Trinity
Bay. Typical erosion rates for the bay system were 1 to5ft/yr(0.3 to 1.5 m/yr), although higher rates were also common.
Higher rates of erosion generally occurred in areas of great
subsidence, areas of long northerly and southeasterly wave
fetch, and along shorelines not protected by vegetation,bulkheads, or riprap. Appreciable accretion occurred onlyin Trinity Bay, with the progradation of the Trinity delta;
areas of deltaic deposition accreted at high rates (10 to
40 ft/yr [3 to 13 m/yr]) before 1956. Subsidence, partial
diversion of the Trinity River, and decreases in suspendedsediment concentration have resulted in considerable
erosion along much of the Trinity delta since 1956.
In the San Antonio Bay system (Mission Lake and San
Antonio, Espiritu Santo, Mesquite, and Guadalupe Bays),distances and directions of change between sequential
shoreline positions were measured at approximately
190 stations spaced about 5,000 ft (1.5 km) apart. More than70 percent of the stations recorded net shoreline erosion
between the mid-1800's and 1982. Net long-term rates of
erosion range from less than 1 ft/yr (less than 0.3 m/yr) to ahigh of about.11 ft/yr (3.5 m/yr). More recent short-term
erosion rates along some shorelines exceed 11 ft/yr(3.5 m/yr). Highest rates of erosion were documented along
Matagorda Island, along smaller islands on the mainlandside of Espiritu Santo Bay, and along much of the shorelineof the Guadalupe delta at the head of San Antonio Bay.
Retreat of this modern delta, which in some areas exceeds
8 ft/yr (2.5 m/yr), is occurring most rapidly along its southernboundary, where distributary channels are no longer active.
Compactional subsidence of the delta has accelerated
erosion. In the northern part of the delta, high rates ofaccretion or progradation have occurred at the mouths of
distributaries fed by Traylor Cut (an artificial cut), which
since its construction in 1935 has diverted most of thedischarge of the Guadalupe River into shallow Mission Lake.
Other human modifications that have affected shorelines in
the San Antonio Bay system include the lntracoastal
Waterway, Victoria Channel, and a variety of shoreline
protection structures near Seadrift.
COASTAL CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH
HURRICANE ALICIA
R. A. Morton, project director; leffrey G. Paine; assisted bylames A. DiGiulio
Although Hurricane Alicia was not an extreme event bymeteorological standards, the storm caused substantial
damage to private dwellings, eroded the beach, and caused
retreat of the vegetation line along the upper Texas coast.
Especially hard hit was west Galveston Island, where Alicia
came ashore.
This study, partly funded by the Texas Office of the
Attorney General, will provide measurements of thechanges along the Gulf shoreline caused by the storm andan analysis of the physical processes that resulted in thosechanges. Primary data prepared for the study during 1983
include maps of the vegetation lines shown on aerial
photographs before and after Alicia, as well as fieldobservations and ground measurements. A second part ofthe study will deal with post-storm processes and thepotential recovery of the beach and adjacent environs inboth developed and undeveloped areas. Of particularinterest i s the magnitude and rate of natural recovery of thevegetation line following hurricanes in 1942 and 1961 andfollowing Alicia. A better understanding of the rapid shifts
in coextensive geological and legal boundaries will beachieved by studying beach response after major storms in
Texas.

GEOLOGIC MAPPINGGEOLOGIC ATLAS OF TEXAS
Virgil E. Barnes, project director; L. F. Brown, )r., and~Tucker F. Hentz; Richard L. Dillon, Thomas M. ~Margaret L. Evans, and Margaret R. Day, cartographers
A geologic map of Texas showing the distribution ofoutcropping rock units is being published as a series ofseparate map sheets. Each sheet is printed in full color on a
topographic base at a scale of 1:250,000 (1inch equals about~ 4 mi).
d Most, of the map sheetsdepict areas within 1 degree of
latitude and 2 degrees of longitude, but some sheets coverlarger or smaller areas to accommodate cartographic
presentation. When completed, the Geologic Atlas of Texas
will consist of 38 map sheets depicting all of Texas and partsof adjacent states.

use in drafting the new map. Scribing isessentially complete
for the southeast, northwest, and southwest quadrants ofthe map. Scribing is advanced for the northeast quadrant
and will be completed as soon as copy for the Wichita Falls Lawton Sheet is available.

TECTONIC M A P O F TEXAS
T. E. Ewing, project director; M . P. A. lackson, Christopher D.
Henry, Roy T. Budnik, Steven C. Ruppel, and Charles M .
Woodruff, )r.; assisted by Stephen E. Love11 and Melissa A.
Sandstrom; William R. Muehlberger, The University o f
Texas at Austin, Department of Ceological Sciences; ). R.
Garrison, consultant, Arlington, Texas; R. L. Nicholas, Shell
O i l Co., Houston, Texas; Arthur C. Coldstein, Colgate
University, Hamilton, New York

Tucker F. Hentz uses a stereoscope to check field mapping for
the Wichita Falls - Lawton Sheet.

The Tucumcari Sheet was published during 1983,
bringing to 36 the number of sheets in print. The Dalhart
Sheet is scheduled for publication early in 1984. Field
checking of the final sheet of the series, the Wichita Falls Lawton Sheet, will be completed by Tucker F. Hentz, under
the supervision of L. F. Brown, Jr., by year's end.
Revision and reprinting of geologic atlas sheetscontinues. The extensively revised San Antonio Sheet andthe slightly revised Van Horn - El Paso Sheet were reprinted
during the year. The extensively revised Beaumont Sheet isready to go to press, and the slightly revised Abilene Sheet
will be ready by 1985. The moderately revised Beeville - Bay
City Sheet will be reprinted when the current supply ofmaps nears exhaustion. The Perryton Sheet is being
moderately revised, and extensive revision of the Lubbock
Sheet, in part dependent on completion of the Wichita
Falls - Lawton Sheet, is underway. Now that field work on the
Wichita Falls - Lawton Sheet i s complete and the unit has
been traced onto the Sherman Sheet, the Sherman Sheetrevision will soon go to cartography. All but the northeast
quarter of the Palestine Sheet has been revised; revision will
be completed when U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minutetopographic maps of the quarter are available.

GEOLOGIC M A P O F TEXAS
Virgil E. Barnes, project director;
cartographer

Dan F. Scranton,

The preparation of a new geologic wall map of Texas
began in May 1978. To be published i n four quadrants at ascale of 1:500,000, the new map will replace the U.S.
Geological Survey's Ceological Map o f Texas, which was
published i n 1937 and has been out of print for many years.
The new map is being derived from theGeologic Atlasof
Texas map sheets (scale 1:250,000). A set of completed
sheets of the Geologic Atlas of Texas has been marked for

The last systematic statewide compilation of structuraland tectonic information was done by E. H. Sellards in the
1940's. Since then, much new surface and subsurface
information has been acquired, and the concepts oftectonic mapping have advanced. This project will
incorporate these new data in a detailed display of surface
and subsurface structural history for the state and adjoining
areas of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Mexico, and the Gulf of
Mexico. The map will be in full colorata scaleof 1:750,000. It
will show exposed lithotectonic units in areas of surface
structure and contours on selected deep horizons in areasof subsurface structure. Inset maps will show gravity,
magnetics, basement terranes, and radiometric provinces. A
companion illustrated text i s also being compiled t osystematically describe and synthesize the tectonic
evolution of Texas from the Proterozoic to the Recent.
A preliminary review copy of the map was displayed at
the American Association of Petroleum Geologists 1983
annual meeting in Dallas, Texas. Since then, all local
geological societies i n the state and adjoining areas havebeen asked to review the content and style of the map andto suggest improvements or revisions. Many oil and gas
companies, as well as state geological surveys fromadjoining states, have also been asked to review the map.
The map will be published i n 1985, with the companion text
to follow.

GRAVITY A N D MAGNETIC MAPPING O F TEXAS
C. R. Keller, The University of Texas at El Paso, and C. L. V.
Aiken, The University of Texas at Dallas, project directors
Gravity and magnetic maps of Texas are being preparedat a scale of 1:250,000 to complement the surface-geology
maps of the Geologic Atlas of Texas series. The project
involves considerable computer reprocessing, compilation,and cartography. Gravity (Bouguer) maps are being
prepared by combining the results of many different
surveys, many of which have been provided by the U.S.
Department of Defense, into a single datum. These gravity
data are then smoothed with a high-order polynomial
surface. Gravity maps in cartographic preparation in early
1984 included the following quadrangles: Clovis, Plainview,
Amarillo, Tucumcari, Perryton, Dalhart, Brownfield, andLubbock.
Magnetic maps are being prepared using National
Uranium Resource Evaluation aeromagnetic surveys. The
U.S. Department of Energy in Grand Junction, Colorado, i scooperating with the Texas program by reprocessing NURE
data as required to develop integrated statewide contour
maps. Individual maps will be published over the next
several years as each is completed.

OTHER RESEARCCRETACEOUS VOLCANISM IN TEXAS
T. E. Ewing, project director; S. Christopher Caran
This project i s using integrated surface mapping,subsurface core description, and geophysical interpretation
to supply a regional context for the distribution of Middle toLate Cretaceous igneous rocks along the Balcones trend ofSouth and Central Texas. The continued cooperation of oilcompanies and individuals currently prospecting forvolcano-related hydrocarbon reservoirs has greatly assisted
in construction of models of Late Cretaceous volcanism. A
Bureau Geological Circular summarizing this research isin preparation.

COMPOSITION A N D O R I G I N O F TEKTITES
Virgil E. Barnes, project director
This long-term study of tektites and meteorites began in1935 and has resulted in 66 publications. The project during
1983 was mostly curatorial-furnishing material for otherresearchers, answering questions, and identifying
specimens.

APPLICATION O F REMOTE-SENSING TECHNOLOGYT O RESOURCE EVALUATION IN TEXAS
Robert 1. Finley, project director; Robert W. Baurngardner, Ir.;
assisted by Robert Aanstoos and Charles Lancaster, Texas
Natural Resources Information System
This project, which applies remote-sensing methods tonatural resources studies, is being conducted i ncooperation with the Texas Natural Resources lnformation
System (TNRIS). Irrigated croplands in Parmer County,
Texas, and mineralized zones in the Trans-Pecos region
were investigated during 1983.
Landsat data, together with aerial photographs and field
data, were used to delineate irrigated croplands in Parmer
County. A ratio of Landsat data (band 7/band 5) was used to
identify thick vegetation canopies, presumably resulting
from irrigation. The Geographic lnformation System (GIs)of TNRIS was used (1) to smooth the data, removing small,anomalous areas from the map of irrigated acreage, and(2) to composite data from three dates during a single
growing season. The CIS was then used to combine the mapof irrigated croplands with a mapof Parmer County showing
major towns and roads. This method makes it possible tomap changes in irrigated crops during a growing season or
to make cumulative maps of irrigated land in a more timely
fashion than is possible using present methods based onpolls of farmers.
In Trans-Pecos Texas, Landsat band 5/band 4 ratio data
were composited using a contrast-stretched band 5 density
slice to show areas of limonite and jarosite surface staining at
Red Hill, a quartz porphyry intrusive having extensive
supergene alteration. The resulting image best placed the
distribution of iron staining (based on ratio data) in theframework of the surface topography of the Chinati
Mountains surrounding Red Hill (based on the density
slice).

THE PROVINCES O F TEXAS: THEIR REGIONALA N D E C O N O M I C GEOLOGY
W. Keene Ferguson, project director
The various physiographic provinces of Texas provide
the framework for a synthesis of mineral and petroleum resources, general geology, and natural history.
Provinces include the Gulf Coastal Plain, the Comanchean
Uplands, the Great Plains, and the Trans-Pecos region.
Drafts were complete by mid-1983 and review will continue
during 1984.

DEPOSITIONAL SYSTEMS A N D TAPHONOMY O F
VERTEBRATE FOSSIL LOCALITIES IN THE WICHITAGROUP, NORTH-CENTRAL TEXAS
Michael A. Fracasso and Tucker F. Hentz
Vertebrate fossil sites in North-Central Texas offer themost complete record of tetrapod evolution known fromthe Lower Permian. This project entails interpreting the sitespecific features of the depositional systems that produced
these assemblages and locating each site in a precise
lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic framework.

CONTRACTS A N D GRANT SUPPORTThe Bureau maintains formal and informal cooperative
arrangements with several governmental entities. Parts of
the Bureau's research program are conducted under
University of Texas contracts and grants with Federal, State,
and local agencies and with other organizations.
Contract-management personnel prepare proposals
and budgets, negotiate contracts, and monitor expenditures. During the contract period, technical andfinancial reports are distributed at monthly, quarterly, andannual intervals. In calendar year 1983, the following
23 contracts were active at the Bureau, each of which
had reporting requirements:

Federal"A Study Designed to Identify Geohydrologic
Environments Suitable for Isolation of High-Level--

Radioactive Waste from Man's Environment": supported by
the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior.
"Computerized Calculation of Lignite Resources in
Texas": supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S.
Department of the Interior.
"Consolidated Research Program, United States Gulf
Coast Geopressured Geothermal Program": supported by
the U.S. Department of Energy.
"Consolidation of Geologic Studies of Geopressured
Geothermal Resources in Texas": supported by the U.S.
Department of Energy.
"Evaluating the Potential of East Texas Interior Salt
Domes as Areas for Isolation of Nuclear Waste": supportedby the U.S. Department of Energy.
"Environmental Geologic Atlases of the Texas Coastal
Zone": supported by the Minerals Management Service,
U.S. Department of the Interior.

"Geologic Framework and Energy Resource Studies,
Texas Continental Shelf (Phase I)": supported by the U.S.
Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior.
"Geologic Framework and Energy Resource Studies,
Texas Continental Shelf (Phase 11)": supported by theMinerals Management Service, U.S. Department of theInterior.
"Geologic Studies of West Texas Bedded Salt Deposits":
supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.
"Geothermal Resource Assessment for the State ofTexas": supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.
"Resource Evaluation of Late Oligocene Through
Miocene Major Stratigraphic Units, Texas Gulf Coast
Basin": supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S.
Department of the Interior.
"Studies Related to Continental Margins": supported by
the Minerals Management Service, U.S. Department of theInterior.
"Texas Mining and Mineral Resources ResearchInstitute-Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Allotments, Scholarshipand Fellowship Grants": supported by the Bureau of Mines,
U.S. Department of the Interior.
State"An Analysis of Shoreline Changes in the Area of Corpus
Christi Bay, Texas": supported by the Texas Energy andNatural Resources Advisory Council.

"Analysis of Texas Salt Domes as Potential Sites for
Permanent Storage of Toxic Chemical Wastes": supportedby the Texas Department of Water Resources.
"Effects of Hurricane Alicia on the Texas Coast":
supported by the Office of the Attorney General.
"Geologic and Hydrologic Evaluation of Deep-Basin
Lignite": supported by the Texas Energy and Natural
Resources Advisory Council.
"Geologic Characterization of Texas Oil Reservoirs":
supported by the Texas Energy and Natural Resources
Advisory Council.
"Geologic Setting and Geochemistry of Thermal Waters,
Hueco Tanks and Presidio Bolson Areas, Trans-Pecos
Texas": supported by the Texas Energy and Natural
Resources Advisory Council.
"Mineral Resource Evaluation for the Lower Colorado
River Authority": supported by the Lower Colorado River
Authority.
"State Submerged Lands Study": supported by theGovernor's Budget and Planning Office.
Other"Exploration and Production Program for Locating and
Producing Prospective Aquifers Containing Solution Gas
and Free Gas-Texas Gulf Coast": supported by the Gas
Research Institute.
"Geologic Analysis of Primary and Secondary Tight Gas
Sand Objectives": supported by the Gas Research Institute.

CONTRACT A N D GRANT REPORTS
A variety of reports are prepared annually under terms ofgrants and contracts with sponsoringentities. Some of thesereports are eventually published by the Bureau as part of its
own series. Contract reports are kept on open file at the
Bureau and may be consulted by interested persons.
Finley, R. J.,Garrett, C. M., Han, J. H., Lin, Z. S., Saucier,A. E., Seni, S. I.,and Tyler, Noel, 1983, Geologic analysis ofprimary and secondary tight gas sand objectives, Phase ASelective investigation of six stratigraphic units; Phase BInitial studies: annual report prepared for the Gas Researchlnstitute under contract no. 5082-211-0708, 334 p.
Finley, R. J., Price, J. G., and Henry, C. D., 1983, Remotesensing and mineral resource evaluation in Trans-Pecos
Texas: prepared for the Texas Natural Resources
Information System under contract no. IAC(80-81)-1935,9 p.
Galloway, W. E., Tyler, Noel, Garrett, C. M., Jr., Bebout,
D. G., Cheng, E. S., and Fisher, W. L., 1983, Geologicalcharacterization of Texas oil reservoirs: prepared for the
Texas Energy and Natural Resources Advisory Council
under contract no. lAC(82-83)-0821,82 p.
Gregory, A. R., Lin, Z. S., Reed, R. S., Morton, R. A.,and
Ewing, T. E., 1983, Exploration and production program forlocating and producing prospective aquifers containing
solution gas and free gas-Texas Gulf Coast: prepared for
the Gas Research Institute under contract no. 5080-3210398, 197 p.
Kaiser, W. R., Ambrose, M. L., Ayers, W. B., Jr.,
Blanchard, P. E., Collins, G. F., Fogg, G. E., Cower, D. L., Ho,
C. L., Jackson, M. L. W., Jones, C. M., Lewis, A. H., Mahan,
C. A., Macpherson, G. L., Prouty, D. A., Tewalt, S. I., andTweedy, S. W., 1983, Evaluating the geology and ground-water hydrology of deep-basin lignite in Texas: interim
report prepared for the Texas Energy and Natural Resources
Advisory Council under contract no. lAC(82-83)-0822,130 p.
Morton, R. A., Ewing, T. E., Kaiser, W. R.,and Finley,R. J.,
1983, Consolidation of geologic studies of geopressured
geothermal resources in Texas: prepared for the U.S.
Department of Energy, Division of Geothermal Energy,
under contract no. DE-AC08-79ET27111, 193 p.
Morton, R. A., and Paine, J. G., 1983, Historicalmonitoring of shoreline changes in Corpus Christi, Nueces,and Oso Bays: prepared for the Texas Energy and Natural
Resources Advisory Council under contract no. IAC(82-83)1342,82 p.
Morton, R. A., Paine, J. G., and White, W. A., 1983,
Historical shoreline changes in the Galveston Bay and San
Antonio Bay systems, Texas Gulf Coast: prepared for the
Texas Energy and Natural Resources Advisory Council,
Division of Natural Resources, under contract no. IAC(8283)-2025, 150 p.
Teledyne Geotech (subcontractor), 1983, Microseismic
monitoring of Chocolate Bayou, Texas, the Pleasant Bayou
No. 2 geopressured/geothermal energy test well program:annual report prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy
under contract no. DE-AC08-79ET27111,116 p.
The following Bureau publications served as final
contract reports during 1983: Report of Investigations
No. 129, contract no. 14-08-0001-G-642; Report of Investigations No. 133 and Geological Circular 83-1, DE-AC9780ET46617; Report of Investigations No. 134, DE-AC0879ET27111; Geological Circular 83-2, lAC(82-83)-0821; andGeological Circular 83-4, DE-AC97-83WM46651.

In its role as a public geological research unit, the Bureau disseminates the results of research projects andprograms primarily through its own publication series. During its 74-year history, the Bureau has publishednearly 1,000 reports, bulletins, circulars, special publications, and maps covering major aspects of the geology
and natural resources of Texas. Publications are sold at nominal prices to recover printing or duplication costs.
To date, about 1.5 million publications have been distributed worldwide, mostly through direct sales. During
1983, about 48,000 volumes were distributed. The Bureau issued the following publications in 1983:

SPECIAL PUBLICATIONSAtlas of Major Texas Oil Reservoirs, by W. E. Galloway,
T. E. Ewing, C. M. Garrett, N. Tyler, and D. G. Bebout.
139 p., 426 figs., 3 tables, 5 pls. ($40.00).

Fully illustrated compilation of geologic, engineering,and production data on the major oil reservoirs in Texas.
This large-format atlas presents selected structure maps,
cross sections, typical logs, and geological data for nearly
450 oil reservoirs in Texas that each have produced at least
10 million barrels of oil. These reservoirs together accountfor 70 percent of recorded production in the state through1981. The authors grouped the reservoirs into 48 "plays," orfamilies of reservoirs having the same depositional origin
and, consequently, similar hydrocarbon source, reservoir,
and trap characteristics. The plays are cataloged bygeographic region: the Gulf Coast, East Texas, NorthCentral Texas, West Texas, and the Texas Panhandle. A brief
descriptive text reviews the geological setting and production
characteristics of each play. Detailed computer-generated
tables list fluid, reserve, and production data on eachreservoir. Most information in this atlas was compiled from
unpublished sources, primarily hearing files of the Railroad
Commission of Texas. Other sources of data included theEnergy Information Agency of the U.S. Department ofEnergy and field studies published by regional geologicalsocieties, by the American Association of Petroleum
Geologists, and by the Society of Petroleum Engineers of theAmerican Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum
Engineers. Data were acquired and sorted over a period ofnearly 2 years. The publication measures 17 by 22 inches andcontains more than 400 maps and illustrations. Five fullcolor plates show lithology, genesis, stratigraphy, and trap
and drive mechanisms of reservoirs across the state. This
atlas was issued by the Bureau as a Centennial publication of
The University of Texas at Austin.

Submerged Lands of Texas, Corpus Christi Area:
Sediments, Geochemistry, Benthic Macroinvertebrates,and
Associated Wetlands, by W. A. White, T. R. Calnan, R. A.
Morton, R. S. Kimble, T. G. Littleton, J.H. McGowen, H. S.
Nance, and K. E. Schmedes. 154 p., 60 figs., 21 tables, 6 pls.,
4 appendices ($7.00).
Detailed inventory of submerged lands and associatedwetlands in the Corpus Christi area of the Texas Coastal
Zone. The primary aim of the Bureau's Submerged Lands ofTexas Project, which was begun in 1975, i s to provide
comprehensive sedirnentological, geochemical, andbiological data needed to predict, measure,and manage thedirect and indirect effects of coastal activities on the Stateowned submerged lands of Texas. These lands encompass
nearly 6,000 mi2 (16,000 km2) and extend 10.3mi (17 km) fromthe Gulf shoreline on the inner continental shelf. This atlas,which focuses on the Corpus Christi area of the Coastal
Zone, i s the first in a series of atlases reporting the findings ofthe project. Researchers collected 6,700 surficial bottom
samples across the submerged lands, from the Rio Grande
to Sabine Lake, for the entire project. They performed
detailed analyses to map and describe sediment
distribution, concentrations of selected major and traceelements, and benthic macroinvertebrate populations of
the submerged lands. Adjacent wetlands were delineatedusing stereoscopic, color-infrared positive transparencies
taken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Research was funded by the General Land Officeand the Governor's Budget and Planning Office of the Stateof Texas through programs administered by the Office of
Coastal Zone Management, National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration. This new atlas series willcomplement the Bureau's Environmental Geologic Atlas
series.

GEOLOGIC ATLAS OF TEXAS
Geologic Atlas of Texas, Tucumcari Sheet, Henryk
Bronislaw Stenzel Memorial Edition, V. E. Barnes, project
director. Scale 1:250,000, full color, topographic base($4.00).

Geologic map sheet covering all of Oldham and parts ofHartley, Moore, Potter, Randall, and Deaf Smith Counties in
Texas and parts of Quay, San Miguel, Harding, and Union
Counties in New Mexico. The Tucumcari Sheet belongs to
the Bureau's Geologic Atlas of Texas, a series of 38 map
sheets showing the distribution of outcropping rock units inall of Texas and parts of adjacent states. Mapping for thissheet in Texas was compiled and field checked by G. K.
Eifler, Jr., and in New Mexico by F. D. Trauger, Z. Spiegel,and J. W. Hawley using high-altitude aerial photographs.
The map was reviewed by the Panhandle GeologicalSociety. It is printed in full color on a topographic baseat a scale of 1:250,000.
This sheet i s a memorial edition honoring Henryk
Bronislaw Stenzel (1899-1980). Dr. Stenzel was a member ofthe Bureau from 1934 to 1954 and a professor of geology at
the University of Texas from.1947 to 1954. He emigrated tothe United States from Poland in 1925 and taught
stratigraphy at Texas A & M University before he joined the
Bureau. His training was in petrology and petrofabrics,
which prompted his mapping of the Wolf Mountainphacolith in the Llano region. In deference to his A & M
assignment, he changed his interest t o soft-rock geology

and became one of the foremost stratigraphers andpaleontologists of the Tertiary of the Gulf Coast region.
Following his work at the Bureau, he served as chairman of
the Department of Geology at the University of Houston,asconsultant for Shell Development Co., and as visiting
professor of geology at Louisiana State University.

REPORTS OF INVESTIGATIONSRI 130. Deep Brine Aquifers in the Palo Duro Basin:
Regional Flow and Geochemical Constraints, by R. L. Bassettand M . E. Bentley. 59 p., 42 figs., 7 tables, 3 appendices($2.50).
Investigation o f the hydrogeology, flow system,
chemical composition, and geochemical constraints o n thebrine environment of deep aquifers in the Palo Duro Basinof the Texas Panhandle. This report details the first phase of
a comprehensive Bureau study of the hydrology of the Palo
Duro and Dalhart Basins that will be used by the U.S.
Department of Energy to evaluate the suitability of Permian
salt formations for nuclear waste isolation. This phasefocuses on Early Permian Wolfcamp carbonate aquifers in
the Palo Duro Basin. Data sources include drill-stem tests,
bottom-hole measurements, and chemical brine analyses
conducted during wildcat drilling. In addition, the authors
integrated two recently developed computer-modelingprograms, AQ/SALT and SOLMNEQ, to evaluate the brinereaction state. The report concludes that the brines in deep
aquifers of the Palo Duro and Dalhart Basins are moving
eastward. The aquifers appear to be underpressured owing
to a low-permeability evaporite barrier above transmissive
carbonate and granite-wash facies; however, horizontal
head gradients measured in the aquifers correspond toregional topographic slope. The authors found that salinity
varies only slightly from the regional average and primarily
results from dissolution of evaporites early in the flow path.
Brines are in equilibrium with calcite i n carbonate hostrocks and also possibly with anhydrite in regions where
sulfate reduction has not generated hydrogen sulfide.
RI 131. Origin and Diagenesis of Cap Rock, Gyp Hill andOakwood Salt Domes, Texas, by C. W. Kreitler and S. P.
Dutton. 58 p., 52 figs., 9 tables ($3.50).
Petrographic and geochemical comparison o f cap rocki n Gyp H i l l and Oakwoodsalt domes o f Texas. Some types ofcap rock are thought to act as impermeable seals on salt
stocks, preventing;alt dissolution and thereby making thesalt domes potentially more suitable as repositories fornuclear waste. This study, which was funded by the U.S.
Department of Energy, delineates and contrasts thelithological, genetic, and hydrological characteristics of cap
rock at Oakwood salt dome i n East Texas, where cap rockappears to act as an effective barrier to salt dissolution, andat Gyp Hill salt dome in South Texas, where it apparently
does not. The report contains more than 70 microphotographs of cap-rock core from the two domes, aswell as the results of detailed chemical and isotopic analyses.
It also includes petrographic analyses of cap rock in four salt
domes i n Mississippi and Louisiana. The authors found thatthe genesis and diagenesis of cap rock at Gyp Hill andOakwood salt domes occurred at different times and indifferent environments: Gyp Hill cap rock is now forming ina shallow meteoric aquifer, whereas Oakwood cap rockformed primarily during the Early Cretaceous in a deep
saline aquifer. These different histories, the authors

propose, account for the differences that were identified
between the two cap rocks.
RI 132. Continuity and Internal Properties of Gulf Coast
Sandstones and Their Implications for Geopressured Fluid
Production, by R. A. Morton, T. E. Ewing,and N. Tyler. 70p.,
42 figs., 7 tables ($3.00).
Measurement and comparison o f the geometries andinhomogeneities o f sandstones representing the dominantdepositional facies o f geopressured geothermal aquifers
and hydrocarbon reservoirs i n the Texas Gulf Coast Basin.
One aim of this study, which was funded by the U.S.
Department of Energy, i s to allow identification of the
production potential of a sandstone reservoir on the basis of
its facies type, lateral continuity, and diagenetic
modifications. To compare the typical reservoir volumes
and areal extents of Gulf Coast sandstones (fluvial, deltaic,
barrier-strandplain, and shelf and slope), the authorsclassified sand bodies according t o a four-level hierarchy:
sand systems, fault blocks, individual sandstones within fault
blocks, and isolated reservoirs. Measurement tools and data
sources included published and unpublished studies ofupper Quaternary and upper Tertiary sediments,
planimetry of structure maps for more than 200 fault blocks
in the Frio and Wilcox trends, estimates of the volumes ofindividual reservoirs calculated from geologic mapping andfrom engineering production data, and structure andstratigraphic maps of theareassurrounding three Gulf Coast
wells of opportunity. I n addition, the authors used
sedimentary structures, electric log patterns, and more than
300 ft (90 m) of core from a Frio geopressured test well t oidentify six patterns of vertical variations in porosity andpermeability. They ranked the production potential of thedominant facies types i n the Gulf Coast Basin. The authors
suggest that large and continuous reservoirs most likely
occur where barrier-strandplain and delta-front sandstones
parallel regional faults.
RI 133. Three-Dimensional Ground-Water Modeling in
Depositional Systems, Wilcox Group, Oakwood Salt DomeArea, East Texas, by G. E. Fogg, S. J.Seni, and C. W. Kreitler.
55 p., 43 figs., 4 tables ($3.25).
Application o f a three-dimensional numerical model t ostudy ground-water flow in depositional systems o f the
Wilcox Croup near Oakwood Dome i n the East Texas Basin.
This study presents a numerical model for testing
hypotheses on ground-water circulation near salt domes.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the report i s partof the Bureau's evaluation of the hydrogeological suitabilityof salt domes for storing high-level nuclear waste. The
authors used both lithofacies maps and field and laboratory
measurements of hydraulic conductivity t o characterize thegeologically complex Wilcox aquifer. The model shows therelative importance and interaction of regional groundwater circulation patterns, vertical leakage across the
Reklaw aquitard, recharge over Oakwood Dome,and large-

scale heterogeneity and anisotropy of the Wilcox-Carrizo
aquifer system. To test the sensitivity of the model, theauthors ran seven scenarios of flow conditions assuming
various distributions of hydraulic conductivity of the
Wilcox-Carrizo aquifer system and of the Reklaw aquitard.
The study concludes that the interconnectedness of
permeable channel-fill sands, which have predictablevalues of hydraulic conductivity, strongly influencesthe rateand direction of ground-water flow in the Wilcox. It also
proposes that lateral interconnectedness may largely
depend on the distribution and frequency of channel-fillsands and that vertical interconnectedness is apparently
poor owing to horizontal stratification of sand and mud.

I

RI 134. Depositional Setting, Structural Style, andSandstone Distribution in Three GeopressuredGeothermal
Areas,Texas Gulf Coast, by C. D. Winker, R. A. Morton,T. E.
Ewing, and D. D. Garcia. 60 p., 49 figs., 8 tables ($2.50).
Interpretation of the depositional and structural
histories of three areas on the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain andcomparison of their potentials as exploration sites for
geopressured geothermal reservoirs. Funded by the U.S.
Department of Energy, this study i s part of a regional
evaluation of the feasibility of producing geothermalenergy and methane from deep geopressured Tertiary
sandstone aquifers beneath the Texas Coastal Plain. The
authors integrated seismic reflection and well log data to
predict reservoir size and continuity of the three areaschosen for investigation: the Cuero study area on the lower
Wilcox (upper Paleocene) growth-fault trend and thePleasant Bayou and Blessing study areas on the lower Frio
(Oligocene) growth-fault trend. The authors found striking
differences in structural style and sandstone distribution
among the three geopressured geothermal areas. They
conclude that the Pleasant Bayou area, because of its larger
fault-block, greater thickness and lateral continuity ofsandstones, and higher formation temperatures andpressures, has the best potential of the three for productionof geothermal energy.
RI 135. Oligocene Volcanism and Multiple Caldera
Formation in the Chinati Mountains, Presidio County,
Texas, by I. C. Cepeda and C. D. Henry. 32 p., 15 figs.,
3 tables, 2 pls. ($3.25).
Description of the stratigraphy, structure, economic
geology, and geological history of the Chinati Mountains
caldera in Trans-Pecos Texas. The Chinati Mountains area,amajor Oligocene volcanic center, lies in the Basin andRange Province in the western part of Presidio County,
Texas. The Chinati Mountains caldera is the largest caldera
in Trans-Pecos Texas and i s the source of the Mitchell Mesa
Rhyolite, the largest and most extensive ash-flow tuff in thestate. The caldera also contains several ore deposits andminor prospects, including the Shafter silver district, whichhas produced 31 million ounces of silver and minor amountsof lead and zinc. The authors' intensive study of this area
relied on field data collected from 1975 through 1982, on
petrographic analyses, and on K-Ar isotopic dating. This

study was funded by the Texas Mining and Mineral
Resources Research Institute, Bendix Engineering Corp.,
and the Geology Foundation of the Department of
Geological Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin.
RI 136. Estimation of Coal Resources in Texas Culf
Coast, Ohio Northern Appalachian, and Wyoming PowderRiver Basins: A Comparisonof Statistical Approaches, by S. J.
Tewalt, M . A. Bauer, David Mathew, M. P. Roberts, W. B.
Ayers, Jr., J. W. Barnes, and W. R. Kaiser. 137 p., 124 figs.,
29 tables ($5.50).
Identification of the causes of uncertainty in coalresource estimation and statistical comparison of thevariability of resource estimates for seams from different
depositional environments. This report describes a project
funded through the Electric Power Research InstituteSupply Program, which assesses costs and conditions
affecting the future availability of coal in the United States.
The authors used several methods to estimate resources offour lignite deposits, each from a different depositionalsetting in the Wilcox and JacksonGroups,Texas Gulf Coast
Basin. They compared variability among resource estimatesfor each deposit by employing classical statistics andMatheronian geostatistics. Of the four deposits studied, thealluvial plain setting exhibited the greatest variability inprecise estimation of lignite resources. On a regional scale,the authors estimated near-surface resources of the Wilcox
Group in east-central Texas and compared the variability of
estimates obtained f r o m both traditional and innovative
statistical methods. They applied these regional methods toestimate resources in two other areas: the Tongue River
Member of the Fort Union Formation in Wyoming and theAllegheny Formation in eastern Ohio.
RI 137. Depositional Systems in the Nacatoch
Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Northeast Texas andSouthwest Arkansas, by M. K. McGowen and C. M. Lopez.
59 p., 44 figs., 5 tables, 3 appendices ($2.00).
Investigation of the depositional facies and history,
tectonics, and oil and gas production of the Nacatoch
Formation in the East Texas Basin. The authors examined
outcrop of the Nacatoch in northeast Texas and southwest
Arkansas for this indepth study. They obtained subsurface
data from electric logs from 1,500 wells throughout the East
Texas Basin, dong with well cuttings from 31 wells andsidewall cores from 3 wells. Five facies were identified insouthwest Arkansas outcrop: tidal flat, tidal channel, tidal
inlet associated, shoreface, and shelf. Two facies-deltaic
and shelf-were identified in northeast Texas outcrop. In
subsurface, nearshore and shelf deposits were found.
Among this report's conclusions about the Nacatoch
Formation in the East Texas Basin are (1) that tectonism
controlled patterns of local sandstone distribution during
deposition, (2) that the few sandstones that exist in theformation in the southern part of the basin do not threaten
the hydrologic integrity of Oakwood and Keechi salt domes,and (3) that sandstones in the Nacatoch in the East Texas
Basin are important shallow oil and gas reservoirs.

GEOLOGICAL C I R C U L A R L
CC 83-1. Oakwood Salt Dome, East Texas: Geologic
Framework, Growth History, and Hydrocarbon Production,
by A. B. Giles and D. H. Wood. 55 p., 31 figs., 5 tables,
appendix ($2.50).

Description of the geometry, stratigraphicandstructural
setting, growth history, and hydrocarbon production of
Oakwood salt dome i n the East Texas Basin. Located 700 ft(210 m) beneath the boundary of Freestone and Leon

Counties, mushroom-shaped Oakwood salt dome is one ofseveral salt structures evaluated by the Bureau for the U.S.
Department of Energy as a potential nuclear waste
repository. To assess the dome's hydrologic and tectonic
stability, this study compiles data from a seismic profile, agravity model, and 123 subsurface well logs obtained mostly
during hydrocarbon exploration near the dome. The
authors conclude that Oakwood salt dome, which issurrounded by Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary strata,
probably remained near the depositional surface as it grewfrom a pillow (formed during the Late Jurassic)into a diapir
structure (Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous).The researchers
used four methods to determine the vertical rise of the topof the salt and found that it has generally declined fromapproximately 230 ft/m.y. (0.07 mm/yr) during the Early
Cretaceous to 5 ft/m.y. (0.002 mm/yr) since the Tertiary. The
report also details hydrocarbon exploration at the dome
and production of oil from Woodbine sandstones beneaththe dome's overhang.
GC 83-2. Potential for Additional Oil Recovery in Texas,
by W. L. Fisher and W. E. Galloway. 20 p., 6 figs., 1 table($2.00).

Assessment of the technical and economic challenges to future recovery of oil in Texas. Of the nearly
156 billion barrels of oil in place discovered in Texas todate,a total of more than 100 billion barrels is now classed as
unrecoverable by conventional means. The authors predictthat the joint efforts of geologists and engineers will beneeded to maximize recovery of this vast untappedresource. The study, which was funded partly by the Texas
Energy and Natural Resources Advisory Council, evaluates
trends in oil recovery in the State since discovery peaked in
the 1930's; it also discusses the characteristics of oil termed
nonconventional and some of the factors affecting its
recovery. The authors describe the Bureau's regional
characterization of major Texas oil reservoirs andcategorization of geologically similar reservoirs into
production plays according to depositional origin. They also
discuss the usefulness of genetic reservoir models in
improving the efficiency of oil recovery.
GC 83-3. Regional Aquifer Characterization for DeepBasin Lignite Mining, Sabine Uplift Area, Northeast Texas,by G. E. Fogg, W. R. Kaiser, M. L. Ambrose, and G. L.
Macpherson. 30 p., 11 figs. ($1.50).

Hydrogeological study of the Wilcox Croup in the
Sabine Uplift area of northeast Texas. Deep-basin lignite, orthat between depths of 200 ft (61 m) and 2,000 ft (610 m),
constitutes about 60 percent of the total lignite resourcesin Texas. However, because the state's principal host of
deep-basin lignite, the Eocene Wilcox Group, also i s a major
fresh-water aquifer, questions are posed concerninghydrogeological feasibility and environmental impacts ofdeep-surface mining and underground gasification. This
circular reports on the first phase of the Bureau's statewide
study of the Wilcox Group, focusing on the Sabine Uplift
region in northeast Texas. The authors describehydrogeological characteristics of the region that are
relevant to deep mining or gasifying, preparing andevaluating mine permits, exploring and selecting sites, andpredicting lignite quality. Their integrated geological andhydrological approach included constructing maximumsand, potentiometric surface, vertical hydraulic gradient,and hydrochemical maps.
GC 83-4. Geology and Geohydrology of the Palo DuroBasin, Texas Panhandle, a Report on the Progress of Nuclear
Waste Isolation Feasibility Studies (1982), by T. C. Gustavson,
C. W. Kreitler, R. L. Bassett, R. T. Budnik,S. C. Ruppel,R. W.
Baumgardner, Jr., 5. C. Caran, E. W. Collins, A. R. Dutton,
S. P. Dutton, R. S. Fisher,G. E. Fogg,S. D. Hovorka,A. Kolker,
D. A. McGookey, E. D. Orr,M. P. Roberts, R. K.Senger,DaleA.
Smith, and D. Anderson Smith. 156 p., 91 figs., 12 tables,
2 pls. ($4.50).

Summary of progress made during fiscal year 1982 on
study of the structure, tectonic history, physical stratigraphy, hydrogeology, geochemistry, natural resources, andgeomorphology of the Palo Duro Basin in the Texas
Panhandle. Since 1977, the Bureau has been gathering
geological and hydrological information on salt-bearing
and related strata in the Palo Duro Basin and vicinity toevaluate the basin as a potential site for isolation of nuclear
waste. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, theresearch is part of the national nuclear waste repository
program. This circular i s made up of 24 papers, which reporton four broad areas of research: surficial analysis andshallow stratigraphy, hydrology and geochemistry, basin
analysis, and seismicity and tectonic environment. The
authors use a variety of maps and illustrations to present
their findings, including structure-contour, isopach, andmineral-occurrence maps, cross sections and seismic
profiles, photomicrographs of thin sections and core fromtwo stratigraphic test wells, and hydraulic head andpotentiometric surface maps based on kriged estimates anddrill-stem tests.

MINERAL RESOURCE CIRCULARSMRC 72. The Mineral Industry of Texas in 1981, by
A. E. Ward. 18 p., 1 fig., 13 tables (free on request).

Annual summary of all nonfuel minerals of Texas. This
circular is a preprint of the chapter on Texas in the Minerals
Yearbook 1981 of the U.S. Bureau of Mines. It was produced
through a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Bureauof Mines and the Bureau of Economic Geology.
MRC 73. Annotated Bibliography of Mineral Deposits
in Trans-Pecos Texas, by J. G. Price, C. D. Henry, and A. R.
Standen. 108 p., 31 figs., 1 table ($5.00).

Compilation and index of locations, references, andnotes on mining activity, resources, andgeological featuresof more than 300 mineral deposits in Trans-Pecos Texas.
Although silver, mercury, sulfur, talc, and fluorspar are thedominant minerals that have been produced inTrans-Pecos
Texas, many other commodities have been discovered andshow promise for future development. This comprehensive
bibliography groups localities into 49 geographic areas forwhich brief summaries are given. Locations of mineraldeposits are shown on 30 topographic maps, which are
keyed to a Cartesian grid of the region. The maps are at ascale of 1:250,000, the same as the Geologic Atlas of Texas.

Commodities are indexed by counties and topographic
quadrangles, and the names of districts, mines, prospects,
commodities, and host-rock formations are cross indexed.
All active and abandoned mines, prospects, and noteworthy
occurrences of metallic and nonmetallic minerals areincluded in this bibliography. Excluded are petroleum,
geothermal, and ground-water resources, sand and gravel
operations, quarries for crushed rock, and unexploitedcommodities that occur widely. Altho~igh the authors
restricted this study to areas for which geological literature was available, they field checked and included
several prospects and abandoned mines whose mineralogy,
alteration, deposit type, or exact location previously
had not been documented. Research for this project was
funded by the Texas Mining and Mineral Resources ResearchInstitute.

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MRC 74. Nonpetroleum Mineral Producers in Texas
1983, by M. W. McBride and A. L. Dobbs. 94 p.,4 figs. ($3.50).

Computer-generated directory of nonpetroleum
mineral producers in Texas. Active nonpetroleum mineralproducers in the state are indexed by name, mineralcommodity, and county. In addition to filesof the Bureau of
Economic Geology, data sources include the U.S. Bureau of
Mines, the Texas Department of Water Resources, the Texas
Air Control Board, the Railroad Commission of Texas, theTexas Department of Highways and Public Transportation,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of
Business Research of The University of Texas at Austin, andthe Texas Mining and Reclamation Association. This circular
was funded in part by the U.S. Bureau of Mines and theTexas Mining and Mineral Resources Research Institute.

S

Current Geologic Research in Texas: A Directory of
University Faculty and Student Research, compiled by J.G.
Price,T. E. Ewing, A. R. Masterson, S. C. Ruppel, and C. M.
Woodruff, Jr. 29 p. ($3.30).

Geothermal Resources of Texas, 1982, compiled by C. M.
Woodruff, Jr., Laura Caprio Dwyer, and Christine Gever.
Scale 1:1,000,000, full color ($1.00 handling charge for orders
by mail; no charge if picked up in person).

Survey of academic research on Texas geology now
being done by geoscience departments in Texas andadjoining states and by selected institutions in other states.
The Bureau compiled this directory from questionnaires
returned by faculty and students at more than 30 universities
now researching some aspect of Texas geology. A total of
185 projects are indexed by principal investigator, subject,and geographic area. Listings also include project
coworkers, principal investigator's and coworkers'
affiliations, project title, expected completion date, andexpected place of publication. This is the first survey of thiskind conducted by the Bureau. If sufficient interest is
generated, the Bureau will repeat this survey annually.

Map depicting the 15 major low-temperature geothermalaquifers in the state. The map was constructed using datafrom published reports, files of State and Federal agencies,
and field measurements. Schematic cross sections showing
areal and vertical relations among the aquifers are included,
along with measurements of depth, water temperature,
water chemistry, and flow rates for selected wells. Areas
noted either for past uses or for potential resource
development are briefly discussed. The map was preparedby the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
National Geophysical Data Center, for the U.S. Departmentof Energy, Geothermal and Hydropower Technologies
Division.

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During 1983, the computing staff continued to provide
services to the research staff and increasingly to administrative and support personnel. The staff of threeprogrammers and two data-entry operators, directed byMichael P. Roberts, used time-sharing services provided
by the University Computation Center. The Bureau's
19 time-sharingterminals include a graphics microcomputerwith digitizing board and a three-color drum plotter.
The major thrust this year for the computing staff wasparticipation in and support of the Office Automation
Committee, which was investigating how automation could
save time and increase capabilities of the Bureau at its new
facilities at Balcones Research Center. The computing staff
began two major studies to assist the committee, which ischaired by Associate Director Douglas C. Ratcliff: one study

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of the accounting function and the other of text
preparation. The computing staff also investigated thecurrent market offerings in office automation equipment,
networks, and microcomputers.
Other new projects that were undertaken during theyear included designing an inventory and check-out system
lor the Well Sample and Core Library, automating the
Bureau mailing list, producing a laser-printedlisting of Texas
mineral producers, and tracking well core sampling
activities. Several computer graphics projects for scientificuse were completed, including a well-log-trace digitizing
routine, a quick contouring program, and a rose-diagram
generator. The Available Program Listing, which includes all
Bureau-written programs for which source listings and user
documentation exist, now has 57 entries.

I

PUBLIC INFORMATION
Requests for information about Texas geological,
energy, mineral, and land resources come to the Bureau
from a wide spectrum of the public, including geologists,
educators, students, landowners, and other interested
individuals, as well as companies, governmental agencies,
and other organizations.

Many members of the full-time research staff provide
advisory and technical services in their areas of expertise. In
addition, Mary W. McBride, Research Scientist Associate,
handles requests for information about Texas geology,
mineral resources, references, and Bureau programs andpublications.

READING ROOM AND OPEN FILES
The Bureau's Reading Room, supervised by Kay
Forward, i s located on the fifth floor of the Geology Buildingof The University of Texas at Austin and is open for public
use from 8 a.m. to 5p.m. Monday through Friday. It contains
journals and other publications pertaining to Texasgeology
and mineral resources.
The Bureau's collection of open-file reports and maps
includes unpublished reports that have been prepared by
the Bureau and materials received from the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE), formerly the Energy Researchand Development Administration (ERDA), and othersources. Kay Forward maintains these open files and makes
arrangements for copying reports requested by the public.
Because of limited space, only those reports pertaining toTexas, plus reports of special interest, are filed at the
Bureau. Others are transferred to the Geology Library of
The University of Texas at Austin. Information concerning
DOE and ERDA open-file reports may be obtained from theTechnical Library, Grand Junction Office, U.S. Departmentof Energy, Box 2567, Grand Junction, Colorado 81502(telephone: 303-242-8621, ext. 279).
A limited number of open-file reports of the U.S.
Geological Survey are also on file at the Bureau. Information
concerning additional reports of that organization may beobtained from the Open-File Services Section (OFSS),
Branch of Distribution, U.S. Geological Survey, Box 25425,
Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 (telephone: 303234-5888).

MINERAL STUDIES LABORATORY
The primary function of the Mineral Studies Laboratory
is to support the Bureau's broad range of research projects.
The MSL also provides services to other divisions of The
University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Clara L. Ho, Research
Scientist, directs the lab. Activities at the MSL during 1983
focused on coal characterization, support of the West Texas
Waste Isolation project, participation in round-robin
testing, and research and development.
Coal samples taken from cores drilled in six East Texas
counties were analyzed for carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen,total sulfur, forms of sulfur, total Btu, major and minoroxides in coal ash, total inorganic elemental composition inwhole coal, selected toxic trace elements in coal, andmineral constituents in LTA-treated coal. Proximateanalysis
also was performed.
In support of the West Texas Waste Isolation project,many techniques used for determining the chemical andmineralogical characteristics of rock salts and the chemicalcomposition of brines were modified to improve sensitivity
and accuracy. Water content in undisturbed core of rocksalt was determined by Karl Fischer titration of the methanol
extract of the salt. After the source of background watercontamination was found, the extraction method was
modified. The modified methanol extraction technique,using a large Soxhlet extractor, not only removes water fromthe salt but also preferentially dissolves the halides, leaving
the non-halide mineral residue intact. Total mineralogy andclay mineralogy of the residue were identified by X-ray
diffraction, and the chemical composition was determinedby various methods. The residue was analyzed for S i 0 2 , Na,K, Mg, Ca, Al, Fe, Ti, Mn, Zn, Sr, Ba, Zr, P, S042-,and C032-.
Brines were analyzed for Na, K, Mg, Ca, Sr, S042-, CI-, Br-,I-, and HC03-. New spectrophotometric methods weredeveloped for measuring trace amounts of Br- and I- in

Steven W. Tweedy performs multi-element analysis by ICP-AES.

water-soluble fractions of the rock salts and in brines. Allanalyses were documented in accordance with quality
assurance procedures for the WTWl project.
The MSL is an active member of the International
Geostandards Working Group and the American Society for
Testing and Materials (ASTM) subcommittee on coalanalysis. During 1983, the MSL performed analyses onsilicate whole rocks and iron ores for the round-robin
testing programs conducted by the Geological Survey ofCanada and by the Institute of Geological Sciences(London). The MSL also participated in testing of coals
conducted by ASTM. The MSL's results compared favorablywith those reported by other laboratories worldwide.

Research and development during the year included
testing and simplification of the multiple-acid digestion
procedure of Church, involving the use of HN03, HClo4,
HF, and HCI, for dissolution of geologic materials and ores
to be analyzed for major, minor, and trace elements. New
spectrophotometric methods for determination of Br- andI- were developed. Combined water (H20+) in silicates
was investigated, and preliminary results on certain typesof samples were promising. A new method forconcentration and subsequent determination of As bygraphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry(GFAA) using Pd as a matrix modification agent wasdeveloped. Use of the method for determination of As ingeologic samples and brines remains to be validated.

Techniques were evaluated for separation andconcentration of other trace elements (Ag, Au, Pb, Co, andpossibly Sn) in geologic samples for inductively coupledplasma -atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES)analysis or
atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) analysis.
Techniques were also evaluated for improving the accuracyof iron determination in iron ores.
During 1983, the MSL analyzed a total of 7,827 samples(2,625 coals, 4,083 rock salts, rocks, sediments, and ores,and
901 waters; 159 coals and 59 rocks were submitted by the
public). Various analyses were performed for the following
departments of The University of Texas at Austin: Chemical
Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Geological Sciences,and Marine Studies.

WELL SAMPLE AND CORE LIBRARY
The Well Sample and Core Library provides informationand services to geologists, students, and other persons
interested in Texas geology. At present, the WSCL holds
cores from approximately 2,950 wells, drill cuttings from
more than 55,000 wells, driller's logs from about
500,000 wells, and scout tickets for about 5,000 wells in West
Texas. Driller's logs and scout tickets may be copied at the
WSCL. Cores and cuttings may be checked out for viewing;
the borrower pays shipping costs. Authorization to sample
cores and cuttings for thin sections or for destructive
analysis is determined on a well-by-well basis. Patrons are
asked to report the results of their analyses to the WSCL. If
requested by the patron, the results will be held confidential
for up to 18 months. Binocular scopes and other equipment
are available for use at the WSCL.
Because of the slowdown in oil production andexploration, the number of non-Bureau patrons visiting the
WSCL in 1983 dropped to 118, or three-fourths of last year's
total. Checkouts of cores and cuttings by non-Bureau
patrons totalled 178 and 116, respectively. Bureau personnel
examined 180 cores and 19 sets of drill cuttings during
the year.
Donors of subsurface materials to the WSCL during 1983
included Alamo Energy, Arco Exploration Co., Arkla
Exploration Co., Buttes Resources, Cambe Exploration,
Energy Reserves Group, Getty Oil Co., Goldking Production
Co., Gulf Oil Corp., A. G. Hill, Hilliard Oil & Gas, B. I.

Hughes, lnexco Oil Co., Kerr McGee Corp., John Kraak,
Lear Petroleum, McCormick Oil & Gas, 0. B. McKown,
Midroc & Watkins, Mosbacher Production Co., Noranda
Exploration, Inc., Placid Oil Co., Scandrill Co., Shell Oil Co.,
Sohio Petroleum Co., the Texas Department of Water
Resources, Texas Gulf Production Co., Texas Gulf Sulphur,and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Activities during 1983 included transport, slabbing,
application of orientation marks, and boxing of 6,895 ft ofcore from Swisher, Deaf Smith, and Randall Counties taken
for examination and analysis for the West Texas Waste
Isolation project. More than 3,062 samples were cut from
West Texas cores for various analyses and thin sections.
WSCL staff continued to rebox cores into standard-sizedboxes that will fit the shelves of the new facility, which is tobe located immediately west of the Bureau's new research
and administration building. Of the cores that have been
reboxed, more than 60 percent have had to be slabbed.
A computerized listing of all cores and cuttings wascompleted in 1983. A printout of this data base, titled
Catalog of All Wells i n Well Data File, can be purchased fromthe Bureau.
George A. Donaldson is curator of the WSCL. Interested
persons may visit the facilities, located at Balcones ResearchCenter, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For
information regarding holdings, policies, or computer
listings, call 512-835-3042.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE VEARATLAS O F M A J O R TEXAS O I L RESERVOIRSThe Bureau dedicated the Atlas of Major Texas Oil
Reservoirs to The University of Texas at Austin as part of its
1983 Centennial-year celebration. Oil has played a major
rolein the growth of The University of Texasat Austin,and it
seems fitting that the first statewide oil atlas of Texas should
be dedicated to the institution that has trained so many
leaders in all areas of the State's petroleum industry.
The atlas was prepared with support of the Texas Energy
Development Fund and with full cooperation of theRailroad Commission of Texas. Research involved theanalysis of major Texas oil reservoirs that each will produce
more than 10 million barrels in order to classify them into
regional plays on the basis of reservoir genesis, trap, anddrive. More than 450 oil fields were grouped into 48 regional
plays that account for 70 percent of oil production in Texas
through 1981. Relying principally on unpublished files of
the Railroad Commission of Texas, authors W. E. Galloway,
T. E. Ewing, C. M. Garrett, Jr., Noel Tyler, and D. G.Bebout
prepared a 139-page atlas, which includes 426 maps, crosssections, and logs and five full-color plates, in a 17- by
22-inch format. Color maps depict reservoir lithologiesandplays, reservoir genesis and major structural elements,-

ATLAS OF MAJOR
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The Atlas of Major Texas Oil Reservoirs,a Centennialpublication of
The University of Texas at Austin, was issued by the Bureau during
1983.

producing stratigraphic units, trapping mechanisms,
and drive mechanisms. Price of the atlas is $40.00, plus
$3.25 handling charge for mail orders and $2.00 sales tax for
Texas residents. It may be ordered from the Bureau of
Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin,
University Station, Box X, Austin, Texas 78712.
It i s anticipated that the Atlas of Major Texas O i l
Reservoirs will not only provide an integrated picture of
Texas oil reservoirs needed for further exploration, but also
will provide insight into future strategies aimed atrecovering as much as possible of the 100 billion barrels ofoil known but not now classed as recoverable. The futurelevel of Texas oil production depends on successes inincreasing recovery from existing reservoirs.

CONSTRUCTION O F NEW
BUREAU QUARTERS UNDERWAY
At year's end, a new complex of Bureau buildings was
being constructed at Balcones Research Center. The
complex will include three buildings, each of which willhouse separate functions. One is dedicated to administration and research, including all the support activities' leading to publication. A second building will hold both
the Mineral Studies Laboratory and the Well Sample andCore Library facilities for processing and examining
materials. A third building will hold cores and cuttingsfrom exploration wells. Construction is scheduled to permit
occupation of the administration and research buildingby September 1, 1984.
All buildings will be located at the north end of Balcones
Research Center near the IBM properties. Access to the
Bureau facilities will be provided by a north-south
boulevard entered from a yet-to-be-constructed Braker
Lane, which will run between Burnet Road and U.S.
Highway 183 and will intersect a future extension of MoPac.
The gross area of the research and administrationbuilding approximates 150,000ft*, nearly equally distributedin three stories. The first floor will hold the Reading
RoomIData Center, directoral and administrative offices, a
conference room, and publications sales and storage areas.
The second floor will be equally divided between researchand the support activities of cartography and design,
editing, word processing and typesetting, and computing.

The top floor will contain research elements entirely.
Research quarters on both floors will be organized aroundresearch program modules, which will consist of large,
open, centralized work areas surrounded by offices.
The exterior of the building is being constructed of tiltup concrete, metal, an,d glass. A three-story vertical panelof fossiliferous limestone will face the north and main
entrance of the building. Special interior treatments will
include a wall of polished granite in the conference room,agranite-faced reception desk, and mirrored exhibit cabinets
in the entry and waiting areas.
The WSCL/MSL building will be two stories high andlocated immediately west of the research andadministration building. The ground level will include
rooms to house the records of the WSCL curator and to
welcome visitors. Other rooms are designated for
impregnating, sawing, polishing, and describing core, forwashing and examining cuttings, and for preparing thinsections. Rooms designed for microprobe and electron
microscope analyses, requiring a separate, isolated slab toprevent excessive vibrations and magnetic interferences,also will be on the first floor.
MSL operations will be housed on the second floor; thislocation is necessitated by the many vents required forhoods, furnaces, and plumbing. The rooms have been
designed to accommodate the specific instruments
required in multiple-element analyses of inorganic samples
and lignite analyses. There will also be two wet laboratories,
one for organic and the other for inorganic analyses.
Three new buildings are to be built near the Bureau
complex: a Center for Energy and Electromagnetics, aCommons, and a Utilities structure. The Commons will
include a theater, classrooms, exhibit area, a dining facility,
outlets to campus library and computing facilities, and arecreational component. These buildings, along with the
Bureau's new facilities, are the initial component of a larger
center of the University dedicated to energy research. For
example, Balcones Research Center will also house the newquarters of Microelectronics and Computer Technology
Corp.(MCC), which are now in design.

Research and administration building viewed from northwest
corner, December 1, 1983.

ROSELLE GIRARD RETIRES
Roselle M. Girard retired from the Bureau in 1983 after
32 years of service. Girard graduated from the Universityof Texas, Austin, in 1952 with a master's degree in geology.
She had earlier worked as a junior geologist for the U.S.
Geological Survey, as a lab technician for Shell Oil Co., andas an instructor of geology at UT Austin.

1983 as a Research Associate. He previously had coordinatedthe activities of a team of geologists and geophysicists
exploring oil off the shore of South Africa. He also had
served as a field geologist and mineralogist for the
Geological Survey Department of Rhodesia. Light received
a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Rhodesia in 1981
and a bachelor's degree (honors) from the University ofCape Town in 1971. The structure and metamorphism of theregion east of Beitbridge, Zimbabwe, was the subject of his
dissertation. In 1982, Light received a Specht Memorial
Foundation Award for a paper titled "The Limpopo BeltA Result of Continental Collision," which was publishedin Tectonics.

f--

I

.

,

_d

Roselle M Cirard retlred from the Bureau after
32 years of servlce.

She joined the Bureau in 1952 and spent the rest of her
professional career at the University.
Girard was responsible for collecting mineral statistics
for Texas as a part of the Bureau's cooperative program with
the U.S. Bureau of Mines, and from 1960to 1977coauthoredannual reports on the mineral industry of Texas. She also
compiled bibliographies of Texas geology and resources
and authored popular reports o n Texas rocks and minerals.
I n her years at the Bureau, Girard gained personal
knowledge of practically all reports ever published on Texas
geology and resources, from monographs to newspaper
articles. She was a tremendous public resource, responding
to several hundred inquiries each year. She received moreletters of thanks from citizens for her help than any staff
member in history, because of the efficient, thorough,andgracious way she handled all inquiries. Regardless of how
difficult or obscure the inquiry might have been, Girard
always managed to respond with some information of value.
We will miss Roselle Girard and her long, dedicatedservice t o the Bureau, the University, and the citizens of
the State. We wish her the best in her retirement years.

DILLON APPOINTEDCHIEF CARTOGRAPHER
During 1983, Richard L. Dillon was appointed Chief
Cartographer for the Bureau when Dan F. Scranton asked t oreturn t o the duties of Senior Cartographer. Dillon joined
the Bureau in November 1968 and was serving as a Senior
Cartographer when he assumed supervision of the Bureau's
Cartography Section, which is composed of 14 staff
members. Dillon is experienced i n all phasesof the Bureau's
cartographic operations.

NEW RESEARCH STAFF MEMBERS
Malcolm P. R. Light
A recognized expert o n subsurface geology and seismic
exploration, Malcolm P. R. Light joined the Bureau in June

William F. Mullican Ill
William F. Mullican Ill,formerly an exploration geologist
with the Texas Gulf Coast Division of Tenneco Oil Co.,joined the Bureau staff as a Research Scientist Associate in
December 1983. His areas of expertise include basin
analysis, carbonate depositional systems, stratigraphy, andcarbonate petrography. Mullican received a master's
degree in geology from Texas Tech University in 1981 andbachelor's degree in science education from that university
in 1978. His thesis examined the stratigraphy and diagenesisof the Lake Valley Formation in the San Andres Mountainsof New Mexico.
Rainer K. Senger
Rainer K. Senger, a native of West Germany, wasappointed t o the post of Research Scientist Associate in
February 1983. His interests include numerical modeling ofground-water flow, statistical interpretation of hydrological
data, and contaminant transport problems. He currently isdeveloping a model of ground-water flow in the Palo DuroBasin, Texas Panhandle, t o provide information aboutsubsalt aquifers. Senger received a master's degree ingeology from The University of Texas at Austin i n 1983and abachelor's degree from the University of Karlsruhe, West
Germany, in 1976. His thesis was titled "Hydrogeology of
Barton Springs, Austin, Texas."

GALLOWAY A N D EWlNG RECEIVE
BEST-PAPER AWARDS
William E. Galloway, Senior Research Scientist, andcoauthors, former Bureau Research Scientists D. K. Hobday
and Kinji Magara, received the Wallace Pratt Award for thebest article i n the American Association o f Petroleum
Geologists Bulletin in 1982. The paper, titled "Frio Formationof Texas Gulf Coastal Plain-Depositional
Systems,
Structural Framework, and Hydrocarbon Distribution," waspublished in Volume 66, Number 6, pages 649-688. The
research was funded by the U.S. Geological Survey. The
award will be presented in May 1984 at the AAPG annual
meeting in San Antonio. The Bureau published a morecomprehensive version of the report by the same authors(Report of Investigations No. 122).
A paper by Thomas E. Ewing, Research Associate, tied forBest Paper, Third Place Award, of the Gulf Coast Associationof ~et;oleum Geologists at the 1983 annual meeting in
Jackson, Mississippi, in October. Title of the paper was"Growth Faults and Salt Tectonics in the Houston Diapir
Province-Relative Timing and Exploration Significance."

SEM A N D ELECTRON MICROPROBEA D D T O ANALYTICAL CAPABILITIESThe Bureau acquired two sophisticated analytical
instruments during the year: a JEOL JSM-T300 scanningelectron microscope (SEM) and a CAMECA Camebax
electron microprobe X-ray analysis system.
The SEM is capable of imaging both secondary andbackscattered electrons. Images (including data) arerecorded using a Polaroid photographic recording system.
Magnifications of up to 200,000X can be achieved at aworking distance of 48 mm.
The microprobe system i s equipped with four
automated wavelength dispersive spectrometers (WDS)anda Kevex 800011energy dispersive X-ray microanalyzer system(EDS).The microprobe can be used to perform quantitative
elemental analysis with both EDSand WDS. The WDSsystem

This sophisticated electron microprobe was installed at the
Bureau's Mineral Studies Laboratory during 7983.

PAPERS A N D ABSTRACTSBY BUREAU STAFF IN OUTSIDE(NON-BUREAU) PUBLICATIONSPAPERS
Baumgardner, R. W., Jr., 1983, Delineation of irrigatedland using Landsat imagery, in A report on theTNRIS/NASA
joint project to establish a Texas Natural Resources
Inventory and Monitoring System: Proceedings of a Project
Review Conference, Texas Natural Resources Information
System and National Aeronauticsand Space Administration,
TNRIS-036, p. 67-84.
Bay, A. R., and Bebout, D. G., 1983, Cyclic, shoalingcarbonate banks in the lower Glen Rose Formation(Cretaceous), South Texas, in Harris, P. M., ed., Carbonate
buildups-a
core workshop: Society of Economici s preferred for analytical work requiring high accuracy.
Standards urchased from C. M. Taylor Co. enable thesystem to e calibrated on reference minerals, as well as
pure elements, to ensure accurate analysis of geologic
materials. Most elements on the periodic table (512592)
can be measured. The microprobe system can also be used
to perform standard SEM functions.
Steven W. Tweedy supervises the microprobe
laboratory, Long-Cheng Liang is chief operator, and Eric
Pfitzner maintains the instruments.

1

TEXAS M I N I N G A N D MINERALRESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE
The Texas Mining and Mineral Resources Researchlnstitute (TMMRRI) is one of 31 State organizations funded
and administered bv the U.S. Bureau of Mines anddedicated to research and academic training in mineralscience and technology. The Bureau of Economic Geology
administers TMMRRI. The University of Texas at Austin,
Texas A&M University, and Prairie View A&M are membersof the Institute.
During the 1982-83 academic long terms and summer
session, 10 fellowships and scholarships amounting to$44,750 were awarded to students at member universities.
During the 1983-84 long terms, 11 were awarded for a total
of $40,000. These funds supported undergraduate andgraduate training in mineral-related fields of science andengineering.
The Institute also supported mineral resource researchin Trans-Pecos Texas and compilation of statistics on Texas
minerals and producers. In addition, it provided partial
funding for deep-basin lignite research. Reports publishedby the Bureau during 1983 that were fully or partly fundedby TMMRRI include Report of Investigations No. 135 andMineral Resource Circulars 73 and 74.

Paleontologists and Mineralogists Core Workshop No. 4,
p. 429-462.
Bebout, D. G., and Gutidrrez, D. R., 1983, Regional crosssections, Louisiana Gulf Coast - eastern part: Louisiana
Geological Survey, Folio Series No. 6,10 p.
Bebout, D. G., and Loucks, R. G., 1983, Lower Cretaceous
reefs, South Texas, in Scholle, P. A., Bebout, D. G., andMoore, C. H., eds., Carbonate depositional environments:
American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 33,
p. 441-444.
Scholle, P. A., Bebout, D. G., and Moore, C. H., eds.,
1983, Carbonate depositional environments: American
Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 33, 708 p.
Bein, Amos, and Land, L. S., 1983, Carbonate
sedimentation and diagenesis associated with Mg-Cachloride brines: the Permian San Andres Formation in the
Texas Panhandle: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 53,
no. 1, p. 243-260.

I

Brown, 1. F., Jr.,Barcat, Carlos, Fisher, W. L.,and Nevistic,
Antonio, 1983, Seismic stratigraphic and depositional
systems analysis: new exploration approaches applied to the
Golfo San Jorge Basin, Argentina: Buenos Aires, Primer
Congreso Nacional de Hidrocarburos: Petrdleo y Gas
Conferencias, Trabajos TCcnicos, p. 127-156.
Lane, N. G., and DuBar, J.R., 1983, Progradation of the
Borden Delta: new evidence from crinoids: Journal of
Paleontology, v. 57, no. 1, p. 112-123.
Ewing, T. E., 1983, Growth faults and salt tectonics in the
Houston diapir province-relative timing and exploration
significance: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies
Transactions, v. 33, p. 83-90.
Church, B. N., Ewing, T. E., and Hora, Z. D., 1983,
Volcanology, structure, coal, and mineral resources of early
Tertiary outliers in south-central British Columbia:
Geological Association of Canada, Victoria Section, field
trip guidebook, field trip 1, 91 p.
Ewing, T. E., and Reed, R. S., 1983, Hackberry sandstone
reservoirs in southeast Texas: Corpus Christi GeologicalSociety Bulletin, December, p. 17-22.
Ferguson, W. K., and Wermund, E. G., 1983, Bureau of
Economic Geology: Discovery, v. 7, no. 3, p. 47-53.
Finley, R. J., and Gustavson, T. C., 1983, Geomorphic
effects of a 10-year storm on a small drainage basin in the
Texas Panhandle: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms,
V. 8, p. 63-77.
Finley, R. J., and O'Shea, P. A., 1983, Geologic andengineering analysis of blanket-geometry tight gas
sandstones: Society of Petroleum Engineers and U.S.
Department of Energy, Joint symposium on lowpermeability gas reservoirs, SPE/DOE Publication No. 11607,
p. 73-80.
Finley, R. J.,Price, J.G., and Henry, C. D., 1983, Remotesensing and mineral resource evaluation in Trans-Pecos
Texas, in A report on the TNRIS/NASA joint project toestablish a Texas Natural Resources Inventory andMonitoring System: Proceedings of a Project Review
Conference, Texas Natural Resources Information System
and National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
TNRIS-036, p. 107-116.
Fisher, W. L,. 1983, Energy outlook in Texas: the balanceof the 1980's: Texas Banker, v. 1, no. 12, p. 5-8.
Fisher, W. L., chairman, 1983, Estimating the short-term
producibility of oil and gas: Washington, D.C., National
Research Council, Committee on Producibility of Oil andGas, National Academy Press, 124 p.
Fisher, W. L., 1983, Natural gas: the regulation issue: The
Washington Quarterly, v. 6, no. 4, p. 42-45.
Fisher, W. L., 1983, Oil and gas geostrategies in Texas:
Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists,
Bulletin 10, p. 1-5.
Fisher, W. L., and Calloway, W. E., 1983, Potential for
additional oil recovery in Texas, in Proceedings, Enhanced
Oil and Gas Recovery in Texas Conference: The Universityof Texas at Austin, College of Engineering, p. 1-29.
Fogg, G. E., Kaiser, W. R., Ambrose, M. L., andMacpherson, G. L., 1983, Regional aquifer characterization
for deep-basin lignite mining, Sabine Uplift area, northeast
Texas: Sixth International Coal Utilization Exhibition and
Conference, v. 6, Lignite developments and utilization,
p. 22-49.
Calloway, W. E., and Hobday, D. K., 1983, Terrigenous clastic depositional systems-applications topetroleum, coal, and uranium exploration: New York,
Springer-Verlag, 423 p.
Galloway, W. E., Hobday, D. K., and Magara, Kinji,1983,
Frio Formation of Texas Gulf Coast Plain-depositional
systems, structural framework, and hydrocarbon

distribution-part 1: Oil & Gas Journal, v. 81, no. 13,
p. 149-160.
Galloway, W. E., Hobday, D. K., and Magara, Kinji, 1983,
Frio Formation of Texas Gulf Coast Plain-depositional
systems, structural framework, and hydrocarbon
distribution-conclusion: Oil & Gas Journal, v. 81, no. 14,
p. 149-165.
Gregory, A. R., Lin, Z. S., Reed, R. S., Morton, R. A., andRogers, L. A., 1983, Watered-out gas reservoirs profitable via
enhanced recovery: Oil & Gas journal,^. 81, no. 11,p. 55-60.
Henry, C. D., 1983, Trace and potentially toxic elements
associated with uranium deposits in South Texas: projectsummary: U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency, Industrial
Environmental Research Laboratory, EPA-600/S7-83-005,
5 P.
Henry, C. D., and Kapadia, R. R., 1983, Trace andpotentially toxic elements associated with uranium deposits
in South Texas: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Industrial Environmental Research Laboratory, EPA-600/783-005, 120 p.
Henry, C. D., Price, J. G., and McDowell, F. W., 1983,
Presence of the Rio Grande rift in West Texas and
Chihuahua, in Clark, K. F., and Goodell, P. C.,eds.,Geology
and mineral resources of north-central Chihuahua: El Paso
Geological Society, guidebook for the 1983 field
conference, p. 108-119.
Hovorka, S. D., 1983, Carbonate-anhydrite-halite cycles,
San Andres Formation (Permian), Palo Duro Basin, Texas, inShaw, R. L., and Pollan, B. J., eds., Permian Basin coresa core workshop: Permian Basin Section, Society of
Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Core
Workshop No. 2, p. 197-224.
Friedman, S. A., Jones,R. W., and Jackson,M. 1.W.,1983,
Developments in coal in 1982: American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 67, no. 10, p. 1983-1989.
Jackson, M. P. A., and Robertson, D. I., 1983, Regional
implications of early Precambrian strains in theonverwacht
Group adjacent to the Lochiel Granite, northwest
Swaziland, in Anhaeusser, C. R., ed., Contributions to thegeology of the Barberton Mountain Land: GeologicalSociety of South Africa Special Publication No. 9, p. 45-62.
Jackson, M. P. A., and Seni, S. J., 1983, Geometry andevolution of salt structures in a marginal rift basin of theGulfof Mexico, East Texas: Geology, v. 11, no. 3, p. 131-135.
Kreitler, C. W., and Browning, L. A., 1983, Nitrogenisotope analysis of ground-water nitrate in carbonate
aquifers: natural sourcesversus human pollution: Journalof
Hydrology, v. 61, p. 285-301.
Watkeys, M. K., Light, M. P. R., and Broderick, T. J.,1983,
A retrospective of the Central Zone of the Limpopo Belt,
Zimbabwe: Geological Society of South Africa Special
Publication No. 8, p. 65-80.
Masterson, A. R., and Galloway, W. E., 1983, Index, in
Galloway, W. E., and Hobday, D. K., Terrigenous clastic
depositional systems-applications to petroleum, coal, anduranium exploration: New York, Springer-Verlag,
p. 415-423.
Morton, R. A., Pilkey, 0. H., Jr., Pilkey, 0. H., Sr., andNeal, W. J., 1983, ~ i v i n gwith the Texas shore: Durham,
North Carolina, Duke University Press, 190 p.
Morton, R. A., and White, W.A., 1983, Coastal field trip,
Corpus Christi area: The University of Texas at Austin,
Bureau of Economic Geology, guidebook prepared forAustin Geological Society field trip, 24 p.
Orr, E. D., and Dutton, A. R., 1983, An application ofgeostatistics to determine regional ground-water flow in the
San Andres Formation, Texas and New Mexico: Ground
Water, v. 21, no. 5, p. 619-624.

Orr, E. D., and Folk, R. L., 1983, New scents on the
chattermark trail: weathering enhances obscure
microfractures: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 53,
no. 1, p. 121-129.
Price, J.G., 1983, Hazel Mine, in Meader-Roberts, S. J.,ed., Geology of the Sierra Diablo and southern Hueco
Mountains, West Texas: Permian Basin Section, Society of
Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Publication 83-22, p. 17-18.
Price, J.G., 1983, Marble Canyon, in Meader-Roberts,
S. I.,ed., Geology of the Sierra Diablo and southern Hueco
Mountains, West Texas: Permian Basin Section, Society of
Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Publication 83-22, p. 23-25.
Price, J. G., 1983, Review of Ore Genesis-the State of the
Art (Amstutz, G. C., and others, eds., Society for Geology
Applied to Mineral Deposits Special Publication No. 2,
804 p.): Chemical Geology, v. 39, p. 179-180.
Price, J.G., 1983, Silver-copper-lead deposits in red-bed
sequences of Trans-Pecos Texas: Tertiary mineralization in
Precambrian, Permian, and Cretaceous sandstones: Societyof Mining Engineers of the American Institute of Mining,
Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, Preprint No. 83-3,
11 p.
Ruppel, S. C., 1983, Facies and depositional setting ofMississippian rocks in the Palo Duro - Hardeman Basin area,in Shaw, R. L., and Pollan, B. I.,eds., Permian Basin coresa core workshop: Permian Basin Section, Society of
Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Core
Workshop No. 2, p. 47-67.
Walker, K. R., Shanmugam, G., and Ruppel, S. C., 1983,
A model for carbonate to terrigenous clastic sequences:
Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 94, no. 6,
p. 700-712.
McGowen, J. H., Granata, G. E., and Seni, S. J.,1983,
Depositional setting of the Triassic Dockum Group, Texas
Panhandle and eastern New Mexico, in Reynolds, M. W.,
and Dolly, E. D., eds., Mesozoic paleogeography of thewest-central United States: Rocky Mountain Section,
Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists,West-Central United States Mesozoic Paleogeography
Symposium II, p. 13-38.
Seni, S. J.,and Jackson, M. P. A,, 1983, Evolution of salt
structures, East Texas diapir province, part 1: sedimentary
record of halokinesis: American Association of Petroleum
Geologists Bulletin, v. 67, no. 8, p. 1219-1244.
Seni, S. J.,and Jackson, M. P. A., 1983, Evolution of salt
structures, East Texas diapir province, part 2: patterns andrates of halokinesis: American Association of Petroleum
Geologists Bulletin, v. 67, no. 8, p. 1245-1274.
Tyler, Noel, and Ethridge, F. G., 1983, Depositionalsetting of the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation,southwest Colorado: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology,
v. 53, no. 1, p. 67-82.
Tyler, Noel, and Ethridge, F. G., 1983, Fluvial architectureof Jurassic uranium-bearing sandstones, Colorado Plateau,western United States, in Collinson, J. D., and Lewin, J., eds.,
Modern and ancient fluvial systems: International
Association of Sedimentologists Special Publication No. 6,
p. 533-547.
Wermund, E. G., 1983, Future directions for remotesensing in Texas State government, in A report on the
TNRIS/NASA joint project to establish a Texas Natural
Resources Inventory and Monitoring System: Proceedingsof a Project Review Conference, Texas Natural Resources
Information System and National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, TNRIS-036, p. 137-152.

ABSTRACTS
Ambrose, M. L., Kaiser, W. R., and Fogg, G. E., 1983,
Hydrochemical mapping of ground-water flow in the
Wilcox-Carrizo aquifer, Sabine Uplift area, Texas:
Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs,
v. 15, no. 6, p. 514.
Baumgardner, R. W., Jr., 1983, Terrace stratigraphy anderosional history of the upper- Little Red River, Texas
Panhandle: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with
Programs, v. 15, no. 1, p. 41.
Bebout, D. G., 1983, Facies and porosity of the Poza Rica
trend, Mexico: a core display, in Habitat of Oil and Gas in
the Gulf Coast: Society of Economic Paleontologists andMineralogists, Gulf Coast Section, Annual Research
Conference, Program and Abstracts, p. 14.
Budnik, R. T., 1983, Recurrent intraplate deformation on
the Ancestral Rocky Mountain orogenic belt: GeologicalSociety of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 6,
p. 535.
Budnik, R. T., 1983, Recurrent motion on Precambrianaged faults, Palo Duro Basin, Texas Panhandle: American
Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 67, no. 3,
p. 433.
Collins, E. W., 1983, Jointsand joint densities at Caprock
Canyons State Park, Briscoe County, Texas Panhandle:
Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs,
v. 15, no. 1, p. 3.
Dutton, A. R., 1983, Regional ground-water flow in San
Andres Formation, Texas Panhandle and eastern New
Mexico: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with
Programs, v. 15, no. 1, p. 4.
Dutton, S. P., 1983, Palo Duro Basin, an exploration
frontier in the Texas Panhandle: American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 67, no. 3, p. 454.
Dutton, S. P., and Land, L. S., 1983, Meteoricdiagenesis ofPennsylvanian arkosic sandstones, southwestern Anadarko
Basin: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with
Programs, v. 15, no. 6, p. 564.
Carlson, S. M., Davis, S. D., Pennington, W. D., andEwing, T. E., 1983, Recent earthquakes in the Gulf Coast of
Texas: EOS, v. 64, no. 45, p. 750.
Ewing, T. E., and Caran, S. C., 1983, Late Cretaceous
volcanism in South and Central Texas-stratigraphic,
structural, and seismic models: Houston Geological Society
Bulletin, v. 25, no. 9, p. 3.
Ewing, T. E., Henry, C. D., Jackson, M. P. A., Woodruff,
C. M., Jr., Goldstein, A. G., and Garrison, J. R., Jr., 1983,
Tectonic map of Texas-a
progress report: American
Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 67, no. 3,
p. 458.
Ewing, T. E., and Reed, R. S., 1983, Hackberry oil and gas
fields in southeast Texas: channel/fan depositional systems
and structural controls: American Association of Petroleum
Geologists Bulletin, v. 67, no. 3, p. 458.
Finley, R. J.,1983, Comparison of depositional systems
and reservoir characteristics of selected blanket-geometry
tight gas sandstones: American Association of Petroleum
Geologists Bulletin, v. 67, no. 3, p. 460-461.
Fisher, R. S., 1983, Diagenetic history of Eocene Wilcox
sandstones and associated formation water, south-central
Texas: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with
Programs, v. 15, no. 6, p. 574.
Fisher, R. S., and Hovorka, S. D., 1983, Textural andgeochemical evidence of primary and altered halite,
Permian San Andres Formation, Texas: Geological Societyof America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 6, p. 574.
Fisher, W. L., Galloway, W. E., Tyler, Noel, and Ewing,
T. E., 1983, Oil exploration and production plays in the Texas

Gulf Coast Basin, in Habitat of Oil and Gas in theGulf Coast:Society of Economic Paleontologistsand Mineralogists, Gulf
Coast Section, Annual Research Conference, Program and
Abstracts, p. 19.
Fogg, G. E., Kaiser, W. R., Ambmse, M. L,, andMacpherson, G . L., '1983, Regional aquifer charaaerization
for deep-basin lignite mining in northeast Texas: Grand
Forks, North Dakota, University of North Dakota,
12th Biennial international meeting on technology andutilization of low-rank coals, Final Schedule and Abstracts,
p. 9-10.
Fracasso, M. A., 1983, Unconformity-bounded cycles in
the San Andres Formation, Palo Duro Basin, Texas
Panhandle: tectonidtopographic evolution of a middle
Permian shallow evaporite basin: Geological Society ofAmerica, Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 6, p. 576.
Galloway, W, E., 1983, Depositional architecture andreservoir characterization of late Paleozoicsubmarineslope
and basin depositional systems-Midland and Delaware
Basins, Texas: American Association of Petroleum
Geologists Bulletin, v. 67, no. 3, p. 466.
Hoel, H. D., and Galloway, W. E,. 1983, Two depositionalmodels for Pliocene coastal plain fluvial systems, Goliad
Formation, South Texas Gulf Coastal Plain: American
Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 67, no. 3,
p. 484.
Gregory, A. R., and Morton, R. A., 1983, Enhanced gas
recovery from watered-out reservoirs: American
Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 67, no. 3,
p. 475.
Custavson, T. C., 1983, Quaternary surface subsidence,
Southern High Plains, Texas Panhandle: a result of
dissolution of Permian bedded salts: Geological Society ofAmerica, Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 1, p. 41.
Gustarson, T. C., and Budnik, R. T., 1983, Structuralcontrol of geomorphic processes, physiographic features,and lithofacies, Texas Panhandle: Geological Society ofAmerica, Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 6,p. 588.
Gustavson, T. C., Budnik, R. T., Collins, E. W., Dutton,
S. P, Hovorka,S. D, and Ruppel, 5. C., 1983,Geologic issues inisolating nuclear waste in the Palo Duro Basin, Texas:
Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs,
v. 15, no. 1, p. 3.
Henry, C. D., and Price, J. G., 1983, The Van Horn
Mountains caldera: stratigraphy, origin, age, and structure:
Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs,
v. 15, no. 1, p. 8.
Henry, C. D., and Price, J. C., 1983, Variability of caldera
development in the mid-Tertiary volcanic field of TransPecos Texas: EOS, v. 64, no. 45, p. 877.
Henry, C. D., Price, 1. C., and McDowell, F. W., 1983,
Presence of the Rio Grande rift in West Texas and northern
Mexico: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with
Programs, v. 15, no. 5, p. 406.
McDowell, F. W., and Henry, C. D., 1983, Late
Cretaceous to Tertiary magmatic arcs in western Mexico andWest Texas: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with
Programs, v. 15, no. 5, p. 302.
Ho, C. L., and Cower, D. L., 1983, Determination of K in
geologic materials for K-Ar dating by ICP-AES: AtlanticCity,
N. J., 1983 Pittsburgh Conference and Exposition on
Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy,
unpublished abstract of presentation, no. 668.
Ho, C. L., and Cower, D. L., 1983, Rapid method for
determination of silver in geologic and ore samples:
Atlantic City, N. J., 1983 Pittsburgh Conference andExposition on Analytical Chemistry and Applied
Spectroscopy, unpublished abstract of presentation,
no. 669.

Ho, C. L., Mahan, C. A., and Tweedy, S. W., 1983,
Application of automatic instrumental methods for analysis
of coal and lignite: Atlantic City, N. J., 1983 Pittsburgh
Conference and Exposition on Analytical Chemistry andApplied Spectroscopy, unpublished abstract ofpresentation, no. 33.
Ho, C. L., Tweedy, S. W., and Cower, D. L., 1983,
Determination of major oxides in silicate rocks using
inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectrometry:
Atlantic City, N. J., 1983 Pittsburgh Conference andExposition on Analytical Chemistry and Applied
Spectroscopy, unpublished abstract of presentation, no. 34.
Hovorka, S. D., and Budnik, R.T., 1983, Normal marine marine marginal sabkha transition, Lower Permian, Palo
Duro Basin, Texas Panhandle: Geological Society ofAmerica, Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 1, p. 6.
Jackson, M. 1. W., and Kaiser, W. R., 1983, The use of
depositional systems in lignite exploration, Wilcox Group,
Sabine Uplift area, Texas: Geological Society of America,
Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 6, p. 602.
Kaiser, W. R., and Morton, R. A., 1983, Brines, clay
minerals, and equilibria: predicting diagenetic history andreservoir quality in Oligocene Frio Formation of Texas:
American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin,
v. 67, no. 3, p. 492.
Kreitler, C. W., Dutton, A. R., Fisher, R. S., Orr, E. D.,
Senger, R. K., and Smith, D. A., 1983, Hydrogeochemical
issues for high-level nuclear waste isolation in the Permian
evaporites of the Palo Duro Basin, Texas: GeologicalSocietyof America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 1, p. 3.
Kreitler, C. W., and Seni, S. J., 1983, Origin and evolutionof Na-CI to Na-Ca-CI brines, East Texas Basin: GeologicalSociety of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 6,
p. 618-619.
McCookey, D. A., and Budnik, R. T., 1983, Tectonic
history and influence on sedimentation of rhomb horsts andgrabens associated with Amarillo Uplift, Texas Panhandle:
American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin,
v. 67, no. 3, p. 511.
Morton, R. A., Jirik, 1. A., and Foote, R. Q., 1983, Facies
analysis of hydrocarbon-bearing sediments, offshore Texas,
in Habitat of Oil and Gas in the Gulf Coast: Society of
Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Gulf Coast
Section, Annual Research Conference, Program and
Abstracts, p: 32-33.
McDowell, F. W., Price, J. C., and Henry, C. D., 1983,
Timing of the onset of Basin and Range/Rio Grande rift
extension in northern Mexico and Trans-Pecos Texas: EOS,
v. 64, no. 45, p. 753.
Price, J. G., and Henry, C. D., 1983, Hydrothermal activity
associated with calderas in Trans-Pecos Texas: EOS, v. 64,
no. 45, p. 877.
Price, 1. G., Henry, C. D., Posey, J.S., and Standen, A. R.,
1983, Structure, geochemistry, mineralogy, and origin ofsilver-copper-lead deposits in the lndio Mountains, TransPecos Texas: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with
Programs, v. 15, no. 1, p. 14.
Ruppel, S. C., 1983, Mississippian conodonts from the
Texas Panhandle: implications for the depositional andstructural history of the region: Geological Society ofAmerica, Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 6, p. 676.
Senger, R. K., and Kreitler, C. W., 1983, Hydrogeology of
the Edwards aquifer, Austin area, Central Texas: GeologicalSociety of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 6,
p. 683.
Smith, D. A., 1983, Permeability variation in the Palo
Duro Basin from multiple well tests: Geological Society ofAmerica, Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 1, p. 1115.

I
I

Tyler, Noel, Galloway, W. E., Garrett, C. M., Jr., Ewing,
T. E., and Posey, J. S., 1983, Anatomy of Texas oil:
American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin,
v. 67, no. 3, p. 560-561.
Tyler, Noel, Galloway, W. E., Garrett, C. M., Jr., Ewing,
T. E., and Posey, J. S., 1983,Oil accumulation and production
characteristics in major Texas oil reservoirs: Society of
Exploration Geophysicists, 53rd Annual International SEG
Meeting, Expanded Abstracts with Biographies, p. 132-133.
Wermund, E. G., Gustavson, T. C., and Kreitler, C. W.,
1983, Unresolved geotechnical issues for deep geologicalburial of high-level waste in Permian bedded salt, Palo DuroBasin, Texas: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with
Programs, v. 15, no. 6, p. 717.
White, W. A., and Morton, R. A., 1983, Use of texturaland geochemical relationships in nearshore sediments todelineate anomalous trace element concentrations:Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs,
v. 15, no. 2, p. 57.
Wirojanagud, Prakob, Kreitler, C. W., and Smith, D. A.,
1983, Numerical modeling of regional ground-water flow in
the Wolfcamp (Lower Permian) aquifers of the Palo DuroBasin, Texas Panhandle: Geological Society of America,
Abstracts with Programs, v. 15, no. 6, p. 720.

LECTURES A N D PUBLIC ADDRESSES
W. B. Ayers, Jr.
"Tongue River (Paleocene) Depositional Systems andthe Occurrence of Coal in the Powder River Basin of
Wyoming and Montana": presented to The University ofTexas at Austin, Department of Geological Sciences,
technical session.
Virgil E. Barnes"Geology and Its Application": presented to Kingston
Elementary and Junior High School, fifth grade class, West
Lafayette, Indiana.

S. Christopher Caran"Mountain Building and Volcanism": presented toWilliams Elementary School, third gradeclass,Austin, Texas.

R. D. Conti"Stratigraphic Distribution of Hydrocarbons withDiffering API Gravities in the East Texas Basin": presented to
the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, annual
meeting, Houston, Texas.
Shirley P. Dutton"Pennsylvanian Fan-Delta Deposition, Mobeetie Field,
Texas Panhandle": presented to the Panhandle GeologicalSociety, Amarillo, Texas.
"The Hercynian Foldbelt of Northwest Europe":
presented to The University of Texas at Austin, Departmentof Geological Sciences, regional tectonics class.

T. E. Ewing"Growth Faulting-Some Cases in Point": presented to
the Austin Geological Society, Austin, Texas.
"Hackberry Oil and Gas Fields in Southeast Texas":
presented to the Corpus Christi Geological Society, Corpus
Christi, Texas, and to The University of Texas at Austin,
University Students Geological Society.
"The Tectonic Map of TexasJ': talk and workshop
presented to the Abilene Geological Society, the Corpus

Christi Geological Society, the East Texas GeologicalSociety, the E l Paso Geological Society, the Houston
Geological Society, the New Mexico Bureau of Mines, theNew Mexico Geological Society, the North Texas
Geological Society, the Oklahoma City Geological Society,the Oklahoma Geological Survey, the Panhandle
Geological Society, the Roswell Geological Society, the San
Angelo Geological Society, the South Texas GeologicalSociety, the West Texas Geological Society, the Dallas
Geological Society, and Texas A&M University.
R. Stephen Fisher"Geochemistry of Diagenesis, Wilcox Sandstones,
South-Central Texas": presented to The University of Texas
at Austin, Department of Geological Sciences, researchseminar.
W. 1. Fisher"Current Activities and lssues in Radioactive Waste
Disposal": presented to the American Institute of Mining,
Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, South Texas
Minerals Section, Corpus Christi, Texas.
"Current lssues in Oil and Gas": Texas Close-up
television interview, KTBC, Austin, Texas.
"Energy Resources of Texas": presented to the Texas
Education Agency, seminar, Midland, Texas.
"Exploitation Strategy and Outlook for Oil and Gas inWest Texas": presented to The University of Texas of thePermian Basin, Texas Technology Venturing.
"High-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal": radio
interview, KUT, Austin, Texas.
"Major Current and Historical lssues in U.S. Public Lands
Policy": presented to The University of Texas at Austin,
Lyndon B. JohnsonSchool of Public Affairs, Policy Research
Project.
"Major Oil Fields of the Texas Gulf Coast Basin":presented to the Society of Economic Paleontologists andMineralogists, Fourth Annual Research Conference,
Houston, Texas.
"Oil and Gas: What Will the Price Be?": presented to theRailroad Commission of Texas, Oil and Gas Seminar, Austin,
Texas.
"Outlook for the Energy Minerals": presented to theAmerican Association of Petroleum Geologists, Energy
Minerals Division, annual meeting, Dallas, Texas.
"Outlook for U.S. and Texas Energy Developments":
presented to Southwest Texas State University, open
lecture, San Marcos, Texas.
"Regulatory Impacts on Mineral Mining andProcessing": presented to the Society of Mining Engineers,
Dallas chapter, Dallas, Texas.
"Status of Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal in
Texas": presented to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Arlington, Texas.
"Texas Oil and Gas Exploration Geostrategies in the
1980's": presented to the Society of Independent
Professional Earth Scientists, annual meeting, San Antonio,
Texas.
"The Current Energy lssues and Outlook": presented to
the South Texas Geological Society, San Antonio, Texas.
"The U.S. Minerals Position": presented to the Interstate
Mining Compact Commission, annual meeting, Little Rock,Arkansas.
Graham E. Fogg
"Ground-Water Modeling in the Tucson Basin and Near
Oakwood Salt Dome: A Comparison of Traditional andGeologic Approaches": presented to The University ofTexas at Austin, Department of Geological Sciences,hydrogeology class.
"Hydrogeologic Issues for Lignite Development in
Texas": presented to the Austin Geological Society, Austin,
Texas.
Michael A. Fracasso"Hunting for Dinosaurs": presented to Highland Park
Elementary School, kindergarten and third grade classes,
Austin, Texas.
"Limnoscelis, Cladistics, Temporal Morphologies, andthe Origin of Reptiles": presented to The University ofTexas at Austin, Department of Geological Sciences,
paleobiology seminar.
William E. Galloway"Depositional Architecture and Reservoir Characterization of Late Paleozoic Submarine Slope and Basin
Depositional Systems-Midlandand el aware Basins,
Texas": presented to the American Association ofPetroleum Geologists, annual meeting, Dallas, Texas.
"Geohydrologic Regimes of Sandstone Diagenesis":presented to the International Association of Sedimentologists, 11th International Congress, Hamilton,
Ontario, Canada.
"Potential for Additional Oil Recovery in Texas: The100Billion-Barrel Target": presented to the South Texas
Geological Society, San Antonio, Texas.
C. M. Garrett, Jr.
"The Bureau of EconomicGeology-What It Isand What
It Does": presented to the Austin Downtown Kiwanis Club,
Austin, Texas.
Thomas C. Gustavson"Technical Issues in Nuclear Waste Isolation, Palo DuroBasin": presented at the Energy Information Fair sponsoredby Serious Texans Against Nuclear Dumping, Hereford,
Texas, and presented to the Environmental Evaluation
Group, Department of Health and the Environment, Santa
Fe, New Mexico.
Christopher D. Henry"Tectonic Setting of Volcanism in Trans-Pecos Texas":
presented to the University of Houston, Department of
Geology, seminar, Houston, Texas.

Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, South Texas
Minerals Section, San Antonio, Texas.
Charles W. Kreitler"Hydrodynamics of Saline Fluid Movement, East Texas
Basin": presented to the East Texas Geological Society,
Tyler, Texas.
"Origin and Diagenesis of Salt Dome Cap Rock":presented to Arizona State University, Geology
Department, research colloquium, Tempe, Arizona, theU.S. Geological Survey, seminar, Reston, Virginia, and The
University of Texas at El Paso, Geology Department.
"Origin and Evolution of Saline Waters, East Texas
Basin": presented at the Friends of the Gulf seminar,sponsored by The University of Texas at Austin, Departmentof Geological Sciences, and presented to the U.S.
Geological Survey, seminar, Reston, Virginia, and The
University of Texas at El Paso, Geology Department.
Thomas G. Littleton"From Confusion to Chaos-A Brief History of the
Systematics of the Family Pyramidellidae (Molluscs:
Gastropoda)": presented to the Texas Academy of Science,
annual meeting, Nacogdoches, Texas.
Mary W. McBride"An Introduction to the Geology of Austin": presented
to the Austin Independent School District, elementary
school principals, Austin, Texas.
"The Bureau of Economic Geology-Service
andResearch": presented to Naval Reserve Officers, Naval
Research Unit, Austin, Texas.
"The Dynamic Earth-The Evidence in the Austin Area":presented to the Austin lndependent School District,teachers' workshop, Austin, Texas.
R. A. Morton"Geological and Environmental Significance of
Sediment Transport During Storms": presented to the
University of Virginia, Department of Environmental
Sciences, seminar, Charlottesville, Virginia.
"Status of Geopressured Geothermal Research andResource Assessment in Texas": presented at Industry
Forums, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy,
Houston, Texas.

M. P. A. Jackson"Role of Halokinesis in the Evolution of Sedimentary
Basins": presented to Rice University, open lecture,
Houston, Texas.
"Salt Domes of East Texas and the Gulf Coast":
presented to The University of Texas at Austin, Departmentof Geological Sciences, graduate class.

JonathanG. Price"Energy and Mineral Mining Activity in Texas-1982":
presented to the Texas Mining and Reclamation
Association, annual meeting, Corpus Christi, Texas.
"Hobson Post Mortem: Geological Aspects of In Situ
Uranium Mining": presented to The University of Texas atAustin, Department of Petroleum Engineering, In Situ
Uranium Leaching Advisory Panel.
"Hydrothermal Alteration in Porphyry Copper andMolybdenum Deposits": presented to The University ofTexas at Austin, Department of Geological Sciences,geology class.
"Uranium Deposits in Sedimentary Rocks": presented
to The University of Texas at Austin, Department of
Geological Sciences, geology class.

W. R. Kaiser"Lignite Geology, Quality, and Economics ofDevelopment": presented to the AustinGeologicaI Society,
Austin, Texas.
"Mining in Central Texas": presented to the Society of
Mining Engineers of the American Institute of Mining,

Stephen C. Ruppel"Facies and Depositional Setting of Mississippian Rocksi n the Palo Duro - Hardeman Basin Area": presented to theSociety of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists,
Permian Basin Section, Core Workshop No. 2, Midland,
Texas.

Clara 1. Ho"Chemical Properties in Lignite": presented at the
University Methodist Church, open lecture sponsored bylnterfirst Bank, Austin, Texas.

Rainer K. Senger"Hydrogeo~ogy of Barton Springs, Austin, Texasw:
presented to The University of Texas at Austin, Departmentof Geological Sciences, hydrogeology class.
Steven I.Seni"Evolution and Salt Tectonics of the East Texas Basin":presentedto the Fort WorthTexas.
"Geologic Constraints on Disposal of Low-Level Nuclear
Waste": presented to Texas LO&-~evel
Radioactive Waste
Disposal Authority, seminar and field trip, Austin, Texas.
"Geology, Salt Tectonics, and Petroleum Resources inthe East Texas Basin": presented to the North Texas
Geological Society, Wichita Falls, Texas.
Noel Tyler"Anatomy of Texas Oil": presented to the West Texas
Geological Society, Midland, Texas, and to the American
Association of Petroleum Geologists, annual meeting,lecture and poster session, Dallas, Texas.
"Facies Control on Oil Accumulation and Production
Trends in Major Texas Oil Reservoirs": presented to the
University of the Witwatersrand, Economic Geology
Research Unit, Iohannesburg, South Africa.
"The Potential for Infield 01
1Exploration in Cretaceousand Tertiary Plays of the Gulf Coast Basin": presented at theSouthwest Energy Exposition, Alice. Texas.
E. G. Wermund"A History of Bureau of Economic Geology Involvementin the National Waste Terminal Storage Program":presented to the High-Level Waste State Working Croup,
National Governors' Association, sponsored by the Officeof Governor's Counsel, Austin, Texas.
"Future Directions for Remote Sensing in Texas State
Government": presented to the Texas Natural Resources
lnformation System, Applications System Verification andTransfer Project final review, Austin, Texas.
"Nuclear Waste Terminal Storage Program in the Texas
Panhandle": presented to the Panhandle GeologicalSociety, Amarillo, Texas.
"Status of High-Level Waste Studies in the U.S.":
presented to the Lakeway Professional Breakfast Club,
Lakeway, Texas.
William A. White"Geologic Processes and Wetlands Along the Texas
Coast": presented to the Travis Audubon Society, Austin,
Texas"State Submerged Lands of Texas-Sediments,
Geochemistry, Benthic Macroinvertebrates,and AssociatedWetlands": presented at Coastal Zone'83,Third Symposiumon Coastal and Ocean Management, sponsored by theAmerican Society of Civil Engineers and others, San Diego,
California.

CONGRESSIONAL, LEGISLATIVE, A N D
SPECIAL TESTIMONY
W. 1. Fisher
Analysis of Senate Bill 615, the Natural Gas Reform Act
of 1983: given to the U.S. Senate, Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources.

Analysis of House Resolution 626: given to the U.S.
House of Representatives, Committee on Interior andInsular Affairs. (with Charles Mankin.)"Coastal Impacts Associated with Offshore Oil and Gas
Development": given on behalf of theGovernor of Texas to
the U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommitteeon Outer
Continental Shelf and Panama Canal.
Testimony at confirmation hearings on appointment to
the TexasLow-LevelRadioactiveWasteDisposalAuthority:
given to the Texas Senate, Subcommittee on Nominations.
W. R. Kaiser and William
E. ~
~
l
,
"Geologic and Hydrologic Setting-Cummins Creek
given to the City of Austin, Electric
Utility
R. A. Morton"Position of Vegetation Line on Mustang Island andGalveston Island in Reference to the Texas Open Beaches
Act": given to the Texas Attorney General's Office.

E. G. Wermund"Technical Issues in Siting a High-Level Waste
Repository in the Texas Panhandle": given to the Texas Joint
House-Senate Committee on Hazardous Waste Disposal.

COMMITTEE SERVICES, OFFICES, A N D
OTHER PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIESMary 1. Am brose
Co-editor, Newsletter of the Austin Geological Society.
Robert W. Baumgardner, Jr.,
Alternate Member, Remote Sensing and Cartographic
Committee, Texas Natural Resources lnformation System.
Member, Board of Directors, Travis Audubon Society.
Don C. Bebout
President, 1983-1984, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Gulf Coast Section.
Lecturer, Continuing Education Program, American
Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Member, Committee for Gulf of Mexico volume of theDecade of North American Geology series, GeologicalSociety of America.
Member, Committee on Publication, American
Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Member, Committee on Preservation of Samples andCores, American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

1. F. Brown, Jr.
Associate Editor, American Association of Petroleum
Geologists Bulletin.
Lecturer, Continuing Education Program, American
Association of Petroleum Geologists.
S. Christopher Caran
Chairman, Earth Sciences Section, Texas Academy of
Science.

E. Dow Davidson, Jr.
Chairman, Ad Hoc Committee to Establish a Society ofGeoscience Curators, Workshop on Core and Sample
Curation for the National Continental Scientific Drilling
Program, Los Alamos National Laboratory.

~

Conferee, Committee on Preservation of Samples andCores, American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Shirley P. Dutton
Member, Committee for Sedimentary Cover of the
Craton: U.S. volume of the Decade of North American
Geology series, Geological Society of America.
Member, Committee on Stratigraphic Correlations,
American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

T. E. Ewing
Co-leader of field trip, "Volcanology, Structure, andMineral Resources of Early Tertiary, South-Central British
Columbia," Geological Association of Canada, annual
meeting, field trip 1.
Member, Committee for Gulf of Mexico volume of theDecade of North American Geology series, GeologicalSociety of America.
Publications Chairman, 1982-1983, Austin GeologicalSociety.
Technical Programs Chairman, 1983-1984, Austin
Geological Society.
Robert J.Finley
Alternate Representative, Task Force, Texas Natural
Resources Information System.
Member, Remote Sensing and Cartographic
Committee, Texas Natural Resources Information System.
W. 1. Fisher
Associate Editor, American Association of Petroleum
Geologists Bulletin.
Chairman, Committee on Producibility of Oil andNatural Gas, National Research Council, National Academyof Sciences.
Chairman, Continental Margin Committee, Associationof American State Geologists.
Chairman, Nominating Committee, Association ofAmerican State Geologists.
Chairman, Policy Advisory Board, Outer Continental
Shelf, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Chairman, Geology and Resource Recovery Task Force,
GURC.
Chairman, Nuclear Energy Committee,Texas Energy andNatural Resources Advisory Council.
Chairman, Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal
Authority.
Co-director, Energy and Natural Resources Division,
Policy Research Institute, The University of Texas at Austin,
Lvndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.
Lecturer, Continuing Education Program, American
Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Member, Committee on Academic Liaison, American
Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Member, Ad Hoc Committee on Law of Sea Treaty,
American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Member, Board on Mineral and Energy Resources,
National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences.
Member, Committee on Committees, GeologicalSociety of America.
Member, Committee on Mineral Availability Program of
U.S. Bureau of Mines, Association of American State
Geologists.
Member, Environmental Geology Committee,
American lnstitute of Professional Geologists.
Member, Governmental Liaison Committee,
Association of American State Geologists.
Member, High-Level Nuclear Waste Disposal
Committee, Association of American State Geologists.

Member, Committee on Marine Geology, American
Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Member, Public Affairs Committee, Association ofAmerican State Geologists.
Member, Technical Program Committee, American
Association of Petroleum Geologists, Offshore Technology
Conference.
Member, U.S. National Committee on Geology,
National Academy of Sciences and U.S. Department of theInterior.
Member, Advisory Board, The University of Texas atAustin, Center for Energy Studies.
Member, Advisory Committee, The University of Texas
at Austin, lnstitute for Latin American Studies.
Member, Advisory Committee on Gas Proration andRatable Take, Railroad Commission of Texas.
Member, Executive Committee, Geology Foundation,
The University of Texas at Austin.
Member, Gas Analysis Group, The University of Texas atAustin.
Member, Geology-. Advisory Group, Southern Illinois
University.
Member, Geology Associates Board, University of
Kansas.
Member, Natural Resources Committee, Texas Energy
and Natural Resources Advisory Council.
Member, Program Development Council, GURC.
Member, Research Committee, lnterstate Oil Compact
Commission.
Member, Resolution Committee, lnterstate Mining
Compact Commission.
Member, Texas Mapping Advisory Committee.
Past-President, Association of American State
Geologists.
William E. Galloway
Editor, Uranium.
Lecturer, Continuing Education Program, American
Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Member, Committee for Gulf of Mexico volume of theDecade of North American Geology series, GeologicalSociety of America.
C. M. Garrett, Jr.
Chairman, Finance Committee, Austin GeologicalSociety.
Delegate (1982-1985) of Austin Geological Society to
American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Member, Nominating Committee, Austin GeologicalSociety.
Christopher D. Henry
Co-chairman, Geochemistry-Petrology Session,
Geological Society of America, South-Central Section,
annual meeting.
Clara 1. Ho
Fellow, American lnstitute of Chemists, Clay Mineral
Society.
Member, International Working Group of the Association Nationale de la Recherche Technique, Paris.
Member, Subcommittee for Coal Analysis, American
Society for Testing and Materials.
Member, Subcommittee for Water Analysis, American
Society for Testing and Materials.
Mary 1. W. Jackson
Treasurer, 1982-1983, Austin Geological Society.

M. P. A. Jackson
Member, Editorial Board for the volume Precambrian
Tectonics Illustrated, Subcommission on Tectonics,
International Union of Geological Sciences.
W. R. Kaiser
Chairman, Executive Committee, Texas University Coal
Research Consortium.
Member, Editorial Board, In Situ.
Allan Kolker
Field-Trip Coordinator, 1982-1983, Austin GeologicalSociety.
Charles W. Kreitler
Editor, journal of Ground Water.
Member, Committee for Culf of Mexico volume of theDecade of North American Geology series, GeologicalSocietv of America.
Marcie D. Machenberg
Treasurer, 1983-1984, Austin Geological Society.
Assistant Treasurer, 1982-1983, Austin ~e.ologicalSociety.
Co-chairperson, Directory Committee, Austin
Geological Society.
Consultant, update of guide to the Texas Pecos Trail,
Texas Department of Highways and Public Transportation.

-

Amanda R. Masterson
Member, Committee for the Third International
Conference on Geological Information, Geosciencelnformation Society.
Member, Membership Committee, Association of Earth
Science Editors.
Mary W. McBride
Member, Science Curriculum Review Committee,Texas
Advisory Committee on Environmental and Energy
Education.

R. A. Morton
Chairman, Legislative and Governmental Committee,
American Institute of Professional Geologists,
Texas
Section.
Member, Committee for Gulf of Mexico volume of theDecade of North American Geology series, GeologicalSocietv of America.
d e a d e r of field t r ,i ~"Cor~us.
Christi Area." Austin,
Geological Society.
Member, Review Committee, Geological Society ofAmerica, annual meeting.
JonathanG. Price
Co-leader of field trip, "Geology of the Sierra Diablo andSouthern Hueco Mountains, West Texas," Society of
Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Permian Basin
Section.
Douglas C. Ratcliff
Vice-President, Austin Geological Society.
Member, Committee on Membership, American
Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Susan J. Tewalt
Co-editor, Newsletter of the Austin Geological Society.

E. G. Wermund
Vice-President, 1983-1984, Gulf Coast Association of
Geological Societies.

Texas Representative, Technical Workshop Review
Group for Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Leasing,
U.S. Department of the Interior.
Member, Committee on Environmental Geology,
American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Member, Interagency Task Force, Texas Natural
Resources lnformation System.
William A. White
Co-leader of field trip, "Corpus Christi Area," Austin
Geological Society.
Charles M. Woodruff, Jr.
Chairman, Environmental Board, City of Austin.
Chairman, Nominating Committee, Austin GeologicalSociety.

UNIVERSITY TEACHING/CONTINUING EDUCATIONDon G. Bebout
Carbonate Exploration School: American Association ofPetroleum Geologists, Austin, Texas.
Cretaceous Carbonate Field Seminar; American
Geologists,
Sari Antonio and
Association ofAustin, Texas.
1. F. Brown, Jr.
"Research in Geology" (Geology 694): The University ofTexas at Austin, Department of Geological Sciences.
"Seismic Stratigraphy" (Geology 380N): The Universityof Texas at Austin, Department of Geological Sciences.
(With Richard T. Buffler.)"Seismic Stratigraphy and Basin Analysis": American
Association of Petroleum Geologists, Las Vegas, Nevada,Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Geneva, Switzerland;
Lafayette Geological Society, Lafayette, Louisiana;
University of Houston, Geophysics School, Houston, Texas;
and University of Tulsa, Advanced Exploration School,
Tulsa, Oklahoma.

W. L. Fisher"Depositional Systems and Facies Analysis": Fedyal
Universidade de Ouro Preto, short course, Ouro Preto,
Brazil.
William E. Galloway"Basin Analysis in Exploration" (Geology 379K/391): The
University of Texas at Austin, Department of Geological
Sciences.
"Clastic Sedimentary Environments-Deltaic Systems" '(Geoscience 5342): The University of Texas at Dallas,
Programs in Geoscience, Visiting Professor.
"Exploration for Petroleum in Terrigenous Depositional
Systems": University of Sydney, Sydney and Perth, Earth
Resources Foundation, Australia.
"Fluvial Systems: Their Economic and Field
Applications": American Association of Petroleum
Geologists, Salt Lake City, Utah.
"Petroleum Geology of Fluvial and Deltaic Systems":
Permian Basin Graduate Center, Midland, Texas.
"Seismic Stratigraphy": University of Sydney, Canberra,
Earth Resources Foundation, Australia.
"Seismic Stratigraphy-Case Histories": Seismic
Stratigraphy School, American Association of Petroleum
Geologists, Dallas, Texas.

SUPPORT STUFF
The administrative/secretarial staff is responsible foradministrative, accounting, and secretarial work essential to
day-to-day operation of the Bureau. These staff members
are, in many respects, the Bureau's closest contact with thegeneral public. They assist visitors who wish to purchase
Bureau publications, and they also handle mail andtelephone requests. Bettye A. Blitch, Executive Assistant,coordinates the work of the adrninistrative/secretarial staff.

CARTOGRAPHY
Much of the Bureau's reputation in geologic and land
resource mapping rests on the excellent capabilities of its
cartography section. High-quality full-color maps are thehallmark of the cartography section. The staff also produces

a wide range of other maps, cross sections,text illustrations,slide copy, and display materials. In addition, the staff
provides cover and text photographs for the Bureau's
publications, slides for lectures and public addresses, andnegatives and color proofs of maps. Richard L. Dillon,Chief
Cartographer, directs the work of the cartography section.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCTION
A Bureau report undergoes many steps in the transformation from rough manuscript to final publication.
Manuscripts are typed and typeset by the word
processing/typesetting section, which i s supervised by
Lucille C. Harrell. The editorial staff, directed by Susann
Doenges, edits and proofreads manuscripts and coordinates
production throughout the publication process. Reports
are designed and pasted up by the graphic design staff,
which is supervised by Richard L. Dillon.

--.

publications. The Bureau distributed 48,000 volumes during
1983.

BUREAU OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGY
Dr. W. 1. Fisher, Director
Dr. 1. F. Brown, Jr., Associate Director
Dr. Robert A. Morton, Associate Director
Dr. E. G. Wermund, Associate Director

SENIOR
Thomas C. Greimel
RESEARCH SCIENTISTS

z:gr:; ;Zion

Susan D. Hovorka
Mary L. W. Jackson
Lee A. Jirik
gal id A. Johns
Russell S. Kimble
Allan Kolker
Amv H. Lewis
LO&-cheng LiangRESEARCH
Thomas G. Littleton
SCIENTISTS
Marcie D. Machenbern
Mary W. McBride
Dr. Jules R. DuBar
Douglas A. McGookey
Dr. Robert I.Finley
William F. Mullican
A. Ray Gregory
Elizabeth D. Orr
Dr. Thomas C. Gustavson
Jeffrey G. Paine
Dr. Christopher D. Henry
Roned S. Reed
Dr. Clara L. H oRainer K. Senger
Dr. Martin P. A. Jackson
D. Anderson Smith
Dr. William R. Kaiser
Susan 1. Tewalt
Dr. Charles W. Kreitler
Sterling F. I.Thomas
Dr. Charles M. Woodruff, Jr. Dr. Prakob Wirojanagud
Dr. Virgil E. Barnes
Dr. Don C . Bebout
Dr. William E. Galloway-

RESEARCHASSOCIATESCARTOGRAPHIC
STAFF

Dr. Roy T. Budnik
Gary F. Collins
Dr. Alan R. Dutton
Shirley P. Dutton
Dr. Thomas E. Ewing
Dr. W. Keene Ferguson
Dr. R. Stephen Fisher
Dr. Michael A. Fracasso
Dr. Jong H. Han
Dr. Colin M. Jones
Dr. Malcolm P. R. Light
Dr. Zsay-Shing Lin
Dr. Jonathan G. Price
Dr. Stephen C. Ruppel
A. Eugene Saucier
Steven I.Seni
William W. Simpkins
Dr. Noel Tyler
William A. White

Richard L. Dillon
Chief Cartographer
john T. Ames
Mark T. Bentley
Thomas M . Byrd
Micheline R. Davis
Margaret R. Day
Margaret L. Evans
Barbara M . Hartmann
Jamie S. Haynes
jeff S. Horowitz
Jamie A. McClelland
James A. Morgan, Jr.
Richard M. PlattDavid M . Ridner
Dan F. Scranton

RESEARCH SCIENTISTASSOCIATES

Bettye A. Blitch
Executive AssistantJames A. DossPatricia 0. Downs
Jillene M . Eliason
Susan Ellington
Cynthia G. Ellis
5. Kay Forward
Marcia J. Franklin
Debbie F. Candy
Thomas M . Glimp
Louise E. Harsey
Sarah Jane Hubert
Patrice 1. Johnson
Harpreet Kang
Helen Kedzierski
Amy E. Kelly
Frances A. Kirkpatrick
Mary E. Koch

Mary L. Ambrose
Walter B. Ayers, Jr.
Nancy I.Banta
Robert W. Baumgardner, Ir.
Thomas R. Calnan
S. Christopher Caran
Eric S. Cheng
Edward W. Collins
Robert D. Conti
E. Dow Davidson, Jr.
D'Nese Y. Fly
Graham E. Fogg
Chester M . Garrett, Jr.
Christine R. Gever
Roselle M. Girard

ADMINISTRATIVE
STAFF

Douglas C. Ratcliff, Associate Director
for Administration
Bettye A. Blitch, Executive AssistantWanda L. LaPlante
Rose M . Peterson
Natalie T. Potts
Karen K. Ramming
Doris J. Tyler
Virginia C. Zeikus

EDITORIAL STAFF
Susann V. Doenges
Editor-in-Charge
John D. Anderson
Michelle C. Gilson
Diane L. Hall
Jane Hedgepeth
R. Marie Littleton
Amanda R. Masterson
Susan H. Shaw
Jean M. Trimble

W O R D PROCESSING/
TYPESETTING STAFF
Lucille C. Harrell
Administrative AssistantTwyla I. Coker
I. Joann Haddock
Phyllis J. Hopkins
Dorothy C. Johnson
Jana J. McFarland
Fannie M . Sellingsloh

COMPUTING STAFF
Michael P. Roberts, Manager
Dale V. Clark
Audie L. Dobbs
Daniel W. Fowler
Richard W. Ozment
Jane D. TingleyThomas I.Wilmore

SEDIMENTOLOGYLABORATORY A N D
T H I N SECTIONSERVICES
Seay H. Nance
Research-Associatein-Charge
Ethel E. Butler

MINERAL STUDIESLABORATORY
Dr. Clara L. H o
Chemist-in-Charge
Karin Campbell
Charlotte 5. Holland
Cynthia A. Mahan
Judith A. Mazoh

Ann H. Mullin
Eric Pfitzner
Steven W. Tweedy
Paul N. Williams

Patricia M . Hester
Katherine C. Hubby
Richard D. Hunter
Charles W. Kan
Phyllis A. Kapeller
Danny Katzman
Brenda L. Kirkland
WELL SAMPLE A N DJames K. Koga
CORE LIBRARY
Thomas R. Laughery
Liana M. LeanosGeorge A. Donaldson
David A. Leary
Curator-in-Charge
Therese M . Lemmer
Gilbert Arismendez
Cathy I.Levin
Ronald P. Brock
Victor H. Lombeida
Joseph A. Collins
Stephen E. Lovell
Marshall W. Gibson
Barbara A. Luneau
Brian Lipsitz
Peter B. McMahon
Daniel H. Ortuiio
Ronald G. McMurry
Clarence C. Talley, Jr.
Karen I.Meador
Greg G. Moore
Patricia M. Moseley
QUALITY ASSURANCE Paulo A. Mosmann
R. Matthew MyersDavid C. Noe
Douglas C. Ratcliff
James F. O'Connell
Quality Assuranceofficer Loren F. Phillips
E. Dow Davidson
David A. Prouty
Karen K. RammingDavid N. Purgason
William W. Simpkins
Bernd C. RichterRESEARCH
ASSISTANTS
M . Saleem Akhter
William A. Ambrose
Joseph P. Ash
Olufemi 0. Babalola
Janet L. Bader
J. Nile Barnes
Mark J. Berlinger
Frank H. Bissett
Curtis W. Black
Paul E. Blanchard
Donald R. Blanton
Emil Bramson
Patricia L. Brock
Shyrel D. Callis
Steven M . Carlson
Lionel I.Castro
Edward C. Cazier
Jenny B. Chapman
Merritt A. Clements
Rend V. Curtis
Wendy L. D'Attilio
Richard F. Davis
Scott D. DavisJames A. DiGiulio
Jeffrey 5. Duke
Jill R. Duprd
Laura A. Elliott
Douglas A. Falls
Bruce C. Gates
Lorene P. Goble
James W. Could
Gay Nell Gutierrez
H. Scott Hamlin
Roger E. Harrell
Sylvester Harris
Lise Hartwell
John J. Hendler

Donald J. Ruisinger
Melissa A. Sandstrom
Thnmas.
- M. Simmons
Rebecca C. myth
Fred R. Snyder
Richard J. Stancliffe
Allan R. Standen
Krishnamurthy SubramanianMichael 8. Tenbrook
Elizabeth Thorakos
Jeffrey E. Thurwachter
L. Scott Underwood
1. David Ussery
Kelly 0 .Webb
Clayton H. Wilson
Geoffrey E. Wilwerding
Kolleen M . Wilwerding
David R. Wuerch

BUREAU TO BE LOCATED RT
After September 1984, those wishing to visit the Bureau of Economic Geology should come to our new complex at
The University of Texas' Balcones Research Center. Artist's conception of the three-building facility shows a view looking t o
the southeast. The largest structure, a three-story, 150,000-square-foot research and administration building, is to the left. The
two-story Well Sample and Core Library/Mineral Studies Laboratory, which is 35,600 square feet, is in the foreground. Behindand to the right is the 2.3-acre, 1%-story core repository.

Artist's conception of the Bureau's new three-building research complex.

BUREAU OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGYThe Untversity of Texas a1 Austin
Unwetsily Station, Box X
A d i n , Texas 78712

Address correction requested