bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Reference Section for the Pennsylvanian Lorton Coal Bed (Root Shale: Wabaunsee Group) in Kansas
Authors: Brady Lawrence L. , Maples Christopher G.
Published: January 2025

The Lorton coal bed (Wabaunsee Group: Virgilian) of Late Pennsylvanian age is formally recognized as a bed-level stratigraphic unit in the Root Shale in Kansas. A stratigraphic reference section in Lyon County, Kansas, is given for the Lorton coal bed.
Lithostratigraphy of the Shore Airport Formation (Chesterian), Southwestern Kansas
Authors: Abegg F. E.
Published: January 2025

The Shore Airport Formation in the Hugoton embayment of the Anadarko basin is a new subsurface stratigraphic unit for peloid packstone and maroon calcareous shale of the previously unnamed strata in the Chesterian Stage. Shore Airport strata in southwestern Kansas are unconformably underlain by the Ste. Genevieve Limestone (Chesterian) and unconformably overlain by the Kearny Formation (Morrowan). Argillaceous Shore Airport strata are distinct from Ste. Genevieve quartzose carbonates that typically contain little shale. Lower Kearny strata generally contain increased percentages of siliciclastic and sandy marine carbonates. The unit is named for the Shore Airport SW 7.5-min quadrangle, Morton County, Kansas. A core from the Amoco #1 Breeding F (sec. 34, T. 31 S., R. 40 W.) contains 40.6 ft (12.4 m) of Shore Airport strata and is designated as the type section.
Two facies are recognized from the type section. Peloid packstone is greenish-gray to maroon in color and is the dominant facies. Paucity of stenohaline marine allochems, fine grain size, and micrite matrix indicate deposition in a low-energy, restricted-shelf environment. Rhizoliths, drab-haloed root traces, and glaebules suggest reddish color in maroon peloid packstone intervals accumulated in a Bs soil horizon (zone of illuvial accumulation of sesquioxides). These paleosols are interpreted as inceptisols (sesquioxide-rich, clay-poor paleosols).
Peloid packstone is intercalated with maroon calcareous shale. Slickensides, glaebules, drab-haloed root traces, rhizocretions, and blocky peds indicate these maroon shale intervals formed in a Bt soil horizon (zone of illuvial accumulation of clay and sesquioxides). The paleosols are interpreted as alfisols (sesquioxide-rich, clay-rich paleosols).
Revision of Mississippian Stratigraphic Nomenclature in Kansas
Authors: Maples Christopher G.
Published: January 2025

The following changes to the Mississippian stratigraphic nomenclature of Kansas are suggested: 1) the Chattanooga Shale is almost entirely Devonian in age with, perhaps, only the uppermost part early Mississippian; 2) the term Misener Sandstone should be used for a Devonian sandstone at the base of the Chattanooga, not for Mississippian sandstones at the base of the Mississippian carbonates; 3) Hannibal Shale should be used in Kansas instead of Boice Shale; 4) Compton Limestone should be used throughout Kansas instead of the somewhat poorly defined term "Chouteau Limestone," which should be abandoned; 5) Sedalia Formation should be used throughout the state (instead of Sedalia Dolomite); 6) Northview Shale should be used as a formation-rank unit in Kansas, occurring above the Sedalia Formation; 7) the term "Fern Glen Limestone" should be abandoned; 8) St. Joe Limestone Member should be replaced with Pierson Limestone at a formation rank; 9) Reeds Spring Limestone should be elevated from member rank to formation rank; 10) Elsey Formation is recognized only in the extreme southeastern part of Kansas (southeastern Cherokee County) where it is laterally continuous in adjacent parts of Missouri and Oklahoma; 11) Burlington-Keokuk Limestone should be used in those areas where lithostratigraphic separation is not possible; 12) the base of the Meramecian Stage probably occurs within the Warsaw Formation, not at its base as previously placed; 13) the Ste. Genevieve Limestone is Chesterian; 14) Cowley Formation is recognized as a formation-level stratigraphic unit (equivalent to all or part of the St. Louis-upper Chattanooga interval) in the subsurface of south-central Kansas; 15) the St. Louis Limestone in the subsurface of southwestern Kansas is composed of the Hugoton Member below and the Stevens Member above; and 16) the Shore Airport Formation is recognized as the post-Ste. Genevieve Chesterian unit in the subsurface of southwestern Kansas.
Revised Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian Stratigraphic Nomenclature in Kansas
Authors: Lambert Michael W.
Published: January 2025

As revised here, the Chattanooga Shale of Kansas includes the basal Misener Sandstone Member overlain by informal lower, middle, and upper shale members. Present only in the subsurface, this formation underlies most of the eastern two-thirds of the state. Most of the Chattanooga Shale is Devonian in age, although the uppermost part may be Early Mississippian. The Misener Sandstone Member has an erratic distribution and is usually less than 1 m (3.3 ft) in thickness. The lower shale member is present only in south-central Kansas and is less than 15 m (49.5 ft) thick. The middle and upper shale members can be traced throughout much of the area of Chattanooga subcrop, and their combined thickness can be more than 76 m (250.8 ft). A lenticular limestone bed is present near the base of the upper shale member in central Kansas, and limestone and dolomite beds occur within the upper parts of both the middle and upper shale members in northeastern Kansas. Ferruginous oolites are present in the upper shale member in northeastern Kansas, near the contact with the overlying Mississippian carbonates. Sometimes called the Kinderhook Shale, the Chattanooga Shale of Kansas is equivalent to the Woodford Shale of Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.
Simulation of the sedimentary fill of basins
Authors: Kendall Christopher G. St. C. , Moore Philip , Strobel John , Cannon Robert , Perlmutter Marty , Bezdek James , Biswas Gautam
Published: January 2025

There are many forward models that simulate sedimentary processes. The significance and utility of any particular model is a matter of need, computer hardware, and programming resources. Some forward-model simulations are one-dimensional; they are used to define third-order sea-level curves to infer the origin of peritidal cyclic carbonates, model the interdependence of sea level, depth-dependent carbonate accumulation, and the flexural response of the earths crust, and handle diagenesis of carbonate in relation to the eustatic record. Other simulations are two-dimensional and may handle clastics alone; they are used to create synthetic seismograms for sediment packages by modeling subsidence, sea level, sediment supply, and erosion, provide sedimentation rates for clastic fluvial systems using sediment compaction and tectonic movement, and simulate transport, deposition, erosion, and compaction of clastic sediments, emphasizing fluid velocity. Other simulations are two-dimensional carbonate shelf models that respond to sea-level changes and erosion, allowing redeposition of sediment with user-defined production functions; still others are two-dimensional mixed clastic and carbonate basin fill models. Both of these last kinds of models respond to sea-level changes and erosion, allowing redeposition of sediment with user-defined production functions. The program SEDPAK models some of the functions described and tests seismic interpretations based on sea-level curves. These curves are input parameters to the program. The program responds to tectonic movement, eustasy, and sedimentation, modeling sedimentary bypass and erosion. It reproduces clastic systems (including lacustrine, alluvial, and coastal plains, marine shelf, basin slope, and basin floor systems, and carbonate systems) and accounts for progradation, development of hardgrounds, downslope aprons, keep-up, catch-up, back-step, and drowned reef systems, and lagoonal and epeiric sea settings. SEDPAK simulates extensional vertical faulting of the basin, sediment compaction, and isostatic response to sediment loading. Sediment geometries can be viewed immediately on a graphics terminal as they are computed. Based on the observed geometric patterns, the user can repeatedly change the parameter and rerun the program until satisfied with the resultant geometry. This simulation is implemented in the C programming language (Kernighan and Ritchie, 1978), uses the X window system for graphical plotting functions (Scheifler and Gettys, 1986), and is operated on a Unix-based workstation, such as DEC 3 100, Sun, and Apollo. The simulation output is illustrated with examples from the Permian basin of West Texas and New Mexico, the Permian of the Sichuan basin, and the Upper Devonian of western Canada.
Sedimentary parameters for computer modeling
Authors: Enos Paul
Published: January 2025

The sedimentary parameters that are most important in modeling sedimentary sequences and geometry are accumulation rate, lag time, and accommodation space. Each parameter incorporates several other variables. Accumulation rate is the net result of sediment input and in situ production (for carbonates) less export through bypass or erosion. The appropriate accumulation rate to be chosen from the vast amount of data available will depend on depositional environment, basinal asymmetry, climate, tectonic setting, and the time increment being modeled. Lag time expresses the necessary condition for a transgressive sequence: that the initial sediment accumulation rate is less than the rate of submergence or accommodation. Mechanisms are not well understood; the potential for sediment production in shallow-water carbonate environments, for example, generally exceeds known rates of submergence. Biologic factors may reduce sediment production rates in shallow water, but a physical threshold, such as the wave base, above which accumulation is suppressed, seems more probable. Accommodation space is the increment of room available for sediment accumulation as determined by eustasy, subsidence, and erosion. Subsidence, in turn, incorporates tectonism, isostasy, and physical and chemical compaction. Lag time, compaction rates induced by pressure solution, and the interaction of siliciclastics and carbonates are probably the least constrained variables.
Ancient communities in the fossil record: Implications for sedimentary modeling
Authors: Kaesler Roger L.
Published: January 2025

In recent years the thinking of paleontologists has become increasingly oriented toward the biologic sciences and less toward sedimentology and stratigraphy. For this reason advances in paleontology in the past three decades have not found their way into the repertoire of some sedimentologists. This is perhaps especially true of those who are most heavily involved with sedimentologic modeling. Organisms respond to changes in the environment, but they also contribute to these changes; thus information about them needs to be incorporated into sedimentary models. The advances in paleontology that are important for modeling sedimentologists fall into three categories: the data of paleontology, interactions between fossils and paleoenvironments, and sources of permanent change through time. Interpreting the data of paleontology has been advanced by improvements in the understanding of taphonomy, time averaging, and the temporal resolution of the stratigraphic record. Interactions between fossils and their paleoenvironments can be expressed in terms of succession and diversity, both of which can be incorporated into sedimentary models. Some biologic communities contain highly interactive groups of species. The structure of such communities has typically been attributed to competition, but competition theory has recently been criticized by many ecologists, leaving community paleoecology somewhat up in the air. Studies of communities, however, remain applicable to paleoenvironmental analysis. Permanent changes through time are typically large-scale or long-term events that are rather easily incorporated into sedimentary models. They include organic evolution, community evolution, and extinction.
Dependent and independent data in paleontology: Tools for the sedimentary modeler
Authors: Maples Christopher G. , West Ronald R.
Published: January 2025

The relationship of paleontology to sedimentologic and stratigraphic modeling can be viewed as dependent, independent, or some combination of the two. Independent paleontologic data are taxonomy based and include standard paleontologic techniques, such as biostratigraphy. Tremendous advances in temporal acuity have resulted from our ability to analyze standard biostratigraphic data bases through the different methodologies of quantitative biostratigraphy. Dependent paleontologic data result from biotic responses to externally mediated physical parameters (e.g., sea level, climate, sediment accumulation rate). Thus, for example, trace-fossil distribution can be used with care as a tool to help discern transgressive-regressive events. In addition, biotic event horizons (epiboles) can be used as indicators of temporal equivalency across complex depositional facies mosaics and thus serve as important markers for regional correlation.
Modeling of tidal rhythmites using modern tidal periodicities and implications for short-term sedimentation rates
Authors: Archer Allen W.
Published: January 2025

Within Carboniferous strata cyclical variations in lamina thickness have a modern counterpart in tidal systems. These lamina thickness cycles can be equated to several types of neap-spring periodicities and longer-term seasonal periods. The various hierarchies of cycles within the ancient tidal deposits can be modeled using modern tidal station data. This type of fine-scale modeling indicates how the various tide-producing parameters of the earth-moon-sun system can be encoded in ancient tidal deposits. Based on relationships of lamina cycles to known tidal periods, inferred cycle periods indicate that such sections underwent rapid, localized, vertical accretion. Large discrepancies are evident when such short-term rates are compared to long-term rates of formation-level accumulation. Such comparisons indicate that long-term accumulation rates are many orders of magnitude slower than actual rates of deposition produced by tidal sedimentation.
Two-dimensional modeling of carbonate ramp sequences and component cycles
Authors: Read J. Fred , Osleger David , Elrick Maya
Published: January 2025

Two-dimensional stratigraphic models incorporating antecedent platform topography, rotational and regional driving subsidence, sediment and water loading using an elastic beam model, water-depth-dependent sedimentation rates and rock types, lag time of the flexural response, depositional lag time following initial platform flooding, and third- to fifth-order complex sea-level curves can be used to understand the development of cyclic carbonate platforms. Sea-level curves dominated by approximately 100-k.y. or 40-k.y. fluctuations developed a platform stratigraphy characterized by only a few cycles, whereas numerous cycles develop where the sea-level curve is dominated by 19-23 k.y. fluctuations. Low-amplitude sea-level curves in which the 100-k.y. fluctuation is greater than the 40-k.y. fluctuation, which in turn is greater than the 19-23-k.y. fluctuations, form a platform stratigraphy dominated by stacked cycles. Increased amplitude of the lower-frequency oscillations forms a shingled stacking pattern on the platform. Also, the increased amplitudes cause deposition of cycles with decreased thickness of tidal flat caps and longer duration of capping disconformities. Superimposing high-frequency sea-level fluctuations (20-100 k.y.) on longer-term 1-3-m.y. fluctuations generates synthetic platforms composed of stacked depositional sequences consisting of 1-10-m (3.3-33-ft) cycles. The model output illustrates how the systems tracts and their component cycles are related to the input sea-level curves. Erosion in the model decreases the thickness of tidal flat caps, increases the subtidal facies thicknesses of cycles because it increases accommodation, and bevels the highstand systems tract during long-term fall through erosion. The models show why picking boundaries between systems tracts is difficult when individual measured sections of cyclic platforms are used. Fischer plots were generated from the model output. The plots, when constructed for outer platform sections, are useful in estimating third-order sea-level fluctuations and in defining the positions of the systems tract boundaries.
Reevaluation of Wolfcampian Cyclothems in Northeastern Kansas: Significance of Subaerial Exposure and Flooding Surfaces
Authors: Miller Keith B. , West Ronald R.
Published: January 2025

Ten cyclothems from the Wolfcampian of northeastern Kansas, including parts of the Council Grove and Chase Groups, were examined in detail with particular attention to discontinuity surfaces and paleosol development. These cyclothems are shown to be bounded by major discontinuities, or sequence boundaries, where marine limestones abruptly overlie paleosol profiles. Occurring within these cyclothemic sequences are prominent meter-scale cycles that are bounded by flooding surfaces, many of which overlie facies exhibiting evidence of subaerial exposure. They are developed within both the marine carbonate and shale intervals and variegated mudstone intervals of the cyclothems. These meter-scale cycles show a consistent carbonate-to-clastic pattern regardless of their stratigraphic position or component facies. Climate fluctuations within a generally monsoonal environment are determined to be the most likely forcing mechanism for the meter-scale cycles, with wetter climate phases resulting in the increased influx of terrigenous clastic sediment and drier climate phases favoring carbonate precipitation. Evidence of climate change at the scale of the cyclothemic sequences is also recognized in the studied interval. Cycles at both scales indicate that relative sea-level rise was associated with increasingly arid conditions and that sea-level fall was associated with an intensification of seasonal rainfall.
Stratigraphy and Depositional Setting of the Lower Missourian (Pennsylvanian) Bethany Falls and Mound Valley Limestones, Analogues for Age-equivalent Ooid-grainstone Reservoirs
Authors: French John A. , Watney W. Lynn
Published: January 2025

Significant quantities of mobile oil remain in Pennsylvanian reservoirs in the midcontinent region of the United States. To recover this oil efficiently, we must understand the factors that control heterogeneity in these complex reservoirs. One way to accomplish this is to evaluate reservoir-quality carbonate units that occur in both the outcrop and the shallow subsurface as analogues to equivalent producing zones. In southeastern Kansas the lower Missourian Bethany Falls and Mound Valley limestones contain oolitic grainstones similar to coeval productive lithofacies that occur in the deeper subsurface to the west. Depositional sequence analysis of these grainstonebearing units suggests that (1) at least two cycles of relative sea-level change led to the deposition of discrete oolitic grainstones that are separated by subaerial exposure surfaces, with these surfaces strongly influencing the vertical distribution of porosity, and (2) the character and distribution of reservoir-scale grainstone buildups were strongly controlled by preexisting depositional topography.
Comparative review and synthesis of ground-water recharge estimates for the Great Bend Prairie aquifer of Kansas
Authors: Sophocleous Marios
Published: January 2025

In this report I briefly outline the importance of and difficulties involved in estimating aquifer recharge and compare reported recharge estimates for the Great Bend Prairie aquifer of central Kansas and associated alluvial-valley aquifers of the Pawnee River and Walnut Creek. Results from 20 studies are reported, including ongoing recharge-related projects. These studies were conducted by three different state agencies, a federal agency, a Kansas University department, and a private consulting firm. The recharge estimates are classified into site-specific, countywide, subregional, and regional estimates. Estimates are consistent among all four spatial scales. The average of all estimates is approximately 2 in./yr (50 mm/yr), with an average recharge range of 1.7-2.5 in./yr (43-64 mm/yr).
Basement Tectonic Configuration in Kansas
Authors: Baars D. L.
Published: January 2025

The structure of the Precambrian basement of Kansas, midcontinent USA, is dominated by conjugate north-northeast- and northwest-trending wrench fault zones. North-northeast-trending faults of the Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) extend from Lake Superior across Kansas and into north-central Oklahoma. The fault zone widens from about 100 km (60 mi) in northeast Kansas to more than 160 km (96 mi) in south-central Kansas in a series of horsetail splays. North-northeast-trending structures of the MRS are displaced by about 80 km (48 mi) of dextral offset by the northwest-trending strike-slip fault zone.
Apparently penecontemporaneous northwest-trending wrench faults of the Bourbon ArchCentral Kansas uplift cross the state from southeast to northwest, offsetting MRS structures. The two conjugate wrench fault zones are complexly interrelated in central Kansas, where internal synthetic shears complicate axial horsts and grabens of the MRS. The Bourbon Arch is offset approximately 100 km (60 mi) by sinistral slip from the Central Kansas uplift along the MRS. The Humboldt fault zone at the eastern margin of the MRS was not offset significantly by northwest-trending faults, suggesting that the present-day expression of the southward-weakening fault zone was created during Pennsylvanian (Upper Carboniferous) rejuvenation of the basement fabric. Stratigraphic relationships record a history of repeated reactivation in Paleozoic time that strongly affected petroleum entrapment, with an especially strong pulse of uplift during Pennsylvanian time.
These rift zones are segments of continental-scale basement lineaments that are fundamental to the structural fabric of the North American basement. The Bourbon Arch-Central Kansas structural lane lies sub-parallel to the Olympic-Wichita lane that extends from southern Oklahoma to the northwest through the Paradox basin of eastern Utah, and the MRS lies sub-parallel to the Colorado Lineament which extends from the Grand Canyon in Arizona to the Lake Superior region. Thus, the basement of the western midcontinent and southern Rocky Mountains consists of large-scale fault zones that delineate suborthogonal basement blocks.
Seismic Response of the East Flank of the Central Kansas Uplift, Rice County, Kansas
Authors: Haraldson Nelda L. , Knapp Ralph W. , Newell K. David
Published: January 2025

A 7-mi (11.2-km) seismic line across the Lyons anticline just south of Lyons, Rice County, Kansas, shows reflections to the depth of about 3,500 ft (1,070 m) corresponding to the Precambrian Rice Formation. The Lyons anticline is used as a gas storage facility.
Although data quality of reflections from the Precambrian is poor, the indication is that the Lyons anticline existed during the Late Proterozoic and that its initial uplift may be related to Keweenawan rifting. Cambrian-Ordovician Arbuckle Group reflections diverge away from the anticline, suggesting that deposition was contemporaneous with uplift. The Middle Ordovician Simpson Group and the Devonian-Mississippian Chattanooga Shale have distinctive reflection characters. Middle and Upper Ordovician Viola and Maquoketa Formations share a single response of a strong transitional, stretched, and positive-polarity peak.
Within the Chattanooga Shale is a thin limestone member which forms a distinct positive-polarity reflection. The limestone is seen to truncate over the crest of the Lyons anticline, and apparently thins eastward and is eventually replaced with siltstone.
In the Pennsylvanian, the Kansas City, Lansing, and Douglas Groups show a reflection aspect characteristic of a deposition system that is predominantly nonmarine clastic with an associated marginal-marine transport process. Reflections in the Shawnee Group have distinctive but modes amplitude and good continuity. Existence of a possible channel is apparent in the seismic response of the Kanwaka Shale. This feature would be rare to encounter and difficult to characterize if known only from drill data. In the Wabaunsee Group, the Howard Limestone forms a very prominent reflection.
The Lower Permian Admire, Council Grove, and Chase Groups have high-amplitude continuous reflections similar to the Wabaunsee, indicating lateral consistency across the section.
Seismic Response of Pennsylvanian Cyclothems in Douglas County, Kansas
Authors: Knapp Ralph W. , Watney W. Lynn , French John A.
Published: January 2025

Middle and Upper Pennsylvanian cyclic sequences (cyclothems) in eastern Kansas are ineffectively imaged on standard petroleum-exploration reflection seismogram sections with frequency responses less than 80 Hz. The Kansas City and Lansing Groups, despite the number of interlayered high-contrast beds they contain, often cannot be distinguished and are grouped as a single characteristic response. However, the use of high-resolution reflection seismology, with dominant frequencies of 250-300 Hz and maximum frequencies to greater than 500 Hz, allows the detection of thin-bed units within the individual groups and formations to approximately 2-m thickness. Alternating thin limestones and shales that comprise cyclothems lead to resonance of the seismic wave. Geological cyclicity and reflection seismology harmonize, and carbonate units are recorded as peaks and siliciclastic units (mostly shales) are recorded as troughs. Further, seismic response is sensitive to such phenomena as the presence of intrabed sandstone lenses in shales and the surface roughness (diffusivity) of lithologic interfaces. The use of an instantaneous phase response display accentuates low-amplitude interbed features such as channels within sandstones and shales.
The ability of high-frequency seismic data to resolve features within the stratigraphically heterogeneous Pennsylvanian of eastern Kansas is demonstrated. To effectively image at the scale of variability of these strata (meters to tens of meters), resolution must be maximized and spurious noise minimized. Acquisition, processing, and display must all aim to this purpose. Small-scale features that are observed on a seismic section acquired across a geologically well-defined stratigraphic interval are documented, and observations of reflection character are correlated to observed geology.
Cheyenne Bottoms Basin--Geophysical Study of a Natural Land-sink Area in Central Kansas
Authors: Keiswetter Dean , Sperry Rob , Anderson Neil L. , McClain Tom , Miller Richard D.
Published: January 2025

The Cheyenne Bottoms basin is an elliptical, natural land-sink feature totaling approximately 16,600 ha (41,000 acres). The basin is bounded on the north, south, and west by 35-m (115-ft)-high Cretaceous limestone and sandstone bluffs and on the east and southeast by Pleistocene sand dunes and alluvium. Cheyenne Bottoms is considered the most important ecosystem in Kansas and is one of the most important migration points for shorebirds in North America.
The origin of Cheyenne Bottoms is disputed. Understanding the subsurface structure and potential salt-related mechanisms responsible for the wetlands may help identify tectonic controls important for shallow oil/gas pools. A single, high-resolution CDP line was acquired at Cheyenne Bottoms to test the feasibility of using the seismic-reflection technique to resolve subsurface structures.
Seismic data and geologic well control suggest that the Cheyenne Bottoms area is a natural land-sink, the result of faulting, salt dissolution, and rock-salt creep. The authors' preferred interpretation is that regional faulting during the Pleistocene allowed for the vertical circulation of ground waters, thereby initiating the dissolution of the Hutchinson Salt Member. Salt dissolution, as envisioned, would have been most extensive in the immediate vicinity of the faults. In those areas peripheral to the sites of extensive leaching, rock-salt creep probably occurred. This process entails the creep of rock salt from zones of high pressure (no significant leaching) towards zones of lower pressure (sites of active dissolution or void space).
As a consequence of faulting, the pre-Hutchinson Salt horizons are structurally low in the Cheyenne Bottoms area. As a result of faulting, salt dissolution, and rock-salt creep, the top of the Hutchinson Salt Member and the post-Hutchinson Salt horizons (including the present surface) are also structurally low.
Seismic Expression of a Subtle Stratigraphic Trap, Lexington Field, Clark County, Kansas
Authors: Richardson Larry J. , Hedke Dennis E.
Published: January 2025

Lexington field is located in northeastern Clark County, Kansas, principally in secs. 19 and 20, T. 31 S., R. 21 W. Geologically, the field is situated on the northeastern shelf of the Hugoton embayment of the Anadarko basin, near the eastern limit of Morrowan Stage deposition. The field has yielded over 4 million bbls of oil and about 4 BCF gas from combined Morrow and Mississippian reservoirs. Fluvial sandstones within the Morrow section are responsible for over 96% of the oil and about 75% of the gas produced from the field.
Productive Morrow sandstones within the field were deposited in a deeply incised fluvial channel. The Morrow trap is stratigraphic with reservoir sandstones being effectively encased in impermeable shales. Mississippian production, in contrast, is primarily related to the development of highly fossiliferous zones which have reservoir-quality porosity over a limited area. This anomalous porosity is erosionally absent in the productive Morrow channel region. Productive Mississippian wells are situated on both sides of the channel.
The discovery well in the field was drilled on a structural high with the Mississippian and Ordovician as potential reservoir targets. Morrow reserves were fortuitously encountered during field development.
The seismic expression of the channel environment is somewhat subtle. After-the-fact modeling is of assistance in characterizing the Morrow-Mississippian interface. Conventional data evaluation, coupled with trace-attribute analysis, has resulted in a fairly comprehensive understanding of this complex subsurface system.
Chert Gravel and Neogene Drainage in East-central Kansas
Authors: Aber James S.
Published: January 2025

Eastern Kansas has an active geomorphic regime dominated by stream erosion, which is strongly influenced by bedrock structure. Alluvial deposits of chert gravel of presumed Neogene age are widespread and abundant on hilltops and high terraces throughout the region. Many of these gravels contain quartzite and other exotic pebbles derived from western sources. Geographic information system (GIS) techniques are used to document and analyze the spatial distribution of upland chert gravel deposits. On this basis, Neogene drainage routes may be recognized for the ancestral Arkansas, ancestral Verdigris, ancestral Neosho, and ancestral Marais des Cygnes.
These drainages bore little resemblance in position or direction to the modern rivers. Stream captures, valley entrenchment, and wholesale inversion of topography led to the modern drainage systems. During entrenchment, streams have shifted systematically southward and eastward, possibly as a result of long-term and continuing crustal tilting (neotectonism) down toward the Gulf of Mexico.
Chemical Analyses of Middle and Upper Pennsylvanian Coals from Southeastern Kansas
Authors: Brady Lawrence L. , Hatch Joseph R.
Published: January 2025

Elemental and chemical analyses and physical tests were conducted on 36 samples of Middle and Upper Pennsylvanian coals from southeastern Kansas. Concentrations of 35 minor and trace elements in these coals were statistically compared with concentrations in coals of similar rank and age from other areas in the western region of the Interior Coal Province, showing that Kansas coals have significantly higher concentrations of copper, arsenic, and lead. The zinc content in Kansas coal samples ranges from 160 to 51,000 ppm (whole-coal basis), the maximum value being the highest zinc value reported for U.S. coals. Cadmium content also has an extreme range, from less than 1.0 to 160 ppm (whole-coal basis), the maximum value being one of the highest cadmium values reported in U.S. coals. The apparent ranks of these coal samples range from high-volatile B to high-volatile A bituminous coal. Most samples of Middle Pennsylvanian coals from the major coal-mining area in Bourbon, Crawford, and Cherokee counties are high-volatile A bituminous coal. Arithmetic mean values for proximate analyses of coals (as-received basis; n = 25) show these coals to be 15.5% ash, 35.3% volatile matter, 45.9% fixed carbon, and 3.3% moisture and to have a heat of combustion of 11,910 Btu/lb. Arithmetic mean values for ultimate analyses of the coals show these coals to be 4.9% hydrogen, 65.3% carbon, 1.2% nitrogen, 5.5% sulfur, and 7.7% oxygen. The geometric mean values of these Kansas coals are 3.03% pyritic sulfur, 1.25% organic sulfur, and 0.2% sulfate sulfur.
Utility of Ground-penetrating Radar in Near-surface, High-resolution Imaging of Lansing-Kansas City (Pennsylvanian) Limestone Reservoir Analogs
Authors: Martinez Alex , Kruger Joseph M. , Franseen Evan K.
Published: January 2025

High-resolution ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a subsurface imaging tool that can extend results gained from studies of reservoir-analog outcrops and add detailed information about reservoir analogs that is unavailable from either seismic data or well control alone. Integration of GPR-reflection information and outcrop photomosaics allowed detailed study of subtle changes in lithology and bedding surfaces by comparing lateral and vertical changes in GPR-reflection character with outcrop features. Outcrops are valuable for confirming interpretations of reflections and providing velocity information for the GPR data. Outcrops of two Lansing-Kansas City Group limestone units, the Captain Creek Limestone and the Plattsburg Limestone, were used as test sites to determine the vertical imaging resolution, penetration depth, and reflection character of high-frequency (500 MHz) GPR in interbedded carbonate and shale units, where the carbonate units contained thin interbeds of shale. Features as small as 0.1-0.2 m (0.3-0.7 ft)--including major architectural elements (such as major and minor bounding surfaces) and internal features (such as fractures, internal bedding, and crossbedding)--were successfully imaged and confirmed by outcrop data. Variations in GPR-reflection character between geologic units allowed recognition of argillaceous limestone units in the subsurface. Although shale and soil at the surface generally impeded GPR signal penetration, thin shale layers and shale at bounding surfaces actually enhanced reflectivity and aided in interpretation. Our results indicate that GPR can be successfully used as an aid in outcrop studies to provide quantitative data for use in reservoir modeling.
Palynological Correlation of Atokan and Lower Desmoinesian (Pennsylvanian) Strata Between the Illinois Basin and the Forest City Basin in Eastern Kansas
Authors: Peppers Russel A. , Brady Lawrence L.
Published: January 2025

Palynological correlation is made between Atokan and lower Desmoinesian strata in the Illinois basin and the Forest City basin in eastern Kansas. Spore data from previous studies of coals in the Illinois basin and other coal basins are compared with data from spore assemblages in coal and carbonaceous shale bands in a core drilled in Leavenworth County, Kansas. Correlations are based on first and/or last occurrences of 31 species common to the Illinois basin and eastern Kansas and on significant increases or decreases in abundance of several of those taxa. The oldest coal, which is 26 ft (8 m) above the top of the Mississippian, is early Atokan (early Westphalian B) in age and is approximately equivalent to the Bell coal bed in the Illinois basin. The Riverton coal bed at the top of the studied interval in Kansas is early Desmoinesian (early Westphalian D) and correlates with about the Lewisport coal bed in the Illinois basin. Three coal beds near the base of the Pennsylvanian in three cores drilled in Cherokee County, Kansas, which were also studied, range in age from late Atokan to early Desmoinesian.
As in other coal basins, Lycospora, borne by lycopod trees, greatly dominates the lower and middle Atokan spore assemblages in coals and shale, but spores from ferns, especially tree ferns, significantly increase in abundance in the upper Atokan and lower Desmoinesian. The pattern of change of dominance among Lycospora pellucida, L. granulata, and L. micropapillata in middle Atokan (Westphalian B-C transition) that has been demonstrated earlier in the Illinois basin and eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, also occurs in eastern Kansas. At least 10 species of spores, which appeared in the middle Atokan in other parts of the equatorial coal belt, also appeared at this time in eastern Kansas. Most of these species have their affinities with the ferns, which were adapted to drier habitats than lycopods. Thus, the climate may have become a little drier in the equatorial coal belt during middle Atokan.
A Review of the Stratigraphy of the Ogallala Formation and Revision of Neogene ("Tertiary") Nomenclature in Kansas
Authors: Ludvigson Greg A. , Sawin Robert S. , Franseen Evan K. , Watney W. Lynn , West Ronald R. , Smith Jon J.
Published: January 2025

The member names for the Ogallala Formation (including the Valentine, Ash Hollow, and Kimball) in Kansas of Zeller (1968) are abandoned. The Ogallala Formation in Kansas includes strata of Miocene and earliest Pliocene age, revising earlier correlation to the Pliocene only (Zeller, 1968). The Kansas Geological Survey is abandoning use of the term "Tertiary," to be replaced by the term "Neogene." International stage boundaries for the Neogene have not been established in Kansas.
Ground-Water Conditions in the Vicinity of Lawrence, Kansas
Authors: Lohman Stanley W.
Published: January 2025

This report presents the results. of a detailed investigation of the groundwater conditions in and near Lawrence, with particular reference to the possibility of replacing the present municipal surface-water supply with a suitable supply of ground water. A geologic reconnaissance was made of the Kansas river valley north of Lawrence supplemented by extensive test drilling and water sampling.
It was found that the bedrock underlying Lawrence and vicinity is not capable of supplying water in amounts sufficient to meet the needs of the city, and that at many places the water from the bedrock is brackish or salty.
The test drilling and other field and laboratory work indicate that the alluvium in the Kansas river valley is by far the most productive source of ground water in the vicinity of Lawrence. The alluvium is very permeable and ranges in thickness from about 40 feet along the south side of the valley to as much as 80 feet in the deepest part of an old bedrock channel along the northern side of the valley-the area most favorable for the development of a large ground-water supply. It is conservatively estimated that recharge from Kansas river (especially from the dammed portion) and from local precipitation plus the recoverable part of the ground-water underflow from upstream areas would be sufficient to maintain a ground-water development of 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 gallons a day-adequate to meet the needs of the city. Suggestions are included as to the propert type and spacing of wells and the optimum rate of pumping in order to obtain a large supply of ground water without danger of local overdevelopment.
The ground water in the alluvium is very hard and contains considerable iron and some manganese, but it is very low in chloride and fluoride. The hardness is almost all carbonate or so-called temporary hardness, so that the hardness, iron, and manganese can be removed by relatively simple and inexpensive treatment. Moreover, the ground water is clear, and is free of the noxious tastes and odors and the excessive turbidity found in the river water now used to supply the city.
Ground-Water Supplies Available in Kansas for National Defense Industries / with a chapter on stream flow in Kansas
Authors: Lohman S.W. , Frye J.C. , Waite H.A. , Fishel V.C. , McLaughlin T.G. , Latta B.F. , Abernathy G.E. , Knapp George S. , Spiegel J.B.
Published: January 2025

This report calls timely attention to the availability in many parts of Kansas of large supplies of water from wells or from streams for use by national defense industries.
It also summarizes the quality of water from wells in different parts of the state, with reference to suitability for industrial use.
Supplies of 10,000,000 to more than 20,000,000 gallons a day are available for -eontinued use from groups of wells in the Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas river valleys, and somewhat smaller supplies are available in many other parts of the state, particularly in the western part. Supplies larger than those stated are available for a period of a few years during the present emergency. Information is given regarding parts of the state in which ground-water supplies large enough for use by national defense plants generally are not available.
Lophophyllid Corals from Lower Pennsylvanian Rocks of Kansas and Oklahoma
Authors: Jeffords Russell M.
Published: January 2025

The late Paleozoic column-bearing corals that generally have been designated as Lophophyllum are here assigned to Lophophyllidium Grabau. A neotype of Cyathaxonia prolifera McChesney, the genotype of Lophophyllidium, is described, and a revised generic diagnosis based on this material is given. Sinophyllum Grabau does not seem to have characters distinct from those of Lophophyllidium and accordingly these genera are considered to be synonymous.
Taxonomic problems encountered in a study of lophophyllid corals are discussed, and the nature of closely related lophophyllid genera is reviewed. Fifteen species are assigned to Lophophyllidium, of which thirteen are new. Descriptions are given of one new species from Morrow strata of Oklahoma, of two from beds of Lampasas age in southern Oklahoma, eight from the Des Moines series in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri, and two from the Missouri series in Oklahoma and Kansas. Specimens from Ohio are questionably referred to Lophophyllidium profundum (Edwards and Haime), a species that seems to be distinct from L. proliferum. The general character of the lower Pennsylvanian column-bearing coral fauna is described, and a terminology of lophophyllid coral structures is given.
Coal Resources of the Douglas Group in East-Central Kansas
Authors: Bowsher Arthur L. , Jewett John M.
Published: January 2025

Rocks of the Douglas group, Missourian series, Pennsylvanian. crop out in eastern Kansas in a belt a few miles wide extending from Leavenworth County to Chautauqua County. Several coal beds occur in these rocks and a few million tons of bituminous coal are available for mining. Because this coal is of relatively low grade and occurs generally in thin beds it has not been mined very extensively. The greatest mining developments have been in Franklin County, but the deposits have been mined intermittently in several other places. Both open pit and underground mines have been operated.
These coal deposits are known to be of sufficient quality and quantity to be potential sources of emergency fuel. They lie in a rather densely populated area. In some locations, economical strip mining can be developed and coal can be easily and quickly obtained.
Chemical tests indicate that although this coal is not of the same grade as that from the larger Kansas fields, it lies well within the limits of coal classed as bituminous, and that the heating value ranges up to 13,900 B.T.U's. per pound.
Kansas Oil Field Brines and Their Magnesium Content
Authors: Schoewe Walter H.
Published: January 2025

This report is a brief study of the Kansas oil field brines, especially as related to their magnesium content: It has been known in a general way that some of the Kansas oil field brines have magnesium content greater than that of sea water from which, in recent years, metallic magnesium is being extracted successfully on a commercial scale. Similarly, metallic magnesium is also being extracted from oil field brines in Michigan. The chief purpose of the investigation was to ascertain the chemical nature of the waste brines, which are now very expensive to dispose of, and to determine whether metallic magnesium, an essential strategic material for war purposes, might not be extracted from these brines. During the summer of 1942 brine samples and other pertinent data were collected from 79 of the major and more important oil fields in the state. The brines were analyzed in the chemical laboratories at the University of Kansas.
On the basis of the analyses, at least six oil-producing formations (Layton, Stalnaker, Kansas City-Lansing, Hoover, Topeka, and Peru pay zones) have an average magnesium content greater than that of ordinary sea water. Certain other formations, such as "chat," Bartlesville, "conglomerate," and Simpson ("Wilcox") formations, yield brines essentially the same in their magnesium content as sea water. The "Mississippi lime," Gorham, Viola, "Hunton," and Arbuckle formations are deficient in this ingredient. The report includes tables giving the complete analyses of the brines studied.
The report includes a brief description of metallic magnesium and its compounds including their occurrences, uses, and derivation from oil field brines. Sources of required processing materials, costs, and prices of magnesium and its compounds are briefly outlined.
After discussing the factors controlling the commercial practicability of recovering magnesium from oil field brines, the report concludes with an analysis of Kansas oil fields worthy of consideration for magnesium recovery and recommended for further detailed study. The Kansas oil fields most worthy of consideration on the basis of data on hand are: Burrton field, Reno county; Bornholdt field, McPherson county; Zenith field, Stafford and Reno counties; Welch field, Rice county; Hall-Gurney field, Russell county; and Oxford field, Sumner county.
The present studies indicate that metallic magnesium extraction from oil field brines as a new and specialized industry in Kansas is not feasible. The information at hand does, however, suggest strongly that more detailed study may show the practicability of extracting magnesium from the brines as an auxiliary phase of the oil industry, to the extent of offsetting the high cost of brine disposal. This applies especially to the Burrton oil field in Reno county.
The Correlation of Rocks of Simpson Age in North-Central Kansas with the St. Peter Sandstone and Associates Rocks in Northwestern Missouri
Authors: Leatherock Constance
Published: January 2025

The lower part of the Simpson rocks in the Salina basin, here designated the St. Peter sandstone, consists of two sandstones separated by shaly beds. These sandstones are characterized by rounded grains and, except for the shaly parting between them, they are lithologically similar to the St. Peter sandstone of northwestern Missouri with which this part of the Simpson is correlated. The upper part of the Simpson rocks in the Salina basin, here designated the Platteville formation, consists of beds of shale, sandstone, dolomite, and limestone. It is somewhat variable in lithology because of lateral gradation, minor disconformities, or both; however, it is collectively similar to and is the correlative of rocks in northwestern Missouri called Decorah formation by Missouri geologists and probably includes also beds equivalent to the upper part of the Plattin limestone of Missouri. The Platteville formation is also the correlative of the Platteville limestone of the upper Mississippi valley.