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RECONSTRUCTING THE PALEOCLIMATE OF THE MIDDLE DEVONIAN USING MARCELLUS SHALE GEOCHEMICAL SIGNATURES, SENECA FALLS, NY

Ice, Bryan w
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1566402595586501

Abstract Details

2019, MS, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences.
The Marcellus Shale has long been an important economic resource in the oil and gas industry here in the United States. The advent of unconventional drilling techniques has ultimately developed the Marcellus shale and its three members (Cherry Valley Limestone, Union Springs, and Oatka Creek) into a fully explored black shale play. While economically important, the climatic and depositional conditions which allowed for the deposition and formation of the Marcellus Shale are not fully understood, and to this day is a topic of debate in the geologic sciences. This research aims to create a better understanding of the depositional conditions, through the use of geochemical and mineralogical proxies. Climatic conditions determined through geochemical proxies include an analysis of the major element abundances, incorporation of the chemical index of alteration(CIA), and a ratio of K relative to Al. Depositional conditions of the Appalachian basin have been determined using the redox sensitive trace element proxies of V/Cr and V/(V+Ni). In Terms of mineralogical proxies, a relative ratio of kaolinite against illite has been incorporated to further validate the claims of the major element proxies. The Marcellus Formation is Middle Devonian in age, and underlies a large area, ranging from western and central New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Eastern Ohio. Within this research the Union Springs Member of the Marcellus Shale has been examined in depth using multiple geochemical proxies in order to infer the climatic and depositional conditions which were favorable for the formation of an economically important black shale play. The study site for this research is in Seneca Falls, NY, wherein three stratigraphic profiles have been collected at a quarry with fresh exposures of the Union Springs Member. This research aims to identify the relative climate in terms of arid vs humid, as well as determine the redox conditions of the depositional basin during the time of deposition. In order to complete this research, several lab instruments have been utilized to obtain geochemical and mineralogical data. The ED-XRF has been used to determine major, minor, and trace element concentrations and fluctuations throughout the stratigraphic profiles. An Elemental Analyzer has been used to determine total organic carbon, and mineralogy has been partially obtained using an XRD, as well as visible derivative spectroscopy techniques (VDS). An additional goal to this research is to improve the application of visible derivative spectroscopy (VDS) to black shale systems. VDS is a technique which utilizes the reflectance of mineral properties in the visible light range (400-700nm). VDS has been widely applied to several geologic and aquatic systems, most recently in tracking harmful algal bloom cell counts. However, the use of VDS has not been widely applied to black shale systems, and some challenges are presented in doing so. Therefore, a portion of this research is to develop improvements in the application to help yield robust analysis in future use of VDS on black shale systems.
Jeremy Williams, Dr (Advisor)
Joseph Ortiz, Dr (Committee Member)
David Singer, Dr (Committee Member)
147 p.
Geology; Paleoclimate Science

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Ice, B. W. (2019). RECONSTRUCTING THE PALEOCLIMATE OF THE MIDDLE DEVONIAN USING MARCELLUS SHALE GEOCHEMICAL SIGNATURES, SENECA FALLS, NY [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1566402595586501

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ice, Bryan. RECONSTRUCTING THE PALEOCLIMATE OF THE MIDDLE DEVONIAN USING MARCELLUS SHALE GEOCHEMICAL SIGNATURES, SENECA FALLS, NY. 2019. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1566402595586501.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ice, Bryan. "RECONSTRUCTING THE PALEOCLIMATE OF THE MIDDLE DEVONIAN USING MARCELLUS SHALE GEOCHEMICAL SIGNATURES, SENECA FALLS, NY." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1566402595586501

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.