Stratigraphy of the Eocene Green River Formation, Southeastern Uinta Basin, Utah – Outcrop to Subsurface Correlation
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STRATIGRAPHY OF THE EOCENE GREEN RIVER FORMATION, SOUTHEASTERN UINTA BASIN, UTAH – OUTCROP TO SUBSURFACE CORRELATION by Josh Day A thesis submitted to the Faculty and Board of Trustees of the Colorado School of Mines in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Geology) Golden, Colorado Date _________________________ Signed: __________________________________ Joshua Day Signed: __________________________________ Dr. J. Frederick Sarg Thesis Advisor Golden, Colorado Date _________________________ Signed: __________________________________ Dr. Paul Santi Professor and Head Department of Geology and Geological Engineering ii ABSTRACT A stratigraphic correlation was constructed for the Eocene Green River Formation in the area of the southeastern Uinta basin, Utah that integrated centimeter-to-decimeter scale outcrop and core measurements with 12 well logs. Green River Formation strata from the Uteland Butte tongue to the Mahogany Marker were examined. This correlation connects existing outcrop and subsurface studies and provides facies-to-log calibration for the characteristically unusual log responses of Green River Formation strata. The correlation utilized nine markers that were consistently present in the study area and which tie into existing studies (Hogan, 2015). Log calibration of lacustrine facies has traditionally been difficult due to facies and stratigraphic complexities. This study utilizes gamma ray assay measurements of described outcrop as well as gamma ray, bulk density, and neutron porosity of described cores to provide a general calibration of log response to facies association. This identified five groupings of calibrated facies associations: FA1 – Fluvial sandstones, FA2/FA6 – Floodplain and littoral mudstones, FA3 – Deltaic deposits, FA4/FA5 – Carbonate deposits, and FA7 – Oil shale. These calibrations are useful in determining facies distribution and depositional environment where the only (or predominant) data source is well logs. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 1.1 Research Problem ....................................................................................................1 1.2 Previous Work .........................................................................................................1 1.3 Study Objectives ......................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 2 BACKGROUND GEOLOGY .................................................................................7 2.1 Regional Structure ...................................................................................................7 2.2 Regional Stratigraphy and Depositional Environment ............................................8 CHAPTER 3 DATA COLLECTION ..........................................................................................12 3.1 Study Area .............................................................................................................12 3.2 Outcrop .................................................................................................................14 3.3 Core ........................................................................................................................17 3.3.1 11 S Uinta Basin (U682) ............................................................................19 3.3.2 EX-1 Utah (U631 .......................................................................................20 CHAPTER 4 FACIES AND FACIES ASSOCIATIONS ...........................................................23 4.1 FA1 – Fluvial Channels .........................................................................................26 4.2 FA2 – Floodplain deposits .....................................................................................33 4.3 FA3 – Deltaic Deposits ..........................................................................................34 4.4 FA4 – Microbial Carbonates ..................................................................................35 iv 4.5 FA5 – Littoral to Sublittoral Carbonates ...............................................................39 4.6 FA6 – Littoral to Sublittoral Siliciclastics .............................................................40 4.7 FA7 – Oil Shale .....................................................................................................44 CHAPTER 5 CROSS SECTIONS AND MARKERS .................................................................48 5.1 Cross Sections ........................................................................................................48 5.2 Markers ..................................................................................................................49 5.2.1 Wasatch ......................................................................................................49 5.2.2 Uteland Butte .............................................................................................53 5.2.3 Castle Peak .................................................................................................53 5.2.4 Black Shale ................................................................................................54 5.2.5 Three Point .................................................................................................55 5.2.6 Douglas Creek, TGR3, Marker 8 ...............................................................56 5.2.7 Mahogany Marker ......................................................................................58 CHAPTER 6 LOG CALIBRATION AND INTERPRETATION...............................................59 6.1 Calibration of FA1 – Fluvial Channels ..................................................................60 6.2 Calibration of FA2 – Floodplain Deposits and FA6 – Littoral to Sublittoral Siliciclastics ...........................................................................................................61 6.3 Calibration of FA3 – Deltaic Deposits ...................................................................61 6.4 Calibration of FA4 – Microbial Carbonates and FA5 – Littoral to Sublittoral Carbonates..............................................................................................................63 6.5 Calibration of FA7 – Oil Shale ..............................................................................63 6.6 Interpretation of Cross Sections .............................................................................64 CHAPTER 7 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................67 CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSIONS....................................................................................................74 8.1 Further Work ..........................................................................................................74 8.2 Summary of Conclusions .......................................................................................75 v REFERENCES CITED ..................................................................................................................77 APPENDIX A SUPPLEMENTAL ELECTRONIC FILES ...............................................82 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Uinta and Piceance Creek basins (USGS, 2003) .....................................................8 Figure 2.2 Bounding structures of the Uinta basin with key locations, cross sections that connect to the current study, and the study area for the current study. Blue cross sections are from Hogan 2015; yellow cross section is from Birgenheier and Vanden Berg (2011) (adapted from Google Maps, 2014) ..............................10 Figure 2.3 Paleogeographic reconstruction of Lake Uinta (adapted from Blakey, 2009) .......10 Figure 2.4 Stratigraphy of the Green River Formation in the Uinta basin with rich and lean zones, and lake stages delineated. Lake Stage (1) after Johnson (1985). Lake Stage (2) after Tanavsuu-Milkeviciene and Sarg (2012). W and C are the ages of the Wavy and Curly Tuffs respectively (after Smith et al., 2008). Colored lines in column “M” represent approximate location of markers used in cross sections C-C’ and D-D’ (see section 5.2): yellow – Wasatch, cyan – Uteland Butte, blue – Castle Peak, purple – Black Shale, orange – Three Point, brown – Douglas Creek, red – TGR3, pink – Marker 8, green – Mahogany. Adapted from Hogan (2015) ..................................................................................11 Figure 3.1 Location of cross sections A-A' and B-B' from Hogan (2015) (in blue); cross sections C-C' and D-D' from the current study (in green). Well names listed by number ...................................................................................................................13