SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHIC FRAMEWORK OF THE LATE DEVONIAN (FRASNIAN) DUPEROW FORMATION IN WESTERN AND CENTRAL MONTANA by Christopher Johann Steuer A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Earth Science MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY Bozeman, Montana November 2019 ©COPYRIGHT by Christopher Johann Steuer 2019 All Rights Reserved ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I’d like to thank my parents for their unwavering support throughout this endeavor; this project wouldn’t have been possible without them. I’d also like to thank my advisors, Dr. David W. Bowen, Chuck Calavan, and Dr. Devon Orme, as well as, Dr. Dave Lageson for their thoughtful insight, discussion and motivation throughout my time at Montana State University. I’d like to thank my fellow graduate cohorts for their meaningful discussions on various geology topics and my undergraduate mentors, Dr. Dave Schwarz and Dr. Walter Snyder from Boise State University who inspired me to pursue a Master’s through their classroom instruction, motivational energy, guidance in pursuing a career outside of academia, and personal interaction in the field. This research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Energy Technology Laboratory through award number: DE-FC26- 05NT42587 to the Energy Research Institute and Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership at Montana State University; grants from the Montana Geological Society, the Society for Sedimentary Geology, the Geological Society of America, and the Montana State University Graduate School and College of Letters and Sciences. I’m grateful for the support provided by these organizations as this project would not have been possible without them. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 Introduction and Objectives ............................................................................. 1 Significance ..................................................................................................... 2 2. GEOLOGIC SETTING ..................................................................................... 7 Overview .......................................................................................................... 7 Field Sites .............................................................................................. 10 Stratigraphic Setting .............................................................................. 12 Sloss’ Megasequences and The Lower Kaskaskia Sequence .......... 15 Beartooth Butte Formation ................................................................ 19 Maywood-Souris River Formation ..................................................... 20 Duperow Formation .......................................................................... 22 Nisku-Birdbear Formation ................................................................. 24 Three Forks Formation ..................................................................... 24 Tectonic Setting ..................................................................................... 25 Great Falls Tectonic Zone and Basement Lineaments ..................... 27 Wyoming Craton ............................................................................... 28 Medicine Hat Block ........................................................................... 28 Montana Aulacogen .......................................................................... 29 Sweetgrass Arch and Pendroy Fault Zone ....................................... 29 Central Montana Trough (CMT) ........................................................ 30 Central Montana Uplift (CMU) .......................................................... 31 Wyoming-Beartooth Shelf ................................................................. 31 3. DATA AND METHODS ................................................................................. 33 Data Outcrop and Measured Sections ........................................................... 33 Gibson Reservoir, Sawtooth Range, Montana .................................. 33 Logan Gulch, Horseshoe Hills, Montana .......................................... 36 Storm Castle Peak, Gallatin Canyon, Montana ................................ 37 Sacagawea Peak, Bridger Range, Montana ..................................... 39 Crown Butte, Little Belt Mountains, Montana .................................... 41 Haymaker Narrows, Little Belt Mountains, Montana ......................... 42 Greathouse Peak, Big Snowy Mountains, Montana .......................... 43 Drill Core ................................................................................................ 45 Thin Sections ......................................................................................... 46 Methods Outcrop and Measured Sections ............................................................ 48 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTINUED Drill Core ................................................................................................. 48 Thin Sections .......................................................................................... 49 4. LITHOFACIES AND LITHOFACIES ASSOCIATIONS ................................... 50 Lithofacies ..................................................................................................... 50 Lithofacies Associations ................................................................................ 51 LFA-2A .................................................................................................. 51 LFA-2B .................................................................................................. 54 LFA-3A .................................................................................................. 55 LFA-3B .................................................................................................. 57 LFA-4A .................................................................................................. 57 LFA-4B .................................................................................................. 58 LFA-4C and LFA-1A .............................................................................. 60 LFA-5A .................................................................................................. 63 LFA-6A .................................................................................................. 64 Depositional Environments ........................................................................... 76 Facies Model ................................................................................................ 77 5. STRATIGRAPHIC FRAMEWORK ................................................................. 79 Sequence Stratigraphy .................................................................................. 79 Third Order Sequences In the Duperow Formation .................................. 80 Gibson Reservoir .............................................................................. 85 Logan Gulch ..................................................................................... 87 Crown Butte ...................................................................................... 90 Sacagawea Peak .............................................................................. 92 Haymaker Narrows ........................................................................... 94 Greathouse Peak .............................................................................. 95 Storm Castle Peak ............................................................................ 97 Wallewein 22-1 Core ........................................................................ 98 Danielson 33-17 Core ..................................................................... 100 Plain Kevin 15-26 Core ................................................................... 101 Second Order Sequences In the Duperow Formation ............................ 102 Paleogeography .......................................................................................... 107 6. DISCUSSION .............................................................................................. 117 Geologic Significance Oil and Gas Resources ........................................................................... 117 Carbon Sequestration ............................................................................. 121 v TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTINUED 7. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS .............................................................. 124 Introduction .................................................................................................. 124 Summary and Conclusions .......................................................................... 124 Future Work ................................................................................................. 126 REFERENCES CITED .................................................................................... 127 APPENDICES .................................................................................................. 152 APPENDIX A: Sequence Stratigraphic Framework: Measured Sections ....................................................... 153 APPENDIX B: Sequence Stratigraphic Framework: Cores ................... 154 APPENDIX C: Storm Castle Measured Section .................................... 155 APPENDIX D: Summary Table of Thin Section Attributes .................... 156 APPENDIX E: Thin Section Individual