UTAH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SURVEY NOTES Volume 45, Number 1 January 2013 UTAH'S NEW IGUANODONTIAN DINOSAURS Contents The Director’s Perspective The Thumb-Spiked Iguanodontians—Dinosaurian Cows of the Early Cretaceous ...........................1 Each year, the Utah Geological Survey of proven reserves Using Aquifers for Water Storage provides two chapters for the “Economic (barrels) to annual in Cache Valley ................................................ 4 Report to the Governor,” which is pub- oil production (bar- Establishing Baseline Water Quality in the lished by the Governor’s Office of Man- rels per year) has Southeastern Uinta Basin ............................. 6 agement and Budget in January. The two increased from GeoSights ............................................................. 8 chapters address energy and mineral typically 6 to 8 Glad You Asked .................................................... 9 industry trends in Utah during the past years of supply Energy News .......................................................10 year. The UGS also summarizes Utah’s prior to 2000, to Teacher’s Corner ................................................ 12 extractive resource industry trends in 18 years over the Survey News .......................................................13 an annual publication (recently pub- past three years. lished UGS Circular 115 summarizes 2011 In addition, annual New Publications ................................................13 trends). A key indicator we use to mea- oil production has sure the overall contribution of these almost doubled industries to Utah’s economy is the total from its low point Design: Stevie Emerson by Richard G. Allis Cover: Excavation of Iguanocolossus at the base of the value of the energy and mineral com- in 2003 to its level Cedar Mountain Formation, southeast of Green River, modities produced annually. For 2011 today. The large increase in reserves tells Utah. Inset: UGS paleontologist Don DeBlieux with student this was $9.2 billion, the second-highest us annual oil production will continue interns excavating and field jacketing another iguanodont at value ever (in 2008 the inflation-adjusted increasing, and assuming the price of the base of the Cedar Mountain Formation. figure was $9.8 billion). The most striking oil does not suffer a sustained decrease, feature of the 50-year trend, as shown on oil’s contribution to Utah’s economy will State of Utah the graph below, is that for more than 40 increase significantly from its present Gary R. Herbert, Governor years Utah's extractive industries had a production value of $2 billion per year. Department of Natural Resources total annual production value of $3–5 bil- Most of this increased production is likely Michael Styler, Executive Director lion (inflation-adjusted); however, around to be from the Uinta Basin. UGS Board 2004 many commodity prices increased The outlook for Utah’s coal production is William Loughlin, Chair dramatically, and the total value has sub- not as rosy. The UGS expects annual pro- Jack Hamilton, Tom Tripp, sequently been in the range of $8–10 bil- duction in 2012 to decline to a level last Sunny Dent, Mark Bunnell, lion. Kenneth Puchlik, Marc Eckels, seen 25 years ago (17 million short tons Kevin Carter (Trust Lands Administration-ex officio) Investment in exploration and production per year). Many factors contribute to this has followed the swings in commodity low level of production, but it follows a UGS Staff price, with oil and natural gas probably general trend of declining production Administration being the best examples. For most of the since the late 1990s. The main factor is Richard G. Allis, Director past decade, twice as many rigs in Utah shrinking markets for the coal, due in part Kimm Harty, Deputy Director drilled for natural gas than for oil. How- to a shift in the electricity industry towards Starr Soliz, Secretary/Receptionist ever, since about 2009, when the price of gas-fired generation. Another Utah com- Dianne Davis, Administrative Secretary natural gas became decoupled from that modity seriously affected by declining Kathi Galusha, Financial Manager of oil and fell to relatively low levels ($2–3 demand is uranium. Energy Fuels Inc., the Linda Bennett, Accounting Technician per thousand cubic feet of gas) while the relatively new owner of Utah’s three pro- Michael Hylland, Technical Reviewer Robert Ressetar, Technical Reviewer price of oil stayed near historic highs ($80 ducing mines, has announced it will close to more than $100 a barrel), the number all three mines due to the weak price of Editorial Staff Vicky Clarke of rigs drilling for oil has roughly matched uranium. Oil, natural gas, coal, and ura- Lori Steadman, Stevie Emerson, Jeremy Gleason, those drilling for natural gas. Oil discover- nium are all examples of how “change” Jay Hill ies have followed, undoubtedly helped by is a fundamental characteristic of our Geologic Hazards Steve Bowman improved drilling technologies. The ratio extractive resource industries. Richard Giraud, William Lund, Greg McDonald, Jessica Castleton, Gregg Beukelman, Chris DuRoss, Tyler Knudsen, Corey Unger, Adam McKean, Ben Erickson, Pam Perri, Amanda Hintz Geologic Information and Outreach Sandra Eldredge Christine Wilkerson, Patricia Stokes, Mark Milligan, Stephanie Earls, Lance Weaver, Gentry Hammerschmid, Jim Davis, Marshall Robinson, Bryan Butler Geologic Mapping Grant Willis Jon King, Douglas Sprinkel, Janice Hayden, J. Buck Ehler, Kent Brown, Basia Matyjasik, Donald Clark, Bob Biek, Paul Kuehne Energy and Minerals David Tabet Robert Blackett, Craig Morgan, Jeff Quick, Taylor Boden, Thomas Chidsey, Cheryl Gustin, Tom Dempster, Brigitte Hucka, Stephanie Carney, Ken Krahulec, Brad Wolverton, Sonja Heuscher, Mike Vanden Berg, Andrew Rupke, Mark Gwynn, Christian Hardwick, Peter Nielsen Groundwater and Paleontology Mike Lowe James Kirkland, Janae Wallace, Martha Hayden, Hugh Hurlow, Don DeBlieux, Kim Nay, Paul Inkenbrandt, Lucy Jordan, Kevin Thomas, Rebecca Medina, Walid Sabbah, Rich Emerson, Stefan Kirby, Scott Madsen, Jennifer Jones Survey Notes is published three times yearly by Utah Geological Survey, 1594 W. North Temple, Suite 3110, Salt Lake City, Utah 84116; (801) 537-3300. The Utah Geological Survey provides timely scientific information about Utah’s geologic environment, resources, and hazards. The UGS is a division of the Department of Natural Resources. Single copies of Survey Notes are distributed free of charge within the United States and reproduction is encouraged with recognition of source. Copies are available at geology.utah.gov/surveynotes. ISSN 1061-7930 THE THUMB-SPIKED IGUANODONTIANS Dinosaurian Cows of Iguanodon ottingeri being attacked by Utahraptor. the Early Cretaceous (Artist – Pat Redman. Used with permission.) by James I. Kirkland Iguanodontian dinosaurs are large, bipedal, plant-eating dinosaurs that were the most common large dinosaurs on land in the Northern Hemisphere during the Cretaceous Period (65-145 million years ago). They include the more primi- tive thumb-spiked iguanodonts of the early and middle parts of the Cretaceous and the duck-billed hadrosaurid dino- saurs of the latest Cretaceous. Recent discoveries by paleontologists at the Utah Geological Survey have revealed a number of new iguanodont species from the Cedar Mountain Formation of east- central Utah that browsed the newly dinosaurs can be considered the cows diversifyingof the Early Cretaceousflowering andplants. were Thesemajor prey animals of the “raptors” and large “carnosaurs.” Described from Lower Cretaceous strata Early (1852) reconstruction of Iguanodon at Crystal Palace, England (Photo source: Wikipedia). Postage stamp showing kangaroo pose of A duplicate of the model in the back of the photo above actually Iguanodon popular after the Belgian held a table surrounded by 21 of the leading naturalists of the coal mine discoveries in 1878. Note that the thumb-spike, day to celebrate the achievement (from London Illustrated which had been placed on the animal’s nose in earlier News, 7 January, 1854). reconstruction, is now in its proper place on the hand. JANUARY 2013 1 of southern England in 1825, Iguanodon was the second dinosaur ever described. Initially thought to represent an extinct rhinoceros, its teeth were compared to those of an iguana and thus it was named Iguanodon meaning “Iguana tooth.” This wasMesozoic one ofreptiles the first with three an uprightfossils that posture would as bein usedmodern to definemammals. the DinosauriaInitially, based in 1841 on theas huge few fragmentary fossils, Iguanodon was interpreted to be an elephant-sized, quadrupedal reptile with a horn on its nose. This fanciful reconstruction ever made. was among the first reconstructions of a dinosaur The description of the more complete Hadrosaurus skeleton from Upper Cretaceous strata of New Jersey in 1858 led to speculation that Iguanodon was bipedal. However, with the 1878 discovery of 24 complete skeletons of Iguanodon at the Holotype maxillary (upper jaw) fragment of Iguanodon bottom of a coal mine about 1000 feet down ottingeri from Dalton Wells, Utah (teeth about 2 cm across). at Bernissart, Belgium, the anatomy of this dinosaur became well understood. By compar- ing the anatomy of these skeletons with those kangaroos, Iguanodon was reinterpreted as an ofupright modern bipedal animals, animal such that as flightlesswould have birds braced and Reconstruction of skull itself with its tail. Furthermore, the spike that had and head of