Improved
Evaluation Techniques for U.S. Gulf Reservoirs
The recognition
and exploitation of low contrast (subtle) gas reservoirs has stimulated
exploration in the U.S. Gulf Coast. The economic significance of these
reservoirs is reflected by the drilling activity in the TCB field. As a result,
new data are available that can be used to improve evaluation techniques in the
low-contrast lower Vicksburg reservoirs. These are problematic in several ways
including small drainage radii or compartmentalization, unpredictable well-production
performances, and complex petrophysical evaluation. The sealing mechanisms of
these reservoirs are not well understood. While some seals may be related to
growth faults, others show no apparent link to structure. Deciphering the
nature of these seals and their correlation and comparison to younger and older
seals is essential to understanding trapping mechanisms. Reservoir evaluation
using wire-line logs has not been totally effective in predicting well-production
performance. Therefore, improved techniques are essential to successful
development of the TCB and other fields. Prediction of production rates and
reserves from log calculations and mapping are relatively straightforward in
thicker, clean high-contrast reservoirs.
Sponsors: Gas Research Institute, Oklahoma State
Regents for Higher Education
PI: Zuhair Al-Shaieb
This project is
a field-oriented geological study in the West Anatolia, including geochemical
analysis and radiometric age determinations on the extension related igneous
and metamorphic rocks. The three models on the origin of extensional tectonics
in West Anatolia are: 1) the tectonic escape model; 2) back-arc extension model;
and 3) orogenic collapse model. As part of the research the extensional
features of West Anatolia will be compared to the extensional features in the
southern Basin Ranges, especially the Death Valley region, in terms of geometry
and evolution of extensional structures and geochemistry of the extension
related igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
PI: Ibrahim Cemen
Environmental
Characterization and Monitoring of LNAPL
This
project tests the feasibility of three questions with the framework of the
final question used to direct the research: 1) Can a low cost electrical
resistivity tomography (ERT) system capable of irregular placement of
electrodes with high speed data collection and inversion be developed for
solute detection and monitoring, especially in the presence of fingering
solutes? 2) Can the geophysical responses be verified in order to gain
confidence in system ouptput by correlating the response with hydrogeological
measurements and modeling? and 3) Can an ERT system installation and monitoring
be simplified for consultants and regulators and integrated into current
regulatory standards?
Sponsor: Oklahoma Corporation
Commission
PI: Todd Halihan
Integrated
Subsurface Imaging Techniques for Detecting Cavities In Gypsum Karst
Environments
This
project utilizes subsurface imaging techniques to non-intrusively detect and
map solutional cavities in the gypsum karst environments of Oklahoma. Employing
electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), broadband electromagnetic induction
(EMI), seismic reflection and refraction and ground penetrating radar (GPR) to
detect, delineate and map the karst geohazards around the Nescatunga cave
system of Northwestern Oklahoma.
Sponsor: Oklahoma Transportation
Center
PI: Todd Halihan
Study
of Fractured-Rock Aquifers as a Water Source for Cape Town, South Africa
This
project is a preliminary study of the fractured-rock aquifers around Cape Town,
South Africa. Collaboration with geoscientists in South Africa, study of the
Table Mountain Group (TMG) in Oklahoma, and a review of technical information
and gathering of preliminary field data will preclude the submission of a
formal proposal for funding.
Sponsors: Environmental
Institute, College of Arts & Sciences
PIs: Todd Halihan, Stan
Paxton
Sociology:
Elizabeth Caniglia
The
POLARIS Project: Training and Support for a Revolutionary New Approach to
Teaching Science and Math in Middle Schools
A team of OSU faculty members, including
three faculty (Marston, Puckette, Paxton) from the School of Geology, is
developing a Web site that will introduce middle school math and science
teachers to a revolutionary new integrated approach to their subject areas. The
anticipated launch date is spring 2003.
Faculty from chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, computer science,
earth sciences, education and language arts have cooperated to develop a
curriculum and series of workshops and lessons for teachers that they can
access directly from their classrooms. The project is coordinated by the OSU
Arts & Sciences Extension Service and the Center for Science Literacy. A unique
aspect of the project is that it encourages students to approach science the
way scientists do. Using Hypothesis-Based Learning (HBL), teachers encourage
their students to use observation, hypotheses and experimentation to solve
problems. The web site gives teachers suggestions and demonstrations for using
encouragement and effective questioning to inspire their students.
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Education
PIs: Richard Marston, Jim Puckette
New
Frontiers: Research Experience for Undergraduates in the Space and Planetary
Sciences
The purpose of this project is to provide a research experience for 12 undergraduate students (eight at the University of Arkansas and four at Oklahoma State University) in planetary and space science. For a 10-week period in the summer of 2002, 2003, and 2004, top students are selected from applicants across the country to work closely with OSU faculty mentors in science and engineering fields. In the summer of 2002, undergraduate students came to OSU to work on rock glaciers on Mars; dosimeter for applications in astronaut radiation dosimetry and Martian sediment dating; luminescence dating instruments for landing on Mars and dating the sediments; and developing a sensor for detecting life on Mars. Students participated in weekly seminars and were escorted on site visits to the Johnson Space Center and
private industries in the region involved in space science.
Sponsors: National Science Foundation,
Astronomy Program, Research Experience for Undergraduates
PIs: Richard Marston
Physics: Stephen McKeever
Ridge-and-Furrow
Morphology of Rock Glaciers: Implications for Ice on Mars
The purpose of this project is to identify
geomorphic characteristics of rock glaciers on earth that might prove useful
for identifying rock glaciers on Mars. These features may contain significant
portions of the frozen water on Mars. Measurements of ridge-and-furrow
topography, flow lineations, and lobate forms will be acquired from aerial
photos and field surveys of rock glaciers in Yankee Boy Basin near Ouray,
Colorado. Measurements of Martian landforms will be derived from Viking Orbiter
imagery and images from the Mars Global Surveyor-Mars Orbiting Camera, provided
by the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Clear Lake, Texas. In addition, imagery
from the Mars Odyssey will be acquired, a satellite that was placed in orbit in
October 2001.
Sponsor: Arkansas-Oklahoma Center for Space and
Planetary Sciences
PI: Richard Marston
Development and Assessment of Techniques for
Predicting Sedimentary Rock Provenance and Sand Body Geometry/Continuity:
Applications of River Tools/IDL to Modern Fluvial Systems
The purpose of this on-going project is to
develop new tools/techniques for characterizing and predicting some common but
important properties of aquifers and hydrocarbon reservoirs. To accomplish
this, we are employing some generally available software tools for evaluating
the strength of association in modern fluvial depositional systems between
regional geology and: 1) sedimentary rock provenance (sediment source area);
and 2) sand body geometry and continuity. The provenance module has the
potential to provide geologists with better estimates of sand composition and
grain size in frontier basins. These estimates are required in order to assess
the extent to which formations will compact and/or cement during burial. The
geometry and continuity module will provide quantitative summaries about the
extent to which fluvial sand bodies in a given tectonic setting are in lateral
and vertical continuity. These geometry summaries are important because they
are required for estimating production rates and field life for reservoirs and
aquifers. The Canadian and Cimarron River drainages in Oklahoma and
Northeastern New Mexico are the first two modern river systems to be analyzed.
Sponsor: ExxonMobil Corporation
PIs: Stanley Paxton, Richard Marston