Provenance of the Hamilton Group: A Study of Source-to-Sink Relationships within the Middle Devonian Central Appalachian Basin

Hupp, Brittany N.

doi:10.33915/etd.5846

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The Marcellus Shale and the Mahantango Formations are both composed primarily of mud rock, although the rocks of the Marcellus Shale Formation are more organic-rich ( Figure 1). Recent studies on the Hamilton Group in this part of the basin have indicated that variations in paleoenvironmental conditions and sources of sediment influx were responsible for the differences in lithological composition, age, mineralogy, and geochemistry of the different formations (Wang and Carr, 2013;Wang et al, 2014;Chen et al, 2015;Chen and Sharma, 2016;Hupp, 2017). All these units were deposited in the shallow to the deep marine environment, however, the Marcellus Shale was deposited in relatively deeper anoxic conditions compared to the Mahantango Formation (Boyce et.…”

Section: Geologic Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilizing Lipid Biomarkers to Understand the Microbial Community Structure of Deep Subsurface Black Shale Formations

Akondi¹

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The deep subsurface environment has been known to host microbes as early as 1926 and has also been suggested to potentially account for as much as 50% of the Earth`s biomass. Researchers have shown that microbes alter their membrane lipid components in response to physiological stress, producing stress indicative lipid biomarkers. However, little effort has been made to understand the subsurface microbial community of the shale ecosystem which is increasingly being exploited and altered by addition of drilling and hydraulic fluids to meet our growing energy needs. Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) are microbial lipid biomarkers and are found in all cellular membranes. Their presence in sediments has been used to provide evidence of living microbes while diglyceride fatty acids (DGFAs) are microbial lipid biomarkers which serve as indicators of non-viable microbes. PLFAs and DGFAs are some of the most important proxies used to determine the physiological state of microbes in natural environmental systems. Currently, techniques for the evaluation of subsurface microbial community have mostly been focused on shallow subsurface environments and aquifer settings. This stems from the lack of appropriate techniques that can monitor the deep subsurface ecosystem. Developing such techniques require pristine subsurface rock samples, appropriate instruments and an understanding of the geology and biogeochemistry of the subsurface. The goal of this dissertation is to develop understanding of microbial life in subsurface (>7000 ft.) Marcellus Shale Formation in the Appalachian Basin. The study focuses on the extraction and analyses of PLFAs and DGFAs to investigate the viable and non-viable microbial communities in these deep geologic formations. Samples used for this research were acquired from cores owned by the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL), the Department of Geology and Geography at West Virginia University (WVU), and the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey (WVGES). A good understanding of microbial community of deep surface black shales like the Marcellus Shale, affords enormous opportunities for improving biocides in the shale energy industry, understanding subsurface microbial colonization, and engineering efforts for enhanced gas recovery. STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION This dissertation is subdivided into three research topics. Chapter 1 investigates how buffers and biochemical amendments can improve the recovery of lipid biomarkers from the subsurface shale samples. This chapter is part of a larger investigation to optimize the yield of both viable (PLFA) and non-viable microbial (DGFA) biomarkers. The PLFA biomarkers are presented in Trexler et al. 2017 (Master's Thesis, The Ohio State University). My primary focus in the experiment was to test the performance of the different lipid extraction methods on the DGFAs. Organic amendments and buffer solutions were used to statistically account for spatial heterogeneity in geologic environments. The objective of this The Marcellus Shale Ene...

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Section: Geologic Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilizing Lipid Biomarkers to Understand the Microbial Community Structure of Deep Subsurface Black Shale Formations

Akondi¹

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“…A horizontal Armstrong well has produced 0.45 BCF/1000ft lateral (WVDEP, 2019) so far and a nearby horizontal CSA well totaling 0.41 BCF/1000ft lateral (PADEP, 2019). Results from provenance analysis of these cores are compared to five other locations in the region to constrain regional detrital sediment input and its relationship to spatial and temporal patterns of organic matter deposition (Caesar et al, 2010;Hupp, 2017;Phan et al, 2018). Furthermore, this study assesses the impact of thermal maturity on the organic-rich facies as part of the comparison (Fig.…”

Section: Controls On Marcellus Shale Tocmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…% TOC versus εNd. Monongalia County data fromHupp (2017), Greene and Tioga County fromPhan et al (2018), and Taylor and Clearfield County data from this study.…”

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Sediment Provenance Study of the Lower Hamilton Group: An Analysis of the Organic-Rich Facies and its Depositional History

Fritz¹

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Currently, insufficient geological models exist to explain the variability and distribution of TOC in the Marcellus Shale, within the Hamilton Group. TOC is one of the several limiting factors for natural gas production within the Marcellus Shale basin. One possible explanation for the low TOC regions is that detrital dilution was variable across the basin, with different sediment sources contributing detritus to low TOC areas, compared to surrounding regions with higher TOC. This hypothesis is tested by analyzing the source composition of inorganic detritus, using elemental and mineralogical proxies, with two cores in the Hamilton Group. The Armstrong #1 core is located in Taylor County, West Virginia and the Coldstream Affiliates 1MH (CSA) core is located in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. Both these wells are located outside of the higher productivity regions with a nearby horizontal Armstrong well totaling 0.45 BCF/1000ft lateral and a nearby horizontal CSA well totaling 0.41 BCF/1000ft lateral. Variation in production may also result from over maturation of the kerogen-hosted pores. To evaluate the influence of thermal history, the thermal maturity of the Marcellus Shale in the lower productivity Armstrong #1 and CSA wells and the higher productivity MSEEL well was assessed using Raman spectroscopy. Major element, trace element, and REE geochemistry indicate the sediment source area was composed of intermediate and felsic granitic and recycled sedimentary lithologies. Samarium-neodymium isotopic analysis reveals a range of DM ages and εNd values. The Armstrong #1 well DM / εNd ranged from 1.64 to 1.91 Ga /-11.93 to-9.56 and the CSA from 1.62 to 1.88 Ga /-12.07 to-11.12. The εNd values became more negative upsection, however the DM did not display a consistent trend relative to depth. Provenance analysis indicates the most likely source of clastic sediment was the Acadian Fold-Thrust Belt to the east with minor inputs from Superior Craton and southern Canadian Grenville Province. Ultimately, results conclude that elevated TOC was associated with only older DM ages and recycled sedimentary signatures. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Provenance of the Hamilton Group: A Study of Source-to-Sink Relationships within the Middle Devonian Central Appalachian Basin

Cited by 2 publications

References 43 publications

Utilizing Lipid Biomarkers to Understand the Microbial Community Structure of Deep Subsurface Black Shale Formations

Utilizing Lipid Biomarkers to Understand the Microbial Community Structure of Deep Subsurface Black Shale Formations

Sediment Provenance Study of the Lower Hamilton Group: An Analysis of the Organic-Rich Facies and its Depositional History

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