Publication Date

2014

Document Type

Thesis

Committee Members

David Dominic (Committee Member), Ernest Hauser (Advisor), Doyle Watts (Committee Member)

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Abstract

Cuttings recovered from two Benegar wells in Jay County, Indiana, have led to the recognition of a lithic arenite and limestone layer beneath the Mt. Simon Sandstone, the regional basal sandstone of the Paleozoic platform sequence. This lithic arenite is interpreted as the Middle Run Formation which has been observed in numerous wells within the Western Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Indiana region. However, the limestone layer in these Benegar wells is unique, with only one other instance of limestone beneath the Mt. Simon being in the Mattison #1 well in southeast Clark County, Ohio. During the summer of 2013 students and faculty of Wright State University's Earth and Environmental Science Department conducted a 2D seismic reflection survey adjacent to the Benegar wells in Jay County, Indiana, to examine the seismic signature and setting of this stratigraphy. Sonic and density logs obtained from nearby wells located in both Indiana and Ohio were used to produce synthetics for comparison to the seismic profile. Available driller or logging documents were used to pick the tops of the Eden Shale, Trenton, Knox, Eau Claire, Mt. Simon, and Middle Run Formation on the stacked seismic section. Documents obtained for the original Benegar wells lead to the successful identification of the limestone layer reflection within the Middle Run Formation. The parallel layering observed in these Precambrian reflections that mirrors the layering of the younger Paleozoic formations suggests a lack of structural complexity (at least in an EW direction) and an apparent lack of Grenville foreland deformation as indicated in parts of western Ohio.

Page Count

62

Department or Program

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Year Degree Awarded

2014

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