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Unified Stratigraphy and Depositional Systems - Green
River Oil Shale in the Piceance & Greater Green River Basins,
Colorado & Wyoming
J. Frederick Sarg, and Yuval BartovColorado School of Mines
Alan CarrollUniversity Wisconsin, Madison
Tim LowensteinSUNY, Binghamton
Lake Piceance
Green River Lakes, Western USA
Stratigraphic section, Green River Formation, Piceance Creek basin.
Oil Shale resources of the Green River Formation: commonly saline lake deposits.
from Dyni, 2006.
Saline Lakes are ideal environments for the production and preservation of organic matter
107-108 cells/ml
Lake Piceance
Green River Lakes, Western USA
Underfilled Facies
• Dominantly aggradational
• Variable quality oil shales
• World-class trona deposits
Wilkins PeakWilkins Peak
TronaTrona
Bird TracksBird Tracks
Wilkins Peak MemberWilkins Peak Member
(Carroll and (Carroll and BohacsBohacs 2001)2001)
Consistently oil prone, low diversity flora Consistently oil prone, low diversity flora
Balanced-Fill Facies
• Mixed aggradation, progradation
• High quality oil shales
• Fish fossils
Stromatolite
Lower Lower LaCledeLaClede BedBed
BalancedBalanced--Fill Organic MatterFill Organic Matter
(Carroll and (Carroll and BohacsBohacs 2001)2001)
Very organicVery organic--rich, consistently oilrich, consistently oil--proneprone
Mahogany zone
R6
SB13
SB 12
SB11Balanced Fill
Over Filled
NE Piceance Basin – Hay Gulch
Western Piceance Basin ‐ Douglas Creek Arch
Lake Piceance
Green River Lakes, Western USA
Sediment Accumulation Rates
(Carroll et al., in prep.)
• High GR responses lie stratigraphically below erosional surfaces
• Increase in GR response caused by increased water influx to lake (highstands),
associated with radioactive mineral deposition
L1
R1260
330
360
390
Hei
ght
(ft)
3
4
SB 4
Piceance Basin ‐ Douglas Pass: Outcrop GR
}}
High frequency cycles
Western Piceance Basin ‐ Douglas Creek Arch
S N
Upper salt
Lower salt
Mahogany Zone
R-0
Sandstone
Sandstones Oil Shale
R-2
R-1
R-3R-4
R-5R-6
R-7
Carbonates
Colors represent sequences
Sequence Section: Douglas Pass‐Basin Center
Mahogany = Lower/Upper LaClede Bed Boundary (~49 Ma)Mahogany = Lower/Upper LaClede Bed Boundary (~49 Ma)
South North
(Smith, Carroll, and Singer, in press)
Chronostratigraphy
Age (Ma)
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Piceance Creek Seqs. (400k)
Greater Green River
48.8
49.6 Sixth Lane
y
Wilkins Peak
TiptonGarden Gulch
Parachute Creek
Douglas Creek
51.3 Rife
51.8 Scheggs
Wasatch
49.8 Layered50 Main
50.4 Grey50.6 Boar
50.8 Firehole
Mbr.AgesGGRPC
Lake Type
Under Filled
Balanced Fill
Overfilled
HH T
TN
H – haliteN - nahcoliteT - trona
A
F or DI
N
N
Luman
Smith, Carroll, and Singer (2008)Smith, Carroll, and Singer (2008)
WashakieWashakieBasinBasin
Synoptic Evolution
Stratigraphy – Primary Controls on Lake History1. Test correlation model with additional age determination in
Piceance and Greater Green River basins.
2. Gather outcrop gamma ray surveys in Wyoming to correlate into the subsurface, and integrate Fischer Assay data.
3. Continued sedimentology and stratigraphy of mixed clastic‐carbonate basin margin sediments in the Piceance basin to improve understanding of relationship of lake evolution and organic richness.
Evaporites – Evolving Lake Water Chemsitry1. Sedimentology/mineralogy of evaporite facies to define primary
minerals, and reconstruct lake water chemistries and temperatures (XRD, petrography, sedimentary structure, fluid inclusions).
UNIFIED STRATIGRAPHIC FRAMEWORK & PREDICTIVE MODEL OF GREEN RIVER OIL SHALE RICHNESS
FUTURE PROJECT WORK
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