Date of Graduation

8-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Geology (MS)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Geosciences

Advisor/Mentor

Zachry, Doy L.

Committee Member

Cothren, Jackson D.

Second Committee Member

Xie, Xiangyang

Keywords

Earth sciences; Reeds Springs

Abstract

In northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas the Reeds Springs Formation (Boone, Mississippian) is a hydrocarbon exploration objective (Mazullo et al, 2011). The Hindsville quarry located in the northeastern portion of Washington County in Arkansas is the focus of this study. The objective of this study is to characterize the Reeds Spring at the Hindsville Quarry. The use of terrestrial light detecting and ranging(LiDAR) is used to assist in the characterization of the quarry.

The unit architecture within the Hindsville Quarry outlines varying transitional periods that give insight into the deposition of the Reeds Springs Formation. There are comparable formations within the Carboniferous that serve as helpful analogues in explaining the complexities seen in the Hindsville Quarry. Diffusive process (turbidity currents or debris flows) and physical energy flux (winds, waves, and storms) played a large part in defining the sedimentary structures found within the Hindsville Quarry. These mechanisms in depositional process demonstrate that the use of sub aerial exposures are not needed to explain erosive surfaces.

Terrestrial LiDAR is used to identify stratigraphic pattern, bedding planes, and determine the orientation of inaccessible quarry walls. The effects of distance and incidence angle, resolution of the scan, and the ability to discriminate varying lithologies played a role in the assessment of the geologic outcrops. The surveyed dataset allowed detail measurement to be accomplished. The non-contact techniques of investigating geologic outcrops through Terrestrial LiDAR cannot replace transitional methods of geologic investigation, but complement it.

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