Research
BBB’s Current Research Topics:
Geologic CO2 Sequestration
Anthropogenic increase in atmospheric CO2 levels have led to extensive research into the potential for storage of CO2 in sedimentary basins. The Cambrian Mount Simon Sandstone has been identified as an important potential reservoir for geologic carbon dioxide sequestration throughout the Midwest. Spatial variations in the estimated potential CO2 capacity depend upon changes in reservoir character both laterally and with depth. Effective and efficient exploitation of the available pore space within this formation requires a detailed knowledge of the depositional and diagenetic textures and mineralogy, and how these parameters vary spatially. In collaboration with the Indiana Geological Survey (http://igs.indiana.edu/), Illinois State Geological Survey (http://www.isgs.illinois.edu), the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (http://sequestration.org), the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership, and DOE/NETL (http://www.netl.doe.gov/) we are working to characterize, quantify, and map out depositional and diagenetic facies in the reservoir sandstone. This work is important for calculating potential CO2 storage capacity, modeling reactivity, and will provide an important baseline for comparing Mount Simon Sandstone samples after they have been subjected to CO2 injection.
Sedimentology and Geochemistry of Acid Brine Lacustrine Systems
Naturally acidic evaporite lacustrine systems are relatively rare in the modern environment and in the geologic record. Where they do exist, they provide a unique opportunity to study the role of extreme fluids in the sedimentological, geochemical, mineralogical, and biological evolution of an important, yet commonly overlooked, depositional environment. Interdune hypersaline (8x ocean water!) acid (pH>1.5!) lakes are abundant in south Western Australia and result in a strange combination of diagenetic products that are specific to this sort of environment. We (collaborator, Dr. Kathleen Benison, Central Michigan University) are characterizing the sedimentology, chemical precipitates, and the lake water and groundwaters, and evaluating the processes controlling both local and regional changes. This area will be compared to other acid evaporite systems including modern lakes in southeastern Australia and the high Andes in Chile, the Permian of the mid-US, and ancient Mars!
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Imaging Spectroscopy of Diagenesis
The use of imaging spectroscopy in my research provides a new and exciting way to look at regional patterns in alteration and diagenetic facies not afforded by other geochemical techniques. Combining the details of field work, petrography, geochemistry with field-acquired reflectance spectroscopic data and remote imaging spectroscopy, reservoir to basin scale patterns in mineralogy and alteration can be evaluated in a much more regional context. This sort of data allows for evaluation of the interplay between sedimentary architecture, basin history, and diagenetic alteration, and can reveal how structural fabrics influence fluid flow and diagenesis. These techniques are especially applicable to studying remote areas with great exposure, such as southern Utah and Mars!
Eolian Reservoir Characterization
Several Paleozoic to mid-Mesozoic eolian units are preserved on the Colorado Plateau (southern Utah) and continue to be important reservoirs for both water and hydrocarbons. Understanding how fluid flow relates to variations in 3-D sedimentological packaging, and structural compartmentalization, will help maximize resources and can be used in predictive modeling of reservoirs. Comparisons of diagenetic alteration patterns with other physical outcrop characteristics such as sedimentary features and facies distribution, and overprints of structural alteration, contribute to a better understanding of how these physical differences control fluid flow pathways and resulting diagenetic heterogeneities.
Mars Analog Research
Much of my work in the last few years has focuses at least partially on how extreme depositional and diagenetic environments, both modern and ancient, can serve as important Earth analogs for conditions and processes on Mars. An increasing number of remote orbital sensors, and NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers, continue to provide a wealth of images and data on the Red Planet, revealing a world with a rich sedimentological and diagentic history and evidence for abundant sediment-fluid interactions. Interpreting these data and images requires a solid and multi-faceted understanding of potentially similar environments on Earth. In addition, studying “biosignatures” in Earth analog environments has implications for evaluating astrobiology and preservation potential for possible life on Mars.
