Professor Brenda Beitler Bowen - Purdue University - Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

My current research focuses on the use of remote sensing, with hyperspectral aerial and multispectral satellite imagery, to perform mineral classification and mapping. Our study site is a butte located in south central Utah, and is both spectrally and morphologically anomalous with respect to its surroundings. Our goal is to understand more about how the butte might have formed by studying its mineralogy and morphology, and seeking to relate these factors to help constrain the conditions under which the butte may have formed. My past research focused on the phenomena known as the Urban Heat 2003 Alaska.JPG

Island (UHI), and included fieldwork in northernmost Alaska and Ohio. Other interests involve the use of remote sensing imagery in K12 science education to highlight real-world examples, and in particular teach the concept of integrated natural systems.

Stacy Story
PhD Student

My research combines field-based observations with detailed mineralogical analyses in order to characterize the un

usual mineral assemblages that precipitate in both modern and ancient acid saline lacustrine environments in southern Western Australia. Detailed field observations suggest that these lakes are particularly sensitive to local variations in weather and potentially equally sensitive to long-term environmental changes. I hypothesize that by characterizing the mineral assemblages precipitating under modern environmental conditions, I can elucidate previously undocumented environmental/mineralogical relationships that will allow me to infer past environmental changes as preserved in sediment cores from these lakes.

Thomas Lovell
PhD Student

Thomas My research focuses on paleogeographic reconstructions of ancient environments. The fundamental question I am interested in answering involves how tectonics and sediment provenance control depositional systems, facies geometry, sand composition and geochemistry, and reservoir development within a basin. I have studied these "plate-to-pore" processes since my Master's thesis work at the University of Alabama, where I determined the provenance and paleogeography of the late Jurassic Norphlet Formation, a subsurface sandstone reservoir in the eastern Gulf of Mexico basin. I utilize multiple techniques in order to determine sediment provenance, including thin section petrography and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology. Thomas Now, as a PhD student at Purdue University, I intend to apply similar techniques in studying the Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone in the Illinois Basin. The Mt. Simon is the target of intense sedimentological research, as it is a proven reservoir for CO2 sequestration. My contribution to the DOE funded project will utilize compositional and geochronological data in order to determine how Cambrian tectonics and depositional environments have created and/or altered porosity trends in the Mt. Simon Sandstone.

Alumni

Raul Ochoa
MS Student

I am completing my first year as an MS graduate student at Purdue University. I am originally from El Paso, Texas where I received my B.S. in Geological Sciences from the University of Texas at El Paso. As an undergraduate my interests were in sedimentology and paleontology. I participated in two paleontological internships and had the opportunity to work in the Petrified Forest National Park and Morrison Formation in the Big Horn Basin.
As a graduate student my interests continue in sedimentology and include tectonic process and basin evolution. My research is focused on the Cambrian Mount Simon Sandstone of the Illinois Basin and its implications for carbon dioxide sequestration. My work allows me to use tools such as sandstone petrography, mineralogy, and geochemistry to develop a diagenetic model to account for heterogeneities of the Mount Simon San

dstone. The Mount Simon is a minimally investigated formation that is undergoing carbon dioxide injection trials. Identification of diagenetic facies and reservoir characterization such as porosity trends and permeability can lead to a better understanding of the Mount Simon’s effectiveness as a carbon dioxide storage reservoir.

Ryan Neufelder
MS Student

Ryan As a master's student working in the Sedimentary Geology Group at Purdue University, I have had an opportunity to work with and study alongside great scientists from Purdue and elsewhere. This network of support has been critical to the development of my thesis research. My ongoing research seeks to address the potential of the Cambrian Eau Claire formation as a primary seal in a geologic CO2 sequestration system in the Illinois Basin with the Mt. Simon serving as the reservoir. The Eau Claire is known only in the subsurface in Indiana and Illinois, and as such, my data Ryan is limited to well cores, cutting, and logs. The available data has allowed me to examine the Eau Claire petrographically as well as geochemically. I am intent on discerning the role texture plays in dictating mineralogy, and through this relationship hope to deduce the effects previous fluid regimes have had on the Eau Claire. Our ability to Ryan recognize and understand past diagenetic alteration should give an idea as to how the Eau Claire will react to a new, anthropogenically imposed fluid regime. This reaction will ultimately determine the relative success of CO2 storage beneath the Eau Claire.

Nathan D. Wilkens
Postdoctoral Research Associate 2009-2010
Nathan is now employed as a geologist with Shell

Nathan in lab I am a geologist whose research is focused on low preservation-potential systems. These include Jurassic desert ecosystems, Late Miocene plant-animal interactions within deposits of the Columbia River Flood Basalts, the earliest multicellular life of the Proterozoic, and the Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone. Analysis of these systems has been classically overlooked, and can only be performed using a mix of paleontology, sedimentology, and geochemistry with a broad range of instruments and techniques.
Nathan Wilkens My current post-doctoral appointment with Dr. Brenda B. Bowen is to study the Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone to understand depositional environments and diagenesis in support of ongoing CO₂ sequestration work in the Illinois Basin.

Nick Fischietto
MS student - Graduated December 2009
Now employed as a geologist with Chesapeake Energy

My research focuses on determining the depositional facies within the Upper Cambrian Mount Simon Formation and the regional distribution of these facies across the Illinois Basin. The Mount Simon Formation is a deep saline aquifer that has been proposed as a regional carbon sequestration reservoir. It is dominantly a sub quartz to quartz arenite sheet sandstone that ranges between 200 and over 2,000 feet thick and covers the entirety of the Illinois Basin. Previous analysis of the depositional facies of the Mount Simon have occurred either outside of the Illinois basin or at only local scales. In order to understand the Mount Simon as a large-scale, regional carbon dioxide reservoir, the distribution of these facies and the resulting implications of facies composition on long term behavior of stored carbon dioxide needs to be better understood. Detailed analysis of preexisting and new

drill cores as well as basin-wide correlation of geophysical well log data, will allow us to better characterize the depositional facies and generate a revised depositional model for the Mount Simon in the Illinois Basin. From this new depositional model, we can better constrain the sites most suitable for development as carbon dioxide storage locations.



Professor Brenda beitler bowen Sedimentary Geology Group (SED) Purdue University - Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
	Home Research Publications Contact People Links Earth & Atmospheric Sciences 550 Stadium Mall Drive Purdue University West Lafayette, IN 47907 Phone: 765.494.3258 Fax: 765.496.1210	People Juli Bell PhD Student My current research focuses on the use of remote sensing, with hyperspectral aerial and multispectral satellite imagery, to perform mineral classification and mapping. Our study site is a butte located in south central Utah, and is both spectrally and morphologically anomalous with respect to its surroundings. Our goal is to understand more about how the butte might have formed by studying its mineralogy and morphology, and seeking to relate these factors to help constrain the conditions under which the butte may have formed. My past research focused on the phenomena known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI), and included fieldwork in northernmost Alaska and Ohio. Other interests involve the use of remote sensing imagery in K12 science education to highlight real-world examples, and in particular teach the concept of integrated natural systems. Stacy Story PhD Student My research combines field-based observations with detailed mineralogical analyses in order to characterize the un usual mineral assemblages that precipitate in both modern and ancient acid saline lacustrine environments in southern Western Australia. Detailed field observations suggest that these lakes are particularly sensitive to local variations in weather and potentially equally sensitive to long-term environmental changes. I hypothesize that by characterizing the mineral assemblages precipitating under modern environmental conditions, I can elucidate previously undocumented environmental/mineralogical relationships that will allow me to infer past environmental changes as preserved in sediment cores from these lakes. Thomas Lovell PhD Student My research focuses on paleogeographic reconstructions of ancient environments. The fundamental question I am interested in answering involves how tectonics and sediment provenance control depositional systems, facies geometry, sand composition and geochemistry, and reservoir development within a basin. I have studied these "plate-to-pore" processes since my Master's thesis work at the University of Alabama, where I determined the provenance and paleogeography of the late Jurassic Norphlet Formation, a subsurface sandstone reservoir in the eastern Gulf of Mexico basin. I utilize multiple techniques in order to determine sediment provenance, including thin section petrography and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology. Now, as a PhD student at Purdue University, I intend to apply similar techniques in studying the Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone in the Illinois Basin. The Mt. Simon is the target of intense sedimentological research, as it is a proven reservoir for CO2 sequestration. My contribution to the DOE funded project will utilize compositional and geochronological data in order to determine how Cambrian tectonics and depositional environments have created and/or altered porosity trends in the Mt. Simon Sandstone. Alumni Raul Ochoa MS Student I am completing my first year as an MS graduate student at Purdue University. I am originally from El Paso, Texas where I received my B.S. in Geological Sciences from the University of Texas at El Paso. As an undergraduate my interests were in sedimentology and paleontology. I participated in two paleontological internships and had the opportunity to work in the Petrified Forest National Park and Morrison Formation in the Big Horn Basin. As a graduate student my interests continue in sedimentology and include tectonic process and basin evolution. My research is focused on the Cambrian Mount Simon Sandstone of the Illinois Basin and its implications for carbon dioxide sequestration. My work allows me to use tools such as sandstone petrography, mineralogy, and geochemistry to develop a diagenetic model to account for heterogeneities of the Mount Simon San dstone. The Mount Simon is a minimally investigated formation that is undergoing carbon dioxide injection trials. Identification of diagenetic facies and reservoir characterization such as porosity trends and permeability can lead to a better understanding of the Mount Simon’s effectiveness as a carbon dioxide storage reservoir. Ryan Neufelder MS Student As a master's student working in the Sedimentary Geology Group at Purdue University, I have had an opportunity to work with and study alongside great scientists from Purdue and elsewhere. This network of support has been critical to the development of my thesis research. My ongoing research seeks to address the potential of the Cambrian Eau Claire formation as a primary seal in a geologic CO2 sequestration system in the Illinois Basin with the Mt. Simon serving as the reservoir. The Eau Claire is known only in the subsurface in Indiana and Illinois, and as such, my data is limited to well cores, cutting, and logs. The available data has allowed me to examine the Eau Claire petrographically as well as geochemically. I am intent on discerning the role texture plays in dictating mineralogy, and through this relationship hope to deduce the effects previous fluid regimes have had on the Eau Claire. Our ability to recognize and understand past diagenetic alteration should give an idea as to how the Eau Claire will react to a new, anthropogenically imposed fluid regime. This reaction will ultimately determine the relative success of CO2 storage beneath the Eau Claire. Nathan D. Wilkens Postdoctoral Research Associate 2009-2010 Nathan is now employed as a geologist with Shell I am a geologist whose research is focused on low preservation-potential systems. These include Jurassic desert ecosystems, Late Miocene plant-animal interactions within deposits of the Columbia River Flood Basalts, the earliest multicellular life of the Proterozoic, and the Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone. Analysis of these systems has been classically overlooked, and can only be performed using a mix of paleontology, sedimentology, and geochemistry with a broad range of instruments and techniques. My current post-doctoral appointment with Dr. Brenda B. Bowen is to study the Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone to understand depositional environments and diagenesis in support of ongoing CO₂ sequestration work in the Illinois Basin. Nick Fischietto MS student - Graduated December 2009 Now employed as a geologist with Chesapeake Energy My research focuses on determining the depositional facies within the Upper Cambrian Mount Simon Formation and the regional distribution of these facies across the Illinois Basin. The Mount Simon Formation is a deep saline aquifer that has been proposed as a regional carbon sequestration reservoir. It is dominantly a sub quartz to quartz arenite sheet sandstone that ranges between 200 and over 2,000 feet thick and covers the entirety of the Illinois Basin. Previous analysis of the depositional facies of the Mount Simon have occurred either outside of the Illinois basin or at only local scales. In order to understand the Mount Simon as a large-scale, regional carbon dioxide reservoir, the distribution of these facies and the resulting implications of facies composition on long term behavior of stored carbon dioxide needs to be better understood. Detailed analysis of preexisting and new drill cores as well as basin-wide correlation of geophysical well log data, will allow us to better characterize the depositional facies and generate a revised depositional model for the Mount Simon in the Illinois Basin. From this new depositional model, we can better constrain the sites most suitable for development as carbon dioxide storage locations.