Master of Science, University of Akron, 2023, Geology

Rocks develop cracks (joints) to relieve internal stresses as they are depressurized. Joints increase the permeability in rocks, which affects fluid and contaminant flow in the formation. There are three possible causes of joint formation in Northeastern Ohio: tectonics, glaciation, and valley relief. The thoroughly jointed formations exposed in NE Ohio are part of the Appalachian Plateau which has experienced unloading stresses due to the Alleghanian Orogeny (315-270 mya), a more recent series of glaciation events in the Pleistocene (700,000-14,000 years ago) and valley formation by erosion. I measured joint orientations in formations exposed in Northeastern Ohio that were deposited before and during the Alleghanian Orogeny to determine if their orientations reflect stresses during the Alleghanian Orogeny, the Pleistocene ice age, or valley unloading processes. Joint spacing was also measured to determine if a relationship exists between lithology and the joint spacing. I measured joints in the Olmsted siltstone bed of the Ohio Shale (n=131), Cleveland Member of Ohio Shale (n=131), Bedford Shale (n=209), Berea Sandstone (n=137), Orangeville Shale Member (n=27), Sharpsville Sandstone Member (n=203), and the Meadville Shale Member (n=203). I also analyzed measurements of joint orientations in coal seams, the Ohio Shale, the Black Hand Sandstone Member and Sharon Sandstone from previous studies by Ver Steeg (1942), Miller (1996), Filiano (2014), Ritter (2016), and Rieman (2017). The data suggests that the joints in all formations were predominantly formed due to tectonics during the main stage of the Alleghanian Orogeny based on the orientation of the primary joint set, which was oriented parallel to maximum compression direction during this event.

Committee: Caleb Holyoke III (Advisor); Molly Witter-Shelleman (Committee Member); Ira Sasowsky (Committee Member) Subjects: Geology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2019, Geological Sciences (Arts and Sciences)

The Kaskaskia/Absaroka boundary is an unconformable surface that separates the Lower Pennsylvanian Sharon Sandstone from the Mississippian Maxville Limestone or Logan Formation. Previous maps of the drainage pattern formed on the boundary lacked detailed spatial control or were of regional scale. This study examined 348 geophysical well logs from four townships in southwestern Athens County, which were used to create cross-sections, and isopach maps of the gross and net sandstone, the Maxville Limestone, and the total Mississippian interval. Correlation and isopach data show that thick sandstones present in the wells of the study interval were unambiguously Early Pennsylvanian incised valley deposits of the Sharon Sandstone that were deposited in a braided fluvial environment. The fluvial sandstones are interbedded with mudstones that have gamma-ray and porosity values that differ from the underlying marine Mississippian sediments, suggesting a possible base level change associated with eustatic sea level rise. The change from laterally continuous Mississipian marine strata to the incised fluvial valleys marks a shift in tectonic from dynamic to thrust loading. The location of the main channels of the drainage system formed on the older Mississippian strata was close to the boundary between the forebulge and backbulge regions of the Appalachian foreland basin.

Committee: Gregory Nadon (Advisor); Gregory Springer (Committee Member); Xizhen Schenk (Committee Member) Subjects: Geological; Geology; Petroleum Geology; Sedimentary Geology

MS, Kent State University, 2011, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences

The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of identifying transmissive bedrock fracture zones and regional trend(s) of fracture under the blanket of glacial till in NE Ohio by mapping hydraulic conductivitiy estimated by using the residential water well production data provided in the Water Well Log and Drilling Reports. Water Well Log and Drilling Report data for private residential water wells were collected randomly amid the wells tapped within the Sharon Sandstone aquifer. Typical Well Log and Drilling Report includes a rudimentary description of the lithological column along with the following data from the well production test: (1) static water level, (2) time duration of pumping or bailing, (3) the rate of pumping or bailing and (4) water level at the end of the production test. The data was used to estimate hydraulic conductivity from the tests in water wells within the Sharon Sandstone aquifer in Geauga County, Ohio by applying Cooper and Jacob (1946) and Jacob's (1950) approximation to Theis' (1935) non-equilibrium radial flow equation. As all the wells in the study area were neither cased nor screened within the aquifer and the production test rates were low (27.25-109.02m3/day, or 5-20gpm), the well loss can be assumed negligible. The resulting hydraulic conductivity values followed quasi-log normal distribution with the geometric mean of 9.88x10-6 m/s. (2.80 ft/day). The hydraulic conductivity values were mapped and grouped into two distinct populations: the low values presumably corresponding to the primary porosity zones within the aquifer and high values assumed corresponding to the fractured zones. The mapped patterns of the higher hydraulic conductivity values clearly followed two distinct orientations: N340E and N440W. Trends on map of hydraulic conductivity correlated fairly well with the regional fracture pattern of the Allegheny Plateau Province, the trends of N210E and N570W obtained for Southwestern Pennsylvania and Northwestern W (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Yoram Eckstein PhD (Advisor); Abdul Shakoor PhD (Committee Member); Joseph Ortiz PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Geology