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dc.contributor.advisorJobe, Zane R.
dc.contributor.authorKus, Kaci B.
dc.date.accessioned2021-06-28T10:13:41Z
dc.date.accessioned2022-02-03T13:23:30Z
dc.date.available2021-06-28T10:13:41Z
dc.date.available2022-02-03T13:23:30Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.identifierKus_mines_0052N_12132.pdf
dc.identifierT 9098
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/11124/176407
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references.
dc.description2021 Spring.
dc.description.abstractSubmarine fan deposits are volumetrically the largest sediment accumulations on Earth and host significant hydrocarbon reserves. Extensive research has documented the bed-scale architecture of sandy, high net-to-gross (N:G), proximal and axial environments, which can have bed thicknesses of several meters; however less well-understood are thin-bedded turbidites, which are typically lower N:G and deposited in more distal environments. Conceptual models assume that lobe-fringe-to-basin plain environments consist of tabular, sheet-like beds that extend out continuously and predictably over long distances—sometimes as far as several kilometers. Extensive lateral continuity, however, is not necessarily reflected in ancient outcrop analogs. This study seeks to apply a quantitative approach to the characterization of thin-bedded turbidites to assess the impact of multi-scale heterogeneity on reservoir predictability. The sea-cliff outcrop exposures of the Upper Cretaceous Point Loma Formation in San Diego, California, exhibit a wide range of bed thicknesses and stratigraphic architecture, which have been used to interpret their relative position (e.g. axis-to-fringe, proximal-to-distal) in a submarine lobe. In this study, we characterize thin-bedded and interpret them to have been deposited in an off-axis-to-fringe environment. The study area spans 700 m of laterally continuous outcrop, across which 10 correlated stratigraphic sections are used to quantify lateral and vertical changes in metrics such as bed thickness, N:G, lithofacies proportions, etc. Results of this study demonstrate that thin sand beds experience both lateral facies changes (e.g. from turbidite to hybrid event bed) and rapid thickness changes (abrupt pinch-and-swell geometries) more frequently than conceptual models would predict. We find that a single measure of lateral heterogeneity (e.g. thinning rate away from the bed axis) does not reflect the true architecture of sandstone beds, and that significant information is lost when beds are correlated over tens-to-hundreds of meters. We also suggest that sands are deposited in irregular (e.g. “finger-like”) planform geometries, the effect of which compounds to the lobe-element scale and influences lateral lithofacies predictability. This study of the Point Loma Formation offers high-resolution bed-to-element scale data, which may be used as inputs for reservoir models and horizontal facies predictions (e.g., for geosteering) in both conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs, such as those from the Wilcox (Gulf of Mexico) and the Wolfcamp (Permian Basin).
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediummasters theses
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado School of Mines. Arthur Lakes Library
dc.relation.ispartof2021 - Mines Theses & Dissertations
dc.rightsCopyright of the original work is retained by the author.
dc.subjectlithofacies
dc.subjectthin-bedded
dc.subjectturbidites
dc.subjectPoint Loma
dc.subjectbed thickness
dc.subjectthinning rate
dc.titleQuantifying the lateral heterogeneity of distal submarine lobe deposits, Point Loma Formation, California: implications for subsurface lateral facies prediction
dc.typeText
dc.contributor.committeememberWood, Lesli J.
dc.contributor.committeememberPlink-Björklund, Piret
dc.contributor.committeememberLaugier, Fabien J.
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (M.S.)
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.disciplineGeology and Geological Engineering
thesis.degree.grantorColorado School of Mines


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