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Sedimentary Geology Research Group

Miami University Department of Geology & Environmental Earth Science

Faculty 2

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6 Jason Rech

Ellen Currano

Brian Currie The Sedimentary Geology Research Group at Miami University is currently comprised of three faculty, eight graduate students, and six undergraduates. The group is involved in numerous projects that utilize sedimentary deposits from basins around the world to address fundamental problems in earth science. Current research involves a wide range of topics including the tectonics of sedimentary basins and mountain belts, depositional system dynamics, paleoclimate and paleoecological change, and the characterization of hydrocarbon systems.

Since 2001, the Sedimentary Geology Research Group has obtained over $6 million in grants and contracts from government and industry sources to support faculty and student research. Group members have also authored over 60 peer-reviewed articles and presented more than 100 papers at national and international meetings. Student group members have gone on to successful geoscience careers in academia, government, and industry.

The folowing pages contain additional information on Sedimentary Geology Research Group faculty, students, activities, and alumni.

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Courses

SGRG Alumni

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Contents

Angular unconformity between Middle and Upper Jurassic strata Central Utah

Contacts 16

Fall 2012

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Equipment and Facilities

Alumni Participation 16

Workshops

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SGRG News

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2 Sedimentary Geology Research Group Fall 2012

Objectives and Focus: The primary objectives in Dr Currie’s research involve using the physical and geochemical characteristics of sedimentary rocks to reconstruct regional tectonic histories and the primary controls on oil and gas accumulation in sedimentary basins. Dr. Currie’s research involves geologic mapping and sample collection in field areas throughout the world, as well as on-campus laboratory work focused on the geochemical, petrophysical, and paleontological analysis of collected samples. This research is currently focused in five main areas including: 1) Tibet where the 50 million-year uplift history of the Tibetan Plateau is being investigated though isotopic evaluation of paleosols and lake deposits (carbonate δ18O, δ13C, Δ47 values and n-alkane δD compositions from organic shales); 2) Utah where the distribution, geometry, and internal characteristics of ~100 million-year old fluvial-channel deposits are being evaluated for their potential as economic natural gas reservoirs in the Uinta Basin; 3) Chile where the physical and geochemical characteristics of deposits in the Atacama Desert are being studied to determine the links between climate change and the uplift history of the Andes over the last 20 million years; 4) Argentina, where the relationships between intrabasin faulting and river-channel distribution are being investigated by documenting the sedimentology, stratigraphy, and structural geology of a Triassic-aged continental rift basin; and 5) The Rocky Mountains of the United States where the distribution and thickness strata of the Western Interior basin are being evaluated in order to reconstruct the Mesozoic tectonic history of the North American Cordillera.

Recent Funding: Utah Geological Survey: Reservoir characterization of the Cretaceous Cedar Mountain and

Dakota formations, northern Uinta Basin, 2010-2011. Landmark Graphics Corporation, University Grant Program: Software for analysis of

geophysical borehole and seismic reflection data, 2010-2013. National Science Foundation, EAR-Tectonics: Collaborative Research: Testing Models of

Tibetan Plateau Uplift Using Stable Isotope-Based Paleoaltimetry, 2006-2011. National Science Foundation, EAR-Tectonics: Miocene Paleoclimatic Reconstruction along

the Andean Forearc, 2006-2009.

Dr. Brian S. Currie Associate Professor Ph.D. University of Arizona, 1998

Field of Specialization: Sedimentary and structural geology with an emphasis on tectonics, basin analysis, geochemistry, and petroleum geology.

Significance: Dr. Currie’s research addresses fundamental questions concerning the formation of sedimentary basins, the structural evolution of mountain belts, past changes in the Earth’s climate and environment, and the occurrence of economically-viable hydrocarbon accumulations.


Folded and thrusted K-T nonmarine and volcanic strata Penbo, Southern Tibet

Current Students: William Hokanson, Ph.D., Reservoir characterization of the Cretaceous Cedar Mountain and

Dakota formations, northern Uinta Basin, Utah. Shanying Li, Ph.D., Thermal reequilibration of oxygen and deuterium isotopic ratios from

terrestrial strata: Implications for the Cenozoic paleoaltimetry of the Tibetan Plateau. David Nicklaus, M.S., Depositional origin of the Lower Cretaceous Buckhorn Conglomerate,

Utah and Colorado. Jon Marsh, Jonathan Staker, Sam Vogt, and Nicholas Westerbeck, Undregraduate Research

Project, Relationship between illite crystallinity, conodont color alteration, and hydrocarbon maturation, Utica Shale-Point Pleasant Formation, northern Appalachian basin.

Completed Student Theses/Dissertations: Mindy Homan, Undergraduate Thesis, 2012, Stratigraphic and diagenetic controls on Dakota

Formation reservoir quality and natural gas production, Uinta Basin, Utah. Justin Pierson, M.S., 2009, Stratigraphy and palynology of the Albian-Cenomanian Dakota

Formation and Mowry Shale, Uinta Basin, Utah and Colorado. Joshua Dark, M.S., 2008, Reservoir characterization of the mid-Cretaceous Dakota Formation,

southern Uinta basin, Utah. William Wilcox, M.S., 2007, Sequence stratigraphy of the Jurassic Curtis, Summerville, and

Stump formations, Utah and northwest Colorado. Tony Albrecht, M.S., 2005, A Triassic syndepositional detachment system, Ischigualasto

Provincial Park, northwestern Argentina. Kristin Guthrie, M.S., 2005, Structural controls on extensional-basin development, Triassic

Ischigualasto Formation, NW Argentina. Andrew Cyr, M.S., 2004, Geochemical and stable isotopic evaluation of Fenghuoshan Group

lacustrine carbonates, north-central Tibet: Implications for the paleoaltimetry of the mid-Tertiary Tibetan Plateau.

Naseer Shafique, Ph.D., 2001, Spatial biostratigraphy of northwestern Pakistan. Lisel Shoffner, M.S., 2001, The sedimentology, stratigraphy, and chemistry of playa lake

deposits resulting from hurricane Nora in the Chapala Basin, Baja California, Mexico.


Related Publications (* denotes Miami University student coauthor): Currie, B.S., McPherson, M.L, *Hokanson, W., *Homan, M.B., *Pyden, T., *Shellenbach, W., *Purcell, R., and *Nicklaus, D.H.,

2012, Reservoir characterization of the Cretaceous Cedar Mountain and Dakota Formations, northern Uinta Basin, Utah and Colorado. Utah Geological Survey Open-File-Report, in press.

Colombi, C.E., Fernández, E., Currie, B.S., Alcober, O.A., Martínez, R.N., and Correa, G., 2012, Large-diameter Burrows of the Triassic Ischigualasto Basin, NW Argentina: Paleoecological and Paleoenvironmental Implications. PLOS ONE, in press.

Martínez, R.N., Sereno, P.C., Alcober, O.A., Colombi, C.E., Renne, P.R., Montañez, I.P., and Currie, B.S., 2011, New basal dinosaur from the dawn of the dinosaur era in southwestern Pangaea. Science, v. 331, p. 206-210.

Rech, J.A., Currie, B.S., *Shullenberger, E.D., Dunagan, S.T., Jordan, T.E., Tomlinson, A., Blanco, N., Rowe, H.D., and Houston, J., 2010, Evidence for the development of the Andean rain shadow from a Neogene isotopic record in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 292, p. 371-382.

Wolde-Gabriel, G., Ambrose, S.H., Barboni, D., Bonnefille, R., Bremond, L., Currie, B., DeGusta, D., Hart, W.K., Murray, A.M., Renne, P.R., Jolly-Saad, Stewart, K.M., and White, T.D., 2009, Geological, isotopic, botanical, invertebrate, and lower vertebrate surroundings of Ardipithecus ramidus. Science, v. 326, p. 65, 65e1-65e5.

Polissar, P. J., Freeman, K.H., Rowley, D.B., McInerney, F.A., and Currie, B.S., 2009, Paleoaltimetry of the Tibetan Plateau from D/H Ratios of Lipid Biomarkers. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 287, p. 64-76.

Currie, B.S., Colombi, C.E., Tabor, N.J., Shipman, T.C., and Montañez, I.P., 2009, Stratigraphy and architecture of the Upper Triassic Ischigualasto Formation, Ischigualasto Provincial Park, San Juan, Argentina. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, v. 27, p. 74-87.

Currie, B.S., *Dark, J.P., McPherson, M.L., and *Pierson, J.A., 2008, Fluvial Channel Architecture of the Albian-Cenomanian Dakota Formation, southern Uinta Basin. In: Longman, M.A., and Morgan, C.D. eds., Hydrocarbon systems and production in the Uinta Basin, Utah, Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists and Utah Geologic Association Publication 37, p. 65-79.

Currie, B.S., McPherson, M.L., *Dark, J.P., and *Pierson, J.A., 2008, Reservoir characterization of the Cretaceous Cedar Mountain and Dakota Formations, southern Uinta basin: Year Two Report. Utah Geological Survey Open-File-Report 516, 117 p.

*Wilcox, W.T., and Currie, B.S., 2008, Sequence stratigraphy of the Curtis, Summerville, and Stump formations, eastern Utah and northwest Colorado. In: Longman, M.A., and Morgan, C.D. eds., Hydrocarbon systems and production in the Uinta Basin, Utah, Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists and Utah Geologic Association Publication 37, p. 9-41.

McPherson, M.L., Currie, B.S., *Dark, J.P., and *Pierson, J.A., 2008, Outcrop-to-subsurface correlation of the Cretaceous Cedar Mountain and Dakota formations, southern Uinta Basin. In: Longman, M.A., and Morgan, C.D. eds., Hydrocarbon systems and production in the Uinta Basin, Utah, Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists and Utah Geologic Association Publication 37, p. 43-63.

Currie, B.S., McPherson, M.L., *Dark, J.P., and *Pierson, J.A., 2008, Reservoir characterization of the Cretaceous Cedar Mountain and Dakota Formations, southern Uinta basin: Year Two Report. Utah Geological Survey Open-File-Report 516, 117 p.

*Wilcox, W.T., and Currie, B.S., 2008, Sequence stratigraphy of the Curtis, Summerville, and Stump formations, eastern Utah and northwest Colorado. In: Longman, M.A., and Morgan, C.D. eds., Hydrocarbon systems and production in the Uinta Basin, Utah, Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists and Utah Geologic Association Publication 37, p. 9-41.

McPherson, M.L., Currie, B.S., *Dark, J.P., and *Pierson, J.A., 2008, Outcrop-to-subsurface correlation of the Cretaceous Cedar Mountain and Dakota formations, southern Uinta Basin. In: Longman, M.A., and Morgan, C.D. eds., Hydrocarbon systems and production in the Uinta Basin, Utah, Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists and Utah Geologic Association Publication 37, p. 43-63.

*Dark, J.P, Currie, B.S., McPherson, M.L., Rakovan, J., and *Marchlewski, T.A., 2008, Structural, lithological and diagenetic controls on Dakota Formation economic gas production within the greater San Arroyo gas field, Utah. In: Longman, M.A., and Morgan, C.D. eds., Hydrocarbon systems and production in the Uinta Basin, Utah, Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists and Utah Geologic Association Publication 37, p. 179-208.

Colombi, C.E., Jofré, C., and Currie, B.S., 2008, Large-diameter burrows in the Upper Triassic Ischigualsto Formation, Northwestern Argentina. Ameghiniana (Revista de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina), v. 44, p. 797-801.

L: CL photomicro-graph of quartz sand (violet-orange) and overgrowths (black) R: SEM image of pore-filling kaolinite/ smectite cement Dakota Formation, San Arroyo Field, Utah


Rowley, D.B., and Currie, B.S., 2006, Paleo-Altimetry of Late Eocene to Miocene strata from the Lunpola Basin, Central Tibet: Implications for Growth of the Tibetan Plateau. Nature, v. 439, no. 7077, p. 677-681.

McPherson, M.L., Currie, B.S., and *Pierson, J.A., 2006, Reservoir characterization of the Cretaceous Cedar Mountain and Dakota Formations, southern Uinta basin: Year-one Report. Utah Geological Survey Open-File-Report 492, 139 p.

Rech, J.A., Currie, B.S., Michalski, G., and *Cowan, A.M., 2006, Neogene climate change and uplift in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Geology, v. 34, p., 761-764.

Tabor, N.J., Montañez, I.P., Kelso, K.A., Currie, B.S., Shipman, T.A., and Colombi, C.E., 2006, A Late Triassic soil catena: landscape and climate controls on paleosol morphology and chemistry across the Carnian-age Ischigualasto-Villa Union basin, northwestern Argentina. In Alonso-Zarza, A.A., and Tanner, L.H., eds., Paleoenvironmental Record and Applications of Calcretes and Palustrine Carbonates, Geological Society of America Special Paper 416, p. 17-42.

White, T., Wolde-Gabriel, G., Asfaw, B., Ambrose, S., Beyene, Y., Bernor, R., Boisserie, J.R., Currie, B., Gilbert, H., Haile-Selassie,Y, Hart, W., Hlusko, L., Howell, F.C., Kono, R.T., Louchart, A., Lovejoy, O, Renne, P., Saegusa, H., Vrba, E., Wesselman, H., and Suwa, G., 2006, Asa Issie, Aramis, and the Origin of Australopithecus. Nature, v. 440, p. 883-889.

Currie, B.S., Rowley, D.B., and Tabor, N.J., 2005, Mid-Miocene paleoaltimetry of southern Tibet: Implications for the role of mantle thickening and delamination in the Himalayan orogen. Geology, v. 33, p. 181-184.

*Cyr, A.J., Currie, B.S., and Rowley, D.B., 2005, Geochemical evaluation of Fenghuoshan Group lacustrine carbonates, north-central Tibet: Implications for the paleoaltimetry of the Middle Eocene Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Geology, v. 113, p. 517-533.

Zhu, B., Kidd, W. S. F., Rowley, D. B., Currie, B.S., and *Shafique, N., 2005, Age of initiation of the India-Asia collision in the eastern Himalaya. Journal of Geology, v. 113, p. 265-285.

Zhu, B., Kidd, W. S. F., Rowley, D.B,, and Currie, B.S., 2004, Chemical compositions and tectonic significance of Chrome-rich spinels in the Tianba Flysch, Southern Tibet. Journal of Geology, v. 112, p. 417-434.

Demko, T.M., Currie, B.S., and Nicoll, K.A., 2004, Regional paleoclimatic and stratigraphic implications of paleosols and fluvial-overbank architecture in the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic), Western Interior, U.S.A. Sedimentary Geology, v. 167, p. 117-137.

Tabor, N., Montañez, I., Zierenberg, R., and Currie, B.S., 2004, Mineralogical and geochemical evolution of a basalt-hosted fossil soil (Upper Triassic Ischigualasto Formation, N.W. Argentina): Potential for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 116, p. 1280–1293.

Currie, B.S., 2002, Structural configuration of the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Cordilleran foreland-basin system and Sevier thrust belt, Utah and Colorado. Journal of Geology, v. 110, no. 6, p. 697-718.

Rowley, D.B., Pierrehumbert, R.T., and Currie, B.S., 2001, A new approach to stable isotope-based paleoaltimetry: Implications for paleoaltimetry and paleohypsometry of the High Himalaya since the Late Miocene. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v.188, p. 253-26.

J-K fluvial deposits with superposed outcrop gamma-ray log

Bitter Creek, Utah


Dr. Jason A. Rech Associate Professor Ph.D. University of Arizona, 2001

Field of Specialization: Climate Change, Isotope Geochemistry, and Soils and Paleosols

Significance: Dr. Rech’s research is aimed at identifying the response of surface environments to climate change. He uses a variety of methods and techniques including sedimentology and geomorphology, isotope geochemistry and fossil soils (paleosols) to determine the magnitude and duration of past environmental and ecological changes..

Objectives and Focus: The prime objective of Dr. Rech’s research is to elucidate the impact of past and future climate change on modern and ancient terrestrial systems (soils, wetlands, streams). Dr. Rech’s and his students are examining the impact of climate change in several different regions over a wide range of time scales. Currently, research activities are focused in field regions in Chile, Jordan, and the Midwestern United States and employ stable isotope geochemistry (13C, 18O, 34S, 87Sr/86Sr) and radiometric dating techniques (U-Pb and 14C).

Recent Funding: National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration: Climate Change and Water

Resources in southern Jordan, 2012-2013. American Center of Oriental Research: Assessing the early Holocene wet phase in southern

Jordan: A case study from Wadi Hasa, 2012. National Aeronautical and Space Administration: Sulfate soils and life on Earth and Mars,

2011. American Center of Oriental Research: Paleohydrology and climatic significance of the

Mudawwara lake deposits, southwestern Jordan, 2010. National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration: Evidence of an

extraterrestrial impact or the result of natural processes? Physical and chemical analysis of Late Pleistocene wetland deposits in the Americas, 2008-2009.

National Science Foundation, EAR-Tectonics: Forearc cracks and the rupture segments of great earthquakes, Northern Chile and Southern Peru, 2008-2011.

National Science Foundation, EAR-Sedimentary Geology/Paleontology: Radiocarbon dating North American terrestrial gastropod shells, 2006-2008.

National Science Foundation, EAR-Tectonics: Miocene Paleoclimatic Reconstruction along the Andean Forearc, 2006-2009.

National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration: Predicting the response of hydrologic systems in Jordan to future climate change, 2006-2007.

American Center of Oriental Research: Survey of Late Quaternary Wetland Deposits in Western Jordan, 2005.


Current Students: Nasser Al Qatten, M.S., Using the stable isotope chemistry of terrestrial gastropods to

reconstruct climate and environmental change Gentry Catlett, M.S., Paleo-environmental reconstruction in southern Jordan from ephemeral

playa deposits. Completed Student Theses: Joel Hecker, M.S., 2012, Applying groundwater modeling to paleo-wetland deposits in order

to quantify past climate change. Sophie Lehmann, M.S., 2012 Climate and tectonic implications of a mid-Miocene landscape:

examination of the Tarapaca Pediplain, Atacama Desert, Chile. Terry Workman, M.S., 2012, Paleowetlands and fluvial geomorphology of Quebrada Mani:

reconstructing paleo-environments and human occupation in the northern Atacama Desert.

Craig Tully, M.S., 2010, Holocene megadroughts in the central Atacama Desert, Chile. Emily R. Winer, M.S., 2010, Interpretation and climatic significance of late Quaternary valley-

fill deposits in Wadi Hasa, west-central Jordan. Joel S. Prellwitz, M.S., 2007, A characterization of hyper-arid soils in the Baquedano valley of

the Atacama Desert, northern Chile. Jared Gooley, Undergraduate Thesis, 2008, Evidence from paleosols for a Middle Miocene

transition to hyperaridity in the northern Atacama Desert, Chile. Eric Shullenberger, Undergraduate Thesis, 2005, Stable isotopic analysis of late Cenozoic

carbonates and evaporites in the Calama Basin, Atacama Desert, Chile: a reevaluation for the late Pliocene age for hyperaridity.

Related Publications (* denotes Miami University student coauthor): Pigati, J.S., Latorre, C., Rech, J.A, Betancourt, J.L., Martínez, K.E., Budhan, J.R., 2012, Accumulation of “impact markers” in

desert wetlands and implications for the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109:7208-7212.

Rech, J.A., Nekola, J.C., Pigati, J.S., 2012, Radiocarbon ages of terrestrial gastropods extend duration of ice-free conditions at the Two Creeks forest bed, Wisconsin, USA, Quaternary Research 77:289-292.

Pigati, J.S., Quade, J., Rech, J.A., Bright, J. A., 2012, Desert wetlands in the geologic record, Geological Society of America Special Paper: Paleo-springs and wetlands, in press.

Rech, J.A., Pigati, J.S., *Lehmann, S.B., *McGimpsey, C.N., Grimley, D.A., Nekola, J.C., 2011, Assessing open-system behavior of carbon-14 in terrestrial gastropod shells, Radiocarbon.

Rech, J.A., *Tully, C.D., and Latorre, C., 2010, Stream response to Climate Change, Atacama Desert, Chile: in Bierman, P. and Montgomery, D., eds., “Key Concepts in Geomorphology”, W.H. Freeman.

*Lehmann, S.B., and Rech, J.A., 2010, Geomorphology, Tectonic Uplift, and Landscape Preservation: in Bierman, P. and Montgomery, D., eds., “Key Concepts in Geomorphology”, W.H. Freeman.

Normal-faulted Cenozoic growth strata

Coastal Cordillera, Northern Chile


Wilke, P. J., Quintero, L.A., and Rech, J.A., 2010, The Acheulian occupations at ‘Ayoun Al-Qadim, Al-Jafr Basin, Jordan: A Progress Summary, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan.

Pigati, J.S., Rech, J.A., and Nekola, J.C., 2010, Radiocarbon dating of small terrestrial gastropods in North America, Quaternary Geochronology 5:519- 532.

Rech, J.A., Currie, B.S., *Shullenberger, E.D., Dunagan, S.T., Jordan, T.E., Tomlinson, A., Blanco, N., Rowe, H.D., and Houston, J., 2010, Evidence for the development of the Andean rain shadow from a Neogene isotopic record in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 292, p. 371-382.

Placzek, C., Quade, J., Betancourt, J.L., Patchett, P.J., Rech, J.A., Latorre, C., Matmon, A., Holmgren, C., and English, N.B., 2009, Climate in the dry Central Andes over geologic, millennial, and interannual timescales, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 96:386-397.

Placzek, Christa, Quade, Jay, Rech, Jason A., Patchett, P.J, and de Arce, C.P., 2009, Geochemistry, chronology, and stratigraphy of Neogene tuffs of the Central Andean region, Quaternary Geochronology 4:22-36.

Michalski, G., Kasem, M., Rech, J.A., Adieu, S., Showers, W., Genna, B., and Thiemens, M., 2008, Uncertainties in the isotopic composition of sulfate induced by co-precipitation of nitrate, Rapid Communication in Mass Spectrometry 22: 2971–2976.

Quade, J., Rech, J.A., Betancourt, J.L., and Latorre, C.H., 2008, Paleowetlands and regional climate change in the Central Atacama Desert, northern Chile, Quaternary Research 69:343-360.

Xingqi, L., Dong, H., Rech, J.A., Ji, S., Wang, S., Wang, Y., and Bo, Y., 2008, Evolution of Chaka Salt Lake in NW China in response to climate change during the latest Pleistocene-Holocene, Quaternary Science Reviews 27:867-879.

Quade, J., Rech, J.A., Latorre, C.H., Betancourt, J. L., Gleeson, E., Kalin, M.T., 2007, Soils at the hyperarid margin: The isotopic composition of soil carbonate from the Atacama Desert, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 71:3772-3995.

Dong, H., Rech, J.A., Sun, H., *Jiang, H., and Buck, Brenda J., 2007, Endolithic Cyanobacteria in Soil Gypsum: Occurrences in Atacama (Chile), Mojave (USA), and Al-Jafr Basin (Jordan) Deserts, Journal of Geophysical Research 112, G02030.

Rech, J.A., Currie, B.S., Michalski, G., and *Cowan, A.M., 2006, Neogene climate change and uplift in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Geology, v. 34, p., 761-764.

Rech, J.A., Quintero, L.A., Wilke, P.J., and *Winer, E.R., 2007, The Lower Paleolithic landscape of `Ayoun Qedim, Jordan, Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 22(2):261-275.

Latorre, C., Betancourt, J.L., Rech, J.A., Quade, J., Holmgren, C., Placzek, C., Maldonado, A., Vuille, M., and Rylander, K., 2005, Late Quaternary History of the Atacama Desert, in 23°South: The archaeology and environmental history of the southern Desert, Editors: M. Smith and P. Hesse, p.73-90.

Rech, J.A., Pigati, J. S., Quade, J., and Betancourt, J.L., 2003, Re-evaluation of Holocene deposits at Quebrada Puripica, northern Chile, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 194:207-222.

Rech, J.A., Quade, J., and Hart, W.S., 2003, Isotopic evidence for the origin of Ca and S in soil gypsum, anhydrite, and calcite in the AtacamaDesert, Chile, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 67:575-586.

Rech, J.A, Quade, J., and Betancourt, J.L., 2002, Late Quaternary Paleohydrology of the Central Atacama Desert, Chile (22°-24°S), Geological Society of America Bulletin, 114:334-348.

Mid-Miocene gypsic paleosol

Barros Arana, Calama Basin, Northern Chile


Dr. Ellen D. Currano Assistant Professor Ph.D. The Pennsylvania State University, 2008

Field of Specialization: Paleobotany, Paleoecology, and Paleoclimatology

Significance: Dr. Currano studies the response of terrestrial ecosystems to past environmental change. She uses a variety of methods including field sedimentology and stratigraphy, fossil plant taxonomy and physiognomy, and insect damage censuses to determine the magnitude of past change and its effect plant and insect communities.

Objectives and Focus: The primary objectives of Dr. Currano’s research are to produce quantitative records of paleotemperature, precipitation, and pCO2 using fossil leaves and to evaluate turnover in plant and insect herbivore communities across major environmental perturbations. Currently, she and her students are studying biotic responses to: 1) fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, and pCO2 during Paleogene in the Rocky Mountain Basins; 2) the establishment of a geographic connection between Africa and Eurasia at the Paleogene-Neogene Boundary; and 3) the Permo-Triassic extinction in the Karoo Basin, South Africa.

Recent Funding: National Science Foundation, EAR-Sedimentary Geology/Paleontology: A multi-proxy

approach to Early Miocene community, landscape, and climate reconstruction, Ethiopian Plateau, 2011-2014.

National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration: The response of Ethiopian ecosystems to geographic and climatic change across the Paleogene-Neogene boundary, 2010-2011.

National Science Foundation Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship: Insect herbivory on leaves through the Cenozoic in East Africa: The impact of geologic and climatic change at multiple temporal and spatial scales, 2008-2009.

Current Students: Melissa Light, M.S., Early Eocene Palynology of the Wind River Basin, Wyoming. Camilla Crifo, M.S., Leaf vein density as a proxy for forest structure. Jon Wallace, Undergraduate independent study, Reconstructing early Miocene pCO2 suing

fossil cuticle. Kelsey Davidson, First Year Research Experience, Description of a fossil flora from the Early

Eocene Climatic Optimum in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming.


Related Publications: Pan, A.D. , Currano, E.D., Jacobs, B.F., Feseha, M., and Herendeen, P.S. . 2012. Fossil Newtonia (Fabaceae: Mimoseae) seeds

from the early Miocene (22-21 Ma) Mush Valley in Ethiopia. International Journal of Plant Sciences 173:290-296. E.D. Currano, B.F. Jacobs, A.D. Pan, N.J. Tabor. 2011. Inferring ecological disturbance in the fossil record: A case study from

the Oligocene of Ethiopia. Palaeogeographiy, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 309: 242-252. Peppe, D.J., Royer, D.L., Cariglino, B., Oliver, S.Y., Newman, S., Leight, E., Enikolopov, G., Fernandez-Burgos, M. , Herrara, F.,

Adams, J.M. Correa, E., Currano, E.D., Erickson, J.M., Hinojosa, L.F., Hoganson, J.W., Iglesias, A., Jaramillo, C.A., Johnson, K.R., Jordan, G.J., Kraft, N.J.B., Lovelock, E.C., Lusk, C.H., Niinemets, U., Penuelas, J., Rapson, G., Wing, S.L., and Wright, I.J. 2011. Sensitivity of leaf size and shape to climate: global patterns and paleoclimatic applications. New Phytologist 190:724-739.

Currano, E.D., Labandeira, C.C., and Wilf., P., 2010, Fossil insect folivory tracks paleotemperature for six million years. Ecological Monographs 80:547-567.

Currano. E.D., 2010. Green food through time. Palaios 25:547-9. Parrish, J.T. ,Fiorillo, A.R., Jacobs, B.F., Currano. E.D., and Wheeler, E.A., 2010, The Ketavick Formation: New stratigraphic unit

and its implications for the Paleogene paleogeography and paleoclimate of southwestern Alaska. Palaeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 295:348-362.

Currano, E.D., 2009, Patchiness and long-term change in early Eocene insect feeding damage. Paleobiology 35: 484-498. Wappler, T, Currano, E.D., Wilf., P., Rust, J. Rust, and Labandeira, C.C., 2009, No post-Cretaceous ecosystem depression in

European forests? Rich insect feeding damage on diverse middle Palaeocene plants at Menat, France. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 276:4271-4277.

Currano, E.D., Wilf, P., Wing, P., Labandeira, C.C., Lovelock, E.C., and Royer, D.L., 2008, Sharply increased insect herbivory during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105:1960-1964.

L: Fossil leaf of unknown affinity, Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Bighorn Basin, Wyoming M: Oligocene legume Chilga Basin, Ethiopia R: Rhus (sumac), Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Bighorn Basin, Wyoming

L: Ellen Currano supervising excavation of an Eocene floral locality R: In situ Eocene tree stump Wind River Basin, Wyoming Summer 2012


Courses

Faculty of the Sedimentary Geology Research Group teach a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses to provide our students with both general and detailed background information they can utilize in their research projects. Below is a list of the courses our faculty teach on a regular basis. Undergraduate Courses GLG 111 Dynamic Earth (Physical Geology): Currie, Rech, Currano GLG 204 Survival on an Evolving Planet (Paleontology/Historical Geology): Currano GLG 301 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy: Currie GLG 335 Ice Age Earth: Rech GLG 354 Geomorphology: Rech GLG 477 Independent Studies in Stratigraphy, Geomorphology, and Paleobotany: Currie, Rech, Currano Undergraduate/Graduate Courses GLG 411/511 Field Geology: Currie GLG 435/535 Soils and Paleosols: Rech GLG 436/536 Paleoclimataology: Rech GLG 450/550 Sedimentary Basin Analysis: Currie GLG 474/574 Paleobotany, Paleoecology, Paleoclimatology: Currano GLG 499/599 Geophysical Well Log Analysis: Currie GLG 633 Extensional Tectonics: Currie Student members of the Sedimentary Geology Research Group also enroll in other courses offered by Department of Geology faculty that cover topics in geochemistry, geophysics, mineralogy, petrology, structural geology, and tectonics. A full listing of available courses can be found at: http://www.units.muohio.edu/reg/bulletins/GeneralBulletin2011-2012/3236.htm

Brian Currie with GLG 450/550 students on their class field trip to northern Wyoming

Fall 2011


Since 2009, the Sedimentary Geology Research Group has offered students the opportunity to attend workshops on topics related to petroleum geology. Workshop sessions are taught by recent alumni or friends of the department working in industry. Each 3-6 hour session is personally crafted by the industry instructor to cover topics related to their work experiences and involve both lecture and hands-on activities. Past session content has included the basics of petroleum geology and subsurface interpretation techniques, specific field/play examples, and the engineering of well drilling and completion. Over the past three years, over 200 students have attended the twelve sessions that have been offered (see below). Attending students have been challenged and motivated by the workshop content and have commented on the how much they have learned from the experience. The workshops have also been an opportunity to educate students about the science and technology used in the petroleum industry, as well as the career opportunities that exist for young geoscientists. Past workshops have been sponsored by the Department of Geology, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, McPherson Geologic Consulting, and Devon Energy Corporation. The next Petroleum Geology Workshop is currently being planned for the 2013 Spring Semester.

2009-2012 Instructors and Session Topics: Charlie Angerman (BA ’04) and Sarah Collier (BA ’03), ConocoPhillips Careers in the Oil and Gas Industry: Opportunities, Questions, and Answers (2012) Applied Subsurface Data Interpretation (2012) Joshua Dark (MS ’08), Devon Energy Corporation Introduction to Petroleum Systems and Subsurface Analysis (2009) Introduction to Geophysical Well Logs (2010) Unconventional Natural Gas Exploration in Cretaceous Limestones, TX-LA (2011) Mary McPherson, McPherson Geologic Consulting Open-hole Log Analysis and Formation Evaluation (2009) The Role of the Geologist in Well Drilling and Completion (2009) Steven McPherson, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation The Engineering of Petroleum Well Drilling and Completion (2009) Enhanced Oil Recovery Methods (2010) William Wilcox (MS ‘07), Chevron North America Geology and Salt Tectonics of the Gulf of Mexico (2009) Petroleum Prospect Evaluation and Risk Analysis (2009) Facies-Based Petrophysical Property Modeling (2011)

Petroleum Geology Workshops

Images from recent Petroleum Geology Workshop sessions


SGRG News

Department Awarded $5.3 Million GeoGraphix Software Grant The Department of Geology and Environmental Earth Science recently received a three-year $5.3 million software grant from Landmark Graphics Corporation to provide GeoGraphix Discovery software for 11 workstations in Shideler Hall teaching and research computer labs. The grant also covers a contract for software maintenance, training, and technical support. The Landmark software allows users to view and interpret 3-D seismic data, correlate borehole geophysical logs, and model the petrophysical properties of subsurface lithologies. Undergraduate and graduate students will use the software as part of their coursework in sedimentology/stratigraphy and basin analysis, as well as during the Petroleum Geology Workshop sessions offered each year. The software will also be used in student research projects related to hydrocarbon exploration/production and the tectonic evolution of sedimentary basins. Currie Receives GSA-ExxonMobil Bighorn Basin Field Award Last year, Associate Professor Brian Currie was awarded a spot in the GSA-ExxonMobil Big Horn Basin Field School. The school is a field-based basin analysis course run by ExxonMobil geoscientists for undergrads, graduate students and university faculty. Currie was one of five faculty from across the country awarded a spot in the course. During the course Currie was the supervisor of a team consisting of one graduate student and two undergrads. The team was charged with the task of evaluating the exploration potential and risks of the different hydrocarbon systems in the basin through the integration of lecture concepts, field observations, and subsurface and geochemical data. The team generated play-element and fairway maps, as well as stratigraphic and structural cross sections, to identify possible undiscovered hydrocarbon resources within the basin. These data were used to support a recommendation for a drilling program in a final presentation to the course instructors.

Currie found participation in the field school a gratifying experience. "Number one, following our presentation to the field school faculity, our team was one of the two groups in the course that were ‘funded’ to drill three exploratory wells in the basin! I also discovered that the things we do here at Miami, including the structure of our curriculum, our team-building class projects, and the emphasis we place on the summer field course, are considered extremely valuable by industry." Currie also noted that "Given the interactions I had with the kids in the field school, I'd have to say our current Miami students are as good as, if not better than, any in the country." Hokanson Wins Best-Poster Prize at AAPG Rocky Mountain Student Expo DGEES Ph.D. candidate William Hokanson was awarded the best poster prize at the 2011 AAPG-SEG Rocky Mountain Rendezvous Student Expo in Laramie, WY. At the meeting, Hokanson presented a reservoir characterization study of the Lower Cretaceous Dakota Formation in the southern Uinta Basin, Utah. His research, which incorporated both log-based sequence-stratigraphic interpretations and 3-D seismic-attribute data, is part of a multi-year project funded by the Utah Geologic Survey. Hokanson also landed a summer internship with Encana in Denver Colorado through interviews conduced at the Expo.


Equipment and Facilities

Field Equipment: Gas-powered, water-cooled, outcrop coring drill, Exploranium GR-130G spectometer/scintillomtometer for outcrop gamma-ray logging, and high-resolution, hand-held GPS mapping devices. Computer Labs: Department teaching and research computer laboratories with various geological software packages including 11 workstations running Landmark GeoGraphix Discovery for interpreting borehole geophysical logs and 2D/3D seismic reflection data, and reservoir modeling studies. Optical Microscopy: Several labs with research petrographic polarizing and reflected light microscopes, a, Merchantek micros-sampling drill, and a Nuclide Cathodoluminoscope with a cooled CCD digital camera. Scanning Electron Microscopy: University Electron Microscopy Facility including Zeiss Supra35 variable pressure SEM with a field emission source, an EDAX X-ray fluorescence detector, and an HKL electron backscatter diffraction detector. X-Ray Diffraction: X-Ray diffraction laboratory with a Scintag Pad X powder diffractometer. Stable Isotope Geochemistry: Extraction facilities for carbonate, sulfate, and 14C sample preparation; Isotopic analyses are conducted off campus through collaborative agreements with the University of Arizona, the University of Chicago, Harvard University, and the Pennsylvania State University. DCP and HPLC Analysis: Chemical laboratories containing a Beckman/IDI DC Plasma Spectrometer and a Dionex HPLC/Ionchromatograph. Sample preparation: Multiple labs with thin sectioning, rock pulverizing, polishing, and size separation equipment.


Sedimentary Geology Research Group Alumni

Below is a partial list of past student members of the Sedimentary Geology Research Group:

Anthony Albrecht, BS, 2003, MS 2005, Geologist, Hawkwood Energy, Denver, CO

Angela Cowan, MA 2006, Geoscientist, Schumberger, Houston, TX

Dr. Andrew Cyr, MS 2005, Geologist, US Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA

Joshua Dark, MS 2008, Geologist, Apache Corporation, Houston, TX

Tom DeSalvo, BA 2012, MS Candidate, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH

Andrew Fuhrmann, BA, 2007, Geologist, ExxonMobil, Houston, TX

Jared Gooley, BS, 2008, Geologist, Chevron North America, Houston, TX

Kristin Guthrie, MS, 2006, Geologist, Parsons Consulting, Pasadena, CA

Mindy Homan, BS, 2012, MS. Candidate, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR

Justin Pierson, MS, 2009, Geologist, Pioneer Energy, Dallas, TX

Joel S. Prellwitz, MS, 2007, Geologist, Sanborn, Head & Associates, Portland, ME

Ryan Purcell, BS, 2012, M.S. Candidate, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

Dr. Naseer Shafique, PhD 2001, GIS Coordinator, Vermilion County, IL

Bill Schellenbach, BS 2011, MS Candidate, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM

Kirsten Schlanser, BS 2012, MS Candidate, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

Eric Shullenberger, BS 2005, Geologist, Anadarko Petroleum, Denver, CO

Craig Tully, MS, 2010, Earth Science Educator, Turners Falls, MA

William Wilcox, MS 2007, Geologist, Chevron North America, Houston, TX

Emily R. Winer, MS, 2010, Geologist, Environmental Resource Management, Boston, MA

L: Tony Albrecht & Eric Shullenberger Chile, 2004 R: Josh Dark Utah, 2006


Opportunities For Alumni Participation

One of the goals of the Sedimentary Geology Research Group is to facilitate more interaction between industry geoscientists and our students and faculty. With this in mind, we invite all Miami University graduates with industry experience to become active participants in our educational and research programs. We welcome on-campus visits with alumni to discuss our program activities, give seminar talks, provide career advice to students, and participate in the annual Petroleum Geology Workshop. Other forms of engagement might include alumni-led field excursions, the sponsoring of student internships, or facilitating the development of industry-related research projects.

Alumni interested in becoming involved with the Sedimentary Geology Research Group are encouraged to contact Dr. Brian Currie ([email protected]). Additionally, if alumni know other industry geoscientists who might also be interested in working with our faculty and students, please feel free to forward their contact information.

Contacts

Sedimentary Geology Research Group Department of Geology & Environmental Earth Science 114 Shideler Hall Miami University Oxford, OH, 45056 Dr. Brian S. Currie phone: 513-529-7578 e-mail: [email protected] website: http://www.units.muohio.edu/geology/people/currie.html Dr. Jason A. Rech phone: 513-529-1935 e-mail: [email protected] website: http://www.units.muohio.edu/geology/people/rech.html Dr. Ellen D. Currano phone: 513-529-8311 e-mail: [email protected] website: http://www.units.muohio.edu/geology/people/currano.html