Facies architecture and sequence stratigraphy of nonmarine and shallow-marine deposits

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This proposal develops two longstanding themes that have characterized much of my research. The first is continued exploration of the architecture of nonmarine and shallow-marine sedimentary units, as an aid to understanding their origins, and as a contribution to petroleum reservoir studies. The present proposal continues a long-standing program of investigations in the Colorado Plateau area, where the lack of vegetation cover and the lack of structural disturbance has resulted in a plethora of superb outcrops for detailed surface investigations. These same conditions facilitate the use of ground-penetrating radar for exploring three-dimensional architecture and radar facies in the shallow subsurface (down to about 30 m in dry rocks). An additional project explores the large Cretaceous outcrops along some rivers in southern Alberta. The second theme consists of investigation of the controls on large-scale basin architecture, in this case through the mapping of high-frequency sequence stratigraphy of part of southern Alberta. The objective is to develop a better knowledge of a significant gas-bearing sandstone, and to use stratigraphic data in the development of tectonic and other models to explain high-frequency sequence stratigraphy. The proposal contains the plans for the completion of research by four doctoral students, all of whom have carried out initial programs of field reconnaissance and are at an advanced stage of planning for the their major research activities.