Possible Continuous-Type (Unconventional) Gas Accumulation in Lower Silurian "Clinton" Sands, Medina Group, and the Tuscarora Sandstone in the Appalachian Basin: A Progress Report of 1995 project activities
Robert T. Ryder, Kerry L. Aggen, Robert D. Hettinger, Ben E. Law, John J. Miller, Vito F. Nuccio, William J. Perry, Jr., Stephen E. Prensky, John R. SanFilipo, and Craig J. Wandrey
Open-File Report 96-42
Seismic profiles are of interest to this project because they may help to identify local and regional controls of tectonic fractures in the "Clinton" sands, Medina Group sandstones, and Tuscarora Sandstone. Several seismic profiles at the northeast edge of the study area are available in USGS files in Denver and numerous profiles that cross the study area are available through seismic-data brokers.
The profiles at the USGS are stored in the GEOFILE data set. They constitute 1,507 miles of single-channel (1-fold) seismic records from New York and Pennsylvania that were purchased by the USGS with limited publication rights (that is, page-size illustrations without shotpoint numbers). Although most of the lines are located too far east of the study area, some are close enough to be useful to the project. These data are old (1940's and 1950's vintage) but are of good to excellent quality. They are in digital form (8mm exabyte magnetic tape; SEG-Y format) and thus may be reprocessed. Figure 16 is an example of the typically good quality of the profiles. Profiles are available in Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga, and Tompkins Counties in New York and Bradford, Cameron, Clinton, Lycoming, Potter, and Tioga Counties in Pennsylvania.
Western Atlas and Geodata Corporations offer for purchase (with limited publication rights) other seismic profiles which cross the study area. Figure 17 is a sketch map showing the general location of lines 1-5 that were reviewed by USGS scientists. These data are 12-fold, 48-channel Vibroseis, recorded and processed in 1974. The data quality is good, especially in the northern part of the study area. Most promising is line 5 which extends from central Ashtabula County, Ohio, to the southeast corner of Mercer County, Pennsylvania. This profile crosses Henderson Dome in southeastern Mercer County (Fettke, 1950; Kuminecz and Gorham, 1993) and appears to image a highly faulted anticlinal structure. Lines 3 and 4 also show evidence of small faults and anticlines, but not to the same extent as in line 5. Geodata Corporation has access to a seismic line (P-7) that runs across Crawford and Venango Counties, Pennsylvania, northeast of, and parallel to line 5 (fig 17). We have not yet reviewed this line. Future inquiries regarding seismic profiles in the study area will include profiles recorded in western New York State and in Lake Erie.
Created by the EERT WWW Staff.
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