Print this pageRemote Sensing and Subsurface Structure of the Ames Crater, Oklahoma
KOGER, DAVID G., and MICHAEL A. WILEY
The Ames Crater, or "Ames Hole", in southeast Major County, Oklahoma, is the site of many prolific new oil and gas wells that produce from brecciated Precambrian to Ordovician rocks. Brecciation was caused by the impact of a large meteorite shortly after deposition of Arbuckle Group rocks. The impact pulverized the carbonate, clastic, and igneous rocks, thus forming thick, porous reservoirs that are difficult to map.
The "Ames Hole" was once thought to be a deep Precambrian graben because Lower Paleozoic rocks are much thicker than elsewhere in the region. Because it was "low" and the Arbuckle was believed to have poor porosity, little exploration effort was expended until recently. After good production was established on local seismic highs, reinterpretation of the structure showed that the graben was part of the central rebound structure of an astrobleme. Subtle geomorphic keys, interpreted from Landsat TM and MSS imagery, help locate the astrobleme. Several of the local, now prolific outer rim and central floor structures are clearly represented on the imagery as small, oval tonal patterns. Because of the stratigraphic chaos caused by the impact, these structures are difficult to map even with detailed 3D seismic surveys. When properly processed and interpreted, inexpensive landsat imagery can offer leads for more detailed and expensive exploration techniques.