Rome Trough Consortium: Analysis of 13 Regional Cross Sections Across Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia

Hickman, John B.¹, David C. Harris¹, and Mark T. Baranoski^2
1 Kentucky Geological Survey, Lexington, KY
² Ohio Division of Geological Survey, Columbus, OH

As part of the Rome Trough Consortium, geophysical well logs from 157 wells in eastern Kentucky, southern Ohio, and West Virginia were digitized and compiled. Of these, 103 wells were used to create a network of 13 regional cross sections across the Rome Trough. Four sections are oriented roughly along the strike of the Trough, and nine are dip sections extending from Ohio southward into and across the Trough. These sections are displayed based on both a structural datum (sea level) and a stratigraphic datum (the top of the Cambrian at the Copper Ridge Dolomite).

Selected geophysical log data and up to 38 stratigraphic tops are displayed per well. In addition, lithologic percentages were calculated for wells with sufficient log data. Using a five component model (limestone, dolostone, sandstone, shale, and porosity), lithology was calculated on 0.5 foot depth intervals using statistical analysis equations within a petrophysical software package (TerraStation). Variables within this model were then further calibrated with available core and well cuttings descriptions.

This network of cross sections with calculated lithologies and stratigraphic tops allows a detailed analysis of both facies variations and stratigraphic thickness changes across a broad area covering portions of three states. With these cross sections, structural and depositional trends within and adjacent to the Rome Trough can be studied for the entire period spanning the Lower Cambrian to the Lower Pennsylvanian.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90031©2004 AAPG Eastern Section Meeting, Columbus, Ohio, October 3-5, 2004