A Study of the Subsurface Properties of Black Shale in the Northern Appalachian Basin with Focus from the Frasnian Geneseo (Berket) Black Shale

Lamichelle A. Arnold and Terry Engelder
Geosciences, Penn State, University Park, PA

Devonian black shale of the northern Appalachian Basin commonly carries one or both of two regional joint sets of Alleghanian age (Engelder, et al., 1998; Lash et al., 2003). These are seen in outcrop, core, and electric logs. The extent to which these fractures populate the subsurface may be indicated by a combination of in situ properties including density and sonic travel time. To assess the presence of these joint sets in the subsurface, we are taking a careful look at the variation in subsurface properties of the lowest Frasnian black shale, the Geneseo (Berket) in the northern Appalachian Basin of New York and Pennsylvania. This investigation includes a cross-correlation of bulk density with density-porosity and neutron porosity. These properties are then correlated with sonic travel time where available in the northern Appalachian Basin. Properties of the Geneseo (Berket) are calibrated against the logs from the Wilkins well (Plumb, et al., 1991) in Stueben County, New York.

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90078©2008 AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas