Seismic reflection studies in eastern Nevada
The US Geological Survey has recently purchased over 600 km of multifold seismic reflection profiles in eastern Nevada in the vicinity of Railroad and White River Valleys to understand the regional structural setting of the Railroad Valley oil fields (35 million barrels produced through 1992). One profile extends west of Railroad Valley through the Pancake Range and into Big Sand Springs Valley; another line extends east of White River Valley into Cave, Muleshoe, and Lake valleys. Analysis of sonic logs from over 50 wells indicate that Miocene and younger valley-fill deposits vary from less than 7,000 ft/sec, average velocity in the center of Railroad Valley, to more than 16,000 ft/sec,/near the mountain fronts where conglomerates composed of Paleowic carbonate clasts occur. The conglomerates above and east of the Grand Canyon oil field (18 million barrels as of 1992) appear to have the highest velocities, and these may be due to cementation effects caused by hydrothermal upwelling. Normal faults are generally too steep to be seen as fault-plane reflections (>40{degree}), except in the vicinity of the prolific Grand Canyon oil field, where a low-angle normal fault (approx. 20{degree}) can be seen on two profiles. the overall extension in the study area appears to be in the range of 25--50% except beneath eastern Railroad Valley and the adjacent Grand Range where 80 to more than 100% extension probably has occurred.
- OSTI ID:
- 80290
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-941015-; TRN: IM9532%%418
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 64. annual meeting of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and international exposition, Los Angeles, CA (United States), 23-27 Oct 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of SEG international exposition and sixty-fourth annual meeting -- 1994 Technical program: Expanded abstracts with authors` biographies; PB: 1736 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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