[geolstu-list] Fwd: Barbados: A Geolgoical Tour--April 5 at Del Mar College

[Mark R. Besonen]

Folks, an interesting looking talk over at Del Mar coming up next 
Friday--take a look.  Perhaps if there is enough interest, a TAMUCC van 
could be taken.

Mark


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Barbados: A Geolgoical Tour--April 5 at Del Mar College
Date: 	Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:16:40 -0500
From: 	Roger Steinberg <rsteinb at delmar.edu>
To: 	Undisclosed recipients:;



*Del Mar College Department of Natural Sciences Friday Science Seminar 
April 5*

**

*Title of presentation:***

*Barbados: A Geological Tour*

Speaker:

*Randy Bissell*

*Geoscientist *

*Headington Oil LLC*

*Corpus Christi, TX*

**

When and Where:

*1:00-2:00 pm Friday April 5*

*Del Mar College*

*Coles Building 326*

Description of presentation:

*Geologists occasionally go to exotic places and examine rocks to make 
up wondrous stories to tell others. A geologic field study of outcrops 
on the island of Barbados was conducted by an Exxon research team 
including this author. Deep-water sandstones were described to 
compliment the company's worldwide exploration, production, and 
reservoir modeling portfolio.*

**

Detailed abstract:

*A geologic field study of outcrops on the island of Barbados was 
conducted by an Exxon research team including this author.  Deep-water 
sandstones were described to compliment the company's worldwide 
exploration, production, and reservoir modeling portfolio.  Easily 
accessible exposures of Eocene deep marine clastic sediments, oil 
production on the island, and the complex geologic origin of Barbados 
distinguish it from the nearby volcanic islands in the southern 
Caribbean Sea. *

**

*This 166 sq. mi. island exists because of an emerging accretionary 
prism of flysch sediments, presumably shed from South America, now 
positioned in the Atlantic Ocean above the subduction zone of the 
convergent Atlantic and Caribbean oceanic plates.  To the west, the 
Windward Islands of the eastern Caribbean Sea form an island arc 
corresponding to the trace of the subducted Atlantic plate. *

**

*Within the Scotland District of Barbados, which is located along the 
central Atlantic coast, several spectacular turbidite outcrops provide 
windows into the reservoir-quality facies of submarine fans.  The ranges 
and juxtaposition of grain size, bedding thickness, and stacking pattern 
of Bouma-classified turbidites aid in assessing the relative position of 
each outcrop within a generalized fan model. Steeply dipping and 
overturned beds, thrust faulting, and shale diapirs confound the direct 
correlation of outcrops as a singular fan but attest to the composition 
and complexity of the accretionary prism. *

**

*Pleistocene and younger carbonate reef complexes have repeatedly and 
episodically formed atop the emerging Barbados prism creating broad 
limestone terraces and fresh-water aquifers vital to the island.  Mud 
volcanoes and imbricated thrust nappes in the clastic prism support the 
oldest limestone terrace and form the highest (300+ m) elevations of the 
island. Extensive karst geomorphology, including networks of caves, 
sinkholes, and collapse gullies, are common to the uplifted limestone 
terrains. *

**

*Oil exploration efforts in the waters around Barbados have brought the 
long-studied Scotland District turbidite outcrops more recent 
attention.  A 2009 investigation was conducted by this author to the 
island in order to: revisit key Scotland District outcrops; reconsider 
earlier interpretations; assess the quality of the exposures for further 
study; and to photographically catalogue these outcrops and the other 
interesting geomorphologic features on the Island. ***

**

**

Biography of presenter:

*Randy Bissell is a geoscientist with Headington Oil Company in Corpus 
Christi, Texas, assigned to explore and develop prospects within the 
Frio/Vicksburg Trend of South Texas since 1999. *

**

*Previously, he was employed by Exxon in a 15-year career encompassing a 
variety of assignments including South Texas production, Gulf of Mexico 
deep-water research, and international exploration.  His last assignment 
with Exxon was as the Lead-Professional Geoscientist for the Nigeria 
deep-water exploration team. *

**

*Randy holds a B.S. from the University of Southern Mississippi (1982) 
and M.S. from Oklahoma State University (1984).  Randy has authored and 
co-authored numerous publications, field studies, seminar lectures, and 
his master's thesis on topics related to the prediction of hydrocarbon 
reservoir distribution from the application of geologic models developed 
through the combined analysis of outcrop, cores, well logs, and seismic 
facies/attribute expressions.*

**

**

*Thanks for your support!***

Roger Steinberg

Coordinator


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