Sedimentologia_UNS

Located in the north of Andean Patagonia, the Neuquén Basin represents a natural laboratory for the study of unconventional plays. Substantial subsurface datasets (>90% 3D seismic coverage, +10 km of cores, ~1250 horizontal wells) combined with well-exposed outcrops provides the opportunity to appreciate the geological reasons for commercial success of the Vaca Mu**ta shale.

This field school is destined to professionals involved in the exploration and development of unconventional targets. By combining academic and industry experience, we intend to provide a comprehensive review of key geological processes that control the formation and distribution of unconventional hydrocarbon resources. In order to achieve this goal, we have selected outcrops with similar geological attributes to those typical of the subsurface. Along a 5-day journey, participants will have access to 360° exposures of shale and tight reservoirs that are on development nearby in the subsurface, providing insights for improving unconventional wells placement.

We look forward to create the synergies required for question the statu quo by combining the courage to unlearn current paradigms with the power to embrace new ways of thinking and interpreting the rock record. By this approach we can aspire to unravel the language written in the rocks, get disruptive results and shape the next evolution towards a more efficient development of unconventional resources.

Contact us for further information 🌎⛏

Located in the north of Andean Patagonia, the Neuquén Basin represents a natural laboratory for the study of unconventional plays. Substantial subsurface datasets (>90% 3D seismic coverage, +10 km of cores, ~1250 horizontal wells) combined with well-exposed outcrops provides the opportunity to appreciate the geological reasons for commercial success of the Vaca Mu**ta shale.

This field school is destined to professionals involved in the exploration and development of unconventional targets. By combining academic and industry experience, we intend to provide a comprehensive review of key geological processes that control the formation and distribution of unconventional hydrocarbon resources. In order to achieve this goal, we have selected outcrops with similar geological attributes to those typical of the subsurface. Along a 5-day journey, participants will have access to 360° exposures of shale and tight reservoirs that are on development nearby in the subsurface, providing insights for improving unconventional wells placement.

We look forward to create the synergies required for question the statu quo by combining the courage to unlearn current paradigms with the power to embrace new ways of thinking and interpreting the rock record. By this approach we can aspire to unravel the language written in the rocks, get disruptive results and shape the next evolution towards a more efficient development of unconventional resources.

Contact us for further information!

The magic behind ancient aeolian deposits 🏜

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📷 Credits: Westend61 GmbH/ Alamy Stock

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NEVER STOP EXPLORING 🧭

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Resumen de la campaña llevada a cabo con del tesista de grado en Paso Córdoba, provincia de Río Negro.

Gastón se encuentra estudiando una serie de depósitos continentales asignados a la Formación Allen (Cretácico Superior), Grupo Malargüe, Cuenca Neuquina. Uno de los objetivos de su tesis es comprender la dinámica de los sistemas depositacionales continentales (particularmente en ambientes eólicos), a modo de analizar la evolución paleoambiental del margen oriental de la Cuenca Neuquina durante el Cretácico Tardío.

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Summary of the fieldtrip conducted to the eastern Neuquen Basin with the geology aspirant

Gastón is currently performing his undergraduate thesis in a continental succession assigned to the Upper Cretaceous Allen Formation. One of the objectives of this thesis is to understand the dynamics of continental depositional systems (particularly aeolian environments), with the purpose of analyzing the paleoenvironmental evolution of the eastern margin of the Neuquen Basin during Late Cretaceous.

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@ Paso Córdoba

HYPERPYCNAL FLOWS & HYPERPYCNITES

The rock record commonly shows evidence of extraordinary fluvial discharges that result in the origin of hyperpycnal flows capable of traveling basinward for several km (10-100s) in either lacustrine or marine basins.
Hyperpycnal river discharges can last for days, weeks or even months. During the course of a long-lasting discharge, the hyperpycal flow typically suffer fluctuations in flow velocity and sediment concentration, as the river pumping is not permanently constant. As a result of flow fluctuations, a composite sandstone bed exhibiting vertical recurrence of sedimentary structures builds up. Some of these structures include alternation between massive, planar parallel lamination and ripple-drift cross lamination.
The recognition of vertical recurrence of sedimentary structures in ancient sandstone strata is considered a diagnostic criteria of long-lasting catastrophic flood events and extrabasinal turbidite deposits (hyperpycnites).

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@ Neuquén, Argentina

“The language written in the rocks”.

Sedimentologists usually have to deal with the interpretation of the sedimentary processes that governed sediment transport and accumulation in ancient sedimentary basins. That challenge involves very different scales of observation, combining outcrop and subsurface analyses, ranging from lamina to the seismic scale.
Today we start with the bed-scale. These images show a very frequent sedimentary structures commonly found in fine-grained sandstone strata.

Can you decode the language written in this bed?

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“El lenguaje escrito en las rocas”.

Los sedimentólogos suelen enfrentarse al desafío de interpretar los procesos involucrados en el transporte y la acumulación de sedimentos en las cuencas sedimentarias. Este desafío incluye estudios a diferentes escalas de observación, desde la lámina hasta la sísmica a escala de cuenca.
Hoy comenzamos con la escala de capa. Estas imágenes muestran una serie de estructuras sedimentarias que son muy frecuentes en depósitos clásticos arenosos.

Podes descifrar el lenguaje escrito en este depósito?

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Slump deposits in slope facies of the Vaca Mu**ta Formation (Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous), Neuquen Basin 🇦🇷

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Pliegues sinsedimentarios en depósitos de talud de la Formación Vaca Mu**ta (Jurásico Tardío-Cretácico Temprano), Cuenca Neuquina 🇦🇷

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We have been off for a while, but now we’re back with this gift for all of you. Take a screenshot and use any of these photos as wallpaper of your cellphone or laptop.

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Estuvimos apagados por un tiempo, pero ya estamos de vuelta, y con este regalo para ustedes. Hace captura y usa cualquiera de estos wallpapers como fondo de escritorio de tu PC o celular.

———— 📍Antelope Canyon, AZ 🇺🇸

Marine transgressions generally occur as a result of relative sea level rise and landward migration of the coastline, resulting in the stacking of marine deposits on top of continental facies. The boundary between these contrasting sedimentary deposits defines a transgression surface (TS).
In this particular case, shelfal calcareous mudstones of the Vaca Mu**ta Fm (Tithonian) overlie aeolian deposits of the Quebrada del Sapo Fm (Kimmeridgian), evidencing a drastic sea level rise during Early Tithonian.

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Las transgresiones marinas generalmente ocurren como resultado de un ascenso relativo del nivel del mar que genera una migración de la línea de costa hacia el continente. Como resultado se acumulan depósitos de origen marino sobre facies continentales, los cuales definen una superficie transgresiva (TS). En este caso, depósitos marinos de plataforma de la Fm Vaca Mu**ta (Tithoniano) yacen sobre facies continentales eólicas de la Fm Quebrada del Sapo (Kimmeridgiano), evidenciando un drástico ascenso del nivel del mar acontecido en el Tithoniano Temprano.
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En Geología es común hablar de transgresiones y regresiones marinas. El estudio detallado del registro estratigráfico permite documentar eventos de avance y retroceso del mar que ocurrieron el en el pasado, y de esta manera reconstruir parte de la historia geológica de una región.
En este caso (Fm. Río Negro) se trata de una regresión marina, es decir, a un retroceso de la línea de costa. Este evento regresivo posiblemente este relacionado a una caída relativamente rápida del nivel del mar acontecida en el Mioceno tardío - Plioceno temprano (hace ~ 5,5 millones de años), la cual habría resultado en una exposición subaérea de una gran area de la plataforma atlántica.

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In Geology, it is relatively common to talk about marine transgressions and regressions. The detailed study of the sedimentary rock record allow geoscientists to discover flood and desiccation events that occurred in the past. This is extremely helpful for the reconstruction of the geological history of a particular region.
This image (Rio Negro Fm) records a marine regression, which resulted in the backward movement of the shoreline during Late Miocene - Early Pliocene (~5.5 My before present). This regression was probably associated with a rapid sea level fall that caused the subaerial exposure of broad areas of the atlantic shelf in Argentina.

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Black shales. Los Molles Formation (Lower Jurassic), Neuquen Basin 🇦🇷

These black shales were accumulated in an offshore marine environment during the Early Jurassic in the western margin of Gondwana.
The Jurassic period was characterized by a high relative sea-level stand, much higher than today. As a result, worldwide transgressions took place in low-laying continental areas, such as the Neuquen Basin, which was periodically flooded from the Pacific Ocean.

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Lutitas negras. Formación Los Molles (Jurásico Inferior), Cuenca Neuquina.

Estas lutitas bituminosas fueron acumuladas en un ambiente marino de offshore desarrollado en el margen occidental del continente de Gondwana en el Jurásico Temprano.
Durante el período Jurásico, el nivel del mar fue muy alto, mucho mayor que el nivel actual. En consecuencia, grandes áreas continentales recibieron transgresiones marinas, tal como es el caso de la Cuenca Neuquina, la cual recibió inundaciones periódicas provenientes del Océano Pacífico.

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