HGS Bulletin Volume 4 No. 7 (March 1962) · Millimeters = antilog - 10 3.322 In the same papers...

BULLETIN

HOUSTON GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Houston, Texas

Volume 4, No. 7

March, 1962

~ o u s t o a Qeoeogicd Society

OFFICERS

. President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . George C Hardin. Jr . . . . . . . . . CA 7-5323 . 1st Vice President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Benjamin T Simmons . . . . . . . . F A 3-0493

. . 2nd Vice President . . . . . . . . E H Rainwater . . . . . . . . . M 0 7-5661 . Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lewis J Hubka. Jr . . . . . . . . CA 5-551 1 . Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cecil R Rives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CA 3-401 1

EXECUTIVE COMMllTEEMEN

W . R . Canada W m . F . Cooke. Jr . W m . A . Corman. Ex-Officio

Carey Croneis

Ben Morgan

COMMllTEE CHAIRMEN

STANDING COMMllTEES

Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Publications

. . . . . . . . . . Technical Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . Awards and Loans

Personnel Placement . . . . . . . . . . . Public Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . Research and Study Boy Scout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . Thomas D Rush CA 7-3522 Benjamin T . Simmons . . . FA 3-0493 . . . . . . . . . . . . . E H Rainwater M 0 7-5661

. . . . . . . . . . . Jack W Craig JA 6-3844 . . . . . . Theodore P Ellsworth F A 3-4331

. . . . . . . . . . . . . Reese Berry MO 4-3401 . . . . . . . . . DeWitt C VanSiclen CA 4-1681

. . . . . . . . . . . Clyde Beckwith CA 5-151 1 . . . . . . . . . Curtis C Franks JA 4-2166

SPECIAL COMMllTEES

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ballot M . Stephen Kovac CA 3-4645 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Convention Preparation W . A . Thomas CA 2-9721

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Publications Paul H . Allen CA 5-1396 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advertising Jeral J . Crowder CA 2-0226

. . . . . . . . . . . C W Leisk CA 8-9461 . . . . . . . . . . . Exhibits G.C.A.G.S.. A.A.P.G. . . . Otto Pixler JA 4-6381

Engineers Council

Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Academic Liason . . . . . . . . . . . Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preservation of Samples and Cores Remembrance . . . . . . . . . . . Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advisors to Museum of Natural

History . . . . . . .

G.C.A.G.S. Representative Alternate G.C.A.G.S. Representative A.A.P.G. Membership Directory Field Papers

Howard Schoenike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frank R Hardin . . . . . . . . . . . Ralph E . Taylor CA 5-441 1

. . . . . . . . Arthur S . Dickinson CA 3-401 1 . James A Wheeler . . . . . . . FA 3-1618

. . . . Charles W . Stuckey. Jr JA 9-4821 John L . P . Campbell . . . . . . CA 2-9771

. . . . . . Carlton D . Speed. Jr CA4-2523

. . . . . . . Jack 0 ColIe CA 7-6266 George C . Hardin. Jr . . . . . . . CA 7-5323 Arthur S . Dickinson . . . . . . CA 3-401 1 Raymond E . Fairchild . . . . . CA 5-0487 John L . P . Campbell . . . . . . . WA 8-531 1

. . . . . . . . . Charles F Ross CA 3-4491 0101 C . Bell . . . . MO 7-5004

T H E B U L L E T I N

THIS MONTH

VOLUME 4

. . Meeting Notice . .

President's Page . . . . .

News of Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . News from Neighborfng Societies

. . . . . . . . . . . . Committee Reports..

News of Other Societies . . . . .

Paat Presidents . . . . . . . . . .

Geoscience Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

NUMBER 7

. . Page 2

. .

. . Page 4

. . Page 4

. . Page 3

. . Page 6

. . Page 7

. . . Page 13

THE BULLETIN OF THE HOUSTON GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Office -234 Esperson Bldg. - Houston 2, Texas - FA 3-9309

Subscription Price $3.00 per year.

Published monthly, September to June by

CARDINAL PRINTING AND L E T T E R SERVICE, INC.

. . . . . . . . . . Editor. . Edd R . Tuner, Jr., Tidewater Oil Co. ..

.............. Asst't Editor . . . . . . . . J . D. "Denny" Bartell

Managing Editor.. .... Clark Edgecomb, Jr., Schlumberger .....

Volume 4, No. 7 March

M E E T I N G N O T I C E

SEVENTH REGULAR MEETING - MARCH 12. 1962

The seventh regular meeting of the 1961-1962 year will be held on Monday evening, March 12, on the 10th floor of the Houston Club. The social hour will begin a t 5:15, dinner at 6:00, program at 7:00 p. m .

The speaker will be D r . Edgar W. Owen, Consulting Geologist, San Antonio. His subject will be, "Some Regional Concepts Applicable toGulf Coast Geology."

The lecture will s t ress the impor- tance of understanding d e p o s i t i o n a l topography as described by John L. Rich and later emphasized by DeWitt C . Van Siclen. Regional facies patterns of the Gulf Coast Mesozoic and Cenozoic will be described on the basis of this concept and the significance of the "shelf-break" in petroleum exploration will be pointed out.

Dr. Owen is a native of Arkansas. He received a B. S. degree from Denison University and a M.A. degree in geology from the University of Missouri. In 1961 Denison conferred on him an Hon- orary D. Sc. degree. He has been Presi- dent of the AAPG and was elected to h o n o r a r y membership in 1960. He served as Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Far

East Air Force in World War 11, and was awarded the Legion of Merit Medal. Since 1953, Dr . Owen has been a Lecturer in Geology, University of Texas. Recently he returned from a consulting commission in Australia.

NEW POLICY FOR MONTHLY MEETINGS

The next meeting will see the beginningof the sale of drinks on a chit basis. The price of drinks will be 754 per drink and a separate table to purchase the chits will be set up for the convenience of the members. This policy is in line with the announcement made at the February meeting by President George Hardin. The Society has been going in the red on the meetings for the past two years and it has been the decision of the Executive Committee that it can no longer afford to do so. The price for the March meeting will be $3.95 for the dinner, but commencing in April, a 154 ra ise occasioned by a r i se in prices of the Houston Club will be in effect.

P R E S I D E N T ' S P A G E

"Biosparrudite, " "zeugogeosyncline, " "durtosis, " "phi unit" - - these a r e all words that appear regularly in geological l i terature, but how many geologists understand what they mean? The terminology of the various branches of geology i s becoming so specialized that it will not be long before the only geologists who will be able to communicate with one another will be specialists working in the same field.

Those of us who, many years ago, waded through the complex terminology developed by Amadeus Grabau and Albert Johannsen felt that we were well equipped to understand geological literature, but we now find that this i s not t rue . The "Glossary of Geology and Related Sciences" contains definitions of thousands of geological terms, but new ones a r e being coined s o fast that the 1960 supplement to this excellent volume i s already outdated. At one time, paleontologists facetiously divided themselves into "lumpers" and "splitters. " It appears that other branches of geology a r e dominated by "splitters. "

One no longer reads of "medium grain sand" o r "coarse grain sand" according to the Wentworth scale, but instead finds the size of the sand grains expressed in "phi units." Of course, if the reader really wants to know what s ize sand grains the author is talking about, he can find out very quickly by us- ing the equation

-phi Millimeters = antilog - 10 3 .322

In the same papers that describe the size of particles in phi units, one will also find curves showing "skewness, " "kurtosis, " etc. These computations permit the geologist to exercise his mathematical proclivities, but I wonder if they a r e of any benefit in the determination of environment of deposition.

We no longer find reference to "geosynclines"; they a r e "paraliageosyn- clines," "miogeosynclines, " o r some other of the seemingly infinite variety. So far a s I know, there i s not a definition of the unmodified term "geosyncline" that i s acceptable to a l l geologists, but we do have a great variety of types of this vague creature. The t e rm "limestone" i s fast disappearing. These rocks a r e called "biopelsparite," "pelletiferous micrite," "intramicrudite," e t ce tera .

If Editor Turner weren't so stingy with his space, I could discuss a large number of other seemingly superfluous terms that a r e confusing this reader of geological literature, but the paragraphs above should be sufficient to make the point. The proliferation of new te rms in geological l i terature makes the average working geologist feel that he i s reading in a foreign language. Unless the "splitters" slow down, o r unless their colleagues cease to appear to accept their many-hued classifications, the day will come when we geologists will be unable to interpret the material appearing in the journals of our own scientific societies.

. . . George C. Hardin, J r .

N E W S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Texas National Petroleum has moved into i t s new building at 410 Pierce. PAUL HARDWICK, JOHN COOKE, BOB OWENS, AND JIMMY JOHNSTONcan now be reached at FA 3-6301.

M . P . S . has announced the opening of a new office in New Orleans a t 430 Oil and Gas Building. FRANK MATZINGER will be in charge of the new office.

FRANK PHILLIPS, formerly with the Pan American Petroleum Co . , i s now with theunion Texas Natural Gas Corporation's Texas Gulf Coast Distr ict Office in the Houston Club Building. Frank's new phone number i s CA 5-0111.

PAUL FARREN and HARDY LONG have opened the new offices of Geodata at 5603 So. Rice Avenue. Everyone who attended the open house was impressed with the facilities Paul and Hardy have to offer.

GENE VAN DYKE and GEORG MEJLAENDER have announced they a r e dis- solving their partnership effective April 1, 1962. Gene will retain the present offices on the 23rd floor of the Bank of the Southwest and Georg will announce the location of his new offices soon.

CECIL R. RIVES has been t ransferred from Houston District Operations of Monsanto Chemical Company's Hydrocarbons (formerly Lion Oil) Division. He will remain in Houston and will work with ART DICKINSON, who was the f irst appointee under Monsanto's new scientific advancement plan for geologists and geophysicists.

NEWS FROM NEIGHBORING GEOLOGICAL SOCIETIES

The ABILENE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY had D r . John F . Grayson, Senior Research Palynologist, Socony-Mobil, Dallas, speak at i ts noon meeting, Feb- ruary 21st. He spoke on use of pollen, spores and other fine fossil material in making t ime correlations. The MISSISSIF'PI GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY i s planning a Palezoic outcrop field t r ip during the f irst week of May. The tour will cover the outcrops of the Ouachita Mountains between Hot Springs and Fort Smith. Reservation forms a r e available at the HGS office. The SOUTH TEXAS GEO- LOGICAL SOCIETY heard Ed Owen talk on Australia, 1962, at i ts January meeting. M r . Owen just spent three months "down under." GEOPHYSICAL SOCIETY OF HOUSTON had i ts February meeting on the nineteenth at the Rice Hotel. Tom Hall spoke on "Directional Shooting Techniques." The LAFAYETTE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY has elected new officers: Jay Howell, president; Adam Sturlese, vice president; Tom Eby, secre tary; Marvin Munchrath, t reasurer ; and Frank Harrison, Stuart Hastings, Hugh Moore, d i rec tors . The CORPUS CHRIST1 GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY had two meetings during February. John Moody spoke Feb. 7 on "Wrench Faulting. " and Dr . H . A. Bernard described "Genesis of Barr ier Islands" on Feb. 19.

C O M M I T T E E R E P O R T S

EXHIBITS COMMITTEE - AAPG CONVENTION

The Houston Geological Society will have a booth a t the upcoming National Meeting of the AAPG-SEPM, San Francisco, March 26-29, 1962. The booth will s e rve a threefold purpose:

1) Display and offer for sa le the Society's publications - this we have usu- ally done and somewhat successfully too.

2) Obtain commitments for Technical Exhibit Space at the next National Meeting - in 1962 the Houston Society will be the host.

3) Exhibit the Atlantic Refining Company's Salt Dome Model and Zapata Off-Shore Company's model of their offshore mobile drilling platform the "Scorpion" - both of these models a r e excellent and informative.

HGS BOY SCOUT COMMITTEE ACTIVITY

Merit Badge Program: Members of HGS a r e needed to help with meri t badge work this Spring. A short se r i e s of geological talks will be made before troops and a field t r ip will be made to the Llano a rea .

Rock Hound Month: The month of May will be for Rock Hounds, and mem- b e r s of the Houston Geological Society a r e asked to prepare and give talks on geology a t troop meetings..

If you a r e interested in participation in either o r both of these programs, call Otto Buis a t Ca 4-9811 o r Clyde Beckwith at CA 5-1511, ext. 2231.

NEW HGS AND GSH P H O m DIRECTORY

The new directory i s in the p resses and is expected to be ready for d is t r i - bution about April 1s t . Copies will be available to members of both Societies at $1.50 per copy. Non-member pr ice is $5.00.

FIELD PAPERS MADE EASY

The committee preparing the HGS volume on fields of the Houston District has been offered basic material on a number of fields. This consists of a con- tour map, c r o s s section and a type log for each one. Volunteers a r e needed to whip this data into a field paper suitable for publication; but, of course, the committee st i l l would like to have additional field papers based on an author's own work.

Members interested in writing a paper under either circumstance should contact ei ther Olin Bell o r Shirley L. Mason.

NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .& Midwestern Exploration Meeting, SEG, March 14 - 16

"Advances in Exploration Methods" i s the theme of the regional SEG meeting to be held in For t Worth in March. Highlight of the meeting will be a symposium on "Multiple-Source Compositing and Reflection Quality. "

Headquarters will be in Hotel Texas and those needing "late date" reserva- tions should contact that hotel direct .

AAPG Convention - March 26-29, 1962

M r . W. A. Thomas, General Chairman for the 1963 AAPG Convention in Houston, recently met with the full committee on final preparations for the 1962 Convention.

M r . Thomas repor ts that the San Francisco committees have everything ship-shape, and from an outsider 's viewpoint, the technical program will be excellent. They have ar ranged considerable entertainment, especially for the ladies, and they a r e looking forward to at least 1000 ladies present for this convention.

San Francisco i s a town that provides i ts own entertainment, and Mr . Thomas recommends, from the plans and preparations he has seen, that you should ar range to go to San Francisco for this may be the last meeting for many years to come to be held in San Francisco. The las t meeting held there was in 1928 and now with only one major oil company headquartering in San Francisco i t makes i t almost impossible to think about a re turn date soon.

AAPG Insurance Committee

The Group Insurance Committee of AAPG has become quite active and is investigating various forms of group life, accident, hospitalization, etc. insurance which can be made available to members . A comprehensive report i s expected at the Convention in San Francisco in March.

The Committee i s composed of nine members, widely scat tered geographi- cally over The United States. The Texas representatives a r e Don G. Cook of Midland and R . C . Bowles of Houston, a member of HGS.

GSA Convention - Houston

Mr . Paul Weaver has been appointed by Leonard Wood (USGS-Austin) and J . Van Lopik (T. I . -Dallas) to accept papers on hydrogeology and engineering geology for presentation at the Fall convention. Verbal presentation will be limited to ten minutes.

WHERE ARE THEY? . . . WHO?

The Past Presidents of the Houston Geological Society (Cont'd)

The twenty-first President of the Society was Wm. B. MILTON, JR. He was a graduate of The University of Texas, holding B. S . and M. A. degrees in Geol- ogy. After receiving his M.A. degree in 1927 he came to Houston for the Marathon Oil Company. In 1929 h e changed to the Gulf Oil Company and was stationed at Elgin, Texas, to do surface geology. Later he was moved to the Texas Oil Field and in 1931 to Houston.

In 1934 he with Almer Childers came out with the f i r s t repor t on Gulf Oil Company oil r e se rves for the Gulf Coast a r e a s and the East Texas Field. F rom 1934 to 1944 he headed the Gulf Company Reserves Department in Houston covering East Texas and the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana.

In 1944 he changed jobs, going with the Houston Oil Company a s Distr ict Geologist. He died in October, 1946, leaving a wife and daughter. M r s . Milton died in October 1956. After her death, the daughter went to live with a long t ime friend of the family, M r s . Donald W. Gravell. She i s now mar r i ed to Richard Putney, J r . and lives a t 4801 Hummingbird Lane in Houston.

The twenty-second President of the HGS was OLIN G. BELL. He served during the 1944-1945 te rm, while acting a s Production Geologist in the Gulf Coast Division for the Humble Oil & Refining Co.

After graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. degree in 1921 he went to Cornell University a s an instructor. While a t Cornell he served with the Pennsylvania Geological Survey in the preparation of the Pittsburgh Quadrangle Folio. H e did work on clays for the Florida Geological Survey, and reconnaissance work in the Maracaibo region of Venezuela for the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey.

In 1925 he came to Texas for the Humble Oil & Refining Company, f i r s t acting a s Distr ict Geologist in the Laredo Area, then coming to Houston in 1936. In Houston he f i r s t served a s Production Geologist, and la ter was advisor to the Exploration Department where he helped in the selection and training of young geologists. This work took him to many of the universities and colleges over the United States. He re t i r ed in 1958.

In World War I Olin served a s a Captain of Infantry and was attached to the Inspector General 's Department. In World War I1 he went in a s a Major in the Air Force and was discharged a s a Colonel.

He served for severa l years on the American Petroleum Institute Committee on co re analysis and electrical logging. While he was President of the HGS he established the Employment Counseling Committee of the Society for the purpose of helping unemployed geologists, many of whom were just getting out of a rmy and navy services . Olin and his wife, Willie, live a t 3802 Linkview in Houston.

SHAPLEIGH G. GRAY was our twenty-third President, having served in the 1945-1946 t e r m . He i s a native of Kentucky. H e attended the University of Missouri where he received A.B. and M. A. degrees. After receiving his M. A. degree in 1927, he went to Shreveport, Louisiana, for The Texas Company (now Texaco Inc.). While in the employ of The Texas Company, he worked in Louisi- ana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and West Texas .

In 1938 he came to Houston for the Tide Water Associated Oil Company (now the Tidewater). His work here was mostly subsurface in theHoustonoffice. In 1944 he opened a consulting office and i t was during this time that he served a s our President.

Most of his professional life has been spent in the employ of major com- panies, and a s i s the case with many of our other members, credit does not accrue to the individuals. Hence, i t i s difficult to point out h is geological suc- cesses . It is, however, well known that he i s one of our more competent consulting geologists. He was the f i rs t Chairmanof theHGS Employment Counseling Committee and did an excellent job in helping to repatriate many young geologists just out of Army Service.

Shap, a s we know him, has a ranch in Fayette County where a s a hobby he ra ises Black Angus cattle. Recently he has given up his office in Houston and moved to his ranch, where he has opened his consulting office. We hope this move proves satisfactory. He and his wife, Margaret, now live a t Maraleigh Farm, Route 3, Weimar, Texas.

CHARLES H. SAMPLE served the Society a s the twenty-fourth President in 1947. He is a native Texan from Jackson County. He graduated from The Uni- versity of Texas with a B.A. degree in 1930 and from Columbia University with a M.A. in 1931.

In 1932 he came to Houston for the Houston Oil Company a s a micro - paleontologist. In 1937 he was given the title of Field Geologist and l a t e r he be- came subsurface geologist, contouring maps.

In 1944 he went with the J . M. Huber Corp. a s geologist and District Mana- g e r for the Gulf Coast a rea . In 1949 he left the Huber carp. and opened his own office a s Consulting Geologist. He st i l l follows his consulting practice. Charlie tells m e that he has but one worry. That pertains to his waistline and i s per- petual. He, with his wife, Frances, and three children, live a t 3201 University Avenue in Houston.

ALMER F. CHILDERS, our twenty-fifth President, served in 1948 while working for the Gulf Oil Corporation. He is a native Houstonian. In 1928 he went to work for Gulf a s sample washer under Marcus A. Hanna. While washing samples in the day time, he attended the University of Houston a t night. He got his B. S . degree in geology in 1951.

His f i rs t assignment a s a geologist was to watch water encroachment in the East Texas Oil Field. In 1934 he joined the Oil Reserves Department for the Gulf Coast Division. In 1944 he was placed in charge of it. In 1950 he was pro- moted to Staff Geologist and placed in charge of joint operations in partnership properties. He left the Gulf in 1951 to form a partnership with Charles H. Sample. In 1955 he went to Tulsa with the Toklan Oil Company as Vice Pres i - dent, becoming President in 1956. In 1957 he returned to Houston to become Vice President of the Gulf Coast Leaseholds, Inc. In 1958 he opened an office a s Consulting Geologist and now remains a s such.

By subsurface contouring, he claims discovery of the Jones Creek Gas Field in Wharton County. He and his wife, Nell, with their three children, live at 737 Country Lane, Houston, Texas.

. . . .Wayne F . Bowman, S r .

I'ROFESSIONAL DIREKTORY Space for Professional Cards of Members

ALLEN & GlLKlSON Oil and Gas Consultants

Harris H. Allen and D. C. Gilkison

463 Son Jacinto Bldg. CA 8-9329 Houston 2, Texas

JOSEPH L. ADLER Geologist & Geophysicist

1801 Bank of the Southwest Bldg. CA 2-7925

Houston 2, Texas

ORVAL L. BRACE

Geologist

181 0 South Coast Bldg. CA 8-5404

Houston 2, Texas

WAYNE F. BOWMAN, SR.

Independent Geologist

171 3 Niels Esperson Bldg. CA 2-0279

Houston 2, Texas

CLIFFORD F. BARBER I RALPH B. CANTRELL Geologist / Petroleum Geolopist and Engineer

401 Esperson Bldg. CA 2-661 1

Houston 2, Texas 4005 Bellaire Boulevard

Houston 25, Texas

E. J. BARRAGY GEORGE H. CLARK

lndependent I Petroleum Geologist

3005 Buffalo Dr. Box 13287

Houston 19, Texas JA 8-5525

JOHN L. BIBLE BIBLE GEOPHYSICAL CO., INC.

Gravity - Magnetic Surveys Interpretations

1045 Esperson Bldg. CA 2-6266 Houston 2, Texas

- - - - - - -

FRANCIS X. BOSTICK

Geologist

71 1 Melrose Bldg. FA 3-3754

Houston 2, Texas

LESLIE BOWLING

Oil and Gas Consultant

536 California Bldg. JA 2-0432

New Orleans, Louisiana

404 First City National Bank FA 3-1 187

Houston, Texas

STUART K. CLARK

Consulting Petroleum Geologist

5443 Lynbrook Dr. SU 2-1638

Houston 27, Texas -- - -

JACK COLLE Consulting Geologist and Paleontologist

91 1 Son Jacinto Bldg. Houston 2, Texas

RALPH E. DAVIS ASSOCIATES Consultants - Oil and Natural Gas

121 6 Niels Esperson Bldg. CA 4-7576

Houston 2, Texas -

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY Space for Professional Cards of Members

- -

J. BRIAN EBY Geologist


Houston 2, Texas

ERNEST A. ELWOOD, JR.

lndependent Geologist

331 8 Mercer St. JA 9-3779

Houston 27, Texas

PAUL FARREN Geophysical Consultant

1528 Bank of the Southwest Houston (2) and

Geodata Building MO 7-331 7 5603 S. Rice Ave. (36)

HERSHAL C. FERGUSON

Consulting Geologist

1421 Esperson Bldg. CA 8-841 9

Houston 2, Texas

JOHN F. FLANNERY

Petroleum Geologist

4006 Ella Lee Ln. MO 7-0534

Houston, Texas

HAROLD L. GElS Consulting Geologist

1238 Bank of the Southwest Bldg. CA 7-53 17

Houston 2, Texas

KENNETH L. GOW Consulting Geologist

531 Texas National Bank Bldg. CA 4-6584

Houston 2, Texas

HUBERT GUYOD Well Logging Consultant

5234 Glenmont Dr. MO 7-6561 and MA 3-971 3

Houston 36, Texas

GEORGE C. HARDIN, JR. FRANK R. HARDIN

Petroleum Geologists 71 1 First City National Bank Bldg.

Houston 2, Texas CA 7-5323 -.

HEBERT AND SERBER Geophysical, Geological Consultants

Seismic Review and Subsurface 2422 Bank of the Southwest Bldg.

Houston 2, Texas CA 4-781 5

R. B. HOHLT Geological Consultant

Exploration ' Exploitation Valuation 1825 Bank of the Southwest Bidg.

Houston 2, Texas CA 2-0081

HOWARD HOUGH Consultant

1005-A First City National Bank Bldg. FA 3-7548

Houston 2, Texas

GENTRY KlDD

lndependent

81 3 Esperson Bldg.

Houston 2. Texas

C. T. MacALLlSTER

Geophysical Consultant

6327 Vanderbilt, Houston 5, Texas

M A 3-4181

-


GEORGE N. MAY & ASSOCIATES Consulting Geologists and

Paleontologists P. 0. Box 2052 Nat Mouton Bldg.

Lafayette, Louisiana

W. B. McCARTER C. E. McCARTER

Independents 141 5 Sul Ross JA 3-5733

Houston, Texas

GEORGE I. McFERRON


Room 5, 1973 W. Gray JA 2-2627

Houston, Texas

RAYMOND E. MlNG

Geologist

750 Son Jacinto Bldg. CA 8-1 91 6

Houston 2, Texas

R. B. MITCHELL

Independent

2801 First City National Bank Bldg.

Houston 2, Texas

JOHN C. MYERS Consultant in Oil, Gas and Sulphur

1207 Bank of the Southwest Bldg. CA 5-4133 and CA 5-4559

Houston 2, Texas

WALTER J. OSTERHOUDT Consulting Geophysicist and

Geologist P. 0. Box 3 1 82 CH 7-3769

Durango, Colorado

KENNETH DALE OWEN

Geologist

Esperson Building

Houston 2, Texas

ROLAND B. PAXSON


3524 Sunset Blvd. MA 3-91 96

Houston 5, Texas

SAM M. PENA

Consultant Ge.ophysicist

446 M. Esperson Bldg. CA 8-8505

Houston 2, Texas --

DAVID B. REMICK Consultant

620 Bank of Commerce Bldg. CA 7-4286

Houston 2, Texas

RAYMOND D. REYNOLDS Geologist

436 Bankers Mortgage Bldg. CA 7-5309

Houston 2, Texas

C. H. SAMPLE Consulting Geologist 404 Esperson Bldg.

FA 3-9997 Houston 2, Texas

A. L. SELlG Geologist


Houston 2, Texas


BENJAMIN T. SIMMONS


601 C & I Life Bldg. FA 3-0493

Houston 2,'Texas

FRED L. SMITH, JR. J. T. GOODWYN, JR. Consulting Geologists

1226 Bank of the Southwest Bldg. Houston 2, Texas CA 5-6656

HERBERT C. SMITH Consulting Geophysicist

and Geologist 320 Pinehaven Dr. OV 6-51 53

Houston 24, Texas

H. C. SPOOR, JR. HARRY KlLlAN

Geologists 21 30 Tennessee Bldg. CA 4-971 1

Houston 2, Texas

D. C. STALLWORTH, INC. Ehgineering and Geological Drafting

Surveying and Mapping Planirnetering and Acreage Calculations

1210 Bank of the Southwest Bldg. Houston 2, Texas FA 3-7343

S. BROOKS STEWART Geophysical Consultant

339 Bankers Mortgage Bldg. FA 3-4966

Houston 2. Texas

EDWARD B. STILES Consulting Geologist

10401 Memorial Drive HO 5-8568

Houston 24, Texas

THOMAS F. TAYLOR Petroleum Geologist


Houston 2, Texas

A. H. WADSWORTH, JR.

402 Texas National Bank Bldg.

CA 7-8151

Houston 2, Texas

J. C. WALTER, JR. Geologist and Petroleum Engineer

2202 Esperson Bldg. CA 7-1 246 Houston 2, Texas

Home Phone: HO 5-9773

GEORGE F. WATFORD Consulting Geologist

833 Bankers Mortgage Bldg. CA 7-6935

Houston 2, Texas

JAMES A. WHEELER

Consultant

1910EspersonBldg. FA3-1618

Houston 2, Texas

HERBERT E. WILLIAMS

Geologist Oil Producer

1420 Esperson Bldg. CA 3-4033

Houston 2, Texas

CARLETON D. SPEED, JR. Geologist - Oil Producer

71 1 Houston Club Bldg. CA 4-2523

Houston 2, Texas

The Great Mammoth Hunt, by James R. Solliday 1

On the morning of November 25, 1961 (Saturday, of course), a phone call to Dr. Jules R. DuBar, University of Houston Geology Department, shattered any thoughts of relaxation a s a voice rang out saying, ". . . .and they look like dinosaur bones." These words seem innocent enough, but to an invertebrate paleontologist they have a way of making achilly spine. As a result the wri ter went out to the southwest part of Houston to help the neighborhood children prepare to remove any bones that might be present.

The locality is in the Bellaire Quadrangle in the Westbury addition a t Chimney Rock and Valkeith Streets, approximately 0 . 5 of a mile south

of Brays Bayou, along the west bank of a tributary drainage ditch. Examination disclosed that this was a good find consisting of the backbone, r ibs, and pelvic girdle of a large mammal. Instructions were left to proceed very carefully with excavating the overburden. A group from the University would return on Mon- day morning to take over the project. The children were quite successful in their paleontologic endeavor and by Monday morning all t races of the animal had been removed.

All was not lost, however, for someone in the mob of a t least 300 people (a conservative estimate) that dug in the banks of the canal had planted a pick in the base of an elephant skull, and when f i rs t observed by the "trained team of vertebrate paleontologists" approximately 3 feet of double tusk had been un- covered. This find was about 225 feet upstream from the previous one and on the opposite (east) bank, essentially a t water level and 22 feet below s t reet level. A brief field description of the section follows:

Approximate thickness

Description in feet

4 . Soil profile (?), clay content increasing with depth, clay very compact, tan to dark brown, slightly sandy . . . . . . . . . . 12.0

3. Caliche zone, numerous calcareous nodules, top forms a noticeable break in profile, clay content increasing with depth, grayish white to dark brown, slightly sandy . . . . . 3.5-4.0

2. Clay, sandy, some scattered calcareous and phosphatic nodules, sand content increasing with depth, yellow brown to dark brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5-4.0

l ~ e s e a r c h Associate, University of Houston

Dr. Jules R. DuBar of the UH geology department (left) and Ray Wagner, amateur archeologist, prepare to remove a section of the tusk of the Imperial Mammath skeleton found recently in a drainage ditch near Chimney Rock and Valkeith Streets in the Westbury addition south of Bellaire.

1. Vertebrate zone, sandy clay with proportionally large pure sand lenses and pockets, limonitic concretionary layer present adjacent to some bones, grayish white to rust brown . . . . . . . . . 2.5

Stream level

Total thickness of section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.0

The tusks were lying in an inverted position with the base toward the canal and the curved portions extending into the bank. In the process of uncovering their entire length it was necessary to excavate a portion of the s t ream bank about 12 feet wide, 10 feet deep (at maximum distance away from the stream), and extending 10 feet into the bank.

Extraction of the remains took one week, during which time they were guarded 24 hours a day. Several factors forced this rapid removal, not the least of which was the previous commitments of the workers. Other reasons: 1) the constant throng of curiosity seekers (and souvenier hunters) that plagued the project continually, 2) the poor state of preservation of the bones, 3) the position of the water table which coincided exactly with the level of the fossil remains, and 4) a shortage of volunteers to spend the night in such pleasant surroundings.

Plaster of paris(a1most 900 lbs .) was used to reinforce the tusks and larger bones, plus several cans of shellac, about 50 feet of 2" x 2" and 2" x 4" boards, and 50 burlap bags. It was necessary to cut the tusks into 4 pieces which were hoisted onto a flat-bed truck by use of a crane and winch. The remaining bones and bone fragments were carried out in boxes.

Upon laboratory examination it was discovered that there were bones of at least two animals at this locality. Teeth were found belonging to the "Imperial Mammoth" (with one of the incomplete tusks measuring slightly longer than 12 feet) and those of a horse, Equus (Equus) sp. Further study and identification -- i s planned. Dr . James H. Quinn of the University of Arkansas i s expected to identify the horse teeth, and the Shell Research and Development Laboratory completed Carbon 14 tes ts on the remains early in January. The bones were estimated to be 18, 700 (plus o r minus 500) years old. This age determination i s about 12,000 years less than expected. The apparent low age reading may be a result of depositional contamination.

The lithologic nature of the surrounding sediment, along with the abundance and variety of fossil remains, suggests that these animals may have become trapped in a bog o r quicksand. If so, amny more animals may be buried in this vicinity. In fact, others were found nearby on Brays Bayou in 1960.

At present the foyer of the University of Houston Geology Department is filled with masses of plaster of paris that conceal the mammoth tusks, and an office is overflowing with the lower jaw (nearly complete), several vertebrae (of horse and elephant), numerous segments of various bones, and several hundred fragments of undetermined origin. What's needed most now is a vertebrate paleontologist. Do we have one in the crowd?

Comment on Beloussov's Paper on the Origin of Folding, Journal of Geophysical Research, July 1961, by Walter H . ~ u c h e r l

Beloussov's thoughts on "The origin of folding in the Earth 's crust" (1961) culminate in this opinion: "There a r e no indications in the phenomena of folding of the existence of general compressional forces in the earth 's crus t . Horizon- tal compression exists only a s a local phenomenon and is limited t o some narrow belts within geosynclines. . .Only vertical movements of separa te blocks of the crus t exist a s pr imary phenomena." (p. 2241) Most geologists today will agree with Beloussov that much of the folding in orogenic zones i s due to differential movement of the sediments that r e s t on the basement, and the shortening achieved by folding and thrusting does not measure "crustal shortening, " but merely displacements of the outer skin of sediments.

But many of u s cannot accept the dictum that no observations exist to prove that a state of compression exists in the outermost shell of the earth, the "lithosphere." Two considerations lead the wri ter to favor the opposite, traditional view.

1) The "narrow belts within geosynclines within which horizontal compression exists only a s a 'local phenomenon, "' according to Beloussov, a r e the axial zones of the major geosynclinal belts. They a r e indeed narrow, with widths measured in tens of kilometers, but they lie in long belts. The Alpine orogenic zone, for instance, measures some 10,000 kilometers in length from the Pyrenees to Burma. The geographic continuity of these major orogenic belts points to a continent-wide, if not worldwide, controlling dynamic factor.

Beloussov ascr ibes hs "deep o r metamorphic" type of s t ructure to the tendency of granit ic bodies to r i s e differentially "analogous to the sa l t diapiric domes, " a view widely accepted. But diapir-like r i s e of granit ic bodies cannot be the answer. The rocks between diapirs sink while the lighter masses r i se . The answer must be more fundamental.

In a crus t under compression, the vertical r i s e of the axial zones i s due to the upward lengthening of the weaker units produced by the horizontal pres- su re , of the surrounding cooler, therefore stiffer, c rus t . It produces elevation by deforming the metamorphosing sediments and softened basement into the s t ructures seen exposed in the mountains.

In Beloussov's thinking, the vert ical r i s e i s due to hydrodynamic lift, while the phenomena of "local" compression a r e purely secondary due to the flow of the r ising blocks under their own weight. These two processes a r e so

*Presented orally before the Houston Geological Society, November 13, 1961.

'prof. Emeritus, Columbia University; Consultant with Humble Oil & Refining Company; Vice President (1953), The Geological Society of America.

diametrically opposed that the s t ructure pattern within the central orogenic belts may be expected to furnish specific clues.

2) T h e s t ructura l resul ts of diapiric r i s e a r e best seen on broadly oval sa l t domes. Roughly radial and tangential faults develop ea r ly and lead to the formation of hors ts and grabens, since under adequate overburden rocks break along inclined fracture planes. If s imi lar simple forms of orogenic uplifts, such a s the overall uplifts of the Black Hills o r the Rock Springs uplift, had been produced by the vert ical r i s e of a basement "block," without simultaneous crus ta l compression, a s imi l a r pattern of faults would be visible on their s u r - faces, but they do not exist . In fact, the Rock Springs uplift, some 50 miles long and 75 miles wide, shows numerous faults oblique and t ransverse to the axis .

Along the more intensely orogenic belts, where uplift was excessive, the splitting of the r i s ing welt into hors ts and grabens should have reached such dimensions that even the tendency of the highest hors t to flow plastically under their own weight could not obliterate the evidence of i t s origin, by extension.

The available maps and cross-sections of the best-studied orogenic belts display a unity o f inner s t ructure which seems wholly contrary to w h a t Beloussov's hypothesis leads one to expect. Until the actual geological s t ructures of closely studied examples of orogenic axial zones recorded on maps have been convincingly reinterpreted by Beloussov and his students, the wri ter cannot accept the thesis that continent-wide, if not worldwide, compression, does not exist in the lithosphere.

Oil exploration i s benefiting from increased application of paleoecology, the study of relationships between ancient organisms and their environments. In- formation gained from detailed paleontologic and lithologic analyses leads geologists to a better understanding of depositional environments and i s thereby of d i rec t use in the sea rch for strat igraphic traps, in the solution of complicated correlat ion problems, and in the unraveling of local and regional history. In - terpretations of paleoenvironments a r e based upon a comparison of fossil fauna and flora with biota typifying present-day environments, or with s imi lar fossil forms having a recognized environmental significance, and upon the nature and distribution of deposits and their characterizing textures and s t ructures . Ex- tensive investigations of facies laid down in modern environments have revealed biologic and sedimentologic data concerning lateral and vert ical changes within sedimentary units which afford a means f o r better predicting trends, for inter- preting s tages in the filling of subsiding sedimentary basins, and for recognizing factors controlling oil accumulation.

l ~ r e s e n t e d before the Houston Geological Society, January 8, 1962. k h i e f , Geologic Research Section, Humble Oil & Refining Company.

17

Review: Geologia Del Anticlinorio Huizachal - Peregrina A1 NW De Ciudad Victorio, Tamps. (Geology of the Huizachal-Peregrina Anticlinorium Northwest of Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico) by J . Carril lo Bravo, Asociacion Mexicana Geologos Petroleros Boletin, January and February, 1961

Does the Ouachita tectonic belt run southward from the Marathon region of Texas, through the Solitario region, and terminate in the state of Coahuila, Mexico a t the southern end of the Coahuila folded belt; o r does it swing eastward from the Solitario region and continue southward through eastern and into southern Mexico and join with the Paleozoic geosyncline o r folded belt of western North America? The extension of the Ouachita tectonic belt from the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma southward around the flank of the Llano uplift to the Marathon and Solitario regions of Texas has been established within the past decade by the work of Peter Flawn, Phillip B. King, and others. Information presented by Ing. Carrillo suggests that this tectonic belt turns eastward from the Solitario region and continues southward beneath the eastern flank of the Sierra Madre Oriental into southern Mexico. The literature on the subject of the Ouachita tectonic belt i s too voluminous to be covered in this review.

Ing. Carril lo presents the results of two years of field work in the Sierra Madre Oriental northwest of Victoria. An almost complete Paleozoic section, most of which was heretofore unknown in northeastern Mexico, was mapped and described. Eight new formations ranging in age from pre-Cambrian to Pennsyl- vanian a r e named and defined. Beds of probable Cambrian and Ordovician age, others definitely dated as Silurian and Devonian, and Pennsylvanian beds that were not known in this area were found. Also, the age of the red beds of this region, heretofore in dispute, was determined to be Triassic.

Sediments of Permian, Pennsylvanian, and Devonian age of the region a r e reported to show close lithologic similarity to those of the Marathon region of Texas. The section of novaculite and chert which Ing. Carril lo has named "La Yerba" formation (Devonian), i s very similar to the Caballos novaculite (De- vonian) of the Marathon region and the Arkansas novaculite (Devonian) of the Ouachita region. The presence of this siliceous formation suggests that the Huizachal-Peregrina region constituted a part of the same Paleozoic geosyncline in which the Caballos and Arkansas novaculite formations were deposited.

Pre-Cambrian sediments a r e folded, faulted, and metamorphosed, indicat- ing an intense pre-Cambrian orogeny. Difference in the grade of metamorphism between the pre-Cambrian rocks and the pre-Silurian Paleozoic sediments suggests a pre-Silurian orogeny. Another period of diastrophism occurred after early Mississippian and before Pennsylvanian. Tectonism continued throughout the Pennsylvanian and middle Permian, and at the end of Permian, folding and faulting of great magnitude occurred. The late Paleozoic orogenic movements (Ouachita?) were more intense than those of the Laramide orogeny which occurred a t the end of Cretaceous.

The information presented in this paper demonstrates that there i s still a great deal to be learned about the Paleozoic history of this part of the continent.

Since Paleozoic structural features determined the framework for the G u l f Coast geosyncline, this history i s of interest to students of Gulf Coast geology.

. . . George C . Hardin, J r .

Bolivar Peninsula Field T r i p

One of the highlights for geologists a t the annual meeting of the Texas Academy of Science in Galveston last December was a field trip, jointly spon- sored by the National Association of Geology Teachers. Dr . Dan E. Feray of S.M.U. and Dr . Saul Aronow of Lamar Tech conducted this trip, the purpose of which was to view the geological effects of Hurricane Car la along the coast from Galveston to High Island. In spite of the unpleasant weather, 19 carloads of people assembled on the eas t side of the Bolivar Point ferry .

The first scheduled stop 4 miles east of the ferry was inaccessible because of high water, so we proceeded to Emerald Beach subdivision. Here Dr . Feray took us into an a rea where the f i rs t row of houses had been almost completely demolished. He pointed out how the water had undermined the foundations so that the houses collapsed and were then in many cases annihilated by the wind and waves.

About half a mile west of Rollover Pass conditions were even more dra- matic. At the edge of the water (at low tide) could be seen a tumbled heap of broken up concrete. This had once been a substantial house situated on an old beach ridge at about 10 feet above s e a level and located over 100 feet from high tide line. It was obvious to a l l of us from "before and after" aer ia l photographs that Hurricane Carla had eroded the coast line to a depth of some 200 feet and that the present maximum elevation i s only about 5 feet above sea level.

From this point most of the party walked eastward along the beach to Roll- over Pass, where Hurricane Car la actually cut completely across Bolivar Peninsula to East Bay just west of the fish pass. When Rollover Pass was opened up a few years ago i t was contained by massive sheet steel piling out to the shoreline. This could be seen from the photographs. F rom this time until just before Hurricane Carla the shoreline had been eroded back some200 feet. This, according to D r . Feray, was a direct result of the opening up of Rollover Pass with the consequent interference with the natural westward longshore drift of sediment in this a rea . In his opinion this erosion will continue until finally Bolivar Peninsula will become an island. Hurricane Car la simply expedited this process by eroding an additional 300 feet in a few days.

The physical damage to housing in this area was heart - rending to see . Large sections of the town of Gilchrist had been completely wiped out. East- ward, several feet of sand had been washed across the road, and a s we approached High Island the shoreline got nearer and nearer the highway until just past the intersection with State Highway 124 the road, white line and all, headed right out to sea .

. . . . Mollie & George Dickinson

Recent Additions to Business and Technology Section, Houston Public Library

Historical Geology, Carl 0 . Dunbar Seismicity of the Earth, Gutenberg and Richter

The Sea Off Southern California, Kenneth 0. Emery The Development of American Petro-

leum Pipelines, Arthur M. Johnson The Earth and Its Resources,

Vernon C. Finch Methods of Analysis for Petro- chemicals, E. R. Littman

Flowing Gold, The Romance of Oil, John J. Floherty Things Maps Don't Tell Us,

Armin K . Lobeet Biography of the Earth, George Gamow

THAT WONDERFUL AUXILIARY SHOW I

A whole Houston Club full of Society members and their wives testify to the excellence of the Auxiliary's annual night meeting, February 13. A jammed cocktail hour and a gourmet dinner was followed by the best amateur show seen in Houston in a long time.

The "Show Time" theme was developed into a near professional performance of music from South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, Camelot and other hits. Azaleigh Maginnis was the director of it all - and we a r e glad there a r e such people here in Houston. Solos by Tommy Lipp, A1 Boatman, Jack Chambers and Lew Hubka were great, the chorus work was excellent, and those impersonations by the Poe family - straight from Nashville's Grand Ole Opryl Nelda Simms provided the musical accompaniment on the piano. To all - we enjoyed it1 Do it again - and be sure to invite us1

BLAKEY'S LOG SERVICE HARRISON EQUIPMENT COMPANY ~ CYPRUS OIL COMPANY ROBERT MOSBACHER

EXPLORATION SERVICE, INC. I OTIS DRILLING COMPANY

APACHE EXPLORATION CO.

BAROID WELL LOGGING SERVICE

---- 0 ----

BERG GEOPHYSICAL COMPANY

CAMERON IRON WORKS, INC.

CARDINAL PRINTING COMPANY, INC.

GEODATA SERVICES, INC.

CORE LABORATORIES, INC.

E. I. duPONT de NEMOURS & CO.

EUROPEAN IMPORT COMPANY

GENERAL GEOPHYSICAL COMPANY

SUPPORT YOUR BULLETIN ADVERTISERS

THE GEOPHYSICAL DIRECTORY

INDEX GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS CORP.

K l LROY COMPANY OF TEXAS, INC.

JOHN W. MECOM, INDEPENDENT

MEREDITH & COMPANY

QU l NTANA PETROLEUM CORPORATION

SCHLUMBERGER WELL SURVEYING CORP.

SEISMOGRAPH SERVICE CORPORATION

M P S PRODUCTION CO. EDGAR TOBlN AERIAL SURVEYS

HGS Bulletin Volume 4 No. 7 (March 1962) · Millimeters = antilog - 10 3.322 In the same papers...

Documents

Transcript of HGS Bulletin Volume 4 No. 7 (March 1962) · Millimeters = antilog - 10 3.322 In the same papers...