Print this pageDoing The Geochemical "Cotton Eye Joe" In
Dickson, William G.1, Craig F.
Schiefelbein2, Alan K. Williams3, Mark E. Odegard4,
James M. Brooks5 (1) Dickson International Geosciences (DIGs),
Houston, TX (2) Geochemical Solutions International, Shenandoah, TX (3) Nigel
Press Associates, Edenbridge, United Kingdom (4) Grizzly Geosciences, Sugar
Land, TX (5) TDI-Brooks Int'l Inc, College Station, TX
Slicks are often transient; they come and
they go*. We hypothesize that the combination of multiple data sets helps
determine the source of interpreted slicks to direct a physical sampling
program. This effort should also reclassify some Radarsat slick features to
higher confidence levels based on their correspondence with other geochemical
indicators. Our data coverages and observations range from the Niger Delta
southwards along the West African margin across
Prior work documented by Dickson et al.
2003a&b, Williams & Lawrence 2000, Schiefelbein et al. 2001
demonstrates the utility of combinations of potential fields and geochemical
data for various exploration purposes, particularly to define the location and
extent of lacustrine source basins; and to document the structural controls on
and location of hydrocarbon leakage to surface. The present work compares a
wide-ranging interpretation of sea-surface slicks from Radarsat data to piston
core sampling, oil family determinations and tectono-structural fabrics with
inferences from published locations of gas hydrates. We infer controls and
pathways on hydrocarbon migration from active leakage and demonstrate a
requirement for multiple stressors to rupture the regionally high-quality top
seals. Specific examples are shown from the Niger Delta, Ogooue Delta (
* "Where did you come from where did
you go
Where did you come from Cotton Eye
Joe" - Rednex, 1994
AAPG Search and Discover Article #90063©2007 AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California