The Geologic History of Kansas, 2013 or Updating the Work of a Legend

Paul Gerlach

Dr. Merriam's Ph.D. dissertation at the Department of Geology, University of Kansas, in 1961, advanced the understanding of Kansas geology, structural movements and producing reservoirs as no previous publication. His ground-breaking research and commitment to out-reach for those in the petroleum industry allowed major improvements in Kansas petroleum exploration. Dr. "Dan" followed his Ph. D. dissertation with an exploration into a previously unexplored application of computers to the earth sciences. Today, almost every geoscientist uses a workstation to advance his understanding of the subsurface. It was Dr. Merriam's publications on "Computer applications in the earth sciences", Kansas Geological Survey, 1967, which provided a guidance to geoscientists going forward into the future. This presentation builds upon Dr. Merriam's work, by updating his datasets, adding those wells drilled since 1961, integrating the work of authors published since 1961, to present "The Geologic History of Kansas, 2013 or Updating the Work of a Legend". 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90176©AAPG Mid-Continent Meeting, Wichita, Kansas, October 12-15, 2013