Sedimentary Systems and Basin Analysis

Research in Sedimentary Systems and Basin Analysis at WMU encompasses a wide variety of fundamental and applied scientific topics being undertaken by Dr. David Barnes, Dr. Michelle Kominz, Dr. Michael Grammer, Emeritus professor Dr. William Harrison, and Dr. Robb Gillespie. Current research efforts include study of Pennsylvanian-aged fluvial deltaic units in Michigan (Barnes) and phylloid algal reefs in Utah (Grammer); the formation and evolution of various phases of dolomite in the Michigan Basin and their relationship to a sequence stratigraphic framework (Grammer, Barnes, Harrison, Gillespie); the estimation of 3rd order sea level changes over the last 160 million years through backstripping (Kominz); paleoceanography of the Michigan Basin during the Silurian and influence on pinnacle reef development and subsequent potential as hydrocarbon reservoirs (Grammer); study of geological formations in the Michigan Basin for potential carbon dioxide sequestration (Harrison, Barnes, and Grammer) and the quantitative analysis of tectonic plate spreading rates (Kominz).

Dr. Grammer oversees the Carbonate Sedimentology Laboratory at WMU. He is P.I. on a major $1.03 million, 3-yr grant recently funded by the Department of Energy (along with co-P.I.'s Barnes, Harrison and Gillespie) to evaluate the evolution and distribution of different phases of dolomite in the Michigan Basin and to establish how they might be related to either primary depositional facies, and/or to a sequence stratigraphic framework. This work is significant from both an applied aspect (the exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the Michigan Basin and elsewhere around the world), as well as to the fundamental understanding of dolomite formation and the linkage to structural, sedimentologic, and stratigraphic controls.

Dr. Grammer currently has students also working on 1) the paleoceanography of the Michigan Basin during the Silurian utilizing the stable isotopic composition of brachiopod shells (Peter Voice); 2) the formation and evolution of Silurian pinnacle reefs in the Michigan Basin, their reservoir architecture, and sequence stratigraphic framework (Tony Sandomierski); and 3) the formation and evolution of phylloid algal mounds (Carboniferous) in the Paradox Basin of Utah (Audrey Ritter). All students of the Carbonate Sedimentology Laboratory are strongly encouraged to present their research findings at regional, national and international meetings, and to publish their results in the peer-reviewed literature.

Because field work is a critical aspect for understanding geological systems, students of the Carbonate Lab visit a number of field locations during their tenure as students. Outcrop locations that are typically visited include the Paleozoic section of the central and northern Appalachians, the perimeter of the Michigan Basin in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, Paleozoic mixed carbonate and clastic systems in the Paradox Basin of Utah and the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas and New Mexico, and modern environments in Florida, the Bahamas, and Belize.