Date of Award
5-12-2018
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science - Geology
Department
Geology
First Advisor
Dr. Wesley A. Brown
Second Advisor
Dr. Melinda Faulkner
Third Advisor
Dr. Chris Barker
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Joseph Musser
Abstract
The Gulf Coast of Texas has been a known hydrocarbon basin for many years with various structural trapping mechanisms such as anticlines, faults and salt domes. While most large salt domes have been extensively studied in the Gulf Coastal Plain, many smaller normal faults have not been studied in detail. This research study employs an integrated geophysical approach to mapping the Big Barn fault in Montgomery County, Texas. This fault is located on the Gulf Coastal Plain and is approximately 20 miles north of Houston, Texas. Most normal faults in the Gulf Coastal Plain formed as a result of the Gulf of Mexico basin which started during the Jurassic Period as a result of the breakup of Pangea and the rifting of North and South America. The Big Barn fault formed during the Jurassic but there is evidence that the fault plane has been recently reactivated. Within the past 20 years, extensive deformation and fractures within the vicinity of the fault have formed on Interstate Highway 45 (IH 45) and caused damage to nearby businesses and residences. In this study gravity, electrical resistivity surveys and traditional mapping techniques were conducted to determine the cause of deformation and the extent of faulting. Two-dimensional inverted resistivity models were made to determine the structures and stratigraphy of the area.
Repository Citation
Minteer, Danielle, "A Geophysical Delineation of A Normal Fault Within the Gulf Coastal Plain, Montgomery County, Texas" (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 153.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/153
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
