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This study has confirmed the existence of a distinct mineralogical component in the upper part of the Yorkville Till Member of the Wedron Formation of Wisconsinan age in northeastern Illinois. This upper till unit occurs within the area of, but is not bounded by, the older Marseilles Morainic System and the younger, overriding Minooka Moraine. The analyses of samples from 79 locations that were used to identify, compare, and differentiate the two tills were: matrix grain size, clay mineral composition, carbonate content, and color.The upper till is a grayish brown, silty clay till with 76% illite and a dolomite-calcite ratio of 2:1. The lower till is an olive gray, silty clay till with 81% illite and a dolomite-calcite ratio of4:1. Results of this study indicate that (1) the two tills are separable and mappable units with the aid of laboratory data; (2) the lower till composes the bulk of the Marseilles Morainic System; (3) the upper till is thin between the moraines and constitutes the till of the Minooka Moraine; and (4) the upper till apparently represents a minor readvance and a concurrent change in source material.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

Reflection seismic data were acquired (by CONOCO, Inc.) which targeted known channel interruption of an upper Pennsylvanian coal seam (Herrin #6) in the Illinois basin. The data were reprocessed and interpreted by the Regional Geophysics Laboratory, Virginia Tech. Conventional geophysical techniques involving field acquisition and data processing were modified to enhance and maintain high frequency content in the signal bandwidth. Single sweep processing was employed to increase spatial sampling density and reduce low pass filtering associated with the array response. Whitening of the signal bandwidth was accomplished using Vibroseis whitening (VSW) and stretched automatic gain control (SAGC). A zero-phase wavelet-shaping filter was used to optimize the waveform length allowing a thinner depositional sequence to be resolved. The high resolution data acquisition and processing led to an interpreted section which shows cyclic deposition in a deltaic environment. Complex channel development interrupted underlying sediments including the Herrin coal seam complex. Contrary to previous interpretations of channel development in the study area by Chapman and others (1981), and Nelson (1983), the channel has been interpreted as having bimodal structure leaving an"island" of undisturbed deposits. Channel activity affects the younger Pennsylvanian sediments and also the unconsolidated Pleistocene till. A limit to the eastern migration of channel development affecting the the Pennsylvanian sediments considered in this study can be identified by the abrupt change in event characteristics. / Master of Science

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Deep injection of waste CO2 and fluids from regional energy plants into the St. Peter Formation of the Illinois Basin, could effectively provide long term deep geologic storage. This research aims to explore the viability of this proposed injection. There are some basic criteria that must be met to effectively store waste in a geologic reservoir. First, the reservoir must have sufficient porosity and permeability for both injectivity and for migration of the injected fluid through the reservoir. Second, the reservoir must be overlain by some form of impermeable seal or cap layer(s). Third, the reservoir should be sufficiently isolated from interaction with surface and near surface water. Finally, the formation must contain enough storage volume to handle significant amounts of injected material. Massive sandstone formations that host large saline aquifers have the potential to serve as high capacity storage sites. Much of the research targeting the potential suitability and storage capacity attributes of these formations has been promising, but reproducibility of the results has been less than ideal. Some of this variability has been attributed to petrological differences in the sandstone reservoirs that are not readily evident when studying the target formation over a geographically significant area. Based on the criteria, a promising candidate for injection and storage is the St. Peter Sandstone of the Illinois Basin. This study investigates the viability of liquefied CO2 storage within the St. Peter Sandstone on a micro scale. Initial porosity and permeability of the formation plug samples ranged from 16% to 19% and 26 to 981 millidarcies (mD), respectively. The wide difference in permeability is attributed to variations in strength of the cement, in this case quartz overgrowth in the sandstone. This preliminary evidence indicates that the storage capacity of the formation will remain constant or increase depending on injection location, suggesting that the St. Peter Formation will lend itself well to future storage.