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Henry L. Berryhill

Publications and source records attributed to Henry L. Berryhill.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1979

Maps showing late Pleistocene and Holocene evolution of the South Texas continental shelf

Interpretation of acoustical profiles has provided insight into the late Quaternary geologic history of the Continental Shelf off South Texas. (See the geographic index map on sheet 1 for location of the area studied.) The profiles reveal the interplay of tectonism, sedimentation, and cyclic fluctuations of sea level in the building and geologic evolution of the continental terrace. The sequence of sediments studied extends to about 200 meters (m) beneath the sea-floor surface. Four seismic-stratigraphic units underlain by four prominent sound reflectors were identified and mapped. This geologic synthesis, for which the research was funded by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is but one aspect of a coordinated, multidisciplinary environmental study of the South Texas Outer Continental Shelf sponsored by BLM (Berryhill, 1976, 1977). The environmental studies are keyed to the leasing of Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) lands for petroleum exploration and production. Their purpose is to provide the data development of petroleum resources on the OCS, as well as to provide the basis for predicting the impact of oil and gas exploration and production on the marine environment. Of primary concern is the recognition of geologic conditions that might be hazardous to structures placed on the sea floor. Geologic hazards relate directly to the potential for significant movement of the sea floor in the future. Judging sea-floor stability and recognizing geologic features that are potentially hazardous require an understanding of the recent geologic history of the area, which, in turn, entails determining the relative rates and interactions of sedimentation and tectonism through time. In addition to the primary objective, the synthesis provides knowledge about the magnitude and extent of sea-level fluctuations in the western Gulf of Mexico, and it provides a depositional facies model of possible use in appraising the resource potential of the more deeply buried sediments.

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USGS1974

The worldwide search for petroleum offshore; a status report for the quarter century, 1947-72

At the end of 1972, offshore petroleum exploration was in progress on the submerged continental margins of 80 countries. Some 780 oil and gas fields had been discovered. Estimated worldwide volume of oil discovered offshore as of January 1, 1973, is 172.8 billion barrels of oil, or about 26 percent of the world total, and 168.4 trillion ft3 of natural gas. Present reserves of oil are 135.5 billion barrels, of which 70 percent is in the Persian Gulf. Some 90 percent of the oil discovered offshore has been found in 60 giant fields having reserves of 500 million or more barrels each.

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USGS1955

Coal reserves of the Pittsburgh (No. 8) bed in Belmont County, Ohio

Remaining coal reserves totaling 1,929 million tons have been appraised in the Pittsburgh (No. 8) coal bed in Belmont County, Ohio. Of these, 508 million tons are classified as measured and 1,421 million tons are classified as indicated. All the coal has less than 1,000 feet of overburden, and most of it is of high volatile A bituminous rank. This estimate is based on field work by the United States Geological Survey, supplemented by data from the fries of the Ohio Geological Survey and from mine and drill-hole records provided by mining companies.

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USGS1952

Coal resources of Virginia

The U. S. Geological Survey and the Virginia Geological Survey have cooperated in preparing this reappraisal of the coal resources of Virginia, which is based on a study of all information" on the reserves of the State available in the publications and files of the two organizations, supplemented by mine and drill-hole information provided by mining companies and private individuals. Coal is found in Virginia in three widely separated and entirely dissimilar areas: the Southwest Virginia field, or simply the Southwest field, which comprises all or part of Tazewell, Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell, Scott, Wise, and Lee Counties; the Valley fields, a series of long, narrow coal-bearing areas in the Valley of Virginia that are concentrated largely in Montgomery, Pulaski, and Wythe Counties; and the Eastern fields, consisting of two relatively small basins near Richmond and Farmville, respectively. Of the total reserves of the State, about 97 percent are in the Southwest Virginia field. In estimating reserves of the Southwest Virginia field the cooperating agencies were assisted by a series of excellent county reports covering the entire field and by the generous cooperation received from the coal-mining companies. Because of this help, it was possible not only to prepare estimates of reserves in that field by individual coal beds, but to outline most of the important mined-out areas on the bed maps and thus to prepare an estimate that takes into consideration the coal mined and lost in mining prior to January 1, 1951. The Valley fields, which were mined to some extent prior to 1860 and which have an almost continuous production record since 1883, have been mapped and studied in some detail, but the data on the area are in general inadequate and the structure is too complex to permit a detailed estimate of reserves. Estimates of indicated and inferred reserves in six. of the ten Valley fields were prepared, however, and are presented in subsequent pages. The estimates for the Valley fields are on the basis of original reserves, as mine information is too scanty and production figures too generalized to be of value in translating original reserves into remaining reserves. The Richmond basin, the easternmost of the Eastern fields, was first mined in 1748, and operations were carried on almost continuously for 150 yr of more after that date. Activity died rapidly as rail transportation made the more easily mined Appalachian coals available, and the Eastern basins have seen little activity since about 1905. Despite the fact that an all-time total of more than 8 million tons has been taken from the Richmond basin, the data now available on the coal beds are considerably less than those on the Valley fields and it was impossible to estimate the reserves with any degree of accuracy. The reserves of the Eastern fields are therefore omitted from the tables, though the fields are discussed in later sections of this report. Whether presented as remaining reserves (Southwest field) or original reserves (Valley fields) the estimates presented in this report have been calculated on a most conservative basis, and in all probability these estimates will be increased rather than diminished as additional field work is done. Undoubtedly much of the coal reserves shown herein as indicated or inferred reserves will be changed to the measured or indicated category as development work progresses.

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USGS1950

Coal resources of Wyoming

The Antlers aquifer, which consists of as much as 900 feet of friable sandstone, silt, clay, and shale crops out in areas of 1 ,860 square miles and underlies about 4,400 square miles in southeastern Oklahoma. Precipitation ranges from 34 to 50 inches per year across the outcrop area which is well suited to allow high rates of infiltration. The aquifer contains an estimated 70 ,000,000 acre-feet of water having less than 1,000 milligrams per liter dissolved solids. The average saturated thickness is 250 feet. Aquifer tests indicate the average transmissivity is 1 ,480 feet squared per day and the average storage coefficient is 0.0005. Large capacity wells tapping the aquifer commonly yield 100 to 500 gallons per minute; the maximum measured yield is 1 ,700 gallons per minute. Water usage from the aquifer is very small owing to an abundance of surface water. Water quality throughout the central and northern part of the aquifer is generally acceptable for municipal use. However, a few wells yield water containing concentrations of iron and manganese exceeding the limit recommended by the National Academy of Science for municipal use. (USGS)

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