Depositional and Structural Challenges of the Wilcox Lobo Natural Gas Trend, South Texas

To increase understanding and utilization of gas resources in the Wilcox Lobo play of South Texas, this report reviews current geological knowledge of the Lobo trend. An additional objective of this report is to identify areas where advancements in geological understanding could lead to substantial improvements in efficient development of the Wilcox Lobo trend natural gas resource. According to published accounts, Lobo sandstones formed in a variety of depositional environments in both shallow and deep marine waters. During and after deposition, the Lobo experienced repeated episodes of erosion, faulting, and diagenesis. Thus, accurate prediction of reservoir sandstone attributes is difficult, and this difficulty is cited by operators as a significant challenge to efficiently targeting the remaining gas resource. Knowledge that would aid in the emergence of this resource includes information on sandstone correlation and accurate zone identification, depositional systems and facies interpretations, controls on fault pattern variability, and, to a lesser extent, recognition of diagenetic patterns and faults and fractures that are below seismic resolution. Geologic challenges of the Lobo trend are opportunities for targeting increasingly smaller and more difficult-to-detect compartments with advanced technology.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Hydrogeology and Hydrochemistry of the Falls City Uranium Mine Tailings Remedial Action Project, Karnes County, Texas

Oxidized uranium ore deposits were discovered in the Deweesville sandstone (also referred to as the Stones Switch; Bunker and MacKallor [1973]) in the Falls City region in the 1950s. Uranium was mined and milled in the small community of Deweesville by Susquehanna-Western, Inc. (SWI) from April 1961 to August 1973. Tailings composed of sediment residue from the sulfuric acid milling process and residual sulfuric acid solutions were disposed of in six ponds on the outcrop of the Deweesville, within the mined-out uranium pits in the Deweesville, and on the outcrop of the Conquista, creating a set of large tailings impoundments (figs. 1.1 and 1.2). From 1978 to 1982 Solution Engineering, Inc. (SEI) conducted a secondary recovery of the remaining uranium in the tailings piles by in situ leaching. In 1984, the ponds on top of two of the tailings piles were spray evaporated and a clay cap was placed over the piles to prevent additional percolation of water through the piles and into the underlying aquifers. Acidic tailings solutions have been recharging the underlying aquifers since initial tailings disposal and may still be leaking into these aquifers. Several hydrogeologic investigations have been conducted to assess whether there has been groundwater contamination from the tailings. Early studies were conducted by Turk, Kehle and Associates (1976), and Ford, Bacon & Davis Utah (1978, 1981). Each of these studies included only minor investigations of the hydrogeology and hydrochemistry of the site and, in general, underestimated the extent of contamination from the site. Investigations conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) from 1985 to 1991 have since revealed the true extent of contamination (U.S. Department of Energy, 1991).Bureau of Economic Geolog

From the Earth to the Moon : a research symposium honoring the scientific contributions of William R. Muehlberger

Jackson School of GeosciencesGeological Science

Regional domains of the Wilcox Lobo natural gas trend, South Texas

The Wilcox Lobo trend is the major low-permeability natural gas producer of the Texas Gulf Coast, having yielded almost 4 Tcf of gas. In recent years Lobo sandstones have accounted for a significant part of domestic tight-gas production: about 13 percent in 1991, the last year for which figures are available. Development activities are growing, marked by rising production rates, producing wells, and active rigs. The Lobo play is recognized to be among the most structurally complex plays in the Gulf Basin. As a result of submarine slumping and widespread normal faulting, sandstone correlation is hampered, nearly completely obscuring play-wide sandstone patterns. Consequently, although success rates are high, in part owing to deployment of 3-D seismic methods, operators surveyed in this study recognize opportunities for further increases in success rates and cost reductions if regional sandstone patterns and other regional geologic variables could be diagnosed. To that end, this report describes regional geologic domains within the Wilcox Lobo play. The setting of the play near the juncture of the Gulf Coast extensional province and the Cordilleran compressional province of Mexico resulted in development of three domains having contrasts in dominant fault trends, sandstone architecture, composition, and diagenesis. The Cotulla domain to the north and east was influenced by a wide, gradually subsiding shelf and has attributes most similar to other parts of the stable Gulf Basin. The Central domain has transitional attributes and an important imprint of salt tectonics. The Burgos Rim domain to the south was affected by a narrow, tectonically modified shelf. It is the least well-explored part of the play. Production characteristics of the three domains differ. Recognition of Lobo domains provides a framework for subdividing the play, documenting and comparing reservoir properties, and predicting sandstone geometry and composition patterns. It is a first step toward establishing regional sandstone and other reservoir attribute patterns that can help guide site-specific work such as interpreting 3-D seismic data and evaluating completion intervals.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Being Your True Self at Work: Integrating the Fragmented Research on Authenticity in Organizations

In tandem with a surge of public interest in authenticity, there is a growing number of empirical studies on individual authenticity in work settings. However, these studies have been generated within separate literatures on topics such as authentic leadership, emotional labor, and identity management, among many others, making it difficult for scholars to integrate and build on the authenticity research to date. To facilitate and advance future investigations, this article reviews the extant empirical work across 10 different authenticity constructs. Following our research review, we use a power lens to help synthesize our major findings and insights. We conclude by identifying six directions for future research, including the need for scholars to embrace a multifaceted view of authenticity in organizations. Overall, our review both reinforces and tempers the enthusiasm in contemporary discussions of authenticity in the popular and business press

Mapping genomic loci implicates genes and synaptic biology in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia has a heritability of 60-80%1, much of which is attributable to common risk alleles. Here, in a two-stage genome-wide association study of up to 76,755 individuals with schizophrenia and 243,649 control individuals, we report common variant associations at 287 distinct genomic loci. Associations were concentrated in genes that are expressed in excitatory and inhibitory neurons of the central nervous system, but not in other tissues or cell types. Using fine-mapping and functional genomic data, we identify 120 genes (106 protein-coding) that are likely to underpin associations at some of these loci, including 16 genes with credible causal non-synonymous or untranslated region variation. We also implicate fundamental processes related to neuronal function, including synaptic organization, differentiation and transmission. Fine-mapped candidates were enriched for genes associated with rare disruptive coding variants in people with schizophrenia, including the glutamate receptor subunit GRIN2A and transcription factor SP4, and were also enriched for genes implicated by such variants in neurodevelopmental disorders. We identify biological processes relevant to schizophrenia pathophysiology; show convergence of common and rare variant associations in schizophrenia and neurodevelopmental disorders; and provide a resource of prioritized genes and variants to advance mechanistic studies.11Nsciescopu

Mapping genomic loci implicates genes and synaptic biology in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia has a heritability of 60–80%1, much of which is attributable to common risk alleles. Here, in a two-stage genome-wide association study of up to 76,755 individuals with schizophrenia and 243,649 control individuals, we report common variant associations at 287 distinct genomic loci. Associations were concentrated in genes that are expressed in excitatory and inhibitory neurons of the central nervous system, but not in other tissues or cell types. Using fine-mapping and functional genomic data, we identify 120 genes (106 protein-coding) that are likely to underpin associations at some of these loci, including 16 genes with credible causal non-synonymous or untranslated region variation. We also implicate fundamental processes related to neuronal function, including synaptic organization, differentiation and transmission. Fine-mapped candidates were enriched for genes associated with rare disruptive coding variants in people with schizophrenia, including the glutamate receptor subunit GRIN2A and transcription factor SP4, and were also enriched for genes implicated by such variants in neurodevelopmental disorders. We identify biological processes relevant to schizophrenia pathophysiology; show convergence of common and rare variant associations in schizophrenia and neurodevelopmental disorders; and provide a resource of prioritized genes and variants to advance mechanistic studies