As part of the investigation into the hydrology of the Palo Duro Basin, potentiometric surface maps have been developed to depict the potential distribution within the Wolfcamp aquifer, the upper Pennsylvanian aquifer, and the lower Pennsylvanian aquifer. The maps for the Wolfcamp and upper Pennsylvanian were included in earlier CSR sections (December 1982 and February 1984). In this report, geostatistical analysis is employed to map the hydraulic head distribution in rocks of lower Pennsylvanian age across the broader Permian Basin region, encompassing the Palo Duro, Delaware, Midland, and Anadarko Basins. The lower Pennsylvanian comprises rocks of the Bend and Strawn groups. Variogram analysis was utilized to characterize data variability, followed by kriging to estimate head values based on available data while minimizing variance in the estimates. The resulting estimates were then contoured using CPS-1 (1979, Radian Corporation).
Due to limited lower Pennsylvanian data specifically from the Palo Duro Basin, the potential surface for this period is poorly defined in the Palo Duro Basin. However, it can be constrained by data from surrounding basins where information is more abundant.Bureau of Economic Geolog
