Course Details
This field course is designed for geoscientists and reservoir engineers. A lecture and field component introduces participants to some spectacular outcrops in Colorado and Wyoming. The primary objective is for participants to be able to identify key sequence stratigraphic surfaces in outcrop and tie these with observations in sub-surface data sets such as seismic and well logs. By the end of the course you should be able to create more realistic geological cross sections and have a greater degree of confidence when interpreting depositional environments in seismic data.
Most sequence stratigraphy trips are run in the Book Cliffs along the Colorado-Utah border, however our trip is run on outcrops that are well studied yet rarely frequented by others. The reason for choosing these is unlike the primarily horizontal strata of the Book Cliffs where one is almost always standing at the base of a cliff where all the key sequence stratigraphic surfaces are developed on top of the cliff, the outcrops in northern Colorado and Wyoming are tilted between 60-90 degrees. That allows participants to walk and intersect key surfaces and also walk along them laterally.
The Book Cliffs have no carbonates and our sequence stratigraphy trip covers both, which is why northern Colorado provides an excellent natural laboratory.
If your interest lies in the “standard Book Cliffs field trip” then please check out our offerings here.
Who Should Attend
• Geologists
• Geophysicists
• Petrophysicists
• Engineers
This course is meant for all who wish to develop a better understanding of the factors that control distribution, reservoir connectivity, and compartmentalization of a particular reservoir. The course assumes no prior knowledge of sequence stratigraphy, which is why we strongly urge engineers to enroll.