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Welcome to the Energy Resources Program Website "Appalachian Coal" Area...

Appalachian Basin

News
Overview
Research
Data
Related Links

News

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Interpretation of Na–Cl–Br Systematics in Sedimentary Basin Brines: Comparison of Concentration, Element Ratio, and Isometric Log-ratio Approaches

	Mathematicians and geochemists have long realized that compositional data intrinsically exhibit a structure prone to spurious and induced correlations. This paper demonstrates, using the Na–Cl–Br system, that these mathematical problems are exacerbated in the study of sedimentary basin brines by...
Thursday, December 13, 2012 Type: Outside Publication

Thermal Maturity Map of Devonian Shale in the Illinois, Michigan, and Appalachian Basins of North America

	Much of the oil and gas in the Illinois, Michigan, and Appalachian basins of eastern North America is thought to be derived from Devonian shale that is within these basins. As the Devonian strata were buried by younger sediments, the Devonian shale was subjected to great temperature and pressure...
Monday, December 03, 2012 Type: Publication

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Ordovician Utica Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province, 2012

	The U.S. Geological Survey assessed unconventional oil and gas resources of the Upper Ordovician Utica Shale and adjacent units in the Appalachian Basin Province. The assessment covers parts of Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The geologic concept is that black...
Thursday, October 04, 2012 Type: Press Release & Publication

Geology of the Devonian Marcellus Shale—Valley and Ridge province, Virginia and West Virginia—A field trip guidebook for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Eastern Section Meeting, September 28–29, 2011

	Detailed and reconnaissance field mapping and the results of geochemical and mineralogical analyses of outcrop samples indicate that the Devonian shales of the Broadtop Synclinorium from central Virginia to southern Pennsylvania have an organic content sufficiently high and a thermal maturity...
Wednesday, October 03, 2012 Type: Publication

Database of the United States Coal Pellet Collection of the U.S. Geological Survey Organic Petrology Laboratory

	The Organic Petrology Laboratory (OPL) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Eastern Energy Resources Science Center in Reston, Virginia, contains several thousand processed coal sample materials that were loosely organized in laboratory drawers for the past several decades...
Thursday, September 27, 2012 Type: Publication

Radon-222 Content of natural gas samples from Upper and Middle Devonian sandstone and shale reservoirs in Pennsylvania—Preliminary data

	Samples of natural gas were collected as part of a study of formation water chemistry in oil and gas reservoirs in the Appalachian Basin. Nineteen samples (plus two duplicates) were collected from 11 wells producing gas from Upper Devonian sandstones and the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale...
Monday, July 30, 2012 Type: Publication

Geologic Cross Section C–C’ Through the Appalachian Basin From Erie County, North-Central Ohio, to the Valley and Ridge Province, Bedford County, South-Central Pennsylvania

	Geologic cross section C–C′ is the third in a series of cross sections constructed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to document and improve understanding of the geologic framework and petroleum systems of the Appalachian basin. Cross section C–C′ provides a regional view of the structural and...
Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Type: Publication

U.S. Geological Survey Information Relevant to the U.S. Geological Survey Assessment of the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province, 2011

	The USGS recently assessed the potential for natural gas resources in the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province. The Marcellus Shale was assessed as a continuous gas accumulation using a methodology identical to that used in the assessment of shale...
Sunday, November 27, 2011 Type: Publication

Radium Content of Oil- and Gas-Field Produced Waters in the Northern Appalachian Basin (USA): Summary and Discussion of Data

	Radium activity data for waters co-produced with oil and gas in New York and Pennsylvania have been compiled from publicly available sources and are presented together with new data for six wells, including one time series.
Thursday, September 08, 2011 Type: Publication

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Devonian Marcellus Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province

	In 2011, the USGS completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Devonian Marcellus Shale within the Appalachian Basin Province of the eastern United States.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 Type: Press Release & Publication

Overview

Photo: A fully loaded coal train winds
through scenic Appalachia.

The Appalachian Basin Region is a physiographic province extending from Alabama to Maine and encompasses the eastern seaboard of the United States. Evidence suggests the complex geology of the region was formed by a series of continental plate collisions and deformation resulting in the Appalachian Mountains and large areas of elongated, faulted, and deformed ridges and valleys. Over time erosion has carried sediments seaward to the continental shelf and modified the landscape to the more familiar piedmont terraine. The region contains large amounts of natural resources and a long history of oil, gas, and coal production. The first oil wells in the U.S. were discovered in this province and research and assessments continue on these prolific coal and oil and gas deposits. This web site provides access to the diverse Energy Resources Program research activities and products within the Appalachian Basin Region.

Research

National Oil and Gas
Assessments

National Oil and Gas Assessments

The USGS has completed several assessments of the Appalachian Basin. This information is summarized on the Oil and Gas Assessment Appalachian Basin page.

National Coal Resource
Assessment

National Coal Resource Assessment

The National Coal Resource Assessment (NCRA) project was a multi-year effort by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Energy Program to identify, characterize, and assess the coal resources that will supply a major part of the Nation’s energy needs during the next few decades. NCRA data and publications are available on the NCRA Appalachian Basin page.

Coalbed Methane Assessment

There are coalbed methane assessments for the Appalachian Basin currently available.

Data

Regional Cross-section Maps

An example of a cross-section map that documents and improves understanding of the geologic framework and petroleum systems of the Appalachian basin.

Ryder, R.T., Trippi, M.H., Swezey, C.S. Crangle, R.D., Jr., Hope, R.S., Rowan, E.L., and Lentz, E.E., 2012, Geologic cross section C–C’ through the Appalachian basin from Erie County, north-central Ohio, to the Valley and Ridge province, Bedford County, south-central Pennsylvania: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3172, 2 sheets, 70-p. pamphlet.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3172/

Trippi, M.H., and Crangle, R.D., Jr., 2009, Log ASCII Standard (LAS) files for geophysical (gamma ray) wireline well logs and their application to geologic cross section C-C’ through the central Appalachian basin: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 2009-1021, 13 p., 20 LAS files.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2009/1021/

Ryder, R.T., Crangle, R.D., Jr., Trippi, M.H., Swezey, C.S., Lentz, E.E., Rowan, E.L., and Hope, R.S., 2009, Geologic cross section D–D’ through the Appalachian basin from the Findlay arch, Sandusky County, Ohio, to the Valley and Ridge province, Hardy County, West Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3067, 2 sheets, 52-p. pamphlet.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3067/

Ryder, R.T., Swezey, C.S., Crangle, R.D. Jr., and Trippi, M.H., 2008, Geologic Cross Section E-E' through the Appalachian Basin from the Findlay Arch, Wood County, Ohio, to the Valley and Ridge Province, Pendleton County, West Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 2985.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2985/

Ryder, R.T, 2008, Stratigraphic Framework of Cambrian and Ordovician Rocks in the Appalachian Basin from Sequatchie County, Tennessee, through Eastern Kentucky, to Mingo County, West Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 2994.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2994/

Crangle, R.D., 2007, Log ASCII Standard (LAS) files for geophysical wireline well logs and their application to geologic cross sections through the central Appalachian basin: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1142.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1142/

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