258-5 Subsurface Mapping and Structural Interpretation of the Delaware Basin: A Geoinformatics Approach for Geoscience Education

Session: Quantitative and Data Analysis Skills in Geoscience Education: Supporting Student, Course, and Program Outcomes (Posters)

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The Delaware Basin of West Texas, a sub-basin of the greater Permian Basin, spans approximately 26,000 km² and is among the most prolific hydrocarbon provinces in the world. With almost 45,000 wells drilled across its extent, the basin has been extensively studied, providing a rich foundation for both industry and academic research. Its combination of vast publicly available subsurface datasets and world-class outcrops in Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns National Parks makes the Delaware Basin an ideal natural laboratory for cultivating quantitative and data analysis skills in geoscience students.

At Stephen F. Austin State University, undergraduate and graduate students engaged in a semester-long project mapping the Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, Cutoff, Delaware Mountain Group, Castile, Salado, Rustler, Dewey Lake, and Santa Rosa formations. Formation tops provided by Enverus underwent rigorous quality control, and more than 18,000 well control points were mapped in ArcGIS. Students generated structural contour and isopach maps, using the dataset to evaluate depositional patterns and assess how tectonics and differential subsidence influenced stratigraphic architecture.

Residual surface analysis was introduced as a quantitative method to separate regional stratigraphic trends from local anomalies. This technique, inspired by refined trend surface analysis methods, allowed students to recognize subtle offsets in formation tops, providing insight into syn- and post-depositional faulting. The residual analysis emphasized how structural control shaped thickness and distribution, reinforcing the link between structural geology and stratigraphy.

To ground‑truth the mapping, students described and analyzed well cuttings from Ward County provided by an operator partner. Lithologic columns constructed with X‑ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis calibrated stratigraphic picks and tied geochemical data to spatial patterns observed in maps. A field trip to the Guadalupe Mountains further strengthened these skills, where exposures of the Delaware Mountain Group, Castile, and Salado formations allowed direct comparison of facies transitions from the Central Basin Platform margin to the western basin.

This project highlights how integrating digital mapping, residual analysis, laboratory geochemistry, and field observation fosters critical quantitative skills in geoscience education. The Delaware Basin provides an exemplary framework for training students to manage large datasets, apply geospatial workflows, and connect quantitative analysis with geologic interpretation.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

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