2023 South-Central Section Meeting

Brandon Spencer, Oklahoma State University, spbr@okstate.edu; Shannon Dulin, University of Oklahoma, sdulin@ou.edu; Carla Eichler, Oklahoma Geological Survey, carla.eichler@ou.edu; Molly Turko, Turko Tectonics, turkotectonics@gmail.com.

Description: This trip will take attendees to the Wichita uplift in southwestern Oklahoma, where Cambrian rifting processes and Paleozoic deformation resulted in accommodation for the extraordinarily deep Anadarko Basin. In this trip, we will explore the igneous suites, lower Paleozoic stratigraphy, structural styles, and late Paleozoic processes that created one of the mid-continent’s most unique geological provinces and petroleum plays.

Tingying Xu, Oklahoma State University, tingying.xu@okstate.edu; Robert W. Nairn, University of Oklahoma, nairn@ou.edu; Kato Tsosie Dee, University of Oklahoma, kdee@ou.edu.

Description: This trip will highlight Tar Creek as a model system where historic lead-zinc mining resulted in widespread environmental contamination and substantial remediation efforts. We will focus on the hydrological pathways in the Tar Creek watershed, including surface-groundwater connections, and the successful development of passive treatment systems for metals retention.

Guy Sewell, East Central University, gsewell@ecok.edu; William Andrews, Oklahoma State University, william.andrews@okstate.edu; Madison Culver, Oklahoma State University, madison.culver@okstate.edu; Duane Smith, Oka’ Institute, dasmith@ecok.edu.

Description: This field trip will explore the hydrogeology of the Eastern Arbuckle Mountains and Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer along with a tour of a managed aquifer recharge project of a sole-source aquifer. This site is near the largest natural spring in the state, which serves as Ada’s source of drinking water.

Carla Eichler, Oklahoma Geological Survey, carla.eichler@ou.edu; Brandon Spencer, Oklahoma State University, spbr@okstate.edu.

Description: This trip will take attendees to northwestern Oklahoma, where wind and water have created varied landscapes and geological features. We will view aeolian deposits at the sand dunes of Little Sahara, discuss karsting processes in the gypsum caves of Alabaster Caverns, and explore evaporative processes at the Great Salt Plains.