Correlation of chemostratigraphy, total organic carbon, sequence stratigraphy, and bioturbation in the Woodford Shale of south-central Oklahoma

Technological advances in handheld X-ray fluorescence (HHXRF) have been instrumental in demonstrating the utility of chemostratigraphic data to create higher order sequence stratigraphic interpretations. This study seeks to identify the correlation between chemostratigraphy, total organic carbon, sequence stratigraphy, and bioturbation in the Woodford Shale of south-central Oklahoma using HHXRF and X-ray diffraction technologies. The use of multiproxy correlations allows for higher confidence identifying lateral changes in the Woodford Shale. Elemental data collected through HHXRF can be used as proxies to better understand the depositional environment of a formation. Titanium, Zr, K, and Al are all proxies for transgression and regression. Silica is associated with so many different elements that Si alone does not provide useful information; however, the ratio of Si/Al coupled with detrital proxies can give information on the presence of possible algal blooms, continentally derived sediment, or hiatal surfaces. Furthermore, relationships between other elements can give further understanding to bottom-water conditions at the time of deposition. This study examines the relationships between Mo, V, Ni, and P along with other elements and laboratory-collected data to further understand the bottom-water conditions during deposition of the organic-rich muds that make up the Woodford Shale in south-central Oklahoma. To some extent, it is then possible to correlate these higher-resolution understandings to open-hole well logs to increase our understanding, where the core is unavailable.