Abstract Rock asphalt or lithified oil sand and heavy oil occurring in Mississippian and Pennsylvanian (Carboniferous) strata along the southern and southeastern edges of the Illinois Basin in Kentucky are of increasing interest in the early 21st century. An impetus for renewed interest in asphaltic materials as well as heavy oils and potentially conventional oil located in south-central Kentucky is understandable, considering an overall increase in product price and technological advances in proposed recovery methods. Discussion in this chapter focuses on the regional structural setting, geographic and stratigraphic distribution of heavy oil and asphalt rock, proposed source rocks, general migration pathways, reservoir rock characteristics, and properties of the hydrocarbon resource. Additionally reviewed are the storied history of heavy-end hydrocarbon extraction, a series of projects and ongoing development of unconventional resources, and the potential for refining these resources.

Abstract: The hitherto rarely recorded ichnogenus Lapispira Lange is a concentrically arranged double helicoidal U-burrow, subperpendicular to bedding, without branching. It is redescribed on the basis of abundant material occurring in Sinemurian to Pliensbachian deposits at the Atuel valley area of the Neuquén basin (Mendoza, Argentina). The regular coiling remains remarkably constant, with greatest diameters in arenites and smallest in silty sandstones. The burrows are generally filled with massive, fine to very fine sandstone, mainly finer and better size-sorted than the host sediments. The unlined burrow walls may show scratch traces and are usually mined by small Chondrites isp., though less densely than in the surrounding beds. Architectural, taphonomical, constructional, and functional aspects of Lapispira are discussed. Though its trace maker is unknown, some structural details hint at decapod crustaceans as the likely producers. This deliberate complex trace can be regarded as a mixed-purpose one, reflecting somewhat different activities, thus defying straightforward ethologic allocation. Lapispira bispiralis Lange is a presumably elite, facies-dependent burrow: in the studied area it occurs in storm- and fair-weather sandstones deposited in the shoreface and offshore-shoreface transition zone (where it attains the largest sizes); only exceptionally does it appear also in very fine silty sandstones (offshore tempestites). The overall distribution of the ichnogenus shows a wider stratigraphic and geographic range than previously acknowledged, though the facies fidelity is maintained.

ABSTRACT Basalt flows of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) host a series of regionally extensive aquifers between western Idaho and the Pacific Ocean that serve as an important source for domestic, municipal, agricultural, and industrial water supply throughout much of this area, and are the sole source for some communities in the Willamette Valley. Rapid growth and increased pumping have resulted in significant water level declines in some locales in the Willamette Valley, forcing some communities to develop other water sources, and/or develop aquifer storage and recovery projects to store water in CRBG aquifers. The CRBG generally consists of multiple concordant, tabular sheet flows. The primary water-bearing horizons within the CRBG are associated the vesicular and/ or brecciated flow top and flow bottom (pillow/hyaloclastite) structures that form the interflow zone between two flows. The interiors of the CRBG flows typically have limited vertical permeability and act as aquitards, creating a series of layered confined aquifers. The dominant groundwater flow pathway in the CRBG aquifer system is along these individual, laterally extensive, interflow zones. Tectonic structures may modify the dominant flow regime in the CRBG by offsetting or otherwise disturbing originally laterally continuous interflow zones. Faults result in a wide spectrum of effects on flow in the CRBG aquifers depending on the nature of the fault. The hydraulic properties inherent to CRBG aquifers, including high degree of confinement, low bulk permeability and limited recharge have led to overdraft conditions in many areas. Conversely, these characteristics create favorable conditions for aquifer storage and recovery system development in the central Willamette Valley and Tualatin Basin.