Lite Geology — Back-issues

This edition of Lite Geology focuses on the Permian Basin, part of the arid, Chihuahuan desert of southeastern New Mexico, west Texas, and northern Mexico. The Permian Basin is named after the Permian period of geologic time, which occurred 251 to 299 million years ago. During the early and middle Permian, all of the continents were joined together to form the supercontinent, Pangea—a land mass surrounded by ocean. The Permian Basin, located on the western edge of Pangea, was part of an inland sea connected to the main ocean by the Hovey Channel. During the middle part of the Permian a massive reef developed, the Capitan Reef, which today is known as one of the best preserved fossilized reef systems in the world. This inland sea hosted an abundance of macroscopic and microscopic marine life whose decomposition eventually became the source of oil and gas reserves in the region. The Hovey Channel became constricted approximately 260 million years ago and the inland sea began to dry up, precipitating potash (potassium salts) from the evaporating sea beds. In this Lite Geology, we discuss Quaternary sand dunes in the Permian Basin, Pecos Valley Diamonds, potash mining, resource and hazard management using three-dimensional visualizations of the subsurface of the Permian Basin, petroleum resources, and induced seismicity. We will also interview Diana Northup, a geomicrobiologist and caver, who has studied microbial life from Carlsbad Caverns and other caves in the Permian Basin.