MISSISSIPPIAN OUTCROP INVENTORY UPDATE IN WEST-CENTRAL OZARK PLATEAU, NORTHERN ARKANSAS

Since 2012, MArkUp (Multiscale Arkansas Unconventionals Project) has been conducting an outcrop inventory of the Mississippian section of northern Arkansas with the primary focus being Lower Mississippian chert development and reservoir characteristics in the Boone formation. MArkUp’s mapping area includes over 4000 sq. miles of northern Arkansas, northeast Oklahoma, and southwest Missouri. The project is located at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, which is situated in the Mississippian outcrop belt that roughly trends east to west across northwest and northcentral Arkansas. Research has primarily consisted of fieldwork, while also incorporating outcrops from published papers, unpublished masters’ theses, and knowledge of faculty from the Department of Geosciences. Corporate agreements have allowed access to several local quarries and the addition of new Seismic and GPR systems has allowed expansion of fieldwork to include subsurface geophysical techniques.

Here we present progress on the Mississippian outcrop inventory that will form the groundwork for future research at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.