Two Science Alums Publish Paper With Professor on the Marcellus Shale
The trio of Reilly Blocho ’19, Dr. Richard Smith ’07, and Dr. Mark Noll (Professor of Geology), published a paper on the depositional environment and origin of organic matter in the Marcellus Shale.
The trio of Reilly Blocho (GEL ’19), Dr. Richard Smith (CHM, ENV ’07) and Dr. Mark Noll, Professor of Geology, published a paper on the depositional environment and origin of organic matter in the Marcellus Shale. The Devonian age formation is a 390 million year old, organic rich black shale that extends from central New York south and west through Pennsylvania into West Virginia and Ohio.
The shale was deposited in the vast inland sea that covered North America during the Acadian orogeny which built the Appalachian Mountains. The study, part of Reilly’s senior research, determined the origin and nature of organic matter in the shale, which is important for the evaluation of natural gas content.