Patrick J. Gooding, manager of the library, examining core.
One of a geologist's most important jobs is discovering oil, gas, coal, lead, zinc, and other minerals. Although many tools are available for exploration, the examination of cores and well samples is the greatest single source of information for hydrocarbon and mineral exploration and stratigraphic and structural investigations. Cores and well samples also are the best source of detailed geologic information about the nature, occurrence, and extent of rocks in the subsurface. Geologists engaged in the exploration for and development of Kentucky's mineral resources must have detailed knowledge about the strata in which the deposits occur, as well as information about associated deposits. Cores and well samples also provide essential information for a better understanding of our groundwater resources and related environmental problems. This knowledge of rock beneath the earth's surface can only be gained through detailed examination of well cuttings and cores.
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| Paleontology (Fossils) | Mineralogy (Zinc) | Mineralogy (Dolomite Crystals) |
 Sedimentology (Vugs) |
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 Stratigraphy (Layers) |
Clastic and carbonate rocks from Pennsylvanian to Cambrian age recovered from depths in excess of 16,300 feet vary considerably in color combinations, patterns, and staining. Texture also varies according to size, shape, and arrangements, and cement and matrix materials differ. Mississippian and Upper Ordovician rocks are rich in fossils and accessory minerals, and this can be demonstrated by examining cores, which also exhibit porosity, permeability, and abundant sedimentary structures. Basement rocks in the central part of the state have been dated at 1.9 billion years old. A detailed and accurate understanding of the structure and stratigraphy of Kentucky is possible by studying core. Polished core samples and well cuttings available for examination include examples of: mega and micro features, color patterns, primary structures, secondary features, various grain sizes, clasts, matrixes, assorted composition, stratification, fossils, bedding, mineralogy, particle characteristics, cements, penecontemporaneous deformation structures, solution and tectonic structures, carbonate and clastic rock types, and textures. |
 Stucture (Fault) |
 Oil Stain Fracture |
 (Crinoid Fossils) Paleontology |
 Deformation Structure |
 Mud Cracks |
 Stucture (Collapse Breccia) |
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- Stratigraphy
- Different stratigraphic layers encountered as the well was drilled deeper into the earth
- Mineralogy
- Minerals growing slowly within the rock formation
- Structures
- Stuctures associated with microfracturing
- Oil stained fracturing
- Collapse Breccia
- Paleontology
- Burrows formed when prehistoric animals burrowed into the mud at the bottom of the ocean, and which ultimately became rock; The darker material is the animal's fossil excement
Sedimentology
- Vugs, or small cavities in the rock, which are critical for the accumulation of oil
- Deformed structures
- Mud cracks