LONG-TERM SUBSIDENCE AND COMPACTION RATES: A NEW
MODEL FOR THE MICHOUD AREA, SOUTH LOUISIANA
A Thesis
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the
Louisiana State University and
Agricultural and Mechanical College
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Master of Science
In
The Department of Geology
By
Clint H. Edrington
B.S., University of New Orleans, 2005
May, 2008
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Michael “Mike” Blum, for the many resources
provided during my study, particularly for his influence in my choice of a thesis topic, which is
such a critical issue facing south Louisiana, as well as the many stimulating ideas provided along
the way. I would also like to thank committee members Dr. Jeffrey Nunn and Dr. Jeffrey Hanor
for their advice and guidance, as they provided much insight from their respective areas of
research. Of course, many others contributed to this thesis in many ways, both large and small:
I would like to thank Dominion Exploration and Production for micropaleontological data,
GEOMAP Company for structure maps, both the Louisiana Geological Survey and the Louisiana
Department of Natural Resources for various subsurface data and guidance, both the Department
of Geology and Geophysics at Louisiana State University and the National Science Foundation
for financial support, and both faculty and fellow graduate students here in the Department, most
notably Dr. Blum’s students, i.e. my good friends. Finally, and certainly not least, I would like
to thank my family and friends who provided encouragement, support, and inspiration
throughout my study, and an outlet when I needed to break away from it.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ………………………………………………………………………. ii
LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………………………………..... v
LIST OF FIGURES …………………………………………………………………………….. vi
ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………………………… vii
INTRODUCTION …………………………………………