Chemostratigraphy
Moody-Sandman Associates have over 30 years experience as geological consultants in North Africa (Libya, Tunisia).
Cuttings and core-based chemostratigraphic studies allow us to characterise and correlate thick sedimentary units and fingerprint given beds on a basin-wide scale. We have shown that the geochemistry of sediments is highly variable and extremely sensitive to subtle changes in composition.
Barren and apparently uniform successions often exhibit primary differences in mineral chemistry and in the proportions of accessory phases such as heavy minerals, clays and their distinctive trace element signatures.
The techniques enable us to characterise subtle geochemical heterogeneities and to subdivide and correlate sequences between wells.
Samples can be taken from outcrop, core or cuttings and only 0.25g may well provide the answer to your problem. Inorganic geochemical 'fingerprints' are established using up to 50 elements determined by ICP-AES and ICP-MS analyses.
