298 Joint SGD-SEPM-IAS Focus on Sedimentary Geology and Energy Transitions (Posters)

This topical session is designed to explore how sedimentary geology underpins cutting-edge research, exploration, and decision-making in energy-resource development and to identify workforce-development priorities for sedimentary geologists supporting the energy transition.

Wednesday, 22 October 2025
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, Hall 1

Characterizing the Navajo Sandstone in Utah for Carbon Storage

Paper number: 298-2
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 8:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

The Navajo Sandstone, along with its correlatives—the Aztec Sandstone in Arizona and Nevada and the Nugget Sandstone in northern Utah and Wyoming—comprises one of the largest preserved eolian sand systems in the geological record, originally covering more than 350,000 km². Its high porosity, regional extent, and favorable stratigraphic properties make it a promising candidate for subsurface CO₂ storage. This project addresses the urgent need to mitigate climate change by evaluating the carbon sequestration potential of the Navajo Sandstone formation in Utah. As atmospheric CO₂ levels continue to rise, the identification of suitable geological reservoirs for long-term storage becomes increasingly vital.

This study integrates outcrop and sub crop data to characterize reservoir quality and heterogeneity. Petrographic analysis of thin sections from core samples provides insights into mineralogy, pore structures, and diagenetic processes, including cementation and dissolution patterns that influence porosity and permeability. Complementary X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of the same cores offers bulk geochemical data that help constrain provenance, diagenetic alterations, and potential geochemical interactions with injected CO₂. By examining both lateral and vertical variations in lithofacies and diagenetic facies, this study aims to identify the key controls on reservoir quality within the Navajo Sandstone.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-413708

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