Local News in Brief : Fullerton : Professor Given Grant for Historic Rock Study

A Cal State Fullerton geological sciences professor has received a $25,000 grant for study of the evolution of petroleum-bearing rocks in the Puente Hills area.

The university announced that John D. Cooper received the grant from Chevron Oil Field Research Co. Cooper is conducting a regional analysis of the so-called Puente Formation, a major petroleum-bearing sequence of rocks. The university said the focus of the study is “a sequence of sandstone and mudstone sedimentary rocks deposited mostly under deep-water conditions 5 to 10 million years ago.”

“We’re trying to determine the specific environments of deposition by performing reconstruction of the land, sea and water depth at various times in the past,” Cooper said. “This should add much to our knowledge of the paleogeography of the Los Angeles Basin, particularly the northeastern part.”

Cooper has been conducting field studies in the area with the aid of undergraduate students for the past five years. Assisting him are students Fred Wilson of Orange and Doug Humphries of Buena Park, both senior geology majors.