earth science

Los Molles Formation

Los Molles Formation is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Los Molles Formation rather than just read about it. In short: The Los Molles Formation is a geologic formation of Early to Middle Jurassic age, located at northern and central part of Neuquén Basin at Mendoza Shelf in Argentina. It is overlain by the Niyeu–Lajas Formation.

Key takeaways

Los Molles Formation belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Los Molles Formation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Los Molles Formation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Los Molles Formation is a geologic formation of Early to Middle Jurassic age, located at northern and central part of Neuquén Basin at Mendoza Shelf in Argentina. It is overlain by the Niyeu–Lajas Formation.

Description

It is the second largest oil and gas formation in the Neuquén Basin after the Vaca Muerta. Los Molles Formation is estimated to have 275 trillion cubic feet (7.8×10^12 m3) of technically recoverable shale gas and 3.7 billion barrels (590,000,000 m3) of technically recoverable oil. In July 2015, the Buenos Aires Herald indicated that Pan American Energy and YPF planned to drill 46 shale gas wells in Los Molles over the next four years in their Lindero Atravesado drilling block, at an estimated cost of US$590 million.

Fossil content In several outcrops, the Los Molles formation has been the site of paleontological discoveries: the ichthyosaurs Chacaicosaurus and Mollesaurus, and, in 2017, an ornithischian, Isaberrysaura, discovered with fossilized contents of the gut.

See also Vaca Muerta List of dinosaur bearing rock formations Toarcian turnover Toarcian formations Marne di Monte Serrone, Italy Calcare di Sogno, Italy El Pedregal Formation, Spain Sachrang Formation, Austria Posidonia Shale, Lagerstätte in Germany Ciechocinek Formation, Germany and Poland Krempachy Marl Formation, Poland and Slovakia Lava Formation, Lithuania Azilal Group, North Africa Whitby Mudstone, England Fernie Formation, Alberta and British Columbia Poker Chip Shale Whiteaves Formation, British Columbia Navajo Sandstone, Utah Mawson Formation, Antarctica Kandreho Formation, Madagascar Kota Formation, India Cattamarra Coal Measures, Australia

References

Bibliography

McIlroy, Duncan; Flint, Stephen; Howell, John A.; Timms, Nick (2005), The Neuquén Basin, Argentina: A Case Study in Sequence Stratigraphy and Basin Dynamics - Sedimentology of the tide-dominated Jurassic Lajas Formation, Neuquén Basin, Argentina, Geological Society of London, p. 84, ISBN 978-1-86239-190-1, retrieved 2019-02-16 Salgado, Leonardo; Canudo, José I.; Garrido, Alberto C.; Moreno Azanza, Miguel; Martínez, Leandro C. A.; Coria, Rodolfo A.; Gasca, José M. (2017), "A new primitive Neornithischian dinosaur from the Jurassic of Patagonia with gut contents", Scientific Reports, 7 42778, Bibcode:2017NatSR...742778S, doi:10.1038/srep42778, PMC 5311864, PMID 28202910, retrieved 2019-02-16 Various, Authors (2013), Technically Recoverable Shale Oil and Shale Gas Resources: An Assessment of 137 Shale Formations in 41 Countries Outside the United States (PDF), U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), pp. _, retrieved 2013-06-11

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Los Molles Formation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Los Molles Formation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Los Molles Formation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Los Molles Formation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Los Molles Formation

In research: Los Molles Formation appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Los Molles Formation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Los Molles Formation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aalenian Stage, Bajocian Stage, Bathonian Stage, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Los Molles Formation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Los Molles Formation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Los Molles Formation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Los Molles Formation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Los Molles Formation in simple terms?

Why does Los Molles Formation matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Los Molles Formation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Los Molles Formation.