Stratigraphy sedimentation and petroleum possibilities of the Middle Ordovician (Kimmswick-Galena) rocks of Missouri, Illinois and Iowa

Author

Krishna Kant Misra

Abstract

"Detailed surface and subsurface studies of the Kimmswick Limestone and the Galena Formation of Middle Ordovician age in eastern Missouri, western Illinois, and southeastern Iowa were conducted in order to examine their stratigraphic relations, geological history, environment of deposition, and petroleum possibilities.

The main objective of this study was to seek a stratigraphic subdivision of the Kimmswick Limestone in Missouri, based on its gross lithology and thin section study, and its correlation with the Galena Formation in Illinois and Iowa. As a result of this study, based on the examination of twelve surface sections and 92 thin sections a three-fold subdivision of the Kimmswick Limestone is proposed for Missouri. These subdivisions are designated the Lower, Middle, and Upper members in ascending order.

The Lower Member can be identified in the outcrops by its coarsely crystalline texture and frequent occurrence of dark-gray to black organic matter. In thin sections it is coarse-grained and well sorted and contains about 35 to 40 percent of sparry calcite. The Middle Member is essentially characterized in the outcrops by medium crystalline limestone, with several chert zones and common occurrences of Receptaculites oweni throughout the unit. In thin sections it is an aggregate of fine-grained fossil debris with up to 10 percent sparry calcite. All the beds above the bentonitic shale bed which occurs at the top of the Middle Member belong to the Upper Member of the Kimmswick Limestone. In thin sections the Upper Member appears coarse-grained and well-sorted, and contains 40 to 50 percent sparry calcite and 15 to 20 percent brachiopod fragments.

The Lower, Middle, and Upper members of the Kimmswick Limestone in Missouri have been correlated with the formations of the Kimmswick Subgroup in Illinois and the members of the Galena Dolomite in Iowa. The Cape Limestone, occurring on the top of the Kimmswick Limestone in the Cape Girardeau sections, is retained as the lowermost beds of the Cincinnatian Series.

Regionally the lower contact of the Kimmswick and Galena shows conformable relationships with the underlying Decorah Formation, but locally, the contact is unconformable in the vicinity of the Ozark Dome. Their upper boundary is marked by a pronounced unconformity throughout the area.

The structure contour map drawn at the base and the isopach map of the Kimmswick-Galena Formation, based on the subsurface data from 299 wells in the area, regionally show a northwesterly structural trend with several major and minor local structural features. A change from a limestone facies in the south to a dolomite facies in the north occurs in the area.

The Ozark Dome was a major land area in southeastern Missouri during Kimmswick-Galena time. Continuous deposition of the Kimmswick-Galena strata occurred in north and northeastern Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa from Early to Late Kimmswick-Galena time, but the maximum flooding occurred during Middle Kimmswick-Galena time, which was also associated with volcanic activity in the area. The end of the Kimmswick-Galena deposition was marked by a widespread uplift of the area.

The Kimmswick Limestone seems to have been deposited in shallow water, warm temperature, and high energy conditions on the submerged flanks of the Ozark Dome, in southeastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois. The Galena Formation was deposited in relatively deeper water, and low energy conditions, initially as an aggregate of very fine-grained organic debris washed from the shore areas, and dolomitized by the magnesium-rich waters penecontemporaneously within a few feet of the depositional interface.

Oil production from the Kimmswick Limestone is associated with small anticlinal structures which have thin limestone cover. Several such anticlinal structures, bearing promise for future petroleum production, are described, mainly in northeastern Missouri and southeastern Iowa"--Abstract, pages xii-xiv.

Advisor(s)

Spreng, Alfred C., 1923-2012

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Degree Name

Ph. D. in Geology

Comments

Page 16 of the manuscript, Plate I, is a large fold-out page; it can be found in Additional Files at the bottom of this page. Other large plates available for download in Additional Files are numbers VI, XVIII, XIX, XX and XXI.

After page 86 of the pdf are three pages: an overlay, page 87 and page 87 with the overlay.

After page 107 of the pdf are three pages: an overlay, page 108 and page 108 with the overlay.

Publisher

University of Missouri at Rolla

Publication Date

1964

Pagination

xiv, 214 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 168-173).

Geographic Coverage

Missouri; Illinois; Iowa

Time Period

Middle Ordovician

Rights

© 1964 Krishna Kant Misra, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Geology, Stratigraphic -- OrdovicianSedimentation and deposition

Thesis Number

T 1619

Print OCLC #

9525452

Recommended Citation

Misra, Krishna Kant, "Stratigraphy sedimentation and petroleum possibilities of the Middle Ordovician (Kimmswick-Galena) rocks of Missouri, Illinois and Iowa" (1964). Doctoral Dissertations. 508.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/doctoral_dissertations/508