Palynofacies and thermal maturation of lower paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Reelfoot Rift and adjacent platform, Southeast Missouri

Author

Michael Edward Corbett

Abstract

"The Reelfoot Rift in the U.S. Midcontinent was actively subsiding from Late Precambrian time through the Early Ordovician and had a major effect on the depositional and diagenetic patterns in the Cambro-Ordovician rocks in southeast Missouri. Very little paleontological work that can be applied to bathymetric reconstruction has been done in this area. Fifty-two samples of mostly carbonate rocks in seven bore holes in the Reelfoot Rift and the Viburnum Trend (New Lead Belt) were studied for their organic content, in order to qualitatively and quantitatively assess paleoenvironmental conditions and thermal evolution. The samples contain fair- to well-preserved organic-walled microfossils and dispersed organic debris, in spite of widespread dolomitization. The organic categories identified include acritarchs ( acanthomorphs and sphaeromorphs ), algal clusters, filaments and sheets, amorphous organic matter, and unstructured black fragments. Multivariate statistical analyses of the components have yielded several palynofacies assemblages, which suggest changes in paleoenvironmental parameters that are consistent with a rapidly subsiding basin. Thermal alteration indices of acritarchs using published color standards indicate that the organic components within the Reelfoot Rift display a significantly higher level of thermal maturation in comparison with those in the shallower platform carbonates. The rift organic components range from dark brown to black, whereas the platform components are light yellow to medium brown. This study was used to establish a paleobathymetric reconstruction for the Reelfoot Rift and adjacent platform areas"--Abstract p. iii

Advisor(s)

Francisca E. Oboh-Ikuenobe

Committee Member(s)

Jay M. Gregg
Melanie R. Mormile

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Degree Name

M.S. in Geology and Geophysics

Publisher

University of Missouri--Rolla

Publication Date

Spring 2003

Pagination

viii, 54 pages

Note about bibliography

includes bibliographical references (pages 47-53)

Geographic Coverage

Reelfoot Rift (Mo.)
Viburnum Trend (Mo.)

Rights

© 2003 Michael Edward Corbett, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Sedimentary rocks -- Missouri -- Reelfoot Rift
Sedimentary rocks -- Missouri -- Viburnum Trend
Geology, Stratigraphic -- Paleozoic

Thesis Number

T 8206

Print OCLC #

53172805

Recommended Citation

Corbett, Michael Edward, "Palynofacies and thermal maturation of lower paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Reelfoot Rift and adjacent platform, Southeast Missouri" (2003). Masters Theses. 2295.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/masters_theses/2295