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Sedimentary facies of the upper Cambrian (Furongian; Jiangshanian and Sunwaptan) Tunnel City Group, Upper Mississippi Valley: new insight on the old stormy debate

April 1, 2014

New data from detailed measured sections permit a comprehensive revision of the sedimentary facies of the Furongian (upper Cambrian; Jiangshanian and Sunwaptan stages) Tunnel City Group (Lone Rock Formation and Mazomanie Formation) of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Heterogeneous sandstones, comprising seven lithofacies along a depositional transect from shoreface to transitional-offshore environments, record sedimentation in a storm-dominated, shallow-marine epicontinental sea. The origin of glauconite in the Birkmose Member and Reno Member of the Lone Rock Formation was unclear, but its formation and preserved distribution are linked to inferred depositional energy rather than just net sedimentation rate. Flat-pebble conglomerate, abundant in lower Paleozoic strata, was associated with the formation of a condensed section during cratonic flooding. Hummocky cross-stratification was a valuable tool used to infer depositional settings and relative paleobathymetry, and the model describing formation of this bedform is expanded to address flow types dominant during its genesis, in particular the importance of an early unidirectional component of combined flow. The depositional model developed here for the Lone Rock Formation and Mazomanie Formation is broadly applicable to other strata common to the early Paleozoic that document sedimentation along flooded cratonic interiors or shallow shelves.

Publication Year 2014
Title Sedimentary facies of the upper Cambrian (Furongian; Jiangshanian and Sunwaptan) Tunnel City Group, Upper Mississippi Valley: new insight on the old stormy debate
DOI 10.1016/j.sedgeo.2013.09.008
Authors Jennifer D. Eoff
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Sedimentary Geology
Index ID 70055512
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Central Energy Resources Science Center