The Silurian of Central Kentucky, U.S.A.: Stratigraphy, Palaeoenvironments and Palaeoecology
The Silurian of central Kentucky, U.S.A.: Stratigraphy, palaeoenvironments and palaeoecology FRANK R. ETTENSOHN, R. THOMAS LIERMAN, CHARLES E. MASON, WILLIAM M. ANDREWS, R. TODD HENDRICKS, DANIEL J. PHELPS & LAWRENCE A. GORDON ETTENSOHN, F.R., LIERMAN, R.T., MASON, C.E., ANDREWS, W.M., HENDRICKS, R.T., PHELPS, D.J. & GORDON, L.A., 2013:04:26. The Silurian of central Kentucky, U.S.A.: Stratigraphy, palaeoenvironments and palaeoecology. Memoirs of the Association of Australasian Palaeontologists 44, 159-189. ISSN 0810-8889. Silurian rocks in Kentucky are exposed on the eastern and western flanks of the Cincinnati Arch, a large-wavelength cratonic structure separating the Appalachian foreland basin from the intracratonic Illinois Basin. The Cincinnati Arch area experienced uplift during latest Ordovician-early Silurian time, so that the exposed Silurian section is relatively thin due to onlap and post- Silurian erosional truncation on the arch. On both flanks of the arch, dolomitic carbonates predominate, but the section on the eastern side reflects a more shale-rich ramp that faced eastern Appalachian source areas. In the Silurian section on the western side of the arch, which apparently developed across a platform-like isolation-accommodation zone, shales are rare except dur- ing some highstand episodes, and rocks in the area reflect deposition across a broad, low-gradient shelf area, interrupted by structurally controlled topographic breaks. Using the progression of interpreted depositional environments and nearshore faunal communities, a relative sea-level curve, which parallels those of previous workers, was generated for the section in Kentucky. While the curve clearly shows the influence of glacial eustasy, distinct indications of the far-field, flexural influence of Taconian and Salinic tectonism are also present.
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