Stratigraphic Analysis of Diamicton Units in Southern Allegan County, Michigan
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Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 4-2002 Stratigraphic Analysis of Diamicton Units in Southern Allegan County, Michigan Shannon A. Wong Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Wong, Shannon A., "Stratigraphic Analysis of Diamicton Units in Southern Allegan County, Michigan" (2002). Master's Theses. 4417. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/4417 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STRATIGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF DIAMICTON UNITS IN SOUTHERN ALLEGAN COUNTY, MICHIGAN by Shannon A. Wong A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillmentof the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Department of Geosciences WesternMichigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan April 2002 Copyright by Shannon A. Wong 2002 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I gratefullyacknowledge some of the geology graduate students at Western Michigan University and friendswho have accompanied me in the field. Their assistance is greatly appreciated. I would like to thank John Grace, Andrew Kozlowski, and Brian Bird for their advice and support at the onset of my laboratory work. Getting started is the hardest part, especially when learning a new technique. I would like to acknowledge the US Army Research Officefor one year of sup port. I would also like to acknowledge my main advisor, Alan Kehew, forhis tremen dous help on my thesis and Ron Chase forintroducing me to his research site in Allegan County. Both were key in this daunting task. I would like to specially thank Carla Ko retsky forthe use of the X-ray diffractometerin her lab and her helpfulcomments on this thesis. Shannon A. Wong 11 STRATIGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF DIAMICTON UNITS IN SOUTHERN ALLEGAN COUNTY, MICHIGAN Shannon A. Wong, M.S. WesternMichigan University, 2002 Two diamicton units from the southern Allegan County, Michigan lakeshore bluffs were identified and differentiated through clay mineralogy by analysis of 7 /1OA peak-height ratios and the 2-80 mm crystalline fraction frompebble count results. t-Tests indicate the two units are significantly different. These two units are correlated with the Saugatuck and the Ganges tills of southwest Michigan based on similarities in strati graphic position and lithologic description as described by Monaghan et al. (1986). Other diamicton samples were collected throughout southwest Michigan, near Moline, Otsego, Bloomingdale, Gobles, and Decatur. In correlating the Saugatuck and the Ganges tills to their inland counterparts, it appears that the buried tills in the Valparaiso Moraine correlate to the Ganges till. Where the Ganges till exists at shallow depths in Bloomingdale (12 ft), there may be higher bedrock topography or thicker section of un derlying glacial deposits. There is a general increase in the relative amount of lOA clay, or illite, to 7 A clay, or kaolinite, laterally and vertically, in which illite increases west ward toward the Lake Michigan basin and increases in successively younger tills in southwest Michigan. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................... 11 LIST OF TABLES ......................................................... :........................................ V LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................. VI LIST OF EQUATIONS ............................................................................ .............. Vll LIST OF PLATES................................................................................................... Vlll INTRODUCTION....................................................................................... 1 Site History . .. ... ... ... .. .... .... .. 1 Local and Regional Geology.............................................................. 3 Objectives.......................................................................................... 6 Previous Work .. ... ... .. ... .. .. .. .. 7 Till Stratigraphy and Till Mineralogy................................................ 12 Bedrock Geology............................................................................... 16 Glacial Geology................................................................................. 18 Kalamazoo Moraine System..................................................... 20 Valparaiso Moraine System...................................................... 20 Lake Border Moraine System .. ...... .. .. .. .. ..... .. .. .. .... ... .. .. .. .. ...... .. 21 METHODS ............................................................................· ........... .......... 23 Field Sampling................................................................................... 23 Textural Analysis............................................................................... 23 111 Table of Contents-Continued X-ray Diffraction................................................................................ 25 Pebble Count...................................................................................... 27 RESULTS................................................................................................... 30 Textural Analysis and X-ray Diffraction of Lake Michigan Bluff Diamictons . .... ... ..... .. .. .. .. .. 30 Description of Diamictons .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .... 30 X-ray DiffractionAnalysis........................................................ 32 Textural Analysis and X-ray Diffractionof Inland Diamictons . .. ... .. .. .. .... .... .. .. 36 Description of Diamictons ........................................................ 39 X-ray DiffractionAnalysis........................................................ 41 The t-Test........................................................................................... 41 Pebble Count...................................................................................... 42 DISCUSSION............................................................................................. 44 CONCLUSIONS......................................................................................... 46 APPENDICES A. Textural Analysis of Lake Michigan BluffSamples................................... 48 B. X-ray DiffractionResults............................................................................ 50 C. Textural Analysis of Southwest Michigan (Inland) Diamictons................. 53 D. The t-Test .................................................................... ..................... .......... 55 E. Pebble Count Results ..................................... ................................... .......... 58 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................... 61 lV LIST OF TABLES 1. X-ray DiffractionSettings................................................................................ 27 2. t-Test Comparison of 7/lOA Ratios Between Diamicton Units....................... 42 3. Pebble Count t-Test Results............................................................................. 43 V LIST OF FIGURES 1. Location Map of Study Area............................................................................ 2 2. Surface Geology of Allegan County, Michigan............................................... 4 3. Moraines of Southwest Michigan ... ... .. .. ... .. ... .. 5 4. Map of the Central Great Lakes Region Showing the Glacial Lobes and Major Moraines................................................................................................ 9 5. Map of Lake Michigan Lobe Regional Moraines ............................................ 10 6. Bedrock Map of Michigan ............................................................................... 17 7. Geometrical Conditions forX-ray Diffraction................................................. 25 8. Diagram of Peak-Height Measurement............................................................ 29 9. Histograms of7/10A Ratios of the Upper (Saugatuck Till) and the Lower (Ganges Till) Diamictons on the Bluff.............................................................. 31 10. TernaryDiagram of Lake Michigan BluffSamples......................................... 33 11. Diffractograms. .. .... ....... .. .... ... .... ................ ................... ......... 34 12. Diffractogramsof All Three Tests on Same Sample ....................................... 35 13. Sampling Locations of Inland Diamictons....................................................... 37 14. Histogram of 7/lOA Ratios of Inland Diamictons with Associated ................ 7/lOA Peak-Height Ratios ................................................................................ 38 15. TernaryDiagram of Inland Diamictons ............................................................ 40 Vl LIST OF EQUATIONS 1. Equation of Bragg's Law.................................................................................... 25 2. Degrees of Freedom............................................................................................ 56 3. Test statistic .......................................................................................................