A Paleodepositional Reconstruction of Middle Miocene Cetacean Bonebeds from the Topanga Formation, Northern San Joaquin Hills, Orange County, Ca ______
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A PALEODEPOSITIONAL RECONSTRUCTION OF MIDDLE MIOCENE CETACEAN BONEBEDS FROM THE TOPANGA FORMATION, NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN HILLS, ORANGE COUNTY, CA _______________________________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, Fullerton _______________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Geological Sciences _______________________________________ By Alyssa Beach Adam D. Woods, Committee Chair Nicole Bonuso, Member, Department of Geology Jere Lipps, Member,Department of Geology Spring 2016 ABSTRACT Cetacean bonebeds containing multiple articulated individuals are extremely rare, with only a handful of occurrences documented worldwide. In 1997, three bonebeds containing mostly articulated and well preserved cetacean remains were uncovered during grading in sedimentary rocks assigned to the Paularino Member of the Topanga Formation near Bonita Canyon, Newport Beach, California. Multiple bonebeds within a single stratigraphic unit, such as those discovered at Bonita Canyon Planning Area 26, represent a rare class of deep marine fossil accumulations that have not been previously studied in detail. Taphonomic, stratigraphic, and geochemical data was collected from fourteen jacketed specimens removed from Bonita Canyon Planning Area 26 in order to determine the paleoenvironmental conditions that led to the accumulation of the bonebeds and to shed more light on these types of fossil accumulations. Results of this study indicate that the Bonita Canyon bonebeds do not represent a condensed facies, as previously proposed (The Keith Companies, 1998); rather they represent a composite concentration deposited in a continental shelf environment during a period of high sedimentation rates, where episodes of high energy gravity flows alternated with periods of low energy accumulation along a NE-SW trending submarine fan sequence. High net rates of sedimentation correspond with the creation of high accommodation space as the result of the opening of the Los Angeles Basin, a progressive marine transgression, and subsidence of the Topanga Basin as the result of the shift in the tectonic regime along western North America from a subduction zone to transform margin during the mid to late Miocene. Overall, this study provides valuable insight into the ii sedimentologic and taphonomic processes that lead to the formation of cetacean bonebeds, and demonstrate that high sedimentation rates may lead to well-preserved cetacean remains. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................. viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 Background ........................................................................................................... 1 Topanga Formation, Orange County .................................................................... 7 Shark Tooth Hill ................................................................................................... 11 Bonita Canyon Planning Area 26 ......................................................................... 12 Goals and Objectives ............................................................................................ 19 2. METHODS ........................................................................................................... 21 Specimen Removal ............................................................................................... 21 Specimen Preparation ........................................................................................... 22 Taphonomy ........................................................................................................... 23 Field Map Reconstruction ..................................................................................... 24 Paleocurrent Analysis ........................................................................................... 24 Sedimentology ...................................................................................................... 25 Petrography ........................................................................................................... 25 Microfossils .......................................................................................................... 26 Geochemistry ........................................................................................................ 26 3. RESULTS ............................................................................................................. 28 Bonebed of Origin ................................................................................................ 28 Taphonomy ........................................................................................................... 29 Paleocurrent Analysis ........................................................................................... 35 Sedimentology ...................................................................................................... 38 Microfossils .......................................................................................................... 41 Geochemistry ........................................................................................................ 42 iv 4. DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................... 44 Taphonomy ........................................................................................................... 44 Geochemistry ........................................................................................................ 45 Sedimentology ...................................................................................................... 47 Paleocurrents ......................................................................................................... 48 Microfossils and Age ............................................................................................ 48 Depositional Model............................................................................................... 48 5. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 53 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................... 56 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 59 A. FIELD MAPS ................................................................................................ 59 B. JACKET DATA SHEETS ............................................................................. 157 C. TAPHONOMY MEASUREMENTS ............................................................ 172 D. JACKET SPECIMEN PHOTOGRAPHS AND PHOTO LOG .................... 178 E. THIN SECTION PHOTOGRAPHS .............................................................. 205 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Biostratinomic Features ....................................................................................... 2 2. Taphonomic Results ............................................................................................ 30 3. Geochemical Results............................................................................................ 43 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Simplified Cross-section ..................................................................................... 8 2. Generalized Miocene Lithostratigraphy and Paleoenvironments ........................ 9 3. Location Map of Bonita Canyon Planning Area 26 ............................................ 13 4a. Stratigraphic Column of the Upper Section ......................................................... 15 4b. Stratigraphic Column of the Lower Section ........................................................ 16 5. Map of Excavation Area ...................................................................................... 20 6. Photograph of Fossil Preparation ......................................................................... 22 7. Photographs of Fossil Preservation ...................................................................... 31 8. Photographs of Coatings ...................................................................................... 32 9. Photographs of Matrix Infilling ........................................................................... 33 10. Photograph of Fossil Fragmentation .................................................................... 34 11. Pie Graph of Degrees of Articulation .................................................................. 35 12. 180° Rose Diagrams ............................................................................................ 37 13. Photographs of Tuff in Thin Section ................................................................... 39 14. Photograph of Burrows ........................................................................................ 40 15. Photograph of a Cross-section with Burrows .....................................................