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(Meridian Sand) in Grenada County, Mississippi University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2019 Petrology, Provenance, and Depositional Setting of the Lower Tallahatta Formation (Meridian Sand) in Grenada County, Mississippi Husamaldeen Zubi University of Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Zubi, Husamaldeen, "Petrology, Provenance, and Depositional Setting of the Lower Tallahatta Formation (Meridian Sand) in Grenada County, Mississippi" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1581. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/1581 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PETROLOGY, PROVENANCE, AND DEPOSITIONAL SETTING OF THE LOWER TALLAHATTA FORMATION (MERIDIAN SAND) IN GRENADA COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI A Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering The University of Mississippi By Husamaldeen Zubi December 2018 Copyright Husamaldeen Zubi 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESER ABSTRACT The Meridian Sand represents the lowermost member of the Middle Eocene Tallahatta Formation, which is found in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. Five stratigraphic sections in Grenada County were measured and described. Twenty-one sand and sandstone samples, and 2 mud samples were collected from all sections. Textural analyses were performed on all 23 samples to determine their lithologic properties. Petrographic descriptions and modal analyses were performed on thin sections made from the 21 sand and sandstone samples, and 400 grains were point counted in each sample. Geochemical analyses were carried out on all sand, sandstone, and mud samples using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to identify elemental composition. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were conducted to characterize the mineralogical composition of mud samples. Nine lithofacies were defined based on lithologic properties, and field observations. The general lithology of the Meridian Sand in Grenada County is very fine to coarse, angular to sub-angular, poorly to moderately well-sorted sand and sandstones, and it is often interbedded with mud beds. Quartz is the most dominant mineral, and it composes more than 90% of the framework grains in all sands and sandstones. The sands and sandstones were classified according to Dott’s (1964) classification as quartzarenites, sublitharenites, quartzwackes, and lithicgraywackes. Bulk geochemical analyses show that SiO2 is the dominant compound with an average of 84.2% in all samples, whereas Zr is the dominant trace element, with an average value of ~318 ii ppm. Ternary diagrams of modal analysis data following Dickenson (1985), indicate that the sands and sandstones of the Meridian Member were sourced from the craton interior or a recycled orogen province. Furthermore, plots of Th/Sc against Zr/Sc indicate a source from a sedimentary parent rock. Finally, sedimentary features such as mud drapes, lenticular bedding, flaser bedding, cross-bedding, and herringbone cross stratification, in addition to grain-size trends, indicate that the Meridian Sand was deposited in marginal-marine environments, including a tidal flat and shoreface settings. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMPOLS ME- Mississippi Embayment Fm- Formation PPM- Parts per million iv ACKNOWLEDGMENT First of all, I would like to thank my parents for the support they have provided during my journey through grade school. Without their support and kind words, I would not be able to do this job. Second, I am deeply indebted to my advisor, Dr. Brian Platt. This thesis could not have been written without his essential advice, constructive comments and encouragement. He not only served me as a supervisor but also encouraged and challenged me throughout my academic program. Many thanks for him for his assistance with my fieldwork, lab work, and writing this thesis. I am furthermore highly grateful to Dr. Louis Zachos and Dr. Jennifer Gifford for accepting my request to serve as committee members and for their support, advice, and valuable hints. Also, I would like to thank Charles Swan for taking us around Grenada County to identify field sites. In addition, I would like to thank the Libyan Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for the financial support that helped me to achieve my master’s degree in the US. Finally, many thanks to the Geology and Geological Engineering Department for the support that helped me to complete this project. v LIST OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................... ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMPOLS .................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENT ........................................................................................................................ v LIST OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................ ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................... x INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 1 GEOLOGIC SETTING ......................................................................................................................... 3 The Mississippi Embayment ............................................................................................................... 3 Eocene stratigraphy of northern Mississippi ..................................................................................... 6 Tallahatta Formation ......................................................................................................................... 8 Location of study area ..................................................................................................................... 12 METHODS AND MATERIALS ......................................................................................................... 14 Field Work ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Lab Work .......................................................................................................................................... 14 RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................ 18 Measured Sections ........................................................................................................................... 18 Section 1....................................................................................................................................... 18 Section 2....................................................................................................................................... 18 Section 3....................................................................................................................................... 23 Section 4....................................................................................................................................... 24 Section 5....................................................................................................................................... 24 Lithofacies Descriptions .................................................................................................................. 30 Lithofacies 1 ................................................................................................................................. 30 Lithofacies 2 ................................................................................................................................. 31 Lithofacies 3 ................................................................................................................................. 33 Lithofacies 4 ................................................................................................................................. 33 vi Lithofacies 5 ................................................................................................................................. 34 Lithofacies 6 ................................................................................................................................. 38 Lithofacies 7 ................................................................................................................................. 39 Lithofacies 8 ................................................................................................................................. 41 Lithofacies 9 ................................................................................................................................. 42 Petrography ................................................................................................................................. 47 Modal analysis ............................................................................................................................
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