Sedimentology of the Hannibal Formation in Northeastern Missouri and Western Illinois
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Scholars' Mine Masters Theses Student Theses and Dissertations 1978 Sedimentology of the Hannibal formation in Northeastern Missouri and Western Illinois Michael Harry Deming Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/masters_theses Part of the Geology Commons Department: Recommended Citation Deming, Michael Harry, "Sedimentology of the Hannibal formation in Northeastern Missouri and Western Illinois" (1978). Masters Theses. 3334. https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/masters_theses/3334 This thesis is brought to you by Scholars' Mine, a service of the Missouri S&T Library and Learning Resources. This work is protected by U. S. Copyright Law. Unauthorized use including reproduction for redistribution requires the permission of the copyright holder. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SEDIMENTOLOGY OF THE HANNIBAL FORMATION IN NORTHEASTERN MISSOURI AND WESTERN ILLINOIS BY MICHAEL HARRY DEMING, 1952- A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ROLLA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF SCIENCE IN GEOLOGY 1978 T4 438 C . .l 172 pages Approved by (Advisor) . ' , I . / ii ABSTRACT The Hannibal Formation (Kinderhookian) occurring in northeastern Missouri and western Illinois is a fine grained, terrigenous, sedimentary unit which can be di vided into an upper and a lower portion, based on li thology. The upper portion consists of alternating coarse and argillaceous, fine siltstone units, while the lower portion consists of a silty mudstone with an occasional thin siltstone unit. At the extreme western margin of the formation, near where the Hannibal almost pinches out, the formation consists entirely of a silty claystone. Extending southward along the study area, the coarse siltstone units of the upper Hannibal become thinner, and eventually pinch out completely. Results obtained from petrographic study, grain-size analysis, and sedimentary properties indicate an upward-coarsening sequence in most coarse siltstone units. These units consist of predom inantly poorly sorted, angular, coarse and medium silt size particles. Sand-size particles also occur in the Hannibal, but in very minor quantities. The Hannibal contains associated trace fossils which represent Seilacher's Cruziana and Zoophycus facies, indicating tranquil, shallow water, marine conditions. x-ray analysis indicates four clay mineral assem blages. Dioctahedral illite is the most prominant clay mineral, with disordered kaolinite occurring in iii substantial quantities. Iron and magnesium-rich chlorite and vermiculite also occur in the formation, but in rel atively minor amounts. The Hannibal sediments were deposited in a restrict ed, shallow, tranquil sea from a northern source area. A low-lying drainage area, restricted marine circulation, and the possible existence of barrier islands explain the occurrence of predominantly silt and clay deposits, with only traces of sand-size particles. The study area is located in the distal portion of the formation, where the lower Hannibal mudstones represent pro-delta deposits, and the upper Hannibal siltstones represent delta front deposits. iv ACKNOWLEDGEHENTS I am grateful to my advisor, Dr. A. C. Spreng, Department of Geology, University of Missouri-Rolla, for his guidance, encouragement and valuable sugges tions throughout the course of this study. I would like to extend a special thanks to the other members of my committee, Dr. A. H. Harvey and Dr. S. K. Grant. Dr. Grant was very helpful in his supervision and guid ance on the use of the X-ray diffractometer. Special thanks are also extended to Dr. H. A. Tourtelot, United States Geological Survey, and Dr. E. A. Bolter, Department of Geology, University of Missouri-Rolla, for discussing various aspects of this study; to R. G. Wagner, Missouri State Highway Commis sion, for informing the author of possible sampling locations in the study area; to D. L. Binz for develop ing the best method for preparing samples for viewing in the scanning electron microscope; and to S. D. Sea- wright, Amoco Pipeline Company, for drafting the fig- ures and illustrations in this study. The author is also greatly indebted to his mother, Kathleen L. Deming, for doing the typing of his manu- script. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page AB!;~C:~. jt]L ACKNOWLEDGE}.f!NTS . i v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . ix LIST OF TABLES. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • . • . • • • . xii I. INTRODUCTION. 1 A. PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION............. 1 B. PREVIOUS WO'RK.. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • . 2 C. LOCATION OF TYPE SECTION............. 3 D. TERMINOLOGY AND DEFINITIONS.......... 3 II. STRATIGRA.PHY. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 6 A. ORIGIN OF NAMES . 6 B. GEOLOGIC SETTING..................... 7 C. DISTRIBUTION AND THICKNESS........... 10 D. STRATIGRAPHY OF AREA................. 10 E. STRATIGRAPHY OF HANNIBAL FORMATION. 14 F. AGE AND CORRELATION WITH OTHER FORMA.TIONS. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 19 G. PALEONTOLOGY . 21 III. FIELD AND LABORATORY PROCEDURES. 26 A. INTRODUCTION. 2 6 l' . FIELD SAMPLING . 2 9 C. SAMPLE PREPARATION................... 31 1. Grain Size Analysis.............. 31 a. Sieve Analysis............... 33 b. Pipette Method............... 33 vi Page c. Technique of Analysis......... 37 2. Thin-Section Analysis............. 40 3. X-ray Diffraction................. 40 4. Scanning Electron Microscope...... 41 IV. RESULTS OF ANALYSIS ...................... 44 A. GRAIN SIZE ANALYSIS................... 44 1. Sieve Analysis.................... 44 2. Pipette Analysis.................. 45 a. His togram. 45 b. Graphic Mean.................. 47 c. Inclusive Graphic Standard Deviation .................... 47 d. Inclusive Graphic Skewness.... 53 e. Graphic Kurtosis.............. 53 3. Results of Size Analysis.......... 55 a. Conclusions from Size anal- ysis. 57 B. THIN SECTION ANALYSIS AND CEt1ENTING AGENTS. 61 C. X-RAY DIFFRACTION..................... 62 1. Mineral Identification............ 62 2. Semi-Quantitative Analysis of Clay Minerals. 65 a. Procedure......... ........... 65 b. Results....................... 67 D. ELECTRON MICROSCOPE STUDY............. 71 1. Introduction...................... 71 2. Particle Morphology............... 71 vii Page a. Form . ....................... 71 b. Sphericity .................. 73 c. Roundness . .................. 77 d. Surface Texture ............. 77 3. Conclusions from Grain Morphology. 77 E. ]?~~()~<=()~()(;~ ••••••••••••••••••.•.••.•• 80 F. TRANSPORT DYNAMICS ................... 83 v. ENVIRO~mNT OF DEPOSITION ................. 86 A. INTRODUCTION ......................... 86 B. PALEOENVIRONMENT ..................... 86 c. DEPOSITION OF THE HANNIB~ SEDIMENTS .. 90 VI. S~Y . .................................. 94 BIBLIOGRA.PHY. 99 VITA. 112 APPENDICES. 113 A. DESCRIPTION OF MEASURED STRATIGRAPHIC SECTIONS. 113 1. Hannibal Section (A) ................. 115 2. Hannibal South Section (B) ........... 121 3. Atlas South Section (C) .............. 125 4. Hannibal North Section (D) ........... 128 5. Pleasant Hill South Section (E) ...... 132 6. Hamburg Section (F) .................. 137 7. Hannibal Core East (G) ............... 141 8. Hannibal Core West (H) ............... 143 viii Page B. PERCENT OF SILT, CLAY, AND CARBONATE MATERIALS .... , . 145 C. GRAIN SIZE PARAMETER DATA ................. 152 D. QUANTITATIVE INTERPRETATION OF CLAY MINERALS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • . • • • . • . • • . • . • 15 7 ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figures Page 1. Photograph of the Hannibal Formation at its type locality. At this location the Hannibal is over lain by the Burlington Formation and underlain by the Louisiana Limestone....................... 4 2. Distribution of the Hannibal Formation modified from Laudon (1929), Workman and Gillette (1956), and Binz (1978). 8 3. Isopach map of the Hannibal Formation in north eastern Missouri and western Illinois, modified from Binz (1978). 9 4. Generalized stratigraphic column for northeastern Missouri. 12 5. Photograph of section B showing the alternating characteristics of the coarse (more resistive beds) and argillaceous, fine siltstone units of the upper Hannibal. 16 6. Photograph of the silty mudstones comprising the lower Hannibal Formation, exposed on the west side of "lover's leap". • . • . 16 7. Photograph of sample C-3b showing spec~ens of Taonurus caudagalli (whorl structure) and Scalarituba missouriensis (tubes) ....•........... 23 8. Photograph of the lower portion of a coarse silt stone unit at section B, showing hollow Scalari- tuba missouriensis tubes and low angle cross- bedding. 24 9. Photograph of Hannibal float (sample B-200) showing several spectmens of Taonurus caudagalli. 24 10. Index map showing locations of sections, exclud- ing G and H. 2 8 11. Frequency distribution of mean grain size for all samples analyzed. The mean values are grouped in .5MZ units. The bottom of each symbol equals the percent frequency of that rock type •............. 48 X Figures Page 12. Frequency distribution of inclusive graphic standard deviation for all samples analyzed. The standard deviation values are grouped into Folk and Ward's (1957) verbal sorting classi fication. The bottom of each symbol equals the percent frequency of that rock type ......... 50 13. Standard de~iat~on (sorting) as a function of mean gra1.n s1.ze.............................. 52 14. Frequency distribution of inclusive graphic skewness for all samples analyzed.