The Stratigraphy and Depositional History of the Deadwood Formation, with a Focus on Early Paleozoic Subsidence in the Williston Basin
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of North Dakota UND Scholarly Commons Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects January 2015 The trS atigraphy And Depositional History Of The Deadwood Formation, With A Focus On Early Paleozoic Subsidence In The iW lliston Basin Anthony Henry Sarnoski Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/theses Recommended Citation Sarnoski, Anthony Henry, "The trS atigraphy And Depositional History Of The eD adwood Formation, With A Focus On Early Paleozoic Subsidence In The iW lliston Basin" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 1957. https://commons.und.edu/theses/1957 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE STRATIGRAPHY AND DEPOSITIONAL HISTORY OF THE DEADWOOD FORMATION, WITH A FOCUS ON EARLY PALEOZOIC SUBSIDENCE IN THE WILLISTON BASIN by Anthony H. Sarnoski, Jr. Bachelor of Science in Geology, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, 2011 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of North Dakota in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Grand Forks, North Dakota December 2015 PERMISSION Title The Stratigraphy and Depositional History of the Deadwood Formation, With a Focus on Early Paleozoic Subsidence in the Williston Basin Department Geology Degree Master of Science In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate degree from the University of North Dakota, I agree that the Library of this University shall make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for extensive copy for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor who supervised my thesis work or, in his absence, by the Chairperson of the department or the dean of the School of Graduate Studies. It is understood that any copying or publication use shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the university of North Dakota in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Anthony H. Sarnoski, Jr. December 20, 2015 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... xi ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1 Study Area .......................................................................................1 Geological Setting ............................................................................2 Purpose .............................................................................................9 Previous Works ..............................................................................10 Methods..........................................................................................17 II. DESCRIPTION OF THE DEADWOOD FORMATION .........................29 General Surface Stratigraphy .........................................................29 General Subsurface Stratigraphy ...................................................32 Stratigraphy of the Members of the Deadwood Formation ...........33 Member A ......................................................................................33 Member B ......................................................................................38 Member C ......................................................................................43 Member D ......................................................................................50 iv Member E.......................................................................................55 Member F .......................................................................................59 III. RESULTS ..................................................................................................66 Isopach Maps .................................................................................66 Basin Subsidence ...........................................................................67 IV. INTERPRETATIONS ...............................................................................87 Deposition ......................................................................................87 Basin Subsidence ...........................................................................97 V. CONCLUSIONS......................................................................................100 APPENDIX ......................................................................................................................102 Appendix A. General Well Information ............................................................103 Appendix B. Formation Tops ............................................................................114 Appendix C. Formation Thickness ....................................................................135 Appendix D. Core and Thin Section Descriptions ............................................155 Appendix E. General Information for the Novva® Software ...........................224 Appendix F. Specific Information for the Novva® Software ...........................227 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................251 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Map displaying the study area .................................................................................2 2. Example of the gamma ray signature used to correlate the wells in this study.....................................................................................................3 3. Stratigraphic column for the Early Paleozoic section of the Williston Basin in North Dakota .............................................................................................4 4. A map displaying the general outline of the Williston Basin ..................................5 5. A map displaying the major structural features found within the Williston Basin and the surrounding areas ..............................................................6 6. A map displaying the Precambrian basement rocks underlying the Williston Basin and the surrounding areas ..............................................................8 7. A map showing all seven wells used in the basin subsidence study and how they are orientated in the cross section ..........................................................21 8. A cross section of all seven wells used in the basin subsidence study display their relationship to each other ..................................................................22 9. Geologic map of the South Dakota region of the Black Hills ...............................30 10. Description of the type section of the Deadwood Formation as described by Nelson Darton and Sidney Paige in 1925 .........................................31 11. A photograph of core from NDGS #7087 at a depth of 11,669’. Displaying the glauconitic quartz arenite found in the upper section of Member A. ....................35 12. A photograph of core from NDGS #7087 from a depth of 11,663’. Displaying the transformation of glauconite grains to hematite. ...........................36 13. A photograph of core from NDGS #6624 at a depth of 9,308’. Displaying a basal conglomerate directly overlying the Precambrian gneiss........36 vi 14. A photograph of core from NDGS #6624 at a depth of 9,302’. Displaying a conglomerate from above the contact with the Precambrian gneiss. It is dominated by glauconitic quartz arenite. ...............................................................37 15. A photograph of core from NDGS #6624 at a depth of 9,238’. Displaying planar laminated glauconitic siltstone, with minor cross beds. .............................40 16. A photograph of core from NDGS #291 at a depth of 13,322’. Characteristic light gray, packstone to grainstone limestone occurring in Member C. ................48 17. A photograph of core from NDGS #291 at a depth of 13,286’. An example of the burrow-mottled limestone found in Member C, contain siliciclastic mudstone laminae and intraclastic wackestone and packstone..............................50 18. A photograph of core from NDGS #291 at a depth of 13,233’. An example of the burrow-mottled, silty, calcareous mudstone at the base of Member D. ...........52 19. A photograph of core from NDGS #291 at a depth of 13,193’. An example of the gradation upwards to a fine-grained, siliciclastic burrow-mottled mudstone. .......53 20. A photograph of core from NDGS #291 at a depth of 13,171’. An example of the siltstone and sandstone overlying the mudstone ..............................................54 21. A photograph of core from NDGS #291 at a depth of 13,124’. Example of the interbedded siltstone and sandstone occurring at the top of Member D. ...............56 22. A photograph of core from NDGS #3268 at a depth of 12,797’. Cross- bedded quartz arenite which occurs