The Stratigraphy, Petrology, and Depositional Environments of the Maryville Limestone (Middle Cambrian) in the Vicinity of Powell and Oak Ridge, Tennessee
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 12-1986 The Stratigraphy, Petrology, and Depositional Environments of the Maryville Limestone (Middle Cambrian) in the Vicinity of Powell and Oak Ridge, Tennessee Michael Glenn Kozar University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Kozar, Michael Glenn, "The Stratigraphy, Petrology, and Depositional Environments of the Maryville Limestone (Middle Cambrian) in the Vicinity of Powell and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1986. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/1232 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Michael Glenn Kozar entitled "The Stratigraphy, Petrology, and Depositional Environments of the Maryville Limestone (Middle Cambrian) in the Vicinity of Powell and Oak Ridge, Tennessee." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Geology. Kenneth R. Walker, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Steven G. Driese, Thomas W. Broadhead Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting here with a thesis written by Mi chael Glenn Kozar entitled "The Stratigraphy , Petrology , and Depositional Environments of the Maryville Limestone (Middle Cambrian) in the Vicinity of Powell and Oak Ridge , Tennessee. " I have examined the final copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted for the degree of Master of Science , with a major in Geology. We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Accepted for the Council: Vice Provost and Dean of The Graduate School STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesi s in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master's degree at The University of Tennessee , Knoxville , I agree that the Library shall make it available to the borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without spe cial permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of the source is made . Permission for extensive quotation from or reproduction of this thesis may be granted by my major professor , or in his absence , by the Head of Interlibrary Services when, in the opinion of either , the proposed use of the material is for scholarly purposes. Any copying or use of the material in this thesis for financial gain sh all not be allowed without my permission. Signature AJlir:..hcuJ b}e-i'tf'l J{tJ6,aV Date II - .2s--8'b THE STRATIGRAPHY, PETROLOGY , AND DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS OF THE MARYVILLE LIMESTONE (MIDDLE CAMBRIAN) IN THE VICINITY OF POWELL AND OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE A Thesis Presented for the Master of Science Degree The University of Tennessee Mi chael Glenn Ko zar December 1986 DEDICATION This thesi s is dedicated to my Mom and Dad whose constant support made this research possible. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my sincere appreciation to Dr . Kenneth R. Walker, Carden Professor and Head of the Department of Geological Sciences, for his close supe rvision and encouragement during my tenure at The University of Tennessee , Knoxville . I would also like to thank the other members of my committee, Dr . Steven G. Driese and Dr . Thomas w. Broadhead of the University of Tennessee , Knoxville for their patience during the various stages of this thesis and for their many helpful cr iticisms in the final draft. I am grateful for the many constructive and stimulating discussions with my fellow members of "The Carbonate Bank" as well as other fellow students at the Department . Special thanks go to Jim Weber and Eric Johnson for numerous discussions concerning carbonate se dimentology and diageneis, which aided in the completion of this thesis, and in my knowledge of carbonates in general. Finally , I would like to thank Dr . Steve Haase at Oak Ridge National Laboratories for allowing acce ss to the two drill cores. This research has been supported by grants from the Mobi l Carbonate Fund and the Appalachian Basin Industrial Associates to Dr. Kenneth R. Walker and by the following grants to me : 1) a grant from Sun Exploration and iv Production Company (85); 2) two Grants-in-Aid of Research from Sigma Xi (85-86) ; 3) a grant from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (85); and 4) monies from the Don Jones Fund of the Department of Geological Sciences , The University of Tennessee . v ABSTRACT The Maryville Limestone (Middle Cambrian) is part of the nearly 600 meter thick Conasauga Group, which crops out along a series of northeasterly trending strike belts in the Valley and Ridge Province of the southern Appalachians. The interlayered limestone, shale, and dolostone comprising the conasauga result from the interfingering of the Conasauga Shale to the west and northwest and the Honaker Dolomite to the east and southeast. Apart from detailed lithologic and paleoenvironmental work concerning Conasauga strata in southwestern Virginia and northeasternmost Tennessee, few studies have examined the Maryville in detail in east Tennessee. In the study area, a total of 330 m of section were measured and described at three localities (Clinton Highway, Joy 2,and GW 129). Although the base of the Maryville is unexposed at Clinton Highway (77.24 m), both the Joy 2 (142.48 m) and the GW 129 (107.23 m) localities record a complete Maryville sequence. These sections were analyzed in order to establish a paleoevnvironmental model for the Maryville near the transition of this interval into the Conasauga Shale. The 12 lithologies recognized within the stratigraphic sections reflect the interaction between contemporaneous shallo�-water carbonate ramp environments and a siliciclastic-dominated intrashelf basin. Deposition vi on the carbonate ramp was in the form of lime mudstone and wackestone and oolitic and oncolitic packstone and grainstone . In these shallow-water areas, wave and storm influence were at a maximum as evidenced by the abundance of wave-rippled , planar , and microhummocky cross-laminated calcareous siltstone . To the west and southwest, deeper-water conditions were more common . Sedimentation on the deeper-water margin of the ramp and within the intrashelf basin occurred near or below mean storm wave-base . Deposition was mainly in the form of discontinuous , wave-rippled (linsen-bedded ), quartz-rich pe loidal packstone ; very thin-bedded , planar and low-angle cross-laminated pe loidal packstone/grainstone ; carbonate-streaked mudstone ; and shale . There, sedimentation was governed by fairweather waves and storms that winnowed fine-grained carbonate in shallow-water and transported it off-ramp . In some instances , bottom-hugging geostrophic (?) currents were capable of redistributing sediment , thereby modifying the earlier hemipelagically deposited carbonate . Where they were not winnowed by currents, rhythmic interbeds of lime mud and shale were preserved . Throughout these sections limestone-clast conglomerate beds also were deposited . Evidence from clast fabrics , matrix type , bed geometries , and associated lithologies indicate that conglome rate deposits owe their origin to two vii related end-member processes , storms and mas�-sediment-gravity movement . Storm-derived conglomerate beds occur more commonly in shallower-water ramp areas . Debris-flow derived conglomerate deposits underwent a more complex history and occur in more basinward areas . A modified Markov-chain analysis was applied to the nearly 1100 lithologic transitions recorded at the three localities to objectively test for cyclicity. Although statistical analysis supports the presence of rare and subtle cycles , longer-term 10 , 000-100 ,000 year Milankovitch cycles, similar to those proposed for coeval deposits in southwestern Virginia, are not recognized within the Maryville sequence . The near absence of statistically verifiable cycles is believed to be related to the heterogenous nature of the ramp depositional system , as well as the prevalence of storm related processes . Storms were sporadic in time and space and capable of reworking the sediment , thus modifying the stratigraphic record. Analysis of the three Maryville sections reveals a sequential alternation of lithologies which collectively indicate progradational events . Progradational patterns are asymmetric and record the increasing inf luence of shallow-water carbonate environments which extended southwestward into the intrashelf basin. These sequences are common elsewhere in the Maryville along structural strike . Progradational events we re superimposed on an viii overall transgressive sequence and may have been triggered by stillstands in regional sea-level and/or a lull in subsidence. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1. INTRODUCTION . 1 Stratigraphic Setting and Previous Work . • • . • • • • . • • • • . • • • • . • • • • . • • • 2 Biostratigraphy