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Depositional Systems, Paleoclimate, and Provenance of the Late Miocene to Pliocene Beluga and Sterling Formations, Cook Inlet Forearc Basin, Alaska

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Depositional Systems, Paleoclimate, and Provenance of the Late Miocene to Pliocene Beluga and Sterling Formations, Cook Inlet Forearc Basin, Alaska Depositional Systems, Paleoclimate, And Provenance Of The Late Miocene To Pliocene Beluga And Sterling Formations, Cook Inlet Forearc Basin, Alaska Item Type Thesis Authors Mongrain, Jacob Download date 27/09/2021 15:22:09 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/9160 DEPOSITIONAL SYSTEMS, PALEOCLIMATE, AND PROVENANCE OF THE LATE MIOCENE TO PLIOCENE BELUGA AND STERLING FORMATIONS, COOK INLET FOREARC BASIN, ALASKA Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Jacob Mongrain, B.S., M.S. Fairbanks, Alaska December 2012 © 2012 Jacob Mongrain UMI Number: 3537843 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 3537843 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 DEPOSITIONAL SYSTEMS, PALEOCLIMATE, AND PROVENANCE OF THE LATE MIOCENE TO PLIOCENE BELUGA AND STERLING FORMATIONS, COOK INLET FOREARC BASIN, ALASKA By Jacob Mongrain RECOMMENDED: Chair, Department of Geology and Geophysics APPROVED: Dean, College^of NaturalSciepdeand Mathematics <B6an of the Graduate School 3V . T------------------------ Date iii Abstract The sedimentary record of forearc basins provides critical clues to the complex geologic history of subduction zones. This study focuses on Cook Inlet forearc basin, part of a larger forearc basin complex in southern Alaska. Specifically, I investigated the sedimentology, paleoclimate, and provenance of the Beluga and Sterling formations, comprising the late Miocene to Pliocene Cook Inlet basin record. These interpretations are used to reconstruct the Miocene-Pliocene basin history and better understand forearc development. Before ~11 Ma anabranching/single channel depositional systems of the Beluga Fm. deposited sediment on the western and eastern margins of Cook Inlet. Sandstone compositional data suggest sediment from the eastern margin was sourced from the accretionary prism. Between -11 Ma and -8 Ma deposition of the Beluga Fm. waned and sandstone compositional data indicate increases in volcanic lithic fragments derived from the volcanic arc to the northwest. Deposition by the southward-directed, sandy braided fluvial systems of the Sterling Fm. started on the western margin of the basin and migrated eastward, reaching the eastern margin ~8 Ma. By -6 Ma, sandstone compositional data suggest that the volcanic arc was the dominant sediment contributor to the basin. Palynological results suggest that forests were predominately confined to coal swamps, and the surrounding floodplains were occupied by shrubs, herbs, and dispersed tree taxa. Thermophilic taxa persisted until at least *-6 Ma. Mean annual precipitation (MAP), estimated from S13C values, ranged from 420 to 3900 mm a'1 with the greatest variability ~8 Ma. This ~8 Ma event correlates with a decline in sea surface temperatures of the Alaska Gyre and a North Pacific climate optimum. Climate likely played a minor role in fluvial style change. The dramatic change in depositional style between the Beluga and Sterling fms. is attributed to a change in sediment flux from the accretionary prism to the volcanic arc and western Alaska Range, most likely due to orogen-scale tectonic processes driven by far-afield flat-slab subduction of the Yakutat microplate. The change in fluvial style and sediment flux starting ~11 Ma suggests a previously unrecognized exhumation in the western Alaska Range at this time. V Table of Contents Page Signature Page .....................................................................................................................i Title Page .............................................................................................................................ii Abstract ...............................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xiii List of Tables ....................................................................................................................xvii List of Appendices ........................................................................................................... xviii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research Objectives .................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Document Format ..........................................................................................................1 1.3 Chapter Summaries ...................................................................................................... 2 1.4 References ................................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 2 SEDIMENTOLOGY OF NEOGENE TERRESTRIAL DEPOSITS (BELUGA AND STERLING FORMATIONS), COOK INLET FOREARC BASIN, ALASKA.............................................................................................................................. 4 2.1 Abstract ....................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Introduction 5 2.3 Geological Setting .........................................................................................................6 2.3.1 Previous work on the Beluga and Sterling fms ............................................................8 2.4 Methods ........................................................................................................................9 2.4.1 Channel Geometries ................................................................................................ 10 2.4.2 Channel Depths ....................................................................................................... 10 2.4.3 Channel Widths ........................................................................................................ 11 2.4.4 Channel Sinuosity .................................................................................................... 11 2.4.5 Paleocurrent ............................................................................................................. 12 2.4.6 Drainage Area and Discharge Estimates and Modern Analogs ............................... 12 2.5 Facies and Facies Associations ................................................................................14 2.5.1 Facies Association I: Sandy Braided Channels ........................................................ 14 2.5.1.1 Description ............................................................................................................ 14 2.5.1.2 Interpretation ......................................................................................................... 15 2.5.2 Facies Association II: Humid, Organoclastic Style Anabranching/Single Thread Channels .............................................................................................................. 17 2.5.2.1 Description ............................................................................................................ 17 2.5.2.2 Interpretation ......................................................................................................... 17 2.5.3 Facies Association III: Crevasse Splays and Crevasse Splay Complexes 18 2.5.3.1 Description ............................................................................................................ 18 vii 2.5.3.2 Interpretation ......................................................................................................... 19 2.5.4 Facies Association IV: Floodplain ..........................................................................20 2.5.4.1 Description ............................................................................................................20 2.5.4.2 Interpretation .........................................................................................................21 2.6 Channel Characteristics and Drainage Area and Discharge Constraints ....................22 2.6.1 Sterling Formation .................................................................................................... 22 2.6.2 Beluga Formation ..................................................................................................... 23 2.7 Alluvial Architecture ..................................................................................................... 23 2.7.1 Architectural Element Association I: Narrow Sheets ...............................................24 2.7.1.1 Description ............................................................................................................24 2.7.1.2 Interpretation .........................................................................................................25
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