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Stratigraphy and Sedimentology of the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian) Muskiki and Marshybank Members, Southern Alberta and Northwestern Montana

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Stratigraphy and Sedimentology of the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian) Muskiki and Marshybank Members, Southern Alberta and Northwestern Montana Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 10-17-2012 12:00 AM Stratigraphy and Sedimentology of the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian) Muskiki and Marshybank Members, Southern Alberta and Northwestern Montana Meriem Grifi The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. A. Guy Plint The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Geology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Science © Meriem Grifi 2012 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Grifi, Meriem, "Stratigraphy and Sedimentology of the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian) Muskiki and Marshybank Members, Southern Alberta and Northwestern Montana" (2012). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 917. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/917 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STRATIGRAPHY AND SEDIMENTOLOGY OF THE LATE CRETACEOUS (CONIACIAN) MUSKIKI AND MARSHYBANK MEMBERS, SOUTHERN ALBERTA AND NORTHWESTERN MONTANA Spine Title: Stratigraphy and Sedimentology of the Muskiki and Marshybank Members Thesis format: Monograph By Meriem GRIFI Graduate Program in Geology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada ©Meriem Grifi 2012 i THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF GRADUATE AND POSDOCTORAL STUDIES CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners __________________________ __________________________ Dr. A. Guy Plint Dr. Burns A. Cheadle Supervisory Committee __________________________ Dr. Cameron Tsujita __________________________ __________________________ Dr. A. Guy Plint Dr. Katrina Moser __________________________ Dr. Burns A. Cheadle The thesis by Meriem Grifi entitled: Stratigraphy and Sedimentology of the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian) Muskiki and Marshybank members, Southern Alberta and Northwestern Montana is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science __________________________ __________________________ Date Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii Abstract A high-resolution allostratigraphic study of the Coniacian Muskiki and Marshybank members of the Wapiabi Formation in southern Alberta revealed a southwest thickening wedge of mudstone-dominated strata that was deposited on a shallow storm-dominated shelf. Well-log correlations and biostratigraphy show that the Muskiki Member forms the bulk of the succession; the Marshybank Member is thin or absent in the subsurface. The lower and middle units of the Muskiki Member display regional subsidence patterns consistent with thrust sheet loading in the Cordillera. The upper unit comprises a linear trough filled by southeastward-accreting clinothems. The northeast boundary of the clinoform package corresponds with an Archean thrust fault that may have undergone extensional reactivation during the Coniacian, forming a local trough. An isopach map of the basal Santonian strata shows thinning coincident with the Vulcan magnetic anomaly, suggesting differential subsidence across the structure. Keywords Cretaceous, Wapiabi Formation, Muskiki, Marshybank, Coniacian, biostratigraphy, Kevin Member, MacGowan concretionary bed, clinoforms, Orion Low, Vulcan Structure, mud floccules, petrography, extensional faulting, foreland basin iii For my grandmother, Eveniţa Rădulescu iv Acknowledgements Western Earth Sciences Faculty Dr. A. Guy Plint, supervisor and mentor Dr. Burns A. Cheadle, advisor and mentor, student chapter guidance Dr. Cameron Tsujita, advisor and mentor, outreach supervisor Dr. Phil McCausland, editorial support Dr. Desmond Moser, geochronological concepts Western Earth Sciences Staff Ivan Barker, Geochronology Assistant- SEM Analysis John Brunet- Technical Specialist- computer support Margaret Moulton, Financial/Health and Safety Officer Barry Price- Technical Specialist- computer support Mary Rice, former Graduate Coordinator Marie Schell, Administrative Officer Basin Analysis Laboratory Piotr Angiel Elizabeth Hooper Robin Buckley Tessa Plint Joel Shank Kristyn Smith External Research and Field Assistance Dr. William Cobban, USGS- biostratigraphy Dr. David Eaton, University of Calgary- for suggesting we name our Orion Low anomaly! Mark A. Kirschbaum, USGS- Coniacian-Santonian original paleogeographic map Dr. Bill Morris, McMaster University- magnetic and gravity data maps for study area Dr. Brad Singer, University of Wisconsin-Madison- bentonite geochronology sampling and collaboration Dr. Glen Stockmal, GSC- outcrop restorations Mark Pilkington, GSC- custom aeromagnetic anomaly map Dr. Ireneusz Walaszczyk, USGS and University of Warsaw- biostratigraphy Tessa Plint- summer field assistance and push to switch to the Cretaceous! Alberta company and ‘We’re in a bind!’ Assistance Tim Buckley- a place to sleep when trucks broke down Sid and Sheila Leggett- their basement forever holds our gear Marjorie, Richard, and Kailey Smith- meals, rides, and a home v Data Access and External Funding AAPG Foundation, Grant-in-Aid to author Divestco, access to subsurface well and core data Imperial Oil, donation of microfiche library NSERC, funding to AGP Husky Energy, for giving me the opportunity vi Table of Contents Certificate of Examination...................................................................................................ii Abstract...............................................................................................................................iii Dedication...........................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements..............................................................................................................v Table of Contents...............................................................................................................vii List of Figures......................................................................................................................x List of Tables.....................................................................................................................xii Chapter 1- Introduction to the Muskiki and Marshybank Members....................................1 1.1 Introduction........................................................................................................1 1.2 Purpose of the Study..........................................................................................1 1.3 Stratigraphic Nomenclature...............................................................................3 1.4 Biostratigraphy and Age....................................................................................4 1.4.1 Macro- and Microfauna of the Western Interior..............................4 1.4.2 Radiometric Dating of Late Cretaceous Strata................................8 1.5 Regional Cretaceous Paleogeography................................................................9 1.6 Previous Studies...............................................................................................12 1.6.1 Early Investigations.......................................................................12 1.6.2 Lithostratigraphy............................................................................12 1.6.3 Allostratigraphy.............................................................................14 1.7 Study Area.......................................................................................................16 1.8 Database and Methods.....................................................................................16 1.8.1 Correlation Method........................................................................18 1.8.2 Palinspastic Restoration of Outcrop Sections................................18 1.8.3 Scanning Electron Microscopy......................................................18 1.8.4 Petrographic Sections.....................................................................20 Chapter 2- Foreland Basin Evolution and Sequence Stratigraphy.....................................21 2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................21 2.2 The Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.........................................................21 2.3 Foreland Basins................................................................................................24 2.3.1 Mechanisms of Subsidence...............................................................26 2.3.2 Tectonics, Subsidence, and Sedimentation.......................................30 2.3.3 Foreland Basin Systems....................................................................32 2.4 Tectonic Elements of the Study Area..............................................................34 2.4.1 Basement Structures..........................................................................34 2.4.2 Medicine Hat Block..........................................................................36 2.4.3 Vulcan Structure...............................................................................39 2.4.4 Sweetgrass Arch................................................................................43
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