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Petrofacies and Detrital Geochronology of the Upper Pottsville Conglomerate Magnafacies, Cahaba Synclinorium, Southern Appalachian Fold and Thrust Belt, Alabama

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Petrofacies and Detrital Geochronology of the Upper Pottsville Conglomerate Magnafacies, Cahaba Synclinorium, Southern Appalachian Fold and Thrust Belt, Alabama Petrofacies and Detrital Geochronology of the Upper Pottsville Conglomerate Magnafacies, Cahaba Synclinorium, Southern Appalachian Fold and Thrust Belt, Alabama by Ziaul Haque A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Auburn, Alabama August 6, 2016 Keywords: Appalachian, Cahaba, Conglomerate, Pottsville, Petrofacies, Geochronology Copyright 2016 by Ziaul Haque Approved by Ashraf Uddin, Chair, Professor of Geosciences Willis E. Hames, Professor of Geosciences David T. King, Jr., Professor of Geosciences Charles E. Savrda, Professor of Geosciences ABSTRACT Measures of abundance of extraformational conglomerates and clast composition, taken together, can be used to unravel the unroofing history of an orogenic belt. An attempt has been made in this study to develop a new approach to assess sediment provenance based on coarse detritus. Known as the “conglomerate measures” in the Cahaba synclinorium, the uppermost Pottsville Formation consists of conglomerates and subordinate sandstone, shale, and coal. These siliciclastic sediments were deposited during the Alleghenian orogeny primarily in braidplain-anastomosis environments in Alabama and Mississippi. Clasts in conglomerates of the upper Pottsville Formation consist mainly of sedimentary lithic fragments (chert, sandstone, and mudstone), metasedimentary lithic fragments (phyllite, schist, quartzite), and volcanic and plutonic rock fragments. Compositional similarities between clasts in the upper part of the Pottsville in the Cahaba basin and lithologies of Valley and Ridge, Piedmont, and Blue Ridge provinces suggest that the sediments were derived from proximal sources in the southern Appalachian provinces. Composite modal analysis and ternary plots of sandstone composition in conglomerate matrix in the Cahaba basin indicate mostly a ‘recycled orogenic’ provenance. Matrix compositions also indicate that the source of the upper Pottsville sediments was to the east and southeast in the evolving Appalachians. ii Heavy mineral assemblages in sandstones suggest a medium- to high-grade metamorphic source terrane in the Piedmont. Chemical compositions of garnets (Sp-Alm- Py) indicate an amphibolitic facies provenance and the dominance of almandine garnets suggest that a medium- to high-grade metamorphic source supplied a large quantity of sediment to the Cahaba basin. A whole rock 40Ar/39Ar age of an andesite clast (~323 Ma) suggests andesitic volcanism during Alleghenian orogeny. Minimum age of a metatonalite clast (~295 Ma) suggests minimum depositional age of the Pottsville Formation in the Cahaba synclinorium, which indicate that the Cahaba section continued to receive Alleghenian metamorphic detritus later than previously thought. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research is the product of contributions from many people, organizations and companies, and without their technical, financial and mental support it would not have been possible to finish the work. At the beginning I want to mention my advisor Dr. Ashraf Uddin, without whom I could not even think to start this work. From the beginning to the end, he has helped me in all possible ways to complete this research. I also want to thank my other committee members, Dr. Charles Savrda, Dr. Willis Hames and Dr. David King for their suggestions. I would like to mention Dr. Jack Pashin and Dr. Mark Steltenpohl for many in-depth discussions on sedimentation and tectonics of the Appalachian fold and thrust belt. I would to thank Dr. Willis Hames for geochronologic analysis in his ANIMAL lab and many fruitful discussions. I am also grateful to Christopher Fleisher, coordinator of the microprobe laboratory at the University of Georgia, for helping with microprobe analysis. I also would like to thank the National Science Foundation (NSF 0911687), Geological Society of America, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, and Auburn University for their financial support. I am grateful to the Geosciences department at Auburn University for assistance in completing this work. I also thank Safak Ozsarac for his help and support throughout the time at Auburn. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family from here and back in Bangladesh whom supported and motivated me through all the great and hard times I have encountered during pursuit of my Master’s degree. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Provenance Study of Conglomerate .......................................................................... 4 1.3 Study Area ................................................................................................................. 5 1.4 Previous Studies ........................................................................................................ 8 CHAPTER 2: REGIONAL TECTONIC SETTING AND FORMATION OF CAHABA BASIN............................................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 13 2.1.1 Taconic Orogeny .............................................................................................. 17 2.1.2 Acadian Orogeny .............................................................................................. 18 2.1.3 Alleghenian Orogeny ........................................................................................ 19 2.3 Pottsville Formation ................................................................................................ 25 2.3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 25 2.3.2 Conglomerate Measures ................................................................................... 27 2.3.3 Depositional Environment of Conglomerate Measures.................................... 29 2.3.4 Core Locations .................................................................................................. 30 CHAPTER 3: CONGLOMERATE PETROGRAPHY .................................................... 34 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 34 3.2 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 35 v 3.3 Conglomerate Clast Petrography ............................................................................ 39 3.3.1 Igneous Clast Lithology and Petrography ........................................................ 42 3.3.2 Metamorphic Clast Lithology and Petrography ............................................... 44 3.3.3 Sedimentary Clast Lithology and Petrography ................................................. 48 3.3.4 Sand Grain (matrix) Point Counting ................................................................. 53 3.4 Interpretation of Conglomerate Petrography Data .................................................. 60 CHAPTER 4: HEAVY MINERAL ANALYSIS ............................................................. 63 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 63 4.2 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 63 4.3 Results ..................................................................................................................... 64 4.4 Discussion ............................................................................................................... 71 CHAPTER 5: GARNET CHEMISTRY ........................................................................... 72 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 72 5.2 Electron Microprobe Methodology ......................................................................... 75 5.3 Results ..................................................................................................................... 78 5.4 Interpretations .......................................................................................................... 85 CHAPTER 6: 40Ar/39Ar GEOCHRONOLOGY ............................................................... 86 6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 86 6.2 40Ar/39Ar Dating ...................................................................................................... 86 6.3 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 87 6.4 Results
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