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INFORMATION TO USERS While the most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this manuscript, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. For example: • Manuscript pages may have indistinct print. In such cases, the best available copy has been filmed. • Manuscripts may not always be complete. In such cases, a note will indicate that it is not possible to obtain missing pages. • Copyrighted material may have been removed from the manuscript. In such cases, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, and charts) are photographed by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each oversize page is also filmed as one exposure and is available, for an additional charge, as a standard 35mm slide or as a 17”x 23” black and white photographic print. Most photographs reproduce acceptably on positive microfilm or microfiche but lack the clarity on xerographic copies made from the microfilm. For an additional charge, 35mm slides of 6”x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations that cannot be reproduced satisfactorily by xerography. Order Number 8726676 Conodont-based chronostratigraphy and conodont distribution across the Upper Ordovician western North American carbonate platform in the eastern Great Basin and a model for Ordovician-Silurian genesis of the platform margin based on interpretation of the Silurian Diana Limestone, central Nevada Leatham, W. Britt, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1987 U-M-I 300 N.ZcebRd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this docum ent have been identified here with a check mark V . 1. Glossy photographs or pages 2. Colored illustrations, paper or print_______ 3. Photographs with dark background i / ^ 4. Illustrations are poor copy_______ 5. Pages with black marks, not original copy ______ 6. Print shows through as there is text on both sides of page _ 7. Indistinct, broken or small print on several pages ^ 8. Print exceeds margin requirements______ 9. Tightly bound copy with print lost in spine________ 10. Computer printout pages with indistinct print_______ 11. Page(s)____________ lacking when material received, and not available from school or author. 12. Page(s) seem to be missing in numbering only as text follows. 13. Two pages num bered . Text follows. 14. Curling and wrinkled p ag es ______ 15. Dissertation contains pages with print at aslant, filmed as received 16. Other University Microfilms International COHODONT-BASED CHROHOSTRATIGRAPHY AND CONODONT DISTRIBUTION ACROSS THE UPPER ORDOVICIAN WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN CARBONATE PLATFORM IN THE EASTERN GREAT BASIN AND A MODEL FOR ORDOVICIAN-SILURIAN GENESIS OF THE PLATFORM MARGIN BASED ON INTERPRETATION OF THE SILURIAN DIANA LIMESTONE, CENTRAL NEVADA DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University by W. Britt Leatham, B.A., M.Sc. « x » * * The Ohio State University 1987 Dissertation Committee: Approved by W.I. Ausich S.M. Bergstrom L.A. Krissek Advisor W.C. Sweet Department of Geology and Mineralogy ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank my mentor, Dr. Walter C. Sweet, for insights on quantitative biostratigraphy and conodont paleontology. His expert advice, encouragement and stimulating discussions will always be remembered. I express gratitude to Drs. Stig M. Bergstrom, William I. Ausich, James W. Collinson, and Lawrence A. Krissek for suggestions and comments that greatly enhanced this project. I thank the committee for a prompt and critical review of the manuscript. Special thanks are directed to Dr. Anita G. Harris of the IISGS for access to her Ordovician-Silurian conodont collections from the Great Basin and for permission to document critical collections from Pete Hanson Creek and the Diana Limestone of central Nevada. Her hospitality, encouragement and lively discussions on conodonts are greatly appreciated. I also wish to thank Dr. Peter M. Sheehan, Milwaukee Public Museum, for locality information and for many discussions on Ordovician-Silurian paleogeography of the eastern Great Basin. Technical assistance rendered by Karlis V. Grinvalds (field assistance, 1983); Tony Leonard! (Scanning Electron Microscopy); and several work-study students (laboratory processing) is gratefully acknowledged. ii Funding for field work in 1983 was provided by The Friends of Orton Hall, Sigma Xi and a Chevron Field Studies grant. My wife, Jami, and children (Brieanne and Ashley) endured my extended absences and the rigor3 associated with completion of a graduate degree. Their contribution to this document is perhaps the greatest of all. iii VITA July 11, 1956 .................. Born — Salt Lake City, Utah 1979 ........................ • Paleontological Field Worker Intermountain Research Inc., Provo, Utah 1980 .......................... Civil Engineering Technician U.S. Forest Service Materials Testing Facility, Salt Lake City, Utah 1981 .......................... B.A. Geology, Weber State College, Ogden, Utah 1981 ................ ..... Chemical Laboratory Technician Western Zirconium, Ogden, Utah 1981-1987 ...................... Graduate Teaching Associate, Instructor, and Lecturer Department of Geology and Mineralogy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1 9 8 4 .......................... M.Sc. Geology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1985-1986 ...................... Amoco Doctoral Fellow in Micropaleontology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio PUBLICATIONS Leatham, W.B. 1987* A conodont-based, Late Ordovician chronostratigraphic framework for the eastern Great Basin [abst.]. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 19(5):313. Leatham, W.B. 1987. Late Ordovician conodont distribution across the North American continental margin, eastern Great Basin [abst.]. Paleontological Society Symposium: Ordovician Radiations and Faunal Gradients, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 19(4):230. iv Kleffner, M.A., W.B. Leatham, and W.C. Sweet. 1987. Ordovician ancestors for Silurian conodonts [abst.]. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 19(3):171. Leatham, W.B. 1985. Age of the Fish Haven and lowermost Laketown dolomites in the Bear River Range, Utah. Utah Geological Association Guidebook 14:28-39. Leatham, W.B. 1985. Stratigraphy and depositional environments of the Upper Ordovician and lowermost Silurian of Northern Utah [abst.]. Utah Geological Association 1985 Symposium on the Orogenic Patterns and Stratigraphy of North-Central Utah and Southeastern Idaho Program and Abstracts. Leatham, W.B. 1985. Ordovician Ptiloncodus and the monogenean paradigm [abst.]. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 17(7):641. Leatham, W.B. 1985. Late Ordovician conodont biofacies of the western North American midcontinent [abst.]. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 17(2):99. Leatham, W.B. 1984. Conodont biostratigraphy of the Fish Haven and Laketown dolomites of Northern Utah [abst.]. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 16(3):152. FIELDS OF STUDY Major field: Paleontology Studies in stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, paleobiology and conodont paleontology. Professors Walter C. Sweet and Stig M. Bergstrom. Studies in paleoecology. Professor William I. Ausich. Studies in carbonate petrology and depositional environments. Professor James W. Colllnson. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................. ii VITA .............................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES ........................................... .viii LIST OF TABLES ........................................ ,........... xiv LIST OF PLATES ...................................................... xv CHAPTER I.— A LATE ORDOVICIAN, CONODONT-BASED CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHY FOR THE EASTERN GREAT BASIN .................... 1 ABSTRACT ....................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................... 2 LITHOSTRATIGRAPHY ............................................. 3 METHODOLOGY ...................................................... 10 LAKESIDE MOUNTAINS (83LA) 13 LONE MOUNTAIN (83LC) .............................................. 15 SOUTH EGAN RANGE C 8 3 L E ) .......................................... 17 BARN HILLS (83LF) ................................................ 18 SILVER ISLAND MOUNTAINS (83LB) .................................. 19 TOANO RANGE (85LT) ................................................ 22 PETE HANSON CREEK (PHC) ........................................ 23 DISCUSSION........................................................ 25 ORDOVICIAN-SILURIAN BOUNDARY .................................... 28 CONCLUSIONS ...................................................... 32 REFERENCES........................................................ 33 ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................. 38 CHAPTER II.— "ONSHORE-OFFSHORE" CONODONT DISTRIBUTION ACROSS THE LATE ORDOVICIAN WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENTAL MARGIN, EASTERN GREAT BASIN, U.S.A........................................... 80 ABSTRACT .........................................................