Developing a 3-D subsidence model for the late Paleozoic Taos trough in northern New Mexico By Nur Uddin Md Khaled Chowdhury, MS A Dissertation In Geology Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Dustin E. Sweet Chair of Committee George B. Asquith James E. Barrick Seiichi Nagihara Mark Sheridan Dean of the Graduate School December, 2019 Copyright 2019, Nur Uddin Md Khaled Chowdhury Texas Tech University, Nur Uddin Md Khaled Chowdhury, December 2019 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Numerous individuals have been instrumental in the completion of this dissertation. First, and foremost, I would like to sincerely thank my adviser, Dr. Dustin E. Sweet, for his guidance, unwavering support, and ultimately, for making this endeavor thoroughly exciting and enjoyable. I also sincerely thank my committee members Dr. George B. Asquith, Dr. James E. Barrick, and Dr. Seiichi Nagihara. I would like to thank Annabelle Lopez and New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources for providing me access to cores and cuttings repository and providing me available resources including well log data, well reports and strip logs relevant to this study. I am thankful to Neuralog Inc. for providing me free access to Neuralog software. Funding for this research was generously supported by John Emery Adams Memorial Scholarship and Concho Resources Inc. Scholarship from West Texas Geological Society (WTGS), student research grants from Geological Society of America (GSA), and grants-in-aid from the southwest section of American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG). I am indebted to the department of Geosciences at Texas Tech University. Finally, I would like to thank my loving family, especially my parents and siblings for their unwavering support and continued source of inspiration. ii Texas Tech University, Nur Uddin Md Khaled Chowdhury, December 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................. ii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ ix 1. INTRODUCTION AND GEOLOGIC BACKGROUND ........................................................... 1 RATIONALE FOR THIS STUDY .............................................................................................. 1 Objectives: Basin subsidence mechanism - flexure vs. wrenching .......................................... 1 Significance: Taos-Rainsville basin model and implications for Late Paleozoic plate tectonic model of southwestern North America ...................................................................... 2 GEOLOGIC BACKGROUND .................................................................................................... 3 Late Paleozoic southwestern USA and Ancestral Rocky Mountains ...................................... 3 Taos and Rainsville troughs ..................................................................................................... 5 Stratigraphy of the greater Taos trough region ........................................................................ 8 2. SUBSURFACE STRATIGRAPHY AND FACIES DISTRIBUTION OF THE LATE PALEOZOIC RAINSVILLE TROUGH ....................................................................................... 14 METHODS AND MATERIALS ............................................................................................... 15 IDENTIFYING LITHOLOGY AND BUILDING STRATIGRAPHIC SECTIONS ................ 17 Arroyo Peñasco Group ........................................................................................................... 20 Sandia Formation ................................................................................................................... 21 Porvenir Formation ................................................................................................................ 23 Alamitos Formation ............................................................................................................... 24 Sangre de Cristo Formation ................................................................................................... 25 Yeso Formation ...................................................................................................................... 27 Glorieta Formation ................................................................................................................. 28 3. AGE CONSTRAINTS ON UPPER PALEOZOIC STRATA IN THE GREATER TAOS TROUGH REGION ........................................................................................................... 36 METHODOLOGY RATIONALE ............................................................................................. 37 DATA ANALYSIS AND AGE CONTROLS ........................................................................... 38 Espiritu Santo Formation ....................................................................................................... 38 Tererro Formation .................................................................................................................. 40 iii Texas Tech University, Nur Uddin Md Khaled Chowdhury, December 2019 Sandia Formation ................................................................................................................... 42 Porvenir Formation ................................................................................................................ 44 Alamitos Formation ............................................................................................................... 46 Sangre de Cristo Formation ................................................................................................... 48 Yeso and Glorieta formations ................................................................................................ 50 SUMMARY AND STRATIGRAPHIC CORRELATIONS ..................................................... 53 4. PENNSYLVANIAN-PERMIAN CLIMATE-SENSITIVE FACIES FROM LOW LATITUDE RAINSVILLE TROUGH .......................................................................................... 58 LATE PALEOZOIC CLIMATIC SETTING ............................................................................ 59 CLIMATE INDICATORS: COAL AND EVAPORITE AS PALEOCLIMATIC PROXY ...................................................................................................................................... 62 METHODS AND MATERIALS ............................................................................................... 65 STRATIGRAPHIC RECORDS OF PENNSYLVANIAN AND PERMIAN PALEOCLIMATE ..................................................................................................................... 66 Pennsylvanian strata ............................................................................................................... 66 Permian strata......................................................................................................................... 68 IMPLICATIONS FOR REGIONAL PALEOCLIMATE .......................................................... 69 UTILIZATION OF CLIMATE-SENSITIVE FACIES FOR CORRELATIONS ..................... 73 5. 3-D BASIN SUBSIDENCE MODEL........................................................................................ 76 METHODS AND MATERIALS ............................................................................................... 76 Building individual stratigraphic section for construction of subsidence curves ................... 76 Obtaining parameters for backstripping: decompaction factor and porosity ......................... 77 Obtaining parameters for backstripping: assessing age ......................................................... 78 Obtaining parameters for backstripping: water depth and sea level changes ........................ 79 The Process of Backstripping: Iteratively Removing the Stratigraphic Record .................... 79 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS .............................................................................................. 80 Basin aspect ratio ................................................................................................................... 80 Tectonic subsidence analysis of the Taos-Rainsville trough ................................................. 81 Rate of basin subsidence through time .................................................................................. 87 3-D basin model for the Rainsville trough ............................................................................. 89 Taos-Rainsville basin model .................................................................................................. 94 ARM implications .................................................................................................................. 97 iv Texas Tech University, Nur Uddin Md Khaled Chowdhury, December 2019 6. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 100 REFERENCES CITED ...............................................................................................................