University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies Legacy Theses 2011 The Upper Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation: using paleosols to reconstruct ancient environments, climates, and record of sea level change in a dinosaur-dominated terrestrial ecosystem Quinney, Ann Quinney, A. (2011). The Upper Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation: using paleosols to reconstruct ancient environments, climates, and record of sea level change in a dinosaur-dominated terrestrial ecosystem (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/13771 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/48899 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY The Upper Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation: using paleosols to reconstruct ancient environments, climates, and record of sea level change in a dinosaur-dominated terrestrial ecosystem by Ann Quinney A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATESTUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INTERDISCIPLINARY DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCE CALGARY, ALBERTA AUGUST, 2011 © Ann Quinney 2011 The author of this thesis has granted the University of Calgary a non-exclusive license to reproduce and distribute copies of this thesis to users of the University of Calgary Archives. Copyright remains with the author. Theses and dissertations available in the University of Calgary Institutional Repository are solely for the purpose of private study and research. They may not be copied or reproduced, except as permitted by copyright laws, without written authority of the copyright owner. Any commercial use or re-publication is strictly prohibited. The original Partial Copyright License attesting to these terms and signed by the author of this thesis may be found in the original print version of the thesis, held by the University of Calgary Archives. Please contact the University of Calgary Archives for further information: E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: (403) 220-7271 Website: http://archives.ucalgary.ca Abstract Paleosols are investigated to reconstruct Late Cretaceous paleoenvironments and paleoclimates of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation. Based on hydrology, degree of development, and pedogenic features, paleosols record the transition from wetland environments to well-drained environments and back to poorly-drained environments through the formation. Paleoclimatic reconstructions indicate that the lower half of the formation was warm and humid, but a period of cooling and drying occurred in the middle of the formation. A complex relationship exists between paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic changes and a terrestrial vertebrate faunal turnover within the Horseshoe Canyon Formation. The distribution of paleosols was also compared to sequence stratigraphic interpretations of the HCFm to determine if paleosols recorded evidence of base level changes. Although HCFm paleosols do record some marine transgressive-regressive cycles, the ability to resolve these cycles depends on the distance to the shoreline and the magnitude of the sea- level change. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to everyone who helped me with this thesis. Special thanks to my supervisors, Dr. François Therrien and Dr. Darla Zelenitsky for all the research support, feedback, and time you have invested into this project. Thank you to Dr. David Eberth for granting me access to your measured sections and for your endless insight into the Horseshoe Canyon Formation. I would also like to thank Dr. Dennis Braman for sharing his perspectives on the Horseshoe Canyon Formation and for supplying additional samples. Thank you to Amanda McGee, Kohei Tanaka, and Kate Zubin-Stathopolous for teaching my how to use the microscope and various software in the lab. To Jeff Quinney, Jan Quinney, Katie Quinney and Malcolm Williamson, thank you for your continuous support, suggestions, grammatical and technological savvy, and even more support! I would also like to extend my thanks to all the institutions and societies whose funding made this project possible. Geochemical analyses were funded by the Royal Tyrrell Museum Cooperating Society and funding for thin section preparation was granted by the Dinosaur Research Institute. Additional funding was supplied by an Alberta Graduate Scholarship, a Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval Page .......................................................................................................................... i Abstract ................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ......................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ......................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introductory Statement .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Geologic Setting ............................................................................................................ 2 1.2.1 Unit 1 ..................................................................................................................... 4 1.2.2 Unit 2 .................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.3 Unit 3 .................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.4 Unit 4 .................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.5 Unit 5 .................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Previous Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation 6 1.3.1 Unit 1 ..................................................................................................................... 7 1.3.2 Unit 2 .................................................................................................................... 7 1.3.3 Unit 3 .................................................................................................................... 8 1.3.4 Unit 4 .................................................................................................................... 8 1.3.5 Unit 5 .................................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Paleoprecipitation and Paleotemperature Estimates for the Horseshoe Canyon Formation ................................................................................................................................ 8 1.5 Faunal Assemblage of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation ......................................... 10 1.6 Paleosols as Indicators of Sea Level Change ............................................................. 11 1.6 Objectives of this Study ............................................................................................. 14 1.7 Organization of this Thesis ........................................................................................ 14 Table Captions ................................................................................................................. 16 iv Figure Captions ................................................................................................................ 17 Tables ............................................................................................................................... 18 Figures ............................................................................................................................. 20 CHAPTER TWO: MATERIALS AND METHODS ........................................................... 24 2.1 Field Work ................................................................................................................. 24 2.2 Horizon Identification ................................................................................................ 25 2.3 Petrographic Analysis ................................................................................................ 25 2.4 Geochemical Analysis ............................................................................................... 26 2.5 Final Selection of Pedotypes ...................................................................................... 27 Table Captions ................................................................................................................. 29 Figure Captions ...............................................................................................................