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Other______________________________________________________________________ University Microfilms International CONODONTS AND CONODONT BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF THE MIDDLE ORDOVICIAN IN THE WESTERN OVERTHRUST REGION AND SEQUATCHIE VALLEY OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Jack Charles Hall, B.S., M.S. ***** The Ohio State University 1986 Reading Committee: Approved By Dr. Stig M. BergstrUm, Chairman Dr. Lawrence A. Krissek -7 —P- Dr. Walter C. Sweet f j I i Dr. Peter N. Webb Adviser Department of Geology and Mineralogy Copyright 0 1986 by Jack Charles Hall. All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Stig M. BergstrSm, whose suggestions, advice, and encouragement were instrumental in the development of this project. His time, patience, insightful discussions and personal library were invaluable and greatly appreciated. Dr. Walter C. Sweet read the manuscript and provided useful discussion and criticism concerning biostratigraphy and taxonomy. He also made available his library and collections for my use. Drs. Lawrence A. Krissek and Peter N. Webb read the manuscript and provided useful criticism throughout the project. Drs. Carl W. Stock and D. Joe Benson of the University of Alabama graciously assisted me in the field and kindly provided locations of unpublished sections in Alabama and Georgia. I would also like to thank the students, faculty and staff of The Ohio State University Department of Geology and Mineralogy for their contributions to this project. Of special note, Mrs. Regina Brown and Mrs. Marge Tibbetts gave their time and effort in my many library searches. Ms. Karen Tyler provided useful materials and advice on matters of drafting. Mr. Anthony Leonardi assisted me on the scanning electron microscope. Ms. Catherine Morris of the Department of Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina at ii Wilmington was invaluable in the preparation of this manuscript. Mrs. Charles Hall has given me countless lessons throughout my life for which I am grateful. Finally I would like to express my love and gratitude to my wife, Barbara, for her patience, encouragement and support throughout my career. I wish to thank the Friends of Orton Hall Fund, The Chevron Graduate Fieldwork Fund, The Appalachian Basin Industrial Associates, The Arco Research Fund, The Shell Companies Foundation Doctoral Fellowship and The American Association of Petroleum Geologists Grant-In-Aid 582-12-01 for funding this project. iii VITA October 9, 1955.................. Bom, Grand Rapids, Michigan 197 7............................. B.S., Geology, Grand Valley State College, Allendale, Michigan. 1978 ............................. Research Assistant, Department of Geology, The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 1978-197 9........................ Teaching Assistant, Department of Geology, The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 1979-198 1........................ Lecturer, Department of Earth Sciences, The University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina. 1981............................. M.S., Geology, The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 1981-1983........................ Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. 1983-198 4 ........................ Shell Companies Foundation Doctoral Fellow, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. 1984-Presen t..................... Lecturer, Department of Earth Sciences, The University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina. IV PUBLICATIONS BYLE, C. S. and HALL, J. C., 1977. A preliminary study of conodonC form species from the Traverse Group (Middle Devonian), northeastern loLer Michigan. (Abst.) Second Annual Student Conference in the Earth Sciences, Michigan Tech. University Press, p. 23. HALL, J. C., 1981. Conodont biostratigraphy at the Devonian Cazenovian-Tioughniogan stadial boundary in central New York State. Geol. Soc. Amer., Abs. with Prog. 15(3):199. DIECCHIO, R. J. and HALL, J. C., 1983. Upper Ordovician to Middle Silurian trace fossil assemblages from Virginia and West Virginia. Geol. Soc. Amer., Abs. with Prog. 15(6):558. HALL, J. C., SCHMIDT, M. A. and BERGSTROM, S. M . , 1984. Conodont biostratigraphy and spatial faunal differentiation in the Middle Ordovician of Alabama and Georgia. Geol. Soc. Amer., Abs. with Prog. 16(3):143. HALL, J. C. and BERGSTROM, S. M., 1985. Middle Ordovician conodont biostratigraphy of the Chickamauga group in the westernmost thrust belts in Tennessee and Virginia and in the Sequatchie Valley, Tennessee. Geol. Soc. Amer., Abs. with Prog. 17(2):94-95. DIECCHIO, R. J., IVERSON, B. M. and HALL, J. C., 1985. Conodont age determination of the lower portion of the Taconian clastic sequence at the Allegheny Front, Pendleton County, West Virginia. Geol. Soc. Amer., Abs. with Prog. 17(2);88. FIELD OF STUDY Major Field: Geology Studies in Paleontology. Dr. Stig M. BergstrSm, Dr. Walter C. Sweet and Dr. Peter N. Webb. Studies in Stratigraphy. Dr. Stig M. BergstrGm and Dr. Walter C. Sweet. Studies in Sedimentary Petrology. Dr. Barrie McKelvey and Dr. James Collinson. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................... il VITA.......................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................. vi LIST OF TABLES................................................ ix LIST OF FIGURES............................................... xi LIST OF PLATES.............................................. xiii Chapters I. INTRODUCTION.......................................... 1 Nature of the Study...................................1 Area of Study........................................ 2 General Geologic Setting..............................2 Method of Study-Sample Locations...................... 6 Field Methods........................................ 6 Laboratory Methods................................... 6 II. LITHOSTRATIGRAPHY..................................... 8 Previous work........................................ 8 Red Mountain, Birmingham, Alabama..................... 12 Tidwell Hollow, Alabama.............................. 18 Gadsden, Alabama.....................................18 Chickamauga, Georgia.................................18 Chattanooga, Tennessee...............................22 Dunlap and Melvine, Sequatchie Valley, Tennessee..... 22 Ten Mile, Tennessee................................. 25 Clinton, Tennessee.................................. 23 Norris Reservoir, Tennessee. ....................... 25 Hagan, Virginia..................................... 25 Terminology used in this report.....................