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ABSTRACT Current investigations into the Albian–Cenomanian sedimentary record within the Western Interior have identified multiple complex tectono‐sedimentary process–response systems during the ongoing evolution of North America. One key sedimentary succession, the upper Cedar Mountain Formation (Short Canyon Member and Mussentuchit Member), has historically been linked to various regionally and continentally significant tectonic events, including Sevier fold‐and‐thrust deformation. However, the linkage between the Short Canyon Member and active Sevier tectonism has been unclear due to a lack of high‐precision age constraints. To establish temporal context, this study compares maximum depositional ages from detrital zircons recovered from the Short Canyon Member with that of a modified Bayesian age stratigraphic model (top‐down) to infer that the Short Canyon Member was deposited atca100 Ma, penecontemporaneous with rejuvenated thrusting across Utah [Pavant (Pahvant), Iron Springs and Nebo thrusts]. These also indicate a short depositional hiatus with the lowermost portion of the overlying Mussentuchit Member. The Short Canyon Member and Mussentuchit Member preserve markedly different sedimentary successions, with the Short Canyon Member interpreted to be composed of para‐autochthonous orogen–transverse (across the Sevier highlands) clastics deposited within a series of stacked distributive fluvial fans. Meanwhile, the muddy paralic Mussentuchit Member was a mix of orogen–transverse (Sevier highlands and Cordilleran Arc) and orogen–parallel basinal sediments and suspension settling fines within the developing collisional foredeep. However, the informally named last chance sandstone (middle sandstone of the Mussentuchit Member) is identified as an orogen–transverse sandy debris flow originating from the Sevier highlands, similar to the underlying Short Canyon Member. During this phase of landscape evolution, the Short Canyon Member – Mussentuchit Member depocentre was a sedimentary conduit system that would fertilize the Western Interior Seaway with ash‐rich sediments. These volcaniclastic contributions, along with penecontemporaneous deposits across the western coastal margin of the Western Interior Seaway, eventually would have lowered oxygen content and resulted in a contributing antecedent trigger for the Cenomanian–Turonian transition Oceanic Anoxic Event 2.
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Paralic sedimentology of the Mussentuchit Member coastal plain, Cedar Mountain Formation, central Utah, U.S.A.
ABSTRACT Although intensified work on the volcaniclastic-rich sediments of the fossil-bearing Mussentuchit Member (uppermost Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah) has provided a refined chronostratigraphic framework, paleoenvironmental interpretations remain cryptic. To resolve this, we performed facies analysis and architectural reconstruction on exposed Mussentuchit Member outcrops south of Emery, central Utah, USA. Contrary to previous interpretations (fluvial, lacustrine), we identified a broad suite of facies that indicate that deposition occurred on the landward part of a paralic depocenter, influenced by both distal alluvial and proximal coastal systems. We conclude that the Mussentuchit Member was a sink for suspension-settling fines with most undergoing pedogenic alteration, analogous to the modern coastal plain of French Guiana (Wang et al. 2002; Anthony et al. 2010, 2014). However, this landward paralic depocenter was not uniform through time. Sedimentological evidence indicates landscape modification was ongoing, influenced by an altered base-level (high groundwater table, long residency of water in sediments, shifts in paleosol types, heavier to lighter δ18O, and distinct shifts in relative humidity (ε); common in coastal settings). If the above data is coupled with recent age data, we interpret that the Mussentuchit Member correlates to the S.B. 4 Greenhorn Regression (Thatcher Limestone) of the adjacent Western Interior Seaway to the east. As a landward paralic depocenter, the Mussentuchit would have been sensitive to base-level conditions in response to ongoing tectonic processes pushing the foredeep east, and lower paleo-CO2 levels coupled with a minor global sea-level fall (brief glacial phase) just before to the Cenomanian–Turonian Thermal Maximum. Altogether, our results not only strengthen linkages in the central Western Interior Seaway, but simultaneously results in novel linkages to near-coeval paralic depocenters across mid-Cenomanian North America.
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- PAR ID:
- 10339584
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Sedimentary Research
- Volume:
- 92
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 1527-1404
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 546 to 569
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2021.028
