Nature and regional significance of unconformities associated with the Middle Ordovician Hagan K-bentonite complex in the North American midcontinent
Stratal patterns of the Middle Ordovician Hagan K-bentonite complex and associated rocks show that the Black River–Trenton unconformity in the North American midcontinent formed through the complex interplay of eustasy, sediment accumulation rates, siliciclastic influx, bathymetry, seawater chemistry, and perhaps local tectonic uplift. The unconformity is diachronous and is an amalgamated surface that resulted from local late Turinian lowstand exposure followed by regional early Chatfieldian transgressive drowning and sediment starvation. The duration of the unconformity is greatest in southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and northern Indiana, where the Deicke and Millbrig K-bentonite Beds converge at the unconformity. On the basis of published isotopic ages for the Deicke and Millbrig beds, it is possible that in these regions erosion and nondeposition spanned a period of as much as 3.2 m.y.
Citation Information
Publication Year | 1998 |
---|---|
Title | Nature and regional significance of unconformities associated with the Middle Ordovician Hagan K-bentonite complex in the North American midcontinent |
DOI | 10.1130/0016-7606(1998)110<0723:NARSOU>2.3.CO;2 |
Authors | Dennis R. Kolata, W.D. Huff, Stig M. Bergstrom |
Publication Type | Article |
Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Series Title | Geological Society of America Bulletin |
Index ID | 70020784 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |