Bank to Basin Transition in Permian (Leonardian) Carbonates, Guadalupe Mountains, Texas

Progradational slope architecture and sediment distribution in outcrops of the mixed carbonate-siliciclastic Bone Spring Formation, Permian Basin, west Texas

“…Carbonate factories on the margin were prolific throughout the Permian and account for large contributions of sediment (Kirkby, 1982;Hills, 1984;Harman, 2011). Carbonate production in the early Permian was dominated by packstone-and grainstone-bank margins of reworked skeletal debris (McDaniel and Pray, 1967;Kirkby, 1982) and transition to boundstone-and rudstone-reef-rimmed margins in the late Permian (Hills, 1984;Harman, 2011). While carbonate sediment production occurred all around the basin margins, terrigenous (i.e., siliciclastic) sediment entering the Delaware Basin was predominantly sourced from the north and east where aeolian and fluvial sediments were deposited on the shelf and shelf margin (Presley, 1987;Fischer and Sarnthein, 1988;Soreghan and Soreghan, 2013), with some terrigenous input from the Marathon-Ouachita-Sonora region to the south (Soto- Kerans et al, 2020).…”

“…While carbonate sediment production occurred all around the basin margins, terrigenous (i.e., siliciclastic) sediment entering the Delaware Basin was predominantly sourced from the north and east where aeolian and fluvial sediments were deposited on the shelf and shelf margin (Presley, 1987;Fischer and Sarnthein, 1988;Soreghan and Soreghan, 2013), with some terrigenous input from the Marathon-Ouachita-Sonora region to the south (Soto- Kerans et al, 2020). During Leonardian time, and especially during low sea-level conditions, the entrance to the Panthalassa Ocean to the west was restricted by a sill in the Hovey Channel (Fitchen, 1997); this sill hindered water circulation in the basin, resulting in euxinic conditions (McDaniel and Pray, 1967), minimal bioturbation, and preservation of organic-rich sediment (Hills, 1984).…”

“…Typically, Ca versus Si plots distinguish carbonate from siliceous clay and siliciclastic sediment, but biogenic silica is abundant in the Bone Spring Formation due to sponge spicules and radiolaria that have been diagenetically altered to chert (Figs. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5H; McDaniel and Pray, 1967). We use "terrigenous" to indicate clay and siliciclastic sediment delivered from a non-biogenic source (i.e., onshore) and "biogenic silica" to indicate silica produced biotically.…”

“…A few studies (Kirkby, 1982;Fitchen, 1997) have focused on the shelf (Victorio Peak) deposits, documenting cyclic deposition of platform carbonates and bypass of terrigenous sediment. While the platform (proximal) and basinal (distal) portions of the Bone Spring sediment Research Paper routing system have been well documented, the upper-slope segment that is important for sediment transfer to the deep ocean is only partially documented (King, 1948;McDaniel and Pray, 1967;Kirkby, 1982;Fitchen, 1997).…”

Upper Paleozoic depositional and diagenetic facies in a mature petroleum province (a field guide to the Guadalupe and Sacramento mountains)

“…The Victorio Peak Dolomite and the underlying Bone Spring Limestone form the older (Leonardian) phase. This sequence represents at least two to three miles of basinal infilling and progradation of shelf facies during the accumulation of about 1,000 ft of section (McDaniel and Pray, 1967). "The Leonardian bank margin was eroded in latest Leonardian and/or in early Guadalupian time, and a major transgression of basin facies dark carbonates (Cutoff shaly member of King) brought basinal environments far to the north, overlapping Leonardian basin, basin margin, and shelf deposits alike" (Pray, 1975, p. 5).…”