Basin-Scale Stratigraphic Architecture of Upstream Fluvial Deposits: Jurassic-Cretaceous Foredeep, Alberta Basin, Canada

Kukulski, Ross B.; Hubbard, Stephen M.; Moslow, Thomas F.; Raines, M. Keegan

doi:10.2110/jsr.2013.53

Cited by 35 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…Jurassic deposits record marine to nonmarine basin filling, which is typical of foreland basin clastic wedges (Table 1) (Cant and Stockmal, 1989;Fuentes et al, 2011;Miles et al, 2012;Kukulski et al, 2013;Raines et al, 2013). Overall, the thickness of these units is controlled by variations in accommodation and differential erosion of pre-Cretaceous units during incision of the sub-Cretaceous unconformity ( Fig.…”

Section: Late Jurassicmentioning

confidence: 98%

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A Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous record of orogenic wedge evolution in the Western Interior basin, USA and Canada

et al. 2018

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The Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous fill of the Western Interior foreland basin is characterized using geochronological data in order to assess the stratigraphic expression of wedge-top geomorphology, as controlled by sediment cover and denudation. In northern Montana, USA, and Alberta, Canada, wedge-top deposits are poorly preserved; however, their former presence may be inferred from the detrital record in the foreland basin. We present new U/Pb detrital zircon data from nine samples collected near Great Falls, Montana, augmented with field data. The stratigraphy at Great Falls is characterized by Late Jurassic marine and nonmarine deposits, which are truncated by a basinwide sub-Cretaceous unconformity. Aptian and lower Albian strata overlying the unconformity are dominated by nonmarine deposits, which transition up-section into a predominantly marine succession related to a major transgression of the Boreal Seaway in the Albian.Detrital zircon grains from Great Falls strata yield age spectra that can be subdivided into three groups using multidimensional scaling. Group 1 is characterized by diverse zircon populations, which are interpreted to record recycling of pre-Cordilleran sedimentary strata transported via foreland basin-axial river systems with headwaters in the southwestern United States. Group 2 is characterized by the dominance of Mesozoic detrital zircon grains, which are interpreted to record sediment dispersal by fluvial systems with headwaters in the Cordillera. Group 3 is intermediate between groups 1 and 2, based on its proportion of Mesozoic zircon grains. This group records a diversification of the provenance from one dominated by Cordilleran igneous rocks to include recycled sedimentary strata.New data are integrated with three other data sets from Montana and Alberta such that stratal thicknesses (a proxy for accommodation development) and provenance evolution can be compared across the basin. The detrital record in each area, which transitions from diverse provenance to predominantly Cordilleran through the entire stratigraphic section, can be linked to the burial of the pre-foreland strata in the wedge-top depozone. This record elucidates a period of evolution of the western margin of North America to a more Andean-type system with primary input to the basin from an active magmatic arc.

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Section: Late Jurassicmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…That continental deposits at Grande Cache, Alberta (e.g., Monteith Formation), are stratigraphically younger than continental deposits in Montana (e.g., Morrison Formation) is interpreted to record southto-north, basin-axial filling of foreland accommodation space (Fig. 2) (Poulton et al, 1990;Kukulski et al, 2013).…”

Section: Late Jurassicmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous record of orogenic wedge evolution in the Western Interior basin, USA and Canada

et al. 2018

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“…Paleocurrent data, detrital zircon U-Pb ages, and the sedimentary characteristics of the Kimmeridgian to Valanginian strata in the southern Canadian Rocky Mountain fold-and-thrust belt suggest a dominant longitudinal depositional system with a main source in the Cordilleran and continental deposits of the United States, added by transverse river systems that would supply detritus from the adjacent Canadian Cordillera (Hamblin and Walker, 1979;Poulton et al, 1994;Raines et al, 2013;Kukulski et al, 2013) (Fig. 6).…”

Section: Late Middle Jurassic To Earliest Cretaceous Orogen Buildup Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Orogenic pulses in the Alberta Rocky Mountains: Radiometric dating of major faults and comparison with the regional tectono-stratigraphic record

Pană

Pluijm

2014

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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Radiometric ages from regionally distributed thrust-fault gouge show that the eastward propagation of the southern Rocky Mountain fold-and-thrust belt inCanada occurred in four orogenic pulses that correlate with tectonic events of the Cordilleran interior and with depositional patterns in the adjacent foreland. In the Main Ranges, the Pyramid (163.0 Ma), Simpson Pass (161.7 Ma), and Johnson Creek (145.7 Ma) thrusts were related to the initiation of thinskinned deformation from Jurassic terrane accretion and were partly contemporaneous with development of the fi rst clastic wedge in the foreland basin. In the Front Ranges, the emplacement of the Greenock thrust (103.1 Ma) and Broadview-Snake Indian thrust (99.2 Ma) was contemporaneous with development of Cenomanian deltaic deposits in the immediate foreland. Three thrusts in the Front Ranges, Rocky Pass (74.8 Ma), Sulfur Mountain (75.6 Ma), and Clear water (74.2 Ma) thrusts, defi ne a Campanian phase of tectonic loading that led to the last major transgression in the southern portion of the Alberta foreland. Along the eastern margin of the Front Ranges, the McConnell thrust (54.0 Ma), together with the Muskeg (52.4 Ma), Brule (53.9 Ma), and Nikanassin (52.1 Ma) thrusts in the Foothills, recorded the last phase of regional contraction. The Late Jurassic, mid-Cretaceous, Late Cretaceous, and early Eocene deformation pulses are separated by relatively long periods (>40 m.y., >20 m.y., and >10 m.y.) of tectonic quiescence. These spatially and temporally restricted fault motion pulses contrast with gradual, forward fault propagation, while regional eastward progression of deformation is preserved. REGIONAL GEOLOGY ., 1983, Geochronology and tectonic implications of magmatism and metamorphism, southern Kootenay Arc and neighbouring regions, southeastern British Columbia: Part 1. Jurassic to mid-

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“…DFSs have been shown to contain important petroleum and gas reservoirs (e.g., Moscariello 2005;Kukulski et al 2013), to host significant mineral deposits (e.g., Peterson 1977;Turner-Peterson 1986), and to constitute major aquifers (e.g., Weissmann et al 1999Weissmann et al , 2002Weissmann et al , 2004. Therefore, gaining a better understanding of spatial variations across DFSs, particularly information on system-wide quantitative trends, will facilitate resource exploration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is unlikely that such small intermittent bodies of water could control a system the size of the Salt Wash. In this respect, the Salt Wash fluvial system is deemed to be an upstream fluvial system (Kukulski et al 2013), in that it is controlled primarily by upstream influences (i.e., sedimentation rate and discharge). Currie (1998) also interpreted patterns observed in Salt Wash sediments to be related to interactions between basin accommodation development and sediment supply, but additionally interpreted migration of the flexural components of the foreland-basin system to be a key factor.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of a Distributive Fluvial System: The Salt Wash DFS of the Morrison Formation, SW U.S.A.

Owen

Nichols

Hartley

et al. 2015

Journal of Sedimentary Research

106

172

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Recent analysis of modern aggradational continental sedimentary basins reveals that sedimentation patterns are dominated by distributive fluvial systems (DFSs). The Salt Wash Member of the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation has previously been described as a fan-shaped fluvial system. This study characterizes facies variations across the Salt Wash DFS to quantitatively test predicted trends in conceptual DFS models. Notable proximal-to-distal trends include a change in total thickness of the fluvial succession from 174 m to 40 m, and an average grain size from coarse sand to silt, while the percentage of sand decreased from 70% in the proximal region to 8% in the distal region. The proportion of amalgamated channel-belt deposits decreased from 67% to 0%, while floodplain facies and lacustrine deposits increase (38% to 94% and 0.1% to 7% respectively). A downstream decrease in average channel-belt thickness (15 m to 3.8 m, from thickest to thinnest) and average story thickness (7.7 m to 2.3 m, from thickest to thinnest) is also recorded. Significant downstream changes in deposit architecture were also noted, with proximal regions dominated by stacked channel-belt deposits with a high degree of amalgamation. Distal deposits are dominated by floodplain muds and sheet sandstones and sparse ribbon channels, with little to no amalgamation of channel deposits. This study provides quantified information for an ancient DFSs with the aim of providing a dataset that can be used for objective comparison between different DFSs, as well as providing numerical data to aid resource exploration and modelling efforts.

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Basin-Scale Stratigraphic Architecture of Upstream Fluvial Deposits: Jurassic-Cretaceous Foredeep, Alberta Basin, Canada

Cited by 35 publications

References 92 publications

A Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous record of orogenic wedge evolution in the Western Interior basin, USA and Canada

A Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous record of orogenic wedge evolution in the Western Interior basin, USA and Canada

Orogenic pulses in the Alberta Rocky Mountains: Radiometric dating of major faults and comparison with the regional tectono-stratigraphic record

Quantification of a Distributive Fluvial System: The Salt Wash DFS of the Morrison Formation, SW U.S.A.

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