Evolution of Lower Pennsylvanian Estuarine Facies within Two Adjacent Paleovalleys, Illinois Basin, Indiana

Fluvial-estuarine reinterpretation of large, isolated sandstone bodies in epicontinental cyclothems, Upper Pennsylvanian, northern Midcontinent, USA, and their significance for understanding late Paleozoic sea-level fluctuations

“…Many Pennsylvanian IVFs have been described in North America (Aitken and Flint, 1994;Archer et al, 1994;Gibling and Bird, 1994;Kvale and Barnhill, 1994;Archer and Feldman, 1995;Feldman et al, 1995;Heckel et al, 1998;Weimer, 2003, 2004). The variable stratal composition and expression of these IVFs are to be expected because facies preservation in an estuarine system is a complex mechanism that depends on many interrelated factors (Dalrymple et al, 1992.…”

“…In others, outer and middle estuary facies are well-characterized. In these examples, also unlike the ICS, estuarine mouth bars, tidal sand bars, extensive tidal rhythmites, bayhead deltas, shelly ravinement surfaces and a diverse array of trace fossils are preserved (Kvale and Barnhill, 1994;Archer et al, 1994;Archer and Feldman, 1995;Feldman et al, 1995;Bowen and Weimer, 2003).…”

The ichnology of the fluvial–tidal transition

“…Paleovalley incision took place from Late Mississippian to Early Pennsylvanian (Dr€ oste and Keller, 1989). These deposits represent tidal rhythmites; tidal cycles (e.g., daily, semidaily) have been reported at the Crane locality (Kvale and Barnhill, 1994) and at the Hindostan locality Kvale and Archer, 1991;Kvale et al, 1989). These deposits represent tidal rhythmites; tidal cycles (e.g., daily, semidaily) have been reported at the Crane locality (Kvale and Barnhill, 1994) and at the Hindostan locality Kvale and Archer, 1991;Kvale et al, 1989).…”

“…The Lower to Middle Pennsylvanian Mansfield Formation (Raccoon Creek Group) of south-western Indiana, reflects the infill of a complex drainage network of paleovalleys, progressively filled with estuarine deposits during a transgressive sea-level rise (Kvale and Barnhill, 1994). Paleovalley incision took place from Late Mississippian to Early Pennsylvanian (Dr€ oste and Keller, 1989).…”

Three-dimensional modeling of Pennsylvanian sandstone units in the mature Dudley oil field, Illinois, USA

“…Estuarine deposits with flaser bedding are found on top of both of the sand units with a coal or paleosol above the upper sand. The combination of the estuarine deposits between the fining-upward sands, the organic drapes, and the consistent cross-bedding is indicative of sea-level fluctuations affecting deltaic plain deposits (Adnan and Shukla 2014;Kvale and Barnhill 1994). Volume calculations were run for two reasons.…”