Lithofacies of the Wolfcamp and Lower Leonard Intervals, Southern Midland Basin, Texas

Baumgardner, Robert W.; Hamlin, H. Scott; Rowe, Harry

doi:10.23867/ri0281d

Cited by 14 publications

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“…All synorogenic Wolfcamp C sandstones samples are located in the eastern and southern margin of the basin floor of the Midland Basin, and they show average grain sizes from 118 to 145 µm (Table 1). Wolfcamp C sandstones exhibit an abrupt transition from moderately sorted, fine‐ to medium‐grained sandstone (Figure 3a–c) along the eastern flank of the basin floor to siliceous mudrock in the basin centre (Baumgardner et al., 2016). For the postorogenic sand, the Tubb is the shelfal interval feeding the basinal Dean Formation from the north to the south.…”

Section: Results and Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Correlation is based on gamma-ray Henderson et al (2012). Stratigraphic nomenclature is modified from Galloway and Brown (1972) and Baumgardner et al (2016) (GR), resistivity and photoelectric (PE) logs. Siliciclasticrich intervals (siltstone to very fine-grained sandstone, mixed siltstone and dolomite and siliceous mudrock) are characterized by relatively high GR, low resistivity responses and low PE values (less than 2).…”

Section: Subsurface Mappingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stratigraphic nomenclature is modified from Galloway and Brown (1972) and Baumgardner et al. (2016). CBP, Central Basin Platform; DMG, Delaware Mountain Group; DP, Diablo Platform; NS, Northern Shelf; NWS, Northwest Shelf…”

Section: Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tectonic controls on the evolution of mixed carbonate‐siliciclastic systems: Insights from the late Palaeozoic Ouachita‐Marathon Foreland, United States

et al. 2021

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Sea level is thought to be the primary driver of alternating deposition of carbonate and siliciclastic sediment in shelf settings, with carbonates dominating during transgressive/highstands and siliciclastics during lowstands. Although sediment supply is critically important for shelf-margin growth in siliciclastic systems, few studies demonstrate its impact on mixed carbonate-siliciclastic systems. The Permian Basin in Texas, United States, provides an opportunity to investigate the basin evolution regarding the source, sediment routing and particularly shelf/slope growth from synto postorogenic phases during alternating carbonate and siliciclastic sedimentation.Published detrital zircon data show that the proportion of orogen-related sources decreased significantly from an earliest Permian synorogenic phase (ca. 298 Ma) to a Leonardian (ca. 280-271 Ma) postorogenic phase, in concert with a grain-size change from fine-to medium-grained sand to silt. Although along-strike lateral variabilities exist on the shelf margin, the shelf-margin evolution characteristics show a significant difference among the Northern Shelf, Eastern Shelf and Central Basin Platform. The synorogenic Eastern Shelf exhibits a significant higher progradation rate than does the postorogenic Northern Shelf. The progradation and aggradation ratio of siliciclastic-rich intervals in the Eastern Shelf is significantly higher than those of carbonate-rich intervals in the Eastern Shelf and carbonate-or siliciclasticrich intervals in the Northern Shelf. In contrast, the Central Basin Platform, with no siliciclastic sediment supply, records almost no progradation regardless of orogenic phases. There is an increase in slope gradient with decreasing sediment supply during this second-order sequence from the Permian Cisuralian Series to the end of the Guadalupian Series. This study demonstrates that tectonically driven siliciclastic sediment supply was the main mechanism controlling the shelf and slope evolution in alternating siliciclastic and carbonate deposition.

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Section: Results and Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Subsurface Mappingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tectonic controls on the evolution of mixed carbonate‐siliciclastic systems: Insights from the late Palaeozoic Ouachita‐Marathon Foreland, United States

et al. 2021

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“…Two marginal sills (narrow seawater inlets) were identified by Baumgardner et al . (2016) in the north‐western and southern Midland Basin, connecting to the Delaware Basin and Val Verde Basin, respectively (Fig. 1).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentology of the Upper Pennsylvanian organic‐rich Cline Shale, Midland Basin: From gravity flows to pelagic suspension fallout

Peng

2020

Sedimentology

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Although deep‐water fine‐grained sedimentary rocks comprise approximately two‐thirds of the stratigraphic record, the transportation and depositional processes are poorly understood compared with their shelf counterparts. This study reports the range of fine‐grained sedimentary rock lithofacies, transport, and depositional processes and cyclicities recorded in deep‐water deposits on the basis of three continuous cored wells from the Upper Pennsylvanian Cline Shale, Midland Basin, USA, with the goal of elucidating general principles that can inform synthesis depositional models for deep‐water fine‐grained sedimentary systems. A combination of sedimentological, petrographic and bulk geochemical analysis has defined seven lithofacies that stack in a repeated pattern to constitute ca 8 to 20 m thick composite cycle sets. The lower unit of each composite cycle set is characterized by basal siliciclastic‐rich lithofacies interpreted to record dilute, low‐density turbidity currents, potentially derived from hyperpycnal input which grade upward into carbonate‐rich lithofacies interpreted as debris‐flow deposits or pelagic suspension deposits. The upper unit of each composite cycle set is characterized by basal carbonate‐rich lithofacies interpreted as debris‐flow deposits or pelagic suspension deposits which grades upward into siliciclastic‐rich lithofacies interpreted to record dilute, low‐density turbidity currents, potentially derived from hyperpycnal input. The cyclicities recorded in the Cline Shale are believed to be controlled by high‐amplitude glacioeustatic sea‐level fluctuation (mean: ca 100 m). The siliciclastic‐rich lithofacies, potentially derived from hyperpycnal turbidity flows, were deposited during sea‐level lowstand, when siliciclastic sediment‐transport systems extended across the wide Eastern Shelf and deltas developed at the shelf margin. Carbonate‐rich lithofacies are interpreted to be deposited from debris flows or pelagic suspension fallout during sea‐level highstand when carbonate platforms were developed on the surrounding shelves. The prevalence of sediment density flow deposits, even in distal basin floor environments, challenges the conventional model that deep‐water fine‐grained sedimentary rocks are dominantly background sedimentation.

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“…Quartz is one of the volumetrically significant minerals in fine‐grained sedimentary rocks (Blatt & Schultz, ; Dean et al ., ). Authigenic quartz has been identified in organic‐rich mudrocks of different ages, such as the Devonian–Mississippian Bakken and Woodford formations (Fishman et al ., , ), the Mississippian Barnett Formation (Milliken et al ., ), the Permian Wolfcamp Formation (Baumgardner et al ., ), the Jurassic Haynesville‐Bossier Formation (Dowey & Taylor, , ) and the Cretaceous Eagle Ford Group (Milliken et al ., ). Furthermore, authigenic quartz occurs in a variety of forms in mudrocks, such as intergranular cement and grain replacement (Milliken et al ., , ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quartz types in the Upper Pennsylvanian organic‐rich Cline Shale (Wolfcamp D), Midland Basin, Texas: Implications for silica diagenesis, porosity evolution and rock mechanical properties

Peng

Milliken

2020

Sedimentology

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Associate Editor -Catherine Reid ABSTRACTThe origin and form of quartz in mudrocks has significant implications for interpretation of depositional environments, diagenetic pathways, mechanisms of porosity reduction and rock mechanical-property evolution. Quartz types in the Upper Pennsylvanian Cline Shale, Midland Basin, Texas, were examined using a combination of field-emission scanning electron microscopy-based energy-dispersive spectroscopy elemental mapping (to determine mineralogy) and scanning electron microscopy-based cathodoluminescence imaging (to determine quartz types) with the goal of elucidating a high-resolution imaging protocol at the micrometre scale for shale petrology. Also, the unconfined compressive rock strength of shale samples with contrasting proportions of different quartz types was measured using Equotip Bambino analyses. The results suggest that extrabasinal detrital quartz, which accounts for an average of 26 vol.% of the rock in all analyzed samples, is the dominant form of quartz in the Cline Shale. The intergranular clay-size microquartz, which accounts for an average of 10 vol.% of the rock in all analyzed samples, is the dominant form of authigenic quartz. Dissolved radiolarians and sponge spicules are likely sources of silica for clay-size microquartz and other authigenic quartz showing pale-mauve to dark greyish cathodoluminescence colour. Some authigenic quartz in the form of intragranular pore filling and mollusc skeletal replacement displays bright-reddish cathodoluminescence colour, which may be associated with silica released at a different time in the rock's diagenetic history, such as during smectite illitization. Porosity reduction in the Cline Shale predominantly resulted from compaction because of extremely low intergranular volume and the general lack of early cementation. Quartz form significantly impacts rock mechanical properties in the Cline Shale: widely distributed intergranular clay-size microquartz cement is a major factor controlling rock strength. This correlation also applies to other mudrock successions of various geological ages, tectonic histories and lithologies.

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Lithofacies of the Wolfcamp and Lower Leonard Intervals, Southern Midland Basin, Texas

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Tectonic controls on the evolution of mixed carbonate‐siliciclastic systems: Insights from the late Palaeozoic Ouachita‐Marathon Foreland, United States

Tectonic controls on the evolution of mixed carbonate‐siliciclastic systems: Insights from the late Palaeozoic Ouachita‐Marathon Foreland, United States

Sedimentology of the Upper Pennsylvanian organic‐rich Cline Shale, Midland Basin: From gravity flows to pelagic suspension fallout

Quartz types in the Upper Pennsylvanian organic‐rich Cline Shale (Wolfcamp D), Midland Basin, Texas: Implications for silica diagenesis, porosity evolution and rock mechanical properties

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