Sedimentation in the Lower Namurian Rocks of the North Staffordshire Basin

Abstract

Summary The E 1a –E 2a (inclusive) succession of the North Staffordshire Basin exhibits a crudely rhythmic sequence with units of calcareous siltstone lithofacies, units of siderite-bearing protoquartzitic sandstone lithofacies and typical marine bands of thicker-shelled goniatite faunal phase. The eastern and western margins of the basin are marked by total or partial disappearance of the silt-stone and protoquartzite lithofacies; the southern margin is unpreserved. The protoquartzite lithofacies exhibits sandstone-rich and sandstone-poor sub-types, interpreted as proximal and distal turbidites respectively. The flows originated to the south of the basin, probably on the fronts of periodically advancing deltas. The calcareous siltstones were deposited in a more fully marine environment by intermittent waning currents, similar in some, but not all, respects to turbidity currents. Supply was probably from the west and north-west. The rhythmic sequence is explained as a response to sea-level oscillation during a period of unusually strong differential movement between the North Staffordshire Basin and its margins.

Provenance of late Carboniferous sandstones in the Pennine Basin (UK) from combined heavy mineral, garnet geochemistry and palaeocurrent studies

“…This type of garnet has not previously been identified in the early part of the Westphalian. However, sediment shed from the Wales-Brabant High into the North Staffordshire Basin during the early Namurian (Trewin and Holdsworth, 1972) contains similar garnets (Hallsworth, unpublished information), as do sediments shed from the same High into the Widmerpool Gulf in the latter stages of the Namurian (see next section). This detrital source is also associated with variable amounts of chrome spinel (Hallsworth, unpublished information) and variable amounts of detritus from the Wales-Brabant High could therefore have helped create the wide range of CZi recorded in the Bole Hill Sandstone.…”

Significance of sedimentary organic matter input for shale gas generation potential of Mississippian Mudstones, Widmerpool Gulf, UK

“…Hampson et al, 1997). During sea-level regressions, mudstones barren of macrofossils were deposited with interbedded silt-and sandstone turbidites delivered from delta slopes fringing the Wales-London-Brabant High (Trewin and Holdsworth, 1973;Aitkenhead, 1977;Chisholm et al, 1988;Collinson, 1988).…”

Depositional Controls On Mudstone Lithofacies In A Basinal Setting: Implications for the Delivery of Sedimentary Organic Matter

“…Namurian basin distribution after Fraser and Gawthorpe (2003); geological map and stratigraphy after Aitkenhead et al (2002). northern Pennine Province (Waters and Davies 2006) using fossiliferous horizons, colloquially known as ''marine bands'' that are interpreted as maximum flooding surfaces recording time periods of major sea-level transgressions (Ramsbottom 1977;Holdsworth and Collinson 1988;Hampson et al 1997;Waters and Condon 2012). The successions between these fossiliferous intervals contain fewer macrofossils (Ramsbottom et al 1962;Trewin and Holdsworth 1973;Collinson 1988). In the Widmerpool Gulf, mud deposition is considered to result from slow hemipelagic settling (Chisholm et al 1988;Collinson 1988) and periodic input of siltand sand-grade quartz-rich material from dilute turbidity flows (Aitkenhead et al 2002).…”

“…Fauna (Ramsbottom et al 1962) and lithology of these deposits have been described at the core scale (Aitkenhead 1977;Trewin and Holdsworth 1973 on the North Staffordshire Basin), but there are no detailed petrographic investigations of the mudstones. Although fine-grained accumulations in confined basinal environments represent good repositories for preserving OM, fewer studies have investigated these with regard to underlying sedimentary processes and depositional environment (with the exception of, for example, Loucks and Ruppel 2007;Hammes and Frébourg 2012) compared to many studies examining fine-grained deposition on open marine shelves (e.g., Ghadeer and Macquaker 2012;Trabucho-Alexandre et al 2012;Davies et al 2012).…”