Occurrence of Pseudophragmina sp. as a possible indication of carbonate bank deposition in Upper Wilcox (Paleocene-Eocene), Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
Paleontologic and sedimentologic analysis of whole-diameter cores from two upper Wilcox sandstones in south-central Louisiana suggests the presence of carbonate bank deposition during the late Wilcox. The larger foraminifera Pseudophragmina sp. occurs in two stratigraphically unrelated sandstones from the upper Wilcox (Paleocene-Eocene) in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. In Bayou Fordoche field, Pseudophragmina sp. is dispersed throughout an uppermost Wilcox sandstone, which is a 6-m thick unit found 82-m below the top of the Wilcox. In Fordoche field, which is south and down dip of Bayou Fordoche field, numerous individuals of Pseudophragmina sp. are concentrated in two distinct zones within the W-12 sandstone, a relatively thicker (33 m) sandstone that occurs 320 m below the top of the Wilcox. The down dip W-12 sandstone is stratigraphically unrelated to the updip sandstone; however, the two sandstones are lithologically and faunally similar. The updip sandstone and the Pseudophragmina sp. bearing intervals in the down dip W-12 sandstone are quartzose and glauconitic. In addition to numerous Pseudophragmina sp., they contain globorotalid and globigerinid planktonic foraminifera and smaller benthic foraminifera from such groups as miliolids, lagenids, and nodosarids. Echinoids and mollusks are also present. These fossils are dispersed throughout the updip sandstone and are concentrated in two separate zones within the down dip W-12 sandstone. This Pseudophragmina facies in the upper Wilcox is faunally and lithologically similar to facies that are related to modern submarine carbonate banks in the Gulf of Mexico and to reef facies reported for subsurface Tertiary units in the Gulf Coast.
- Research Organization:
- Basin Research Institute, Baton Rouge, LA
- OSTI ID:
- 6001335
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-870606-
- Journal Information:
- AAPG (Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol.) Bull.; (United States), Vol. 71:5; Conference: American Association of Petroleum Geologists annual meeting, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 7 Jun 1987
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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