Detrital U-Pb zircon and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar muscovite geochronology from Middle Pennsylvanian strata in the Anadarko Basin, Texas Panhandle, USA

Journal Article · Sat Jul 17 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110573· OSTI ID:1977527

Hollingworth, R. Spencer ^[1]; Leary, Ryan J. ^[2]; Heizler, Matthew T. ^[2]

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1. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM (United States); OSTI
2. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM (United States)

The Late Mississippian-Permian Anadarko Basin formed in Texas and Oklahoma, USA as the result of inversion of Neoproterozic and Cambrian rift structures. Subsidence was driven by flexural loading of the Amarillo-Wichita Uplift, and this uplift may represent the easternmost element of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains system. The northwestern part of this basin has generally been interpreted to have been filled by sediment derived from the Ancestral Front Range Uplift, ~475 km to the northwest during the early stages of basin filling. We test this model using U-Pb detrital zircon and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar detrital muscovite results from three subsurface samples of the Morrow B sandstone in the northwestern part of the Anadarko Basin. We provide a new maximum depositional age of 310.9 ± 4.9 Ma that indicates the age of the Morrow B to be no older than late Atokan to early Desmoinesian Age (Moscovian), ~10 Myr younger than previously interpreted. In contrast to some previous interpretations, we propose that the most likely source for the sediment in the Morrow B is the Amarillo Uplift to the south. Detrital zircon and detrital muscovite data have age peaks at 900–1300 Ma, 1370 Ma and 1600–1800 Ma corresponding to derivation from Grenville, Granite-Rhyolite and Yavapai-Mazatzal basement provinces, respectively. A dominant detrital zircon peak at 1370 Ma suggests that Mesoproterozoic granites in the Amarillo Uplift were exposed by Middle Pennsylvanian time, and detritus eroded from the Amarillo Uplift dominated the lowstand sediment budget of the Texas Panhandle during this time; small volumes of sediment were likely sourced from the Ancestral Front Range. In conclusion, this study presents the first detrital geochronology data from the subsurface Anadarko Basin and the first detrital muscovite data from late Paleozoic southwestern Laurentia. The results presented here highlight the interpretive power of combined detrital zircon and muscovite datasets.

• Research Organization: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM)
• Grant/Contract Number: FC26-05NT42591
• OSTI ID: 1977527
• Journal Information: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Journal Name: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology Journal Issue: C Vol. 579; ISSN 0031-0182
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
Amarillo-Wichita Uplift
Ancestral Rocky Mountains
Desmoinesian
Geology
Laurentia
Morrowan
Paleontology
Physical Geography
Sierra Grande Uplift