Preservation of paleo-Vertisol and an estimate of Late Mississippian paleoprecipitation
Journal Article
·
· Journal of Sedimentary Research, Section A: Sedimentary Petrology and Processes
OSTI ID:207874
- Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Geological Sciences
A Late Mississippian paleosol satisfying all of the morphological criteria required for classification of Holocene Vertisols provides quantitative paleoclimate information, in addition to the now commonplace interpretation of precipitation seasonality based on the presence of vertic features. Paleoprecipitation was estimated using the empirical relationship between depth to pedogenic carbonate horizon in Quaternary soils. Burial compaction, erosional truncation, and high paleoatmospheric CO{sub 2} concentration, all factors that complicate paleoprecipitation estimates, are unusually well constrained for this paleosol. Allowing for 10% compaction, the paleosol had a pre-burial depth of 100 cm for the pedogenic carbonate horizon, yielding a mean annual paleo-precipitation estimate of 648 {+-} 141 mm. This is comparable to the mean annual precipitation for Brownsville, Texas, where similar soils are found today. A dolomicrite crust, developed in gilgai micro-lows, is well preserved in the paleo-Vertisol. Higher Late Mississippian paleotemperatures and rates of evapotranspiration associated with a lower-latitude paleogeography for central Tennessee during the Late Mississippian may explain in part why Holocene coastal Vertisols in the Brownsville region lack surficial crusts similar to that of the paleo-Vertisol. The authors qualitatively define the Late Mississippian climate of central Tennessee as semiarid.
- OSTI ID:
- 207874
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Sedimentary Research, Section A: Sedimentary Petrology and Processes, Journal Name: Journal of Sedimentary Research, Section A: Sedimentary Petrology and Processes Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 66; ISSN JSRAEA; ISSN 1073-130X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Paleo-precipitation estimate from a full-profile, Early Carboniferous paleo-Vertisol: Pennington Formation, central Tennessee
Paleosol interpretation for Mississippian subaerial exposure crusts from the Appalachian Basin
An oxygen isotope study of illite and calcite in three Appalachian Paleozoic vertic paleosols
Conference
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Mon Feb 28 23:00:00 EST 1994
· Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)
·
OSTI ID:6764113
Paleosol interpretation for Mississippian subaerial exposure crusts from the Appalachian Basin
Conference
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Mon Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1984
· Geol. Soc. Am., Abstr. Programs; (United States)
·
OSTI ID:6876660
An oxygen isotope study of illite and calcite in three Appalachian Paleozoic vertic paleosols
Journal Article
·
Fri May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1998
· Journal of Sedimentary Research, Section A: Sedimentary Petrology and Processes
·
OSTI ID:619639