Lower Permian (Wolfcampian) paleosol-bearing cycles of the U.S. Midcontinent: Evidence of climatic cyclicity

Journal Article · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1996 · Journal of Sedimentary Research, Section A: Sedimentary Petrology and Processes

OSTI ID:207875

Miller, K B; McCahon, T J; West, R R ^[1]

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1. Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS (United States). Dept. of Geology

Lower Permian sedimentary cycles of the North American Midcontinent consist predominantly of very shallow marine and paralic facies and well-developed stacked paleosol profiles. Although recording glacio-eustatic sea level fluctuations, these cycles also contain evidence of cyclic climate change. This evidence includes the repeated carbonate-to-clastic facies pattern observed for meter-scale cycles, and the regionally consistent change from calcic to vertic paleosols within the variegated mudstones of most cyclothems. Climates are interpreted to have fluctuated from arid or semiarid conditions to seasonally wet/dry conditions during the course of a single cyclothem. Furthermore, within the Midcontinent, drier conditions appear to have characterized times of sea-level rise and highstand, whereas wetter more seasonal conditions characterized times of sea-level fall and lowstand. This relationship is interpreted to have resulted from variations in the intensity of a Pangean monsoon generated by glacial-interglacial cycles.

• OSTI ID: 207875
• 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

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES
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CLIMATE MODELS
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GEOLOGIC HISTORY
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PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
SOILS