Comparison of depositional elements of an ancient and a modern submarine fan complex: Early Pennsylvanian Jackfork and late Pleistocene Mississippi fans

Conference · Tue May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (USA)

OSTI ID:7010697

Coleman, Jr, J L ^[1]

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1. Amoco Production Co., Houston, TX (USA)

Normark urged that all future, meaningful deep-sea fan comparisons be confined to key depositional elements common to most turbidite systems. These elements should include basin size, tectonic and eustatic setting, and depositional process indicators. A test case for elemental comparisons between two widely studied fan complexes is presented and evaluated. The lower Pennsylvanian (Morrowan) Jackfork submarine fan complex extends from central Arkansas to northeast Texas. Sequence analysis suggests that the Jackfork is composed of four to seven depositional episodes and occupies the floor of a deep basin bordered to the north and east by a passive carbonate-siliciclastic shelf margin and to the south and east by a northward-advancing orogenic belt. The Jackfork apparently unrestricted to the west and southwest. The Mississippi submarine fan complex extends from the submerged continental shelf of southern Louisiana to the abyssal depths between Yucatan and Florida. The fan complex is primarily Pleistocene in age, with the present morphologic fan being late Wisconsinian. The Mississippi Fan is composed of 17 depositional episodes. It occupies the floor of a deep basin bordered on the north and west by quiescent( ) halokinetic-siliciclastic shelf margins and to the east and south by passive carbonate margins. Elemental comparisons between the Mississippi fan and a palynspastically restored Jackfork fan complex suggest that both are quite similar, even though the Mississippi fan is up to three times larger in some categories. Comparative study of key depositional elements facilities a more complete understanding of both modern and ancient submarine fans.

• OSTI ID: 7010697
• Report Number(s): CONF-900605-; CODEN: AABUD
• Journal Information: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (USA), Vol. 74:5; Conference: Annual convention and exposition of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, San Francisco, CA (USA), 3-6 Jun 1990; ISSN 0149-1423
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS
DEPOSITION
ARKANSAS
CARBONATE ROCKS
CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD
FLORIDA
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GULF OF MEXICO
MEXICO
MISSISSIPPI RIVER
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
TECTONICS
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CARIBBEAN SEA
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
FEDERAL REGION IV
FEDERAL REGION VI
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
LATIN AMERICA
NORTH AMERICA
PALEOZOIC ERA
RIVERS
ROCKS
SEAS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
USA
580000* - Geosciences