Depositional Facies and Cycles in Yates Formation Outcrops, Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico

Borer, James M.; Harris, P. M.

doi:10.2110/cor.89.13.0305

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

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“…In Slaughter Canyon, the upper part of the Seven Rivers, the Yates and the Tansill formations and the laterally equivalent Capitan reef are well exposed (Hayes, 1964;Yurewicz, 1976;Melim & Scholle, 1995). Significant progradation of the Capitan shelf, similar to that documented elsewhere (King, 1942;Newell et al, 1953;Garber et al, 1989;Borer & Harris, 1989,1991, is evident in Slaughter Canyon. There, outer shelf deposits consist of five sequences, each defined by an offlap or low-angle onlap geometry and characterized by backstepping, aggradational and progradational parasequence stacking patterns (Lehrmann and Rankey, in preparation).…”

Section: Settingsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…Many previous studies of the Seven Rivers, Yates and Tansill (e.g. Dunham, 1972;Neese & Schwartz, 1977;Candelaria, 1989;Hurley, 1989;Borer & Harris, 1989, 1991 km ((3 1996 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 43, [807][808][809][810][811][812][813][814][815][816][817][818][819][820][821][822][823][824][825][826] presence of gently basinward-diverging sandstone and carbonate units (termed the 'fall-in' beds, Pray, in Hurley, 1989). This geometry is present in Slaughter Canyon.…”

Section: Settingmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The 'fall in' geometry (cf. Pray in Hurley, 1989) is recognized as the progressive basinward increase in dip along any one bedding plane and has been widely observed in this succession (for example, Newel1 et al, 1953;Dunham, 1972;Hurley, 1978Hurley, , 1989Borer & Harris, 1989, 1991Garber et al, 1989;Kerans & Harris, 1993). Offlap contains the following characteristics: (1) the units below the boundary unit asymptotically approach it and (2) the boundary unit is underlain across the shelf by the same lithology.…”

Section: Geometry Of the Upper Part Of The Seven Rivers Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because they commonly lack sedimentary structures, the origins of Capitan-age shelf sandstone have remained the subject of debate. Some workers (Pray, 1977;Candelaria, 1982Candelaria, , 1989Wheeler, 1989) have advocated a submarine origin for these sands, whereas others (Kendall, 1969;Silver & Todd, 1969;Fischer & Sarnthein, 1988;Borer & Harris, 1989, 1991 have suggested an aeolian origin. The lateral and vertical facies relations exposed in Slaughter Canyon (Fig.…”

Section: Origin Of Sandstonementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on the planar-tabular and trough crossbedding, the gradational contacts with adjacent subtidal carbonates, and the entrained ooids and fossils, the downdip sandstones are interpreted to represent deposition in an agitated, open marine environment. Based on the bounding subaerial exposure surfaces, the updip sandstones are interpreted to represent deposition in a terrestrial environment, possibly transported by aeolian processes (Kendall, 1969;Silver & Todd, 1969;Fischer & Sarnthein, 1988;Borer & Harris, 1989, 1991. The presence of these deposits extending down palaeoslope suggests that deposition was not on a planar sabkha in this area.…”

Section: Origin Of Sandstonementioning

confidence: 99%

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Anatomy and origin of toplap in a mixed carbonate‐clastic system, Seven Rivers Formation (Permian, Guadalupian), Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico, USA

Rankey

Lehrmann

1996

Sedimentology

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The Seven Rivers Formation exposed in Slaughter Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico, reveals complex relations between long-and short-term relative changes in sea-level, shelf configuration and sedimentation, which interacted to create a distinct toplap geometry. At least five sandstones diverge basinward from a prominent boundary unit marking the surface of toplap at the top of the Seven Rivers Formation and create a series of prograding, shingled clinoforms. The boundary unit is a horizontal, well-sorted, quartz arenite underlain across the shelf by peritidal carbonate or by other merging sandstones. Preserved palaeotopography is indicated by facies changes downdip and the presence of horizontal geopetal indicators in inclined beds. Near the boundary unit (updip), merging sandstones contain rare sedimentary structures including evaporite moulds and irregular fenestrae and are bounded above and below by peritidal carbonate with microbial laminae, fenestral fabrics and mudcracks. Laterally (downdip), the sandstone-bounding peritidal carbonate facies pass into subtidal carbonate facies (ooid-peloid-fusulinid-dasyclad-mollusc pack-and grainstone) and interbedded sandstones contain sedimentary structures such as ripple marks and trough to planar cross-stratification, as well as ooids, fusulinids and other carbonate grains. Toplap is interpreted to have developed by sediment bypass across a subaerially exposed shelf while sedimentation continued in still-submerged areas downdip from the shelf crest, and hence represents depositional toplap. Physical tracing of subaerial exposure surfaces suggests that the shoreline migrated up and down palaeoslope several times. The vertical component of five short-term shoreline migrations decreased during formation of the toplap geometry. Sea-level rose to approximately the same position following each fall to create the toplap geometry. This depositional toplap is the stratigraphic result of high-'frequency' relative changes of sea-level that combined to produce the larger-scale geometry. We suggest that changing amplitudes of relative sea-level may play a significant role in the stratigraphic evolution of platforms and that separating 'shortterm' and 'long-term' relative sea-level may be ambiguous in such instances.

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