Upland Complex of the central Mississippi River valley: Its origin, denudation, and possible role in reactivation of the New Madrid seismic zone

Arsdale, Roy Van; Bresnahan, Ryan; McCallister, Natasha; Waldron, Brian

doi:10.1130/2007.2425(13)

Cited by 27 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The cross-bedded sand and gravel reflect fluvial terrace deposition from a tributary of the Mississippi River. These deposits lack the weathering and rubification of the Plio-Pleistocene Upland Complex and are present at a lower topographic elevation than sand and gravel described by (van Arsdale et al, 2007). Paleosol development in the sand and gravel suggest a substantial period of stabilization prior to loess deposition during the late Pleistocene, similar to that observed in other Pleistocene deposits in western Tennessee (Larsen and Brock, 2015).…”

Section: Phase 1: Loess Deposition Tectonic Uplift and Valley Formatsupporting

confidence: 53%

“…Plio-Pleistocene Upland Complex and younger sand and gravel terrace deposits are present under the Pleistocene loess deposits capping the hills. Sand and gravel at the highest level constitute the remnants of a widespread fluvial unit that predates modern stream incision in the eastern embayment (van Arsdale et al, 2007). A sequence of at least three surficial loess units from the mid to late Pleistocene overlies the sand and gravel deposits (Rodbell et al, 1997).…”

Section: Natural Situationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Natural and human-induced prehistoric and historical soil erosion and landscape development in Southwestern Tennessee, USA

Dotterweich¹,

Ivester

Hanson

et al. 2014

Anthropocene

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Section: Phase 1: Loess Deposition Tectonic Uplift and Valley Formatsupporting

confidence: 53%

Section: Natural Situationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural and human-induced prehistoric and historical soil erosion and landscape development in Southwestern Tennessee, USA

Dotterweich¹,

Ivester

Hanson

et al. 2014

Anthropocene

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“…Its origin is fluvial and probably relates to an ancestral Hatchie River channel flowing westward to the Mississippi Valley. This unit is lithologically similar to Upland Complex gravels (Pliocene to Early Pleistocene) in high-level terraces of western Tennessee (Autin et al, 1991;Van Arsdale et al, 2007), where gravel deposits can be >10 m thick and are capped by thick Late Pleistocene loess. Upland Complex gravels in the LMV, previously known as Lafayette Gravel (Potter, 1955), are correlative with the Mounds Gravel in southern Illinois and southeastern Missouri (Willman and Frye, 1970;Harrison, 1999) and the Citronelle Formation along the Gulf Coast (Isphording and Lamb, 1971;Autin et al, 1991).…”

Section: Pre-illinoian (?) Depositsmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The initial palaeovalley erosional event at Fulton, which is recorded by a thin layer of reworked chert gravel, inset within Eocene sediments, likely post-dates the high-level Upland Complex (Pliocene to early Pleistocene; Autin et al, 1991;Van Arsdale et al, 2007) from which it appears to have been derived. The age of the low-elevation chert gravels at Fulton is thus surmised as pre-Illinoian (Pleistocene).…”

Section: Implications For Lmv Quaternary Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Along tributary valleys to the LMV in western Tennessee, as many as three Pleistocene terraces are inset into high-level, Pliocene to Early Pleistocene Upland Complex sediments (Saucier, 1987;Autin et al, 1991;Rodbell, 1996;Larsen and McClure, 1999;Van Arsdale et al, 2007). These terraces, capped by loess, are comprised of fluvial and/or slackwater lake sediments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A multi‐proxy palaeoecological and palaeoclimatic record within full glacial lacustrine deposits, western Tennessee, USA

Grimley

Larsen

Kaplan

et al. 2009

J Quaternary Science

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2009. A multi-proxy palaeoecological and palaeoclimatic record within full glacial lacustrine deposits, western Tennessee, USA.ABSTRACT: The Fulton Section, along the Mississippi River in western Tennessee, USA, is a 1 km continuous exposure ($20 m vertically) of Quaternary fluvial and lacustrine deposits, inset within Eocene sediments and buried by thick loess. Fossiliferous slackwater lake sediments record maximum aggradation during the last two major glaciations, with deposition between ca. 190-140 ka and 24-18 14 C ka BP, based on amino acid and radiocarbon chronology, respectively. During the onset of full glacial conditions (ca. 24-22 14 C ka BP), a relatively permanent shallow lake environment is indicated by ostracods, aquatic molluscs, and both pollen and macrofossils of aquatic plants. By 21.8 14 C ka BP, increasing emergent plants, amphibious gastropods (Pomatiopsis) and heavier d 18 O compositions suggest marsh-like conditions in a periodically drying lake. The surrounding uplands consisted of Picea-Pinus woodlands mixed with cool-temperate hardwoods (e.g. Quercus, Populus, Carya), grasses and herbs. More open conditions ensued ca. 20 14 C ka BP, with loess and slopewash gradually infilling the former lake by 18 14 C ka BP. Modern analogue analyses of ostracods and palaeontological evidence imply a full glacial climate similar to today's mixed-boreal zone in central Minnesota, USA, about 98C cooler in mean annual temperature than present-day western Tennessee.

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A joint local and teleseismic tomography study of the Mississippi Embayment and New Madrid Seismic Zone

2016

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Detailed, upper mantle P and S wave velocity (Vp and Vs) models are developed for the northern Mississippi Embayment (ME), a major physiographic feature in the Central United States (U.S.) and the location of the active New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ). This study incorporates local earthquake and teleseismic data from the New Madrid Seismic Network, the Earthscope Transportable Array, and the FlexArray Northern Embayment Lithospheric Experiment stations. The Vp and Vs solutions contain anomalies with similar magnitudes and spatial distributions. High velocities are present in the lower crust beneath the NMSZ. A pronounced low‐velocity anomaly of ~ −3%–−5% is imaged at depths of 100–250 km. High‐velocity anomalies of ~ +3%–+4% are observed at depths of 80–160 km and are located along the sides and top of the low‐velocity anomaly. The low‐velocity anomaly is attributed to the presence of hot fluids upwelling from a flat slab segment stalled in the transition zone below the Central U.S.; the thinned and weakened ME lithosphere, still at slightly higher temperatures from the passage of the Bermuda hotspot in mid‐Cretaceous, provides an optimal pathway for the ascent of the fluids. The observed high‐velocity anomalies are attributed to the presence of mafic rocks emplaced beneath the ME during initial rifting in the early Paleozoic and to remnants of the depleted, lower portion of the lithosphere.

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Upland Complex of the central Mississippi River valley: Its origin, denudation, and possible role in reactivation of the New Madrid seismic zone

Cited by 27 publications

References 23 publications

Natural and human-induced prehistoric and historical soil erosion and landscape development in Southwestern Tennessee, USA

Natural and human-induced prehistoric and historical soil erosion and landscape development in Southwestern Tennessee, USA

A multi‐proxy palaeoecological and palaeoclimatic record within full glacial lacustrine deposits, western Tennessee, USA

A joint local and teleseismic tomography study of the Mississippi Embayment and New Madrid Seismic Zone

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