thumbnail

Transgressive channel filling in the Breathitt Formation (Upper Carboniferous), Eastern Kentucky Coal Field, USA

Sedimentary Geology
By:  and 

Links

  • The Publications Warehouse does not have links to digital versions of this publication at this time
  • Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core

Abstract

Carbonaceous shales of brackish or marine origin in the Breathitt Formation may exhibit sharp bases with local channel-form scours. Minor channels at the bases of these shales exhibit three general types of fill: (1) shale, (2) bioturbated, heterolithic strata, and (3) coal overlain by shale or bioturbated, heterolithic strata. Most of the scours at the bases of the channels were formed during a depositional hiatus that preceded transgression. Some may also have been formed by transgressive reworking of underlying estuarine and deltaic siliciclastics. The channel fills are bioturbated and may contain crudely cyclical rhythmites, subordinate and dominant siltstone-laminae couplets, wave ripples, and bimodal current ripple trends. The fills are interpreted to represent estuarine sedimentation during marine transgression. Channels are capped by sideritic, bioturbated sandstones that separate the fills from the overlying dark shales deposited under brackish- to marine-water conditions. Some of these sandstones may represent local transgressive surfaces. The occurrence of these types of channels in different parts of the coal-bearing Breathitt Formation supports the hypothesis of multiple transgressions during the Late Carboniferous in the Central Appalachian Basin. ?? 1992.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Transgressive channel filling in the Breathitt Formation (Upper Carboniferous), Eastern Kentucky Coal Field, USA
Series title Sedimentary Geology
Volume 75
Issue 3-4
Year Published 1992
Language English
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Sedimentary Geology
First page 209
Last page 221
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details