Structure and Stratigraphy of the Wills Valley Anticline and Chandler Mountain Syncline

230 Pages·2015·56.01 MB·English

by  Mecit Korkmaz

Florida State University Libraries
Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School
2013
Structure and Stratigraphy of the Wills
Valley Anticline and Chandler Mountain
Syncline, Appalachian Thrust Belt of
Alabama, USA
Mecit Korkmaz
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FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

STRUCTURE AND STRATIGRAPHY OF THE WILLS VALLEY ANTICLINE AND
CHANDLER MOUNTAIN SYNCLINE, APPALACHIAN THRUST BELT OF ALABAMA,
USA

By

MECIT KORKMAZ

A Thesis submitted to the
Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Master of Science

Degree Awarded:
Fall Semester, 2013
Mecit Korkmaz defended this thesis on November 18th, 2013.
The members of the supervisory committee were:

James F. Tull
Professor Directing Thesis

David W. Farris
Committee Member

William C. Parker
Committee Member

The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and
certifies that the thesis has been approved in accordance with university requirements.

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To my parents and my sister

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I remain indebted to a number of persons who directly or indirectly have helped me to a
successful completion of this work; without your love, support and guidance, I never have been
able to finish my thesis. First and foremost, I express my sincerest gratitude to my advisor Dr.
James Tull, whose relentless efforts and patience helped me guide through this project. His
extensive knowledge of the Appalachians, excellent geologic aptitude and enthusiasm toward
field geology led me to appreciate geology at a different level and learn a lot of aspects in a new
manner. I have learnt first-hand from him how incalculable the importance of field geology is to
pursue a career in geology. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have worked under his
guidance.
I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. William Parker and Dr. David
Farris, for being my committee members and giving different perspectives for my thesis. Their
guidance and feedbacks helped me in all the time of my research. Furthermore, Dr. Stephen Kish
has been always helpful for my GIS maps in the project and provided lots of information on
ArcGIS software.
I would like to thank my friends inside to the Department of Geological Sciences and
outside for the inspiring geological and non-geological conversations I have had with; my
roommates Ozlem and Kurtulus Kidik for their encouragement and help; especially, I am
indebted to David Waldron, my colleague, one of my best friend, non-biological brother, and his
beautiful fiancé April Palmer for their help, support, encouragement, and everything and time we
have spent together. I have learnt a lot from them.
I would like to thank Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and the Turkish Petroleum Corporation for
this scholarship and education opportunity in U.S. Thanks to you; I am one more step closer to
my dreams.
Last but not the least; I remain ever grateful to my family members for their selfless
support all through these years. My parents and my, hydrogeologist, sister always believed me
and encouraged me with their best wishes. They taught me the value of hard work, best efforts,
and to never give up. I would not have made it this far without them.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii
List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii
List of Plates ................................................................................................................................ xvi
Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... xvii
1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................1
1.1 Geologic, Regional, and Tectonic Setting .....................................................................1
1.2 Previous Work Conducted in the Area ..........................................................................1
1.3 Purpose and the Area of Study .......................................................................................5
1.4 Methods Overview .........................................................................................................6
1.4.1 Field Mapping ....................................................................................................6
1.4.2 Geologic Cross-Section Techniques ..................................................................7
1.4.3 Interpreting Field Reading, Lineament, Joints, and Fracture Analysis ..............7
1.5 Significance....................................................................................................................8
2. STRATIGRAPHY AND DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS .........................................26
2.1 Overview (Regional Stratigraphy of the Big Wills Valley in NE Alabama) ...............26
2.2 Rome Formation ..........................................................................................................28
2.3 Conasauga Formation ..................................................................................................29
2.4 Knox Group .................................................................................................................29
2.5 Attalla Chert Conglomerate Member of the Chickamauga Limestone .......................31
2.6 Sequatchie Formation ..................................................................................................32
2.7 Red Mountain Formation .............................................................................................33
2.8 Chattanooga Formation ................................................................................................34
2.9 Tuscumbia Limestone and Fort Payne Chert ...............................................................34
2.10 Pride Mountain Formation ...........................................................................................35
2.11 Hartselle Sandstone ......................................................................................................36
2.12 Bangor Limestone ........................................................................................................38
2.13 Parkwood and Pennington Formations Undifferentiated .............................................39
2.14 Pottsville Formation .....................................................................................................40
3. STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY .................................................................................................87
3.1 Previous Structural Interpretations ..............................................................................87
3.2 Methodology ................................................................................................................91
3.2.1 Field Mapping ..................................................................................................91
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3.2.2 Structural Cross Sections .................................................................................92
3.2.3 Interpreting Field Readings, Lineament, Joints, and Fracture Analysis ..........92
4. DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................................114
5. CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................................119
APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................125
A. PLATES ..................................................................................................................................125
B. TABLES ..................................................................................................................................182
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................209
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................212

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LIST OF TABLES
Table B.1 Bedding (S ) Outcrop Data .........................................................................................182
0

Table B.2 Fracture Outcrop Data ................................................................................................190

Table B.3 Station Data ................................................................................................................197

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LIST OF FIGURES
1.1 The Appalachian thrust belt basin location and boundaries in Alabama (modified from
Pashin, 2009)....................................................................................................................................9

1.2 Showing the structural boundary of Appalachian thrust region in Alabama and Georgia
(adapted from Thomas and Bayona, 2003) ....................................................................................10

1.3 The general stratigraphic column of the Black Warrior Basin, the Appalachian and the
Valley and Ridge province (adapted from Pawlewicz and Hatch, 2007) ......................................11

1.4 Generalized stratigraphic column and the description of the study area (adapted from
Mittenthal and Harry, 2004) ..........................................................................................................12

1.5 “Stratigraphy of fold and thrust belt illustrated by diagrammatic cross sections parallel
with and perpendicular to strike. Regional unconformities are shown by heavy dashed lines and
vertical ruling.” (adapted from Thomas and Neathery, 1980) .......................................................13

1.6 “Stratigraphic cross sections of Ordovician to Mississippian rocks and regional
unconformities in fold and thrust belt. Horizontal distances adjusted to approximate palinspastic
reconstruction.” (adapted from Thomas and Neathery, 1980) .......................................................14

1.7 Thrust belt folds and the different transverse zones in the Appalachian thrust belt region
in Alabama and Georgia (adapted from Bayona and Thomas, 2003)............................................15

1.8 The geographic areas of the structures of the Appalachian thrust fold and thrust belt in the
area (adapted from Bayona and Thomas, 2003) ............................................................................16

1.9 The cross sections illustrations represent structures of the Appalachian thrust belt in
Alabama and Georgia (adapted from Bayona and Thomas, 2003) ................................................17

1.10 Targeted shale gas areas in Cambrian and Devonian unconventional strata of the southern
Appalachian thrust belt in Alabama (adapted from Pashin, 2009) ................................................19

1.11 Shale gas development areas on the geologic map of the area (adapted from Pashin,
2009) ............................................................................................................................................20

1.12 The cross sections for Conasauga Shale distribution and evolution (adapted from Pashin,
2009) ............................................................................................................................................21

1.13 Multiple shale gas plays in Cambrian and Devonian strata of the Appalachian thrust belt
and the Warrior Basin in Alabama (modified from Pashin, 2009) ................................................22

1.14 The geographic location of the research area (modified from Thomas and Neathery,
1980) ............................................................................................................................................23

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1.15 The equal-area stereonet of poles to bedding in the research area (by using the
NETPROG software) .....................................................................................................................24

1.16 The rose diagram of fracture orientations in the field area (by using the NETPROG
software) ........................................................................................................................................25

2.1 Physiographic Classification of Alabama (modified from Raymond and Osborne et al.,
1988)… ..........................................................................................................................................41

2.2 This map locates where these lithologic units are exposed in the field area, in the Hyatt
Gap and the Steele Quadrangles, in northeastern Alabama ...........................................................42

2.3-A Conasauga Limestone exposure of the Conasauga Formation at the station St-51, no
readings possible. UTM 580296.3E, 3760377.4N .........................................................................43

2.3-B The Conasauga Formation exposure at the station St-57, dark color Conasauga
Limestones, thicknesses change from 1cm to 10cm. See the Figure 2.3-C for hand samples and
see the Appendix B for the bedding and the fracture readings for this station. UTM 577052.2E,
3758477.77N ..................................................................................................................................43

2.3-C Sample#76 is from station St-52 and the samples#81 are from station St-57. See Figure
2.2 for the locations of the stations on the map. ............................................................................44

2.4 This map locates where these lithologic units are exposed in the field area, in the Hyatt
Gap and the Steele Quadrangles, in northeastern Alabama ...........................................................45

2.5 The Knox Group chert exposures; sample#26 is from station HG-68 (UTM 568346.5E,
3760975.7N) and sample#27 is from HG-70 (UTM 568690.7E, 3761972.1N). No readings
possible. .........................................................................................................................................46

2.6-A Undifferentiated Chepultepec and Copper Ridge Dolomites, dolomite and chert hand
samples (sample#33), including in the Know Group are from station HG-73. Samples include
some carbonate. UTM 564789.5E, 3748427.9N ...........................................................................47

2.6-B Undifferentiated Chepultepec and Copper Ridge Dolomites, chert and dolomite hand
samples, including in the Know Group; sample#78 is from station St-54 (UTM 577193.8E,
3760464.6N) and sample#79 is from station St-55 (UTM 577425.3E, 3760707.5N). .................48

2.7-A Undifferentiated Knox Group at station HG-73 where one of the samples#33 was taken,
that outcrop illustrates the characteristic bedded white, gray, and light-grayish chert and dolomite
features of the Copper Ridge Dolomite. Bedding (S ) = N 62 E / 86 SE UTM 564789.5E,
0
3748427.9N ....................................................................................................................................49

2.7-B Undifferentiated Knox Group at station HG-73 where one of the samples#33 was taken,
that outcrop illustrates the overturned limb and designates a thrust fault. UTM 564789.5E,
3748427.9N ....................................................................................................................................49
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