PALEOGENE MIRELANDS OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT, WESTERN KENTUCKY

• Main Author: O'Keefe, Jennifer Marie Klein
• Format: Others
• Published: UKnowledge 2008
• Subjects: Lignite; Petrography; Palynology; Geochemistry; Claiborne Group; Earth Sciences
• Online Access: http://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/626; http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1629&context=gradschool_diss

Detailed petrography, geochemistry, and palynology together describe the depositional environments and paleoecology of an abandoned meander-fill system in western Kentucky. Oriented block petrography reveals alternating clay-rich and attrinite-rich zones of variable thickness. Woody tissues, where present, do not show dessication features and deflation layers could not be identified. Overall, petrography is indicative of a topogenous mire. Mire palyno-assemblages are less diverse than assemblages reported from clays in the region. Castanea-Cupuliferoidaepollenites assemblages dominate the entire system and other tree pollen are common; fungal spores are relatively uncommon. Weighted statistical analyses reveal ecological groupings beyond this dominance and define botanical succession within the mire. The nearestliving- relative method for determining paleoclimate indicates temperate to warm temperate conditions during deposition. Palynology indicates a Claibornian stage, middle Eocene age for the deposit.