Cementation of Simpson and St. Peter Sandstones in Parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri

Abstract

The amount of cementing material varies considerably in the Simpson sandstones of the Arbuckle Mountain region, Oklahoma, and in the St. Peter sandstone in north-central Arkansas and east-central Missouri. The frosted appearance of many of the quartz grains is due to incipient secondary outgrowths, pressure solution, and thin clay coatings. The white stringers of quartz, previously referred to as veins in these sandstones, are largely the result of granulation rather than the deposition of silica. Most of the quartz cementation is unrelated to faulting, but some carbonate was introduced in faulted areas. Carbonate replaces clay and the marginal portion of quartz grains. The clay coating on quartz grains tends to be replaced by secondary quartz except where the coating is thick. Meteoric waters apparently have not etched the quartz grains or promoted the deposition of secondary silica. Pressure solution at grain contacts has modified grain shapes and reduced porosity. In the St. Peter sandstone the most pr...