Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) intertwining sediment dispersal network across the Laurentian cratonic interior

Abstract

Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) strata across the Laurentian cratonic interior record the transition from a stable carbonate platform, supporting a broad epicontinental sea, to a series of widespread, mixed carbonate-siliciclastic successions. As the southern terminal sink, the Mississippian succession preserved on the southern Midcontinent provides evidence and constraints for sediment dispersal patterns. This paper presents the first comprehensive U–Pb detrital-zircon geochronological record of all known Mississippian sandstones from the southern Ozark Dome of southern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas. This study identifies the provenance of these Mississippian sandstones and establishes their sediment dispersal networks across the cratonic interior. Results show that a major provenance shift occurred between Lower and Upper Mississippian strata. The Lower Mississippian Bachelor Sandstone was sourced from the Laurentian craton, while Upper Mississippian and basal Pennsylvanian sandstones were sourced through recycling of upper Proterozoic and lower Paleozoic sandstones within the Laurentian craton to the north, the unroofing of the Appalachian orogenic belt from the east-northeast, and potentially some direct contribution from uplifted Precambrian basement along the Transcontinental Arch to the northwest. By combining previously published detrital zircon data from Laurentia, we propose that the Mississippian sedimentation reflects an intertwining dispersal system associated with multiple sources. Sediments derived from all three potential sources were merged and transported southward across Laurentia.