Oil Shale Formed in Desert Environment: Green River Formation, Wyoming

Abstract

Research Article| April 01, 1973 Oil Shale Formed in Desert Environment: Green River Formation, Wyoming W. H. BRADLEY W. H. BRADLEY 1Pigeon Hill Farm, Milbridge, Maine 04658 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information W. H. BRADLEY 1Pigeon Hill Farm, Milbridge, Maine 04658 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (1973) 84 (4): 1121–1124. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1973)84<1121:OSFIDE>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation W. H. BRADLEY; Oil Shale Formed in Desert Environment: Green River Formation, Wyoming. GSA Bulletin 1973;; 84 (4): 1121–1124. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1973)84<1121:OSFIDE>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract The oil shale beds of the Wilkins Peak Member of the Green River Formation differ from most of the Green River oil shale of Colorado and Utah because very few of them have varves; they have numerous mud cracks and, locally, desiccation breccias. Many have a copropelic microstructure and contain labial plates and skin fragments of chironomid larvae. Microfossils of some of these oil shale beds include such normally perishable things as first instar midge larvae, a single spiral chloroplast of a green alga, and sporangia of aquatic fungi. Taken together, these features indicate that the oil shale originated from algal ooze that formed on the bottom of very shallow, spring-fed lakes. The algae (dominantly blue-greens) were not planktonic but grew on, and in, the flocculent ooze. At intervals, perhaps tens to hundreds of years, the lake levels fell enough to expose the algal ooze to the air and partial drying. In the resulting rubbery organic gel, the most delicate microorganisms were heat-fixed and thereby preserved as “mummified” tissue. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.