Tidal Sedimentology

Stromatolitic laminations and mud cracks from the lower St. Louis 12 Paleokarstic surface at the Salem-St. Louis boundary, Waterloo quarry (Stop 2) 1 3 1 Geologic map of field trip area in western Illinois 20 Structural features of west and west-central Illinois 21 Sandstone isolith map for the Aux Vases Sandstone 24 Isopach map of the Spar Mountain Member of the Ste. Genevieve Limestone 25 Cross section B-B' perpendicular to central valley (fig. 14) 26 Plane-light photomicrographs of the primary depositional facies observed on the field trip 28 Paired plane-light and cathodoluminescence photomicrographs of the lithologies observed on the field trip 29 Paired plane-light and cathodoluminescence photomicrographs of the lithologies observed on the field trip 30 9 Location map of the Columbia roadcut (Stop 1) 32 20a Stratigraphic column for the Columbia roadcut 34 20b Key to figures 20a, 25, 26, 29, 35, and 38a 35 Exposures of the lower and upper Warsaw Formation and the St. Louis Formation 36 "Fults" Member of the Salem overlain by a bioclastic, slightly oolitic grainstone facies of the Salem 37 Location map of Columbia Quarry Company's Plant No. 7 (Waterloo quarry, Stop 2) 38 Stratigraphic column of the Waterloo quarry 39 Channelized surface of the Salem-St. Louis boundary at the Waterloo quarry 40 Contact between the Salem and the St. Louis Limestones at the Waterloo quarry 40 Measured section of the Rock Creek outcrop in Monroe County, Illinois 42 Location map of Casper Stolle Quarry (Stop 4) 43 Stratigraphic column of Casper Stolle Quarry 44 Features in the St. Louis Limestone at Casper Stolle Quarry 45 Features in the Ste. Genevieve Limestone at Casper Stolle Quarry 46 Location map of the Aux Vases Sandstone on Hickman Creek (Stop 5) 48 Measured section for the Hickman Creek outcrop in St. Clair County, Illinois 49 Location map of Alby Quarry (Stop 6) and the Alton bluff section (Stops 7 and 8) 50 Stratigraphic column of Alby Quarry 51 Features of the Salem Limestone in Alby Quarry 52 Collapsed breccia in the upper part of the lower St. Louis Limestone, Alby Quarry 53 38a Stratigraphic columns for the northwest and southeast end of the Alton bluff section 54 38b Key to figure 38a 55 Features of the Alton bluff section 56 Map of the Alton bluff section on west side of Alton, Illinois, showing faults in the St. Louis Limestone 58 *J-Lower Warsaw CM Figure 2 (A) Lower and upper Warsaw Formation, Beltrees Road section, NE NE SW Sec. 13, T6N, R11W, Jersey County, Illinois, Elsah 7.5-minute quadrangle. (B) An intraclastic, pyritic, and phosphatic horizon occurs near the lower-upper Warsaw boundary (dashed line in A). interval (Kammer et al. 1990, this study). The lower part of the Warsaw is primarily a shale, whereas limestone and, in some areas, dolomite constitute a significant portion of the upper part of the Warsaw (fig. 2 and Stop 1). Lower-upper Warsaw boundary The contact between the upper and lower Warsaw has been drawn at different horizons by different authors (Hall 1857, Hall and Whitney 1858, Ulrich 1904, Weller 1908, Van Tuyl 1925). Recent studies (Kammer et al. 1990) have characterized the Warsaw both lithologically and paleontologically, and redefined its relationship to the Osagean-Meramecian boundary. Kammer et at. (1990) basically employed Van Tuyl's (1925) concept of a lower and upper Warsaw, except that the lower-upper Warsaw boundary was adjusted upward to the top of Hall's (1857) "Magnesium limestone" rather than to its base. The separation into lower and upper Warsaw essentially places the thick shales, dolomitic shales, and argillaceous dolomites (often allied with the upper Keokuk) into the lower Warsaw, and the poor to moderately sorted, bioclastic Hall, J., 1857, Observations upon the Carboniferous limestones of the Mississippi Valley: American Journal of Science, Series 2, v. 23, p. 187-203.

Two full-scale backward erosion piping field tests were executed in the Hedwigepolder, The Netherlands. The tests were aimed to further validate the hypothesis that tidal sand has more resistance to piping than fluvial sand. Tidal sand has relatively high percentages of fines (clay, silt), often contains discrete clay and silt layers, is more cohesive, more anisotropic and has a higher critical shear stress than fluvial sand. Piping was initiated by infiltrating water into a completely enclosed body of tidal sand. This was done using infiltration tubes on one side of each test site, while at the other side a ditch was dug down to the tidal sand layer. By gradually increasing water levels in the tubes, an increasingly steep water pressure gradient was formed in the sand initiating backward erosion piping. The piping process was monitored using an array of techniques, including Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT), Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS), over 200 piezometers and infrared cameras. After the test the entire site was excavated to track the route of the pipe and to study the subsurface in detail. The combination of different monitoring techniques will allow data fusion and will give complementary insight into the processes that led to piping. This paper gives an overview of the used monitoring techniques, discusses the pros and cons of the different techniques and gives recommendations for future field experiments.

SEPM and the authors are grateful to the following for their generous contribution to the cost of publishing Application of Modern Stratigraphic Techniques: Theory and Case Histories Contributions were applied to the cost of production, which reduced the purchase price, making the volume available to a wide audience Chemostrat International Ltd. HM Research Associates SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) is an international not-for-profit Society based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Through its network of international members, the Society is dedicated to the dissemination of scientific information on sedimentology, stratigraphy, paleontology, environmental sciences, marine geology, hydrogeology, and many additional related specialties.

Interpretive cross sections based on detailed descriptions of 33 outcrops and cores are used to better understand the relative effects of tectonics, eustasy, tides, and climate on Upper Mississippian (middle Chesterian) stratigraphy in the tectonically active, tide-dominated Illinois basin. The cross sections show that five mixed carbonatesiliciclastic, high-frequency sequences in the Bethel through Glen Dean formations can be correlated around the outcrop belt through areas with very different subsidence histories. The sequence boundaries are marked by paleosols and incised valleys and can be correlated basin-wide within a framework of distinctive marker beds. Because of its updip position, lowstand systems tracts are not preserved in the Illinois basin. The transgressive systems tracts generally consist of one or two parasequences that are typically composed of tidally influenced quartz sandstone filling incised valleys at the base overlain by open-marine skeletal limestone, shallow-marine shale, and heterolithic siliciclastic tidal-flat deposits. The maximum flooding surface (MFS) for the sequences is picked at the base of the deepest water limestone facies. Highstand systems tracts are composed of 1 to 6 regressive parasequences that consist of basal offshore skeletal limestone capped by laterally extensive shale and heterolithic siliciclastic tidal-flat facies. The basin-wide extent of the sequence boundaries and maximum flooding surfaces across tectonic highs and lows suggests that the sequences were produced by eustatic sea-level changes rather than local tectonics or autogenic processes. The sequences were likely produced by moderate-to high-amplitude (30-100 m) fourth-order (ϳ 400 ky) glacio-eustatic sea-level changes driven by the transition from the greenhouse conditions of the Early Mississippian to the ''icehouse'' conditions of the late Paleozoic. The lateral extent and frequency of component parasequences suggests that they were likely produced by fifth-order sea-level changes (10-100 ky). The sequences may be bundled into third-order composite sequences, but the third-order signal is obscured by the magnitude of the fourth-order sea-level changes a feature typical of ice-house stratigraphies. The sequences can be used as time slices to identify spatial and temporal variations in differential subsidence between the Cincinnati Arch and the more rapidly subsiding Basin Interior. Episodes of high and low differential subsidence occurred every two to three sequences. These subsidence variations had a major impact on lithofacies distribution and onlap and offlap geometries in sequences and parasequences. The occurrence of some widespread seismically disturbed beds suggests that active faulting occurred during deposition. Normal faulting appears to have occurred during periods of high differential subsidence and reverse faulting during periods of low differential subsidence. Differential subsidence and related normal and reverse faulting may have occurred in response to phases of thrust loading and quiescence in the Appalachian orogenic belt to the east. Even in this tectonically active setting, however, it is the eustatic signal that generates basin-wide, mappable stratigraphic sequences.

Stromatolitic laminations and mud cracks from the lower St. Louis 12 Paleokarstic surface at the Salem-St. Louis boundary, Waterloo quarry (Stop 2) 1 3 1 Geologic map of field trip area in western Illinois 20 Structural features of west and west-central Illinois 21 Sandstone isolith map for the Aux Vases Sandstone 24 Isopach map of the Spar Mountain Member of the Ste. Genevieve Limestone 25 Cross section B-B' perpendicular to central valley (fig. 14) 26 Plane-light photomicrographs of the primary depositional facies observed on the field trip 28 Paired plane-light and cathodoluminescence photomicrographs of the lithologies observed on the field trip 29 Paired plane-light and cathodoluminescence photomicrographs of the lithologies observed on the field trip 30 9 Location map of the Columbia roadcut (Stop 1) 32 20a Stratigraphic column for the Columbia roadcut 34 20b Key to figures 20a, 25, 26, 29, 35, and 38a 35 Exposures of the lower and upper Warsaw Formation and the St. Louis Formation 36 "Fults" Member of the Salem overlain by a bioclastic, slightly oolitic grainstone facies of the Salem 37 Location map of Columbia Quarry Company's Plant No. 7 (Waterloo quarry, Stop 2) 38 Stratigraphic column of the Waterloo quarry 39 Channelized surface of the Salem-St. Louis boundary at the Waterloo quarry 40 Contact between the Salem and the St. Louis Limestones at the Waterloo quarry 40 Measured section of the Rock Creek outcrop in Monroe County, Illinois 42 Location map of Casper Stolle Quarry (Stop 4) 43 Stratigraphic column of Casper Stolle Quarry 44 Features in the St. Louis Limestone at Casper Stolle Quarry 45 Features in the Ste. Genevieve Limestone at Casper Stolle Quarry 46 Location map of the Aux Vases Sandstone on Hickman Creek (Stop 5) 48 Measured section for the Hickman Creek outcrop in St. Clair County, Illinois 49 Location map of Alby Quarry (Stop 6) and the Alton bluff section (Stops 7 and 8) 50 Stratigraphic column of Alby Quarry 51 Features of the Salem Limestone in Alby Quarry 52 Collapsed breccia in the upper part of the lower St. Louis Limestone, Alby Quarry 53 38a Stratigraphic columns for the northwest and southeast end of the Alton bluff section 54 38b Key to figure 38a 55 Features of the Alton bluff section 56 Map of the Alton bluff section on west side of Alton, Illinois, showing faults in the St. Louis Limestone 58 *J-Lower Warsaw CM Figure 2 (A) Lower and upper Warsaw Formation, Beltrees Road section, NE NE SW Sec. 13, T6N, R11W, Jersey County, Illinois, Elsah 7.5-minute quadrangle. (B) An intraclastic, pyritic, and phosphatic horizon occurs near the lower-upper Warsaw boundary (dashed line in A). interval (Kammer et al. 1990, this study). The lower part of the Warsaw is primarily a shale, whereas limestone and, in some areas, dolomite constitute a significant portion of the upper part of the Warsaw (fig. 2 and Stop 1). Lower-upper Warsaw boundary The contact between the upper and lower Warsaw has been drawn at different horizons by different authors (Hall 1857, Hall and Whitney 1858, Ulrich 1904, Weller 1908, Van Tuyl 1925). Recent studies (Kammer et al. 1990) have characterized the Warsaw both lithologically and paleontologically, and redefined its relationship to the Osagean-Meramecian boundary. Kammer et at. (1990) basically employed Van Tuyl's (1925) concept of a lower and upper Warsaw, except that the lower-upper Warsaw boundary was adjusted upward to the top of Hall's (1857) "Magnesium limestone" rather than to its base. The separation into lower and upper Warsaw essentially places the thick shales, dolomitic shales, and argillaceous dolomites (often allied with the upper Keokuk) into the lower Warsaw, and the poor to moderately sorted, bioclastic Hall, J., 1857, Observations upon the Carboniferous limestones of the Mississippi Valley: American Journal of Science, Series 2, v. 23, p. 187-203.

Naturally etched cross section through stromatolitic laminations, lower St. Louis 12 1 Cross section through paleokarstic surface at the Salem-St. Louis boundary, Waterloo Quarry 13 1 Geologic map of field trip area in western Illinois 20 12 Structural features of west and west-central Illinois 21 1 Location of the St. Louis Metro East area relative to ice margins of the major glaciations of the Quaternary 24 1 East-west cross sections of Quaternary deposits across the Cahokia 7.5-minute and French Village 7.5-minute Quadrangles 27 1 Map showing the extent of carbonate-dominated bedrock, sinkhole areas, major structural features, and major floodplains of southwestern Illinois and southeastern Missouri 34 1 Graph showing discharge and other parameters from Kelly Spring, Monroe County, Illinois, during a 2.7-centimeter (1 .05-inch) rainfall event in the spring of 1 994 37 17 Stratigraphic section in the vicinity of Grafton quarries 42 18 Location map of the Casper Stolle Quarry 48

Stromatolitic laminations and mud cracks from the lower St. Louis 12 Paleokarstic surface at the Salem-St. Louis boundary, Waterloo quarry (Stop 2) 1 3 1 Geologic map of field trip area in western Illinois 20 Structural features of west and west-central Illinois 21 Sandstone isolith map for the Aux Vases Sandstone 24 Isopach map of the Spar Mountain Member of the Ste. Genevieve Limestone 25 Cross section B-B' perpendicular to central valley (fig. 14) 26 Plane-light photomicrographs of the primary depositional facies observed on the field trip 28 Paired plane-light and cathodoluminescence photomicrographs of the lithologies observed on the field trip 29 Paired plane-light and cathodoluminescence photomicrographs of the lithologies observed on the field trip 30 9 Location map of the Columbia roadcut (Stop 1) 32 20a Stratigraphic column for the Columbia roadcut 34 20b Key to figures 20a, 25, 26, 29, 35, and 38a 35 Exposures of the lower and upper Warsaw Formation and the St. Louis Formation 36 "Fults" Member of the Salem overlain by a bioclastic, slightly oolitic grainstone facies of the Salem 37 Location map of Columbia Quarry Company's Plant No. 7 (Waterloo quarry, Stop 2) 38 Stratigraphic column of the Waterloo quarry 39 Channelized surface of the Salem-St. Louis boundary at the Waterloo quarry 40 Contact between the Salem and the St. Louis Limestones at the Waterloo quarry 40 Measured section of the Rock Creek outcrop in Monroe County, Illinois 42 Location map of Casper Stolle Quarry (Stop 4) 43 Stratigraphic column of Casper Stolle Quarry 44 Features in the St. Louis Limestone at Casper Stolle Quarry 45 Features in the Ste. Genevieve Limestone at Casper Stolle Quarry 46 Location map of the Aux Vases Sandstone on Hickman Creek (Stop 5) 48 Measured section for the Hickman Creek outcrop in St. Clair County, Illinois 49 Location map of Alby Quarry (Stop 6) and the Alton bluff section (Stops 7 and 8) 50 Stratigraphic column of Alby Quarry 51 Features of the Salem Limestone in Alby Quarry 52 Collapsed breccia in the upper part of the lower St. Louis Limestone, Alby Quarry 53 38a Stratigraphic columns for the northwest and southeast end of the Alton bluff section 54 38b Key to figure 38a 55 Features of the Alton bluff section 56 Map of the Alton bluff section on west side of Alton, Illinois, showing faults in the St. Louis Limestone 58 *J-Lower Warsaw CM Figure 2 (A) Lower and upper Warsaw Formation, Beltrees Road section, NE NE SW Sec. 13, T6N, R11W, Jersey County, Illinois, Elsah 7.5-minute quadrangle. (B) An intraclastic, pyritic, and phosphatic horizon occurs near the lower-upper Warsaw boundary (dashed line in A). interval (Kammer et al. 1990, this study). The lower part of the Warsaw is primarily a shale, whereas limestone and, in some areas, dolomite constitute a significant portion of the upper part of the Warsaw (fig. 2 and Stop 1). Lower-upper Warsaw boundary The contact between the upper and lower Warsaw has been drawn at different horizons by different authors (Hall 1857, Hall and Whitney 1858, Ulrich 1904, Weller 1908, Van Tuyl 1925). Recent studies (Kammer et al. 1990) have characterized the Warsaw both lithologically and paleontologically, and redefined its relationship to the Osagean-Meramecian boundary. Kammer et at. (1990) basically employed Van Tuyl's (1925) concept of a lower and upper Warsaw, except that the lower-upper Warsaw boundary was adjusted upward to the top of Hall's (1857) "Magnesium limestone" rather than to its base. The separation into lower and upper Warsaw essentially places the thick shales, dolomitic shales, and argillaceous dolomites (often allied with the upper Keokuk) into the lower Warsaw, and the poor to moderately sorted, bioclastic Hall, J., 1857, Observations upon the Carboniferous limestones of the Mississippi Valley: American Journal of Science, Series 2, v. 23, p. 187-203.

The passive and active fill of burrows potentially stores information about sedimentary processes that are otherwise not preserved in the rock record. In recent years, abandoned passively-filled vertical burrows were introduced as “tubular tidalites” when their infilling displays rhythmic lamination reflecting a tidal signature. In
the shallow-marine Miocene sandstones exposed at Oura (southern Portugal), 36 tubular tidalites occur in a 1.5 m-thick interval. Their high abundance is likely a consequence of both an environment favourable for the production of open burrows in a tidal setting, and post-depositional conditions facilitating the preservation of
the tubular tidalites. Besides vertical tubes, 13 horizontal burrows preserve a tidal signature indicating draughtfill processes. All specimens belong to Thalassinoides and, for the first time, to Gyrolithes. The rhythmic infill of two well-preserved  specimens shows two significant features: (1) The thickness pattern allows for differentiation into groups having 7 couplets (consisting of a dark and a light lamina) or multiples thereof, and (2) the thickness patterns of both, consecutive couplets as well as dark and light laminae match sine curves. Both patterns indicate a diurnal tidal cyclicity. The tidalites record up to four spring-tide and three neap-tide cycles. In addition to the neap-spring cycles, a long-period lunar fortnightly tide regime can be envisaged. The tubular tidalites imply diurnal tides during the Miocene in contrast to the Recent semidiurnal tides affecting southern Portugal.

Interpretive cross sections based on detailed descriptions of 33 outcrops and cores are used to better understand the relative effects of tectonics, eustasy, tides, and climate on Upper Mississippian (middle Chesterian) stratigraphy in the tectonically active, tide-dominated Illinois basin. The cross sections show that five mixed carbonatesiliciclastic, high-frequency sequences in the Bethel through Glen Dean formations can be correlated around the outcrop belt through areas with very different subsidence histories. The sequence boundaries are marked by paleosols and incised valleys and can be correlated basin-wide within a framework of distinctive marker beds. Because of its updip position, lowstand systems tracts are not preserved in the Illinois basin. The transgressive systems tracts generally consist of one or two parasequences that are typically composed of tidally influenced quartz sandstone filling incised valleys at the base overlain by open-marine skeletal limestone, shallow-marine shale, and heterolithic siliciclastic tidal-flat deposits. The maximum flooding surface (MFS) for the sequences is picked at the base of the deepest water limestone facies. Highstand systems tracts are composed of 1 to 6 regressive parasequences that consist of basal offshore skeletal limestone capped by laterally extensive shale and heterolithic siliciclastic tidal-flat facies. The basin-wide extent of the sequence boundaries and maximum flooding surfaces across tectonic highs and lows suggests that the sequences were produced by eustatic sea-level changes rather than local tectonics or autogenic processes. The sequences were likely produced by moderate-to high-amplitude (30-100 m) fourth-order (ϳ 400 ky) glacio-eustatic sea-level changes driven by the transition from the greenhouse conditions of the Early Mississippian to the ''icehouse'' conditions of the late Paleozoic. The lateral extent and frequency of component parasequences suggests that they were likely produced by fifth-order sea-level changes (10-100 ky). The sequences may be bundled into third-order composite sequences, but the third-order signal is obscured by the magnitude of the fourth-order sea-level changes a feature typical of ice-house stratigraphies. The sequences can be used as time slices to identify spatial and temporal variations in differential subsidence between the Cincinnati Arch and the more rapidly subsiding Basin Interior. Episodes of high and low differential subsidence occurred every two to three sequences. These subsidence variations had a major impact on lithofacies distribution and onlap and offlap geometries in sequences and parasequences. The occurrence of some widespread seismically disturbed beds suggests that active faulting occurred during deposition. Normal faulting appears to have occurred during periods of high differential subsidence and reverse faulting during periods of low differential subsidence. Differential subsidence and related normal and reverse faulting may have occurred in response to phases of thrust loading and quiescence in the Appalachian orogenic belt to the east. Even in this tectonically active setting, however, it is the eustatic signal that generates basin-wide, mappable stratigraphic sequences.

The passive and active fill of burrows potentially stores information about sedimentary processes that are otherwise not preserved in the rock record. In recent years, abandoned passively-filled vertical burrows were introduced as "tubular tidalites" when their infilling displays rhythmic lamination reflecting a tidal signature. In the shallow-marine Miocene sandstones exposed at Oura (southern Portugal), 36 tubular tidalites occur in a 1.5 m-thick interval. Their high abundance is likely a consequence of both an environment favourable for the production of open burrows in a tidal setting, and post-depositional conditions facilitating the preservation of the tubular tidalites. Besides vertical tubes, 13 horizontal burrows preserve a tidal signature indicating draught-fill processes. All specimens belong to Thalassinoides and, for the first time, to Gyrolithes. The rhythmic infill of two well-preserved specimens shows two significant features: (1) The thickness pattern allows for differentiation into groups having 7 couplets (consisting of a dark and a light lamina) or multiples thereof, and (2) the thickness patterns of both, consecutive couplets as well as dark and light laminae match sine curves. Both patterns indicate a diurnal tidal cyclicity. The tidalites record up to four spring-tide and three neap-tide cycles. In addition to the neap-spring cycles, a long-period lunar fortnightly tide regime can be envisaged. The tubular tidalites imply diurnal tides during the Miocene in contrast to the Recent semidiurnal tides affecting southern Portugal.

Comparison of basin geometry, relative thickness, and overall lithology of sequences FIGURES 1 Location map showing counties and subsurface cross sections in the Illinois Basin 2 2 Structural features map of the Illinois Basin 3 (A) Paleogeographic map, showing the regional setting of the Illinois Basin during Chesterian time. (B) Tectonic map of the Illinois Basin from the top of the Bethel Sandstone to the top of the Mississippian 4 4 Stratigraphic nomenclature previously used for lower Chesterian rocks in Illinois, Indiana, and western Kentucky 5 Sequences identified in this report and stratigraphic names used here 6 6 Diagram of idealized Chesterian sequence, showing sequence boundaries, systems tracts, and flooding surfaces 7 (A) An incised valley: the Sample Formation at the Cape Sandy Quarry in Crawford County, Indiana. (B) The highwall of the Cape Sandy Quarry, showing an incised valley filled with sandstone in the Sample Formation 9 8 Photomicrographs of Chesterian rock types: (A) skeletal grainstone, (B) oolitic grainstone, (C) microcrystalline dolomite, (D) quartz-peloid grainstone, (E) caliche, (F) breccia, (G) skeletal packstone, (H) skeletal packstone, (I) peloidal-skeletal packstone, (J) skeletal wackestone, (K) lime mudestone, (L) quartz sandstone 10 9 Caliche in the Ste. Genevieve Limestone at the South Hopkinsville Quarry in Christian County, Kentucky (outcrop section 22) 10 The Bryantsville Breccia Bed, a pedogenic breccia at the top of the Levias Limestone (Sequence 3) 1 A polished slab of Chesterian limestone from West Virginia showing inverse grading that is characteristic of eolian limestone 12 Exhumed dune foresets in the Ste. Genevieve Limestone at a road cut on Indiana Route 135 south of Corydon, Harrison County, Indiana 13 Root traces or rhizoliths on the top of eolian limestone of the Ste. Genevieve 14 Mud cracks on a bedding surface underlying eolian limestone of the Ste. Genevieve 1 Generalized cross section of lower Chesterian rocks from the Ozark Dome to the Cincinnati Arch 16 Cross-bedded oolitic grainstone in the Fredonia Member of the Ste. Genevieve Limestone, at the Anna Quarry in Union County, Illinois (outcrop section 5) 17 Map showing the generalized facies distribution of the Spar Mountain Sandstone (Sequence 1) 18 Map showing the generalized facies distribution of the Aux Vases Formation (Sequences 2 and 3) 19 Herringbone cross-bedding, a strong indicator of tidal activity, in the Aux Vases Formation at the Cave-in-Rock Quarry, Hardin County, Illinois (outcrop section 15) 20 Cross section KY-1, showing lower Chesterian rocks in western Kentucky, based on geologic quadrangle maps 21 Cross section KY-2, showing lower Chesterian rocks along the eastern margin of the Illinois Basin in western Kentucky, based on geologic quadrangle maps Map showing the generalized facies distribution of the Yankeetown Sandstone (Sequence 4) A soil regolith in the Paoli Limestone in a road cut near Park City in Barren County, Kentucky (outcrop section 33) 27 Map showing the generalized facies of the Bethel Sandstone (Sequences 5 and 6) 29 Map showing the generalized facies of the Sample Sandstone (Sequences 6 and 7) 30 Paleosol composed of variegated mudstone in the Sample Formation at the Mitchell Quarry in Lawrence County, Indiana (outcrop section 64) 30 Caliche in siltstone in the Sample Formation in a road cut northwest of Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky (outcrop section 29) 31 Outcrop showing the contact between the Sample Sandstone in Sequence 7 and the Bethel Sandstone in Sequence 6 at Roper's Landing, Pope County, Illinois 33 Cross section illustrating variation in Sequences 6 and 7 in southernmost Illinois, based on outcrop and core data .... 33 A paleosol consisting of large dolomite nodules in blocky red mudstone, in the upper part of the Cypress Formation at the Sulphur Interchange, Crawford County, Indiana (outcrop section 53) 34 31 Map showing generalized facies distribution of the Cypress Formation (Sequences 7, 8, and 9) 35 Geophysical log cross section in Williamson County, Illinois, illustrating an incised valley in the Cypress Formation (Sequence 8) 36 Geophysical log cross section in Richland County, Illinois, illustrating an incised valley in the Cypress Formation (Sequence 8) 37 Cross section of the Dixon Springs Graben in Pope County, Illinois 39 Geophysical log cross section in Edwards County, Illinois, illustrating an incised valley in the upper Cypress Formation (Sequence 9) 40 Cross-bedded skeletal grainstone in the upper part of the Beech Creek Limestone at the Sulphur Interchange, Crawford County, Indiana (outcrop section 53) 41 Map showing generalized facies distribution of the Big Clifty Sandstone-Fraileys Shale interval (Sequences 9 and 10) 42 Map showing net sandstone thickness in the Big Clifty Sandstone in part of Gibson County, Indiana 43 Thin, alternating shale-limestone packages that may be parasequences in the Fraileys Shale at the Sulphur Interchange, Crawford County, Indiana (outcrop section 53) 43 Map showing generalized facies of the Hardinsburg Formation (Sequences 10 and 11) 44 41 Geophysical log cross section of an incised valley in the Hardinsburg Formation, Edwards County, Illinois 46 Interpretive block diagram of carbonate depositional environments in Sequences 1 through 5 49 43 Interpretive block diagram of clastic depositional environments in Sequences 6 through 11 49 Sequence correlation from eastern Kentucky to the Illinois Basin 50 Hypothesized sea-level curve for the study interval based on interpreted water depths for different rock types and depth of incision associated with each sequence boundary 52 PLATES 1 Outcrop cross sections A-A',B-B',C-C, and D-D', for Sequences 1 through 5 and cross sections E-E', F-F', and G-G' for Sequences 6 through 1

The passive and active fill of burrows potentially stores information about sedimentary processes that are
otherwise not preserved in the rock record. In recent years, abandoned passively-filled vertical burrows were
introduced as “tubular tidalites” when their infilling displays rhythmic lamination reflecting a tidal signature. In
the shallow-marine Miocene sandstones exposed at Oura (southern Portugal), 36 tubular tidalites occur in a
1.5 m-thick interval. Their high abundance is likely a consequence of both an environment favourable for the
production of open burrows in a tidal setting, and post-depositional conditions facilitating the preservation of
the tubular tidalites. Besides vertical tubes, 13 horizontal burrows preserve a tidal signature indicating draughtfill
processes. All specimens belong to Thalassinoides and, for the first time, to Gyrolithes. The rhythmic infill of
two well-preserved specimens shows two significant features: (1) The thickness pattern allows for differentiation
into groups having 7 couplets (consisting of a dark and a light lamina) or multiples thereof, and (2) the thickness
patterns of both, consecutive couplets as well as dark and light laminae match sine curves. Both patterns indicate
a diurnal tidal cyclicity. The tidalites record up to four spring-tide and three neap-tide cycles. In addition to the
neap-spring cycles, a long-period lunar fortnightly tide regime can be envisaged. The tubular tidalites imply
diurnal tides during the Miocene in contrast to the Recent semidiurnal tides affecting southern Portugal.

Interpretive cross sections based on detailed descriptions
of 33 outcrops and cores are used to better understand the relative
effects of tectonics, eustasy, tides, and climate on Upper Mississippian
(middle Chesterian) stratigraphy in the tectonically active, tide-dominated
Illinois basin. The cross sections show that five mixed carbonate–
siliciclastic, high-frequency sequences in the Bethel through Glen Dean
formations can be correlated around the outcrop belt through areas
with very different subsidence histories.
The sequence boundaries are marked by paleosols and incised valleys
and can be correlated basin-wide within a framework of distinctive
marker beds. Because of its updip position, lowstand systems tracts are
not preserved in the Illinois basin. The transgressive systems tracts
generally consist of one or two parasequences that are typically composed
of tidally influenced quartz sandstone filling incised valleys at
the base overlain by open-marine skeletal limestone, shallow-marine
shale, and heterolithic siliciclastic tidal-flat deposits. The maximum
flooding surface (MFS) for the sequences is picked at the base of the
deepest water limestone facies. Highstand systems tracts are composed
of 1 to 6 regressive parasequences that consist of basal offshore skeletal
limestone capped by laterally extensive shale and heterolithic siliciclastic
tidal-flat facies.
The basin-wide extent of the sequence boundaries and maximum
flooding surfaces across tectonic highs and lows suggests that the sequences
were produced by eustatic sea-level changes rather than local
tectonics or autogenic processes. The sequences were likely produced
by moderate- to high-amplitude (30–100 m) fourth-order (; 400 ky)
glacio-eustatic sea-level changes driven by the transition from the
greenhouse conditions of the Early Mississippian to the ‘‘icehouse’’
conditions of the late Paleozoic. The lateral extent and frequency of
component parasequences suggests that they were likely produced by
fifth-order sea-level changes (10–100 ky). The sequences may be bundled
into third-order composite sequences, but the third-order signal
is obscured by the magnitude of the fourth-order sea-level changes a
feature typical of ice-house stratigraphies.
The sequences can be used as time slices to identify spatial and temporal
variations in differential subsidence between the Cincinnati Arch
and the more rapidly subsiding Basin Interior. Episodes of high and
low differential subsidence occurred every two to three sequences.
These subsidence variations had a major impact on lithofacies distribution
and onlap and offlap geometries in sequences and parasequences.
The occurrence of some widespread seismically disturbed
beds suggests that active faulting occurred during deposition. Normal
faulting appears to have occurred during periods of high differential
subsidence and reverse faulting during periods of low differential subsidence.
Differential subsidence and related normal and reverse faulting
may have occurred in response to phases of thrust loading and
quiescence in the Appalachian orogenic belt to the east. Even in this
tectonically active setting, however, it is the eustatic signal that generates basin-wide, mappable stratigraphic sequences.

Bedding sequences and stratigraphic sections can be profitably considered from the standpoint of their lithologic transitions, that is, the probability of any particular unit being followed by the other units in the sedimentation system. Dependent Markov processes appear to be most appropriate for the study of lithologic transitions. This paper contains an elementary expository account of Markov processes and their relation to sedimentation. A Devonian limestone-dolomite-anhydrite sequence, an Ordovician limestone-shale sequence, and Penn-sylvanian cyclothems show statistical evidence of at least a one-step dependence, or memory. Other geologic evidence also points to the existence of dependent lithologic transitions, especially in transgressive sequences. Markov processes can also be used to synthesize stratigraphic sections.

The Ngrayong Formation is shown to comprise five principal sedimentary facies. These are tidally-influence cross-bedded sandstones, sandy turbidites, contourites, hemipelagic mudstones and bioclastic carbonates which are locally reefal (Ardhana, 1993). Sabuk river is the one of interested outcrop in rembang zone located in pamotan area, rembang regency, where outcrop present the good succession of muddy-sand tidal bar sediment. Muddy-sand tidal bar it self a tidal bar formed when the process of progradation where the tidal environment is dominated by mud (Smith et al., 1991). So the main goal is to understanding potential of reservoir in muddy-sand tidal bar sediment so can use a subsurface anologue eventually. The method used in the form of field observation, make a measured section and collect sample for petrography analysis to observe the condition of the properties of rock and relationship with porosity. Muddy-sand tidal bar consist of 5 facies that is : 1. Cross lamination sandstone 2. Wavy lamination sandstone 3. Flaser sandstone 4. Lenticular siltstone 5. claystone with 253 centimeters of thickness and the pattern of spread from north to south. The progradation system which show by the pattern of coarsening upward. From observe the profile of muddy-sand tidal bar have the grainsize ratio from : sand 40%, silt 20% and clay 40% and from the petrography showing the trend of porosity dominated by intergranular porosity formed by quart grains with well sorting and subrounded-subangular of grain structure. So that from these data be able to describe the cumulative porosity about range from medium to good especially on cross lamination sandstone facies and wavy lamination sandstone facies but with presence of clay and silt which is dominant can also decrease the quality of reservoir and give a impermeable effect or reduce of connectivity of tidal bar reservoir in muddy-sand tidal bar complex system.

A unique stochastic workflow specifically designed for data-poor frontier shale plays has been applied to the Jurassic Posidonia Shale Play in the Netherlands. It is used to demonstrate the applicability of economic screening to improve decision making in emerging unconventional plays, from the risking of the play elements through to full-cycle economic analysis. This work builds on a previous study of the petroleum system of the Posidonia Shale at the regional level across the West Netherlands Basin and Roer Valley Graben. It demonstrates the value of considering various scenarios before committing to exploring in a basin.

The Eocene Ager Basin outcrops (Lleida, Spain) have been extensively studied as an example of tidal influenced deltas in compressive settings. The well-exposed outcrops provide reference field analogue for oil systems in these contexts. This Eocene record is composed by three units (Baronia, Pasarel·la and Ametlla formations) that build up the Fígols Sequence. The main goal of this work is to build up a 3D model at reservoir scale. First step has been the modelling of the base and the top of this sequence. This study combines the use of Petrel software, own sedimentological data and and open-access sources (DEMs, geologic maps, ortophotographs, cross sections, seismic profiles and well from ICGC and IGME). The preliminary data show the potential use of a 3D model to improve the knowledge of this classical locality. The integration of litostratigraphic and sedimentological data is providing a robust scheme to understand the lateral relationships of facies and the geometry of sandstone bodies in detail.

The Eocene Ager Basin outcrops (Lleida, Spain) have been extensively studied as an example of tidal influenced deltas in compressive settings. The well-exposed outcrops provide reference field analogue for oil systems in these contexts. This Eocene record is composed by three units (Baronia, Pasarel·la and Ametlla formations) that build up the Fígols Sequence. The main goal of this work is to build up a 3D model at reservoir scale. First step has been the modelling of the base and the top of this sequence. This study combines the use of Petrel software, own sedimentological data and and open-access sources (DEMs, geologic maps, ortophotographs, cross sections, seismic profiles and well from ICGC and IGME). The preliminary data show the potential use of a 3D model to improve the knowledge of this classical locality. The integration of litostratigraphic and sedimentological data is providing a robust scheme to understand the lateral relationships of facies and the geometry of sandstone bodies in detail.