Paleoenvironmental analysis of Cretaceous mudstones at Slope Mountain, Alaska using carbon stable isotopes
This project uses field samples, microfacies analysis, and carbon stable isotopes of mudstones to determine past environmental conditions of North Slope, Alaska during the Albian-Cenomanian (Cretaceous). Samples were taken at Slope Mountain, Alaska located north of the Brooks Range. Slope Mountain i...
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Digital Commons at Oberlin
2016
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| Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/242 https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/context/honors/article/1241/viewcontent/Ratigan_Paleoenvironmental_thesis_16.pdf |
| Summary: | This project uses field samples, microfacies analysis, and carbon stable isotopes of mudstones to determine past environmental conditions of North Slope, Alaska during the Albian-Cenomanian (Cretaceous). Samples were taken at Slope Mountain, Alaska located north of the Brooks Range. Slope Mountain includes the Torok Formation and the upper and lower Nanushuk Formations that consist of alluvial, deltaic, and shallow marine facies that were deposited into the North Slope foreland basin on the Arctic Alaska micro plate. An exhaustive search for identifiable microfossils, such as pollen, diatoms, and foraminifera in the samples yielded nothing but charcoal and carbon residue. No other fossilized material was identified. Carbon stable isotope values are consistent with a mix of algae and terrestrial plants, suggesting deposition in a shallow marine setting close to shore. |
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