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Microbialite elongation by means of coalescence: an example from the middle Furongian (upper Cambrian) Notch Peak Formation of western Utah

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Abstract

Strongly elongate microbialites having axial ratios greater than 4:1 and sometimes exceeding 10:1, are currently forming in modern, shallow-subtidal to intertidal environments. Construction of these elongate forms is greatly dependent on hydrodynamics, microbially influenced trapping and binding of sediment, and/or precipitation of peloidal cement, and intertidally generated abrasion and mechanical scour over sheet-like microbial mats. Some of these processes, however, are inadequate for explaining the construction of strongly elongate structures in deep-subtidal or wave-restricted environments. Since elongate morphogenesis is an important factor in paleoenvironmental reconstructions, ancient examples of elongate-related growth sequences should be documented and compared with modern analogues. This paper explores such a growth sequence from a 13-m-thick, middle Furongian (upper Cambrian) microbialite bed in western Utah that records a morphological succession of deep, subtidal microbialites in vertical section over a large geographical area. Microbialites change from round, decimeter-sized forms to large, elongate structures many meters in length, reverting back to round, centimeter-sized shapes at the top of the bed. We suggest that these elongate microbialites formed as a result of coalescence, a process known to produce compound microbialite structures in shallow water, but seldom explored as a key factor in the elongation of deep, subtidal forms that grew in ancient environments.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Stan Awramik and Paul Buchheim for editorial assistance, as well as providing insightful ideas to help further our research. Thanks to Kevin Nick and Ronald Nalin for their expertise in sedimentary geology. Thanks for the valuable suggestions from two anonymous reviewers. This work was partially supported by a Geological Society of America Research Grant, and an American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), John H. and Colleen Silcox named research grant. Thanks to Loma Linda University for ongoing financial support.

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  1. Leonard Brand of Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, 92350, USA

    Ken P. Coulson

  2. Art Chadwick of South Western Adventist University, Keene, TX, 76059, USA

    Ken P. Coulson

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  1. Ken P. Coulson
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Correspondence to Ken P. Coulson.

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Coulson, K.P. Microbialite elongation by means of coalescence: an example from the middle Furongian (upper Cambrian) Notch Peak Formation of western Utah. Facies 62, 20 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-016-0469-5

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