Sequence Stratigraphy of Skinner (Desmoinesian) Strata Between the Verdigris and Tiawah Limestones, Northeast Oklahoma

Jeanette King
University of Tulsa, Geosciences Department
Tulsa, Oklahoma
janokcntul@att.net

A sequence stratigraphic study was conducted in a 100-township area of the Northeast Oklahoma Platform on the Skinner interval of the Desmoinesian Senora formation. A sequence boundary is identified between the Verdigris and Tiawah Limestones. Parasequence terminations both above and below the sequence boundary are seen on cross-section. Deepening parasequences inside Skinner incised valleys form a retrogradational parasequence set of the transgressive systems tract and are the focus of the study. Core and outcrop descriptions identify facies of a deepening incised valley fill rather than the conventional shallowing fluvial-deltaic view. Sequence boundary and parasequence constraints change stratigraphic placement of the two main coals from those of conventional lithostratigraphic correlation. Two Mineral coal formation events are shown to be associated with flooding of incised valleys, while two Croweburg coals are shown to be a response to more widespread coastal flooding.