revised lithostratigraphy of the sonsela member (chinle formation, upper triassic) in the southern part of petrified forest national park, arizona修订后的岩相层序sonsela成员(chinle形成,上三叠纪)石化林国家公园的南部,亚利桑那州.pdfVIP

Revised Lithostratigraphy of the Sonsela Member (Chinle Formation, Upper Triassic) in the Southern Part of Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona Jeffrey W. Martz*, William G. Parker Division of Resource Management, Petrified Forest National Park, Petrified Forest, Arizona, United States of America Abstract Background: Recent revisions to the Sonsela Member of the Chinle Formation in Petrified Forest National Park have presented a three-part lithostratigraphic model based on unconventional correlations of sandstone beds. As a vertebrate faunal transition is recorded within this stratigraphic interval, these correlations, and the purported existence of a depositional hiatus (the Tr-4 unconformity) at about the same level, must be carefully re-examined. Methodology/Principal Findings: Our investigations demonstrate the neglected necessity of walking out contacts and mapping when constructing lithostratigraphic models, and providing UTM coordinates and labeled photographs for all measured sections. We correct correlation errors within the Sonsela Member, demonstrate that there are multiple Flattops One sandstones, all of which are higher than the traditional Sonsela sandstone bed, that the Sonsela sandstone bed and Rainbow Forest Bed are equivalent, that the Rainbow Forest Bed is higher than the sandstones at the base of Blue Mesa and Agate Mesa, that strata formerly assigned to the Jim Camp Wash beds occur at two stratigraphic levels, and that there are multiple persistent silcrete horizons within the Sonsela Member. Conclusions/Significance: We present a revised five-part model for the Sonsela Member. The units from lowest to highest are: the Camp Butte beds, Lot’s Wife beds, Jasper Forest bed (the Sonsela sandstone)/Rainbow Forest Bed, Jim Camp Wash beds, and Martha’s Butte beds (includin