Taphonomic approaches toward the elucidation of sedimentary dynamics recorded in mudrocks

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Largely due to their lack of obvious heterogeneities in sedimentary texture, structure and mineralogy that normally form the basis of conventional sedimentological studies, mudrocks are notoriously difficult to interpret with respect to their depositional origins. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that their contained fossils can serve as alternative sources of such information. The proposed research aims to explore potential use of such remains as indicators of the sedimentary dynamics in mud-dominated marine environments, based largely on the paleoecologic and taphonomic (post-mortem) attributes of the fossil remains. Much of the applicant's previous research has focused on the use of shell-rich deposits to bridge the stratigraphies of the Middle Devonian Hamilton Group in the Appalachian and Michigan sedimentary basins via the Chatham Sag of southwestern Ontario. The proposed research will focus more on their use as paleoenvironmental indicators, and more specifically, as tools for interpreting the depositional dynamics recorded in ancient, mudrock-dominated marine successions that are otherwise lacking in sedimentary structures.