Role of evaporite withdrawal in the preservation of a unique coal-bearing succession: Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation, Nova Scotia

Research Article| May 01, 2005 Role of evaporite withdrawal in the preservation of a unique coal-bearing succession: Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation, Nova Scotia John W.F. Waldron; John W.F. Waldron 1Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, ESB 1-26, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Michael C. Rygel Michael C. Rygel 2Department of Earth Sciences, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3J5, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2005) 33 (5): 337–340. https://doi.org/10.1130/G21302.1 Article history received: 21 Oct 2004 rev-recd: 12 Jan 2005 accepted: 13 Jan 2005 first online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation John W.F. Waldron, Michael C. Rygel; Role of evaporite withdrawal in the preservation of a unique coal-bearing succession: Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation, Nova Scotia. Geology 2005;; 33 (5): 337–340. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G21302.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation, in the Cumberland Group of Nova Scotia, is widely regarded as the world's best exposure of coal-bearing Carboniferous strata. This 1.5-km-thick coal-bearing unit is famous for upright fossil lycopsid trees, and is preferentially preserved in the Athol syncline in the western Cumberland basin. New seismic profiles show that the Athol syncline is atop a salt weld and that the Joggins Formation thins on the flanks of adjacent evaporite-cored anticlines. These observations indicate that during deposition of the Joggins Formation, at least 1 km of syndepositional subsidence was facilitated by flow of underlying salt into the adjacent anticlines. In contrast, halokinesis was mainly active during the Mississippian in the eastern Cumberland basin (Tatamagouche syncline); minibasins were filled by Mabou Group sediments, whereas the Cumberland Group is thin and lacks significant coals. This basinwide comparison shows that much of the subsidence responsible for the preservation of the coal-bearing Joggins Formation was the result of salt withdrawal at depth. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.