| Director: |
Todd Thompson |
| Other Researchers: |
Brian Keith,
Alex Martinez Alec Siurek (amsiurek@iu.edu)
|
| Issue: |
The Ste. Genevieve Limestone (Ste. Gen) is a middle Mississippian carbonate deposited in the Illinois Basin (IB). This unit, predominantly composed of oolitic and skeletal grainstones (limestone), has been of great interest within the IB for its economic potential and water resource management. While the three known members of the Ste. Gen contain deposits interpreted to have formed during shallow marine shoaling, and terrestrial carbonate dune-building, there is another sequence of rock in the Ste. Gen that fits none of these depositional environments. Known informally as the Indian Creek Beds (IC), the extent and significance of this lime mudstone has only recently been recognized. While region-wide studies on the IB have broadly characterized this unit, no detailed study on the IC in Indiana has been conducted. |
| Objective: |
This study aims to formally characterize the IC using outcrops and cores donated by the U.S. Gypsum Corporation (USGC) by describing the lithology and analyzing stable light isotopes from samples collected. Using these two methods, we will use the stratigraphy and geochemical analyses to determine the depositional history of the IC. |
| Approach: |
|
| Products: |
Masters thesis for Siurek (summer 2025), IJES or IAS paper |
| Benefits: |
Better understanding of a Middle Mississippian carbonate unit and updated nomenclature |
