Exposure of carbonate rocks within the uplifted mountains of southwestern Utah presents a unique opportunity to study the growth, morphology and ecology of two upper Cambrian microbialite reefs located within the Hellnmaria Member of the Notch Peak Formation. The first reef contains meter-length, strongly elongate microbialites that grew in a deep, subtidal marine environment. These elongate microbialites formed as a result of coalescence of round ‘algal’ heads, a process known to produce compound microbialite structures in shallow water, but seldom explored as a key factor in the elongation of deep, subtidal forms that grew in ancient environments. The second reef contains lithistid sponge-microbial ‘stromatolites,’ a new type of metazoan bio-structure that has only been described from the Carboniferous and Triassic periods. This discovery has important implications when reconstructing middle to upper Cambrian reef-building communities, as these periods are assumed to have a very low diversity of metazoan reefal components. Taken together, both reefs shed light on the paleoecology and paleoenvironment of upper Cambrian microbialite reef-building communities.
","abstract_html":"<p>Exposure of carbonate rocks within the uplifted mountains of southwestern Utah presents a unique opportunity to study the growth, morphology and ecology of two upper Cambrian microbialite reefs located within the Hellnmaria Member of the Notch Peak Formation. The first reef contains meter-length, strongly elongate microbialites that grew in a deep, subtidal marine environment. These elongate microbialites formed as a result of coalescence of round ‘algal’ heads, a process known to produce compound microbialite structures in shallow water, but seldom explored as a key factor in the elongation of deep, subtidal forms that grew in ancient environments. The second reef contains lithistid sponge-microbial ‘stromatolites,’ a new type of metazoan bio-structure that has only been described from the Carboniferous and Triassic periods. This discovery has important implications when reconstructing middle to upper Cambrian reef-building communities, as these periods are assumed to have a very low diversity of metazoan reefal components. Taken together, both reefs shed light on the paleoecology and paleoenvironment of upper Cambrian microbialite reef-building communities.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Coulson, Ken P."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Basic Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Brand, Leonard R.","Awramik, Stanley M.","Boskovic, Danilo","Buchheim, H. Paul","Nalin, Ronald","Nick, Kevin E."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:52:38Z","subjects":["Earth Sciences","Geology","Paleontology","Physical Sciences and Mathematics","Geomicrobiology; Geology; Stratigraphic -- Cambrian; Geology -- Utah","Upper Cambrian microbialite reefs; Microbialites; Metazoan Bio-structures; Paleoecology; Paleoenvironments"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/367","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Brand, Leonard R.","Awramik, Stanley M.","Boskovic, Danilo","Buchheim, H. 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The author retains all other copyrights."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/367"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Exposure of carbonate rocks within the uplifted mountains of southwestern Utah presents a unique opportunity to study the growth, morphology and ecology of two upper Cambrian microbialite reefs located within the Hellnmaria Member of the Notch Peak Formation. The first reef contains meter-length, strongly elongate microbialites that grew in a deep, subtidal marine environment. These elongate microbialites formed as a result of coalescence of round ‘algal’ heads, a process known to produce compound microbialite structures in shallow water, but seldom explored as a key factor in the elongation of deep, subtidal forms that grew in ancient environments. The second reef contains lithistid sponge-microbial ‘stromatolites,’ a new type of metazoan bio-structure that has only been described from the Carboniferous and Triassic periods. This discovery has important implications when reconstructing middle to upper Cambrian reef-building communities, as these periods are assumed to have a very low diversity of metazoan reefal components. Taken together, both reefs shed light on the paleoecology and paleoenvironment of upper Cambrian microbialite reef-building communities.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Growth and Ecology of Upper Cambrian Microbialite Biostromes from the Notch Peak Formation in Utah"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Brand, Leonard R.","Awramik, Stanley M.","Boskovic, Danilo","Buchheim, H. Paul","Nalin, Ronald","Nick, Kevin E."],"dc:creator":["Coulson, Ken P."],"dc:description.abstract":["Exposure of carbonate rocks within the uplifted mountains of southwestern Utah presents a unique opportunity to study the growth, morphology and ecology of two upper Cambrian microbialite reefs located within the Hellnmaria Member of the Notch Peak Formation. The first reef contains meter-length, strongly elongate microbialites that grew in a deep, subtidal marine environment. These elongate microbialites formed as a result of coalescence of round ‘algal’ heads, a process known to produce compound microbialite structures in shallow water, but seldom explored as a key factor in the elongation of deep, subtidal forms that grew in ancient environments. The second reef contains lithistid sponge-microbial ‘stromatolites,’ a new type of metazoan bio-structure that has only been described from the Carboniferous and Triassic periods. This discovery has important implications when reconstructing middle to upper Cambrian reef-building communities, as these periods are assumed to have a very low diversity of metazoan reefal components. Taken together, both reefs shed light on the paleoecology and paleoenvironment of upper Cambrian microbialite reef-building communities.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/367"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"dc:subject":["Earth Sciences","Geology","Paleontology","Physical Sciences and Mathematics","Geomicrobiology; Geology; Stratigraphic -- Cambrian; Geology -- Utah","Upper Cambrian microbialite reefs; Microbialites; Metazoan Bio-structures; Paleoecology; Paleoenvironments"],"dc:title":["The Growth and Ecology of Upper Cambrian Microbialite Biostromes from the Notch Peak Formation in Utah"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Basic Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:52:38Z"}