Origin of Periclines in the Ozark Plateau, Missouri: A field and numerical modeling

"A series upright sub-horizontal folds in sandstones of the early Ordovician Roubidoux Formation are exposed in road cuts along US Highway 63 in the northern part of the Salem Plateau of central Missouri for over a distance of approximately 10 km. These folds are in marked contrast to the more typical horizontal to sub-horizontal Ordovician strata of the Ozark Plateau. The origin of those folds remains enigmatic. The inspection of the characteristics of these folds using stereographic analysis revealed a non-cylindrical geometrical pattern than a near cylindrical fold. Structural data of 54 folds indicate an alternating basin and dome pattern. However, acceptance of more traditional classification and interpretation as a viable explanation for the origin of these folds ultimately only serves to heighten the enigma. Combing the results of numerical models, a more realistic hypothesis is proposed to explain the occurrence of those localized folds. The result of numerical models implies a localized stress enhancement in the transpression zone and the basin and dome periclines is formed by applying unidirectional shortening. We propose that these folds are periclines formed in a transpression zone as a result of reactivation of basement faults with left-lateral slip during the late Paleozoic Alleghenian Orogeny which provides an E-W far-field compression"--Abstract, page iii.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D. in Geology and Geophysics

Grantor

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Author dc:creator

• Liu, Chao

• Buckle folds
• Midcontinent
• Numerical modeling
• Ozark Plateau
• Pericline
• Geology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/doctoral_dissertations/2818

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarsmine.mst.edu:doctoral_dissertations-3823