SUMMARY

Upper Mississippian carbonate eolianites in southwestern Kansas formed by deflation of underlying subaerially exposed carbonates. Subaerial exposure and deflation resulted from a relative sea-level fall, as indicated by an abrupt basinward shift of lithofacies at the base of the eolianites. Deposition of reworked carbonates may also have occurred during relative sea-level fall and into the next rise. Well-developed calcretes and locally increased detrital quartz at the top of eolianites may be more consistent with a lowstand origin than a transgressive origin.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90937©1998 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Salt Lake City, Utah