--> A palinspastic restoration of Southern Oklahoma: A necessary framework for regional pre-deformation structural, depositional and diagenetic studies

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A palinspastic restoration of Southern Oklahoma: A necessary framework for regional pre-deformation structural, depositional and diagenetic studies

Abstract

Given the large distances of structural movement in the Southern Oklahoma Folded Belt (SOFB) during the late Mississippian through Pennsylvanian orogenies, any regional studies of pre-orogenic deposition, diagenesis or structure should be based on a restoration of the outcrops, well tops and seismic lines in the study to their relative position at the time of the studied events. Many large faults in the SOFB do not appear to have significant strike slip movement, and to reconstruct them to their original position requires incorporating the amount of shortening or extension perpendicular to the fault due to folding, reverse faulting or normal faulting. The large fault in 18-1N-3W which separates the western end of the Arbuckle Mountains (Eola-Robberson field) from the Ardmore Basin (Sho-Vel-Tum field) appears to be this type of fault. Other large faults which are apparent normal or reverse faults juxtapose very different stratigraphy across the fault within the same formation. These faults have a significant component of strike slip movement that must be accounted for in a palinspastic restoration. Large faults in the SOFB have been evaluated using well logs as to type and amount of displacement when constructing the palinspastic restoration. A pre-Goddard palinspastic map of the SOFB will be presented which utilizes displacements of 16 miles on the Eola Fault, 13.5 miles on the Reagan fault and 20 miles on the Washita fault.