Composition and provenance of the Silurian to Devonian sandstone sequences of the Southern Midland Valley

Phillips, E.R.; Barron, H.F.; Smith, R.A.; Arkley, S.. 2004 Composition and provenance of the Silurian to Devonian sandstone sequences of the Southern Midland Valley. Scottish Journal of Geology, 40 (1). 23-42. 10.1144/sjg40010023

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Abstract/Summary

A provenance study of rocks from the Silurian inliers and Siluro-Devonian Lanark Group sandstones of the southern Midland Valley has shown that they are petrographically and compositionally similar, and were derived from the same source terrane. The clast content of these rocks indicates that before widespread Lower Devonian calc-alkaline volcanism, this source terrane included volcanic and hypabyssal igneous rocks that appear to have been associated with a wacke sandstone-dominated sedimentary sequence and a granitic igneous suite. The possibility that the source rocks for these sequences are within the Midland Valley Terrane, but now not exposed, is discussed. Minor differences in sandstone composition between the Carmichael, Eastfield and North Esk inliers are interpreted as reflecting either slight differences in the source or deposition within individual sub-basins. Comparable regional variations within the Swanshaw Sandstone Formation suggest that sub-basin architecture continued to influence sediment dispersal patterns during the deposition of the basal Lanark Group. The onset of Lower Devonian calc-alkaline volcanism coincided with a major change in sandstone composition within the Lanark Group and accompanied the replacement of the relatively small Silurian sub-basins by a single larger basin.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1144/sjg40010023
Programmes:	BGS Programmes > Geology and Landscape Southern
ISSN:	0036-9276
Additional Keywords:	Silurian, Devonian, Sandstones, Midland Valley
NORA Subject Terms:	Earth Sciences
Date made live:	04 Sep 2009 08:14 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/8027

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1144/sjg40010023

Programmes:

BGS Programmes > Geology and Landscape Southern

ISSN:

0036-9276

Additional Keywords:

Silurian, Devonian, Sandstones, Midland Valley

NORA Subject Terms:

Earth Sciences