A facies-scale chemo-lithostratigraphic composite profile of Del Rio claystone through Austin Chalk deposition, late Cretaceous, central Texas, USA

Late Cretaceous deposition (Comanche/Gulfian Series) across the San Marcos Arch of central Texas is characterized by both aluminosilicate- and carbonate-dominated mudrock successions. Twelve drill cores were recovered from the 2-acre construction site of the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center on The University of Texas at Austin main campus. Thirteen detailed chemo-lithofacies were defined through a combination of visual description and elemental analysis utilizing energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF). Elemental analysis was undertaken at a 0.25-ft sampling interval to provide a record of facies-scale variability. A composite profile from two cores was created by identifying the boundary between the top of the Buda Limestone and bottom of the Eagle Ford Group and then splicing the records together, thus maximizing the length of the composite core to 174 ft and incorporating the Del Rio Claystone, Buda Limestone, Eagle Ford Group, and Austin Chalk formations. Lithofacies within the four formations were defined based on Dunham’s (1962) carbonate and Potter’s (1980) shale classifications. Important sedimentary structures and mineralogical compositions were identified and added as modifiers to the facies description. The shifts between the carbonate formations and the clay-rich formations are caused by changes in sea level, productivity, anoxia, and reworking by bottom currents. The Buda Limestone and Austin Chalk are identified to range in composition from limestone to marl, as the matrixes of the formations are composed of alumo-siliceous mud. Covariance of silicon with aluminum and titanium (proxies for detrital inputs) suggests that the silica is dominantly of terrigenous origin, rather than of biogenic origin. The enrichment of redox elements (molybdenum and vanadium) indicates the occurrence of anoxia during deposition of the Eagle Ford Group. The increased presence of volcanic ash beds within fossil-rich section of the Eagle Ford Group indicates that nutrients supplied by volcanism led to increased primary productivity, triggering depleted oxygen levels and anoxic bottom waters. Whereas sea level was likely the driving force that caused changes within the Del Rio Claystone, Buda Limestone, and Austin Chalk, productivity and anoxia are the drivers of transitions within the Eagle Ford Group.