Geological Society of America

T126 Showcase of Undergraduate Research Posters by 2YC and 4YCU Geoscience Students (Posters)

Monday, 10 October 2022
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Exhibit Hall F

MISSISSIPPIAN ALGAL STRUCTURES WITHIN THE BANGOR LIMESTONE FORMATION AT RACCOON MOUNTAIN, CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE

Paper number: T126-12
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Authors

Samuel Thompson Presenting Author
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Matthew Mollica
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN
Quillen Thornton
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN
Ashley Manning-Berg
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN
Jason Muhlbauer
Boise State University, Boise, ID

Abstract

Raccoon Mountain Caverns is a privately owned cave system located approximately 6 miles east of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The cave system formed in the Bangor Limestone formation, which was deposited during the Mississippian period. Samples with possible microbial textures were collected from a recently excavated pit near the entrance of the adjoining campground. The samples collected in the lower strata of the pit were markedly different from the overlying dark-gray carbonate strata. They are tan-colored and have irregular, conical to domal shaped layers that appear to be microbial textures. Although the presence of the algal mats at Hugden’s Branch on Raccoon Mountain is mentioned by Bergenback and Lance (1992), the algal textures and associated rocks are not described in the literature for Tennessee. Algal mat fabrics have, however, been identified in Northwest Alabama as part of the lower Banger formation. This research describes the algal textures and their associated strata and compares the fabrics observed at Raccoon Mountain to those described in the Black Warrior Basin of Alabama.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 54, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-380242

© Copyright 2022 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.