40 Aeolian Systems in Time and Space

This session explores research focused on all aspects of aeolian processes and landforms, including dunes, dust, and loess in modern and ancient aeolian systems on Earth and other planets.

Sunday, 19 October 2025
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, 212AB

Stratigraphy in a Sand Sea: Interdune deposits of the Navajo Sandstone

Paper number: 40-11
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 4:00 PM – 4:15 PM

Authors

Abstract

During the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic, much of what is now the western United States was covered by an extensive desert system. One of the most well-known formations from this time is the Navajo Sandstone, consisting of thick aeolian sandstones interspersed with interdune pond and lake deposits. Due to its excellent reservoir properties, the Navajo Sandstone is a prospective CO2 reservoir. Most research has focused on understanding the depositional processes and reservoir quality of this formation in restricted study areas across eastern and southern Utah. No regional stratigraphic framework for the Navajo Sandstone exists, in large part due to the lack of internal age constraints, and the complexity of aeolian surfaces over large areas. Additionally, the base Navajo Sandstone contact is diachronous with the adjacent and underlying Kayenta Formation, adding to the complexity.

Interdune deposits are thin (~2-7 m), lensoid deposits often formed due to standing water on an interdune surface. They are visually distinctive amongst the thick, cross bedded sandstones. The regional distribution of interdune deposits may help our understanding of the internal stratigraphy of the Navajo Sandstone on a regional scale, as well as being important for modelling reservoir heterogeneity for CO2 storage. Combined field work and detailed literature analysis indicates a distinct trend in interdune occurrence within the Navajo Sandstone. Over 90% of published research analysed describes interdune deposits occurring within the lower 1/3 of the formation. The lower Navajo Sandstone is diachronous across the state, hence these interdune deposits are not constrained to a particular point in time during deposition of the formation. We interpret the frequent occurrence of interdune deposits near the base of the Navajo Sandstone as evidence that their development is closely linked to the transition with the coeval Kayenta Formation.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-412727

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