Recent and ongoing investigations within the Missourian Stage of eastern Kansas revealed several miscorrelations of bedrock units in the Kansas City and Lansing groups of Miami County, Kansas. These miscorrelations impact several important type and reference sections and highlight the need for additional high-resolution stratigraphic investigation of the Zarah and Linn subgroups within Miami County.
This study provides high-resolution chronostratigraphy of these units through the use of detailed cm-scale lithological analyses of 33 drill cores, and conodont biostratigraphy; integrated with geophysical aeromagnetic, aerogravitational, and well-log data. This study also provides one of the first high-resolution δ13Ccarb datasets for the Upper Pennsylvanian providing a foundation for future high-resolution correlation of strata deposited during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age.
Chronostratigraphic analyses revealed significant variability within nearshore shales of the upper Linn and Zarah subgroups resulting in moderate thickening and thinning of genetically related units. The thickness variability and distribution of these units is largely controlled by a bathymetric high trending 040° from southwestern Miami County. The stratigraphic resolution of this study improves upon previous investigations and supports the recent revisions to the chronostratigraphic correlations within the Kansas City and Lansing groups.