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Unconformity-bounded seismic reflection sequences define Grenville-age rift system and foreland basins beneath the Phanerozoic in Ohio

¹ Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey, Columbus, Ohio 43224, USA
² Professor Emeritus, University of Toledo, Department of Environmental Sciences, Toledo, Ohio 43606, USA
³ J.L. Wicks Exploration Inc., Wooster, Ohio 44691, USA
⁴ Retired, University of Toledo, Department of Environmental Sciences, Toledo, Ohio 43606, USA

Correspondence: *mark.baranoski{at}dnr.state.oh.us

Interpretation of reprocessed Ohio Consortium for Continental Reflection Profiling (COCORP) OH-1 seismic reflection profiles indicates four structurally complex Precambrian unconformity-bounded stratigraphic sequences that clarify the relative timing of formation of the Fort Wayne Rift and East Continent Rift System with respect to the Grenville orogeny. Petrographic examination of sparse deep well samples in the region indicates or suggests sedimentary lithologies beneath the Paleozoic sedimentary cover. Other seismic profiles in the region, some with excellent well control, support our proposed model. A generalized model for the latter part of the Grenville orogeny suggests polyphase sedimentation and deformation with multiple episodes of crustal extension and compression. We propose the following events for Ohio and the surrounding region: (1) a major regional unconformity developed on the Eastern Granite-Rhyolite Province and accreted Grenville terranes; (2) western Ohio became the site of extensive fault-bounded rift basins, beginning with the Fort Wayne Rift and extending into west-central Ohio as the East Continent Rift System; (3) westward-advancing thrust sheets followed with deposition of sediments into newly developed basins; (4) continued Grenville thrusting created foreland basins in a westward progression; and (5) a long period of Neoproterozoic to Middle Cambrian erosion removed much of the foreland basin sedimentary sequences prior to Paleozoic deposition. Erosion in the Ohio region did not remove the large volume of rock as in Canada north of Georgian Bay. Other seismic lines in the region suggest that Grenville-age sedimentary basins are preserved beneath the Phanerozoic from Georgian Bay southward. These new findings demonstrate the importance of using fault- and unconformity-bounded seismic sequences to enhance and clarify the relative timing of Proterozoic events in regions where Paleozoic sedimentary cover exists and core samples are sparse or lacking.