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Life Cycle of the Phosphoria Formation—From Deposition to the Post-Mining Environment.

J. R. HEIN, EDITOR. Pp. 635. Amsterdam, Elsevier. 2004. ISBN 0-444-51132-6. Price: $250.

Department of Geology, Harrington Hall, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 845 Elmwood Avenue, Oshkosh, WI 54901-8649

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

The Permian Phosphoria Formation and associated rocks are a major source of phosphate and are important petroleum source and reservoir rocks in the western United States. This volume contains 22 papers that summarize the state of understanding of the Phosphoria Formation that, due to its importance as a primary source of economic phosphate, focus on the Meade Peak member. The Phosphoria Formation, however, is not only comprised of the phosphate and organic matter-rich Meade Peak member, but also includes the spiculitic Rex Chert, the organic matter- and phosphate-rich Retort, and the silty and spiculitic Tosi Chert members. These rock units are interbedded with rocks of the carbonate-dominated Park City Formation.

Sedimentary phosphate is an important source of phosphorus and is usually interpreted to result from oceanic up-welling-driven marine productivity. Most ancient deposits are found in epicontinental settings, and may or may not be associated with significant organic-rich and siliceous sediments. The Phosphoria Formation was deposited in an epicontinental embayment on a paleoshelf that was almost flat; the angle of the paleoshelf ranged from 0.04° to 0.22°. The very low angle of the paleoshelf and the epicontinental setting have important implications for models of ancient phosphate deposit formation.

The Phosphoria Formation spans a temporal transition between two radically different global climate regimes. Low . . . [Full Text of this Article]