Sandstone provenance is commonly characterized by point counting thin sections using a petrographic microscope. An analytical tool (QEMScan™: Quantitative Evaluation of Materials by Scanning Electron Microscopy) newly applied to provenance analyses provides complementary data and alternatives for quantifying modal compositions of sandstones. QEMScan combines scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging and elemental analyses to create mineralogical maps of solid materials. Three different applications of QEMScan (mineralogic maps, bulk mineralogy calculations, and automated disaggregate counts) were compared to traditional (petrographic) point-count results using a test data set of 12 samples from Utah and Mongolia. Results indicate that QEMScan can provide semi-automated and rapid analyses of sandstone provenance. In the case of the manual QEMScan point-count method, the new technique largely removes operator error in grain identification. However, direct comparison to petrographic data currently requires time-consuming image processing, and adjusting QEMScan processors to recognize grain boundaries and complex grain-mineral types. Moreover, comparison of these methods provided a means to assess the operator error associated with point counting. The results of the petrographic and QEMScan methods generated comparable results, indicating that operator error does not significantly affect modal compositions through traditional techniques.

Abstract The Kaiparowits Basin, located mostly within Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, preserves an outstanding record of Late Cretaceous sedimentation in a foreland basin setting. Hosted in these rocks is one of the most continuous and complete records of this period’s ecosystems known from any one geographic area in the world. Recent work in the basin has emphasized macrovertebrate remains and documented many new sites of high scientific value. Recent stratigraphic studies have further refined our knowledge of the depositional systems and chronostratigraphic relationships. Provided is an overview of some of these recent advances, along with the necessary background to provide context .

The Kaiparowits Plateau comprises a 2-km-thick sequence of Upper Cretaceous rocks. The oldest Cretaceous unit in the sequence, the Dakota Formation, has Cenomanian palynomorphs in the middle nonmarine member and late Cenomanian molluscs in the overlying marine member. The Tropic Shale has been dated by marine molluscs as latest Cenomanian to middle Turonian. The Straight Cliffs Formation spans the middle Turonian through the Santonian and has been divided into four members. The Tibbet Canyon Member is of middle Turonian age, based on inoceramid bivalves, and the overlying terrestrial Smoky Hollow Member, though undated, is probably late Turonian in age. An unconformity of latest Turonian age separates the top of the Smoky Hollow Member from the overlying member. Molluscs in the marine facies of the John Henry Member indicate an early Coniacian through Santonian age. The overlying Drip Tank Member is undated. The Straight Cliffs Formation thickens northward across the Kaiparowits basin, indicating greater rates of subsidence in that direction. The overlying Wahweap Formation is considered to be of early Campanian age on the basis of its mammalian fauna. It is divided here into four informal members. The Kaiparowits Formation is middle to late Campanian in age, based on mammalian faunas and reevaluation of previously reported palynofloras. The Canaan Peak Formation has been dated as late Campanian based on palynomorphs, and if this date is valid, the folding and erosion of the underlying sequence occurred very rapidly near the end of the Campanian.