PRELIMINARY MISSISSIPPIAN RADIOLARIA STUDIES FROM THE FORT PAYNE CHERT OF ALABAMA'S MISSISSIPIAN AND COMPARISON WITH THE ARBUCKLE MOUNTAINS OF OKLAHOMA VIA RADIOLARIA AND CONODONTS

The Forth Payne Chert of Alabama represents a depth close to the calcium compensation depth (CCD), and a generally lack of terrigenous sediment influx for the Mississippian ocean. Deposition of the overlying clean Tuscambia Limestone supports the idea of existing a relatively deep depositional environment far from any tectonic activity at early to middle Mississippian for most part of northern Alabama. Paleo-ecologicly, one can expect radiolaria in the sediments from the above mentioned depositional environment.

A preliminary investigation of the Forth Payne Chert strata along highway 59 , northeast of Gadsden, Etowah County, Alabama confirms that radiolaria of the Albaillellaria Group are present in Mississippian rocks of Alabama. Since the Mississippian Conodont biostratigraphy of Alabama has been documented (Ruppel 1971, Hassler 1993), it can be utilized to the study and calibrate radiolarian biostratigraphy of Alabama with other Mississippian radiolarian-/conodont- bearing strata of southern United States, i.e. Arbuckle Mountains and Criner Hills of Oklahoma (Scwartzapfel, and Holdswort, 1996).