Upper Cambrian and Lower Ordovician carbonate rocks of southern Missouri host the major Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) mineral deposits of the region. Additionally, they are the principal fresh water aquifers for the area. This study will investigate: 1) petrology (including porosity and permeability) and 2) geochemistry of these units. This information will be used to interpret the diagenetic history of the region, particularly with regard to regional basin fluid migration that resulted in MVT ore deposits. The study will also evaluate the volume of late diagenetic cements, related to regional mineralization, and estimate porosities and permeabilities prior to the onset of regional mineralization and at various stages during mineralization in southern Missouri. This information will be valuable for modeling basinal fluid flow on the midcontinent during late Paleozoic mineralization, gaining a better understanding of the present day aquifers, and will serve as a useful case study for the understanding of late diagenetic alteration of platform carbonates by basinal fluids.
