Eccentricity and precession forced cyclicity in the Upper Silurian Williamsport Sandstone Member of the Wills Creek Formation

Conference · Mon Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1993 · Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:5805740

Shelton, S D; Anderson, E J ^[1]

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1. Temple Univ., Philadelphia, PA (United States). Dept. of Geology

The Williamsport Sandstone Member, located at the base of the Wills Creek Formation, contains a complete 5th order sequence, traceable for more than 100 kilometers. This 5th order sequence is initiated with a massive iron-rich sandstone unit. The upper iron-rich sand of the Williamsport Member marks the beginning of the next 5th order sequence. The first 5th order rock cycle, interpreted as the product of the 100 k.y. Milankovitch eccentricity cycle, is divisible into five meter-scale 6th order precessional cycles (PACs). At Cedar Cliff, Maryland, the lithology of each of the five 6th order cycles is distinct. The first cycle (.8m thick) is a massive iron-rich sandstone. The second cycle (.75m thick) is an argillaceous nodular micrite. The third cycle (.75m thick) consists totally of thin-bedded quartz sandstone. The fourth cycle (2m thick) is represented by bedded limestones that thicken upward. The fifth cycle (.6m thick) is very thin-bedded to nodular limestone. This 5th order sequence and most of its internal cyclic elements can be traced over 100 kilometers to Mount Union, Pennsylvania where its facies are largely non-marine. Detailed correlation of these 6th order cycles reveals that the uppermost PAC is missing at Cumberland and Mount Union. At these localities, the prominent iron bed of the next 5th order sequence rests unconformably on the fourth PAC in the sequence. The fifth 6th order cycle was either not deposited or removed by erosion at these proximal localities. The laterally traceable hierarchic cyclic structure in the Williamsport Sandstone is consistent with the Milankovitch forcing model and provides a detailed stratigraphic basis for analysis of lateral patterns of cyclic accumulation in the late Silurian of the central Appalachians.

• OSTI ID: 5805740
• Report Number(s): CONF-9303211--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States) Journal Volume: 25:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580000* -- Geosciences
DEPOSITION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GEOLOGY
LITHOLOGY
NORTH AMERICA
PALEOZOIC ERA
PENNSYLVANIA
PETROLOGY
ROCKS
SANDSTONES
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SILURIAN PERIOD
STRATIFICATION
STRATIGRAPHY
USA