Chronostratigraphy of the Trenton Group and Utica Shale, Pt. I: Preliminary revision of lithofacies and age relationships

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:5807055

Mitchell, C E; Goldman, D ^[1]; Bergstroem, S M ^[2]; Delano, J W ^[3]; Samson, S D ^[4]

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1. State Univ. of New York, Buffalo, NY (United States). Dept. of Geology
2. Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States). Dept. of Geological Sciences
3. State Univ. of New York, Albany, NY (United States). Dept. of Geological Sciences
4. Syracuse Univ., NY (United States). Dept. of Geology

Late Middle and early Upper Ordovician rocks in the Mohawk Valley, NY, provide an excellent opportunity to study the history of an actively subsiding foreland basin. The Trenton Group and Utica Shale (Us) contain an extensive set of altered volcanic ash beds (K-bentonites) as well as a refined graptolite and conodont biostratigraphy. The authors have constructed a revised chronostratigraphic model. Preliminary studies demonstrate that the alternative correlations can be effectively tested by geochemical fingerprinting of the K-bentonites. These studies support the model proposed here. The correlations between the platform (Kings Falls, Sugar River, and Denley Limestones) and basinal (Us) lithofacies differ from earlier versions in several important respects: (1) the base of the Us is considerably older relative to the carbonates than formerly believed. The C. Americanus Zone is coeval with the Kings Falls Ls. and Sugar River Ls., rather than the lower Denley Ls. The O. Ruedemanni Zone encompasses the upper Sugar River Ls. and lower Denley Ls. It also spans the A. Tvaerensis-A. superbus conodont zonal boundary; (2) the Dolgeville Fm. has a very limited duration that falls largely within the O. ruedemanni interval and is not a persistent facies at the platform margin; (3) these relationships indicate that the Us overstepped the Trenton carbonate platform in three distinct phases (during early Kirkfieldian, late Shermanian, and late Edenian to early Maysvillian time) and that the facies patterns shifted very little in the intervals between these episodes. This pulsed, west-ward spreading of synorogenic clastics raises important questions about the role of tectonic and eustatic controls on the basin's history as well as about the specific mechanism that caused the Trenton platform to subside.

• OSTI ID: 5807055
• Report Number(s): CONF-921058--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States) Journal Volume: 24:7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580000* -- Geosciences
AGE ESTIMATION
BENTONITE
CARBONATE ROCKS
CLAYS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC MODELS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
GROUND SUBSIDENCE
IGNEOUS ROCKS
INORGANIC ION EXCHANGERS
ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS
LITHOLOGY
MATERIALS
NEW YORK
NORTH AMERICA
PALEONTOLOGY
PETROLOGY
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
STRATIGRAPHY
USA
VOLCANIC ROCKS