The Great American Carbonate Bank

Hardcover plus DVD

The Upper Ordovician (450-460 Ma) Chazy, Black River and Trenton groups of eastern North America record the tectonic activation of a passive carbonate platform. Associated with tectonic collision and development of a peripheral-type foreland basin, the tectonic history is complicated by the occurrence of two basin-forming episodes. Although considered analogous by previous authors, a growing list of observations indicate that the stratigraphic record from both foreland basins and their coeval Great American Carbonate Bank (GACB) contain somewhat different, non-analogous, signatures. A number of key issues arise when comparing both tectonic episodes. These include: 1) non-analogous spatial-temporal scales whereby the northern (Vermontian) tectophase is much larger and of longer duration compared to the southern (Blountian) tectophase; 2) sedimentary provenance analyses show a more mafic contribution in the northern basin fill compared to that of the southern basin; 3) the position of K-bentonite swarms relative to basin filling phases is non-analogous; and 4) the location and timing of Ordovician volcanism/plutonism shows a pronounced change after the first tectophase. Thus, important research questions for this study include: A) How does the architecture of the foreland basin complex and adjacent GACB change spatially and temporally during each distinct tectophase?; B) Can provenance differences between tectophases be explained relative to tectonic events in the orogen?; C) What is the timing and significance of K-bentonite position and timing of plutonism/volcanism relative to foreland basin fill episodes?; 4) What inferences are gained from theoretical modeling of load geometries and foreland basin evolution when considered with empirical data from the Taconic Orogeny; and 5) Is a new model for the Taconic Orogeny needed to explain the growing list of incongruities? In order to investigate these questions, a refined, high-resolution, sequence stratigraphic framework has been constructed and utilized to re-calibrate Upper Ordovician strata during the last stand of the GACB. The refined framework was constructed using the occurrence of sequence boundaries, erosional surfaces, transgressive, highstand, and regressive systems tracts, hardgrounds and flooding surfaces, laterally extensive and unique lithofacies, highly repetitive sub-meter scale cyclic intervals, updated macrofaunal and microfaunal biostratigraphies, as well as known chemostratigraphic and event stratigraphic data (Nd, C, & Sr isotopic excursions, K-bentonite horizons, seismite horizons, etc.). Also defined for the first time are a number of time-restricted facies including widespread siliciclastic events, chert-rich intervals, and pronounced calcification events. As such, an improved temporal and spatial chronology of thirteen time-slices (~ 1 million year duration) has been produced for the Ashbyan, Mohawkian, to earliest Cincinnatian interval. This integrated stratigraphic model is used to link the sedimentary record of the foreland basin complex to climatic changes, sea-level oscillation, and specific tectonic events in the orogen. These data provide an understanding of the evolution of the foreland basin and its sub-components including the backbulge, forebulge, and foredeep basins. Moreover, coupled with newly calibrated strontium isotopic curves, this study has allowed for the development of a new model for the Taconic Orogeny that helps to explain differences in the timing and spatial relationships between the southern and northern tectophases.

The Sedimentary Basins of the United States and Canada, Second Edition, focuses on the large, regional, sedimentary accumulations in Canada and the United States. Each chapter provides a succinct summary of the tectonic setting and structural and paleogeographic evolution of the basin it covers, with details on structure and stratigraphy. The book features four new chapters that cover the sedimentary basins of Alaska and the Canadian Arctic. In addition to sedimentary geologists, this updated reference is relevant for basin analysis, regional geology, stratigraphy, and for those working in the hydrocarbon exploration industry. Features updates to existing chapters, along with new chapters on sedimentary basins in Alaska and Arctic Canada Includes nearly 300 detailed, full-color paleogeographic maps Written for general geological audiences and individuals working in the resources sector, particularly those in the fossil fuel industry

The Ordovician was one of the longest of the geological periods, characterized by major magmatic and tectonic activity, an immense biodiversification, swings in climate and sea levels, and the first Phanerozoic mass extinction. ‘A Global Synthesis of the Ordovician System’ is presented in two volumes in The Geological Society, Special Publications. Whereas the first volume (SP532) concentrates on general aspects and a synthesis of the Ordovician geology of Europe, this volume (SP533) includes reviews of Ordovician successions of most other parts of the world. The classic successions of the Ordovician basins of North America are presented, as well as those of China where several of the Ordovician Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points are defined. The volume also includes syntheses of the Ordovician geology of Africa, South America, most regions of Asia from the Near to the Far East along with Central Asia, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica.

"Emanating from the Fall Line city of Baltimore, site of the 2015 GSA Annual Meeting, these trips reflect the diversity of geological features in the mid-Atlantic region including the Piedmont, Appalachian Mountains, and Coastal Plain, and the importance of geology on the development and construction of the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., metropolitan area"--

A much-needed exploration of Great Lakes geology

Written by a career geologist with decades of experience in the field, North America’s Natural Wonders guides readers through the most iconic, geologically significant scenery in North America, points out features of interest, explains what they are seeing, and describes how these features came to be. Presented as classic excursions to some of the best-known natural wonders on the continent, Volume II focuses primarily on Central and Eastern North America, including the Appalachians, the Colorado Rockies, Austin-Big Bend Country, and the Sierra Madre. The trips detailed in this volume include stops at quintessential features, such as the Shenandoah Valley, Carlsbad Caverns, Big Bend National Park, and La Popa Basin of Nuevo León and Coahuila, Mexico, as well as many others. It also features discussions of lesser-known but equally interesting geologic formations and important information on accessing these sites. Features Clearly explains the geology of these regions with an emphasis on landscape formation Addresses issues of interest, such as fossils, earthquakes, mineral sites, mining, and oil fields Lavishly illustrated with numerous colorful maps and breathtaking geological landscapes and their various features These six self-guided tours explain to the curious layman, student, and geologist what they are seeing when they look at a roadcut or a quarry and enhances the experience far beyond simple sightseeing.

This book highlights some of the most difficult and persistent exploration ever undertaken in the United States – in Burnsville Cove, a small limestone valley in west-central Virginia – while at the same time reviewing the scientific discoveries made in the area’s 116 km of caves in the course of 50 years. Overall, the book offers a unique combination of exploration and science by a conservation organization specifically dedicated to the preservation and study of the caves.

This monograph describes early Ordovician (Ibexian: Tremadocian–early Floian) trilobites from Northern Spitsbergen from the section through the Kirtonryggen Formation adjacent to Hinlopen Strait. The Formation is divided into three Members, each with distinct trilobites collectively representing the fullest known succession from the Bathyurid biofacies of the eastern Laurentian carbonate platform. Previous research on the Ordovician of Spitsbergen is summarised and correlations with similar faunas previously described from Canada, Greenland, western Newfoundland, Vermont–New York State, Oklahoma and Missouri are discussed. Taxonomic problems are discussed in detail leading to the recognition of 53 species, of which 15 are new, belonging to 31 genera including four new. Twenty-four taxa are described under open or tentative nomenclature. The lower Member yields the earliest known occurrences of the Illaenoidea, Proetoidea and Scutelluoidea, supporting the hypotheses relating the origin of new major clades to inshore habitats.