--> Abstract: CHARACTERIZING GLOBAL SEA LEVEL CHANGES IN THE UPPER ORDOVICIAN (KATIAN, RICHMONDIAN) OF LAURENTIA, BALTICA AND AVALONIA, by Christopher Aucoin; #90199 (2014)

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CHARACTERIZING GLOBAL SEA LEVEL CHANGES IN THE UPPER ORDOVICIAN (KATIAN, RICHMONDIAN) OF LAURENTIA, BALTICA AND AVALONIA

Christopher Aucoin
Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
[email protected]

Abstract

The Upper Ordovician, Mid-Richmondian Unconformity discovered along the Cincinnati Arch in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, has received little attention over the past century of stratigraphic and paleontological study. The unconformity is situated towards the middle of the Waynesville Formation (Katian; Richmondian) and eventually cuts away the remainder Waynesville and the Arnheim Formation below that. The Maquoketa Formation of Iowa and Wisconsin suggests the presence of a contemporaneous unconformity in that region and unpublished carbon isotope curves for Sweden likewise suggest a contemporaneous unconformity. If true, this would imply a global eustatic event in the middle Richmondian that previously went undetected, or at the very least, unstudied. This project will look at contemporaneous rocks in the Holy Cross Mountains of Poland, Sweden, Estonia, southern Ontario, and various regions of the United States, to establish whether or not this unconformity was in fact a global event. For each region detail stratigraphic correlations will be constructed used outcrops, core and published literature. Samples will be collected for microfacies analysis, isotopic and chemical analysis (carbon and otherwise), paleontological content, clay mineralogical study, and biostratigraphic analysis. Regional sequence stratigraphic models will be constructed for each region studied and compared and correlated with the Waynesville Formation of the Cincinnati tri-state region. This global correlation will be useful for understanding how the earth was changing during this interval, what changes led to the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, and better understanding of paleocommunities at this time. These correlations will be useful for both industry and academics alike.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90199 © 2014 AAPG Foundation 2014 Grants-in-Aid Projects