Sequence Stratigraphic Interpretations from Benthic Foraminifera: Analyses of an Onshore Borehole site on the New Jersey Continental Shelf, ODP Leg 174AX
Abstract
Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 174AX drilled four boreholes in the New Jersey (NJ) and Delaware (DE) Coastal Plains. The Bass River Site was the fourth borehole drilled as part of the New Jersey Coastal Plain Drilling Project, which began with ODP Leg 150X. Drilling at Bass River targeted middle Miocene and older sequences, specifically the Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene sequences which had been previously poorly sampled. Bass River is an ideal setting to study sequence stratigraphy as it is located in the paleo-inner continental shelf of the stable New Jersey passive margin, and, as a result is sensitive to changes in sea level. We examined samples from Bass River for benthic foraminiferal assemblages and planktonic foraminiferal abundances from the early to middle Eocene to reconstruct water-depth changes in six lower to middle Eocene sequences on the New Jersey continental shelf. Distinct benthic foraminiferal biofacies are identified across the targeted sampling area with paleodepth estimates for each biofacies. Middle to outer neritic water depths are estimated for much of the early to middle Eocene, with maximum water depths occurring in the early Eocene. We integrate these results with seismic stratigraphy and lithofacies to create a sequence stratigraphic picture of the paleobathymetry of the early to middle Eocene on the NJ continental margin. We compare the relationship among these sequences to the lithostratographic units and sequence boundaries of previously drilled boreholes of the New Jersey Coastal Plain Drilling Project (Island Beach, Atlantic City, Allaire, and ACGS#4).
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFMPP53B1994F
- Keywords:
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- 4944 PALEOCEANOGRAPHY Micropaleontology