Yes, the palynology was used to date the sediments in the cores. There were huge channels that cut out the section in some areas and there ages were determined this way.
Always hoping you'd do a post on my corner of SW Scotland - and you just did! Sort of... Nithsdale is a post-Pangaea rift valley (rather than graben) and Permian (rather than Trias). Filled with softer New Red Sandstone rather than the Silurian greywacke either side and so re-excavated as a valley by the glaciers. And in 10 mins I can be walking on that rift valley basalt you mention along the Hudson.
Maybe your magnetic data shows up our Carron Basalt. I'm left wondering how far apart were Dunbarton (US) and Dumbarton (Scotland) before Atlantic opened.
Also see the map here: https://richardigibson.substack.com/p/c-is-for-cumbria - I think the gap between Ireland and Newfoundland would include the Rockall Bank and the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, but the gap maybe ought to be a little snugger than the map there.
I feel like most of environmental consulting is convincing engineers that the reality of the system they are modeling for design does not work simply like they would like it to. I say that with a hefty bit of sarcasm and friendly shoulder punching. Determining the complexities of aquifer systems (and agreeing on a site model) within the constraints of project budget and feasibility on one side and data needs on the other is the dance of working geologist.
I am curious as to how the palynology and detailed stratigraphy was used. was it to determine aquifer age or groundwater residence?
I think the palynology was used to date the sediments, and the stratigraphy, inferred from wells, was used to define the complex channel geometries, but I'll ask my friend Joan Spaw if she will chime in on that.
Everest Geotech was mostly made up of ex-Gulf Oil people after the Chevron merger. The Gulf office in Houston we worked for had maybe two or three palynologists, plus lots of biostratigraphers. Everest got a couple of them, along with me (gravity & magnetics), several seismic stratigraphers, several geochemists, and specialized sedimentation/petrography types.
Yes, the palynology was used to date the sediments in the cores. There were huge channels that cut out the section in some areas and there ages were determined this way.
Great, thanks Joan!
Always hoping you'd do a post on my corner of SW Scotland - and you just did! Sort of... Nithsdale is a post-Pangaea rift valley (rather than graben) and Permian (rather than Trias). Filled with softer New Red Sandstone rather than the Silurian greywacke either side and so re-excavated as a valley by the glaciers. And in 10 mins I can be walking on that rift valley basalt you mention along the Hudson.
That's great! The closest I've been in person is the Lake District, but there may be something .... :)
Maybe your magnetic data shows up our Carron Basalt. I'm left wondering how far apart were Dunbarton (US) and Dumbarton (Scotland) before Atlantic opened.
Also see the map here: https://richardigibson.substack.com/p/c-is-for-cumbria - I think the gap between Ireland and Newfoundland would include the Rockall Bank and the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, but the gap maybe ought to be a little snugger than the map there.
I think the US Carolinas were adjacent to Senegal and Mauritania in west Africa. Scotland and Ireland are usually reconstructed near the southern tip of Greenland or Labrador-Newfoundland, as in the map here: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Paleogeographic-reconstruction-of-Pangea-before-breakup-showing-Gondwana-megacontinent_fig2_347173726
I feel like most of environmental consulting is convincing engineers that the reality of the system they are modeling for design does not work simply like they would like it to. I say that with a hefty bit of sarcasm and friendly shoulder punching. Determining the complexities of aquifer systems (and agreeing on a site model) within the constraints of project budget and feasibility on one side and data needs on the other is the dance of working geologist.
I am curious as to how the palynology and detailed stratigraphy was used. was it to determine aquifer age or groundwater residence?
I think the palynology was used to date the sediments, and the stratigraphy, inferred from wells, was used to define the complex channel geometries, but I'll ask my friend Joan Spaw if she will chime in on that.
Thanks. interesting about the palynology - I have not seen that type of analysis used very often.
Everest Geotech was mostly made up of ex-Gulf Oil people after the Chevron merger. The Gulf office in Houston we worked for had maybe two or three palynologists, plus lots of biostratigraphers. Everest got a couple of them, along with me (gravity & magnetics), several seismic stratigraphers, several geochemists, and specialized sedimentation/petrography types.