2008 New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference October 10-12, 2008 Westfield State College, Westfield,

Preliminary list of trip descriptions updated 07/27/2008

Note: this list is incomplete and will be updated as more information becomes available. Conference registration materials will be available shortly.

Friday, October 10

A1 Marble Karst of the Stockbridge Formation, Berkshire Region, Western Massachusetts. Trip leader Ernst H. Kastning, New Hampshire Geological Survey [email protected]

Berkshire County, the far-western county of Massachusetts that extends from the Connecticut state line to the south to the Vermont state line to the north, contains nearly all of the major karst features in the Commonwealth. The county is nearly coincidental with the Berkshire Mountains that also have a physiographic extension into neighboring states. The karst of western New England is largely confined to the metamorphic Stockbridge Formation and its stratigraphic equivalents in Connecticut and Vermont. In places, the formation also extends into estern New York. The Stockbridge (Lower Cambrian to Lower Ordovician) consists of at least seven mapped members that are calcareous in whole or part. Collectively this formation is regarded as a marble that is largely calcitic in the upper part and dolomitic in the lower part. Some units contain interbedded quartzitic lamina and nodules.

This fieldtrip is dedicated to the late Alan R. (“Sundance”) Plante who passed away last year. Most of the trip will visit localities of karst and caves in the that Alan studied and mapped in considerable detail from the late 1960’s until his death. The trip includes some of the most noteworthy localities of karst in western Massachusetts. A highlight will be the lunch stop at Natural Bridge State Park in North Adams, with an opportunity to explore the Hudson Brook Chasm, including the historic Natural Bridge and abandoned Hoosac Quarry.

Starting location: Commuter Parking Lot, Westfield State College. Starting time: 8:00 a.m. Bring sturdy boots, flashlight, camera (to poke into some caves), rain gear, bag lunch, and drinks. Rock hammers and collecting paraphernalia are welcome, but must not be used in caves or state parks.

A2 Deep Crustal Partitioned Transpression and Ductile Extrusion of the Monson Orthogneiss, Bronson Hill-Central Maine Boundary Zone, South-Central Massachusetts. Trip leaders Matt Massey and David Moecher, University of Kentucky [email protected], [email protected]

Middle to Late Paleozoic collision between Laurentia and Avalonia/Meguma is well documented in the northern Appalachians, and is invoked as the cause of the Acadian and Alleghanian orogenies in eastern New England and the Canadian Maritimes. Following initial sinistral oblique convergence between in the Late Silurian, dextral transcurrent tectonics dominated from the Devonian through the Carboniferous from southern Newfoundland through Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Maine. Dextral transpression is not confined to coastal terranes, but is documented in central and northern New Brunswick, central Maine, and as far northwest as the Gaspé peninsula. The extent to which Middle to Late Paleozoic dextral transcurrent motion was effective along strike of the orogen into southern New England (Massachusetts and Connecticut), remains to be fully assessed. This field trip will examine evidence for Late Paleozoic dextral transpression at mid-crustal levels in the southern Bronson Hill-Central Maine boundary zone in central Massachusetts. The largely dextral regime resulted in lateral and vertical extrusion of orthogneiss, which resulted in local occurrences of coeval sinistral and dextral displacement. Evidence supporting the transpressional/extrusion model was documented during 1:25000 to 1:1200 scale geologic mapping of the Palmer 7.5 minute quadrangle, south-central Massachusetts, with additional observations in adjoining quadrangles. The field trip will focus on structural and petrological evidence at various scales for sinistral ductile displacement within the Mount Dumplin high strain zone (MDHSZ), the western margin of the Monson orthogneiss. The MDHSZ is the focus of high non-coaxial strain resulting from northward displacement of the Monson orthogneiss relative to the Belchertown intrusion and Glastonbury orthogneiss. The trip will also examine the style of internal deformation of the Monson orthogneiss, an S to L-S tectonite, and revisit the dextral Conant Brook shear zone, the eastern margin of the Monson, which accommodated dextral displacement between the BHZ and CMZ.

Starting location: Big Y/Ocean State Big Lots shopping center, Hwy. 32 in Palmer, MA (exit 8 of Mass Turnpike) Starting time: 8:00 a.m. Lunch will be available at delis in Ware, MA.

Note: This trip will include four traverses of approx. 1 km length in wooded areas in moderately steep and vegetated terrain, and a short hike along an abandoned railroad grade that is now heavily overgrown, rocky, and damp. Sturdy, waterproof footwear is recommended. All other stops are easily accessible roadcuts.

A3 Paleoecology and Paleontology of the Jura-Trias in the northern Hartford basin, CT and MA, Part I. Trip leaders Paul Olsen [email protected] and Nick Macdonald, Columbia University.

This two-day field trip (see also trip B3) will explore the paleoecology and paleontology of the Triassic-Jurassic Hartford rift basin of Massachusetts and northern Connecticut. Rich assemblages of plants, crustaceans, insects, fishes, and tetrapods, especially dinosaurs will be examined in their field context in light of recent advances in our understanding of the geological time scale, mass extinctions, climate change, and giant volcanic eruptions. In addition to the field sites, we will visit the Pratt Museum, the premier repository for classical Triassic-Jurassic fossils.

Starting location: Commuter Parking Lot, Westfield State College. Starting time: 8:30 a.m. Bring a bag lunch.

A4 Field Evidence for Flow of Basaltic Magma through Fractures and Porous Media. Trip leaders Anthony R. Philpotts and Doreen E. Philpotts, Yale University [email protected]

Basaltic magma is formed in the upper mantle and has to flow to reach Earth’s surface. Igneous rocks formed in the crust retain little evidence of magmatic flow, and consequently, considerable debate has arisen over the ascent of basaltic magma. For example, does basaltic magma in large regional dikes rise vertically, or does it spread laterally from a central feeder? This trip will examine field evidence for the flow of basaltic magma, first, in a 50-m-wide diabase dike that fed the first of the flood-basalt flows in the Hartford basin, second, in a 1.5-m-wide vesicular camptonite dike, and thirdly, through crystal mush in the thick Holyoke flood-basalt flow. The first two stops show that an initial period of upward flow of magma in the dikes was followed by a long period of downward flow before solidification occurred. If this is true of many other dikes, flow directions determined by such techniques as the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) may be recording only the final stages of flow. The AMS results from the camptonite dike show that the flow direction is at right angles to what has been commonly assumed in previous AMS studies. At the third stop, the flow of magma through a thick pile of crystal mush is of particular interest because it demonstrates how basaltic magma can differentiate to produce andesite and rhyolite. Flow through a porous medium, of course, is important in the source region of basaltic magmas, where partial melt along grain boundaries must rise slowly through a porous crystal mush and eventually segregate into larger channels of liquid that can rise more rapidly. These same processes were operating in the thick Holyoke flood-basalt flow as it solidified on the surface. The redistribution of residual liquid through porous flow and eventual formation of segregation sheets of liquid that cut the crystal mush provide an analogous situation to what must be taking place in the source region of basaltic magmas in the upper mantle.

Warning: Although stops 1 and 3 are beside the road, the second stop involves a 30-45 minute strenuous hike, after which you are rewarded by a spectacular view of the southern part of the Hartford Basin (this will be our lunch stop, so bring food and drink). The best exposures of the camptonite dike are then found at the bottom of a very steep talus slope (not everyone may want to make this descent).

Starting location: Exit 9, on Route 9, 8.2 miles south of Middletown, CT. Starting time: 9:00 a.m. Bring a bag lunch.

Saturday, October 11

B1 Classic Helderberg and Onondaga Sections in Eastern New York: Birthplace of American Geology and Early Karst Studies. Trip leader Ernst H. Kastning, New Hampshire Geological Survey [email protected]

The Helderberg Mountains and valleys of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers in east-central New York state are considered by many to be the birthplace of modern geology in North America during the middle of the nineteenth century. Early participants of the New York Geological Survey and founders of several state geological surveys studied under Amos Eaton and Ebenezer Emmons within the natural science programs of the Rensselaer School (now Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) in Troy, New York. Extensive paleontologic and stratigraphic studies of the Helderberg and Onondaga groups (Silurian and Devonian) in Albany and Schoharie counties were among the first in the United States. The Helderberg and Onondaga sections extend well beyond this area, into western New York and south through the greater Appalachian region.

This same area was one of the first regions in North America in which speleological studies began. Most of the units within the Helderberg and Onondaga groups are calcareous, consisting of dense limestone and dolostone. Karst is well developed, despite modification of the surface during Pleistocene glaciation. The longest and largest caves in the northeastern U.S. are located in Albany and Schoharie counties.

This trip will visit several cave and karst localities of the eastern Helderberg Plateau. There will be an extended lunch-time stop at the scenic John Boyd Thatcher State Park. This will provide an examination of the classic Helderberg type section along the Indian Ladder Path that follows the escarpment and high cliffs, including a commemorative memorial to the founders of North American geology. The views of the Hudson- Mohawk valleys from the park are excellent.

Starting location: Commuter Parking Lot, Westfield State College. Starting time: 8:00 a.m. Bring sturdy boots, flashlight, camera (to poke into some caves), rain gear, bag lunch, and drinks. Rock hammers and collecting paraphernalia are welcome, but must not be used in caves or state parks.

B2 Timing and Style of Emplacement of the Berkshire Massif. Trip leaders Paul Karabinos, David Morris and Ryan Gordon, Williams College [email protected]

This trip will be an east to west transect through the Berkshire massif. Mesoproterozoic basement gneisses and Neoproterozoic to Cambrian clastics rocks were thrust over Cambrian to Ordovician rocks of the shelf sequences during the Paleozoic. The Berkshire massif was interpreted as being shortened by numerous thrusts during with the Taconic orogeny. We will examine outcrops that provide evidence for thrusting of the Berkshire massif onto the shelf sequence as a rigid block after the Taconic orogeny.

Starting location: Becket, Massachusetts, at the eastern intersection of Rt. 8 and Rt. 20. Starting time: 8:30 a.m.

Note: All stops will require hiking. Participants should bring water and a lunch.

B3 Paleoecology and Paleontology of the Jura-Trias in the northern Hartford basin, CT and MA, Part II. Trip leaders Paul Olsen [email protected] and Nick Macdonald, Columbia University.

This two-day field trip (see trip A3) will explore the paleoecology and paleontology of the Triassic-Jurassic Hartford rift basin of Massachusetts and northern Connecticut. Rich assemblages of plants, crustaceans, insects, fishes, and tetrapods, especially dinosaurs will be examined in their field context in light of recent advances in our understanding of the geological time scale, mass extinctions, climate change, and giant volcanic eruptions. In addition to the field sites, we will visit the Pratt Museum, the premier repository for classical Triassic-Jurassic fossils.

Starting location: Commuter Parking Lot, Westfield State College. Starting time: 8:30 a.m. Bring a bag lunch.

B4 Late Ordovician to Early Silurian thrust faults in the Berkshire massif allochthon: Evaluation of 40Ar/39Ar hornblende ages and evolution of syntectonic granites in thrust zones. Trip Leaders Nicholas M. Ratcliffe, U.S. Geological Survey [email protected] and Willis E. Hames, Auburn University

This trip will visit key localities used to document Taconian thrust faults and mylonite fabrics of Sutter and others (1985) and which also illustrate the progressive development of syntectonic granites within the shear zones. A traverse will be made from staurolite to sillimanite grade examining the development of reconstituted hornblende in mylonites and interpretation of old (1985) and more recent 40Ar/39Ar data pertinent to dating the Taconic orogeny and thrusting of the basement rocks. We think that the 434 Ma U-Pb zircon SHRIMP age from the upgrade Algerie road type granites( Karabinos and others, 2003) in conjunction with the 40Ar/39Ar ages of hornblende of ca. 448 Ma approximate younger limits of Taconian compressional activity, thrust faulting and granite emplacement along the thrust faults.

The trip will be in the East Lee, Becket, Monterey and Otis quadrangles.

Starting location: Berkshire Bank parking lot (1 Park St) on Rt 20 1 mile north of Exit 2 of the Mass turnpike at Lee MA. The trip will also end at this entrance to the Turnpike. From Westfield use the Mass Turnpike. Allow 45 minutes. Starting time: 8:30 a.m. Please bring lunch food. Markets available at assembly point.

B5 A Geology Cross Section Tour of the Connecticut Valley. Richard Little (Greenfield Community College (retired), [email protected]); Tarin Weiss (Westfield State College, [email protected]), and Mike Young (Westfield State College, [email protected])

Starting in the Paleozoic metamorphic rocks of the Berkshires, just west of Westfield State College, we will travel eastward, crossing the classic tilted layers of the Connecticut Valley’s early Mesozoic sedimentary rocks as well as the spectacular spine of basalt that runs through the center of the Valley. We will walk in the footsteps of dinosaurs at the famous Holyoke outcrop on the shore of the , and visit the new Amherst College Natural History Museum which houses the best collection of dinosaur footprints in the world. On our return to Westfield, we will visit some classic glacial and post-glacial landforms, especially relating to glacial Lake Hitchcock.

Starting location: Commuter Parking Lot, Westfield State College. Starting time: 9:00 a.m. Bring a bag lunch.

This trip is run in conjunction with the National Association of Geology Teachers, (NAGT) New England Section.

Sunday, October 12

C1 The Terraces of the Westfield River, Mass: William Morris Davis revisited. Trip leader Byron Stone, US Geological Survey [email protected]

This trip will be a modern interpretation of the Davis’ original 1901 NEIGC field trip to the Westfield River. Detailed trip summary and starting information not yet available.

C2 Strain in the Day Mountain Thrust Sheet, Berkshire Massif. Trip leaders Paul Karabinos and Elizabeth Pierce, Williams College [email protected]

The Day Mountain thrust sheet carried Mesoproterozoic gneisses, the Neoproterozoic Dalton Formation, and the Cambrian Cheshire Quartzite over Cambrian and Ordovician marble of the Stockbridge Formation. A quartz pebble conglomerate unit in the Dalton Formation provides spectacular evidence for strain gradients in the thrust sheet. We will examine the great unconformity within the thrust sheet, strain variations in the conglomeratic unit, and evidence for strain partitioning in the Dalton Formation.

Starting location: Dalton, Massachusetts, at the intersection of Grange Hall Road and the Appalachian Trail. Grange Hall Road and Robinson Road are the back road shortcut from Hinsdale to Pittsfield. They run south of Routes 8 and 9 through Dalton. Robinson Road begins in Hinsdale west of the intersection of Routes 8 and 143. Drive past the height of land to the sign showing the intersection of the Appalachian Trail. The intersection is south of Day Mountain and north of Tully Mountain. The coordinates of the starting point are 42 degree 27.41 minutes and 73 degrees 09.74 minutes. Starting time: 8:30 a.m.

Note: Limited to 20 participants. This trip will be an all-day hike, much of it off-trail. Bring water and food.

C3 Traprock Ridgelands: The environmental geography of threatened landscapes of the Connecticut Valley. Trip leader Peter Letourneau, Columbia University [email protected]

Tracing a serpentine trend from New Haven, Connecticut to Amherst, Massachusetts, the traprock ridges of the Connecticut Valley comprise important scenic viewsheds, significant wildlife corridors, and irreplaceable watersheds. Upheld by ~195 million year old volcanic rocks, the range forms the most magnificent topography in southern New England. Reminiscent of British crags, with sheer cliffs, sprawling talus slopes, and elevations rising more than 1,000 feet above sea level, the ridges offer stunning vertical relief in a compact area. Once viewed as wilderness areas replete with outlaws and dangerous creatures, the ridgelands became highly valued in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for their recreational opportunities and restorative powers, including scenic lookouts, hotels, and trolleys that enticed visitors with faux Alpine-style vacation experiences. Once protected from development by thin, rocky, soils, poor drainage, and steep topography, the ecological, recreational, and scenic aspects of the trap ridge system has been fragmented and diminished by highways, quarries, housing, and utilities. Concerned that these unique landscapes warrant special protection, an increasing number of municipalities have enacted laws protecting the ridgelands. The National Park Service and Congress are working to establish the ridgelands part of the Metacomet-Mattabesett- Monadnock segment of the National Trail System.

This trip will explore the geology and natural history, hydrology, mining, environmental land use planning, legends, and history of recreational use. Field stops will include road- serviced access to scenic lookouts and short hikes over moderate terrain. At selected stops, park staff, municipal personnel, quarry representatives, and environmental NGO’s will provide interpretive presentations. Participants should bring their own food and beverages and are encouraged to bring binoculars and cameras. We expect fabulous views of the fall hawk migration and foliage, both of which are at, or near, their peak at the time of the NEIGC conference.

Starting location: The trip will start at 9:00 am at the summit parking area of Skinner State Park/Mt. Holyoke (http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/skinner/) in Massachusetts, and end in the Meriden area of central Connecticut, near I-91. Starting time: 9:00 a.m. Bring a bag lunch.

From east or west: Mass Pike (Rte. I-90) to exit 5, Rte. 33 north to Rte. 116 north to Rte. 47 north (approximately four miles). Park entrance is on right at Mountain Road. From north: Take I-91 south to exit 19, then Rte. 9 east to Rte. 47 south. Park entrance is on the left at Mountain Road. From south: Take I-91 north to exit 16, then Rte. 202 east to Rte. 116 north, then turn left on Rte. 47 north. Park entrance is on right at Mountain Road.

Transportation is by car pool and departmental vans. Participants are strongly encouraged to reduce the number of vehicles for environmental reasons and the practicalities of parking and caravan travel (not to mention $4.50/gal. gas).

C4 Pre-Ottawan (1100 Ma) rocks and tectonic infrastructure of the Hudson Highlands and Manhattan prong. Trip leaders Nicholas M.Ratcliffe and John N. Aleinikoff, US Geological Survey [email protected]

This trip will provide new evidence from U-Pb SHRIMP geochronology and field mapping which shows that a significant and previously unrecognized part of the Fordham gneiss and of the adjacent Hudson Highlands consists of rocks that formed between 1350 and 1200 Ma. They are Pre-Grenville and thus similar to the older gneisses (1400 - 1230 Ma) of the Green Mountain massif in Vt. Rocks of this age are only sparingly recognized elsewhere in the Grenville orogen of the Appalachians. A bimodal suite of syntectonic ca.1145 Ma intrusive rocks accompanied deep seated right-lateral shear zones and injection of dioritic dikes into the Pre-Ottawan basement gneisses. Stops at the dated localities will be in the Poughquagh, Oscawana Lake, Lake Carmel, Brewster, Peach Lake and Peekskill quadrangles. New U-Pb SHRIMP zircon ages of 446 and 447 Ma from the Peach Lake and Cortlandt plutons are consistent with late Ordovician to early Silurian tectonism of the Taconian orogeny in this area.

Starting location: Exit 17 from Rt I-84 at underpass Luddingtonville Road west of Brewster NY. Starting time: 9:00 a.m. Please BRING LUNCHES

From Westfield allow 1.5 hours driving time to starting location. I-91 south to I-84 west in Hartford is a good route on a Sunday morning. Trip will end just north of Peekskill, NY.

On the Monday following I will be willing to continue leading an informal trip for those researchers interested in greater detail or wishing to share similar data, and may be able to provide inexpensive rustic housing for as many as 10—contact NMR [email protected] if interested.