INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI University Microfilms International A Beil & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Order Number 9211255 Paleoecology and paleoenvironmental analysis of the Upper Greenbrier Group (Upper Mississippian): West Virginia and western Maryland WulfF, Julie Iris, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1991 UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Aibor, MI 48106 PALEOECOLOGY AND PALEOENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OF THE UPPER GREENBRIER GROUP (UPPER MISSISSIPPIAN): WEST VIRGINIA AND WESTERN MARYLAND DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy In the Graduate School of The Ohio State University by Julie Iris Wulff, B.S., M.S. The Ohio State University 1991 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Loren E. Babcock James W. Coilinson William I. Ausich, Adviser Terry J. Wilson Department of Geological Sciences Copyright by Julie Iris Wulff 1991 To Danielle Rose ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS No dissertation can be completed without the help of numerous people. I thank my advisor and friend, Dr. William I. Ausich, for his endless supply of advice, encouragement, ideas, good humor and, at times, financial support; Steven Riddle, my office mate and friend, for countless hours of discussion (not always dissertation reiatedi), study help and moral support; my fellow classmates, ail too many to mention, and the staff of the Department of Geological Sciences, in particular, Helen Hayes, Sue Shipley and Mary Hill. This study was field intensive and could not have been carried out without the help of field assistants Brenda Lord Lasorsa, Barbara Schwimmer, Bill Ausich, Kelly Beattiey Grant, Mike Grant, Rob Corzatt, Ralph Bentley, Matt Karrer, Doug Ricketts, Bob Janosy and Elizabeth Ausich. Dr. James Krug, of Aiderson, West Virginia, generously lent us the use of his turn of the century Victorian home while we were working in the area. The following people allowed us access to their quarries: Mr. Mike Hale and Mr. Steve Hinebaugh - Browning’s Deep Creek Quarry; Mr. Paul Schockey, Maryland Department of Transportation - Sang Run Quarry; Mr. C. K. Meadows - Kenton-Meadows Quarry; Mr. Patrick Adamson - Kermit Butcher Quarry; Mr. William Ryder - R. & R. Quarry; Ms. Diana Slater and Mr. Larry Simmons, Seneca Quarries - Slaty Fork Quarry; Acme Limestone Quarry and Mr. and Mrs. John E. Lane of Buckeye, WV. Financial support was provided by the Appalachian Basin industrial Associates Fund and Friends of Orton Hail, both administered through the Department of Geological Sciences, Shell Oil Company, Arco Oil Company, and a Graduate Student Alumni Research Award. Photographic assistance was provided by Beth Ann Daye and Bill Ausich. Drafting assistance was provided by Karen Tyler. I thank my parents, Jerry and Helene Wulff, for their continued support and understanding throughout yet another degree. Finally, I thank my husband and best friend, Eric Greenfield, who has only known me as a student. I am done, its finished, thanks for putting up with me through thick and thin. Lets get on with the rest of our iivesi III VITA March 31, 1959. ....................... Born - Chicago, Illinois 1982 B.S.,University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois - Secondary Education, Physical Sciences 1986 ................................ M.S., University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois - Geological Sciences PUBLICATIONS Wulff, J. I. 1986. Ordination of paleocommunities in the Lodgepole Limestone of Central Montana. (Abstr.). IN The Geological Society of America, North-central section, 20th annual meeting. Abstracts with Programs, 18(4):331. Riddle, S. W., J. I. Wulff & W. I. Ausich. 1987. Biomechanics of flexibility in the Gilbertsocrinus column. Sixth International Echinoderm Conference. Abstr., 101. Riddle, S. W., J. I. Wulff & W. I. Ausich. 1988. Biomechanics and stereomic microstructure of the Gilbertsocrinus tuberosus column. IN Proceedings of the Victoria International Echinoderm Conference. Balkema Press, Rotterdam. Wulff, J. I. 1989a. Biostratinomy of Archimedes ; Use in paleoenvironmental interpretation. (Abstr.). IN The Geological Society of America, North-central section, 23rd annual meeting. Abstracts with Programs, 21(4):53. Wulff, J. I. 1989b. Ecophenotypic variability in Spirifer pellaensis. (Abstr.). IN The Geological Society of America, 101st annual meeting, St. Louis, November, 1989. Abstracts with Programs, 21 (6). Wulff, J. I. 1990a. Morphometries of Spirifer pellaensis; how many species are there? Second International Brachiopod Congress, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, February, 1990. Abstr., 103. Wulff, J. I. 1990b. An Upper Mississippian reef in southern West Virginia. (Abstr.) IN The Geological Society of America, North- Central section, 24th annual meeting. Abstracts with Programs, 22(5). Wulff, J. I. 1990c. Biostratinomic use of Archimedes in paleoenvironmental interpretation. Palaios, 5:160-166. IV Wulff, J. I. 1990d. Tracking faunal and faciès changes across an uplift within a foreland basin. (Abst.). The Geological Society of America, 102nd annual meeting, Dallas, November, 1990. Abstracts with Programs, p. 62. Wulff, J. I. 1991. Intraspecific morphologic variability in Spirifer pellaensis. Greenbrier Group, (Upper Mississippian/Lower Carboniferous) USA. pp. 49-56 IN MacKinnon, D. et al., (eds.), Brachiopods Through Time. Balkema Press, Rotterdam. Wulff, J. I. & W. I. Ausich. 1991. Paleosols in the Greenbrier Group of central West Virginia: Evidence for extreme shallowing in the Greenbrier Sea. (Abst.). The Geological Society of America, North-Central section, 25th annual meeting. Wulff, J. I. & W. I. Ausich. 1989. Growth of the xenomorphic crinoid column (Taxocrinus, Late Mississippian). Journal of Paleontology, 63:657-661. Wulff, J. I., S. W. Riddle & W. I. Ausich. 1988. Columnal insertion and column growth in a Mississippian flexible crinoid. (Abstr.). IN The Geological Society of America, North-central section, 22nd annual meeting. Abstracts with Programs, 20(5): 395. Fields of Study Major Field: Goelogical Sciences Minor Field: Paleoecology and Paleoenvironmental Analysis TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................... i i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................... i ü VITA ...................................... iv LIST OF TABLES • • ................................................................................. - - - ix LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................. x CHAPTER PAGE I. Introduction ........................ 1 M e th o d s ...................................................................................... 2 History & Geoiogic Setting of the Greenbrier G roup......................... ............................................ 4 Paieogeography & Tectonic Setting ...................................... 12 II. Sedimentology and Facies Anaiysis.................................................. 21 Introduction .................................................................................. 21 Interpretation of Lithofacies .................................................. 23 Region 1 - Garrett Co., Maryland.......................................... 25 Interpretation-Region 1 .............................................................. 43 Region 2 - North-central West Virginia....................................... 54 Interpretation-Region 2 . .................................................. 83 Region 3 - Southeastern West Virg in ia............................... 84 Interpretation-Region 3 .................................... 112 Regional Synthesis.................................................................. 116 Facies Relationships.................................................................. 119 III. Autecology . 125 Brachiopods • • ■ Bryozoans.................................... 142 Echinoderms .............................................................................. 149 Trilobite ..................................................................................... 153