EDIACARAN–ORDOVICIAN OF EAST LAURENTIA— S. W. FORD MEMORIAL VOLUME THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK Regents of The University ROBERT M. BENNETT, Chancellor, B.A., M.S. .......................................................................................................... Tonawanda MERRYL H. TISCH, Vice Chancellor, B.A., M.A. Ed.D. ........................................................................................... New York SAUL B. COHEN, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. ........................................................................................................................ New Rochelle JAMES C. DAWSON, A.A., B.A., M.S., Ph.D. ........................................................................................................... Peru ANTHONY S. BOTTAR, B.A., J.D. .............................................................................................................................. Syracuse GERALDINE D. CHAPEY, B.A., M.A., Ed.D. ............................................................................................................ Belle Harbor ARNOLD B. GARDNER, B.A., LL.B. .......................................................................................................................... Buffalo HARRY PHILLIPS, 3rd, B.A., M.S.F.S. ....................................................................................................................... Hartsdale JOSEPH E. BOWMAN,JR., B.A., M.L.S., M.A., M.Ed., Ed.D. ................................................................................. Albany JAMES R. TALLON,JR., B.A., M.A. ........................................................................................................................... Binghamton MILTON L. COFIELD, B.S., M.B.A., Ph.D. ............................................................................................................... Rochester ROGER B. TILLES, B.A., J.D. ..................................................................................................................................... Great Neck KAREN BROOKS HOPKINS, B.A., M.F.A. .................................................................................................................. Brooklyn NATALIE M. GOMEZ-VELEZ, B.A., J.D. .................................................................................................................... Bronx CHARLES R. BENDIT, B.A. ......................................................................................................................................... New York President of The University and Commissioner of Education RICHARD P. MILLS Deputy Commissioner for Cultural Education JEFFREY W. CANNELL Director of the New York State Museum CLIFFORD A. SIEGFRIED Director, Research and Collections Division JOHN P. HART The State Education Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, religion, creed, disability, marital status, veteran status, national origin, race, gender, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or sexual orientation in its educational programs, services and activities. Portions of this publication can be made available in a variety of formats, including braille, large print or audio tape, upon request. Inquiries concerning this policy of nondiscrimination should be directed to the Department’s Office for Diversity, Ethics, and Access, Room 530, Education Building, Albany, NY 12234. Requests for additional copies of this publication may be made by contacting Publications Sales, Room 3140, Cultural Education Center, New York State Museum, Albany, NY 12230. EDIACARAN–ORDOVICIAN OF EAST LAURENTIA— S. W. FORD MEMORIAL VOLUME 12th International Conference of the Cambrian Chronostratigraphy Working Group Edited by Ed Landing New York State Museum The State Education Department, Albany, New York 12230 New York State Museum Bulletin 510 2007 The University of the State of New York The State Education Department © 2007 The New York State Education Department Printed in the United States of America Copies may be ordered from: Publication Sales 3140 CEC New York State Museum Albany, New York 12230 Phone: (518) 402-5344 Fax: (518) 486-2034 Email: [email protected] Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006927626 ISSN: 0278-3355 ISBN: 1-55557-239-1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Cover picture—Dunham Formation dolostone boulder (left side of hammer) in debris flow at base of Parker Formation records caving of an E–W submarine fault scarp that developed in the terminal Early Cambrian and formed the long-term dysoxic/anoxic Franklin Basin on the northern Vermont platform (field trip Stop 4.7). Ediacaran–Ordovician of East Laurentia—S.W. Ford Memorial Volume v CONTENTS MEETINGACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................. 1 DEDICATIONTOS.W.FORD ....................................................................... 2 Ed Landing EAST LAURENTIA 2007—A PRE-MEETING VIEWPOINT . 3 Ed Landing EDIACARAN–ORDOVICIAN OF EAST LAURENTIA—GEOLOGIC SETTING AND CONTROLS ON DEPOSITION ALONG THE NEW YORK PROMONTORY REGION . 5 Ed Landing Abstract ..................................................................................... 5 Introduction . 5 Laurentian shield and Rodinia supercontinent . 7 Rodinia break-up—origin of Ediacaran–Lower Paleozoic cover sequence . 7 Rift–passive margin transition and the oldest carbonate platform . 8 Early Cambrian–Late Ordovician platform succession in the Appalachians . 10 Passive margin sequence . 10 Eustatic controls on deposition . 10 Franklin Basin Cambrian–Ordovician succession . 12 Location and significance . 12 Shelf–slope break . 13 Epeirogenic interpretation . 13 Upper slope dysoxia/anoxia . 13 Cambrian–Ordovician of the craton and southern flank of the Ottawa aulocogen . 14 Overview of succession . 14 Cambrian deposition . 14 Post-Potsdam Cambrian faunas . 16 Cratonic Ordovician . 16 Ediacaran(?)–Ordovician of the Taconic allochthon . 17 Location and significance . 17 Structure and metamorphism . 17 Rift–passive margin transition . 18 Passive margin succession: a proxy for global sea-level and climate changes . 18 Biostratigraphy of Cambrian black–green macroscale alternations . 20 Ordovician black–green macroscale alternations . 21 End of passive margin deposition in the Taconic allochthon . 22 Afterward—post-passive margin geological history . 23 Taconic orogeny . 23 Acadian orogeny . 23 Alleghanian orogeny . 23 Break-up of Pangaea . 24 vi Edited by Ed Landing Acknowledgments . 24 References . 24 CAMBRIAN OF EAST LAURENTIA: FIELD WORKSHOP IN EASTERN NEW YORK AND VERMONT . 2 Ed Landing, David A. Franzi, James W. Hagadorn, Stephen R. Westrop, Björn Kröger, and James C. Dawson Prospectus . 25 July 30: Thin platform succession in Saratoga and Washington Counties, eastern New York . 25 Overview ............................................................................... 25 Travel to Stop 1.1 . 25 Stop 1.1, Cambrian–Ordovician (intra-Skullrockian Stage) boundary unconformity near Petrified Gardens: eustatic and epeirogenic controls . 26 Travel to Stop 1.2 . 28 Stop 1.2, Lester Park . 29 Travel to Stop 1.3 . 29 Stop 1.3, Galway Formation roadcut . 29 Travel to Stop 1.4 . 29 Stop 1.4, Lower Potsdam Formation trilobites near Fort Ann . 30 Travel to Stop 1.5 . 30 Stop 1.5, Potsdam–middle Proterozoic nonconformity near Fort Ann . 30 July 31: Thin platform succession in Washington and Essex Counties, eastern New York . 31 Overview ............................................................................... 31 Travel to Stop 2.1 . 31 Stop 2.1, Potsdam Formation at base of Skene Mountain . 31 Travel to Stop 2.2 . 31 Stop 2.2, Cambrian succession at Skene Manor . 31 Travel to Stop 2.3 . ..