2010 NYSGA FIELD TRIPS

SATURDAY FIELD TRIPS

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

TRIP 1:

DELAWARE WATER GAP, A GEOLOGY CLASSROOM

Leader: Jack B. Epstein

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is the most heavily visited National Park Service facility in the northeastern urbanized megalopolis, attracting more than five million visitors yearly. It offers recreational opportunities that include fishing, hunting, boating, swimming, and hiking. The area also presents insight into the biologic diversity, cultural history, and geologic evolution of this part of the Appalachian Mountains. Educational opportunities are available for all levels of geologic background. On this trip we will investigate the area's mysteries of structure, stratigraphy, geomorphology, and glacial geology by visiting viewpoints and trekking interpretive trails. Hiking will be easy, but be prepared for some wet brush in case of wet weather.

TRIP 2

GLACIAL GEOLOGY OF THE PASSAIC, HACKENSACK, AND LOWER HUDSON VALLEYS, NEW JERSEY AND NEW YORK

LEADER: Scott D. Stanford

This trip will present several aspects of the glacial geology of northeastern New Jersey and adjacent New York. Topics to be covered include: 1) the history of late Wisconsinan glacial lakes and lake-drainage events in the Passaic, Hackensack, and Hudson valleys; 2) evidence for Illinoian (?) and pre-Illinoian glaciation; 3) valley-fill aquifers in the Passaic basin that are composed of stacked glaciolacustrine sediments and till of late Wisconsinan and Illinoian age; and 4) glacial derangement of preglacial fluvial drainage

TRIP 3

THE TIMING, LAYERING, COMAGMATIC BASALT FLOWS, GRANOPHYRES, TRONDHJEMITES, AND MAGMA SOURCE OF THE PALISADES INTRUSIVE SYSTEM

LEADERS: John H. Puffer, Karin A. Block, Jeffrey C. Steiner and Alan Benimoff

This trip will visit the following outcrops of Palisades Diabase. (1) The Graniteville Quarry in Staten Island, NY to see a evidence of the fusion of a xenolith of Lockatong Argillite, (2) the olivine zone in the Sill at Fort Lee, NJ; (3) Trondhjemite and Syenite Fusion at Ross Dock; (4) Rhythmic banding;Sandwich Horizon/ Granophyre in the Sill and (5) exposures of the diabase at Nyack beach State Park

TRIP 4 FOSSIL GREAT LAKES OF THE NEWARK SUPERGROUP - 30 YEARS LATER

LEADER: Paul Olsen

In the 1980 NYSGA meeting I led a fieldtrip to look at strata of the Triassic and Jurassic great lakes of the Newark basin which are among the largest lakes known of any time. Our view of these giant lake systems has been much amplified since that time because of the collection of industry seismic lines, the drilling of two deep exploration holes, about 40,000 ft of core by the Army Corps of Engineers, 26,700 ft of core by the Newark Basin Coring Project, quite a few Ph.D. theses (including my own). The purpose of this fieldtrip is to examine outcrops and related cores in the Newark basin that illustrate some of the key features of these giant lake strata and

SUNDAY TRIPS SEPTEMBER 26, 2010

TRIP 5

GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF NEW YORK CITY SCHIST FORMATIONS

LEADERS: John H. Puffer, Alan I. Benimoff, Jeffrey Steiner

This trip will visit various outcrops of what has been mapped as Manhattan Schist and Hartland formation. New geochemical analyses of bedrock from Manhattan, New York support more widespread distribution of Manhattan Schist than indicated on most geologic maps of New York City. Our geochemical data together with ambiguous Hartland/Manhattan schist petrology underscores the need to establish a reliable mappable criteria capable of distinguishing Hartland from Manhattan schists.

TRIP6

RESULTS (OR CONSEQUENCES) OF REMEDIATION AT LEMON AND MILL CREEK SITES

LEADERS: Peter G. Crowley and William G. Wallace

Lemon Creek and Mill Creek (2 locations) share a rich industrial history. Both sites were located near manufacturing facilities. Both have received treatment for heavy metal pollution. A walking tour of both sites will include the industrial histories of the sites and focus on pollution studies, remediation and current status.