NYSGA 2017.kml

C1 and B4: THE PENN DIXIE SITE - A CLASSIC AND UNIQUE PALEONTOLOGICAL AND OUTDOOR EDUCATION CENTER
Trip Leader:
Phil Stokes
Executive Director
Holly Schreiber
Director of Education
Jerold C. Bastedo
Former Executive Director and Author of Guidebook Article
Penn Dixie Paleontological and Outdoor Education Center
P.O. Box 772
Hamburg, New York 14075
The Hamburg Natural History Society, Inc. (HNHS) is a nonprofit educational corporation that owns and operates The Penn Dixie Paleontological and Outdoor Education Center in Hamburg, New York (Fig. 1). The HNHS was founded in 1993 to promote the study of the natural sciences, with a particular emphasis on field activities associated with the geological and biological sciences. The HNHS offers a wide variety of hands-on educational programming to students of all ages, both at the Penn Dixie Site and off-site at local schools, libraries, and civic group meetings. Since its inception, the HNHS has expanded its educational curriculum to include public educational programming in astronomy and ornithology to complement its core study in geology and fossil collecting and identification. Unlike conventional museums or research facilities, the Penn Dixie Site is a hands-on outdoor educational facility - one at which visitors of all ages are encouraged to actually collect and keep 380-million-year-old fossils- "Where Science Comes Alive".
The site of a former quarry operation that was the source of calcareous shale excavated and used for cement aggregate by the Penn Dixie Cement Company. A majority of the 57-acre site was quarried until the late 1960s, during which time 9 to 10 feet of shale was removed from the surface. A gray, somewhat flat "desert-like" or "lunar landscape-appearing" surface now occupies a majority of the site. After quarry operations ceased, weathering forces began to expose 380 million-year-old Devonian fossils preserved within the Windom Shale. This highly fossiliferous unit underlies the entire site and provides an inexhaustible supply of fossils. In addition to the Windom Shale, several limestone units (the Genundewa, North Evans, and Tichenor) outcrop on the surface. The Wanakah Shale is also exposed, underlying the Tichenor Limestone, in a tributary that flows into Rush Creek and in cliffs along Rush Creek on the northern section of the site. All of these units contain a variety of fossils.

C1 and B7: THE PENN DIXIE SITE - A CLASSIC AND UNIQUE PALEONTOLOGICAL AND OUTDOOR EDUCATION CENTER

Penn Dixie Fossil Park

A1: DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS ACROSS A CENTRAL TROUGH OF THE NORTHERN APPALACHIAN BASIN, DEEP RUN SHALE MEMBER (MOSCOW FORMATION) OF THE FINGER LAKES
Stephen M. Mayer
5475 East Lake Rd.
Romulus, NY 14541
Gordon C. Baird
Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences
SUNY at Fredonia
Fredonia, NY 14063
Carlton E. Brett
Department of Geology
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH, 45221
INTRODUCTION
The Middle Devonian Givetian Hamilton Group is well known for its thick sequence of variably fossiliferous siliciclastics. Many naturalists and scientists including James Hall (1843), Amadeus Grabau (1899), and J.M. Clarke (1903) studied the fossil faunas preserved in these shales and limestones. Other early workers including Cooper (1930), attempted to correlate the distinct lithologic units within western and central New York. During the last 20-30 years detailed microstratigraphic and paleontological studies (Brett and Baird, 1985, 1994, Mayer, 1994, Mayer et al, 1994, Miller, 1991 and numerous others) have resulted in high resolution correlations and improved the general understanding of the dynamics of the Hamilton Group. The extensive stratigraphic field analysis by Baird (1979) firmly established the sedimentary relationships between the lithologic units at the boundary between the Ludlowville and Moscow Formations.
The purpose of the present study was to identify and correlate isochronous horizons and beds within the Deep Run Shale Member of the lower Moscow Formation across the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. Moreover, biofacies gradients were surveyed from west to east, facilitating interpretation of depositional history and environments. The study also examined the nature and character of this unit and its westward erosional truncation beneath the Menteth Limestone. Lastly, previously undescribed Ludlowville - Moscow sections were investigated along the west shore of Seneca Lake.

A1: DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS ACROSS A CENTRAL TROUGH OF THE NORTHERN APPALACHIAN BASIN, DEEP RUN SHALE MEMBER (MOSCOW FORMATION) OF THE FINGER LAKES

Jacox Creek
Location Coordinates: (42.8290 N, 77.7900 W)
Jaycox Creek is a classic exposure of the Ludlowville and Moscow Formations within the Hamilton Group. This is the type locality for the Jaycox Shale Member, which contains 2 prominent mappable coral beds, the lower Green’s Landing Coral Bed and the upper Cottage City Coral Beds separated by variably fossiliferous shales and calcareous mudstones. Although many studies have examined the stratigraphy and paleontology of the Jaycox Shale Member, (Grasso, 1973, Baird, 1979, Brett and Baird, 1994, Mayer, 1989, Mayer, 1994), most people have not scrutinized the overlying Tichenor Limestone and the Deep Run Shale Members.
The Deep Run Shale Member is well exposed here from the base of the Kipp Road Bed through the upper Willard siltstone (Fig 3). The bluish-gray calcareous mudstones of the Kipp Road Bed are observable in the creek floor and banks and exhibit great faunal diversity and abundance. Moreover, the Willard interval, characterized by barren to poorly fossiliferous bioturbated siltstones also contains three distinct shell-rich lenses. Whereas the transition from the Tichenor Limestone to the Deep Run Shale Member is relatively gradational, the uppermost contact of the Willard is abrupt with the overlying Menteth. Sediments of the Deep Run Shale Member are observed to be much thinner in the Genesee Valley than in the Canandaigua Valley due to apparent sediment bypass on the western shelf of the Appalachian Basin and from erosional overstep by the Menteth Limestone Member.

McDonald's
This is a Lunch/Restroom stop.

Deep Run Gully
Location Coordinates: (42.8210 N, 77.2590 W)
This creek not only is the type locality for the Deep Run Shale Member but also provides an excellent view of the upper Wanakah, Spafford and Jaycox Members. Of interest in the small falls at the base of the overall section is the Limerick Road Bed of the Spafford Shale Member. Moreover, in the Jaycox Shale Member the lower Green’s Landing Coral Bed and the upper Cottage City Coral Beds are observed in the floor and banks of the creek. The top of the first major waterfall is capped by the Tichenor Limestone, which disconformably overlies sediments of the Jaycox Shale Member.
Above the falls and in the floor of the creek, the transition from the Tichenor Limestone to the Kipp Road Bed is again relatively gradational. Here in the Canandaigua Valley, the Deep Run Shale Member obtains its maximum thickness within the central depocenter of the Appalachian Basin. The Kipp Road Bed exhibits decreased species diversity apparently due to increased water depths and turbidity. Also, the Willard siltstone interval contains a few shell-rich lenses within a predominately barren to sparsely fossiliferous siltstone indicating overall rapid sedimentation rates punctuated by a few periods of quiescence allowing colonization of the substrate. The Menteth Limestone tops this sequence of siltstones forming an erosionally resistant ledge to a second large waterfall at Deep Run Gully.

Green's Landing
This field trip will not observe the Deep Run Shale Member at Kashong Glen due to the inherent steep sides of the ravine. Similarly, the sections along the west shore of Seneca Lake will also not be examined due to their inaccessibility. However, just one-half mile north of Deep Run Gully on Canandaigua Lake is an exceptional exposure of the Jaycox Shale Member at Green’s Landing. This will be our last stop.
Approximately 1600 ft. east of Rt 364, this small stream cuts through the Jaycox Shale Member as well as the Kipp Road Bed of the Deep Run Shale Member. The only slight falls along this creek is created by the cap of the Tichenor Limestone, otherwise, the locality is generally ramped upstream and provides an accessible view of these units.
Here, the lower coral bed of the Jaycox derives its name because of its remarkable development in this creek. The Green’s Landing Coral Bed is an argillaceous mudstone containing an abundance of tabulate and rugose corals as well as brachiopods, bryozoans, crinoids, gastropods, and trilobites. Although recognizable in many localities, this mass of rock is a distinctly bedded biostrome built by and composed mainly of the remains of sedentary organisms.
Additionally, the Cottage City Coral Beds as well as the other units of the Jaycox are observable in outcrop in the floor and banks of the creek. These strata are, in turn, disconformably overlain by the Tichenor Limestone Member which gradually grades upward into the Kipp Road Bed.
The Kipp Road Bed is the only bed of the Deep Run Shale Member exposed at Green’s Landing. The medium gray, silty mudstone to calcareous siltstone contains a moderately abundant fauna of large phacopid trilobites as well as camerate crinoids, which have facilitated correlation of this unit across the Finger Lakes. Moreover, the Willard siltstone interval and Menteth Limestone Member are both covered at this site.

A2: UPPER DEVONIAN KELLWASSER EVENTS, DAY 1
D. Jeffrey Over
SUNY Geneseo
Geneseo, NY 14454
over@geneseo.edu
Andrew Bush
Center for Integrative Geosciences
University of Connecticut
Storrs, Connecticut, 06269
andrew.bush@uconn.edu
Gordon C. Baird
205 Jewett Hall
State University of New York at Fredonia
Fredonia, NY 14063
mason@fredonia.edu
James Andrew Beard
james.beard@uconn.edu
Introduction
Earth-system perturbations caused a series of mass extinction events during the Devonian Period, including the Taghanic event in the Givetian, the Lower and Upper Kellwasser events in the Frasnian, and the Hangenberg event in the Famennian (House, 2002; Bambach, 2006). These extinctions occurred against the backdrop of orbitally forced sea-level fluctuations, the Acadian Orogeny (Averbuch et al., 2005), the expansion of plants and animals on land (Algeo et al., 1995), and ecological changes in the marine biosphere (Signor and Brett, 1984; Bambach, 1999). The Frasnian-Famennian boundary in particular represents a significant global crisis, considered one of the “big five” mass extinctions (Raup and Sepkoski, 1982) that led to the demise of the widespread and diverse Devonian reef community (Copper, 2002).
The Appalachian Basin preserves a tremendous record of Devonian stratigraphy, and these rocks have been studied for about 200 years (Aldrich, 2000). They have been, in whole or in part, the inspiration for numerous advances and theories in geology and paleontology, including the concepts of facies (Chadwick, 1935), punctuated equilibrium (Eldredge, 1971), coordinated stasis (Brett and Baird, 1995), and considerable work on paleoecology (Sutton et al., 1970; Bowen et al., 1974; Thayer, 1974; McGhee, 1976; McGhee and Sutton, 1981; 1983; 1985; Sutton and McGhee, 1985; Stigall Rode and Lieberman, 2005). Critical faunas and floras document the invasion of land (Daeschler et al., 1994; Daeschler, 2000; VanAller Hernick, 2003).
In particular, foreland basin sediments provide an exceptionally thick and complete record of the Upper Devonian, and thus the opportunity to examine Late Devonian extinction events. Studies of the late-Frasnian Kellwasser events have been concentrated in the more offshore settings of western New York, where geochronology is well constrained by conodont biostratigraphy and carbon isotope chemostratigraphy (Over, 1997; Murphy et al., 2000; Over, 2002; Tuite and Macko, 2013; Lash, 2017). Specifically, the Pipe Creek Formation is temporally equivalent to the Lower Kellwasser Event (LKW), and a thin black shale bed in the upper Hanover Formation is equivalent to the Upper Kellwasser Event (UKW) (Over, 1997; 2002). Baird, Bush, and students have been investigating the Kellwasser events in shallower-water paleoenvironments further to the east, primarily in Steuben County, New York, and adjacent areas of Pennsylvania (Bush et al., 2015; Beard et al., 2017) (Fig. 1).

A2: UPPER DEVONIAN KELLWASSER EVENTS, DAY 1

Walnut Creek, Silver Creek, NY
(included but not a planned stop for the field trip)

STOP 1. Beaver Meadow Creek (Baird, Over)
The strata exposed in Beaver Meadow Creek at Java Village (which are on private land) include the uppermost Angola and Nunda formations of the West Falls Group, the type locality of the Java Group (Pipe Creek Formation, including an anomalous “Nunda” facies, and Hanover Formation, including the initial coarser clastic strata that thicken to the east), and the lower portion of the Dunkirk Formation of the Canadaway Group. Approximately 50 m of strata are exposed along the bank, bed, and in several waterfalls. (Note that Fig. 1C suggests that these Nunda beds may actually correlate with the Wiscoy; until this question is examined in more detail, however, we continue to refer to them as Nunda.)
Two thick-bedded sandstone units are visible in Angel Falls in Java Village (Fig. 4). This is the uppermost part of the greater Nunda Sandstone succession characterized by light gray thin to thick bedded cross-laminated and bioturbated (Planolites and Skolithos) coarse silt–very-fine quartz sand. The gray sandstones and silty mudstones at the base of the falls are separated from the upper sandstone that forms the top of the falls by a thin (10 cm-thick) black shale that marks the base of the Pipe Creek Shale, the basal unit of the Java Group. The lower and medial part of the Nunda Formation interfingers and grades westward into the Angola Shale. The upper sand is stratigraphically distinct, designated “Nunda,” as it interfingers and toes out westward within the Pipe Creek Shale (Baird and Jacobi, 1999) (Fig. 5). The base of the “Nunda” sharply overlies the thin basal black shale bed; the top is interbedded and mixed with black shale.
The brownish lumpy sandstone of the topmost “Nunda” and superajacent Pipe Creek Shale show chaotic bedding, irregular sandstone masses, and complex swirly interlayering of micaceous sandstone and sandy black shale. Diffuse breccia clasts of black shale within brown sandstone matrix suggests emplacement of fluidized sand into variable water-rich, surficial black mud deposits. The thick “Nunda” sandstone seems to be a major fan lobe sand unit (Jacobi et al., 1994; Baird and Jacobi, 1999). The “Nunda” flow event scoured the lowest Pipe Creek Shale as indicated by olistoliths of Pipe Creek Shale within the massive unit at several localities. The uppermost chaotic and diffuse “Nunda” Sandstone may represent later, smaller flow events. These sands were also reworked by storm waves as indicated by hummocky cross-stratification.
At Beaver Meadow Creek the Pipe Creek Formation is 6.2 m of organic-rich shale and the underlying 3 m of fine quartz sand of the “Nunda.” A deep recessive bed at ~1.1 m is a possible tephra bed; a tephra was also described from the upper Pipe Creek at Eighteenmile Creek, as well as the upper Pipe Creek along PA 287 (Ver Straeten et al., in revision). The Pipe Creek has a limited benthic fauna consisting mainly of inarticulate brachiopods. Nektic fauna/flora consists of dacryoconarids, cephalopods, and algal spores; conodonts are uncommon, consisting of Ancyrodella, Palmatolepis, and Polygnathus indicative of FZ 12 (Over, 1997).
The Hanover Formation along Beaver Meadow Creek is 37.5 m thick consisting of intensely bioturbated gray shale interbedded with argillaceous nodular carbonate beds, calcareous nodules, and organic-rich laminated shales (Fig. 4). Concretion horizons, some with concretions ranging up to 0.7 m in diameter, are common in the lower half of the section. Similar to Walnut Creek strata, gray shale and thinner black shales and carbonates occur in near-meter scale cycles. These correspond to ~20 ka precession cycles as seen at Walnut Creek; the longer scale cycles are also evident in the organic- and less-organic-rich strata packages.
Calcareous concretions in the lowermost Hanover contain a diverse nektic and low-diversity benthic fauna of acrotretid brachiopods, ostracodes, tentaculitids, the goniatites Delphinites cataphractus and Sphaeromanticoceras, and notably the conodont Palmatolepis bogartensis which indicates the base of FZ 13, the highest Frasnian conodont zone. The overlying gray shales contain a pyritized molluscan fauna dominated by gastropods. The middle Hanover is notably siltier, both in the gray shales and organic-rich shales, indicative of a more proximal source area compared to Walnut Creek. A thin carbonate bed at 24.5 m in the section yielded abundant conodonts, including Pa. hassi s.s. and Pa. juntianenesis. Other carbonate horizons contain crinoid debris and the small solitary rugose coral Metriophyllum. The Point Gratiot Bed rests on a long platform above the last waterfall. The base of the Dunkirk Formation is 4.5 m higher.
The Frasnian-Famennian boundary horizon is at or just below the top of a 10-cm organic-rich black shale bed that has distinct 1-2 cm wide light colored horizontal Thalassinoides burrows (cf. Boyer et al., 2014). This bed rests on a 0.7 m thick organic-rich black shale—the Pt. Gratiot Bed—that has a recessive weathering lamination at the base that is possibly equivalent to the Center Hill Tephra in Tennessee (Fig. 6). The top of the Pt. Gratiot Bed is a disconformable surface that yields abundant coalified wood and fish material, including an articulated skeleton of the placoderm Coccosetus? (similarly, part of an arthrodire carcass, possibly Dunkleosteus, was excavated from the Pt. Gratiot Bed at Point Gratiot in the 1980s). The nowakiid Homoctenus is relatively common to abundant on bedding planes, and has been recovered above the boundary in several places. These are some of the last dacryoconarids documented.
The Hanover Formation above the Pt. Gratiot Bed consists of bioturbated gray shales with thin interbeds of black shale, siltstones, and fine sandstones. Approximately 1.5 m above the Frasnian-Famennian boundary is a thin shell-rich bed that contains abundant articulate brachiopods, notably Retichonetes, Tylothyris, and Praewaagenoconchia, as well as the lingulid Barroisella (Day and Over, 2002). A thin sand just below the Dunkirk represents a bed of Canaseraga facies before the IIe deepening.

STOP 2. Wiscoy Creek, Wiscoy, NY
Wiscoy Creek is the type location of the Wiscoy Formation, and the section has been illustrated and discussed by many authors (e.g., Pepper and de Witt, 1950; Pepper and de Witt, 1951; Smith and Jacobi, 2000; 2001; 2006; Bush et al., 2015). Overlying the Wiscoy Formation is a black shale unit that has often been correlated with the Dunkirk Formation (Pepper and de Witt, 1950; 1951; Smith and Jacobi, 2000; 2001; 2006), but that Bush et al. (2015) correlated with the Pipe Creek Formation (Fig. 7).
Smith and Jacobi (2001) interpreted the depositional environment of the Wiscoy as lower shoreface, transitioning to more offshore environments in the upper part of the formation. (They also suggested a lagoon or bay as a possibility, but given our observations of the Wiscoy in more proximal settings, that is less likely.) Body fossils are scarce, but trace fossils are abundant in the Wiscoy; Smith and Jacobi (2001) noted the presence of Skolithos, Arenicolites, Teichichnus, Planolites, Rhizocorallium, and Zoophycos.
The dark shale that we correlate with the Pipe Creek Formation, and that previous authors have correlated with the Dunkirk Formation, is visible on the north bank by the dam. It consists of dark, silty shale interpreted as an offshore environment, possibly with low oxygen levels (Smith and Jacobi, 2001). It is overlain by sandstones or siltstones, visible above the dam, that could be correlative with the Hammond Member of the Canaseraga Formation, as defined by Beard et al. (2017).

STOP 3.Mills Mills, Wiscoy Creek, Fillmore, NY
The Mills Mills locality (Fig. 8) is also located along Wiscoy Creek, upstream from Location 2. The upper part of the Canaseraga Formation is exposed along the creek on private land, downstream from the parking area, and the Dunkirk Formation (“Hume Shale”) is exposed along Pond Road and adjacent roads. Smith and Jacobi (2001) indicated that there is approximately 30 m of section between the Pipe Creek and the base of the exposure at Mills Mills.
A meter or two of sandstone and siltstone are exposed at the base of the Mills Mills outcrop, followed by a dark silty shale with interbedded siltstones (Fig. 8). This is overlain abruptly by a thick amalgamated sandstone. Smith and Jacobi (2001, 2006) defined this sandstone as the base of the Mills-Mills Formation, and Beard et al. (2017) treated it as the base of the Mills Mills Member of the Canaseraga Formation. Smith and Jacobi (2001) interpreted these sandstone beds as “TA/B starting turbidites (proximal) that represent channel deposits” in “a channel-levee complex in a prograding deep sea fan. The interbedded shales and siltstones may represent interchannel deposits.” An additional sandstone bed at the top of the Mills Mills was interpreted similarly. Much of the remainder of the Mills Mills consists of gray and black shales, interpreted as representing the beginnings of the deepening that culminated in the Dunkirk (“Hume”) Shale.
Given the correlations proposed by Bush et al. (2015) (Fig. 1C), the UKW plausibly is exposed at the Mills Mills section, somewhere within the upper Canaseraga Formation. There are numerous intervals of black or dark gray shale that could be correlative with the Point Gratiot Bed. Carbon isotope analysis (in progress) may resolve this question. Below the top of the Beaver Meadow Creek section is a thick, falls-capping bundle of turbiditic beds, followed by a major transgressive kick to black shale approximately 25 - 30 m above the top of the UKW. If the turbiditic bundle and highest black shale interval on Beaver Meadow Creek are respectively correlative to the Mills Mills and Hume divisions, then this should provide a clue as to the best interval along Wiscoy Creek for searching for the UKW on Wiscoy Creek, knowing the aggregate thickness of the Canaseraga interval at that locality. Moreover, the conspicuous lithologic change from intensely bioturbated, nodular, gray mudrock (lower–middle Hanover interval) below the F-F transition into variably turbiditic, dark shale facies above it at Beaver Meadow Creek, should still be quite findable on Wiscoy Creek, given the modest 25 km distance between the two sections. The shell-rich “recovery bed” above the UKW, noted by Jeff Over at Glade and Beaver Meadow creeks, might also be similarly present above the UKW on Wiscoy Creek and better developed in this upslope setting.

A3 and B3: TIDE-DOMINATED CONGLOMERATIC SHORELINE - UPPER DEVONIAN
Jim Craft
jimhcraft@gmail.com
Introduction
Lithofacies (& interpretations) vary spatially and are dominated by abundant channel-forms/deposits (prograding tide-dominated delta), wave-formed strata mostly at the base (shoreface) followed by parallel-bedding (foreshore/beach), cross-bedding up to 5+ meters inclined shoreward (very large sub-aqueous dunes formed by flood tides). The entire sequence is capped by ∼2m thick channel deposits and in places, a 15-30 cm conglomerate with densely-packed vein-quartz and minor sandstone pebbles/cobbles with abundant plant remains overlain abruptly by wave-formed strata with marine fossils (progradation, major flood event, aburpt rise in relative sea level, transgressive lag deposit and marine transgression).

A3 and B3: TIDE-DOMINATED CONGLOMERATIC SHORELINE - UPPER DEVONIAN

Meeting Place

STOP 1.

STOP 2. The "North Face"
The highest outcrops (+10 m; which includes 3-4 m of marine strata) – shoreface/foreshore/channels; see Figs. 18, 19 & 20)..

STOP 3. NW corner of outcrop

STOP 4.

STOP 5.

A4: THE BOLIVAR PIONEER OIL MUSEM.
Kelly Lounsberry
Vice President
Pioneer Oil Museum of New York Inc.
417 Main Street PO Box 332
Bolivar, New York 14715
Overview
The Pioneer Oil Museum of New York, Inc., located in Bolivar, New York, was the creation of the New York State Oil Producers Association (NYSOPA) in the mid-1960’s. The goal of the members of this organization was to “house in a readily available, central location, articles and information of historical value or interest pertaining to the New York State Oil Industry.” A secondary goal was to accumulate and display artifacts related to the local petroleum industry. Also the promoters hoped to honor the men who had been pioneers in both the primary and secondary phases of oil recovery in the area.

B1: Pioneer Oil Museum of New York, Inc.

Pioneer Oil Museum

Pioneer Oil Museum at Bolivar (Location 1)

Pioneer Oil Museum of Bolivar (Location 2)

Working Lease with water flooding

Working lease of David Collins

David Collins' pump jack

Cutlery

A5: KIMBERLITES IN THE CAYUGA LAKE REGION OF CENTRAL NEW YORK: THE SIX MILE CREEK, WILLIAMS BROOK, AND TAUGHANNOCK CREEK DIKES
David Bailey
Department of Geosciences
Hamilton College
Clinton, NY 13323
dbailey@hamilton.edu
Marian Lupulescu
New York State Geological Survey
Albany NY
mlupules@mail.nysed.gov
INTRODUCTION
Diamonds in New York State? While it may be hard to believe, just over 100 years ago local residents and scientists thought that there was a very strong possibility of finding diamonds in upstate New York (Figure 1) . This diamond rush lasted for the first few decades of the 20th century, but after numerous failed attempts, the diamond hunt was over and this interesting episode in New York State’s history was largely forgotten.
Below we provide a chronological outline of the scientific discoveries and reports on the kimberlitic rocks of central New York, followed by detailed descriptions of the three dikes that will be visited on today’s field trip. For a more detailed discussion of the ages and origins of these unusual rocks, the reader is referred to Kay et al. (1983) and Bailey & Lupulescu (2015).

A5: KIMBERLITES IN THE CAYUGA LAKE REGION OF CENTRAL NEW YORK: THE SIX MILE CREEK, WILLIAMS BROOK, AND TAUGHANNOCK CREEK DIKES

Meeting Place in Wegman's Parking Lot

Sixmile Creek Dike
Parking lot for Mulholland Wildflower Preserve, south off of Giles Street, on east side of Six Mile Creek.
Follow the nature trail on the east side of Six Mile Creek for ~600 m (~ 1/3 mile); two dikes will be exposed and clearly visible in the streambed. The largest is ~ 20 cm-wide, and stands out prominently from the surrounding shales. The second is a cluster of small, anastomosing dikelets ranging from 1 to 8 cm in width. These are two of the seven dikes that have been observed in a 4 km long stretch of the Six Mile Creek drainage southeast of Ithaca (Figure 6).

STOP 2. WILLIAMS BROOK DIKE
Small gravel turn out on west side of NY Route 96 just after turn for Hopkins Place.
Just to the north of the turn out, Route 96 crosses over a small creek. Enter the creek on the west side of the road, and hike upstream for ~ 60 m. The Williams Brook kimberlite is a dark green-black dike approximately 3.5 m wide; it is best exposed on the northern bank of the creek.

STOP 3. TAUGHANNOCK CREEK DIKES
Parking Location and Coordinates: Small gravel turn out on south side of Taughannock Park Rd.
Take the short fishing access path to the nicely exposed rocks on the banks of Taughannock Creek. A total of 15 individual dikes, in five clusters, have been reported from a 1.5 km long section of Taughannock Creek (Figure 15) (Foster, 1970; Martens, 1924; Matson, 1905). Due to erosion and revegetation along the banks of the creek, few of these dikes are currently exposed. We will try to find two of the westernmost dikes in Taughannock Creek. NOTE: All of the dikes are within the confines of Taughannock Creek State Park, and sample collecting is prohibited.

A6: EXPLORING THE SURFICIAL GEOLOGY AND HYDROLOGY OF ALFRED NY
David J. Barclay
Geology Department, SUNY Cortland, Cortland NY 13045
david.barclay@cortland.edu
Otto H. Muller
Geology Department, Alfred University, Alfred NY 14802
fmuller@alfred.edu
Richard A. Young
Department of Geological Sciences (Emeritus), SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo, NY 14454
young@geneseo.edu
Introduction
Alfred is located in west-central New York within the Allegheny Plateau. This area is fairly close to the outer limit of glaciation, with moraines of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) only 43 km to the southwest (Figure 1). Nonetheless, the landscape of the Alfred area has been significantly affected by geomorphic processes associated with the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) during the Quaternary (2.58 Ma to the present). These processes include localized erosion by meltwater overflowing from proglacial lakes, subglacial erosion by glacial ice, and deposition of sediment and landforms from glacial ice, meltwater streams, and in proglacial lakes. Additional landscape modification has occurred during other intervals of the Quaternary when the LIS was north of the Alfred area or entirely absent from North America.
In this field trip we will visit some of the Quaternary landforms and sedimentary deposits of the Alfred area. Although there has been a lot of research done in surrounding areas, the surficial geology and hydrology at Alfred has only seen limited reconnaissance-level work to date. Therefore, this field trip will emphasize the general picture of Quaternary landscape evolution of the glaciated Allegheny Plateau and consider how some sediments and landforms near Alfred fit within this regional context.

A6: EXPLORING THE SURFICIAL GEOLOGY AND HYDROLOGY OF ALFRED NY

STOP 1. The Alfred Clay
Background: During the 1880’s, it was discovered that the clay in the vicinity of Alfred, NY could be used to make quality terra cotta products. In 1889 the Celadon Terra Cotta Company was organized by a small group of Alfred entrepreneurs to manufacture bricks and roofing tile. The company prospered and was partially responsible for locating the New York School of Clayworking (now the New York State College of Ceramics) in Alfred. In 1906, the company was sold to the Ludowici Company of Ohio, which became the Ludowici-Celadon Company. By that time the original tile works had expanded until it covered more than an acre of ground, occupying the space where presently are located Alfred University’s McLane Center and its parking lot.
The plant was completely destroyed by fire on the morning of August 26, 1909, except for the small office building which stood separately along North Main Street (and now sits at the intersection by the traffic light). While the tile factory was not rebuilt after the fire, many of its products can still be seen in town on various roof tops and on the exterior of the “Terra Cotta” building.
Observations you can make: The clays are made obvious by the water glistening on its surface. This is water which trickled down from the soil above, but hit the impermeable clay and moved along it to the stream bed. Here erosion has exposed this contact at the surface. So we see a spring at the top of the clay layer, effusing its ground water to make the clay glisten.
Dig out a bit of the clay with your finger, and note that you can roll it, mold it, make it into little sculptures. This is what artists call a "Workable Clay" and it is this property which made it valuable.
Look down the stream valley, and you will see large rocks and concrete structures, riprap, which were put in place during the reconstruction after the flood from Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Nature has disturbed many of them. This flood, which isolated Alfred for a week, caused the water to rise here to the level of the front porches of the houses across Main Street.
Other observations: In doing the foundation work for the building across the street, this clay layer was exposed. After some manipulation they put a layer of sand down on top of it, as shown below:

Terra Cotta House
To your left, after you turn, is the Terra Cotta building referred to in the description for Stop 1. It served as a catalog for the company,

Terra Cotta decorations above second floor
The building on the east side of Main Street, Green Hall, has Terra Cotta tiles on the wall above second floor

Octagon House on left, terraces on right

Possible site of mill dam
Downstream from this dam are large chunks of primitive concrete which may have been part of a dam. If so, this large flat region would have been produced by the silting up of the mill pond behind the dam, and is thus anthropogenic. The terraces are visible on the right, and are at a considerably higher elevation.

STOP 2. Clear view of terraces to the right (west)
When the leaves are on the trees it is sometimes difficult to see the terraces which we've passed, but here there is always a clear view. The profile of the terrace is obvious, and it is dipping gently back down the valley to our north.

Watershed boundary Upper Canacadea Creek and Middle Dyke Creek
The Upper Canacadea Creek watershed is behind us, and water flowing into it, towards the north, ends up in the Chesapeake Bay. Middle Dyke Creek watershed is ahead of us, and water flowing into it, towards the south, ends up in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

AU's Bromeley-Daggett Equestrian Center
Shortly after turning right (west) onto Lake Road you will pass AU's Bromeley-Daggett Equestrian Center located at the Maris Cuneo Equine Park. An early director was surprised to find that many of the horse trails here, near the top of the hill, were very poorly drained.

AU's Foster Lake
Foster Lake is a beautiful 25-acre man-made lake located two miles Southwest of Alfred, New York. The lake was created by Eddy Foster in 1950 and was owned by the Foster family until 2003.
Dammed at both ends, the outlets both drain into the Vandermark creek, staying within the Vandermark Valley watershed.

STOP 3. Till in roadside ditches
These ditches were excavated during August of 2017. Observe the angular clasts, lack of sorting, and abundant clay. Most of the clasts are sedimentary, probably derived from local bedrock.

Watershed Boundary Upper Canacadea Creek and Vandermark Creek
The Upper Canacadea Creek watershed is behind us, and water flowing into it, towards the north, ends up in the Chesapeake Bay. Vandermark Creek watershed is ahead of us, and water flowing into it, towards the southwest, ends up in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Make a sharp right on Vandermark Road. Proceed to the NE on this road, gaining about 60 feet in elevation as you cover 1.28 miles of road.

STOP 4. Five Corners

STOP 4a.Bridge

STOP 5.Waterfall

1.28 miles from 5 Corners Elevation is 1820
From 5 Corners we have come down about 184 feet in 1.28 miles. This is about three times as much elevation change as we saw over an equivalent distance in the Vandermark valley.

Bridge with tributary and Clay deposit

STOP 6. Almond Aggregates Quarry

STOP 7. Culverts and Bridge

STOP 7. Breached Dam

STOP 8. Lunch

STOP 9. Overview of Hornell valley

Bald Hill, to our right (west) is an Umlaufberg

Levees built after flood of 1935

More levees and Bridge over Purdy Creek

Turn to the right (west) and enter outlet valley

Notice the canyon, and severely underfit stream to the N

STOP 10. Watershed Boundary

Marsh Creek enters Cryder Creek

Watershed Boundary

STOP 11. Tip Top

Alfred Atlas pit

Alfred Station pit

Rock quarry at top of hill

B2: UPPER DEVONIAN KELLWASSER EVENTS, DAY 2
D. Jeffrey Over
SUNY Geneseo
Geneseo, NY 14454
over@geneseo.edu
Andrew Bush
Center for Integrative Geosciences
University of Connecticut
Storrs, Connecticut, 06269
andrew.bush@uconn.edu
Gordon C. Baird
205 Jewett Hall
State University of New York at Fredonia
Fredonia, NY 14063
mason@fredonia.edu
James Andrew Beard
james.beard@uconn.edu
Earth-system perturbations caused a series of mass extinction events during the Devonian Period, including the Taghanic event in the Givetian, the Lower and Upper Kellwasser events in the Frasnian, and the Hangenberg event in the Famennian (House, 2002; Bambach, 2006). These extinctions occurred against the backdrop of orbitally forced sea-level fluctuations, the Acadian Orogeny (Averbuch et al., 2005), the expansion of plants and animals on land (Algeo et al., 1995), and ecological changes in the marine biosphere (Signor and Brett, 1984; Bambach, 1999). The Frasnian-Famennian boundary in particular represents a significant global crisis, considered one of the “big five” mass extinctions (Raup and Sepkoski, 1982) that led to the demise of the widespread and diverse Devonian reef community (Copper, 2002).
The Appalachian Basin preserves a tremendous record of Devonian stratigraphy, and these rocks have been studied for about 200 years (Aldrich, 2000). They have been, in whole or in part, the inspiration for numerous advances and theories in geology and paleontology, including the concepts of facies (Chadwick, 1935), punctuated equilibrium (Eldredge, 1971), coordinated stasis (Brett and Baird, 1995), and considerable work on paleoecology (Sutton et al., 1970; Bowen et al., 1974; Thayer, 1974; McGhee, 1976; McGhee and Sutton, 1981; 1983; 1985; Sutton and McGhee, 1985; Stigall Rode and Lieberman, 2005). Critical faunas and floras document the invasion of land (Daeschler et al., 1994; Daeschler, 2000; VanAller Hernick, 2003).
In particular, foreland basin sediments provide an exceptionally thick and complete record of the Upper Devonian, and thus the opportunity to examine Late Devonian extinction events. Studies of the late-Frasnian Kellwasser events have been concentrated in the more offshore settings of western New York, where geochronology is well constrained by conodont biostratigraphy and carbon isotope chemostratigraphy (Over, 1997; Murphy et al., 2000; Over, 2002; Tuite and Macko, 2013; Lash, 2017). Specifically, the Pipe Creek Formation is temporally equivalent to the Lower Kellwasser Event (LKW), and a thin black shale bed in the upper Hanover Formation is equivalent to the Upper Kellwasser Event (UKW) (Over, 1997; 2002). Baird, Bush, and students have been investigating the Kellwasser events in shallower-water paleoenvironments further to the east, primarily in Steuben County, New York, and adjacent areas of Pennsylvania (Bush et al., 2015; Beard et al., 2017) (Fig. 1).

B2: UPPER DEVONIAN KELLWASSER EVENTS, DAY 2

Cowanesque Lake, Lawrenceville, PA
This outcrop of the Wiscoy Formation (Figs. 50-51) is similar to the numerous outcrops along I-99/Rt. 15 on either side of the New York-Pennsylvania border, but it is easier to access. The strata display hummocky and swaley cross-stratification, and appear similar to facies S2-S3 of Beard et al. (2017) (see Table 3). Facies S2 indicates medium- to thick-bedded, fine-grained sandstone with < 20% interbedded mudstones with abundant swales, and was interpreted as middle shoreface, and S3 is similar but with thin to medium beds and 20-50% interbedded mud, and was interpreted as lower shoreface.
Fossils are abundant and are easy to find in the float, particularly brachiopods, bivalves, and trace fossils. Brachiopods include Strophonelloides coelata, Whidbornella hirsuta, Spinatrypa cf. hystrix, “Cupularostrum” contractum, and chonetids.

PA 287, Tioga, PA
Outcrop of Wiscoy, Pipe Creek, and Canaseraga formations (Fig. 52). Location TGB of Bush et al. (2015) and Beard et al. (2017), and type section of the Hammond Member of the Canaseraga Formation.
Beard et al. (2017) provided a facies description of the Tioga sections, which is summarized below by stratigraphic interval (see Fig. 52 for section and Table 3 for facies descriptions). For other descriptions and interpretations of these sections, see Berg et al. (1981, pp. 153-158), Castle (2000), and Bush et al. (2015).
Wiscoy Formation: The lowermost portion of the TGB section consists of swaley, fine-grained sandstones with various amounts of interbedded mudstone, interpreted as lower to middle shoreface (facies S2-S3). The upper several meters of the Wiscoy are finer grained, consisting of interbedded mudstone and thin siltstone/sandstone beds, interpreted as inner shelf. Fossils include Strophonelloides coelata, Schizophoria amanaensis, Spinatrypa cf. hystrix, Douvillina arcuata, Cyrtospirifer inermis, rugose corals, other invertebrates, and trace fossils.
Pipe Creek Formation: Dark gray, silty shale, interpreted as a low-oxygen, offshore setting. However, depositional conditions could not have been permanently anoxic, because Beard et al. (2017) noted the presence of occasional trace fossils, small bivalves, and lingulid brachiopods.
Hammond Member, Canaseraga Formation: Beard et al. (2017) defined the Hammond Member at the TGB section as the basal portion of the Canaseraga Formation that directly overlies the Pipe Creek. It is considerably coarser-grained than the Pipe Creek and the overlying part of the Canaseraga, and Beard et al. (2017) interpreted it as represented a middle shoreface environment. At Tioga, the base is covered by large burrows, possibly Teichichnus isp. and Thalassinoides isp., which appear to have been mining the organic-rich sediments of the Pipe Creek once fully oxygenated conditions returned. Other beds of the Hammond at Tioga also contain abundant trace fossils. The coarsest sandstone beds at the base of the Hammond are capped by granule-rich, rippled bedform (Beard et al., 2017, fig. 6A,B) similar to those interpreted in the Appalachian Basin and elsewhere as transgressive ravinement surfaces (Castle, 2000; Plint, 2010; McClung et al., 2013).
The brachiopod Floweria chemungensis is extremely common in the Hammond Member, forming pavements at some horizons. The Hammond also contains the last representatives of a couple species that elsewhere have not been found above the Wiscoy, including Spinatrypa cf. hystrix and Schizophoria amanaensis. Trace fossils are also abundant, as well as the large bivalve Grammysia, as noted by Berg et al. (1981).
Undifferentiated Canaseraga Formation: The transition from the Hammond to the overlying undifferentiated portion of the Canaseraga represents a deepening. The remainder of this interval generally coarsens upward from primarily facies S3 (lower shoreface; approximately 20 to 30 m) to largely S2 (middle shoreface). The lower, slightly deeper portion of the undifferentiated Canaseraga has a diverse fauna, including several brachiopod species that first appear in this formation (“Thiemella” leonensis, “Athyris” angelica, and Spinatrypa planosulcata), but the upper reaches of the outcrop are dominated by Cyrtospirifer inermis. Glass sponges have also been found in the lower portion of the undifferentiated Canaseraga (Fig. 53).
Several noteworthy beds are marked in Fig. 52 as facies S4, which consists of muddy, fine grained sand characterized by dewatering structures and convoluted bedding. Beard et al. (2017) interpreted these beds as representing the rapid deposition of mud and sand that were loaded prior to dewatering. Brachiopods are often present in these layers.
The lower 10 m of the TGB section represent an increase in water depth from the swaley sediments of the Wiscoy Formation to the offshore paleonvironments of the Pipe Creek. The transition from the Pipe Creek to the middle shoreface sediments of the base of the Hammond is abrupt, suggesting a forced regression. Additional large changes in water depth are suggested by the rippled bedform atop this basal sandstone, similar to transgressive ravinement surfaces (Castle, 2000; Plint, 2010; McClung et al., 2013), followed by mudstone, then the middle shoreface sediments of the upper Hammond Member. Facies changes are more subdued in the rest of the section, which generally coarsens upward. These patterns appear similar to those seen in the magnetic susceptibility data from further offshore shown in Fig. 3: large facies changes above the Pipe Creek, followed by smaller fluctuations.

US 15, Tioga, PA
Location TGA of Bush et al. (2015) and Beard et al. (2017). Upper Canaseraga (Mills Mills Member), Dunkirk, Candeadea, and Catskill formations. Stratigraphic units are described below in ascending order (Fig. 54; see Table 3 for facies descriptions). Also see Berg et al. (1981, pp. 148-152), Woodrow et al. (1989), Castle (2000), Oest et al. (2013), Bush et al. (2015).
Mills Mills Member, Canaseraga Formation: 10 m of the Mills Mills is exposed at the base of the section. It fines from facies S2 and S3 (middle to lower shoreface) to M1 (inner shelf). Fossils are abundant and include “Athyris” angelica, Tylothyris mesacostalis, Praewaagenoconcha sp., Floweria chemungensis, Schizophoria impressa, and “Cupularostrum”. Bivalves are also abundant. No Frasnian taxa have been found (e.g., Spinatrypa sp., Cyrtospirifer chemungensis), consistent with placement above the UKW event.
Dunkirk Formation: The Dunkirk Formation is the uppermost thick black shale unit in the Devonian of New York. At Tioga, it consists of a dark gray, silty shale, and we place the top of the unit at a package of silty-sandy interbeds. Fossils similar to those in the Mills Mills Member are found in the lowermost Dunkirk, although it becomes less fossiliferous above that. Beard et al. (2017) interpreted it as an offshore paleoenvironment, perhaps dysoxic, although the fossils near the base may indicate a gradual decrease in oxygen.
Caneadea Formation: The Caneadea is a thick interval of gray shale overlying the Dunkirk. At Tioga, there are frequent silty-sandy interbeds. It generally coarsens upward from the top of the Dunkirk to the base of the Catskill Formation. Beard et al. (2017) interpreted it mostly as facies M2 and M1 (outer and inner shelf), with increasing S3 (lower shoreface) toward the top. At 40 m, there is a thick sandstone interval with a scoured base, plane laminations, cross beds, ripples, and abundant plant material that Beard et al. (2017) interpreted as a shallow shelf channel. Fossils are generally similar to those in the Mills Mills Member, although above ~40 m, Cyrtospirifer, “Cupularostrum”, and Floweria become the dominant brachiopods.
Catskill Formation: We have not examined the Catskill Formation in detail. The lowermost Catskill consists of alternating red and gray strata that are similar to the Irish Valley Member described elsewhere in Pennsylvania, and the overlying strata are similar to the Sherman Creek Member (McLaurin, 2010) (Fig. 54, lower panel). Cotter and Driese (1998) discussed the depositional environments of these units at an outcrop further to the south in Selinsgrove, PA. Lingulids and Cyrtospirifer are occasionally present in the lower portion of the Catskill, and trace fossils are abundant in the float. Fish remains are also present, and tetrapods have been found in the Fammenian of the region (Daeschler et al., 1994; Daeschler, 2000).
The lower 10 m of the TGA outcrop represent an increase in water depth from the uppermost Canaseraga Formation into the offshore environments of the Dunkirk. Overall, the section coarsens upward from the Dunkirk into the Candeadea, although it remains mostly mudrock dominated. The transition to the lower Catskill Formation represents further decrease in water depth, culminating in the transition to terrestrial sedimentation.

B5: GLACIAL FEATURES AND THE “GREAT DIVIDE” BETWEEN WATKINS GLEN AND ITHACA
,
Carol Griggs, Cornell Tree-Ring Lab
Cornell University Ithaca, NY cbg4@cornell.edu
Glacial features are generally studied on the large-scale, just as glaciers are naturally large. Here we look at some features in a small valley in the Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York that are interesting because they were developed by the interaction and possible collisions of ice and meltwater forces on a larger scale when the Valley Heads Moraine was formed. In this study we are looking at conditions that began in approximately 15,000 years cal BP.
The area of study starts in the Susquehanna River Valley in south-central New York State (Figure 1), to the south of the Valley Heads Moraine (VHM). A tributary to the Susquehanna from Bath to Waverly, NY, is the Cohocton River that runs along the southwest side of the VHM at the bottom of the Finger Lakes. It merges with the Tioga River into the Chemung River in Corning, which continues eastward on the south side of Elmira, and joins the Susquehanna River south of Waverly, NY. While Horseheads, NY, sits on an alluvial plain just north of the Chemung, no significant river runs through the city today. Rather the alluvium was deposited by the ice sheet runoff over time, and one of the VH lobes ended just north the city (Figure1).

B5: GLACIAL FEATURES AND THE “GREAT DIVIDE” BETWEEN WATKINS GLEN AND ITHACA

2. Elmira Sandpit

3.Catherine Creek turns arouund

4. Post Office near Mastodon site

5. Top of Valley Heads

6. Dike in Cayuta Lake Basin

7. Potato Hill

8. Cayuta Outlet

9. Middle of valley stop

10. North shore of Cayuta Lake

11. Gap on Swan Hill Road

12. Hendershot Gulf comes out