NYSGA 2007
New York State Geological Association
79th Annual Meeting
State University of New York at Cortland
Field Trip Guidebook
Christopher A. McRoberts, Editor
Published by the New York State Geological Association. Additional copies may be obtained from the NYSGA Publications Officer or purchased online at http://www.nysgaonline.org Published by the New York State Geological Association
First Printing, September 2007
EDITOR’S PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Geology Department at SUNY Cortland is proud to host the 79th Annual Meeting of the New York State Geological Association. It has been 37 years since Cortland last hosted the NYSGA meeting, and in 1970 Graham Heaslip (at whose former desk I now type these words) served as both President of the NYSGA and editor of the 42nd field guide. Although much has changed in our department in the past three decades, we are still committed to providing an excellent undergraduate program of study involving students in coursework, independent research, and field experiences. Given that much of the current research of Cortland’s geology faculty involves fieldwork far removed from central New York, we have relied much on the expertise of those who have made central New York geology their passion. In selecting trips for this meeting we have strived to focus, not only on what central New York is famous for (e.g., world-class Devonian strata and its contained fossils, and a beautifully glacially sculpted landscape), but also to encompass field trips appealing to other geoscientists and educators (be they hard-rockers, soft-rockers, or no-rockers). It is our hope that there is a trip of interest for everyone.
I wish to express my appreciation to the numerous individuals who have contributed to the content and production of this field guide. First and foremost to the 26 authors of the field trips who have devoted their time, energy, and expertise in offering a truly outstanding collection of excursions and, for the most part, getting their manuscripts to me in a timely fashion and in the correct format. I also acknowledge the many reviewers of manuscripts who have helped produce a more polished and error-free field guidebook and to the landowners who provided access to their property during the field trips.
The guidebook is only one facet of producing this yearly event and it is quite clear that the 79th NYSGA meeting would not have been possible without the members of SUNY Cortland’s Organizing Committee. I wish to personally thank this committee comprised of Bob Darling (meeting coordinator), Gayle Gleason (logistics) and Dave Barclay (registration) for their countless hours in planning, organizing, and generally working together to ‘pull this thing off’. Secretarial support was, as always, efficiently and flawlessly provided by Sue Nevins. We are also grateful for the Cortland undergraduate students who have volunteered their time to drive vehicles and help with the smooth running of the meeting. The Buffalo Geological Society graciously donated funds to help defray some of the printing costs of this field guide. We thank Alan Benimoff and others of the NYSGA executive for cajoling us into running this meeting, providing much needed guidance and answering our many questions. Finally, we are indeed fortunate to have Jim Bell for agreeing to speak at the Banquet on his work with the Mars Rover Project.
Enjoy the meeting and have a pleasant stay in central New York!
Christopher A. McRoberts
Professor of Geology
Department of Geology
Cortland, NY

A1: GLACIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY OF THE ONONDAGA TROUGH, CENTRAL NY
Bill Kappel
U.S. Geological Survey
30 Brown Road, Ithaca, NY 14850
e-mail: wkappel@usgs.gov
Todd Miller
e-mail: tsmiller@usgs.gov
Don Pair
University of Dayton
Department of Geology
e-mail: don.pair@notes.udayton.edu
James P. Stewart
John P. Stopen Engineering Partnership
450 South Salina Street, Room 400
Syracuse, NY 13202
e-mail: jstewart@jpsep.com
Charles W. Dickhut
e-mail: wdickhut@jpsep.com
Guy Swenson
O’Brien & Gere
East Syracuse, NY 13057
e-mail: swensonga@obg.com
Timothy Johnson
Parsons
Liverpool, NY 13088
e-mail: timothy.johnson@parsons.com
INTRODUCTION
The Onondaga Trough valley is a vestige of the glacial history of central New York. The trough extends from the outlet of Onondaga Lake southward, through and south of the City of Syracuse, to and beyond the Valley Heads Moraine at Tully, N.Y. Geologic and hydrologic research focused on the Onondaga Trough has been ongoing for several decades through numerous academic institutions such as State University of New York at Cortland and Syracuse [School of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF)], Syracuse University, Hamilton College, and Colgate University (among others). In addition, the USGS, in co-operation with USEPA-Region 2, Onondaga County, the Onondaga Lake Partnership, and the Onondaga Environmental Institute, has conducted studies of the Onondaga Trough valley during the last two decades. On-going surficial and bedrock mapping associated with the USGS STATEMAP program have helped to construct a stratigraphic framework that has been used in the development of numerical ground-water-flow and brine-migration models. These models are being used to support central New York’s major urban hydrogeology challenge – improving the water quality of Onondaga Lake (purportedly one of the most polluted lakes in the country) and fostering the urban renewal of the adjacent area. Participants on this NYSGA trip will see how glacial geology and hydrology, and engineering geology interact.
ROADSIDE STOPS OVERVIEW
This fieldtrip will be a 10-year retrospective assessment of activities that have occurred since the 1997 NYSGA 69th Annual Meeting at Hamilton College. This 2007 fieldtrip is co-authored by a number of individuals who are familiar with their subject area and each will provide a summary of their work in the following pages. The field-trip stops will commence at the Village of Homer well field (Stop 1), and then progress northward in the Onondaga Trough valley, with stops at the Tully Lakes area (kettle lakes) situated on the Valley Heads Moraine (Stop 2) where the headwaters of West Branch of Tioughnioga Creek (Susquehanna River Basin) will be viewed and its hydrogeology discussed, then further north over the Tully Moraine and down into the Onondaga Creek valley where the unique Tully Valley mud boils will be visited (Stop 3). The remaining two stops will be around Onondaga Lake in Syracuse. An introduction to the Onondaga Lake setting will take place at the Inner Harbor (Stop 4). Discussions will center on the interaction of glacial geology, engineering, anthropogenic contamination of nearshore and in-lake environments, and the brine-filled aquifer. We may also discuss urban redevelopment of shoreline areas, the unique hydrology of the Onondaga Lake Outlet. We’ll then hear about the impact of wastebed deposits from the Solvay Process, the associated chemical wastes from the Allied Corporation, now Honeywell Corporation, and the current clean-up plan for Onondaga Lake while standing atop of these massive wastebeds (Stop 5).
Disclaimer
All of the field sites described in the guidebook article and road log are on private property. As such, it is imperative that we respect the rights and wishes of these land owners. Please do not visit these sites on your own, as it may jeopardize future field-trip opportunities. Over the past 15 years it has become increasingly difficult to maintain our access agreements to these sites as individuals and even groups of people have entered these properties without obtaining land-owner permission. We strive to maintain good relations with the land owners and do not want the inappropriate actions of a few to ruin the educational opportunities for many others who wish to enter these areas. The USGS can, and does act as the 'gate keeper' for the property owners and we would be happy to facilitate your future access to these sites. Please contact Bill Kappel for any questions as to access for you and your classes.

A1: GLACIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY OF THE ONONDAGA TROUGH, CENTRAL NY
B.Kappel, T.Miller, D.Pair, J.P.Stewart, C.W.Dickhut, G.Swenson, T.Johnson

STOP 1. Homer Waterworks
Site of Hanging Valley Entering the Southern End of the Onondaga Trough
At this location the Village of Homer has two municipal supply wells (75 and 83 ft deep) that tap an unconfined outwash sand and gravel aquifer that yield 500 to greater than 1,000 gal/min of potable water. Seismic refraction was used to determine the depth to bedrock within the Factory Brook valley where the water works are located. About 1 mi up-valley from the well field the depth to bedrock was only about 110 ft (elevation. of 1,110 ft) – a subsequent test well ground-truthed the seismic data. These results indicated that the Factory Brook V. is a hanging valley to the W. Br. Tioughnioga River V. where the elevation of bedrock in the center of the valley is at about 900 ft or 200 ft deeper than the Factory Brook Valley. We believe the Homer wells are at the lip of the hanging valley and starting at Rt 281 (a stone throws away) the buried valley wall plunges down into the very southern extent of the Onondaga Trough.
B.Kappel, T.Miller, D.Pair, J.P.Stewart, C.W.Dickhut, G.Swenson, T.Johnson

Moving in and across the southern end of the Onondaga Trough
As you travel this route, you are moving in and across the southern end of the Onondaga Trough. The bridge crossing of Route 281 at I-81 is the location of geologic section B-B’ (Fig. 6, Kappel and Miller, 2003). The intersection of NYS Route 80 and I-81 is the location of geologic section A-A’ of figure 6, cited above.
B.Kappel, T.Miller, D.Pair, J.P.Stewart, C.W.Dickhut, G.Swenson, T.Johnson

STOP 2. Tully/Valley Heads Moraine at Green Lake
At this location we are on the Valleys Heads Moraine at Tully. This moraine ‘plugs’ the Onondaga Trough. The term ‘trough’ stems from a definition by W.M. Davis – "Along a number of valleys it is possible to pass from one drainage system to the other through open valleys in which the present divides are determined not by rock, but by drift deposits". Although Tarr (1905) provided the definition, the term "through valley" is attributed to W.M. Davis, who coined the phrase during the discussion of Tarr's paper at the 1904 Geological Society meeting (Tarr, 1905, p. 233). The moraine forms the surface water divide between St. Lawrence and Susquehanna River Basins.
The location of the Valley Heads Moraine in central New York was thought to closely coincide with a preglacial bedrock divide. However, the study of the moraine has shown that during the last glacial episode, there is no bedrock ridge or high point high beneath the moraine. Rather, the trough continues a gradual slope upward starting near Syracuse, goes beneath the moraine, and continues south for several more miles to about Homer where it eventually flattens out and then begins to slope southward in the Tioughnioga River valley.
The surface-water/ground-water interaction in the Tully Lakes area is very complex and the surface-water divide often does not coincide with the ground-water divide. Ground water generally flows from the edges of the valley toward the center, where it discharges to lakes, ponds, wetlands, springs, and the West Branch Tioughnioga River. Most ground water north of the ground-water divide discharges to springs at an elevation of about 1,125 feet on the northern slope of the moraine; the rest flows northward as underflow to deeper zones of valley-fill deposits in Tully/Onondaga Creek valley. Ground water south of the divide flows southward eventually entering the Tioughnioga River.
A round of synoptic water-level measurements indicated that water levels in the western Tully Lakes are generally above those in the surrounding aquifer; therefore, water seeps from the lakes to the aquifer most of the time. In contrast, the eastern lakes generally receive water from the aquifer. Green Lake commonly receives ground-water flow along its east side and discharges to the aquifer along its west side—while at the same time surface water drains southward out of the lake through a channel at the south end and empties into Tully Lake. Tully Lake receives ground-water flow from all sides during the spring recharge conditions; then, as water levels decline from summer through early winter, it discharges to the aquifer along its southern edge.

Kettle-hole ponds and lakes on both sides of the road.
As you travel north you will see several kettle-hole ponds and lakes on both sides of the road. These ponds were linked in the late 1890’s to become the water supply for the Tully brinefield (solution brine mining). At the stop sign you will intersect with Route 80 again. See geologic section F-F’ (Kappel, Miller, 2005) for the unconsolidated stratigraphic section of this area.

Headed down the north side of the Tully (Valley Heads) Moraine.
Proceed north across Route 80 BE VERY CAREFUL – cars zip along Route 80 and there is limited sight distance. After you have safely crossed Route 80 you are now on Tully Farms Road, headed down the north side of the Tully (Valley Heads) Moraine. Note the steepness of the road, the many springs about half way down the back side of the Moraine.
Continue North on Tully Farms Road. The road has been affected by subsidence where it crosses Onondaga Creek, due to brine mining. As you pass through a dog-leg in the road, and through the middle of a farm (watch for loose cows, cats, kids, and farm machinery) you will go up a slight incline (Rattlesnake Gulf alluvial fan) to the intersection with Otisco Road. See geologic section E-E’ (Kappel, Miller, 2005) for the unconsolidated stratigraphic section of this area.

STOP 3. Tully Valley Mudboils
At the parking area you can view several different features. Going around the barrier, and walking toward what used to be the bridge over Onondaga Creek you will see the remains of the foundation for the bridge. The downstream side wing walls a tipped back to the south and have dropped about a foot. The upstream wingwalls are just at or under the water surface. The mudboil was located about 30 feet upstream of the former bridge.
Adjacent to Otisco Road on the south side was a formerly active mudboil area (circa 1970’s). The only vegetation present now is water-tolerant grassy species and willow trees. The road way experienced minor subsidence.
Walking back up Otisco Road (W) and on your left there will be a red-pipe farm gate. Walk around the gate (watch for poison ivy) and proceed south, down the farm lane. Where the field on the left ends at the tree line, continue south about 300 feet along the farm lane, and there will be a spur road on your left, that drops off the lane (SE) to the Rogue mudboil area. A former depressurizing well is now marked by a mudboil ‘pool’ and you should be able to note subsidence cracks as you come down this roadway. Walk around the large pond (former mudboil, now diked) where you should find a 6-inch PVC pipe discharging into the pond from another depressurizing well. This well and surrounding area has subsided about 3+ feet. With extreme caution you should be able to walk across the volcano-like cone of the mudboil sediments at the base of this well. Note the fine-grained nature of these sediments, and if you lightly tap these sediments with your foot, you might get them to liquefy. DO NOT OVERDO THIS LIQUIFACTION! Back in the woods are other mudboils – BE VERY CAREFUL IF YOU DECIDE TO TAKE THIS WALK IN THE WOODS, THE MUDBOILS ARE QUICKSAND-LIKE.
The main mudboil area (MDA) is further south down the farm lane, but the area is covered with phragmities so it is difficult to see into the MDA. If you venture in that direction, there is a moat around the MDA, and if you carefully walk on the dike you can find some active mudboils in the southwest quadrant, and associated land subsidence further uphill. At the outlet of the MDA there is a Parshall flume with associated discharge measuring equipment.

1993 Landslide Area
As you travel down Tully Farms Road (passing Nichols Road on your right) you will travel through the remains of the 1993 landslide area. This is not a scheduled stop, but if you pull off the by the white cinderblock house, you can see the results of the landslide. Please refer to Wieczorek and others, 1998; Pair and others, 2000 for further information on this slide. Please do not walk into this slide area without permission or venture into the tumble-down house – the house is unsafe and both are private property!

STOP 3b. Side Trip for Valley Overview
Park on the edge of the road where it takes a righthand turn. Get out and look to the south and see a panorama of the southern Onondaga Trough --the Tully Valley, Tully Moraine in the distance, and Song Mountain ski area in the far distance.

Onondaga Creek flood control dam.
See geologic section I-I’ (Kappel, Miller, 2005) for the unconsolidated stratigraphic section of this area. This is near the intersection of the main and West Branch valleys of Onondaga Creek. The high bluffs to the west side of the dam are over the thalweg of the bedrock valley, and these bluffs are fluvial deposits discharged from the West Branch valley when the ice front was still located further to the north during the development of the Syracuse Channels (Hand, 1978). If you stop here, you can see the spillway for the dam cut into the local limestone bedrock and the coarse sand and gravel of the fluvial deposits. This dam is on Onondaga Nation property, so don’t wander and don’t stay too long as the Onondagas are protective of their land and don’t like the dam being here.

STOP 4. The Syracuse Inner Harbor
Future Commercial and Residential Redevelopment of the Former Oil City Area – Engineering Geology
The Inner Harbor is at the southern end of extensive urban redevelopment for the greater Syracuse area. The expanse of land and water surrounding the Inner Harbor site is slated for massive construction in the near future as is the intervening area northeastward toward the Carousel Mall (green topped buildings) with the development of an expanded Carousel Mall, the potential development of DestiNY USA, and the supporting infrastructure. Discussions here will center around the difficulties and innovations needed to cope with the glacial sediments and salty water that underlie this entire area.

STOP 5. The Wastebed Deposits Adjacent to Onondaga Lake
And the Remediation of Groundwater, In-Lake Waste Deposits, and Other Engineering Challenges
This portion of the trip is focused on the geology and hydrogeology of the western side of Onondaga Lake and the Ninemile Creek Valley. Meeting on top of one of the wastebeds gives a view of the lake, and allows one to see where various remedial activities are and will occur in the future. Due to the complexities associated with this hydrogeologic system, various remediation and engineering challenges have been encountered as part of the ongoing cleanup efforts conducted by Honeywell adjacent to Onondaga Lake. A summary of these topics are presented and discussed in more detail during the field program.

A2:PLEISTOCENE GLACIATION OF THE TIOUGHNIOGA RIVER AND FALL CREEK VALLEYS
Amanda L. Buboltz and Peter L.K. Knuepfer
Department of Geological Sciences
Binghamton University
Binghamton, NY 13902-6000
INTRODUCTION
The Pleistocene Epoch in eastern North America was characterized by a series of glaciations, the most recent of which was the Wisconsinan (from about 11.7 to 11.9 ka B.P.). Advance and retreat of glacial ice resulted in erosion of the landscape and the formation of landforms and deposition of glacial and related deposits. At the peak of the Wisconsinan glacial period, the Laurentide Ice Sheet extended from Canada and covered most of eastern North America, with its margin located in Ohio, northern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, and extending through Long Island into the Atlantic off the southern coasts of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Deposits of the previous Illinoian glaciation can be found to the south of the Laurentide margin, but are mostly lacking to the north of the margin as a result of erosion and reworking of sediments and deposition during the Wisconsinan glaciation (Randall 2001).
In New York State, glacial ice flowed south/southeast from Canada, as indicated by glacial striations deposits/landforms. Valleys parallel to ice flow were typically eroded into U-shaped glacial valleys, whereas valleys perpendicular to flow were infilled with glacial deposits and, upon ice retreat, eroded by meltwater and rivers. Over successive glaciations, through valleys such as the valleys of the Finger Lakes were carved out, and glacial landforms and deposits, including the drumlin fields of the Ontario Lowlands in western New York and several moraine systems were deposited/formed.
In the Late Wisconsinan Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), following ice advance to the position of the terminal moraine around 20,000 (radiocarbon) years ago, ice began to retreat back to the north. The retreat phase in the Appalachian Plateau of New York State was characterized by a relatively rapid retreat of ice in the uplands, while ice tongues remained longer in glacially eroded U-shaped valleys. Valley ice tongues retreated through the processes of back- and down-wasting (Fleisher 1993). Back-wasting involved active ice retreat and typically occurred in through valleys. Down-wasting was characterized by stagnant ice retreat and took place in smaller valleys (Fleisher 1991).
Ice retreat from the LGM was accompanied by formation of lakes in front of the retreating ice margin, especially where previously deposited glacially derived sediment blocked southward drainage. At least one period of stagnation and readvance of ice resulted in the deposition of the Valley Heads Moraine (Stops 1, 3, and 4) within several valleys of Central and Western New York (Fig. 1) (Miller et al. 1998). The Valley Heads Moraine is a characteristic ablation or dead ice moraine that formed as a result of ice stagnation, as shown by the large kettle ponds and lakes in the Tully region (Stop 1) confined between the moraine to the north and the valley train to the south (Fleisher 1991). Deposition of the Valley Heads moraine resulted in the formation of large proglacial valley train sequences confined to valleys south and east of the moraine (such as the Otisco, Factory Brook, West and East Branch Tioughnioga, Otter/Dry Creek, Trout Brook, and Main Stem Tioughnioga valleys, which are the subject of this field trip). Retreat of ice north from the Valley Heads position also led to development of large proglacial lakes.
Ice re-advance and the resulting deposition of the Valley Heads Moraine reorganized pre-LGM drainage divides in several of the through valleys in central New York. Two segments of the Valley Heads Moraine provide drainage divides and boundaries for the Tioughnioga and its associated drainage. The Tully Moraine (Stop 1) forms the drainage divide at the northern end of the West Branch Tioughnioga Valley. Drainage to the north of the moraine, in the Onondaga Trough, flows north towards the Seneca River and Lake Ontario, while drainage to the south of the moraine flows south through the West Branch and Main Stem Tioughnioga River to the Chenango River and eventually the Susquehanna. To the southeast of Cortland, the South Cortland Moraine (Stops 3 and 4) forms another drainage divide. Flow to the west of the moraine is west-southwest through the Fall Creek Valley to Cayuga Lake. To the east of this moraine, Dry Creek and Otter Creek flow east-northeast into the West Branch Tioughnioga River, which then turns southwest down the Main Stem Tioughnioga.
This trip focuses principally on the deglaciation of the Tioughnioga Valley between Tully and Whitney Point, NY, with additional examination of the Fall Creek Valley between Cortland and Ithaca, NY. The goal is to illustrate most of the key morphologic and sedimentologic features that characterize active and dead-ice retreat of the LGM ice through this area of central New York. In addition, exposures in Fall Creek Valley allow us to examine some pre-LGM deposits.

A2:PLEISTOCENE GLACIATION OF THE TIOUGHNIOGA RIVER AND FALL CREEK VALLEYS

Note the gravel pits in outwash deposits along route 11 in Homer.

Preble Swamp area
Note the gravel exposure in the kame terrace to the east. The Preble swamp is a kettle, possibly a dead ice sink, formed as an ice block broke off from the actively retreating ice margin and was buried beneath glacial outwash. As the ice melted, outwash deposits collapsed downward, forming a kettle at the surface. To the east of the kettle, a kame terrace formed as glacial meltwater deposited sediment between the ice block and the valley wall. As the ice melted, the sediments collapsed and a kame terrace resulted. An exposure in this terrace is located just north of the swamp.

STOP 1. Tully Lakes Kettles and Kames
Green Lakes and the rest of the Tully Lakes, ponds, and depressions, are kettles. These lakes formed as ice stagnated and blocks of ice were buried beneath outwash deposits. As ice melted, outwash deposits collapsed downward, forming depressions and kettles. Some of these depressions were below the water table and thus filled with water, forming kettle ponds and lakes. In areas where depressions were found on the ice surface, sand and gravel was deposited by glacial meltwater flowing over the ice surface. As the ice melted, these deposits were lowered to the valley floor, forming mounds known as kames. The gravel pit to the south of Green Lakes is excavated into such a kame deposit. Overall, the deposit is poorly sorted, with larger clasts of gravel in a sand matrix. Clasts are mostly of local origin, with some exotics, including granites, metamorphics, red sandstones, and limestones transported to the region from areas to the north. Gravels commonly contain calcium carbonate rims, and large post-Pleistocene conglomerates composed of sands, gravels, and cobbles, cemented with calcium carbonate, are found at the site. This Tully Lakes moraine complex commonly is considered part of the Valley Heads Moraines, although the cross-section of Kappel and Miller (2003) implies that this Valley Heads morphology may be developed on a relatively shallow till deposit that in turn overlies laminated silt and clay over a buried till deposit. Thus, whether this area represents the “true” Valley Heads Moraine — or a slightly younger recessional moraine formed during retreat from the Valley Heads position — is unclear.

Note Song Lake, another kettle lake, to the left.

The Otisco-West Branch Tioughnioga Valley confluence.
Glacial and alluvial fan deposits from the Otisco Valley control the location of the West Branch Tioughnioga River at this junction, with the river confined along the eastern valley wall. Valley Heads Moraine deposits and Otisco Lake (one of the Finger Lakes) are found up the Otisco Valley to the northwest.

STOP 2. Preble Lakes
These lakes are large kettles that occupy most of the valley width, and are possible dead-ice sink deposits. They were formed in association with the Preble Swamp to the north, as ice blocks detached from the retreating ice margin and were buried beneath glacial outwash deposits. As ice melted, outwash at the surface collapsed, forming depressions that intersect the water table. Kettle lakes and ponds of the Preble area resulted.

Note large active EZ Acres gravel pit to the left.
This pit is in a kame terrace, deposited as glacial meltwater flowed between the ice surface and the valley wall. Although this is an excellent exposure through the entire kame terrace deposit, the height of the quarry wall at the time of this writing presupposes a safe visit.

Note exposure of bedrock as you enter Homer Gulf
Note exposure of bedrock as you enter Homer Gulf; this would be the equivalent of the valley-wall side of the kame terrace.

STOP 3. Lime Hollow Nature Center Trails
This area contains a pitted, hummocky kame and kettle landscape, with wetlands located in low lying depressions and kettles. Walk along the trail, heading southeast. Pass the trail sign, continuing straight. Cross the field, heading towards a mostly reclaimed gravel exposure. This is an exposure in a kame deposit. The unit overall is poorly sorted and matrix dominated, with grain sizes ranging from sand and silt to cobbles. Clasts include local sandstones and shales, as well as limestones, granites, red sandstones, and other exotics transported to the region from the north.

Lime Hollow Visitor Center for LUNCH STOP

STOP 4. O.D.von Engeln Preserve at Malloryville
This preserve is named for Otto D. von Engeln, late Professor of Geology at Cornell, who bequeathed much of the site in order to preserve the glacial geology and wetlands ecosystem; von Engeln was keenly interested in the glacial history of New York. The preserve is located within glacial deposits associated with deposition of the South Cortland (Valley Heads) Moraine. The area contained stagnant ice that resulted in the production of kame and kettle topography, as well as an esker. The site also contains abundant wetland types, including marshes, bogs, fens, and swamps, within depressions and low, poorly drained areas. Wetlands are in low-lying areas and depressions that formed as kettles as buried ice blocks melted and overlying deposits collapsed downward. The esker was deposited as a subglacial meltwater channel beneath stagnant ice.

STOP 5. Varna High Banks.
In this section of Fall Creek Valley, a large meander loop of Fall Creek cuts into blue-gray till and associated deposits. Basal deposits, exposed occasionally along the base of the exposures on either side of the creek, consist of laminated glaciolacustrine silts and clays. Elsewhere in the valley these varved sediments, which overlie strongly weathered till (Bloom 1986), have yielded radiocarbon ages in excess of 35,000 14C yr B.P. (Muller and Cadwell 1986). Lodgement till is typically exposed at the base of the southeastern bank of Fall Creek. This unit is highly compact, poorly sorted and matrix dominated, with clasts ranging from angular to rounded in shape. Some clasts contain glacial striations. Grain size ranges from clay to cobble, with an assortment of clast lithologies, including sandstone, granite, limestone, quartzite, and others. The lower layer of this till are contains a higher percentage of gravel and is better sorted, with some stratification. Till in this bank has been eroded by Fall Creek and is overlain by alluvial deposits.
Along the northwestern side of Fall Creek, the Varna High Banks are exposed. The lower section of this deposit is poorly sorted and matrix dominated, with grain size ranging from clay to cobbles. Clasts are predominantly of local origin, with some exotics. Precipitation of calcium carbonate has led to the cementation of the lower unit. Some layering and stratification is present in the unit, with interbeds of unsorted material and sorted, layered sands and gravels. The lower unit of the Varna High Banks is overlain by a blue-gray glacial lodgement till. This is the same till as that exposed in the eastern bank. The uppermost section of the till shows evidence of being reworked by flowing water. Glaciolacustrine deposits from Freeville-Dryden Lake overlie the till. This unit has been eroded from the eastern bank. Grains consist primarily of silt and fine sand.

Caroline area.
Note truncated spur ridges ahead that dominate the narrowing valley through which route 79 passes. The morphology of the valley-facing slopes is typical of east-west valleys in this part of New York: a steep north-facing slope on the south side of the valley, a gentler south-facing slope on the north side. Coates (1966) attributed this morphology to till shadows, formed because south-flowing ice dropped its basal load at the stress reduction caused by the north valley wall and had increased erosional capacity with increased basal stress at the south valley wall.

Richford.
This is the through valley that connects Owego Creek with Dryden and, ultimately, the Fall Creek Valley.

Michigan Hill Road.
This is the approximate location of the west end of the Lisle/Dudley Creek esker, which continues east for approximately 5 miles (8 km). The esker is intermittent at this west end, but becomes more continuous to the east (except where it has been quarried away).

STOP 6. Lisle Esker.
Most of the deposit has been removed at this location during construction of the speedway parking area, but part of the esker is exposed to the west of the parking area. This esker was deposited within a fluvial channel beneath (likely) stagnant ice. Clasts range from sand to cobble in size, and are rounded. The unit is stratified and contains well-sorted lenses of sand and gravel. Clast lithologies are predominantly of local origin, with a small percentage of exotics.

Center Lisle; east end of Lisle Esker.
Continuing to the east, the valley margins are marked by a series of kame terrace deposits.

STOP 7. Kame Terrace Within Northern Cutbank of Dudley Creek.
Dudley Creek has been undercutting its north bank at a number of locations through this narrow valley. This has produced a number of large slumps, the best exposed of which is here. Most of the slumps expose stratified sands and gravels. The deposits at this location also are stratified, with a massive, well-sorted sand unit in the lower section overlain by a unit of interbedded sand and gravel. The lower sand unit contains cross beds and collapse structures. Layers within the interbedded unit dip upstream and contain large scale cross beds.

Owen Hill Road climbs onto broad kame terrace surface.
This is the same kame that is exposed in the bank of Dudley Creek (Stop 7).

Crest of Owen Hill Road onto kame terrace surface.

Descend onto lower kame terrace surface.

Begin descent from lower kame surface.

STOP 8. Kame Terrace
This terrace is a continuation of the deposit along the northern wall of the Dudley Creek Valley. Clasts within this deposit are rounded and range from fine sand to boulders. The lithologies are mostly of local origin, but exotics, including red sandstone and metamorphics are also found. Clasts are oriented into the deposit, indicating meltwater flowing south toward Owen Hill Road and parallel to the Tioughnioga Valley. The sand and gravel near the top of this deposit is cemented by calcium carbonate.

STOP 9. Kame Delta
This deposit is above the Tioughnioga Valley on the eastern valley wall. A large kame terrace with a working sand and gravel operation is found below this deposit. Here, the kame deposits are deltaic. The delta deposit is stratified, with topsets and foresets exposed. A channel deposit is present in the upper left section of the deposit, with a channel bar to the right. A fault offsets channel sand beds, and gravels along the fault have slumped and rotated. Overall, the deposit is poorly sorted, but individual well-sorted layers with imbricated pebbles are present.

Note the working gravel pit and kame terrace exposure to the right
Note the working gravel pit and kame terrace exposure to the right, along the east valley wall. This is the gravel pit and kame surface west of and below Stop 9.

STOP 9B. Optional Stop. Marathon Glacial Landscape Overview
The valley walls at Marathon contain large kame terrace deposits, including a deposit at the location of the graveyard just north of the Interstate 81 on-ramp. A terrace is present to the southwest, across the valley from the high school. Note the relatively flat topography of the terrace surface. Kame terraces are also found to the south of Marathon, just north of the Cortland – Broome County boundary.

Head north along the east valley wall.
Note the narrowing of the Tioughnioga Valley and the bedrock outcrops along the east valley wall.

Likely Location of a pre-glacial drainage divide.
Just north of Messengerville is the likely location of a pre-glacial upland and valley drainage divide. Drainage north was toward Cortland and drainage south was toward Marathon. As a result of glaciation, this drainage divide was eroded and the Tioughnioga River now flows south from Cortland toward Marathon and Whitney Point.

Abandoned gravel pit just east of road.
Pit exposes more than 30 m of stratified sand and gravel; most is cemented by calcium carbonate. This deposit may be part of a recessional moraine that was a valley plug deposit, impounding a lake that deposited thick glaciolacustrine sediments now buried beneath the Tioughnioga Valley to the north.

Hoxie Gorge Road.
Spectacular bridges take I-81 across this deep gorge, which is incised into glacial deposits and (mostly) bedrock.

Polkville.
This area is within the valley of the Main Stem Tioughnioga. The Trout Brook Valley merges with the Main Stem Valley from the east in this area. Pre-glacial drainage in this area was to the northwest, as shown by the orientation of the Trout Brook and Tioughnioga valleys, the change in valley width from northwest (wide valley) to southeast (narrow), and the northwestward sloping longitudinal bedrock profile within the Tioughnioga Valley. A sand and gravel mining operation in glacial outwash deposits is located within the valley, just southwest of the highway. Beneath the outwash deposits, a thick layer of glaciolacustrine silt and clay is present. This silt and clay was deposited in a large glacial lake that extended to the Valley Heads Moraine deposits. The lake outlet was located south of Blodgett Mills, quite possibly impounded by the valley plug deposit described above at mile 111.3.

Pendleton Street.
A kame surface is located to the left (south) along the southern valley wall here at Cortland. The terrace deposits, as shown by soil parent materials, extend southwest along the Otter Creek Valley. Additional kame terraces are found along the northern valley wall of Otter Creek. These kame terraces may be part of a moraine that was deposited as ice retreated northward from the region, possibly pinned against the high topography south of Cortland. Within the valley itself, outwash deposits overlie glaciolacustrine deposits, buried outwash, and till.

A3: KIMBERLITIC ROCKS OF CENTRAL NEW YORK
David G. Bailey
Department of Geosciences
Hamilton College
Clinton, NY 13323
e-mail: dbailey@hamilton.edu
Marian Lupulescu
New York State Geological Survey
Albany, NY
e-mail: mlupules@mail.nysed.gov
INTRODUCTION
The term “kimberlite” was first formally used to refer to the diamond-bearing mica peridotites of South Africa by Henry Lewis in 1887 at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (Lewis,1888; Mitchell, 1986). Interestingly, similar mica peridotites were first discovered in upstate New York fifty years earlier. In his first annual report on the geology of the third district of New York, Lardner Vanuxem reported the presence of “serpentine” veins cutting through the Paleozoic sediments on the banks of East Canada Creek (approximately 10km east of the city of Little Falls) (Vanuxem, 1837). In his final geological report for the Third District, Vanuxem (1842) described four dikes of uncommon igneous rocks in a ravine east of Ludlowville (Tompkins County), the dikes on East Canada Creek (Herkimer/Montgomery County), as well as a “serpentine body” in the city of Syracuse (Onondaga County). According to Williams (1887a,b), the Syracuse serpentinite was discovered in 1837 by Oren Root who brought the rock to the attention of Vanuxem. Thus, 1837 appears to be the year when kimberlitic rocks were first observed and described anywhere in the world.
The New York dikes are part of a larger north-south belt of kimberlitic intrusions on the western flank of the Appalachian mountain belt that extends from Tennessee to Quebec. These dikes are of particular interest to North American geologists because they provide the only direct information on the nature of the mantle and lower crust in the Appalachian interior, and they are the only expressions of Mesozoic magmatism in the region. Their age, origin, and relationship to plate tectonic processes are still poorly known or understood.

A3: KIMBERLITIC ROCKS OF CENTRAL NEW YORK

STOP 1. TAUGHANNOCK FALLS STATE PARK
The entire stream valley is part of Taughannock Falls State Park. No hammering or collecting is allowed
At least three small (2-8cm wide) dikes are exposed on the north bank of the creek underneath a small poplar tree, slightly west of the parking area. Foster (1970) identified and mapped out 10 dikes in the streambed over a distance of ~ 800m. Erosion and sampling over the past 30+ years has made it increasingly difficult to locate half of these dikes.
The dikes intrude the Devonian West River Shale (Genesee Group), and follow the prominent N-S joints. The tendencies of the dikes to occur in clusters, to contain xenoliths of the local country rock, and to pinch out along strike, are all displayed nicely here.
Petrographically, the Taughannock Creek dikes contain the best preserved macrocryst assemblage of all the NY kimberlites, with unaltered olivine, phlogopite, pyrope garnet, Cr-bearing diopside, and various spinels being relatively common. The groundmass of the dikes is composed of varying proportions of serpentine, calcite, phlogopite, perovskite, apatite and magnetite. Relative to the other central NY dikes, the groundmass of the Taughannock Creek dikes is relatively calcite-rich.
The bulk chemistry of the Taughannock dikes is quite variable, but they tend to have relatively low SiO2 contents and relatively high CaO, P2O5, Sr and Zr concentrations compared to other NY state kimberlites (Table 2).

STOP 1a. Glenwood Creek Dike
Not in Guidebook, but added during the trip. On the Charles Dutton Property.

STOP 2. Williams Brook
Unusual and nicely exposed dike. Please do not hammer on outcrop. Collect only loose pieces found in streambed
As noted by Kay & Foster (1986), the Williams Brook dike is the largest dike in the Cayuga lake region, with a width of ~3.7m. The contacts with the surrounding shale are not exposed along the eastern margin, and only poorly exposed on the western margin. Little to no thermal effects are visible.
The dike is petrographically and chemically distinct from all of the other Cayuga region dikes. It is very dark colored and dense, with abundant large (2-12mm) black serpentine pseudomorphs after olivine macrocrysts. Large phlogopite macrocrysts are also common, but in contrast to the Taughannock Creek dikes, no garnet, pyroxene, or spinel macrocrysts are observed. Some samples contain up to 10% unaltered olivine. The groundmass is similar to the other Cayuga area dikes, although perovskite and phlogopite are somewhat more abundant.
Chemically, the Williams Brook dike is unlike any of the other Ithaca region dikes (Table 2). It has a relatively high TiO2 content, and relatively low Ba, Sr, and Zr concentrations. The bulk composition of the Williams Brook dike is most similar to the northernmost Ogdensburg dike.

STOP 3. PORTLAND POINT QUARRY
Private Property. Contact Hanson Aggregates New York for permission to enter quarry
Two dikes were discovered in the Hanson Aggregates (former Portland Point) limestone quarry. One dike (5 to 7 cm wide) was found cutting the floor, and another, (12 to 20 cm wide) is exposed in the west wall of the quarry. Both strike N-S, have near vertical dips, and are strongly altered. They contain upper crustal xenoliths of both limestone and shale. Large serpentine pseudomorphs after olivine are common in some portions of the dikes, but are absent in others. Pyrope garnets are very rare, but when present they contain unusually high amounts of chromium (5.77% Cr2O3). Calcite and serpentine are the most common minerals in the groundmass.
In 1947 a dike cutting the halite in the underground works of the Cayuga Rock Salt Company (just below the Portland Point limestone quarry) was discovered. The dike, studied by Broughton (1950), occurred at a depth of 0.4 mile, and was exposed underground for 300 feet. The dike is an extension of one of the dikes exposed in the overlying limestone quarry, and had been predicted by the local mine geologists.

STOP 4. CLINTONVILLE
Private property. Please ask permission to access ravine from property owner. Please do not hammer on outcrop. Collect only loose pieces found in stream bed
The Clintonville dikes were discovered nearly 100 years ago (Smith, 1909). While only two dikes were originally identified, subsequent workers (Hopkins, 1914; Smith 1931) described a total of six dikes exposed over a distance of ~75m in the small ravine.
The dikes range in width from 2 to 30 cm, and all are nearly vertical with a N6-12°E strike. The dikes cut through shales of the Devonian Skaneateles Formation (Hamilton Group). What is most striking about the Clintonville dikes is the dramatically different degree of weathering and alteration exhibited by immediately adjacent dikes. Two of the largest dikes exposed on the southern wall of the ravine are only centimeters apart, but one is completely altered to a soft yellow clay/hydroxide mixture while the other remains fairly coherent and is composed primarily of serpentine and calcite.
The fresher dikes contain macrocrysts of phlogopite, and nice euhedral pseudomorphs of olivine, along with scarce macrocrysts of diopside and spinel.
The bulk composition of the least altered Clintonville dikes closely approximates the “average” composition of all of the NY kimberlites.

STOP 5. GREEN STREET
Only a few blocks remain of what was probably the very first kimberlite discovered in New York State. Please do not hammer on, or remove, any of the remaining large pieces
The Green Street, or “Foot-street road serpentinite”, was first described by Vanuxem in 1839, although it was reportedly discovered by Oren Root in 1837 (Williams, 1887a). The Green Street dike is part of a cluster of relatively small to moderate sized (5 cm up to 10 m wide) dikes (and sill offshoots?) that run NNW from Green Street in the south to Griffith Street in the north. Excavations in this area over the years encountered the serpentinite in at least five separate localities (see Figure 1b). The actual number, size, and orientation of intrusions are not known. All intrude Silurian dolostones and shales of the Syracuse Formation (Salina Group), and many contain abundant crustal xenoliths. Most xenoliths are from the local country rock, although lower crustal metamorphic rocks (gneisses and amphibolites) are also found.
As with all the kimberlitic rocks, samples of the Green St.–Griffith St. intrusions are quite variable in color, texture, and mineralogy. During the early excavations, it was reported that the local children collected “rubies” (pyrope garnets) and “emeralds” (Cr-bearing diopsides) up to 1 cm in diameter (Williams, 1887a). Other macrocrysts reported include phlogopite, olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, feldspar, garnet and spinel (Hogeboom, 1958). We have only observed phlogopite, olivine and spinel macrocrysts in the samples currently available for study. The matrix is composed of phlogopite, serpentine, calcite, magnetite, apatite, and perovskite. Smyth (1902) reported the presence of melilite, but this has not been confirmed.

STOP 6. DEWITT RESERVOIR
Private property. Contact LeMoyne College security for permission to hike on trails up to reservoir. Abundant material is available for collecting on the banks of the reservoir, although please leave the larger blocks intact for future field trips
Other than the few small blocks on Green St., this is the only other kimberlitic material in the Syracuse region that is still exposed and accessible. The “dike” was discovered in 1894 by P. F. Schneider, and first described by Darton & Kemp (1895a.b). According to the contractor engaged in the initial excavation of the reservoir, blocks of the kimberlitic rock “occurred in masses imbedded in a greenish-yellow earth which underlaid the entire area of the excavation, which was about 200 by 250 feet” (Darton and Kemp, 1895a,b; p.456). Some of the individual blocks were reported to be 20’ x 50’, indicating that the original intrusion was a very large dike or possibly a diatreme or sill.
What is most striking about the DeWitt material is the abundance of dark, dense, relatively hard rocks. In fact, some of the “surplus” blocks excavated from the reservoir were “crushed and used for road material in DeWitt with satisfactory results” (Schneider, 1903b).
The freshest samples contain abundant, well-defined pseudomorphs of serpentine after olivine and rare macrocrysts of phlogopite and pyrope garnet. The matrix consists largely of phlogopite, serpentine, calcite, magnetite, and perovskite.

A4: RE-EXAMINATION OF THE TYPE ITHACA FORMATION: CORRELATIONS WITH SECTIONS IN WESTERN NEW YORK
James J. Zambito IV
University of Cincinnati
Department of Geology
500 Geology/Physics Building
Cincinnati, OH, 45221-0013
e-mail: zambitjj@uc.edu
Gordon C. Baird
SUNY College at Fredonia
Department of Geosciences
Fredonia, NY 14063
Carlton E. Brett
Alex J. Bartholomew
SUNY New Paltz
1 Hawk Dr, Wooster Science Bldg
New Paltz, NY 12561
Stratigraphic correlation of the early Frasnian (Genesee Group) in New York has been ongoing for over 150 years (see Kirchgasser 1985 and Kirchgasser et al. 1994 for summary). While recent work has recognized key temporal horizons (e.g., sequence boundaries, condensed sections, and flooding surfaces) in western New York sections, correlation of such horizons into the vicinity of Ithaca, New York is currently ongoing (Kirchgasser 2000, Baird et al. 2006). This study focuses on detailed re-examination of the Ithaca Formation of east-central New York in its type area, which has not been studied in any detail since the early 1980's (see Kirchgasser 1985). We use sequence stratigraphic approach to describe and correlate these strata; a model which was previously unavailable to past researchers. Herein we summarize progress in characterizing small scale sedimentary cycles within the Ithaca Formation, as well as the identification of horizons and/or beds that may be correlative with those previously recognized in western New York sections. We present a working hypothesis of high-resolution correlation within the Ithaca Formation. These include fossil-rich calcareous siltstone and shell-rich limestone beds that appear to record sediment starved intervals associated with both small- and large-scale transgressions. The latter may at least correlate with condensed, styliolinid-rich pelagic limestones in western New York.
Given that certain Genesee divisional units recognized in western New York (Schumacher Bed of the Penn Yan Formation, Genundewa Formation, "Huddle Bed" of conodonts and Styliolina in the basal West River Formation) have not yet been correlated with any certainty into the Ithaca region, and, given that certain Ithaca area units (Renwick Formation, Beebe Limestone, Williams Brook Limestone, as well as some newly described condensed intervals in the lower Ithaca Formation) have not been confidently linked into the stable stratigraphic succession of the Genesee Valley-Erie County region, the results presented here are a "work in progress". By establishing a "cat's cradle" of bed-to-bed matches between the various, large Ithaca gorge sections, we will be able to construct a hierarchy of units and beds that reflect eustatic changes and important bioevents. This linkage of local sections will also allow us to out-correlate marker beds both to the Genesee Valley area and to the east.

A4: RE-EXAMINATION OF THE TYPE ITHACA FORMATION: CORRELATIONS WITH SECTIONS IN WESTERN NEW YORK

Overgrown, but fossiliferous outcrop
0.25 mile long overgrown, but fossiliferous outcrop. The presence of O. mesastrialis and ‘Pugnoides’ places this within the Triphammer member, possibly the University Quarry submember (see Harrington 1970).

Outcrop of West River equivalent strata
Outcrop of West River equivalent strata at the intersection of Warren Rd.

Strata of the Ithaca Formation.

Strata of the Ithaca Formation
Exit for Cayuga Heights Road. Strata of the Ithaca Formation, this will be STOP 5.

Outcrops of Renwick Formation.

Cross Williams Brook
(STOPS 7A and7B will be upper portion of this creek).

STOP 1A. Taughannock State Park (Tully Limestone)
Both STOPS 1A and B are used as an overview to put the Ithaca Formation in perspective with the underlying Middle Devonian strata. At the first stop, the Tully Limestone is accessible above the Moscow Formation of the Hamilton Group. As summarized in Baird and Brett (2003), the Tully represents both significant sedimentological and faunal changes in the Appalachian Basin. Sedimentologically, upper Tully divisions, commencing with the coral-rich Bellona Bed comprise a TST-succession that represents the onset of 101 the Taghanic onlap, a eustatic sea-level rise that locally within the Appalachian Basin resulted in the deposition of the black Geneseo Shale Formation and its correlatives (Harrell, Burkett, etc, see Baird and Brett 2003). Faunally, this onlap is significant because it is concurrent with late stages of the global Taghanic Bioevent, resulting in the suspected demise of Middle Devonian faunas worldwide. As will be demonstrated later in this trip, the demise of the Middle Devonian ‘Hamilton-fauna’ in the Appalachian Basin may not have taken place at this boundary; ‘Hamilton’-characteristic fossils can be found throughout the Frasnian of New York (see Williams 1913 and references therein).

STOP 1B. Taughannock Falls Overview (Lower Genesee Group)
The overlook at Taughannock Falls provides a stunning view of the lower Genesee Group; including the Geneseo Formation, Sherburne Formation, and the lowest Ithaca Formation (Figure 6). Within the walls of this hanging valley both the Fir Tree and Lodi Limestone Beds can be observed. These beds, or associated discontinuities, can be traced throughout most of New York (Baird et al. 1988). Also visible within the gorge wall are the siltstone lenses characteristic of the ‘Renwick facies’, which will be observed in detail at later stops. This is purportedly the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi River.

The Paleontological Research Institution.

Pass outcrops of Renwick Formation.

STOP 2. Ithaca Falls Park, Fall Creek (Warrenella Zone Submember)
This stop allows access to the Renwick Formation (Figs. 1 and 2). This section begins in the Warrenella Zone, near the base of the Renwick Formation. Above this and in the face of Ithaca Falls are the siltstone channel lenses characteristic of the ‘Renwick facies’. Excellent collecting of the Warrenella Zone fauna is possible at this locality. The upper Renwick Formation is inaccessible at this locality, but can be accessed at the nearby gully running up through the old Ithaca Gun Factory, also known as Gun Hill. Due to reportedly high lead levels from test firing of rifles, this small gully and the Ithaca Gun Factory itself are currently posted.

STOP 3. Cascadilla Creek ('Renwick Facies')
This stop begins stratigraphically above the Warrenella Zone, within the siltstone lenses of the 'Renwick facies' (Figures 1 and 2). This is the “Lingula Shales” interval of H.S. Williams (1906). This outcrop offers collecting of the Lingula fauna, including Plumalina plumaria and articulated crinoids (Eutaxocrinus ithacensis).

OPTIONAL STOP. NY-13 (Renwick Formation)
This optional stop shows a continuous section of the intervals seen at STOPS 2 and 3. The base of the section is in the Warrenella Zone (Figures 1 and 2). Above this, the siltstone channel interval ('Renwick facies') is accessible for collection of the Lingula fauna as well as Plumalaria plumalina. Although this outcrop does not reach the Ithaca Falls limestone, the upper portion of this cut is interesting in that it affords the opportunity for close examination of large ball and pillow structures. This is approximately the arbitrary lithological boundary given to the Renwick and overlying Ithaca in the past literature.

Exit at Cayuga Heights.
The well-exposed outcrop along the cloverleaf of strata above the Renwick Formation will be examined later as part of STOP 5.

STOP 4. Twin Glens (Ithaca Falls Limestone Submember)
Park on side of NY-34 near (but 10 feet from) orange hydrant. Proceed on foot to trail along Twin Glens. This is private property, and permission must be granted for access.
The focus of this stop is the Ithaca Falls limestone submember as well as the recurrent 'Hamilton fauna' in the surrounding shales (Figures 1 and 2). At this locality the Ithaca Falls limestone is well developed, showing a sharp erosional base, erosionally lateral-truncation of turbidites, and an angularly truncated upper surface. This bed is excellent for collecting calcite replaced Paleoneilo sp. and Nuculiid bivalves. Above this limestone is a thin bed of crinoid debris that has yielded articulated cladid crinoids (at Fall Creek). Surrounding this bed is a dysaerobic fauna with some characteristic fossils of the 'Hamilton fauna'. This includes Paleoneilo sp., Nuculiid bivalves, ?Mucrospirifer mucronatas (?'Spirifer' posterus, ?Tylothyris mesacostales), Glyptotomaria capillaria, and abundant pelmatozoan material.

Cross upper end of Twin Glens.

STOP 5. NY-13 (Upper Cascadilla Through Cayuga Heights Members)
Excellent exposures are seen at the cloverleaf cut for the NY-13 interchange at Cayuga Heights Road. The lowest part of this exposure begins above the Ithaca Falls limestone. This section is continuously exposed upward to the “Pyramid Mall bed”, therefore including the complete cycles represented by the upper Cascadilla, Triphammer, and Cayuga Heights members (Figures 1 and 2). At this section, the lithology of the University Quarry submember more closely resembles the “Firestone Beds” at Fall Creek, than to the Williams Brook Limestone (STOP 7A), and the Beebe Limestone is a calcisiltite rather than a well developed coquina as seen in the Fall Creek Gorge and at Sixmile Creek (see Figure 3). Most impressive at this section is the cross-sections of FSST siltstone channel complexes visible in the wall face. There is noticeably a large amount of covered section, on NY-13 between the optional stop and STOP 5, in fact larger than should be, given the correlations presented in this trip. Faunally, however, our correlations of the NY-13 section with the other sections studied do agree, and we presently interpret this large covered interval as possibly representing some unseen thrust faulting resulting in stratigraphic duplication.

Power Plant waterfalls and the 'type' “Firestone Beds”.
To the right at the end of Highland Ave. is a suspension bridge and access into Fall Creek Gorge at the Cornell University Power Plant waterfalls and the 'type' “Firestone Beds”.

STOP 6. Beebe Lake (Beebe Limestone Submember)
This stop will show the Beebe Limestone in place near Beebe Lake (Figures 1 and 2). The lithology developed here is very dissimilar to the coquinitic limestone blocks seen downstream as isolated float below the Beebe Lake dam (see text and Fig. 3), but this section at least serves as an accessible type locality for this bed, which has been wanting ever since Caster (1933, 1933a) first named it. This stop also highlights local faulting within the Ithaca Formation. A down-dropped (?) fault block is seen just upstream of the Beebe Limestone.

STOP 7A. Williams Brook (Beebe Limestone Submember)
At Williams Brook, the Beebe Limestone is similar to that observed at STOP 6, a fossiliferous calcisiltite, but here more splayed open. The identification of this bed at this level agrees with Williams et al. (1909) in that the University Quarry interval is equivalent to the Williams Brook Limestone; and furthermore shows that both are distinctly older than the Beebe (Figures 1 and 2). Below the Beebe interval at this section, pyrite-coated concretions, similar to those reworked into the Beebe Limestone at Sixmile Creek, can be observed. If time permits, the "Pyramid Mall beds" are accessible just upstream of here. Proceed across street and onto Private Property to access the Williams Brook Limestone; permission must be given by landowner.

STOP 7B. Williams Brook (Williams Brook Limestone)
Proceed across street and onto Private Property to access the Williams Brook Limestone; permission must be given by landowner.
The Williams Brook Limestone (Caster 1933, 1933a) is one of the most impressive deposits to be seen on this trip. The interval of the coquina itself is approximately 3 meters thick, capping a small waterfall. Channelized bedforms, cross-bedding, truncated inter-bedded siltstones, and reworked concretions and rip-up clasts can be seen within the coquina. The local representation of the "Firestone Beds" at this locality, as well as the channelized bedforms observed in cross-section, suggest deposition within a submarine channel (Figures 1, 2, and 3). The beds above the coquina (Marathon Sandstone of Caster (1933, 1933a), 'Spirifer mesastrialis Zone', and the 'mesastrialis sands' of Williams et al. (1909) and Williams (1913)) contain abundant fossils at some horizons, including Gomphoceras tumidum.

A5: APPLIED GEOMORPHOLOGY FOR LAND USE AND PLANNING IN CORTLAND, NEW YORK
James E. Bugh
State University of New York at Cortland
Cortland NY 13045
The "science of landforms", geomorphology, is critical in the use of land. Through the last forty years, environmental geomorphology has come to the forefront of geology/physical geology because of the rapid growth of suburbia and the recognition of the impact of land use on stream flow. Central New York experienced rapid growth in the early 1970s because of many employment possibilities. In Cortland, we had Smith Corona Marchant (which was the world's largest manufacturer of portable typewriters at the time), Mack Trucks, Wilson Sporting Goods and Chris Craft (which manufactured pleasure boats). The Cortland-Homer valley was easy to develop because of its relatively flat landscape and the strength and thickness of the materials making up the landscape. After the 1970s, the county had a net loss in population when these companies left the area.

A5: APPLIED GEOMORPHOLOGY FOR LAND USE AND PLANNING IN CORTLAND, NEW YORK

STOP 1. The USGS well, CT11.
The U.S. Geological Survey drilled a number of wells into the Cortland aquifer in the mid-1970s. Well CT11 is located nearest the City of Cortland wells. The U.S. Geological Survey has a number of reasons for drilling wells. The Survey may contract with communities to determine water supply potential or to develop a computer model of the aquifer based on the configuration and composition of the aquifer.
Before we begin our measurements, examine the well log and the landscape. What is the origin of this landscape?
TABLE 1—Log of Well CT11.
Depth (ft) | Description
10 | coarse sand and pebbles
15 | clay, sand and pebbles
20 | medium to coarse sand and pebbles
25 | coarse sand and pebbles
30 | fine to coarse sand and pebbles
35 | some clay, fine to coarse sand and pebbles
40 | fine to coarse sand and pebbles
45 | fine to coarse sand and pebbles
55 | coarse sand and pebbles
60 | medium to coarse sand and pebbles
65 | silt and fine sand
80 | fine to coarse sand pebbles
95 | medium to coarse sand and pebbles
100 | clay, coarse sand and pebbles
105 | clay and coarse sand
Measured data:
Surface altitude: _____ Depth to water: _____ Water table altitude: _____

STOP 2. Site Known as the Polo Grounds
Soon to Be a Wal-Mart Supercenter
In March of 2003 preliminary plans for a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter were submitted to the Town of Cortlandville to be located on this site. However, the site was not zoned for "big box" development and the project was put on hold pending changes in zoning. Wal-Mart requested that its project be termed a "Planned Unit Development" (PUD) and the request was granted after considerable controversy. A PUD can over-ride existing zoning, allowing Wal-Mart to submit a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the project before a change in zoning occurred. The Final Environmental Impact Statement was submitted in November of 2006. The final approval by the Town was given in August of 2007. Throughout the four-year process, a local environmental organization fought the project, even bring a lawsuit against the Town. The problem with this site is that it is the most important tract of land over the aquifer.
Examine the test-pit data and the landscape. What is the origin of the landscape? The developers contend that the site is not a major recharge area because Otter Creek transports all of the runoff from the hills. We need to evaluate that contention.
TABLE 2—Test pit data.
Depth (ft) | Description
0-5 | Gray-brown silt, little gravel, little sand, gravel pocket at four feet
5-6 | Brown sandy silt and gravel
6-8 | Gray silty sand and gravel
Measured data:
Surface altitude: _____ Depth to water: _____ Water table altitude: _____
OHM 2019: In September, 2009, Google Earth shows the area to the NE of here to be vacant land, but by November, 2011 the Super Center had been completed and cars were in the parking lot.

STOP 3. South Cortland Sand and Gravel
To more fully evaluate and ensure the quality of all material produced from granular deposits, a Geological Source Report shall be submitted for each sand and gravel operation furnishing material to New York State Department of Transportation contracts. In the Source Report there must be a discussion of mode of deposition, a geologic cross-section, and a petrographic analysis.
What is the origin of this landscape?
We will analyze approximately 100 representative samples of gravel.
Measured data:
Clastics: _____% Carbonates: _____% Crystallines: _____%

STOP 4. USGS Test Well #381
In 1986 trichloroethylene (TCE) was discovered in water of private wells near this site. Well #381 was established to monitor water chemistry and provide data to determine the source of the TCE. TABLE 3—Log of Well #381
Depth (ft) | Description
0-106 | sand and gravel
110-175 | varved silt and clay
175-216 | sand and gravel
216-220 | silt and clay
220-245 | sand and gravel
245 | bedrock
Surface altitude: _____ Depth to water: _____ Water table altitude: _____ With three (3) measurements of the water table altitude, we may determine the slope of the water table and the direction of flow of the water and any contaminants. How is this done?

STOP 5. Highland Road Development
This development was considered to be ideal for many years until wells became contaminated. The County is now attempting to require much larger building lots in these "rural" areas. Larger building lots will allow for the owners to have wells adequately spaced for septic systems and avoid future contamination. When this development was completed, the lot size was deemed adequate.

STOP 6. Blue Creek Road Subdivision
When the Blue Creek Road Subdivision was first proposed, it had 16 building lots. The subdivision was then resubmitted to the Cortlandville Planning Board with 14 building lots. The problem with the subdivision was in the slope of the land and storm water runoff. At the conclusion of a extensive discussion regarding storm water, a motion was made by a planning board member to approve the subdivision, as requested, incorporating the disclaimer: "The design and Town of Cortlandville acceptance is not to be construed as a guarantee, expressed or implied, that the storm water management facilities will function properly, and the Town of Cortlandville assumes no liability should the storm water management system fail to function properly." The motion was seconded and the vote recorded with three "ayes" and two "nays".

STOP 7. Suit-Kote Homer Gravel Pit
Many gravel pits exist in this vicinity. The dollar value of aggregate in Cortland County is greater than what California has realized from gold; however, mining has prevented future agricultural activities or residential development. This is a major problem in land-use planning. If we don't mine here, where do we?
At this site we want to compare and contrast the aggregate with our sample analyzed at Stop 3.
Clastics: _____% Carbonates: _____% Crystallines: _____%

STOP 8. Suit-Kote Lorings Crossing Plant.
Here we want to examine the location of the plant with respect to the Tioughnioga River. What safe-guards are in place to protect the river in case of the failure of an asphalt storage tank?

STOP 9. Suit-Kote Polkville Plant
Suit-Kote is the largest producer of asphalt in central New York. Although business is important for the welfare of any community, this type of business creates problems for the community. We will examine such problems as: noise, dust, odor, loss of land from excavation, and water pollution.
Source Reports submitted to the Department of Transportation must contain a petrographic analysis of the materials before crushing. In addition to examining potential problems, we will compare aggregates from the face of the deposit to processed materials ready for market.
Clastics: _____% Carbonates: _____% Crystallines: _____% We have now examined several aggregate sites from which gravels are mined for road construction.
What are the qualities we want in a durable aggregate?
What could have been the provenance for each of these deposits?

B1: SUBSIDENCE AND LANDSLIDES IN TULLY VALLEY, CENTRAL NEW YORK
Gayle Gleason
Geology Department
SUNY Cortland, Cortland
NY 13045
William Hackett
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT 05401
Katie Tamulonis
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
The two field sites described in the road log are on private property. As such, it is imperative that we respect the rights and wishes of these land owners. Please do not visit these sites on your own, as it may jeopardize future field- trip opportunities. Over the past 15 years it has become increasingly difficult to maintain our access agreements to these sites as individuals and even groups of people have entered these properties without obtaining land-owner permission. We strive to maintain good relations with the land owners and do not want the inappropriate actions of a few to ruin the educational opportunities for many others who wish to enter these areas. The USGS can, and does act as the 'point of contact' for the property owners and we would be happy to facilitate your future access to these sites. Please contact Bill Kappel (USGS, Ithaca, NY) for any questions as to access for you and your classes.

Trip B-1
B1: SUBSIDENCE AND LANDSLIDES IN TULLY VALLEY, CENTRAL NEW YORK

Start

Park Cars Here
Take an immediate right (N) on to Route II A. Go down the back side of the Tully (Valley Heads) Moraine and continue north until you see a red house on your left. Just ahead on your right you will see a red pipe gate, pull over and park to the side of the locked gate.
You need prior permission to enter this property.

STOP 1 Brinefield Fractures
Walk east on the dirt road to base of slope (~1200 ft) , proceed north (left) on dirt road approximately 300 ft. Stop where fracture from northeast intersects road.
STOP 1 A. LONG, NORTHEAST TRENDING FRACTURE NEAR EAST BRINEFIELD
This is one of the largest fractures in this area, both in exposed length and depth. This vertical fracture trends 060° and is exposed for 540 feet along strike. The width of the fissure opening is about 0.3 m (1 ft) and the measured depth is 11.5 m (38 feet). The orientation of this fracture correlates to set III of Parker (1942). Possible fringe cracks intersect the southeast wall of the fissure, trend 075°, and are vertical.
Walk in the 060° direction along strike to place where tree roots jut over the fissure, but the tree is no longer there.
A tree trunk was removed from this spot last spring for tree ring analysis. The time of root exposure, and thus the time of fracture opening, may be determined by recognition of a change in the characteristics of the tree rings of the roots. Analysis is still in progress as of this writing. The hypothesis is that the fracture opened in response to collapse at depth after the final surge in salt removal by solution mining about 1950-1960.
Walk down slope to road, continue North to small east-west trending gully.
STOP 1 B. CROSS-CUTTING RELATIONS BETWEEN FRACTURE SETS
On the South side of gully the two sets of open fractures intersect. The longer vertical fracture trends 055°, is open about 0.3 m (1 ft), and is straddled by a tree- not unlike what the tree at the previous stop looked like before removal for tree ring analysis. Again, oriented as set III of Parker (1942). Possible fringe cracks intersect the southeast wall of the fissure, trend 083°, and are vertical. A small fracture oriented 352°/86°E (corresponding to set I of Parker, 1942) appears to offset the 055° fracture. If this is correct then the timing relationship is consistent with Engelder et al., (2001); that is, set III is older than set I and II hypothesized to be related to the Alleghanian orogeny.
Walk west to return to dirt road. Walk south 275 m (~900 ft) past intersection with dirt road to next group of open fractures.
STOP 1 C. CLUSTER OF FRACTURES UPSLOPE FROM SINK HOLE
Note that no fractures occur along this road between the long fracture of STOP I A, and this cluster. This cluster of open fractures appears to be spatially related to the sinkhole just to the west on the valley floor. Walking uphill along an east trending dirt road, one can see several fractures of the three orientations on both sides of road.
Return to dirt road by walking west, downhill. Walk north 75 m (250 ft) to intersection with dirt road we came in on. Turn west, walk back to US 11A and cars.

STOP 2 Rattlesnake Gulf Landslide
At this site we will observe the ongoing land-surface movement of the Rattlesnake Gulf Landslide area. Review of New York State aerial imagery (circa 1937 to present) indicates that this slide area has slowly coalesced into the large slide we will see today. Also, the use of dendrochronology to determine previous landslide movement allows the casual observation of 'J-ayed' trees to be refined to specific years of movement. The genesis of the slide continues today at two different scales - shallow displacement related to rainfall infiltration into the shallow weathered fine-grained soils, and more deeply seated ground-water induced movement. Also the effects of toe-cutting of the slope can be observed along Rattlesnake Gulf Creek which influences the movement of slide material as it makes its way from the upper scarp to, and into the creek, to be carried down to the floor of the Tully Valley and Onondaga Creek.

Extra stop: Rainbow Gulch Landslide
Although not included in the field trip guide, NYSGA participants did make this additional stop to hike down and view another landslide.

B2: MINERALIZATION AT THE KNOX UNCONFORMITY AND THE WESTERN ADIRONDACK PALEOSURFACE
Robert S. Darling
Geology Department
State University of New York at Cortland
Cortland, NY 13045
e-mail: darlingr@cortland.edu
The Ordovician Knox unconformity (Landing, 2003) is well exposed in the bed of Roaring Brook, on the eastern margin of Tug Hill in the Black River Valley. Here basal arkosic sandstones and minor pebble conglomerates of the middle Ordovician Pamelia Formation rest on middle Proterozoic feldspar-quartz gneiss. Immediately below the non-conformable contact, the gneisses show strong evidence of spheroidal weathering (Orrell and Darling, 2000) which is interpreted to be of middle Ordovician age because the spheroidal weathering diminishes with depth below the unconformity and other exposures of feldspar-quartz gneisses in the area show no evidence of modern-day spheroidal weathering.
The Knox Unconformity in New York State represents a period of subaerial exposure when upper Cambrian and lower Ordovician sediments were eroded from the region (Isachsen et al., 1991). Subsequent submergence resulted in deposition of the Black River and Trenton Limestones which was followed by a deepening foreland basin and subsequent collision during the Taconic Orogeny. Paleomagnetic studies demonstrate that this part of the North American continent was located in tropical to subtropical latitudes south of the equator (Niocaill, et al., 1997), an interpretation consistent with the development of extensive chemical (spheroidal) weathering of felsic gneisses.
The preservation of Ordovician age chemical weathering is significant because other mineralogical evidence (in the form of cryptocrystalline quartz + iron hydroxide veins) preserved in gneisses at Roaring Brook may have formed from chemical weathering as well. Similar microcrystalline quartz + iron hydroxide "rusty" veins are preserved in elevated regions of the Adirondack Mountains further to the east. The specific age of these veins is unknown but are herein interpreted as having formed during Ordovician chemical weathering.
On this trip, we will examine spheroidal weathering and cryptocrystalline quartz veins hosted by middle Proterozoic gneiss at Roaring Brook. We will then drive to and climb Bald Mountain, near Old Forge, NY (in the west-central Adirondacks) and examine several "rusty" quartz veins on the way to and at the summit. We will then discuss the eastward projection of the Knox unconformity over the west-central Adirondacks and the possibility that rocks at the summit of Bald Mountain and other summits in the area were located only a short vertical distance (10's of meters?) below a middle Ordovician paleosurface, and that gradually decreasing summit elevations in the western and central Adirondacks may, indeed, represent a partly eroded relict erosional surface (Whitney et al., 2002, p.5; Miller, 1910, p. 39). Lastly, we will discuss this evidence in light of Isachsen's model (1975; 1981) of Tertiary to Holocene doming of the Adirondack region.

STOP 1. The Knox Unconformity at Roaring Brook.
Get out of the vehicles and walk down the stream bank to the reddish-colored exposures along the bed of Roaring Brook (watch out for poison ivy!). These are feldspar-quartz gneisses that strike N40E. Note the development of spheroidal weathering between joint sets in the gneiss (Figure 1).
Walk ∼30 meters upstream. The lowermost strata of the Pamelia Formation are exposed in the stream bed. More spheroidal weathering occurs directly below the (well exposed) non-conformable contact, but is observed only during low water levels (late summer, normally).
Walk back to Canaan Road and walk northwestward (∼100 meters) until you cross a small bridge (over Roaring Brook). Walk down to the exposures of gneiss under the bridge (on the northwest side). Note the presence of smoothly worn, sub-horizontal thin (2 - 4 mm) veins of dark greenish-gray to rusty-brown cryptocrystalline quartz and iron hydroxide.

STOP 2. Rusty Quartz Veins on Bald (Rondaxe) Mountain.
Walk southwestward on the trail to Bald Mountain. As you approach the summit along the ridge trail, look for thin (2–10 millimeter wide) rusty-brown veins cutting across feldspar-quartz gneiss. One rusty-brown vein (striking N49W) is offset on an unmineralized joint (striking N20E) about 50 meters northeast of the tower. Veins can be found both NE and SW of the Bald Mountain fire tower.

B3: COMPARATIVE SEDIMENTOLOGY OF THE HELDERBERG GROUP IN CENTRAL NEW YORK
Robert v. Demicco
Department of Geological Sciences & Environmental Studies
Binghamton University
Binghamton, New York 13902-6000
e-mail: demicco@binghamton.edu
Jason Smith
"What am I supposed to be looking at here?" The students have just assembled at the outcrop and, invariably, this question floats up from somewhere. This question drives some instructors wild, but most just chuckle to themselves. The answer to that question is, of course, the point of the field trip stop. If the stop is in sedimentary rocks (as on this trip) the immediate question: "what am I supposed to be looking at here?" breaks down into four questions: (1) what kind of rock is this, i.e. what was deposited?; (2) how did it get deposited?; (3) when did it get deposited?, and; (4) what happened after the sediments were deposited? A better way to phrase question two would be: what was the environment of deposition of these rocks? The answers to these questions are the core questions of sedimentology, the study of sediment, specifically the nature and origin of unconsolidated sediments and consolidated sedimentary rocks. The purpose of this trip is to show you how to systematically go about answering question two: the series of steps necessary to diagnose the paleoenvironment of deposition.
It is our contention that understanding of the origin and significance of primary sedimentary structures and early diagenetic features is vital to unraveling the origin and significance of carbonate deposits in the geologic record. Without such an understanding at the individual sedimentary structure scale, we cannot hope to accurately reconstruct the large scale accumulation history of carbonate deposits or to decipher the roles of sea level changes, sedimentation rates, subsidence rates, and tectonics in determining the facies stratigraphy, cyclostratigraphy, and sequence stratigraphy of these buildups. The message seems crystal clear, if we do not get the little things right we may not be able get the big things right (Demicco and Hardie, 1994, p. 242).

STOP 1. Nedrow (Graphic Log Figure 2)

STOP 2. Split Rock Quarry (Do it yourself?)

STOP 3. Clark Reservation State Park
(Graphic Log Figure 7)

STOP 4. Clockville
(Interpretive photomosaic and graphic log Figure 3)

STOP 5. Chittenango Falls State Park

B4: PALEOENVIRONMENTAL GRADIENTS ALONG A RAMP TO BASIN TRANSITION IN THE
MIDDLE DEVONIAN LUDLOWVILLE FORMATION OF CENTRAL NEW YORK STATE
Carlton E. Brett
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0013
Gordon C. Baird Department of Geosciences
SUNY College at Fredonia
Fredonia, NY 14063
Alex J. Bartholomew Department of Geological Sciences
SUNY College at New Paltz
New Paltz, NY 12561
The richly fossiliferous Middle Devonian Hamilton Group strata of central New York State form a natural laboratory for the study of paleoecology and the relationship of organisms to paleoenvironmental changes during cycles of varying magnitude. Indeed, these rocks have formed the basis for numerous detailed studies about paleoecology (including; Brower, 1987; Bower and Nye, 1991; Brett et al., 1990). These studies have focused largely on vertical gradients of faunal replacement and make a tacit Waltherian assumption that the vertical relationships seen in medium and small-scale cycles within the Hamilton Group reflect lateral changes; however, it is rarely possible to actually test this assumption. Much of this recent work has been framed in the context of sequence stratigraphy and the presence of small-scale sequences and cycles in central New York State this forms part of the basis for our somewhat revised model of siliciclastic-carbonate depositional sequences in foreland basins (see Brett and Baird, 1996).
The Middle Devonian Ludlowville Formation in the eastern Finger Lakes region provides a particularly excellent opportunity for examination of these issues (Brett et al., 1986). The rocks are relatively simple structurally, and are well-exposed in numerous creeks and shoreline bluffs along Owasco, Skaneateles, and Otisco lakes (Owasco, Skaneateles, and Spafford 7.5'quadrangles). These lakes, with relatively northwest-southeast orientation oblique to facies strike, provide natural cross-sections across rapid facies changes particularly within units of the lower Ludlowville Formation. Those units, comprising the Chenango - Centerfield succession and the overlying Otisco Member, are the subject of the present study. In particular, we focus upon the lowest 2-3 cycles of the Ludlowville Formation, consider their sequence stratigraphic context and mode of origin, and describe an unusually steepened gradient within one of these units, the Stag Horn Point submember of the Otisco Member. Together, these units provide insights into both vertical and lateral changes in benthic marine fossil assemblages that are a response to relative water depth as well as variations in sedimentation. We begin with an overview of the physical and sequence stratigraphy of the Chenango to lower Otisco interval and then focus on the details of the Stag Horn submember in the region of Skaneateles and Otisco lakes. The result of this study is a fairly detailed description of lateral as well as vertical gradients of faunal change during the deposition of this interval.
CONCLUSIONS
The middle portion of the Hamilton Group in the eastern Finger Lakes area provides an excellent case study in the interactions of relative sea level fluctuation, related changing patterns of sedimentation, and concurrent biotic responses. Decameter and smaller scale sedimentary cycles are superimposed on a larger scale pattern of sea-level rise and fall, represented by the upper Skaneateles Formation and the Centerfield and Ledyard/Otisco members of the Ludlowville Formation.
Sea-level highstands in this area of the foreland basin were characterized by low diversity assemblages of brachiopods and small mollusks, adapted to dysoxic mud substrates. Falls in relative sea level not only led to shallowing of the seafloor but also increased progradation of muds and silts into the basin. Faunas changed upward to moderate diversity assemblages of larger semi-infaunal brachiopods and bivalves, as well as the deposit feeding organisms responsible for the complex spreiten trace Zoophycos.
Conversely, rises in relative sea level were associated with abrupt reduction in sediment supply. Concretions and phosphatic nodules may have developed in older sediments during an interval of sediment starvation representing rapid sea level rise. Highly diverse assemblages including, but not limited to, abundant rugose and some tabulate corals, occupied the shallowest water settings during relatively clean siliciclastic free intervals. In the case of the lower Otisco Stag Horn cycle, a thriving coral biostrome was developed on a shallow prograded siltstone platform during this phase. This example also shows that during times of relatively low sediment input, normal submarine processes such as storm-generated waves and currents may be effective in eroding previously deposited sediments and transporting them further basinward, particularly along the sloping edge of a prograded platform.
The rapid lateral facies changes and constrained stratigraphy of the lower Ludlowville Formation in central New York provide excellent opportunities to examine lateral-, depth- and sedimentation-related gradients of environmental and biofacies change. This is an area wherein exceptional preservation and exposure can be used to test general hypotheses about the connection between physical environmental factors and biotic change on the scale of millennia to hundreds of thousands of years.

B4: PALEOENVIRONMENTAL GRADIENTS ALONG A RAMP TO BASIN TRANSITION IN THE
MIDDLE DEVONIAN LUDLOWVILLE FORMATION OF CENTRAL NEW YORK STATE

Outcrops of Ithaca Fm.

View of bedded kame gravels to left

View of bedded kame(?) gravels to left

High vista of Skaneateles Lake ahead

Old quarry to left in Tully Limestone

Contact of Fall Brook and Fisher Gully submembers
Contact of Fall Brook and Fisher Gully submembers of the Windom Member of the Moscow Fm. in ditch

View of Skaneateles Lake

Glen Haven

Outcrop of Ivy Point Member siltstone

Cross gully. View of Spafford Landing cliffs to east across lake

Owasco / Tichenor contact
Contact between the Owasco Member of the Ludlowville Fm. and the Tichenor Member of the Moscow Fm.

Roadside shale pit in lower Windom Shale
Roadside shale pit in lower Windom Shale rich in Ambocoelia; Bay View bed rich in brachiopods and small corals is exposed in floor adjacent to road; higher banks are in the Bear Swamp submember of the Windom.

Three Mile Point ravine
Exposures of middle and upper Windom to west of road

Upper end of Glen Cove ravine

OPTIONAL STOP 1. Glen Cove Creek
If water levels in the creek are not too high we may proceed on foot to the mouth of Glen Cove Creek behind the marina. Beds exposed near the creek mouth are in the lower Otisco slightly above Moonshine Falls phosphate bed; these shales are rich in the small brachiopod Arcuaminetes scitulus and carry small concretions and pyritic nodules. Upstream a few hundred feet the Stag Horn Coral horizon is exposed near the base of a small falls. The bed here yields primarily Athyris and other brachiopods and small corals. Occasional corroded fragments of larger rugose corals may be obtained.
Hiking upstream and climbing the relatively gentle small waterfall provides access the Glen Cove shell bed (type section). Here the bed is rich in Athyris, the small rugosan Stereolasma, the bivalve Cypricardella and Modiomorpha among others. These exposures provide a view of relatively fossiliferous down ramp facies of Otisco shelly horizons.
NOTE: if weather permits we will take a boat trip from Sevy's Marina across Skaneateles Lake to the vicinity of Stag Horn Point and Jenney Point; see descriptions under driving directions for STOPS 1 and 2. If so, we will be on the boat for approximately an hour.

STOP 2. Stag Horn Point
Park in pull-off to left at bend; remainder of road is too steep for most non-four wheel drive vehicles; so proceed down to shore of Skaneateles Lake (∼0.25 mi.), passing by exposures of upper Ivy Point Member, Spafford, and Portland Point members in Chase Point Ravine; note exposures of Otisco Shale on steep road down to shore; past the mouth of Barber Creek proceed past the first cottage (permission for access from homeowners is required); bear left (southeast) and onto bench formed by Stag Horn siltstone. (Alternatively, this section may be accessed by boat).
Here the upper beds of the siltstone are exposed and show excellent spreiten of Zoophycos; occasional phosphatic nodules and corroded corals are present in the top of the silt. The bench is abruptly overlain by about 1.5 m of the Stag Horn Point coral biostrome; densely packed solitary rugosans, including Heliophyllum, Cystiphylloides, and Siphonophrentis, the latter up to about 50 cm long. Corals range from corroded flattened fragments to complete and in situ uncorroded skeletons; they are packed in a mudstone matrix; upper part of the bank shows normal middle Otisco Shale. The coral biostrome continues to the south for nearly a kilometer before dipping below lake level.

STOP 3. Coves SE of Jenney Point: Edge of Stag Horn Platform
Jenney Point, find parking (permission for access from homeowners is required); proceed, if possible, southwestward along shoreline. (Alternatively, this section may be accessed by boat).
The first cove southeast of Jenney Point displays the lower Otisco Shale at about the level of the Staghorn biostrome. Depending upon lake level it may be possible to walk along the shore to the next point and into the next cove to examine features of the transition of the platform edge into ramp sediments. Corals are present here in lenticular, wedge-shaped masses and layers that abut the truncated edge of the siltstone platform. Adjacent to the first cottage a large mass of rugose coral corals dips to the south about 8-10° along an apparent erosional surface. At the south end of this cove, the siltstone platform remains partially truncated; about 30m further to the north, near the middle of the cove, the pyrite- cored concretions, which normally lie below the platform are directly overlain by coral rubble. In places, the coral rubble thickens to about one meter as the truncation surface runs downward from the pyritic concretions to nearly the level of Skaneateles Lake.
The next cove to the south between an unnamed point and Chase Point, north of Stag Horn Point exposes a similarly intriguing series of beds including a series of thin graded beds of siltstone, locally with corals in their bases that appear to be storm event beds of silt eroded from the truncated platform margin (see text and Figures 6-8 for details). Together, these two cove sections provide a view of an eroded platform edge that was shedding coral debris and silt layers into the surrounding ramp area.

Borodino mud mound (micritic bioherm) in Tully Fm

Upper Windom Shale outcrops

Chenango Siltstone outcrop

Sharp bend, view of Otisco Lake

Road follows along Otisco Lake shore

STOP 4. Road Cut Along Coon Hill Road, Marietta, NY
This long cut exposes the complete transition from the upper Skaneateles Formation to the base of the Ludlowville Formation. Lower portions of the roadcut expose black, silty Butternut Shale. These shales yield a low diversity assemblage of Eumetabolotoechia. Its basal contact is exposed in a stream on the south side of the road. The upper 10 meters of the unit contains thin 1 to 2 cm tabular, laminated siltstone beds. The Butternut Shale is abruptly overlain by the Peppermill Gulf Bed, a 30 cm interval of medium gray calcareous and highly fossiliferous mudstone at the base of the Chenango Member.
From this point the Chenango Member, ∼10 meters thick, shows an upward-coarsening succession from shale and silty mudstone to Zoophycos-churned siltstone. Fossils are generally scattered but the brachiopod Tropidoleptus is common at many levels and an in situ cluster of the large brachiopod Spinocyrtia was found about midway through the succession.
Near the upper end of the roadcut the upper Chenango weathers as a distinct bench. Large favositid and rugose corals present in the upper calcareous sands and overlying thin, silty limestones. These beds signify the basal transgressive systems tract of the Ludlowville Formation. The Halls Landing beds (upper Centerfield Member), mudstones with thin shell rich horizons form the uppermost unit of the cut.
Uppermost exposures in the adjacent stream bank opposite the upper part of Coon Hill Road show the lower Otisco Shale. The Stag Horn siltstone bench is absent at this section and its position is only suggested by beds of silty shale rich in Athyris brachiopods.

STOP 5.(Optional)Shale Pit at Rose Hill
This shale pit exposes richly fossiliferous beds of the middle-upper portion of the Otisco Member. Shales contain diverse brachiopods, bivalves and other fossils and a horizon with scattered rugose corals toward the upper part of the pit appears to record the Joshua Coral Biostrome level, although it is poorly developed compared with exposures to the east on Otisco Lake. This section provides an excellent opportunity to collect fossils from the Otisco beds.

Village of Clintonville; red clay banks

Hogsback Rd. and Peppermill Gulf
Type locality of Peppermill Gulf Bed at base of Chenango Siltstone.

Tully Valley, Village of Cardiff, site of famous Cardiff Giant hoax

Large cut of Butternut Member of the Skaneateles Fm.

Windom Shale outcrops

Uppermost Windom Shale
Note large exposure of uppermost Windom Shale behind Best Western Inn to east of highway

Roadcuts in Ithaca Formation

B5: CREATING A VIRTUAL FIELDWORK EXPERIENCE AT A FOSSIL-RICH QUARRY
Robert M. Ross
Paleontological Research Institution
1259 Trumansburg Rd
e-mail: rmr16@cornell.edu
Christopher A. McRoberts
P.O. Box 2000
Cortland, NY 13045
e-mail: mcroberts@cortland.edu
Donald Duggan-Haas
Tapestry Charter High School
2253 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14214
e-mail: dugganhaas@gmail.com
What is a Virtual Fieldwork Experience?
Field trips have long been an essential part of a hands-on Earth science course, and some teachers have long lamented increasing restrictions on getting students into the field. These trips have ranged from active problem solving expeditions to less active show-and-tell. Technology in the 1990's began making creation of "virtual" field trips, and sharing them electronically, relatively straightforward for anyone with basic computer skills and some time. Although hundreds of virtual field trips are now available over the web (some for the Northeast, for example, are at the PRI website at www.priweb.org/ed/earthtrips/northeast/northeast.htm), many of these are not much different than a slide show of someone's trip (though these too have their place). The term "virtual fieldwork" is intended to have a slightly different connotation: the emphasis is on doing rather than seeing (Duggan-Haas and Ross, 2007).
People who do fieldwork are usually exploring a new place, collecting data for research, or both. "Virtual fieldwork experiences" provide opportunities for your students to experience problem solving in nature when you can't actually get them there. It provides an opportunity to connect your lessons with features your students might encounter in their own lives, and to apply what they've been learning to the way the world really looks outside the classroom walls. Ideally virtual fieldwork has some of the same active experiences as those of a geologist investigating a place for the first time. This suggests opportunities to explore and discover, to ask questions, and to look for observations relevant to answering a question about a locality. While "show and tell" at a locality can be useful in some contexts, "virtual fieldwork" is less about showing features to students and more about student activity.
Consider what we might hope students can do at a real field site several years after they have left our classrooms. Try to imagine a scenario by which they employ knowledge and understanding from your classroom in a way that's useful to themselves and others. The simplest situation perhaps is that they can see an Earth science phenomenon, in their own backyard, in their neighborhood, in a park, at a lake, at a construction site and know what meaningful questions they might ask and what observations they can make to answer them. The most basic of questions is "Why does this place look the way it does?" This question incorporates both the questions "What is the history of Earth processes that happened here?" and "What is going on here now: today and over the course of the year?" One of us (RMR) gives interpretive walks at local parks and elsewhere around Central NY. Many of the places look quite different one from the next, but the series of questions asked during the walks are almost the same, and that is the point: understanding of a set of concepts, and knowing what questions to ask in each place, are transferable across broad regions.
But how does one bring the field experience to the classroom on a regular basis, to help students with such real-world applications? This is, of course, a challenge, because transporting the complexity of even a small outcrop, and the myriad observations that might be made there, from the field to the classroom seems overwhelming. But with the availability of digital cameras, software such as PowerPoint, and greater availability of computers and projectors in classrooms, it has never been easier to present large numbers of photos, together with on-line maps, data, and any specimens brought back from the field. Virtual fieldwork experiences take some effort to do well, and never can replace the real thing, but the opportunity for creating something useful that reflects real environments has never been greater.
The beauty of creating a virtual fieldtrip thoroughly for one particular locality is that this locality can be revisited by students numerous times over the course of the year. The Earth is a system, after all, and at many places one may be able to study a wide range of phenomena from sedimentary rocks to meteorology to weathering to stream flow. Visiting a site numerous times helps students to discover how different Earth phenomena interact with each other, "multi-purposes" the effort one puts into creating a virtual fieldwork experience, and helps one to concentrate on getting to know just one site very well. In principle, colleagues creating virtual fieldwork experiences can share materials, or even be guest experts in each other's classrooms. Research has been done into what characteristics of virtual experiences (which are used in a wide variety of educational contexts) makes them most highly effective as educational tools, but relatively little of that research has been done on Earth science virtual trips, or how they tie into teaching inquiry- and systems-thinking in Earth science. There is substantial room not only to create experiences that will complement what you are already doing in your classroom, but to create innovative approaches that might benefit your colleagues in NY State and beyond.

B5: CREATING A VIRTUAL FIELDWORK EXPERIENCE AT A FOSSIL-RICH QUARRY

Well known outcrop of Tully Limestone
Well known outcrop of Tully Limestone consisting of bedded crinoidal grainstones and carbonate mud mound (see Heckel, 1973).

STOP 1. Rose Hill Quarry
Please note, this is a private quarry and permission from the owner should be granted before entering.