Shallow-marine sedimentary processes in the Late Devonian Catskill Sea, New York State

Research Article| March 01, 1987 Shallow-marine sedimentary processes in the Late Devonian Catskill Sea, New York State J. H. CRAFT; J. H. CRAFT 1Department of Geological Sciences, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13901 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar J. S. BRIDGE J. S. BRIDGE 1Department of Geological Sciences, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13901 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information J. H. CRAFT 1Department of Geological Sciences, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13901 J. S. BRIDGE 1Department of Geological Sciences, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13901 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (1987) 98 (3): 338–355. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1987)98<338:SSPITL>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation J. H. CRAFT, J. S. BRIDGE; Shallow-marine sedimentary processes in the Late Devonian Catskill Sea, New York State. GSA Bulletin 1987;; 98 (3): 338–355. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1987)98<338:SSPITL>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Shallow marine strata of the Upper Devonian West Falls Group in south-central New York comprise centimetre- to decimetre-thick, sheetlike to lenticular beds of sandstone and siltstone interbedded with mudstone. Unidirectional current-scour marks and tool marks occur on the basal erosion surfaces of the sandstones: their internal structures are hummocky cross strata of various styles, planar laminae, and wave-ripple cross-laminae, with characteristic vertical and lateral transitions among them. Vertical burrows of the Skolithos ichnofacies dominate upper portions of sandstone beds, whereas mudstones and silt-stones contain mainly horizontal burrows of the Cruziana ichnofacies. Transported and in situ shelly fossils occur throughout, in places concentrated in "coquinite" lenses. Large-scale (15 to 30 in) bedding sequences are characterized by upward thickening and coarsening of sandstone beds, increase in amalgamated hummocky cross-strata, coquinites, plant debris and bivalves, followed by abrupt fining and thinning of beds.The depositional environment is interpreted as a shallow-marine shelf episodically influenced by intense tropical storms (hurricanes). Individual sandstone beds were deposited by spatially decelerating combined flows where an initially strong offshore-directed flow component decreased in time relative to the oscillatory flow component. Large-scale bedding sequences reflect changes in storm (combined) current intensity and deposition rate. Strong eustatic control is unlikely, and there is no evidence of changing wave climate. Instead, these sequences may be associated with delta-lobe progradation and/or offshore bar development. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.