Manlius Formation Research Articles

Sedimentologic Observation and Stratigraphic Interpretation of the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian) Manlius Formation along the Mohawk River Valley in Upstate New York: A Discussion

Previous articleNext article No AccessDiscussion and ReplySedimentologic Observation and Stratigraphic Interpretation of the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian) Manlius Formation along the Mohawk River Valley in Upstate New York: A DiscussionJames R. Ebert, Damon K. Matteson, and Randall Wilson James R. EbertEarth Sciences Department, Ravine Parkway, SUNY College at Oneonta, Oneonta, New York 13820‐4015, U.S.A.(e‐mail: [email protected]) Search for more articles by this author , Damon K. MattesonEarth Sciences Department, Ravine Parkway, SUNY College at Oneonta, Oneonta, New York 13820‐4015, U.S.A.(e‐mail: [email protected]) Search for more articles by this author , and Randall WilsonEarth Sciences Department, Ravine Parkway, SUNY College at Oneonta, Oneonta, New York 13820‐4015, U.S.A.(e‐mail: [email protected]) Search for more articles by this author Earth Sciences Department, Ravine Parkway, SUNY College at Oneonta, Oneonta, New York 13820‐4015, U.S.A.(e‐mail: [email protected])PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Journal of Geology Volume 118, Number 3May 2010 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/651385 Views: 30Total views on this site Citations: 3Citations are reported from Crossref HistoryReceived October 19, 2009 © 2010 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Aneta Hušková, Ladislav Slavík In search of Silurian/Devonian boundary conodont markers in carbonate environments of the Prague Synform (Czech Republic), Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 549 (Jul 2020): 109126.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.03.027Jeremy M. Weremeichik, An Obstructed Cave Passage in the Cobleskill Plateau: A Gravimetric Study, AIMS Geosciences 1, no.11 (Jan 2015): 80–98.https://doi.org/10.3934/geosci.2015.1.80Jason Smith and Robert V. Demicco Sedimentologic Observation and Stratigraphic Interpretation of the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian) Manlius Formation along the Mohawk River Valley in Upstate New York: A Reply J. Smith and R. V. Demicco, The Journal of Geology 118, no.33 (Jul 2015): 339–339.https://doi.org/10.1086/651386

Sedimentologic Observation and Stratigraphic Interpretation of the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian) Manlius Formation along the Mohawk River Valley in Upstate New York: A Reply

Abstract Observations from nine measured sections through the lower Helderberg Group across upstate New York suggest that component rock units within the Manlius Formation extend laterally over 150 km across upstate New York, the most notable being a meter‐thick zone of microbial bioherms at the base of the formation. Overlying this zone of microbial bioherms is a 5–10‐m‐thick zone of wavy‐ and lenticular‐bedded ribbon rocks that grade up into microbial‐laminated mudstones that are, in turn, overlain by disrupted dolomitic mudstones deposited in playalike supratidal flats. The upper 10–15 m of the Manlius Formation comprises meter‐thick cycles of nodular‐bedded, stromatoporoid‐bearing thin sets that grade up into microbial‐laminated mudstones. Much of this succession of rock types is traceable across nearly the entire basin and strongly suggests that lower beds of the Manlius Formation do not pass laterally westward into, nor are they coeval with, the underlying Rondout Formation. This, in turn, necessita...

Sedimentologic Observation and Stratigraphic Interpretation of the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian) Manlius Formation along the Mohawk River Valley in Upstate New York

Observations from nine measured sections through the lower Helderberg Group across upstate New York suggest that component rock units within the Manlius Formation extend laterally over 150 km across upstate New York, the most notable being a meter‐thick zone of microbial bioherms at the base of the formation. Overlying this zone of microbial bioherms is a 5–10‐m‐thick zone of wavy‐ and lenticular‐bedded ribbon rocks that grade up into microbial‐laminated mudstones that are, in turn, overlain by disrupted dolomitic mudstones deposited in playalike supratidal flats. The upper 10–15 m of the Manlius Formation comprises meter‐thick cycles of nodular‐bedded, stromatoporoid‐bearing thin sets that grade up into microbial‐laminated mudstones. Much of this succession of rock types is traceable across nearly the entire basin and strongly suggests that lower beds of the Manlius Formation do not pass laterally westward into, nor are they coeval with, the underlying Rondout Formation. This, in turn, necessitates that the time‐transgressive model of Manlius and Coeymans limestone deposition proposed by Rickard is incorrect and that the Helderberg succession of Manlius–Coeymans–Kalkberg–New Scotland formations instead comprises one third‐order stratigraphic sequence. The lower sequence boundary may comprise the disrupted dolomitic mudstones overlying the microbial‐laminated mudstones in the middle of the Manlius Formation, an interval that appears to correlate with a disconformity between the top of the Manlius Formation and the Coeymans Formation in the section exposed at Schoharie, New York. This interpretation of stratigraphic relations within the Manlius Formation necessitates reevaluation of possible correlations among meter‐thick shallowing‐upward successions in the formation.

THE SYSTEMATICS AND ONTOGENY OF PYRGOPOSTIBULLA BELLI, A NEW EDRIOASTEROID (ECHINODERMATA) FROM THE LOWER DEVONIAN OF NEW YORK

Postibullinid edrioasteroids are a small clade of discoidal edrioasteroids that are locally common members of Devonian to Pennsylvanian, shallow marine, hard substrate faunas in North America and Europe. A small discoidal theca, narrow, highly elevated ambulacral cover plates, a highly elevated anal pyramid, and in many forms a posterior oral protuberance characterize this clade (Bell, 1976b; Sumrall et al., 2000). Here we describe the oldest known postibullinid, Pyrgopostibulla belli n. gen. and sp., a species that differs from other postibullinids by having a well-developed pedunculate zone and a complex, five-plate pattern of ambulacral cover plates. A dense population of these edrioasteroids preserved at a single stratigraphic horizon provides a census sample of individuals that were killed as a part of a final and abrupt burial pulse on this Lower Devonian hardground (Cornell et al., 2003). As such, this case study provides insight into the ontogeny and colonization strategies of isorophinid edrioasteroids. #### Stratigraphy and geological setting The hardground bearing Pyrgopostibulla belli occurs in the lower submember of the Thacher Member of the Manlius Formation. The Thacher Member comprises the lowest unit of the Lower Devonian Helderberg Group (Fig. 1). While there has been some controversy concerning the exact age of the Thacher Member (see Matteson et al., 1996), most workers accept this unit is of Earliest Devonian (Lochkovian) age based on conodonts (Rickard, 1975). The Thacher Member represents the initial portion of a marine transgression, superimposed on the final phases of the Tippecanoe (Tutelo Phase) Megasequence (Sloss, 1963). In eastern New York State, the Thacher Member is composed mainly of shallow water “ribbon” limestones (dark blue-gray, fine-grained calcisiltite); a number of hardgrounds occur on the upper surfaces of these beds. The edrioasteroid-bearing hardground occurs near the top of a small-scale shallowing-upward cycle, near the top of the lower division of the Thacher Member (Fig. …

Paleoecology and Taphonomy of an Edrioasteroid-Dominated Hardground Association from Tentaculitid Limestones in the Early Devonian of New York: A Paleozoic Rocky Peritidal Community

Abstract The taphonomy, sedimentology, and paleoecology of a rare peritidal hardground in the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian) Thacher Limestone Member of the Manlius Formation in east-central New York State provides insights into sediment dynamics and modes of life of ancient hard substrate-inhabiting organisms. The hardground occurs near the top of a shallowing-upward carbonate cycle, slightly below desiccation-cracked micritic ribbon limestones. The hard surface developed on a partially exhumed tentaculitid pavement and overlying pelletal calcisiltite; the hardground has a relief of about 2–3 cm and is overlain by a thin siliciclastic mud layer. Tentative correlation of the hardground across a lateral distance of about 35 km perpendicular to depositional strike suggests a very subdued topographic profile for this region and development of an extensive peritidal hardground pavement. Tentaculites gyracanthus occurs in a dense pavement of strongly bimodally aligned shells with an ENE to WSW orientation, parall...

Lower Devonian (Lochkovian) Stromatoporoidea from the Manlius Formation of New York

Stromatoporoids are found in all five members of the Manlius Formation of New York and are abundant at many localities. The fauna is dominated by two closely related species, Habrostroma microporum (Girty) and H. centrotum (Girty). Present in lesser numbers are Intexodictyon manliusense n. sp., Plectostroma micum (Bogoyavlenskaya), Actinostromella vaiverensis Nestor, Densastroma pexisum (Yavorsky), Habrostroma cf. H. centrotum (Girty), and ?Parallelostroma sp. The assemblage displays both Silurian and Devonian affinities.

Sedimentology of the Thacher Limestone (Lower Devonian Helderberg group), New York state

A sedimentological study of the Thacher Limestone Member of the Manlius Formation (Lower Devonian Helderberg Group) resulted in the recognition of two facies: mudstones and calcarenites. Mudstones can be dolomitic or non-dolomitic; they are typically laminated, exhibit mud- or prism-cracks, and fenestrae. Calcarenites comprise very coarse-grained intraclasts or skeletal fragments, to peloids. These grains combine to form a diversity of sedimentary structures which in turn compose a wide range of centimetre- to decimetre-thick sedimentary deposits. The mudstone and calcarenite facies dominantly compose metre-thick asymmetrical fining-upwards sedimentary sequences. Two symmetrical sequences are also described. Comparison of the Thacher Member with modern and ancient siliciclastic and carbonate deposits suggests that it was deposited mainly by storms. Tidal deposits are subordinate. Asymmetric sequences are interpreted as shallowing upwards sequences. Symmetrical sequences presumably record gradual deepening followed by shallowing. Correlation of symmetrical sequences to certain asymmetrical sequences suggest an autogenic origin for the latter, but the entire Thacher Limestone Member nay reflect regional, or eustatic sea level fluctuations.

Thrombolites of the lower devonian Manlius Formation of central New York

The Manlius Formation of the Lower Devonian Helderberg Group in central New York State contains decimeter-scale thrombolites. Internally, thrombolites comprise centimeter-scale, digitate to irregularly-shaped clots surrounded by skeletal wackestone. The clots are composed of variable amounts of: 1) millimeter-scale hemispheroids with radial and concentric structure that resembleKeega; 2)Renalcis-like forms; 3) stromatolitic laminae of mudstone; 4) peloidal mudstone laminae with filament molds; and 5) rare fossils. The thrombolites themselves are interbedded with grainstones, mudstones, graded beds, and intraclastic conglomerates. A low diversity fauna is found in many of these associated rocks.

Punctuated aggradational cycles: Implications for stratigraphic analysis

Application of the hypothesis of punctuated aggradational cycles (PACs), a model of episodic stratigraphic accumulation, has yielded results fundamentally in conflict with those predicted and generated by gradualistic models. The assumption that stratigraphic accumulation is controlled principally by rapid small‐scale base level fluctuations in the Milankovitch band leads to the adoption of the PAC, a thin time‐stratigraphic unit, as the fundamental unit of stratigraphic description and interpretation; the thicker generally diachronous formation is inadequate for stratigraphic analysis because it is an artifact of stratigraphic gradualism. Correlation of stratigraphic sections is accomplished by matching patterns of facies change, particularly the abrupt changes at the synchronous surfaces that mark PAC boundaries. This kind of physical event correlation is far more accurate than traditional biostratigraphic methods. Focus on synchronous PAC boundaries separating environmentally disjunct facies reveals discontinuities that preclude application of Walther's law across those surfaces. When viewed from this episodic perspective, the Manlius Formation of the Helderberg Group in New York state becomes a highly ordered set of time‐stratigraphic cycles rather than a disordered mosaic of facies representing short‐term autogenic processes in a single nearshore environment. Not only was Manlius deposition episodic with no gradual upward deepening as is predicted by stratigraphic gradualism, but also the Manlius‐Coeymans formational boundary is interpreted as a small‐scale unconformity rather than a paleoenvironmental boundary created by gradual transgression. Each of these interpretations is the direct result of assuming and applying a model of episodic stratigraphic accumulation.

Jamoytius-like vertebrates from the Lower Devonian Manlius Formation of New York State

ABSTRACT Poorly preserved vertebrates with chevron-shaped, non-mineralized scales are described from the Lower Devonian (Gedinnian) Manlius Formation of New York State. They most closely resemble Jamoytius kerwoodi from the Silurian of Scotland, and, like that species, are found in association with phyllocarid crustaceans. This anaspid-like vertebrate and phyllocarids lived in a near-shore, carbonate shelf environment with about 0.8–1.2 m deep water of normal or somewhat above-normal salinity.

Disorientation of Paleozoic hemispherical corals and stromatoporoids

The size distribution and orientation of massive hemispherical tabulate corals and hemispherical stromatoporoids from the Fossil Hill and Manitoulin Formations on Manitoulin Island (Niagaran and Alexandrian, Ontario), and of hemispherical stromatoporoids in the Flume and Upper Cairn Members of the Miette reef complex (Frasnian, Alberta) and the Jamesville Member of the Manlius Formation (Helderbergian, New York), was determined. In all five sample populations there is no statistically significant difference in the mean size between populations of heads in growth position and those disoriented. The process or processes responsible for disorienting heads evidently did not selectively disorient or remove specific size classes. Such disorientation, associated with little lateral transport of heads, could have been accomplished by infrequent short-lived strong wave and current action (storms), structural or soft substrate instability caused by increasing skeleton size due to growth or bioerosion, or some as yet unknown factor.Size-frequency distributions are potentially of value in separating in-place populations from those that have undergone disorientation or transport by size-selective processes. In a paleoenvironmental study this type of data, in conjunction with other information, such as sedimentological evidence or presence or absence of borers, could then be used to help determine the processes of disorientation and (or) transport.

Experimental Study of Faulting in an Anisotropic, Inhomogeneous Dolomitic Limestone

Eighty-nine tests were run on cores of laminated dolomitic limestone from the Manlius Formation (Devonian, eastern New York) at confining pressures of 1, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 and 800 bars, and with the angle between laminae and maximum principal stress varying from 0° to 90°. Percentage of dolomite varies markedly both between specimens and within a single specimen. Results indicate that faults will form parallel to laminae at inclinations of laminae to maximum principal stress between about 13 ° and about 51 ° , and that the laminae exert some control over fault orientation well beyond this range. Within the range tested, confining pressure does not suppress or enhance the ability of the laminae to control fault orientation. At 800 bars, the behavior of the rock is changing, with development of ductile faults or significant ductile flow. Compressive strength depends primarily on confining pressure and orientation of the laminae, but also varies significantly with Young9s modulus. The data are consistent with the Coulomb-Navier criterion of brittle fracture, assuming lower values for internal friction and cohesion parallel to the laminae than in all other directions. Observed and calculated compressive strengths agree more closely if the Young9s moduli of the specimens are taken into consideration. The significant effect of the irregular and discontinuous laminae in the test material on rock strength and fault orientation suggests caution in assuming the usual 30 ° angle between maximum principal stress and faults when conducting fracture analysis in areas of anisotropic, inhomogeneous rocks (a description that fits most sedimentary rocks).

Recognition of Transgressive Carbonate Sequence Within Epeiric Sea: Helderberg Group (Lower Devonian) of New York State: ABSTRACT

The regional Late Silurian-Early Devonian marine transgression of the central Appalachians is represented in New York State by a shallow-water carbonate rock sequence (Helderberg Group) which locally transgressed north and west. The resultant stratigraphic section comprises several hundred feet of fossiliferous limestone which has several distinctive sedimentary facies. Early workers interpreted each of the major facies as a separate time-stratigraphic lithologic unit or formation. However, from detailed field examination Rickard (1962) demonstrated that these formations are in fact time-transgressive toward the west and interfinger laterally with each other. Paleoecological study of the Helderberg Group supports this interpretation and shows that each of the formations represents a local sub-environment within the transgressive interval as a whole. These formations (facies) are: (1) Manlius Formation (25-50 feet), a complex of rock types interpreted to represent supratidal, intertidal, and shallow subtidal environments within a broad shelf lagoon (Laporte, 1964; 1967). (2) Coeymans Formation (20-100 feet), crinoidal-brachiopod skeletal calcarenite and carbonate siltstone which are commonly burrow-mottled toward the base of the unit but which show increasingly greater evidence of current reworking toward the top (high-and low-angle cross-stratification and sheet deposits). The Coeymans is interpreted to have been deposited in a wide belt of shallow, submerged crinoid mounds and banks which served as an effective, though discontinuous, barrier to circulation separating the more open-marine environment on the east from the restricted shelf lagoon of the Manlius on the west (Anderson, 1965). (3) Kalkberg Formation (50-100 feet), highly burrow-mottled carbonate mudstone with a very abundant, diverse, and well-preserved biota. The Kalkberg is interpreted to be a shallow-water, open-marine deposit which developed on an extensive shelf seaward from the Coeymans crinoid banks and meadows. (4) New Scotland Formation (50-150 feet), highly argillaceous and siliceous carbonate mudstone with a somewhat less diverse and abundant biota than the Kalkberg. The New Scotland is interpreted as having developed on a broad shelf like the Kalkberg (and marginal to it), but with significantly greater influx of terrigenous detritus which probably came from a distant easterly source. Lateral and vertical variations in constituent carbonate-grain types, mudstone-sparite ratios, fossil abundance and diversity, and presence of primary sedimentary structures provide criteria for recognizing the transgressive nature of the major sedimentary facies of the Helderberg Group. The inferred depositional framework, moreover, is very similar to that postulated by Shaw (1964) and Irwin (1965) for clear water sedimentation within an epeiric sea and demonstrates the predictive validity of their generalized sedimentary model. End_of_Article - Last_Page 473------------

Carbonate Deposition Near Mean Sea-Level and Resultant Facies Mosaic: Manlius Formation (Lower Devonian) of New York State

Study of the Lower Devonian Manlius Formation along 250 miles of outcrop in New York State indicates that, by analogy with Recent carbonate environments, it was deposited in an environment very near mean sea-level, and having great lateral extent with very low relief. Three facies can be recognized within the Manlius: supratidal, intertidal, and subtidal, representing carbonate environments slightly above, at, and just below, mean sea-level, respectively. Small fluctuations in water level, caused by lunar tides, storms, or seasonal climatic variations, as well as local differences in sediment accumulation and erosion, resulted in sharp lateral and vertical facies changes with the result that the Manlius today has a complex internal stratigraphy and fossil distribution.The supratidal facies is characterized by non-fossiliferous, laminated, mudcracked, dolomitic, pelletal carbonate mudstone. Mudcracks and spar-filled vugs (bird's-eye structure) indicate frequent subaerial exposure; thin bituminous films separating individual carbonate laminae suggest the presence of algal mats. Dolomitization was penecontemporaneous and is inferred to have been similar to present-day supratidal dolomite formation in Florida and the Bahamas. The intertidal facies is composed of alternating thin beds of sparsely fossiliferous, pelletal, carbonate mudstone and skeletal calcarenite; individual beds commonly lie uncomformably on those below. Many primary structures are evident, especially scour-and-fill, cross-stratification, and limestone-pebble conglomerate. Many fossil occurrences have abundant individuals but only a few taxa are represented. Algal stromatolites and oncolites also are common. A few mudcracks and minor erosional relief on carbonate mudstone beds indicate intermittent subaerial exposure. The subtidal facies is a skeletal, pelletal, carbonate mudstone commonly with well-developed, tabular masses of stromatoporoids. The relatively diverse biota of this facies required continuous marine submergence; its close association and juxtaposition with rocks that clearly indicate periodic subaerial emergence further suggest that water depths were very shallow. The stromatoporoids are interpreted as having grown either as encrusting masses within tidal creeks or channels, or else as closely crowded, individual heads in front of the tidal flats of the intertidal facies. The three facies of the Manlius existed contemporaneously, retreating and advancing continuously with the result that, today, they form a complex facies mosaic. Manlius deposition as a whole took place within and marginal to a broad and shallow, though somewhat restricted, lagoon that developed on the landward side of a wide belt of crinoid meadows, represented by the laterally equivalent Coeymans Formation, which is a brachiopod-rich crinoidal calcarenite. During the Early Devonian marine transgression in the northern part of the Appalachian basin, these environments represented by the Manlius and Coeymans migrated westward with time across New York State.

Silurian Rocks of Illinois

Introduction The writer agrees with Schuchert in referring to the Silurian system only the strata that occur between the top of the Richmond group of the Ordovician and the base of the Manlius formation of the Devonian. A marked sedimentary break is present at the top of the Richmond everywhere in Illinois, and with the exception of the long-lived Leptœna rhomboidalis, not a single one of the Richmond species continues into the overlying Silurian strata. As thus defined, Silurian rocks are exposed in Illinois in four rather widely separated areas, which may be referred to respectively as the Southwestern area, the Central-western area, the Northeastern area, and the Northwestern area. Southwestern Area GIRARDEAU LIMESTONE AND ORCHARD CREEK SHALE The oldest formations of Silurian rocks in Illinois, and indeed the oldest known in the Mississippi Valley, are the Girardeau limestone and Orchard Creek shale, which are exposed in a few places . . .