Geologic columns for the ICDP-USGS Eyreville A and C cores, Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Postimpact sediments, 444 to 0 m depth

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America
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Abstract

A 443.9-m-thick, virtually undisturbed section of postimpact deposits in the Chesapeake Bay impact structure was recovered in the Eyreville A and C cores, Northampton County, Virginia, within the "moat" of the structure's central crater. Recovered sediments are mainly fine-grained marine siliciclastics, with the exception of Pleistocene sand, clay, and gravel. The lowest postimpact unit is the upper Eocene Chickahominy Formation (443.9-350.1 m). At 93.8 m, this is the maximum thickness yet recovered for deposits that represent the return to "normal marine" sedimentation. The Drummonds Corner beds (informal) and the Old Church Formation are thin Oligocene units present between 350.1 and 344.7 m. Above the Oligocene, there is a more typical Virginia coastal plain succession. The Calvert Formation (344.7-225.4 m) includes a thin lower Miocene part overlain by a much thicker middle Miocene part. From 225.4 to 206.0 m, sediments of the middle Miocene Choptank Formation, rarely reported in the Virginia coastal plain, are present. The thick upper Miocene St. Marys and Eastover Formations (206.0-57.8 m) appear to represent a more complete succession than in the type localities. Correlation with the nearby Kiptopeke core indicates that two Pliocene units are present: Yorktown (57.8-32.2 m) and Chowan River Formations (32.2-18.3 m). Sediments at the top of the section represent an upper Pleistocene channel-fill and are assigned to the Butlers Bluff and Occohannock Members of the Nassawadox Formation (18.3-0.6 m).

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Geologic columns for the ICDP-USGS Eyreville A and C cores, Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Postimpact sediments, 444 to 0 m depth
Series title Special Paper of the Geological Society of America
DOI 10.1130/2009.2458(04)
Issue 458
Year Published 2009
Language English
Publisher Geological Society of America
Contributing office(s) Eastern Energy Resources Science Center, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
Description 24 p.
First page 91
Last page 114
Country United States
Other Geospatial Chesapeake Bay
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