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The Sedimentology and Stratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous Strata in Western Staten Island, New York


Raphael Ketani, CPG-09003, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation


Abstract


This study is primarily based on infor- mation obtained during hydrogeological investigations of the strata under the Fresh Kills Landfill and under the adjacent Brookfield Avenue Landfill in Staten Island, New York. The intent of this study was to create detailed descriptions of the sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous strata under the study area. Such a study would aid future investigations of the geologic and hydrogeologic condi- tions under Staten Island, and similar depositional environments. Sediment cores were recovered to bedrock from each boring with the lithology and other sedimentologic features described for each soil core. The formations repre- sent distributary channel sands, levees, crevasse splay sediments, marshes and upland swamps within floodplains, interdistributary bay deposits, the proxi- mal marine environment and prodeltaic silts and clays. The sedimentology and stratigraphic relationships of the beds below the study area, the information from the sediment cores and the con- structed cross sections, together with descriptions of the two formations, have allowed the author to interpret that the Lloyd Sand and the Raritan Clay are present. This allows for the correlation of the formations under the study area with the Raritan Formation in eastern New Jersey and Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, New York.


This paper focuses on the sedimentol- ogy and stratigraphy of the study area. A second part of this study reviewed the palynolgy (pollen) data, which suggests that more data is needed to distinguish between the Upper and Lower Cretaceous environments. The results and interpre-


46 TPG  Apr.May.Jun 2016


tations from the palynology evaluation will be presented in a future TPG issue.


Introduction


This paper is a synthesis of the author’s professional work as an engi- neering geologist with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. This work included moni- toring the installation of approximately 500 soil borings and the construction of approximately 300 groundwater moni- toring wells in the Fresh Kills Landfill, Staten Island, New York. The work also included examining soil cores obtained from beneath the Brookfield Avenue Landfill, which abuts the Fresh Kills Landfill to the east (Figure 1). The installation of the soil borings and the wells formed the basis for hydrogeo- logic investigations of each landfill. The investigations were undertaken to understand the movement of the ground- water and leachate and the potential for offsite migration. Additionally, this paper was written to of provide detailed descriptions of the sedimentology and stratigraphy of the formations in the study area and aid to future geologic and hydrogeologic investigations within Staten Island, and also similar deposi- tional environments.


Previous Investigations


Much of the data presented in this paper came from the Site Investigation Report Brookfield Avenue Landfill (Wehran Engineering, 1983a), the Hydrologeologic Investigation Fresh Kills Landfill Solid Waste Disposal Operations Plan (Wehran Engineering, 1983b), the Hydrogeological Evaluation Old Muldoon Area Fresh Kills Landfill Report (Wehran Engineering, 1988), the Site Investigation Plan for the


Arthur Kill Ash/Residue Disposal Site Report (Wehran EnviroTech, 1990), the Fresh Kills Leachate Mitigation System Project Final Hydrogeological Report (International Technology Corporation et al., 1993), and the Brookfield Avenue Landfill Remediation Project Final Remediation Investigation Report (Camp Dresser and McKee, 1998).


Methods of Study


Soil borings were installed within the footprint and along the perime- ter of each landfill mound (Figure 2). The soil cores were examined by the author. Additionally, information from boring logs contained in the Wehran Engineering reports (1983a, 1983b and 1988), the IT Corporation hydrogeological investigation report (IT Corporation et al., 1993) and the Brookfield Avenue hydrogeological investigation report (Camp Dresser and McKee, 1998) was used in the study. Daniel C. Walsh had also examined the D, B and BR series of logs. This information was also reviewed by the author and is included in the study.


The author first split open each soil core by inserting a sharp, broad knife blade parallel to the length and 1/4 to 1/3 of the way into the core. The blade then slowly rotated until the two halves of the core completely separated. This method insured that the bedding, color patterns, textures, clast-to-clast rela- tionships, and other features remained intact.


Each sample was examined for litho- logic class, grain size of grain size range, bedding, color of mottling, the presence of conchoidal fracturing, the presence of concretions, occurrence of fossils, silt and clay content, stiffness, field dilatancy,


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