THE PALYNOLOGY OF THE UPPER CRETACEOUS RARITAN FORMATION
Each sample was examined for litho- logic class, grain size or grain size range, bedding, color or mottling, the presence of conchoidal fracturing, the presence of concretions, occurance of fossils, silt and clay content, stiffness, field dilatancy, relative soil density, field plasticity and estimated hydraulic conductivity.
Global Geologic Setting
Deposition of the Raritan Formation took place during the first of two regional transgressions that occurred through- out New Jersey and along much of the east coast of the United States. The transgression began during the Late Cenomanian Stage and ended during the Early Turonian Stage. This event was part of a worldwide transgression that began during Albian time and ended during the Turonian (Olsson et al., 1988).
Local Geologic Setting
The Upper Cretaceous strata lie at the top of the northern limb of the Raritan Embayment where it meets the Long Island Platform and dips to the southeast (Zapecza, 1989). Sugarman (email communication, 2014) stated that the regional dip of the Atlantic Coastal Plain was no more than 0.50° southeast; however, a dip of 0.11 to 0.65° (1.9 to 11.4 meters/kilometer or 10 to 60 feet/mile) for the Atlantic Coastal Plain was deter- mined by Zapecza (1989). Correlation of the beds below the study area indicate that the strata dip from 0.46 to 0.92°.
The Upper Cretaceous strata under the study area are contiguous with strata of the same age that are present through-
Figure 2. Study soil cores of landfill
out southern and eastern Staten Island. In the study area, the Upper Cretaceous strata consist of, in ascending order, the Lloyd Sand and the Raritan Clay of the Raritan Formation (table below). Upper Cretaceous sediments overlie weathered bedrock and residuum of a variety of pre-Cretaceous metamorphic and sedi- mentary rocks. The strata are overlain by Pleistocene glacial sediments, which are overlain by Recent marsh sediments and municipal solid waste. South of the study area, the Raritan Formation contacts the Upper Cretaceous Magothy Formation (Lyttle and Epstein, 1987).
The northern limit of the Cretaceous sediments is defined by a buried gla- cial erosional feature which the author has named the “Toe of the Buried Escarpment.” The location of the escarp- ment is represented by the thin gray line in Figure 2 that starts above bor-
Series Stage Formations
Eastern New Jersey
Magothy Magothy
Woodbridge Clay
Raritan Farrington Sand
Raritan Fire Clay
Lloyd Sand Lloyd Sand
Table 1. Correlative regional Upper Cretaceous strata under the study area, eastern New Jersey and Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, New York (constructed from data in Sirkin, 1974 and 1986; Buxton et al., 1981; Doriski and Wilde-Katz, 1983; Jengo, 1995; Olsson et al., 1988; Soren, 1988; Smolensky et al., 1989; Zapecza, 1989; Sugarman, 1996)..
Raritan Clay
ing IT-001, continues to borings IT-308 and IT-801, and ends above boring D16. Despite glacial erosion, the Upper Cretaceous sediments thicken signifi- cantly to the south and are from 40 meters to more than 50 meters thick.
Stratigraphy Raritan Formation - Lloyd Sand
The Lloyd Sand in the study area, is 0-18.4 m thick (Figures 3 and 4) and is light to olive gray. The sand grains generally are angular to subangular, ranging from very fine to very coarse, with fine to medium sizes being most common. Conglomeratic sand layers are present at and a little above the base of the formation. The great maority of the sand grains are clear with uncommon to common mica flakes and uncommon
Regional Stratigraphy
Study Area Staten Island, New York
Brooklyn to Long Island, New York
Matawan Group- Magothy Formation Undifferentiated
Raritan Clay
Upper Cretaceous
Cenomanian
Santonian
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