Renewal of Depositional Sequence on the New Jersey Coastal Plain: A Drilling Proposal

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9417108 Miller Determining relationships among processes of deposition, formation of unconformity-bounded units (sequences), and global sea-level on passive continental margins requires continuous sampling and dating of stratigraphic sections in different tectonic settings. The New Jersey Sea-Level Transect (onshore drilling, ODP Leg 150, and future shelf drilling) has begun the task of evaluating passive margin sequences by drilling an integrated transect of boreholes on the NJ coastal plain, shelf, and slope. NSF-funded drilling onshore at Island Beach, Atlantic City, and Cape May, NJ in 1993-94 was successful in assembling a mosaic of coastal plain sequences that record uppermost Cretaceous-Recent relative sea-level changes. Comparison with other sea-level proxy data should establish if these sequences were controlled by global sea-level variations. These sequences often bracket aquifer- confining units and these hydrogeological couplets can be correlated throughout the coastal plain. Because of their hydrogeological significance, the NJ Geological Survey has funded drilling costs under a Water Bond Issue for a fourth borehole to be drilled at Harrisville, NJ in 1995 (2,000 ft. proposed total depth). This is a renewal proposal to support science involved with the drilling of the Harrisville borehole and integrated magneto-, bio-, litho-, and isotopic stratigraphic studies. These studies represent a collaborative effort among Rutgers, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the NJ Geological Survey, and the Eastern Regional Branch of the USGS. ***