Robert E. Weems

Geologic evidence for recurrent moderate to large earthquakes near Charleston, South Carolina

Multiple generations of earthquake-induced sand blows in Quaternary sediments and soils near Charleston, South Carolina, are evidence of recurrent moderate to large earthquakes in that area. The large 1886 earthquake, the only historic earthquake known to have produced sand blows at Charleston, probably caused the youngest observed blows. Older (late Quaternary) sand blows in the Charleston area indicate at least two prehistoric earthquakes with shaking severities comparable to the 1886 event.

Synthesis and revision of groups within the Newark Supergroup, eastern North America

The Newark Supergroup currently includes nine stratigraphic groups, each of which applies to part or all of the rock column of only one or a few basins. Because the group nomenclature within the Newark Supergroup is neither inclusive nor parallel in its concepts, nearly half of the strata within the Newark Supergroup lacks any group placement. A new system is proposed herein that (1) establishes unambiguous group boundaries, (2) places all Newark Supergroup strata into groups, (3) reduces the number of group names from nine to three, (4) creates parallelism between groups and three major successive tectonic events that created the rift basins containing the Newark Supergroup, and (5) coincidentally provides isochronous or nearly isochronous group boundaries. These proposed groups are (1) the Chatham Group (Middle Triassic to basal Lower Jurassic sedimentary rocks), (2) the Meriden Group (Lower Jurassic extrusive volcanic and sedimentary rocks), and (3) the Agawam Group (new name) (Lower Jurassic sedimentary rocks above all early Mesozoic igneous intrusive and extrusive rocks). This new rock classification system makes use of the fact that a discrete interval of synchronous or nearly synchronous volcanism and plutonism occurred throughout the early Mesozoic rift system of eastern North America. The presence or absence of volcanic rocks provides a powerful stratigraphic tool for establishing regional groups and group boundaries. The presence of sedimentary rocks injected by diabase dikes and sills, in the absence of extrusive volcanic rocks, places Newark Supergroup rocks in the Chatham Group. The presence of extrusive volcanic rocks, interbedded with sedimentary rocks injected by diabase dikes and sills, places Newark Supergroup rocks in the Meriden Group. The presence of sedimentary rocks lacking both extrusive volcanic rocks and diabase dikes and sills, places Newark Supergroup rocks in the Agawam Group. Application of this new regional group stratigraphy to the early Mesozoic rift basins requires revision of the stratigraphy of several basins to make formation boundaries match group boundaries.

Structural and tectonic setting of the Charleston, South Carolina, region: Evidence from the Tertiary stratigraphic record

Eleven upper Eocene through Pliocene stratigraphic units occur in the subsurface of the region surrounding Charleston, South Carolina. These units contain a wealth of information concerning the long- term tectonic and structural setting of that area. These stratigraphic units have a mosaic pattern of distribution, rather than a simple layered pattern, because deposition, erosion, and tectonic warping have interacted in a complex manner through time. By generating separate structure-contour maps for the base of each stratigraphic unit, an estimate of the original basal surface of each unit can be reconstructed over wide areas. Changes in sea level over geologic time generate patterns of deposition and erosion that are geographically unique for the time of each transgression. Such patterns fail to persist when compared sequentially over time. In some areas, however, there has been persistent, repetitive net downward or upward movement over the past 34 m.y. These repetitive patterns of persistent motion are most readily attributable to tectonism. The spatial pattern of these high and low areas is complex, but it appears to correlate well with known tectonic features of the region. This correlation suggests that the tectonic setting of the Charleston region is controlled by scissors- like compression on a crustal block located between the north-trending Adams Run fault and the northwest-trending Charleston fault. Tectonism is localized in the Charleston region because it lies within a discrete hinge zone that accommodates structural movement between the Cape Fear arch and the Southeast Georgia embayment.

The "terminal Triassic catastrophic extinction event" in perspective: a review of carboniferous through Early Jurassic terrestrial vertebrate extinction patterns

Abstract A catastrophic terminal Triassic extinction event among terrestrial vertebrates is not supported by available evidence. The current model for such an extinction is based on at least eight weak or untenable assumptions: (1) a terminal Triassic extinction-inducing asteroid impact occurred, (2) a terminal Triassic synchronous mass extinction of terrestrial vertebrates occurred, (3) a concurrent terminal Triassic marine extinction occurred, (4) all terrestrial vertebrate families have similar diversities and ecologies, (5) changes in familial diversity can be gauged accurately from the known fossil record, (6) extinction of families can be compared through time without normalizing for changes in familial diversity through time, (7) extinction rates can be compared without normalizing for differing lengths of geologic stages, and (8) catastrophic mass extinctions do not select for small size. These assumptions have resulted in unsupportable and (or) erroneous conclusions. Carboniferous through Early Jurassic terrestrial vertebrate families mostly have evolution and extinction patterns unlike the vertebrate evolution and extinction patterns during the terminal Cretaceous event. Only the Serpukhovian (mid Carboniferous) extinction event shows strong analogy to the terminal Cretaceous event. Available data suggest no terminal Triassic extinction anomaly, but rather a prolonged and nearly steady decline in the global terrestrial vertebrate extinction rate throughout the Triassic and earliest Jurassic.

Diverse dinosaur-dominated ichnofaunas from the potomac group (Lower Cretaceous) Maryland

Until recently fossil footprints were virtually unknown from the Cretaceous of the eastern United States. The discovery of about 300 footprints in iron-rich siliciclastic facies of the Patuxent Formation (Potomac Group) of Aptian age is undoubtedly one of the most significant Early Cretaceous track discoveries since the Paluxy track discoveries in Texas in the 1930s. The Patuxent tracks include theropod, sauropod, ankylosaur and ornithopod dinosaur footprints, pterosaur tracks, and miscellaneous mammal and other vertebrate ichnites that collectively suggest a diversity of about 14 morphotypes. This is about twice the previous maximum estimate for any known Early Cretaceous vertebrate ichnofauna. Among the more distinctive forms are excellent examples of hypsilophodontid tracks and a surprisingly large mammal footprint. A remarkable feature of the Patuxent track assemblage is the high proportion of small tracks indicative of hatchlings, independently verified by the discovery of a hatchling-sized dinosaur. Such evidence suggests the proximity of nest sites. The preservation of such small tracks is very rare in the Cretaceous track record, and indeed throughout most of the Mesozoic. This unusual preservation not only provides us with a window into a diverse Early Cretaceous ecosystem, but it also suggests the potential of such facies to provide ichnological bonanzas. A remarkable feature of the assemblage is that it consists largely of reworked nodules and clasts that may have previously been reworked within the Patuxent Formation. Such unusual contexts of preservation should provide intriguing research opportunities for sedimentologists interested in the diagenesis and taphonomy of a unique track-bearing facies.

A New Dinosaur Ichnotaxon from the Lower Cretaceous Patuxent Formation of Maryland and Virginia

In recent years, numerous dinosaur footprints have been discovered on bedding surfaces within the Lower Cretaceous Patuxent Formation of Maryland and Virginia. Among these, distinctive small tracks that display a combination of small manus with five digit impressions and a relatively much larger pes with four toe impressions evidently were made by animals belonging to the ornithischian family Hypsilophodontidae. These tracks differ from any ornithischian ichnotaxon previously described. We here name them Hypsiloichnus marylandicus and provide a description of their diagnostic characteristics. Although hypsilophodontid skeletal remains have not been found in the Patuxent, their skeletal remains are known from Lower Cretaceous strata of similar age in both western North America and Europe. Therefore, it is not surprising to find that an Early Cretaceous representative of this family also existed in eastern North America.

Strong correlation of major earthquakes with solid-earth tides in part of the eastern United States

East of the eastern American continental divide and south of fat 42.5°N, moderate to large historic earthquakes correlate strongly with times of high and low solid-earth tides. This effect is most pronounced when solar declination lies between 17°N and 17°S. Significant correlations also exist between major earthquakes, time of day, lunar declinations, and lunar phase.

Liquefaction Evidence for Repeated Holocene Earthquakes in the Coastal Region of South Carolinaa

Features thought to have originated from earthquake-induced liquefaction have been discovered throughout much of the coastal region in South Carolina and in extreme southeastern North Carolina. Nearly all these liquefaction features are sandblows presently manifested as filled craters. Prehistoric craters near Charleston formed in long-separated episodes at least three times within the past 7200 years. Ages of dated craters far from Charleston, beyond the farthest 1886 earthquake sandblows, differ from ages of craters near Charleston. Insufficient data have been collected to determine whether ages of all craters far from Charleston differ from ages of craters near Charleston. Both the size and relative abundance of pre-1886 craters are greater in the vicinity of Charleston (particularly in the 1886 meizoseismal zone) than elsewhere, even though the susceptibility to earthquake-induced liquefaction is approximately the same at many places throughout this coastal region. These data indicate that, in this coastal region, the strongest earthquake shaking during Holocene time has taken place repeatedly near Charleston.

TAXONOMIC REVISION AND STRATIGRAPHIC PROVENANCE OF ‘†HISTIOPHORUS ROTUNDUS’ WOODWARD 1901 (TELEOSTEI, PERCIFORMES)

Abstract Until recently, †Histiophorus rotundus Woodward 1901, was known from a single, poorly preserved rostrum from the Tertiary phosphate beds near Charleston, South Carolina, an area from which many fossils have been described. The specimen is relatively featureless externally; its internal anatomy is unknown and the documentation of its geological provenance was poor. In an earlier revision the species was transferred to the fossil billfish genus †Xiphiorhynchus Van Beneden, 1871. Here we confirm this designation, supported by new morphological studies of the holotype, recently found specimens of †Xiphiorhynchus rotundus (Woodward, 1901), and the stratigraphic record of †Xiphiorhynchus. The systematic paleontology we present is a contribution to the taxonomic revision of billfishes world-wide. Because the holotype is heavily phosphatized and the type locality was vaguely described, we discuss the geology of the phosphate mining districts of the Charleston region. Based on our studies, we can narrow the possible age of the holotype to late Oligocene or early Miocene. We suggest †X. rotundus was extinct by the Burdigalian.

An occurrence of the protocetid whale "Eocetus" wardii in the middle Eocene Piney Point Formation of Virginia

Abstract Two protocetid whale vertebrae, here referred to “Eocetus” wardii, have been recovered from the riverbed of the Pamunkey River in east-central Virginia. Neither bone was found in situ, but both were found with lumps of lithified matrix cemented to their surfaces. Most of this matrix was removed and processed for microfossils. Specimens of dinoflagellates were successfully recovered and this flora clearly demonstrates that both vertebrae came from the middle Eocene Piney Point Formation, which crops out above and below river level in the area where the bones were discovered. These vertebrae are the oldest whale remains reported from Virginia and are as old as any cetacean remains known from the western hemisphere.