STRATIGRAPHY OF THE OATKA CREEK/MOUNT MARION FORMATIONS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN NEW YORK STATE: IMPLICATIONS FOR HYDROCARBON SOURCES AND TRAPS IN THE MIDDLE DEVONIAN OF EASTERN NEW YORK

It has long been known that various rock units in New York State contain massive amounts of hydrocarbon reserves. Until recently it has been economically unfeasible to tap into these resources, however rising costs of fossil fuels has led to renewed interest in exploiting New York's hydrocarbon reserves. Hydrocarbons are preserved primarily in the form of natural gas derived from organic rich black shale deposits in the Paleozoic rocks of central and eastern New York, including the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale.

The Marcellus Shale of New York State was deposited during the second tectophase of the Acadian Orogeny resulting from the collision of the Avalon Terrain with eastern North America during the Middle Devonian. A rapidly subsiding depositional basin, known as the Appalachian Basin, was formed on the eastern margin of the North American continent into which was deposited a thick package of organic rich (up to 20% organic carbon by weight) fine-grained muds. As mountain building preceded, the basin filled in as the rate of sediment input outstripped the rate of basin deepening leading to the deposition of shallower-water, coarser-grained sediment above the fine-grained, organic rich sediments. Various changes in the controls on depositional patterns through time, specifically changes in sea level and tectonics, caused fluctuations in water depth and sedimentation resulting in specific patterns of repeating sequences of shallow water, coarse-grained sediment and deep water, fine-grained sediments through this interval. Most of the hydrocarbons in the Middle Devonian rocks of the Appalachian Basin are currently contained within fractures formed during later-stage tectonic events. This project will present results of fieldwork conducted to trace marker beds for correlation within the Marcellus Shale of central and eastern New York State along with joint orientations for the various intervals.