INVESTIGATING THE STRATIGRAPHY OF MARCY'S WOODS IN POINT ABINO, ONTARIO

In 2013 the Ontario Geologic Survey (OGS) initiated a new three-dimensional (3-D) mapping project in the Niagara Peninsula to build a 3-D model of Quaternary deposits that would help better define groundwater resources, specifically both regional and local aquifers and aquitards. Hydrogeologic relationships in coastal areas are especially complex, and little information exists in Point Abino, a small peninsula on the northeastern shore of Lake Erie. Marcy’s Woods, located in the northwestern quadrant of Point Abino, is a uniquely preserved landscape containing large dunes, a modern shoreline, and wetlands. However, the stratigraphic relationship and subsurface extent of geomorphic features in Marcy’s Woods remains unknown. Spatial analysis was conducted to interpolate information from existing maps and publications (ie. OGS Open File Reports, OGSEarth, and water well records). Two cores containing new information specifically from Marcy’s Woods were collected, described, photographed. The cores were subsampled for further analysis of particle size, organic and carbonate content, palynology, and heavy minerals. Radiocarbon dating and optically stimulating luminescence methods were carried out to link the lithostratigraphy, hydrostratigraphy, and chronostratigraphy in Marcy’s Woods.