PRELIMINARY PETROGRAPHIC STUDIES AND GIS-BASED MAPPING OF THE METAMORPHIC ROCKS OF ELACHEE NATURE SCIENCE CENTER, GEORGIA

The purpose of the research conducted at the Elachee Nature Science Center and Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve is to create a better understanding of the geological distribution in this local forest and wetland preserve located in Gainesville, Georgia. A geological research analysis has never been conducted for the nature preserve which makes this project unique to its study area. With over 1900 acres, the forests of Elachee provide an important role in the local ecosystem in the area and with additional research obtained through this project, helpful information for future conservation goals will be available. Field observations as well as petrographic studies suggest that the area was subjected to two separate metamorphic events, a regional metamorphism that was followed by a dynamic metamorphism. The metamorphic rocks in this region range from foliated rocks such as graphite schist, chlorite schist, mica schist, garnet schist, staurolite schist, tremolite schist, gneiss and non-foliated rocks such as marble, quartzite, and meta-sandstone. Some of the observed petrographical characteristics of the samples suggesting shear stress include grain boundary migration and bulging, triple junctions in sub-grains of quartz, pressure shadows around garnet porphyroblasts, and syn-kinematic mineral textures. Advanced applications such as ArcGIS Online, Survey123, and Collector apps as well as Rockd app were used to collect the geographical location and attitude of the outcrops as well as other observed characteristics of the rocks observed in the field. Comparing rock samples with the published geological map of Georgia (1: 500000), helped with outcrop identification in the field. A metamorphic map zone for the study area is developed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and ArcPro GIS software. The GIS data collected in the field will be used to show the location of the outcrops and can be added to future studies that may find more outcrops in the area of interest.