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GSA Connects 2023 Meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Paper No. 233-9
Presentation Time: 8:00 AM-5:30 PM

AN ANALYSIS OF THE RELATION BETWEEN COLOR AND TRACE ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION OF OYSTER SHELLS FOUND IN THE EXPOSED FOSSILIFEROUS SEQUENCE IN THE PAMUNKEY RIVER OF VIRGINIA COASTAL PLAIN


BRADSHAW, Julia, Center for Environmental Studies (CES), Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), 1000 W Cary St, Richmond, VA 23284-9013; Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Center for Environmental Studies (CES), 1000 West Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23284, D'ORAZIO, Gabriela, Center for Environmental Studies (CES), Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), 1000 West Cray St., Richmond, VA 23284, KEILY, Liz, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)Center for Environmental Studies (CES), 1000 W Cary St, Richmond, VA 23284-9013, GANGOPADHYAY, Tapas Kumar, Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur Howrah, VA 711103, India, MAYER, Carl, Nanomaterials Core Characterization Facility (NCC), Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), 620 West Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23284, TURNER, Joseph B. McGee, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Department of Chemistry, 1001 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284 and SIKDER, Arif, Center for Environmental Studies (CES), Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), 1000 West Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23284

The tertiary marine sequences of the Piney Point Formation that crop up along the Pamunkey River in Hanover, Virginia is made up of blue glauconitic sand and clay with scattered, extensively distributed fossil shell fragments, including oyster shells which exhibit distinct variation in color. These well-preserved fossil mortality sites present an opportunity to reconstruct the paleoenvironment by studying the relation between color and trace elemental composition of these oyster shells. For the trace elemental analysis, a significant amount of fossil shells collected and prepared through a rigorous method of cleaning and sorting in order to obtain a specific species that was of a higher abundance and consistent in distribution.

Present elemental analysis of the fossil shells, sorted by species and color, revealed a trend in the Mg/Ca and Fe/Ca ratios. The Mg/Ca and Fe/Ca ratios from the white shells (Mg/Ca = 0.000387909and Fe/Ca = 0.003342683 [n = 6]) were lower than the values from the black shells (Mg/Ca= 0.000781713 and Fe/Ca = 0.007881935 [n = 8]) with the values of the gray (Mg/Ca = 0.000619013 and Fe/Ca = 0.00553682 [n = 6]} shells being dispersed between the two.

The apparent relationship between the trace elemental concentration and color of the oyster fossils hints at a climatic extreme that prevailed during the formation of the studied marine sequences exposed along the Pamunkey River in the Virginia Coastal Plain.

Session No. 233--Booth# 94

D31. Recent Developments in Taphonomy (Posters)
Wednesday, 18 October 2023: 8:00 AM-5:30 PM
Hall B (David L Lawrence Convention Center)
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 55, No. 6
doi: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-393759
© Copyright 2023 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.
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