Tectonic Inheritance and Sediment Provenance in the New Jersey Coastal Plain: Evidence from the Woodbridge Kaolinite Clays and Stratigraphic Disruption across Basement Highs
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2025
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| author | Joseph J. Serio |
| author_facet | Joseph J. Serio |
| contents | <p>The stratigraphy of the New Jersey Coastal Plain preserves a detailed archive of rift-to-drift transition and passive margin evolution along the eastern North American margin. Recent investigations combining outcrop analysis, borehole records, and geophysical data reveal systematic stratigraphic anomalies that spatially correlate with inherited Proterozoic basement structures. These crystalline blocks, emplaced during the Grenville and Appalachian orogenies and reactivated during Mesozoic rifting, appear to have influenced sediment accommodation and preservation patterns well into the Cenozoic. A particularly revealing case is the Woodbridge Clay Member of the Raritan Formation, a kaolinite-rich, mineralogically pure unit that lacks clear sedimentological ties to adjacent Piedmont or Appalachian sources. Instead, its stratigraphic geometry and mineralogical profile support a novel hypothesis: derivation from a now-submerged Proterozoic gneissic block once emergent to the east of the present-day coastline. This emergent block may have produced westward-directed sediment flux during the Cretaceous, supplying high-purity clay to protected fluvial or estuarine settings. The Woodbridge Clay thus offers an important sedimentary record of tectonic inheritance, acting as a stratigraphic fingerprint of both persistent basement control and anomalous sediment routing. Integration of stratigraphic, mineralogical, paleogeographic, and geophysical evidence strengthens the case for a crystalline highland influencing sedimentation across the Atlantic passive margin. The results underscore the necessity of incorporating inherited topographic features into models of passive margin stratigraphy and Cretaceous paleogeography. This integrative analysis supports the hypothesis that a now-submerged, topographically elevated Proterozoic block supplied sediment westward during the Cretaceous, with its influence preserved in the clay mineralogy and sediment geometry of the Woodbridge unit.</p> |
| format | Recurso digital |
| id | zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_16375449 |
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| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Zenodo |
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| spellingShingle | Tectonic Inheritance and Sediment Provenance in the New Jersey Coastal Plain: Evidence from the Woodbridge Kaolinite Clays and Stratigraphic Disruption across Basement Highs Joseph J. Serio Tectonic inheritance, Proterozoic basement blocks, New Jersey Coastal Plain, kaolinite-rich clay, sediment provenance, Woodbridge Clay Member, passive margin stratigraphy, Cretaceous paleogeography, inherited topography, sediment accommodation, rift-to-drift transition, Atlantic margin evolution, crystalline source block, sequence stratigraphy, submerged continental fragment, glauconitic transgressive units, mineralogical analysis, basement-controlled sedimentation, paleogeographic reconstruction, passive margin tectonics. <p>The stratigraphy of the New Jersey Coastal Plain preserves a detailed archive of rift-to-drift transition and passive margin evolution along the eastern North American margin. Recent investigations combining outcrop analysis, borehole records, and geophysical data reveal systematic stratigraphic anomalies that spatially correlate with inherited Proterozoic basement structures. These crystalline blocks, emplaced during the Grenville and Appalachian orogenies and reactivated during Mesozoic rifting, appear to have influenced sediment accommodation and preservation patterns well into the Cenozoic. A particularly revealing case is the Woodbridge Clay Member of the Raritan Formation, a kaolinite-rich, mineralogically pure unit that lacks clear sedimentological ties to adjacent Piedmont or Appalachian sources. Instead, its stratigraphic geometry and mineralogical profile support a novel hypothesis: derivation from a now-submerged Proterozoic gneissic block once emergent to the east of the present-day coastline. This emergent block may have produced westward-directed sediment flux during the Cretaceous, supplying high-purity clay to protected fluvial or estuarine settings. The Woodbridge Clay thus offers an important sedimentary record of tectonic inheritance, acting as a stratigraphic fingerprint of both persistent basement control and anomalous sediment routing. Integration of stratigraphic, mineralogical, paleogeographic, and geophysical evidence strengthens the case for a crystalline highland influencing sedimentation across the Atlantic passive margin. The results underscore the necessity of incorporating inherited topographic features into models of passive margin stratigraphy and Cretaceous paleogeography. This integrative analysis supports the hypothesis that a now-submerged, topographically elevated Proterozoic block supplied sediment westward during the Cretaceous, with its influence preserved in the clay mineralogy and sediment geometry of the Woodbridge unit.</p> |
| title | Tectonic Inheritance and Sediment Provenance in the New Jersey Coastal Plain: Evidence from the Woodbridge Kaolinite Clays and Stratigraphic Disruption across Basement Highs |
| topic | Tectonic inheritance, Proterozoic basement blocks, New Jersey Coastal Plain, kaolinite-rich clay, sediment provenance, Woodbridge Clay Member, passive margin stratigraphy, Cretaceous paleogeography, inherited topography, sediment accommodation, rift-to-drift transition, Atlantic margin evolution, crystalline source block, sequence stratigraphy, submerged continental fragment, glauconitic transgressive units, mineralogical analysis, basement-controlled sedimentation, paleogeographic reconstruction, passive margin tectonics. |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16375449 |