UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
GY 402: Sedimentary Petrology
Lecture 15:
Moscow Landing (Field Trip Background)
Instructor: Dr. Douglas W. Haywick
Moscow Landing, Alabama
Photo credit: Jan Smit (http://www.geo.vu.nl/~smit/indexjansmit/jansmitindex.htm)
Depart 4 PM Friday March 31; Return Saturday April 1 (late)
Objectives (of the excursion):
 Examine the geology of the Moscow Landing K-T exposure (take
field photos and samples etc.)
 Produce a detailed series of sedimentary sections (up to 5) (and
correlate them)
 Produce an 8-15 page paper about the outcrop including a small
(individual) research focus (e.g., paleontology, structure, petrography,
geomorphology etc.)
Note: the bulk of your paper will concentrate on the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the
outcrop, but feel free to discuss the controversial nature of the outcrop as well.
Alabama
Alabama
Moscow Landing
Perdido outcrop
Paleozoic & older
outcrops
Moscow Landing
Perdido outcrop
Moscow Landing
Coastal Plain
(Mesozoic & younger)
Perdido outcrop
Moscow Landing
Perdido outcrop
Moscow Landing
Location Map
Moscow
Landing
1 km
Moscow Landing
Location Map
Moscow
Landing
1 km
Moscow Landing
Stratigraphy
basal Clayton
sand
Section from Smith (1997)
Moscow Landing
Stratigraphy
basal Clayton
sand
Faults truncated at contact
& soft sediment
deformation (slumping)
Section from Smith (1997)
Moscow Landing
Stratigraphy
basal Clayton
sand
T
K
Beasties from ZoomDinosaurs.com
Section from Smith (1997)
65 Ma
The K-T impact
Moscow Landing
1200 km
Chixulub
Art by Don Davis (www.donaldedavis.com)
Gravity Map from Jan Smit’s homepage,
courtesy of A.Hildebrandt
The K-T impact
(ejecta blanket)
Source: Jan Smit (http://www.geo.vu.nl/~smit/indexjansmit/jansmitindex.htm)
The Geology of Moscow Landing:
Two basic sedimentary facies:
1: chalk (bioturbated with occasional shell layers)
2: sand +/- conglomerate (well sorted to muddy, bioturbated
with large “breccia” blocks of chalk and disseminated shells)
Chalk Facies
Porters Creek Formation (Tertiary)
Prairie Bluff Formation (Cretaceous)
From Smith (1997)
1m
Prairie Bluff Formation
Prairie Bluff Formation
burrows
K-T Contact
1m
K-T Contact
1m
Sand (conglomerate) Facies
Porters Creek Formation
basal Clayton sand
Prairie Bluff Formation
From Smith (1997)
basal Clayton Sandstone
basal Clayton Sandstone
basal Clayton Sandstone
Pinch out
basal Clayton Sandstone
Basal Clayton
Sandstone
Basal Clayton
Sandstone
Angular to subrounded boulders
of chalk up to
1.5m in size
The controversy…
basal
Clayton sand
From Smith (1997)
The controversy…
basal
Clayton sand
From Smith (1997)
The controversy…
basal
Clayton sand
…just how old is this
“sand” unit?
From Smith (1997)
The controversy…
Hypothesis 1:
Sand is Paleocene (post-impact, lag
associated with an unconformity)
basal
Clayton sand
From Smith (1997)
The controversy…
Hypothesis 2:
Sand is terminal Cretaceous in age (impactgenerated tsunamiite)
basal
Clayton sand
From Smith (1997)
Hypothesis 1: Sand is Paleocene
Hypothesis 2: sand is a tsunamiite
Hypothesis 1: Sand is Paleocene
Hypothesis 2: sand is a tsunamiite
3-3.5 million years of
missing time
Hypothesis 1: Sand is Paleocene
Hypothesis 2: sand is a tsunamiite
There is no
missing time at
the K-T
boundary (or it
is only minor)
Upcoming Stuff
Homework
1) Major 1: Grain Size Report due NOW
2) Write 4: Provenance review redos due Tuesday March 7
3) Write 5/Activity 7 due Thursday March 9 by 5:00 PM
4) Major 2: Perdido sections Due March 10th
Lab Today
1) Special Guest Lecture
More
Upcoming Stuff
GY 402: Sedimentary Petrology
Lecture 15: Moscow Landing Preamble
Instructor: Dr. Doug Haywick
[email protected]
This is a free open access lecture, but not for commercial purposes.
For personal use only.