School of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Tectonic Evolution of the Northern Appalachians

The rocks of the Northern Appalachian orogen, stretching from New York City to the Maine-New Brunswick border, record more than a billion years of Earth history during which two supercontinents formed and at least two ocean basins were created when those supercontinents split apart. SEES faculty and research associates have been responsible for deciphering much of this history, contributing primary geologic mapping, geochemical and geochronological data, and models for major orogenic events that have affected the region. Recent research projects include:

• revolutionizing the stratigraphy of the Manhattan Prong: petrographic analysis and mapping (P.W. and P.C. Brock)
• tectonic setting of rock formations revealed through isotopic dating (H. Brueckner, N.G. Hemming)
• a comprehensive model of the Acadian orogeny (A. Ludman)