The Geological Survey of Alabama received funding from the USGS to coordinate the East Gulf Coastal Plain Stratigraphic Reconciliation Initiative Working Group, comprised of representatives from the geological surveys of Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. The goals of this working group are to promote dialog regarding the stratigraphic nomenclature used by each state and identify issues related to correlating lithostratigraphic units across state lines. Developing consistent regional stratigraphic nomenclature will advance the USGS’s National Map goals and many other local, state and national projects that rely on an understanding of the geology across the Gulf Coastal Plain.
To facilitate discussions between states, two workshops were held. The first workshop was held at the Geological Survey of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The second workshop was held recently at the FGS. It was attended by Mississippi State Geologist Dr. David Dockery and multiple staff from the Geological Survey of Alabama, including Dr. Sandy Ebersole, the principal investigator for the project. Seven FGS staff attended, including Dr. Jon Bryan, the project lead for Florida. Representatives from the Northwest Florida Water Management District, USGS and other FGS staff geologists attended the workshop virtually.
The second workshop kicked off with an all-day meeting, in which participants provided an overview of the progress made in correlating the stratigraphy across the three states. During lunch, attendees looked at two cores from the Florida Panhandle and discussed how the formations in the cores correlate to formations in eastern Alabama. Day two included a half-day meeting to identify remaining and future tasks. The meeting closed with an optional field trip to Jackson Bluff, an important geologic exposure and the type section of the Pliocene Jackson Bluff Formation. The workshop successfully stimulated constructive dialog regarding the geology of the eastern Gulf Coastal Plain. Project deliverables will be available in the coming months.
Discussion about this post