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The black shales of the Devonian Catskill Basin have significant fractured gas potential.  The goal of this study is to understand the factors—within and outside of the basin—that influenced the deposition of organic-rich black shales .  My research group has undertaken a multi-proxy study that tests three hypotheses of Devonian black shale formation: (1) A tectonic model in which black shales accumulated in deep zones following basin down drop on regional faults.  (2) A climate model in which black shale deposition was triggered by global climate and was synchronous with similar deposition elsewhere.  And (3) a biotic model in which black shale deposition was stimulated by increased weathering and nutrient flux from land.  Data were gathered from a 95 m long, complete section, exposed in Watkins Glen State Park, New York.  Previously, we completed a cm-scale measurement and description of the stratigraphic section.  We noted ball and pillow structures at various horizons in the section suggestive of regional seismicity.  Individual beds were sampled for analysis, with an average sampling interval of approximately 20 cm.  Carbon isotope analyses on organic matter have been completed and percent organic content of the sediment has been calculated.  We noted several carbon isotope excursions that may be correlative with other sections worldwide.  However detailed palynological analysis and a return to the section in search of conodonts that would provide time stratigraphic control have failed to yield material of sufficient quantity or quality to permit detailed global correlation.  We did, however, recover a single sample near the base of the measured section, in which spores were largely undamaged.  This sample did not contain sufficient spores for diversity assessment, but did produce an assemblage including Grandispora gracilis, Geminospora lemurata and Auroraspora macra that suggest a Famennian age for this stratigraphic horizon.  This is a surprise because the region is conventially mapped as Frasnian and Givetian in age.

A palynofacies analysis was undertaken to assess the degree to which terrestrial sediment and organic matter dominated the basin.  This would allow preliminary testing of the third hypothesis outlined above, in which nutrient runoff from terrestrial sources stimulated marine productivity and contributed to bottom water anoxia.  Approximately 300 samples were processed for palynofacies analysis.  Samples were demineralized with hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid to remove carbonate and siliciclastic grains, rinsed, and sieved to remove clays.  No chemical oxidation treatment was applied.  As palynodebris counts proceeded during 2011, it became clear that all samples were contaminated with modern algal and diatom material.  A month-long review of our laboratory methods revealed that the filtration system at the front end of the system that supplies deionized water to all of the science buildings had failed in July 2010.  Therefore, during the time in which our samples were processed, we were rinsing and filtering these samples with unpurified tap water.  The remainder of 2011 was occupied with reprocessing these samples, which are now, once again, ready for palynodebris count analysis.