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George W. Andrews

Publications and source records attributed to George W. Andrews.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Marine diatom sequence in Miocene strata of the Chesapeake Bay region, Maryland

The Calvert and Choptank Formations exposed along the west shore of Chesapeake Bay in Maryland have been correlated with strata of early and middle Miocene age. The stratigraphic ranges of marine diatom marker species indicate a distinct diatom sequence in the deposits. A few diatoms that mark deep-sea Miocene deposits are found sparingly in these shallow neritic assemblages. Seven diatom zones based on well-recognized events in the diatom biostratigraphy are proposed for the mid-Atlantic region of the eastern United States. A suggested correlation of these zones is made with some of the deep-sea diatom zonations in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean basins.

Maryland

Late Eocene nonmarine diatoms from the Beaver Divide area, Fremont County, Wyoming

The Beaver Divide is a high escarpment of Tertiary nonmarine strata in central Wyoming separating the Sweetwater Plateau from the relatively low-lying Wind River Basin. The Wagon Bed Formation of middle and late Eocene age and the Beaver Divide Conglomerate Member of the White River Formation-this member being of early Oligocene (Chadronian) age--are exposed near the top of the Beaver Divide in Fremont County, Wyo., about 23 miles southeast of Riverton. The upper part of the Wagon Bed Formation, dated as late Eocene (Uintan) age by Van Houten on the basis of vertebrate fossils, contains a highly silicified fresh-water limestone stratigraphically high in the section with a poorly preserved diatom assemblage. The Beaver Divide Conglomerate Member contains large blocks of similar white limestone, some of which have an assemblage of diatoms the same as that of the Wagon Bed Formation but showing excellent preservation. Both the Wagon Bed limestone and the limestone blocks from the Beaver Divide Conglomerate Member have virtually the same assemblages of nonmarine gastropods. A study of the local geology indicates that a marked erosional topography formed on the Wagon Bed strata before deposition of the Beaver Divide sediments. The Beaver Divide limestone blocks were derived from nearby exposures of the Wagon Bed Formation. The diatom assemblage under consideration was originally deposited in the Wagon Bed limestone and is, therefore, late Eocene rather than early Oligocene in age. This represents the earliest known assemblage of nonmarine diatoms from North America. The diatom assemblage of the Wagon Bed Formation consists of 27 new species, two species known previously from the upper Miocene of France, and five species still found in living assemblages. One new genus containing two species also occurs in the deposit. The Wagon Bed diatom assemblage is strikingly distinct from later Tertiary fresh-water assemblages in that many diatom genera common to the younger deposits are totally lacking in this Eocene formation. These genera may be absent because of a highly specialized paleoecology during deposition of the Wagon Bed limestone, but the meager evidence provided by the few still-living species suggests nothing more specific than deposition in a temperate circumneutral lake.

Wyoming

New names for late Pleistocene diatom species

The homonyn Navicula rotunda Andrews is replaced by the name N. rotundella Andrews; the homonym Epithemia irregularis Andrews is replaced by the name E. emarginata Andrews. The diatoms are from Trempealeau Valley, Wisconsin (Andrews, 1966).

Wisconsin

Late quaternary geologic history of the lower Chippewa Valley, Wisconsin

The lower Chippewa Valley in west-central Wisconsin extends 65 miles from the Cary terminal moraine in Chippewa County to the Mississippi River Valley. The Chippewa Valley and its tributaries were filled with a valley train of sand and gravel during the maximum stand of the Cary ice, and entrenchment of this deposit has formed the Wissota terrace, a prominent geomorphic feature that can be traced the length of the valley. Several lower terraces in the valley indicate progressive downcutting of the Wissota terrace sediments. Erosion and deposition in the Mississippi Valley are closely linked to the post-Cary history of the lower Chippewa Valley, for these factors controlled the outlet level of the Chippewa River. This outlet was substantially lower than at present throughout much of post-Cary Pleistocene and early Recent time. The modern Chippewa River has built a delta into the Mississippi Valley. The Chippewa River is aggrading the lower part of its valley, a meandering river is slowly eroding the central part; stream erosion in the upper part is restricted by sills of hard bedrock.

Wisconsin

Morphologic studies of the brachiopod genus Composita

The genus Composita consists of smooth-shelled athyroid brachiopods which in North America have a range from Late Devonian or Early Mississippian to Permian. Morphologic variation in the genus has been recognized by earlier workers, but few have tried to show exact relationships among the various forms. The present writers have attempted to trace the development of the genus through geologic time. Only North American species and varieties of Composita are treated in this paper. Forty-two species and varieties are included in a phylogenetic history of the genus. Nine other species are listed as doubtful forms. Eighteen specific and varietal names are rejected by the writers as obsolete. Morphologic intergradation among associated, synchronous forms is studied with the aid of frequency polygons. Lack of clear separation of the associated species within different maxima of the polygons indicates their dominant intergradation. These forms, previously described qualitatively, are regarded as typological species. A statistical method is used to test for differences between collections containing the same typological species. Significant differences in the slopes of reduced major axes are obtained in length-width, length-depth and depth-width plots of two collections containing Composita subtilita and Composita argentea . Significant differences also are obtained when two collections of Composita subtilita , Composita ovata and Composita elongata are compared in the same way. In spite of these results, slight nomenclatural changes are thought to be unnecessary. Use of the triangular graph as a means of distinguishing vertical subspecies is also tested. Four collections are plotted on one graph and five artificially separated groups of Composita subtilita on another. Mixed results are obtained. The method is suspect because the results are found to depend largely on the number of specimens used.

Journal of Paleontology