Glacial Geology of Connecticut Illustrated by a Fieldtrip in the Lower Connecticut River Valley

Note: Registration for this program will initially be limited to EPOC Professional Members (LEPs) only. If space is not filled, the program will open up to all.

Date: Mon, June 3, 2024
Time: 8 AM - 4:45 PM (Registration opens at 7:30 AM with continental breakfast and coffee)
Location: Meet and park at DEEP Marine Headquarters, 333 Ferry Road, Old Lyme, CT

Continuing Education Credits:

The CT State Board of Examiners of Environmental Professionals (LEP Board) has approved this course for 8.0 hours of continuing education credits (CECs) - CTLEP-592.

Instructors - Fieldtrip Leaders:

Janet Stone and Ralph Lewis (see bios below)

Program Fees:

EPOC Members: $350, Non-members: $450, Gov't Employee/Students: $175. Continental breakfast and box lunch will be provided.

Program Overview:

All attendees will first meet indoors (at DEEP Marine Headquarters in Old Lyme) for an introductory lecture on CT’s Quaternary geology and an overview of the fieldtrip sites. We will then board buses to travel together to the fieldtrip sites. Lectures will be conducted during the travel times to review previous sites visited and to introduce the next location. A “working” lunch will be held at midday (all attendees will receive pre-prepared boxed lunches). We will return to the DEEP Marine Headquarters at the conclusion of the fieldtrip.

Program Description:

Detailed program agenda is available here (PDF).

This course will consist of a one-hour lecture/slide presentation including previews of features to be seen on the fieldtrip, followed by a full-day fieldtrip to introduce participants to examples of Connecticut Quaternary geology. The course will demonstrate some of the important geologic deposits and features formed in Connecticut during the Quaternary timeframe which includes the Pleistocene (glacial) and Holocene (postglacial) Epochs. The Quaternary has been the time of development of many details of the landscape and of all the surficial (unconsolidated) deposits. Three main types of surficial deposits are present in Connecticut: 1) glacial ice-laid deposits were laid down beneath ice as continental ice sheets advanced across Connecticut at least twice in the Middle and Late Pleistocene; 2) glacial meltwater sediments were deposited in glacial lakes and streams as the last ice sheet retreated northward across Connecticut; and 3) postglacial deposits which were formed by various processes after the recession of the last ice sheet. The fieldtrip will examine glacial deposits and landforms and their internal structure in the southeast Connecticut towns of Old Lyme, Lyme, East Haddam, East Hampton, and Portland. Detailed course field guides will be provided.

Instructor Bios:

Janet Stone is a Research Geologist in the Eastern Geology and Paleoclimate Science Center, currently serving as Project Chief for the Quaternary Stratigraphic Framework of Massachusetts and part of southern Michigan (QSFM) Project. Janet joined the USGS in 1972 and her career accomplishments include: the development of a methodology for mapping the three-dimensional distribution of textural variations within glacial meltwater deposits in New England at quadrangle-scale; synergistic analysis of the offshore marine record in Long Island Sound with Connecticut's terrestrial Quaternary stratigraphy to produce an integrated interpretation of glacial, deglacial, and postglacial events including Holocene sea-level rise; and recognition and study of potential permafrost-related structures formed on glacial surfaces in southern New England that have important paleoclimatic implications. Janet also spent ten years working in the Water Resources Discipline working to develop the methodology for delineation of bedrock lithology, structure, and fracture geometry at a scale that is useful for hydrologic analysis and to assess the geohydrologic factors that support current and future water-supply and ground-water contamination studies in glaciated crystalline-bedrock terrain. Janet was instrumental in the creation of the Geological Society of Connecticut and has served as that organization's President and is currently Past President.

Ralph Lewis is a certified Professional Geologist with 39 years of professional experience; State Geologist of Connecticut between 1997 and 2003. In this capacity he was responsible for overseeing the activities of the State Geological and Natural History Survey of Connecticut. The Survey develops and conducts geological and biological programs involving basic research, data collection, inventories, monitoring and analysis, habitat and species protection, resource evaluations, technical assistance and outreach. From 1980 through 2003, his research concentration has been on the geologic framework and sediment system of Long Island Sound. He has published over 100 papers and abstracts culminating in a Thematic Section of the Journal of Coastal Research (Vol. 16, No.3), which he co-edited. The Quaternary Geologic Map of Connecticut and Long Island Sound Basin (U.S.G.S. Geologic Investigations Series Map I-2784) presents the glacial geologic framework for Connecticut that Ralph worked with the U.S. Geological Survey to develop. In addition, Ralph has been Professor in residence, Marine Sciences Department, UCONN-Avery Point; Member Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering; Former member of the Ocean Studies Board of the National Academies; Recipient of Dr. Sigmund Abeles Award for “Outstanding Service to Science Education in Connecticut”. In 2014, Ralph authored a chapter on the geology of Long Island Sound in the Springer Book Series entitled "Long Island Sound Prospects for the Urban Sea."