Dear Friends and Customers of FGS,

When looking at a map of North America, have you ever noticed that Florida looks like it was a late addition to the continent? It was. The rocks far beneath our aquifers do indeed have origins from Africa and perhaps South America.  In this issue of News and Research, I hope you find our GEOFACT about Florida’s deep geological origins fascinating. Also in this issue we are pleased to share news of our education and outreach activities, our recent publications and an update to online access to Florida's geothermal data - certainly a hot topic!

Best Regards,

Jonathan D. Arthur, Ph.D., P.G.
Director and State Geologist
Florida Geological Survey
Florida Department of Environmental Protection

•GEOFACT - Florida's African Connection   More…

•Earth Day 2015 Celebrated at 1st Annual Healthy Communities Festival More…

•FGS Hosts Repository Tour for FSU Environmental Science Class   More…

•New Reports from the FGS   More…

•Florida Geothermal Data Online More…

•See Previous Editions of FGS News and Research More…

Would it surprise you to learn that some of the deep basement rocks underlying Florida were once part of Africa? Florida’s geologic history has been traced back to the early Paleozoic Era, 540 – 251 million years ago (mya), largely through the study of rock samples obtained from oil test wells drilled in northern Florida and nearby Georgia and Alabama. In Florida, the top of the Paleozoic strata ranges from approximately 3,000 to 8,000 feet below land surface and they consist of igneous and metamorphic rocks overlain by sandstones and shales.

The sedimentary basement strata were found to contain macrofossils such as trilobites, brachiopods, graptolites, mollusks and plant remains, as well as microfossils including conodonts, ostracods and palynomorphs (tiny organic-walled fossils from a variety of different organisms). Anomalies in the assemblages of fauna soon became apparent to early researchers. A fossil trilobite species discovered in a Madison County oil test well had previously only been known from Eastern Europe and North Africa. Like the trilobite, fossil faunas in other wells did not match those expected from North America, but rather more closely resembled fossils from Africa, South America and Europe. The palynomorph assemblages eventually became instrumental in correlating Florida basement rocks with those of Africa. Subsequent gravity, paleomagnetic and geochemical (isotope) studies helped confirm that Florida’s Paleozoic basement rocks comprise an exotic terrain most likely associated with northwestern Africa. In fact, recent study suggests that the exotic terrain may also include components of South America.

How did the African rocks get here? The oil well samples chronical the response in Florida's rock record to global plate tectonic movement when the ancient landmasses of Laurentia and Gondwana converged to create the supercontinent of Pangea, about 300 mya. Gondwana was comprised, in part, of the joined land masses of Africa and South America. Laurentia was comprised of the future North America as well as other continental fragments. During this tectonic convergence a small block of crust from northwestern Africa, which has been named the Suwannee Terrain, moved with Gondwana and collided with Laurentia in a region that would one day become the southeastern portion of the North American continent. Later during the Jurassic Period, approximately 200 mya, the resulting supercontinent Pangea began to break apart, ultimately resulting in the formation of the world’s continents as we know them today. In the process, the Suwannee Terrain remained permanently sutured to North America and formed the foundation for the present day Florida Platform. Our African basement rock is today covered by thick sequences of younger strata, and no expression of it or its suture to North America is evident at the surface.

Contact person/info: Frank Rupert or Dr. Jon Arthur 

The first Healthy Communities Festival was held Saturday, April 25, 2015, at Cascades Park in Tallahassee. The event was hosted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), along with the city of Tallahassee and Leon County.

The Florida Geological Survey (FGS) staffed a booth at Cascades Park in Tallahassee. Despite inclement weather, dozens of people stopped by to learn about the history of the cascade and swallet for which Cascades Park is named, along with Florida’s karst geology and the impacts humans may have on our groundwater resources when living in karst regions.

FGS volunteers did a fantastic job and provided a variety of assistance. These volunteers included James Cichon, Scott Miller, Amanda Kubes, Jackie Lloyd, Harley Means, Andrew Kleinberg and Christopher P. Williams. Bill Parker with the Florida State University Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences also joined FGS for the day. The Education and Outreach Plan will be revised to include more specific guidelines for outdoor events in case of weather complications.

The FDEP plans to host the event again next year along with the city of Tallahassee, Leon County and other potential sponsors. The FGS is excited to work at this event again, as it has the potential to reach many people about the importance of geology to Floridians. The Healthy Communities Festival is unique to Tallahassee, but geologists across Florida are encouraged to participate in Earth Day events each year in their areas.

Contact person/info: Dr. Christopher Williams or Dr. Jon Arthur  

On April 1, the FGS provided approximately 40 students a tour of the FGS Warehouse location and sample repository. The class was divided into four groups that rotated among various stations.

The Sample Collection Station included viewing of the FGS drill rig and sampling tools, and discussions of sampling techniques led by Eric Thomas, Environmental Specialist, and Bob Cleveland, Engineering Specialist. A vibracore rig display and discussion was led by Dan Phelps, P.G. 

Afterwards, students observed a sample prep demonstration and presentation led by Jesse Hurd, Laboratory Technician, and geologists Mary Beth Lupo and Kirstyn Cataldo. Brianne Apolinar, also an FGS geologist, showed the class how cuttings and core sample descriptions are done. An SEM demonstration and Geochemistry Laboratory tour subsequently followed, led by Cindy Fischler, P.G.

Finally, the tour ended at the Sample Archive Station, after an inside look at the main repository. Group leaders, which included David Paul, P.G., Christopher Williams, P.G., Tom Greenhalgh, P.G., and Andrew Kleinberg, Geologist, discussed the repository with students during the walk-through. Deep samples were laid out to show the class.

Education and Outreach is at the core of the FGS mission to collect, interpret and provide objective, quality information about Florida to the public. Educating students with a budding interest in the geosciences is a privilege to the geologists and geoscience professionals at the organization. If you have an interest in FGS presentations for your organization in the future, please do not hesitate to contact Jon Arthur, FGS Director, or Christopher Williams, P.G., FGS Education and Outreach Coordinator.

Contact person/info: Dr. Christopher Williams   

Florida deep well borehole temperature data is now available online through the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS), part of the U.S. Geoscience Information Network (USGIN). NGDS is a catalog of documents and datasets that provide information about geothermal resources nationwide. The NGDS platform was funded and developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technology Office (DOE) as a tool for sharing reliable geothermal information with a variety of potential users. Data in the NGDS catalog may be accessed over the Internet by free-and-open-source software around the world.

In a national effort, managed by the Arizona Geological Survey for the Association of American State Geologists, most state surveys provided digital well data in interoperable formats to the NGDS catalog. Grant funding for the massive project was provided to the states by DOE. For its part, the FGS scanned temperature logs and compiled borehole temperature readings from over 3,000 petroleum, water and underground injection wells statewide.

The Florida data may be accessed through the NGDS Florida Borehole Temperature page at http://search.geothermaldata.org/dataset/bcf47402-3bd9-4edb-a15c-7137760bc989. Once at this page, click on the “Geothermal Prospector” button to bring up a zoomable map, from which you may query the data for individual wells or for regional well clusters.

Contact person/info: Dr. Jon Arthur or Alan Baker