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Correlation between geophysical data and rock types in the Piedmont and coastal plain of northeast Virginia and related areas

September 1, 1974

Physical, chemical, and mineralogic characteristics of rock units in parts of the northeast Virginia Piedmont are reflected in the aeromagnelic, aeroradioactivity, and gravity data for this area. Magnetic anomalies show the areal distribution of rocks containing magnetite. Aeroradiometric anomalies in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain provinces are directly related to the K2O content of the formations. In the crystalline rocks of the Piedmont this is reflected in their muscovite and microcline content, whereas in the Coastal Plain province it is related to the glauconite content of the Aquia Formation. Locally, in the crystalline rocks of the Piedmont, uranium- and thorium-bearing mineral content is of greater importance than K2O-bearing mineral content in producing aeroradiometric anomalies. The region also is characterized by (1) a northern gravity high, (2) a southern gravity high presumed to be caused by mafic rocks, and (3) an intervening zone characterized by low gravity relief and underlain by schist and gneiss. Geologic and geophysical extrapolation southward toward the Arvonia area show that the Chopawamsic Formation and the volcanic rocks of the Evington group are coeval. Also, on the northwest side of these volcanic rocks is a belt of small rootless mafic and ultramafic rocks diapirically ceplaced in folded rocks of Early Cambrian (?) age.

Publication Year 1974
Title Correlation between geophysical data and rock types in the Piedmont and coastal plain of northeast Virginia and related areas
Authors Louis Pavlides, K Sylvester, David L. Daniels, Robert G. Bates
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey
Index ID 70232489
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse