The Pennsylvanian Springhill Mines Formation: sedimentological framework for a portion of the Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Heritage Site

A detailed sedimentological analysis of the Springhill Mines Formation at Joggins Fossil Cliffs reveals significant insights into the geological evolution of the region. The study reassigns a 16.9-meter interval to the top of the Joggins Formation, indicating a rapid flooding event that created a marginal marine to brackish bay environment. The overlying 697 meters of strata, assigned to the Springhill Mines Formation, show a transition from poorly drained coastal swamps and floodplains to well-drained, vegetated floodplains with oxidizing conditions. This shift is accompanied by changes in fluvial style from anastomosed channels to sheet-like and ultimately meandering channels, reflecting decreased halokinetic subsidence and aggradation of the alluvial surface as sediments prograded into the basin.

Rygel, M. C., Sheldon, E. P., Stimson, M. R., Calder, J. H., Ashley, K. T., & Salg, J. L. (2014). The Pennsylvanian Springhill Mines Formation: sedimentological framework for a portion of the Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Heritage Site. Atlantic Geology, 50, 249. https://doi.org/10.4138/atlgeol.2014.013