ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY OF EXPOSURES OF THE 
SHUTTLE MEADOW AND PORTLAND FORMATIONS 
(NEWARK SUPERGROUP, CONNECTICUT)

	DICKNEIDER, Trudy A.,  Department of Chemistry, 	
		University of Scranton,  Scranton, PA 18510-4626
	MURPHY, S. Mary Ellen, Saint Joseph's College, Windham, 
		ME 04062-1198
	SALLAVANTI, Robert A., Department of Chemistry, 	
		University of Scranton, 
		Scranton PA 18510-4626
	STEPHENS, Kenneth J., Department of Chemistry, University 
		of Scranton, Scranton, PA 18510-4626

The exposed sediments of the Upper Triassic/Lower Jurassic of the 
lower Connecticut River Valley consist primarily of red shales and 
sandstones.  Interbedded in several areas are black shales noted for 
their relative organic richness.  These deposits are assigned to the 
Newark Supergroup.  This study reports the results of organic 
geochemical investigations of shales from two locations in this 
extensive basin: the Bluff Head shales in North Guilford and an 
exposure of the Portland produced during excavations in Hartford, 
CT.
	The Bluff Head site, (Mount Totoket), is a black shale 
lacustrine cycle stratigraphically located in the Shuttle Meadow 
Formation, the sedimentary sequence below the Holyoke basalt.  The 
site was discovered in 1891 by Davis and Loper during exploration of 
the nearby Durham shales and relocated by Cornet in 1970 and 
extensive geological and paleontological studies were conducted by 
Cornet and McDonald.  The site has yielded numerous fossils of 
holostean and subholostean fish, notable for their rarity in the region 
and their remarkable state of preservation.  The shale deposit consists 
of layers of black shales interbedded with blocky deposits.  Nine 
layers of the deposit have been analyzed, including a shale layer 
recording a fish kill of major proportions.  The organic extracts 
contain a normal distribution of saturated hydrocarbons including an 
extended series of isoprenoids (C13 to C25) including the C17 
isoprenoid.  Squalane has also been identified in several samples 
suggesting an origin for the unusual isoprenoids.  The samples also 
contain sulfur, both elemental and combined as well as aromatic 
hydrocarbons and several steranes, hopanes and triterpanes which also 
contribute information to support an anoxic environment compatible 
with anoxic conditions preserving organic material that has not been 
severely altered by subsequent heating by lava flows.  Differences in 
the extracts indicate a slight variation in input, preservation, or 
environment over the seasonal variations in the lake represented by 
the shale layers.
	A black shale lacustrine cycle in the red beds of the Portland 
Formation was exposed during building excavation in downtown 
Hartford, CT.  The lowest layer of the deposit is a light gray shale 
which shades into black shale which is transformed back into light 
gray shale at the top of the deposit, indicating that these samples 
represent a complete record of the sedimentation event in this area, 
with the lighter shales being deposited in shallow oxygenated waters. 
The intermediate black shale reflects deposition from deeper and 
anoxic waters.  Each layer of the deposit was sampled and analyzed. 
The gross composition and total organic carbon content show 
significant variations between the black and gray layers reflecting 
different inputs and environments. Samples from the uppermost layer 
of the deposit contain a large show of solidified pyrobitumen.