Knowledge Bank

The Rb-Sr method was used to determine the age of detrital muscovite in the Sharon Sandstone at the base of the Pennsylvanian System in Ohio. The age obtained for the muscovite is 430 million years. This indicates that the muscovite crystallized during the Silurian Period and may have originated from the Appalachian mountain region. Combining this age with the flow patterns of sediment during the Pennsylvanian Period, as described by Potter and Siever (1956), indicates a provenance in the northern region of the Appalachian Mountains including New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and perhaps even Maiine and Nova Scotia.