This project involves the acquisition of a vertical seismic profile integrated with a high-resolution reflection survey which will provide both wide- and narrow-angle reflections from the climatic cyclostratigraphy recorded in the Triassic sediments of the Newark Rift Basin, New Jersey. The small amount of stratigraphic overlap between the core holes of the Newark Basin Scientific Drilling Project further justifies the use of high resolution seismic profiling to effectively tie single formations from one hole to another. The best manifestation of the cyclostratigraphy occurs within the Lockatong and lower Passaic formations. Each will be sampled by only a single core hole, the holes near Titusville and Pennington of Lamont's southern transect in Mercer County, New Jersey. To trace facies variations amounting to changes in reflectivity and interval velocity between core holes requires the detailed velocity information and high resolution subsurface images that can be provided by VSP and high resolution surface seismic surveys. The velocities and reflectivities recorded by these surveys should correlate with lake depth index variations can be traced between core holes using the high resolution surface seismic surveys to evaluate the continuity of sequences between the core holes as well as changes in composite Van Houten cycle spacing and lake depth index with proximity to the eastern shore of the basin. Such controls will provide additional constraints for interpretation of the core data with respect to basin wide cyclicity.
