Depositional Environments and Sea Level Changes in the Late Ordovician Fairview Formation, Northeastern Kentucky

By determining the paleo-environments in the Late Ordovician Fairview Formation, located in northeastern Kentucky, changes in sea level become evident. The lithologies in the Fairview Formation primarily consist of shale and fossiliferous limestone. The fossils, which include brachiopods, trilobites, and assorted corals, are useful in determining ancient depositional environments and relative sea level. For example, the presence of coral represents relatively shallow seas whereas brachiopods indicate slightly deeper seas. Our study includes analysis of hand samples and point counts of thin sections from the Fairview Formation. By carefully quantifying the fossil types in our samples we aim to determine if there are any changes throughout the stratigraphic section, and relate those changes to specific depositional environments and sea level