Late Holocene Evolution of Currituck Sound, North Carolina, USA: Environmental Change Driven by Sea-Level Rise, Storms, and Barrier Island Morphology

Moran, Kelli

doi:10.2112/jcoastres-d-14-00069.1

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…1a) indicate a prograding barrier shoreline was present ca. 4500 to 2000 cal BP (Mallinson et al, 2008;Moran et al, 2015). Inlet-fill sediments from portions of the Outer Banks date to approximately cal BP (Mallinson et al, 2011).…”

Section: To 1200 Cal Bpmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controls on the stratigraphic framework and paleoenvironmental change within a Holocene estuarine system: Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, USA

et al. 2016

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This study examines the Holocene stratigraphic record and paleoenvironmental evolution of a large estuarine system, at high temporal and spatial resolution, in the context of changing climate, sea level, and hydrodynamics. New data are used to examine two time periods of increased marine influence within Pamlico Sound in northeastern North Carolina interpreted to be the result of extensive barrier island segmentation synchronous with periods of rapid climate change during the late Holocene. The study reveals the controls on the stratigraphic development and the highly dynamic character of the coastal system in response to climate, and sea-level change as it interacts with paleotopography. These findings can be used to inform projections of future environmental changes. Estuarine waters occupied paleovalleys in the Pamlico Sound region as early as ca. 7500 cal BP and Pleistocene interfluves separated the paleovalleys from the Atlantic Ocean until ca. 5500 cal BP, when they were flooded by rising sea-level forming the broad, shallow Pamlico Sound. Initial barrier islands and shoals likely formed sometime between 5500 and 5000 cal BP, providing the geomorphic setting for continued estuarine conditions behind the barriers. At ca. 4000 cal BP, an increase in marine influence and sand content is detected in multiple cores, and is correlated to seismic data within the northern Pamlico Sound basin. This change is interpreted to be the result of increased segmentation of barrier islands (thus a greater number of inlets, or wider inlets), which is consistent with a rapid transgression seen in other areas of the U.S. east coast. The segmentation may have been partially facilitated by a rapid increase in lagoonal area and tidal prism by overtopping of interfluves. Greater barrier island continuity is evident from 3500 to 1200 cal BP, as indicated by muddy deposits with low brackish estuarine foraminiferal assemblages. At ca. 1200 cal BP, seismic, sedimentological and micropaleontological data suggest an increase in wave and current energy and marine influence throughout southeastern 3 Pamlico Sound. These changes are interpreted to represent extensive segmentation of the barrier islands during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA). Since ca. cal BP, the Pamlico Sound system has returned to a more restricted state, as inlets have closed. Currently only three major inlets segment the Outer Banks, the barrier island system fronting Pamlico Sound, but warming climate and increasing rates of sea-level rise suggest another episode of barrier island segmentation began about a half century ago and appears that it may extend into the near future.

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Section: To 1200 Cal Bpmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controls on the stratigraphic framework and paleoenvironmental change within a Holocene estuarine system: Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, USA

et al. 2016

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“…This progradational phase of the North Carolina shoreline began at ca. 4500 cal y BP and is also seen along northern portions of the state (Mallinson et al, 2008;Moran et al, 2014) and south of Cape Lookout (Timmons et al, 2010). In the southern Albemarle Embayment, Q99 defines a paleovalley at OBX-14 (Pamlico Creek) and underneath the modern Pamlico Sound (paleo-Neuse and paleo-Tar rivers) (Mallinson et al, 2010) (Fig.…”

Section: Nature and Timing Of Paleoenvironmental Changementioning

confidence: 98%

Micropaleontologic record of Pliocene and Quaternary paleoenvironments in the southern Albemarle Embayment, North Carolina, U.S.A

Culver

Farrell

Mallinson

et al. 2016

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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“…Flooding in this low‐lying area frequently occurs during storm events (Bales, 2003; Peng et al., 2004; Wagner et al., 2016), presenting a risk that is likely growing in conjunction with increased urban development (Miselis et al., 2016), sea level rise (Field et al., 2014), storm frequency (Knutson et al., 2010), and intensity (Wahl et al., 2015). CS, in the northernmost segment of the larger APES system (Figure 2), is an ∼58‐km‐long and 8‐km‐wide microtidal estuary with averaged depth of 2.5 m (Fine, 2008; Moran et al., 2015). Characterized by muddy to sandy sediments, CS is typical of back‐barrier estuaries along the east coast of North America (Wagner et al., 2016).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…CS is protected from the ocean by the northern Outer Banks, and does not have any inlets connecting it directly to the ocean. It is located ∼60 km from the nearest inlet (Oregon Inlet), and as a result of this distance and the shallow connection through Croatan sound to Pamlico Sound, water level fluctuations are primarily wind driven (Fine, 2008), and there is a minimal (0.1 m amplitude) contribution from astronomical tides (Caldwell, 2001; Moran et al., 2015). Overwash can occur along the Outer Banks barrier islands during very strong storm events, producing widespread flooding and significant damage (Conery et al., 2018; Gharagozlou et al., 2020).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Hurricane Winds and Precipitation on Hydrodynamics in a Back‐Barrier Estuary

2020

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Late Holocene Evolution of Currituck Sound, North Carolina, USA: Environmental Change Driven by Sea-Level Rise, Storms, and Barrier Island Morphology

Cited by 15 publications

References 59 publications

Controls on the stratigraphic framework and paleoenvironmental change within a Holocene estuarine system: Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, USA

Controls on the stratigraphic framework and paleoenvironmental change within a Holocene estuarine system: Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, USA

Micropaleontologic record of Pliocene and Quaternary paleoenvironments in the southern Albemarle Embayment, North Carolina, U.S.A

Impacts of Hurricane Winds and Precipitation on Hydrodynamics in a Back‐Barrier Estuary

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