Late Holocene marine transgression and the drowning of a coastal forest: Lessons from the past, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

Subsurface Evidence of Storm-Driven Breaching along a Transgressing Barrier System, Cape Cod, U.S.A.

“…The sediment cores obtained in this study (SCB1-SCB5), as well as WB1 and WB2 (Maio et al, 2014), ranged in depth below the surface between 4.2 and 5 m (Figure 4). Some uncertainties likely are associated with comparing the depths of the two sets of cores (SCB and WB), because the elevation of the beach surface may have changed considerably in the 2 years separating the two fieldwork campaigns.…”

“…Peat samples from LFB within WB2 were likely deposited within a brackish high salt marsh environment. Maio et al (2014) concluded this on the basis of two indicators including the presence of Distichlis spicata rhizomes, which are associated with high salt marsh and disturbed environments, and the presence of foraminifera assemblages also indicative of a high marsh setting (Miller and Egler, 1950;Scott and Medioli, 1978). Foraminifera are ubiquitous in most marine environments and provide a good indicator of elevation and other environmental factors (Scott and Medioli, 1978;Murray, 2006).…”

“…Sediment core analysis consisted of splitting, photographing, and describing the cores by sediment type, texture, character of the transitions between horizons, and color. Two additional Geoprobe cores (WB1 and WB2) were collected at the same location in 2011 (Maio et al, 2014) and have been incorporated into the analysis.…”

“…Radiocarbon samples were identified and collected from the SCB4, SCB5, and WB2 (Maio et al, 2014) sediment cores and submitted to the National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (NOSAMS) facility at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating and isotopic carbon analysis. All samples were processed according to NOSAMS specifications (NO-SAMS, 2014).…”

“…These include a potential rapid increase in wave and tidal energy within back-barrier settings, the salinization of freshwater environments, alterations to important marine transportation routes, and the destruction of coastal infrastructure (Buynevich and FitzGerald, 2003;FitzGerald, van Heteren, and Montello, 1994;Maio et al, 2014;Mallinson et al, 2011). Because of these factors, developing a long-term understanding of barrier inlet dynamics and susceptibility to breaching events is a critical topic to be addressed and is a major concern for coastal managers and engineers (FitzGerald et al, 2008;Khalil, Finkl, and Raynie, 2013;Seminack and Buynevich, 2013).…”