Late Quaternary Geology of the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico Shelf: Sedimentology, Depositional History, and Ancient Analogs of a Major Shelf Sand Sheet of the Modern Transgressive Systems Tract

McBride, Randolph A.; Moslow, Thomas F.; Roberts, Harry H.; Diecchio, Richard J.

doi:10.2110/pec.04.79.0055

Cited by 10 publications

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“…The resulting unconformity, or ravinement, 526 separates modern sands above from Holocene estuarine sediments or Pleistocene and older 527 sediments below (Bruun, 1962;Swift and Thorne, 1991;McBride et al, 2004;Goff, 2014). The 528 former are typically best preserved in paleo -river channels (e.g., Schwab et al, 2000; Nordfjord 529 et al, 2006).…”

Section: Evolution Of the Transgressive Ravinement 523mentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of Hurricane Sandy on the shoreface and inner shelf of Fire Island, New York: Large bedform migration but limited erosion

Goff

Flood

Austin

et al. 2015

Continental Shelf Research

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14We investigate the impact of superstorm Sandy on the lower shoreface and inner shelf 15 offshore the barrier island system of Fire Island, NY using before-and-after surveys involving 16 swath bathymetry, backscatter and CHIRP acoustic reflection data. As sea level rises over the 17 long term, the shoreface and inner shelf are eroded as barrier islands migrate landward; large 18 storms like Sandy are thought to be a primary driver of this largely evolutionary process. The 19 "before" data were collected in 2011 by the U.S. Geological Survey as part of a long-term 20 investigation of the Fire Island barrier system. The "after" data were collected in January, 2013, 21 ~two months after the storm. Surprisingly, no widespread erosional event was observed. Rather, 22 the primary impact of Sandy on the shoreface and inner shelf was to force migration of major 23 bedforms (sand ridges and sorted bedforms) 10's of meters WSW alongshore, decreasing in 24 migration distance with increasing water depth. Although greater in rate, this migratory behavior 25 is no different than observations made over the 15-year span prior to the 2011 survey. 26Stratigraphic observations of buried, offshore-thinning fluvial channels indicate that long-term 27 erosion of older sediments is focused in water depths ranging from the base of the shoreface 28 (~13-16 m) to ~21 m on the inner shelf, which is coincident with the range of depth over which 29 sand ridges and sorted bedforms migrated in response to Sandy. We hypothesize that bedform 30 migration regulates erosion over these water depths and controls the formation of a widely 31 observed transgressive ravinement; focusing erosion of older material occurs at the base of the 32 stoss (upcurrent) flank of the bedforms. Secondary storm impacts include the formation of 33 ephemeral hummocky bedforms and the deposition of a mud event layer. the New York City metropolitan area was heavily damaged, and the Long Island barrier island 46 system was both breached in places and seriously eroded . 47The impacts of this storm on the shoreface and inner shelf, which are permanently 48 submerged and therefore primarily accessible only through acoustic mapping, are harder to 49 observe. However, although the shoreface and inner shelf are neither populated nor veneered 50 with human infrastructure, they are nevertheless critical to both people and their structures, 51 because they are the first line of defense of barrier island systems against a naturally retreating, 52or "transgressing," coastline. Under rising sea level conditions, the natural condition today along 53 most of the U.S. east coast, barrier islands will back-step (retreat landward) by erosion on the 54 seaward side and deposition on the landward side (Bruun, 1962;Swift and Thorne, 1991; Thorne 55 and Swift, 1991). Large storms, with consequent high waves, strong currents and above-normal 56 tidal ranges/surges, are thought to be primary drivers of such shoreface erosion (Swift, 1968; 57 Swift and Thorne, 1991). Such storms...

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Section: Evolution Of the Transgressive Ravinement 523mentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of Hurricane Sandy on the shoreface and inner shelf of Fire Island, New York: Large bedform migration but limited erosion

Goff

Flood

Austin

et al. 2015

Continental Shelf Research

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“…The surface sediments here comprise fine and medium sand and are moderate to well sorted (McBride et al 2004). Combined with the adjacent Alabama/Mississippi shelf, there is a trend in sediment texture from coarser-to finer-grained and from less sorted to more sorted.…”

Section: Florida Panhandlementioning

confidence: 77%

Sediments of the Gulf of Mexico

Davis

2017

Habitats and Biota of the Gulf of Mexico: Before the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

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“…, 1993; Dalrymple & Hoogendoorn, 1997; Spalletti et al. , 2001; Posamentier, 2002; Cattaneo & Steel, 2003; McBride et al. , 2004; Sixsmith et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…11C), suggesting that most of the present cement probably originated by dissolution of original carbonate particles and re-precipitation during diagenesis. Although, shell beds and preferential cementation have been widely associated with transgressive surfaces in several ancient and modern examples of transgressive deposits (Kidwell, 1991;Davis et al, 1993;Dalrymple & Hoogendoorn, 1997;Spalletti et al, 2001;Posamentier, 2002;Cattaneo & Steel, 2003;McBride et al, 2004;Sixsmith et al, 2008) and Glossifungites Ichnofacies suites were also reported preferentially related to transgressive surfaces of erosion and/or flooding surfaces (MacEachern et al, 2007b and references therein), these attributes either individually or together cannot be invoked as enough evidence to unambiguously interpret a basal surface as of transgressive origin. For example, both shell concentration and firm ground development could well be the result of erosional exhumation and winnowing during falling or lowstand conditions, and resulting regressive surfaces of marine erosion (RSE) and/or sequence boundaries (SB) could be demarcated by Glossifungites Ichnofacies suites (Bergman, 1999;Oló riz & Rodríguez-Tovar, 2000).…”

Section: Basal Bounding Surfaces: Evidence For Transgressively Modifimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This abandonment phase recorded in the Mulichinco sandstone bodies is difficult to compare with observation in active modern sand ridges. However, buried transgressive sand sheets with upward-fining trends (McBride et al, 2004), and moribund tidal sand ridges with intense bioturbation restricted to the top (Davis & Balson, 1992), could reflect comparable conditions. Similar trends were proposed by Suter (2006) for sand ridges that gradually become moribund and eventually are covered by offshore mudstones (Fig.…”

Section: Mfs Fsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sharp‐based marine sandstone bodies in the Mulichinco Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Neuquén Basin, Argentina: remnants of transgressive offshore sand ridges

Schwarz¹

2012

Sedimentology

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The interpretation of sharp‐based shallow‐marine sandstone bodies encased in offshore mudstones, particularly transgressive units, has been a subject of recent debate. This contribution provides a multiple‐dataset approach and new identification criteria which could help in the recognition of transgressive offshore sandstone bodies worldwide. This study integrates sedimentology, ichnology, taphonomy and palaeoecology of Mulichinco Formation strata in the central Neuquén Basin (Argentina) in order to describe and interpret sharp‐based sandstone bodies developed in ramp‐type marine settings. These bodies are sandwiched between finer‐grained siliciclastics beneath and thin carbonates above. The underlying sediments comprise progradational successions from offshore mudstones to offshore transition muddy sandstones, grading occasionally into lower shoreface sandstones. The surfaces capping the regressive siliciclastics are flat and regionally extensive, and are demarcated by skeletal concentrations and a Glossifungites suite; they are also marked by sandstone rip‐up clasts, with encrustations and borings on all sides. These surfaces are interpreted as composite discontinuities, cut during a relative sea‐level fall and remodelled during the initial transgression. The overlying transgressive sandstone bodies are 3 to 7 m thick, >4 km long and about three times longer than wide; they are composed of fine‐grained sandstones with little lateral change in grain size. Cross‐stratification and/or cross‐lamination are common, typically with smaller‐scale structures and finer grain size towards the top. Large‐scale, low‐angle (5° to 8°) inclined stratification is also common, dipping at ca 30° with respect to body elongation and dominant currents. These sandstone bodies are interpreted as offshore sand ridges, probably developed under the influence of tidal currents. Intense burrowing is typical at the top of each unit, suggesting an abandonment stage. Final deactivation favoured colonization by epibenthic‐dominated communities and the formation of skeletal‐rich limestones during the latest transgressive conditions. As partial reworking of pre‐existing ridges occurred during this stage, the Mulichinco sandstone bodies are considered the remnants of transgressive offshore sand units.

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Late Quaternary Geology of the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico Shelf: Sedimentology, Depositional History, and Ancient Analogs of a Major Shelf Sand Sheet of the Modern Transgressive Systems Tract

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

The impact of Hurricane Sandy on the shoreface and inner shelf of Fire Island, New York: Large bedform migration but limited erosion

The impact of Hurricane Sandy on the shoreface and inner shelf of Fire Island, New York: Large bedform migration but limited erosion

Sediments of the Gulf of Mexico

Sharp‐based marine sandstone bodies in the Mulichinco Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Neuquén Basin, Argentina: remnants of transgressive offshore sand ridges

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