Late quarternary glacioeustatic sea-level fluctuations: What are the sedimentologic processes and stratigraphic responses on continental margins

Conference · Tue Jan 09 00:00:00 EST 1990 · EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union; (United States)

OSTI ID:6658085

Riggs, S R ^[1]; Snyder, S W ^[2]; Hine, A C ^[3]

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1. East Carolina Univ., Greenville, NC (United States)
2. North Carolina Univ., Raleigh (United States)
3. Univ. of South Florida, St. Petersburg (United States)

Published stable isotope data from deep-sea sediments clearly show that the earth's climatic cycles have oscillated through at least 10 major glacial and interglacial episodes during the last million years. These high-frequency, orbitally-forced events should have resulted in major glacioeustatic sea-level fluctuations on the continental margins with dramatic sedimentologic effects and stratigraphic responses. However, such high-frequency events have proven difficult to resolve. Are they too short-lived to be recorded, to complex to decipher, or have traditional stratigraphic tools not been adequate to recognize them in continental margin sequences A detailed, multidisciplinary study of various continental margins is necessary to test the sensitivity of sedimentologic systems and response in stratigraphic records. This study must utilize (1) high-resolution event stratigraphy to define the depositional and erosional sediment sequences; (2) sediment analyses to delineate depositional environments and characterize lithofacies of specific system tracts; and (3) biostratigraphic and geochronologic analyses to place the depositional sequences in time. Integration of these data sets will (4) determine the resolving power of sequence stratigraphy; (5) develop working stratal models for recognizing short-pulsed, glacioeustatic sea-level events within the stratigraphic record; and (6) define a chronostratigraphy of changing paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic events operating on continental margin systems during the late Quaternary.

• OSTI ID: 6658085
• Report Number(s): CONF-9002174-; CODEN: EOSTAJ
• Journal Information: EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union; (United States), Vol. 71:2; Conference: Ocean sciences meeting, New Orleans, LA (United States), 12-16 Feb 1990; ISSN 0096-3941
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES
QUATERNARY PERIOD
STRATIGRAPHY
SEA LEVEL
FLUCTUATIONS
EVALUATION
CLIMATIC CHANGE
CONTINENTAL MARGIN
GLACIERS
OCEANOGRAPHY
PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
SEDIMENTATION
SEDIMENTS
CENOZOIC ERA
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGY
LEVELS
PALEONTOLOGY
VARIATIONS
540210* - Environment
Terrestrial- Basic Studies- (1990-)
580000 - Geosciences
540310 - Environment
Aquatic- Basic Studies- (1990-)