Quaternary sea-level lowstand features on the southern Florida Keys upper continental slope: Seismic, submersible, and outcrop data

Conference · Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:5936524

Toscano, M A; Hine, A C ^[1]

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1. Univ. of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL (United States). Dept. of Marine Science

The low-gradient slope, seaward of the Holocene reef tract and latest Pleistocene outlier reefs, is superimposed by mounds or bumps. These range in depth from 60 to 100 m MSL, and resemble reefal or dune deposits, or shoreline nickpoints. Seismic data were recently augmented by a series of 2-man submersible dives (DELTA) in and around these features, providing invaluable first-hand dimensional perspective on the undersea outcrops, as well as providing invaluable first-hand dimensional perspective on the undersea outcrops, as well as extensive video, still photography, and in situ outcrop samples. The outcropping grainstones contain abundant subtropical and tropical skeletal components useful for paleoclimatic and age analyses, paleoenvironmental and diagenetic studies, and interpretation of these deposits in terms of sea level position and relationship to climate. Quaternary sea-level lowstand deposits have not previously been sampled from the south Florida Platform, a current-dominated windward carbonate margin. Because this platform is neither subject to isostatic adjustments associated with glacial boundaries and clastic (deltaic) loading, nor with any dynamic tectonic regime, it should preserve a relatively pure signal of the amplitudes of sea level-fluctuations. High-frequency sea-level changes recorded by slope features provide data on modes for long-term platform development. Florida lowstand amplitudes in combination with available highstand data can be used to establish a maximum range for Quaternary sea level fluctuations. When considered in the context of paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental data from outcrop samples, the magnitude, timing, and duration of Quaternary sea levels in south Florida may be viewed as critical to a general understanding of processes associated with rapid climate change.

• OSTI ID: 5936524
• Report Number(s): CONF-921058-; CODEN: GAAPBC
• Journal Information: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Vol. 24:7; Conference: 1992 annual meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Cincinnati, OH (United States), 26-29 Oct 1992; ISSN 0016-7592
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
CONTINENTAL SLOPE
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
FLORIDA
QUATERNARY PERIOD
SEA LEVEL
AGE ESTIMATION
CLIMATIC CHANGE
FLUCTUATIONS
ISLANDS
PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
PALEONTOLOGY
PHOTOGRAPHY
SEA BED
SEISMIC SURVEYS
STRATIGRAPHY
CENOZOIC ERA
CONTINENTAL MARGIN
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGY
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
LEVELS
NORTH AMERICA
SURVEYS
USA
VARIATIONS
580000* - Geosciences