Late holocene fluctuations in the rate of sea-level rise in the Delaware Bay

Conference · Mon Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1993 · Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:5950715

John, S; Pizzuto, J S ^[1]; Fletcher, III, C H ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States). Dept. of Geology
2. Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (United States). Dept. of Geology

Over 40 cores have been obtained along the tidal Leipsic River, a tributary of Delaware Bay. In addition to the expected general pattern of Holocene transgressive submergence, the cores also reveal two abrupt transgressive facies transitions where subtidal muds overlie tidal wetland deposits. These abrupt facies transitions have been dated by radiocarbon analyses at approximately 3,000 and 1,800 years BP. 13 cores obtained by Fletcher et al. (in press) from Wolfe Glade, a tidal wetland on the southeastern coast of Delaware Bay, reveal at least 5 transgressive episodes. The younger 2 episodes have been dated at approximately 3,250 and 1,800 years BP. The youngest transgressive episode inferred from Wolfe Glade and the Leipsic River correlate with a major transgression of the sea recognized by Meyerson (1972) in wetland deposits of the New Jersey shore of Delaware Bay. This widely separated but temporally correlative transgressive facies transition suggests the occurrence of a major regional event. Because other mechanisms (autocompaction, rapid subsidence, lateral erosion by migration of tidal streams, and reduced sediment supply) are less likely, the authors propose that the local rate of sea-level rise abruptly increased approximately 1,800 years ago in Delaware Bay. Transgressive facies transitions observed at the Leipsic River and at Wolfe Glade also suggest the possibility that an additional acceleration in the rate of sea-level rise occurred approximately 3,000 years ago.

• OSTI ID: 5950715
• Report Number(s): CONF-9304188--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States) Journal Volume: 25:4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580000* -- Geosciences
AGE ESTIMATION
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
BAYS
CARBON 13
CARBON ISOTOPES
CENOZOIC ERA
COASTAL WATERS
DELAWARE BAY
DRILL CORES
ECOSYSTEMS
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GEOLOGY
ISOTOPE DATING
ISOTOPES
LEVELS
LIGHT NUCLEI
NUCLEI
PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
PALEONTOLOGY
QUATERNARY PERIOD
RIVERS
SEA LEVEL
STABLE ISOTOPES
STRATIGRAPHY
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
WETLANDS