Pre-transgression morphology and Holocene stratigraphy of the Delaware estuarine and Atlantic coasts

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1985 · Geol. Soc. Am., Abstr. Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:6877554

Chrzastowski, J J; Kraft, J C

The Holocene stratigraphic sequences of the ocean and estuarine coasts of Delaware record the marine transgression and sedimentary infill of deeply incised valleys of the ancestral Delaware River and its tributaries. Suspended sediment of the Delaware estuary has played an important role in the antecedent valley infill. Fine-grained deposition marginal to the ocean coast occurs in lagoonal, tidal stream and marsh environments. The stratigraphy of the lagoonal and estuarine shore areas show that a 1-2 m depth ravinement process is operative in these low energy coastal environments producing an eroded surface which precedes and is stratigraphically separate from the deeper (10 m depth) Atlantic shoreface ravinement. As the transgression continues, preservation of the Holocene sedimentary sequences is dependent on rate of sea-level rise and depth of ravinement. Relief on the antecedent topography is equally important, with maximum preservation occurring in antecedent valleys. At interglacial peak sea levels, lithosomes of all the paralic environments (including barriers and spits) may be preserved in lateral and vertical relationships unmodified by the ravinement process.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Delaware, Newark (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6877554
• Report Number(s): CONF-8510489-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Geol. Soc. Am., Abstr. Programs; (United States) Journal Volume: 17
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580100* -- Geology & Hydrology-- (-1989)
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CENOZOIC ERA
COASTAL REGIONS
DELAWARE
DEPOSITION
ESTUARIES
FEDERAL REGION III
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GEOLOGY
GEOMORPHOLOGY
LITHOLOGY
NORTH AMERICA
QUATERNARY PERIOD
ROCKS
SEAS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
STRATIGRAPHY
SURFACE WATERS
USA