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1.
High-resolution side-scan mosaics, sediment analyses, and physical process data have revealed that the mixed carbonate/siliciclastic, inner shelf of west-central Florida supports a highly complex field of active sand ridges mantled by a hierarchy of bedforms. The sand ridges, mostly oriented obliquely to the shoreline trend, extend from 2 km to over 25 km offshore. They show many similarities to their well-known counterparts situated along the US Atlantic margin in that both increase in relief with increasing water depth, both are oriented obliquely to the coast, and both respond to modern shelf dynamics. There are significant differences in that the sand ridges on the west-central Florida shelf are smaller in all dimensions, have a relatively high carbonate content, and are separated by exposed rock surfaces. They are also shoreface-detached and are sediment-starved, thus stunting their development. Morphological details are highly distinctive and apparent in side-scan imagery due to the high acoustic contrast. The seafloor is active and not a relict system as indicated by: (1) relatively young AMS 14C dates (<1600 yr BP) from forams in the shallow subsurface (1.6 meters below seafloor), (2) apparent shifts in sharply distinctive grayscale boundaries seen in time-series side-scan mosaics, (3) maintenance of these sharp acoustic boundaries and development of small bedforms in an area of constant and extensive bioturbation, (4) sediment textural asymmetry indicative of selective transport across bedform topography, (5) morphological asymmetry of sand ridges and 2D dunes, and (6) current-meter data indicating that the critical threshold velocity for sediment transport is frequently exceeded. Although larger sand ridges are found along other portions of the west-central Florida inner shelf, these smaller sand ridges are best developed seaward of a major coastal headland, suggesting some genetic relationship. The headland may focus and accelerate the N–S reversing currents. An elevated rock terrace extending from the headland supports these ridges in a shallower water environment than the surrounding shelf, allowing them to be more easily influenced by currents and surface gravity waves. Tidal currents, storm-generated flows, and seasonally developed flows are shore-parallel and oriented obliquely to the NW–SE trending ridges, indicating that they have developed as described by the Huthnance model. Although inner shelf sand ridges have been extensively examined elsewhere, this study is the first to describe them in a low-energy, sediment-starved, dominantly mixed siliciclastic/carbonate sedimentary environment situated on a former limestone platform.  相似文献   

2.
Seismic reflection profiles and vibracores have revealed that an inner shelf, sand-ridge field has developed over the past few thousand years situated on an elevated, broad bedrock terrace. This terrace extends seaward of a major headland associated with the modern barrier-island coastline of west-central Florida. The overall geologic setting is a low-energy, sediment-starved, mixed siliciclastic/carbonate inner continental shelf supporting a thin sedimentary veneer. This veneer is arranged in a series of subparallel, shore-oblique, and to a minor extent, shore-parallel sand ridges. Seven major facies are present beneath the ridges, including a basal Neogene limestone gravel facies and a blue-green clay facies indicative of dominantly authigenic sedimentation. A major sequence boundary separates these older units from Holocene age, organic-rich mud facies (marsh), which grades upward into a muddy sand facies (lagoon or shallow open shelf/seagrass meadows). Cores reveal that the muddy shelf facies is either in sharp contact or grades upward into a shelly sand facies (ravinement or sudden termination of seagrass meadows). The shelly sand facies grades upward to a mixed siliciclastic/carbonate facies, which forms the sand ridges themselves. This mixed siliciclastic/carbonate facies differs from the sediment on the beach and shoreface, suggesting insignificant sediment exchange between the offshore ridges and the modern coastline. Additionally, the lack of early Holocene, pre-ridge facies in the troughs between the ridges suggests that the ridges themselves do not migrate laterally extensively. Radiocarbon dating has indicated that these sand ridges can form relatively quickly (1.3 ka) on relatively low-energy inner shelves once open-marine conditions are available, and that frequent, high-energy, storm-dominated conditions are not necessarily required. We suggest that the two inner shelf depositional models presented (open-shelf vs. migrating barrier-island) may have co-existed spatially and/or temporally to explain the distribution of facies and vertical facies contacts.  相似文献   

3.
The west-central Florida inner shelf represents a transition between the quartz-dominated barrier-island system and the carbonate-dominated mid-outer shelf. Surface sediments exhibit a complex distribution pattern that can be attributed to multiple sediment sources and the ineffectiveness of physical processes for large-scale sediment redistribution. The west Florida shelf is the submerged extension of the Florida carbonate platform, consisting of a limestone karst surface veneered with a thin unconsolidated sediment cover. A total of 498 surface sediment samples were collected on the inner shelf and analyzed for texture and composition. Results show that sediment consists of a combination of fine quartz sand and coarse, biogenic carbonate sand and gravel, with variable but subordinate amounts of black, phosphorite-rich sand. The carbonate component consists primarily of molluskan fragments. The distribution is patchy and discontinuous with no discernible pattern, and the transition between sediment types is generally abrupt. Quartz-rich sediment dominates the inner 15 km north of the entrance into Tampa Bay, but south of the Bay is common only along the inner 3 km. Elsewhere, carbonate-rich sediment is the predominate sediment type, except where there is little sediment cover, in which cases black, phosphorite-rich sand dominates. Sediment sources are likely within, or around the periphery of the basin. Fine quartz sand is likely reworked from coastal units deposited during Pleistocene sea-level high stands. Carbonate sand and gravel is produced by marine organisms within the depositional basin. The black, phosphorite-rich sand likely originates from the bioerosion and reworking of the underlying strata that irregularly crop out within the study area. The distribution pattern contains elements of both storm- and tide-dominated siliciclastic shelves, but it is dictated primarily by the sediment source, similar to some carbonate systems. Other systems with similar sediment attributes include cool-water carbonate, sediment-starved, and mixed carbonate/siliciclastic systems. This study suggests a possible genetic link among the three systems.  相似文献   

4.
Sediment vibracores and surface samples were collected from the mixed carbonate/siliciclastic inner shelf of west–central Florida in an effort to determine the three-dimensional facies architecture and Holocene geologic development of the coastal barrier-island and adjacent shallow marine environments. The unconsolidated sediment veneer is thin (generally <3 m), with a patchy distribution. Nine facies are identified representing Miocene platform deposits (limestone gravel and blue–green clay facies), Pleistocene restricted marine deposits (lime mud facies), and Holocene back-barrier (organic muddy sand, olive-gray mud, and muddy sand facies) and open marine (well-sorted quartz sand, shelly sand, and black sand facies) deposits. Holocene back-barrier facies are separated from overlying open marine facies by a ravinement surface formed during the late Holocene rise in sea level. Facies associations are naturally divided into four discrete types. The pattern of distribution and ages of facies suggest that barrier islands developed approximately 8200 yr BP and in excess of 20 km seaward of the present coastline in the north, and more recently and nearer to their present position in the south. No barrier-island development prior to approximately 8200 yr BP is indicated. Initiation of barrier-island development is most likely due to a slowing in the Holocene sea-level rise ca. 8000 yr BP, coupled with the intersection of the coast with quartz sand deposits formed during Pleistocene sea-level highstands. This study is an example of a mixed carbonate/siliciclastic shallow marine depositional system that is tightly constrained in both time and sea-level position. It provides a useful analog for the study of other, similar depositional systems in both the modern and ancient rock record.  相似文献   

5.
A regional study of the Holocene sequence onlapping the west-central Florida Platform was undertaken to merge our understanding of the barrier-island system with that of the depositional history of the adjacent inner continental shelf. Key objectives were to better understand the sedimentary processes, sediment accumulation patterns, and the history of coastal evolution during the post-glacial sea-level rise. In the subsurface, deformed limestone bedrock is attributed to mid-Cenozoic karstic processes. This stratigraphic interval is truncated by an erosional surface, commonly exposed, that regionally forms the base of the Holocene section. The Holocene section is thin and discontinuous and, north or south of the Tampa Bay area, is dominated by low-relief sand-ridge morphologies. Depositional geometries tend to be more sheet-like nearshore, and mounded or ridge-like offshore. Sand ridges exhibit 0.5–4 m of relief, with ridge widths on the order of 1 km and ridge spacing of a few kilometers. The central portion of the study area is dominated nearshore by a contiguous sand sheet associated with the Tampa Bay ebb-tidal delta. Sedimentary facies in this system consist mostly of redistributed siliciclastics, local carbonate production, and residual sediments derived from erosion of older strata. Hardground exposures are common throughout the study area. Regional trends in Holocene sediment thickness patterns are strongly correlated to antecedent topographic control. Both the present barrier-island system and thicker sediment accumulations offshore correlate with steeper slope gradients of the basal Holocene transgressive surface. Proposed models for coastal evolution during the Holocene transgression suggest a spatial and temporal combination of back-stepping barrier-island systems combined with open-marine, low-energy coastal environments. The present distribution of sand resources reflects the reworking of these earlier deposits by the late Holocene inner-shelf hydraulic regime.  相似文献   

6.
The Barcelona continental shelf is part of a 6–20 km wide canyon-bounded shelf located off the city of Barcelona (NE Spain). This study integrates newly acquired high-resolution single channel seismic reflection profiles and available lithological information of the Barcelona shelf to describe its late Quaternary architecture and the role of global glacio-eustatic fluctuations and local factors in its development.

Four major sequence boundaries are identified throughout the seismic dataset. They are tentatively correlated with the four last 4th order (100–120 ka) high-amplitude late Quaternary glacio-eustatic lowstands. Most of the stratigraphic record is formed by falling stage systems tracts with forced-regressive deposits, which confers a general progradational vertical stacking pattern. Transgressive systems tracts are represented by continuous units confined directly off river sources and on previously eroded surfaces. Stillstand deposits are difficult to recognize in the available dataset. The uppermost seismic unit corresponds to the Holocene shore-parallel Besos and Llobregat joint prodelta affected by the prevailing south-westward circulation.

The general architecture of the late Quaternary Barcelona shelf deposits is determined by global glacio-eustatic cycles. However, the lateral variability of the seismic units depends largely on local factors such as (i) the position of sediment sources (essentially the Llobregat River); (ii) differential subsidence and, especially, sediment compaction; (iii) erosive processes such as canyon incision, mass wasting or wave base dynamics; and (iv) underlying geomorphic restrictions.  相似文献   


7.
The innermost shelf off Sarasota, Florida was mapped using sidescan-sonar imagery, seismic-reflection profiles, surface sediment samples, and short cores to define the transition between an onshore siliciclastic sand province and an offshore carbonate province and to identify the processes controlling the distribution of these distinctive facies. The transition between these facies is abrupt and closely tied to the morphology of the inner shelf. A series of low-relief nearly shore-normal ridges characterize the inner shelf. Stratigraphically, the ridges are separated from the underlying Pleistocene and Tertiary carbonate strata by the Holocene ravinement surface. While surficial sediment is fine to very-fine siliciclastic sand on the southeastern sides of the ridges and shell hash covers their northwestern sides, the cores of these Holocene deposits are a mixture of both of these facies. Along the southeastern edges of the ridges the facies boundary coincides with the discontinuity that separates the ridge deposits from the underlying strata. The transition from siliciclastic to carbonate sediment on the northwestern sides of the ridges is equally abrupt, but it falls along the crests of the ridges rather than at their edges. Here the facies transition lies within the Holocene deposit, and appears to be the result of sediment reworking by modern processes. This facies distribution primarily appears to result from south-flowing currents generated during winter storms that winnow the fine siliciclastic sediment from the troughs and steeper northwestern sides of the ridges. A coarse shell lag is left armoring the steeper northwestern sides of the ridges, and the fine sediment is deposited on the gentler southeastern sides of the ridges. This pronounced partitioning of the surficial sediment appears to be the result of the siliciclastic sand being winnowed and transported by these currents while the carbonate shell hash falls below the threshold of sediment movement and is left as a lag. The resulting facies boundaries on this low-energy, sediment-starved inner continental shelf are of two origins which both are tied to the remarkably subtle ridge morphology. Along the southeastern sides of the ridges the facies boundary coincides with a stratigraphic discontinuity that separates Holocene from the older deposits while the transition along the northwestern sides of the ridges is within the Holocene deposit and is the result of sediment redistribution by modern processes.  相似文献   

8.
Typical of glaciated environments, the inner continental shelf of New Hampshire is composed of bedrock outcrops, remnants of glacial deposits (for example, drumlins), sand and gravel deposits, as well as muddier sediments farther offshore. A number of previous studies have defined the general trends of the New Hampshire inner shelf from the coarser deposits nearer the shore to the muddier outer basins. Most recently, a seismic survey (150 km of side-scan sonar and subbottom seismic profiles), as well as bottom sediment sampling (74 stations), has provided a detailed bottom map of the southern New Hampshire shelf area (landward of the 30-m contour). The surficial sediments within this area range from very fine sand to gravel. Bedrock outcrops are common. The seismic survey indicated several large sand deposits exceeding 6-8 m in thickness that occur relatively close to the coast. These sedimentary units, which are within 3 km of the shoreline, are composed of fine to medium sands. Examination of the general morphology and depositional setting indicates at least some of these features are probably relic ebb tidal delta shoals. However, a large eroding drumlin occurs between two of the sand bodies and may represent the source of these deposits. Additional work is needed to verify the origin of these sediment bodies.  相似文献   

9.
Abstract. Episodic events have been shown to strongly affect structure and function of marine benthic ecosystems. Severe storms can have profound effects on the distribution of marine sediments which could, in turn, influence the development of benthic communities. The rich and diverse epibenthic communities on the United States mid-Atlantic continental shelf owe their existence to the presence of a complex sequence of rocky outcrops. An unusually strong storm struck this shelf system in March 1993. Two of these carbonate platforms had been characterized by moderate sediment cover for at least the previous two years, but bottom water velocities generated by this storm removed considerable amounts of sediment from these upper flat hardbottom habitats. Macroalgal cover on these platforms dramatically increased between 1992 and 1993 with the increased exposure of hard substrate for attachment. The edges of the outcrops (scarps and rubble ramps), which are usually free of sediment, maintained their dense algal cover. Settlement blocks placed in various sub-habitats showed little variation in algal cover among flat hardbottom and scarp areas during both years, indicating that available hard substrate habitat may be the primary limiting factor for algal growth on the North Carolina continental shelf. Since macroalgal meadows provide food and shelter for juvenile fish, the increase in critical habitat following these storms may have implications for recruitment of economically important fish species. Thus, indirect effects of episodic storms, i.e ., redistribution of sand bodies leading to algal meadow development over large spatial scales, may have important consequences for benthic community development and persistence in temperate reef systems.  相似文献   

10.
An extensive carbonate system in the Gulf of Papua (GoP), developed in the late Oligocene–middle Miocene, was buried by huge influx of siliciclastics originated from Papua New Guinea. Major episodes of siliciclastic influx in the carbonate system are related to tectonic activity in the fold and thrust belt during the Oligocene Peninsular Orogeny, late Miocene Central Range Orogeny, and late Pliocene renewed uplift and exhumation of peninsular region. Siliciclastics did not influence the carbonate deposition during the late Oligocene–middle Miocene, since they were accumulated in the Aure Trough, proximal foreland basin protecting the carbonate system. The most significant burial of the carbonate system started during the late Miocene–early Pliocene in the result of the Central Range Orogeny. However, the largest influx was related to the renewed uplift of the Papuan Peninsula during the early late Pliocene. The shelf edge prograded ∼150 km and formed more than 80% of the modern shelf. This high siliciclastic influx was also enhanced by the “mid” Pliocene global warmth period and intensified East Asian monsoons at 3.6–2.9 Ma. Although many publications exist on carbonate–siliciclastic mixing in different depositional environments, this study helps understand the carbonate–siliciclastic interactions in space and time, especially at basinal scale, and during different intervals of the carbonate system burial by siliciclastic sediments.  相似文献   

11.
A sedimentary record spanning 5792–5511 cal yr BP and 3188–2854 cal yr BP was recovered at 36° 45′ 43″ S–56 ° 37′ 13″ W, south-west South Atlantic. The sedimentological features and micropaleontological (benthic foraminifera and ostracoda) content were analyzed in order to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions. Considerable environmental fluctuations are indicated by all these proxies. Five different stages were distinguished: Stage 1 (ca. 5800–5000 cal yr BP) consists of muddy sand with abundant microfossils. In this interval, species typical for inner marine shelf environments maintained a high abundance. Stage 2 consists of plastic light greenish grey clays barren of microfossils, and probably represents fluvial input from the de la Plata River to the shelf contemporaneous of a lowering of sea level. Stage 3 is composed of brownish yellow sandy silts, and represents increasing marine conditions in the area as reflected by higher faunal diversity and typical foraminifera of inner shelf environments. Stage 4 is made of homogeneous mud, barren of microfossil, which represents a new pulse of fluvial input to the shelf in consequence of a new fall in sea level. The final part of the core (Stage 5) is a coarsening upward sequence, grading from greeny brown clayey sandy silts to coarse shelly sands and represents the modern sedimentation in the area. This interpretation strengthens the stepped model of late-Holocene sea-level fall between 5511–5792 cal yr BP and 2854–3188 cal yr BP in Buenos Aires coast, and agrees with the relative sea-level history previously proposed by some authors from western South Atlantic coasts.  相似文献   

12.
《Marine Geology》2001,172(3-4):265-285
Studies of latest Quaternary continental slope sediments at two localities on the east Australian margin have revealed markedly different responses to late Quaternary sea level fluctuations. Offshore of Noosa, in the sub-tropics, the sediment is predominantly a mixture of fine metastable carbonate, siliciclastic material, and pelagic carbonate. Important features of the stratigraphy include a siliciclastic-dominated facies deposited relatively slowly during the last glacial lowstand (sedimentation rate ≤8 cm/ka), and a calcareous facies, rich in metastable carbonate, deposited more rapidly during the late post-glacial transgression (sedimentation rates 15–24 cm/ka). Highstand and transgressive sedimentation rates are greater than lowstand rates by a factor of 2.5–6 due to increased shelf carbonate productivity after flooding of the mid-shelf. Off Sydney, in temperate latitudes, continental slope sediment is largely a mixture of fine siliciclastic material and pelagic carbonate. Mean sedimentation rates range from 2 to 5 cm/ka over the last four oxygen isotope stages, with mean glacial/interstadial rates higher than Holocene rates by a factor of ∼1.36. This largely reflects the transfer of siliciclastic mud from the shelf to the slope during sea level regression. In both localities, facies changes on the slope are not related to specific sea level states (e.g. lowstand facies, transgressive facies, etc.), but reflect instead the interaction of changing sea level with shelf morphology.  相似文献   

13.
P.J Ramsay 《Marine Geology》1994,120(3-4):225-247
The geostrophic current-controlled northern Zululand shelf displays a unique assemblage of interesting physical, sedimentological and biological phenomena. The shelf in this area is extremely narrow (3 km) and is characterised by submarine canyons, coral reefs, and steep gradients on the continental slope. Three submarine canyons occur in the study area and are classified as mature- or youthful-phase canyons depending on the degree to which they breach the shelf. These canyons originated as mass-wasting features which were exploited by palaeo-drainage during sea-level regressions. Shelf lithology is dominated by a series of coast-parallel patch coral reefs which have colonised beachrock and aeolianite sequences that extend semi-continuously from −5 to −95 m, and delineate late Pleistocene palaeocoastline events. The unconsolidated sediment on the shelf is either shelf sand (mainly terrigenous quartz grains) or bioclastic sediment. Large-scale subaqueous dunes commonly form in the unconsolidated sediment on the outer-shelf due to the Agulhas Current flow. These dunes occur as two distinct fields at depths of −35 to −70 m; the major sediment transport direction is towards the south, but occasional bedload parting zones exist where the bedform migration direction changes from south to north.  相似文献   

14.
The magnetic properties from 200 trigger core-top and Van Veen grab sediment samples recovered from throughout the Gulf of Mexico have been analyzed and used to characterize sediment source and flow pattern distributions. Magnetic parameters included are anhysteretic remanent magnetism (ARM) and magnetic susceptibility (MS) measurements. Results from these measurements are compared to previously determined calcium carbonate percentages, and clay and hematite influx trajectories into the Gulf of Mexico for the same samples reported by Balsam and Beeson [Balsam, W.L. and Beeson, J.P., 2003. Sea-floor sediment distribution in the Gulf of Mexico, Deep-Sea Res. I, 50, 1421–1444.]. The ARM results give an estimate of magnetic grain size distributions, and by analogy, grain size distributions in general, whereas MS patterns show high detrital sediment accumulation zones within the Gulf. The dominant influx of modern high susceptibility sediment into the Gulf of Mexico appears to originate from the Red River, flow into Atchafalaya River Basin and out into the Gulf from Atchafalaya Bay, with significant additional contributions from the Mississippi River through the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River Delta. This material then moves across the continental shelf and down through the Mississippi Canyon into the deep Gulf where it is redistributed at depths > 3600 m. The eastern shelf margins in the Gulf, offshore from Alabama and Florida, are accumulating calcite- or quartz-rich medium to fine-grained sediment that has a very low or diamagnetic MS signature. From the Louisiana to Texas Gulf coast margins, MS is moderate to high, suggesting a river influx of magnetic constituents from the volcanic fields in New Mexico, and from igneous and metamorphic sources in the Mississippi Basin. Offshore from western Mexico, the MS is high to moderate, but the Yucatan Shelf margin is characterized by low to diamagnetic MS values due to sediment dominated by calcite sands and oozes, a trend that continues to the east onto the West Florida Shelf. Additional measurements of samples collected in association with sites characterized by hydrocarbon seepage exhibit anomalously low MS values. The samples from the lower shelf and slope areas are typified by iron reduction by bacterial organisms in these samples. These results produce anomalous localized lows in the MS trends observed.  相似文献   

15.
B. Manighetti  L. Carter 《Marine Geology》1999,160(3-4):271-300
Side-scan, seismic and surficial sediment data accompanied by current meter records highlight across-shelf sediment transport in Hauraki Gulf, an island-studded embayment off northern New Zealand. Calm weather currents are locally dominated by the tides, with periodic incursions of oceanic water from detached meanders of the East Auckland Current. Under these conditions, bedload transport occurs mainly in three 15–20 km-wide channels, where bathymetric intensification of the flow brings about near-bottom speeds of up to 82 cm s−1 for Colville Channel and 33–44 cm s−1 in Jellicoe and Cradock Channels. Surficial sediments are gravelly to muddy sand, winnowed in places, leaving a lag deposit of mainly biogenic carbonate gravel. Modelling results suggest that in Colville Channel, dominant fine to medium sand modes are mobile for 20–60% of the time, with a net eastward movement for fine sand. In Jellicoe and Cradock Channels, the prevailing direction of transport is southwards across the shelf, with sand mobile for up to 33% of the time. Oceanic incursions have the potential to boost flow in the western Gulf, however such incursions are transitory, and there is no measurable expression of oceanic water in the sedimentary record. Because of their association with prolonged periods of calm weather, the incursions are unlikely to accompany storm events, where their cumulative effect might be important for sediment transport. Near-bottom currents resulting from oceanic incursion may reinforce peak tides inside the Gulf by up to 2–4 cm s−1. Enhancement of prevailing water motions occurs during periods of extreme weather. During cyclone Drena (January 1997), measured flow speeds in Jellicoe Channel reached 48 cm s−1. Furthermore, the disturbance generated large waves that stirred bottom sediments down to over 100 m water depth. Such events are probably the major agent of sediment redistribution in the Hauraki Gulf. The net effect of storm and calm weather currents is to move sediment across the outer to middle shelf where, in the western and central Gulf it accumulates, and in the eastern Gulf it escapes eastward via Colville Channel.  相似文献   

16.
The shelf-valley system underlying Tampa Bay, Florida’s largest estuary, is situated in the middle of the Neogene carbonate Florida Platform. Compared to well-studied fluvially incised coastal plain valley systems, this shelf-valley system is unique in its karstic origin and its alternating carbonate-siliciclastic infill. A complex record of sea-level changes, paleo-fluvial variability and marine processes have controlled the timing and mechanisms of this ‘compound’ shelf-valley infill. A dense grid of high-resolution, single-channel seismic data were collected at the mouth of Tampa Bay, in an attempt to define this stratigraphy, determine the controls on deposition, and define the underlying structure of this shelf-valley system. The seismic data were correlated with nearby wells and boreholes for lithologic and age control. Sequence stratigraphic methods were incorporated in order to develop an integrated chronostratigraphy for the depositional infilling of the shelf-valley system. Five seismic sequences were identified. Sequence boundaries generally show erosional truncation and karstification, with downlap of overlying sequences. Structure contour and isopach maps indicate that the Tampa Bay shelf-valley system has remained in essentially the same location since its formation in the early Miocene, although the provenance of sedimentary infill has changed. This change is due to increasing amounts of siliciclastic material during the Neogene. Seismic facies interpretations indicate lower-energy, northward prograding deposition dominated by predominantly carbonate sediments within the lowest Sequence A. Higher energy, siliciclastic fluvio-deltaic deposition within sequences B and C originates to the east and northeast of the shelf-valley system related to a Pliocene pulse of sedimentation onto the Florida Platform. Finally, marine processes (longshore transport, ebb-tidal delta formation) dominate the upper two sequences (D and E), reworking these siliciclastic sediments into a spatially mixed carbonate-siliciclastic depositional setting.  相似文献   

17.
C.Prasada Rao 《Marine Geology》1981,40(3-4):M23-M33
Cold-water (<3–11°C) carbonate is the predominant sediment on the Tasmanian shelf. Calcitic skeletal grains (bryozoa, foraminifera, echinoderms, etc.) predominate over aragonitic (gastropods, etc.) ones. Non-skeletal grains are mostly micritic intraclasts with some pellets.

Fibrous spherulitic and rhombohedral calcite submarine cements range up to 90% in the bryozoan sand. X-ray analyses show that the bryozoan sand is characterized by a spectrum of calcites (low to high magnesian) and some aragonite.

A uniform spread of Mg concentrations from 0.06 to 2.48 wt.% indicates <3–10°C ambient water temperatures. The Mn (10–360 ppm) and Fe (176–2499 ppm) concentrations increase with increasing Mg values due to the formation of impure CaCO3 phases. The Sr content in bryozoan sand (bryozoa = 3200 ppm Sr) decreases with increasing rhombohedral calcite cement, as low Mg-calcite precipitating from 3° C sea water would have 1350 ppm Sr. The bryozoan sand grains with fibrous spherulitic calcite cements have high Sr concentrations (4470–7000 ppm), in the same range as in aragonitic (detected only by X-ray analyses) bryozoan sand grains. The spherulitic calcite cements are either pseudomorphs after original aragonite cements or these calcite cements and aragonite were inverted from fibrous spherulitic vaterite, a predominant CaCO3 polymorph at temperatures <10°C.  相似文献   


18.
New seismic data off East Greenland were acquired in the summer of 2002, between 77°N and 81°N, north of the Greenland Fracture zone. The data were combined with results from the Greenland Basin and ODP site 909, and indicate a pronounced middle Miocene unconformity within the deep sea basins between 72°N and 81°N. Seismic unit NA-1 consists of sediments older than middle Miocene age and unit NA-2 contains sediments younger than the middle Miocene. Classification of a thinly bedded succession in the Molloy Basin resulted in a subdivision into four units (unit I, unit II, unit IIIA and unit IIIB). A comparison of volume estimations and sediment thickness maps between 72°N and 81°N indicates differences in sediment accumulation in the Greenland, Boreas and Molloy basins. Important controls on the variation of accumulation included different opening times of the basins, as well as tectonic conditions and varying sources of sediment transport.Due to prominent basement structures and the varying reflection character of the sediments along the entire East Greenland margin, we defined an age model of shelf sediments on the basis of similar sediment deposit geometry and known results from other regions. The seismic sequences on the shelf up to an age of middle Miocene are divided into three sub-units along the East Greenland margin: middle Miocene–middle late Miocene (SU-3), middle late Miocene–Pleistocene (SU-2), Pleistocene (SU-1). The differences in the geometry of the sequences show more ice stream related sedimentation between 72°N and 77°N and more ice sheet related sedimentation north of 78°N. The region south of 68°N is dominated by more aggradational sedimentary strata so that a glacio-fluvial drainage seems the main transport mechanism. Due to the Greenland Inland–ice borderlines, we assume the glaciers between the Scoresby Sund and 68°N did not reach the shelf break. A first comparison of the sediment structure of the Northeast Greenland margin with the Southeast Greenland margin made it possible to demonstrate significant differences in sedimentation along this margin.  相似文献   

19.
A series of elongated hills on the outer continental shelf off northern Israel, between 100 and 120 m, rise several meters above their surroundings. They have steep escarpments seaward and gradual slopes landward. The escarpments are commonly covered by colonies of sponges. The biogenic cover is normally 1.0–1.5 m thick. The gentle slopes commonly consist of soft, unconsolidated sediment, although some bedrock outcrops occur. Stratification patterns along these outcrops suggest calcareous eolianite (“kurkar”). Coquina was encountered in several sites at the base of the biogenic cover, built of fragments of shells not observed at the present depth. The eolianite, coquina, and steep escarpments suggest a late Pleistocene nearshore terrace.  相似文献   

20.
R.Craig Shipp   《Marine Geology》1984,60(1-4):235-259
The depositional sedimentary structures and textures of a single-barred nearshore system on the Atlantic coast of eastern Long Island, New York, were studied along seven shore-normal transects. Data along these transects consisted of textural analysis of 160 sediment samples, temporal bedform observations, and 42 can cores for the analysis of sedimentary structures.

Six sedimentary subenvironments were observed, based on distinct combinations of sediment color and texture, bedforms, physical, and biogenic sedimentary structures, and benthic infaunal communities. The shoreface environment is divided into the upper shoreface, the longshore trough, and the longshore bar. The divisions of the inner shelf environment are the shoreface-inner shelf transition, the offshore, and the coarse-grained deposit. The first five subenvironments are arranged in bands parallel to the shoreline, whereas the coarse-grained deposit occurs in patches across the inner shelf.

The location of fair-weather wave base, coinciding with a reduction in slope (3.0–0.3°) from the shoreface to the inner shelf, is characterized by the cessation of debris surge in the troughs of ripples, the formation of a “rust layer” of microorganisms over the bedform surface, and a sediment color change caused by an increase in organic detritus. The sequence of bedforms and physical sedimentary structures observed in this system fits well with existing wave-generated (oscillatory) flow regime models. These models explain the observed sequences as a response to the degree of asymmetric flow created by shoaling waves. Distribution of biogenic structures and assemblages of infaunal organisms is influenced by the distance landward or seaward of fair-weather wave base.

The overall relationships of this nearshore system can then be summarized as a hypothetical prograding stratigraphic sequence. The entire sequence is underlain by organic-rich, bioturbated, offshore deposits. Overlying the offshore is the planar-laminated sediments of the transition. Grading upward from the transition are the cleaner, planar-laminated, seaward slope deposits of the longshore bar. Above this, is a distinct erosional surface indicating the base of the massive to cross-laminated coarse sediments of the longshore trough. Capping the sequence are the cross- to planar-laminated, clean sands of the upper shoreface and foreshore.  相似文献   


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