Publication Date:
2022-05-25
Description:
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution June 2003
Description:
This thesis examines the evolution of a mud-dominated coastal sedimentary
system on multiple time scales. Fine-grained systems exhibit different properties and
behavior from sandy coasts, and have received relatively little research attention to date.
Evidence is presented for shoreline accretion under energetic conditions associated with
storms and winter cold fronts. The identification of energetic events as agents of coastal
accretion stands in contrast to the traditional assumption that low-energy conditions are
required for deposition of fine-grained sediment. Mudflat accretion is proposed to depend
upon the presence of an unconsolidated mud sea floor immediately offshore, proximity to
a fluvial sediment source, onshore winds, which generate waves that resuspend sediment
and advect it shoreward, and a low tidal range.
This study constrains the present influence of the Atchafalaya River on
stratigraphic evolution of the inner continental shelf in western Louisiana. Sedimentary
and acoustic data are used to identify the western limit of the distal Atchafalaya prodelta
and to estimate the proportion of Atchafalaya River sediment that accumulates on the
inner shelf seaward of Louisiana's chenier plain coast. The results demonstrate a link
between sedimentary facies distribution on the inner shelf and patterns of accretion and
shoreline retreat on the chenier plain coast.
Description:
Among my funding sources was a two-year
fellowship from the Clare Booth Luce Foundation. I have received research grants from
the Geological Society of America Foundation (Grant 6873-01) and the American
Association of Petroleum Geologists (Kenneth H. Crandall Memorial grant).
Keywords:
Marine sediments
;
Sediment transport
;
Coast changes
;
Pelican (Ship) Cruise
;
Eugenie (Ship) Cruise
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Thesis
Format:
application/pdf
