Coastal Sedimentary Environments With Contri butions by Paul B. Basan William T. Fox Geologist Professor Amoco Production Company Department of Geology Tulsa, Oklahoma 74102 Williams College Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267 Robert B. Biggs Associate Professor and Assistant Dean Robert W. Frey College of Marine Studies Associate Professor University of Delaware Department of Geology Newark, Delaware 19711 University of Georgia Athens, Georgia 30602 Jon c. Boothroyd Assistant Professor Victor Goldsmith Department of Geology Associate Scientist University of Rhode Island Virginia Institute of Marine Science Kingston, Rhode Island 02881 Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062 Richard A. Davis, Jr. John C. Kraft Professor and Chairman Professor and Chairman Department of Geology Department of Geology University of South Florida University of Delaware Tampa, Florida 33620 Newark, Delaware 19711 L. Donelson Wright Senior Lecturer Department of Geography University of Sydney Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2006 Coastal Sedimentary Environments Edited by Richard A. Davis, Jr. Springer-Verlag New York Heidelberg Berlin Richard A. Davis, Jr. Department of Geology University of South Florida Tampa, Florida 33620 USA Cover photo is of Egg Island, Alaska, taken in June, 1971, at low tide. It is courtesy of Mi les O. Hayes, University of South Carolina. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: Coastal sedimentary environments. Bibliography: p. Includes indexes. 1. Sediments (Geology) 2. Coasts. 3. Sedimentation and deposition. I. Davis, Richard Albert, 1937- QE471.2.C6 551.4'5 77-16182 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form without written permission from Springer-Verlag © 1978 by Springer-Verlag, New York Inc. 987654321 ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-0058-8 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-0056-4 001: 10.1007/978-1-4684-0056-4 Acknowledgments A book of this type is not only the result of the efforts of its authors and editor but also in large measure of various types of input from many other sources. These include many researchers whose results have been published elsewhere, numer- ous colleagues and students who are, or have been, associated with the authors, and the many agencies who have supported the authors' research efforts. In addition several people have given freely of their time and expertise by way of reviewing chapters. Numerous people and publishers have given permission to reproduce illustrations from previous publications; their generosity is greatly appreciated. Specific acknowledgments are as follows: Chapter 1. The concepts in this discussion have developed largely from continu- ing research conducted at the Coastal Studies Institute, Louisiana State University, through support of the Geography Programs, Office of Naval Research, under Contract N00014-69-A-0211-0003. This project was established by the late Richard J. Russell and continued by the former director, W. G. Mcintire. Much of the contents of this chapter are a result of the cooperation of the present director, James M. Coleman. Chapter 2. The author's research has been supported through various contracts and grants to the University of Delaware, College of Marine Studies. Several of the graduate students who have participated in the course "Geological Oceanogra- phy" have provided much input into the chapter. Special thanks are due Charles Weil for assistance in the production and review of the manuscript. Chapter 3. Financial support for the authors' research has been provided by the National Science Foundation (GA-2271 0), the Georgia Sea Grant Program (NOAA) and a NSF-Institutional Grant from the University of Georgia. The critical assistance of several people is acknowledged; E. S. Belt, J. D. Howard, V. J. Hurst, K. B. Macdonald, Raymond Pestrong, P. R. Pinet, F. B. Phleger, L. R. Pomeroy, A. C. Redfield, and R. G. Wiegert. Lorene Gassert and G. K. Maddock aided in the literature search. Much typing was done by Mr. Maddock and Maxine Kirkland. vi Acknowledgments Assistance with illustrations was provided by R. M. Weller and the staff of the Amoco Production Company. Chapter 4. Most of the author's original research on Cape Cod was supported by the Coastal Engineering Research Center, u.s. Army Corps of Engineers (Contract DACW 82-62-C-0004). Considerable field and laboratory assistance was pro- vided by Y. E. Goldsmith. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science and NOAA, Office of Sea Grant (Contract No. 04-5-158-49), have also provided some support. C. A. M. King and R. J. Byrne reviewed the preliminary manuscript. Chapter 5. The author's research on beach and nearshore environments has been funded by Geography Programs, Office of Naval Research (Contract No. N00014-69-C-0151), in cooperation with W. T. Fox. Additional support has been provided by the Coastal Engineering Research Center, u.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Contracts DACW 72-70-C-0037 and DACW 72-73-C-0003). Many people have provided input through discussions and field conferences, especially J. C. Boothroyd, M. O. Hayes, P. D. Komar and Erwin Seibel. Although many students have assisted in various capacities special thanks are due W. G. Fingleton and D. S. Rosen. Chapter 6. A large portion of the discussion in this chapter is the result of the author's association with M. O. Hayes and Coastal Research groups at the universities of Massachusetts and South Carolina. Funds were provided through the Geography Programs, Office of Naval Research (Contract No. N00014-67- A-0230-001) and the Coastal Engineering Research Center (Contract No. DACW-72-70-C-0029). Numerous colleagues and students have assisted in various aspects of this work. The author is particularly grateful to J. B. Southard for continued interaction, especially on the topic of bedforms. Chapter 7. The author's research on Holocene sequences has been supported by Geography Programs, Office of Naval Research (Contract No. N00014-69- A0407), the National Science Foundation (G. P. 5604), NOAA Office of Sea Grant (Contract No. 04-3-158-30) and the National Park Service (Contract No. 14- 10-5-590-36, to R. B. Biggs). Many graduate students at the University of Delaware have contributed toward the data and ideas incorporated in the discus- sion. Special appreciation is also expressed to the author's colleagues, R. B. Biggs, and R. E. Sheridan. Chapter 8. The author is grateful to W. C. Krumbein who stimulated his interest in computer application and provided his initial training at Northwestern Univer- sity. Most of the author's research in this area was supported by Geography Programs, Office of Naval Research (Contract No. N00014-69-C-0151). In addition to the assistance of numerous students much input has been provided by colleagues, especially R. A. Davis and P. D. Komar. Finally, gratitude is expressed to the personnel at Springer-Verlag, Inc. New York for their patience, cooperation and assistance in the preparation and produc- tion of this book. Particular thanks are extended to the editorial and the produc- tion staffs. Special appreciation is extended to the editor's secretary, Wanda McClelland for clerical services. Table of Contents Acknowledgments v Introduction / Richard A. Davis, Jr. 1 Chapter 1 River Deltas / L. D. Wright 5 Introduction 5 Occurrence and Distribution of Deltas 6 General Characteristics of Deltas and Deltaic Environments 9 Delta-Forming Processes 16 Deltaic Sediments and Sedimentary Structures 47 Variability of Deltaic Geometries and Depositional Sequences 51 Summary 63 References 64 Chapter 2 Coastal Bays / Robert B. Biggs 69 Introduction 69 Kinds of Estuaries 70 Processes of Suspended Sediment Transport 70 Processes Affecting the Accumulation of Suspended Sediments 77 Source, Character, and Fate of Suspended Matter in Estuaries 81 Bottom Sediments in Estuaries 91 viii Table of Contents Selected Examples 93 Sedimentary Structures 94 References 96 Chapter 3 Coastal Salt Marshes / Robert W. Frey and Paul B. Basan 101 Introduction 101 The State of the Art 10 2 Definition and Occurrences of Coastal Salt Marshes 103 Environmental Conditions and Marsh Zonation 106 Characteristic Plants 116 Characteristic Sediments 119 Substrate Characteristics and Biogeochemistry 127 Processes Affecting Sedimentation in Salt Marshes 132 Sedimentary Structures 151 Epilog 159 References 15 9 Chapter 4 Coastal Dunes / Victor Goldsmith 171 Introduction 171 Coastal Sand Dunes 176 Physical Processes of Eolian Sedimentation 209 Artificially Inseminated Coastal Sand Dunes 227 References 230 Chapter 5 Beach and Nearshore Zone / Richard A. Davis, Jr. 237 Introduction 237 Distribution 238 Geometry 238 Beach Materials 247 Processes 256 Sedimentary Structures 272 Process-Response Systems in the Beach and Nearshore Environment 277 References 280 Chapter 6 Mesotidal Inlets and Estuaries / Jon C. Boothroyd 287 Introduction 287 Bedforms 296 Genesis of Estuarine Bedforms 314 Tidal Deltas 328 Table of Contents ix Stratigraphic Sequences and Depositional Models 350 References 356 Chapter 7 Coastal Stratigraphic Sequences / John C. Kraft 361 Introduction 361 Processes of Change 365 Sedimentary Sequences 367 The Transgressive Shoreline 369 Galveston and Regressive Shorel ines 373 Sequences 374 Delta-Chenier Plains 376 Coastal Sequences in Time and Space 378 The Uses of Vertical Sequence Analysis 380 References 381 Chapter 8 Modeling Coastal Environments / William T. Fox 385 Introduction 385 Geometric Model 386 Statistical Models 389 Markov Model 393 Probabilistic Model 397 Deterministic Model 400 Fourier Model 404 Summary 410 References 411 Index 415 Introduction Richard A. Davis The zone where land and sea meet is composed of a variety of complex environ- ments. The coastal areas of the world contain a large percentage of its population and are therefore of extreme economic importance. Industrial, residential, and recreational developments, as well as large urban complexes, occupy much of the coastal margin of most highly developed countries. Undoubtedly future expan- sion in many undeveloped maritime countries will also be concentrated on coastal areas. Accompanying our occupation of coasts in this age of technology is a dependence on coastal environments for transportation, food, water, defense, and recreation. In order to utilize the coastal zone to its capacity, and yet not plunder its resources, we must have extensive knowledge of the complex environ- ments contained along the coasts. The many environments within the coastal zone include bays, estuaries, deltas, marshes, dunes, and beaches. A tremendously broad range of conditions is represented by these environments. Salinity may range from essentially fresh water in estuaries, such as along the east coast of the United States, to extreme hypersaline lagoons, such as Laguna Madre in Texas. Coastal environments may be in excess of a hundred meters deep (fjords) or may extend several meters above sea level in the form of dunes. Some coastal environments are well protected and are not subjected to high physical energy except for occasional storms, whereas beaches and tidal inlets are continuously modified by waves and currents. Because of their location near terrestrial sources, coastal environments contain large amounts of nutrients. The combination of this nutrient supply with generally shallow water gives rise to a diverse and large fauna and flora. Coastal areas also serve as the spawning and nursery grounds for many open-ocean organisms. Many species in coastal environments are of great commercial importance, such as clams, oysters, shrimp, and many varieties of fish. It is certain that we need better management of these resources. We also need to develop more and improved methods of cultivating these environments.