Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Sedimentology
Sea floor bedforms and their influence on slope accommodation
Published: 2018-11-20
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology
In deep-water settings, the accommodation space for sediment transported by turbidity flows relates to the difference between the elevation of the depositional surface and its equilibrium profile. As a consequence, accommodation space creation, or disruption, may depend from changes in the physiography of the receiving basin, or changes in the flow properties. In topographically complex slopes, [...]
Spatial variability of late Holocene and 20th century sea-level rise along the Atlantic coast of the United States
Published: 2018-11-06
Subjects: Climate, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology
Accurate estimates of global sea-level rise in the pre-satellite era provide a context for 21st century sea-level predictions, but the use of tide-gauge records is complicated by the contributions from changes in land level due to glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). We have constructed a rigorous quality-controlled database of late Holocene sea-level indices from the U.S. Atlantic coast, [...]
Palaeoenvironmental and tectonic significance of Miocene lacustrine and palustrine carbonates (Ait Kandoula Formation) in the Ouarzazate Foreland Basin, Morocco.
Published: 2018-11-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology
The Ouarzazate Basin is the southern foreland basin to the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The sedimentary fill records a sequence from the Eocene to Pleistocene that records the interplay between tectonics and climate. This study presents the first stable isotope and facies analyses of the Middle to Late Miocene Aït Ibrirn lacustrine Member (Aït Kandoula Formation). These data test whether [...]
Flow-Substrate Interactions in Aggrading and Degrading Submarine Channels
Published: 2018-10-24
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geology, Geomorphology, Other Civil and Environmental Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
Connecting real time measurements of current-bed interactions to the temporal evolution of submarine channels can be extremely challenging in natural settings. We present a suite of physical experiments that offer insight into the spectrum of interactions between turbidity currents and their channels, from (i) detachment-limited erosion to (ii) transport-limited erosion to (iii) pure deposition. [...]
The deposition and alteration history of the northeast Syrtis Major layered sulfates
Published: 2018-10-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure
Ancient stratigraphy on Isidis Basins western margin records the history of water on early Mars. Noachian units are overlain by layered, basaltic-composition sedimentary rocks that are enriched in polyhydrated sulfates and capped by more resistant units. The layered sulfates – uniquely exposed at northeast Syrtis Major – comprise a sedimentary sequence up to 600-m thick that has undergone a [...]
Vulnerability of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands to present-day rates of relative sea-level rise
Published: 2018-10-01
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Risk Analysis, Sedimentology, Soil Science, Stratigraphy, Sustainability
Coastal Louisiana has lost about 5,000km2 of wetlands over the past century and concern exists whether remaining wetlands will persist while facing some of the world’s highest rates of relative sea-level rise (RSLR). Here we analyse an unprecedented data set derived from 274 rod surface-elevation table-marker horizon stations, to determine present-day surface-elevation change, vertical accretion [...]
Quantifying natural delta variability using a multiple-point geostatistics prior uncertainty model
Published: 2018-09-30
Subjects: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geology, Geomorphology, Other Civil and Environmental Engineering, Other Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Theory and Algorithms
We address the question of quantifying uncertainty associated with autogenic pattern variability in a channelized transport system by means of a modern geostatistical method. This question has considerable relevance for practical subsurface applications as well, particularly those related to uncertainty quantification relying on Bayesian approaches. Specifically, we show how the autogenic [...]
A revised chronostratigraphic framework for the Aptian of the Essaouira-Agadir Basin, a candidate type section for the NW African Atlantic Margin.
Published: 2018-09-29
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
The Essaouira-Agadir Basin (EAB) of Morocco contains the most extensive exposure of Aptian to Lower Albian strata onshore the NW African Atlantic Margin. This paper documents the first high-resolution, multi-disciplinary stratigraphic approach for the Aptian to Lower Albian on the NW African Atlantic Margin. Previous biostratigraphic work almost exclusively relied on long-distance correlation of [...]
Wind tunnel tests inform Ammophila planting spacing for dune management
Published: 2018-09-24
Subjects: Biology, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Life Sciences, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology
Coastal dunes are invaluable natural resources that bu er upland areas. Vegetation is key in dune development and stabilization. Dunes form with sufficient wind, sand source, and obstruction; plants are the ideal obstruction. Storms o en erode foredunes and coastal managers replant vegetation to re-establish the necessary obstruction for sand accretion and dune growth. We used a wind tunnel to [...]
Reactionary fence installation for post-Superstorm Sandy dune recovery
Published: 2018-09-24
Subjects: Biology, Earth Sciences, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Natural Resources and Conservation, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Sustainability
Dunes are invaluable to coastal areas as dynamic buffers to erosion during high tides and storms, but do not accrue naturally in developed areas without assistance. Wood paling fencing is commonly used to cultivate dune development and thereby increase the protection afforded to coastal areas. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy devastated the mid-Atlantic, especially New Jersey where many areas are still [...]
A New Mechanism for Terrace Formation in Submarine Canyons
Published: 2018-09-24
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Education, Engineering, Geology, Geomorphology, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Geomorphology, Planetary Sciences, Planetary Sedimentology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
Deep canyons on Earth occur in both terrestrial and submarine environments, where they are carved by actively incising channels. Apparently similar flights of unpaired terraces, seen at the inside of bends in incised sinuous channels, are also common in both environments. Here we demonstrate a new mechanism for terrace formation that we believe is unique to settings where sediment transporting [...]
Backwater Controls on the Sedimentology, Kinematics and Geometry of Bar Deposits in Coastal Rivers
Published: 2018-09-24
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geology, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
The backwater reach of coastal rivers is associated with considerable spatial and temporal variability in water and sediment flux. Here we test the hypothesis that the spatial and temporal variability in water flux and particle sizes in transport result in systematic changes in the geometry of bank-attached bars across the backwater transition. Measured transverse slopes of bank-attached bars in [...]
Grand Challenges (and Great Opportunities) in Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, and Diagenesis Research
Published: 2018-09-23
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
Technological advances make these exciting times for geoscientists studying Earth surface processes, their depositional products, and interactions with the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere; from monitoring contemporary sediment transport processes to interpretation of sedimentary archives that record ancient environmental changes. We set out three research challenges: 1) [...]
Complex and cascading triggering of submarine landslides and turbidity currents at volcanic islands revealed from integration of high-resolution onshore and offshore surveys
Published: 2018-09-22
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Volcanology
Submerged flanks of volcanic islands are prone to hazards including submarine landslides that may trigger damaging tsunamis and fast-moving sediment-laden seafloor flows (turbidity currents) that break critical seafloor infrastructure. Small Island Developing States are particularly vulnerable to these hazards due to their remote and isolated nature, small size, high population densities and weak [...]
Using polygonal layer-bound normal faults as tools to delimit clastic reservoirs in the Levant Basin offshore Lebanon
Published: 2018-08-19
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Tectonics and Structure
The Levant Basin offshore Lebanon contains an array of layer-bound normal faults in the Oligo-Miocene units. The faults are believed to have nucleated in soft-grained sediments similar to polygonal fault systems worldwide, and as a result are influenced by lithological heterogeneities in the host rock unit. We used 3D seismic data and amplitude extraction from offshore Lebanon to map deepwater [...]