Linking Sediment Transport and Stratigraphy on the Continental Shelf

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Authors

Patricia L. Wiberg | Department of Enviromnental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

David A. Cacchione | U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, USA

Richard W. Sternberg | School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

L. Donelson Wright | Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point, VA, USA

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First Paragraph

The goal of the shelf sediment dynamics component of STRATAFORM is to link sediment transport processes active on the continental shelf to the formation and preservation of event beds in shelf sediment deposits. An approach combining shelf sediment-transport models with high-resolution measurements of water-column and bed properties over periods from several months to several years allows us to make quantitative estimates of bed modification caused by sediment resuspension during episodic transport events. These modifications include erosion and deposition of bed material, formation of graded storm beds, and changes in small-scale bed surface morphology. The characteristics of the resulting "event bed" (thickness, grading, physical structures) are a function of flow and bed properties, depending on both temporal and spatial variations in sediment transport.

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Full Article

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Citation

Wiberg, P.L., D.A. Cacchione, R.W. Sternberg, and L.D. Wright. 1996. Linking sediment transport and stratigraphy on the continental shelf. Oceanography 9(3):153–157, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.1996.02.

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