Journal
CONTINENTAL SHELF RESEARCH
Volume 25, Issue 1, Pages 91-112Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.csr.2004.09.002
Keywords
Mississippi Delta; chenier plain; continental shelf stratigraphy; coastal sediment; USA; Gulf of Mexico; Louisiana
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study examines the influence of the Atchafalaya River, a major distributary of the Mississippi River, on stratigraphic evolution of the inner continental shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico. sedimentary, geochemical, and shallow acoustic data are used to identify the western limit of the distal Atchafalaya subaqueous delta, and to estimate the proportion of the Atchafalaya River's sediment load 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 shoreline accretion and retreat on the chenier plain. Mudflat progradation on the eastern chenier-plain coast corresponds to the location of deltaic mud accumulation on the inner shelf. On the central chenier-plain shelf. west of the subaqueous delta, relict sediment is exposed that was originally deposited between similar to 1200 and 600 years BP during activity of the Lafourche lobe of the Mississippi Delta complex. Mass-balance calculations indicate that the eastern chenier-plain inner shelf and coastal zone form a sink for 7 +/- 2% of the sediment load carried by the Atchafalaya River. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available