Continental Margin Sedimentation From Sediment Transport to Sequence Stratigraphy (Special Publication 37 of the IAS)

by Nittrouer, Charles A.; Austin, James A.; Field, Michael E.; Kravitz, Joseph H.; Syvitski, James P. M.; Wiberg, Patricia L.

• ISBN13: 9781444304398
• ISBN10: 1444304399
• Edition: 1st
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2009-03-25
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This volume on continental margin sedimentation brings together an expert editorial and contributor team to create a state-of-the-art resource. Taking a global perspective, the book spans a range of timescales and content, ranging from how oceans transport particles, to how thick rock sequences are formed on continental margins.

• Summarizes and integrates our understanding of sedimentary processes and strata associated with fluvial dispersal systems on continental shelves and slopes
• Explores timescales ranging from particle transport at one extreme, to deep burial at the other
• Insights are presented for margins in general, and with focus on a tectonically active margin (northern California) and a passive margin (New Jersey), enabling detailed examination of the intricate relationships between a wide suite of sedimentary processes and their preserved stratigraphy
• Includes observational studies which document the processes and strata found on particular margins, in addition to numerical models and laboratory experimentation, which provide a quantitative basis for extrapolation in time and space of insights about continental-margin sedimentation
• Provides a research resource for scientists studying modern and ancient margins, and an educational text for advanced students in sedimentology and stratigraphy

Author Biography

Charles A. Nittrouer is a Professor in the School of Oceanography and in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington. His research interests include the modern and ancient formation of sedimentary strata in continental-margin environments, and the effects of physical and biological oceanic processes on sedimentary characteristics.

James A. Austin, Jr., is a Senior Research Scientist in the University of Texas Institute of Geophysics, which is part of the Jackson School of Geosciences. James uses a variety of geophysical tools to examine the stratigraphic evolution of a wide range of marine and lacustrine environments around the world, including the latest Pleistocene-Holocene geology of the New Jersey continental shelf.

Michael E. Field is a Senior Marine Geologist with the USGS Pacific Science Center in Santa Cruz, California. His research has investigated sedimentation on many of the continental margins around the United States and the world, and recently he has expanded his focus to include the effects of watershed changes and sedimentation patterns on coral reef systems of Pacific high islands.

Joseph H. Kravitz spent many years as a program director of Marine Geology and Geophysics at the US Office of Naval Research, and is now associated with the George Washington University. His research interests include the study of sediments and sedimentary processes in high-latitude glacial-marine environments, as well as the application of marine geotechnique to geological problems.

James P.M. Syvitski is Director of INSTAAR, an Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, and is Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado. James investigates the discharge dynamics of global rivers and the sediment load they carry, the morphology and deposits of continental margins, the impact of high-energy weather events on coastlines; and the impact of ice sheets on high-latitude shelves and slopes.

Patricia L. Wiberg is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. Her current research topics include storm-driven transport and the formation of sedimentary strata on the continental shelf, sediment dynamics on tidal salt marshes and in coastal lagoons, modeling fine-grained sediment dynamics, sediment-associated contaminant transport, and the evolution of continental-margin morphology.

Table of Contents

Preface.

Writing a Rosetta stone: insights into continental-margin sedimentary processes and strata (Charles A. Nittrouer, James A. Austin Jr, Michael E. Field, Joseph H. Kravitz, James P.M. Syvitski, and Patricia L. Wiberg).

Introduction.

The boundary conditions.

The common threads.

Sediment delivery.

Sediment alteration.

Sediment dispersal system.

Seabed failure.

Gravity flows.

Margin morphology.

Margin stratigraphy.

Conclusions.

Acknowledgements.

References.

Sediment delivery to the seabed on continental margins (Paul S. Hill, Jason M. Fox, John S. Crockett, Kristian J. Curran, Carl T. Friedrichs, W. Rockwell Geyer, Timothy G. Milligan, Andrea S. Ogston, Pere Puig, Malcolm E. Scully, Peter A. Traykovski, and Robert A. Wheatcroft).

Introduction.

Review of previous work.

Sediment delivery to the Eel margin.

Summary and conclusion.

Acknowledgements.

Nomenclature.

References.

Post-depositional alteration and preservation of sedimentary strata (Robert A. Wheatcroft, Patricia L. Wiberg, Clark R. Alexander, Samuel J. Bentley, David E. Drake, Courtney K. Harris, and Andrea S. Ogston).

Introduction and scope.

Consolidation.

Physical alteration.

Biological alteration.

Preservation.

Summary.

Acknowledgements.

Nomenclature.

References.

Oceanic dispersal and accumulation of river sediment (Christopher K. Sommerfield, Andrea S. Ogston, Beth L. Mullenbach, David E. Drake, Clark R. Alexander, Charles A. Nittrouer, Jeffry C. Borgeld, Robert A. Wheatcroft, and Elana L. Leithold).

Introduction.

Quantifying sedimentary processes.

The northern California margin.

Sediment production and coastal delivery.

Sediment transort and accumulation.

Sedimentation patterns and rates.

Sediment budgets of dispersal systems.

Conclusions.

Acknowledgements.

Nomenclature.

References.

Submarine mass movements on continental margins (Homa J. Lee, Jacques Locat, Priscilla Desgagnés, Jeffrey D. Parsons, Brian G. McAdoo, Daniel L. Orange, Pere Puig, Florence L. Wong, Peter Dartnell, and Eric Boulanger).

Introduction.

Historic development of understanding.

Classification.

Environments.

Fjords.

Active river deltas on the continental shelf.

Submarine canyon-fan systems.

The open continental slope.

Statistics of submarine landslides.

Mechanics of slope failure.

Pore-water pressure.

Sediment mobilization and strength loss.

Triggers.

Contributions to submarine landslide research from the strataform program.

Summary.

Acknowledgements.

Nomenclature.

References.

The mechanics of marine sediment gravity flows (Jeffrey. D. Parsons, Carl T. Friedrichs, Peter A. Traykovski, David Mohrig, Jasim Imran, James P.M. Syvitski, Gary Parker, Pere Puig, James L. Buttles, and Marcello H. García).

Introduction.

Turbidity currents.

Debris flows.

Wave-supported sediment gravity flows.

Origin and transformation of sediment gravity flows.

Conclusions.

Acknowledgements.

List of nomenclature.

References.

Seascape evolution on clastic continental shelves and slopes (Lincoln F. Pratson, Charles A. Nittrouer, Patricia L. Wiberg, Michael S. Steckler, John B. Swenson, David A. Cacchione, Jeffery A. Karson, A. Bradley Murray, Matthew A. Wolinsky, Thomas P. Gerber, Beth L. Mullenbach, Glenn A. Spinelli, Craig S. Fulthorpe, Damian B. O'Grady, Gary Parker, Neal W. Driscoll, Robert L. Burger, Christopher Paola, Daniel L. Orange, Michael E. Field, Carl T. Friedrichs, and Juan J. Fedele).

Introduction.

Background.

Processes governing shelf width and slope relief.

Processes that form the shelf profile.

Processes that act to limit the slope of the continental slope.

Processes that create submarine canyons and slope gullies.

Future research.

Acknowledgments.

References.

The long-term stratigraphic record on continental margins (Gregory S. Mountain, Robert L. Burger, Heike Delius, Craig S. Fulthorpe, James A. Austin, David S. Goldberg, Michael S. Steckler, Cecilia M. McHugh, Kenneth G. Miller, Donald H. Monteverde, Daniel L. Orange, and Lincoln F. Pratson).

Introduction.

Analysing the long-term record.

The Eel River basin.

The New Jersey margin.

Summary.

Acknowledgements.

References.

Prediction of margin stratigraphy (James P.M. Syvitski, Lincoln F. Pratson, Patricia L. Wiberg, Michael S. Steckler, Marcelo H. Garcia, W. Rockwell Geyer, Courtney K. Harris, Eric W.H. Hutton, Jasim Imran, Homa J. Lee, Mark D. Morehead, and Gary Parker).

Introduction.

Component sed-strat modules.

Integrated models.

Seismic models.

The way forward.

Acknowledgements.

Nomenclature.

References.

Index.