Riverine dunes on the Coastal Plain of Georgia, USA

Relict eolian dunes on the Georgia Coastal Plain line the north and east sides of many SE-trending streams and contain important paleoenvironmental information. A detailed analysis of four dune fields characterizes dune geomorphology, stratigraphy, sedimentology and soils. Georgia's inland dunes range from parabolic to infilled parabolic to irregular in form, typically merge to form long chains that parallel source streams and can occur as distinct bands. Typically, the dunes are composed of >95% quartz sand grains, with more than half the sand falling in the medium sand fraction. Dunes overlie flood plain and pointbar sands, backswamp and peat deposits, fluvial terraces and other dunes. In places, organic deposits occur on top of dunes. Cross-bedding is observable in dunes more than about 4 m thick and indicates eastward dune migration. Paleosols found within some dunes indicate Holocene reworking. Conditions favoring dune formation likely included at least seasonal aridity. Postdepositional modification of the dunes includes a smoothing of the dune surface, a clay increase in the C horizon, spodic horizon development, bioturbation, removal of weatherable minerals and fluvial incision.