Erosion and sedimentation in Kalpakkam (N Tamil Nadu, India) from the 26th December 2004 tsunami

Laterally extensive sand sheets deposited by the 26th December 2004 Asian tsunami provide a valuable modern analogue for comparison with wash over deposits of unknown origin. In many places on the east coast of India, distinct deposits of marine sand drape the landscape and overlie the muddy soils of the coastal plain. This paper discusses detailed measurements of coastal topography, tsunami flow height, and deposit thickness made at Kalpakkam, India. Five transects were examined in detail to assess the sedimentology and spatial distribution of the tsunami deposit. Near the mean water line, the tsunami eroded approximately 10–25 cm of sand from the beach and berm. At Kalpakkam the sand sheet deposited by the tsunami begins 25 m from the shore extending 420 m inland where it becomes thin and patchy approximately 30 m from the limit of inundation. In some cases, the deposit consists of 2 to 4 normally graded units, with coarse sand near the base and fine sand at the top, a characteristic observed in many tsunami deposits worldwide. In many places, the deposits also contain numerous thin laminated units, a characteristic usually associated with storm over wash. The presence of the laminated beds is indicative of the complexity of tsunami sedimentation on the coast. Such observations are essential to the formation of definitive facies models for palaeo-overwash studies that are capable of distinguishing between sediments deposited by storms or tsunami.     

Biogenic and Geochemical Properties of Intertidal Biosedimentary Deposits Related to Mytilus Beds

Abstract. Biofacies development, sedimentology, and geochemical properties of intertidal Mytilus beds in the German Wadden Sea have been studied in vertical profiles in situ and in box core samples. Characteristic features of both the live mussel beds and the underlying sediment sequences were detected. The deposition of faeces, pseudofaeces, and trapped fine-grained material results in the formation of well-defined biosedimentary mud layers of several centimetres thickness. The initial stages of this deposition process were observed in a young, growing Myrilus colony over a 17-month period. In an old mussel bed, being in state of decline, both reworking of dead shells and erosion of the biosedimentary mud layers were recognisable. However, deeper parts of the sediment column reveal shell horizons rich in "pairs" of dead Mytilus shells, i.e ., corresponding right and left valves found close together. These represent subrecent records of former Mytilus colonisation. Historically, they point to long-term occurrence of mussel beds at typical localities, in the framework of fluctuation and patchiness patterns, in the more recent past. On the other hand, mud banks at tidal flat margins adjacent to channels suggest a high preservation potential of biosedimentary mud layers in the low-water level environment. Geochemical properties of these muddy sediments corroborate their biodepositional origin.     

Do inverted depositional sequences and allochthonous foraminifers in sediments along the Coast of Kachchh, NW India, indicate palaeostorm and/or tsunami effects?

The study of 134 subsurface sediment samples from three cores collected along the Coast of Kachchh, off Gujarat Province, NW India, shows the presence of 151 foraminifer species. Q-mode cluster analysis on foraminifer data for each core and radiocarbon dating at ten different downcore depths reveal an inverted sequence, with fine-grained sediments and small foraminifers sandwiched between normal detrital sediments at water depths of 10–20 m. It is postulated that ∼8,000 years B.P., sediments ranging in age from ∼10,000 to ∼12,000 years B.P. were eroded from deeper offshore deposits by storm/tsunami(s), and were subsequently transported and redeposited in shallow regions, resulting in an inverted sequence, followed by a normal detrital sequence deposited between ∼8,000 and ∼7,000 years B.P. A second, similar event resulted in the deposition of ∼10,000 year old sediments over a normally deposited, ∼7,000 year old sequence. The second inverted sequence was subsequently overlain by a normal sequence. It is hypothesised that the erosion and transportation of fine-grained sediments from deeper water, and their deposition in shallower water against the rule of gravity, are the result of storm/tsunami influence.     

Holocene sedimentation of a wave-dominated barrierisland shoreline: Cape Lookout, North Carolina

The sedimentary record of 130 km of microtidal (0.9 m tidal range) high wave energy (1.5 m average wave height) barrier island shoreline of the Cape Lookout cuspate foreland has been evaluated through examination of 3136 m of subsurface samples from closely spaced drill holes. Holocene sedimentation and coastal evolution has been a function of five major depositional processes: (1) eustatic sea-level rise and barrier-shoreline transgression; (2) lateral tidal inlet migration and reworking of barrier island deposits; (3) shoreface sedimentation and local barrier progradation; (4) storm washover deposition with infilling of shallow lagoons; and (5) flood-tidal delta sedimentation in back-barrier environments.

Twenty-five radiocarbon dates of subsurface peat and shell material from the Cape Lookout area are the basis for a late Holocene sea-level curve. From 9000 to 4000 B.P. eustatic sea level rose rapidly, resulting in landward migration of both barrier limbs of the cuspate foreland. A decline in the rate of sea-level rise since 4000 B.P. resulted in relative shoreline stabilization and deposition of contrasting coastal sedimentary sequences. The higher energy, storm-dominated northeast barrier limb (Core and Portsmouth Banks) has migrated landward producing a transgressive sequence of coarse-grained, horizontally bedded washover sands overlying burrowed to laminated back-barrier and lagoonal silty sands. Locally, ephemeral tidal inlets have reworked the transgressive barrier sequence depositing fining-upward spit platform and channel-fill sequences of cross-bedded, pebble gravel to fine sand and shell. Shoreface sedimentation along a portion of the lower energy, northwest barrier limb (Bogue Banks) has resulted in shoreline progradation and deposition of a coarsening-up sequence of burrowed to cross-bedded and laminated, fine-grained shoreface and foreshore sands. In contrast, the adjacent barrier island (Shackleford Banks) consists almost totally of inlet-fill sediments deposited by lateral tidal inlet migration. Holocene sediments in the shallow lagoons behind the barriers are 5–8 m thick fining-up sequences of interbedded burrowed, rooted and laminated flood-tidal delta, salt marsh, and washover sands, silts and clays.

While barrier island sequences are generally 10 m in thickness, inlet-fill sequences may be as much as 25 m thick and comprise an average of 35% of the Holocene sedimentary deposits. Tidal inlet-fill, back-barrier (including flood-tidal delta) and shoreface deposits are the most highly preservable facies in the wave-dominated barrier-shoreline setting. In the Cape Lookout cuspate foreland, these three facies account for over 80% of the sedimentary deposits preserved beneath the barriers. Foreshore, spit platform and overwash facies account for the remaining 20%.     

潮坪层序的粒度特征与沉积相划分--以杭州湾庵东浅滩为例

现代潮滩依据多年平均潮位线划分高、中、低潮滩，这对于古代潮坪沉积相研究无实际意义。本文尝试用潮坪层序粒度参数剖面来划分沉积相。潮坪沉积物以粉砂为主，但敏感地反映沉积动力变化的却是粗、细尾部分。因此，在沉积相划分时主要依据粘土、砂含量及平均粒径的变化特征。分选系数是一重要依据，但要考虑絮凝沉积的影响。偏态和峰态变幅小、较复杂，在相划分中只具参考价值。利用粒度参数剖面进行潮坪沉积相划分可广泛应用于古代潮坪层序研究，而且根据中潮坪沉积厚度(x)与平均潮差(y)存在的显著性相关关系：y=1．8314x 157．31(单位cm)，推算古潮差。     

Progress in the Study of Coastal Storm Deposits

Numerous studies have been carried out to identify storm deposits and decipher storm-induced sedimentary processes in coastal and shallow-marine areas. This study aims to provide an in-depth review on the study of coastal storm deposits from the following five aspects. 1) The formation of storm deposits is a function of hydrodynamic and sedimentary processes under the constraints of local geological and ecological factors. Many questions remain to demonstrate the genetic links between storm-related processes and a variety of resulting deposits such as overwash deposits, underwater deposits and hummocky cross-stratification (HCS). Future research into the formation of storm deposits should combine flume experiments, field observations and numerical simulations, and make full use of sediment source tracing methods. 2) Recently there has been rapid growth in the number of studies utilizing sediment provenance analysis to investigate the source of storm deposits. The development of source tracing techniques, such as mineral composition, magnetic susceptibility, microfossil and geochemical property, has allowed for better understanding of the depositional processes and environmental changes associated with coastal storms. 3) The role of extreme storms in the sedimentation of low-lying coastal wetlands with diverse ecosystem services has also drawn a great deal of attention. Many investigations have attempted to quantify widespread land loss, vertical marsh sediment accumulation and wetland elevation change induced by major hurricanes. 4) Paleostorm reconstructions based on storm sedimentary proxies have shown many advantages over the instrumental records and historic documents as they allow for the reconstruction of storm activities on millennial or longer time scales. Storm deposits having been used to establish proxies mainly include beach ridges and shelly cheniers, coral reefs, estuary-deltaic storm sequences and overwash deposits. Particularly over the past few decades, the proxies developed from overwash deposits have successfully retrieved many records of storm activities during the mid to late Holocene worldwide. 5) Distinguishing sediments deposited by storms and tsunamis is one of the most difficult issues among the many aspects of storm deposit studies. Comparative studies have investigated numerous diagnostic evidences including hydrodynamic condition, landward extent, grain property, texture and grading, thickness, microfossil assemblage and landscape conformity. Perhaps integrating physical, biological and geochemical evidences will, in the future, allow unambiguous identification of tsunami deposits and storm deposits.     

Sedimentation particularities during the tsunami of December 26, 2004, in northern Indonesia: Simelue Island and the Medan coast of Sumatra Island

Sediments deposited during the tsunami of December 26, 2004, in coastal areas that differ in their structure and orientation relative to the tsunami front are studied with defining of the factors controlling particular features of the sedimentation under different wave intensities. The lithology of tsunami-related deposits and data on various fossils (diatoms, foraminifers, and mollusks) are analyzed. It is established that the tsunami resulted in the accumulation of sediments of various composition, which is explained by the features of the transformation of the wave as well as by the structure of the underwater coastal slope, the flooded zone, and the provenance. Variably oriented coseismic motions are one of the factors influencing the sedimentation patterns. The paleotsunami deposits discovered are compared with their recent counterparts.     

Stratigraphy of washover deposits in Florida: implications for recognition in the stratigraphic record

Twelve washover deposits were cored on the west-central Gulf Coast of Florida to provide data to permit development of a model to help identify washover facies in the stratigraphic record. Typical modern washover stratigraphy displays landward-dipping plane beds comprised of well-sorted sand with distinct laminae of shells and heavy minerals. Five subfacies are delineated which show variations in composition, texture, and bioturbation throughout the washover facies. These subfacies represent differences in flow conditions during overwash, position relative to sea level, and variable degrees of reworking after deposition. Three shell assemblages aid in identification of washover deposits. Backbarrier sediments composed of shoreface/open water species or mixed shoreface/backbarrier species may potentially be washover in origin. Sediments with purely backbarrier/quiet water shell species are likely to have been deposited independently of washover activity. Examination of washover deposits of differing ages reveals that preservation of washover stratigraphy is not exclusively a function of time. Reworking of small-scale stratification can occur in as short as a decade; however, this same stratification was found to be preserved in deposits several hundred years old. Destruction of original washover signatures is related to the position of the deposits relative to sea level, and the rate and depth of burial. Even after the destruction of small-scale stratigraphic features, washover deposits may still be identified as such due to their texture, composition, and shell assemblages. Key features in recognizing the facies after bioturbation and reworking are: (1) the presence of clean sand in otherwise muddy backbarrier sediments, (2) the landward thinning of the facies, and (3) the presence of shoreface shells or mixed shoreface/backbarrier shells on landward portions of the barrier island system. If reworking is severe and/or there are limited subsurface data, distinguishing washovers from genetically similar deposits (e.g. flood tidal deltas and spillover deposits) in the stratigraphic record is difficult and when considered out of stratigraphic context may not be recognizable.     

燕山地区宣龙坳陷洪水庄组和铁岭组沉积环境

依据野外露头等资料,对燕山地区宣龙坳陷洪水庄组和铁岭组进行了详细的沉积相分析,认为该区洪水庄组和铁岭组沉积相为碳酸盐岩台地相,并可进一步划分出碳酸盐岩潮坪和潟湖2种亚相,其中洪水庄组主要为潟湖沉积环境;铁岭组主要发育潮坪亚相:包括潮上、潮间和潮下3个相带。在此基础上,结合区域地质背景,以及23件碳酸盐岩样品的常量元素和微量元素相关关系、组分含量及某些元素的比值对特征,探讨了研究区元素的沉积地球化学特征。研究表明:①研究区目的层段样品的化学成分以CaO和MgO为主,且ω(CaO)>ω(MgO),含较多的SiO2,该时期碳酸盐岩沉积时混入较多的陆源碎屑;②Mg/Ca比值显示洪水庄组与铁岭组沉积期气候温暖潮湿;③Sr/Ba比值显示铁岭组沉积期为古盐度正常的海相沉积环境,洪水庄期为古盐度较低的海相沉积环境。     

南海深海盆地沉积柱样中的浊流沉积

本文根据南海深海盆地三个沉积柱样的粒度结构、地球化学、微体古生物等特征分析,深讨了南海深海盆地细粒沉积物的浊积现象。结果表明,位于南海北部陆架斜坡上KL37孔的浊流沉积现象并不明显;位于陆架斜坡和深海盆地交界处的KL29孔存在着大量的浊积层,属于浊流沉积和半远洋沉积环境;位于南海盆地中部的KL91孔虽然已属于远洋性沉积环境,但除出现火山灰沉积外,浊流沉积作用仍然是相当活跃的。     

关于南海北部深水重力流沉积问题的讨论

深水沉积主要泛指陆架以外的沉积,尤以沉积物重力流成因的沉积受到深水油气勘探界的关注,它的沉积成因、过程和相组成均与河流、三角洲、浅海等牵引流沉积有很大的差异。当前南海北部大规模深水勘探已经全面展开,正确认识深水重力流沉积具有重要意义,但由于我国油气勘探对深水重力流沉积缺乏勘探实践,目前对深水重力流沉积有不同的理解,如深水重力流沉积一定要在多深的水下沉积,深水重力流沉积的判识一定要有深水环境的标志,深水重力流沉积作用保留在地层中的沉积层理构造特征一定是重力流流态的等。通过南海北部深水实钻资料和沉积体系的研究,认为深水重力流沉积具有偶发而动、沿坡搬运、择低而积、有限分布的特点。陆架坡折带以外的粗陆源碎屑沉积以重力流沉积成因为主,低位体系域的重力流更易于发育砂岩储层。陆坡区深水重力流沉积的特点表明储层识别是深水勘探的关键工作。     

The infralittoral prograding wedge: a new large-scale progradational sedimentary body in shallow marine environments

A progradational sedimentary body, the infralittoral prograding wedge (IPW), has been developing from the mean fair-weather wave-base level to the storm wave-base level between the onshore (beach) and the offshore (inner continental shelf) depositional zones along the Spanish coast during the Late Holocene. The main sedimentary body is composed of large inclined master beds which prograde seawards parallel to the shoreline, formed by sediments swept offshore by waves from shallow-water littoral environments. The inclined beds downlap onto finer-grained offshore sediments and, in turn, are overlain by shoreface deposits. The IPW is generated by downwelling storm currents and associated seaward transport of sediment. It represents a new depositional model for clastic wave-dominated coasts, and its identification requires a new subdivision of the nearshore environment. Received: 10 June 1999 / Revision accepted: 15 February 2000     

Response of BITS (a benthic index based on taxonomic sufficiency) to water and sedimentary variables and comparison with other indices in three Adriatic lagoons

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC) recommends the development of biotic indices for assessing the ecological quality status of water bodies. The Benthic Index based on Taxonomic Sufficiency (BITS) was specifically developed for lagoonal systems, according to the tolerant/opportunistic approach. Macrobenthic data, variables indicative of eutrophication and variables indicative of sedimentary organic matter quality were collected during 18 surveys carried out between 2004 and 2005 in three Adriatic coastal lagoons (Venice Lagoon, Sacca di Goro, Lesina Lagoon). The relationship between environmental variables and biotic indices (AMBI, BENTIX, BITS, BOPA and FINE) was tested using multivariate analyses. Indices based on species classification level appeared to relate better with the variables describing organic matter quality, whereas BITS, which is based on family classification level, seemed related to eutrophication indicative variables, such as sulphide, ammonium, dissolved oxygen and orthophosphate concentrations. The BITS approach reduces the costs associated with sorting and identification of organisms. Providing a rapid assessment of ecological quality, and producing an ecologically relevant classification, BITS seems a promising tool for monitoring programs of Adriatic lagoonal ecosystems. Its sensitivity in reflecting the field conditions elsewhere, however, remains to be assessed.     

全新世海侵以来山东荣成朝阳港泻湖沉积层与古环境记录

泻湖是全新世海侵以来发育的以淤积为主的海岸地貌,其沉积地层蕴含了丰富的古环境演变信息.对朝阳港泻湖SO4钻孔岩芯样品作粒度、软体动物、孢粉和14C等项目的测试分析,将该孔地层自下而上划分成陆相、滨浅海相、泻湖相、泻湖-沼泽相等四层和Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ个孢粉组合带.基于对地层和孢粉组合特点的深入剖析,结果表明朝阳港泻湖自全新世海侵以来经历了海湾、沙坝-泻湖和泻湖-沼泽等3个环境演化阶段,同时存在明显的沉积环境和气候变化事件,包括8～7 ka B.P.海陆相之间的不整合沉积间断事件、7～6 ka B.P.的气候暖湿事件和5～4 ka B.P.的明显降温事件.     

Barrier island stratigraphy and Holocene history of west-central Florida

Although the morphology of the barrier-inlet system along the west-central Florida coast is quite complicated, the stratigraphy of these barriers is rather simple. The basal Holocene unit in most cores is an organic-rich, muddy sand that represents a vegetated, paralic marine, coastal environment similar to that which is north and south of the present barrier system. Above that unit is a muddy, bioturbated sand that displays a marine fauna at most locations but also contains Crassostrea virginica in a few places. These sediments accumulated in a low-energy marine setting that may or may not have been protected by a barrier island. Much of this facies also represents sediment that was delivered as washover deposits in an intertidal or subtidal setting and was subsequently bioturbated. The facies that can be attributed to a barrier island with some certainty are no more than 3000 years old, and on most islands, are much younger. These are the shelly sand and sorted sand facies. The shelly strata represent deposition in nearshore, beach, supratidal washover or intertidal spillover environments, and tidal inlet and tidal delta channels, whereas the sorted sand is typical of eolian deposition in dunes or the backbeach and some tidal delta elements. The presence of Holocene oyster beds offshore of a present barrier suggests that some of these islands formed significantly offshore and moved to their present position through washover. It is likely that most of these barriers initially formed through upward shoaling by waves. Although there is significant morphologic difference between the wave-dominated and mixed-energy, drumstick barrier islands, their stratigraphy is quite similar. The only significant difference is the presence of extensive progradation on at least part of the drumstick islands and a relatively high amount of former washover deposits on the wave-dominated type.     

南黄海中西部全新世地层沉积特征

南黄海是典型的物源供给丰富的宽广陆架海,全新世沉积记录十分丰富,具有分辨率高、空间分布不连续和沉积记录片段性等特征。根据近年来在南黄海采集的大量高分辨率浅地层剖面资料,结合多个钻孔的岩性特征和AMS14C测年数据,较为系统精细地揭示了南黄海全新世沉积的时空分布特征。根据沉积体空间分布范围、成因机制和物质来源,南黄海全新世沉积可划分为4个独立的沉积体,呈现出不同的声学反射特征,主要为加积进积反射、平行或透明弱反射、中高角度进积反射和中高角度倾斜-斜交反射。根据估算,河流物质输入约占到南黄海全新世沉积总量的78%,其他物质来源主要为海侵过程中较强的海洋动力侵蚀、改造和再分配的底床物质。本文的研究可为厘清南黄海全新世沉积体精细演化过程的动力学机制研究提供更多可靠的证据。     

Upper intertidal rhythmites in the Mont-Saint-Michel Bay (NW France): Perspectives for paleoreconstruction

The Mont-Saint-Michel Bay constitutes a good present-day example of sedimentation and facies in an upper intertidal domain. The tangue, a specific sediment of this area, displays an alternated structure of sandy and silty-muddy beds generated by the dynamics of tidal currents. This tidal bedding is frequently characterized by a vertical organization determined by the cyclic evolution of tidal energy during a neap/spring cycle. The organisation mainly consists in thickness variation of the successive sand/mud couplets which represent the deposit of each semi-diurnal tidal cycle. This record of tidal cyclicity can be observed in a wide range of bedding from planar bedding to climbing ripple bedding. The investigations performed allowed to clarify the conditions of deposition and of short-term preservation of these tidal rhythmites. Most well recorded neap/spring cycles develop within protected environments and necessarily require high suspended sediment concentrations. Characteristic features of these modern tidal rhythmites, such as the number of tidal event recorded per neap/spring cycle, are discussed in order to select criteria for the recognition of tidal dynamics in ancient sediments. The use of such criteria should constitute a way to discriminate subtidal to upper intertidal deposits and to propose paleogeographic reconstructions.     

闽江口外海域全新统地震地层学特征和沉积作用

本文采用高分辨率单道浅地震剖面资料研究闽江口外海域的全新统沉积作用。研究区的全新统底面为MIS 2期侵蚀面,局部为古河道,深度一般在现海面下约30～60 m,最深约65 m;近岸浅,外海深,局部受古河道的下切影响呈条带状负地形。全新统由早全新世晚期以来的海相沉积层(U1)和早全新世河流湖沼相沉积层(U2)组成,前者包括滨浅海平行地震相和河口滨岸前积地震相,根据其反射波向陆上超和向海下超底界面,结合沉积物厚度分布特征,可以判断主要的沉积物来源和运移趋势。全新统沉积层厚度一般为10～20 m,最厚约38 m,位于古河道区,但是在马祖列岛和白犬列岛之间海区缺失。海相全新统沉积层的厚度为数米至20 m,最厚约25 m,位于研究区东南部(海坛岛东侧)。自全新世海侵以来,沉积物主要来源于3部分：台湾海峡来沙为研究区南部海区提供了沉积物;闽江悬沙扩散沉积物覆盖研究区北部海区,主要沿NE方向至外海,在河口向南呈舌状,现代沉积中心位于河口北部,厚度大于15 m;浙闽沿岸流来沙对研究区东北部海区的沉积物有影响。沉积环境划分为台湾海峡源沉积区、闽江源沉积区、东北部混合沉积区和马祖−白犬沉积缺失区,平均沉积速率分别约为0.8 mm/a、1.0 mm/a、1.1 mm/a和0 mm/a。马祖−白犬沉积缺失区主要因为沉积物受沿岛环流的控制。     

Geotechnical Properties of River-fed Sediments Compared with Glacier-fed Sediments

This paper discusses the influence of sedimentary environment and geological setting on geotechnical and physical properties of resulting sedimentary deposits. For this study, two different geological settings were considered, one is a river-fed and the other is a glacier-fed sedimentary environment. For both sedimentary environments, various geotechnical properties were considered and compared. These include plasticity, activity, compressibility, undrained shear strength and sensitivity. Results indicate that physical and geotechnical properties of sediments deposited in these two settings are significantly different. These differences are then interpreted in terms of the various mechanisms involved in submarine slope failure initiation in river-fed versus glacier-fed sedimentary environments.