Subsurface controls on mainland marsh shoreline response during barrier island transgressive submergence

<p>Many recent studies have sought to understand the response of barrier islands and their attendant marshes to sea level rise. The Mississippi River delta plain, specifically the Chandeleur Islands and associated interior wetlands in eastern Louisiana, serves as an excellent natural laboratory for studying these responses. This region is presently undergoing the highest rates of shoreline erosion (> 15 m yr -1) in North America as wetlands are converted to open water in a regime of subsidence-driven rapid relative sea-level rise (~1 cm yr-1). Three conceptual models were developed based on the geomorphic relationships observed in the marsh that describe and predict shoreline processes as the Chandeleur Islands continue to disintegrate and submerge. These models indicate that shells are the dominant shoreline-forming material in the marsh due to the lack of sand-rich strata in the subsurface of the marsh. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Earth and Environmental Sciences

Year

2011

Author dc:creator

• Ellison, Mary

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kulp, Mark Alan
• Georgiou, Ioannis T.
• Miner, Michael D.

• marsh, barrier, island, shell, Louisiana, stratigraphy
• Earth Sciences
• Environmental Sciences
• Fresh Water Studies

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/458

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-1250