Holocene Submergence of the Eastern Shore of Virginia

Abstract

Radiocarbon ages of basal peats 4500 years old or younger and the thickness of salt-marsh peat in the lagoon east of Wachapreague, Virginia, are nearly the same as those of equivalent samples from New Jersey and Cape Cod. This suggests that these coasts have had similar submergence histories. Data obtained from the coasts of Connecticut and northeastern Massachusetts indicate that the Atlantic coast of the United States has been differentially warped during the later Holocene.

Coastal flooding by tropical cyclones and sea-level rise

“…However, with the exception of regions of significant tectonic activity or rapid isostatic adjustment, most coastlines affected by tropical cyclones have experienced moderate rates of sea-level change over the past few millennia relative to the rapid SLR rates of the early Holocene. Examples of current coastal settings, for which the existing forms and behaviours commonly established themselves under these fairly modest rates of sea-level change, include most of the world's deltaic systems 71 , barrier beaches 67,72,73 , contemporary beach ridge and chenier plains 74,75 , wetland marshes 76,77 and mangrove wetlands 78,79 .…”

Between beds and sequences: stratigraphic organization at intermediate scales in the Quaternary of the Virginia coast, USA

“…Lesser fluxes occur on the Virginia coast south of Chesapeake Bay. Below the surf zone, the transgressive shorefaces of the Virginia barriers are retreating at rates up to 1 m per year (Moody, 1964; Newman & Rusnak, 1965). Rates of retreat are not constant.…”

Stratigraphic and geomorphic framework of uppermost Cenozoic deposits in the southern Delmarva Peninsula, Virginia and Maryland

“…In a study of the Holocene deposits of the Wachapreague Inlet and Metomkin Bay areas, S. Harrison (1972) divided the Holocene barrier-lagoon environment into several subenvironments including offshore, barrier inlets, tidal channels, bays, tidal flats, salt marshes, and barrier-island sand ridges. Harrison also described the biota, sediment types, and sedimentary structures that characterize each subenvironment and the biologic processes that influence sedimentation in the area 'The ··thrOO-dimensional distribution of the lagoonal deposits in the Wachapreague area and the age and submergence histories of these deposits have been described by Newman and Munsart (1968) and Newman and Rusnak (1965).…”

“…Deposits of relatively small areal extent (fluvial and eolian deposits; category 2, above), or of large extent but small volume (paludal deposits), are discussed only briefly. The Holocene barrier and lagoonal deposits along the Atlantic side of the peninsula (category 3) have been studied by other investigators, and the reader is referred to their work for detailed descriptions of the Holocene flora, fauna, and sedimentary materials (see Harrison, 1972;Newman and Rusnak, 1965;Newman and Munsart, 1968;Kraft, 1968Kraft, , 1971 Mixon and others, 1982). These strata form a lithostratigraphic unit, ranging from about 20 to 90 ft (6-27 m) in thickness, that is equivalent to the Omar Formation as mapped in adjacent areas of southern Maryland (Owens and Denny, 1978; this report, fig.…”