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Rapid Holocene coastal change revealed by high-resolution micropaleontological analysis, Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Candace Grand Pre ,
Stephen J. Culver ,
David J. Mallinson ,
Kathleen M. Farrell ,
D. Reide Corbett ,
Benjamin P. Horton ,
Caroline Hillier ,
Stanley R. Riggs ,
Scott W. Snyder  and
Martin A. Buzas
Candace Grand Pre
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA Sea Level Research Laboratory, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Stephen J. Culver*
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
David J. Mallinson
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
Kathleen M. Farrell
Affiliation:
North Carolina Geological Survey, Raleigh Field Office and Core Repository, MSC 1620, Raleigh, NC 27699, USA
D. Reide Corbett
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA Institute for Coastal Science and Policy, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
Benjamin P. Horton
Affiliation:
Sea Level Research Laboratory, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Caroline Hillier
Affiliation:
Argos Ecology Ltd, Annfield Plain, Durham, DH9 7XN, UK
Stanley R. Riggs
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
Scott W. Snyder
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
Martin A. Buzas
Affiliation:
Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 20560, USA
*
⁎Corresponding author. Fax: + 1 252 328 4391. E-mail address:culvers@ecu.edu (S. J. Culver).
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Abstract

Foraminiferal analyses of 404 contiguous samples, supported by diatom, lithologic, geochronologic and seismic data, reveal both rapid and gradual Holocene paleoenvironmental changes in an 8.21-m vibracore taken from southern Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Data record initial flooding of a latest Pleistocene river drainage and the formation of an estuary 9000 yr ago. Estuarine conditions were punctuated by two intervals of marine influence from approximately 4100 to 3700 and 1150 to 500 cal yr BP. Foraminiferal assemblages in the muddy sand facies that accumulated during these intervals contain many well-preserved benthic foraminiferal species, which occur today in open marine settings as deep as the mid shelf, and significant numbers of well-preserved planktonic foraminifera, some typical of Gulf Stream waters. We postulate that these marine-influenced units resulted from temporary destruction of the southern Outer Banks barrier islands by hurricanes. The second increase in marine influence is coeval with increased rate of sea-level rise and a peak in Atlantic tropical cyclone activity during the Medieval Climate Anomaly. This high-resolution analysis demonstrates the range of environmental variability and the rapidity of coastal change that can result from the interplay of changing climate, sea level and geomorphology in an estuarine setting.

Keywords

ForaminiferaDiatomsHolocenePaleoenvironments
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 76 , Issue 3 , November 2011 , pp. 319 - 334
Copyright
University of Washington

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