Mud-bank destruction and the formation of a transgressive sand sheet, southwest Florida inner shelf
Article
Parkinson, RW, Meeder, JF. (1991). Mud-bank destruction and the formation of a transgressive sand sheet, southwest Florida inner shelf
. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN, 103(12), 1543-1551. 10.1130/0016-7606(1991)103<1543:MBDATF>2.3.CO;2
Parkinson, RW, Meeder, JF. (1991). Mud-bank destruction and the formation of a transgressive sand sheet, southwest Florida inner shelf
. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN, 103(12), 1543-1551. 10.1130/0016-7606(1991)103<1543:MBDATF>2.3.CO;2
The Holocene sediment sequence immediately seaward of the Florida Bay mud-bank complex consists of a thin (<0.25m) skeletal-sand sheet and skeletal-sand banks as much as 2.0m thick. This is in a marked contrast to the myriad carbonate mud banks within the bay. Sedimentologic, stratigraphic, and radiocarbon data suggest that the skeletal sands are partly the product of physical and biological degradation of precursor mud banks which existed at least 3500 yr BP. During degradation of mud banks, most of the skeletal material is locally reworked, whereas mud is transported onshore (eastward) where it contributes to the buildup of younger constructional banks. Continued sea-level rise at its present long-term rate of ~4cm/100 yr should be accompanied by a landward shift in the destructional zone and expansion of the transgressive sand sheet. Hence, it is hypothesized that much of the western Florida Bay mud-bank complex may ultimately be preserved as a thin skeletal-sand sheet and not as a muddy carbonate sequence as previously suggested. -from Authors
