@article {218, title = {Micropaleontologic record of Quaternary paleoenvironments in the Central Albemarle Embayment, North Carolina, U.S.A}, journal = {Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology}, volume = {305}, year = {2011}, note = {id: 2182}, pages = {227-249}, abstract = {To understand the temporal and spatial variation of eustatic sea-level fluctuations, glacio{\textendash}hydro{\textendash}isostacy, tectonics, subsidence, geologic environments and sedimentation patterns for the Quaternary of a passive continental margin, a nearly complete stratigraphic record that is fully integrated with a three dimensional chronostratigraphic framework, and paleoenvironmental information are necessary. The Albemarle Embayment, a Cenozoic regional depositional basin in eastern North Carolina located on the southeast Atlantic coast of the USA, is an ideal setting to unravel these dynamic, interrelated processes. Micropaleontological data, coupled with sedimentologic, chronostratigraphic and seismic data provide the bases for detailed interpretations of paleoenvironmental evolution and paleoclimates in the 90 m thick Quaternary record of the Albemarle Embayment. The data presented here come from a transect of cores drilled through a barrier island complex in the central Albemarle Embayment. This area sits in a ramp-like setting between late Pleistocene incised valleys. The data document the episodic infilling of the Albemarle Embayment throughout the Quaternary as a series of transgressive{\textendash}regressive (T{\textendash}R) cycles, characterized by inner shelf, midshelf, and shoreface assemblages, that overlie remnants of fluvial to estuarine valley-fill. Barrier island and marginal marine deposits have a low preservation potential. Inner to mid-shelf deposits of the early Pleistocene are overlain by similar middle Pleistocene shelf sediments in the south of the study area but entirely by inner shelf deposits in the north. Late Pleistocene marine sediments are of inner shelf origin and Holocene deposits are marginal marine in nature. Pleistocene marine sediments are incised, particularly in the northern half of the embayment by lowstand paleovalleys, partly filled by fluvial/floodplain deposits and in some cases, overlain by remnants of transgressive estuarine sediments. The shallowing through time of Quaternary sediments reflects the eastward progradational geometry of the continental shelf. The preservation potential of marginal marine deposits (barrier island, shoreface, backbarrier deposits) is not high, except in topographic lows associated with late Pleistocene paleovalleys and inlets because the current interglacial highstand has not yet reached its highest level. Given the documented increase in rate of relative sea-level rise in this region, shallow marine conditions are likely to return to the central Albemarle Embayment in the near future.}, issn = {0031-0182}, doi = {10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.03.004}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018211001143}, author = {Culver, Stephen J. and Farrell, Kathleen M. and Mallinson, David J. and Willard, Debra A. and Horton, Benjamin P. and Riggs, Stanley R. and Thieler, E. Robert and Wehmiller, John F. and Parham, Peter and Snyder, Scott W. and Hillier, Caroline} } @article {210, title = {Rapid Holocene coastal change revealed by high-resolution micropaleontological analysis, Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, USA}, journal = {Quaternary Research}, volume = {76}, year = {2011}, note = {id: 2164}, pages = {319-334}, 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.}, issn = {0033-5894}, doi = {10.1016/j.yqres.2011.06.012}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033589411000883}, author = {Grand Pre, Candace and Culver, Stephen J. and Mallinson, David J. and Farrell, Kathleen M. and Corbett, D. Reide and Horton, Benjamin P. and Hillier, Caroline and Riggs, Stanley R. and Snyder, Scott W. and Buzas, Martin A.} }