Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Hurricane-Induced Geologic Change And Palynological Assessment Of A Rapidly Subsiding Deltaic Environment In Coastal Louisiana, James Dustin Naquin

LSU Master's Theses

This study is focused on a paleoenvironmental history of a backbarrier coastal lagoon situated on the seaward margin of the Lafourche delta lobe in coastal Louisiana. A 2.2 meter long sediment core (Core BC 53) was collected from a mangrove-covered land strip on the northern margin of Bay Champagne, and was studied using pollen analysis, Loss-on-ignition (LOI), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis, and Cesium-137 and radiocarbon dating techniques to establish sediment stratigraphy and core chronology. Bay Champagne, a backbarrier lagoon formed during the evolution of Bayou Lafourche, has shown to be highly sensitive to geomorphological and vegetation changes induced by sea-level …