Earth Sciences Commons^™

Investigations Of Offshore Beach Sands : Virginia Beach And Sandbridge, Virginia, C. S. Hardaway, C. H. Hobbs Iii, D. A. Milligan

Reports

The City of Virginia Beach is faced with an ongoing problem of erosion along its ocean beaches. The "Resort Strip," the backbone of beach-going tourism in the Commonwealth, must be renourished annually. Steel bulkheads or seawalls have been constructed along most of the 7 km (4.5 mile) ocean shoreline of Sandbridge, a semi-private, ocean-side community. The City is looking for beach material to reestablish its sandy coast. Maintaining a protective and recreational beach is the_primary goal in both locales.

Previous sources of sand for the "Resort Strip" have been upland borrow pits that either have closed or are located too …

Radiocarbon In Marine Bacteria: Evidence For The Ages Of Assimilated Carbon, J Cherrier, Je Bauer, Et Al

VIMS Articles

It is generally accepted that marine bacteria utilize labile, recently produced components of bulk dissolved organic matter. This interpretation is based largely on indirect measurements using model compounds and plankton-derived organic matter. Here, we present an assessment of the relative proportions of modem and older dissolved organic carbon (DOC) utilized by marine bacteria. Bacterial nucleic acids were collected from both estuarine (Santa Rosa Sound, FL) and open-ocean (eastern North Pacific) sites, and the natural radiocarbon signatures of the nucleic acid carbon in both systems were determined. Bacterial nucleic acids from Santa Rosa Sound were significantly enriched in radiocarbon with respect …

Geochemistry Of Small Mountainous Rivers Of Papua New Guinea: Local Observations And Global Implications, Megan B. Raymond

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Small, wet mountainous rivers (runoff > 0.63 m yr" 1 , headwater elevation> 1000 m, basin area < 10,000 km2 ) contribute a disproportionate amount of sediment to the global ocean due to their steep high topography, erosive substrate, and often high precipitation. Scattered data have suggested a slight, but statistically insignificant, inverse relationship between total dissolved solid (TDS) yield (T km-2 yr-1 ) and basin area, but small to very small rivers (basin areas< 10,000 km2 ) have been poorly documented. To fill this data gap, as well as to elucidate possible links between weathering and basin hydrology, nine small wet mountainous rivers, basin areas 22 km2-2300 km2 , were sampled in late May 1997 in northeastern Papua New Guinea. TDS concentrations ranged from 75 to 148 mg L-1 , with no correlation to watershed area. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) values were low, with a mean DOC value of 135 f.Lmol L-1 ; POC values were lower, averaging 3lf.Lmol L- 1 • TDS data, combined with large wet mountainous river TDS data, demonstrate a significant inverse relationship between TDS yield and basin area. As a result, small wet mountainous rivers contribute a disproportionate amount of TDS, and have the highest TDS yields of any class of river. This observation is attributed to the high runoff of the sampled rivers (-2m yr-1 ), in addition to high rates of chemical weathering, which is facilitated by the erosive substrate and high rates of organic matter remineralization.

Fine-Scale Strata Formation In Biologically And Physically Dominated Estuarine Systems Within The Lower Chesapeake And York River Subestuary, Timothy M. Dellapenna

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

To investigate the relationship between biological and physical mixing in forming strata, the lower mainstem of Chesapeake Bay has been contrasted with the York River Subestuary. By using radioisotope profiles from sediment cores, comparisons are made in terms of depth and rate of sediment mixing, deposition and accretion. Within the lower Chesapeake Bay two sites were selected as biologically dominated, both are located within the bay stem plains and are characterized by muddy sand and an abundance of large, deep-dwelling organisms. X-radiographs indicate complete biological reworking of sediments. 210Pb profiles reveal low sediment accretion rates within the mainstem sites ( …

Nitrate Reduction At The Groundwater - Salt Marsh Interface, Craig -1967 Tobias

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The influence of groundwater discharge on the hydrology and biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen in a fringing intertidal wetland was studied by characterizing groundwater discharge, determining N-cycling rates in cores, and examining nitrate reduction in situ using 15N enrichment and natural gradient tracer techniques. Groundwater discharge was estimated by three independent methods: Darcy's Law, a water/salt mass balance, and a subsurface tracer test. Seasonal patterns of discharge predicted by Darcy's Law and the mass balance were similar. Discharge maxima and minima occurred in April and September, respectively. The water/salt mass balance provided the more reasonable estimate of groundwater flux at high …

Sediment Dispersal And Sequence Development Along A Tectonically Active Margin: Late Quaternary Evolution Of The Ganges-Brahmaputra River Delta, Steven Lee Goodbred Jr.

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Situated in the Bengal Basin, the Ganges-Brahmaputra river delta comprises one of the largest fluviodeltaic systems in the world, comprising ∼ 100,000 km2 of floodplain and delta plain and a 40,000 km2 subaqueous delta on the shelf. Sediment load of the Ganges-Brahmaputra river is 109 t/yr, and seasonal flooding may inundate >70% of the delta during large events. Active tectonic processes have resulted in both uplift and subsidence in this structurally complex region. These general characteristics suggest that the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta represents a heretofore undescribed delta end-member, forming along a high-yield, high-energy, tectonically active margin. to investigate this view, stratigraphic, …