LAND-USE AND STORM SIGNALS IN THE SEDIMENTARY RECORD OF A SHALLOW CAPE COD ESTUARY

Shallow (<2-3m) marine embayments, fronted by barrier beaches, dominate the shoreline of southern New England. Previous work on the Holocene evolution of these systems has been largely derived from the sedimentary record of their peripheral deposits (i.e., salt marshes and beaches), while the most complete and continuous sedimentary records ought to be found in the central basins. As a pilot, several piston cores, 3-4m in length were collected from the central basin of Waquoit Bay, Falmouth, Massachusetts --a typical shallow estuary along Cape Cod’s southern coast. Initially, we are looking for sedimentary indication of storm events and historical land-use changes in the watershed. Storm events are being assessed from variations in coarse fraction (i.e., resuspension and basinward mobilization of sands, gravels, and shell fragments), and land-use from changes in the organic/inorganic composition (i.e., deforestation --increased clay load, eutrophication – increased organic deposition) in conjunction with historical land-use information.