SEDIMENTATION PATTERNS IN AN ESTUARINE MARSH: FREEMAN CREEK, NC

The purpose of this study is to quantify sedimentation patterns within the tidal salt marshes of Freeman Creek, NC, located within Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune. Rising stage bottles and sediment cups deployed across the marsh were used to determine availability of suspended sediment. Ceramic tiles affixed to the marsh surface were used to determine sedimentation rates across the study area. Preliminary data collected by these methods, as well as sediment plugs and topographic elevation data, indicate that maximum sediment availability and deposition occurs along a topographic low existing between the main tidal creek and uplands. The low bulk density of sediments in the topographic low coupled with surface flow and depositional patterns suggest the primary source of deposited sediment in the study area is this feeder creek and not the main channel of Freeman Creek. Consequently, efforts to determine material fluxes across the marsh surface should be designed to focus on the secondary drainages at this site.