Start |Grid View | Author Index | View Uploaded Presentations | Meeting Information

Southeastern Section - 74th Annual Meeting - 2025

Paper No. 8-3
Presentation Time: 8:00 AM-5:00 PM

GEOTECHNICAL, PALEONTOLOGICAL, AND STRATIGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF SHALLOW OFFSHORE SEDIMENTS FOR DECISION-MAKERS IN NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA’S LONG BAY REGION: A PROGRESS REPORT ON STATE, FEDERAL, AND ACADEMIC COOPERATION


DOAR III, William1, FINK, Madison2, GARDNER, Kristina3, LONG, Ashley4, LUCIANO, Katherine5, SASANAKUL, Inthuorn6 and SELF-TRAIL, Jean3, (1)South Carolina Geological Survey, 217 Ft. Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, (2)Department of Coastal and Marine Systems Science, Coastal Carolina University, 301 Allied Drive, Conway, SC 29526, (3)Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, (4)Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Sterling, VA 20166, (5)South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, South Carolina Geological Survey, 217 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, (6)Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of South Carolina, 300 Main Street, C227, Columbia, SC 29208

Potential beach quality sediment resources offshore in Long Bay (southeast North Carolina and northeast South Carolina) are scarce because of geology and geography factors. Scarcity factors include the characteristics of shallow offshore stratigraphy, long-term low-sediment supply, lack of accommodation space, and modern oceanographic processes. The scarcity of sediment resources is reflected in the history of borrowing sand for nearby beaches.

The Long Bay South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Cooperative Agreement (SC COOP) aims to refine the geologic framework across Long Bay to identify zones of potential sand and gravel resources using spatial and temporal relationships and develop sand-search strategies built on these relationships.

A collaborative group of state, federal, and academic geoscientists met in 2024 to collect samples for paleontological, sedimentological, geochronological, and geotechnical analyses on a set of 30 shallow-depth (<5 m) vibracores collected under contract to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Results will assist in understanding the following: 1) onshore-offshore stratigraphic relationships between Long Bay sediments and those of the nearby shoreline; 2) distribution and character of shallow-water deposits across the bay, focusing on the distribution of sands versus clay-silt; and 3) mineralogical and physical properties of materials.

Future work will determine: the percentage of glauconite in shallow stratigraphic units; the ages of the sediments; if there are mappable distributions of resource sand in Long Bay; and the geotechnical soil classification and cement content of the sediments. Integrating these data with existing onshore borehole data will provide insight into composition, erodibility, and preservation potential of offshore sediments.

Session No. 8--Booth# 60

D4. Mapping in the Southeast using Interstate Collaboration, Correlation, and Cores (Posters)
Thursday, 20 March 2025: 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
Shenandoah ABC (Hotel Madison & Shenandoah Valley Conference Center)
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 2
doi: 10.1130/abs/2025SE-408865
© Copyright 2025 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.
Back to: D4. Mapping in the Southeast using Interstate Collaboration, Correlation, and Cores (Posters)
<< Previous Abstract | Next Abstract >>