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Late Quaternary Geochronologic, Stratigraphic, and Sedimentologic Framework of the Trinity River Incised Valley: East Texas Coas

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Late Quaternary Geochronologic, Stratigraphic, and Sedimentologic Framework of the Trinity River Incised Valley: East Texas Coas Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2008 Late quaternary geochronologic, stratigraphic, and sedimentologic framework of the Trinity River incised valley: east Texas coast Matthew Gene Garvin Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Earth Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Garvin, Matthew Gene, "Late quaternary geochronologic, stratigraphic, and sedimentologic framework of the Trinity River incised valley: east Texas coast" (2008). LSU Master's Theses. 1122. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/1122 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LATE QUATERNARY GEOCHRONOLOGIC, STRATIGRAPHIC, AND SEDIMENTOLOGIC FRAMEWORK OF THE TRINITY RIVER INCISED VALLEY: EAST TEXAS COAST A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in The Department of Geology and Geophysics by Matthew Gene Garvin B.S., Texas Tech University, 2005 A.S., Eastfield College, 2002 December 2008 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor and committee for their thoughtful reviews of the manuscript and many helpful suggestions. I also thank the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Louisiana State University and the Applied Depositional Geosystems Program and its supporters for the opportunity to focus on research in earth sciences. I would like to extend my thanks to those who have provided assistance with field work and many thoughtful discussions back in the lab. To name just a few: Clint Edrington, Eric Prococki, Jill Womack, Jenny Garvin, and Alan Hidy, without their help this work would not have been possible. The list of names that have provided moral support throughout the entirety of my time here at LSU, and throughout my educational career would be endless, but I would like to extend my thanks to my family and friends, previous professors who inspired my love for geology, and of course, my wife, Jenny. This research was supported by grants from the South Texas Geological Society (Jones-Amsbury Grant) (grant to M. Garvin), the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (Edward B. Picou Jr. Student Grant-in-Aid) (grant to M. Garvin), the LSU Department of Geology and Geophysics (Baker-Hughes and Halliburton Funds) (grant to M. Garvin), ConocoPhillips Inc. (grant to M. Blum), and The U.S. National Science Foundation (#115405192) (grant to M. Blum). ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................ ii LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................ x INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................ 5 Present Day River System and Setting and Study Area ................................................. 5 Geologic Setting: Gulf of Mexico Basin ........................................................................ 9 Climate and Sea–level Change ..................................................................................... 12 Sea Level History...................................................................................................... 12 Glacial Period River System and Setting.................................................................. 14 Older Alluvial Plains of the Trinity River System: The Beaumont Formation ............ 18 The Post–Beaumont Lower Trinity Valley................................................................... 21 “Deweyville” Deposits.............................................................................................. 21 Correlation to Offshore Record ................................................................................ 23 Recent Deposits of the Trinity River ............................................................................ 25 Paleohydrology ............................................................................................................. 25 Sediment Supply Controls ............................................................................................ 26 Stored and Excavated Sediment Volumes .................................................................... 27 METHODS ....................................................................................................................... 28 Stratigraphic and Sedimentologic Framework.............................................................. 28 Chronologic Framework ............................................................................................... 30 Paleohydrology ............................................................................................................. 30 Calculation of Sediment Supply ................................................................................... 35 Calculation of Stored and Excavated Sediment Volumes and Mass ............................ 35 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................... 38 Deweyville Deposits: General Framework................................................................... 38 High Deweyville (HD) Unit...................................................................................... 41 Middle Deweyville (MD) Unit ................................................................................. 44 Low Deweyville (LD) Unit....................................................................................... 49 Deweyville Geochronology .......................................................................................... 55 Post–Deweyville Deposits ............................................................................................ 55 Channelbelt and Floodplain ...................................................................................... 58 Bayhead Delta and Estuary....................................................................................... 63 Valley Slopes, Longitudinal Profiles, and Channel Slopes .......................................... 67 Paleohydrology ............................................................................................................. 71 Sediment Supply ........................................................................................................... 76 iii Sediment Export During Valley Evolution................................................................... 76 DISCUSSION................................................................................................................... 82 Valley–Fill Architecture ............................................................................................... 82 Geochronology.............................................................................................................. 90 Valley–Fill Evolution.................................................................................................... 92 Paleohydrology ............................................................................................................. 93 Sediment Mass Balance ................................................................................................ 95 Allogenic Controls........................................................................................................ 98 Fluvial Response to Allogenic Controls ..................................................................... 102 CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................................. 108 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 111 APPENDIX: TRINITY RIVER GUAGING STATION DATA.................................... 122 VITA............................................................................................................................... 124 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Planform properties and empirical equations used to assess paleohydrological estimates and estimates of modern discharge. .................................................................. 34 Table 2. Optically stimulated luminescence results......................................................... 56 Table 3. Valley longitudinal profiles, sinuosity, and channel slopes............................... 71 Table 4. Estimates of mean annual discharge (Qm) using different parameters. General equations based upon a large number of rivers from different geographic settings. ........ 73 Table 5. Estimates of Qm, Q2, and Qmax. General equations based upon a large number of rivers from different geographic settings and equations derived from rivers grouped by the sediment
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