Journal of Coastal Research Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fall 1995

Multiple Pliocene-Quaternary Marine Highstands, Northeast Gulf Coastal Plain-Fallacies and Facts

Ervin G. Otvos

Geology Section Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Ocean Springs, MS 39566-7000

ABSTRACT _

OTVOS, E.G., 1995. Multiple Pliocene-Quaternary marine highstands, northeast Gulf Coastal plain­ Fallacies and facts. Journal of Coastal Research, 11(4),984-1002. Fort Lauderdale (Florida), ISSN 0749­ .tllllllll:. 0208.

•• • Claims persist in the literature alleging multiple pre-Sangamonian Pleistocene, mid-Wisconsinan, middle - ~ ,,0 and late Holocene marine highstands on the northeast Gulf coastal plain. These views, still encountered ass"-"-2 W even in official publications are rooted in the assumed similarity between Atlantic and northeast Gulf coastal history. A critical re-examination of the evidence is based on detailed sedimentary, microfossil, and geomorphic data from hundreds of drillholes and field sampling. Sediment data were matched with basic diagnostic criteria of depositional facies. Deposits and landforms that developed during the peak of Sangamonian transgression yielded the only evidence for higher-than-present Quaternary sea levels on the northeast Gulf. Pre-Sangamonian marine units are absent in the subsurface and not exposed in coastal plain surfaces. Post-Pliocene uplift and erosion had removed littoral and nearshore units from the northeast coastal plain. Upland ridges, mistaken for relict barriers, are elongated, high interfluves. Composed of alluvial deposits, they are bounded by semi parallel lineaments of apparently tectonic origin and incised by stream erosion. Combined with lineaments, rare covered karst depressions on a late Pleistocene alluvial plain provide the slight relief of subdued linear features that had been mistaken for relict barrier islands, associated with multiple Pleis­ tocene highstands. Claims for wide Holocene sea level oscillations and record highstands rest on the belief, unsupported by reliable sediment data, that the upper ridge lithosomes were essentially wave-built, intertidal and directly correlatable with sea level positions. However, the ridge morphology and dimensions clearly indicate the foredune origins of discussed Florida Gulf shore strandplain ridges. Cited texture parameters and sedimentary structure types also fail to lend independent diagnostic support to the intertidal origins of the highest beach ridge intervals. Wave-cut scarps and associated supratidal narrow terraces yield no independent proof for the postulated high eustatic Holocene sea levels.

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Beach and foredune ridges, sea level indicators, shore features, coastal scarps and lineaments, covered karst, strandplains, Silver Bluff shoreline.

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to review claims Statements on the presence of multiple Plio­ for several late Neogene and Quaternary littoral cene-Quaternary high marine terraces and wave­ lithosomes. Strandplain ridges, cut terraces and cut scarps, suggested indicators of elevated sea scarps are also evaluated as alleged indicators of levels on the northeast Gulf plain, keep reap­ record sea levels and sea level oscillations during pearing in the coastal literature (e.g., RUPERT, the mid- and late Holocene. Higher-than-present 1991; DONOGHUE and TANNER, 1992). Such claims eustatic Gulf stands, as proposed in certain pub­ are based on landform interpretations, including lications, would drastically alter presently ac­ correlated elevations. Flat coastwise surfaces, lin­ cepted sea level curves. ear ridges and steep slopes, apparently of tectonic DISCUSSION: ALLEGED LATE NEOGENE and/or erosional origin, have been diagnosed as AND PRE-SANGAMONIAN PLEISTOCENE marine littoral landforms. SHORELINE INDICATORS COOKE'S (1931) original Atlantic terrace des­ ignations (Penholoway, Talbot, Pamlico, Silver Late Neogene Units and Landforms Bluff), while in fact not applicable to the Gulf The coastal Pleistocene in Mississippi and Al­ coast (OTVOS, 1972) keep recurring even in official abama is directly underlain by a thick undiffer­ publications (e.g., RUPERT, 1991). entiated Neogene alluvial sequence that includes thin intercalated brackish units. The Pliocene age

94150 received and accepted in revision 30 July 1994. of this sequence locally is indicated by marine Gulf Coast Marine Highstands 985 microfossils and pollen (OTVOS, 1991, 1994; WIL­ LARD and EDWARDS, 1994). Eastward, toward and 84·00' 83"00' within northwest Florida, the siliciclastic Neo­ 29·00' gene sequence gradually becomes less alluvial and GA more marine. Miocene and Pliocene carbonate ------~ ------units appear and thicken (OTVOS , 1992). Alluvial o TA LL AHASSEE sediments (in cluding a Pliocene alluvial se ­ quence) form an upland surface that adjoins the narrow Pleistocene coastal plain (Table 1).

"Marine Terraces", Northwest Florida Uplands I(J~o '"S DONOGHUE and TANNER (1992) reiterated ear­ lier assertions by GREMILLION and others (1964), T ANNER (1966), and WINKER and HOWARD(1977), regarding the "relict ocean shoreline" origins of upland surfaces, i.e., plains, ridges, scarps, and \ swales between the Escambia River and penin­ Figure 1. Index map ofalleged pre-Pleistocene ("A"-through­ sular Florida. Inland, not far from the coast, ridge "C"; + 80 m- to-+ 35 m) and Pleistocene; Tates Hell ("D "; elevations range between 35-50 m, and according + 9 m and + 6 m) shorelines (DONOGHUE and TANNER, 1992; to Winker and Howard, on both sides of the Ap­ Figure O. alachicola River reach c. +100 m (Figure 1). Sets of semiparallel topographic ridges , flanked by creek valleys, led to the interpretations of inter­ fluve ridge groups as relict barriers. WINKER and of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Atlantic and HOWARD(1977) acknowledged that these conclu ­ Gulf strandplain complexes (OTVOS, 1985) only sions were solely based on large-scale topo graphic locally exceed 2-4 km, while ridge summits rarely map features, not field studies. rise more than a few meters above the adjacent The flat-topped interfluves are 2-8 km wide. In alluvial or lagoonal deposits of approximately the Winker and Howard's "Gadsden ridge sequence" same age. The late Pleistocene Gulfport barrier in areas of Bristol and Hosford USGS Quadran­ strandplain sectors provide good examples. Their gles, in sharp contrast with real barrier strand­ ridge elevations rarely exceed 2--4 m over the swale plains, upland ridge summits rise 15- 24 m above floor or the adjacent alluvial surface of compa­ adjacentvalley floors. In contrast, the total widths rable age.

EPOCHS, AGES GEOLOGICAL UNITS

Coastal wetlands , lagoonal , inlet , fresh and brackish water delta deposits. Mainland and HOLOCENE island barrier strandplains, beach complexes, alluvium.

w z WISCONSINAN w Eolian inland dune ridges (Blue Mt. Carrabelle area) Valley fill alluvium ~g GLACIAL :5§ Prairie Fm. (alluvial) Gulfport Fm. (barrier complex) ~ SANGAMONIAN n. Biloxi Fm. (neritic-to-estuarine deposits) INTERGLACIAL Undifferentiated earty and pre-Sangamonian alluvial deposits

UPPER Citronelle Fm. (in uplands only) zw w 0 MIDDLE 0 Undifferentiated alluvial and marine siliciclastics :J n. LOWER Perdido Key Fm. (AL-FL border area) Jackson Bluff Fm. - Intracoastal Fm.

w I!:!ffi Choctawhatchee Fm. / Stage :5~ UPPER ::; Pensacola Fm. (=? part of Intracoastal Fm.)

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 11, No.4, 1995 986 Otvos

Field studies indicated that interftuve ridges in its original shore locations (FORCE and RICH, 1989; what Winker and Howard called "Escambia, FOHCE, 1991). Wakulla, and Gadsden Shoreline Sequences" are In contrast, the cited Florida upland ridge se­ composed of laterally and vertically variable, very quences are erosional in origin (OTVOS, 1972). They coarse-to-fine, silty-sand siliciclastic deposits. were incised deeply into late Neogene alluvium, These units represent the late Pliocene Citronelle apparently carved along semi-parallel tectonic Formation between northwest Florida and Mis­ lineaments that developed into stream valleys. sissippi (OTVOS, 1972). In Georgia and adjacent Sedimentary and/or fossil evidence for C}ssociated Florida areas, a correlative unit was named the marine, estuarine, shoreface, and intertidal/su­ Miccosukee Formation (HlJDDLESTlIN, 1988). 'I'he pratidal littoral (barrier) deposits is absent. upland interfluve ridges reveal much greater ver­ tical relief and wider spacing than the littoral Tectonic Scarps and Lineaments (IS. Marine strandplain ridges. In terms of sediment content, Terraces and Wave-Cut Bluffs texture and textural variations, morphology and Sedimentary and fossil evidence for "wave-cut" dimensions, they bear no resemblance to littoral interpretation of Citronelle and Pleistocene scarps barriers. is also missing. No littoral sediments, associated The strongly mottled alluvial Citronelle com­ with wave deposition, have been reported from plex contains abundant peds, fragipans, burrows, scarp toes. Relict barrier ridge slopes are generally root casts and other structures, indicative of in­ gentle, rarely as steep as the cited upland valley tensive paleosol development. Shallow subtidal slopes, cut into fluvial deposits. Steep slopes like Miccosukee lithofacies include Uphiomorpho trace those cut into Citronelle redbeds south of Tal­ fossils in Georgia and adjacent Florida east of the lahassee, at Pensacola, Florida and in Mississippi­ Apalachicola River (HUDDLESTlJN, 1988, and per­ Alabama, apparently follow fault scarps that sonal communication, 1994). However, no littoral bound Citronelle upland surfaces on the south. barrier facies identified by homogenous sand lit h­ The continuity, linearity and relatively fresh ap­ osomes, well- to very well sorted, are known from pearance of Citronelle scarps suggest their tec­ the Citronelle-Miccosukee upland surfaces. tonic origin (OTVOS, 1981). GOETSCHIUS (1971) produced the only note­ Structural lineaments also occur in the late worthy, if unsuccessful, attempt to document lit­ Pleistocene Prairie coastal' surfaces as finely toral marine origins of northwest Florida uplands etched, parallel lineaments. Lateral continuity surfaces with granulometric data. He analyzed between the coastal Mississippi Big Ridge Scarp numerous sediment samples from Liberty and and adjacent contiguous, fine lineaments on the Gadsden Counties outcrops at various elevations, Prairie surface (OTVOS, 1981) offer strong evi­ without adequate stratigraphic control. Despite dence for their tectonic origins. the absence of associated brackish or marine fos­ sils, GOETSCHIUS assigned these surfaces to three Pleistocene Coastal Stratigraphy, Northeast Gulf designated "marine terraces". Intervals that sep­ Coast arate sandier "barrier" Iithosomes, because of their In correlating south Atlantic coastal plain ter­ greater mud content and poorer sorting, were des­ races with alleged marine terraces and scarps on ignated relict lagoons. GOETSCHlllS admitted that the northeast Gulf and the Mississippi Embay­ his "barrier" sands, not as well sorted as Recent ment, COOKE (1945, 1966) correlated comparable barrier sands, are well within the sorting range of topographic elevations of level (H1narine terrace") nearby modern stream channel sands. surfaces and scarp faces on maps, disregarding Following WINKER and HOWAHD in placing in­ underlying deposits. This followed COOKE'S pio­ tertidal designations on ridges of comparable al­ neering designation of seven Atlantic coast ma­ titudes, DONOGHUE and TANNEH (1992) main­ rine terraces, valid indicators of relict shorelines tained that the "Gadsden Sequence" is "roughly and associated lagoonal deposits. correlatable with the Trail Ridge sequence" of the MACNEIL (1950) and others followed in Cooke's northern Florida peninsula. However, the Trail footsteps in attempting to map Gulf coastal plain Ridge is of entirely different origin. It consists of "terraces" without credible sedimentological, well sorted dune sands with occasional placers, stratigraphic, fossil, and morphological criteria. representing a large coast-parallel, transgressive Having been trapped by Cooke's elevation criteria dune complex, decoupled and transported fr0111 for marine terraces, MAHSH (1966, Fig. 22) felt

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compelled to map "Penholoway Sea" deposits at Sangamonian Coastal Complex Pensacola, Florida, drawing the "Sangamonian" Studies on the northeast Gulf coast utilizing shoreline in Citronelle alluvial redbeds at t 21 rn data from several hundred coreholes revealed the elevation. presence of only a single transgressive-regressive Subsequent coastal plain studies (OTVOS, 1991; Pleistocene sedimentary cycle (OTVOS, 1972, 1981, OTVOS and HOWAT, 1992) led to stratigraphic re­ 1991). Deposits of the cycle overlie undifferen­ visions on the basis of sedimentary and geomor­ tiated Pleistocene or Neogene alluvium and near­ phic characteristics of coastal lithofacies (e.!?, shore marine Neogene (OTVOS, 1992). All three DAVIS, 1983; REINgCK and SIN(~H, 1992, and oth­ major components (the alluvial Prairie, the ne­ ers). ritic-to-paralic Biloxi and the Gulfport barrier de­ posits) are well developed on the Apalachicola Coast, as well as along the rest of the northern Pre-Sangamonian Pleistocene Shorelines? Gulf shore (OTVOS, 1992; Figure 3b; Table 1). The presence of multiple Gulf coastal plain lit­ Early Sangamonian sea level on the Apalachi­ toral lithosomes, in the proximity of well-docu­ cola Coast stood at 37 m, possibly - 48 m. Biloxi mented generations of littoral and paralic depos­ depositional facies range from inner shelf to high­ its ("marine terraces") on the Atlantic coastal plain ly brackish inshore environments. Biloxi sedi­ of Florida and Georgia appeared so plausible after ments onlap Prairie alluvium, also interfingering Cooke's early work (19~11) that it is still taken for with and overlain by the Prairie along the Biloxi's granted by some ie.g., HEALY, 1975; RtlPEHT, 1991; landward "featheredge". DONOGHUE and TANNEH, 1992). Continued regional uplift inland lifted Prairie Designations of "marine" terraces and associ­ surfaces well above the Sangamonian peak eus­ ated "wave-cut scarps" usually were solely based tatic sea level of c. t 6 m. In north Hancock Coun­ on compatible elevations and superficial morpho­ ty, Mississippi, the Prairie surface gradually logical similarity. with littoral features alone. A reaches + 18 m elevation; in northwest Florida it map of northwest Florida's coastal and inland sur­ rises above +9 m (OTVOS, 1992). faces that defines "marine terraces" rigidly by Barrier strandplains of the Gulfport prograded elevation intervals is one example (HEALY, 1975). during the Sangamonian eustatic highstand and It shows the entire Panhandle area between 0-- 45 the early stage of the following regression. Scat­ m elevations as underlain by one of COOKE\;, ter­ tered references in the literature to the barrier race surfaces (from oldest to youngest; Hazel­ segments as "islands" notwithstanding, drilling hurst/Brandywine, Coharie, Sunderland, Wicom­ in landward direction turned up no evidence yet ico, Penholoway, Talbot, Pamlico, and Silver for Late Pleistocene lagoons (e.g., Figure 2). Bluff). According to our own studies, only a small fraction of the Florida Panhandle land area is underlain by (Sangamonian and Holocene) lit­ Apalachicola Coast "Relict Immature Barrier toral marine sediments, the rest by late Neogene Island Chains"-Indicators of Multiple Late and Pleistocene alluvium. Pleistocene Highstands? The tectonic setting of the Gulf coastal plain Superficial map interpretations gave rise to the may explain the absence of pre-Sangamonian idea of the Tates Hell Swamp "barrier island coastal barrier ridges and associated depositional trends". MACNEIL'S (1950) original idea of "Pam­ facies. On the northeast Gulf, the uplift of the late lico"- (Prairie) age islands has periodically reap­ Neogene Citronelle alluvial plain to 70-100 m peared in the literature (e.g., DONOGHUE, 1992, north of the narrow Pleistocene coastal plain re­ and D()NO(~HtIE and TANNEH, 1992, p. 235). Drill sulted from a broad regional movement, accom­ sample studies and a reexamination of topo graph­ panied in the entire area by deep, steep erosional ic features refutes the validity of this approach gully and stream incision. Except for limited coast­ (OTVOS, 1990a, 1992). parallel terraces of alluvial origin (OTVOS, 1991), The alleged Pleistocene island chains 16-20 km surface erosion stripped the region of all pre-San­ inland were portrayed as two, 100-400 m wide, c. gamonian Pleistocene littoral and nearshore rna­ 10 km long arcuate "sand bodies" in Tates Hell rine units. Geodetic leveling is (HOLI)AHL and Swamp, separated by a distance of 5 km (TANNER, MORRISON, 1974) indicated, even today, by uplift 1966). Based on their linearity and perceived to­ not far inland from the present shore. pographic expression, the "sand bodies" were des-

•Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 11, No.4, 199[) 988 Otvos

,".11f-(·~:::.;f. ··.34~·"'·.:-:,·: ~ 33 .•.. Holocene J:..v ;;:;;.::-.;;.-::i;.a~ . ':"-....;. .. 1 •••:.:3~~~- 1- .'~ .•~-=-- Apalachicola Pleistocene 31 St. v; ~ A./29 30 "ce"t I". Bay , 39 Wisconsinan eolian r-;--, sand dunes L...!...... J ~~ ~ ~v 01 5 10km

Inland "rldqes"

Figure 2. Apalachicola Coast Pleistocene units, NW Florida. Drillhole locations and surface geology (OTVOS, 1992).

ignated as remnants of two (+6 m and +9 m) surface and subsurface. However, while littoral Pleistocene shorelines. TANNER claimed that the deposits are well developed along the mainland "relict island" bodies rise 1-4 m above the adja­ shore, they are absent from the Tates Hell "ridge" cent plain. Correctly, BRENNEMAN (1957) men­ areas (Figures 2 and 3A,B). Corehole #6, drilled tions only 60-120 em surface relief, associated with through the northern "ridge", for instance, did these narrow, discontinuous slightly elevated strips not encounter any marine or brackish deposits. of ground. Brenneman's sediment samples, taken The muddy Prairie sands in the boring were iden­ from just below the land surface, revealed poor tical in composition and appearance to Prairie sorting. Abandoned logging railroad embank­ sands elsewhere and did not represent discrete ments, located on these strips, slightly enhanced linear sand bodies. the ridge elevations (Figure 4, right). BRENNEMAN and 'TANNER (1958) invoked a A detailed study of 36 Apalachicola Coast drill­ massive influx of muddy delta deposits to explain cores and surface geology (OTVOS, 1992) indicated poor sorting of these "not extensively reworked, that Tates Hell Swamp is directly underlain by immature barrier island deposits". Poor sorting fossil-free, poorly-to-very poorly sorted oxidized would be most atypical of beach sands on even silty sands and sands of the Prairie Formation. relatively low energy, nonglacial shores, for in­ Neogene siliciclastics and carbonates occur be­ stance Louisiana's. However, from kurtosis values neath (OTVOS, 1990a, 1992). The Prairie, at 12­ of the muddy sands alone, and DONOGHUE and 14 m depth is underlain by karstified Late Neo­ T ANNEH (1992, p. 2:)5) paradoxically assumed, not gene carbonates that rise near the land surface low-energy but "moderate to high wave energy", toward the southeast. condiLions for the inferred island shores. If the Tates Swamp "sand ridges" were relict Slightly raised Tates Hell "ridges" actually were barriers, they would be associated with Sanga­ partly related to dissolution processes in shallow monian marine littoral and paralic units in the underlying carbonates. Covered karst develop-

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 11, No.4, 1995 Gulf Coast Marine Highstands 989

A A' wsw ENE 29 30 31 32 33 34 26 27 .20' m APALACHICOLA .5

-10

-so

-20

-100 -30

-40

-150

-50 ~r_,)(::::;) a HOLOCENE 10 km -ISO ' NEOGENE PLEISTOCENE o GULFPORT FM C3 SIUCIClASTlC BILOXI FM BRACKISH FACIES _ LIMESTONE· UNCONSOLIOATED MARINE FACIES ffiII]] CALCAREOUS

PRAIRIE FM (1) ~:-~

8 N 5 E 5 6 TATES HELL SWAMP 12 18 44 45 46 39 .10 m ST_ GEORGE ISLAND

o

-20

-40

-60 -2

o ml I , Line 8 o 10 km Figure 3_ A,B. Apalachicola Coast cross sections. A- -thick Pleistocene sequence, overlying the Neogene sequence, Cape San Blas­ Apalachicola River cross section: B- -T ates Hell Swamp cross section, Note thick Prairie alluvium and absence of non-terrigenous Pleistocene deposits (Orvos, 1990, 1992) in Drillhole n6, alleged site of one " immature barrier island".

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. II, No, 4, 1995 990 Ot vos

Figure 4. Left and right. Pr oirie alluvial coas tal surface with covered ka rst morphology, USGS Tates Hell Swamp Orthoph oto Quadrangle, NW Fto rida , 198 1. O- irregu larly sha ped , sha llow depressions; S - circu lar a nd ova l sinkhole depressions. " Ridge ' sets I and 2- frac ture-tfan ked, d isconti nuous, slightly eleva ted nar row bel ts (alleged " bar rier island" gen erations of MACNEIL, 1950; BRENNEM AN and TANNI.:n, 1958; and OONO<: HIIIi and T ANNP. R, 1992). Arr ows without letters point to straight, fracture-defined depression rim s. Contours in meters.

.lour nal of Coastal Resear ch, Vol. II, No.4. 1995 Gulf Coast Marine Highstands 991

Figure 4. Continued. ment manifests itself in interconnected broad, ir­ Straight depression rims reveal a rectangular regular, amoeba-shaped surface depressions (Fig ­ fracture network. Parallel frac tures bound nar­ ure 4, left and right), previ ously unreported. The row, slightly elevated, slightly better drained and largest, less than 1-2 m deep, are 4.5- 8 km wide. therefore ligh ter-toned zones. As slight " inter­ Numerous oval-cir cular sinkhole outlines, 150-300 fluve highs", they sepa rate adjoining depressions. m in diameter were imprinted in rims and floors Discontinu ous, flat- topp ed stri ps on aerial pho­ of the large shallow basin s (Figure 4,Ie ft and right). togra phs and topog raphic maps created the false 992 Otvos appearance of high, elongated ridges (Figure 4, Iantic coasts. His mid-Holocene + 2 m sea level left and right). on a Miami area reef platform (FAIRBRIDGE, 1992) These unique features mark the only northern is based on the carbonate fraction of apparently Gulf Pleistocene coastal area with covered karst reworked sand, associated with much younger topography. The young drainage network is still mangrove roots. This unit is actually located with­ poorly integrated. On the northern Gulf, covered in the present intertidal zone (see: HOFFMEISTER karst with deep depressions was previously re­ and MULTER, 1965, p. 874), not above the present ported only from nearby Citronelle uplands (OT­ intertidal range. VOS, 1976). WHITE (1970) believed that at its Miami type Adopting COOKE'S approach to terrace desig­ location the Silver Bluff formed in part and is nation on the Apalachicola Coast, HEALY (1975) being maintained by occasionally recurring storm and RUPERT (1991) combined Sangamonian ma­ wave erosion. rine barrier sectors with those of extensive Prairie The existence of a high "Silver Bluff" shoreline alluvium, under the heading "Pamlico marine ter­ and associated lithosomes could not be verified race". They also merged parts of the Pleistocene on the Gulf seaward of the Sangamonian littoral Prairie ("Pamlico") plain with Late Holocene and complex. Sea level data (e.g., NELSON and BEAY, Recent barrier and subaerial delta surfaces. This 1971; OTVOS, 1991) also indicate that between 6 unusual blend of disparate surfaces was labeled and 4 ka BP sea level rose from c. -7 m, to - 3 m. the "0-10-ft Silver Bluff Terrace"; its age, des­ ignated as Pleistocene or Holocene. Suggested Evidence for Middle and Late Mid-Wisconsinan Highstand? Holocene Highstands Although uniformly dated worldwide at 135­ Shore Scarps and Small Incised Terraces. STAPOR 105 ka, highest deposits of the last marine (San­ (1973,1975) described scarps and associated small gamonian) highstand, on occasion, have been as­ terraces at +1.5-3 m above sea level, cut in Pleis­ signed to the Mid-Wisconsinan (BRENNEMAN and tocene barrier ridges at several Alabama and TANNER, 1958) and sediments of the second youn­ northwest Florida locations. His belief in mid­ gest highstand, to the Sangamonian Interglacial Holocene highstands in part was based on the (e.g., MARSH, 1966, for other references, In: OTVOS fresh appearance of a high mainland scarp in NW and HOWAT, 1992). In the upper Midwest where Florida that faces an archeological site, seaward. the idea originated, the concept of a mid-Wiscon­ The site included Norwood fiber-tempered ce­ sinan interglacial has long been discarded. More ramics of 3-4 ka BP age (STAPOR, 1973; BRALEY, recently and without more validity, the brief 1982). Because it was thought incapable of out­ Farmdalian interstade (c. 28-24 ka BP) in the lasting a postulated record transgression above midst of the Wisconsinan glaciation has been mis­ present sea level, the Indian midden was consid­ takenly identified by some (In: OTVOS and HOWAT, ered to postdate the scarp. 1992) as a time of a sea level that closely ap­ However, survival of the archeological site in proached the present one. itself does not represent credible evidence. No associated and dated littoral sediments were found Alleged Mid-Holocene Record Sea Levels to prove the alleged highstand. At the same time, Cooke and MacNeil were among the first to hundreds of Indian sites, regularly exposed to suggest extreme high mid-Holocene sea levels on storm erosion, still endure in intertidal-low su­ the southeast Atlantic coast. Later, PARKER and pratidal shore zones. Several sites, presently ex­ COOKE (1944) introduced the term "Silver Bluff" posed on the flat inner shelf floor had not been in southeast Florida for a late Pleistocene wave­ eliminated even by the overriding transgression cut scarp, thought to be indicative of raised (+1.8­ (e.g., DUNBAR, et al., 1992). 3.0 m) sea levels. Between Wakulla County and A narrow cut-terrace of Magnolia Bluff, on the Pensacola, Florida, MACNEIL (1950) tentatively east bank of the Apalachicola estuary, carved from correlated a "Silver Bluff shoreline" with a pos­ Gulfport barrier sands was similarly cited in sup­ tulated + 1.8-2.4 m sea level, associating it with port of the late Holocene highstand. DONOGHUE the mid-Holocene climatic optimum, 6-4 ka BP. (1993) dates its development as preceding that of Fairbridge repeatedly claimed mid-and late Apalachicola Bay by barrier islands that emerged Holocene record sea levels on the Gulf and At- c. 4 ka BP. In this view, wave intensities dimin-

.lournal of Coastal Research, Vol. 11. No.4, 199)") Gulf Coast Marine Highstands 993

Figure 5. Erosional terrace and scarp, cut into Late Plei st ocene barrier at c. 0.9-2 m above sea level. Narrow Mississippi Sound beach. left. East Belle Fontaine Beach, Missi ssippi. ished afterward, precluding scarping and terrace occurs off the Gulfport barrier toe . In contrast, it cutting. is an aggradational feature. Actually, it is the Mainland shore bluff scarps, including that of surface of a late Holocene dune strandplain that 12 m high Royal Bluff cut into a large dune (OT­ rises to + 1.5- + 3.0 m elevations. Naturally, this VOS, 1992), however, testify to highly erosive storm surface is unrelated to record Holocene sea levels, events even on relatively protected bay shores. except indirectly to the cur rent one. Storm surges here reached +2.4 m during the 1972 and 1985 hurricanes. In Search of "Highstand" Sediments A similar, narrow incised terrace at +0.9 to +2 Wave-Constructed Ridges; Eolian and Swash m elevation illustrates the same point on Missis­ Lamination. TANNER and STAPOR (1975, 1991) and sippi's mainland shore. The small Belle Fontaine STAPOR et al. (1989, 1991) asserted that strand­ Beach terrace in Jackson County was also carved plains of Florida beach ridges formed essentially by storms from Gulfport barrier sands and hu­ by wave runup and swash-backwash deposition, mate-cemented sandstones. Approximately 100 m not eolian processes. Differences in ridge set el­ long and 0.5-6.5 m wide, it is bracketed by the 1­ evations were thus attributed to oscillating Late 2-m backshore bluff on the Mississippi Sound Holocene sea levels. Narrow, often steep active shore and a lower scarp, in landward direction foredunes on west Florida's Lee County barrier (Fig. 5). islands, on St. Joseph barrier spit and other Ap­ Another "marine terrace", regarded as high­ alachicola Coast strandplain shores have been re­ stand indicator by STAPOR (1973, 1975) at Pen­ jected as alternate models of ridge development. sacola Naval Air Station in northwest Florida, Statistical parameters of sedimentary textures and

.lournal of Coastal Res ea rch, Vol. I I, No.4, 199:; 994 Otvos

Figure 6. Horizontal and gently cross-lam ina ted eolian sand layers that mimic foreshore lamination. Active dune field, cut by retreating 2-3 m Gulf backbeach scarp. East of Dauphin Island Fishing Pier, Alabama. (Scale units: in and em)

certain structures were invoked as tools in distin­ and eolian sand ratios were established also re­ guishing between eolian and subaqueous littoral main unclear and therefore unconvincing. facies . In addition, the plotting of averaged group val­ Distinguishing Subaqueous Facies by Texture ues ("suite statistics") not of individual samples, Parameters. TANNER (1991) used mean, sorting, prevents recognition of overlaps between eolian skewness and kurtosis st.atistics, and statistical and intertidal sample fields on the diagrams. This parameter cross-plots to interpret fifty-nine St. may lead to preconceived and arbitrary facies as­ Vincent strandplain ridge sam ples as intert.idal in signment of certain samples to given facies cat­ origin. Low skewness values of sample sets were egories before their statistical parameters are sub­ claimed as hallmarks of "mature" beach, not of mitted t.o further calculations. eolian sands. Crossplots of kurtosis and sorting Facies Identification by Sedimentary Structures. values were correlated with topographic low and Parallel and low-angle cross laminae, described high ridge sets. Low ridges were viewed as markers from the Apalachicola Coastas examples of "swash of marine lowstands, tall ones as highstand in­ zone bedding". occur in beach ridges as high as 3 dicators. m above mean sea level (STAPOR, 1975). Near­ One major objection t.othis approach is the lack horizontal, parallel- and low-angle cross stratifi­ of objective, empirical field comparison and ver ­ cation was postulated to be an intertidal feature. ification, based on a sufficiently large number of This infers their formation during a higher-than­ samples, obtained from a variety of modern de­ present Holocene sea level stage (STAPOR et al., positional environments. While TANNER asserted 1991, Figure 5). that in most beach ridges the eolian sand com­ However, these sedimentary structures are not ponent amounts to 5-20'10, the method and its restricted to intertidal sands. Laminae in eolian theoretical foundations on which t.he intertidal ridges may mimic the semiparallel bedding and

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. l l , No.4, 1995 Gulf Coast Marine Highstands 995 low-angle cross lamination in the beach foreshore are very low, generally of 1.2-2.7 m ridge eleva­ (DAVIS, 1983, Figure 12-11). This happens in dune tion. Vertical exaggeration of the cross sections cuts, perpendicular or at low angles to the sand creates the impression of steep ridge slopes (Fig­ transport direction. As one example, an eroding ure 8, right). Ridge top elevation values and ra­ backbeach scarp that cuts through a very exten­ diometric dates were offered as proof for higher­ sive and active dune complex at Dauphin Island's than-present Holocene Gulf levels. Fishing Pier, Alabama, exposes the very same None of the fossil beach ridge sets on the islands "beach"-lamination types 2-3 m above Gulf level were considered eolian by these authors, and their (Figure 6). summit elevations were regarded directly corre­ In addition, during temporarily elevated sea latable with late Holocene highstand episodes. levels not accompanied by significant erosive ac­ Stapor and others (1991; their Figures 6a,b, 14) tivity, swash action by large, constructive swell cited the "Wulfert" and "La Costa" (Lacosta; Cayo waves may deposit low-angle cross.-stratified sets Costa) ridge generations, with elevations that and horizontal, planar swash laminae on land­ match those of current foredunes (Figure 8, left ward- and seaward beach ridge slopes (see also: and right), as evidence for a + 1.2 m marine high­ Figure 14, HEQUETTE and RUIZ, 1991). stand between 2-1.5 ka BP. Equally puzzling, other ("wave-built"?) ridges, Geomorphic Argument. Origins of the Shell formed as recently as the last century when eu­ Component static sea level was slightly lower than presently, Narrow, 2-4 m sand ridges of well sorted, white, apparently were also related to + 1-3 m marine medium sand, typical of Holocene mainland and highstands (Figure 8, left and right). island Gulf strandplains, clearly are not wave­ In agreement with Stapor and others, that the builtintertidal berm (swash) ridges (Figures 7A,B). highest "swash" island ridges formed during rec­ The uneroded, steep slopes of relatively very re­ ord marine highstands, DONOGHUE and TANNER cent strandplain ridges (e.g., Figures 7A,B) testify (1992, p. 239) seized on Stapor's 3.0-2.7 ka dates, to their beach foredune origins. Eolian aggrada­ claimed by him as derived from the highest ridges tion is the only mechanism that builds such ridges and thus reflecting +2.4-3.0 m Holocene high­ appreciably above high tide level under normal stands. It is noted, however, that the cited dates wave conditions. When the wind-transported or­ were obtained not from the highest but lower (0.6­ igin of the upper ridge lithosomes is recognizable, 1.5 m) ridge sets (see: STAPOR et al. 1991, Figures only the base of the eolian interval, related to the 2,9, 14). sea level during the ridge-forming time interval, As with other Gulf coast examples, the conclu­ acts as a constraint in marking sea level positions. sion that at least the upper ridge lithosomes (Figs. It defines the maximum elevation of the under­ 7a,b) are eolian in origin and the ridge summits lying intertidal ridge interval. are only indirectly related to late Holocene sea The presence of large shell fragments in coastal levels, is inescapable. ridges especially on shell-rich, quartz sand-starved shores, may not be explained by eolian transport St. Vincent Island Strandplain; Ridge Elevations, mechanism, only by locally nondestructive over­ Ages, and Island Genesis wash processes. Large, constructive swell waves overtop dune ridges during raised sea level epi­ (a) Ridge Elevations and Sand Granulometry sodes. Shelly sand layers lodged on dune surfaces, as Perceived Indicators of Sea Level Fluctuations as in the past on southwest Louisiana's cheniers, Sizable St. Vincent Island (Figure 2), located occasionally contributes to ridge aggradation. off the Apalachicola Coast west of the Apalachi­ cola Delta in northwest Florida, is the site of one NORTHEAST GtJLF COASTAL SITES­ of the most spectacular Gulf coast strandplains. ARGUMENTS FOR HOLOCENE It is composed of a number of ridge generations. HIGHSTANDS Utilizing their previously cited approach that based on granulometric statistics assigns intertid­ Central West Florida (Lee County) Barrier al origin to beach ridges and directly correlates Islands ridge summit elevations with sea level stands, STAPOR et al. (1987,1991) assembled numerous TANNER and coauthors postulated seven-to-nine radiocarbon dates from six barriers. The islands significant sea level changes during island devel-

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 11, No.4, 1995 996 Otvos

Figure 7. A,B. Examples of steep-sloped late Holocene strandplain ridges; relict foredunes-not intertidal berm (swash) ridges. Apalachicola Coast, NW Florida. A-northeast of Cape San BIas Plantation, E of Drillh ole 30 location (Figure 1 in Or vos, 1992); B-just south of entrance to Peninsula State Park, central St. Joseph Spit (S of Drillhole 21, Figure 2). Ridge elevations: c. 3.5-4.0 m above road level (Orvos, 1992).

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 11, No.4, 1995 Gulf Coast Marine Highstands 997 opment (e.g., STAPOR, 1975; TANNER et al., 1989; tween two, somewhat higher, wide ridge sets (map: TANNER (1991), DONOGHUE and TANNER, 1992). TANNER, 1993a, Figure La), formed during a sub­ recent "Little Ice Age lowstand". (b) Ridge Elevation Differences and Localized Starting c. 1450 A.D., this cooler interval lasted Subsidence until the first halfof the 19th century (VAN ANDEL, In contrast with the 4.5-5.7 m (15-19 ft) max­ 1981). In other views, it was more restricted (1570­ imum ridge elevations in the younger southern 1730 AD; e.g., SCHOVE, 1987, p. 359). Certain de­ island area, the generally subsea-to- + 1.2 m ele­ tailed historical records (e.g., TERS, 1987, p. 209) vation range of the northern ridge tops seem in­ strongly indicate that these climate fluctuations fluenced by differentiated and in part localized did not appreciably, or even recognizably impact compactional ridge subsidence into underlying global sea levels. muddy sediments. Highly conspicuous lateral TANNER (1993a) proposed ridge-set correlation variations in elevation within given ridge sets may between St. Vincent and a north Danish strand­ in part have the same origins. plain. In view of the substantial isostatic read­ Due to the great morphologic and size similar­ justment and other factors that affected Scandi­ ities between the least eroded, youngest strand­ navian shores, the correlation is highly plain ridges and present active beach foredunes, problematical. there is little doubt about the essentially eolian nature of the beach ridges. They may reflect past New Orleans Barrier Trend-Mid-Holocene sea level stands only indirectly. High Sea Level Evidence? A buried mid-to-late Holocene barrier complex, (c) Island History; Archeology and Beach composed mostly of shallow subtidal sand litho­ Ridge Chronology somes is covered by late Holocene delta deposits Radiometric Dates. Two shell dates, both from under eastern New Orleans, Louisiana. Ridge the northeastern island corner (BRALEY, 1982, and summits at a few locations extend above sea level STAPOR, 1975), were the only ones published from (+0.5 m in New Orleans and at Lake St. Cathe­ the island. rine, to the east). The first originated from one of the cultural STAPOR et al. (1987, p.152; 1991, p. 833) mis­ layers of the sizable Paradise Point shell mound; takenly cited OTVOS (1978) as suggesting that ex­ Site 8Fr71 (1320 yr BP; corrected to 1710 yr BP; posed ridge summits and perhaps high subsurface BRALEY, 1982, p. 38). On archeological grounds, sand lithosomes, apparently suspected by Stapor BRALEY expressed some misgiving about the date's as intertidal in origin, reflect amid-Holocene, c. dependability. STAPOR (1975) and following him, 5 ka BP, marine highstand. Shallow submarine BRALEY (1982) believed that the date reflects sea deposits, including bars and shoals, occur in the level rise that partially drowned the mound. A shallow subsurface. Identifiable shallow subtidal subsequent sea level decline was also assumed. deposits do not occur above present sea level. Compactable and thick underlying muddy units Exposed sand bodies, strongly altered by soil may have contributed to subsidence of the mound. processes have been considered relics of supratid­ The slightly elevated position of muddy deposits al, eolian bodies that probablycapped islands that of unknown origin, over one cultural layer, is hardly were part of the barrier complex (OTVOS, 1978). an independent proof for elevated sea level stage. Portions of the dune lithosomes may have sub­ The second dated sample available from the sequently subsided below Gulf level. A compli­ Island (c. 2110 yr BP; STAPOR, 1975), from the cating factor is the uncertain rate of still con­ Mallard Slough shore area, was from quartz sand tinuing subsidence. Judging from historic subsi­ taken near the eroding east terminus of a beach dence rates based on tidal gage records; they var­ ridge. The sand may have come from a shallow ied considerably within the New Orleans area subtidal interval, located beneath a subsequently (OTVOS, 199Gb). removed ridge sector. A 5 m thick, compactable, "soupy" mud unit underlies the sand (Stapor, Louisiana Cheniers-Postulated Proof of Late written comm.; OTVOS, 1992, p. 230). Holocene Record Highstand? Despite the lack of associated absolute dates, Employing granulometric parameter crossplots TANNER (1993a) suggested that a large part of the and ridge elevation-sea level correlation in Louis­ island, a 1 km wide Ridge Set G, bracketed be- iana's chenier plain, DONOGHUE and TANNER (1992, 998 Otvos

c==J Sanibel I (3000-2000 Yr. BP)

1:::::::::::::1 Wulfert (2000-1500 Yr. BP)

[>::::::~'::::-J Buck Key (1500-1000 Yr. BP)

c=J La Costa (1000-500 Yr. BP)

~ A ~ ~n ~ 8

~ ~ ~ ~ o LACOSTA IS. C' I-- U5.. 0 I km ~

Beach ridge patterns (diagrammatic) = _=_==_--- Constructed 1860-1952 ~~------Constructed Prior to 1860

Calcarenite exposures •

Mangroves E --~~-+---- E I Sampling Sites 1 Indian site @

Pleistocene (?) dune

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 11, No.4, 1995 Gulf Coast Marine Highstands 999

A/RIDGE.S BUILT 1860-1950 A' 9'~III

MS~~ ~52 0~!.LJm O.5km 1- --', LA COSTA ISLAND

B{RIDGES BUILT 1860-1950 B' 9' \-. [[]

6 '~~- " ._ . 10 M:~~"' > ; _ . =. ~ LA COSTA ISLAND r

I ii SANIBEl I (3000-2000 YA. BP) ::~ 2 m 1:::;:::;:::;:::;1 WULFERT (2000-1500 YR. BP) 3' I ;\: 1 BUCK KEY (1500-1000 YR. BP)

MSL L-,..;-:";':"-;'_,-,-..;...... LA COSTA ISLAND c=J LA COSTA (1000-500 YR. BP) o 1500 3000 FEET c=;a MANGROVES I C-14 SAMPLING SITE VERTICAL EXAGGERATION 100: 1 m

Figure 8. Left and right. Late Holocene and historic beach ridge sets, Lacosta (La Costa, Cayo Costa) Island, central West Florida coast (after STAPOR et al., 1991). Left-map of ridge generations; right-profiles across Island. Gulf shore on left. Compare "high­ sea level" Wulfert set summit level, section C with number 2; historic (subrecent) ridge sets.

p. 239) and TANNER (1993b,c) concluded that sea during chenier and mudflat progradation. The level oscillations of 1-2 m, respectively, 1-6 m(!) postulated major swings between low- and high­ amplitudes did typically take place in the past stands would translate into onlap/offlap relation­ three thousand years. Chenier ridges formed dur­ ships. These would be drastically different and ing Late Holocene highstands; inter-ridge lows, more complex than what is well established from during lowstands. drill data (BYRNE et al., 1959). Highstands, in Detailed lithofacies and biofacies studies addition, would have also laid down Holocene sed­ (BYRNE, et al., 1959, Plate 2; and other publica­ iments far north of the present seaward limit of tions) revealed simple vertical and horizontal fa­ Pleistocene surface deposits. cies relationships of the Louisiana chenier com­ Record high Holocene sea levels would not be plex. Microfossil and lithofacies data established required to explain the large proportion of shell the depths and shore positions of subtidal-near­ debris in chenier ridges. Shell debris occurs as shore and inner shelf-bay facies. Intertidal facies high as 3.3 m (11 ft) above mean sea level in Oak were also identified in ridges and intervening Grove Ridge chenier (750-850 AD; BYRNE et al., mudflats and marsh deposits. 1959, Fig. 8), although most cheniers reach only The consistently shallow depths of subtidal­ 1.2-2.0 m above mean sea level. Those had been intertidal depositional facies provides ample ev­ more often impacted by overwash. idence for a quite stable late Holocene sea level As to a much lesser extent in Lee County, Flor-

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 11, No.4, 1995 1000 Otvos

ida, non-erosive wave action, probably large swells, features that mimic coastal landforms. These were during temporarily raised sea levels lodged abun­ carved from alluvial deposits, often along parallel dant shell debris on dune slopes on this quartz fractures of tectonic origin. Interftuve ridges and sand-starved coast. Landward-dipping washover (tectonic) scarps that superficially resemble bar­ laminae, also illustrated by KACZOROWSKI (1978), rier ridges and wave-cut scarps formed, as a result. added large volumes of shelly sand to the chenier In a unique coastal plain sector with karstic land­ ridges. forms, surface depressions combined with appar­ ently tectonic lineaments mistakenly led to claims Suggested Evidence from an Alabama of late Pleistocene marine highstands and asso­ Archeological Site: Inferred High Holocene Sea ciated shore ridges at + 6 and +9 m elevations. Levels The second category involves littoral litho­ HOLMES and TRICKEY (1974) described three somes and landforms. These are equally unsuited mud layers, sandwiched between radiocarbon­ as Holocene highstand indicators. Despite their dated cultural horizons in an Indian mound on backshore dune ridge morphology, several au­ Tensaw River, c. 42 km inland from Mobile Bay. thors regarded them essentially as intertidal. Sed­ An episode of mud deposition at +0.6 m, at one iment granulometry and structures provide no time between 4100-3090 yr BP, and another at convincing evidence for assuming their intertidal +1 m, in the 2040-3090 yr interval coincided with origin and for relating ridge elevations to assumed times of assumed highstands, marked in a 1961 sea-level oscillations. sea level curve. In the absence of sedimentary and fossil evi­ Two high sea level episodes, associated with dence, elevated scarp toes, notches, and narrow mud-emplacing flood events were suggested. terraces, cut into Pleistocene barrier sand ridges However, tropical storm tides in Mobile Bay or on lagoonal shores, fall in the same category. They recurring river floods from inland may well ac­ were excavated and maintained by recurring storm count for a minor stream level rise, a logical al­ processes at a time when sea level did not stand ternative to longer-term sea level fluctuation. Thus significantly lower or higher than today. far, this highly isolated archeological data fail to Higher-than-present Holocene littoral litho­ make a convincing case for record Gulf highstand somes are abundant in areas affected by postgla­ levels. cial isostatic rebound. Similarly, even brief epi­ sodes of postulated raised sea levels would have CONCLUSIONS left ample sedimentary proofof onlap behind. Thin Despite a sizable body of literature published Holocene littoral and paralic lithosomes of such since C. W. COOKE'S pioneering Atlantic coast record highstands would overlie oxidized Pleis­ contributions six decades ago, valid evidence ex­ tocene surface deposits a few feet above sea level. ists only for a single Pleistocene highstand. A few Their absence on the Pleistocene coastal plain pre-Sangamonian Pleistocene coastwise terrace represents a decisive argument against assumed remnants, composed of alluvial deposits have been record highstands. Well documented mid -to-late identified. Most alluvial and all marine units have Holocene Gulf sea level positions (e.g., NELSON long been stripped by erosion during the still con­ and BRAY, 1971; OTVOS, 1991) also refute such tinuing regional uplift that raised the late Plio­ speculations. cene alluvial plain of the coastal uplands to + 75­ 90 m (OTVOS, 1991, 1993). Attempted correlations ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of pre-Sangamonian southeast Atlantic littoral I appreciate correspondence, pertinent refer­ features with northeast Gulf coastal surfaces and ences, and reprints received from Drs. Stapor, other allegedly littoral landforms were based on Tanner, and Donoghue in the course of manu­ superficial similarities. script preparation. Incisive and highly construc­ The Late Pleistocene Gulfport barrier repre­ tive editorial comments by Richard A. Davis, Jr. sents the only Pleistocene marine unit exposed in and an unnamed reviewer were received with sin­ the coastal plain surface. It is part of the San­ cere gratitude. gamonian sedimentary cycle that includes alluvial and neritic-to-inshore members as well. LITERATURE CITED

Disputed indicators of marine highstands fall BRALEY, C.O., 1982. Archeological testing and evalua­ into two categories. The first involves topographic tion of the Paradise Point Site (8Fr71), St. Vincent

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 11, No.4, 1995 Gulf Coast Marine Highstands 1001

National Wildlife Refuge, Franklin County, Florida. HOLDAHL S.R. and MORRISON, N.L., 1974. Regional in­ Report, Southeastern Wildlife Services, Inc. Athens, vestigations of vertical crustal movements in the U. Ga, 102 p. S. using precise releveling and mareograph data. Tec­ BRENNEMAN, L., 1957. Preliminary Sedimentary Study tonophysics, v. 23, p. 373-390. of Certain Sand Bodies in the Apalachicola Delta. HOLMES, N.H., JR. and TRICKEY, E.B., 1974. Late Ho­ M.S. Thesis, Florida State University, 151 p. locene sea-level oscillations in Mobile Bay. American BRENNEMAN, L. and TANNER, W.F., ]958. Possible aban­ Antiquity, 39, 122-124. doned barrier islands in panhandle Florida. Journal KACZOROWSKI, R.T., 1978. The Chenier Plain and Mod­ of Sedimentary Petrology, 28, ~42 -~~44. ern Coastal Environments, Southwestern Louisiana. BYRNE, J.V.; LEROY, D.O., and RILEY, CH.M., 1959. The In: ETTER, E.M., (ed.) Guidebook, Houston Geolog­ chenier plain and its stratigraphy, southwestern Lou­ ical Society, 1-55. isiana. Transactions of the Gulf Coast Association MACNEIL, F.S., 1950. Pleistocene shore lines in Florida Geological Societies, 9, p. 2~37-260. and Georgia. LIS Geological Survey Professional Pa­ COOKE, C.W., 1931. Seven coastal terraces in the South­ per 221-F, 95-106. eastern States. WashinRton Academy of Sciences MARSH, O.T., 1966. Geology of Escambia and Santa Rosa Journal, 21, 503-513. Counties, Western Florida Panhandle. Florida Geo­ COOKE, C.W., 1945. Geology of Florida. Florida Geo­ logical Survey Bulletin No. 46, 140 p. logical Survey Bulletin, 29, :t~9. NELSON, H.F. and BRAY, E.E., 1971. Stratigraphy and COOKE, C.W., 1966. Emerged Quaternary shore lines in history of the Holocene sediments in the Sabine-High the Mississippi Embayment. Smithsonian Miscella­ Island area, Gulf of Mexico. Deltaic Sedimentation. neous Collections, 149, 41. SEPM Special Publication 15,48-77. DAVIS, R.A., JR., 1983. Depositional Systems. New York: OTVOS, E.G., 1972. Pre-Sangamon beach ridges along Prentice-Hall, 669p. the northeastern Gulf Coast-fact or fiction? Trans­ DONOGHUE, J.F., 1992. Late Quaternary coastal and in­ actions of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological ner shelf stratigraphy, Apalachicola Delta region, Societies, 22, 223-228. Florida. Sedimentary Geology, 80, 29~~-:j04. OTVOS, E.G., 1976. "Pseudokarst" and "pseudokarst DONOGHUE, J.F., 199:3. Northeastern Gulf of Mexico terrains"-basic problems of terminology. Bulletin of Coast. GSA Southeast Section Field Trip Guidebook the Geological Society of America, 87, 1021-1027. Notes, Tallahassee, Florida, 5-1:t OTVOS, E.G., 1978. New Orleans-south Hancock Holo­ DONOGHUE, J.F. and TANNER, WM.F., 1992. Quaternary cene barrier trends and origins of Lake Pontchartrain. terraces and shorelines of the Panhandle Florida re­ Transactions of the Gulf Coast Association Geolog­ gion. 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In: nary Coasts of the United States: Marine and Lacus­ BURRAGE, D.D., (ed.), Long Term Implications of Sea trine Systems, SEPM Special Publication No. 48, Level Change for the Mississippi and Alabama 450p. Coastlines. Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consor­ FORCE, E.R., 1991. Geology of Titanium-mineral De­ tium et al., 57-68. posits. Geological Society of America Special Paper, OTVOS, E.G., 1991. Quaternary geology of the Gulf of No. 259, 112 p. Mexico coastal plain (with DuBAR, J.R. and others). FORCE, E.R. and RICH, F.~J., 1989. Geologic evolution of The Geology of North America. Geological Society of Trail Ridge eolian heavy mineral sand and underlying America DNAG Series, K-2, 583-610. peat, northern Florida. [T.S. Geological Survey Pro­ OTVOS, E.G., 1992. Quaternary evolution of the Apa­ fessional Paper No. 1499, IG p. lachicola coast, northeastern Gulf Coast. Quaternary GOETSCHIUS, D.W., 1971. Preliminary Sedimentological Coasts of the United States: Marine and Lacustrine and Geomorphological Study of Certain High Terrace Systems, SEPM Special Publication 48, p. 221-232. Sands Between the Ochlockonee and Apalachicola OTVOS, E.G., in press, Mississippi Gulf Coast and Ad­ Rivers, Liberty and Gadsden Counties, Florida. M.S. jacent Areas, Geologic Evolution, Stratigraphy and Thesis, Florida State University, 99 p. Coastal Geomorphology. In: GOHN, G.S.; REINHARDT, HEALY, H.G., 1975. Terraces and Shorelines of Florida. J., and RUBIN, M. (eds.), Physical Stratigraphy and Florida Bureau of Geology Map Series No. 71. Depositional History of the Quaternary Sediments in HEQUETTE, A. and RlTIZ, M.-H., 1991. Spit and barrier the USGS-Belle Fontaine No.1 Corehole, Jackson island migration in the southeastern Canadian Beau­ County, Mississippi, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin. fort Sea. Journal of Coastal Research, 7, 677 -698. OTVOS, E.G. and HOWAT, W.E., 1992. 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PARKER, G.G., and COOKE, C.W., 1944. Late Cenozoic effects and risks. Transaction Gulf Coast Association geology of southern Florida. Florida Geological Sur­ of Geological Societies, 42, 727-734. vey Bulletin, 31, 1784-1800. TANNER, W.F., 1993a. Late Holocene sea-level changes REINECK, H.E. and SINGH, LB., 1992, Depositional Sed­ from grain-size data: evidence from the Gulf of Mex­ imentary Environments. New York: Springer-Verlag, ico. The Holocene, 3, 249-259. Second Edition, 549 p. TANNER, W.F., 1993b. Louisiana cheniers: clues to Mis­ RUPERT, F.R., 1991. Geology of Gulf County, Florida. sissippi delta history. Deltas of the World. In: KAY, Florida Geological Survey Bulletin 63, 51. R. (ed.), Coastal Zone '93. American Society of Civil SCHOVE, D.J., 1987. Sunspot cycles and weather history, Engineers, pp. 71-84. p. 355-377. In: RAMPINO, M.R. and others, eds.), Cli­ TANNER, W.F., 1993c, Louisiana cheniers: settling from mate, History, Periodicity, and Predictability. New high water. Transaction Gulf Coast Association of York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 588 p. Geological Societies, 43, 391-397. STAPOR, F.W., JR., 1973. Coastal Sand Budgets and Ho­ TERS, M., 1987, Variations in Holocene sea on the French locene Beach Ridge Plain Development, Northwest Atlantic coast and their climatic significance, p. 204­ Florida. Florida State University, Tallahassee, Ph.D. 237. In: RAMPINO, M.R. and others, (eds.), Climate, Dissertation, 219 p. History, Periodicity, and Predictability. New York: STAPOR, F.W., JR., 1975. Holocene beach ridge plain Van Nostrand, 588p. development, northwest Florida. Zeitschrift fur Geo­ VAN ANDEL, TJ.H., 1981. Science at Sea. San Francisco: morphologic, Supplementband 22, 116-144. Freeman, 186 p. STAPOR, F.W., JR. and OTHERS, 1987. Episodic barrier WHITE, A.W., 1970. The geomorphology of the Florida island growth in southwest Florida: a response to fluc­ Peninsula. Florida Bureau of Geology Bulletin, 51, tuating Holocene sea level, 149-202, Miami Geolog­ 164p. ical Society Memoir, 3, 233p. WILLARD, D.A. and EDWARDS, L.E., 1994. Palynomorph STAPOR, F.W., JR., and others, 1991. Barrier island pro­ biostratigraphy and paleoecology of subsurface upper gradation and Holocene sea-level history in southwest Neogene and Quaternary sediments in southern Jack­ Florida. Journal of Coastal Research, 7, 815-838. son County, Mississippi. In: GOHN, G.S.; REINHARDT, TANNER, "V.F., 1966. Late Cenozoic history and coastal J., and RUBIN, M. (eds.), Physical stratigraphy and morphology of the Apalachicola River region, western depositional history of the Quaternary sediments in Florida. In: SHIRLEY, M.L. (ed.), Deltas. Houston the USGS-Belle Fontaine No.1 coreholes, Jackson Geological Society, 83-97. County, Mississippi. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin TANNER, W.F., 1991. Application of suite statistics to (in press). stratigraphy and sea-level changes. In: SYVITSKI, WINKER, CH.D. and HOWARD, J.D., 1977. Plio-Pleisto­ J.P.M. (ed.), Principles, Methods of Application of cene paleogeography of the Florida Gulf Coast inter­ Particle Size Analysis. Cambridge, etc.: Cambridge preted from relict shorelines. Transactions Gulf Coast University Press, pp. 283-292. Association Geological Societies, 27, 409-420. TANNER, W.F., 1992. Oversize oxbows: tentative dates,

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 11, No.4, 1995