Quaternary rivers on the New Jersey shelf: Relation of seafloor to buried valleys

Research Article| June 01, 1980 Quaternary rivers on the New Jersey shelf: Relation of seafloor to buried valleys Donald J. P. Swift; Donald J. P. Swift 1Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratories, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, Florida 33149 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Randy Moir; Randy Moir 2Institute for Conservation Archaeology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar George L. Freeland George L. Freeland 3Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratories, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, Florida 33149 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Donald J. P. Swift 1Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratories, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, Florida 33149 Randy Moir 2Institute for Conservation Archaeology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 George L. Freeland 3Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratories, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, Florida 33149 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1980) 8 (6): 276–280. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1980)8<276:QROTNJ>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Donald J. P. Swift, Randy Moir, George L. Freeland; Quaternary rivers on the New Jersey shelf: Relation of seafloor to buried valleys. Geology 1980;; 8 (6): 276–280. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1980)8<276:QROTNJ>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The Quaternary evolution of the stream net on the New Jersey shelf has been interpreted on the basis of bathymetric maps and also by means of seismic profiling, with somewhat different results. Maps show the most recent positions of seafloor shelf valleys, but these valleys may have been created by retreating estuary mouths rather than by subaerial stream erosion. Seismic profiles reveal buried valleys of subaerial fluvial origin, which may follow courses that diverge markedly from the trends of associated seafloor valleys.Shelf valleys must be understood in the context of erosional shoreface retreat, a process that largely remade the shelf surface during successive Quaternary transgressions. Most shelf landforms are marine and post-transgressional in origin, having been formed at the foot of the shoreface. Only very large and deeply incised subaerial landforms survive the shoreface-retreat process. The marine landforms that tend to replace or bury subaerial river valleys include shelf valleys created by estuary-mouth scour, shoal-retreat massifs, and shelf deltas.Three distinct shelf valley sets, including both seafloor and buried valleys, are attributable to the ancestral Delaware, Great Egg, and Hudson Rivers, respectively. Individual valleys within valley sets may follow markedly divergent paths. In the case of the Hudson, the estuary retreated up a deeply incised river valley and was confined by it; the shelf valley is a river valley only partially filled by estuarine deposits. In the case of the other two rivers, the estuary mouths became largely decoupled from the underlying river valleys during the transgression, and their retreat paths do not everywhere overlie the buried channels. In each valley set, divergent buried valleys apparently belong to periods of subaerial exposure of the shelf that occurred earlier in Holocene time. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.