Linkages between Geomorphology and Sedimentology along a Reef-Rimmed Shelf: Crooked-Acklins Platform, Southern Bahamas

Reef-rimmed shelves of many carbonate platforms are characterized by morphological rims, such as barrier reefs, and can have variable sedimentology and morphology. Characterizing the spatial heterogeneity of their sediments in modern carbonate systems is one means to better understand the potential complexity of ancient analogs. However, the details of spatial geomorphic and sedimentologic patterns on reef-rimmed shelves have not been widely documented or quantified. By integrating sedimentologic and remote sensing data, this study aims to describe and evaluate the depositional patterns and processes that influence sedimentary and geomorphic patterns on a reef-rimmed shelf on part of Crooked-Acklins Platform in the southern Bahamas. Scope of Work This project will evaluate sedimentologic data, detailed bottom observation and bathymetric data collected in the field. The preliminary results of laboratory analyses of these data, including petrographic analysis, show granulometric pattern of the sediments, as influenced by the geometry and morphology of the reef margin. In the near future, hydrodynamic measurements will be collected to explore processes (waves and tides) that influence facies heterogeneity in this area. The results will be integrated with the sedimentologic data and remote sensing analyses to better describe and understand the morphology and geometry of the shelf and the reef margin