Linking Short and Long Term Sediment Delivery to Morphology and Acoustic Properties of Continental Margins

Develop numerical models useful for the simulation of sediment delivery and accumulation on continental margins over time scales of tens to thousands of years. Model predictions will help us understand the evolution of the sediment characterisitcs on continental margins through sea level fluctuations, climate change, and other relevant environmental factors. ONR interests include the development of a numerical predictor of the acoustic signature of remote margins based on a region’s geological history. OBJECTIVES 1) Is the rate and direction of sealevel change coupled with hinterland climate? Does the evolving landscape control the dynamics of river plumes, and thus the physical properties of depositing sedimentary units within the slope environment? 2) Is their a separation of sand from mud during a river flood, with the mud fraction deposited on the outer shelf and upper continental slope? 3) Do closely-spaced river mouths contribute to plume intermingling such that a line source is created, particularly during low sea level stands? 4) Could a short lived hyperpycnal current develop during the flooding of the Eel River and might thi