Investigation of Neotectonic Activity within the Shallow, Unconsolidated Stratigraphy of the Pearl River Delta Area, Louisiana

During the last half century researchers have suggested that active deformation driven by neotectonic activity has locally influenced areas of southeastern Louisiana in the form of wetland loss and coastal erosion. This study, within the Pearl River Delta Area of Louisiana, applied geomorphologic and stratigraphic methods of analysis to assess whether evidence of recent fault motion is present within the shallow, unconsolidated Holocene strata of the study area. Geomorphological historical change analyses focused on meander patterns, elongated water bodies and spatial changes in vegetation identify areas where fault motion may have recently occurred. The shallow stratigraphy was then investigated in these locations using vibracores and seismic reflection profiling. Facies relationships coupled with radiocarbon ages of select stratigraphic intervals led to the development of a detailed stratigraphic framework. Based on these relationships, data suggest that subsurface deformation, resultant of neotectonic activity, has recently occurred within the shallow, unconsolidated Holocene strata