Sediment Transport and Geomorphological Evolution in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Author

Kelli Moran, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical CollegeFollow

Degree

Doctor of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences (POCS)

Department

Oceanography and Coastal Sciences

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

This dissertation explores the mechanisms driving sediment transport and deposition on the continental shelf and within the bays of the northern Gulf of Mexico via a suite of geophysical methods and sediment cores on a variety of timescales. This dissertation is comprised of three main chapters, each focusing on a different location, environment, and process but tied together using geophysical survey, a thematic focus on geomorphic change and sediment transport within the deltaic cycle and deltaic plain environments, and the implications this change poses for both past and future sediment transport and environmental change in response to sea level change. Chapter Two uses repeat interferometric bathymetric and sidescan sonar surveys of Block 88, a dredge pit on Ship Shoal, Louisiana to study short-term sediment transport and deposition. This chapter concludes that the highest sandy sediment accumulation rates occur immediately down-current of the longshore transport direction, implying it is possible to use a dredge pit to trap sand, given appropriate engineering. Chapter Three uses CHIRP subbottom and vibracoring data to locate the paleodistributaries of the Teche and Lafourche lobes of the Mississippi system. The sandy deposits identified in this chapter are ideal for coastal restoration efforts as the deposits are local, have minimal overburden (

Date

1-27-2023

Recommended Citation

Moran, Kelli, "Sediment Transport and Geomorphological Evolution in the Northern Gulf of Mexico" (2023). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 6047.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/6047

Committee Chair

Xu, Kehui

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.6047