Tracking hurricane-generated storm surge with washover fan stratigraphy

Abstract

Research Article| February 01, 2015 Tracking hurricane-generated storm surge with washover fan stratigraphy John Shaw; John Shaw * 1Department of Geosciences, 216 Ozark Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA2Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, C9000, Austin, Texas 78712, USA3Department of Geology and Geophysics, Department 3006, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA *E-mail: shaw84@uark.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Yao You; Yao You 2Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, C9000, Austin, Texas 78712, USA †Current address: Hess Corporation, 1501 McKinney, Houston, Texas 77010, USA. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David Mohrig; David Mohrig 2Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, C9000, Austin, Texas 78712, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Gary Kocurek Gary Kocurek 2Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, C9000, Austin, Texas 78712, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information John Shaw * 1Department of Geosciences, 216 Ozark Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA2Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, C9000, Austin, Texas 78712, USA3Department of Geology and Geophysics, Department 3006, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA Yao You †Current address: Hess Corporation, 1501 McKinney, Houston, Texas 77010, USA. 2Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, C9000, Austin, Texas 78712, USA David Mohrig 2Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, C9000, Austin, Texas 78712, USA Gary Kocurek 2Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, C9000, Austin, Texas 78712, USA *E-mail: shaw84@uark.edu Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 14 Aug 2014 Revision Received: 18 Nov 2014 Accepted: 21 Nov 2014 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2014 Geological Society of America Geology (2015) 43 (2): 127–130. https://doi.org/10.1130/G36460.1 Article history Received: 14 Aug 2014 Revision Received: 18 Nov 2014 Accepted: 21 Nov 2014 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation John Shaw, Yao You, David Mohrig, Gary Kocurek; Tracking hurricane-generated storm surge with washover fan stratigraphy. Geology 2015;; 43 (2): 127–130. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G36460.1 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 We use the stratigraphy preserved in a washover fan to reconstruct the timing or emplacement and environmental conditions along the Matagorda Peninsula, Texas, during Hurricane Ike in 2008. Washover fan stratigraphy preserves a topset-foreset break (TFB) that rises 0.42 m in elevation as the fan built landward. We constrain overwash flow depths to 0.1–0.32 m through deposit sedimentology, and tie the rising trajectory of the TFB to rising storm surge water levels measured in the back-barrier bay (0.03 m h–1) as the hurricane approached the coast. This relation allows us to estimate that the fan took 0.52–0.90 days to build, and was finished building before the storm surge peaked. This is 15–25% of the 3.5 days of hurricane-induced storm surge near the site. We show how washover stratigraphy can be used to constrain the timing and amount of sediment redistribution on a coast associated with a hurricane; information that is necessary to test and/or calibrate existing numerical models that predict shoreline change during hurricanes. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.