Progradational Holocene carbonate tidal flats of Crooked Island, south-east Bahamas: An alternative to the humid channelled belt model

The stratigraphic record of many cratonic carbonate sequences includes thick successions of stacked peritidal deposits. Representing accumulation at or near sea‐level, these deposits have provided insights into past palaeoenvironments, sea‐level and climate change. To expand understanding of carbona...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sedimentology 2012-10, Vol.59 (6), p.1902-1925
Main Authors: BERKELEY, ANDREW, RANKEY, EUGENE C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Avicennia germinans
Bahamas
carbonate sediment
Cyanobacteria
Marine
progradation
Rhizophora
Scytonema
shoreline
tidal flat
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Summary:The stratigraphic record of many cratonic carbonate sequences includes thick successions of stacked peritidal deposits. Representing accumulation at or near sea‐level, these deposits have provided insights into past palaeoenvironments, sea‐level and climate change. To expand understanding of carbonate peritidal systems, this study describes the geomorphology, sedimentology and stratigraphy of the tidal flats on the Crooked‐Acklins Platform, south‐east Bahamas. The Crooked Island tidal flats extend continuously for ca 18 km on the platformward flank of Crooked Island, reaching up to 2 km across. Tidal flats include four environmental zones with specific faunal and floral associations and depositional characteristics: (i) supratidal (continuous supratidal crust and pavement); (ii) upper intertidal, with the mangrove Avicennia germinans and the cyanobacteria Scytonema; (iii) lower intertidal (with the mangrove Rhizophora mangal) and (iv) non‐vegetated, heavily burrowed subtidal (submarine). These zones have gradational boundaries but follow shore‐parallel belts. Coring reveals that the thickness of this mud‐dominated sediment package generally is
ISSN:0037-0746
1365-3091
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3091.2012.01331.x