Early to Middle Holocene Coastal Dune and Estuarine Deposition, Santa Maria Valley, California

• Published in: Physical geography Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 127 - 136
• Main Authors: Knott, Jeffrey R., Eley, Donald S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis Group 01-04-2006; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: America; Bgi / Prodig; California; coastal dunes; Holocene; Physical geography; Santa Maria River; sea-level change; United States of America; United States of America; California; INE, USA, California; C 14 dating; Quaternary; Coastal environment; Coastal dune; Sea level; Estuary; Holocene; Sedimentation
• ISSN: 0272-3646; 1930-0557
• DOI: 10.2747/0272-3646.27.2.127

Late Quaternary deposition in many terrestrial basins along the California coast consists of interbedded fluvial, estuarine, and dune facies deposited in response to relative sea level changes. Radiocarbon dating of sediments retrieved from boreholes drilled through the Guadalupe dune sheet at the mouth of the Santa Maria River, where uplift rates are zero or less, indicate that estuarine deposition began locally around 9-11 ka in response to rising sea level. The estuarine deposits were then buried by dune sands around 3.5-4.3 ka, perhaps in response to sea-level regression during mid-Holocene (~4.5 ka) glaciation and not the earlier glacial periods, as previously inferred by others.