Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T21:31:10.740Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Long-term shoreline retreat rates on Whidbey Island, Washington, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2012

Heather E. Rogers ,
Terry W. Swanson  and
John O. Stone
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Long-term retreat rates of Puget Sound's unconsolidated sediment shorelines have been difficult to quantify, and little systematic research has been completed to constrain retreat in this area. We put forward a new application of cosmogenic 10Be exposure dating to assess long-term shoreline retreat on Whidbey Island, WA by dating lag boulders exposed on the shore platform as the shoreline erodes. Production of 10Be in shoreline boulders is modulated by both tidal submergence and topographic shielding from the retreating bluff. By modeling the combined effect of these variables on 10Be production, the timing of exposure can be determined and used to calculate long-term (103–104 yr) bluff retreat rates. In rare cases, retreat rates are underestimated due to inherited 10Be. Within the study area, average retreat rates ranged between 0 and 8 cm yr− 1. Our results demonstrate the utility of cosmogenic nuclides for determining long-term shoreline retreat rates in areas with thick sediment cover, where large numbers of samples can be collected, and where the pre-depositional history of the boulders is uncomplicated.

Keywords

Shoreline retreatBluff erosionCosmogenic radionuclides10Be exposure datingGlacial sedimentPuget SoundWhidbey Island
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 78 , Issue 2 , September 2012 , pp. 315 - 322
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Atwater, B., and Moore, A. A Tsunami about 1000 Years Ago in Puget Sound, Washington. Science, New Series 258, 5088 (1992). 1614–1617.Google Scholar
Balco, G., Stone, J.O., Lifton, N.A., and Dunai, T.J. A complete and easily accessible means of calculating surface exposure ages or erosion rates from 10Be and 26Al measurements. Quaternary Geochronology 3, (2008). 174–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beale, H. Relative Rise in Sea-Level During the Past 5000 Years at Six Salt Marshes in Northern Puget Sound, Washington. Department of Geology, Western Washington University for Shorelands and Coastal Zone Management Program, Washington Department of Ecology, Olympia. (1990). Google Scholar
Cruz de Oliveira, S., Catalao, J., Ferreira, O., and Dias, J.M.A. Evaluation of cliff retreat and beach nourishment in Southern Portugal using photogrammetric techniques. Journal of Coastal Research 24, 4C (2008). 184–193.Google Scholar
Dethier, D.P., Pessl, F. Jr., Keuler, R.F., Balzarini, M.A., and Pevear, D.R. Late Wisconsinan glaciomarine deposition and isostatic rebound, northern Puget Lowland, Washington. Geological Society of American Bulletin 107, (1995). 1288–1303.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ditchburn, R.G., and Whitehead, N.E. The Separation of 10Be from Silicates. Third workshop of the South Pacific Envirnomental Radioactivity Association. (1994). 4–7.Google Scholar
Dunai, T.J. Cosmogenic Nuclides: Principles, Concepts and Applications in the Earth Surface Sciences. (2010). Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom.Google Scholar
Eronen, M., Kankainen, T., and Tsukada, M. Late Holocene sea-level record in a core from the Puget Lowland, Washington. Quaternary Research 27, (1987). 147–159.Google Scholar
Finlayson, D. The geomorphology of Puget sound beaches. PSNP Technical Report 2006–02. (2006). (45 pp.) Google Scholar
Gerstel, W.J., Brunengo, M.J., Lingley, W.S. Jr., Logan, R.L., Shipman, H., and Walsh, T.J. Puget Sound Bluffs—the where, why, and when of landslides following the holiday 1996/97 storms: Washington. Geology 25, 1 (1997). 17–31.Google Scholar
Heisinger, B., Lal, D., Jull, A.J.T., Kubik, P., Ivy-Ochs, S., Neumaier, S., Knie, K., Lazarev, V., and Nolte, E. Production of selected cosmogenic radionuclides by muons: 1. Fast muons. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 200, 3–4 (2002). 345–355. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0012-821X(02)00640-4 (ISSN 0012-821X) CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, S.Y., Potter, C.J., Armentrout, J.M., Miller, J.J., Finn, C.A., and Weaver, C.S. The southern Whidbey Island Fault; an active structure in the Puget Lowland, Washington. Geological Society of America Bulletin 108, 3 (1996). 334–354.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelsey, H.M. et al. Land Level changes from a late Holocene earthquake in the northern Puget Lowland, Washington. Geology 32, 6 (2004). 469–472.Google Scholar
Keuler, R.F. Map showing coastal erosion, sediment supply, and longshore transport in the Port Townsend 30- by 60-minute quadrangle. Puget Sound Region, Washington: USGS Miscellaneous Investigation I-1198-E. (1988). Google Scholar
Lal, D. Cosmic ray labeling of erosion surfaces: in situ production rates and erosion models. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 104, (1991). 424–439.Google Scholar
Lavelle, J.W., Mofjeld, H.O., Lempriere-Doggett, , Cannon, G.A., Pashinski, E.D., Cokelet, , Lytle, L., and Gill, S. A multiply connected channel model of tides and tidal currents in Puget Sound, Washington, and a comparison with updated observations. NOAA Tech. Memo. ERL PMEL-84, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA. (1988). (52 pp.) Google Scholar
Mosher, D., and Hewitt, A. Late Quaternary deglaciation and sea-level history of eastern Juan de Fuca Strait, Cascadia. Quaternary International 121, (2004). 23–39.Google Scholar
Porter, S.C., and Swanson, T.W. Advance and retreat rate of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet in southeastern Puget Sound Region. Quaternary Research 50, (1998). 205–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putkonen, J., and Swanson, T.W. Accuracy of cosmogenic ages for moraines. Quaternary Research 59, (2003). 255–261.Google Scholar
Shipman, H. Coastal Bluffs and Bluffs on Puget Sound, Washington. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1693, (2004). 81–94.Google Scholar
Smith, S., and Karlin, R. Ages of large submarine landslides in Puget Sound. EOS Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 83, 47 (2002). (Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract OS51A-0142.) Google Scholar
Stone, J.O. Extraction of Al and Be from quartz for isotopic analysis, UW Cosmogenic Nuclide Lab Methods and Procedures (2004). (2004). (Online: URL: http://depts.washington.edu/cosmolab/chem.html.)Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., Reimer, P. J., and Reimer, R. W. (2009). CALIB 6.0.. [http://calib.qub.ac.uk/calib/].Google Scholar
Swanson, T.W., and Caffee, M.L. Determination of 36Cl production rates from the Deglaciation History of Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands, Washington. Quaternary Research 56, (2001). 366–382.Google Scholar
Tubbs, D., (1975). Causes, Mechanisms, and Prediction of Landsliding in Seattle. [Ph.D. thesis], University of Washington, .Google Scholar