Geometry and Timing of Upper Oligocene to Miocene Depositional Sequences on the U.S. Middle Atlantic Margin

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The upper Oligocene to Miocene section of the U.S. middle Atlantic is ideally suited for the study of changes in relative sea level recorded in passive margin sediments. This award supports a high-resolution multichannel and single channel seismic study of the upper Oligocene to Miocene section along the middle Atlantic continental shelf and slope. These seismic data will be integrated with biostratigraphic and Sr-isotope stratigraphic studies of coastal plain outcrops, slope canyon outcrops, wells, and boreholes. The objective will be to determine the geometry and age of Oligocene to Miocene depositional sequences, and to evaluate the role of relative sea- level changes in developing this record. We will evaluate possible causal links between ice-volume (glacio-eustatic) changes inferred from the deep sea 8180 record and depositional sequences dating from this Oligocene to Miocene "ice house world" will be evaluated. This project will provide the data base needed to plan a continental shelf to slope drilling program that will define precisely the age of these depositional sequences and test models of sedimentation and relative sea-level changes.