STORM SURGE DEPOSITION BY HURRICANE IKE ON THE MCFADDIN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, TEXAS: IMPLICATIONS FOR PALEOTEMPESTOLOGY STUDIES

Abstract

Research Article| July 01, 2010 STORM SURGE DEPOSITION BY HURRICANE IKE ON THE MCFADDIN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, TEXAS: IMPLICATIONS FOR PALEOTEMPESTOLOGY STUDIES Harry F. L. Williams Harry F. L. Williams Department of Geography, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle # 305279, Denton, Texas 76203-5017 USA. Email: [e-mail] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Harry F. L. Williams Department of Geography, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle # 305279, Denton, Texas 76203-5017 USA. Email: [e-mail] Publisher: Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research Received: 17 Dec 2009 Accepted: 26 Jan 2010 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-264X Print ISSN: 0096-1191 © 2010 Journal of Foraminiferal Research Journal of Foraminiferal Research (2010) 40 (3): 210–219. https://doi.org/10.2113/gsjfr.40.3.210 Article history Received: 17 Dec 2009 Accepted: 26 Jan 2010 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Harry F. L. Williams; STORM SURGE DEPOSITION BY HURRICANE IKE ON THE MCFADDIN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, TEXAS: IMPLICATIONS FOR PALEOTEMPESTOLOGY STUDIES. Journal of Foraminiferal Research 2010;; 40 (3): 210–219. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gsjfr.40.3.210 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 SocietyJournal of Foraminiferal Research Search Advanced Search Abstract Hurricane Ike made landfall at Galveston, Texas on September 13, 2008. A storm surge in excess of 3 m struck the upper Texas coast, situated in the northeast quadrant of the landfalling hurricane. The storm surge caused widespread flooding many tens of kilometers inland and transported large amounts of offshore and littoral sediments into nearshore subaerial environments. This study documents the character of storm surge sedimentation on the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge, which includes extensive palustrine marshes and large brackish lakes. The storm surge deposit exhibits two distinct styles of sedimentation: a thick, sandy washover fan, extending about 150 m inland, deposited as traction load; and a thinner, finer, more organic-rich blanket of sediments extending more than 2.7 km inland, deposited from suspension. Cores collected from the bed of Clam Lake, a large brackish lake on the refuge, approximately four weeks before and 16 weeks after Hurricane Ike's landfall, show that the storm surge deposited a 10-cm-thick sediment layer onto the lake bed. Lithologically, the deposit was similar to lake-bed sediments and did not form a distinct layer in cores, but it was distinguished by abundant offshore foraminifers. However, examination of a lake-bed core for earlier hurricane deposits revealed that foraminifers are not well preserved, and it was concluded that Clam Lake was unsuitable for paleotempestology studies based on lithologic and foraminiferal evidence of hurricane strikes. The study shows that storm surge sedimentation can extend a considerable distance inland, with the implication that paleotempestology studies could be conducted farther inland than in previous studies if sites suitable for long-term preservation of foraminifers are available. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.