Holocene sea-level change and delta growth: Fraser River delta, British Columbia
The Fraser River has been building its delta into the Strait of Georgia in southwestern British Columbia for about the last 9000 years. This period encompassed a relative sea-level rise of some 13 m. This study concerns the effects of the rise in sea level on the depositional evolution of the delta.The lithostratigraphy of the delta was established by a series of drill cores. Four major lithostratigraphic units were defined: peat, organic-rich silt, interbedded silts and sands, and massive sands. These units were interpreted in terms of the delta's contemporary depositional environments, including peat bog, floodplain, and intertidal zone.Analysis of the delta's depositional architecture and chronology indicates that the delta continued to prograde during the rise in sea level. A marine transgression, accompanied by the landward migration of marine and intertidal facies, did not occur. Growth of the delta during the rise in sea level was accomplished by both vertical accretion and lateral progradation.Ver...