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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/5174| Title: | Geological character and mineral resources of south central Lake Erie |
| Authors: | Williams, S. Jeffress Meisburger, Edward P. |
| Keywords: | Beach Nourishment Lake Erie Presque Isle Geomorphology Seismic Reflection Data Sediment Cores Sediment Distribution |
| Publisher: | Coastal Engineering Research Center (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.) |
| Series/Report no.: | Miscellaneous report (Coastal Engineering Research Center (U.S.)) ; no. 82-9. |
| Description: | Miscellaneous Report Abstract: During the summers of 1977 and 1978 a 900-square kilometer region of southern Lake Erie, between the Ohio-Pennsylvania border and Erie, Pennsylvania, was surveyed, using high resolution seismic reflection equipment and long vibracores, to determine the shallow subbottom character of the lake floor. Emphasis was placed on describing the sediments and identifying deposits of sand and gravel that might be dredged and used as fill for beach nourishment projects on Presque Isle Peninsula. A total of 416 kilometers of seismic profiles and 49 cores with an average length of 4.1 meters were analyzed along with 23 grab samples. Analyses of the seismic profiles, sediment cores, and grab samples show that four major geologic units are present. Paleozoic shale bedrock with a lakeward slope underlies the entire region. Shale crops out at the lake floor shoreward of the -10-meter contour and attains depths of -87 meters about 18 kilometers offshore. Thick units of glacial sediment overlie the bedrock surface and include assorted tills, stratified glaciofluvial sand and gravel, and stiff lacustrine muds. Beach and dune sands are present on the top of the transverse ridge between Long Point, Ontario, and Presque Isle. These sands result from the reworking of the morainal sediments comprising the ridge by coastal processes of an earlier Lake Erie. Modern soft muds are accumulating in deepwater, low-energy areas adjacent to the ridge and Presque Isle platform. Sand and gravel of suitable size distribution and composition are present in large quantities in two locales. The ridge and platform features contain about 39 million cubic meters of proven resources within 2.3 meters of the lake floor; the seismic profiles of the subbottom show that two to three times that volume may be present if the entire ridge is considered. A second morainal ridge off Dans Beach, west of Erie, is judged to contain several million cubic meters, but its closeness to shore and the distance of 2S kilometers from Erie limit the fill potential of the ridge. |
| Rights: | Approved for Public Release, Distribution is Unlimited |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/5174 |
| Appears in Collections: | Miscellaneous Report |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MR-CERC-82-9.pdf | 10.32 MB | Adobe PDF |  View/Open |