Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Schmitz, Darrel W.

Committee Member

Lynch, F. Leo

Committee Member

Mylroie, John E.

Date of Degree

5-10-2003

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Geosciences

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Geosciences

Abstract

Cat Island, Mississippi, the westernmost barrier island in Mississippi Sound, demarcates the northeastern extent of the St. Bernard subdelta of the Mississippi River. The unusual ?T? shape of Cat Island is likely the result of reworking of the original shore-parallel island by westward longshore currents post-abandonment of the St. Bernard Delta. XRD analyses performed on Vibracore samples collected from nearshore Cat Island showed quartz sands were common regardless of depth or location. Clays predominated in sediments at depth near the southern tip of the island but were minor in more surficial sediments. Lithologically, surficial sediments from the south and west were quite similar, particularly the decrease in illite/smectite (I/S) abundance, which may reflect westerly reworking of in situ sediments. Analyses indicate this reworking is more effective in changing local lithology than sediment provenance.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/18332

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