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Stratigraphic evolution of the inner continental

shelf in response to late Quaternary relative sea-
level change, northwestern Gulf of Maine

Article in Geological Society of America Bulletin May 1997

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Stratigraphic evolution of the inner continental shelf in response to
late Quaternary relative sea-level change, northwestern Gulf of Maine
Walter A. Barnhardt*
Daniel F. Belknap } Department of Geological Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469-5711
Joseph T. Kelley Maine Geological Survey, 22 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0022
ABSTRACT
Accumulations of deltaic and littoral sedi-
ments on the inner continental shelf of Maine,
Gulf of Maine, preserve a record of postglacial
sea-level changes and shoreline migrations. The
depositional response of coastal environments
to a cycle of regression, lowstand, and trans-
gression was examined with seismic-reflection
profiles, vibracores, and radiocarbon dates col-
lected from sediments at the mouths of the
Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers. Sequence-
stratigraphic analysis of these data reveals two
distinctly different successions of late Quater-
nary deposits that represent end members in
an evolutionary model for this glaciated coast.
Seaward of the Kennebec River, coarse-
grained shorelines with foreset beds occur at
depths of 2060 m and outline the lobate mar-
gin of the Kennebec River paleodelta, a com-
plex, rock-framed accumulation of glacioma-
rine and deltaic sediments capped by estuarine
and marine deposits. Sand derived from this
system today supports large barrier spits and
extensive salt marshes. In contrast, the mouth
of the Penobscot River is characterized by thick
deposits of glaciomarine mud overlain by ma-
rine mud of Holocene age, including gas-
charged zones that have locally evolved into
fields of pockmarks. The distinct lack of sand
and gravel seaward of the Penobscot River and
its abundance seaward of the Kennebec River
probably reflect differences in sediment
sources and the physiography of the two water-
sheds. The contrasting stratigraphic frame-
work of these systems demonstrates the impor-
tance of understanding local and regional
differences in sediment supply, sea-level
change, bedrock structure, and exposure to
*Present address: U.S. Geological Survey, M.S.
999, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California
94025. E-mail: wbarnhardt@usgs.gov
GSA Bulletin; May 1997; v. 109; no. 5; p. 612630; 14 figures; 1 table.
waves and tides in order to model river-mouth
deposition on glaciated coasts.
Evolution of shelf deposits was largely con-
trolled by relative sea level, which locally fell
from a highstand (+60 to +70 m at 14 ka) con-
temporary with deglaciation to a lowstand
(55 m at 10.8 ka). The sea-level lowering was
accompanied by fluvial incision of older de-
posits, producing a regressive, basal unconfor-
mity. Major rivers deposited abundant sedi-
ment over this surface. Sea level then rose at
varying rates, extensively reworking formerly
emergent parts of the shelf and producing a
shoreface ravinement surface in areas exposed
to waves. A tidal ravinement surface has de-
veloped in sheltered embayments where ero-
sion is due mainly to tidal currents. Incised
valleys in both settings preserve transgressive
estuarine deposits that contain lagoonal bi-
valves and salt-marsh foraminifera at depths
of 1530 m. These deposits accumulated ca.
9.27.3 ka, locally a period of relatively slow
sea-level rise.
INTRODUCTION
Large excursions in relative sea level, a combi-
nation of eustatic and local isostatic effects, oc-
curred in the northwestern Gulf of Maine during
the latest Pleistocene and Holocene, and exerted
great influence on the stratigraphy and morphol-
ogy of the inner continental shelf. Determinations
of former sea-level positions are largely based on
seismic observations of submarine terraces, in-
ferred to be relict shorelines and river deltas now
submerged at various depths across the region
(Oldale et al., 1983; Belknap et al., 1987; Fader,
1989; Shipp et al., 1991; Kelley et al., 1992; Stea
et al., 1994; Loncarevic et al., 1994; Barnhardt et
al., 1995; Forbes et al., 1995). Some of these fea-
tures were originally interpreted as submarine
scarps of structural (fault traces), not marine
origin (Johnson, 1925), and many are found
within distinct depth ranges. One hypothesis is
612
that some may represent Gilbert-type deltas for-
merly graded to lower sea level; a second is that
they are submerged shorelines (Schnitker, 1974;
Shipp et al., 1991). Alternatively, these features
may have a more complex stratigraphic architec-
ture composed of glacial and glaciomarine sedi-
ments that are merely capped by a thin marine se-
quence (Shipp et al., 1991). Arguments that the
shorelines are older features, such as ice-contact
glaciomarine deltas or subaqueous fans, with no
real significance to postglacial relative sea-level
fluctuations, cannot be rejected without direct evi-
dence from coring.
This paper synthesizes the postglacial evolution
of the Maine inner continental shelf on the basis of
new seismic-reflection and core data from the
mouths of Maines two largest rivers, the Ken-
nebec and Penobscot (Fig. 1). Despite sharing a
common history of glaciation and relative sea-
level change, and drainages with similar bedrock
(Osberg et al., 1985), shelf deposits in these two
areas exhibit striking differences in morphology,
composition, and internal structure. The Kennebec
River deposited a large sandy lithosome, or pa-
leodelta (Belknap et al., 1986). The Penobscot
River, in contrast, lacks sandy deposits at its mouth
and is characterized by thick, gas-charged depos-
its of marine mud and numerous pockmarks
eroded into the surface (Scanlon and Knebel,
1988; Kelley et al., 1994). Buried estuarine depos-
its are found in both locations, however, and pro-
vide important clues to the interpretation of Holo-
cene relative sea-level and shoreline changes.
Previous models for the transgressive evolu-
tion of shelf sand bodies, developed for the
United States mid-Atlantic continental shelf
(Fischer, 1961; Swift, 1975; Sanders and Kumar,
1975; Belknap and Kraft, 1985; Ashley et al.,
1991) and the Mississippi River delta (Penland et
al., 1988), differ from the Maine examples pri-
marily in scale (much larger), geographic setting
(unglaciated coastal plain), and rates of relative
sea-level rise (at least eight times slower). The
overall setting in Maine compares more favor-

72 W 70 68
48 MAJOR RIVERS ENTERING THE GULF OF MAINE
N
St. John
46
Androscoggin
MAINE
44
Penobscot
Saco Kennebec
(area enlarged
in Figure 3)
Merrimack
MA
42 OF
F Fig. 4
G UL
0 100
CORES FIGURES USED OTHER SEISMIC
IN TEXT LINES
1992-3
1988
ably with the glaciated shelf and coast of Nova
Scotia, where relative sea-level history is similar
(Stea et al., 1994), and bedrock valley and ridge
systems control deposition during transgression
(Boyd et al., 1987; Carter et al., 1990; Boyd and
Honig, 1992). However, Maine lacks the abun-
dant sediment sources that are locally available in
Nova Scotia (eroding drumlins). Instead, limited
fluvial and relict offshore sources of sand supply
coastal systems. Thus, none of these models ade-
quately explain the evolution of the generally
small, isolated deposits found on the Maine shelf
(Kelley et al., 1986).
The main objective of this paper is to develop
an evolutionary model for submerged deltaic and
other preserved littoral deposits on the Maine in-
ner shelf, a model designed to aid stratigraphic
interpretations of sea-level changes along for-
merly glaciated coasts. We use a sequence-strati-
graphic approach (i.e., Vail et al., 1977; Posa-
mentier and Vail, 1988) to define genetically
related depositional units and the unconformities
that separate them. Interpretations of seismic data
are calibrated with cores, providing chronologic
control on former relative sea-level positions and
permitting time correlations among units. Exam-
RIVER-MOUTH DEPOSITS IN GULF OF MAINE
66
PENOBSCOT RIVER
km
0 5
N
Fig. 12B
Fig. 5
Fig. 10
Annapolis
KENNEBEC
NE
RIVER
I River mouth appears in Figure 3.
km
Fig. 9
Fig. 6
Fig. 12A
km
0 5
ination of seismic facies, lithologic facies, and
their stratigraphic relations reveals a complicated
pattern of emergence and submergence, in which
the coast migrated several kilometers seaward
and back again over a relatively brief period.
These paleogeographic fluctuations had a major
impact on the distribution and movements of
flora and fauna, including humans who popu-
lated the region following the last Ice Age (Bon-
nichsen et al., 1985). The ultimate goal of this
study is to reconstruct environments of deposi-
tion that existed on the Maine inner shelf be-
tween ca. 12 and 7 ka (thousand radiocarbon
years B.P.).
BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS WORK
Over the past 14 k.y., isostatic rebound has
dominated the relative sea-level history of the
northwestern Gulf of Maine (Fig. 2). The retreat of
Laurentide ice exposed large areas of isostatically
depressed land, which were rapidly submerged by
the sea (Belknap et al., 1987). The sea transgressed
in contact with the retreating ice and received the
abundant sediment of the glaciomarine Presump-
scot Formation (Bloom, 1963), which accumu-
Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997
Figure 1. Map showing the lo-
cation of the Kennebec and Pen-
obscot Rivers, and other major
rivers that enter the Gulf of
Maine. Two inset maps (boxes)
show the location of cores and
seismic profiles used as figures. An
enlarged view of the Kennebec
Fig. 8
lated over wide areas of the coastal zone and inner
continental shelf (Stuiver and Borns, 1975;
Thompson and Borns, 1985). A series of glacio-
marine deltas formed at the maximum inland ex-
tent of the marine invasion, 70129 m above
present sea level (Thompson et al., 1989). These
highstand deltas exhibit variable geometries and
internal architecture related to differing accommo-
dation space and the irregular topography of un-
derlying bedrock (Thompson et al., 1989; Cros-
sen, 1991). They formed in a time-transgressive
fashion during a tightly constrained period of
rapidly changing sea and land levels (13.0
0.5 ka). Study of these deltas is complicated by the
scarcity of material suitable for dating.
Radiocarbon-dated marine fossils outline a
very rapid early regression (Fig. 2), which passed
the present position of the coast ca. 11.5 ka in
southwestern Maine (Anderson et al., 1990) and
12.4 ka in northeastern Maine (Dorion, 1993).
Many investigators have estimated the depth of
relative sea-level fall, but no one has firmly es-
tablished the timing. On the basis of weathered
zones in borings, Bloom (1963) recognized an
erosional unconformity on the surface of the Pre-
sumpscot Formation and concluded that relative
613

80
COASTAL MAINE
Late Quaternary
60 Relative Sea Level
40
20
Elevation (m)
0 by an unconformity: (1) the glacial (upper Pleisto-
-20
facies E
-40
-60
facies D
16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2
Time (ka)
Figure 2. Late Quaternary relative sea-
level curve for coastal Maine from Barnhardt
et al. (1995), including radiocarbon dates
from Belknap et al. (1987), Anderson et al.
(1990), Kelley et al. (1992), and Barber
(1995). Shaded boxes indicate the approxi-
mate time-depth ranges for the deposition of
two new units defined in this study: a regres-
sive-lowstand deltaic facies (D) and a trans-
gressive estuarine facies (E).
sea level fell to at least 10 m. Ostericher (1965)
traced this unconformity offshore in Penobscot
Bay and, at a depth of 18 m, collected wood frag-
ments on its surface that were dated as 7.390
0.5 ka. Knebel and Scanlon (1985) placed the
lowstand at 40 m, the maximum observed depth
of this unconformity in Penobscot Bay. Schnitker
(1974), however, recognized the presence of a
berm at 65 m; his was the first of many seis-
mic observations of relict shorelines that indi-
cated a lowstand of 55 to 65 m, estimated as
ca. 9.5 1 ka (Shipp et al., 1991). Evidence from
vibracores has revised the timing of the lowstand
to ca. 11.010.5 ka (Barnhardt et al., 1995).
During regression and lowstand, the newly
emergent landscape was deeply eroded (Borns and
Hagar, 1965). Coarse sediments accumulated at
the mouths of major rivers and buried older
glaciomarine material (Oldale et al., 1983; Kelley
et al., 1986, 1992). These deposits were later sub-
merged (Belknap et al., 1987) by a second marine
transgression that was characterized by erosion
and redistribution of sediment in areas above the
lowstand (Belknap et al., 1989; Kelley et al., 1989;
614
BARNHARDT ET AL.
Kelley and Belknap, 1991; Barnhardt and Kelley,
1995). Evidence from vibracores also revealed
large variations in rates of early Holocene sea-level
rise (Kelley et al., 1992; Barnhardt et al., 1995).
A sequence stratigraphic model for the Maine
inner continental shelf, based on seismic-reflection
data, was developed to clarify the regions com-
plex glacial and relative sea-level history (Belknap
and Shipp, 1991). On the basis of acoustic charac-
teristics, 12 seismic facies were defined and
grouped into 2 depositional sequences separated
cene) sequence G, and (2) the postglacial (Holo-
cene) sequence H. Sequence G is composed of till,
stratified drift, and the glaciomarine Presumpscot
Formation. A high-intensity reflection on its upper
surface represents an unconformity of complex
origin that extends offshore and, below a depth of
7090 m, grades into a conformity. In most areas,
the basal, or regressive unconformity was later
obliterated by transgressive erosion, due to a low
0
sediment supply (Shipp et al., 1991). The basal un-
conformity is best preserved in low-lying areas of
antecedent topography, for example in channels
cut by the Penobscot River at lower sea level (Kne-
bel and Scanlon, 1985). The high-intensity acou-
stic reflection from this unconformity, and the rel-
atively thin, discontinuous cover of estuarine,
littoral, and marine sediments overlying it, are rec-
ognized throughout the Maine shelf (Kelley et al.,
1986, 1989; Kelley and Belknap, 1991; Belknap
and Shipp, 1991; Barnhardt and Kelley, 1995), and
in nearby areas of New England and maritime
Canada (McMaster, 1984; Piper et al., 1983;
Forbes et al., 1991, 1995).
Sequence H overlies the basal unconformity
and, in most areas above the lowstand, consists of
relatively thin deposits of sand and gravel. How-
ever, large volumes of sandy sediment, carried by
the Kennebec River, formed a locally thick delta
as relative sea level fell to the lowstand position
(Belknap et al., 1989). After the lowstand, rela-
tive sea level rose, and reworking by littoral
processes produced a ravinement or transgressive
unconformity that truncates the older, regressive valleys produced by glacial derangement and
deposits (Ostericher, 1965; Kelley et al., 1989,
1992). Thick deposits of muddy marine sediment
accumulated below the influence of paleowave
base. Deposition of sequence H is time transgres-
sive (Belknap and Shipp, 1991), and includes
both the lowstand systems tract (latest Pleisto-
cene) and transgressive systems tract (Holocene).
Delta lobes may have locally prograded during
transgression, depending on the ratio of sediment
flux relative to changing accommodation space.
Preservation of coastal lithosomes, formed dur-
ing both regressive and transgressive phases, is
highest where the depth of the ravinement un-
conformity does not exceed the depth of the basal
unconformity (Belknap and Kraft, 1985).
Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997
METHODS
Seismic-stratigraphic interpretations were
based on 308 km of high-resolution seismic-re-
flection data, collected with an Ocean Research
Equipment (ORE) Geopulse boomer. The system
runs at low frequencies centered around 1.5 kHz,
and was typically operated at 105 joules and 1/8 s
sweep. In addition, the U.S. Geological Survey,
Woods Hole, supplied 243 km of seismic-reflec-
tion data from Penobscot Bay, collected with a
similar Uniboom system. Both seismic systems
commonly penetrated to bedrock, the surface of
which formed the deepest reflector on the rec-
ords. An acoustic velocity of 1500 m/s was as-
sumed through both water and sediment. Naviga-
tion was based on LORAN C with position fixes
every 25 min and plotted using a geographic in-
formation system. Depths were recorded by pre-
cision fathometer.
Using a 10-cm-diameter Rossfelder vibra-
corer, we collected 32 cores from the Kennebec
River paleodelta and 9 cores from Penobscot
Bay. The cores were cut into 1.5 m sections,
capped, and labeled. They were later cut longitu-
dinally, logged, photographed, and sampled for
fossils and textural analysis. Half of each core
was sealed in plastic tubing and archived. Resin
peels were prepared from several cores to exam-
ine fine sedimentary structures and subtle textural
changes. Complete grain-size analyses were per-
formed using a rapid sediment analyzer (settling
tube) for the sand fraction and a Micromeritics
Sedigraph 5000 for the mud fraction.
RESULTS
Kennebec River
The main channel of the Kennebec River en-
ters the Gulf of Maine through a narrow embay-
ment between peninsulas of the indented embay-
ments coastal compartment (Kelley, 1987;
Fig. 1). Its lower reaches branch into multiple
maintained by combined tidal and river flow.
Tidal range is 2.5 m (mean) and 3.0 m (spring) at
the river mouth (National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric AdministrationNational Ocean Service,
1994a), resulting in strong tidal currents up to
1.49 m/s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministrationNational Ocean Service, 1994b).
The Kennebec River is joined by the Androscog-
gin River, 24 km above its mouth. Combined,
they drain an area of 22 000 km2, and their com-
bined flow averages 424 m3/s (Nielsen et al.,
1994, 1995).
The Kennebec River paleodelta fans out
510 km seaward from the mouth of the Ken-
 RIVER-MOUTH DEPOSITS IN GULF OF MAINE

New Meadows Sheepscot 0 Figure 4

Paleovalley Paleovalley
40 20
40

50
60
KENNEBEC BR
10
RIVER 80
0 500 1000

60
20

0 Barnhardt et al. (1995)

their figure 2

20
20
40
60
Cape BR
30 20 Small 80
0 500 1000
20 Seguin
Island

50
0
80
Figure 8
30 70
20
40
60
30
80 BR
30 0 500 1000
40 60
40
50 km SHORELINES
40
50

0 5 30-40 m
70 Eastern
50 contour interval = 10 m Delta
60 with supplementary 2 m contours
0 0
20 20
40 40 N 20-30 m 50-60 m
BR 60 BR 60
Western Southern
Delta Delta
80 80
2000 1500 1000 500 0 1500 1000 500 0

Figure 3. Bathymetric map of the Kennebec River paleodelta, showing its relatively smooth surface and lobate margin. Interpreted seismic
profiles, all digitized to a common scale, cross shorelines at different depths. Solid black represents bedrock (facies BR). Fine internal lines de-
pict seaward-dipping, clinoform reflectors (facies D). Stipple pattern represents muddy sediments (facies M) that bury the lower parts of some
shorelines. Vertical and horizontal scales are in meters (vertical exaggeration10). Inset map depicts three sets of shorelines on the western
delta (depth = 2030 m), eastern delta (3040 m), and southern delta (5060 m). See Figure 1 for location.

nebec River and covers an area of 185 km2. It
exhibits a lobate, flat-topped morphology that is
distinct from adjacent, high-relief areas of rocky
sea floor (Fig. 3). This low-relief surface slopes
gently seaward from the shoreface 10 km to the
margin of the Kennebec River paleodelta at a
depth of 5060 m, with an average gradient of
1. A series of well-developed, arcuate terraces
along the seaward margin are interpreted as
shorelines that formed at lower positions of sea
level (Shipp et al., 1991). Individual shorelines
measure up to 11 km along trend, but more com-
monly consist of segments 12 km long, each
typically abutting rocky outcrops to form a dis-
continuous band. The shorelines vary in width
and are relatively steep, with faces dipping up to
19 (Fig. 4). Seaward-dipping, clinoform reflec-
tors were observed in all seismic crossings of the
delta margin. Submerged shorelines in other ar-
eas of the Maine shelf generally lack similar in-
ternal reflectors, probably due to their erosional
nature, and exhibit typical dip angles of 13,
never exceeding 6 (Shipp et al., 1991). Rock-
framed paleovalleys border the Kennebec River
paleodelta to the east (Sheepscot paleovalley) and
west (New Meadows paleovalley; Kelley et al.,
1989), and are filled with thick accumulations of
marine mud, which lap onto the lower parts of
some shorelines.
Three groups of shorelines occur at depths of
2030 m, 3040 m, and 5060 m along the
western, eastern, and southern parts of the Ken-
nebec River paleodelta, respectively (Fig. 3). On
the western delta, a set of closely spaced, straight
and parallel contours defines a prominent, 30 m
shoreline that trends southeast-northwest with
1015 m of relief. A shallow shoreline (depth
= 20 m) on the far northwestern tip of the delta
exhibits a tight, nearly 180 bend around a group
of rocky islands. This recurved, spitlike geometry
occurs over a horizontal distance of only 1.5 km,
with clinoform seismic reflections dipping in op-
posite directions.
Shorelines on the eastern delta form a nearly
straight band, trending 6 km in a north-south di-
rection (Fig. 3). They begin in shallow water
(30 m) near land and follow the margin of the
Sheepscot paleovalley, gradually becoming deeper
(40 m) near a large rocky shoal that marks the east-
ernmost protuberance of the Kennebec River pa-
leodelta. The shorelines exhibit a sharp break in

Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997 615

 BARNHARDT ET AL.

The tidal range at the mouth of the Penobscot

W E River, where it enters Penobscot Bay, is 3.1 m
(mean) and 3.6 m (spring; National Oceanic and
Atmospheric AdministrationNational Ocean
Service, 1994a). Tidal currents are moderate in
the relatively broad mouth, reaching 0.36 m/s
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tionNational Ocean Service, 1994b).
In contrast to the Kennebec River mouth, which
is fully exposed to the open ocean, upper Penob-
scot Bay is sheltered by numerous islands and
coastal headlands. The configuration and complex
bathymetry of the bay are controlled by bedrock
lithology and structure (Kelley, 1987). Chains of
islands and shoals, mostly composed of resistant,
multiples granitic plutons (Osberg et al., 1985), are separated
by steep-sided, irregular troughs, which are
15 km wide and locally exceed 100 m in depth.
10 These elongate depressions delineate numerous
faults that cross the bay and are principal sites of
SG sediment accumulation. Thick deposits of Holo-
20
cene mud overlying glaciomarine sediment were
observed in the deeper thalweg of these smooth-
30
floored channels (Barnhardt et al., 1996). Shal-
lower areas, particularly in the outer and central
Depth (m)

40 parts of the bay, are generally rocky with a thin,

discontinuous cover of sand and gravel.
50 M The head of Penobscot Bay is an environment
GM D
of thick sediment accumulation, with deposits of
60 BR Holocene mud that blanket the shallow sea floor
(depth <20 m) near the mouth of the Penobscot
70 River (Barnhardt et al., 1996). In contrast to the
patchy distribution of sediment in the outer
80 NG reaches of the bay, these gas-charged muds are
V.E. = 11X greater than 10 m thick and extend almost to the
90 present shoreline. Although the sea floor is gen-
0 km 0.5 1 erally flat, there are numerous circular depres-
sions up to 350 m in diameter and 35 m in relief,
Figure 4. Shoreline at 35 m on the eastern margin of the Kennebec River paleodelta. Note
which are interpreted as gas-escape pockmarks
steeply dipping (19) planar foresets. Location is shown in Figures 1 and 3. Facies depicted in
(Kelley et al., 1994). Despite the presence of a
this and other figures: BRbedrock, GMglaciomarine, Ddeltaic, Eestuarine, SG
large river, there is no indication of a sandy pa-
sand and gravel, Mmud, and NGnatural gas.
leodelta or shorelines in Penobscot Bay.

slope between the delta top and delta front, and
have steep angles of slope, which dip up to 19 be-
low the horizontal. Seaward-dipping, clinoform
reflections are prominent in seismic-reflection
data (Fig. 4).
Along the southern delta, individual shorelines
are separated by rocky ridges into segments that
are less than 1 km long (Fig. 3). These laterally
discontinuous shorelines are the deepest ob-
served, with an upper break in slope typically
occurring at depths of 5060 m. The morphology
and internal stratification (foresets) along this
margin of the Kennebec River paleodelta mark
some of the best-developed, Gilbert-type delta
lobes observed in the Gulf of Maine (Fig. 2 in
Barnhardt et al., 1995).
Penobscot River
The Penobscot River enters the Gulf of Maine
at the head of Penobscot Bay, a large, funnel-
shaped embayment located on Maines east-cen-
tral coast (Fig. 1). The Penobscot River drains an
area of 20 000 km2 that exhibits varied topogra-
phy, from rugged mountains in the interior, to a
low-relief plain with extensive wetlands for
60 km upstream of the limit of tidal influence.
This plain is blanketed by till and glaciomarine
mud, thus limiting the supply of sand to areas
downstream. Widely separated eskers that crop
out on the river banks constitute the only source
of coarse sediment. The Penobscot River has an
average flow of 389 m3/s (Nielsen et al., 1994).
Description of Facies
This study recognizes nine seismic facies
(Table 1) on the basis of (1) morphology and in-
tensity of reflections at bounding surfaces; (2) in-
tensity, spacing, and coherence of internal reflec-
tions; (3) geometry or shape of an assemblage of
similar reflections; and (4) setting and frequency
of occurrence. Geophysical interpretations were
calibrated with cores, which sampled six of the
nine facies. Thus, the facies presented here are
defined by both the seismic-reflection character-
istics of the sediments and their physical proper-
ties (texture, composition, color, structure, and
fossil content). The radiocarbon dates cited later
herein are all uncorrected for reservoir effects
(see tables in Barnhardt et al., 1995).

616 Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997

 RIVER-MOUTH DEPOSITS IN GULF OF MAINE

TABLE 1. DESCRIPTION OF FACIES

Facies Frequency/setting
NG Common in muddy sediment
M Very common in estuaries and
deep basins offshore; always
uppermost unit
SG Relatively rare; only near
mouths of major rivers
(except the Penobscot);
always uppermost unit
E Rare; isolated deposits; buried
near mouths of major rivers
TGL Rare; only in glaciomarine or
deltaic sediment; often
associated with NG facies
D Rare; forms shorelines only
along margins of Kennebec
River paleodelta;
(1) eastern (3040 m),
(2) southern (5060 m),
(3) western (2030 m)
GM Very common; thickest in
bedrock valleys
T Common; usually buried in
bedrock lows
BR Ubiquitous; always lowermost
unit
N.D.no data.
Seismic characteristics Lithology Age (ka) Interpretation
Fuzzy upper surface, convex- N.D. N.D. Natural gas (biogenic?)
upward shape; obscures
underlying reflections
Transparent to weakly stratified; Silty clay; dark greenish gray, 10.5modern Marine mud
flat, ponded in basins; often except brownish red in
contains NG facies pockmark field; shells and
wood rare
Wedge or thin veneer with Fine to coarse sand and gravel 10.5modern Sand and gravel
intense, hard surface return; with graded beds; shell and
massive to stratified wood fragments common
Moderate- to high-intensity Highly variable mix of mud, 9.36.3 Estuarine sediment
internal reflections, locally sand, and gravel; poorly
cross-stratified; sharp basal sorted, laminated to massive;
contact; thin, commonly fills articulated bivalves and wood
incised valleys common; in some places
contains salt-marsh
foraminifera
Moderate-intensity return; N.D. 14.010.3 Thin gravel layer
massive to highly stratified;
irregular, laterally
discontinuous lenses
High- to moderate-intensity Rhythmically bedded sand and 10.810.3 Deltaic sediment (eastern,
surface return; terrace mud, often graded; dark southern Kennebec River
geometry with distinct greenish gray; wood and paleodelta);
break in slope; seaward- shells rare; gravel commonly 9.27.3 Barrier spit (western
dipping clinoform armors surface Kennebec River
reflections paleodelta)
Moderate-intensity surface Rhythmically bedded sand and 14.010.8 Glaciomarine sediment
return; internally massive mud, often graded; bluish
to highly stratified, draping gray, often mottled black;
to horizontally ponded wood and shells rare
High-intensity return; chaotic N.D. >14.0 Till
internal reflections; mound
or thin blanket
High-intensity return from N.D. Paleozoic and Bedrock
high-relief surface; no older
internal reflections

BR. Facies BR exhibits a highly irregular sur-
face that is characterized by a high-intensity sur-
face reflection (Fig. 5). No internal reflections
were observed. Facies BR always occurs at the
base of the section and is interpreted as bedrock
of Paleozoic age (or older). Bedrock in the sub-
surface has been laterally traced to sea-floor out-
crops, where patterns of jointing and bedding
were observed by side-scan sonar and submers-
ible (Barnhardt et al., 1997). It commonly crops
out on the sea floor at all depths, especially at
depths of less than 60 m that have undergone sig-
nificant erosion due to relative sea-level changes.
However, exposures of bedrock are minimized at
the mouths of major rivers where thick sedimen-
tary deposits bury the sea floor.
T. Facies T unconformably overlies and is dif-
ficult to distinguish from underlying bedrock
(Fig. 5). Interpreted as till (Belknap et al., 1989),
facies T is generally thin (<10 m) and has a well-
defined, highly reflective upper boundary and
chaotic internal reflections. A hummocky ridge
of till (moraine) with up to 30 m of relief occurs
in the central part of Penobscot Bay (Knebel and
Scanlon, 1985). Facies T is the least common
unit in this study and was not sampled.
GM. Facies GM is a thick, highly variable se-
quence that unconformably overlies bedrock and
overlies or interfingers with till and stratified drift.
It is best preserved in bedrock valleys and deep
basins (Figs. 5 and 6). Three distinct seismic units
compose facies GM and record changes in degla-
cial environments (Belknap and Shipp, 1991). The
basal unit (GM-M) is uniformly massive and
weakly reflective, and overlies BR and T. It is con-
formably overlain by a highly stratified unit
(GM-D) that drapes the underlying topography.
Capping the sequence, a horizontally bedded unit
(GM-P) with a ponded geometry occurs as dis-
continuous lenses in low areas. These three subdi-
visions of glaciomarine sediments are collectively
referred to in this paper as facies GM. A wide-
spread erosional surface truncates facies GM and
in places exhibits 510 m of relief, where channels
were incised during lower sea level.
Facies GM was sampled in 14 cores from the
Kennebec River paleodelta and Penobscot Bay in
depths of 2467 m. Facies GM typically consists
of laminated, bluish gray (5B 4/1, 5BG 4/1), fine
sand and mud, commonly mottled with black. Oc-
casional dropstones were observed. Thin graded
beds, 110 cm thick, are common and exhibit
sharp basal contacts; sandier material at the base
fines upward into muddier sediment. Cores often
met refusal in well-sorted fine sand. Few shells
were observed. Organic material is concentrated in
discrete layers or at contacts between beds. A large
fragment of wood, collected from the Kennebec
River paleodelta at 34 m below mean high water
was dated as 10.800 0.55 ka (Figs. 6 and 7A). A
date of 11.550 0.16 ka, also on wood in this unit,
was previously obtained at 26 m below mean high
water (Kelley et al., 1992). These dates do not con-
strain former sea-level positions, but help establish
the maximum age of overlying units. Facies GM
correlates with glaciomarine sediments commonly
exposed nearby on shore.
D. Facies D exhibits a moderate- to high-
intensity acoustic return from a generally smooth,
flat to steeply sloping upper surface (Figs. 4 and
8). Facies D is typically 20 to 40 m thick and was
observed only near the mouth of the Kennebec
River, where it composes shorelines around the
margin of the Kennebec River paleodelta (Fig. 3).
This highly stratified unit is characterized by sea-
ward-dipping, planar internal reflections. Basin-
filling muds commonly lap on and bury the toe of
some shorelines. Beneath these muds, horizontally
stratified sediment extends, in some cases, several
kilometers seaward from the shoreline. Laterally
traceable in the subsurface, this lower member of

Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997 617

 BARNHARDT ET AL.

LOG OF CORE 93-04

0m 1.5 3.0
facies M
E W Utr
facies E

0.5 2.0 3.5

8.730

Fig. 7B
0.070 ka

8.730
0.060 ka
1.0 2.5
facies E
Ub
multiples facies GM

10
M VC93-04 1.5 3.0
4.54
20 E GM-P
KEY TO CORE LOGS
30 Shells
Depth (m)

Mud
Articulated
40 Muddy Sand/ Life Position
GM-D Sandy Mud
Burrows
50 Fine Sand
Wood
Medium Sand Fragments
60 GM-M Detrital
T Coarse Sand Organics
70 Horizontal
BR T Gravel Laminations
80 V.E. = 12.8X Gradational
Coarsening Contact
Upward
0 km 0.5 1 1.5 Sequence Sharp
Fining Contact
Upward Erosional
Sequence Contact

Figure 5. Seismic-reflection profile across upper Penobscot Bay, showing well-stratified glaciomarine sediment unconformably overlain by
thin deposits of facies E (for abbreviations, see Fig. 4). Clinoforms in facies E are not oriented in a seaward direction, as in facies D; rather, they
dip perpendicular to the axis of an incised, filled channel. Core 93-04 penetrated both the tidal ravinement (Utr) and the regressive basal un-
conformity (Ub). Numerous specimens of Mya arenaria were observed in life position; two were dated as 8.730 0.060 and 8.730 0.070 ka. This
profile replicates an earlier profile of Knebel and Scanlon (1985, their Fig. 6). Location is shown in Figures 1 and 12B.

facies D constitutes a flat-lying, coherent unit that
crosses adjacent basins.
Facies D was sampled in 10 cores along the
margin of the Kennebec River paleodelta in
depths of 2262 m; it is absent in Penobscot Bay.
In many locations cores failed to penetrate a sur-
ficial layer of coarse sand and gravel (Fig. 8). Be-
neath that layer, sediments consist of rhythmi-
cally bedded, dark greenish gray (5Y 4/1, 5GY
4/1) to bluish gray (5B 4/1, 5BG 4/1) fine sand
and mud. Fining-upward couplets (graded beds)
with sharp basal contacts are 13 cm thick, in
some places up to 30 cm. Lower portions of these
graded beds typically exceed 80% sand, and the
finer upper portions are dominated by silts and
clays. Cores often met refusal in massive beds of
densely packed, slightly muddy, fine sand. Over-
all, the texture, structure, and color of facies D is
very similar to facies GM. Fossils are rare, but a
shallow water species of barnacles (Balanus bal-
anoides) was collected in a core from a lowstand
shoreline at 57 m below mean high water and
was radiocarbon dated as 10.680 0.16 ka
(Fig. 2 in Barnhardt et al., 1995). An articulated
bivalve (Nucula tenuis), located stratigraphically
below the barnacles in the same core, returned a
date of 10.850 0.045 ka. Wood fragments and
thin organic-rich layers are relatively common. A
large wood fragment was collected near the un-
conformable base of facies D, where it overlies
facies GM at 53 m below mean high water, and
was dated as 10.310 0.06 ka. Facies D is inter-
preted as deltaic sediment, deposited during post-
glacial regression and lowstand ca. 10.810.3 ka.
E. Facies E is a generally thin, heterogeneous
unit of limited lateral extent that exhibits moder-
ate- to high-intensity internal stratification. It
commonly fills low-lying areas in depths of
1530 m, and overlies a sharp basal contact that
is generally horizontal (Fig. 9) and locally chan-
nelized (Fig. 5) into underlying facies GM. Kne-
bel and Scanlon (1985) presented an accurate de-
scription of facies E, and interpreted it as fluvial
deposits (Qf) that fill ancestral valleys of the Pen-
obscot River. One near-surface acoustic unit
(Qf) fills valleys that have been excavated into the
well-layered sediments to a maximum depth of
about 40 m below sea level. The unit exhibits

618 Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997

 RIVER-MOUTH DEPOSITS IN GULF OF MAINE

W E

multiple

10
20 SG VC92-14
30
Depth (m)

40
50
60 GM GM
BR
70
Figure 6. Seismic-reflection profile
80 across the Kennebec River paleodelta.
V.E. = 13.3X
90 Glaciomarine sediment fills deep bed-
0 km 1 2 3 rock valleys and is overlain by a thin ve-
neer of sand and gravel. Location is
LOG OF CORE 92-14 shown in Figure 1; for abbreviations,
facies SG see Figure 4.
0m 1.5 3.0
Usr
facies GM

0.5 2.0 3.5

1.0 2.5
4.09
10.800
Fig. 7A

0.055 ka

1.5 3.0

short, discontinuous, and irregular reflectors, and
locally it is cross-stratified. The unit was found
only in isolated pockets near the mouth of the
Penobscot River (Knebel and Scanlon, 1985,
p. 315). Similar units are now recognized on the
Kennebec River paleodelta (this study) and in
Saco Bay (Barber, 1995), making a total of three
reported occurrences on the Maine shelf.
Facies E is a highly variable unit that was sam-
pled in nine cores from depths of 2027 m. It is a
generally poorly sorted, moderately bedded to
massive, dark greenish gray mixture of mud,
sand, and gravel. Wood fragments and detrital or-
ganic matter are common, in many cases forming
discrete layers with a strong H2S odor. Fossil
specimens of shallow subtidal to intertidal species
of bivalves, all commonly found in modern estu-
aries of the region, were collected in cores. Whole
valves of Mytilus edulis, taken from the Kennebec
River paleodelta at 24 m below mean high water,
were radiocarbon dated as 7.490 0.090 and
7.310 0.070 ka (Fig. 9). Two articulated speci-
mens of Macoma balthica, observed in life posi-
tion at 26 m below mean high water, were dated
as 8.610 0.040 and 8.710 0.035 ka. In Penob-
scot Bay, numerous articulated specimens of Mya
arenaria, also observed in life position at 26 m be-
low mean high water, returned two dates of 8.730
0.060 and 8.730 0.070 ka (Figs. 5 and 7B).
Organic-rich horizons containing salt-marsh fora-
minifera (Trochammina macrescens, Trocham-
mina inflata; W. R. Gehrels, 1993, personal com-
mun.) are closely associated with the dated bi-
valves in both locations. Barber (1995) also
observed these salt-marsh species in a core at the
mouth of the Saco River (Fig. 1), near where Field
et al. (1979) previously obtained a peat at
12.5 m depth that was dated as 7.665 0.320 ka.
On the basis of this fossil evidence, facies E is in-
terpreted as estuarine sediment, possibly depos-
ited in a back-barrier or lagoonal environment.
SG. Facies SG occurs at all depths on the Ken-
nebec River paleodelta, but is absent in Penobscot
Bay. Where present, it forms the uppermost strati-
graphic unit. The geometry of facies SG exhibits

Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997 619

 BARNHARDT ET AL.

Figure 7. (A) Stratified glaciomarine sediment of facies GM, also depicted in

Figure 6. Large wood fragment (arrow) dated as 10.800 0.055 ka. (B) Estu-
arine sediment of facies E, also depicted in Figure 5. Large, articulated Mya arenaria is in life position and dated as 8.730 0.070 ka. (C)
Shoreface ravinement unconformity (Usr), the erosional contact between coarse-grained facies SG (above) and finer sediment of facies E (below).
For abbreviations, see Figure 4.

three major forms: (1) a seaward-thinning wedge,
(2) a thin veneer, and (3) lenticular shoals. The
wedge consists of relatively thick deposits (up to
15 m), which often exhibit short, horizontal to
gently dipping internal reflections, and it overlies
a strong basal reflector. It typically underlies the
shoreface in depths less than 20 m. The thin ve-
neer (12 m thick) occurs in deeper areas and is
difficult to distinguish from underlying material
on seismic-reflection profiles (Figs. 8 and 9). On
side-scan sonograms of the delta surface, the
acoustic signature of facies SG ranges from weak
to strong reflectivity, commonly revealing com-
plicated, interwoven patterns of rippled sand and
gravel (Barnhardt et al., 1997).
Facies SG was sampled in 17 cores from
depths of 1349 m on the Kennebec River paleo-
delta. Sediments consist of laminated to massive,
fine- to coarse-grained sand and gravel. Wood and
detrital organic matter (coffee grounds texture)
form discrete layers 15 cm thick. Although com-
mon on the surface, gravel is relatively minor in
the subsurface, usually less than 1% by weight,
but as much as 45% in some beds. These gravelly
beds are 1050 cm thick, and have sharp, ero-
sional contacts at their base. Thicker beds typi-
cally exhibit fining-upward successions; sand and
gravel at the base grade into laminated, muddy
fine sand at the top. In every case, the erosional
base of one of these beds formed the lower bound-
ary of facies SG (Fig. 7C). Shell fragments of
echinoderms, gastropods, and bivalves (some lo-
cally extinct) commonly mark the contact. No
shells in this facies were dated because of their
broken, reworked condition; many were probably
derived from underlying or nearby late Pleisto-
cene to mid-Holocene deposits. Facies SG is in-
terpreted as a transgressive sheet, wedge, or lens
of sand and gravel that was reworked from older
glacial and deltaic deposits. It represents modern
shoreface and tidal delta deposits.
M. Facies M is an acoustically homogeneous,
generally transparent or weakly stratified unit
that was observed only in relatively deep, shel-
tered basins. Where present, facies M is always

620 Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997


Figure 7. (Continued) (See caption on facing page)
the uppermost stratigraphic unit and, in areas
above the lowstand (depth < 55 m), covers a pro-
nounced, erosional unconformity (Fig. 5). Nat-
ural gas is common in sections thicker than about
10 m. Locally in Penobscot Bay, thick accumula-
tions of marine mud (up to 35 m) contain large
pockmarks (Fig. 10), interpreted as gas-escape
features (Kelley et al., 1994).
Facies M was sampled in 16 cores from the
Kennebec River paleodelta and Penobscot Bay at
depths of 1962 m. Sediments are primarily a
dark greenish gray (5Y 4/1) silty clay, locally
containing as much as 30% sand. Fine-grained
organic matter and plant fragments account for
2%3% by weight, on the basis of organic loss
on ignition. Whole shells and shell fragments are
rare. Faint to well-developed laminations, usually
due to slight variations in sand or organic content,
RIVER-MOUTH DEPOSITS IN GULF OF MAINE
are common and exhibit moderate to heavy
bioturbation.
In cores from a pockmark field in upper Pen-
obscot Bay (Fig. 10), facies M is structureless,
except for occasional thin partings of fine sand.
Shells and wood fragments are virtually absent.
Mean grain size is greater than 9 (clay); there is
minimal down-core variation. The sediments of
the upper 12 m of these cores are an unusual
brownish red color (2.5Y 4/2, 10YR 3/2), in con-
trast to the greenish gray color (5Y 4/1, 5GY 4/1)
that is more common in gas-charged, muddy sed-
iment from the Maine shelf (Belknap et al., 1986;
Kelley et al., 1994). Facies M is interpreted as
marine mud of Holocene age.
NG. The final seismic signature is a character-
istically convex-upward, high intensity, incoher-
ent reflection that attenuates or wipes out un-
Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997
derlying reflections (Figs. 4 and 10). Interpreted
as natural gas (Belknap et al., 1986; Belknap and
Shipp, 1991), facies NG overprints other units
and commonly occurs in thick sections of facies
M. Lesser quantities of gas are also present in fa-
cies GM or D, and locally enhance rather than
disrupt internal reflections by increasing the
acoustic contrast. Escape of gas through or from
unconsolidated, muddy sediment has apparently
excavated numerous large depressions, or pock-
marks, in the floor of upper Penobscot Bay (Kel-
ley et al., 1994). These pockmarks are circular in
plan view and as much as 350 m in diameter and
35 m in relief. The deepest part of many pock-
marks occurs at or near the upper surface of un-
derlying glaciomarine deposits, suggesting that
the source of gas is located along or below this
contact. Seismic reflections are not obscured by
natural gas beneath pockmarks.
Facies NG was sampled in one core from a
depth of 41 m in the pockmark field (Fig. 10). Al-
though no gas samples were collected, the follow-
ing lines of evidence indicate its presence. (1) The
color of muddy sediments in the core abruptly
changes from reddish (10YR 3/2) to greenish gray
(5G 5/1) below 2.83 m, suggesting the presence of
a reducing, perhaps methane-rich environment in
the subsurface. (2) The lower section of the core
(below 2.83 m) exhibits a blocky, fractured struc-
ture that is interpreted to represent gas expansion
cracks. (3) The core-end caps on the lower section
expanded or bulged outward by about 2 cm after
recovery of the core, presumably due to increased
gas pressure as the temperature rose. The upper
sections of the core showed no sign of gas expan-
sion. Facies NG is interpreted as natural gas of bio-
genic origin, common in muddy sediment on
glaciated shelves worldwide (Kelley et al., 1994).
TGL. Facies TGL (thin gravel layers) consists
of stacked sets of high-intensity reflections that
occur within facies GM and D. They exhibit
acoustic diffractions similar to facies NG, but are
well stratified and laterally discontinuous. Indi-
vidual reflections seldom exceed 200 m in length
and terminate abruptly in a horizontal direction
(Fig. 8). However, some can be traced laterally
away from acoustic wipeout zones, progressively
decreasing in reflectivity, but remaining coherent.
Previously described as ice-proximal, sediment-
gravity flows (Belknap and Shipp, 1991), the
TGL facies is a relatively rare, problematical unit
that may include coarse-grained channel deposits
or gas-enhanced reflections. Facies TGL always
occurs deep in the section and was not cored.
Bounding Surfaces
The sequence stratigraphic approach used in
this study defines mappable, stratiform units on
the basis of their bounding surfaces. Unconform-
621
 BARNHARDT ET AL.

Figure 8. Seismic-reflection profile across the southern margin of the Kennebec River paleodelta. Surface of delta steps down toward the delta
front in a series of benches and terraces. Clinoform reflectors (foresets) dip seaward at different angles and exhibit both sigmoidal and planar
geometries. Note crosscutting relationship among internal reflectors (unconformity?), which also show clear downlap relationship with under-
lying glaciomarine (GM). This profile apparently follows the axis of a major channel, cut at lowstand. Basal unconformity (Ub) is below thin
gravel layers (TGL), which are present at depths of 5575 m and may represent channel lag deposits. Cores penetrated less than 1 m into a sur-
ficial layer of coarse sand to pebbles (topsets?). Location is shown in Figures 1, 3, and 12A; for abbreviations, see Figure 4.

able contacts show up well on seismic records
and, in some cases, are important sequence
boundaries. These unconformities represent ero-
sional events or hiatuses in the geologic record,
and separate older from younger strata. Con-
formities, which lack physical evidence of erosion
or nondeposition, trace laterally into unconformi-
ties and form contemporaneously with them.
Usually restricted to large-scale, long-hiatus
events (e.g., Vail et al., 1977), seismic stratigraphy
is also applicable in high-resolution studies, such
as description of the deglacial sequence on the
Maine shelf (Belknap et al., 1989, 1994; Belknap
and Shipp, 1991). Three major unconformities are
recognized in this study: (1) basal unconformity,
(2) tidal ravinement unconformity, and (3) shore-
face ravinement unconformity.
The basal unconformity (Ub) is an erosional
surface that truncates glaciogenic sediment of
Pleistocene age. Formed during regression and
lowstand, it extends from the highstand marine
limit to the lowstand and marks the base of depo-
sitional sequence H (Belknap and Shipp, 1991).
The Ub was largely exhumed during the Holocene
transgression, but is preserved in areas of high
sediment supply, such as at the mouths of major
rivers. It is best preserved at the base of fluvial val-
leys that were incised at lower sea level, then filled
with younger material and later transgressed. A
lag of coarse sand, gravel, and shell fragments
typically marks the erosional surface in cores, and
contrasts with the well-sorted, muddy fine sand of
facies GM below. The basal unconformity grades
into a conformity below the depth of paleowave
base, 70 to 90 m (Kelley and Belknap, 1991). coarse sand, gravel, and shell fragments marks
The tidal ravinement unconformity (Utr) is an
erosional surface within sequence H that formed
relatively early in the transgression at the base of
tidal inlets or channels (Allen and Posamentier,
1993). The tidal ravinement unconformity sepa-
rates facies M from underlying facies E or GM
(Fig. 5). The transition is not as sharp as the Ub,
but is commonly marked by an increase in sand
content over a span of 1050 cm in a core. It is
recognized only in upper Penobscot Bay, where
sheltering headlands and islands minimize wave
activity, and tidal currents are the major agent of
erosion (Knebel and Scanlon, 1985). The preser-
vation potential of the tidal ravinement unconfor-
mity is low because continued sea-level rise sub-
merges these headlands and islands. As a result,
the inner regions of the estuary become exposed
to increased wave action that probably destroys
all traces of the tidal ravinement unconformity.
The shoreface ravinement unconformity (Usr)
is an erosional surface that formed later in the
transgression, through wave erosion at the shore-
face (Swift, 1968). This strong, relatively flat re-
flector extends from the level of the lowstand to
the modern shoreface. A relatively thin, discon-
tinuous cover of reworked sediment (facies SG)
overlies this unconformity, which truncates all
underlying deposits and commonly lies at or near
the modern sea floor (Figs. 6, 8, and 9). A lag of
the erosional contact in cores (Fig. 7C). The Usr
unconformity was observed on the Kennebec
River paleodelta and in outer Penobscot Bay
(Belknap, 1995), where shoreline retreat has left
the shelf fully exposed to wave attack and a lag of
shelly gravel is common. However, the Usr un-
conformity has not yet developed in the shel-
tered, inner reaches of Penobscot Bay.
DISCUSSION
Deltaic Deposits
Geologic maps of the Maine inner shelf (Barn-
hardt et al., 1996) show that large deposits of
sand are rare and occur primarily at the mouths of
major rivers. A striking exception is the lack of
sandy deposits seaward of the Penobscot River.
We believe that the occurrence (or absence) of
large, sandy deltas is controlled by the availabil-
ity of coarse-grained sediments within the drain-
age. The nature and quantity of sediment avail-
able for transport are related to characteristics of
local bedrock, which also influences the geome-
try of the river valley. In addition, bedrock largely

622 Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997

 RIVER-MOUTH DEPOSITS IN GULF OF MAINE

LOG OF CORE 92-01

N S 0m 1.5

facies SG
Usr
0.5 2.0 facies E

7.490
multiples 0.090 ka

7.310
0 1.0 2.5 0.070 ka

10 SG
VC92-01
Depth (m)

20
E
30 1.5 2.99
GM
40 BR

50
V.E. = 9.6X
60
0 km 0.5 1
Figure 9. Seismic-reflection profile across the Kennebec River paleodelta. Core 92-01 penetrated the shoreface ravinement unconformity (Usr)
at the base of the thin sheet of sand and gravel (SG), and met refusal in facies E. Fossil mollusks (Mytilus edulis) from shell beds in facies E were
dated as 7.310 0.070 and 7.490 0.090 ka. Location is shown in Figure 1; for abbreviations, see Figure 4.

controls the geomorphology of the coast and
shelf, and thus the location of major depocenters.
The Kennebec River mouth is framed by
metasedimentary rocks that form the elongate
peninsulas of the indented embayments coastal
compartment (Kelley, 1987). A series of north-
southtrending ridges extends offshore as rocky
shoals and islands, perpendicular to the general
trend of the coastline. The bedrock surface, now
largely buried by the Kennebec River paleodelta,
exhibits extreme changes in relief (Fig. 11A).
Several submarine ridges, 13 km wide and more
than 10 km long, are separated by valleys more
than 70 m deep (Fig. 6). The Kennebec River for-
merly followed these valleys, as it does today. At
lower sea level, the ridges restricted distributary
channels to a series of narrow chutes, which fun-
neled outwash to the sea. Emergence of these
ridges (regression) and their later submergence
(transgression) probably controlled the patterns
of stream flow and sediment deposition in the
area. The total thickness of sediment on the Ken-
nebec River paleodelta varies greatly over short
distances, and is generally thin on the ridges and
thicker in the valleys (Fig. 11B). Ridge crests
project above the surface of the Kennebec River
paleodelta, forming chains of rocky islands and
shoals. The deep thalwegs of bedrock valleys are
filled with up to 50 m of sediment, mostly facies
GM. The deposits are long and narrow in plan
view, and have an estimated total volume of 2.1
109 m3.
Lowstand deltas also exist seaward of other
rivers draining the northern Appalachians. Often
their existence is only inferred from bathymetric
charts, such as the protruding set of contours ob-
served near the mouth of the St. John River
(Fig. 1; Canadian Hydrographic Service, 1988).
Abundant river-derived sediment in Long Island
Sound records the complex depositional history
of the Connecticut River, including episodes of
both lacustrine and marine deltas (Horne and Pat-
ton, 1991). The Merrimack River paleodelta
(Fig. 1) represents the closest and otherwise best-
studied feature of this type (Oldale et al., 1983). It
is comparable to the Kennebec River paleodelta in
area (140 km2), but the delta front is generally
straight and trends parallel to the present coast-
line. Alternating beds of sand and silt, with abun-
dant wood fragments similar to sediments of the
Kennebec River paleodelta, characterize cores
from the Merrimack River paleodelta, which
overlies an extensive seismic-reflection event that
is etched on top of glaciomarine sediment. The es-
timated volume of material above this reflection,
interpreted as the regressive unconformity, is 1.3
109 m3 (Oldale et al., 1983). The Saco River, al-
though relatively small, deposited at least 0.07
109 m3 of sandy material above a similar reflec-
tor in shallow parts of Saco Bay (Barber, 1995).
In contrast, the Penobscot River has no dis-
cernible, sandy deposits at its mouth (Fig. 12),
although it drains an area in central Maine com-
parable to the Kennebec River. The Penobscot
system is dominated by mud. Sources of coarse
sediment are rare, except in its headwaters. Be-

Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997 623


Figure 10. Seismic-reflec-
tion profile across upper Pen-
obscot Bay. Numerous pock-
marks (arrows) occur in the
Holocene muds, terminating
at or near the upper surface of
the glaciomarine sediments.
Very uniform silts and clays
exhibit a distinct color change
at 2.82 m in core 93-06, which
was collected from a gas-
charged, interpockmark area.
Location is shown in Figure 1;
for abbreviations, see Figure 4.
fore reaching tidewater, the river passes through
a broad, inland, low-relief plain that may have
served as a catchment for coarse material.
The bulk of the Kennebec River paleodelta
consists of well stratified deposits with a charac-
teristic draping habit that indicates rapid deposi-
tion from suspension, thus suggesting a glacio-
marine, not deltaic, interpretation (Belknap et al.,
1986). On the basis of acoustic properties alone,
it is difficult to distinguish between draping sedi-
ments of glaciomarine origin and those of deltaic
origin. However, the external geometry and inter-
nal reflections of these deposits do not meet the
criteria for classification as deltaic (Table 1).
Radiocarbon dates now identify the upper part of
facies GM as relatively young (11.510.8 ka), re-
gressive sediments, not deposits that originated
close to ice sheets. Rather, the upper part of facies
GM in this area is composed of sediments de-
rived from a distant glacial source or reworked
from previously deposited, fully glaciomarine
muds that lie within the fluvial basin. This re-
worked, fine-grained material was then rapidly
deposited in littoral to marginal marine environ-
ments. The transition from a glaciomarine to a
deltaic environment occurred at an ill-defined
point in time as the retreating ice margin became
increasingly separated from the shoreline. Thus,
the upper part of facies GM is a transitional unit
624
BARNHARDT ET AL.
deposited in a rapidly changing deglacial to post-
glacial setting.
The development of the Kennebec River pa-
leodelta is analogous to earlier deposition of re-
gressive sand plains in the upper Kennebec River
valley and southwestern Maine (Bloom, 1963).
The conformable contact between glaciomarine
deposits (Presumpscot Formation) and the over-
lying regressive deposits (correlative with the
Embden Formation of Borns and Hagar, 1965)
documents a period of continuous deposition as
sea level fell from the highstand. There was no
clear break between glaciomarine and marine
sedimentation, thus no distinct contact exists in
subaerial exposures. Likewise, no significant hia-
tus or period of erosion occurred in most offshore
areas. No unconformity is visible beneath most
of the Kennebec River paleodelta, unlike the ex-
tensive erosional surface beneath the Merrimack
River paleodelta (Oldale et al., 1983). Only along
the margin of the Kennebec River paleodelta,
where shorelines and foreset beds occur, does a
clear unconformity separate facies D from the
underlying facies GM (Fig. 12A). The sandy
shorelines apparently originated as delta lobes
that prograded during regression and lowstand,
and thus are correlated with, and slightly younger
than, the Embden Formation.
Previous models of delta formation inferred
Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997
that the shorelines surrounding the Kennebec
River paleodelta were deposited at the time of
lowstand and subsequent transgression (Bel-
knap et al., 1989). The original theory was that,
as relative sea level fell, deltaic sediment pro-
graded into the basin until the maximum low-
stand was reached. Then, as relative sea level
rose, a series of progressively shallower shore-
lines formed, possibly related to episodic
changes in sediment supply. However, new seis-
mic data and cores have clarified the facies rela-
tionships. Conclusive evidence for a regressive
origin for facies D includes (1) the morphology
of the delta surface, and (2) the geometric rela-
tionships (baselap) between internal strata of fa-
cies D and the Ub at its base. The sea floor pro-
gressively steps down toward the delta front in a
series of benches and terraces (Fig. 12A), per-
haps representing lobes of a prograding braid
plain. Below each terrace, seaward-dipping, cli-
noform reflectors occur and, at the base, exhibit
clear downlap onto the U b. A series of thin
gravel layers occurs at the contact between fa-
cies D and GM (depth 5575 m), and may rep-
resent lag deposits at the base of a channel cut at
lowstand. Downlap also occurs at the uncon-
formable base of shorelines along the east delta
(Fig. 4). The downlapping nature of baselap of
facies D implies either lowstand, followed by
 RIVER-MOUTH DEPOSITS IN GULF OF MAINE

progradation of the delta, or penecontempora-

DEPTH TO
neous channeling with lateral accumulation. BEDROCK
Kennebec
River A
Estuarine Deposits
New Meadows 30
Holocene peat and estuarine deposits are com- Paleovalley

70
monly observed on the continental shelf, particu-
larly along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United
States and attest to shoreline migration as a con-
20 50
sequence of sea-level change (Pierce and Col-

50
Seguin
30 Island
quohon, 1970; Sheridan et al., 1974; Field et al.,
30
1979; Niedoroda et al., 1985; Ashley et al.,
30
1991). In glaciated regions, however, offshore ev-
40
idence of former estuarine environments is rare. Figure 11. (A) Contour 50

The high-amplitude relative sea-level changes in map depicting depth of bed-

50
these regions minimized sediment accumulation 70 land
rock surface beneath the 70
in any one location, and produced multiple epi- Kennebec River paleodelta. km depth > 50 m
sodes of erosion. However, preservation is locally (B) Isopach map depicting 0 2 4 bedrock pass,
Contour Interval = 10 m depth = 35 m
enhanced where the basal unconformity lies at total thickness of late Qua-
greater stratigraphic depths (Belknap and Kraft, ternary sediment overlying
TOTAL
1985). For example, rivers entering the Gulf of
Maine cut deep valleys during lowstand that were
bedrock. Dashed line de-
picts the limit of data used to
SEDIMENT
THICKNESS
Kennebec
River B
later filled with transgressive estuarine deposits construct these maps, not
(Fig. 12). Estuarine deposits on the Scotian shelf necessarily the outline of the
are also confined to topographic depressions that, paleodelta. New Meadows
10
Paleovalley
in some cases, represent extensions of estuaries 30

on the present coast (Forbes et al., 1991).

20
The earliest known appearance of stable shore-
40
line features (i.e., marshes, barriers) along the 20
20

Seguin
Maine coast is indicated by estuarine deposits on Island
10 20
the shelf, particularly the occurrence of salt-marsh
10
foraminifera. Radiocarbon dates on estuarine bi- 40 40
30
valves coincide with a pronounced deceleration of
relative sea-level rise beginning ca. 9.2 ka (Fig. 2).
Shoreline stabilization is associated with this pe- thickness (m)

10
30
riod of slow relative sea-level rise, during which km
<2

sediment accumulation was able to keep pace 0 2 4

with increases in accommodation space. This al-
lowed the formation of extensive tidal flats, at
least some salt marshes, and possibly barrier-
lagoon systems when sea level stood at 20 m.
Subsequently, these environments migrated to
their present location, probably after ca. 7 ka,
when rates of sea-level rise again accelerated
(Barnhardt et al., 1995). No estuarine fossil as-
semblages or remnants of salt-marsh sediments
older than 9.2 ka were observed in cores. One ex-
planation is that early rates of transgression were
too rapid and overwhelmed sediment supply, pre-
venting formation of substantial estuarine depos-
its. Alternatively, erosion obliterated all traces of
their formation.
CONCLUSIONS AND A MODEL OF
DELTA EVOLUTION
Seismic-stratigraphic analysis, combined with
chronological control from cores, forms the basis
of an evolutionary model for the Kennebec River
paleodelta. Nine seismic facies are distinguished
Contour Interval = 10 m
within two depositional sequences, formed during
a regression-transgression cycle driven by glacial-
isostatic adjustments. The complicated strati-
graphic architecture incorporates river-mouth de-
posits of fluvial, estuarine, deltaic and littoral
origin, all contained within the framework of a
paleodelta.
This study identifies two new units, facies D
(deltaic) and E (estuarine), and revises previous
models of late Quaternary stratigraphy on the
Maine inner shelf (Fig. 13). The deltaic facies
was found only at the mouth of the Kennebec
River and is interpreted as an upper regressive fa-
cies overlying glaciomarine sediments. The pres-
ence of foreset beds and radiocarbon dates
younger than 12 ka demonstrate that the Ken-
nebec River paleodelta is a relict delta, formed
during the postglacial regression and lowstand. It
is not a subaqueous fan of glacial origin, which
2-30
> 30
would have no close relationship to former sea
level. The estuarine facies, perhaps deposited in
barrier-lagoon environments ca. 9.27.3 ka, is
found in shallower water (1530 m depth) on
both the Kennebec River paleodelta and in upper
Penobscot Bay. We suggest that facies E repre-
sents a later depositional phase and overlies fa-
cies D (Fig. 13), but we nowhere observed them
in direct contact, and their stratigraphic relation-
ship remains unknown.
Penobscot Bay is rocky and has muddy basins
and subtidal flats. Coarse sediments were not
available to form a lowstand paleodelta like those
of the Kennebec and Merrimack Rivers. Coarse
sediments are not found today in abundance in
the lower Penobscot River valley, probably be-
cause they are trapped in a broad, low-relief, in-
land basin. Much of the sediment source for the
Penobscot system is fine glaciomarine mud. The

Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997 625

 BARNHARDT ET AL.

0
A KENNEBEC RIVER PALEODELTA
0
N SG (ebb tidal delta) S
Figure 8
20 SG 20
E
Depth (m)

40 40
Inferred Sea-
GM Level Lowstand
T
60 T D 60
M
BR
80 BR GM 80
Kelley et al., 1992 BR
their figure 4
V.E. = 25X
100 100
0 km 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Figure 12. Representative stratigraphic sections from deposits lo-

0
B PENOBSCOT BAY
0
cated seaward of the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers, both digitized
E W at a common scale. Glaciomarine sediments (GM) dominate the
Figure 5
M stratigraphy of the inner shelf, overlying bedrock (BR) and till (T).
20 M 20
(A) Sandy deltaic sediments (D) form a shoreline at the lowstand
E depth of 55 m along the margin of the Kennebec River paleodelta. A
E
40 40
Depth (m)

GM relatively thin layer of reworked sand and gravel (SG) covers the
surface of the paleodelta. (B) No sandy delta exists in Penobscot Bay,
BR
60 60 where muddy marine sediments cover the sea floor. At depths of
GM
T 2030 m in both areas, estuarine sediments (E) fill valleys that were
80 BR 80 incised on the surface of facies GM. Boxes index original seismic
V.E. = 25X
data used as figures in this paper and one that replicates a profile
0 km 1 2 3 4
from Kelley et al. (1992). See Figure 1 for location of tracklines.

Kennebec River system, in contrast, drains head-
waters rich in coarse sediment and flows through
narrow bedrock valleys, which enhance sediment
transport.
Evolution of the Kennebec River paleodelta
was characterized by shifting loci of intense del-
taic deposition and later reworking of abandoned
lobes. Shorelines formed at different times and at
different depths, and are interpreted as both
regressive (11.510.8 ka) and transgressive
(<10.8 ka) in age. Our five-phase model (Fig. 14)
portrays the stratigraphic and morphologic evolu-
tion of the Kennebec River paleodelta, based on
(1) relative sea-level history, (2) changes in sedi-
ment supply, and (3) influence of bedrock topog-
raphy (basin geometry).
Phase 1: Highstand (13.0 ka, +70 m
Relative Sea Level)
The inner continental shelf had previously
been sculpted into a series of transverse troughs
by an ice sheet(s) that advanced across the area
(1, Fig. 14). After the Laurentide Ice Sheet re-
treated past the position of the present coast ca.
13.5 ka, the high-relief, rocky sea floor was
buried by glaciomarine muds containing occa-
sional dropstones. Relatively thicker in low-lying
areas and thinner over rocky highs, these glacio-
marine deposits created a subdued topography.
As the sea withdrew from the highstand shore-
line, sandy regressive deposits of the Embden
Formation were deposited in the upper Kennebec
River valley. Large quantities of sandy outwash
accumulated in a series of sand plains that pro-
gressively thin downstream, but had not yet
reached the present coast in significant quantities.
Phase 2: Regression (11.0 ka, 35 m
Relative Sea Level)
Formation of the Kennebec River paleodelta
began when relative sea level fell below the mod-
ern coastline and the locus of fluvial deposition
shifted seaward (2, Fig. 14). We infer that shallow
shorelines (3040 m depth) on the east delta
formed during the regression, ca. 11.0 ka. Argu-
ments for a regressive origin are based on (1) the
timing of maximum sediment discharge neces-
sary to produce a coarse-grained, Gilbert-type
delta in deep water, and (2) the combined influ-
ence of bedrock configuration and relative sea-
level change on the location of sediment depo-
centers.
These shorelines exhibit classic characteristics
of a Gilbert delta; they are flat-topped, lobate in
plan view, and clearly exhibit seaward-dipping
foresets on seismic profiles. Preservation of the
original morphology is high, particularly the dis-
tinct break in slope between the delta top and the
delta front that is indicative of sea level at the
time of formation (Oldale et al., 1983). The deep
shelf valley adjacent to the delta provides the re-
lief, or water depth needed to form a Gilbert delta
(Wright, 1977). Graded to a sea level of 30 to
40 m, the front of the Kennebec River paleo-
delta descends steeply (19) into the shelf valley,
where water depths at the time exceeded 50 m.
Progradation of the delta into this deep basin,
where accommodation space was high, argues
for a rate of sediment supply that was available
only during regression and lowstand (certainly
not during transgression). At these times, sea-
sonal discharge from remnant ice caps in the
headwaters was still high and the newly emerg-
ing landscape was easily eroded. Relative sea-
level changes later winnowed these shorelines,
producing an armored surface that is nearly im-
penetrable to cores. Therefore, these shorelines
are not directly dated.
Bedrock provides a structural framework for
the Kennebec River paleodelta and, like many of
the highstand deltas, apparently acted as local pin-
ning points during the growth phase of the Ken-
nebec River paleodelta (Thompson et al., 1989;
Crossen, 1991). The series of rocky valleys and
ridges also defined the geometry of river channels
and the location of outlets, as they do today. The
relief on these divides, particularly the elevation
of the deepest passes through them, determined

626 Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997

 RIVER-MOUTH DEPOSITS IN GULF OF MAINE

Shoreface Natural DEPOSITIONAL

Sand Gas (NG) SEQUENCES

Figure 13. Late Quaternary deposi- A) Correlation

of Sequences SG Paleodelta Sand
Shelf
tional sequences and stratigraphy on
(Belknap and Shipp, and Gravel M
Basin H
the Maine inner shelf, based on the Ken- Mud
1991; their Figure 6)
nebec River paleodelta. Sequence G GM- Ponded Glacial-Marine GM-
P P
(glacial) overlies bedrock and is capped GM-
TGL
GM-
by a complex, time-transgressive uncon- D
SD
Draped Glacial-Marine D G
formity that grades to conformity in Massive GM GM-
M
Till T Stratified Drift
deeper basins. Sequence H (Holocene)
overlies this unconformity and consists BR Bedrock BR
of marine, estuarine, and littoral facies.
(A) Earlier model shows relatively thick
deposits of paleodelta sand and gravel Shoreface Sand Natural
Estuarine and Gravel (SG) Gas (NG)
(light gray), located above the unconfor- Usr
mity as part of sequence H. (B) Revi- B) Revision E De Shelf
sion, based on cores, interprets much of (this study) ? H
Ub lta
ic Basin
the paleodelta sediment as glaciomarine TGL M Mud
in origin, located beneath the basal un- GM TGL
conformity (Ub) and thus part of se- Glacial-Marine Sediment
(undifferentiated)
quence G. The upper part of the paleo-
SD
GM
G
delta (light gray) consists of deltaic
deposits in deeper water and younger Till T Stratified Drift
estuarine deposits near shore. The na- C) Schematic
Stratigraphy BR Bedrock BR
ture of their contact, never directly ob- +20
served, remains unclear. These deposits
are truncated by the shoreface ravine-
0
ment unconformity (Usr), and are over- SG E
ELEVATION (m)

lain by transgressive sand and gravel.

-20
(C) Schematic stratigraphy shows basal
offlap of the prograding paleodelta and
D
-40 BR SG
two sets of shorelines at 30 and 55 m T
that formed during regression and low- D NG
stand. The 20 m shoreline is depicted -60
SD GM
as a younger, transgressive feature. For M
abbreviations, see Figure 4. -80
V.E. = 50X
BR
-100
0 km 5 10 15

the former location of sediment transport path-
ways. Emergence of these passes, due to falling
relative sea level, sequentially closed off certain
pathways and redirected sediment transport. This
phase of the model focuses on an elongate ridge
that extends due south from the mainland to
Seguin Island and beyond, and effectively divides
the eastern delta from the rest of the Kennebec
River paleodelta (Fig. 11A). The only large gap,
or pass, through this ridge has an elevation of
35 m, approximately the same as the shorelines
that formed only 4 km to the east. Any streams
feeding the eastern delta had to pass through this
low gap, assuming that the present river mouth
also served as a primary outlet during regression.
We argue that, as relative sea level fell below a
critical depth of 35 m at ca. 11.0 ka (Fig. 2), the
pass emerged and no longer served as a conduit
for sediment. Barring the existence of additional
minor outlets (several exist today), the eastern
delta was isolated from its fluvial source and the
lobes were abandoned. The primary depocenter
then switched to the southern delta.
Phase 3: Lowstand (10.8 ka, 55 m
Relative Sea Level)
Fluvial discharge was diverted to the southern
delta ca. 11.0 ka (3, Fig. 14). Elongate, bedrock
valleys funneled sediment to the lowstand shore-
line, 10 km south of the modern river mouth.
Like the eastern delta, these Gilbert-type shore-
lines are typically coarse grained with well-de-
veloped foresets. A series of small terraces, each
also underlain by foreset beds, leads stepwise
down to the lowstand shoreline (Fig. 8), suggest-
ing the progradation of a braid-plain delta as rel-
ative sea level fell. Similarly, elevations of flat-
topped, braided-stream deposits (braid deltas)
also progressively decrease downstream in the
upper Kennebec valley, recording an earlier epi-
sode of relative sea-level fall (Borns and Hagar,
1965). The texture and Gilbert-type architecture
of shorelines on the southern delta margin, like
the regressive examples on the eastern delta, ar-
gue for voluminous sediment discharge. Cores
were unable to penetrate most of the deepest
shorelines, again due to their sand- and gravel-
covered surface. However, one shoreline at
55 m depth was successfully cored and pro-
vided an age of ca. 10.8 ka for the lowstand
(Barnhardt et al., 1995).
Meanwhile, the delta top was exposed and ef-
fectively became a zone of erosion and sediment
bypass. Streams, in response to base-level fall,
downcut and cannibalized older glaciomarine
and deltaic material. Several buried channels, ex-

Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997 627

 BARNHARDT ET AL.

Western
Delta

1 4

HIGHSTAND EARLY
13.0 ka, +70 m RSL TRANSGRESSION
9.2 ka, -20 m RSL
Cape Kennebec
Small River

Eastern
Delta

Figure 14. A five-phase model

Seguin of delta evolution and response
Island
to sea-level changes, based on
the Kennebec River paleodelta.
See text for explanation.

2 5

REGRESSION PRESENT
11.0 ka, -35 m RSL Slow Transgression

New Meadows Sheepscot LEGEND

Paleovalley Paleovalley
littoral and deltaic sediment
natural gas
active deposits
marine mud
relict/reworked deposits
unconformity
generalized coastal environments glacial-marine
sediment
ledge
till
beach/upland
bedrock
3 Southern
salt marsh
Delta

LOWSTAND
10.8 ka, -55 m RSL

Phase 4: EarlyMid Transgression

tending seaward from the modern river mouth,
were identified on seismic profiles. Fluvial inci-
sion was probably limited, however, because the
low-angle slope of the exposed delta top was ap-
proximately the same as the angle of the graded
profile (e.g., Posamentier et al., 1992). The rela-
tively short duration of the lowstand also limited
incision; flume studies show that incision primar-
ily occurs as headward erosion and begins only
after sea level falls below any break in slope, such
as a delta front (Koss et al., 1994). Deep channels
also cross older, emergent deltas in the upper
Kennebec valley, providing similar evidence of
episodic downcutting and progradation that ac-
companied sea-level fall from the highstand ma-
rine limit ca. 13 ka (Jager, 1996).
(9.2 ka, 20 m Relative Sea Level)
Relative sea level rose from the lowstand posi-
tion to a depth of 20 m at 9.2 ka (Barnhardt et
al., 1995) (4, Fig. 14). The initially rapid rate of
relative sea-level rise (22 mm/yr) submerged for-
mer shorelines along the eastern and southern
margin of the Kennebec River paleodelta. Older
materials were reworked, producing the smooth,
thin sheet of sand and gravel (facies SG) that cov-
ers most of the delta surface. Sediment supply
was probably much lower relative to regression
and lowstand, when base level was falling and
there was little or no vegetation cover. Instead,
supplies of sediment were insufficient to keep
pace with rising sea level, and the delta could no
longer aggrade to sea level. As the sea flooded the
incised valleys on the delta top, a transgressive
estuarine system developed. The major locus of
sediment accumulation shifted to these estuaries,
and deposition stepped landward and onlapped
the alluvial plain (Allen and Posamentier, 1993;
Belknap et al., 1994).
The distinct, laterally continuous shorelines on
the western delta (depth 2030 m) may be rem-
nants of barrier spits, which were anchored on
rocky headlands like the modern examples
nearby. These sandy barrier systems probably
formed after ca. 9.2 ka when rates of transgression
slowed (Fig. 2), allowing sediment accumulation
to keep pace with increases in accommodation

628 Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1997


space. Earlier cores from this area returned shells
of Mya arenaria, an intertidal to shallow subtidal
species with radiocarbon ages of 2.951.30 ka
(Kelley et al., 1992), but these very young values
are incompatible with the well-documented rela-
tive sea-level history from the region. Our conclu-
sion is that these shells and perhaps the entire sand
body were reworked. Although a deltaic origin for
the western shorelines cannot be ruled out, we be-
lieve that the well-sorted, finer grained sand (in
contrast with the coarser grained material of the
other shorelines) was derived from older materi-
als on the shelf, not directly from the river. In ad-
dition, clinoform reflections at the recurved tip of
the far western shoreline dip in opposite direc-
tions (Fig. 3), suggesting spit tips rather than a
delta lobe. By this argument, the seaward-dipping
reflections represent westward progradation of
the shorelines, not deltaic foresets. The former ex-
istence of sandy barriers, and of salt marshes in
protected back-barrier areas, is best supported by
estuarine sediments buried beneath much of the
shallow, sandy shoreface.
Phase 5: Present
The sandy barriers transgressed to their present
position (5, Fig. 14). This last phase may have oc-
curred suddenly due to the acceleration of relative
sea-level rise that began ca. 7 ka (Fig. 2). Between
the lowstand sea-level position and the modern
datum, erosion has truncated much of the strati-
graphic record, but relict shorelines and buried es-
tuarine deposits on the shelf still provide evidence
of former coastal environments. Deposits repre-
senting a wide range of these environments com-
pose the Kennebec River paleodelta. The paleo-
delta, like any delta, is broadly defined as . . .
coastal accumulations, both subaqueous and sub-
aerial, of river-derived sediments adjacent to, or in
close proximity to the source stream, including
the deposits that have been secondarily molded by
waves, currents or tides (Wright, 1985, p. 1).
Significance
The Kennebec River paleodelta serves as an
example of a complex littoral system in a glaci-
ated coastal setting. It is not a classic Gilbert-type
delta; rather, it displays a variety of modes of for-
mation. Early phases of regression are character-
ized predominantly by draping prodelta and mar-
ginal marine muds and sands, deposited rapidly
in a regime of abundant sediment supply from
glacial and reworked glaciomarine sources. Later
regression and lowstand are characterized by
thick delta lobes that fit the classic Gilbert model
of topset, planar foreset, and bottomset beds.
These lobes prograded out into shelf valleys and
other paleotopographic depressions, which pro-
RIVER-MOUTH DEPOSITS IN GULF OF MAINE
vided the accommodation space necessary for
delta formation. As sea level fell, depocenters
shifted to new locations and older materials were
incised. These units collectively form a lowstand
systems tract. As sea level subsequently rose, rel-
atively thin deposits of estuarine sediment accu-
mulated in incised valleys, which provided lim-
ited accommodation space. Later evolution was
more like the destructive phases of a Mississippi
Delta lobe, where rising local sea level reworked
barrier-backbarrier and estuarine lithosomes in a
dominantly erosional transgression, forming a
transgressive systems tract. This succession of
environments and processes suggests that models
of river-mouth deposition in glaciated coasts re-
quire a careful linkage among rates of sediment
supply, rates of sea-level change, and local
bedrock control. Sequence stratigraphy coupled
with direct lithologic sampling is the proper
method for working out these complex relation-
ships. Understanding of this local example can
then provide a model for other recently glaciated
coasts and examples in the ancient rock record.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by the Maine Ge-
ological Survey, the U.S. Minerals Management
Service Continental Margins Program, the
MaineNew Hampshire Sea Grant Program, and
the National Science Foundations Experimental
Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EP-
SCoR). Radiocarbon analyses were supported by
the National Science Foundation (grant OCE-
801015) and a student research grant from the Ge-
ological Society of America. H. Knebel provided
seismic-reflection data from Penobscot Bay. The
seamanship of Captain Mike Dunn of the R/V Lee
and Captain Don Bradford of the R/V ARGO
Maine assured the success of this project, often
under difficult conditions. We also thank D. Bar-
ber, S. Bund, S. Dickson, M. Hannum, K. Hig-
gins, and R. Johnston for their assistance in the
field, and B. Oldale for many thoughtful discus-
sions. We benefited from reviews by J. Anderson,
G. Fader, and N. Christie-Blick.
REFERENCES CITED
Allen, G. P., and Posamentier, H. W., 1993, Sequence stratig-
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