9:00 GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE YOUNGEST TERRACE OF THE TOMBIGBEE RIVER NORTH OF COLUMBUS, MISSISSIPPI

John C. Cook* and Darrel W. Schmitz, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762

The Tombigbee River forms the principal river system in the northeastern part of Mississippi. It is part of an overall dendritic drainage pattern and is joined by the Buttahatchee River and the Luxapallila Creek in Lowndes County, Mississippi. The Tombigbee River presently follows the contact between the Tombigbee Sand and the Selma Chalk (which were deposited in a shallow sea during a sea-level highstand in the Upper Cretaceous). It has been depositing material in northeast Mississippi since the Pliocene and has, over time, been migrating down dip, to the west leaving four to five terrace surfaces to the east. The lowest (youngest) terrace surface is at about 200 feet in elevation and is the center of this investigation. Channel width, radius of curvature of meanders, and elevation of channels on the lowest terrace indicate that the ancestral Tombigbee River may have begun to abandon that terrace, but was pirated to the west before significant downcutting. An abandoned channel on the lowest terrace containing little in-fill indicated a piracy of the ancestral Tombigbee River prior to the abandonment of the lowest terrace. Another piracy and channel abandonment then occurred. This may have also happened just prior to the main downcutting. Additionally, radius of curvature of meanders and course size sediment in abandoned channels on the lowest terrace indicate the ancestral Buttahatchee was carrying a course grained load which was deposited in abandoned channels. This course size deposition may have also been the result of ancestral Tombigbee River abandonment, but prior to the downcutting of the River to its present floodplain.

9:15 THE MISSISSIPPI GEOLOGICAL SURVEY HELICOPTER

Michael B.E. Bograd, Mississippi Office of Geology, Jackson, MS 39289

Dr. William Clifford Morse, State Geologist (1934-1958) and professor at the University of Mississippi, wanted a helicopter for geological exploration and trips to Jackson. After years of research and preparations, and an appropriation by the Legislature, the Mississippi Geological Survey in 1950 purchased a new Kaman helicopter for $20,000. The two-seater had twin, intermeshing rotors and no tail rotor. The Survey's first pilot, geologist James Samuel Attaya, learned to fly the machine at the factory in Connecticut, then flew it to Oxford. He was succeeded as pilot by Fred Cullen Smith, a geologist and war veteran who had just graduated and joined the staff of the Survey. The third pilot was James Murry Faulkner, nephew of William Faulkner. The helicopter was used for spotting geologic exposures in remote areas, looking for structures, overflights of streams during drought, and was used during field work for county geologic bulletins. The machine had a maximum speed of about 60 mph and was difficult to fly, requiring both hands to be busy constantly. Therefore it was not used extensively, and not for transportation to meetings. Faulkner was at the controls when the machine crashed in 1957 with geologist Tracy Lusk aboard. The rotors were damaged and money for repairs was not available, so the helicopter was retired. The Mississippi Geological Survey was perhaps one of the first agencies to use a helicopter in geological exploration.

9:30 MISSISSIPPI'S GEOCHEMICAL SAMPLING PROGRAM UNDERWAY

David E. Thompson, Mississippi Office of Geology, Jackson, MS 39289

The Mississippi Office of Geology has begun work on a cooperative geochemical sampling program between southeastern state geological surveys and the U.S. Geological Survey. Other southeastern states participating in this program are Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. The objective of the project is to prepare statistically reliable geochemical maps and determine baseline geochemical values for chemical elements based on stream sediment and soil samples. It is anticipated that this data will identify areas favorable for mineral exploration, as well as provide baseline geochemistry for environmental considerations. 1305 samples statewide are to be taken from 10 x 10 square kilometer cells based on the Universal Transverse Mercator grid system. The majority of samples being collected are stream sediments from first order streams, with drainage basins in the range of about 2 to 10 square kilometers. Approximately 1/5 of the samples collected statewide will be soil samples and will substitute for stream sediment samples where suitable streams do not exist. The majority of soil samples will be collected from the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain area ("The Delta"). All samples are being shipped to the U.S. Geological Survey, Branch of Geochemistry Laboratory, where they are analyzed for a suite of 48 elements. Sampling for this first year is being concentrated in the southern third of the state so that data comparisons can be made with concurrent sampling taking place in southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

9:45 THE FIRST REPORT OF CARDITAMERA (MOLLUSCA: BIVALVIA) FROM THE EOCENE OF THE U.S. GULF COASTAL PLAIN

David T. Dockery III* and Michael Eric Williams, Mississippi Office of Geology, Jackson, MS 39289, and Clinton, MS 39056

Carditamera is a marine carditid bivalve that first appears in the middle Eocene (Lutetian and Bartonian) of France but, in the U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain, has a published record only from Miocene (Chipola Formation) to Recent sediments. The French Eocene species of Carditamera are small (less than 1 cm) and have 13 or more radial ribs. These include C. aspersa (Lamarck) and C. squamatina (Dehayes), which have expanded posterior margins, and C. valmondoisiensis (Morellet & Morellet) and C. aequicostata (Cossmann), which have elevated beaks. In comparison, the complete right valve of a new, late Eocene, Carditamera species from the Moodys Branch Formation at Techeva Creek in Yazoo County, Mississippi, is a stout shell of 24.7 mm in length and 14.7 mm in height. It has a rounded posterior margin and 13, broad, beaded, radial ribs with wide interspaces though not as wide as the ribs. While much larger than the French Eocene species, the Moodys Branch Carditamera is about half the size of C. apotegea Gardner from the Miocene Chipola Formation of Florida. Of the three living Carditamera species of North America (C. radiata [Sowerby] of Baja California to Ecuador, C. floridana Conrad of southern Florida and eastern Mexico, and C. gracilis [Shuttleworth] of Mexico and Puerto Rico), the Moodys Branch specimen most closely resembles C. floridana.

10:00 THE PLIOCENE CITRONELLE FORMATION, GULF COASTAL PLAIN

Ervin G. Otvos, University of Southern Mississippi, Institute of Marine Sciences, Ocean Springs, MS 39566-7000

The Citronelle Formation (including its eastern correlative, the so-called "Miccosukee"), first described by Matson and Berry north of Mobile, Alabama in 1916, extends eastward from the Mississippi River, well into south Georgia and northeast Florida. It is of the greatest areal extent among Gulf coastal plain formations. In Mississippi, it is encountered continuously almost to the vicinity of Jackson. Ongoing field and laboratory work covers Citronelle areas in four states. The formation consists mostly of finely-to-coarsely cross-stratified medium to coarse sands, locally with significant gravel content. Maximum clast lengths decline seaward from several inches in the north, to one inch at the coast. Coarse lithofacies were associated with river channels; the muddy-sandy units, with the clay fraction dominated by kaolinite, mostly with various floodplain facies. No estuarine intervals were yet detected west of Mobile Bay. The thin (50-200 ft) alluvial unit of predominantly alluvial origin has been intensively weathered. Apart from occasional plant remains (including even more rare age-diagnostic Japanese umbrella pine pollen, Otvos, 1997), body fossils are absent. The earlier proposed late Miocene or early Pleistocene ages can now be safely dismissed. In the absence of recognizable sedimentary structures to indicate widespread lateral channel migration, the issue of a dominantly braided, meandering, and/or transitional fluvial architecture, could not be adequately tackled.

10:15 Break

10:30 EROSION AND EQUILIBRIUM ADJUSTMENT OF A NOURISHED BEACH, HANCOCK COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

Stephen M. Oivanki, Mississippi Office of Geology, Jackson, MS 39289

A 4.5-mile stretch of the Hancock County beach from Bay St. Louis to Waveland was nourished in 1994 with sand dredged from a nearby offshore source. The Office of Geology has monitored this beach area since 1991 with annual surveyed beach profiles and GPS shoreline position measurements. The new beach was surveyed just after placement, and annually in 1995, 1996, and 1997 to determine erosion rates, estimate beach renourishment intervals, and evaluate beach maintenance practices. Since 1994, the beach has lost about 88,325 cubic yards of sand based on estimates from the cross-section changes on 28 profiles. Storm rain runoff scour between profiles adds a significant amount of loss to this figure. Average shoreline retreat is 10.2 meters over the whole beach length since 1994. Because of the beach orientation parallel to the predominant wave direction, direct offshore sand loss is the major erosion component and longshore drift is minor. The downtown beach at Bay St. Louis, however, is oriented north-south, and exhibits a strong northward longshore drift which is accelerating erosion there. Suggested beach maintenance changes include: continuous curb installation with directed rain runoff through the beach, minimal mechanical beach surface disturbance, minimal dune disturbance allowing natural vegetation cover to progress, and manual trash pickup on the beach. Based on the profile estimates, the Hancock County beach should last about another 9 years before renourishment is needed.

10:45 AN ANALYSIS OF DEER ISLAND, MISSISSIPPI USING A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS)

Tara Morgan* and Klaus J. Meyer-Arendt, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762

Deer Island, Mississippi is barrier island which historically has been vulnerable to hurricanes and shoreline erosion. Human settlement efforts have never been very extensive, although numerous development schemes were initiated--and later aborted--throughout the twentieth century. The objectives of this research are to evaluate human-environment relationships on Deer Island. Methods consist of development of a geographic information system (GIS) so that physical and cultural overlays of the island can compared and analyzed. The 1997 Deer Island shoreline is used as a reference framework on all overlays. Although the research project is ongoing, preliminary data layers including land cover, critical wildlife habitats, archeological Indian sites, historic settlement and development efforts, and historical shoreline changes from 1850 to 1997 have been integrated into the GIS.

11:00 SHALLOW SEISMIC STUDIES OF THE BIG CREEK FAULT ZONE, ARKANSAS AND MISSISSIPPI

Seth A. Berman* and James B. Harris, Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi 39210

A recent study of the Big Creek fault zone (BCFZ), mapped at the surface in southeast Arkansas, suggests that the fault zone projects to the northeast, beneath the Delta region of northwest Mississippi and may show Holocene movement. In order to investigate this possible extension of the BCFZ, shear (S-) wave seismic reflection tests were performed in order to design acquisition parameters for future seismic profiling. Results of S-wave expanding spread tests, executed south of Helena, AR and east of Tunica, MS (along the trend of the BCFZ), indicate that data quality is sufficient to image the near-surface geology. Following correlation with local well data, a strong reflection from an approximate depth of 33 m was interpreted to represent the Quaternary/Tertiary unconformity at the base of the Mississippi River alluvium. Test data also indicated possible reflections from within the Quaternary section. S-wave techniques were chosen for this investigation because of their ability to provide increased seismic resolution in unconsolidated, water saturated sediments, such as those present in the study area Analysis of S-wave seismic frequencies and velocities indicate a minimum resolvable limit of 1.3 m in the alluvium; a suitable value to image displacements (reported to range from 3 -10 m) on the BCFZ. Determining the presence and style of Holocene deformation along the BCFZ is key to understanding potential earthquake hazards that exist for the area.

11:15 KILMICHAEL DOME, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

Stephen L. Ingram, Sr., Mississippi Office of Geology, Jackson, MS 39289

Kilmichael Dome, a known yet controversial surface structural feature in central Mississippi, was initially identified by Gulf Oil Company in 1931-32 through surface mapping activities. Some 10 years later in 1940 Gulf Oil drilled the exploratory petroleum test, Gulf #1 Parker in Section 22, Township 19 North, Range 17 East, Montgomery County. Although the well was plugged and abandoned as a dry hole, it proved structure by showing the Selma Chalk interval to be some 1000 feet high in the stratigraphic section. Gulf geologists identified a repeat section in the Eutaw-Upper Tuscaloosa units, identified near vertical bedding dips at -1479' and -1626' (sea level) between the repeat section, and identified bedding dips of about 15 degree at -4241' through -4526' in the top of the Paleozoics, near TD. Early interpretations for the genesis of this feature included meteorite impact and cryptovolcanic. In 1977, the Mississippi Geological Survey drilled its first test hole at Kilmichael under supervision of Jim May, confirming the structurally high position of the Selma Chalk. Fifteen years later, in 1996, the Survey drilled its first core hole at Kilmichael, which gave the first clear indication of age and stratigraphic relationships related to the Kilmichael feature. Paleontological, lithostratigraphic, and other data show that Kilmichael Dome is an Eocene-Paleocene age, pulsed, structural uplift associated with reverse faulting in the Cretaceous Eutaw and Upper Tuscaloosa formations.

1:00 EXAMINING CRETACEOUS SEDIMENTS IN THE MISSISSIPPI INTERIOR SALT BASIN USING VIDEOMICROSCOPY

Steven C. Cash, PetroVision Systems, Pearl River, LA 70452

Cretaceous formations in Mississippi are recognized as a petroleum producing resource with abundant unexplored reserves. When wells are drilled, the cuttings and cores are often archived in various state repositories. Since geologists commonly utilize the cuttings and cores from these old wells to assist in evaluating the potential of new exploration targets, the importance of these resources is noteworthy. In addition, the recent flurry of drilling activities stimulated as a result of directional drilling technology, has made many old fields attractive as possible new prospects. A more comprehensive use of these archived geologic resources may now be realized with videomicroscopy. Videomicroscopy is a process which links a high-powered microscope, equipped with a high resolution video camera, to a computer from which images are collected and stored in a visual data-base. Cretaceous sediments were collected from several wells drilled in the Mississippi Interior Salt Basin, imaged with videomicroscopy, then described and loaded into the Lithologic Information System (LIS). This software and imagery is conveniently packaged on a CD for easy viewing and inspection. The LIS greatly facilitates visual access to bore-hole cuttings and cores which are imaged and described, in addition to mud logs and e-logs which have been scanned and integrated into the user specified application software. These features help to overcome the physical difficulties involved in correlating cuttings and cores to various logs as well as an aid in risk assessment decisions. By assisting geologists in overcoming some of the time-consuming and expensive difficulties involved in examining the cuttings and cores available from thousands of wells, videomicroscopy and the LIS may prove to be a valuable new tool in petroleum exploration.

1:15 NEW LOWER CRETACEOUS OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION RESULTS FROM DEEPER DRILLING, BROOKHAVEN FIELD, LINCOLN COUNTY, SOUTHWESTERN MISSISSIPPI

Stephen D. Champlin, Mississippi Office of Geology, Jackson, MS 39289

Brookhaven field is located in northwestern of Lincoln County, southwestern Mississippi, on the southwestern edge of the Mississippi Interior Salt Basin. The field was discovered on May 31, 1943, with the completion of the California Co., T. Smith No. 1 well on a large faulted anticlinal structure identified following seismic exploration of a gravity minimum. On initial test the well pumped 153 BOPD of 25 degree gravity oil through perforations from 10,138' to 10,175' and 10,288' to 10,322' in sands of the Lower Tuscaloosa. As of 12/31/96, the field had produced over 73.3 million barrels of oil and 337.5 billion cubic feet of gas from a total of 186 wells which have produced from the Upper Cretaceous Lower Tuscaloosa Formation. In February of 1979 Chevron U.S.A. Inc. completed the #1 Hamlin Smith Unit 2 well in Section 4-T7N-R7E in the 12,300' Paluxy Oil Sand. This well completed as a marginal oil well and produced over 24,000 barrels of oil and 12.6 million cubic feet of gas before being plugged. In March of 1997, the current field operator, Coho Resources, Inc., began a drilling program to evaluate the deep potential of the field. The initial well, which was permitted for a total depth of 13,800', resulted in successful production tests of 205 BOPD from a Paluxy oil reservoir at 12,960' and 410 BOPD from a Washita-Fredericksburg oil reservoir at 11,820'. The operator has reported a total of 183 net feet of productive sand in three Paluxy sands and eleven different Washita-Fredericksburg sands. Additional work in the field has established deeper Rodessa production.

1:30 PREDICTING WILDCAT DRILLING RESULTS USING SURFACE TECHNIQUES

Jack S. Moody, Mississippi Office of Geology, Jackson, MS 39289

For the past four years the Mississippi Office of Geology has been actively involved in field trials of surface geochemical oil and gas exploration techniques. The techniques we evaluated over known fields were: radiometrics, microbial, free soilgas, iodine, Pearson's magnetometer related tellurics, and hyperspectral remote sensing. Each of these techniques have had enough success in our field trials to warrant further testing. When considered jointly these techniques have shown strong evidence that hydrocarbon microseepage is taking place over many of Mississippi's oil and gas fields. Although this evidence is encouraging for exploration there still remains a significant gap between their use and the confidence or lack thereof by many explorationists. In order to address this need the Office of Geology has begun its wildcat prediction experiment. Wildcat wells will be surveyed by one or more techniques and the prediction will be made prior to drilling. The experiment will test a statistically significant number of wildcats and the results will be presented. With this type of data the explorationist will have a track record to consider and can then make a more informed decision on geochemical applications in his or her exploration efforts.

1:45 AN OLD IDEA, A NEW PLAY--OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION OF SHALLOW, PIERCEMENT SALT DOMES IN THE MISSISSIPPI INTERIOR SALT BASIN

Rick L. Ericksen, Mississippi Office of Geology, Jackson, MS 39289

There are 53 documented, piercement salt features in Mississippi whose crests are shallower than 6,000 feet. Recent exploration, utilizing 2-D seismic data and subsurface control, supplemented by additional, high quality, 2-D seismic lines, has lead to the discovery of significant new fields in the Mississippi Interior Salt Basin. Potential trapping configurations are formed when strata are pushed upward by movement of the salt diapir. The caprock/salt face of the diapir is juxtaposed against potential reservoir beds prior to or penecontemporaneously with hydrocarbon migration. The rather dismal results of initial oil and gas test well drilling, which began in the late 1920s, led to the erroneous conclusion that all diapiric salt movement was late (Tertiary), occurring after the generation and migration of hydrocarbons. As a result of this widely accepted conclusion, little exploration activity ensued. More recent drilling activity has challenged this interpretation and it appears at least for some domes there were periods or pulses of growth/salt movement during the Cretaceous. Drilling activity around piercement domes has surged as a result of this shift in thinking.

2:00 Break

2:15 Divisional Business Meeting

2:30 LAND SURFACE-ATMOSPHERIC INTERACTION ASSOCIATED WITH UNSEASONABLE FLOODS IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

Douglas W. Gamble, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762

Unseasonable floods (floods which occur in the season of lowest flood frequency) continue to surprise flood planners across the Southeast. One reason for this unpreparedness is that little research has addressed the land surface-atmospheric interactions associated with unseasonable floods. The purpose of this study is to identify the combination of climatic and physiographic features which produce extreme unseasonable floods. Analysis indicates that storms creating extreme unseasonable floods vary across the region: tropical storm/hurricane in the Carolina region; Gulf depression in the Georgia Coastal Plain; frontal storms in the Gulf-Atlantic and Tennessee regions. Beyond atmospheric conditions, watersheds which create a rapid hydrologic response are associated with extreme unseasonable floods. In the northern portion of the study area steep slopes and high soil moisture contribute to the rapid transformation of precipitation into streamflow. In the southern portions of the study area, a combination of low elevation, standing surface water, high soil infiltration, and high soil moisture contribute to the occurrence of extreme unseasonable floods. These features suggest that in southern regions, a minimal loss of water to evapotranspiration is important for a rapid transformation of precipitation into streamflow.
 
 

2:45 A TORNADO CLIMATOLOGY AND RISK ASSESSMENT FOR THE MID-SOUTH REGION OF THE UNITED STATES

David L. Arnold, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762

While the Great Plains region of the United States has deservedly earned the title "tornado alley," several secondary spatial frequency maxima exist outside of this area. For example, when considering tornado-related death statistics, each of the top three states are found within the Mid-South region (defined as including Arkansas, Louisiana, western Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama). There is also evidence that a larger proportion of tornadoes in this area are strong and violent (Fujita scale F2-F5) as compared to the Great Plains. Given both the large frequency of tornadoes and tornado-deaths in the Mid-South, the purpose of this study is to determine the intraregional spatial variation of past Mid-South significant tornadoes (defined as F2F5), and to determine the primary earth-atmosphere processes that have contributed to these distributions. Initial results of this research, based upon county-level significant tornado data, indicate that during the period 1953-1995 specific areas within the Mid-South have been at greater risk from tornadoes than others; particularly within the Shreveport to east-central Mississippi River floodplain, Little Rock to Jonesboro, Arkansas, and northern Alabama corridors. If these sample data are representative of the population of events extending into the future, then the climatology developed can be used for risk assessment of tornadoes in the Mid-South region. Evidence that suggests this sample may be representative is suggested by the spatially contiguous nature of county-level frequencies. Investigation of the possible physical/environmental processes related to these distributions has shown that both boundary-layer buoyancy and storm-relative helicity play an important role in tornado development, and that land-surface heterogeneity may aid in enhancing these environments within the higher frequency corridors of the Mid-South region.

3:00 RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PHASES OF THE EL NINO-SOUTHERN OSCILLATION AND CHARACTER OF THE LOCAL SEVERE-STORMS SEASON IN THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES

William Monfredo, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762

Although extensive research on the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) deals with anomalies of temperature and precipitation, there has been little investigation into its effects on the thermodynamic environments that produce severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds. Research at several scales provides evidence that warm ENSO events, indicated by large negative values of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), precede a decrease in the frequency of strong and violent tornadoes (Fujita scale F2 - F5) during the February to July convective season in several regions of the central United States. These regions include the Southern Low Plains (SLP), the Southern High Plains (SHP), and the Mid-South (MS). Additionally, cold events, indicated by large positive values of the SOI, precede a higher incidence of F2­F5 tornadoes during the convective season in the same regions. Investigation into the physical processes behind these correlations reveals that "cap strength" in the SLP appears to be enhanced during the cold phase of ENSO. Conversely, cap strength appears to be reduced during warm ENSO events. An analysis of upper air flow patterns reveals the source of the stronger caps: a southwesterly flow of continental tropical (cT) air from the Mexican Plateau in association with high pressure ridges in and to the east of the SLP region up to one day in advance. Further statistical analysis supports this finding in identifying significantly lower minimum dewpoint temperatures below 500 mb that typifies the cT air.
 
 

3:15 Divisional Poster Session
 
 

LONG RANGE PLANS FOR DETERMINING THE PETROGENESIS OF GRANITE PEGMATITES IN SOUTHEASTERN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Paytha W. Elliot¹*, Marlene A. Patterson¹, Carl A. Francis², Michael A. Wise³, and Daniel A. Sundeen¹, ¹University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS 39406, ²Harvard Mineralogical Museum, Cambridge, MA 02138, and ³Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560

Exploitation of granitic pegmatites for gems, mineral collections, and bulk industrial minerals such as feldspar, muscovite and beryl and has occurred in New England on a sporadic basis for over 100 years. Although much is known about what minerals occur in these prospects, and some data is available about the configuration of their zones, very little non-speculative information has been generated regarding their petrogenesis. A team of researchers has been assembled to provide access to specimen collections and analytical services (Harvard Mineral Museum and Smithsonian Institution), and graduate students (University of Southern Mississippi and other interested schools). Southeastern New Hampshire has been targeted for this study for logistical and geological benefits. Approximately 15 pegmatite prospects will be studied. Their geological maps will be upgraded, mineralogy inventoried and characterized, and geochemical data obtained. The Chandler mine in Raymond and the Parker Mountain mine in Strafford County are presently being studied. A study of the granite of the Hillsboro plutonic series of southeastern New Hampshire has been initiated. Results of these studies will be used to test models proposed by Cerny (1982), Shearer, Papike and Joliff (1992), and others.
 
 

PRELIMINARY HOLOCENE MARINE DEPOSITIONAL MODEL WITH PROCESS INPUTS SUGGESTED

Susan Moffett* and Allen Lowrie, Picayune, MS 39466

Site-specific studies of Holocene deposition exist for diverse locations and environments. This is an appropriate time to begin synthesizing these data into a global model to explain general sedimentation patterns. Synergetic processes that control deposition consist of climate, rate and type of sediment inputs, sealevel position, and accommodation space. Geographical controls on Holocene deposition include the type of continental margin (active or passive), which side of an ocean basin and the climatic conditions (Hadley, Ferrel, or Polar cells) where deposition takes place. There are seven general inputs that can impact Holocene transgressive and highstand sediments. Climatic oscillations can occur on fifth order (~ 10³ yr), sixth order (~ 10² yr), and seventh order (~ 10¹ yr) durations and can alter the distribution of atmospheric cells. Each oscillation will affect the continuum of sediment erosion, transportation, and deposition. The climatic oscillation will modify the oceanographic western boundary intensification and influence local meteorology. Meteorologic oscillations impacts vegetation and rates of weathering. This study will attempt to describe and quantify, with an approximate range of values, the various inputs which affect Holocene deposition. Historical data for inputs such as river flow, rainfall, temperature and sealevel change yields a basis for extrapolation to pre-historic times. Detailed sedimentation patterns derived from high resolution seismic data and/or core analysis serve as proxies to estimate ephemeral inputs. The immediate and pivotal objective is to derive process equations. This preliminary model may be modified and amplified as data and understanding evolve.