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Marsh, creek and docks at dusk near Folly Beach, South Carolina.
Marsh, creek and docks at dusk near Folly Beach, South Carolina. Folly Beach, SC · Photo: M. Scott Harris / Earth Access

Coastal Plain – Continental Shelf Continuum

Fall Zone Coastal plain emerged margin · aquifers · incised valleys Continental shelf submerged margin · relict shorelines · sediment sinks Continental slope shelf break LGM shoreline · sea level ≈ −120 m · ~20 ka sea level today Tidal marsh the hinge sea level rises / falls land rises / sinks (VLM) Schematic, not to scale. Vertical exaggeration ≈ ×300.
One surface, two names. Sea level has swept the shoreline across the whole profile — out to the shelf break at the last glacial maximum, back to the modern marsh today. The marsh sits where plain and shelf trade places twice a day; whether it keeps up depends on vertical land motion as much as on sea level.

Datasets, software and documents on coastal plains and continental shelves as one continuous system — from the Fall Zone to the shelf break, across time scales from tides to glacial cycles, anywhere in the world.

The emerged coastal plain and the submerged shelf are one passive-margin surface. Sea level moves the shoreline across it; the shoreline is a position, not a boundary. The tidal marsh is the hinge — alternately plain and shelf twice a day — and vertical land motion decides which way it goes.

Most research treats the two halves separately: geomorphology, hydrogeology and geodesy stop at the shore; marine geology starts there. This collection exists for work that crosses that line, and for single-domain datasets that someone on the other side needs.

Scope

In the field

EdgeTech 2000-DSS side-scan and sub-bottom towfish on deck, R/V Savannah.
EdgeTech 2000-DSS side-scan and sub-bottom towfish on deck, R/V Savannah. Georgia Bight
Launching the towfish over the stern; the shelf below is the submerged half of the continuum.
Launching the towfish over the stern; the shelf below is the submerged half of the continuum. SC shelf
Night deployment of the CTD rosette.
Night deployment of the CTD rosette. SC shelf
Multibeam bathymetry taking shape on the survey screen (BEAMS 2019, site C).
Multibeam bathymetry taking shape on the survey screen (BEAMS 2019, site C). Wassaw Sound, GA
GNSS rover over a Coastal Plain field site; GPR and GNSS run together.
GNSS rover over a Coastal Plain field site; GPR and GNSS run together. Santee area, SC
Dredge barge at Cape Romain: sediment moved by machine where tides move it by the ton.
Dredge barge at Cape Romain: sediment moved by machine where tides move it by the ton. Cape Romain, SC
Carbonate shore platform and a tall ship offshore, Cyclades, Greece — the continuum is global.
Carbonate shore platform and a tall ship offshore, Cyclades, Greece — the continuum is global. Cyclades, Greece
Island shelf from a sailing vessel, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Island shelf from a sailing vessel, U.S. Virgin Islands. St. Thomas, USVI

Photo: M. Scott Harris / Earth Access unless noted. Click a photo to enlarge; Esc or ✕ closes.

Curation

Records are accepted when they carry an open licence, author ORCIDs, a spatial extent and a README that another researcher could work from. Single-domain datasets are welcome; the continuum is the frame, not an entry requirement. Co-curators are drawn from both sides of the shoreline and from more than one institution.

Questions and curation requests: scott@earthaccess.us.