Research Paper
GEOSPHERE
GEOSPHERE; v. 12, no. 5
doi:10.1130/GES01241.1
8 figures; 3 tables; 5 supplemental files
THEMED ISSUE: Results of IODP Expedition 313: The History and Impact of Sea-Level Change Offshore New Jersey
Miocene relative sea level on the New Jersey shallow continental
shelf and coastal plain derived from one-dimensional
backstripping: A case for both eustasy and epeirogeny
M.A. Kominz1, K.G. Miller 2, J.V. Browning3, M.E. Katz 4, and G.S. Mountain2
Department of Geosciences, Western Michigan University, 1186 Rood Hall, 1903 West Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and the Institute of Earth, Oceans, and Atmospheric Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 610 Taylor Road, Piscataway, New Jersey
08854-8066, USA
3
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 610 Taylor Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-8066, USA
4
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, New York 12180, USA
1
2
CORRESPONDENCE: michelle​.kominz@​wmich​.edu
CITATION: Kominz, M.A., Miller, K.G., Browning,
J.V., Katz, M.E., and Mountain, G.S., 2016, Miocene
relative sea level on the New Jersey shallow conti­
nental shelf and coastal plain derived from one-­
dimensional backstripping: A case for both e
­ ustasy
and epeirogeny: Geosphere, v. 12, no. 5, p. 1–
20, doi:10.1130/GES01241.1.
Received 31 July 2015
Revision received 9 May 2016
Accepted 3 August 2016
ABSTRACT
Onshore drilling by Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Legs 150X and 174AX
and offshore drilling by Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition
313 provides continuous cores and logs of seismically imaged Lower to ­Middle
Miocene sequences. We input ages and paleodepths of these sequences into
one-dimensional backstripping equations, progressively accounting for the
effects of compaction, Airy loading, and thermal subsidence. The resulting
difference between observed subsidence and theoretical thermal subsidence
provide relative sea-level curves that reflect both global average sea level and
non-thermal subsidence. In contrast with expectations, backstripping suggests that the relative sea-level maxima in proximal onshore sites were lower
than correlative maxima on the shelf. This requires that the onshore New Jersey coastal plain has subsided relative to the shelf, which is consistent with
models of relative epeirogeny due to subduction of the Farallon plate. These
models predict subsidence of the coastal plain relative to the shelf. Although
onshore and offshore sea-level estimates are offset by epeirogeny, the ampli­
tude of million-year–scale Early to Middle Miocene sea-level changes seen at
the New Jersey margin is generally 5–20 m and occasionally as great as 50 m.
These events are interpreted to represent eustatic variations, because they occur on a shorter time frame than epeirogenic influences. Correction for epeiro­
genic effects largely reconciles differences between onshore and offshore rela­
tive sea-level estimates and suggests that backstripping provides a testable
eustatic model for the Early to Middle Miocene.
INTRODUCTION
For permission to copy, contact Copyright
Permissions, GSA, or [email protected].
One of the outstanding challenges in studying Earth history is documenting the timing and magnitude of global sea-level change (e.g., Haq et al., 1987,
1988; Miller et al., 2005). Here we use eustasy to mean the global change in
sea level relative to a fixed point, e.g., the center of the Earth (Posamentier
et al., 1988). We use the term relative sea-level change to include changes in
­eustasy coupled with epeirogenic (broad regional uplift; Grabau, 1936) and
­local changes in the height of lithosphere relative to the center of the Earth.
That is, relative sea-level change is measured relative to a fixed point on the
crust (Posamentier et al., 1988). Eustasy is of particular importance because
it serves as the datum against which Earth’s tectonic and climate history can
be measured (e.g., Miller et al., 2005). In this paper, we attempt to untangle
­thermal subsidence and epeirogeny from eustasy.
The timing and magnitude of relative sea level has been studied in detail
at the Late Cretaceous to Miocene of the New Jersey margin. Onshore New
Jersey drilling by Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Legs 150X and 174AX in concert with Legs 150 and 174A outer shelf and continental slope drilling (Fig. 1;
e.g., Miller et al., 1997, 1998a; Mountain et al., 2010) has shown that the timing
of sequence boundaries (erosional surfaces recognized in cores and seismic
profiles), is consistent with d18O increases from deep-sea records (Miller et al.,
1991, 1996a, 2005, 2011; Browning et al., 2008). This suggests that relative sealevel changes observed on the New Jersey margin were caused, at least in
part, by eustatic variations due to ice growth and decay.
Backstripping is a modeling technique that accounts for the effects of sedi­
ment compaction, sediment loading, and, in this case, thermal subsidence.
Applied to the onshore coreholes, backstripping provides a relative sea-level
record for the New Jersey margin that in the absence of other tectonic effects
yields a testable estimate of eustatic change (Miller et al., 2005; Kominz et al.,
2008). However, mantle tomographic studies coupled with models of lithospheric epeirogeny suggest that the New Jersey margin has undergone broad
tectonic subsidence over the past 50 million years (e.g., Conrad et al., 2004;
Moucha et al., 2008; Spasojević et al., 2008). Thus, more work is required to
separate eustatic and epeirogenic effects in this region.
Several processes must be accounted for to untangle eustasy from epeirog­
eny. Most backstripping estimates of the magnitude of sea-level change in this
region have used a one-dimensional approach that assumes an Airy response
to sediment loads (Kominz et al., 1998; Miller et al., 1998a, 2005; Van Sickel
© 2016 Geological Society of America
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
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Research Paper
L
E
O
Ft. Mott
Z
O
IC
C
O
R
–74°
U
E
T
TA
C
C
R
O
E
New
Jersey
P
O
M
Ancora
–73°
U
CO
S
IO
C
EN
E
Sea
Girt
Island
Beach
M27
N
IN
M28
AL
1071
1073
1072
906 00
20
902
904
903
10
100
905
39°
Figure 1. Location map. Sites used in this
work are indicated as large red circles for
Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP)
Expedition 313 sites and as large green circles for the onshore coreholes with lower
to middle Miocene strata. Seismic profiles
are from three different data acquisition
cruises (R/V Ewing cruise Ew9009, R/V
Oceanus cruise Oc270, and R/V Cape
­Hatteras cruise CH0698; Monteverde et al.,
2008; Mountain et al., 2010; Miller et al.,
2013a). The seismic section Oc270 line
529 (red line passing through Exp 313 drill
sites) is shown in Figure 2. The Anchor
Dickinson well (gray filled dot; Poag, 1985;
Sugarman et al., 2011) was drilled as a gas
exploration well between the Cape May
and Cape May Zoo sites. AMCOR—Atlantic Margin Coring Project; DSDP—Deep
Sea Drilling Program.
0
20
et al., 2004; Kominz et al., 2008). Only one model, of Upper Eocene to lowermost Miocene strata, used a two-dimensional backstripping approach that incorporates flexural rigidity of the lithosphere to account for subsidence caused
by sediment loads at a distance (Kominz and Pekar, 2001). There are several
complications inherent in estimates of New Jersey margin relative sea level.
One issue is the fact that coastal plain sediments rarely contain a complete
record of sea-level change. They generally preserve only the transgressive
and highstand systems tracts, leaving lowstand sediments farther seaward
beneath what is now the continental shelf (Miller et al., 1998a). As discussed
above, other tectonic effects have been postulated in this region so that tectonic subsidence may not be entirely thermal. In particular, the arrival of the
Farallon slab beneath the North American east coast ca. 75 Ma requires that
New Jersey subsided beyond the predicted thermal subsidence (Conrad et al.,
2004; Kominz et al., 2008; Moucha et al., 2008; Müller et al., 2008; Spasojević
et al., 2008). This means that the stratigraphic succession in this region has
been imprinted by eustatic, thermal, and epeirogenic processes. Additionally,
the whole Earth response to loading effects of water coupled with the unload-
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
ELF
M29
Atlantic
City
Drill
Drillsites
Sites
IODP Expedition 313
offshore ODP
onshore ODP
DSDP
AMCOR
oil exploration
SH
40°
Bass River
Millville
Ocean
View
Cape
May
Anchor Zoo
Dickinson *
Seismic Profiles
well
a
Cape
CH0698
Oc270
May
ula
Figure 2
Ew9009
Bethany
Beach
NT
T
EN
–72°
00
PA
–75°
00
30
ing of glaciers (glacial isostatic adjustment [GIA]) has been shown to vary
globally (e.g., Peltier, 1998) with impact in this region (e.g., Raymo et al., 2011).
This effect is most pronounced during the large Northern Hemisphere ice ages
of the past 2.7 m.y., but GIA influences the reference frame of older records as
well (e.g., Raymo et al., 2011).
Drilling data provided by IODP Expedition 313 (hereafter “Exp 313”) on
the New Jersey shallow continental shelf focused on Lower to Middle Miocene strata (Mountain et al., 2010). This data set presents an opportunity to
estimate amplitudes of offshore relative sea-level change based on cores,
logs, and seismic profiles that can be compared to the onshore results. By
providing estimates of the magnitude of relative sea-level change, we can
begin to address the magnitude and timing of both eustasy and more regional
epeirogeny.
Exp 313 drilled three coreholes (sites M27, M28, and M29; Fig. 1) in ~30 m
of water, targeting Miocene sequences that also were cored in multiple locations on the onshore coastal plain. The Miocene section is well imaged on a
grid of seismic profiles that show a series of clinothems, which are packages
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
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Research Paper
METHODS AND INPUT DATA
of sediment that prograde seaward and are bounded by surfaces (in this case,
sequence boundaries) with distinct sigmoidal (clinoform) geometries (Fig. 2;
Mountain et al., 2010). These sites, drilled as a transect along seismic line
Oc270 529, provide a two-dimensional cross section of several stratigraphic
sequences formed between 12 Ma and 22 Ma (Mountain et al., 2010). Here,
we present the results of a one-dimensional backstripping study of this new
data set. As such, it is directly comparable to the one-dimensional modeling
already published from the coastal plain (Kominz et al., 2008). By extending
that study to this offshore location, it is possible to provide a preliminary estimate of the magnitude of million-year–scale relative sea-level changes and to
consider the effects of the Farallon slab and GIA on relative sea-level change
across the New Jersey margin.
Backstripping utilizes compaction, age, and paleodepth observations from
cores or outcrops to estimate how the basement would have subsided (tectonic subsidence [TS]) in the absence of sediments and eustatic sea-level
change (DSL) (Steckler and Watts, 1978; Bond and Kominz, 1984):

ρm − ρs 
ρw 
TS = Φ S * 
− ∆SL 
 − ∆SL +WD ,(1)
 ρm − ρw
ρm − ρw 


where: r is density of the asthenospheric mantle (m), the decompacted sedi­
ment (s), and seawater (w); WD is local water depth; S* is the decompacted
sediment thickness; and F is the basement response function.
IODP Expedition 313
27
NW
0
28
29
SE
.1
0
.1
m4.1
.2
.2
m5
m5.2
m1
Seconds
.3
.4
m5.6
.5
m5.8
m6
m5.7
o.5
.6
K/T
m3
m5.3
m5.32
m5.4
m5.45
m5.47
m4
m4.4
m4.3
m5
m5.6
.6
m4.1
m4.5
.7
.8
m5.3
m5.4
.9
10000
9000
Oc270 529
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
m4.2
8000
7000
6000
5000
Figure 2. Seismic profile Oc270 529. Seismic interpretations from Monteverde et al.
(2008) and Mountain et al. (2010). Depositional sequences are highlighted in vari­
ous colors and named according to the
underlying sequence boundary. For example, at M27 the strata colored blue rest on
sequence boundary m5.4 and belong to
sequence m5.4. IODP—Integrated Ocean
Drilling Program.
m5.2
.8
1.0
.4
.5
m5.33
m5.34
o1
.7
.3
4000
3000
2000
0
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
.9
1000 cdp
1.0
10 km
3
Research Paper
Table S-1. Porosity vs. Depth Curves
Clay best
Clay best
Clay low
Clay low
Clay high
Clay high
Porosity = 82.7 e-depth/418
Porosity = 61.4 e-depth/1676
Porosity = 45 e-depth/417
Porosity = 33 e-depth/1674
Porosity = 90 e-depth/425
Porosity = 76 e-depth/1674
< 172 m
> 172 m
< 172 m
> 172 m
< 95
> 95
Silt best
Silt best
Silt low
Silt low
Silt high
Silt high
Porosity = 75 e-depth/419
Porosity = 63 e-depth/1675
Porosity = 60 e-depth/420
Porosity = 52 e-depth/1676
Porosity = 85 e-depth/418
Porosity = 76 e-depth/1677
< 97m
> 97m
< 80
> 80
< 63
> 63
Sand best
Sand low
Sand high
Porosity = 54.5 e-depth/1648
Porosity = 40 e-depth/2164
Porosity = 70 e-depth/3566
Carbonate best
Carbonate low
Carbonate high
Porosity = 88 e-depth/1338
Porosity = 25 e-depth/3126
Porosity = 90 e-depth/1730
In practice, backstripping begins with measuring porosity as a function of
depth and lithology in a borehole or outcrop. These data are used to estimate
the porosity, and thus, decompacted thickness (S*) of every part of the sedimentary column through time. The sediment column is removed at each time
step and replaced by a column of seawater that represents the hole that sedi­
ment of the estimated porosity, thickness, and density would have filled. In
calculating the effect of the sediment load, we have applied a one-dimensional
approach that assumes the underlying lithosphere has no rigidity (the Airy
model, in which F, in Equation 1 is taken as 1). We also account for changes
in water depth as described below. For that, paleodepth estimates (WD) are
added to the water column that was filled with sediment (above) to determine
the total subsidence of the basement in the absence of sediment. The result is
termed the first reduction, or R1 (Bond et al., 1989):
Supplemental Table S1. Porosity versus depth curves.
Please visit http://​dx​.doi​.org​/10​.1130​/GES01241​.S1 or
the full-text article on www​.gsapubs​.org to view Supplemental Table S1.
1
Porosity (%)
20
0
30
40
50
60
70
80
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
200
Depth (m)
300
400
Porosity Data
Sandstone
500
Silt
600
Clay
Porosity Relations
Sandstone
700
800
Silt
Clay
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Supplemental Figure S1. Integrated Ocean Drilling
Program Expedition 313 porosity versus depth for
sediments dominated by (>50%) sands, silts, and
clay. Please visit http://​dx​.doi​.org​/10​.1130​/GES01241​
.S2 or the full-text article on www​
.gsapubs​
.org to
view Supplemental Figure S1.
2
TABLE S2C: INPUT DATA M29
Thickness
age
PH
3.535
0.010
P
3.590
0.070
Pleist 2
1.755
Pleist 3
2.240
Pleist 4
0.545
Pleist 5
0.820
Pleist 6
0.915
Pleist 7
0.620
Pleist 8
1.480
P1
0.000
0.090
P1
0.135
0.100
Pleist 9
13.005
Pleist 10
14.360
P2
0.000
0.110
P2
2.105
1.030
Pleist 11
4.895
UlP
0.000
1.080
where the variables are the same as described in Equation 1. R1 does not take
into account global average sea-level change ( = eustasy; DSL in Equation 1).
R1 is based on observed data that can be obtained from a corehole with a
reasonable degree of accuracy.
Tectonism at a passive margin may be assumed to follow the theoretical
behavior of a cooling plate due to lithospheric stretching during rifting, as
demonstrated by the fact that long-term (10–100 m.y.) passive margin records
can be largely explained with an exponential fit (e.g., McKenzie, 1978; Royden
and Keen, 1980). Because of the predictable nature of tectonics in this setting,
we can estimate eustasy by separating the long-term, thermal component of
subsidence from any perturbations observed in the R1 curve. A second parameter, R2, is calculated as the difference between R1 and a cooling plate model
fit to the observed R1 data. We fit a thermal plate model (following Kominz
et al., 2008) to the R1 curve to determine the thermal component of subsidence. The difference between the estimated thermal subsidence (taken as TS,
Equation 1) and R1 (Equation 2), after being corrected for the change in water
load (again assuming a one-dimensional Airy response of the underlying litho­
sphere) yields the second reduction R2:
Density
2.705
2.705
2.691
2.661
2.707
2.710
2.703
2.657
2.632
2.700
2.632
2.611
2.613
2.700
2.613
2.645
2.700
Clay
0.235
0.235
0.185
0.098
0.243
0.250
0.235
0.108
0.095
0.000
0.095
0.008
0.013
0.000
0.013
0.038
0.000
Micrite
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
Sand
0.060
0.060
0.260
0.610
0.030
0.000
0.060
0.520
0.570
0.000
0.570
0.960
0.950
0.000
0.950
0.850
0.000
CaCO 3
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.050
0.050
0.000
0.050
0.010
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
Silt
0.705
0.705
0.555
0.293
0.728
0.750
0.705
0.323
0.285
0.000
0.285
0.023
0.038
0.000
0.038
0.113
0.000
WD low
36.000
10.000
10.000
10.000
10.000
10.000
10.000
10.000
10.000
10.000
5.000
5.000
5.000
5.000
5.000
5.000
5.000
WD mid WD high
36.000
36.000
25.000
40.000
25.000
40.000
25.000
40.000
25.000
40.000
25.000
40.000
25.000
40.000
25.000
40.000
25.000
40.000
25.000
40.000
10.000
20.000
10.000
20.000
10.000
20.000
10.000
20.000
10.000
20.000
10.000
20.000
10.000
20.000
Supplemental Table S2. Ages, densities (rho), lithologies, and water depths used as input for sequences
from coreholes M27 (section A), M28 (section B), and
M29 (section C). Please visit http://​dx​.doi​.org​/10​.1130​
/GES01241​.S3 or the full-text article on www​.gsapubs​
.org to view Supplemental Table S2.
3
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
ρm − ρs 
R1= S * 
 + WD ,(2)
 ρm − ρw
ρw 
R2 = (R1−TS ) 
 .
ρm − ρw 
(3)
Employing Equations 1 and 2 to define TS and R1 explicitly defines R2
as a eustatic estimate. However, this is only true if all tectonics at the borehole in question are governed by thermal subsidence. Additional errors
may arise as a result of assuming Airy isostasy, in a basin that actually
responded flexurally to the sediment load because subsidence is under­
esti­mated at the locus of loading and overestimated at the periphery of the
basin. However, in our approach we are looking at the difference between
R1 and the theoretical thermal subsidence fit to the observed subsidence,
R1. The form of subsidence resulting from the flexural response to loading
of a thermal basin is thermal in both the center of the basin and its periph-
ery (Bond et al., 1988). Therefore, the difference between R1 and thermal
tectonics, R2, is not affected by one-dimensional backstripping (Kominz
et al., 1998). What is lost through one-dimensional analysis of a flexurally
subsiding thermal basin is the detailed relationship between data points
along a two-dimensional profile that could add insights for interpretations
(e.g., Steckler et al., 1999; Kominz and Pekar, 2001). Observed relative sea
level is also complicated by glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA; Peltier, 1998),
by gravitational, rotational, and flexural effects due to changing ice sheets
(collectively known as “static equilibrium” effects; Kopp, et al., 2010) and by
dynamic topography (e.g., Milne et al., 2009). These issues will be considered in evaluating the results.
Lithology and Porosity
We use the backstripping approach of Bond et al. (1989) in which poros­
ity is assumed to be lithology dependent and the porosity of mixed lithol­
ogies is calculated based on the proportion of lithologies present. This
has been shown to be a viable approach for marine sediments (Kominz
et al., 2011). Porosities based on moisture and density measurements from
the three sites used in this study were combined with smear slide interpretations, grain-size analysis of discrete samples, and downhole log data
(Mountain, et al., 2010; Miller et al., 2013a; Ando et al., 2014) to obtain lithology-dependent porosity versus depth plots for the New Jersey shelf (Fig. 3
and Table 1). Lithologies were extended from the depths of each discrete
measurement to the nearest stratigraphic boundary (Fig. 2) above and below that measurement; otherwise, the lithologic boundaries were placed
between samples. Siliciclastic sand-, silt- and clay-dominated intervals are
sufficiently distinct in the Exp 313 cores to provide valid comparisons with
standard, lithology-based porosity versus depth plots published elsewhere.
While the Exp 313 data show no consistent pattern with depth, their trends
are close to the >90% clay, the >90% silt, and the >60% sand curves based on
a global Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) database (Kominz et al., 2011). Thus,
we use the Kominz et al. (2011) porosity versus depth relations to decompact
the sediments in these coreholes (Fig. 3). High-end and low-end porosity
versus depth curves that encompass the range of observed porosities were
also applied for comparison (see Supplemental Table S11 and Supplemental
Fig. S12).
Ages and Environments of Deposition
The focus of this work is the Lower–Middle Miocene section, for which
considerable data are available and has been synthesized to provide input
for modeling (Table 2; detailed input data are provided in Supplemental ­Table
S23). Age estimates are based on Browning et al. (2013), who used calcareous nannofossil, dinoflagellate cyst, and diatom biostratigraphy, and numer-
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
4
Research Paper
TABLE 1. POROSITY VERSUS DEPTH CURVES
Porosity (%)
0
100
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Porosity Data
Sandstone
Silt
200
Depth (m)
300
Clay
Porosity Relations
Sandstone
Porosity = 82.7 e–depth/418
Porosity = 61.4 e–depth/1676
Porosity = 75 e–depth/419
Porosity = 63 e–depth/1675
Porosity = 54.5 e–depth/1648
Porosity = 88 e–depth/1338
<172 m
>172 m
<97 m
>97 m
Note: The porosity versus depth curves used in this model are provided above.
Porosity values, e.g., porosity at the surface and calculated porosity, are in volume
percent. Depths, decay constant, and depth ranges are given in meters (m). Porosity
curves defined to encompass the full range of data are provided in Supplemental Table
S3 (see footnote 1) and plotted in Supplemental Fig. S1 (see footnote 2).
Silt
Clay
400
500
600
700
800
Figure 3. Porosity versus depth measured in Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 313 sediments composed of >50% sand (yellow
circles), >50% silt (green diamonds), or >50% clay-sized particles (brown
squares.) The yellow, green, and brown lines show porosity-depth relations from a database of measurements in other ODP boreholes (Kominz
et al., 2011) used for decompacting each sediment type in this study. See
text for discussion and Table 1 for curves used in modeling. Porosity versus depth curves were also generated to evaluate the impact of the full
range of porosity data on results and are provided in Supplemental Table
S1 and Supplemental Figure S1 (footnotes 1 and 2, respectively).
ous strontium (Sr) isotopic age estimates of calcium carbonate from mollusk
shells, shell fragments, and foraminiferal tests. Ages were assigned using
the time scale of Gradstein et al. (2012; GTS2012). By using Sr-isotope stratigraphy, Browning et al. (2013) overcame the challenges of poor magneto­
stratigraphy and poor biostratigraphy posed by coarse, clastic, nearshore
sediments. They were able to generate age resolution of typically ±0.5 m.y.,
and in many sequences, age resolution was as good as ±0.25 m.y., where
age resolution refers to uncertainties in correlation to the geologic time scale
(Browning et al., 2013).
Superposition and sequence stratigraphic principles provide additional
relative age constraints. Our biostratigraphic and Sr-isotopic data have been
combined with seismic profiles, downhole logs, sedimentological data, and
sequence stratigraphic interpretations to provide age estimates for sequence
boundaries and several prominent subsequence stratal surfaces (Browning
et al., 2013). In this study, dates of some sequence boundaries and maximum
flooding surfaces (MFS) have been shifted slightly from previous work of
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
Clay
Clay
Silt
Silt
Sand
Carbonate
Mountain et al. (2010) and Browning et al. (2013) to honor new, detailed sequence stratigraphic correlations by Miller et al. (2013b) and to reconcile minor
differences between onshore and offshore locations (Table 3). In particular,
sequence boundaries are assumed to represent times of non-deposition that
may represent more time at one location than another, but the sediments below the unconformity are everywhere older than those above. Additionally,
MFS (based on core data) are assumed to be correlative and are given a specific date within the sequence. Finally, where onshore and offshore sequences
are correlative, minor shifts in ages (0–0.45 m.y.) of the offshore strata were
made to align correlative sequences. All assigned dates are within the error
limits presented by Browning et al. (2013).
Environments of deposition at the three well sites were based on benthic
foraminiferal assemblages, planktonic foraminiferal abundances, and palyno­
logical proxies (Katz et al., 2013; McCarthy et al., 2013; Miller et al., 2013b)
coupled with lithofacies interpretations (Browning et al., 2013). Generally the
lithofacies environments are: foreshore (<10 m), upper shoreface (10–20 m),
shoreface-offshore transition (20–30 m), and offshore (below storm wave base
that we adopt as ≥30 m). Benthic foraminiferal bathymetric zones are defined
as inner neritic (0–30 m), middle neritic (30–100 m), and outer neritic (100–
200 m) (van Morkhoven et al., 1986). Miller et al. (1997) and Katz et al. (2013)
used a subdivision of these zones on the New Jersey margin when they interpreted Elphidium-dominated biofacies as <10 m, Hanzawaia hughesi-domi­
nated biofacies as 10–25 m, Pseudononion pizarrensis–dominated biofacies as
25–50 m, Bulimina gracilis–dominated biofacies as 50–80 m, and Uvigerina-­
dominated biofacies as >75 m. For deeper biofacies not recovered by Miller
et al. (1997), Katz et al. (2013) used key taxa (e.g., Cibicidoides pachyderma,
Cibicidoides primulus, Hanzawaia mantaensis, and Oridorsalis umbonatus)
often found in high-diversity, low-dominance assemblages that indicate outer
neritic paleodepths (100–200 m) (e.g., Parker, 1948; Poag 1981; van Morkhoven
et al., 1986; Katz et al., 2003). Because changes from the Uvigerina spp. biofacies to the deeper biofacies occur gradually within sequences, Katz et al.
(2013) inferred that the maximum water depths are in the shallower part of the
outer neritic zone (~120 m). Water-depth ranges as well as best estimate water
depths are used in modeling.
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
5
Research Paper
TABLE 2. AGES, AVERAGE DENSITIES (RHO), AVERAGE LITHOLOGIES, AND WATER DEPTHS*
USED AS INPUT FOR SEQUENCES FROM SITES M27, M28, AND M29
Depth
Age
Rho
Average
clay
Average
sand
Average
Csand
Average
silt
0
0.28
0.28
13.57
13.57
22.8
22.8
27.41
27.41
32.93
32.93
97.03
97.03
112.07
112.07
136.03
136.03
180.71
184.09
209
209
218.39
218.39
225
225
227.51
227.51
228
236.15
236.15
249.76
256.31
256.31
264.61
271.35
271.35
288.64
295.12
295.12
297.7
314.67
315.78
336.17
336.17
355.64
0.01
0.011
0.072
0.085
0.19
0.22
1.03
1.08
1.4
1.5
11.4
11.8
12
12.3
12.6
12.7
12.96
13
13.1
13.2
13.4
13.5
13.65
13.75
14.8
14.85
14.9
15.2
15.3
15.6
15.8
15.95
16.65
16.7
16.75
17.1
17.3
17.35
17.65
17.67
17.7
17.79
17.85
17.86
17.9
2.66
2.66
0.07
0.07
0.79
0.79
0.02
0.02
0.1
0.1
2.66
0.13
0.65
0.02
0.19
2.68
0.26
0.33
0.01
0.39
2.66
0.14
0.62
0.02
0.21
2.66
0.13
0.65
0.01
0.2
2.66
0.13
0.67
0
0.19
2.67
0.34
0.15
0
0.51
2.68
0.21
0.48
0
0.31
2.67
0.18
0.55
0
0.27
2.69
0.28
0.23
0
0.48
2.69
0.1
0.33
0.01
0.55
2.66
0.1
0.56
0.01
0.33
2.69
0.11
0.34
0.06
0.47
2.7
2.67
0.09
0.06
0.14
0.46
0.01
0
0.76
0.47
2.7
2.7
0.09
0.09
0.08
0.15
0.02
0.02
0.81
0.75
2.7
2.69
0.09
0.07
0.12
0.34
0.01
0.01
0.78
0.58
2.69
2.69
0.09
0.17
0.38
0.3
0.01
0.02
0.52
0.52
2.7
2.7
0.14
0.11
0.1
0.15
0
0.01
0.76
0.73
2.69
0.09
0.29
0.02
0.6
2.64
0.05
0.83
0
0.12
WD low
WD mid
WD high
34
34
0
0
20
20
0
0
0
0
–5
–5
–5
–5
–5
–5
–5
5
15
20
15
5
20
20
10
35.1
35.1
40
5
20
25
15
35
35
25
10
35
35
10
0
10
20
25
5
5
34
34
5
5
35
35
5
5
5
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
30
35
30
10
35
35
20
65.9
65.9
75
10
35
75
30
45
45
30
15
40
40
25
50
25
40
40
10
10
34
34
10
10
55
55
10
10
10
10
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
20
50
55
50
20
55
55
35
97.6
97.6
110
20
55
80
50
55
55
50
25
50
50
40
80
40
70
60
20
20
M27 input
holo
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
MP
MP
m1
m1
m3
m3
m4
m4.1
m4.2
m4.2
m4.3
m4.4
m4.5
m4.5
m5
m5
onlap uncf
downlap uncf
MFS
m5.2
m5.2
MFS
m5.3
m5.3
MFS
m5.33
m5.33
MFS
m5.34
m5.34
MFS
m5.4
m5.4
m5.45
m5.45
m5.47
(continued )
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
6
Research Paper
TABLE 2. AGES, AVERAGE DENSITIES (RHO), AVERAGE LITHOLOGIES, AND WATER DEPTHS*
USED AS INPUT FOR SEQUENCES FROM SITES M27, M28, AND M29 (continued )
Depth
Age
355.64
361.39
361.39
434.96
477.79
494.98
494.98
515.11
515.11
538.79
538.79
617.11
617.11
625.94
625.94
629.44
629.44
18.6
18.8
19.1
19.5
19.7
20.1
20.7
20.9
23
23.5
28.2
29.3
32.2
32.3
33.6
33.8
55
0
223.7
223.7
244
244
250.6
254.2
254.2
276.8
276.8
303.6
303.6
310.2
323.2
323.2
330.4
361
361
386.2
386.2
391
404
404
449
479
479
0.01
10
13.1
13.2
13.36
13.4
13.55
13.56
13.7
14.65
14.85
14.9
15.2
15.4
15.7
15.8
16
16.5
16.55
16.6
16.7
16.8
17.05
17.3
17.45
17.6
Rho
Average
clay
Average
sand
Average
Csand
Average
silt
2.67
0.13
0.57
0
0.3
2.67
2.69
2.67
0.4
0.86
0.28
0.59
0.13
0.71
0
0
0
0
0
0
2.68
0.13
0.53
0.02
0.31
2.67
0.13
0.55
0.02
0.29
2.68
0.17
0.4
0.02
0.41
2.7
0.21
0.3
0
0.49
2.71
0.26
0.03
0.01
0.61
2.66
2.7
0.02
0.2
0.9
0.01
0
0
0.08
0.79
2.7
0.2
0.02
0
0.79
2.65
2.7
0.09
0.18
0.53
0.08
0.01
0
0.36
0.73
2.66
0.03
0.84
0.02
0.12
2.63
0.08
0.56
0.01
0.35
2.71
2.69
0.1
0.12
0.09
0.31
0
0
0.81
0.56
2.55
2.64
0.02
0.02
0.87
0.91
0.01
0.01
0.1
0.07
2.66
0.02
0.91
0
0.07
2.66
2.65
0.03
0.02
0.85
0.9
0
0.01
0.11
0.06
2.65
2.65
0.06
0.07
0.66
0.46
0
0
0.27
0.47
WD low
WD mid
WD high
0
5
0
40
20
30
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
30
30
50
5
10
5
75
35
50
75
75
75
75
75
75
75
75
50
50
70
15
20
10
110
55
80
110
110
110
110
110
110
110
110
80
80
100
35
25
30
30
0
20
10
0
10
5
19.3
19.3
30
10
10
10
10
5
9.1
9.1
10
5
10
30
30
40
35
40
50
50
5
35
25
5
25
10
36.6
36.6
50
25
15
25
25
10
22.4
22.4
25
10
25
50
50
75
35
60
80
80
10
55
40
10
40
25
54
54
70
30
25
40
40
20
36.6
36.6
40
20
40
80
80
110
M27 input (continued )
m5.6
m5.7
m5.7
MFS
TransSurf
m5.8
m5.8
m6
m6
o6
o6
o3
o3
o1
o1
ba
eo
M28 input
holo
Mio
m4.2
m4.3
m4.4
MFS
m4.5
m4.5
m5
m5
onlap uncf
downlap uncf
MFS
m5.2
m5.2
MFS
m5.3
m5.3
downlap uncf
downlap uncf
MFS
m5.33
m5.33
MFS
m5.34
m5.34
(continued )
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
7
Research Paper
TABLE 2. AGES, AVERAGE DENSITIES (RHO), AVERAGE LITHOLOGIES, AND WATER DEPTHS*
USED AS INPUT FOR SEQUENCES FROM SITES M27, M28, AND M29 (continued )
Age
Rho
Average
clay
Average
sand
504.9
512.3
512.3
533.6
533.6
545.5
545.5
567.5
567.5
611.6
611.6
654.3
663
663
668.6
17.67
17.7
17.79
17.85
17.9
18
18.1
18.3
18.85
19
19.4
19.5
19.7
20.5
20.9
2.68
2.65
0.08
0.03
0.35
0.71
0
0
0.57
0.26
2.65
0.07
0.58
0
0.35
2.65
0.05
0.83
0
0.12
2.66
0.04
0.87
0
0.09
2.66
0.06
0.81
0
0.13
2.71
2.66
0.87
0.53
0.13
0.47
0
0
0
0
2.65
0.23
0.23
0
0.54
0
3.54
15.5
15.5
43
43
50
50
160
160
242
242
242
242
343.8
343.8
364.9
364.9
377.2
377.2
409.3
409.3
470.1
478.6
478.6
502.1
502.1
511.8
0.01
0.07
0.09
0.1
0.11
1.03
1.08
11.4
11.8
12
12.3
12.6
12.7
12.75
12.95
13
13.1
13.12
13.2
13.22
13.28
13.3
13.4
13.55
13.65
13.75
14.65
14.8
2.71
0.24
0.06
0
0.71
2.68
0.17
0.29
0.01
0.52
2.62
0.04
0.83
0.02
0.12
2.63
0.03
0.9
0
0.08
2.66
0.06
0.77
0
0.17
2.66
0
0.4
0
2.67
0.13
0.47
0
0.39
2.68
0.07
0.51
0
0.42
2.67
0.05
0.56
0
0.34
2.67
0.08
0.24
0
0.67
2.69
0.27
0.07
0
0.66
2.69
2.65
0.24
0.04
0.16
0.82
0
0
0.6
0.14
2.65
0.07
0.56
0
0.37
2.67
0.08
0.51
0
0.33
Depth
Average
Csand
Average
silt
WD low
WD mid
WD high
40
30
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
10
45
45
30
30
75
50
75
75
75
75
75
75
75
75
25
50
50
50
50
110
80
110
110
110
110
110
110
110
110
40
75
75
80
80
36
10
10
5
5
5
5
–10
–10
–10
0
–10
–10
5
45
10
30
30
30
30
45
30
45
10
45
45
40
50
36
25
25
10
10
10
10
–5
–5
–5
–5
–5
–5
10
80
25
50
50
50
50
75
50
75
25
75
75
50
55
36
40
40
20
20
20
20
0
0
0
0
0
0
20
120
40
80
80
80
80
110
80
110
50
110
110
80
80
M28 input (continued )
MFS
m5.4
m5.4
m5.45
m5.45
m5.47
m5.47
m5.6
m5.6
m5.7
m5.7
MFS
m5.8
m5.8
m6
M29 input
PH
P
P1
P1
P2
P2
UlP
UlP
m1
m1
m3
m3
m4
m4
m4.1
m4.1
m4.2
m4.2
m4.3
m4.3
m4.4
m4.4
MFS
m4.5
m4.5
m5
m5
onlap uncf
12.7
(continued )
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
8
Research Paper
TABLE 2. AGES, AVERAGE DENSITIES (RHO), AVERAGE LITHOLOGIES, AND WATER DEPTHS*
USED AS INPUT FOR SEQUENCES FROM SITES M27, M28, AND M29 (continued )
Depth
Age
Rho
Average
clay
Average
sand
Average
Csand
Average
silt
2.65
2.67
0.08
0.18
0.59
0.27
0
0.01
0.32
0.54
2.66
2.68
0.06
0.12
0.76
0.48
0
0
0.18
0.37
2.68
0.19
0.19
0
0.57
2.68
0.16
0.34
0
0.47
2.64
0.14
0.31
0
0.41
2.67
0.14
0.38
0.01
0.42
2.68
0.14
0.4
0
0.42
2.68
2.69
0.93
0.88
0.07
0.05
0
0
0
0
2.64
0.16
0.36
0
0.48
WD low
WD mid
50
75
70
45
45
60
65
65
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
45
50
75
45
65
65
80
90
75
80
80
70
75
75
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
75
90
75
75
75
WD high
M29 input (continued )
downlap uncf
MFS
m5.2
m5.2
MFS
m5.3
m5.34
m5.4
m5.4
m5.45
m5.45
m5.47
m5.47
m5.6
m5.6
m5.7
m5.7
MFS
m5.8
m5.8
m6
511.8
519.6
602.2
602.2
620.1
643.2
643.2
662.4
662.4
683.2
683.2
687.9
687.9
710
710
728.6
728.6
734.8
746
746
755.5
14.85
15.2
15.5
15.75
15.8
16
17.6
17.7
17.75
17.85
17.9
18
18.1
18.3
18.85
19
19.45
19.5
19.65
20.6
20.9
90
100
100
120
120
80
100
100
120
120
120
120
120
120
120
120
100
110
85
100
100
Note: Ages and water depths are explicitly defined at the depth indicated and relate to a specific surface (sequence boundary[s], or transgressive [trans.], onlap or maximum
flooding surface [MFS]). Only dated surfaces are identified in this table. Sequence boundaries each have two ages, the age above the surface that marks the end of the sequence
boundary and the start of deposition of the overlying sequence at this location. Average lithologies given are those of the sequence above this surface and below the overlying
dated surface. The age below each sequence boundary marks the end of deposition of the underlying sequence. Detailed lithology data are provided in Supplemental Table
S1 (see footnote 1). Shaded rows indicate data that were included in the backstripping, but these data are not discussed because they are not included in the focus of this
manuscript. WD—local water depth. Csand—carbonate sand or calcarenite. Abbreviations in first column refer to sequence surfaces shown in Figure 2 and are from Browning
et al. (2013) and Mountain et al. (2010). Additionally, uncf—unconformity, Trans Surf—transgressive surface, holo—Holocene strata, PH—undifferentiated Pleistocene and
Holocene, P—Pleistocene and/or Pliocene; UlP—upper lower Pliocene, mio—undifferentiated Miocene strata above the detailed section, ba—base of detailed measured
corehole, eo—Eocene sediments at base of corehole.
*References cited are Browning et al. (2013), Katz et al. (2013), McCarthy et al. (2013), Ando et al. (2014), Mountain et al. (2010), and Miller et al. (2013a).
Stratigraphy above and below the Lower–Middle Miocene
Sediments beneath the Lower to Middle Miocene section sampled by Exp
313 have been compacted under the load of the Miocene and younger sediments. This compaction must be taken into account to properly estimate R1
for the Miocene strata. Based on a contour map of depth to basement (Benson, 1984), we estimate that ~8 km of pre-Miocene sediments were deposited
beneath the three offshore sites. For modeling purposes, we use the alongstrike Anchor Gas, Dickinson No. 1 rotary well (Poag, 1985; Olsson et al., 1988;
Sugarman et al., 2011; Fig. 1) to estimate the lithology and age data of the
underlying strata.
The Lower to Middle Miocene strata also compacted beneath Upper Miocene and younger sediments. These sediments were either poorly sampled (Exp
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
313 sites M27 and M29) or not sampled at all (site M28). In our model, p
­ orosity
(and thus compaction) depends only on depth of burial; thus the detailed lithology and water depth of this younger part of the section have no impact on R1
results. Therefore, the decompaction of the Lower–Middle Miocene focus of the
paper is valid because the thickness of overlying strata is known and included
in the model. The thermal curve is fit to the R1 water-­depth values based on the
pre-Miocene Anchor Dickinson sediments overlain by sites M27, M28, or M29
detailed stratigraphic data that are, in turn, overlain by 209, 243, or 342 m of
younger strata observed at the latter three sites, respectively. The effects of the
younger subsidence history on the magnitudes of Miocene relative sea level
are minor, because the R2 results are registered to present sea level, which is
unaffected by the intervening upper Miocene and younger section. Corehole
­water depths at Sites M27, M28, and M29 are 34, 35, and 36 m below present
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
9
Research Paper
TABLE 3. AGES OF SURFACES FOR SHELF SEQUENCES AND AGES OF STRATA FOR ONSHORE SEQUENCES
Sequence surface
m4.1
m4.2
m4.2
m4.3
m4.3
m4.4
m4.4
MFS
m4.5
m4.5
m5
M27 age
M27 JVB
12.96
13
13.1
13.2
13.2
?
13.4
?
13.5
13.65
13.75
13.5
13.6
13.7
m5
onlap uncf
downlap uncf
14.8
14.85
14.9
MFS
m5.2
m5.2
MFS
15.2
15.3
15.6
15.8
m5.3
m5.3
downlap uncf
downlap uncf
MFS
m5.33
m5.33
MFS
m5.34
m5.34
MFS
m5.4
m5.4
m5.45
m5.45
m5.47
m5.47
m5.6
m5.6
m5.7
m5.7
MFS
Trans Surf
m5.8
M28 age
13.1
13.2
14.8
13.36
13.4
13.55
13.56
13.7
14.65
14.85
14.9
15
15.6
15.2
15.4
15.7
15.8
15.95
15.8
16.65
16.5
M28 JVB
M29 age
M29 JVB
?
13.1
13.1
13.2
13.2
?
?
13
13.1
13.12
13.2
13.22
13.28
13.3
13.4
13.55
13.65
13.75
?
13.1
13.1
13.2
13.2
13.3
13.3
13.3
13.5
13.7
14.8
14.65
14.8
14.85
13.6
13.6
13.7
Kw age
Onshore sequence
13.1
13.5
Kw3b
Kw3b
Kw3b
Kw3b
Kw3b
Kw3b
Kw3b
13.8
14.2
Kw3a
Kw3a
15
Kw2b
Kw2b
Kw2b
Kw2b
Kw2b
Kw2b
14.6
15.1
15.7
15.2
15.5
15.75
15.8
15.6
15.8
16
16.3
16
16
16.5
16.55
16.6
16.7
16.8
17.05
17.3
17.45
17.6
17.67
17.7
17.79
17.85
17.9
18
18.1
18.3
18.85
19
19.4
19.5
16.6
15.9
16.1
16.7
16.75
17.1
17.3
17.35
17.65
17.67
17.7
17.79
17.85
17.86
17.9
18.6
18.8
19.1
19.5
19.7
20.1
16.6
16.9
17
17.7
?
18
19.2
16.7
17.4
17.6
17.6
17.7
17.9
18
?
18.3
18.6
18.8
19.5
17.5
17.6
17.6
17.7
17.75
17.85
17.9
18
18.1
18.3
18.85
19
19.45
19.5
17.7
17.7
17.8
17.9
18
18.1
18.3
18.6
18.8
20
20.1
19.7
20
19.65
20.2
20.7
20.9
20.5
20.9
20.5
20.6
20.9
20.5
17.9
18.9
19.2
20.4
m5.8
m6
20.7
20.9
Kw2a
Kw2a
Kw2a
Kw2a
Kw2a
Kw2a
Kw2a
Kw2a
Kw2a
Kw1c
Kw1c
Kw1c
Kw1c
Kw1c
Kw1c
Kw1b
Kw1b
Kw1a
Kw1a
Kw1a
Note: Ages are given in Ma (million years before present) for all dated offshore surfaces. These include age assumptions of this work (age) and the ages suggested by Browning
et al., 2013 (JVB). All sequence boundaries are given an age for the top of the boundary and the base of the boundary, showing the duration of the unconformity at each site.
Maximum flooding surfaces (MFS) are assumed to be correlative where they are observed. Minimum and maximum ages are provided for the composite, onshore Kirkwood (Kw)
sequences. The sequence names are indicated when those sequences are present during deposition of offshore surfaces. Abbreviations in the first column refer to the sequence
surfaces shown in Figure 2 and are from Browning et al. (2013) and Mountain et al. (2010). Additionally, uncf—unconformity, MFS—maximum flooding surface, and TransSurf—
transgressive surface.
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
10
Research Paper
sea level, respectively (Mountain et al., 2010). The registry to present sea level is
a reasonable first assumption; although recent GIA effects on the order of 20 m
may complicate absolute sea-level estimates (Raymo et al., 2011) and are taken
into account in our discussion in the Results section.
Coastal Plain Relative Sea-Level Curve
TABLE S3B: RELATIVE SEA LEVEL (RSL) AVERAGED NEW JERSEY COASTAL PLAIN. ALL DATA IS IN METERS
Observed
Observed
Observed
Shied
Shied
Shied
Age (Ma) RSL NJCP low RSL NJCP best RSL NJCP high RSL NJCP low RSL NJCP best RSL NJCP high
20.4
-33.414
-6.358
20.699
6.586
33.643
60.699
20.3
-3.395
9.911
23.217
36.438
49.744
63.051
20.2
-1.445
8.776
18.997
38.222
48.443
58.664
20.1
-5.600
4.588
14.777
33.900
44.088
54.277
20.0
-3.170
3.693
10.557
36.163
43.027
49.890
19.9
-6.199
-3.884
-1.569
32.967
35.282
37.598
19.8
-15.018
-8.294
-1.569
23.982
30.706
37.431
19.7
-20.136
-18.967
-17.797
18.697
19.867
21.036
19.6
-11.070
-7.520
-3.971
27.597
31.146
34.695
19.5
-10.358
-7.719
-5.081
28.142
30.781
33.419
19.4
-14.388
-10.293
-6.199
23.946
28.040
32.135
19.3
-18.182
-12.477
-6.772
19.985
25.690
31.395
19.2
-22.676
-14.935
-7.194
15.324
23.065
30.806
Supplemental Table S3. Relative sea-level curve for
New Jersey Shelf and relative sea-level curve for New
Jersey Coastal Plain. Please visit http://​dx​.doi​.org​/10​
.1130​/GES01241​.S4 or the full-text article on www​
.gsapubs​.org to view Supplemental Table S3.
4
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
In this paper, the time scale used by Kominz et al. (2008) to derive a sealevel curve from Miocene sequences has been updated to GTS2012 (Gradstein
et al., 2012). The offshore results are of particular interest in c­ omparison to the
coastal plain relative sea-level estimates. However, during the two decades
these drill core samples have been studied, revisions in the time scale—from
Berggren et al. (1995) (BKSA95) to L
­ ourens et al. (2004) and from the GTS2004
to the GTS2012 (Gradstein et al., 2012)—have resulted in small but significant
adjustments to the Early to Middle Miocene. Early to Middle Miocene ages
are largely unchanged from BKSA95 (used for onshore sequences by previous
studies; e.g., Kominz et al., 2008) and offshore by Mountain et al. (2010) from
GTS2004 (used by Browning et al., 2013), except for the age of the Oligocene/
Miocene boundary. The Early to Middle Miocene time scale of GTS2004 differs from GTS2012 only by placement of the Langhian/Burdigalian boundary
(0.16 m.y. older in GTS2012). All coreholes used in generating the coastal plain
R2 curve have fairly well defined age ranges for the Miocene sequences, with
age errors generally ±0.5 m.y. In sediments younger than 15 Ma, the errors can
be larger (i.e., ages are constrained by Sr isotopes that have an error of ±0.75
to ±1.0 m.y.; Browning et al., 2013, their fig. 3). In downdip onshore coreholes,
the age ranges are better constrained than they are at updip locations. We
used the better dated sequences to constrain the less well dated coreholes.
This generally resulted in age shifts of less than 0.5 m.y. and slightly greater
amplitudes in the sea-level esti­mates, because incidences of destructive interference due to age mis­corre­lations have been reduced. The Cape May Zoo site
(Sugarman et al., 2007) was analyzed subsequent to the Kominz et al. (2008)
compilation, and it has been included in our backstripped data set (see Results section). Lithol­ogies at all coastal plain sites were decompacted using the
coastal plain porosity versus depth relations of Van Sickel et al. (2004).
RESULTS
Coastal Plain Relative Sea-Level Curve
Cape May Zoo R1 and R2
The Cape May Zoo corehole (Sugarman et al., 2007) provides additional
Lower to Middle Miocene data that were not included in previous backstripping studies (Kominz et al., 2008). Younger sequences at this site are poorly
dated, and they are not included in our R2 analysis. The Oligocene and Eocene
portion of the R1 curve (Fig. 4A) is based on sediment from the Cape May
Site (Miller and Snyder, 1997), with older units based on the Anchor Dickinson
well (Poag, 1985; Kominz et al., 1998). The beginning of thermal subsidence is
taken as 140 Ma, the time when offshore sediment loading overcame lateral
thermal uplift landward of the hinge zone (Steckler et al., 1988). For the Middle
Miocene section, the subsidence rate is slightly greater than that of the thermal
curve, suggesting rising relative sea level during this interval and falling relative sea level between deposition of these Miocene sediments and the present
(Fig. 4B).
Combined Results, Coastal Plain Coreholes
Several coreholes drilled over the past decade in the New Jersey coastal
plain penetrate Lower and Middle Miocene strata, locally called the Kirkwood
Formation. These include coreholes at Ancora (Miller et al., 1999), Bass River
(Miller et al., 1998b), and Island Beach (Miller et al., 1994a), where only a few of
the Kirkwood sequences were sampled and dated (Kw1a and Kw1b and possibly Kw2a or b) and coreholes at Ocean View (Miller et al., 2001), Millville (Sugarman et al., 2005), Cape May (Miller et al., 1996b), and Atlantic City (Miller et al.,
1994b) that sampled multiple Kirkwood sequences. Early and Middle Miocene
R2 curves for these sites, in addition to the new Cape May Zoo site (Sugarman
et al., 2007), show that several Kirkwood sequences are well represented (Fig.
5A). In previous studies, the timing of sequences did not always match from
one corehole to the next due to uncertainties in assigning ages to sequences,
particularly in updip locations (e.g., the Ancora and Bass River sites). This resulted in a blurring of the sequences so that sequence boundaries were not
seen as hiatuses in the combined record (e.g., Kominz et al., 2008). While it is
possible that the poor match is real, in most cases the uncertainty of age dates
is ~1 m.y. and larger in updip sites. We assume that the coastal plain sequence
boundaries are regionally correlated, and we accept the ages of the best dated
sequences and adjust the other coreholes accordingly. Seismic correlations onshore and offshore confirm the correlations (Monteverde et al., 2008; Iscimen,
2014). In general, the Cape May Zoo sequences are well dated and provide ages
for the base of most sequences. However, for Kw1 and Kw2a, the sequences at
Ocean View provide the best age constraints. Sequences Kw0, Kw1c, and Kw3a
are best represented at the Cape May corehole. The tuned sequence ages allow
us to stack sequences from several coreholes; the composite distinguishes indi­
vidual sequences in the relative sea-level record (Fig. 5B).
The composite relative sea-level curve (Fig. 5C; data are provided in Supplemental Table S34, section A) was generated following the procedures of
Kominz et al. (2008). The minimum possible range of sea-level estimates is
obtained as the minimum high-end sea-level estimate and the maximum
low-end sea-level estimate. The best estimate relative sea level is taken as
the average of the high- and low-end estimates. Note that despite age model
tuning, we have not been able to separate sequences Kw1a and Kw1b that
show no discernable hiatus at Ocean View or other coreholes. Nonetheless,
we have separated sequences Kw3c into two sequences and separated Kw3a
from Kw3b and Kw1b from Kw1c. Error ranges have been reduced in some
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
11
Research Paper
Relative Sea Level (m)
A
100
200
300
Depth (m)
Late Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous
0
400
50
Paleo.
Eocene
B
Miocene
25
0
-25
Kw3b
Kw2a
Kw1b Kw1c
20
Kw3d
Kw3c
Kw2b
16
18
600
14
Age (m.y.)
Thermal
model
12
fits
10
B
Cape May Zoo
800
PP
Cape May Zoo
500
700
Olig.
R1-sed
Figure 4. (A) Cape May Zoo backstripping
results. R1 curves based on Cape May Zoo:
R1 values (Equation 2) older than the Miocene are taken from the nearby Anchor
Dickinson well (Fig. 1) that was drilled to
basement. Unconformities are indicated
by gaps in R1 curves. Three R1 curves
are generated based on high, low (thin
orange lines) and best estimate (thick
red line) paleoenvironmental estimates.
Also shown is the R1 result when no
paleo­water depths are taken into account
(green curved line labeled “R1-sed”). Each
of the four R1 curves is fit to a thermal
plate model. These best-fit curves are the
smooth, continuous curves of the same
color as the R1 curves (see text for discussion). (B) Cape May Zoo R2 relative sealevel curves. The difference between R1
and thermal plate model curves corrected
for water loading (Equation 3). Only the
well-dated Cape May Zoo relative sea level
(R2) results are shown. These are part of
the Kirkwood (Kw) Formation, as indicated
in the figure. PP—Pliocene–Pleistocene;
Olig.—Oligocene; Paleo.—Paleocene.
900
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Age (m.y.)
sequences as a result of matching high and low relative sea-level curves, and
the timing of the sequences has shifted slightly, mainly due to changes in the
geologic time scale.
Burdigalian
Langhian
75
M27
Relative Sea Level (m)
Seismic Sequences
m5.5
m5.6
m5.8
m5.4
m5.3
Serrvallian
M28
M29
m5.2
50
high porosity
best estimate
low porosity
m5 m4
25
0
Seismic Sequence Boundaries
-25
m5.8
20.0
m5.7
m5.6
m5.5
m5.4
m5.34
17.5
m5.33
m5.3
m5.2
15.0
m5
m4.4
m4.3
m4.5 m4.2
m4.1
12.5
Age (m.y.)
Supplemental Figure S2. Relative sea-level (R2)
curves from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 313 coreholes. Please visit http://​dx​.doi​.org​
/10​.1130​/GES01241​.S5 or the full-text article on www​
.gsapubs​.org to view Supplemental Figure S2.
5
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
Exp 313 Offshore Sites M27, M28, and M29
A critical test of the efficacy of one-dimensional backstripping for esti­
mating relative sea level is the degree to which the calculated magnitude
of R2 is consistent among boreholes. In most instances and within errors of
water-depth estimates, our study passes this test for the three Exp 313 drill
sites (Fig. 6). Although using low- and high-end porosity versus depth curves
increases ranges of uncertainty, the form of m.y.-scale relative sea-level variations remains unchanged (see Supplemental Fig. S25). Sequences younger
than sequence boundary m4 (ca. 12.6 Ma) are included in the modeling, but
they are not the focus of this study (see Table 2). Poor age and paleoenvironment control for these younger sequences could explain the lack of agreement
between sites (Fig. 6). To compare these new offshore results with our relative
sea-level curve generated using coastal plain boreholes, we construct a relative sea-level curve based only on the offshore sites, following the method of
Kominz et al. (2008) described above. That is, the error ranges are obtained
by taking the minimum high estimate and the maximum low estimate of R2.
Where multiple coreholes sample the same sequence, this results in a reduction in the range of error bars, because only the overlapping magnitudes are
taken to be valid (Fig. 7A; results are provided in Supplemental Table S3 (section B, [footnote 4]). The “best estimate” R2 curve is based on an average of
best estimates for all coreholes that sample sediment of that age. Where R2
results from multiple coreholes do not overlap, the best estimate average does
not always fall between the high and low ranges (e.g., m5.3 and m5.2; Fig. 7).
In these cases, the error range has been extended to include the best estimate
averages (Fig. 7B). Despite these inconsistencies, there is an overall good age
agreement, with all three offshore coreholes showing similar R2 trends and
magnitudes (Figs. 6 and 7). This suggests that we are reconstructing relative
sea-level change at the New Jersey shallow shelf.
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
12
Research Paper
Burdigalian
Relative Sea Level (m)
50
0
A
Kw1c
Kw2a
Kw3a - Kw3c
Kw2b
Kw1a & Kw1b
50
Relative Sea Level (m)
Serrvallian
25
–25
Ancora
Bass River
Coastal plain
Ocean View
Cape May
Millville
Atlantic City
Cape May Zoo
25
0
B
Kw3a
Kw3b
Kw3c
Kw2b
Kw1a
–25
Relative Sea Level (m)
Langhian
Kw1b
Kw1c
Figure 5. (A) Relative sea-level (R2) curves
from Miocene sequences in coastal plain
coreholes. Each corehole is indicated by its
color in the key between 5A and 5B. Miocene stages are indicated on the top. The
Early/Middle Miocene boundary occurs
between the Burdigalian and Langhian
Stages. (B) New R2 values for Miocene
onshore sequences. Ages of Miocene sequences were adjusted so that the best
dated sequences constrain the ages of
less well-dated correlative sequences.
(C) Composite Miocene relative sea-level
curve from New Jersey coastal plain coreholes using data plotted in panel 5B (see
Supplemental Table S3 (section B) for
coastal plain sea-level data [footnote 4]).
Kw2a
25
0
C
Kw3a
Kw1a
Kw1c
–25
Kw2a
Kw3b
Kw3c
Kw2b
Kw1b
20.0
17.5
15.0
12.5
Age (m.y.)
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
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100
Burdigalian
Langhian
Seismic Sequences
m5.2
m5.8
75
Relative Sea Level (m)
Serrvallian
M29
m5.7
m5.5
m5.6
M28
m4
m5.3
m5.4
M27
m5
Figure 6. Relative sea-level (R2) curves
from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
(IODP) Expedition 313 coreholes. Time
missing across sequence boundaries is
shown by yellow rectangles along the bottom. The range of low, high, and best estimate R2 values of depositional sequences
(color coded by well in key at the upper
right) vary from very close to modern sea
level (0 m) to roughly 80 m above modern.
The sequences are labeled above the R2
values. Miocene stages are indicated at
the top of the graph. The Early/Middle
Miocene boundary occurs between the
Burdigalian and Langhian Stages.
50
25
0
Seismic Sequence Boundaries
–25
m5.8
20.0
m5.7 m5.6
m5.4
17.5
m5.33
m5.3
m5.2
15.0
m5
m4.3
m4.4
m4.5
m4.2
12.5
Age (m.y.)
DISCUSSION
The relative sea-level curve generated from offshore data shows higher
magnitudes of sea-level fluctuations than the onshore data (Fig. 8A). Taking into
account the full error range, the largest long-term sea-level range allowable in
the shelf data is 75 m (16.7–13 Ma) compared to a 55 m range in the onshore data
(20.4–20.3 Ma). On the other hand, the minimum allowable sea-level ranges of
the two data sets are 32 m in the offshore data (16.7–12.2 Ma) and a 17 m in the
onshore data (19.2–13.4 Ma). These ranges are entirely compatible with those
observed in comparable time intervals at the Marion Plateau by John et al. (2011).
They report four sequences with maximum sea-level changes of 65 m and
minimum ranges of 26 m between 13.8 and 16.6 Ma. All estimates are lower
than the 100–120 m variations implied by the global compilation of Haq et al.
(1987), but are compatible with magnitudes of 20–50 m suggested by Haq and
Al-Qahtani (2005) for the Arabian Peninsula.
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
Comparing the averaged R2 curves from Exp 313 with the revised composite onshore relative sea-level curve has implications for models of tectonics and
GIA effects (Fig. 8A). From a sequence stratigraphic approach, we would expect coastal plain sequence deposition to represent the most proximal portion
of transgressive and/or highstand systems tracts. These might occur during
slowly rising relative sea level that may be associated with non-deposition offshore. Thus, coastal plain sequences would be present during the maximum
amplitude of relative sea level. Our initial comparison of onshore and offshore
sites (onshore is shown as light gray units in Fig. 8A) shows that deposition
on the coastal plain sometimes occurs during hiatuses in the corresponding
offshore sedimentation sampled by Exp 313. Where this is the case, it implies
that the sequence boundaries of offshore units indicate relative sea-level rise
coupled with offshore sediment starvation rather than the more commonly accepted model of sea-level fall (e.g., Loutit et al., 1988). In most cases, onshore
and offshore sequences show significant temporal overlap, with the offshore
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
14
Research Paper
Burdigalian
A
Langhian
Seismic Sequences
Serrvallian
m5.2
m4
m5.8
75
m5.4
m5.7
m5.5
Lowest high
Highest low
Average best
Range overlap
m5.3
m5.6
m5
M29
M28
Relative Sea Level (m)
50
M27
25
0
B
50
Average R2
with error
ranges
25
0
Seismic Sequence Boundaries
m5.8
–25
20.0
m5.7 m5.6
m5.4
m5.34
17.5
m5.33
m5.3
m5.2
15.0
m5
m4.4
m4.3
m4.5 m4.2
m4.1
12.5
Age (m.y.)
Figure 7. (A) Average relative sea level (bold purple line) superimposed on the R2 estimates shown in Figure 6. This average is based on all best estimate R2
values from the lowest maximum estimate of sea level to the highest minimum estimate of sea level at any time among the three wells. (B) Average relative
sea level (bold purple line) derived from Exp 313 corehole data similar to 7A, but this time based on the average of all best estimates and the error range
derived from results in Figure 7A (see text; see Supplemental Table S3 (section A) for tabulated data [see footnote 4]). Sequence boundaries, sequences, and
the Miocene time scale are labeled as in Figure 6.
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
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Burdigalian
75
A
Serrvallian
Average R2
with error
ranges
Seismic Sequences
m5.8
m5.7
m5.6
m5
m5.5
m5.2
m5.3
coastal plain
m5.4
50
Relative Sea Level (m)
Langhian
25
0
Kw2b
Kw1a
Kw1b
Kw1c
Kw3c
Kw3a
Kw3b
Kw2a
Average R2
with error
ranges
B
–25
adjusted
coastal plain
Kw1a
Kw1b
50
Kw3a
Kw2a
Kw1c
Kw2b
Kw3b
Kw3c
25
0
m5.8
20.0
m5.7 m5.6
m5.4
17.5
Seismic
e sm Sequence Boundaries
m5.33
m5.3
m5.2
15.0
m5
m4.3
m4.4
m4.5
m4.2
12.5
Age (m.y.)
Figure 8. (A) Relative sea-level (R2) curves for both the coastal plain composite relative sea-level curve (from Fig. 5C) and R2 average results from the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 313 coreholes (from Fig. 7B). (B) Best estimate coastal plain composite sea-level curve corrected for non-­
thermal motion of the coastal plain relative to the shelf is plotted in dark gray for comparison with best estimate offshore sea-level curve. See text for discussion. Sequence boundaries, sequences, and the Miocene time scale are labeled as in Figure 6.
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
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Research Paper
generally more complete. There are similar trends in offshore and onshore
data in overlapping intervals. In fact, sequences Kw3b and Kw3c are, at least in
part, compatible with relative sea level obtained from analyzing offshore strata
(Fig. 8A). Thus, in most cases, both onshore and offshore sequence bound­
aries represent sea-level falls.
The R2 sea-level estimates obtained from the onshore sites (0 ± 20 m above
present sea level) are considerably lower than those indicated by the offshore
sites (40 ± 30 m above present sea level), particularly in the older Miocene units.
This is in direct contrast with stratigraphic principles that require sea-level rise
to be higher when proximal land is flooded (e.g., Posamentier and Vail, 1988).
As such, it suggests that the New Jersey margin has experienced non-thermal
epeirogeny, resulting in differential subsidence of the onshore and offshore
portions of the margin. The dominant epeirogenic effect predicted to have occurred in this region is the overriding of the Farallon plate. As the cold, dense
lithosphere of the subducted slab passes beneath the margin, coastal New
Jersey experiences subsidence (Conrad et al., 2004). Moucha et al. (2008) predicted that over the past 30 m.y., the coastal plain of New Jersey has subsided
50–100 m more than offshore New Jersey. The minimum value of 50 m of differential subsidence over 30 m.y. implies a relative coastal plain uplift of 33 m
at 20 Ma, reducing to 20 m at 12 Ma. We add this differential subsidence to
the onshore relative sea-level curve to make it comparable to the offshore R2
results. This correction for epeirogenic effects largely reconciles differences
between onshore and offshore relative sea-level estimates.
An additional variation between onshore and offshore relative sea level
is predicted by the effect of ice loading (GIA). Raymo et al. (2011) estimated
the impact of ice volume and GIA effects on observations of Pliocene sealevel maxima. They found that GIA effects have diminished through time
for all but the last glacial maximum and the very near-field location of the
melted ice sheets. However, the impact of the last glacial maximum on the
elevations of the New Jersey coastal plain and the New Jersey shelf estimated
by Raymo et al. (2011) will also affect older sea-level estimates by distorting
today’s d
­ atum. They found that the New Jersey coastal plain yields relative
sea-level estimates that are ~12 m above eustatic sea level, while the shelf
yields relative sea-level estimates that are ~18–24 m above eustatic sea level
(depending on distance offshore and on the assumptions made for lithosphere
rheology). Therefore, offshore relative sea-level estimates will always appear
to be 6–12 m higher than coastal plain estimates. Thus, to compare onshore
relative sea-level maxima with offshore data, 6–12 m needs to be added to all
onshore data. Rowley et al. (2013) also suggest five to ten meters of relative
uplift occurred between the coastal plain and shelf as a result of GIA, consistent with the Raymo et al. (2011) results. The effect of the Farallon slab in
conjunction with the GIA effects shift relative sea-level variations predicted by
the coastal plain curve relative to the offshore R2 curve (Fig. 8B). The resulting
coastal plain adjusted-R2 magnitudes, in comparison with the offshore data,
are consistent with the assumption that the deposition on the onshore coastal
plain generally occurs at or near the highest magnitude of sea level. Our cor-
GEOSPHERE | Volume 12 | Number 5
rected relative sea-level curves for onshore and offshore New Jersey provide a
working model for eustatic changes for the Early to Middle Miocene.
It is premature to draw broad conclusions about the implications of these
results for the relationship between sequences and systems tracts for sequence paradigms because of limitations in the backstripping technique and
because of uncertainties in correlating sequences from onshore to offshore.
Such detailed comparisons are hampered by the fact that onshore data are
compiled from seven widely dispersed locations, while the offshore data set
consists of three coreholes along a single dip transect.
Correlation of the data sets relies on both chronostratigraphy and the b
­ asic
assumptions of sequence stratigraphy (including superposition). All strata
above a sequence boundary are younger than the strata below; this is also true
for maximum flooding surfaces. This allows correlation of sequences amongst
onshore locations and offshore locations with finer resolution than provided
by the chronostratigraphy (e.g., we are reasonably certain that sequence Kw1a
is correlatable throughout the coastal plain coreholes). We are also reasonably
certain of the onshore to offshore correlation not only through chronostratigraphy but also through pattern matching and seismic correlations. For example,
the onshore composite sequence Kw2a sequence can be precisely correlated
with composite sequence m5.4 using well logs and seismic profiles (Iscimen,
2014). Thus, though the uncertainty on the numerical age of any given backstripped estimate is large (±0.25 to ±0.5 m.y.), physical correlations (principles
of superposition, seismic control, and sequence stratigraphy) mean that our
relative age correlations amongst sites is finer.
If deposition did not follow the tenets of sequence stratigraphy, then correlation would rely solely on chronostratigraphy. The age uncertainty on the
ages of sequences is large (±0.25–0.5 m.y. offshore and ±0.5–1.0 m.y. onshore)
compared to the mean sea-level cycle duration of 0.84 ± 0.52 m.y. Exp 313 also
sampled several higher-order sequences (100/405 k.y.; Browning et al., 2013);
thus the average duration of our sequences is shorter than 1 m.y. Never­the­
less, our sequences are of a higher order than predicted by changes in mantle
dynamic topography that appear to operate on longer-term time scales (2–
100 m.y.; Petersen et al., 2010). Reliance on chronostratigraphy alone would
not alter the pervasively lower relative magnitude of sea level recorded on
the coastal plain as compared to that observed on the shelf. That is, relative
subsidence of the coastal plain would still be required, supporting the epeirogenic model. We expect more precise relative sea-level interpretations when
the onshore and offshore core data are combined with seismic imaging in a
full two-dimensional backstripping approach (e.g., Kominz and Pekar, 2001).
Future work will include additional correlations of offshore sequences using
seismic profiles and well logs (e.g., Iscimen, 2014) and two-dimensional backstripping (e.g., Steckler et al., 1999).
In summary, comparison of R2 results from the new offshore coreholes
with the revised coastal plain sequences requires relative subsidence of the
coastal plain since the Middle Miocene. This is compatible with modeling of
mantle-driven subsidence due to the subducted Farallon slab (e.g., Moucha
et al., 2008).
Kominz et al. | Miocene relative sea level: IODP 313 New Jersey Margin
17
Research Paper
CONCLUSIONS
Backstripped relative sea-level estimates of Middle to Late Miocene sequences from the New Jersey coastal plain and three new IODP shelf sites are
generally internally consistent with respect to the timing of sequence boundaries and relative sea-level variations. Coastal plain sedimentation tends to
predict relative sea-level changes that are consistent with those seen offshore.
Where onshore and offshore sedimentation corresponds, the rising and falling
portions of the relative sea-level curve can be correlated, although the magnitude of offshore and onshore estimates is offset. This result requires that the
New Jersey passive margin has undergone epeirogeny and, in particular, that
the offshore shelf has subsided less than the coastal plain. Thus, it is consistent
with relative epeirogeny due to subduction of the Farallon plate (Moucha et al.,
2008) and due to GIA effects of the last deglaciation (Raymo et al., 2011). The
amplitude of Late to Middle Miocene m.y.-scale sea-level changes seen at the
New Jersey margin is generally 5–20 m but occasionally is as great as 50 m.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This manuscript was greatly improved by suggestions from one anonymous reviewer, reviewers
Hugo Pouderoux and Olivier Dauteuil, and Geosphere Associate Editor Jean-Noël Proust. This
work was supported by funds from the Faculty Research and Creative Activities Award, Western
Michigan University to Kominz. Support was provided from National Science Foundation grants
EAR-1052257, OCE-1154379, and OCE14-63759 to Miller. Funding was supplied by the U.S. Science Support Program Consortium for Ocean Leadership to Katz, Miller, Browning, and Mountain.
­Samples were provided by the IODP.
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