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Origin of rippled scour depressions associated with cohesive sediments in a shoreface setting (eastern Bay of Seine, France)

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Abstract

Side-scan sonar investigations in the eastern part of the macrotidal Bay of Seine have revealed the presence of numerous rippled scour depressions (RSDs) at water depths of 5–9 m. The sediments in these depressions consist essentially of coarse-grained shell hash derived from underlying Holocene sediments dated at roughly 6,500 years BP, and arranged in large wave-generated ripples. The shallow marine area where these features occur consists of a wave-generated ravinement surface produced during the marine flooding of the late Holocene transgression. It can be shown that, during the last 20 years at least, erosion of the muddy sand and sandy seabed has exposed underlying relict sediments. These consist of stiff clays, silts and a layer of shell debris which, when exposed, cover the bottom of large scour depressions which appear to be in equilibrium with the local hydrodynamic regime. Morphological and hydrodynamic data suggest that the RSDs are generated by strong cross-shore bottom currents flowing parallel to the features in the direction of the prevailing waves, and probably associated with storm-induced downwelling events.

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Acknowledgements

This research was carried out within the framework of two French scientific programmes: PNEC (National Coastal Environment Programme) and Seine-Aval. The National Institute of Sciences of the Universe (INSU), Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine (SHOM), and the crews of the oceanographic research vessels Côtes de la Manche (CNRS) and Thalia (IFREMER/GENAVIR) are acknowledged for their support during the field investigations. We also thank B. Parsons, B. Flemming and one anonymous reviewer for their thoughtful comments and suggestions, and G. Evans for his accurate revision of the final version. The first author held a research grant from the SHOM (Brest, France) and the Basse-Normandie Region.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR CNRS 6143, Morphodynamique continentale et côtière, Université de Caen, 24 rue des Tilleuls, 14000, Caen, France

    Sébastien Garnaud & Patrick Lesueur

  2. SHOM, 13 rue du Chatellier, BP 30316, 29603, Brest cedex, France

    Thierry Garlan

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  1. Sébastien Garnaud
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  2. Patrick Lesueur
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  3. Thierry Garlan
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Correspondence to Sébastien Garnaud.

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Garnaud, S., Lesueur, P. & Garlan, T. Origin of rippled scour depressions associated with cohesive sediments in a shoreface setting (eastern Bay of Seine, France). Geo-Mar Lett 25, 34–42 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-004-0186-x

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