A Reconnaissance Heavy Mineral Study of Monterey Bay Beach Sediment

摘要

Conclusions: The compositional changes that occur along the beaches of Monterey are not the result of selective sorting processes but rather reflect changes in the source sediment. Such changes may result from several different supply-littoral transport conditions. The changes which may occur at river mouths may reflect a flooding out of littorally transported sediment; changes not related to rivers may reflect local supply from cliff erosion. In the absence of any significant supply of sediment from rivers and cliff erosion these changes must reflect a lack of littoral transport and prior conditions which produced the observed mineralogical pattern. Only in areas devoid of long-term net littoral transport can such relict sedimentary dispersal patterns be preserved.