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Sedimentary signatures of tidal bores: a brief synthesis

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Abstract

This article aims at presenting a brief synthesis of sedimentary signatures assigned to tidal bore dynamics and impacts. According to the few studies published until now on tidal bore-induced facies within inner estuarine tidal channel infilling successions, only two major signatures can be reported: (1) soft sediment deformations (SSDs) due to overpressure linked to sudden water level elevation, high shear stress and vertical velocity acceleration below the tidal bore front and secondary waves; SSDs may be present throughout the channel infill succession, with the general exception of the uppermost part; tidal bore-induced SSDs have been described only in modern facies; (2) tidal bore couplets (TBCs) formed by an erosional surface overlain by massive sand drapes, related to the reworking of the sediment bottom during tidal bore passage; TBCs were first described in the ancient record. Studies in modern estuaries demonstrate that TBCs evolve towards tidal bore sequences from the tidal channel bottom (subtidal to low intertidal facies) to tidal channel bank (low to mid intertidal facies). In mid to upper intertidal facies, the occurrence of thicker-than-average tidal rhythmites, reflecting higher-than-average suspended sediment concentrations, are also considered as a possible signature of tidal bore dynamics.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is a contribution to the ANR project “Mascaret”, the coordinator of which, Prof. Pierre Lubin, is warmly thanked. We gratefully acknowledge the constructive criticisms and comments of Daidu Fan, Christopher Fielding, as well as Jose Cuitiño, the guest editor of this special issue, and the journal editors. We thank Allard Martinius who kindly provided the photo included in Fig. 3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière (UMR M2C), Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, UNIROUEN, CNRS, 24 rue des Tilleuls, 14000, Caen, France

    Bernadette Tessier, Lucille Furgerot & Dominique Mouazé

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  1. Bernadette Tessier
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  2. Lucille Furgerot
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  3. Dominique Mouazé
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Correspondence to Bernadette Tessier.

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest with third parties.

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Responsible guest editor: J.I. Cuitiño

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Tessier, B., Furgerot, L. & Mouazé, D. Sedimentary signatures of tidal bores: a brief synthesis. Geo-Mar Lett 37, 325–331 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-016-0479-x

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