THE TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS COAST OF FLORIDA: A MODERN

Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Coastal Sediments, 5:1773-1784, R. A., Davis, Jr., Ed., May, 2003, Clearwater Beach, Florida
© 2003 by the 5th International Conference on Coastal Sediments
THE TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS COAST OF FLORIDA: A MODERN ANALOG TO
LOW-ENERGY MANGROVE COASTS OF CRETACEOUS EPEIRIC SEAS
Kenneth J. Lacovara,1 Jennifer R. Smith,2 Joshua B. Smith,3 and Matthew C. Lamanna4
Abstract: Epeiric seas stretched across vast regions of continents during the eustatic highs of the
Late Cretaceous. Along these seas, low-energy conditions prevailed. Halophytic plants, including
the tree-fern Weichselia reticulata, colonized these quiescent coasts, forming highly productive
mangrove ecosystems.
The morphodynamic behavior of Cretaceous epeiric coasts can be better understood though
analogy with similar environments that exist today. The Ten Thousand Islands coast of southwestern
Florida provides an ideal analog. The low-energy wave regime and attenuated tidal range is probably
representative of conditions that prevailed along Cretaceous epeiric coasts. The invasion of the
littoral zone along the Ten Thousand Islands coast by robust mangrove vegetation has led to a
bimodal response to Holocene sea level rise. Both transgressive and regressive behaviors occur
simultaneously along different reaches, creating a very complex stratigraphic record.
Late Cretaceous coastal deposits exposed in the Bahariya Oasis of Egypt record the development
of a similar low-energy mangrove coast in response to rising Cenomanian sea level. These deposits
record coeval transgressive and regressive sequences that appear to have resulted from: 1)
heterogeneities in the paleolittoral system, and; 2) colonization of the littoral zone by mangrove
vegetation, that includes Weichselia reticulata and possibly other mangrove species. Study of the
modern analog provided by the Ten Thousand Islands coast has facilitated a more complete
understanding of the paleomorphodynamics of low-energy Mesozoic epeiric coasts. Conversely, the
study of ancient coastal deposits, laid down in Cretaceous “hothouse” conditions, holds implications
for understanding coastal response to modern global warming and sea level rise.
INTRODUCTION
The sea level record for most of Earth history is completely unknown. Meaningful estimates
extend back only to about the Paleozoic/Mesozoic boundary (245 Ma) (Haq et al., 1987) and
represent only the last 5% of Earth time. Sea level is currently anomalously low and has been much
higher during most of the post-Paleozoic. Peak levels occurred during the Late Cretaceous (99-65
Ma) and may have reached 300 m above present.
The eustatic highs of the Late Cretaceous caused marine inundation of vast terrestrial areas,
forming epeiric seas over part of every continent (Figure 1). Epeiric seas generally took the form of
lobate coastal bights or elongate seaways. Coasts along these seas would have been unlike most of
today’s open-ocean coasts. Fetch along these constricted bodies of water would have been quite
limited in most directions. The narrow geometry of epeiric seas would have attenuated tidal flow in
1 Drexel University, 251 Curtis Hall, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104; [email protected]
2 Washington University, Campus Box 1169, 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130; [email protected]
3 Washington University, Campus Box 1169, 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130; [email protected]
4 University of Pennsylvania, 240 South 33rd St., Philadelphia, PA 19104; [email protected]
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many cases. The resulting energy state of most epeiric coasts would have been much lower than the
average state along coasts today.
Figure 1. Cenomanian paleogeographic reconstruction for 94 Ma. The paleolocation of Bahariya Formation deposits
is shown in red. These deposits were situated along the Bahariya Bight, a sheltered embayment off the Tethys Sea.
Figure modified from Scotese (2001).
Gently sloping coastal plain regions were most likely to be inundated by rising Cretaceous seas.
Because the width of back-barrier paralic wetlands is inversely related to the gradient of the surface
being transgressed, immense swaths of coastal wetlands were produced. Broad tidal flats, in lowenergy conditions, in the equable “hothouse” Cretaceous climate provided ideal conditions for
phytoproductivity in coastal wetlands. Plants in epeiric coastal biomes benefited from frost-free
conditions extending into high latitudes and played an important role in determining the response of
Cretaceous coasts to fluctuations in sea level.
To understand the coastal morphodynamics of ancient inland seas, appropriate modern analogs
must be examined. An ideal proxy would be a very low-energy marine coast, with high plant
productivity, along a very gentle continental shelf/coastal plain gradient. The Ten Thousand Islands
coast of southwestern Florida provides an ideal example.
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THE TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS
The shelf off the southern Florida coast is approximately 200 km wide, with shoreface gradients
less than 1:3,500. These conditions, along with limited fetch across the Gulf of Mexico, result in a
mean annual wave height of only 10 to 25 cm (Tanner, 1960). Although tides along this coast are
microtidal, with spring tides less than 1.3 m, they dominate the weak wave regime (Davis et al.,
1992). Placid conditions along this reach have promulgated the development of a mangrove coast
between the cuspate forelands of Cape Romano and Cape Sable. The Ten Thousand Islands lie along
the northern portion of the mangrove coast and consist of a great number of mangals (mangrove
vegetated tidal flats) separated by sandy tidal channels (Figure 2).
Figure 2. The Ten Thousand Islands lie along the northern part of the mangrove coast of southwestern Florida.
(NASA satellite image)
A variety of mangrove species and mangrove-associates colonize the Ten Thousand Islands.
Dominant among them is the angiosperm Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove) (Figure 3).
Rhizophora is an obligate of the paralic realm and specifically adapted to its stresses. For example,
its many stilt roots buttress it from wave attack. It obtains fresh water by filtering salt water though
its roots, a process that produces xylem sap that is 100 times less saline than sea water (Thomlinson,
1986). To conserve “manufactured” water, the leaves of Rhizophora possess many xeromorphic
features usually associated with desert vegetation. Most significantly, with respect to
geomorphology, Rhizophora is capable of colonizing the littoral zone by the lateral extension of its
root system and through the production of floating, viviparous seedlings.
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Figure 3. Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove) growing on the shoreface along the Ten Thousand Islands coast.
(Photo: K. Lacovara)
Negligible wave-energy and the growth of sturdy mangrove vegetation on the foreshore have
created an interesting mode of coastal evolution along parts of Florida’s mangrove coast – seaward
progradation of the coast during sea level rise. Enos and Perkins (1979) found that the mangrove
coast at Cape Sable prograded up to 8 km seaward, during the later portion of the Holocene. They
concluded that the coast in this area switched from transgressive to regressive mode following a
deceleration in sea level rise. Parkinson (1987; 1989) found similar evidence from a series of
vibracores taken in the Ten Thousand Islands. He generalized the stratigraphy into three sequences:
transgressive, transitional, and regressive. He also attributed the change in modality to decelerating
Holocene sea level rise, which he concluded, based on Scholl (1969), occurred between 3,500 to
3,200 BP.
The regressive sequence Parkinson (1989) presented (Figure 4) is interesting in that it showed
marine shoreface deposits under mangrove peats. This relationship does not conform to classic
regressive or transgressive models (see respectively: Bernard and LeBlanc, 1965, and; Kraft, 1971)
in which paralic deposits are shown separated from marine deposits by a barrier facies in
conformable sequences. Parkinson’s sequence seems at first a violation of Walther’s Law. However,
the classic models are based on the response of sandy coasts to moderate- to high-energy conditions
and appear not to apply to very low-energy vegetated coasts.
The coastal setting represented by the Ten Thousand Islands is, today, rare. However, along the
warm, low-energy coasts of Cretaceous epeiric seas, analogous physical settings must have been
common. The model presented by Parkinson (1989), therefore, is important to consider when
examining Mesozoic coastal sediments.
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Figure 4. Low-energy mangrove coast. This unusual stratigraphy is formed as mangrove vegetation colonizes the
shoreface. The coast migrates seaward and upward, even as sea level rises. Note that the vertical sequence (1-4) does
not follow the horizontal sequence (1-4), an apparent violation of Walther’s Law. (Modified and idealized after Parkinson,
1989).
THE BAHARIYA BIGHT
During the sea level highs of the Late Cretaceous, North Africa was transgressed many times by
a southward extending arm of the Tethys Sea. These events produced a diverse set of coastal
lithosomes preserved in part in the Cenomanian (99.0 to 93.5 Ma) Bahariya Formation. These
deposits are well-exposed in the Bahariya Oasis (320 km southwest of Cairo) (Figure 5) and record a
complex depositional history along a sheltered, low-energy, epeiric bight. The authors examined
these deposits and the fossil biota contained within during two field seasons in 2000 and 2001.
The Bahariya Bight coast developed along a very low-gradient coastal plain, producing a wide
swath of paralic environments, consisting of lagoons, tidal flats, oyster reefs (Exogyra sp.), mangals,
and tidal channels. The littoral zone was lined by a chain of low, sediment-starved, transgressive
barrier islands. In areas of particularly low wave energy, the coast was directly colonized by
mangrove vegetation.
By the early Late Cretaceous, angiosperm mangrove and salt marsh species had not yet evolved.
The mangrove flora along the Bahariya Bight was dominated by the halophytic tree-fern Weichselia
reticulata. This plant was well-adapted to life along the coast. Woody prop roots helped stabilize it
against waves and currents, and xeromorphic leaves reduced its need for fresh water (Alvin, 1974).
Weichselia is known for its coastal affinity (Alvin, 1971; Barale, 1979; Daber, 1968; El Khayal,
1985; Lejal-Nicol and Dominik, 1990; Shinaq and Bandel, 1998; Smith et al., 2001) and Retallack
and Dilcher (1981) believe that it formed a pantropical mangrove during the Early to early Late
Cretaceous. Weichselia fossils are not known from post-Cenomanian deposits. A Late Cretaceous
angiosperm invasion of the mangrove biome may have led to the fern’s extinction (Retallack and
Dilcher, 1981).
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Figure 5. The Cenomanian Bahariya Formation is exposed in the Bahariya Oasis, located approximately 320
kilometers southwest of Cairo in the Western Desert of Egypt. (NASA satellite image)
The Bahariya Bight coast appears to have been tide-dominated. Mud drapes indicate the
likelihood of mesotidal conditions, whereas, fine-grained foreshore deposits point to a very lowenergy wave regime. Paleobarrier sands from the Bahariya Formation are super-mature (≈ 100%
quartz) and show the isolation of this system from source material on the Eastern Saharan Craton.
The inferred paucity of sediment in the paleolittoral system is corroborated by an abundance of
glauconite in shoreface deposits, which is typically taken to indicate a low rate of clastic influx (see
Harris and Whiting, 2000).
The North African Tethys coast was situated near the paleoequator and Bahariya Formation
deposits show evidence of an extremely productive coastal ecosystem. In addition to abundant plant
remains, these deposits have yielded the remains of at least five dinosaurian genera (Smith et al.,
2001; Stromer, 1915, 1931, 1932), 11 other tetrapod species (Stromer, 1914, 1925, 1933, 1934a, b,
1935, 1936), a rich ichthyofauna, including chondrichthyan and osteichthyan taxa (Peyer, 1925;
Schaal, 1984; Stromer, 1925, 1927, 1936; Weiler, 1935; Werner, 1989), and an invertebrate
assemblage that includes a recently described crab (Schweitzer et al., in press).
MODERN/ANCEINT ANALOG
Inlets dominate the Ten Thousand Islands coast. Barriers are small, frequently dissected, and
often form only pocket beaches between mangrove promontories (Figure 6). Backbarrier mangrove
islands are numerous and separated by a great number of tidal channels. Lightly vegetated tidal flats
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flank many of the islands and open-water lagoons exist towards the mainland. Overall, the landscape
is a patchwork of littoral and paralic subenvironments.
Figure 6. A portion of the Ten Thousand Islands coast. (NOS, NOAA air photo)
The discontinuous coastal lithosomes of the Bahariya Formation reflect deposition under
analogous conditions. In most cases it is not possible to follow a single facies for more than a
hundred meters. Foreshore sands are thin and generally do not extend beyond an individual
exposure. Tidal flat facies are common and often grade laterally into channel deposits. Open-water
lagoon deposits are present, but typically thin (< 1m).
Tidal channel deposits and mangrove paleosols are the two most common facies in the Bahariya
Formation. They are typically about 10 to 100 cm thick and often alternate vertically. The resulting
sequence records a two part cycle in which: 1) mangrove islands are dissected by tidal channels,
and; 2) tidal channels are recolonized by mangroves (Figure 7).
Foreshore deposits in the Bahariya Formation are generally found above paralic sediments,
forming the classic transgressive sequence for barrier islands (sensu Kraft, 1971). In places,
however, paralic deposits, containing plant fossils, overlie glauconitic shoreface sands (Figure 8).
Following the Kraft Model, this sequence would represent discontinuous deposition and the
boundary between the units would be interpreted as an unconformity. Close inspection of the
outcrops, however, does not reveal an unconformity; the transition between these facies is
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gradational. This unusual juxtaposition of paleoenvironments can be explained by Parkinson’s
(1989) model for the Ten Thousand Islands coast. The Cretaceous corollary is as follows:
In the sheltered waters of the Cenomanian Bahariya Bight, wave-resistant tree-ferns (Weichselia
reticulata) colonized the low-energy littoral zone. As sediment accumulated around the prop roots of
Weichselia, mangrove islands prograded into the sea. Small portions of the coast regressed, even as
sea level rose. Along reaches where wave-energy was slightly elevated, small barrier islands
developed and migrated landward over paralic deposits. Abundant plant life along this warm,
quiescent coast provided a broad trophic base for an extremely productive ecosystem.
Figure 7. In the foreground, about 2 meters of exposure of the Bahariya Formation, showing tidal channel deposits
above a mangrove paleosol. (Photo: K. Lacovara)
Figure 8. The Bahariya Formation showing mangrove paleosol and tidal deposits over glauconitic shoreface sands.
The paleosol contains woody plant remains, some of which extend through the contact, into the shoreface unit. (Photo: K.
Lacovara)
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CONCLUSIONS
In both the Holocene sediments of the Ten Thousand Islands and the Cretaceous sediments of the
Bahariya Formation, two modes of coastal evolution in response to rising seas are recorded:
transgressive and regressive. It is important to note that: 1) both modes occur simultaneously along
different reaches of the same coast, and; 2) the resulting transgressive and regressive sequences do
not represent a change in sea level trend, but rather represent local heterogeneities in wave climate.
Although the evolution of the Ten Thousand Islands coast can be viewed as anomalous today,
similar morphodynamic settings must have been widespread along the low-energy, lushly vegetated
epeiric coasts of the Cretaceous. Without adequate modern analogs, the complex depositional history
of these epeiric coasts might be undecipherable. Conversely, as we attempt to understand the
ramifications of current global warming and sea level rise, Cretaceous coastal deposits provide an
ideal representation of coastal response to end-member sea level and climatic conditions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank the Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority and the
government of Egypt for their support and cooperation. This research was funded in part by Cosmos
Studios and MPH Entertainment. Thanks to Christopher R. Stotese and the PALEOMAP Project
(www.scotese.com) for the use of their paleogeographic reconstructions. More information about
this project is available at www.egyptdinos.org.
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Key words: Egypt, Florida, Bahariya Formation, Ten Thousand Islands, mangrove, Weichselia,
Cretaceous, Cenomanian, Tethys, epeiric sea
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