broad areas and can be correlated between individual cores and with distinct acoustic 

 horizons in some cases. Trends in sediment distribution appear to be related to both shelf 

 surface morpholog}' and subbottom structure; e.g., shoreface sediments retain certain similar 

 characteristics throughout the survey area, as do shallow water sands mantling flanks and 

 crests of shoals and banks. Similarly, anomalous surface sediment samples or patterns are 

 related to surface exposure of older underlying strata. 



Major sediment types appear in stratigraphic configurations wliich relate to their origin 

 and age. These broad trends and transitions in sediment character are evident between the 

 survey limits of Cape Canaveral to the south and Georgia to the north and provide a basis 

 for regional interpretation of shelf sediment histor}-. Recent studies of the inner shelf off 

 Cape Canaveral to the soutli (Field and Duane, 1974) and off Georgia to the north (Henry 

 and Hoyt, 1968; Howard, 1972) provide contiguous data for extrapolation of results and 

 comparative interpretation of evolution of the shallow shelf surface. 



General hthologic characteristics and shallow stratigraphic relationships of major 

 sediment types on the north Florida inner shelf are summarized in Table 3. Surficial 

 sediments are generally detrital quartz sands. These overlie older carbonate-rich quartz sand 

 deposits. Major sediment categories are: 



(a) Type A. Well sorted, fine to coarse quartz sands. 



(b) Type F. Very fine sUty quartz sands. 



(c) Type G. Gray, occasionally shghtly indurated, shelly quartz sand to shell hash. 



(d) Type L. White, medium-grained foraminiferal sands. 



(e) Type M. Sand and dolomite silt. 



Letters assigned to Uthologies are arbitrary and established for this program (Meisburger 

 and Duane, 1971) to simphfy correlation and associations of sediment from one area to 

 another. Therefore, type A sand is similar in character to sediments designated by that letter 

 in the Fort Pierce-Cape Canaveral areas. Sediment types L and M are not present in the Fort 

 Pierce or Cape Canaveral areas. These deposits are strictly defined lithologies, based on 

 particular constituents such as foraminifera or dolomite silt. 



Fine shoreface sands similar to type F sediment are generally common to the south, but 

 have not been given a letter designation in two ICONS studies of this region (Duane and 

 Meisburger, 1969; Field and Duane, 1974). In the Fort Pierce area Meisburger and Duane 

 (1971) identified the shoreface sands as type U sediment. In some respects type G sediments 

 are similar to tlie semihthified calcarenite (designated Type E) mapped from Cape Canaveral 

 soutli to Fort Pierce (Meisburger and Duane, 1971; Field and Duane, 1974). However, no 

 direct relationship has yet been established. 



b. Lithology. 



(1) Type A Sediments. One of the most common Uthologies of the north Florida 

 inner Continental Shelf is a fine to medium, moderately well to well-sorted, quartz sand 

 called type A sediment. Examples are shown in Figure 22. Type A sediment contains only 



44 



