We intend to reconstruct New Jersey Miocene stratal geometries using both: 1) a numerical model that only varies in sea level and sediment supply; and 2) a model that incorporates variations in sea level and sediment supply in addition to imposed non-thermal subsidence effects. One of the experimental configurations should better explain the data, including the constraints provided by a database of onshore and offshore core data coupled with a dense grid of offshore seismic data. Reconstructing of the Miocene stratigraphy of this margin will facilitate a quantitative evaluation of non-thermal subsidence on stratigraphic development and will contribute to reducing uncertainties associated with Miocene global mean sea-level (GMSL) records derived from the New Jersey margin.
Student opportunities include working on comparing model output to 3-D seismic data for the Miocene or the long-term (Jurassic to Holocene) record of the margin.