Marine Geology - Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands

SAND-RIDGE STRUCTURES FROM PARAN/~ COASTAL PLAIN 1

JOAO JOSI~ BIGARELLA

Geological Institute, University of Parand, Curitiba, Paranti (Brazil)

(Received December 8, 1964)

SUMMARY

The structure, texture and environmental conditions of extensive beach ridges formed parallel to the present shoreline are analysed in this paper, with a brief discussion about the probable marine environment of deposition. There is, however, some lack of certainty about the specific conditions of deposition. Conclusions are based primarily on parallelly stratified and slightly seaward-inclined sands, which may indicate deposition in the shoreward environment. Cross-stratified beds are believed to have originated shoreward or seaward from a bar or possibly offshore by longshore currents.

INTRODUCTI ON

The coastal plain in the state of Paranfi, between Paranagu~i and Guaratuba Bays, is made up of extensive beach ridges, parallel to the present shoreline. These sandy sediments, clearly of marine origin, have been called "restinga" in the Brazilian geologic and geographic literature. Between the sand ridges there are rivers of fresh or brackish water, or swampy narrow bands of sandy clayey sediments. Mangrove is characteristic of the area influenced by tides. Sedimentary structures of beach ridges are described from exposures along the Maciel River margin, not very far from Paranagufi Bay (Fig.l). These structures have been exposed in the cliffs by fluvial erosion. The origin and details of the depositional environment of the so-called beach ridges are not very well understood. In this paper some data are presented as a contribution to the interpretation of the cross-bedded structures in these beach ridges.

BEACH RIDGES

The beach ridges ("feixe de restinga") are a set of very low sandy hills, parallel to the
1 The work of this paper has been financially supported by the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Marine Geol., 3 (1965) 269-278

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Fig.1. Geographic location of the Maciel River in the ParanaguA Bay on the coast of Pararui, Brazil. The arrow in the center of the circles represent the average dip direction of the cross-bedded strata. The numbers represent elevation in meters of the sandy terraces above mean sea level.

shoreline, which represent the results of a continuous retreat of the sea. They begin at the locality of Alexandra with an elevation of 10 m. Toward the sea their height decreases progressively to about 2-3 m. A marine regression is responsible for this constant decrease in elevation. However, between times of retreat o f the sea, two small transgressions took place. The older one is not well recorded, but the more recent one occured about 2,700 years ago, reaching a level about 1.5 m above the present sea level (BIGARELLAand SANCHES, 1965). During deposition o f the sandy terraces of Alexandra (old beach ridges), the relative sea level has been estimated to be about 7.5 m above the present level. This was determined by using a method based on grain size analyses as described by BmAItELLA et al. (1961). The Maciel River sandy terrace is at an elevation o f 5.2 m at the top of the ridge and 3.7 m in the valley part. This represents a sea level 2.5 m higher than today. Assuming that the sandy terraces have been built up as a storm-wave terrace (berm), in a manner similar to the present day "beach reverse" (Portuguese: "reverso
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SAND-RIDGESTRUCTURESFROMPARANA COASTALPLAIN

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da praia"), the consideration on sea-level positions relative to the terraces can be taken as correct. However, studies in beach-ridge structures, indicate that not all the sandy terraces have been formed as storm-wave terraces. Also is it n o t definitely known in which part of the environment these structures were formed. In case of an offshore or shoretace environment the sandy terraces would actually represent a sea level somewhat lower than the one assumed if they were "beach reverse" levels. Further research on the subject is still needed. For similar beach ridges from Costa de Nayarit (Mexico) CtZP, RAY and MOORE (1964, p.80) postulate that the shoreface was built seaward to provide a base for the formation o f a new longshore bar, which was built up above sea level to fo~m a new beach ridge. This seems to be very reasonable. The structures found in the Maciel River area confirm the origin o f the base. However, over this base nothing has been found that would explain the origin of the overlying structureless sandy sediments.

BEACHAND ADJACENTENVIRONMENTS According to JOHNSON (1919, p. 160), the beach is the zone over which the water line, or the line between land and sea, migrates. It may be divided into foreshore and backshore. Seaward from the beach are the offshore sediments. Sand bodies formed offshore through wave action at the point of wave break, are called longshore bars. According to MCKEE and STERRETT(1961, p. 14) they depend "on depth of the water (variation in slope), amount o f wave action and availability o f sand. These sand bodies may develop as: (1) subaqueous masses that do not build up to water level; (2) masses that build up to, but not above, water level, or (3) masses that build to maximum wave height". Laboratory experiments made by these authors indicate that probably "in very shallow water an emergent bar commonly forms; in somewhat deeper water a submarine bar is built; and in still deeper water no bar forms. Increase in intensity of waves tends to build a bar toward, and even on to, the beach. Weaker waves build bars upward to form barriers, with lagoons to shoreward. Abundant sand furnished on the seaward side o f a growing bar simulates conditions caused by some longshore and rip currents and causes gentle seaward-dipping beds to form. In contrast, a-limited sand supply results in growth of bars that characteristically have shoreward-dipping strata o f steeper angle" (MCKEE and STEP, ZEa-r, 1961, p. 13). According to MCKEE and SrER~ETT (1961, p.26) the stratification in longshore bars at Bimini in the Bahama Islands showed "that large parts o f the bars weie formed mainly o f strata dipping shoreward at 16-20 , but in some places, seaward o f the bar crest, upper strata dipped seaward at 4-5 " . A survey of sedimentary structures on beaches was made on the Paranh coast by BXGARELLAet al. (1965). Besides the normal type o f foreshore and backshore and low-angle cross-strata sets, there are several other types of minor structures representMarine Geol., 3 (1965) 269-278

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ed including beach-channel fillings (small-scale trough cross-stratification), contorted bedding, ripple marks and others. In some cases, especially in backshore deposits, a fairly thick set of parallel strata may be present. They dip inland at 2-3', while the foreshore sets commonly dip seaward 3-6 ~' in fine to medium-sized sand beaches and more than 6 in coarser deposits. Characteristic of the beach environment, especially of the foreshore, is the rhythmic alternation of light and heavy mineral laminae within sets.

TEXTURE

Ten sand samples were collected from beach-ridge cliffs in the Maciel River. Most samples are composed of fine-grained sand. Size distribution was determined by sieving and calculating the median diameter of the particle size distribution expressed in milimeters (Fig.2, 3). The most common sediment has a median diameter of about 0.160 mm, while the median size of all samples ranges from 0.128 mm to 0.511 mm. The mean diameter averages 0.195 mm. Coarse sand occurs less trequently in some local sets o f strata. The sands show good TRASK'S (1932) sorting coefficient (S o = 1.13-1.34). The smallest sorting value observed corresponds to the coarsest sample. The asymmetry is generally negative, meaning that the distribution has a skewness toward the coarser side. The kurtosis indicates that the grain-size distribution curves are less peaked than the normal distribution.

SEDIMENTARY STRUCTURES

The sandy terraces (strand plain) are normally stratified. The sets of strata are generally parallel and subhorizontal, dipping as much as 1-2 . In some places, however, both cross-stratification and ripple lamination are present. Cross,stratification such as usually develops in foreshores was not found. The backshore strata are hard to identify where they are not associated with the foreshore sets. Some of the sets in the beach ridge might have been deposited on the backshore. The longshore bar cross-strata obtained in laboratory experiments (MCKEE and STERRETr, 1961), as well as those observed in the field, dip 10-30 shoreward or up to 6 seaward. They represent two different attitudes of strata, dipping in opposite directions. However, both strike roughly parallel to the shoreline. Laboratory experiments on beach forms and structures made by McKEE and SXERmZTr (1961, p.13) show that foreshore beach strata normally dip seaward at low angles from the crest or berm to a point below water level. Offshore from this point there are foreset beds with relatively high angles which form a shoreface terrace. These foreset beds strike parallel to the shoreline and dip 27-31 seaward. The foreshore beach strata dip 7-15 , as shown by the experiments.
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SAND-RIDGE STRUCTURES FROM PARANA COASTAL PLAIN

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Fig.2. Cumulative curves of grain-size distribution in sand-ridge samples at the Maciel River cliffs. The samples were collected from three different beach ridges from the last 5 km of the river cutbanks. They belong to the crest or trough of the sand ridges according to the elevations referred to in the profiles of Fig.3. On an average they represent all the sides from the ridges. The curves were drawn on arithmetic probability paper.
Marine Geol., 3 (1965) 269-278

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Marine Geol., 3 (1965) 269-278

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Following the classification of MCKEE and WEIR ( 1953, p.387), the Maciel River sandy terraces show planar and trough types of cross-stratification. The planar t.v~, with parallel bounding surfaces of erosion between the sets o f strata, is the most frequent. The trough type is commonly associated with co-sets of the planar type, forming composite sets o f cross-strata. The magnitude o f the cross-stratification is classified according to MCKEE and WEIR (1953, p.388) as being generally o f medium-scale and, less frequently, small-scale. Some exposures skow ripple lamination and animal burrows. Fig.3 illustrates the various forms of cross-stratification. In some erosion cuts, ripple-laa-ninated sand is associated with sequences of planar-type cross-stratification (Fig.4). The transportation trends shown by the ripples coincide with those deduced from cross-strata measurements. Besides ripple lamination, a minor-scale structure, possibly due to animal burrowing followed by some filling and later completed by collapse of the above strata, is shown in Fig.5.

Fig.4. Planar type of cross-stratification associated with ripple-laminated sand. The drawing is oriented north-south (left to right side). The cross-strata dip northward.

Fig.3. Cross-bedded sand-ridge structures. Histograms illustrating the distribution of size grades in samples from the cutbanks of the last 5 km of the Maciel River. Eight profiles were made downstream in the river cutbanks. They refer to: crest (I), trough (VII, VIII) and intermediate position between the ridges (H-VI). The cr0ss-bedding drawings are relative to the cutbanks referred to in the profiles. The lower part of the structure drawing is roughly located close to "sea level". Two drawings were made for profile HI. Between them exists a vertical distance of 0.5 m. "Sea level" in the illustration is maximum high-tide level, about 1 m above mean sea level.
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J.J. BIGARELLA

Fig.5. Planar type of cross-stratification associated with ripple-lamination and minor-scale structure possibly due to animal burrowing followed by some filling and subsequent collapse of the above strata. The drawing is oriented north-south (left to right side). The cross-strata dip northward.

MEASUREMENTS

AND

THEIR

INTERPRETATION

Three different localities in the Maciel River area have been surveyed, and 162 crossbedding orientation measurements taken. These show an average dip direction o f N 6E, which is closely parallel to the orientation of the sand ridges. The average dip direction (0) and the consistency ratio (c.r.) were obtained by the following formulas: Z sin 0 tan 0 . . . . E cos 0
c.r. ~

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o)2

number of readings The results are illustrated in Table I and in Fig. 1. The three localities in the Maciel River have very similar average dip directions with 9 deviation, as well as fairly uniform high-angle dips on all strata. Although the high-angle dip of these strata is similar to those o f the shoreward side o f longshore bars, these strata differ from those o f the bars by 90 orientation in the dip direction. The structures here discussed seem to have been produced in troughs parallel to the
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TABLE I CROSS-BEDDING MEASUREMENTS IN THE MACIEL RIVER SAND-RIDGE TERRACES (PARANAGU~, BRAZIL)

Locality

Number of measurements
60 53 49 162

Average dip direction

N 3 E N 12 E N 9 E N 6 E

Consistency ratio
0.60 0.79 0.62 0.83

Maximum dip
27 29 28 29

Average dip
16.6 21.0 18.8 18.7

A B C Total

coast situated between the shoreline and the longshore bar. The argument for this interpretation is the cross-bedding dip-direction vector, which is not in agreement with the known structures either of longshore bars or of beaches. In the same way, other structures in the sand-ridge terraces, mainly the sub-horizontal sets of parallel strata, do not seem to be characteristic of the beach but were formed either outside of the longshore bars, as offshore deposits, or in the troughs between the longshore bars and the shoreline. In the first case, the nature of bottom-sediment structures is known to some extent, but in the latter case very little is known.

CONCLUSIONS

The beach ridges show: ~a) Parallel stratification dipping slightly seaward t 1-3), almost at right angles to the strike of the ridges. These structures might have been formed in the shoreface environment (nearshore) with sand introduced by longshore currents. They seem to be characteristic of these ridges, and the slight dipping is very significant. They are also present in the lime-cemented "beach rocks" ("arrecifes") of northeastern Brazil. The "beach rock" is exposed at low tide and emerges from the sea as a straight line separating a lagoon shoreward. The "beach rock" structure is mostly composed of parallel strata. Only in a few places are typical nearshore cross-strata or beach structures present. The term "beach rock" is not properly applied to these sediments since they were not deposited in a beach environment, but rather in an offshore environment. The rectilinear distribution pattern of "beach rock" actually represents the strike of the dipping set of parallel strata against the horizontal plane of the sea. Shoreward behind this line, the beaches are disposed in large archs. (b) Cross-stratification is mostly of the planar type and less frequently of the trough type. The average dip direction (N 6 E) of cross-strata do not differ greatly from the average strike of the beach ridges (N 35 E). These structures might have been formed shoreward or seaward from a bar or even offshore (?) by longshore currents.
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J.J. BtGARELLA

The cross-strata attitude, in which the average d i p direction r o u g h l y follows the a l i g n m e n t o f beach ridges and o f the present shoreline, is different f r o m the b a r structures described by MCKEE a n d STERRETT (1961). T h e s t r a t a in o t h e r l o n g s h o r e b a r s d i p in two o p p o s i t e directions: s h o r e w a r d (16-20 ) a n d seaward (4-5). (c) T h e structures show the effectiveness o f currents in t r a n s p o r t i n g s e d i m e n t a r y m a t e r i a l parallel to the coast a n d they allow d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f the t r e n d o f drift.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT T h e a u t h o r is g r a t e f u l to E d w i n D. M c K e e for his kindness in revising a n d i m p r o v i n g the m a n u s c r i p t .

REFERENCES
BIGARELLA,J. J., SALAMUNI,R. e MARQUES,F. P. L., 1961. M6todo para avaliac~o do nivel oce~nico

6poca da formac~o dos terraqos de construgfio marinha. Bol. Paranaense Geografia, 1961, (4/5) : 111-115. BIGARELLA, J. J. e SANCHES,J., 1965. Contribuigfio ao estudo dos sedimentos praiais recentes. V. Praia suspensa do Saco da Tambarutaca, municipio de ParanaguA. In press. BIGARELLA,.]'.J., FREIRE,S., SALAMUNI,R. e VIANA,R., 1965. Contribuigfio ao estudo dos sedimentos praiais recentes. II. Praias de Matinho Caiobti Paranfi. In press. CURRAV,J. R. and MOORE,D. C., 1964. Holocene regressive littoral sand, Costa de Nayarit, Mexico. In: L. M. J. U. VAN STRAATEN(Editor), Deltaic and Shallow Marine Deposits. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp.76-82. JOHNSON,D. W., 1919. Shore Processes and Shore-Line Development. Wiley, New York, N.Y., 584 pp. McKEE, E. D. and STFaU~Tr, T. S., 1961. Laboratory experiments on form and structure of longshore bars and beaches. In: J. A. I~TERSONand J. C. OSMOND(Editors), Geometry of Sandstone Bodies. Am. Assoc. Petrol. Geologists, Tulsa, Okla., pp.l 3-28. McKEE, E. D. and W~IR, G. W., 1953. Terminology for stratification and cross-stratification in sedimentary rocks. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., 64 : 381-390. TRASK, P. D., 1932. Origin and Environment of Source Sediments of Petroleum. Gulf Publishing Co., Houston, Texas, 323 pp.

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