In shelf regions, geostrophic currents, or flows in
which the pressure gradient force is balanced by Coriolis forces, result in
water motion at a low angle to the shoreline. These currents have been interpreted to represent important
mechanisms for cross-shelf transport.
In this paper, SEPM Honorary Member Dale Leckie and Krystinik (1989) summarized paleocurrent information
from a number of ancient progradational shoreface successions to test the
interpretation of the importance of these deposits. Systematic analysis of 8 formations from North America and
Europe revealed a predominance of currents oriented offshore at angles between
70-90 degrees, a result
interpreted to reflect a lack of record of geostrophic currents on the
sedimentary record preserved in these successions. So…the answer to the question in their title was interpreted
to be… “no.”
Is there evidence for geostrophic currents preserved in the sedimentary record of inner to middle-shelf deposits? by Dale A.
Leckie and Lee F. Krystinik, Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 59, p. 862-870.
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